We were sent to the Riu Cancun after an "over booking" problem at the RPLA next door. When we showed up at the front desk, we were exhausted, angry, and frustrated, after being treated horribly by the front desk people at the rpla. Oscar at the front desk at the riu cancun turned that all around right away. He was funny, and told us everything we needed to know about the hotel.

The hotel itself was beautiful and very clean. Our rooms were very nice,! Yes the beds are hard, but I slept wonderfully. The drinks were fabulous, and the people seemed more friendly here. There is no wait service at the pool or on the beach, but there are plenty of bars everywhere. Its not that hard to walk a few feet. The bartender at the swimup bar (David) is the best bartender we have ever seen. Give him a tip, he truley deserves it.

The food was excellent. We didn't eat at the specialty restraunts here, because we had full access to the rpla. But I thought the buffet at the Riu Cancun was much better than the one next door.

My husband and friends and I absolutely enjoyed the riu cancun and will definately save some time and money next time and just come here.

Just returned from the Riu Cancun, there are pluses and minuses, just like everywhere else. For the $$$ spent however, it was a bargain.....our 7 day stay cost $2000 for 2, junior suite, and RT non stop air from JFK NY. I had stayed at the Sheraton Towers, The Miramar Mission, The Hilton & the Oasis on previous trips to Cancun.
The junior suite was ample space wise, and the balcony on the 4th floor overlooked the pools and the Caribbean Sea. The safe was the old fashioned lock cylinder with key, same as the front door lock - cumbersome to carry around all day. The room key # was also etched into the key itself, not very good for security in case it was lost or stolen. The refrigerator was stocked with 6 Coronas, 1 mineral water, 2 Pepsis, 2 7Ups, and 4 bottles of water. The first four days the fridge was restocked, the last 3 it wasn't. I helped myself to replacements when the beverage cart was left in the hallway on our next to last day. The cleaning maids do not take care of the fridge, the beverage people are a seperate service. The first 4 days the room was cleaned before noon, the last three days by 3PM. Amenities in the room were limited to packets of shampoo and a bar of soap. We had enough bath and hand towels in the room. The shower was a handheld sprayer head & hose, and sometimes the water flowed along the shower edge and onto the bath floor, oh well, the shower curtain was porous. The room had a 2 beds, a pullout sofa, enough closet space & plastic hangers, 2 night tables, one bureau with a 19" TV on it.
There were three pools on the property, with people drinking in all of them, not just the bar pool. Towels were available all day long. The "adult" pool had kids in it every day. On the rooftop of our building was a solarium with a non functioning jacuzzi.
The beach was nice, it was sheltered so the waves were very mild compared to those hotels directly facing the ocean. There were exposed and hidden rocks in the water, possibly from Wilma's aftereffects? It had that soft cool Cancun sand and views of Isla Mujeres across the sea. Sunrises were visible here, if you wanted to view sunsets, you had to go next door to the Rui Caribe. Each morning, people would leave towels or books on beach loungers to mark their territory, in violation of posted Hotel policy. I simply went to the beach after breakfast, placed an empty longer behind a "taken" palapa, and had shade from 10AM to about 2PM.
There was no lack of food or beverages throughout the day. If you've been on a cruise, the food was comparable. Nothing stood out as exceptional, but there was plenty of variety and quantity for each meal and in between. I was able to pack on about 5 lbs during my stay.
Checking in & out was a breeze, and we found the majority of staff to be helpful and smiling. This was a bargain vacation, and I certainly feel we got our money's worth!

We stayed at the Riu Cancun July 3rd to July 10th. Our party consisted on myself, my husband, our two children (1 & 4) and two sets of grandparents. Our travel agent booked us through Apple Vacations, and everything went smoothly.

Flight & Customs: We flew out of Pittsburgh with USA3000 airlines. It was a comfortable flight, but I couldn't believe they charged you for food! We paid $5 for a warmed up egg sandwich! But they did offer
complimentary juice and beverage service. They also gave you free headphones to watch the movie. As far as entering the country, I highly recommend flying out on a Tuesday. We got through customs with
no problems, and we never waited in line for more than a minute.

