Riu Vallarta: High class resort

Everyone was absolutely terrific. They worked hard each and every day to give us a Fabulous and fun experience. The resort was clean and well looked after. A five star rated it indeed was. I wish there were more evident vegan options. Some vegetarian but difficult for a vegan to eat.

Riu Playa Blanca: Riu playa blanca

Nice hotel for the price and great pools with lots of activity............................................................................................................................................

Riu Palace Paradise Island: Enjoyed 👌

Our second time there and there are so many positives to it. Transfer was good - about 25 minutes from airport Check in was easy with a welcome drink. Our room was ready so that was a bonus. It was clean with nice bathroom - no fan!. Mattress a little on the soft side. We had a king size bed. Lovely beach, lots of lounge chairs and umbrellas. Just gave the helper a couple of dollars to set the 10 chairs we needed for our group. Buffet was excellent with tons of choices - tons of veggies, fish a [... read more]nd meats, fruit and desserts yummy 😋 3 specialty restaurants- but this is where they need improvement with accessing them. No reservations but you need to line up as early as 5:30 to try and get in at 6:30, with the risk of not being seated until 7:30/8. Having been to many AI I don’t understand why they don’t allow guests to secure 1 restaurant per 3 night stay. The men in our group actually preferred the buffet anyway. Steak house was very good. Pools are lovely - 1 was very party atmosphere- tons of stags, stagette groups or special birthdays (30 or 40). Hotel Renos are fantastic. Night was ok in all night bar with stage. Daytime workouts around pool. Some volleyball beach. We stayed on beach each day as we prefer it. Another area for improvement is to have a better grasp on cruise ship guests using hotel lounge chairs - public beach so can’t stop them from beach but each day the Riu staff asked people to get off lounge chairs in a nice manner. Atlantis is next door so very convenient. We also went to the marina one night and it was lovely. The yachts are stunning. We would return for a third time as it’s a great 3 night getaway fairly priced with many pluses

Riu Palace Antillas: Amazing resort

Everything was great about this resort very clean, rooms were good, beach was fantastic. the only thing that I did not like was the first 100 feet or so of the beach area, it was rocky and not very sandy, hard on the feet.

Riu Republica: Pleasantly surprised by its beauty!

Hotel was wonderful. Our room was very clean and well attended to every day. Food was excellent including the coffee which is not always the case in large hotels. The hotel employees were very helpful and looked like they really enjoyed their work and dealing with the visitors. The evening shows were ordinary but good performances. I would definitely return anytime.

Riu Montego Bay: Awesome Resort

The resort was well maintained and very clean. Most likely due to the detail oriented staff which were always there to take care of the small details. The entertainment staff was very friendly and always available to answer any questions or concerns.

