Rio Calma Hotel

Just got back from the Rio Calma and I have to say that it was almost faultless. The only thing that let it down was the poor quality of the evening entertainment and total lack of any entertainment after 10 pm. I think that the former point could be due to the very low numbers of guests which were there, due I think to the credit crunch. The room was good, but I didn't book a balcony which was, in hindsight, a mistake. The architecture and gardens are both amazing with everything from an indoor arboritum to a water fall, a man made beach and Spanish style piazas. The food (buffet syle) was first rate and all the staff were extremely friendly and helpfull. Was it worth the money? Yes and No! Our holiday cast approx. £200 each more than if we'd stayed at the Monica Beach (we've been there twice) and was only half board where as the MB would have been FB. On top of the holiday cost there was drinks in the hotel etc. which totalled to an additional £250. It was an experience but the Monica Beach offers better value and you could always go to the Rio Calma and use the superb mini golf (2€) and the health sweet (10€) or just walk round the gardens etc.

My wife and I stayed at the Rio Calma for two weeks in May '09. We were very impressed by the hotel, which is much the nicest in Costa Calma, and very probably in Fuerteventura. The gardens and facilities (pool etc) were truly outstanding, creating in a fairly barren island the impression of a beautiful lagoon. The service was likewise excellent, and whilst many of the staff have only basic English (reflecting the fact that the great majority of guests were German) they were unanimously helpful and friendly. The food is buffet style, and neither outstanding nor poor. The worst that can be said is that it is somewhat repetitive, and some of the menus are translated in such a way as to give little guide to the food actually on offer. The German translation may or may not be more accurate. Nightlife in Costa Calma is scanty. There are two bars at the hotel. The piano/cocktail bar is perfectly pleasant, but we found the "smoking bar" (although neither of us smoke) to have a lot more atmosphere, particularly on the nights when the excellent in-house entertainer (Tony Castells) was performing. The hotel is located around half a mile from the centre of the resort, and it is a stroll of a quarter mile to the nearest proper beach. This was no problem for us, but might be an issue for travellers with mobility problems or young children. There is, however, a resort bus to the beach at regular intervals. Costs at the hotel were pretty reasonable all round, but bottles of wine were a little expensive at dinner and the daily charge of 3 Euros to use the sunbeds on the fake beach area seemed to have the effect of rendering it deserted. Fortunately there were plenty of (free) sunbeds by the lovely pools. All in all, probably the nicest hotel in the Canaries that we know of.

I travel really a lot and visited many places /Mallorca, Portugal, Egypt, Rhodos, Crete and more.. usually 4 stars hotels/, but this hotel is the best I ever visited. They have few large swimming pools, salted lake with gold beach and view on Atlantic, Spa and welness inside /only 10euros for 3 hours/, food is always fresh and very tasty, rooms clean and large. Around hotel there is beautifull garden with flowers, palms and all plants You can imagine - great smell of flowers in the evenings. Hotel service is on the highest level - they really take care about quality of Your vocations and all are very cultural and always with smile. Inside building they have relaxing music created specially for hotel, also concerts /piano - Chopin music/ in the evenings, so You may sit with glass of martini and enjoy it. If You add to it view on Atlantic and architecture /it looks like every swimming pool and salted lake comes directly to Atlantic ocean, but it is not, only looks like that :).... then, yes I imagine it is exactly like in heaven. I really recommend this hotel and I am happy I could pay for my vocations for Rio Calma. It was pleasure for me and soon I want come back there :). Congratulations for people who created this hotel - thank You for the best vocations I ever had :). Eva Blaz

the pictures do not really show how lovely the hotel is. the food was great, something for everyone! lovely rooms, nice and clean and it had a good shower!!! the pools had beautfull views of of the sea! lots of sun beds! its a really beautifull hotel and perfect for a nice relaxing break away! the spa is nice to. little trouble sometimes with the staff, some of them didnt speek very good english but we did try and speek spanish so learn a few things before you go. the beach isnt far but ask how to get to it and maybe get a taxi. we got the buss and had no idea where to get off so then we got lost! but eventually found it and it was beautifull and had lovely white sand. its about 40mins drive from the airport. Over all it was a great hotel and i would go back again! im quite a fussy person and this was definetly what you would expect a 4* hotel to be like!

