Hotel Riu Palace Mexico - All Inclusive

You can't go wrong Just back from a wonderful vacation at the Riu Palace Mexico. We were there for 10 days. I will give my comments on the features that concerned us, which are the rooms, the beach, the food/restaurants and the hotel in general. We did not do any excursions, spa treatments, go to the pools, do entertainment staff activities, go to many shows so I cannot comment on those. Beach/Ocean Just wonderful. Our vacation is mostly spent on the beach, so this is very important to us. We arrive around 9 am and leave around 5 every day. Many comfortable chairs, always available. If you want the first row you may have to make sure you're there by 9 am but even then, during the day, people leave and you can move up. There are no huts but plenty of palm trees. You may have to follow the shade of the trees during the day. Ideally we'd prefer huts, but this was fine. We like taking long walks on the beach and this is what we did. To the right, there isn't too far to go but if you walk to the left, there are many resorts and then homes/rentals. It's a good 30 minute walk till you reach a part of the beach that is rocky and less accessible. Clean beach. Employees pick up trash daily. Seaweed is also picked up. Tractors work the beach so everything is smooth every morning. In the water, no rocks, smooth sand. No need for water shoes. We were there post Helene and during Milton so the descent into the water was a little tricky but totally manageable. Again, because of the 2 hurricanes, the waves went from active to calm and then active again. The lifeguards (and military/police) kept people out of the water one day because the sea was very rough due to Milton passing by Cancun. No biggie. Lots of wind but we still had our beach day. When the water is calm, there are fish. Also, water gets very clear when the sea is calm. Water is warm. There are many vendors walking the beach. They are not invasive and do not bother you if you are not interested. But if you want cigars, silver, hats, sunglasses... you have lots of options. One great thing that I've never seen in any other resort, and I think every resort should do this: There is bar service at the beach. But what they do is fill up a whole tray with various drinks (beer, water, soda, cocktails, iced coffee, etc...) and offer them to you while you're in your chairs. Lovely! They pass constantly and we got to try out so many different drinks. Ice coffees were amazing. And if you happen to want something that isn't on their selection, just ask and next round they will be sure to bring you it. We totally enjoyed this, really great. Remember to tip these employees, they are amazing. Towels: We left our towels daily on our chairs when we either went for our walks or went for lunch. Very safe. What is very appreciated is that the towel cabana is open late so, even if we left the beach at 6 pm, we still could trade in our wet towels for either clean ones or the towel cards for the next day. I do have to say that a couple of times, they ran out of fresh towels, and their standard answer is that in 10 minutes more would be available... this wasn't always true, but all in all, we had no issues. Worst case, you go eat a snack, have a drink, and pass by again. Hotel Very beautiful and clean resort. Check in was smooth and quick. Staff is very friendly and courteous. There's a little shop off the lobby. We don't like going out of the resort for shopping and the shop helped us out on 3 occasions; Day 1, I realized I'd need a hat because there are no huts on the beach and it was really sunny. So I popped in the shop and found just what I needed. Day 2, my husband lost his sunglasses in the waves (there were major waves!!) so he popped in the shop and found a good pair Then later in the vacation we needed some Benadryl and lo and behold they had some there. We also bought a little souvenir which ended up being less than half price compared to similar items we saw at the airport later. There's are little shelves by the front desk with books in many different languages. I love this because when I travel, I pack many books and do not expect to bring them back... so I love the concept of donating them for future guests. There is also a big interactive screen with daily activities, weather info, etc... The only thing I would've like more is a few more interior areas near the lobby with tables and chairs... mostly for playing cards or games. There is an area above the lobby bar and a lounge off the lobby but both areas seem quite removed from the main action. If there would've been rainy days, the common inside areas would be quite packed and finding a place to play cards would get complicated. Room Our room was ready on arrival. We had room 2154. A/C worked perfectly. Hot water. Beds were comfortable. They stuck 2 queen sized beds together to make a giant bed but the beds were made up individually (blankets for each bed). There is a huge balcony/terrace. 2 big and comfortable chairs. There's also a little rack where you can hang your stuff to dry and it won't fly off. We left stuff out during an overnight rain storm and our stuff didn't blow off and weren't soaked because there's a little roof. The only thing that would've been nice is that our balcony had concrete walls/railings so that, when you're sitting, you can't see anything but the full concrete railing. Other rooms had glass railings which lets you see, but again, nitpicking here. The theater was right on opposite side, so at night, we could sit outside and listen to the performers/music... but couldn't see anything unless we stood up and leaned over the wall/railing. But was still nice to hear. Inside the room, you can still hear the music but, seasoned travelers that we are, we always have earplugs to sleep for just those kinds of situations. My only issue with the room is that there is no closed bathroom. There is a stall for the toilet but it's tiny. Much to small to get dressed in. When sitting on toilet, your knees practically touch the door. We joked that one of us would surely hit our heads on the door knob sitting down... it's that small. There's a stall for the shower also, with a frosted glass door, but there's a huge gap and since there's no closed bathroom... I'm just mentioning this for travelers who go with kids or friends and not spouses... privacy is not a thing. You could always get dressed in the shower stall, it's a good size, but you'll be scrambling to find a place to keep your clothes dry during the shower and it would be very inconvenient. There are shelves for the towels in the shower so you could always use that space, but it's far from ideal. So if privacy is an issue beware because, let's face it, even if you're intimate with your roommate, you still don't necessarily want to squeeze into your bathing suit in front of them... or peel off your wet sandy bathing suit or dry yourself off after your shower in the open room... So be ready to 'share'. Also, at night, if you put the lights on, be sure to close the curtains because we could easily see across into the facing rooms when their lights were on... just a head's up. There's also a bathtub... that's what separates the bed from the bathroom area. We mostly used that to spread out wet towels and clothes to dry. Again, if you want to take a bath... you'll literally be sitting in the middle of the room. Like most hotel rooms, there could be a few more hooks, but again, just nitpicking. There's a mini fridge that is fully stocked with soda, beer and water and it is restocked every day. They leave you four 1.5 liter bottles of water (daily restocked also), two in the fridge and two on it beside the coffee maker and cups. There's also a mini bar with big bottles of gin, vodka, rum and tequila. In the room, you have a little area with table and chairs plus a loveseat and coffee table. So lots of room. Also, many outlets to recharge all your devices. There's a safe in the closet. Also an umbrella, iron and ironing board, hair dryer, shampoos, conditioner (yes separate conditioner), shower gel and hand soap. Room service is available if desired. Food/Restaurants You will not be disappointed. Breakfast buffet is huge and has anything you can possibly want. They even leave carafes of fresh coffee at your table and bring you heated milk for your coffee. Mimosas are also available if that's your thing. They have an omelet/egg station, where you can have your omelet personalized or just take one of the already freshly prepared ones. I always took the prepared ones and honestly, they were always delicious. Huge fruit and juice/smoothy station. Always full of selections. Bananas, blueberries, grapes, passionfruit, cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries, etc etc Yogurts, pancakes, breads, pastries, cereals, cold cuts, nutella, jams, honey, syrups, cheeses, hot selections like potatoes, bacon, sausages... Lunch buffet Excellent! This restaurant becomes the Steak House at night. Very big buffet with all you need. During our stay, we had: Pasta, burgers, tacos, sushi (delicious), chicken, beef, risotto (also delicious), pizza... there's a salad bar (tortillas and guacamole!!), a desert bar, ice cream... all this with an ocean view. There's also Pepe's Grill on the beach. They serve burgers and fries. But they offer the same at the buffet and with comfortable seating. Main dinner buffet Excellent! After going to the À la carte restaurants every night, we opted for the main buffet for our last 2 nights and were not disappointed. Pasta station made us personalized dishes which were delicious. There is a grilling station, there is selections galore. There were also a much greater variety at the salad/charcuterie/desert bars. They had a crepe station and chocolate fountains. The deserts were even better than the lunch variety. We loved it and we're not usually buffet fans. À la carte restaurants were great. No need for reservations and you can go as many times as you wish. First come, first seated. We only had to wait once for a restaurant because it was full. They give you one of those beepers so you just can go to the bar and have a drink while you wait and when your table is ready they buzz you. Who can complain about that? The à la cartes opened at 6:30 except for the Italian which opened at 5:30. We tried all 5 of them and they were all very good. This is our preference order from our favorite to our least favorite: Steak house - We went twice. Steaks were excellent. Shrimp also. Those little potato fries... mmmm. Apple pie for desert, I highly recommend. Crab cakes, not so much. Krystal (International) - We also went twice. Everything was excellent. Italian - Very good. Their antipasto plate is a nice touch. My husband's lasagna was a miss, but the rest was excellent. We also went twice. Japanese - Very good. We only went once but just because we preferred to try the buffet for supper Mexican - Our least favorite. The appetizer bar and soup was excellent... but it's a serve yourself buffet. Both our main entrees were not great. We were maybe expecting much better since we were in Mexico!! But I've had much better at Mexican restaurants elsewhere. We only went there once. The menus for all these restaurants are on the Riu App, with pictures of the items. We checked them all out on our arrival and were impressed by the complexity and variety of the menus and were mostly not disappointed at the execution. Just for the quality of the food and restaurants, this resort is worth the cost in my opinion. The little coffee shop off the main lobby is also very good. Iced coffees, lattes, cappuccinos... even little sweets available. Very nice. Bars: Lobby bar was very nice. As soon as you sit, a waiter is offering to take your order. If you ask, they also will bring you little bowls of peanuts or chips. Drink variety is very good. Lots of martinis, cocktails. All were excellent. Did not go to pool bar All in all this is an excellent resort. We had a wonderful peaceful, relaxing vacation and have no regrets. You will not be disappointed.

