Hotel Riu Chiclana All Inclusive

Had a fantastic stay at this hotel, everything was spotlessly clean, I noticed a pair of tongs dropped by a guest while they were getting food and this was noticed and picked up by one of the chefs in seconds and replaced immediately, rooms very clean, big comfortable beds, pool very clean...food was great, very varied and well cooked, veal steaks, king prawns, marinaded meats etc, didn't feel the need to go to the specialist restaurants as there was more than enough in the regular ones. Lots of sunbeds with big parasols and shady areas. Separate pool areas to cater for different needs, some quiet and some not. Cruzcampo beer on tap, lots of choice of spirits. Staff always very polite and welcoming, always said hello when passing them. Nice beach, with lifeguards and a couple of bars that serve Estrella at around 5 euros a pint, sunbeds on the beach are outrageously priced at 25 euros going up to 70 euros for the 'fancy' ones but this is nothing to do with the hotel. When we went atmosphere was very chilled out and didn't see any unpleasantness mentioned by other reviews although did notice a couple of people smoking dope, it's semi legal in Spain and was no big deal to us. Couple of security staff floating around at all times and everything felt very safe and normal. Definitely recommend a stay here.

Great location at a lovely resort. Clean rooms and staff were very friendly. Food was good and adequate selection. Plenty of sunbeds and nice clean areas around the pool. Parking was excellent at 5 euros a night accross the road. Here are some negatives which I witnessed throughout the day. Many smokers just threw their cigarettes on the floor prior to entering the restaurant. More vigilance is needed as many people have little respect and it would benefit from more security patrols to combat this needless disgusting behaviour. More vigilance is needed in the gym too where young teenagers without access wait for someone to leave and enter as someone leaves only to abuse the equipment and run on the treadmill in flip flops. A hotel of 4**** should have a person monitoring the gym for health and safety purposes, otherwise accidents will happen. My criticism does not diminish the enjoyable stay we had but small changes make big differences.

Just came back from a 7 night stay here and we were overall left disappointed. Firstly the positives: the rooms are very clean and spacious and suited our needs (2 adults, 3yr old and 1yr old). The main buffet restaurant had good food, there is something for everyone even though it can become repetitive if you're staying longer than 4 nights. Now for the negatives... The restaurants that you can book for dinner are not restaurants but also buffets so doesn't feel like other hotels we have been where you are served from a menu. The kids club was always closed with barely any classes going on,this was one of the main reasons we had booked because our 3yr old enjoys activities during the day. The soft play was also closed at times during the day. When we did want our daughter to attend a class we were told as she was not 4yrs old she was not allowed, all other resorts we have been to have allowed us to sit with her if she wanted to attend but she couldn't attend anything leaving her quite upset. The kids disco in the evening was the same thing every evening, same songs and not enjoyable after the second night - they need to be more creative here. There were few places where you could relax at the resort, only the 24hr lounge, which was quite small. We found staff were not very friendly or welcoming. The resort is about 50mins from Jerez airport by coach and in the middle of nowhere, but you can take a cab into the local town, which some tourists did.Overall, we have visited much better resorts and unfortunately it has put us off staying at a Riu again...