We are a young couple with a toddler. We went in march. Feurteventura is quite windy mostof the time and at this time of year with cloud cover it is quite chilly. Still managed to get a few hours of sunshine during the week but do not believe the hype that it is year round Hotel- positives Nice looking hotel. sort of Spanish Placa feel about the coastal elevations of the hotel Friendly waiters/hotel staff Clean lovely well kept gardens at their artificial beech lagoon style pool a program for younger kids is available Small selection of fish restaurants in Morro Jable but is 25 euro away in taxi piano bar and cocktail lounge Negatives beware everything costs extra beach towels 12euro (refundable deposit on each towel) 1 euro to change each towel to clean ones safety deposit box 12euro to rent non refundable poorly maintained games equipment cheesey night time entertainment production line large restaurant. self service restaurant- food selection good but generally not relaxing owing to the constant flux of people around you. They would be better doing more a la carte style service. food expensive at snack bars 6 euro for a tuna sandwich 2-3 euro for small packet of crisps. (local supermarkets also very dear) not good with current exchange rate. Absoultely no quality restaurants in Costa Calma. Beware any travel on a catamaran called Magic. 54 Euro P/person. Advertised as sailing full day with opportunity to take part in watersports- jet ski picture on advert. No Sailing was actually done despite good winds. the jib was put up fo 10-15 minutes the rest of the times was spent motoring back and forth a short section of coast. the watersports were not jet skis they were mask and snorkel trip time to boat >1hr collecting other people from hotels. time spent on boat 2 maybe 3 hours. enjoyment score 3/10 rip off score 10/10 overall It is a hotel geared towards Germans so expect this to permeate through everything from food through to entertainment- bizarrely I found myself trying to speak german to Spanish people. take both phrase books. Nice looking hotel in good grounds and gardens. If your satisfied with spending your time with a hotel complex then this hotel would probably not disappoint but the resort of costa calma is unenchanting and the surrounding landscape is either being developed into more hotels or completely devoid of greenery and life.(but if youare a geologist it might be interesting) resort good for windsurfing Would I stay in this hotel again :yes Would I return to this resort : no way

A very high quality hotel, 4* superior. Buffet food is great, better than I have read in other reviews. This is a large high end luxury german hotel. Dont expect staff to speak english as a second language but all were very very nice. Free champagne on arrival. I can't begin to tell you how much we liked this hotel! The gardens are huge, the pools are fantastic. The rooms are great. The views are amazing. The hotel staff always say hello. The chefs and catering staff are very efficient. its not for those looking for action but if your a young familly or a coupl elooking for a quiet high quality holiday you cant get better than this in my view. I got a quote online from Thomas Cook and then when inot my local store for a discount...so haggle. Top Hotel tips.... Go to lunch EARLY or VERY late, then do it on the outside dining area....heaven Buy some nuts from the local shops to feed the squirrels that live on the rocks. Wear walking shoes. The hotel is not in the resort but a short walk away. Top Costa calma tips... The cheapest food store is the Spar in the middle of the main road. Get the blue/yellow bus form outside the hotel to the end of the resort and walk back. its a nice stoll. Walk way way past the main beach, through the nudist beach and you will come out onto a bloomin MASSIVE beach were the kite surf guys go...very nice. The small market is on Sundays and its mainly for leather stuff and watches. Of course its not all real but who will notice. The exchange rate is terrible for us in the UK. Nothing is cheap.

The hotel Rio Calma is really a beautiful hotel : -The pool is perfect : clear and clean water, big, always free sunbeds. -The rooms are also great : spacious, confortable and clean with a nice bathroom. -The receptionists are smiling, efficient and are always there if you need help. BUT......... The food is a shame and some of the waiters aren't efficient at all. They don't salute you, they're not smiling, they "forget" to serve you drinks.... So, if you want to go there, don't take all inclusive (half board was already too much) and rent a car because it's far from everything!!

