Great holiday

Nice place. Good rooms, great food. Beach and pools were nice. We went during low season and prices were great even though it was a tad hot we didnt mind. Sunwing, nexus and tripcentral did a fantastic job!

Barely Okay Stay

This was our first trip to Mexico and we booked 3 weeks, paying a premium for a top hotel. The only good thing I can say is that the weather is incredible - blue skies and 29-31C every day. Room was bad, ended up paying another $750 CAD for an upgrade after a 4 day wait. (This must be a common practice because they have an actual "Upgrade Your Room" Desk for a fee.) Pools are overcrowded with people reserving chairs well before 7am even though they say this is not allowed. After the first week,  [... read more]the whole El Mencho Cartel thing happened but we felt safe. Then the hotel started closing all A La Cartes except 1 so your meal options were limited to the Buffet or the 1 restaurant that you cannot reserve in advance so good luck getting in. FYI - most of the A La Cartes are also buffets. In my opinion, the food options are terrible. You're not going to starve but the options rarely change so it's the same thing day after day after day - it gets old fast. The hotel moved us again to completely close the North Wing of the hotel because of cancellations, etc. so 3 rooms in 3 weeks. There was no pool/beach bar service and the drinks were just okay - bitter vodka, probably low-end quality for sure. There is a sign in the room that says they restock the minibar/coffee/waters every 2nd day but we had to call down at least 4 times because they were not replenished. We booked one excursion in the hotel with Sunwing (Rhythm of the Night) - we were not told we had 2 options (evening/night shows) so we were booked on the night show where the show was first and dinner was served at 10:30pm. We had to take a taxi to/from the marina ourselves (more $). The boat brought us back to the marina just after midnight where NO transportation was waiting to take any of us back to our hotels. One person managed to find a taxi, and luckily for us that driver called a bunch of his counterparts for the rest of us- otherwise, I'm not sure what we would have done. The nightly hotel entertainment was just bad and depending on where your room is, you can't get away from it. It repeats every week, so if you're there for 3 weeks, you're going to see the same things 3 different times. You can walk for miles on the beaches which is nice, but there are few shells, etc. to find (if that's your thing). Beach chairs are plentiful but side tables are not. Local bus service is available right outside the hotel, and takes you to Walmart where you can take a different local bus to the Malecon, etc. Or the bellhops can get you a cab from the hotel. I doubt this entire poor experience was a result of the cartel effect (which really lasted 2 days). This was our first vacation in 15 years and I was beyond disappointed. Overall, I felt ripped off, especially considering what we paid.

Very nice hotel

Like the layout of the pools and location of restaurants. Hotel foyer and Astoria bar very pleasant. Entertainment crew and staff in general excellent. Been at this resort many times in the past and recommend it .

Not bad

We where surprised how big the resort is Some of the staff are very nice And some still have to learn customer service Is my first time to come to the riu vallarta I normally. Go to riu jalisco Every year I go 2 times to the jalisco Thanks for you service

Met my expectations

My daughter and I loved the easy and layout of the resort. The ocean view balcony room was not even am upgrade I chose but it was a lovely surprise. The beach was well maintained and felt safe in and around the hotel. I do prefer more fluid pools vs blocky choppy separated pools but this is my preference and the gym was a bit small to accommodate but I was happy it was functional. The staff were always warm and accommodating. Drinks were inconsistent I find but that is to be expected most places [... read more] in my experience. The food was great, no complaints really. the buffet was always fresh and restocked and had enough variety for us to enjoy and find some of our favorites. The Riu hotels are usually quite good, I would recommend.

Beautiful resort

This hotel had amazing restaurants and buffet. It was very clean. Drinks were good, staff were great. I would definitely go back again. My only complaint would be not enough bathrooms for four pools. There was only four stalls so usually a lineup.

I loved it

Everything surpassed my expectations I liked the way the crowd got involved with all the activities Excellent entertainment Great food Great facilities Definitely recommend to others Riu party was the best

Very nice

Grounds and public areas very clean. The areas around the pools had VERY slippery tiles. I witnessed 2 different seniors fall. I also witnessed a few people slip, but recover. This is unacceptable!! As I am aging myself I find the horrendous. Staff very courteous and friendly. Some communication problems as not all staff understand English. Food is average. Spicy should be labeled. There might be less waist. Often ran out of guacamole…… it’s Mexico, this should never run out. Another disa [... read more]ppointment was the Riu itself. There are no complimentary amenities in rooms anymore? I expected this from a Riu. I suppose times are changing and quality has been diminished. Also, I had requested a king bed, I understand it is not a guarantee I would get one on arrival, but this is very important to me. Is there a way I can book it that way and be assured to get one? Not sure Riu is for me anymore?

Riu valarta review

absolutely loved this Art Deco hotel- and hope to stay here again. I just hope they are not changing the decor to Scandinavian- as it is uncomfortable furniture unless you are 7 feet tall. I am so glad they don't have the music blaring loudly at night. the food was lovely and lots of choice, rooms were nice- and we had a wonderful ocean view. A bit slow to give us water in our room. it would be nice if there were regular chairs to sit around the pool areas. we had knee operations and very ha [... read more]rd to bend down and get out of lounge chairs.We are frequent users of Rio hotels and will continue to use them

Very good resort

The grounds are very beautiful Lots of mature trees and bushes. The pools were clean and warm Food was excellent at the buffet and Al a cartes. Shout out to Abel the pool bartender was very friendly and would mix whatever you asked for. The rooms were a good size and clean but the air conditioning didn’t work that well . The only complaints was that there could be more washrooms for the people at the pools

Amazing

I've been to a lot of places all over Mexico and I have to say that the Riu Vallarta has been the best buffet I have ever seen. Selection and quality. Well done. Staff was very friendly. Cleaning staff was great. Entertainment was awesome and we used the neighboring Riu. Absolutely amazing vacation. no complaints.

