More Traveller Reviews of Riu Palace Mexico Hotel
Wonderful!!
from tahoek
My husband and I with 3 other couples returned from Playacar in February. I can't say enough good things about the Rui Palace! It is by far the most wonderful place we have ever stayed. The service was excellent, the Food was unbelievable. I highly recommend this wonderful resort to everyone. It is certainly an adult resort, as they do not have alot of recreation for children, and the night life wasn't the best. But you have the advantage to walk across the street at the Tequila for dancing and great entertainment, or the Playacar, or the Yucatan. Please if you want the very best in all-inclusive stay at the Riu Palace, you will not regret it!!!
Pefect relaxing getaway!
from A TripAdvisor Member
Feb 26th- Mar 3rd, 2003 My boyfriend & I, both 30, enjoyed an amazing relaxing vacation at RIU Palace! If you are looking for a crazy, Spring Break atmoshpere this is NOT the place for you. But if you are looking for a place to unwind and enjoy the beach this is your place. The grounds are impecable & the staff is very helpful & friendly. The food is amazing & you could literally eat around the clock if you so desire. Definitely make reservations for La Bodega one night for dinner- this Brazilian style restaurant is excellent. And the rooms are very large & maid service comes in twice a day. The nightly entertainment is enough to keep you amused while finishing after dinner drinks.Lots of couples, mostly in there 40's & 50's. Not a place for an all girl/all guy trip- go to Cancun instead. This was just a great vacation & I can't say enough about the RIU Palace. I can't think of a reason not to book your trip right away. I can't wait to go back!
Riu is really 5 star
from A TripAdvisor Member
We chose the Riu Palace from Travel Advisor reviews. The resort delivered all it promised. Food great, staff great, accomodations great, wine excellent, everything was 5 star. We are already planning another trip.
RIU Palace - 4 1/2 stars
from A TripAdvisor Member
January, 2003 my wife and I attended the wedding of our daughter at the RIU Palace, the whole wedding group consisting of 14 family, friends. The architecture, grounds and general beauty of the resort won't disappear from our memories. The RIU staff were friendly and willing to please and accommodate special requests. On two evenings management permitted two of our wedding party who stayed at the RIU Tequila, to eat at the Don Julian Restaurant. Between the very competent wedding planner, RIU staff and perfect weather the wedding went without a problem.The rooms are certainly of a five star quality, beautiful views and first class housekeeping service.One minor fault - the room air conditioning system could be more effective.Three of the four restaurants are of the buffet style. The choices of food and presentation were great however all in our party were becoming tired of the buffet approach by the end of our stay. The quality of food was acceptable and slightly on the bland side. With the exception of chili peppers used in some of the mexican food choices, I don't think the chefs believed in using herbs, spices, etc. The Brazilian Steakhouse did serve at individual tables and had a unique entree. Problem was, that the same entree (6 meat courses and overdone greasy vegetables) is offered each evening. Entertainment at the RIU was essentially grade B, some of the dance routines were good, a great mariachi band and one evening presented an incredible Michael Jackson cover act complete with dancers. This guy not only looked like how M.J. would want to look but for the most part did not lip sync and sounded identical.The Palace is located in one of the better areas of the Mayan Riveria, within a nice (safe) walk to Playa del Carman for shopping purposes or just to view other attractive hotels, homes, etc. The beach area was relatively free of souvenir peddlers.Is this a bona fide 5 star hotel? I don't think so - only because of the food, therefore 4 1/2 stars. It is certainly worth paying a little extra to stay at the RIU Palace as compared to the other three very nice adjacent RIU Hotels. All in our group were very pleased with the RIU Palace and fully recommend. We would not however use Sunquest Tours again: Although we booked early, Sunquest issued tickets only days before departure to Mexico. Our departure flight time from Cancun was changed from morning to night resulting in having to wait all day at the RIU without rooms. This was not the fault of the RIU due to being fully booked. In addition we incurred extra costs related to our interconnecting flight time changes.
Wow!
from A TripAdvisor Member
Our stay at the RUI started a little rough but we were well taken care of. The first night we had a room second floor on the north side of the building. A band at the resort next door went untill 2:15 AM and sounded like it was right outside our door. We called the desk and they said they would move us. The manager promised me the room we moved to would be quite. I was concerned because it was neer the hotels night time entertainment. However he was right it was quite. They called us two times after we moved there and asked if the room was ok. This is our second trip to the area and I must say the RUI Palace is just that. We loved everything. And anyone who can't find food to their liking. Well I would like to know what planet they are from. The only problem we had is there is so much and it is so good I found I had to back off and just eat normal for a day. The beach is great. They are out in numbers every morning raking the whole thing out. Nice area to walk along the beach. To the south it gets somewhat secluded. Walking north you are headed towards Playa Del Carmen. Although you cannot walk all the way to town along the beach. Beware of the sharks here. They walk on two legs and are in town and other places. We did shop in town and it was ok. Be careful of prices as you do need to bargain. We took a snorkel tour with Apple vacations and it was very good.I went Scuba diving away from the resort and at the resort the second day. Scuba Caribe at the Rui Palace was great and I enjoyed that dive very much.People at the Rui were very friendly. The staff was great and very helpful. We would stay here and in the area again in the future and I hope to do so. I would recommend the Rui Palace to anyone. Also Apple Vacations does a great job. Last time we were not with them. This time we were and they make the whole trip pretty easy to do.
Best Vacation Spot!
from A TripAdvisor Member
Riu Palace had to be, by far, the best resort I have ever been to. Perfect for everyone from 17 - 99 (sorry parents, this Riu doesn't offer much in the way of children activities)! They offer you the possibility to relax, or kick back and party with them. Every night offers something new and exciting and the staff is so personable. I also loved the little plaza across the street and everything they had to offer. If you chose to go to the Riu Palace, jump into the pool, swim over to the pool bar and have a Mayan Riviera for me!
