Rating: 
"My wife and I visited the Riu in Feb. 2012 for our second time. Being a seasoned traveller (we book all inclusives 3 to 4 times a year) I must say that I'm glad we stayed here again.
One of the exceptions I have is the staff at the front desk. Out of the dozens of resorts we've been to, the reception we received when arriving is below par to all others. I wasn't impressed (for the second time!!) with the greeting we received. No "welcome to our resort", "Hope you enjoy your stay". Our reservation wasn't even looked at (paid for oceanview as always). Asked our names and given a key and told here is your room. After checking three rooms, we finally got our oceanview.
However, after that, all was great. The staff are very friendly and always ensure your comfortable whether it be a seat at the buffet, a drink on the beach, a seat in their nightclub, as well, stocking what you want in your fridge/minibar. Your always greeted with a smile and Hola, Buonas dias. Tonia who is a waitress at the lounge is a sweet heart. Always smiling and telling you "it's Happy hour". Who get's her drinks from Dave the bar tender who is also always smiling and asking "can I make you a drink Amigo". Who is probably related to Rafa who is the bartender at the beach bar who is always only to happy to serve you. Marco at the dinner buffet, seems like he's waiting for you to arrive, and informs you "Amigo. I have just the table for you and your lovely Senora'"
I take all reviews as opinions as I'm sure others will take mine as that. My opinion. However I do want to point out that one review I read mentioned cockroaches and dirty rooms. Trust me that is far from FACT!!! There is a team of staff that are constantly cleaning. Our room was thoroughly cleaned as well sheets changed daily. Tables are constantly wiped down in the lounge, floors are constantly swept and mopped. Even the beach bathrooms were cleaned ever half hour. So if it's cleanliness your after Riu Cancun will impress you.
The other reviews I've read mentioned tipping, and how they were offended. Are you kidding me? Are these people living under a rock?? Of course you tip. That's what the staff work on. It's called gratuities, Trust me if you tip your well looked after. I tip the girl/guy who hands me my coffee at the drive thru in the morning!
As for the food. Buffet-fresh cooked food. The beach buffet-freshed cooked food. With ice cream machines to make your own (with all the toppings) when ever you feel like one-lol. The buffets have a large variety of diverse foods for all cultures, Mexican, American and European. Although they might get repetitive it's to be expected after 5 days. But the food is fresh, which is most important to us. As for the ala cartes, we visited the Brazilian and steak. And Both times although I wanted to finish it was just to much food. Taste was delicious. I wish I could have got a doggybag for my room-lol!!
The only other exception I have is probably minimal to others.
Being from Canada we are accustomed to space!!! With the Riu being so large and the beach so small you have beach/pool loungers right next to one another. We are far from anti-social, but with lounge chairs 6 inches apart you can't help but feeling cramped. Even though your sitting with the Carribean Sea right in front of you.
So, Apart from the Reception, (which needs a lot of training on customer appreciation) and the cramped confines of the beach/pool. I would give this a 5 out of 5.
However, I would (and have) reccomend the Riu Cancun. We overall enjoyed our visit to this resort, and will probably be heading back there.
" [...]
Reviewer: reviewer5642
Date: Mar. 10, 2012
Rating: 
"My boyfriend and I (age 27 and 30) stayed at the Riu Cancun Jan 13-20th I'm a seasoned all inclusive traveller and therefore I'm very picky when it comes to all inclusive resorts. I absolutely cannot fault this hotel in anything as we had a fantastic time and everything exceeded our expectations. At first I was a little concerned when I read some of the negative reviews about the Riu, but then I learned that your vacation experience is all about your attitude, and if you let something minor (like the beds being too hard to your liking) spoil your stay then you have issues!
Check in- we arrived at the Riu at about 11am and were summoned to the conference room since we were a large group of about 20-30 people checking in. At the conference room we were greeted with beer, pina coladas and fruit punches. While we enjoyed our cold beverages the front desk lady briefed us about the hotel, restaurant reservation policy, schedules and other general information. Then we got our check in package and got into our rooms right away even though their official check in was not until 3pm.
Rooms- we booked a regular room with an ocean view on the 14th floor. The higher you are the better the view; therefore, our view was breathtaking. The rooms themselves are very basic- 2 double beds pushed together making a king size bed, dresser, night stands, ancient TV (but it worked!), mini bar stocked with beer, pop and water, liquor dispensers and bathrooms. Air conditioner worked great (even though we did not use it as it was not humid or hot in the rooms), we always had plenty of hot water, water pressure was better than at home, and housekeeping did a great job with cleaning our room in a timely manner and restocking the mini bar.
Staff- Amazing!!! They are so friendly, kind and accommodating that I cannot say enough positive words about the staff the Riu Cancun. They worked very hard and we tipped them well because they very much deserved it.
Grounds- beautiful! I liked the fact that everything at the resort was centralized and we did not have to walk far from place to place. The grounds were always clean as you always found someone mopping, cleaning and dusting non-stop.
