Riu Tikida Palmeraie

"We stayed here for 7 nights as a group of eight (6 adults and 2 children) across three rooms and overall our experience was mixed. The Rooms All three of our rooms were on the ground floor. Two were perfectly fine, but one was in very poor condition — a broken light, faulty door handle, fridge door hanging off, broken safe and a dirty bidet. That same room also had bugs inside, while the other two rooms didn’t. We reported all the issues to reception three times over three days and waited in the room for someone to come, but no one ever showed up. Only the fridge was replaced (on day three). Towels often smelled unpleasant, and our bedding was never changed until we removed it ourselves. Also, the separate toilet room had a terrible smell, so bring an air freshener if you can! Food & Drinks The restaurant, snack bar, and bar staff were all fantastic – super friendly, helpful and always smiling. The animation team were also amazing, really energetic and welcoming. Food was okay but quite carb-heavy. There was meat, though often overcooked and dry. On the plus side, everything seemed properly cooked and clean. We also tried the Italian à la carte restaurant, and the food there was really nice – a nice change to the buffet and the staff were very attentive throughout our meal. For drinks, make sure to ask for alcohol in cocktails, otherwise you’ll just get juice. Cups are small, so it’s worth bringing your own bottle. You get three bottles of water in your room each day, which is handy for the pool. Facilities & Grounds The grounds are beautifully maintained, and the pool area is large and relaxing with plenty of space – it never felt overcrowded. We had no problem getting front-row sun loungers by the pool to watch the kids each morning when we went down around 7:30am. However, the public toilets really need attention. Most of the flush buttons were missing, several soap dispensers were gone from the walls, and some taps didn’t work. One tap in particular was very hot, which could be dangerous for a child – I had to stop my own child from using it after realising how hot it was. Shuttle & Medina Tips If you use the free shuttle to the Medina, be careful on arrival – some “guides” may start walking with you and then expect payment. A few quick tips: • Don’t take photos of animals unless you’re ready to pay. • Avoid if you’re sensitive to how animals are treated. • Skip the fresh juices – they’ll likely upset your stomach. Overall This hotel has a lot going for it: lovely staff, beautiful grounds, and a relaxing atmosphere. However, the poor room maintenance, bugs in one of our rooms, neglected public toilets, and lack of follow-up from reception really let it down. With better attention to maintenance and guest issues, it could easily be a fantastic place to stay. Shoutout to Sifo, Mad and Kali on the animation team. Always happy, always make time to talk to you and ask if you need anything. And also to Anime, the reception area bar man - absolutely brilliant."

"Disappointing. Rooms for from main area. Breakfast good but lunch and dinner poor. Drink measures a joke so small. Have stayed in Riu hotels before but this not up to standard."

"Positive - Lovely staff, nice public spaces, good food. Huge rooms with comfy beds. Never had a problem getting a sunbed or umbrella. Great reasonably priced massage. Huge pool. Shuttle bus to medina which is definitely worth visiting. Big shout out to Chadi on main reception and the bar staff who were really friendly Negative - buffet restaurant repetitive, “a la carte” restaurants were buffet and we were unable to get a table during the 4 days we stayed. Alcohol all local brands and small measures (pick up some duty free to take), although bigger measures were provided on request. Public toilet areas were not good - broken soap dispenser for our full stay in main reception, broken taps, broken flush mechanisms, no lights, lack of toilet paper. Some Reception staff in spa were rude. €80 to keep the room on 4 hours. All in all we enjoyed our 4 day stay but not the standard we expect of RIU"