Riu Paradise Island Hotel

Save your money...the place is under construction - no peace and quiet, and 45 min wait to check in (staff shortage). The menus were limited, but the wait staff were great. Stay next door at Atlantis if you can...it's worth it.

1 reader found this review helpful

We stayed at the Riu Paradise for a 3 day/4 night stay.
We arrived at our hotel at 11pm. Instead of being greeted with smiles and friendliness, we were greeted with scowls. It certainly wasn't a welcoming reception.

My husband and I were not happy with the room provided to us. The room was dirty, the bathroom (tub & toilet) was filthy and the room smelled of mold. The pictures advertised on Riu Paradise's website are very deceiving and are a total misrepresentation. They advertise the Riu Paradise as a 5 star hotel. It is definitely not a 5 star hotel. It is far from it.

On December 29; at approximately 5pm, a male staff member entered into our room without knocking. I'm assuming he used a passkey to enter the room as the door was locked. (I had just gotten out of the shower and was changing at the time). Aside from being totally mortified, I quickly covered myself and went out to our balcony. The gentleman explained that there was a huge leak coming from our faucet and was leaking down below in the restaurant. He came and went for about half an hour trying to fix the tap in the bathroom.

Around 6pm, a staff member assigned to the front desk called explaining that she had to move us to another hotel room because the Engineer had to break open the wall to fix the leak. She advised us that we had 20 minutes to pack and vacate the room. When I inquired about the hotel room they were going to move us to, she explained it would be on the other side of the hotel, queen size bed, with a view of trees and the city of Nassau. I explained to her we were guaranteed an ocean view, king size bed and that I was not happy about the downgrade since we paid for an upgraded room.

Her attitude toward us was unacceptable. The way that she handled the situation was totally unprofessional, since she told me to go over to the Atlantis Hotel and book a room to stay with them. At no time, did I have an unprofessional attitude towards her or return the same attitude I received from her so I was shocked to have been spoken in such a rude manner. I spoke in a calm and professional manner at all times.
At this point in time, I was extremely upset and let my husband handle the situation. This is not how a 5 star resort should be run or how guests should be treated. The conditions of the hotel, room, service and staff was 100% unacceptable.

After 20 minutes of my husband trying nicely to explain our concerns, the employee at the front desk informed him that it was not their fault but that it was our travel agents fault for not informing us about their poor conditions (eg: dirty room and unprofessional service). My husband asked why he was being spoken to in a discourteous manner and she informed him, yet again, that her attitude was our travel agents fault.

After speaking to a Manager, the attitude was still unprofessional, but she finally put us in a room on the 7th floor with an ocean view. After entering the new room, we came across numerous brown stains on the white bed sheets, a brown ring in the bathtub and yet another moldy (much stronger) smell coming from our room. We called down numerous times for someone to come up to change our sheets. Each time we called they advised that someone would be right up. No one ever showed up. We ended up putting a blanket on top of the white sheet and slept on that. This is not acceptable, especially for a hotel advertised as a 5 star.

The purpose of a vacation is to relax and enjoy themselves. My husband and I were not able to achieve this at all. I have never been so disgusted, not only with the unprofessional service and attitude, but with the unsatisfactory condition of the hotel and the dirty room(s) that were provided. We should not have had to go through so much trouble on our vacation as we incurred. For the expensive rate we paid for our trip, I was 100% dissatisfied and could not wait to return home after our 2nd night.

They should not advertise the hotel as a 5 star when; in fact, it does not provide the services and accommodations of a 5 star.
This property definitely does not deserve a 5 star rating based upon my previous vacations and experiences while on holiday (eg: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Meixco) where the resorts were immaculately maintained and the staff went above and beyond to ensure that their guests thoroughly enjoyed their stay.
After speaking with numerous guests staying at our hotel, I found they shared the same concerns and were very unhappy/disgusted as we were. The Riu Paradise has a long way to go in terms of customer service. The hotel (and travel agent) relies on word of mouth to friends, family and coworkers about the service and their conditions.

