The lobby of the Riu Bravo in Playa de Palma, between Arenal and Palma, is very inviting. It is billed a 4 star hotel. It is wonderful in many ways.
When you drive up to the hotel, this is your first view. It is on a very narrow street only a block from the beach. The beach has a walkway stretching for miles. Most shops were closed during December when we went there. The beach was all but deserted.
We had a simple double room. All of Mallorca seems to use this bed arrangement of sliding two twin beds together. We had a small table and chairs, a balcony, and even a fridge.
Our food plan was all-inclusive. We were assigned a table for supper for our family. At breakfast and lunch we chose where to sit. There were numerous buffet stations set up around the room. We always felt there was lots of variety. Most of it was very, very good.
This is the view of a lounge off the main lobby. This one is open only in the evening. The main lounge has sodas, coffee, water, and an active bar all day long. The all-inclusive plan allows you to drink freely all day.
In the lobby there is a computer with internet for public use. It takes 1 Euro for 12 minutes, or 2 Euros for 30 minutes. Since my mother was very sick during our stay, this was worth every Euro.
There is a nice enclosed game room off the lounge for card playing. The front desk has cards. They also have ping pong paddles/balls, volley balls, and balls for boules/bacci ball to play outdoors.
Every night there is an activity or live music with dancing. We got a kick out of playing bingo twice. Also flamenco dancers were excellent.
The bathroom is very, very simple. All white with black granite counters. You see the European bidet, too.
The halls are impressive with nice wood doors. During our stay we found it to be pretty quiet, but you could hear your neighbors in muffled tones.
When you walk outside the back door of the lobby, this is your view of the pool area.
We came in December and it was too cool to be in the outdoor pools. See the stools and tables under water?In December we found mostly elderly British and German clientel. It was not full. It was quiet and restful. In the summer we are told there are lots of young people and it can really rock.
There is an indoor pool and also a spa area with a jaccuzzi, a sauna, a Turkish steam bath, and other types of water therapy. Americans be aware that Europeans tend to go to the sauna in the nude! It was quite a shock the first time for our son!
You can see that there is a balcony with every room, This is the back view from the pool.
Here is the view from the balcony of a 5th story room.
Would we come back here to stay? Yes, definately yes!
http://www.riu.com/en/hotel-riu-bravo-majorca.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187463-d272954-Reviews-Hotel_Riu_Bravo-Palma_Majorca_Balearic_Islands.html This website has quite a few reviews on this hotel. Most are very positive. We found the reviews to be quite informative and accurate. We will also post a review.
For more information about all-inclusive vs half board, please see the blog on Mallorca: Getting there.