Hotel: It is beautiful!!!! When I saw it from our bus from the airport I understood what people were saying in their reviews. It looks stunning, and it just gets better when you go into the building. Also, the location is as good as it gets. Right across the street from malls, shopping and restaurants--it was perfect. The grounds of the hotel are immaculate; it's true that people are cleaning constantly. And the lobby entrance--wow.

Rooms: The rooms are nice. There were four of us in a standart room, so we felt kind of cramped occasionally. But for two people, they are plenty big. The Corona in the fridge was a definite plus!

View: Wow. The view from the room they initially placed us in was partially blocked from a building. They put us in another room (thanks Ale!) within a couple of hours. The view from that room overlooked the gazebo, and we saw several weddings. The ocean--I can't even describe how incredible it is! And the Riu Cancun has stunning views of it from every corner of the hotel.

Food: I couldn't believe it! I've been to Mexico 4 times, and this was the first time that I actually loved the food! It was really good--especially breakfasts at Don Juan. We ate at the Asian restaurant once, and that was good. But our favorite was when Don Juan had the Asian theme. Their food was awesome--especially the sushi! And I loved the little sandwiches at the Sports Bar. They were perfect when it came to getting the munchies after many late-night beers!

Staff: Soooooo friendly! They really fussed over my daughter (well, she is cute!), and made us all feel so welcome. Always smiling, always wanting to accomodate. They were wonderful.

Pools: Unfortunately, we didn't discover the "quiet pool" until our last two days. It's the pool on the right side of the hotel (if you're facing the ocean). That was definitely the best pool, and so relaxing. Our kids used the baby pool, too. It's very small, but was perfect for our 1 year old. It's right next to a jungle gym too, so that was nice for the kids. The swim-up bar...I'll get to that later.

Entertainment: Our son had the most wonderful time with this. Every night the kids get on stage and perform songs and have little contests. My son is a ham on stage, so he really enjoyed this. We (the adults) only saw the Michael Jackson show. It was entertaining, even though it was lip-synching. But that guy really looks just like Michael Jackson!

Okay, some of the things we didn't care for. Yes, as reported, the beds are kind of hard. But that wasn't what I had a problem with. It was that they were two beds pushed together, and sometimes things fell between the beds. Strange. Also, I agree with previous reports that the swim-up bar is gross!! It is literally 20 degrees warmer than the quiet pool, and I think that is due to so many people peeing
in the pool! And if you look at the water, you'd swear it was a shade
of yellow! Also, non-smokers should be aware that there are a lot of smokers in there. There also aren't a whole lot of bathrooms. It was a good walk if you were in certain areas. Another issue we had was with the outdoor restaurant, La Mision. My mother-in-law named it the "bird restaurant" because there were crows flying in and out of it all day. It was kind of gross, so we didn't eat there. And finally, the alcohol. There wasn't really much of a choice as far as brands we liked. I craved a good vodka or whiskey drink the whole week...I survived though! :)

Overall, our experience was wonderful. This hotel is definitely one that my family and I would recommend and consider visiting again.

My friend and I stayed for 2 weeks in the Riu Cancan in Jun/Jul 07. The hotel is so beautiful and so big. The staff were excellent and the hotel was spotless. We got fresh towels each day in our room, clean sheets and our room was kept so clean during our stay. The food is endless in the Restaurants and tasted so good. We enjoyed going for lunch or dinner each day wondering what theme would be served. The pool entertainment was very good too and made the day go alot quicker.
Our fridge was stocked with Corona, Water and soft drinks each day and there are 4 litres of spirits in your room! You can order any drink you like all day long, its no problem!
Each night at 11pm, staff from the hotel brought everyone out to a different club every night. They have a bus organised and your wristband ready so that we skip all the queues and get into a VIP area in each club. There is Vodka etc and mixers on all the tables and then table service with free drink all night (all you pay is 440-$45 dollars for entrance to the club). This is a great way of getting to know other people and the clubs are brilliant!
I would recomment this holiday to anyone. I will definetely be going back next year!

I also went to an excellent dentist while I was there to get my teeth whitened. I highly recommend this dentist and he speaks English also.
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Enjoy your stay!