Riu Palace Riviera Maya

Remarks:
"I have just read the ONLY bad review for this hotel which promted me to write my own review. Seriously, some people should not leave their homes if they can not enjoy themselves anywhere else and they complain just about everything. The hotel was fantastic in every single way. The rooms were clean, the staff friendly and gracious, so eager to please. There is a little bit of a walk from the elevator to the rooms, depending of where the room is located, but the hotel is only 3 floors, and there are stairs at different points of the halways so depending where you are, you can take the stairs or the elevators, not a big deal. The food at the buffet was good, plenty of choices; salad, fish, steak, soup, etc.. I was not a big fan of the Japanese restaurant (bad quality) but the other specialty restaurants were great, especially the Krystal and Steak House Chilli's. Most amazing, beautiful beach, the water was warm and calm, it felt just like a giant pool. Pool was clean, the bar at it amazing and the cocktails were delicious, the staff at the pool bar were also super nice. I cant wait to go back...I am already planning my next vacation there.. LOVED IT!" - Sara from New York City, New York

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Remarks:
"My college age daughters and I just returned. We had a fantastic time. The staff could not help you enough. The beach was beautiful. I gave the pool area a four only because you had to get up and save a seat early in the am if you wanted to sit by the pool. The pool itself is large to accommodate a large group of people as well as children. The resort is in a gated community, felt very safe, outdoor shopping is in walking distance. Breakfast and lunch buffets have a variety of foods to please everyone. You have to make dinner reservations 3 days in advance so you have to plan ahead. Name brand liquour and the staff was always ready to get you a drink. I loved the place and would return. The only draw back, it is about an hour from the airport. Olympus tours was also very good, organized and made shuttle to and from the airport very easy." - Ginny from Arnold, Maryland

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Remarks:
"Here is my basic rundown. THE BAD:
1. 45 min ride from Airport. Was not informed of this and hotel transportation did not include a car seat for my infant. Spent entire ride terrified for the safety of my child.
2. Room was not ready at 6pm. Thats right, 6 pm. We were told to wait "20" minutes, 2 hours later at 7pm, the room still wasnt ready but we went inside anyways while the maid finished.
3.While the room was "ok." Had a king sized bed, nice jacuzzi tub and sofa area to watch tv, the view from our room was HORRIBLE. They must have put us in the worst room possible. Our view from our balcony was a factory next door...well the roof of the factory with the gigantic LOUD a/c units on the roof that hummed us to sleep every night.
4. Cleanliness of linens and towels. TERRIBLE. Stains on everything. Looks like someone bleed out on one of the sheets that we had. I just ripped it off the bed and threw it on the floor. One set of sheets we had was soured as well. Talk about a stinky night. Next night the sheets smelled so heavy of bleach my eyes were watering. At least I know they were sanitized?
5.Food. The only decent meal was breakfast at the buffet place. When we went down there I had jokingly told my husband that I was afraid that I was going to gain 10 lbs, well I actually LOST 10 lbs because I couldnt eat the food! If it wasnt over salted (which most stuff was...) it had flies on it or it was spoiled tasting. The special (Make a reservation at least 3 days in advance) restaurants were laughable. At best the food was not good and worst it made some of us ill. My husband is upstairs now with a fever and sickness from our meal last night at the "Japanese" restaurant.
6. Room Service. Ok I know its all inclusive and its free but how about more than 3 items on the room service menu? One cannot live on ham and cheese, cheese cake and cheese nachos alone. (Especially when your restaurant foods are so poor.)
7. Service. While the waitstaff did their best to help and be prompt about stuff the front desk rather sucked. Our room did not have a room service menu and I called down to the front desk and they said that they would send one up right away. 2 hours later, no menu, so I call down again and 20 mins later I get a menu in GERMAN. So I called down again and apologized but I needed an English menu...I never got the menu. The next day I went down stairs, I figured, hey I would pick it up myself but Noooo they cant do that, the maids have to bring it. 1 hour later I finally got a menu in English. (Of course I found out it wasnt worth it when I saw it had a grand total of like 6 items on it, no joke!) Front Desk drama continues...On night 4 at the hotel hubby and I were awakened at 4am to the sounds of a woman screaming bloody murder, glasses breaking and silverware hitting the tiles out side our door. My mother in law tries to call the front desk for help because this was an all out brawl/fight going on and never got an answer. The next morning we went out and there was blood all over the floor the walls, my mother in laws door...it was everywhere. Looked like a scene from a horror flick. So I went downstairs and asked the front desk if they knew about it and they said "Yes, we are going to clean it." Im like when is that exactly? Its been there all night and I just had to roll my childs stroller through BLOOD to get to the one elevator in this place! They eventually did clean up the blood on the floor at least...about 2 hours later...but the blood spray on the walls was still there when we left this morning!
8. The ONE Elevator that was 400 miles from our room. Yes, one sad elevator that was 40 rooms down from our room (about 1/2 mile hike) that ended up in the dark, scary KITCHEN Of a restaurant that you had to navigate through the DARK on SLICK WET FLOORS to get your child outside into the main plaza. Really seriously? I know its Mexico but dont they have any handicap laws? Ok forget that, how about a resort so expensive, lets at least have a safe, friendly way to navigate our grounds with a wheelchair or stroller? Ok...so that was the bad.

