Beautiful, enjoyable with some mobility challenges
Rui Palace Pacifico.
We are seniors and have been on many all inclusive holidays, particularly in this area and we had a very enjoyable week long stay at the Rui Palace Pacifico. Our overall impressions were similar to many of the reviews here. Beautiful facility which is kept scrupulously clean, very pleasant, hardworking staff. No shortage of places to sit by the pools or on the beach, though they were, as a result, very tightly packed. Overall high standard of food, both in specialty restaurants and buffet. Constant stream of peddlers, and massage providers on the beach, who were not aggressive, but numerous. Hard to escape from the noise of activities during the day or the entertainment at night, which seemed to concentrate more on volume than quality.
I will concentrate on our impressions in two areas, the Elite Club and provisions for the mobility challenged.
Elite Club.
This began badly for us on arrival. Arriving on a bus from the airport, we were greeted by a bellboy who put our luggage in a central area with that of the other arrivals and took us the Elite Check in Station which was a desk in the Elite Bar. Unfortunately, it was unmanned. We sat there for about 15mins, watching our fellow bus riders being checked in at the front desk. Eventually, a gentleman came and proceeded to check us in and go through the privileges afforded Elite guests. We returned to our luggage which were by now the only bags left in the middle of the lobby with no bellman present. We waited for about 15 min. finally taking our luggage and searching successfully for our room on our own. This has never happened to us at any other resort/hotel we have visited over the years and started our stay on a downer.
That said, all the other privileges and experiences that came with Elite were first class and enjoyable. The room was beautiful with a full ocean view, the liquor dispenser had upgraded brands. We enjoyed using the Bali beds provided on the beach for elite guests and they were always available, though you had to be there early for one in the front row. The drink service was extremely good, particularly on days when Fernando was the designated server. Elite guests also had a special breakfast area on the balcony of the Steak House which had a small a la carte menu or you could go make your selection at the buffet nearby and bring it to your table. We found this a very pleasant and relaxing way to start our day, particularly if Hugo was the server. The Rui app allowed Elite guests to book restaurant reservations and this worked very well. The steak house seemed the only restaurant that had a significant lineup, so it was convenient to be able to make a reservation there. It was however a little uncomfortable when we showed up for our 6 pm reservation to wind our way through and past the lineup of about forty people to claim our reservation.
Perhaps due to this demand, we were startled when, halfway through our starter, our main course was placed on our table. It made the whole experience feel rushed rather than relaxed. This did not occur at the other restaurants which delivered a relaxing, fine dining experience. Is Elite Club worth the extra cost? Yes, in our case. We were there for sun and sand and the Bali beds provided that in spades and though we did enjoy the other perks, we wouldn't have paid the extra cost just for them.
Mobility.
My wife is mobility challenged and finds stairs very difficult, so we were on the look out for ramps and elevators to give us access to areas. The Pacifico is conscious of this need, as we found 4 ramps in the design. However, it would seem that little thought was given to how a person could use them efficiently. The only ramp, that is available to leave the main building to access the pools, beach and other facilities, is on the tip of the east wing. That forces anyone in the west wing to walk the length of that wing, across the lobby and up the length of the east wing, doable, but annoying. Just as annoying is, if you are in the steak house or buffet and you want to use the washroom, you cannot access the one directly below you unless you can negotiate two flights of stairs. If not, you have to walk back down the wing across the lobby to the nearest one of the only 3 public washrooms in the resort. The ramp access to the main pool however, is exceptionally good, a long slow slope with a railing suitable for wheelchairs or those needing just a little support. Accessing the beach is a little confusing. The main access is by two large sets of stairs. We were told at registration that that there was a ramp at the west side of the property, but the hotel didn't like guests using it as it was for access for the hotel's vehicles for beach supply and servicing. However, as it was the only way for us to access the beach and the Bali beds, which were, to us, the main plus of paying for Elite Club, we used it anyway and it was perfect. Access is just by the hotel side of the activity pool. Coming back, you just had to ignore the large sign saying it was only for the use of hotel staff. We loved the Bali beds, but were disappointed to find that the new beach washrooms were not designed for mobility access, requiring users to go down two sets of stairs, one with a rail and one without. If you couldn't manage these stairs, the nearest bathroom required a trek across the width of the beach, up the ramp, through the pool areas and finally down the ramp giving access to the bathroom in the main building by the gym. This required some prior planning. Once we were aware of all the factors involved, we were able to access everywhere on the resort, however, not conveniently. It was surprising that the recent renovations had not thought through how to make the resort conveniently accessible to those that need assistance.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and may return, though not for a long stay.
