The Riu Palace Hotel Madeira (Riu Palace)

Member Name: Helenofellon

Product:	Riu Palace
Date:	20/01/09 (307 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A clean, welcoming 5 star hotel

Disadvantages: The location would be difficult for those with mobility problems but the hotel is disability friendl

INTRODUCTION
The Riu Palace in Madeira sits like a white-washed fairytale castle with terracotta turrets, corner towers and grand archways looking out over the sapphire-blue sea. The grounds house brightly coloured flowers and palm trees making you believe you are on a Caribbean island far away.

The Riu Palace is located right on the seafront at Canico de Baixo, only 10 minutes drive from Funchal Airport and 20 minutes drive to the city of Funchal. On arrival at the airport everything ran smoothly and quickly apart from me not recognising my own suitcase!!! We were driven to the hotel in a small mini bus with 5 other people and half an hour later we were sunbathing by the pool. Now that's what I call service.

CHECK IN
From the moment you check in at the impressive, grand reception area with its polished marble flooring, elegant décor, crystal chandeliers and comfortable high backed chairs which looked like top hats. Statues, huge plants, a vintage Ford car and fabulous floral displays you know you have made the right choice.
Guests receive a complimentary glass of Madeira wine on arrival, which I found delicious but apparantely is not to everyone's taste!

The reception staff genuinely had huge smiles on our arrival, and infact for the whole holiday!! We have never met such welcoming and genuine people as the Madeirans!!

Check in is swift with them only requiring a few details. We were actually given a form to fill in on the bus which would have made the check in experience quicker, however I didn't want to miss the scenery. Nonetheless we were soon on our way up to our room with our suitcases following closely behind us, taken by a very friendly porter who did not want a tip!!! All the reception staff spoke excellent English, along with German, French, Italian and there own native Portuguese. Once settled in our rooms we also received a phone call from reception enquiring that everything was alright and encouraging us to get in touch if we had any concerns whatsoever.

BEDROOMS
There are 327 guest rooms all with either a balcony or patio, the majority with lovely sea views. We had a standard room which housed two queen sized beds. There was ample cupboard and wardrobe space, a small seating area with table, huge satellite television which had a variety of channels from different countries including Anglia TV so those 'Coronation Street' fans can still get their fix! There was a minibar, which was reasonably priced. The air-conditioning was very effective and there was also a huge ceiling fan. There was also a safe in the wardrobe which cost us 16 Euros for the week, however we could have got away without paying as it was pretty self explanatory how to work it. You could also have bath robes, which would have been useful for going to the pool but you had to pay extra for these. We had a very spacious bathroom with bath, shower over bath, toilet and bidet. The sink unit and mirrors were huge, ideal for two girls to get round when putting on the war paint!! The style of the rooms is quite a rich, classic style with gold and blue fabrics along with large, mahogany furniture.

We had a partial sea view but also looked out onto a flat roof, which sounds awful however they decorated it with pot plants and it had that same white-washed appearance which made it quite pleasant. We managed to get some effective photos from our balcony of the terracotta towers against the ever changing skies and beautiful blue sea with the contrast of the white. We also managed to photograph some fantastic rainbows from our balcony.

The Riu Palace Madeira website suggest that you can opt for a little more space and comfort by taking one of the suites which have a double bedroom and separate lounge with a sofa bed. Three of the suites have a garden view, rather than a sea view. Room 1531 high up one of the towers apparantely has a particularly large balcony, but we never noticed this room. Again the website states that the best way to decide which room would be best, is to request a balcony which has your choice of either morning or evening sunshine. We didn't know this option was available and just happily accepted the room we were allocated.

DINING
The Riu Hotels have over fifty years experience in catering for large numbers of guests at their hotels worldwide. At the Riu Palace there are two sittings for dinner. (1800 and 2000 hours during the winter, 1830 and 2030 hours during the summer season). There was no problem in choosing your times for the week you were also allocated a table for dinner, which you used during your stay. However, breakfast you could sit anywhere on the terrace or inside.

The restaurant is very pleasing to the eye with floor to ceiling windows and patio doors at one end. The tables are well laid and placed fairly close to other couples to encourage you to chat and make the whole dining experience more pleasurable. There is the option of helping yourself to the plentiful buffet or being served at your table with a separate a la carte choice at no extra cost! The waiter served menu was more Cordon Bleu style, very rich, fancy delicious meals but small portions which I love however if you are in to large portions stick to the buffet. There is so much to choose from and something for all tastes. All diets are catered for if requested in advance. Every evening they try a different theme, i.e. Mediterranean, Madeira, Caribbean, Spanish and the restaurant is decorated accordingly as well as the food being out of this world. If a guest has a birthday, the waiters will be sure to celebrate the occasion at dinner with a cake, candles and a song. Much to the embarrassment of the guest in particular my daughter who celebrated her 20th birthday on Valentines Day whilst we were there. She was also given flowers, kisses and cocktails as well as the cake, candles and song. The hotel also went to town on Valentines Day the restaurant looked spectacular we had a cupid running round the hotel, all ladies were given a red rose on entering the restaurant and the whole place was decorated with red flowers and balloons - cheesy but great fun on holiday.

There is also a theme restaurant which offers a different type of dining in particular serving the delicacies from Madeira such as espada, which is a long, black, really ugly, but unbelievably delicious fish native to the deep waters off the islands; and espetada which is hunks of garlic marinated beef barbecued on a large bay twig skewer (by large I mean 3ft long). You can choose to eat here one night rather than the restaurant, you just book it at reception. My daughter and I never dined there in the evening so cannot comment from experience.

