Riu Palace Antillas: NOT A 5 STAR!

If you have never been to an adult only 5 star resort then you probably wouldn’t know any better.... however, after staying at Excellence Riviera Cancun & Punta Cana, Secrets Wild Orchid for the past number of years, this hotel was not the standard we have become accustomed to for a similar price point. It is really a hotel masquerading as a resort. The biggest positives have nothing to do with the Riu – consistent high temperatures, hot sunny days, great walkable beach, warm ocean water, bo [... read more]ardwalk(safe at night), beautiful sunsets. These positives helped to make up for the lack of 5 star qualities. Hotel positives: Strong Wifi that reaches the pool & beach area. Cappuccino Bar & 24 hr self serve food & drink area. The self serve coffee machine (coffee, cappuccino, decaf, hot chocolate) was better than the coffee in the restaurants. Wine, beer, alcohol also available here. Due to a delayed flight, we arrived at close to midnight and appreciated the drinks & sandwiches. Clean rooms & hotel premises. Comfortable beds. Refrigerator in room. Piano player in lobby. Rum punch upon arrival. Smiling, friendly staff. Strong a/c in rooms. Soundproof rooms - Never heard any noise from neighbours or from hallway. Breakfast buffet – lots of variety; fresh; cooking stations. Lunch - 2 buffet types of restaurants available – one indoors & one semi-outdoors. You can sit in either & get food from either. Good variety of food choices that varied from day to day. Great salads! Lots of seafood. Chaise lounges – never had a problem getting 6 lounges together at the pool under a retractable canopy. Lots of available shade in the pool area (which is needed because the sun is so intense). Pool towel service was never a problem. There was never a line up in the morning or late afternoon when towels were being returned. Pool temperature was perfect. One afternoon, jello shots were served. Another afternoon, kitchen staff brought around cups of ice cream. Pool bar service was good. Daytime activities: some activities were visibly available – darts, bocce ball, bean bag toss, water aerobics (also not the best I have experienced) Even numbered hotel rooms have the best view – pool and ocean. Odd numbered rooms look out at the Riu Palace but if you look to the left, you can also see the ocean. Reasonably priced store on lower level of hotel. Mexican & Italian restaurant: great appetizer buffet prior to ordering your entree. Entrees were okay. Fusion Restaurant – ok. Good desserts which included a liqueur. Steakhouse -men could wear shorts as it was semi-outdoors. Lobster was FANTASTIC. Steak was very tasty–the best we have had in the Carribbean. Good Caesar salad. Ate there twice as we felt it was the tastiest restaurant with the best semi-outdoor atmosphere. Good service. Relaxing meal. Never felt rushed. Hotel Negatives: Rooms – plain hotel room and furniture – nothing wrong with it – but not as nice and atmospheric as the other resorts we have stayed in. 6 of us travelled together– in 3 rooms-all rooms were fine–no smells, no mustiness. We were told that our room was a “partially renovated room”- that meant new granite in the bathroom, maybe a fresh coat of paint – hard to tell. Things missing in the room: no clock; no pen or paper; toiletries were NOT replaced once used up; no WINE in the room bar; no snacks in the room bar; no order form for room service. Lobby – Small Bar area, hard to find a seat & only open until midnight. Lobby chairs – some are incredibly uncomfortable (made for giants with long legs) A la carte Restaurants - a HORRIBLE method of reserving. Unless you had read about the process on trip advisor, you would have no idea of the procedure involved in making dinner reservations as nowhere did anyone inform you of this process at check in, nor in the information sheet given to you at check in. The longest lineups waiting to make reservations were at 8 a.m. We would go around 9 a.m. and were able to get into all the restaurants we wanted and twice to the steakhouse. You have to be flexible as to which restaurant is available. 6.30 was the more difficult time to get a reservation. They allow you to make 2 reservations within 3 days. If you have a group of people, you will need all the room numbers. Once the reservation lady writes your name and room numbers on her list, she gives you a small piece of paper confirming the date, which restaurant and for how many people. You have to give this paper to the greeter when you arrive at the restaurant. Dinner seatings are only 6.30 & 9 p.m. & at each meal there were empty tables. It is difficult to understand why they won’t let people walk in and eat to fill up the tables. Only wine and beer is served in the restaurants. Alcoholic drinks were not available. Also very odd – pinot grigio was only available in the Italian