Riu Palace Las Americas: 5 star experience at the Riu Palace Las Americas

This might be lengthy but I feel the more details you know, the better you are equipped to make a decision. We flew from Toronto, Canada to Cancun Mexico via Sunwing. Despite all of the bad publicity Sunwing has received lately, we did not have any negative experiences on this trip. This was a 6 day trip for us and, as experienced travellers, we travel lightly with carry-ons only. The flight was 3 1/2 hours down and we were processed efficiently at the Cancun airport. As the Riu Palace Las Ameri [... read more]cas is about a 1/2 hour ride from the airport we purchased only a couple of cans of beer for the ride. Cans are USD $6 each from the vendors at the airport - a bit of a rip, but better than the USD $8 they were charging a couple of years ago. Upon arrival at the RPLA, we registered quickly, but were told that our rooms wouldn't be ready for several hours, so we did some exploring. The resort is a fairly compact property so everything from pools to bars to restaurants is a short walk away. The room: At 2:30 we were told that our Junior Suite was ready so we offloaded our luggage into the room. The room was spacious for a Jr Suite with a nice king bed (that can be split into two small double beds), large flatscreen TV, and a mini fridge that was stocked daily with beer (Dos Equis cans), soft drinks and water. There is also a liquor dispenser in every room with 4 premium liquors stocked in it and a coffee maker with both medium roast and decaff coffee. Lots of closet space, with both a digital safe, an iron and robes within. There is also a large 8 drawer dresser. A nice sized balcony with ocean & lagoon views greeted us as well. The washroom is a good size with double sinks, nice tiling and a large shower. A good quantity of shower gels, soaps and conditioners were supplied as well. 24 hour room service comes with every room and there are menus supplied in the room for all of the available room service choices. TIP: leave your air-conditioning on low with the fan on to keep the humidity lower in the room. TIP: Do NOT drink the tap water. Use the bottled water for drinking, tooth brushing etc. If you need more water there is a mini fridge in the 24 hour lounge next to the lobby, that is stocked with water and soft drinks. We usually took a couple of bottles of water every time we passed by it. You will need to put your room card into a card plug just inside the door to activate the electricity, and air conditioning. If you need to charge phones or tablets, do it at night with your room card plugged in. Pools: As you exit the main doors from the lobby towards the ocean beach there is a large main pool straight ahead of you. It is surrounded by large covered chaise lounges. If you go from there to the right you will find the "party" pool. There is a standup bar on the left side of that pool, and a swim up (pee-bar) bar on the right side of the pool. This is the pool that is used for Aqua Fit, volleyball games, etc. Music is pretty loud latin techno-pop, so it will either be to your liking or not. If you go left from the main pool, there are a large number of loungers under shade covers that extend all the way to the "quiet" pool. There are waiters serving drinks all around the pool areas and the beach. If you walk down the stairs from the patio areas around the pool, you will find yourself on the beach. It's not as wide a beach as the ones we have been to in the Mayan Riviera, but its still a good size and has some length to it, as you can walk down to the Riu Cancun next door and beyond. TIP: your wristband from the RPLA will allow you to use any of the facilities at the Riu Cancun as well. The RPLA is an adults-only facility, while the Riu Cancun next door is a family friendly facility. The beach is well maintained and there are a variety of beach vendors, but they will not approach you if you give them a polite "No thanks". The food: Definitely a positive at this resort - the food is excellent. The buffet is excellent and with the themes changing daily, there is always something new to try. My personal preference is seafood and there was always a good variety of that from grilled mani-mahi, grouper and squid, as well as deep fried sea bass and ceviche. If you are into steaks, roast beef, pork dishes, chicken, pasta, pizza, salads, and desserts there are way too many choices to describe. Mimosas or straight champagne (it will probably be a good cava, cremant or prosecco - not sure which) are available at every meal in the buffet. Kudos to my friend Ismael, who provided us with 5 star service and a smile every time we visited the buffet. There are 5 a la carte restaurants to choose from. We experienced the steak house (surf & turf tenderloin steak & lobster tails were to die for), The Krystal Fusion restaurant (also very good) and the Italian restaurant (I recommend the portobello mushroom lasagna). My wife said the cod was excellent as well. In a slightly different twist from other resorts we have been to, the Italian restaurant is also open for lunch time sittings, which is when we experienced it. We did not eat at the Japanese restaurant, or the Mexican restaurant. Our friends did try the Mexican restaurant and rated it quite well. Drinks: Beer is Dos Equis draft at the pools, but you can order a variety of bottled Dos Equis brands (Dos Equis, DE Ambar, Sol, Tecate Light) at the buffet and a la carte restaurants. This resort is all Dos Equis, so you won't find Corona here. Liquor at the RPLA is all premium brand, so typically vodka at the pool bars will be Absolut or Smirnoff, gin will be Tanqueray or Beefeater. depending on personal preference, you may have to tell the bartender to go easy with dispensing, otherwise it's pretty easy to quickly get intoxicated. All of the bartenders know their mixed drinks and cocktails well, so you can order pretty much anything and they will know how to make it. My fave is a Dirty Monkey, with fresh banana blended in. There is a Cappuccino Bar that serves great capps/coffees/lattes as well as pastries just to the left of the main street doors in the lobby. It's open for most of the day, but not in the early morning. Management - see my suggestion below about opening this bar early in the morning. If you are feeling the urge to eat in the middle of the night, there is a 24 hour lounge next to the lobby near the elevators. Here you will find a variety of both hot (pizza, nachos) and cold foods (sandwiches, donuts, salads), as well as a mini fridge stocked with water and soft drinks. There is also a coffee/cappuccino machine and a set of draft beer taps. TIP: If you want a coffee before the buffet opens at 7 am try to get to the coffee machine in the 24 hour lounge early. By close to 7 am there is quite a line-up for it. If management is reading this, you need at least one more coffee machine installed in the lounge to reduce the line-ups, OR I would suggest opening the Cappuccino Bar at 6:30 am when most people are craving that morning caffeine. Entertainment: A different show every night, most of them pretty good. Kudos to the animation team as they put in really, really long days getting us to participate in pool and beach activities, rehearsing as well as entertaining us at the shows. TIP: there are no washrooms in the theatre, which means you have to walk to the lobby washrooms. If you walk just to the left of the stage and go thru the tall door, it will take you straight into the lobby bar and a much shorter walk to the washrooms. The on-site Renova Spa: pricey, but according to my travel companions, well worth it. A full body wrap and massage will run you USD $149, while a 30 minute back massage will cost USD $69. There is also a small store in the resort just off the lobby that sells a small variety of souvenirs, cigs/cigars, and clothing. There is also a mall just down the street across from the Riu Cancun, called the Plaza Caracol. Souvenirs, clothing, silver, etc can be bought there for very reasonable prices. If you are buying silver, there is one store there out of about three selling jewellery that I would recommend. It's called Sol y Luna Jewelry. Everything is .925 registered silver and they sell by weight and do give you a receipt with the certified weight. It looked to have a Trip Advisor recommendation poster on their window as well. Money TIP: Some people carry USD, which is accepted just about everywhere. I carry both USD (small amount for tips) and MEX pesos for purchases. I order and purchase the pesos in Canada at the bank before we leave as the exchange rate is far better than what you will receive anywhere in Mexico. Most places list their prices in pesos so I prefer to pay in pesos as their conversion from pesos to USD will leave you on the short end once again. TIP on tipping: no it's not required at this resort, but I do reward good service as most of these good people do not make a whole lot of money in the service industry and tips probably help them out a lot. In summary, our experience at the Riu Palace Las Americas was top notch and I would not hesitate to recommend this resort to friends and family. Food, drinks, accommodation and SERVICE are second to none. All facilities are within a short walking distance.

