Hotel Riu Palace

I went on vacation and stayed at this hotel. The buffet was great! And the staff at the buffet restaurant were great. I am giving it a 1 star because i saw one of the employees in the front desk stealing money from the front desk. And he was putting it in his pocket. I was on a phone call and i saw him showed money in his pockets. I acted like i didnt see anything. But what a crock! As well, i was in my room and had hanged the «Do not disturb» tag on my door. All of a sudden someone of the construction team opened my hotel room door and then saw that i was there. Then he closed the door and left. I dont know what he was trying to do. I think he wanted to steal our stuff. I tried to find him but he had left. I will never stay at this hotel again!

Having a blast with the fam awesome place to take the family. They have everything for every age. 5 star hotel one of the best in cabo to visit. Highly recommend anyone to take your family here. HOTEL IS GREAT BUT LOTS OF CROOKS Specially when you don’t speak Spanish. Try not to come across Apple vacation very expensive and dumb asses who think they are somebody. Hotel uses this people so they get 1 star get this idiots out and have people come and enjoy the vacation they are on.

First off, this review is primarily focused on one particular situation at the hotel. This guy (I’m posting a picture of him) with his thumbs up was stealing all of our stuff right off the lounge chair when we weren’t looking. He put 3 iPhones, wallets, money, flip-​flops, hats, shorts, everything he can get his hands on in the plastic bag that you see next to him. Luckily, a gentleman from New Jersey noticed what was going on and told one of my friends. He was a couple hundred feet away before we caught him. Hotel management came to the scene and talked to him in Spanish and said he thought our stuff was his friends. He blamed it on the drinking and kept laughing and grabbing his private part. Hotel staff took his side. Shocking! They told us nothing is safe at this hotel. They gave me some strawberries and some wine sent to my room. Everything is free so basically that was a gesture that was minimal compared to the big situation that happened. If I would’ve lost my wallet and my phone it would’ve been a catastrophe. They didn’t kick the guy out. They didn’t cut his wrist band. The guy didn’t get in trouble. He just kept laughing at us. Bottom line, it was Bull*hit.
The hotel itself is very nice and it’s a great value when you can drink anything including bottled water (which is very expensive in Cabo) it’s definitely worth the price. I did have to say one nice thing because I do believe in karma. I hope this guy gets what’s coming to him.

We traveled with a group of 31 for our destination wedding (I was the bride), and we could have not had a more wonderful experience!
The quality of everything that we got for the price was a STEAL. There’s no way we could have thrown a wedding half as nice for the same price back home in the United States. We only spent about $ 400 more than the cost of the Caprice package (the most expensive and luxurious one) that we decided upon. They will send you a list of upgrades available for your wedding ceremony/​reception, but honestly they’re all really expensive and completely unnecessary. I was worried that we made a mistake by not paying a few thousand dollars more for a completely private dinner, but everyone had a great time and we were still separated far away from the other restaurant patrons at the steakhouse dinner that it felt private enough.
If you are a more laid-​back bride/​groom, a destination wedding is the way to go. We met with the wedding planner, florist, and photographer a few days before the wedding and planned everything in less than an hour. They were all so friendly and would accommodate virtually anything that you could want. I was worried that the photographer quality wouldn’t be great, but I am so happy with how our photos turned out (see attached photos). Our flower arrangements were beautiful as well. Most of the flowers that are available are tropical, so if you want something less island-​vibeish be prepared to pay more for them to import it. I wanted a more bohemian theme and luckily sunflowers were really the only free-​of-​charge flowers available for this… otherwise they told me I’d have to pay $ 500 more for flowers not included on their list.
The staff were so friendly and the resort was immaculately clean. We would constantly see staff cleaning small details like railings and artwork. There were no pests to be seen. Even though tips are included in the rate you pay, still give the waitstaff a few dollars and they will be your best friend. They remembered our names and treated us like kings and queens. They would get us literally anything we wanted. They all are pretty good at English as well. I saw a lot of reviews saying this place was falling apart and the rooms were musty, but our room and the resort in general seemed to be in great shape with the exception of a few cracks in the ceiling. It was absolutely beautiful!
I also saw a lot of reviews about how terrible the food was. I completely disagree! I don’t know what people are expecting, they have to cook large quantities of food to feed thousands of people so it’s not going to be 5-​star restaurant quality, but it was usually really good! I have a gluten allergy and was worried that I’d be stuck eating salad and fruit all week, but they had a lot of options for me to choose from! I usually stuck to eggs, bacon, and fruit at breakfast and then had some type of seafood and vegetables for lunch, and then dinner varied every day. I didn’t get sick the whole week, so I think when I asked them if the food had gluten in it they actually understood what I meant. I will say that we were there for 10 days and after 7 days the menus started to repeat themselves and we got a little tired of the food (but I never thought it was gross or inedible). I would recommend going to the lunch buffet right when it opens because otherwise the food sits there for a few hours and things can get a little tough/​rubbery and the fries aren’t crisp anymore.
Overall we had an AMAZING wedding and I think our guests were so happy with our choice. We definitely got a great value for the money. I hope to come back to the Riu Palace someday!

