We’ve just returned from 7 nights at the Riu Cancun. This was our fourth trip to Cancun, but our first stay at the Riu. Going into this trip I had somewhat lowered expectations for the Riu based on some of the previous reviews. On our previous three trips, we’d stayed at the Marriott Casa Magna, which always exceeded our expections. We chose the Riu because it’s all-inclusive and we were travelling with kids for the first time and because of the deteriorated beach on the long side of the “seven.” For this trip, we brought along my partner’s 15 year-old daughter and 17 year-old son, as well as my 18 year-old godson.

Overall, I was exceptionally pleased with the Riu. However, there were a few things that would keep me from saying that this is a 5-star property.

We used the hotel’s complimentary shuttle from the airport, which we’d prearranged through Riu’s reservations center. We did have to wait about 20 minutes outside the airport, as the van was waiting for another group to arrive. After that we were taken directly to the hotel. Check-in was a little long, but no longer than any other place I’ve stayed in Mexico. The front desk staff was quite friendly and welcoming. As others have mentioned, we were offered drinks while waiting at the desk. This is quite a nice touch, especially after travelling for so long. Once we got checked in, we went up to the room and our bags followed about a half-hour later.

So, just a few notes on other aspects of the hotel:

FOOD: We only at at the buffets—mostly at Don Juan, but once at La Mision. The food at both was great at all three meals. La Mision is nice, but with a much smaller selection. The wait staff at the buffet was attentive and friendly and was great about bringing us drinks from the bar. I always left a couple dollars for them as they worked so hard. The lines through the buffet moved quite fast so there was never a wait to fill your plate. The 24-hour food in the sports bar is pretty meager, so make sure you’re done eating with dinner.

BEACH/POOLS: The beach was great. We always found loungers, but palapas were hard to come by. That was fine as we were out for sun. We bought aqua socks at Wal-Mart in town for about $15 and they were great for going out into the water. It can be really rocky in many places, so if your feet are unprotected, watch out. Other than that, the water was warm and calm. We never got in any of the pools, since the beach was so nice. The quiet pool looked pretty nice and was never that crowded. The party pool with the swim-up bar was pretty rowdy, but not out of control—just people having a good time.

OTHER GUESTS: The hotel is a very international destination, with people from all over the world. Also, there were people of all ages: families with small children, high school grads out for the summer, newlyweds and couples all the way up to their 70’s and 80’s. Now, there has been a lot of complaining here on TA by our friends from across the pond about rowdy Americans. I have to admit that they are right. But, we saw out of control kids there from all over the world—the UK, included. The hotel seems to be pretty lax about recently graduated kids running amok, banging on doors and all around raising hell at all hours of the night. We could have done without this, but it didn’t ruin our stay.

CAUTIONS: Just watch out for your towel card ($20 if you lose it). And, be aware that if you use the complimentary transfer, you’ll be called in your room by their rep in the lobby until you come down to talk to them. They will try to sell you day trips. We’d already booked ours through entertainment plus, as they seem to offer the best deals. Sometimes, it seemed that they’d run out of Mexican currency at the front desk if you need to cash a travelers cheque or give you a thousand pesos in 20’s and 50’s, which makes for a pretty big and inconvenient wad to carry.
Other than that, we were really happy with our choice of the Riu. The kids loved it and had a great time and we’ll definitely be back.

Me and my Partner stayed at the Riu Cancun from the 25th May to the 5 June 2008. The Flight and transfer from the airport was ok no delays or anything. The Hotel is breathtaking, very beautiful and also clean. I had read the reviews on a daily basis on tripadvisor from the time i booked the holiday in November 2007 so i wasn't sure what to expect when i arrived. The food is very good so much choice for all people of different tastes. My favourite was breakfast there was so many different choices and the staff were so friendly. We ate at the Japanese once and the brazillian twice i found this a nice change as we stayed for 10 days. The beach is beautiful a little rocky but nothing really to complain about. W e never entered the pool bar because this was always full of loud rowdy americans and the water looked to cloudy for my liking. The entertainment staff were good and they also worked really hard they seemed to be there everyday. We had 3/4 days of rain so the staff made sure they kept people entertained inside the hotel with card game's , bingo and ping pong. The Rooms we stayed on the 12th floor and the views were stunning of the quiet pool and the beach, the rooms are very clean but i did notice the bed had a horrible cheesy sour smell and we discovered that this was coming from the mattress after a few days i couldn't bare sleeping on the bed and spoke to reception about moving to another room, this wasn't a problem and we moved to a room on the 11th floor. I found that the beds were not as hard as i was expecting and we didn't have a problem drifting of to sleep. The staff are all helpful and friendly and i would certainly like to return to the Riu Cancun in the Near future.

