Hotel Riu Palace Maspalomas

At the gateway to the dune field

The Riu Palace Maspalomas is at the top of Playa del Inglés, on Avenida de Tirajana, right where the dune field begins. Many rooms face the sand and the sea. Next door is the dunes viewpoint, the most convenient entrance to the reserve, and inside the building itself the Canary Islands Government has the visitor centre, with panels and videos about how the dunes formed. The beach is about 800 metres away, down across the sand, and the centre of Playa del Inglés about two kilometres. From Gran Canaria airport it takes 30 to 40 minutes by car.

Adults only and half board

It is a five-star hotel of the RIU Palace brand, adults only, with 367 rooms whose interiors were refurbished in 2021. It operates on half board, not all-inclusive: breakfast and dinner are in the price, lunch is not. Breakfast is served in the Dunas restaurant, with a buffet and live cooking; in the evening there are also themed restaurants, such as Krystal, and an à la carte one. There is a pool bar and a lobby bar, and a programme of shows and live music. The RIU Party nights are held at another hotel in the chain, the Riu Gran Canaria.

Rooms and prices

The website publishes the standard double from €163, the double with sea view from €189 and the superior junior suite, with Balinese beds, from €277, depending on dates. There is an adapted room, also from €163.

Pools, spa and bicycles

Two outdoor pools, heated in winter, with loungers in the water, a chill-out terrace and sun deck. Spa with massages and treatments, and a gym. Free wifi throughout the hotel, laundry service, bicycle hire and parking, charging points and hire of electric or hybrid cars. It lets you check in online and offers transfers. Check-in is at 15:00 and check-out at 12:00. The website does not make clear whether there is parking for cars: ask if you are arriving in your own.

By the GC-1 or on bus 5

From Las Palmas, take the GC-1 south to Playa del Inglés. Without a car, Global bus 5 links Las Palmas with Playa del Inglés and the Maspalomas Lighthouse. On foot from the hotel you have the crossing of the dunes and, about twenty minutes towards the centre, La Palmera Sur for a weekend lunch outside the half board.