Riu Vallarta: Great stay!

The place was beautiful and clean. There were no seaweeds at all on the warm beach. I love that it wasn't over populated. Even though it was a family resort, the noise level was nice as the adult pools were separate from the kids area. Really enjoyed a relaxing week!

Riu Palace Paradise Island: Great Resort

Our room view sucked and our balcony was so small we couldn’t sit comfortably! We chose not to upgrade or move as we never spend much time in the room anyways. The beach was amazing! Beautiful clear water white sandy beach. Bar service was good staff very friendly the food was awesome. We only ate at the buffet as the other restaurants were done on a first come first serve basis and I didn’t want to wait in huge lineups when the buffet food was awesome. The games by the pool were reall [... read more]y immature for an adults only resort. Bingo and jenga!?? Other than that I don’t have any complaints about the hotel

Riu Palace Paradise Island: The best!!!!!!!!

The Riu on Paradise Island was amazing. The resort was always spotless and the staff were so friendly. We always tried to get the same waiter in the buffet, Christoph, he remembered what we drank after our first meal, he was great!!!! The food was incredible, we ate in the buffet every meal, the selection was great. I stayed at this resort 10 yrs ago and always wanted to go back, In all my travels I’ve never seen beaches as beautiful. There is always something to do if you feel the ne [... read more]ed to get off your lounger and explore!!!!

Riu Flamingos: Friendly Resort

This is the second time I have been to this hotel. The staff are all amazing and the hotel grounds are stunning. Rooms are OK, pools are great and the food is varied. Air conditioning is great in the rooms and there is also a fan which is all I used most nights. The only negative point was the hotel was three-quarters filled with Mexican/Spanish speaking clients and the Canadians and US clients felt very outnumbered.

Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas: Will never go to any other resort EVER!

Been to Jamaica, DR, Cuba and this resort, city, food, hospitality, cleanliness, people, safety, fun, parties were out of this world! I will never go to another resort EVER again because I had the time of my life in Los Cabos/Riu Palace is truly a palace! Food is amazing, resort pools were great, only downfall is that u cant swim in the ocean but other than that! 5 stars +!! Highly recommend!

Riu Palace Aruba: Amazing Riu Palace

Aruba was a great experience with beautiful beachs and wonderful people. In particular, Riu Palace is a superior resort. It is a large well maintained property with clean rooms, great service, and a good selection of restaurants. The pool is large and clean, has a swim up bar with friendly service. The entertainment staff provided daily activities which were well received and had good partipation. This included beach volleyball which was also very popular. Overall, we really do recommend the Riu [... read more] Palace.

Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas: This will be the first all inclusive I plan to go back to!

The hotel was very clean, from the pool to the dining area. My room was always stocked and organized. Riu Palace supports a mixed crowd, from couples to singles and everything in between. Have fun :)

Riu Reggae: Great Resort

Small adults only resort, great rooms ours had a sofa bed that came in handy as we were three adults in one room. The food options were very good as well as the restaurant choices, will definatley go back one day.