Lunch is served in the Pool Restaurant with tables under the palm trees beside the pool or you can sit inside. Again another extensive menu although we were not convinced of their English translation. A Spaghetti Bolognese starter, and it was a large portion!!!! We ate here a few times and found it not only delicious but reasonably priced for a hotel of that calibre.
Breakfast is also a self service buffet with guests sitting in the dining room or on the terrace overlooking the pool and out to sea. Waiters will bring a large thermos pot of tea or coffee. There was also sparkling wine by the bucket load every morning. Fresh smoothies of varying types were lovingly made. Again the food was fantastic, a superb fresh fruit selection - melon, kiwi fruit, banana oranges etc; cereals, croissants, pastries and bread of every description. The hot buffet was also very appetising every morning with omelettes, eggs, bacon, sausages and pancakes.

LEISURE
There are two large outdoor swimming pools and a small children's pool edged by sun loungers and parasols. The pools overlook the breathtaking ocean views. However it is not on a beach as it is very rocky. One of the outdoor pools is rather chilly but I am not going to tell you which one. However, following one too many cocktails it was a refreshing wake up! The pool area is very relaxing and serene, sun loungers were plentiful, no the Germans were not the first up and placing their towels down. Actually the staff around the pool look after you very well ensuring you have a comfortable bed, the parasol is in the right place and there are plenty towels. The staff also noticed if people were reserving beds and discreetly removed their towels!!! When the sun comes out in Madeira it is very hot so make sure you lavish on the sun cream. If it is too hot outside then take a dip in the luxurious indoor pool again with views over the sea.

There is also a small complimentary gym, which I cannot really comment on do plenty of that at home. The sauna which is also complimentary is an experience we will never forget!!! Madeira is a fantastic island for all ages, however it does seem very popular with the more mature age group!!! I was happily sitting in the sauna, minding my own business wearing my tankini when in walked Eight Naked German Men with an average age of 80, two of them started doing leg raises whilst lying down it was not a pretty sight and I felt trapped for at least 20 minutes. This was a common occurrence apparently amongst the elderly German Culture. You could spot the Brits very easily in the sauna as we kept our bits n pieces covered up!!

There is also a floodlit tennis court, pool table, darts, ping pong a games room with card tables, computers for internet access for a small charge. There was also a selection of books obviously left by other guests. There is also a Wellness Spa offering a range of health and beauty treatments. The therapists are professionals and almost medical in diagnostic approach to ensure proper health treatments. For facials, the skin is analysed under a bright light before a thorough steam cleanse, exfoliation and toning. The Well Being menu includes a soothing after-sun aromatherapy massage, sea mud wrap, pedicure, Chinese relaxation for migraine, reflexology, and sea salt body peeling - and many more treats for face, skin, muscles and body. (Taken from Wellness Brochure).

ENTERTAINMENT
Riu Palace is the perfect place to stay for a relaxing holiday. We travelled with Thomson holidays who ensured we had a great holiday. On our first morning we attended the welcome meeting and the reps were fantastic, although their job is to sell tours they were not pushy just let us know what was available. One of the reps was from Madeira so she could give us a full insight into the Island life. My daughter and I went on the West Trip which was amazing the scenery was out of this world. The whole tour was handled with insight and efficiency. Never did we feel rushed at specific stops nor did we feel we were having hanging around for too long. We also went on the Folk Evening to taste Madeiran Fare and join in the dancing and singing which we thoroughly enjoyed.

The welcome meeting was also attended by the Manager of the Hotel who was very charming throughout our stay. He always went out of his way to make guests feel welcome, and truly spoiled my daughter on her birthday. The first tour we embarked on was a tour of the hotel which was inspiring, we were taken into the kitchens and watched the chefs at work. We were literally taken into every working nook of that hotel and one thing we all noticed throughout was how happy all the staff were and how well catered for they were.One of the things that really stood out was the dedication of the hotel manager! It didn't go unnoticed that he greeted guests at the restaurant both at breakfast and dinner. He must have worked long hours, but it was plain to see that he thoroughly enjoyed his job and cared about his guests and staff.

There is a courtesy bus which transports guests to Funchal and back every day, about four times except Sundays. Just book this at reception ideally the night before.
Guests can also take a stroll along the promenade above the rocky seashore, and up to the local village with a row of restaurants, bars and shops. It is a steep climb so not ideal for those with mobility problems however the local bus regularly takes people up into the village for a very small charge.

Evening entertainment is also invariably very good. Chico plays the piano in the bar early evening whilst diners are making there way into the restaurant. After your meal make your way into the cocktail bar to be delighted by a variety of entertainers. Chico has a resident band who accompany different vocalists each night, some better than others. There was also a magician, puppet show and some rather scantily dressed folklore dancers. The waiters are very attentive and again we didn't find the drinks too expensive. My daughter and I did tend to spend most of our evenings at the hotel mainly because we didn't fancy wandering around at night on our own being two women together. Nevertheless, we felt very safe in Madeira and during the day explored the island on our own and had some very informative taxi rides.

The Riu Palace Madeira was launched in July 2001, and it still feels unspoiled, fresh and spotless. Riu Hotels and Resorts is a Spanish company, established in 1953 starting with one small hotel in Majorca, and in the past fifty years Riu has developed across the world. The Manager of the Riu Palace Madeira has been there since it opened along with at least 80% of his staff which says a lot for the working conditions. From the domestic staff right up to the management you find friendly, discreet, personal staff who will go out of their way to ensure you have a fantastic holiday. However you spend your time at the Riu Palace you will definitely go home feeling refreshed and revived and longing to return.

Although as I said Madeira does appear to be very popular with the older age group, I would recommend both this hotel and island to anyone who enjoys travel. This is a review of the Riu Palace Madeira, the island itself will need a review of its own.
Thankyou
Helen

Summary: A fantastic holiday for all ages