Hotel Riu Palace Maspalomas

My guest book entry

I was disappointed to find out that my hotel did not have a guest comments book in which to praise the service, ambience and standard of the hotel.

They regularly conduct surveys managed by 3^rd-party agencies which serve their purpose but there is nothing like having a book to put down your thoughts and specifically mention people who have made your stay extremely wonderful.

The nearest guest commentary forum one can find for the hotel is probably the one in online at TripAdvisor.com – here, we find that of the 105 hotels reviewed by customers in Playa del Inglés, Riu Palace Maspalomas comes first.

First out of many

They come first for many reasons, for me it is like home away from home with every member of staff geared to provide you the maximum ease and the absence of stress or tension to make your stay wonderful.

It is down to the quality of service of the staff at reception where they would bend over backwards to serve, the concierges who have all information you require in at least 4 languages, the maître‘d at the restaurant who ensures every single whim and desire is catered for through waiters and waitresses who have a commitment to service and brings the utmost satisfaction.

It is impossible to have a complaint that cannot be seen to and sorted out before you have had time to complete your sentences about the issue.

Back again and again

It is my second time at this hotel, I was first here in September 2007 for 16 nights and now for 15 nights with this being my last night.

The staff can confidently tell you to come back again because before you leave you are already planning your return as well as informing others that there is no better place to be in Playa del Inglés than the Riu Palace Maspalomas hotel.

Its designation is 4 star, I am convinced it is more 5 star, but that is beside the point, these people have perfected the art of hospitality it is seamless in delivery and without peer in execution.

Home away from home

I am always glad to arrive in the comfort and care of the people who run this hotel and always saddened to realise my holiday is so soon over – I cannot leave without the promise of return.

It is so homely, I am known by name from afar, my needs are met with an excellence that has not been equaled in any other hotel I have stayed at and I have stayed in many hotels.

Mention should be made of Javier the day manager, whose affable, professional and courteous attention to all matters has no equal, you can chat to him about anything and expect that he has answers ready or will make things happen – he fully understands his guests and his latitude of initiative magnificent.

In the restaurant, Pepe and Elio are your men, they are knowledgeable, responsive, understanding and extremely friendly – they absorb your pains and give you such great delight – the food is made all that more wonderful by a service that you would be at pains to fault.

My verdict

If I cannot find a room in this hotel, I would not visit Gran Canaria.

One had to laugh when an old German couple who had been staying at this hotel for the past 8 years arrived one afternoon and tried to bump off other guests from a section of the pool by saying that was their place whenever they stayed at the hotel – whilst no one paid any attention to them, it is nice to know that this hotel can provide you a favourite and coveted place that you want to return to.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I commend to you Riu Palace Maspalomas, a most excellent hotel with the most exquisite service, your home away from home and a place once visited would keep you coming back.

The underbelly of living in Gran Canaria

Between holiday and life

For many of us who holiday in the sun and after the holiday dream of moving to those climes away from the dreadful weather of our humble abodes, we have to temper our fantasies with reality.

Many have moved to Gran Canaria, first for the weather and then for a seemingly sedentary life, it is anything but sedentary.

I have seen businesses all around the place that look like the owners are just getting by, the Paradise is lost in the struggle to eke out a living; tourists are not necessarily fair game, if you think about it.

Young people come to the island but are at the mercy of employers who work the system and take advantage of them with rotten contracts and threats of being kicked out for even cheaper staff.

One thing you cannot expect of cheap staff is good service except if they have a naturally friendly disposition.

From servile to service

When I stayed at Riu Papayas over Christmas which for all intents of classification is a 4* hotel, the service and staff were no where in the class of those in the sister Riu Palace Maspalomas where I first stayed in September.

The care and attention to the detail of comfort and satisfaction is beyond compare, one thing these people are good at is making you at ease and addressing every single issue you raise with professional and personalised attention.

It would appear many aspire to work at the Riu Palace or Riu Grand Palace brand of hotels, regardless of the pay, the people feel part of the system that compels you to return again and again.

