Riu Palace Riviera Maya Hotel

Just returned from a 3 night stay at the RIU Palace RM. I am a travel agent and have stayed at most of the AI resorts in the Riviera Maya. This resort has beautiful rooms, but the food was not as good as I had expected from a RIU Palace property. I just stay at the RIU Jalisco in PVR 3 weeks ago and I thought the food there was actually better. Our rooms were very clean and not musty smelling at all. The air conditioning worked great. The service at the buffet was slow but I know the staff is still in training and I am sure it will improve. There were quite a few children at the hotel, but I agree with the other reviews there are much better resorts for children. The only real problem I had with this property is the beach. Although there is plenty of man made beach it is very difficult to swim in the ocean here. They have constructed a wall to build a beach but below the wall it is very rocky. If you want to spend a lot of time in the ocean than this is not the place for you. The RIU Palace Mexico has a much better beach. Overall this is a great resort for people who prefer a pool, but for those who enjoy the ocean activities I would not recommend it.

I just returned back (Feb 24 2006) from the RIU Palace Rivera Maya and I thought the beach was not great at all. If you look at the picture they are advertising it is not a real picture, it is a sketch from the architect. The beach they show in the picture is not the beach that is there, no fence in shown. My husband and I went down by the ocean and walked the beach for maybe five minutes and we had to either turn around or walk through the smashing waves and rocks to get beyond the 75 ft long brick wall that was separating it from the other hotels, to get to the other side. Once we got to the other side the beaches were great and you could visit all of the other RIU's and probably be able to walk for at least a 1/2 mile. We did this on the first day and we took a cab back to our hotel because it was too treacherous to go back the way we came. So if you want to visit the other RIU's do not plan on walking to them from the beach. The only restaurants that you have a dress code are the ones you have to make reservations, long pants for the men and pretty much anything for the women (you know what I mean). One last thing, to make reservations to eat at the hotel restaurants you have to stand in line (at which ever restaurant you want) between 4:45 and 5:45 to make reservations for the NEXT NIGHT, not that night! If the restaurant gets booked for the next night and you are standing in line you cannot make reservations for the following night and then you have to wait in line the next day between 4:45 and 5:45. If everything is full you are left with al carte or going downtown to spend your own money on a restaurant there. There were a lot of complaints about this reservation system. You can only eat breakfast and lunch at the other RIU's, not dinner. Is the hotel nice yes, is there anything really lively about it at night NO! Thank god for downtown Playa Del Carmen. I am not complaining these are all factual statements

I just returned from a week at the RIU Palace riviera Maya. I spent a lot of time researching my trip. The hotel is in an area of hotels that are right next to each other. They are all about three stories high and are in a gated community called Playacar. Upon arriving a forty minute ride from Cancun airport we got a taxi for about sixty dollars I think that was high but the car was large and safe. The hotel first put us in a room that I did not like and they changed it for us to a much nicer room. We fit in two extra comfortable beds for the kids. The room was very nice as it was brand new. The towels and sheets etc were clean, pretty decor. I thought the Mexican people to be very helpful and happy no attitudes or rudeness. The food is excellent we didn’t bother with the restaurants as they had a poorly designed way to make reservations. After trying one of the restaurants we decided to stick with the buffets that had something for everyone. The entertainment at night was great The nightclub is so nice. The drinks are really good. I was only disappointed in the lack of a beautiful beach. I guess the hurricane washed there beach away. They have a small beach but it is not a long wide walking beach they also do not have any umbrellas on the beach. I ended up at the pool so I could find some shade. The pool area is lovely a bit small but nice. There are plenty of waiters to take drink orders etc. There is a small kids club that looked okay. The management of this hotel is really trying to make a good impression. I think this hotel would be great for couples and people with young kids. We did not get sick and drank the water. My teens were a bit bored they should try to get more activities for teens. My son age 12 had a lot of fun playing water volleyball. The activity team are fun and try hard to make everyone happy.The bar in the pool looked fun lots of tropical drinks being served. At night they pour a decent champagne and wines. The waiters bend over backwards to please you. My kids loved the ice cream and I really enjoyed the fresh fruit drinks in the morning. We had a nice time and enjoyed the safety and perfection of this newly opened hotel. Playa del Carmen is a cute little town worth a quick visit. We had drinks at the Blue Parrot and that was fun. Also a trip to Xcaret is a must the kids had so much fun swimming with the dolphins. If you go enjoy.