restaurant & nowhere else in the resort that we could find. Mexican, Italian & fusion food was ok. The waiters totally rushed us in the Mexican & Italian–we were in & out in less that 1 hr15 mins. Breakfast Buffet Restaurant – good food & lots of variety. An indoor cafeteria like atmosphere. Definately lacked atmosphere. Needed some music as all you could hear were dishes clanging. A small area available that was outdoors (surrounded by cement) Buffet for dinner - each night had a different theme – theme was posted outside the door on the day of. If you asked at the front desk, they could tell you the themes for the entire week. Perhaps this information should be shared & posted somewhere, so that you could organize yourself with which buffet theme you would like to attend. Poor Communication: Poor signage explaining where things are located. (One sign outside of the breakfast buffet listed the times the restaurants and bars were open until) No signage telling about the daily activites. (yet we noticed there was a board like this next door at the Riu Palace). Hotel information sheet given at check in did not address all things that would make your stay helpful. No daily activity sheet. Only one sheet was given upon check in which listed things for the entire week. We found a lot of it to be not correct. Trip advisor comments had said you could go and eat next door at the Riu Palace. We went there to find out that as of a month ago, we were no longer able to make reservations at their a la carte restaurants, but only could use their buffets. Theatre Bar - completely out of the way of foot traffic. It took us 2 days to find this theatre (which is just past the breakfast buffet room). This room also lacks the Carribbean atmosphere. The chairs are very uncomfortable. It feels like you are inside a steel structure despite the fact that a portion of the long rectangular room had no roof and one side of the room was also open. Night Entertainment – probably the absolute WORST night time theatre entertainment we have seen in the past 7 years of going to 5 star resorts. Musical bands were decent enough but were not completely live – used prerecorded music and even singers. They needed to be playing in a warmer atmosphere in a more central location of the hotel where people may walk by and maybe stay for a bit. Music at Pool area -2 totally different music systems playing 2 totally different types of music. If you were sitting in between, you couldn’t really tell what music was playing from which system – it all meshed together. The best music was one afternoon when a 3 piece band played out by the pool and in between their taped music was played. Unfortunately, this only occurred once during the entire week. No air mattresses allowed in the pool. No hooks on public women’s bathroom doors to hang purses, towels, beach bags. (Floors always wet in pool area). No waiter service at Beach (probably because it is a public beach). Very poor waiter service around pool. Not enough waiters for the number of people; but bar service was good. No drink of the day. Only 1 type of beer available – Balushi. If you wanted a hut on the beach you needed to be lined up by 5.45 a.m. waiting for the beach attendants to open up for service at 6 a.m.(It was still dark at this time!!) 5 Elevators - some waiting at prime time.(lots of new granite around the elevators). Casino - very smoky! Turn down night service meant “closing the curtains”. Sunday night beach party had live music and a bar. Lack of decorations to set the mood. Luckily we were walking by so we saw it happening. People from the Riu Palace taking up space around pool, bar in Riu Antillas. Communication of front desk staff - We were trying to arrange a late check out as we didn’t need to leave the hotel until 6.30 p.m. We had tried to call the hotel prior to arrival, but could only get through to a general Riu customer service line who told me to ask upon our arrival. I e-mailed the hotel 10 days before arrival, & received an e-mail back that said to request the late check out when we arrived. Upon arrival, the front desk person told us to come back 3-4 days prior to departure to make that arrangement. 3 days before departure, front person told us to come back the morning of departure between 7 and 9 a.m. At midnite,(the night before departure),front desk person took my name & room no. said they would write it into the orange book –no problem–1st hr free and then $20/hr for however long we wanted & to come back in the morning before 9 a.m. to reconfirm the arrangements. At 7.45 a.m. on the morning of departure, front person told me it was absolutely impossible – no rooms available and my name was NOT in the orange book. 2 different managers came out to deal with our request & with a lot of haggling, were given a later checkout. Inconsistent customer service replies

