We just got back from our vacation, and I have to say, this was a nice hotel! We went with a 13 year old, a 10 year old and a 7 month old, and had a great time! The staff is very attentive and friendly, the food is great but does get a little redundant, the grounds are clean, the beach is nice. It is a bit loud late into the night, so make sure your room is up high if you travel with kids. For moms and dads with babies, bring your baby Bjorn and bottle warmer, and prepare to do laundry (which they have on site)...ask for the Mayan coffee at Maria Margarita!

We planned a last minute trip (two days before departure date) so our options were limited. I did no research on this and found it to be average at best in all areas. The front desk was no help. The bellboy was willing to assist for the right dollar amount (his English was good and he was indeed helpful). There are two restaurants that you must make reservations for (one indoor and one outdoor). The selection on the menu was slim and the food was average. Go outside of the restaurant to eat quality food. The food at the main restaurant (open for breakfast, lunch and dinner) was poor. The hours it was opened was also an inconvenience. The breakfast hours were 7:30 to 10:30, lunch hours 12:30 to 3:30 and dinner hours 6:30 to 10:30. It was unusual to experience such a limited number of hours for this to be open. Another issue was there are limited number of spaces (chairs) out by the pool that are in the sun. You will need to get out to the pool and reserve your chairs with a towel prior to 7:00 am or you will be spending part of your day in the shade. Most of the staff is unfriendly and not appreciative of your business. Do not go here if you want to be pampered. You will NOT be pampered. There are a few isolated outgoing and friendly employees. The rooms are average...no complaints here but nothing spectacular either. The beach area is minimal. Overall, the hotel is clean and average in most areas. My recommendation is spend a few extra dollars and go elsewhere.

we stayed at the caribe over spring break last year. It was great. The hotel is beautiful. The beach is great. The water is calm for floating and kids(take your own blow up mats in your suitcase and leave them with a new family) If you can find them in Cancun they are $15.00. We went with 2 other families and we all loved it. The food is very good, especially for a all-inclusive. The drinks were good and service was pretty good. We requested rooms toghether over looking pool and ocean.
Of course you do not get this. The desk was no help. A well placed tip to your bell boy will get you what you want. Our room was great and the view from the top floors incredible. The pizza is good. The restraunts are not bad either. The 24 hour club room had pre-made sandwiches and junk food that was no good, but if you still need food all night after all day of eating, then you won't notice. We had children age 10,14 and they loved it. They drank frozen fruity drinks(specify no alcohol, or they might get it) all week and met friends. This is some what of a family resort vs a party place, but there was plenty of partying around if that's what you want. The bus stop is very close and will take you to the tourists shops or down town for a buck. would I go back here, you bet.....but my heart got left in Playa del carmen......so that's where I am off to next..... any questions E-mail....

I stayed at this hotel for many years when it was the Gran Caribe Real.
We liked it so much, we decided to take 40 of our friends down and get married there.

Unfortunately since the Riu has taken over, the hotel has gone to the dogs. We came to Cancun and made all the arrrangements 9 months before the wedding was to take place. I found out the day before we left that my wedding and reception site had been given to someone else. I got the reception dinner menu less than a week before we left. It took months and help of several others to get the spa services list. Several of my guests' room reservations were lost, a full third became violently ill, and the general chaos caused what should have been a wonderful trip to be disasterous.

The catering managers and management are extremely rude and ungrateful for your business. I have never been treated so rudely in my life especially when spending thousands on their crappy food and drinks.
They have gone from a 5 star hotel to a 2 star hotel practically overnight. Lots of changes have been made probably to save money andit is extremely apparent. I highly recommend you stay somewhere else!