Dilemma of the young and old

I overheard a conversation yesterday where a young man had a generally comfortable contract to do a show a few times a week for a nightly fee. It would appear employer likes his activities that he has asked the young man to do more shows but instead of an improved nightly fee, he is to be put on a fixed hourly rate.

On the one hand, he would have a stable income but it does not mean that he would be well off compared to if he retained the basic nightly pay-per-appearance fee. The young blonde head was in a dilemma, but these are some of the stark realities people face in the heat of the sun.

Just up the road, Dino's Trattoria, a bistro which looks like a tents and canopies on a balcony (definitely not built for the rain), I sometimes wonder if that was really his idea of coming out here, but he does have patronage and he probably does take occasional breaks in the sun, sitting beside his bistro.

Catching the dream through adversity

Then, the other day, I visited the bar that offers free WiFi connections and realised the ever so friendly chap whose friendliness and dynamism had him running the bar alone during the day was not in.

There are new faces, younger bodies and really not too excited people; a few days later, I saw the friendly chap, he was dressed as a tour director, I did not get to speak to him but thought to myself, people can have dreams and they can come true.

When I finally chatted to him this morning, I realised there was nothing like adversity to help you take those difficult steps to success – his boss in the ploy to hire cheaper, younger staff accused him of pilfering from the till; he left that employment but also decided to take the employer to court for trying to ruin him.

In the meantime, he got a job as a tour director with his own car and as he spoke to me, he radiated with confidence and assuredness that this was always what he wanted to do – it was his happiest and most fulfilling job.

I could only be glad for him, encourage him and congratulate him patting him on the back and telling him to live his dream to the full – the ex-employer might learn a tough lesson – not every young man can be taken for a fool, they also have rights and can seek legal redress for wrongs.

Living in Gran Canaria

It is possible that the case would embolden many others who no doubt have been wronged and have employers think twice before they play tyrant.

Holiday in Gran Canaria is one thing, living and working here is a completely different story, like James Brown said in Living in America, even in Gran Canaria someone somewhere along the way would find out who they are.

Tenerife tomorrow arranged by staff so good

Hard graft planning

It has been drama, disappointment and delight trying to arrange a trip to Tenerife, only determination and the exquisite service of the staff at the Riu Palace Maspalomas saved the day.

On Thursday, I tried to arrange a trip through LastMinute excursions and there was no one at the other end of the phone to sort it out.

I then went to a tour arranger on Friday who struggled to make the arrangement only to find out that I could not travel on the days I wanted and had to wait a week.

When we finally got to the detail, they would not pick me up at my hotel and the pick-up time was set for 05:31 in the morning despite the fact that their brochure indicated 07:31 – I eventually gave up on that arrangement.

A basic trip round the island was also too difficult for them to setup; it made one wonder what business they were in.

Arranged but cancelled

So, I returned to my hotel reception where there concierge was able to setup the VIP Tour of the island for Saturday and the trip to Tenerife/Loro Parque for Tuesday – today.

I dropped my keys at reception on Monday well after 15:00, but when I returned, there was a note for me indicating the trip had been cancelled.

I was not impressed and this was supposed have been arranged by another outfit called Ultramar Express – we were go nowhere either slowly or by express by all accounts.

No one could tell why the trip had been cancelled, that is not to say that it was also going to be an early pick-up at 05:35 in front of my hotel.

In the face of all that, I would have been able to have an early breakfast and a late cold dinner when we returned, but it did not happen and so my story.

They offered a simple Loro Parque tour for Wednesday which would have been just as good as a day out to the zoo, I wanted more, so I cancelled.

Service I cannot only praise

The manager however agonised about how to help, at one time I had the idea of going for a night to Tenerife and I went to see a travel agent recommended by the hotel – the travel agent was busy fixing a new air-conditioner so could not do anything till the afternoon.

As I returned to the hotel, the manager had already spoken to a tour director to see if I could join one of their arrangements to Tenerife that includes the Loro Parque, in fact, all had been arranged and it only required my assent.