We just had our wedding here and what an exceptional experience! I would highly recommend it!!!

Couldn’t have asked for a better vacation at this resort.
The food was top notch. I was a little skeptical of eating, as I have never been to Mexico.
But I had sushi, octupus, beef, you name it. Never felt sick once.
The rooms had two full beds pushed together to form a king. That was really the only annoying part, but really not a huge deal.
Two pools, one a little louder and funner than the other. The second pool was more for total relaxation.
Big plus was they had the Cavs games on every night we were there.
All the workers were friendly and helpful. Check in and check out was a breeze.
Would definitely come back here.
Be advised that you can also access the resort next door, the Riu Santa Fe. Sante Fe members can not enter the Riu Palace though.
It’s much more a party environment next door.
I want to note also that you do not need to make reservations for any of the restaurants.
It is more first come, first serve.

Came here for my wife’s 40^th bday in early June. Room was a Jr suite ocean view. Did not disappoint. Stayed in room 2144 had a great view of ocean with a balcony overlooking pool no issues with the room. Great service, great location on the cape. Views are awesome. Recommend the swim up bars. Food is good but not great. Most venues are a buffet so huge selection. No need to make reservations this time of year for dinner. Pools not overcrowded but lively. Be prepared for late nights with loud music. Would definitely stay here again.

If you need internet during your stay — you will not get it here! After several reports, and conversations with the front desk people I finally spoke to a front desk supervisor VANYA, who explained that there is actually no problem and this is just how it’s always been at this hotel, at least as long as she has been here.
The entertainment team, they call them RIU Fun Team is the worse I’ve ever seen. First of all they don’t really speak English. Most importantly they have no energy. When it comes to the activities at best they are late, in other cases they simply don’t show up. They don’t show any dedication whats so ever, they care more about the clock. We were in the middle of a final round of the ping pong tournament when the member of RIU Fun team who was running the tournament said it’s 5pm and it’s his time off, he has to go, you can finish it on your own, thats after he was more then 30 minutes late.
Rooms are great, location is great, the hotel is very clean, but whoever is in charge of staff management should be replaced ASAP.

An amazing adventure!!!
My first time in Cabo, our first «all inclusive», what a WONDERFUL time.
The hotel, the STAFF & perfect SERVICE, the food, the drink, the EVERYTHING was fabulous!
Our first suite was located just above the 24 hour bar … NOT a good decision !! But they switched us as soon as we discovered our mistake and we could NOT be happier!!!
EXCELLENT!!!

Went here for 4 days/​3nights for my birthday in October 2015. The place overall is beautiful and makes for great pictures. But the rooms are so outdated and when the air was on there was a loud smell– smelled like cleaning products. The smell only went away when the air was turned off. I hated being in the room just because of that. And once I returned home, all of my clothes, and carry on bag smelled like that. Ugh.
The food at the resort was just okay in my opinion. Nothing too special. We went to the buffet every morning and night because the restaurant reservations didnt align with our plans. Our server was always Alex and he was awesome! He made going to the buffet dining room worth it.
The drinks at the resort was weak! More like drinking kool-​aid or a slushie.
I expected more but the stay wasn’t horrible. However, I would select a different AI resort next time.