We just returned from the Riu Palace Riviera Maya and had a great time! I believe check-in time is at 3:00. We arrived around 4:00, and had no problem checking in and going right to our room. We had an standard exterior room, with a view of the Reef Playacar, which was a nice view. The rooms have balconies with clothes drying racks, a sitting area with cable tv (about half and half of spanish vs. english channels). The bathroom has 2 sinks, and a tub/shower with 4 whirlpool jets- this was very nice! The decor of the hotel was very nice. We walked to the other Rius in the area (about a 5-10 min. walk), and the decor at the new Palace blew them all away, it was very elegant with lots of granite and marble throughout. The only exception was the Sports bar (where they have internet access (for a fee), games, burgers, hot dogs, salads, fruit & drinks 24hrs a day). The decor was a bit drab in the Sports Bar. The staff at the hotel all seemed to be very friendly and willing to help (with the exception of 1 or 2 minor instances). Most of the staff spoke a little English (or enough to pertain to their particular job function),but it helps to know a little Spanish. Our room was cleaned every day and stocked with toiletries, water, and soda. Our bed was turned down every night that we made our room available. There were activities all day, including stretching on the beach, water aerobics, beach volleyball, water volleyball, bingo, horseshoes, dance class, and spanish class. Staff were constantly circulating the pool area taking drink orders and picking up empty glasses. There were umbrellas and plenty of chairs by the pool, but we did have to grab our seats by about 10:00am, because they were all "reserved". There are plenty of chairs by the beach, but little shade. There are some palm trees that have grown in enough to provide shade, you just have to move your chair as the shade moves throughout the day. There was entertainment every night in the theatre, and was pretty good. Mostly dancing, and themed shows (vegas show, mexican night, etc.) The food was pretty good. Breakfast was very good, with lots of options- pancakes, eggs, omlettes, cereal, juices, breads, fruits, mexican food, and more. Coffee was inconsistent in the morning. Some days it was really strong and other days really weak. They also don't have creamer, just milk. They did have really good coffee drinks at lunch and dinner (cappuccino, latte, etc.). Lunch was served in the restaraunt by the beach, and was pretty good, with lots of options. They always had burgers, hot dogs, pizza, pasta, salad, fruit, sandwiches, ice cream and mexican dishes. The Mexican-made sodas (Pepsi, 7-up, etc.) taste different than the American ones (I believe they are not made with high-fructose corn syrup like ours), so we didn't like the soda. Also, the water served with meals was not very good, but we had plenty of bottled water from our room. We stuck with juices from the bar. The "fruit punch" non-alcoholic drink was really good. We ate the buffet main restaraunt for dinner once, and it was average. All of the A La Carte reataraunts were much better that the buffet. The Mexican Restaraunt was Excellent, Chilis grill (by the pool) was Excellent, Brazillian was Good to Excellent, We thought the French Restaraunt was Ok. We did not like most of the desserts, as they seem to have some sort of licquer or sticky sauce. I think this is a regional difference, as we Americans are used to light and fluffy cakes and desserts. They did have really good coconut ice cream at lunch though. The beach was nice, with very clear water and soft sand. We wore aqua shoes, as there was coral in many areas of the water. I have heard that there was a lot of damage from Hurricane Wilma to the beaches. They have free boogie boards, kayaks, paddleboats, windsurfing and sailing. There was also (for a fee) snorkeling, scuba, parasailing, and jet skis. The pool had a infinity-type section, and a regular section where they had volleyball and aerobics. The pool was not heated, but it felt great after being in the sun. The main areas of Playa Del Carmen were about a 15-20 min. walk away. We went to 5th Ave. twice for shopping. The further north you go, the nicer the area becomes, and the more restaraunts and entertainment. I thought the hotel was kid-friendly, but it didn't cater to kids. There was a kids pool and play area, but most kids were playing with their parents in the water or on the beach. The workout room was pretty nice, it is located in the spa. We went jogging most days, but there were treadmills and bikes. There is also a limited selection of weight machines in the gym. There are no dumbells, and no mats or carpeted areas to do crunches or floor exercises. There are saunas in the locker rooms, and 2 hot tubs outside. At least one of the hot tubs was always nice and hot. They also have a lighted tennis court. Overall, we had a wonderful experience, and I would recommend this hotel!

The Riu Palace Riviera Maya is so pretty. Our party consisted of 4 adults and 5 children ages 2,4,8, and 11. Our children swam everyday in the beautiful pool and made friends with other kids who were staying there. The restaurants were crowded, but we all ate well. Rooms were very clean and staff was very friendly. This was a great place to take the family and I would tell all my friends to also stay at the Riu.