He had the cash and all the necessary stuff ready when he came to speak to me and offered to introduce me to the tour director in my own time. I immediately took up the offer and it was all done in less than 5 minutes.

New pickup time – 07:20 on Wednesday and the guarantee of a late dinner when we return at just before 22:00.

Staff this good

You cannot get staff this good in any place but where they are well paid, well catered for and recognised as assets to the company – there is no doubt that it is the staff that creates the opportunity for repeat visits to these luxurious establishments.

I am utterly delighted and pleased; I do not expect to hear the tour has been cancelled but then, let us not tempt fate.

Stable table tablet

Motion the table

Even I could not believe my presumed luck when I got to table 38 and found it had been occupied by other guests. Either the guests strayed from their allocated seats or the bumbling waiters were about to exceed the bounds of incompetence.

So, I walked back to the entrace to inform the usher that my table had been occupied - like yesterday, I was not believed again, so I was escorted to my table first to confirm that I knew what the number 38 looked like and then when they realised their error the guests were moved to another table a good 20 metres away.

We can assume it wasn´t the guest who strayed but a conspiracy at work to deprecate the quality of my holiday through the seating plans in the dinner restaurant.

I got served still water instead of sparkling water sprained my neck trying to attract the waiter to change the damned thing to what I asked for - easy now.

I love lobsters and I was sat close to the sea food table, but the lobster I saw was sat at the table in front - red as the glow of hot coals, the crustacean (Caucasian) had definitely gotten seriously sun burnt or was in a continuous state of embarrasment.

Then this lady - no lady at all really - barged in to get at the potato wedges and it was obvious she had never been in a kitchen, she struggled with the spoon and after a minute of being observed by everyone literally shaking their heads, she got 2 potato wedges onto her plate - silently, we all felt sorry for her husband.

Our maître d' now averts his gaze when he walks past my table, however, the other waiters are warming up to the fact that they are in the hospitality industry - a good few tourists would have left the island after Christmas, I might find myself asking to be moved from this hotel to one I know really does care about its guests.

Or I just need to take a good chill pill and overlook this part of what is essentially an opportunity to relax and get rejuvenated for the new year.

Canary Droppings

Fawlty Towers

Yes, I finally got to my new table but not without event. I looked quite different and that not my tan – I was in African garb, a white kaftan with matching trousers.

As we were ushered in, I was about to ask one of the waiters for where my table was since I missed breakfast and did not have the presence of mind to check that out yesterday night and I missed breakfast on Christmas morning.

The maître d’ I had seen the previous two nights was a stand-in, the bigger Big Ben was back and singled me out asking if I had a table. Yes, I do have a table and the number is 38, which should have sufficed; the only thing was I did not know where it was.

But, our headmaster was not convinced, he wanted my room number which checked out right and no apology came after that.

Makes you wonder where these people get their training from or maybe I am an extra on Fawlty Towers and I have already had enough run-ins with Basil and Manuel – at least Manuel learnt English from a book, these people are lacking in every bit of courtesy for a hotel that aspires to the standard it advertises.

I can see my write-up for TripAdvisor taking a very unflattering flavour and when I leave on the 9^th I wonder if a worthwhile tip would lighten my wallet, quite unlikely, the way things are.

Watching for time

As I returned to my hotel in the witching hour I could not help but notice that dotted around Playa del Ingles are neon signs that show the time, date and temperature. However, I do worry if the sign at the chemist is 20 minutes off, how can other information be trusted?

I would be very careful if I were to get my prescriptions from that chemist, nothing as dangerous as ingesting the wrong dose – maybe one can get the stomach pumped, but when injected, you better have a guardian angel who knows about antidotes.

As for time, I need to do something about my watch, it does dual-time and I switch to other regions using the world time function, the hour and minute hands however need to be advanced by the push of a button when one is on the Hand Adjust mode.

