Riu Emerald Bay: 3rd time is a charm!

This was our 3rd time at this resort and we will be back. I have seen some negative reviews on here and you have to remember you get what you pay for. This hotel is not the Palace but it is a great deal for the price. We have stayed at various riu resorts for the last 18 years and have not had a bad experience. Yes there is construction going on for a 300 room extension (which includes a couple of new pools and what looks like an awesome kids pool) but we did not hear the constructuon at all a [... read more]nd our room was on that side of the hotel. There was no issue with the waiting time for the elevators. The buffet has a wide selection at every meal. There is a swim up pool bar, a busier pool for activities which was a bit warmer for the kids and there was a quieter pool. There are plenty of chairs around the pool and on the beach. Visiting Mr. Lionso restaurant along the beach is a MUST. The food is outstanding. The only thing I wud recommend is that the Riu change their policy on lost/misplaced beach towels. No one is looking to steal your towels. We were travelling with teenagers and they wander around and leave things behind. Charging customers for towels that are likely rounded up at the end the day is a bit of a crime.

Riu Palace Tropical Bay: wonderful resort

We had a wonderful time at the Riu Palace. The staff were very accommodating and pleasant to deal with. Very clean rooms and grounds. We enjoyed the evening entertainment and all a la carte restaurants. Beautiful beach and not crowded.

Riu Palace Tropical Bay: Boring place with Unfriendly services

We had book 2 rooms - they gave 2 rooms with sewage smell especially when air condition was on. The cleaning lady and luggage porter have to admit these rooms in building 1 stinks. They moved us to 2nd room at 2 am in the morning. 2nd room by the highway - so noisy with cars driving all the time. Don’t go to building 0 or building 1. Front desk took too long to return calls. We had to request to upgrade to ocean view rooms to get away from the smell and the noises. Unfortunately, ocean roo [... read more]m had bed bug. Rooms are not acceptable for guests to live in. They should have Ensure facilities in acceptable conditon before releasing to guests. And I thought this was a 4 1/2 star hotel??? So U can image how vacation went.:( We spoke to manager, they apologized but couldnt compensate anything. At other resorts, they went extra miles to please guests- like repaid with bottle wines or waves upgrade room fee - here nothing!!! The hotel’s entertainment was so boring. Had 3 small pools but one closed down for maintenance. We spent most time at beach. Beach is beautiful, but pool is poor. Hotel had no music during day time and hardly any active entertainment, except at night. No night life either. Bar tender (ladies) not friendly at all. Tipping in US$ not much appreciated - not sure the amount they expected? They were relunctant to make drinks for us too, even though we are not a drinker. We order cocktails and tip them Almost every time they brought to us - but they don’t seem to appreciat - looks grumpy - especially the ladies. The men have a bit more sense of humours. There are 2 riu the one adult side more expensive and the teens side cheaper and have more life than the adult side. We stayed at the Adult side:( Overall I would not recommend this hotel unless management and people’s attitude changed. They need to have more upbeat entertainment to enlighten families and kids and definitely more friendly services!!!. Maybe people here work too many hours cause I saw same people all the time ( eg no rotation of shift, to get fresh service). To be fair, there were exceptional waiters and male bartenders ( eg like Adane - he is really nice bartender at the main bar). They need more of his type of personality. Also, only good part was beautiful calm beach ( if u like the calm part) - pools too small thus hardly anyone use them.

Riu Playa Blanca: Beautiful resort

We arrive to this beautiful resort,. Our room was very spacious and clean, overlooking the beach. The view was spectacular. Our mini bar was always full. The A la Carte restaurants all (3) were awful, OMG the worst ever. The steak house had the worst service ever, they took 2 hours to bring your meal every time. They turn people away from a perfectly empty restaurant and told to come back tomorrow because they are fully booked. When we were all told no reservations needed to any of the restauran [... read more]ts. The pools are great. The problem is they close the best pool with the only bar at 5:30pm and then their is absolutely nothing else left to do in the entire hotel. Entertainment is 9:30-10:30 of really bad performances each night. I really hated having to listen to French. Spanish and English Introduction each night, I thought I was at another boring work meeting. The disco opens at 11pm, so much smoke is being blown out onto the dance floor, the music is so loud and the DJ is only playing for himself. Our group could only stay for 10 mins, it was so bad. Their is a small sports bar with no recent sports on the TV, but they make the best Spanish coffee ever. The worst was the buffet breakfast at the restaurant, what the heck was that each day. I wonder if the people who own the resort actually eats at any of these restaurants. The restaurants should be rated 2 star. The Sunwing staff were all excellent, but it would be nice if they would inform people what type of shoe to wear for certain excursions and a 20 minute and 10 minute stop is not considered shopping. This is a very beautiful hotel, but their is absolutely nothing and I mean nothing to do at the hotel. We did 2 excursions and then nothing. Their is no piano bar, no game rooms, no nothing. I would never go back nor recommend it. Every person we talk to said they would not come back.