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Great Resort

The Resort grounds were well kept and public areas as well. We really enjoyed our room and the view. Food was very tasty. The wifi could have been better. The nightly shows were very enjoyable and the interaction with the audience made it even better. Great time, with no snow.

Riu Bambu: Good Value - Amazing Beach

Just returned from this lovely resort. Punta Cana has an exceptional beach and the Riu Bambu has one of the best locations. Some of the other resorts were experiencing some sea weed issues but the Bambu seemed to have little to none. The beach is fantastic, you can always find a lounger but we would head down in the morning and put our towels on our desired spot. The resort is very nice, it is well maintained and the staff are very friendly and helpful. My only complaint would be the smoking – [... read more] people smoke EVERYWHERE and as a non-smoker it can be quite overwhelming. The food is fine, you can always find something to eat however, AVOID the steakhouse. It is absolutely awful verging on inedible. We would return to this hotel.

Riu Santa Fe: Nice hotel

Nice, but we noticed a bit of shabbiness in our bottom floor room and on the grounds. It felt like a nice resort that is aging. I have to give credit, though. We expected worse, after a terrible hurricane shredded the area just four months prior, and caused flooding throughout the entire resort. There was barely any sign of the damage this resort incurred. These poor people must have worked around the clock for months, to restore it all. We enjoyed our stay, and our every need was seen to....no  [... read more]complaints from us!

Riu Bambu: Great holiday

Just got back from two weeks at the RIU Bambu and had a wonderful time. Our room was very clean and comfortable. The food was very good and the staff were very friendly. The grounds are beautiful and everything is immaculate.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Great Resort

Memories Resort Holguin was a fun resort to stay it with my group of 16. The pools and grounds are very well kept. Although our rooms were about a 7 minute walk from the main areas of the resort, they were quiet and clean.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Grate place

Very clean,grounds and garden well kept rooms also very very clean,the restaurants a la carte fantastic ,the buffet also for my taste had all food,fruits,breavages fresh bread,great people behind all that heat to cook and serve us always with a smile,and trought out all the hotel all the same.

Riu Palace Paradise Island: Unfortunately disappointed.

We spend a heathy sum of money on an oceanfront suite, which looked nice. The down falls were the 10 mins elevator waits, the no hot water in the showers, even after letting the water run for 5 mins to get the "grey" water to run clear. The staff were less than enthusiastic even though we tipped, just didn't feel appreciated. The pool is buried in shade for the majority of the day and it's way too small for the capacity of the hotel and everyone trying to avoid the panhandlers on the beach. On t [... read more]he upside, the food was good and the sweet potato hash browns at breakfast swerve awesome. And it was only a 5 mins walk to Atlantis. Bahamas is a beautiful place. It I would think twice about going back.

Riu Ocho Rios: Wonderful resort

The room we had was large and comfortable. The balcony was large with seating to enjoy the view. Everywhere was clean and tidy, the staff were very friendly and the food was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Riu Merengue: Amazing service througout this resort!

Service was excellent throughout the resort, including the reception desk, room, pool, restaurant, and bar attendants. Your concerns were promptly addressed and the employees seemed very happy in their employment. They were always smiling and polite. We visited the Bachata a couple of times....they were not so happy and also not so polite. Beach was lovely and loungers were always available. Occasional bar service on the beach was a welcome change as well. Pool area was great; not an "endless"  [... read more]but more than adequate. Very clean, and lots of huts and high-end loungers. Rooms were spacious, clean, well equipped, and the balcony was amazing! Buffet restaurants were nicely decorated and clean. Thanks to Domingo, who made our week very special with his excellent service ( definitely an asset to be appreciated. He is "cruise ship" quality and you don't often find that kind of service in an all inclusive). Unfortunately, other than the omelets, crème brule, carrot dishes, and pork dishes, the food was not as good as I've experienced at other resorts. Wine and tea were terrible, as well. Room for improvement here for sure. Only went to one a la carte (the Steakhouse) and we were not impressed with service or the steak. I've been to 7 all-inclusives and this was the most disappointing. I specifically asked if the steak was tender and told that it was "very" tender. Yeah...I could have played hockey with it. The entertainment staff were excellent, around the pool, beach and resort as well as at the evening shows. The dancers (and choreograpy) were spectacular. The shows themselves could use improvement; too much lip sync and a little tired in the themes....couldn't take another version of "Grease". The only real negative aspect of the resort is that there was too much "smoke". There should be designated smoking areas (not in the lobby main walkway). Non-smokers should not be subject to unhealthy, second-hand smoke. Overall, the Riu staff at the Meringue are doing a great job! Please note that I provided the reception desk with a hand-written review of the resort on the day I left.

Grand Memories Varadero: We enjoyed our stay

Service was good. The buffet food wasn't great, but you could find decent food if you went to the cooking stations (pasta for dinner or omelette). We went to the Italian and Gourmet a la carte restaurants and those were both good. We saw a few of the shows at their theater, the dancing was very well done. The location is a little removed from Varadero, so it's around a $17 (CUC) cab ride to get into town if you want to go to a bar for the night.

