My boyfriend and I (ages 22 and 21) stayed at the Riu Cancun from Aug. 4-11th. Right away the hotel property stood out as exceptional compared to the others in the area. With beautiful rooms, a gorgeous beach, and fantastic service, the Riu lived up to its 5 star reputation.

The hotel has 4 pools: the quiet pool which is in the shade half the day, the bar pool which is always bustling with excitement, the infinity pool which is deeper for swimming, and the activity pool where you can play volley ball, etc. The pools always appeared clean, were a nice temperature and were never over crowded. They do close at 7 for cleaning, but by that time I felt I had enough swimming in anyways. All pools overlook the Carribean sea and the beach, which is also kept groomed. There are PLENTY of beach chairs available. We never had trouble finding any. Overall, the hotel grounds are breathtaking...simply beautiful.

Food at the Riu is plentiful and delicious. The buffet in the Don Juan restaurant has something for everyone...no lie. It is also open for long hours, so you will never go hungry! We also ate at the Corozone one night where they brought a new piece of meat to the table every 5 minutes. It was a neat experience. My only complaints regarding food was a lack of real juice and good chocolate...but those are just personal preferences. Everything was really great.

Our room was spacious and attractive. A fully stocked mini-fridge and liquor dispenser was refilled every 2 days, our balcony had a great view even from the first floor, and the room was very cold! Never a problem with the A/C! I tipped the maid each day and she did a great job to keep our room clean. The TV was a good size and had cable (not that you are in Cancun to watch TV anyways). The room did always feel damp, however, despite the air conditioning. As a result the shower seemed a little moldy at the top and the sheets smelled strange...but it was hardley a big deal.

Service at the Riu was AWESOME!! Every staff member is eager to serve you with a smile. Most made jokes and were funny...all were beyond polite. The bartenders are the fastest I have ever seen and they never forget what you have been drinking. The entertainment staff was fantastic...very funny and upbeat. The service staff made you feel right at home. Tip them! They deserve it!

Overall we had a fantastic experience at the Riu Cancun and would definitly return. The location is in walking distance from Coco Bongo with is a MUST if you are in Cancun...the best show I have ever seen. I also recommend the Jungle tour (driving your own speed boat and snorkeling in a coral reef). The hotel was appropriate for both families and party animals alike. Riu Cancun was paradise!

I recently returned from the RIU Cancun where my husband and I were married on July 17th. We read many helpful reviews on this website prior to making our decision to have our wedding at the RIU and relied heavily on the opinions of fellow travelers. Since there are many reviews that talk about the hotel specifics, I am going to focus on the wedding aspect of our trip. It should be noted that we had 48 guests that stayed at the hotel and a fantastic stay was had by all!!!

Wedding Coordinator-
We arrived at the hotel a few days before the wedding and met with the wedding coordinator to finalize all of the details. The wedding coordinator, Alexandra, appears young, but don't worry because she is on top of every last detail. Our wedding went very smoothly and this is due in large part to her.

Ceremony-
We chose to get married at 5:30 in the gazebo. This is a good time to get married because the gazebo area is shaded by this time and was a very comfortable temperature. We had a violinist play for the ceremony which was a nice option in place of recorded music. An English speaking minister performed our service and we felt he was very nice.

Cocktail Hour-
Immediately after the ceremony we had a mariachi band come in and play from 6:00-7:00. The mariachi band gave a nice touch and entertained our guests while we escaped to take pictures with the photographer. The mariachi band played on the side of the gazebo where we had a small bar and appetizer table set-up. The hotel ropes off a good portion of the patio area so that other hotel guests cannot join the party.

Dinner-
After the cocktail hour our guests moved over to the Brazilian restaurant for dinner. We opted to pay a little extra so that the restaurant was closed off to other guests and was private just for our party. We had dinner from 7:00-8:30. The Brazilian restaurant offers 6 different courses of meat in addition to the buffet of different salads and vegetables. The dinner was fun and enjoyable.

Party-
After dinner we moved to the disco at the hotel. The disco doesn't open to the hotel guests until 11:00, so we paid to have it opened for our party from 8:30-11:00. The disco opened for the rest of the hotel at 11:00, but most of our guests stayed and danced until 2:30 in the morning.

Photographer-
When you meet with the wedding coordinator, she will offer several different photography options. The photographer will meet with you a few days after the wedding with your albums all complete. We made a side deal with the photographer and for $100 cash he gave us all (about 250) of the pictures he took on CD. We have since taken the CD to a local photographer so that we could have large portraits made. We also made a side deal with the photographer for $50 each he made a smaller album for each set of parents to have. We were very happy with the pictures that he took.

Videographer-
Also, when you meet with the wedding coordinator, she will offer several different video packages. The videographer did a great job and we were able to view the video and take it home with us a few days after the wedding. He did a great job selecting our music and editing the video.

Flowers-
My family owns a flowershop back home so flowers were very important. We chose the flowers from a book when we met with the wedding coordinator and everything was beautiful!

Spa-
The day of the wedding I went to the hotel spa with my mom and sisters and we all got our nails, hair and make-up done. It was fun and we were all happy with the job the stylists did.

Overall, our wedding experience at the RIU Cancun went very smoothly and was exactly how we had hoped and imagined the day would be. I highly recomend this hotel if you are considering it for your wedding. The wedding coordinator is very open to ideas, so if there's something that you want that is not being offered do not be afraid to ask, in all cases she was able to accommodate me. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me at carax@comcast.net and I would be happy to help.

We returned on sunday after an amazing 2 week holiday in Rui Cancun. Everything about the hotel was great, the food, the drink and of course the helpful and never sitting down staff!! where do they get there energy from!
Cancun has everything to offer all age groups, 5 mins away on a bus is the 2 main shopping centres with louis vuitton etc!
the nightlife is a 5 min walk away and is very good, would definitely recommend coco bongos (but do reserve a table otherwise you are standing from 11pm-4am)!!!!!!

i wish i was still there!! only problem was the 10hour flight to get there!!!! cant they move cancun closer to England!!!!!

My stay at the Riu was great. Myself and 3 other girlfriends booked this trip for a quick girlfrend getaway. The pools and beach was serene and beautiful, the hotel is very clean, the rooms were immaculate with all the necessities (iron, coffee, etc) and the food is wonderful. Although we kept missing the Japanese restaurant due to the confusing reservation criteria (you can only eat there if you make a reservation in the morning for that evening), the main restaurant and buffet were great (we ate mostly at the buffet: great selection). Staff is polite and friendly. When trying to make an expensive call home, I keep getting the answering machine, the operater in the lobby let me get a free call in when she saw how frustrated I got. She was so sweet and I reached someone. I had a great time learning Salsa dances near the pool. The entertaining staff were so friendly, it was fun!!

My gripes is how close the beds are in a double room; not good, I felt I was sleeping in the same bed as my friend. In addition, the swim up bar pool and jacuzzi was dirty and cold. I also didn't like waiting around to get check in our rooms.

Otherwise, I would have to say that Riu is a great hotel to stay in beautiful Cancun.