My family(kids 12 and 16) just returned from a week at the new Riu Palace Riviera Maya Hotel. Beautiful Hotel but poor service and not many english speaking help First, when you get to the hotel, they make you sit down in the lobby and wait. After a half hour, someone comes to your table with a overview of the hotel and a welcome drink, but no check in. When I made my reservation I made a note stating I would be arriving at noon and wanted a water view room. They told us to go to lunch and return after 3:00pm. We came back at 3:00, hot and tired and still no room. After making some statements, they gave us our room(first giving us bad directions to the room and making us walk around for a half hour, becuase no one knew where the room was...... The room was a view of the central air conditioning units of the whole hotel.... wrong... we went back downstairs and ask to be moved. After another 2 hours, we were promised a"nice room", well the next room overlooked the kitchen and all we heard from the balcony was pots and pans banging... we then went again and complained, finally they took us to another room they overlooked the hotel next store and the help's quarters. BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! The next day we complained and they stated they would call us.. never follow up.. then they said they would charge us extra $USD $100 for a better room. We asked for the manager and he would talk in the background but no direct response. After three days of bad rooms we finally got a pool/water view but a smaller bed for 4... The service cleaning the rooms and replacing the water was poor. The pool was beautiful and the grounds are gorgeous. Beach was damged with the hurricane but not that bad, as the water was blue and pretty. The food from the buffets were pretty good changing every night, but the waiters did not understand english... Finally, NOTHING for kids to do. We were in bed by 10:00pm every night. It is a couples place and they do nothing with the kids. The place needs improvements and with a new hotel they should bring im managment from their other hotels who can address needs of their customers. Overall, they need to improve but it is a restful,clean, beautiful resort that needs some process changes.

We stayed at Riu Palace Riveria Maya from 2/14-2/21. We were my husband, myself and our 6 year old twins. Our experience: We arrived at hotel at 11:00am, they sat us in lobby bar, brought us cold drinks and did entire registration while seated-which was nice since we had young kids and had been up since 3am. Our original room had an inside view but it was of the upstairs of the lobby- we requested a room change to view the fountains or pool. They accomodated our request and were moved on our second day. We did have to go back and forth with them a bit but they gave us multiple rooms to choose from. And once we moved they sent a fruit plate to our room. Housekeeping was sporadic- turn down service at night did not happen every evening and a couple of days our rooms weren't cleaned by late afternoon. We also had to ask for extra towels and hair conditioner(funny story we called housekeeping to ask for more hair conditioner and someone showed up with a ladder to fix our air conditioner 5 minutes later!) Food was ok-b'fast had lots of choices for adults and kids. Lunch was at a poolside restaurant- which was open all day so the kids could go in and have snacks or ice cream later in the day. We had dinner at 2 of the a la carte restaurants and the food quality was much better there than at buffet. Pool was great- we were at pool every day from 8am until 4 or so. We'd go down to beach for swims but didn't sit on beach due to lack of beach chairs at the water level due to the sea wall mentioned in other reviews. Entertainment was good- kids enjoyed the kids disco, and the music at night was really nice to listen to. Kids club- was really suited to much younger kids- a very tiny kids pool and a playground- but my kids had fun going there a couple of times. Staff- was very helpful and willing to please- the one thing was most of the staff only spoke spanish so it was difficult communicating our needs to housekeeping at times. Overall we had a great time and our kids did too, for the few areas where things could have been improved, with communication to the hotel staff our requests were always accomodated.

We just returned from the RIU Palace Riviera Maya. We stayed there the week of February 11, 2006. Hotel - It is a beautiful hotel and very well kept clean and glamourous. Beach - This was disappointing. When comparing it to where we stayed last year, at the RIU Palace Mexico, just a 5 minute walk from this hotel, the beach was much wider, could walk down the beach for miles, lots of shade with all the palm trees, had hammocks and bar right on the beach. Room - Room was very good but we did have a leaky toilette. Room was never cleaned until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. and then it was done very hastily as we were in the room waiting for them to finish so we could take our shower and go to dinner. Restaurants - Buffet was always great but not as good as the buffet at the other Riu Palace Mexico. They need to improve the food stations and duplicate some food stations that were always busy like the "eggs". The Sir Oliver restaurant was great; The Steak House was good but the waiter kept dropping plates with the food - my husband lost his appetite because he wasn't sure if he was eating what was dropped. Reservation system definitely needs to be improved at the a la carte restaurants; too much time wasted trying to reserve dinner standing in lines. Sports Bar - This was a great idea. The room has pool tables, air hockey, and many internet computers available with a fee. Our flight was delayed about 10 hours on the return flight. The hotel was not willing to accommodate us even with PAID late check out. Ironic that our rooms were never cleaned until 5 or 6 p.m. but this day we had to be out by 12 p.m. and stayed in the hotel until 10:10 p.m. and then our flight left at 3:30 a.m. Overall, it still is a beautiful resort but we still prefer the RIU Palace Mexico because it is well-established, kinks are gone, and the beach is beautiful there.

