We stopped in riu palace, there couple of years back, that was superb , hope the one you go to is as good,right opposite the beach, few minutes walk to some local shops, it is very quiet in that part, we never left hotel grounds for the first few days, and since then we only go to riu hotels, have a great time, Ray
Stayed in Playa Blanca this year.
Couple of trips to go on:
I'd recommend the volcano trip, and the submarine trip, although quite short, is worth going on