Pools- Very impressive freestyle pools. I liked how the pools were divided as there was a freestyle pool; activity pool and swim up bar pool. Most resorts offer one giant pool in which everything happens all at once, but I appreciated the three smaller pools dedicated to a specific activity as this way no one bothered you or got in your way. The pools were a little chilly when you first stepped in but once you get used to it it's fine. Most importantly the pools were always clean and well maintained.
Food- The buffet was very good. They had cooks preparing everything fresh right in front of you, excellent variety, and with the menu changing every day it never felt repetitive. We tried all of the a la carts and were not impressed as we felt that the buffet was way better. The Brazilian wasn't bad (every carnivores dream). You start off by getting your own salads, soups and cold appetizers from the salad bar and then they bring a plate of garnish to the table and walk around and give out pieces of different meats. The Steakhouse was the worst in my opinion. First of all I could not understand why it was so difficult getting reservations to that place when the restaurant was almost empty every single night. Second of all, I don't know if the staff was in training or simply disorganized but it was a chaos (dropping plates, getting orders mixed up, forgetting to bring drinks). They start you off with the most random shared appetizers platter (creaser salad which was large lettuce leaves swimming in creaser dressing, tempura fried vegetables and chicken wings, and a tomato and artichoke soup). We both ordered sirloin steaks. I asked for medium well and got well done, and my boyfriend requested medium and got medium well. The dessert was the best part of the meal so make sure to stay for that. The Japanese was pretty bad too which is too bad because I anticipated that one the most (we ended up missing Mexican night at the buffet for that). Besides the sushi appetizer the rest of the meal wasn't great. Other than that, their a la carte reservation policy is that you can reserve up to two days a head and the desk is located at the main lobby and is open everyday 7am-3pm. The Steakhouse and the Japanese are the most popular so if you are looking to get a reservation make sure to get to the desk by 9am.
Beach- it was a major disappointment as the beach is pretty much non existent and very rocky and it seemed that out of all of the hotels the beach was the worst the Riu Cancun. We travelled during an off season and the hotel was pretty empty, so I cannot imagine fighting for beach chairs, sun and space during one of their busier seasons.
Entertainment- the evening entertainment was not bad. My favourite show by far was the Michael Jackson show. The rest were your typical all inclusive resort type of shows, but they were conducted by professional dancers who perform in different resorts. After the evening show you can stay at the hotel and go to Pacha which is their disco, or go with the entertainment staff to one of the clubs in Cancun. Other than that, there are lots of other activities to do at the hotel during the day and it is your choice whether you want to participate in them or not.
Excursions and other activities- we also went to Coco Bongo which we booked through Sanquest. We tried to do it with the hotel but kept missing Coco Bongo nights (they take you there on Mondays and Thursdays). We paid 50$ USD per person for the tickets, had to get there on our own (with the hotel they provide transportation to the club) and we opted to take a cab (even though Coco Bongo is a 10 minute walk). If you're going to try the night life in Cancun definitely consider visiting Coco Bongo as it was out of this world experience (live Vegas style shows and disco all throughout the night). As for excursions we booked Xplor through Sanquest as well and paid 139$ USD per person (which was overpriced and you can probably get it cheaper across the street in the mall). The excursion was well worth the money! It includes 4 activities- under cave swimming, under cave rafting, 16 zip lines and driving the amphibian vehicles through the jungle and the caves, and it also included a delicious buffet! And we also tried the jet skis which we paid 65$ USD for 30 minutes (they are priced per machine).
To summarize my review our experience at the Riu Cancun was incredible and do not hesitate going to that place!
" [...]
Reviewer: BusyMissy
Date: Jan. 25, 2011
Rating: 
"Rooms were awesome, we had 2 giant kingsize beds, double marble sinks stocked minibar & great housekeeping. Beautiful & awesome hotel, lots of impressive art & decoration. The food is not 5 star more like the 4 star resorts in Mexico or Cuba. The beach was small & you had to be careful there were some rocks not get pushed into them by the waves. Never saw any entertainment other than the movie theatre had some hollywood movies on. They were stingy on use of their catamarans & dinghy's had to wait & maybe go out once a day for half an hour. For such a luxury hotel they could buy a few more of these they're cheap, instead of all the paintings etc.
Check out the Brazilian restaurant tons of meat it's a carnivores delight. " [...]
Reviewer: Travel Junkie
Date: Jan. 24, 2010
Rating: 
"We have taken several trips to Mexico and this one was the absolute best. The Riu Cancun had everything that we were looking for in an all inclusive. Breathtaking views, beautiful sandy beach, courteous staff with great service, more food then we have ever eaten and wonderful entertainment. After staying here I can't imagine why would ever take a chance booking anywhere else. Everything was perfect!" [...]
Reviewer: reviewer2458
Date: Nov. 28, 2009
Rating: "The staff was very accomodating. The food was excellent - I never went hungry and was never bored with selection. My fridge and liquor dispenser were always stocked, the bars were plentiful and easy to find. The beach was fantastic and the decor within the hotel was very classy. The whole building had a somewhat musty smell, but was very clean and orderly." [...]
Reviewer: winnermancon1745
Date: Apr. 11, 2009
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