Riu Reggae: Fun trip

Food was good, beach is not Negril but still very nice. Good entertainment and access to the other riu hotels right beside was great as a friend of mine was at riu Montego Bay. Jerk hut is a must for lunch. New and clean. Good mix of couples and singles from all over the world. Checked reviews before booking and people complained about the airport being right beside but honestly was not a problem, so you hear a plane once in a while who cares you’re in Jamaica mon’, no problem.

Riu Reggae: DEFINITELY RETURNING TO RIU REGGAE

This resort was amazing. The grounds were kept immaculate. The workers there are friendly, welcoming and very professional. The resort has everything for everyone. either it be relaxing, partying, adventure or all of the above. The Entertainment Crew is what really made the resort what it is! They were beyond welcoming and entertaining! They ran the resort all day long and made sure everyone was having a blast. Sonic, Flava, Barbie, Stringbean, to name a few were absolutely amazing! They always  [... read more]made you feel like a big part of the family. The beach is perfect, so clean and well kept. There is nothing I can say that is bad. I think Riu Reggae will be my annual vacation spot! Loved it!

Riu Republica: Meh...It was an ok resort

Reading previous reviews I sort of knew what I would expect (food not the greatest...kind of a party resort etc). Let me start by saying this was the first Riu we stayed at. For the last 5 years we have been staying mostly at Paradisus resorts in Mexico and Punta Cana which are amazing. We decided to try something different this time. It was our 10 year anniversary and my wife's 40th birthday during the week we were there. The room was nice and clean which was a great start for sure. We [... read more] were in room 3389 facing one of the pools and the waterslide. We didn't check in until 5 or 6 pm. so we dropped our things and headed out for something to eat. Will review food later. The staff were overall great particularly in the restaurants and bars. We found the front desk were not entirely friendly. I found it interesting that they didnt give a printed sheet of the activities going on in the resort at check in or in the room. The grounds were kept in great shape and looked lovely. We saw some entertainment shows which are typical for resorts. nothing mind blowing. the things we enjoyed the most were hosted by the in house "animation" team. They were absolutely amazing and so hard working. Restaurants: they really dont have a la carte restaurants. It seems all the food they serve is pretty much pre-cooked and plated when ordered when the restaurant has table service. Indian Restaurant - appetizer buffet was ok. when the served main course came out (there is no choice just a pre set sampling of different dishes) it was all barely warm so you could tell it was just sitting in a chaffing dish waiting to be scooped out. Steak restaurant - other reviews had this as the best place - I don't agree. Steak was not very good at all. this is where we went for my wife's birthday. I let them know the day before that we were coming and they did put some balloons up at our table which is nice however we seemed to be neglected a heck of a lot. Our Caesar salad was already on the table when we got there but had no dressing on it. We sat for 15 minutes before anyone came by - we had to ask for a different salad as the one on the table had bacon which my wife does not eat. As we sat there another 8 tables came in and had their orders taken all while we were trying to get someones attention to take our order. Long story short...did not enjoy. We tried all the other places except for Ole as there was too much pork on the menu. out of all of them the only one we liked with "culinarium" the food was better than the rest however I caution it appears that all the food was pre-cooked and waiting to be plated. I assume that because the first time there I ordered the steak medium rare and it pretty much came rare and cold. It was obvious it was previously cooked as the outside was not warm from a grill. I went back a second time and changed my order to medium hoping it would come med rare...once again it came as rare. I will be honest...my biggest concern of the resort is the food. the beach was great...lots of pools and more bars then you can shake a stick at. The only other thing I thought was not great...in the sports bar you have to pay to use the pool tables. WTH! The resort had an interesting mix of young and old. The pool bar by the waterslides seem to be the place for the younger folks to party. It is great people watching for sure and as drunk and loud as they got they were all very respectful.

Riu Republica: Best resort experience ever!!!

This hotel was amazing from the moment we landed until the moment we left, the food was amazing and the staff was even better, we were greeted at the entrance of the resort with drinks. Everyone spoke English very well. The whole resort was very clean, there was always someone cleaning or painting. The entertainment was great and there was tons of activities for all ages! Riu republica was amazing, I would highly recommend this resort to anyone!!!

Riu Palace Peninsula: Good Resort

Nice hotel but not a five star. Stayed in mid April Pros: Clean hotel, friendly staff, lots of good food. For us the buffet was enough of a variety. No need to book for a la carte, if you wanted to try the many restaurants.Good entertainment. Cons: We would have liked more live music and a night club at the resort. The music is done at 11:15. The bands were very good...just didn't get enough of them. There really isn't much within walking distance either. For such a large resort it just s [... read more]eems a bit quiet. The rooms were a bit different as well. The bathroom is just part of the room...it is all wide open. Would have preferred a room that has a separate bathroom with a door.