Spent one week at this hotel from end of December into January. I will start with the good points. Hotel communal areas are very well presented and spotlessly clean. Hotel rooms are also very clean, beds were comfortable and linen and towels changed with the frequency you would expect from a hotel of this standard. The gardens and bathing areas are spectacular as are the views. Food served in the hotel dining room was to a very high standard. Always plenty to choose from for breakfast and dinner. Champagne available every morning with breakfast. The gala dinner on New Years eve was fantastic with lobster and caviar being served up for starters. The hotel also charges very reasonable prices for cocktails and mini bar in room. Now for the glitches. The dining room service left a lot to be desired. Staff struggling to clear and reset tables and drinks service sporadic. There appeared to be issues around cutlery and on several occassions we were told no knives available as none clean! Food options between breakfast and dinner time are limited to the pool bar. The menu was limited and service poor - again waiting staff appeared to be struggling. The a la carte restaurant was also something of a mystery. We would have liked to have tried this for our wedding anniversary. However on enquiring we were told you need a reservation. No problem - could we see a sample of the menu? No no you need to book first was the reply. After several failed attempts at finding out what what delights the a la carte restaurant actually served we gave up and opted for the buffet. Final point - the room decor is chintzy and not a plasma TV in sight (althought we did have a standard room). All in all a good hotel that I would recommend for rest and relaxation.

We have just returned from an excellent holiday in Costa Calma. The second 8 nights were spent at the Rio Calma hotel and we had a fantastic time! On a previous visit to the resort my wife and I had walked to Rio Calma and had both been amazed at the spectacular views and quality of the building. The hotel is not featured in any UK travel brochure ( no tour operators appear to go there) but I found their website earlier this year. I found their website and then a UK site called MedHotels - their rates were good as was the service and they were better priced than booking direct with Rio Calma. So we had high expectations! We had our two teenage daughters with us and went for the full board option with two rooms with sea view balconies. The whole building is breath taking - from the moment you enter reception. Rooms good - a little chintzy for my taste but comfortable beds, good bathroom with bidet and min bar. You can get connecting rooms, with a single "front door", which we would ask for on our next visit. We had not expected many Brits but were surprised to be the ONLY Brits staying - the rest were German, Spanish or Italian. This could be a problem for some people I guess, but we were happy. Staff speak English well enough and the quality of customer service, quality of catering, amount of staff keeping everywhere spotless is possibly due to the demands of our mainland European customers! Buffet catering isn't always the ideal way to enjoy meals but the Rio Calma proved that theory wrong! No allocated meal sittings or tables; you can eat indoors or if you prefer out in the garden area and we never felt rushed at all, Food is very very good - we liked the small touches at Breakfast such as chilled Cava and a Chef dedicated to making fresh fruit smoothies! Choice of salads and cold food was excellent as was the daily show cooking of meat, fish and several times king prawns. Previously in the Canaries we have felt puddings to be poor - lots of fluff and decorated sponge cakes. Here things had much more taste and substance. There is no all inclusive option and so you need to budget for all drinks and snacks - Entertainment was not good in the evenings - a dedicated room but with poor stage and for some reason bad lighting and sound system - and lack luster performers one group who appeared more than 4 times in 8 days! Not a major problem for us but something that one would expect the management to address? Pools are wonderful- to be honest the photographs fail to do them justice nor the amazing flowers and shrubs that fill the gardens. Plenty of sunbeds and I have to say, few reserved in advance which was great! The Gym, squash courts and aerobic space are all good and we all enjoyed a few hours at the Spa. All in all we think this is the best hotel we have stayed in and honestly recommend that more Brits take the plunge and go stay. We will certainly be back there very soon.

I stayed in the Rio Calma in September 2005 and had a great time there. Friendly staff, great food, nicest pool area I have ever seen, clean rooms.. I really enjoyed staying there and will certainly return