Arrived during the after-​Christmas week hoping for a relaxing and stress-​free 5 day hangout at this all-​inclusive resort. If you like cruise ships then you may like what this place has to offer, but I hate cruising and sadly was disappointed overall. Here is my detailed experience…
Getting There
Absolutely consider hiring a private car or van in advance to save you $$. And don’t get caught up in the ripoff artist jungle at the airport on your way out of customs — just head all the way out to the street to meet your driver.
Staff
This is the best part of staying at this place. Staff is well trained and very friendly. They will take care of you and although supposedly included, you should always leave a tip because you will see the same servers over and over as they rotate through the venues.
Drinks
While all drinks are included if you paid for «all-​inclusive,» be aware that some of the alcohols like the Tequila, Rum and Brandy drinks I tried appear to be watered down with something making them totally undrinkable to me, smelling and tasting like rubbing alcohol, and unfortunately I had severe headaches after having these. It really didn’t matter what brand I tried, all seemed adulterated. Beer was mostly tasteless and not the normal brands you find back home. Its not every single drink that was off but enough to make me skip alcohol after two days. How sad is that! Even the coffee was nasty so sadly I stuck with water, juices and soda.
Restaurants
Tried every restaurant you can reserve — Japanese, Steakhouse, French, Italian (lunch), Mexican. The reservation process was ridiculous — you have to line up for the customer service desk to open at 7am if you want a decent chance to get into the place you want, which means waking up way before that when you are on vacation! Not worth it! The French is the hardest to get and while the food and ambiance there is slightly above the rest, it still tasted about the same.
Some say the buffet is better than the reserved restaurants but sorry to tell you it’s not better and in fact I found many of the same food items at both. Buffet food was about what you would expect for an all inclusive — below average and a lot of very greasy items. Guacamole wasn’t bad but thats about it.
Didn’t bother with room service but I understand that it’s cold food only. There is a snack room offering refrigerated sandwiches, hot dogs, nachos and soft drinks after buffet hours but I wouldn’t bother unless you were starving — even the chips were crappy.
Room
We had a mini suite on the south eastern side of the property. The room was about 50 feet from one of the pools which had giant speakers playing loud music and louder DJs talking over it from morning until late night — fine if you are at the pool but not if you wanna take a nap in your room.
The room itself was ok, and since the weather was nice we didn’t need the AC (it did work for us, but not at all for our neighbors next door). Tile floors throughout with some granite and wood accents made it look decent but having two full beds together instead of a queen or king was not cool and made it feel cheap. The pillows were pitiful and the beds are old and should be replaced. The tub-​shower is too narrow for a normal person to stand in front of the shower head. The room safe was broken.
Our refrigerator made such loud noises I had to unplug it after two sleepless nights. We weren’t using it anyway but it was stocked with plenty of Pepsi (yuck) and crappy beer.
Pools
Reserving deck chairs is supposedly not allowed but everyone does it. Get your towel out there early!
There are two large, clean, well-​maintained pools that we experienced. There is a small kiddie pool and there are a couple of swim-​up bars which were fun until I stopped drinking. Watch out for the bee swarms at the bar!
WiFi
This is soooo important even if you are trying to «disconnect» during vacay so you don’t get too bored right? Well it kept disconnecting most likely due to overloading, sometimes several times in one minute. Speed was almost decent enough to allow some streaming but it wasn’t consistent. Everything seemed to work but I did get a few weird error messages I’ve never seen before. Beware.
What Else to Do
If you get bored at the pool go down to the beach to play volleyball, go in the water or go to the town. You can book boat trips to go snorkeling, scuba, fishing. We did the exhausting hour walk along the beach to the marina.
Disappointing Overall
It wasn’t the stress-​free vacation I was hoping for. This was my first and probably last time doing all-​inclusive. No drinkable drinks! And I would much rather have the freedom to choose places to eat that are decent.
I’m sure if I reported some of the issues to the Riu management while there I could have changed rooms or received some other accommodation but the idea was to relax instead of deal with issues.

Lots of reviews for this place but if you want a more comprehensive review of everything here, you ought to read mine. After staying here for almost a week, I was finally able to put everything together.
Driving here from the airport: Yes, if you are with a group you really need to prepay the private shuttles that will take you here. It will take you about 40 minutes. It’s not picturesque drive and you will be making a U-​turn under the bridge before entering the property. If you are by yourself, there are shuttles that make multiple stops. Private shuttles for group of 5 costs you around $ 130-​$ 160 for rountrip.
Checking in: You will be greeted by the friendly staff here. You will be getting an all inclusive bracelet here that is also good at Riu Santa Fe but not vice versa. Quite honestly, this is the better resort, that is why. This place has the all inclusive option which has internet, drinks, food, entertainment.
Buildings: This place is quite huge. There are 4 levels, including basement level. If you room is 120, it will be in the basement level that you can just walk directly to poolside. Its a rat maze inside and there is a small elevator but we always just walk on the outside.
Workout: Small room, overcrowded next to their massage place. I’ve used it twice, shoes are a must or you won’t get in.
Food: Yes, there are quite a few options. Upon arriving we didn’t know better so we ate at the snack bar that is on the pool level. You must have a shirt on or some lady will yell at you… in a nice way. Usual fares include hot dogs, chips, fries, fruit, pizza, cake. Food is fresh at 12 but when its 4pm, you can see flies all around.
Buffet: Yes, if you can’t get a reservation at the steak place (which is the snack bar at night and it’s excellent for steak and lobster) or Krystal (the French place that only seats like 20 people, I literally woke at at 6am just to make sure I got a reservation at 7am) or the San Jose Mexican place you will end up here. (And skip the Japanese place) We always come here for breakfast and the fruit juice bar is excellent. There are a lot of choices but I will only tell you what is really worth getting and what is not.
Don’t get: Coffee, tastes burnt. Go upstairs at the bar and get coffee and baileys.
Do get: Guacamole. Always fresh, and those chips too.
The ice cream or sherbet for a refreshing treat (also avail at snack bar)
Beer. Ask for Tecate light or the Obscura (dark) type beer for more flavor
Oh speaking of drinks, yes the mixed drinks here tastes a little funky. After drinking here for 3 days, I gave up drinking anything mixed here. My palate knows something is not making me feel good so I stuck with the beer and coffee with Bailey. Oh, and water and soda is good as well.
Poolside activities: There is pool side activity. There is a lady in blue that host it. Pool bingo, scuba in pool, vball. All included.
Bathrooms: There is a bathroom pool level on left side by pizza in snack bar.
There is a bathroom right of the stage at buffet level
There is a bathroom across from reception on top floor
Yes bring lots of $ 1 and some pesos to tip everyone here. From the maids (who made the cruise ship like towel animals) to basically anyone who you felt went the extra mile for you even though you paid tip in your hotel fees.

