Hotel Riu Palace Calypso - Adults Only

We have just returned from a week's holiday to the Calypso. Check in was quick and efficient with a welcome glass of fizz. Our room on the eighth floor was spotless (as was everywhere else in the hotel), spacious with loads of storage space. When we went out to the (huge) balcony we couldn't believe the view. Wow! The hotel is on a promenade with steps down to the most gorgeous beach. It stretches for miles and is so unspoilt. I miss our morning strolls. We knew this was a mainly German hotel. It wasn't a problem for us, most of them were friendly and polite. There were plenty of sun beds at the pool although, as usual, some were reserved early. We enjoyed the food. There was a large choice at breakfast and dinner. We never had a bad meal. The staff are all friendly and work so hard. We only saw the entertainment a couple of nights. I agree with an earlier reviewer who said it was a bit 'Eurovision'. It was fun though and everyone seemed to enjoy it! There are a few bars and restaurants in Morro Jable. It was busy during the day but quiet at night. Some nights we walked to Jandia, about 10-15 minutes away. It was busier with designer shops and a few bars. We had a lovely, relaxing holiday and would love to return, especially to see the hotel after the refurb.

Having stayed at the Riu Tres Islas in Corralejo every year for 20 years, we decided to have a change and chose the Calpyso mainly for it's 'adult-only' status. We were impressed from the moment of our arrival, about 9.00pm. We were greeted at reception by Juan Carlos who went over and above to help us - we can't praise him highly enough. The hotel is vast and after leaving our cases in the room we came down to have the cold dinner thoughtfully provided for us - and got completely lost! Perhaps a map of the layout of the hotel might be helpful on arrival - but again, Juan Carlos came to our rescue. The hotel is very impressive - the rooms and balcony are huge. And because of the way the hotel is built there is no-one immediately overhead - a huge plus to my mind. The food is excellent, although a more limited choice than the Tres Islas. It's slightly skewed in favour of German culinary tastes but it wasn't a problem at all. The guests are predominantly more mature Germans which we liked actually. You don't get distracted by listening to other English conversations, and the general atmosphere is peaceful and quiet. The only exception is the pool aerobics at 11.15am every day. It involves a lot of loud guidance by the very keen instructors and some very loud music. we would rather not have it, but it was entertaning to watch and only lasted 30 minutes. The lifts have been mentioned in other reviews - a funicular style because of the structure of the hotel. They could be a little slow occasionally but the lifts service 12 floors and if it has to stop at a number of floors it takes time. But you're on holiday - there's no hurry. and a funicular lift with a view over the sea is a plus. Morro Jable itself is a charming small town with a lovely atmosphere, and a very handy supermarket only 5-10 minutes walk away from the hotel. There's also a very nice promenade walk on the seafront outside the hotel. Now, the beach. There is a lovely, peaceful sandy beach immediately outside the hotel, but with no sunbeds or parasols. For those, it's a 10-minute walk further along, which is not a problem. It's an easy walk. For most of the first week it was fine - it was fairly peaceful. Then in the second week all hell seemed to break loose. There are two or three large hotels in close proximity to the sun beds and the music that was blaring out from them was almost unbearable. On one occasion there seemed to be a pop concert in the grounds with a Glastonbury-style stage having been erected. there were football match style cheers and shouting and one afternoon all three hotels were competing for sound volume. We left the beach at that point as it became unbearable, and after 4 days of loud music we didn't go back to the sunbeds, which was a shame because a beach holiday is one of the main things we came for. In summary, the hotel is fantastic, the staff are wonderful, the town is charming. It had pretty-much all we wanted. We would very happily go back if it wer