So far, my watch has not budged one bit for the hand adjustment so, I am reading two times and having to compute if I am where I am supposed to be – I think I should just get a plain watch, nothing fancy and probably one that self-winds, has automatic date adjust, shows moon phases, has a second hand and does dual time.

Gosh! I am back where I started again – I hate my watch being crowded out with all these functions which is why I got this one and now, hardly 3 months on, it is not exactly what I want.

My maître d'hotel is a car salesman

Stars without class

I have stayed in many hotels some have stars and some have class – one must confess compared to the Riu Palace Maspalomas where I stayed in September and regret not getting a room there this time, my current abode – also of the Riu brand – shares the same number of stars but has nowhere near the class.

I was late for dinner on my first night; just 25 minutes into what normally runs into 2 hours at what was essentially a buffet dinner and the reception had no sense to arrange for me to be accommodated considering it was the last session rather than the early dinner schedule.

Draft cooling curiosity

Then on the second night, I was put on a table near the entrance where the draft helped cool my food before my fork touched the plate, it was also a bit isolated – I like to make conversation with people around me – so when the maître d’ came round I asked for a table more in the middle of the restaurant which he promised to resolve the next night with the assurance that the table I was on for only for the night.

Imagine my disdain and discomfiture when I arrived yesterday night to be told I had been promised the new table for Wednesday – I could only see that the maître d’ was not so much a sophisticated well-bred host but a car-salesman in a tuxedo – the thought sent shivers down my spine.

Later he tried to make amends by grudgingly offering me table from the Christmas night until the end of my holiday somewhere in the middle that I have to find when the evening comes.

Buffets and society

Buffets bring out a lot in a place that brings together all sorts of people and one would expect that no matter what standing you have in life, when you join up to a social setting like a hotel resort, the very basic middle-class values are required like queuing up, taking your turn, serving yourself just enough and not mixing the serving spoons.

I am afraid to say I observed too much; the big bluff man who put the sardine serving spoon into the egg mayonnaise having jumped the queue and piled up the world on his plate or was it the lady who after getting her cream-cake dessert then poured some milk over it – Yuk!

Beyond that, some people look like they have just come from some ordeal of chronic starvation that they have four plates of all sorts in front of them – utterly dreadful gluttons they might as well be the kitchen waste-bins and never be satisfied.

Taking half-board accommodation on holiday has its benefits, you do not have to book restaurants or search for different kinds of cuisine, sometimes you end up doing your own cooking – really, not when one is on holiday – it is all inclusive apart from drinks and there is some routine to the whole thing. Care should be taken to appreciate the quality of the restaurant before making that decision though.

It is a microcosm of the good, the bad and the downright ugly – we all have a bit of that in ourselves and what we try to do is accentuate the good, eliminate the bad and hopefully conceal the ugly and try and make it beautiful, if we can.

The bulge of the balloon

Balloons, I love Christmas balloons – all colours and all shapes – but the ones I have seen were not blown up with air for Christmas but over years of careless ill-disciplined lives or sometimes plausible medical reason are blown up with lipids and fat.

Rather than be more discrete about show it off, they pour themselves into ill-fitting tight clothes that then give them ballooning characteristics, bulges in the wrong places – sights too shocking that one is almost compelled to protest vehemently for the assault to ones viewing space.

These people are in need of a serious resolution and they should not wait till the New Year to begin to shed half that weight and they would have barely hit the mark for being the right weight – the trouble we put our bodies through, 4 paces and panting like you’ve done a marathon – life can surely be better than that.

Now, I have nothing against people with Body Mass Indices over 25, some people are predisposed to that kind of anatomical development, this particular diatribe is directed at ones who delude themselves into wearing clothes multiple sizes smaller than their frame in the hope that something fantastic is happening – such self-delusion is typical of people who spend the first one hour in a gym for years and start looking in the mirror – it is a body not plastercine.

To bring some Christmas cheer, the sun is out, it is about 24° Celsius and time to top up my tan.

Have a Merry Christmas and keep an eye on the turkey.