The staff sanitizes the whole hotel with this nasty cleaner that is a marriage between Mr. Clean and WOW! But I do have to say they do a good job cleaning the whole place. This place doesn’t look new and yes the room has a chair, tv, ac, fan, small tub, 2 sinks, small fridge, 2 full size bed that makes like a king bed. It’s more than you need.
Theres no HGTV or Foodnetwork here but they do have about 6 or 7 channels in English. There’s even Disney and a channel that has The Simpsons all night.
I heard Christmas Eve and New Years Eve they go all out here with the food and you will have to take a seating time and it has ice carvings. Too bad we just missed it.
It was fun, would definitely come here again.

Just came from a 5 days vacation in Riu Palace. First of all, I have to say that the staff was beyond amazing! they were definitely and by far the highlight of our stay. Everyone is so friendly and always smiling. They’ll joke with you, have fun with you and go the extra mile for you! Such a well trained staff.
The place is big, and well maintained it’s not brand new but it’s not falling apart. Lots of different bar areas, restaurants, pools, club… you won’t get bored.
I would skip the restaurants and just go to the buffet. Even though the restaurants need reservations and look wicked (specially the French and Japanese) the food there is less than average. The buffet on the other hand, even though not mind blowing it still wayyy better. Lots of choices and different theme every night. The deserts even though looked like out of a magazine, weren’t that flavorful.
At the bar, as your bartenders for the «better» alcohol when ordering. The entertainment every night is actually very entertaining! You will have a good time.
The pool are nice and big, the ones with the bar are usually more full and more fun.
The biggest negative of this place is the rooms! I don’t know if because our room was so close to the bar/​lounge/​lobby area but it was so loud! you could here people passing by, and the drunks late at night at the bar… Try to avoid room 3092… Also the walls were super thin, you could here every sound and movement from the adjacent room.
Other than that, it’s a good hotel for the price you’re paying!

I came here for my birthday at the last minute and I’m glad I did. I love how it’s all inclusive, right on the beach and not too far from town. I wanted to stay at a decent resort that was all inclusive, right on the beach and somewhat close to town. The Riu Palace met everything I was looking for.
I had a room with an ocean view which is the best way to go. Not only did I have an ocean view I also had a balcony. My room was pretty spacious, clean, had a mini bar but the TV had about 50 channels but only 3 English channels. I can’t say enough about the view of the ocean from anywhere at the Palace. There are about 3 bars, one swim up bar, 2 buffets and about 4 restaurants.
The drinks are pretty tasty and free but you should tip anyway. Yes the drinks are weak but you can always ask for a double and yes they have Jack Daniel’s and Grey Goose just to name a few. You have to ask for the higher end alcohol or you will get the weak stuff. The food is alright and they have a ton of great looking food but my stomach is sensitive so the food wasn’t the best for my stomach.
I would probably not stay here again just because I would like to see what other resorts have to offer. I would recommend the Palace because the views are fantastic, the drinks are good and the resort is pretty big and pretty nice.

