HL Rio Playa Blanca Hotel

Kieran

Excellent hotel and perfect for a young family. I stayed last week with my wife and 2 young daughters. The room was great, spacious and very clean. The grounds are nice, the staff are extremely helpful and friendly. The food is great and in near constant supply. The baby pool was much appreciated, never had to worry about getting chairs and it’s a short walk from a beautiful beach. The negative reviews seem extremely picky and unappreciative. We had a great stay and thank you very much to everyone at HL Rio.

Daniells Clark

You only have to go to trip advisor to see genuine reviews. Spent 10 days here and wished we had listened to the warnings prior lucky it this meets the standards of a two star and it wasn’t cheap for us either. Major flaws with this hotel starting off with the one life guard to watch over two deep pools and one small baby pool. Most days you will find him hiding at the back behind sun loungers where he definitely can’t see the pools or if anyone was in danger. The odd time he will go up to the stand to look out normally only during water polo. Entertainment was one of the worst I’ve experienced staff not having the best of English most games during the day catered for older kids or adults then at night a quick 30min disco. Some nights alcoholic shots where poured by entertainment team as a welcome drink at the front door then they got left unattended when the show started meaning any chile could easily access these. Karaoke,quiz and bingo activities all around the pool bar which is a small area with two pools a stone throw away if kids are running about putting them in danger. Hotel lift was broken I had to carry two suitcases down the stairs myself, this issue with the lift being out of order has seemingly been going on for years. Cross contaminated at all the food stations is a massive issue. Chefs using the same utensils for everything not changing gloves either. Food isn’t replenished enough meaning you’re waiting for new stuff coming most times and the stuff that is out is over cooked or looks like it’s been out for more than it should. The smell from the bar is another massive put off it’s a mixture of sick and sour milk it puts you off wanting to order drinks. Not much option the slushes that are ok show aren’t included in the inclusive either. The room was like walking into a damp cave the first thing you noticed is the damp smell. The toilet leaked around the edges daily, bed shakes as legs felt like they were about to snap, bedding wasn’t changed in 10days. Towels where all bleach stains and any towels we had left to be changed as the instructions said where taking out the shower folded and put back up for us to use totally disgusting. Mould on every corner of the windows and In the shower groves.plugs hanging off really needs a good scrub. Hotel is so outdated with damage to all the floors, pools had green slime on the bottom and sides. Only seen one guy go around in the morning with a brush to get it off. Splash park again so dated needs lots of work to it and supervision as the small slide is really fast shoots the kids across the floor normally resulting in kids injuring themself as someone else comes flying out. The football pitch be very careful a lot of wires burst out around the same height as face area and very sharp if a kid ran into it. So gutted at how let down this hotel has been and I hope this review can help warn others of exactly what to expect of booking

David Halfar

👍 The Positives: Location: Great spot, only a 10-minute walk to the sea. Room: Our Suite was excellent—clean, private, and tucked away (though some standard bungalows looked damp with peeling paint). Wi-Fi: A solid 8/10. Sufficient and reliable enough for normal use. Great Staff: Special thanks to the barman Yeisson who was amazing, and entertainer Andrea, who masterfully handled every situation (including the "falcon"!). The buffet staying open outside main hours was also a big plus. 👎 The Negatives (Areas to Improve): Major Hygiene Issue: Birds fly freely inside the dining area, pecking at pastries and dirtying furniture/pool loungers. Netting is desperately needed. Food also became very repetitive after a week, lacking fruit variety (no avocado/watermelon). Plastic Waste: Massive waste of disposable paper cups. They should switch to reusable cups on a deposit basis, just like pool towels. Security: Anyone can walk into the resort from the street, making it easy for outsiders to eat in the dining room for free. Broken "Non-Gym": The gym equipment is outdated and the treadmill was completely broken. I had to run outside to Playa Blanca, Hacha Grande, and Montaña Roja. It’s better to have no gym at all than a broken one that ruins expectations. Pool & Activities: Nobody enforces the ban on inflatables in the swimming pool, forcing adults to swim through splashing kids who already have a huge splash pool. Organization of games was overcrowded (3 mins playing, 30 mins waiting), and the evening quiz has terrible visibility from the sides. Conclusion: Would we return? Probably yes, but the birds around the food are a major "no-no" for us. If management fixes the hygiene, maintenance, and kitchen staffing, this resort has great potential.

McDonald Oil

Rooms not properly cleaned, restaurant food very good and plenty of it. Restaurant was spotless. Staff very nice and friendly, interacted well with people, expecially the children. Entertainment very good, both for children and Adults. Hotel could fo with a good painting, fairly tired fir the amount you pay for holiday. Splash Area in particular could do with an uplift. Smell of suirage outside some of the rooms. Not good enough.

Mathew Mould

So i booked this for me and my girlfriend and my 9 year old daughter! Some of the reviews I read before going put me off! But it was fantastic, we really enjoyed the room as it was like our own private little bungalow, it had two shower rooms one normal one and one without a roof 😀 the hotel grounds were lovely full of plants and flowers! The pool area is decent and right next to the bar! The staff were lovely and helpful! The FOOD was brilliant, they had chicken legs, beef steaks, duck, fish, pork chops 😋 I love meat and they were plenty of it! To say it was an all inclusive family type buffet, we couldn't fault it honestly! Breakfast was decent with the usual stuff etc. The Breakfast window was good starting at 7:30am until 10am, then it was open for lunch at like 12:30pm until 3pm then 5pm - 7pm, and in-between they was a snack bar! But that was like ice cream, hotdogs and burgers (tbh it wasn't great) the snack bar was poor but the ice cream was good. If you want ice lolly's and like magnum ice creams etc you have to pay extra! The all inclusive drinks were OK but not brilliant as they were no cocktails you have to pay 5euro for a mojito. But lager (amstel) was decent and when the restaurant was open you can pour your own, they had sparkling wine bottles you can help yourself to. They were only one bar person working the pool side bar at any given time which ended up with people lining up! Which for me was the biggest downfall! They should of had 2 people on the bar atleast. You could get vodka and whiskeys etc but they were not branded. Id recommend buying your first drink for 5euro like a mojito (they give you a plastic cup instead of paper) then you can keep that and use it all day, and if you leave the mint leaves and lemon in the cup just ask them to top it up with bavardi and lemonade and it was like a free mojito pretty much. The entertainment was brilliant tbh they were great dancers and they put in Real effort. But theys no bar in the entertainment room so you had to walk a little bit to the bar, the bar stops all inckusive drinks at 11pm but opens until 12, so for the last hour they charge you for everything. They were a couple things like this which let it down! That's why I give it 4 stars and not 5, but all in all I would visit again! The flamingo beach is a 7 minute walk and the rubicon marina was only like 5.50 euro in a taxi so good location. It was better than I thought it was going to be based upon the reviews I read before arriving, so.if you've booked this DONT WORRY! You will have a great time, but you'll also like me, find a few things you would improve, but nothings perfect.