Great week!!

Having stayed in Riu Hotels before, cleanliness was never an issue. The place was always kept spotless and our room was cleaned daily. The rooms are a little small, but we didn't spend a lot of time in them, so no issues with that for us. Bed was comfy enough, good A/C, mini bar, which is nice to have. A very cookie-cutter kind of place. Looks like a lot of the other Riu Hotels, but that's okay. I'm a sucker for Mexican food and this place didn't disappoint. Good variety in the buffet. We had ba [... read more]con every morning we ate there. A little chewier than I'm used to, but it tasted good. I had one of the best steaks while eating at the Italian Restaurant. You get unlimited a la cartes, no reservations, but you did sometimes have to wait with one of those vibrating/lighting pucks, even then, it wasn't so bad. The pools seemed to be kept clean, although we only spent time at one with our favorite poolside bartender Abel. He made a mean Mango Margarita! Drinks at this resort were always so tasty. The Sports Bar made really good coffee drinks and had non-dairy alternatives, which was nice. I loved their espresso martinis in late afternoon, too. Perfect pick-me-up! It's not a far walk to the beach and the beachside food bar was good if you wanted a lite snack or lunch. Burgers, hotdogs, fries, nachos and chili. Very tasty and spicy chili. Beach and poolside chairs do seem to get claimed early enough, but we always found a couple free ones. Beach was kept clean, even with the many horses trotting around. Some beach vendors, but we never had any pushy ones. They seemed to respect it when you said, "No, Gracias". Great location to walk the beach in either direction. We even rented bikes not far from the hotel and they have a great walking/biking path just out front of the Hotel. Bucerias isn't far either, if you wanna do some shopping at the little market they have there. You can also go to the Riu Jalisco for the day if you'd like. Have lunch, enjoy the pools. They host a Riu Party every Friday, which we enjoyed. It can be a bit of an older crowd, but there's enough of a mix of younger families and couples, so it's not so bad. One thing I'd say, is I wished they played more Spanish music. They seemed to play a lot of Rock 'N Roll, which is fine, but not what I wanna listen to on vacation. Hotel staff were always happy to help with anything, and you always got service with a smile. We had an amazing time and wouldn't hesitate to book here again.

Gorgeous & fun resort

The pools, beach and bars were incredible. The location was amazing, extremely close to Bucerías and not too far from Saulita if you want to take a day trip! The food was pretty good, a lot of options. When they did have tacos and they were fresh, they were very good. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend the steak house - however, the other restaurants were pretty good! The staff were kind and helpful, and the drinks were delicious. Had a blast!

A great place to stay

This resort has everything you need. The food is amazing, service could not be better, housekeeping, you need it phone to main desk and you will have it. There are many things to do as the entertainment always is doing something to entertain. The bars, I feel could be a little better as there are only two open during the day. I think the other two could open to serve their guest at better times. They will try very, very hard to make sure to accommodate you. Now on the downside, if you ar [... read more]e elderly and like quiet then this is not for you. We are OLD and the noise gets very intense during the entire day. An all inclusive adult only, would suit one better. We would never go back there only because of that reason. A huge shout out to Edgar Meja (public relations) he goes above and beyond. Another shout out is to Richard Velar captain at the steak house. They are the worlds best.

Beautiful and clean resort

We were totally impressed with the healthy manicured grounds and the exceptionally lovely plants and trees. The weather was amazing and the ocean water was warmer than the tropics. The service was pampering making us feel secure and comfortable. Thanks for everything

Nice resort, but....

We just came back from RIU Vallarta and overall it was an ok experience. I would call RIU resorts the "Carnival Cruise Line of all inclusives." The room we were given was called an oceanview but really should be called a PARTIAL oceanview. The air conditioning didn't work and we had to report it 3 times to the front desk before they moved us. The staff was super friendly and the highlight of the resort, but there were just too many things that bothered us during the stay to make it worth coming  [... read more]back. CONS: - only two air-conditioned spaces to escape the heat both of which were in bad locations - a lot of wasted space in the common areas - food was subpar - drinks were loaded with sugar - no shady spots in the pools - elevator was slow or not working PROS: - staff - lots of pools - beach

Lovely resort

Excellent outdoor activities and great facilities Excellent room service and love the bathroom and king size bed . Our balcony gave us an excellent view of the outside including the ocean even though it was a partial view. Nice bar overlooking the beach and great view of the daily sunset. However would love to have that bar open until 7pm instead of 6

Palm Tree Paradise

We had a wonderful stay at RIU Vallarta. Excellent food, endless entertainment by enthusiastic and friendly staff and the rooms (adjoining) were well stocked, immaculately clean and serviced every day.

Sun, Sea and Pool Meca

RIU Vallarta was fabulous!! The hotel is spotless and constantly being cleaned and maintained. So so we’ll run by friendly helpful and energetic staff. We loved our stay and would highly recommend it to friends and family. The food, drinks and entertainment was generous, tasteful and beautiful presented.

Great Hotel - Great Value

Excellent stay - the recent renovations have updated the hotel beautifully. Good value for money and consistent good standard of service, food, drinks and entertainment. Will most definitely be returning to this resort