My boyfriend and I went here for my birthday. We stayed for 4 days on first week of October. We absolutely loved the place!
We got there from the airport around 5ish. So tired we were welcomed by Alejandro with their refreshments. He’s very nice btw. We got to our room. We liked it. There were some disappointments but nothing major. The fridge was full of sodas and beers. They even have a mini bar which is nice. Room service is free 24hrs. One thing I don’t like was the smell of the room. It’s clean but smells like weird. It might be the AC or maybe because it’s humid outside or idk. One thing I like is every time we go out, it’s clean again when we got back in our room. That’s ⁵⁄₅!
The food is excellent. The service is AMAZING!!!
There at least 4 restaurants and 1 Buffett I believe but we mostly go to the Buffett. We got there Friday so the buffet food was excellent. Saturday was good too. Sunday was ok. Monday was meh. In the Buffett tho, there was this amazing server, his name is HUGO. He’s spectacular! And NEMO, too. They’re amazing especially Hugo. They don’t get a lot of money from their job but you can tell how thankful they are, how kind they are. I love it! I don’t have a lot but every time I see him, I tip. It’s funny cause I know tips are already included but giving them extra makes me happy. I wish guests would tip them extra because our $ 5 to us is nothing but to them is something.
Oh! Don’t buy activities there in the lobby, it’s expensive! Go out and negotiate!
When I was there, I’ve been telling myself that I’ll bring my family here. And I will, definitely!

It was my first time going to Cabo and I was blown away with the way this hotel presented itself. The view was breath taking. Lined up and was already offered a drink (non-​alcoholic). I really like that it was all inclusive — meaning that you can eat and drink as much as you like. I know I had my moneys worth of food and drink there.
The rooms are clean, spacious, and organized. My boyfriend and I had a ocean-​view, 1 king bed. The room had a king bed and then this small living room area with a couch and tv.
The staff was very helpful and the overall customer service was excellent. No complaints there!
The only down side that I would have to say was that our room was located above the club and you can hear the music in the far distance, along with the vibrations from the club. Luckily we were too tired each night to care about it.
Overall, a wonderful experience and I would love to come back!

I have stayed here twice, and my boyfriend has four times. We love it! I will definitely go back again for years to come. :)
Pros:
— REAL all inclusive, meaning booze is included (some places are tricky about this, not here), and you aren’t limited to to how many times you can eat at the restaurants
— Seriously wonderful customer service/​staff!
— Clean
— The pools are awesome
— BEAUTIFUL scenery/​view/​grounds
— Great price
Cons:
— The beach along the ocean is not private, so it is full of really annoying vendors trying to sell you stuff
— Noise inside the rooms is really bad. You can hear everything anyone is saying and doing in the halls and rooms surrounding you (everything!), and I’m sure they can hear you, as well.
— Not walkable to town
Tips:
— It can be super hard to get a reservation at any of the restaurants! We like to wake up early (like ungodly for vacation early), watch the sunrise, make our reservations, then go back to bed.
— Tip the staff! Gratuity is supposed to be included, but if you take extra good care of them, they will take extra good care of you.
— Wear earplugs and get nice and tipsy before bed, then the afore-​mentioned noise shouldn’t be much of an issue. ;)

Nice resort. We opted for the all inclusive option, which means all drinks, and food are paid for. I might not stay at a AI resort in the future. Basically, it’s like a cruise ship on land. Lots of buffets, and so-​so drinks. They also have a few restaurants, that you have to reserve in advance, and they are ok. We tend to go into town, and have dinners on the water, or with a great view.
The staff gets 5 stars, as they have been very attentive. The hotel is kept very clean, and is a good value for the price. Cab rides into town can rack up 20.00 a trip, so we rented a car. We also visited other cites, like Todos Santos, and La Paz.

I have to give this place a 5 star review. I stayed here over Memorial Day weekend. 3 night, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I was there till Monday afternoon. The food there was delicious and also they had a variety of foods to choose from. The service there was excellent. The waiters were always on top of the game bringing you drinks and what not.
My kids had a blast, they have different types of swimming pools and bar swimming pools. They also had horse back riding right at the beach. I taught that was cool, as horse lover I tried them out. Over all my wife and kids love it.
All exclusive you don’t pay for drinks or food, well worth it.

This place is fabulous! The rooms were nice and the whole hotel was open air. There were plenty of pools, bars and lawn chairs on the beach.
What I did not like is the Riu has the same restaurants at every location with the same food. I wish they would change it up per location. Also, you cannot swim at the beach right at the resort. The water is way too rough and it is «at your own risk». They suggest walking a mile or two down the beach to get in.
They do have a water taxi that will pick you up and take you to view the Arch and go snorkeling. There are some pretty darn colorful (and large) fish to see!
You also get access to the Santa Fe next door– drinks, food, shows.