The GOOD:
1. The ocean was really pretty. (Though as the other poster mentioned it had some serious undertow problems while we were there. Constant "Red" flags.)
2. The pool was pretty. I didnt find that it smelled funny.
3. The wait staff was 90% friendly and prompt with requests.
4. My sister-in-law's wedding ceremony was beautiful. I hope she had a good time. At least that was positive.
5. Their Pina Coladas were awesome.
6. The breakfast buffet especially the coffee and sopapillas.
7. The hotel grounds were really pretty."

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Remarks:
"Fabulous resort. Been there three times and each time has been wonderful. The restaurants are great, especially their steak house on the beach. I was a bit dissappointed the first time I went when I was told that I had missed the time to make reservation and would have to eat buffet (reservations are made early afternoon and can be made for several nights at once). The Buffet was awesome, besides the gorgeous room and the great staff, the food was great. The only downside to the dinning is the deserts. If you are American, the desserts are a little different, many of the chocolate items have more of a cocoa taste (not dark taste). But still very good. Accomodations are great as well. The hotel staff is amazing and will do anything for you. It is true that the room service menu (which is included in the all inclusive) is small, but on two days my wife and I got bored with what was offered so we wrote in other items just out of curiosity and every bit of it was brought to our room with out complaint and even extra flowers. These people are great. I know tips are included but I would reccommend tipping them as it seems to push them an extra two miles past the extra mile they go for you. Enjoy, you will not regret it, I am going again on Monday!" - Leo from Mobile, Alabama

Stayed at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya ?

Remarks:
"We had the best vacation of our lives at this hotel. This is the only way to take a vacation. The staff was as good as any we have ever seen, being friendly and courtious and as profesional as we have seen. We will be heading back as soon as we are able to get the time to get away. We will be going back to this hotel as long as things remain the same with the fabulous food and staff you have working there. The hotel was clean and the grounds beautiful. Keep up the good work and thanks again for a memorable vacation." - Dan & Rhonda from Worcester, Mass

Stayed at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya ?