OK, I've been around (travelling of course)... my pitt stops include Cancun, Acapulco, the Mayan (twice) Bahamas, Las Vegas, Florida and many more. I consider myself a seasoned traveller. On our honeymoon, my husband and I went to the Royal Hideaway, three hotels south of the Riu - and because the price was similar, we expected at par service and quality. BOY were we disapointed! My summary: HOTEL Absolutely the best part of the trip. The hotel is brand new, sparkling clean and really really beautiful. They spared nothing on every last detail. SERVICE Horrible. Room service is limited to a few cold dishes from 11am to 11pm. PLUS it takes almost an hour to arrive. Service at the beach or pool is basically non existant unless you go to the bar yourself. Maid service was sooooo bad... left tips but still had to continually call for towells, tissue and toilet paper. Bed was always made though, and room mopped daily. Mini bar stacked with pop, beer and water. Liked that. POOL Beautiful. No shallow or deep ends, but very nice. CHAIR ISSUE The didn't have enough chairs around the pool. I guess they figured that alot of people want to sit at the beach (wait, I'm getting to that next) and people got into tons of fights over the chairs. I freaked out when I woke up at 6:15 to go down and get a chair by the bar and they were already taken! What the... BEACH In a word? HORRIBLE. There is no beach. A beach has a shore line, right? Well the Riu built up a beach and put up a fence to hold out non-guests... and the 'actual' beach is only about 10 feet long below this area. You can't walk more that 5 mins either way on the beach beacuse the ocean is right at the sea wall (the base if the hotel) with rusted rod irons poking out everywhere. Your best bet is to walk along the street to the next Riu and enjoy ACRES of beach and beautiful shore line. FOOD Very dissapointing. The breakfasts were below par and the lunch and dinners were almost exactly the same. Small selection of fruit and sweets too. A LA CARTE Some good, some bad. Servings were small. They only served red or white wine, pepsi and 7up. No other pop, juices or mixed drinks allowed. ???? The best restaurant was Sir Oliver's - the french one - but it only had a seating capacity of 30!! Imagine 75 people waiting in line to reserve there - all getting there around 4 even though they take reservations at 4:45 - only to hear it's full. Fights here again. RESERVATIONS Must be taken outside the restaurant of your choice between 4:45 and 5:45 for the next day. This was a major downer. Not only did we find ourselves rushing back to the hotel to make a reservation, we were sort of stuck there from 5 until 9 or so when we were 'fit in' to one of the restaurants. Overal, I was not happy. Jeez, for over $4,000, you'd expect more. A few people we met speculated that they gave us the shaft because we got in on the intraductory price. Whatever.

Beautiful common areas (lobby, courtyards). Very clean and well maintained. Some junk leftover from late night partiers but it is quickly cleaned up in the morning. We stayed in two rooms. Both overlooked the interior courtyard. They were basically both the same except the second on had a bigger sitting area and a more open balcony. The balcony in the first room had a high concrete surround so the view was obstructed unless you were standing up. Most of the rooms are like the second one with a open cast iron fenced balcony. The "garden view" rooms that are on the outside of the hotel are the same and the higher levels might have an okay view. The rooms were very nice. They kept them clean. They had beautiful furniture. The decor was elegant but not gaudy. The food was very good. The buffets had a very good variety and always were changing so it didn't get boring. Someone else commented on the desserts and I will too. This is the 4th trip we have taken to the Cancun area and the desserts always are the same. They look great but are very dissapointing. At least at this location they had a selection of really good ice cream available all the time. We tried the Japanese restaurant and the Mexican restaurant. Both were good but not great. I give them credit for being creative. I can't figure out why they don't manage them just like a normal restaurant and take reservations or accomodate people on a first come, first serve basis. They have two seatings at 6 and 8:45 that you have to sign up for the day before at specific times. Makes dining pretty unspontaneaous. We probably would have used the "theme" restaurants more if they were more flexible. I am a big swimmer and love pools, the ocean and a good beach. The pool was good. Nothing particularly fun or interesting about it. I like the big freeform pools with bridges and waterfalls that some places have. It was big though so it wasn fun to take a swim in without colliding into people. The beach was not the greatest but not bad either. One side was very rocky and had some coral reef. For me this was not a negative. You could actually do some limited snorkeling there and see some fish. The other side had a pretty sandy bottom. There were rocks but not really dangerous ones. For comparison, the beach was not as good as Cancun or Paradise Island, Bahamas but was much better than the beach at Ocho Rios, Jamaica or the Moon Palace near Cancun. I used the exercise area every day. They have a variety of equipment including treadmills, stairsteppers, bikes, an eliptical and weights. Overall, this was the best place that we have stayed at in the Cancun area. This includes the Moon Palace, the Sun Palace and the Tucan Cun. I would also rate it ahead of the Wyndham Rose Hall in Jamaica.