Hotel Riu Chiclana — Hotel in Chiclana de la Frontera

Day 3 of Our Group Stay – Deeply Disappointed

Before you read this review make sure you read the hotel response as well as they do not deny what has been put in the review and suggest to try one of there other hotels. I spoke to the Hotel Manager yesterday morning who was going to look into things further and see what could be done to make an amends and as yet nothing. Will update if and when I hear back

If you're considering booking this hotel, I strongly urge you to read this honest and genuine review, especially if you're traveling with family. I hope it helps you avoid the frustration we've experienced.

Lengthy Check-In Process: Upon our arrival on Friday, we were shocked to find people waiting up to an hour just to check in, and in many cases, they waited between 1 to 3 hours to actually access their rooms. There seemed to be no preparation for a large influx of guests, resulting in long queues.

Poor Organisation at Check-In: We were told we could use the pool while waiting for our rooms to be ready, only to queue again to collect our room keys. This is hardly practical when most guests do not have swimming gear readily available in their hand luggage.

Small Family Rooms: While the rooms were clean, they were incredibly small for families. Our room had a sofa bed and two single beds with no space for suitcases, which we had to store in the bathroom.

Lack of Suitable Amenities: The room was too cramped for a family, with no dressing table or adequate space to prepare for the day. Perhaps we have been spoiled by other hotels, but this was far below our expectations.

Language Barriers: Many staff members do not speak English, and with over 80% of guests being Spanish, the entertainment team also conducts activities exclusively in Spanish. This is a major problem for families with young children who cannot understand the language.

Limited Safety Measures at Pools: There are very few lifeguards for the number of pools, and they seem to wander between them, leaving some pools unattended.

Lack of Activities for Children: If you have children aged 6 to 16, be aware that there are no activities available for them, at least none that we have found so far.

Strict Pool Rules: Inflatable toys are not allowed in the pools, and some lifeguards do not even permit the use of balls, which limits fun for families.

Poor Snack Bar Options: The poolside snack bar offers mostly junk food, with little in the way of healthy options apart from a small amount of salad.

Limited Recreational Facilities: The amusement arcade is very small and offers little choice, while the gym, although acceptable, has limited equipment for a hotel that accommodates over 2,000 guests.

Repetitive Dining Options: While the restaurants are clean, the food selection is very repetitive and lacks variety.

Entertainment Focused on Spanish Guests: Evening entertainment is heavily focused on the Spanish majority, with nothing specifically for English-speaking guests. This has been extremely disappointing.

Overall, our experience has been underwhelming, particularly given the significant cost of this trip. Compared to our previous stay at the Sharm El Sheikh Holiday Village with TUI, which we would rate a strong 9 out of 10, this experience so far would be no more than a 4. Updates to follow, but we are deeply disappointed with what we have encountered so far.

The original review was written after three days the hotel now 5 days in and updates below.

Dont bring inflatables as no where to use them (accept the smallest pool which is cramped and very loud).

Taxi to look town £60 each way about 40 min drive or public transport a lot cheaper although about 2.5 hrs each way.

Day trip to local town about £60 not worth it and a very long and tiring day with lots of travel time.

Food very similar in all restaurants and all self service.

If you are a family with children 6 - 15 please think twice if you are expecting them to be kept amused. All entertainment is definitely in Spanish who are 80% of the 2000 plus guests with English...

I had the unfortunate experience of spending six nights at this all-inclusive hotel with my husband and brother, and I must say it was one of the worst stays I have ever encountered. From the moment we arrived, it was evident that this establishment fell far short of meeting the expectations of a quality hotel.

One of the most disappointing aspects was the quality of the food offered. There are simply not enough words to describe the mediocrity of the dishes served. The meals were bland, uninspired, and extremely repetitive. During lunches and dinners, it felt like we were trapped in a monotonous cycle of tasteless meals. And just when we thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, the snack options consisted solely of subpar burgers and hot dogs. It was as if variety and quality were foreign concepts in this place.

Furthermore, the lack of options for dining outside of regular hours was a nightmare. After a long day of activities, we had no choice but to resort to those lousy burgers and hot dogs, a pathetic offering for a hotel that claims to be all-inclusive. There were no healthy alternatives or substantial meals available, which was simply unacceptable.

And as if the discomfort wasn’t enough, we were hit with the nightly shut-off of the air conditioning. The unbearable heat made it impossible to sleep and rest properly. How can a hotel overlook such a basic aspect as the thermal comfort of its guests? It was evident that guest well-being was not a priority.

Furthermore, the lack of evening entertainment was astonishing. There was absolutely nothing to do after dinner. No activities, no shows, not even pleasant background music. The eerie silence that hung over the hotel was disconcerting. The absence of any form of entertainment was a clear display of neglect on the part of the management.