Arrived with my family of 6 including son and daughter in laws families june 7th for a 14 night holiday from uk,met with a further 14 family members now resident in the usa,the hotel was superlative, the staff from waiters to management were absolutly 5 star nothing was to much trouble,the age range in our group was from 65 to 2 yrs and everyone was catered for. a special mention for the entertainment team,javier,froggy and all the girls if we could give you 10 stars we would you all combined to make our experience top class,this is the first hotel i have stayed at which offers its patrons a kitchen tour,and finally the food! again it was 5 star so much choice,no gippy tums for the entire crew for 14 nights unheard of,i can fully reccomend this hotel with the highest confidence i can't wait to return,a special mention for Donna from customer service you do a great job!!

My husband and I stayed at the Riu Cancun from May 24-June 1, 2008. We take vacations every year and have been to various places in the Carribbean, and this was our 4th trip to Cancun. Before I get into my review, let me say that we are not picky or fussy people, but we do like a nice hotel and like to have a good time, as we work hard all year for our vacation! We stayed at the Riu in Cabo last year and it was the most beautiful hotel ever, so that's why we chose the Riu Cancun. As nice as the hotel was and as friendly and courteous the staff were, I have to agree with SunCraver's June 10 posting, that it was let down by some of its guests. You would have thought that they have never been around other people before or never let out of their house or been to a pool bar before.

HOTEL:
Our check in was quick. We were originally given a room on the 13th floor and requested a different room because there is no view on the 13th floor; it is blocked by a wall. We were then given a room on the 4th floor, which I would recommend, as the wait for elevators gets pretty crowded, so we were able to take the stairs. The hotel is in an excellent location if you like to walk around, shop, go to bars, etc. Our room was clean, fridge stocked, nice view. It is true that the beds are a little hard, but after all the sun and drinks, we had no problem sleeping. And people keep saying they fell through the crack in the middle of the bed..... come on, at home do you really sleep cuddled together all night in the middle of the bed?

POOLS:
Believe what you read about the pool bar- it is VERY true and it's a shame. At other resorts we have stayed, we do enjoy using the pool bar, it's relaxing and fun and a little laid back. Not here. It was full of loud, unnecessarily obnoxious and gross people. AND it had nothing to do with being American or being British. We were in there for about 10 minutes, and in that 10 minutes, we heard Americans jokingly yelling and calling each other names the we could get shot for, we saw British people putting their cigarettes out in the pool, and saw a women having to be carried out of the pool (by four guys, mind you) because she was so sloppy drunk. All in 10 minutes! The people were so disrespectful, to the rest of the guests and the bartenders. It’s hard to avoid too, because even though it is its own pool, it is right next to the other pool, and there were a few kids and other people around, but they didn't care, they swear, yell at the bartenders, make out, whatever. Anyway, enough about the pool bar.
There was an infinity pool, which most of the little kids/parents hung out, an activity pool where there is volleyball, water polo, contests, etc, and a relaxing pool.

BEACH:
The beach at the Riu seems to be the nicest in that area. There was room for a lot of chairs for sunbathing, plus a volleyball area and room for the kid’s games.

STAFF:
Everyone was very friendly. The maids, bartenders and front desk couldn't do enough to make you happy- always smiling and saying hello. The entertainment staff is awesome. If we had kids and brought them on vacation, I would feel totally safe leaving them with the staff. They had a lot of activities for them and were really good with the kids.

FOOD:
Now, I couldn't believe it when I read some reviews and people said that "the breakfast got a little monotonous" or "the food was horrible". HOW IN THE WORLD can you get tired of having your choice of WHATEVER YOU WANTED? I swear there are at least 50 -100 things to choose from at the buffets. There are two buffets plus three other restaurants to choose from. It shocks me that people would complain about the food here.

All in all, it is a nice hotel and we had an awesome time. We would definitely return to Cancun, although maybe try a different hotel, just for something different.

I do feel the need to say that I think it is a shame that some of the British guests to write that one of the things that they hated about their trip were “the Americans”, because they are so obnoxious and rude. (What about some of the “Brits” who don't know how to wait their turn in the buffet or reservation lines?) It is a shame that you feel that way, because most of us are not like that and are actually quite fun. We are also looking for a relaxing holiday. The way you act is all a reflection on how you were raised, not your race or nationality. Perhaps you should say that you "dislike" the same things that we do- obnoxious, rude people in general.