Exceeded our expectations
from A TripAdvisor Member
We just returned from a seven night stay at the RIU Palace in Playa del Carmen. My wife and I agreed that this hotel truly deserves its 5 Star rating. We had booked our reservation through Travel-Center but decided to stay at the Palace based on reviews found on tripadvisor. Check-in was efficient and quick and our room was ready upon arrival at about 2:30 pm. We found all the facilities and grounds to be spotless and very well maintained. The room was clean, nicely decorated, had plenty of storage space and the a/c worked well. The bed was a little hard and the pillows could have had more fill in them. The mini-fridge always had plenty of water, soda and beer. The liquor dispenser also worked fine and was very convenient (vodka, rum and tequila). The beach in this location is great. The sand was very similar to the sand at the Jersey shore. There were plenty of lounge chairs which can be moved to your desired location on the beach. The water was very clear with mild wave activity. This was the first time we went all-inclusive and were very pleased with the variety, quality and presentation of the food. We had no complaints with regard to anything we ate. I would mention that if you're the type of person that wants to be waited on then this type of all-inclusive may not be for you. The main dining room, which had the most variety, is buffet style although waiters will bring you your wine, beer or soft drinks. In addition some of the nights table service was offered for limited entrees. The other two restaurants that have table service have limited menus although the food was very good. We just to eat dinner at the main dining room for all but two nights simply because we enjoyed the variety, the service and people that we met. No complaints with regard to any other meals we had there. Drinks flow very freely here at all times. Entertainment was not top-notch but was certainly enjoyable. If you're looking for late-night activities you'll either have to go to one of the other nearby RIU's or go into town which is a short cab ride away. Walking to town takes about 20-25 minutes. Overall we enjoyed this hotel and would definitely go back there and to Playa del Carmen.
Brilliant Hotel
from A TripAdvisor Member
We travelled with My Travel and were booked into the Riu Yucatan,afetr 3 nights we escaped,by paying a supplement to the Palace which is next door but much further away interms of quality. The room was terrific,beds a bit hard though,it was to all intents a mini suite.The staff were without exception absolutely brilliant.I don't know if they appreciate a bit of English good manners after putting up with American brusqueness ie "May I have a beer please" as opposed to "BEER" or if they are just like that but they were fantastic.The gardens would not look out of place in Vesailles and the bars and restaraunts were great. We tried the Brazillian style and were not all that impressed but its worth a visit to see the waiter trying to set fire to himself making liquor coffee.There are more than enough sun loungers both round the pool and on the beach. The poool is lovely but shouild be heated it is toom cold to enjoy fully.
Wish we could keep it a secret!
from A TripAdvisor Member
We just returned from a 6 day stay at Riu Palace during the last week of January. In summary, I would describe it as the Waldorf-Astoria set on a beautiful beach! The property was stunning from the first glimpse. The employees there must have to take some sort of test that determines that they are happy, fun-loving and that they genuinely like people because we were always greeted with a smile and a big "hola" and sometimes a joke! The food was delicious and we were always able to find something different from the buffets each day. There were a lot of people on the beach after 9:30 or so but you could still find beach chairs in or out of the sun. It was a little chilly at night and early in the morning so we will probably wait until February to go next year but we will certainly stay at Riu Palace!
RIU Palace
from A TripAdvisor Member
I spent a family vacation over New Year's at Riu Palace. Our clan was about 8 people: my pregnant wife, my three-year old son, as well as, several of my in-laws. We had an all-inclusive package, which allowed us full-access to the other Riu Hotels in the area (Riu Yucatan, Riu Tequila, etc.) The Palace has great accomodations and great food. The plaza is a great place to enjoy people watching (a great deal of Europeans and South Americans) and enjoy a post-prandial coffee. The Palace, doesn't have a happening nightlife, as it generally seemed to be geared for an older (40+) crowd. They had stage shows that lasted until about 11:00pm, since a great deal of rooms face an open plaza. But, having access to Riu Tequlia and the La Pinata Discoteca, and their late night activities, more than compensated. The Palace also has a beautifully designed, 24-hour bar in the lobby. This was a great place to meet people from all over the world, even Ohio! It is extremely helpful to have a basic understanding of Spanish, but most of the front desk staff speak English. My brother-in-law is fluent, so this skill was extremely indispensible at several points. In general, the staff was gracious at all times. Try to speak it if you can, you get such a great response from everyone. As for my child, he loved the beach--and who wouldn't? They have a well manicured palm grove that opens up to a gorgeous beach front. On clear days you can see Cozumel. The sunrises are gorgeous--even at 6:15am. I saw a dozen other children my son's age, running around and having fun. Although, we kept a close reign on my son's behavior, it was so for other parents. We went during one of the biggest holiday travel times, so I took that as the explanation why there were so many family groups. They have a babysitter service, which we never used. The pool and the beach seemed to be enough activity to keep him more than occupied. Also, the frozen yogurt machine in La Patio helped, too. The only downsides was that the tour company (Apple Vacations) had botched up my transportation from the airport (Cancun) to the hotel, which is a 45-minute drive. Also, we were expecting 1 suite and they had none available at the time of our check-in. The hotel was gracious, and attempted to be accomodating, but in the end, it seemed the fault of the tour company. So make sure all your loose ends are set before you leave for the trip.
More hotel photos
7 readers found this review helpful
We have stayed in many Riu hotels previously and all have been fantastic. This one was no different. You are made to feel special from the start to the finish of your holiday. The staff cannot do enough for you and nothing is too much trouble. The general standard of the... more