HL Rio Playa Blanca Hotel

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 Broken "Non-Gym": The gym equipment is outdated and the treadmill was completely broken.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.

Louise Hutchinson

I rarely leave negative reviews, but this hotel was genuinely one of the worst experiences I’ve had. From the moment we arrived, it was clear cleanliness and maintenance were not a priority. The room had clearly not been cleaned properly. There were what looked like period blood stains on the blanket, a dirty bathroom brush left out of its holder, and even nausea and diarrhoea tablets left behind from previous guests. We also found a bag full of sand inside one of the drawers, proving the room had not been checked before our arrival. To make matters worse, there were bugs in the shower. The bathroom smelt strongly of mould and damp throughout the stay. The ceiling was peeling and pieces of it actually fell into my hair several times while using the bathroom. The bed sheets were ripped, and despite paying for a double bed, we were given two single beds pushed together that constantly moved apart. Privacy was almost non-existent. The only thing separating our room from the neighbours was what felt like a standard internal door, meaning we could hear every conversation and even intimate moments. Cleaners would also enter the room without warning, even while we were in the shower shouting that the room was occupied. The food was absolutely disgusting. Eggs at breakfast were green, glasses looked dirty enough that I genuinely questioned whether they had been cleaned, and overall hygiene standards were shocking. We ended up spending over £300 eating out elsewhere because the food was inedible. The “all inclusive” package was also misleading. The pool bar regularly ran out of drinks by around 1pm, and unless you wanted straight vodka, many drinks required extra payment. There was also a horrible fish/feet smell coming from the pool bar area most days. Security was concerning too - it seemed anyone could walk into the hotel grounds without going through reception. The pool closed at 6pm every evening, leaving very little to do at night. Finally, even basic room design made no sense — there were five different light switches seemingly controlling the same light. Overall, the hotel was dirty, poorly maintained, lacked privacy and hygiene, and did not deliver what was advertised. I would absolutely not recommend staying here.

kathryn Loder

We have stayed at rio playa blanca twice and booked a third for end of november,rooms were cleaned by housekeeping daily apart from fridays. We had no issues with the all inclusive food,breakfast lots of choice,fresh fruit,yogurts,cooked breakfast,pancakes,and more Im a fussy eater and always found something to eat. Grounds were lovely and clean,well designed,if we had any issues the hotel sorted things straight away. We stayed in the master suite with the jacuzzi,when we asked the hotel if the jacuzzi could be cleaned,the safe key didnt work in our safe,we reported it,a new lock was sorted asap. Looking forward to coming back in november.