Riu Palace Aruba: Amazing Beach resort

The Rui Palace offers everything you need for an all inclusive sun vacation. The perfect everyday Aruba weather means that the beach and pool are always the place to be! Great food and relaxing rooms made For a fantastic week with my family. It did not disappoint!

Riu Palace Tropical Bay: Loved The Riu Palace

We loved the Riu Palace. Incredible staff, the grounds and our balcony view were beautiful. The amazing beach was maintained daily and the water was crystal clear. There were starfish to see while snorkelling, in addition to the odd fish and rare stingrays. Having been to many all inclusive resorts we were extremely impressed with the a la cartes; however, the buffet was the very best of any we have had in the past. We very much appreciated seeing guitarists perform on site. The gym was well e [... read more]quipped and I actually went there three times...:-) Our main concern was the lost vacation time. We lost our whole day flying and bussing getting to the resort and on the way back was worse. Sunwing needs to have returning flights leave resorts later as we totally missed our last day. We got picked up at 9 a.m. and flew out at 2 p.m. Also more flights from Ottawa are needed so we would not have to drive to Montreal. The hotel staff was slow on repairs as our toilet seat was broken when we arrived and although I made daily calls to have it repaired it was still not fixed when we left. There was one security issue I had to report to Chris, the resort security officer. In my absence, one of the para sailing vendors on the beach made extremely inappropriate comments to my spouse as she was trying to sunbathe. When I got back from my scuba diving I could see she was upset about something. She told me what happened and you can imagine my first reaction but he had disappeared. This incident was extremely disconcerting for her as one could imagine. Notwithstanding the above, the resort was fantastic, food, beach, entertainers, water, and staff were the best. In the event you want to taxi to Rick's cafe or Margaritaville be sure to ask for Paul at the lobby taxi stand. Tell them Larry the guitar guy sent you. Enjoy Riu Palace.

Riu Palace Macao: Nice place for people fifty plus.

We liked everything about the hotel complex but the room. That was our fault. We booked standard room and got a postage stamp room with a small double bed and the room was at the farthest corner of the resort from everything. I should have gone for upgraded room.

Riu Palace Antillas: Five star service

People on resort excellent. For top shelf! Room 3 star. Pool 5star beach 5star hotel that needs room upgrade. TV was on last legs. Fridge rusty. Sliding patio door took three men and dog to pry open. Didn’t get tired off food after two weeks.

Riu Cancun: average resort

Beach is the best part - it is spectacular. Pools were great also. Hot tub was cold, lol. Hit and miss with service. Lobby bar has the best service. Entertainment average If you like going into the city - it is a perfect location - walking to most clubs. Elevators were always malfunctioning and breaking down. We were on the 14th floor - I didn't mind too much because I like the exercise. Only liked the Italian restaurant. Japanese and Steak house - not so good. Buffet was a [... read more]verage. Been to Mexico 18 times, and there are much better resorts to choose.

Riu Republica: Awesome trip

The hotel was great and the staff is quick to make sure you are enjoying your stay. Only downside was the spring breakers but that couldn't be avoided due to the time we were traveling. Really enjoyed the a la carte restaurants.

Riu Cancun: Great resort - clean - nice room

Went on spring break - March 9 - 16, good options for a more upbeat environment but also areas with more relaxing pools/beach. Good food with many buffet options at all times of day. Disco was mediocre but a good place to hangout at the bar at night if you are not going into town. Wide stretch of beach with nice sand. Overall clean resort - bathrooms near the pool bar could use some additional attention.

Riu Playa Blanca: Perfect resort for our needs

2 seniors needed badly a winter getaway that was relaxing, fun, including a few new experiences. Panama was a great choice and the Riu Playa Blanca did not disappoint! From the balcony we enjoyed views of sunrise, the beach, the pool activities and the entertainment area. Service and variety/quality of menu in the Balboa buffet and Italian specialty restaurant were impressive. We wouldn't recommend the Asian (especially poor authentic cuisine) and Steak House specialty restaurants. in areas lik [... read more]e restaurants, housekeeping and front desk, there was always a sense of rapport and respect between management and workers and it showed in service! Hats off to the entertainment troupe performing in the theatre. Appreciated the cultural evenings! Also appreciated the inter-generational guests (families from babies to grandparents). Something for everyone! If there was a challenge, no matter how small, the response was always timely and efficient. Don't expect on this Pacific side to swim in beautiful, crystal-clear waters as in the Caribbean. That was our only regret, but the swimming pools and activities around them made up for that! Access to tours of Panama also added to our new experiences. We really enjoyed every moment of a two week vacation!

Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas: As expect

The hotel is as expect ( similar to all other Riu Palace in all other place we stay), that is good. The buffet dinner is not as good as other Riu Palace ( limit supply) Staying at Riu Palace was suppose to able to use other such as Riu Santa Fe and Riu Palace Baja .It is easy to get to Santa Fe but not Baja. To get to Baja, need to walk through the beach. Also, friend of mine was staying at Baja, we invited them to join us for dinner and was turn down at the door. They can only use the buf [... read more]fet facility.! At the beach, they start to stack up beach chair at 2 p.m. A bit early.

Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas: Riu Palace, Los Cabos, Mexico - AMAZING RESORT

This resort is situated on the Pacific Ocean - (actually the Sea of Cortez) where it meets the Pacific Ocean at El Arco the famous rock. The weather was amazing - we stayed for two weeks Feb 28 - March 14th. The first week there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the second week only one day where it got windy in the afternoon. We saw a baby whale come to about 10 feet of shore then finally made it to safety. From our resort we saw El Arco, lots of cruise ships came in to dock, saw sea lions every day [... read more] and whales come close. The view was amazing. As for food - buffet in am had everything you wanted, crispy bacon, eggs any way you wanted them, croissants, cereal, potatoes, meat, cheese, etc. Lunch buffet - there were two of them, one was the Mexican restaurant where you could order off the menu or use the buffet, the other restaurant was a buffet. Dinner - there were 5 al la cartes - Japanese, Italian, International, Steakhouse, Indian. We had sirloin steak with lobster, beef tenderloin which was to die for, ossabucco, lobster, shrimp, mussels, crab and many types of meats. We ate so much. Rooms were good - faced ocean and pools. Bar lounge was huge and bartenders knew our orders after the first evening. Overall - we were totally satisfied with this resort and will be going back again. We have been to several other Riu resorts (Costa Rica, Aruba, DR, Jamaica etc) but this by far has been THE BEST ONE YET. Everyone was so friendly, the staff and other people at the resort as visitors made our stay unique.

Riu Palace Baja California: Still some growing pains to work out. Overall nice hotel, excellent rooms.

Beautiful pools, excellent food and service personnel, 5 specialty restaurants. (no reservations required) well maintained grounds, expensive taxis for short trip downtown Los Cabos. Problem with cigarettes and cigars near the pool and bar areas. (No designated smoking areas) Entertainment needs to be lengthened and worked on for professionalism. (For two week stays repeat of first week.) All excursions in US dollars and very expensive. No need for Canadian funds. Bring Mexican pesos or US doll [... read more]ar.

Riu Palace Punta Cana: Rip Palace Punta Cana

Greetings: We were very pleased to revisit the Rio Palace Punta Cana which has been beautifully renovated. The 3 new pools were amazing. We were very pleased to reconnect with staff we got to know during 5 previous visits. The facility overall is extremely well maintained and all staff wonderfully helpful. Looking forward to a future visit.

Riu Playa Blanca: No hot water or towels

While I enjoyed my vacation to Panama and the resort seemed nice overall I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as the service was terrible in trying to get issues resolved. Even though we had to contact the staff every day regarding the fact that the cleaning staff would not leave bath towels or face cloths in our room and every day we had to call the front desk and get them to bring us some it wasn't until the last day that they said they would get the general manager and the head of house keeping  [... read more]involved, by then our vacation was almost over. To top it off we didn't have hot water in our room and though I had repeated informed them of that while asking for face cloths or towels it was only on the last day that the front desk said there was lots of hot water they just had to show you how to "jiggle" the knobs to get it to work....... very disappointed with the customer service.

Riu Guanacaste: Beautiful resort!

We absolutely loved this resort...very clean, spacious, loved the buffets. Wonderful, helpful staff. The only negative for us was the room. We are a family of five and the room did not accommodate us well...

Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas: Beautiful Resort

Excellent, friendly and attentive staff. Great pool areas with a wide range of activities. Large rooms that are well maintained and clean. Variety of dining areas with a wide choice of foods to suit any tastes.

Riu Playacar: Great Resort!

Enjoyed very much staying in this resort! Great food, very well kept resort grounds. Attentive and great customer service at the desk. Rooms are very clean and resort looks like new (not sure how old). Very safe place to stay at, was able to go for a walk to the town of Playa Del Carmen. Resort staff was tiresly working on taking care of the see weeds on the beach and it was the cleanest beach, compared to other resorts. Would go back any time and definitely would recommend this resort to all my [... read more] coworkers and friends.