1 reader found this review helpful

A friend and I stayed at the Riu Paradise Island in July 2008. Both of us have traveled extensively and were shocked and disgusted by the Riu. We had only been at the hotel for 3 hours and we were in pool when I felt something slice open the bottom of my foot and saw a lot of blood come to the surface of the water. I exited the pool and approached a local staff member. Believe it or not the pool area DID NOT have a first aid kit and they used scotch tape and a small bandage to try and cover up a deep cut. I was later told that it was a broken ceramic tile that had lacerated my foot. When I continued bleeding I asked the hotel staff where I could receive medical attention. My friend and I were put in a cab in our bathing suits and taken off the island to a local, dodgy hospital despite the fact that there was a first aid clinic within walking distance of the hotel. Nobody from the hotel accompanied us despite that fact that we had been on the island for only a little over 3 hours and had no idea where we were going. After waiting over 4 hours to receive medical attention I was given a tetanus shot and received 7 stitches. When we returned to the hotel 5 hours later the Assistant Manager offered us a free dinner on the hotel and we had to remind him that we had paid for an All-Inclusive Package so the dinner we had missed was actually on us. I am not joking, this is all that they offered me. The hotel manager was even worse when it came to customer service. When I questioned why I had been taken off the island when there was a first aid station so close by he advised me that he did know where the medical station and hospitals were. I cannot believe that a Manager of a 4 1/2 star hotel does not know where to take a guest if an injury occurs. I can only imagine what would have happened if this had a more serious case. For the rest of my vacation I could not swim and could barely walk. The hotel did nothing to accommodate me and actually made a point of ignoring me when they saw me. I have traveled most of Europe and many places in the Carribbean and have NEVER received treatment like this. In the 4 days that I was there the hotel also DID NOT fix this tile in the pool and put all other guests at risk including young children. DO NOT stay at this hotel for your own safety. I was told by others that Breezes is ALOT nicer.
I also strongly advise all Canadians to stay away from the tour operator Sunquest. I learned the hard way that after Sunquest gets your money for the trip they will do nothing to help you if something goes wrong. Even upon returning home the customer service from them has been terrible. I will advise everyone I know to never use Sunquest and to never stay at a Riu hotel.. I have heard that this particular hotel is going through a renovation in the next year and perhaps this is why they are not fixing things that are broken but it says a lot about the Riu chain as a whole as they appear not to care about the safety of their guests and also of Sunquest who continues to sell this hotel. So please remember this when you book your next vacation.

We stayed at the Riu on Paradise Island for 4 nights/5 days. Although this hotel was better than another all-inclusive vacation we had at the Dominican Republic, my husband and I were both disappointed.
This is an old hotel that is long overdue for total renovation. The rooms are very old and tired looking, especially the bathrooms that are too small and need to be totally renovated. The beds are also uncomfortable. There is no sound-proofing to the rooms - loud, noisy people coming back to their rooms will awaken you from a deep sleep.
The good things about this hotel/resort: There is a very long span of time that you have to show up for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the buffet and still have food available to you (do not eat the hamburgers -- they were so red). Maid service does not come too early to bother you either.
Another negative-- when we booked, we requested 2 adjoining rooms but were not given this until the second day when they became available (no one offered to help pack and move all of our stuff when we had to change rooms on the second day).
Compared to other all-inclusive resorts for food, the buffet food was good at Riu. Even your picky child will find something to eat. The floor in the buffet restaurant ALWAYS felt sticky under my shoes - they can definitely do a better job cleaning up there more often. We are not big drinkers but enjoyed the virgin daiquiris and found they were given to us in a timely manner when ordered.
Finally, if you are bringing younger children here, be careful of the beach. The beach was not shallow by any means and had a large drop-off because of erosion so I could not relax when my 6 and 8 year olds were in the water (also there was a strong under-tow). If you want shallow, beautiful Caribbean water, turn right and walk a couple miles to the end of the beach where the really tall palm trees are and the private homes. There we found colourful fish and beautiful, shallow water.
I still don't know why this hotel is rated with 5 stars - it needs a major renovation. Finally, don't aggravate yourself with waiting in a very long line to make reservations for the next night at one of the hotel's a la carte restaurants - we ate at their steak restaurant and it was a disappointment with only 3 entrees on the menu to choose from (the buffet is a different theme every night and it is good enough). Would probably not go back unless hotel was renovated completely.

The grand entrance to the hotel was superb. The employees were genuinely obliging and nothing was too much for them.
Entertainment was equally enjoyed day and night. Restaurant choice was extensive as was the wonderful variety of food. Room service was thorough.
All these factors contributed to the consistency of a paradise holiday. The beach front with its beautiful stretch of powder like sand was a must for anyone to enjoy first thing in the morning or last thing at night or even just when you desire.
Or if you don’t want sand in your toes you can take full advantage of the outdoor pool, with its built in tiled loungers and pool bar where you have the option to participate in the local entertainment.
The choice is yours.

Went to Riu Paradise Island for our honeymoon in June. When we first arrived at the hotel, was greeted with a nice cold drink and the staff were very welcoming. On looking around the hotel, it was not as grand as I was expecting it to be (we had been spoilt when we went to a RIU hotel in Mexico). It did need freshing up - but was informed by the staff that they are closing for a refurb in 2008. Our room was clean and tidy, and maid came in daily. Couldn’t complain about the room. All the staff that we came into contact with were pleasant and helpful.
Food was good, tried all 3 restaurants - all good, Japanese the best!! The buffet had a different theme each night, and everything we tried was very nice and the strawberry cheesecake was a must! You could still get any snacks/drinks right up to midnight.
You did have to get up from your sun bed to get a drink from bar, which didn’t bother us. There isn’t enough umbrellas around the pool, you had to get up early to guarantee one and the umbrellas on the beach cost $25 USD for a day, and at 6pm they took them down, weather you were still sunbathing or not, on the beach and round the pool.
I would agree with the other review that the entertainment wasn’t very good at all - only thing we thought was good was the comedy night they had weekly, that was the only thing worth watching.
The hotel is in a superb position next door to The Atlantis, so you can go and have a wander around that amazing hotel - just watch you don’t get stopped by security as there are certain places you shouldn’t go (TIP go after 5pm when the security have gone, you can wander round a lot more, like the predator lagoon & aquarium). But it’s a place you have got to go and look round
Overall we had a fabulous holiday, would go back to the hotel again and would recommend it.