We spent eight beautiful days in Formentera, which is a terrific place with absolutely nothing to envy to more exotic destinations I have visited. You can save long haul flights and get to paradise in no time and with a much lower budget!!

The Riu is a beautiful hotel, set in a great location (the beach is - for me - one of the best of all the island), whose staff have fully understood the value of customer service.

Since we arrived, they made sure we were comfortable and happy. Our room was fantastic: very elegant, without being pretentious. The organization of the space was great for us adults and our two children. Plenty of wardrobes and drawers. The bathroom was also very nice, although a better ventilation system would be recommended as it has no windows.

Food was great quality too, even if - at breakfast - they could maybe improve the quality of cereal and yogurts. We were assigned a great table in the terrace, which we loved to go back to every evening (we had half board). Also the beach bar, in case of need during the day, offered a good choice of fresh and grilled meat or fish.

Before and after dinner, one could enjoy the hotel's roof terrace for aperitifs and coffes. It is really stunning and the atmosphere is really special.

Animation and kids club was also very good throughout the day and night. Stefano, one of the animators, deserves a particular mention: he is very funny, lively and so talented as an entertainer! My kids could not miss one waka-waka dance with him!

We rented quads bikes to go through the island and the service was impeccable, even when the battery of one of our bikes ran out. They came to where we were and helped us out in 10 minutes.

So, we could not fault it and would love to go back very soon!

Thank you to everyone at Riu. Keep it up! You are doing great.

The Rui is a nice hotel and is fitting of its 4 star status in my opinion. My only criticism would be the very hard beds which caused bruises it was that hard! Apart from that the room was lovely and so was the hotel.

The food was pretty much the same as any other 4 star I have stayed in before in the med. Plenty of choice and lots of it, not the best food in the world but certainly perfectly adequate. You will be allocated a table which you use the whole time you are there with the exception of breakfast as this seems to be sit where you like. In the restaurant other countries do not seem to understand the word queue and yes they will barge in front of you, but maybe its a British thing to wait patiently for your turn! Hardly the hotels fault that there are rude holiday makers staying there.

There was no loud music to keep you awake at night and all rooms looked liked they had a sea view which ours did and it was wonderfull falling asleep to the sound of the waves.

There were hardly any British people around and in fact we only heard one other couple speak English the whole week we were there! It is mainly occupied by Germans and Italians.

I loved formenterra and if you are prepared to walk you can find you own little bit of beach hidden amongst the rocks to yourself. The sea is so clear and the beaches are lovely. I would go back like a shot and would stay in the Rui again.

We live in germany so we booked hotel via TUI and a seperate flight from Condor. We took the number 10 bus from Ibiza airport to the ferry for about €3. The ferry costs about €25 for an adult to Formentera. In Formanterra a number 2 bus takes you right to "RIU" for €2. A very simple and quick adventure.
This trip was ruined by the worst storms the island has seen for years. This was not the fault of the hotel of course. We rode out the storm by hiring a car for the day for €40 from directly outside the hotel. It was worth it for the day. We hired bikes for 4 days and made good use of them. We also used the previously mentioned bus. All very simple. Most use the scooters but we have a threeyearold.
A friendly diving center is right opposite. A good looking surf and cat hire is next door. Unfortuneately the storm blew out any watersports hopes. We were the last of the season and they decided to close. We also minigolfed on the land side of the hotel. We ended up counting the skeeter bites per holes instead of the putts. They have very small mosquitoes there but they bite right through clothing.
I like RIU food. Plenty of salad, good veg, and usually good meat and fish. Fruit and puddings I liked as well. We agreed that the cook could not make sauces and thinned his soups very unnecessarily. The breakfast did get bad at the end. A new cook burnt the scrambled and fried eggs, baked beans were canceled for red spanish beans, and the pancake topping choice was reduced to a choclate sauce. It did not kill us but we do like to get a nice british breakfast.
The worst thing about the evening eating was the mini bottles of beer that they rationed us with. It was very difficult to get served with a second bottle because the service was so busy running around clearing tables. We ended up picking up mugs of draught from the bar before dinner and taking them into the restaurant.
When you check this hotel on the internet, be careful that several google maps links show the hotel in the wrong part of of the bay. It is right at the most easterly end of the beach that you see on google maps and not in the middle.
We got a bungalow which was very comfortable. Most bugalows have a view of the back wall of RIU I. On google maps RIU I is next to the beach, behind that youo see the red roofs of the bungalows then you see the main building behind that. Only the rooms in RIU I have a good sea view. When we were there they were renovating them so they should be good for 2010.
Returning to germany we had a day to blow in Ibiza. Luggage storage would have cost us €14, the bus would have cost us €10. We hired an AVIS for €40.

We've just come back from Formentera-weather not good for most of the week, unfortunately. But did get a few days of sun towards the end.
Stayed at the Riu La Mola. Fab hotel, clean, spacious room. Stayed in La Mola 1 and had a sea view, although hadn't requested one-seems like most rooms in this part of the hotel have a sea view. The food was excellent at breakfast and dinner- loads of choice, couldn't fault it. We were on half board. Lunch however, was less successful, as we would have liked just a baguette, panini etc but these were not widely available and the food on offer seemed expensive.
We only saw the kids entertainment at night as the adult entertainment didn't start until 10pm and we were in bed by then!
The hotel was full of Germans and Italians, us Brits were definitely in the minority, but both nationalities were friendly and made an effort to speak to us.
The area around the hotel does not have much to offer with regard to shops, bars etc. This seems to be the quieter part of the island suitable for couples or families.
Everything out there seemed very expensive with the current exchange rate.
Travelling around was no problem, we took the bus-2 euros wherever. The hotel is on the Migjorn beach, but I wasn't very impressed with it. Outside the hotel was a nice sandy area and also at the other extreme end of the beach, but the bit in the middle I didn't like. The sea got a bit rough and jelly fish appeared, so access was limited at the end of our stay.
The nicest beaches are at Illetes and Llevant at the north west tip of the island, also Cala Saona on the west has a lovely sandy bay,so you need to get a bicycle, scooter or bus there. Car hire seems unnecessary. The island is hugely into recycling and eco friendliness, so car hire is not encouraged. Also you might have to pay to park if you use a car for the beach areas. Bicycles and motor scooters are everywhere, the bus service is good. If you want to connect to the Parc Natural bus for Illetas at Es Pujols don't get off at the first bus stop, wait until the second one.
We walked loads as well as using the excellent bus service.
The ferry crossing was ok, not too rough.
Formentera was not as pretty as I thought it would be, but I'm sure it would have looked better if we'd had good weather.