This is my favorite resort, the workers are very friendly, It was an extremely good vacation I will really remember this vacation, because the whole organization, everything that happens is at the highest level. When you arrive at the reception, you are met by very friendly people, friendly employees work in the kitchen, everything is at a really high level. The only thing I would like you to improve is the number cards that kept getting demagnetized and sometimes had to go to the front desk several times to get them demagnetized

Nelson review Has returning quest at the Rui chain. More 7times. We should be upgraded to a better room with a better view. Without agreeing with the clerk for the room.

Fabulous I am always wary when booking somewhere new and I read reviews . I was not disappointed with this hotel at all and glad I made this choice . The beach location was perfect and the beach was fabulous. Every member of staff was so friendly and helpful. The food and drinks choice was very good and I can be quite particular. Cleanliness was spot on, entertainment crew did a great job. Every one works so hard . If I had any slight niggles I would say the fridge in the room was a bit noisy ( i got ear plugs , i’m a light sleeper ) and similar to some reviews the rooms are maybe due a freshen up but that said they are spacious and clean . Cannot wait to return next year .

Relaxing time. Fast check in and a cool drink on arrival. Colour scheme is a big bit purple and silver. Rooms need an updated, showing lots of areas requiring touch up. Toilet is smallest area. Food was very good. The fillet steaks in the main buffet were better than in the steak restaurant for me, and we waited for 30 minutes to be served. Favourite restaurant was the Fusion. All staff very friendly and always greet you on passing. Very nice coffee at the coffee shop. Always found beds by the pool. Beach was beautiful and sea was great, only had one day with a little bit of seaweed. Shows at night were good. Silent disco great. Independence Day party was very lively with lots going on.