Hotel Rio Playa Blanca

The hotel is about a 10 minute walk to the nearest beach, and 15-20 minutes to the harbour, where the shops and bars are. Although our transfer took 2 hrs, it is not actually that far from the airport, our return journey took only 40 mins - a very pleasant journey through the mountains. We took a trip to fuerteventura, at 20 euros each, good value and a trip worth taking. A taxi to the harbour was only 3.45 euros.

The staff at the Rio are all friendly and helpful, they tried to understand the majority of people, and some did speak a variety of languages.
Our bungalow was cleaned daily, and the maids helpful and friendly

There is one main restaurant at the Rio, snacks etc served near the pool. The restaurant offers a wide variety of food, a wide selection of meat dishes, and vegetarian dishes, and always a good selection of side dishes, and one night a bbq. Breakfast was always nice, with plenty of choice. Desserts were always really nice, plenty to choose from. The snacks usually consisted of burgers/sausages/salads/pasta/chips or potatoes, and then later in the afternoon ham/cheese/salads and cakes were served. The food in general is quite good, and we never went hungry! The dining room can at times be very busy, and on some occasions we would find there were no cutlery, plates, glasses or cups, but if we asked a member of staff, they were replaced quickly. Also at busy times the dining area could be quite dirty, but the staff were constantly working to tidy and clean as people were leaving their tables. Beer/wine/tea/coffee/water/soft drinks all help yourself!

The animation team at the Rio were very good, although my daughter was too old for kids club, I did notice that plenty of children were attending and seemed to be having a good time. Aqua aerobics every morning in the pool, and many pool games throughout the day, but they weren't too pushy if you didn't want to participate. The evening entertainment was quite good, the kids had fun, and then the general family entertainment started, which was usually quite good, much better than I have seen at some hotels. Most nights the entertainment finished by 11pm, and then music played until around 12, which we didnt stay for, but neither did we find it a nuisance. The pool area was okay, but people should remember that it can be very windy, so rubbish needs to be cleared away quickly, or can end up in the pool! The pool was quite cold, but refreshing on hot days!

Our bungalow was very spacious, with a separate bedroom, kitchenette, dining area and lounge. The furniture was a little outdated but clean. There was a TV but we didn't use it! The terrace area was quite large and private. We did rent the safety deposit box, however this was broken and wouldnt lock, we reported this immediately, and every day for 3 days! when it was eventually repaired, taking around 10 mins to fix! Later that day a complimentary bottle of wine was left in our room for the inconvenience we had suffered, however, we were all inclusive and had access to as much wine as we liked! We weren't reimbursed for the days that we had paid rental, although had no use of the safe

On the whole our holiday was very good value for money, and we enjoyed our time at the Rio. The hotel is very family orientated, so if couples are to go here, then I would probably recommend going during term time.