To make matters worse, we discovered that the hotel’s discotheque, which theoretically could offer some form of nighttime fun, was closed. How can one have a discotheque on the premises, yet keep it off-limits to guests? It was simply unacceptable and an insult to those who were expecting some sort of evening amusement.

Additionally, the room malfunctions added to our frustration. The safe and telephone simply did not work. Dealing with such basic failures was extremely inconvenient and demonstrated a lack of maintenance and care by the hotel staff.

The only thing I can salvage from this disastrous experience is the friendliness of a few select staff members we encountered. They were polite and helpful, which provided a glimmer of relief amidst the numerous shortcomings and disappointments.

Furthermore, I must mention the issue with the housekeeping staff. They would clean the rooms using cleaning vinegar, which left behind an overwhelming and unpleasant odor. The strong smell of vinegar permeated the entire room, making it nearly impossible to enjoy a comfortable and fresh environment.

In summary, this all-inclusive hotel was a colossal letdown. The lack of tasty and varied food, the absence of options outside regular hours, the nighttime air conditioning shutdowns, the lack of decent evening entertainment, the closed disco, the poor-quality concentrated juices, and the room malfunctions were just a few of the countless flaws that tarnished our stay. It’s difficult to find words to express how deeply disappointed we were with this experience. I strongly recommend avoiding this hotel and seeking out more worthy and satisfying alternatives. Overall, if you’re not a family with lots of young kids, stay very far away from this hotel. Even then, everything here is designed to make you feel uncomfortable and eat and drink as little as possible, such as turning the AC off after 7PM (which leaves you eating in 35 degree heat, presumably to save money), to the terrible music selection at the pool bar and the overall very poor quality food.

Oh, and the NOISE of children screaming and dishes breaking every 2 minutes...

We are currently staying at the Riu chiclana ..arrived Friday 23rd June.. After many years of using 4 star RIU hotels in many different locations the RIU CHICLANA is the worst iv ever visited ! This hotel is a 4 star plus family hotel and iv been to adults only and family resorts with my grandchildren and we have never experienced anything like this....the hotel reception was manic when we arrived hundreds of people trying to check in at once ... they have 5 swimming pools every one of them is packed solid...hundreds of sunbeds but the noise is so awful you cannot relax and the pools are full.. they have lots of loud music at times when the aerobics start. . restaurant today sunday was absolutely manic ! Hundreds of people ...queueing at every station ...you have to find a table yourself unless the doormen are there .. They had the RIU NEON PARTY Friday night starts off as a kids party at 7pm but the music was deafening for young babies and toddlers..it continued to midnight ....we had gone completely deaf after an hour... at moment the hotel is obviously full... lots of local spanish families....we were told this is normal on weekends and will quieten down so fingers crossed 🤞 Not sure why they do not have a quiet adults only area for people that do not want to be around noise all the time... The buffet is very good..so far but ambience no...soo noisy you cannot enjoy your meal.. the themed restaurants are average.. big bonus is the beautiful beach as we go there every morning and its direct access from the hotel..so nice to get away from the manic atmosphere.. rooms are good...complex is lovely well kept grounds ... great location.. staff are very good and working their hardest to manage the volume of guests.. TUI rep Sandra has been very helpful 👏.. Would definitely not book this hotel again ....too big too noisy...for us at the moment its like BUTLINS in Spain but we hope the remaining days of our holiday will improve by Friday when we leave ..update today Monday 26th...absolute chaos queuing to get into the restaurant for lunch ! Most afternoons by 4pm the pool areas are very messy on 3 separate occasions the self service drinks area had nothing left in the dispensers so even though we were all inclusive there were no drinks to be had...we tried ordering the cocktails at the bar they were absolutely disgusting and the bar staff made it by chucking ice into a nutra bullet and pouring a coloured liquid on top from a plastic bottle and blending it...my friend ordered baileys it was a very watered down version...the barcardi and coke had a bitter after taste.. the only thing that was decent was the lager ..no red wine .. only white or rose .. personally we did not take advantage of the all inclusive as we never saw any snacks crisps or ice cream available during the day..lunchtimes around the pool there were long queues for the greasy chips hotdogs and weird looking burgers etc but it left the pool areas in a terrible mess.. cups.. plates and wasted food left lying around on the floor .. never any staff by the self serve.. I was still staying in the hotel when the Riu manager replied to my initial review saying so sorry you HAD a bad experience ..I still had 4 days to go ..I would definitely never do all inclusive 4 star again ..you get cheap alcohol and the standards drop dramatically..also i would never go to such a massive hotel resort either .we also tried our free 1 hour in the spa it was not worth it . ..very basic and the shower by the jacuzzi wasn't working ....the ice bath was warm ..would definitely give this hotel a miss if you are looking for a relaxing holiday ...if you love Butlins then you...