Remarks:
"My wife and I just returned from a weeks vacation at the Riu Palace Maya Riviera. We had a wonderful time. The staff, housekeeping - actually all personnel were just fabulous. We had a great room overlooking the pool and a garden view. We could actually see some of the beach if we looked carefully. The first night, after arriving late, we had difficulty sleeping - the mattress was just too hard, but the next day I asked for a mattress pad and that solved the problem. The hallways, because they are stone, echoed all sounds - so, I would recommend that you take along a sound machine. The beach was good, the waters clear and the "whales" created a great lagoon to swim. Food was first rate, we never had problems finding anything to our liking. The Brazilian restaurant should be avoided, the Japanese and Sir Oliver were great and the Steakhouse at Chili's was just as wonderful with a table in an open air restaurant and the sounds of the ocean were just made for romance. After dinner, we would sit in the open courtyard at la Plaza and listen to music provided by great, local musicians. I would recommend this resort to all: families, couples -both old and young. The local, on-site tour specialist, Omar with Lomis, was fantastic. Although we had small problems, nothing significant, they were handled with a smile and promptness. Enjoy the Riu Palace!!!" - Joel & Diana

Stayed at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya ?

Remarks:
"My husband and I stayed there for our honeymoon. The food was great. We ate at at the Mexican Restaurant, The Steakhouse(also the Mexican Restaurant-they share the space),Buffett and Chilis. We ordered room service one night because my husband felt a little sick after one of our excursions due to the heat and it was really good. We loved the food and the quality. Our bed was a little hard but as soon as we asked for mattress bads the bed was great. We had a little mildew on our couch but everything was okay once we told the staff. Our refridgerator was stocked at all times and it was always cold. Our room had a little bit of a smell in it when we got there but after we opened the balcony door and let some fresh air in it was gone. The staff was so fabulous and always so friendly. The Michael Jackson show was so good. The beach area is beautiful we actualluy had a photographer at the hotel take some honeymoon pics of us on the beach and at the hotel and they came out beautiful. We loved the service of our Apple rep at the hotel she was great!!! The pool area was always clean and the pool staff always had some kind of entertainment going on. We loved it so much we are going back in October for our 1 year anniversary!!! YEAH!!!I CANT WAIT!!" - Joel & Diana

Stayed at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya ?

Remarks:
"The staff was absolutely fantastic, from the housekeeping to the assistant manager. The place was extremely clean, even though some previous guests have complained about the smell, it is really only the extreme humidity and the cleaning supplies used. The food in the smorg was fantastic every night and if you didn't find all the food to your liking,there was enough to find food that was. The only complaint we had regarding food was that most of the sea food had been frozen and then added to the dishes. They had everything from paella to pasta to great guacamoule and salsa. The waiters were there to serve you anything from water to champagne and white and red wines. The white wines were limited and we would suggest you drink the Chilian and not the other one. The pool staff was friendly and so was the courtyard staff. It was nice to order something and not feel that we had to tip all the time. We did in fact tip the last week we were there to the servers (bartenders and food servers) who had been great to us during our stay. However, we did not feel they were being nice to us because they expected a tip. A great change from other holidays. In addition, there were a group of staff who started early in the a.m. and worked late in the p.m. who got soccer games, bocci ball games, horseshoes, etc. going on the beach by the pool bar. These same staff were entertainers in the evening. Though we didn't have children with us, there seemed to be enough activities for small and large children.

Cons: It was a bit noisy because all floors and walls are done in ceramic tile and marble granite. The cleaning staff started fairly early in the morning and you could hear equipment trolleys and staff speaking to each other through everything. In addition, if someone above you was walking in heals, you could hear that too. The Mexican Restaurant sucked - we expected things like enchiladas, chille rellenos, etc. and it was not what was on the menu. The Japanese restaurant and Chilles were great but the buffet was the best. The only real complaint we had about the food was that things like lobster tails and dungeness crab were frozen and overcooked. We didnt try the Brazilian restaurant because we heard it wasn't good. We did one night at Sir Olivers and it was much better than we expected. The only major complaint were the kids that were there with their parents. While they were not supposed to be provided with alcohol, they made it their daily goal to get as much as they could. On our last morning there, I caught a 14 year old kid trying to add champage to his orange juice and if he started that early, he would be one of the noisy drunk kids hanging around in the evening and thereafter puking. Where were their parents? All in all, it was a great holiday. Great Staff, great food and great accommodation. We were there for 2 weeks and I would recommend 10 days." - Leslie from Vernon, British Columbia

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