Riu Palace Antillas: Great Stay

The Antillas was a great experience. Food and drinks were excellent with lots of variety. Grounds and hotel facilities were clean and well maintained. You also had access to the Riu Place facilities as well. The beach and water were great. As the hotel is located in a string of hotels the beach is somewhat crowded with vacationers and you needed to be out early in the morning to claim your beach chairs. They did however had a staff member help you find a spot if you could not find one. The Antil [... read more]las section of the Riu complex to my knowledge was recently acquired from an other hotel and the only concern we had were some maintenance issues with the room. The patio door did not latch and the dead bolt on the room entrance door did not function. The patio door was repaired however the dead bolt was not. Overall we had a wonderful stay and would return again to the Antillas.

Riu Ocho Rios: Riu Ocho Rio

Example: What did you think about  this hotel? (grounds, public areas, rooms, dining, features, etc.) very clean rooms. and the grounds well manicured. Great food.and great buffet. fantastic beach party.

Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas: Real Nice Place at the Riu Palace

Just returned for a 1 week stay and all I can sum up by saying it was breathtaking. From the scenery from our 3rd flr. oceanview room overlooking the grounds, mountains and sunset to the impeccable cleanliness, attentive staff and food I would say this is one of the better resorts I have stayed at and the entire Los Cabos area is a great place to relax

Riu Palace Tropical Bay: Not a Riu "Palace"

First all the pros - loved Jamaica, beautiful clean beach, friendly staff, fun entertainment and amazing food including grilled lobsters at the beach - delicious tropical fruit and good variety. Cons - were mostly room related - phone in room did not work the whole week, room cards kept deactivating and door mechanism was faulty, safe was not working, fan cords broken so cannot reach them, toilet paper holder broken, queen beds not clamped together for couples (kept splitting apart), no elevator [... read more] so guests with problem knees should be aware. Switching rooms hard as they are fully booked. Only 2 pools. All in all would accept the negatives if we had not paid $4,670 for a supposed 5 Star Riu Palace.

Riu Palace Tropical Bay: Expected better standard for what we paid!

Definitely not 5 star. The check in was good as we were only 2 couples. Considering that we were new guests the hotel should have made sure the facilities in the room were in order. The shower was not working and we were told it was "locked" and the fridge was not stocked. Some days the bed was turned down for the night other days it was not. The towels and toiletries were not replaced on a daily basis. On Valentine's day others rooms were given champagne and chocolates while we only got the cha [... read more]mpagne. One day when I asked whether they would be replenishing a specific fruit that had run out, I was told they would check with the supervisor but no one came with an answer. The beach was good. Entertainment was good although the shows clash with the late seating of fine dining restaurants. There could have been music for dancing after the entertainment. The food was good.

Riu Merengue: 2nd trip did not disapoint

This was our second stay at the Riu Merengue. We came back because we had a great first visit, and our second trip waa just as good. We read a lot of mixed reviews so we were a little concerned, but Riu dies it right. The rooms were clean and the staff was always friendly. At our first trip Diaz the bartender made a great impression on us and we were happy to find him there again. It was a pleasure every morning to be greeted by Oscar the omelet guy at the garden restaurants. We highly recomm [... read more]end this resort...especially for first timers

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: good resort, average

- Food was good, drinks have lots of variety... only issue is that each morning you had to book your a la cartes by 7am for that night only..no sleeping in. - Entertainment was alright, better at meringue though. Repetitive. - Clean and welcoming resort, friendly staff. Rooms were good except bed was very hard and the tub/shower small. - Waterfall excursion was amazing :) - I would give this resort 3.75-4 star

Riu Ocho Rios: Good Family Vacation

Our second visit here. Seems like new management from two years ago judging from the subtle changes. Appreciated the absence of bead salesmen walking in the water or the jet ski pushers floating at the edge of the swimming area. The pool was unheated and colder then the ocean so of no use to us on the windy overcast days. Bit of a fail there although we prefer the beach when hot and sunny We had two rooms facing each other and liked to prop the doors open when in our rooms so the kids could come [... read more] and see us at will. The security guards gave us a hard time about this. I thanked them the first couple times they came by but it quickly became annoying.

Riu Guanacaste: Great Resort

An absolutely beautiful resort. Smaller in size then most resorts but that was perfect. As smokers we were upset about the no smoking law in Costa Rica and wish we had known we would have to smoke in a parking lot while on vacation. Food was good. But selection was the same each day so hot boring after 2nd and 3rd day. But don't get me wrong the food was really good. Resort staff were incredible. Rooms were stunning and the weather was beautiful. Would definitely return.