What can I say, this Palace is nice as hell. NO if's or ands about it. I looked at a couple of reviews before i left and saw some people complain about the food being the same. The only thing that was the same was that they had MEAT and seafood every damn day. And unless u dont like meat and seafood then yeah u are in trouble.

Also as far as the reservations, you can make them 7-10 am not only at 7 am like others stated. and plus....the buffet is best restaurant to go to cuz you can eat all u want.

As far as the lobby....man its the nicest I have seen in Cancun and this is my 6th time going and staying at diff. hotel. They have a piano lounge, the theater for the show is great. The bar by the ocean infront of the sushi restaurant is the best. A shout out to my Boy RUBEN, if you go you will see him and take care of him cuz he does a great job at the bar. And if u want tequila ask for DON JULIO, they hide it at the bottom of the bar. Guaranteed to not having a hang over with it. Trust me i drank the whole bottle by myself.

Overall, its a great place. All the rooms are junior suites and they have some master suites. But regardless the run of the house is ocean view junior suites with open wet bar with rum, tequila, vodka, brandy and a fridge with beers, pops, and water. Oh and as far as the beers they serve...its only CORONA unlike other places where you get some run down beer.

Service, qualtiy, and location.
Its 6 stars so you cant go wrong.

I arrived back from cancun yesterday after staying at the riu palace for 2 weeks for my honeymoon. I did alot of research and this really paid off.
From start to finish this was a fantastic experience. The checkin was really quick they give you a safe key straight away.I would like to say that the person from newyork made a good point please do not leave anything worth $16000 out in your room! I wouldnt leave something worth that much out in my own house and it wouldnt matter where you stay people earning not very much would be tempted to take it and also the water stopped working for a few hours and we were all annoyed but its a hotel not a water company these things happen. The lobby is amazing decorated beautifully.Make sure you speak to Ivan on the front desk hes a top bloke. We then went to our room number 733. It was perfect looking straight out on the carribean sea the room was spacious and clean.
We then went down to the resturant the don roberto. Id heard that all inclusive meals could be dull but this was not the case. My wife and i like completely different food but we always had a choice of great food to eat. In here you will meet cesar. Hes an absolute gent! He always makes sure your ok and hel have a laugh with you and on the first day he said to us thet if we needed anything at all during our stay to let him know and he would sort it which helped us to relax stright away. We only went to 2 of the restuarants the brazilian and the gourmet which were both top quality.
The beach is quite small but lovely. The pools are both really good. The bars are all nice but they sometimes put to much ice in drinks. The entertainment isnt great but youl find lots to do in town. The location is brilliant near the main places.
For shopping go to sears which is attached to a really good shopping centre which my wife really enjoyed. avoid la itza which is expensive and the flea markrets as its a jumble sale and the people their are a pain as are the people trying to sell you trips do not talk to them or they wont let you go. Also avoid taxis use the buses its really cheap. Also pay in pesos for everything it always works out cheaper than dollars.
Definitely go to dolphin discovery this place is amazing trust me you will never forget this place.
Thats it really except to say ive travelled all round the world but cancun was the best place ive ever been to and this hotel was the best by miles. Have fun!

We went there from 11/13-11/20 with our two kids, 3 and 1 years old. First the positives: We enjoyed the beautifully decorated building and grounds which were impeccable. Service was, in most part, good, especially by the wait staff and lobby staff. Room had great ocean view of turquoise waters by far the best view in Cancun. However, this hotel does not deserve 5 stars as some sites rate them. Expedia only rates them 3 stars, and I agree with them. Here are the negatives: The grounds are very compact. Not a mega resort where you can walk around a large area. The beach is small and the water has too many rocks. The pool area is small. The children's pool is a joke, it's smaller than a jacuzzi. Too many mosquitos on the grounds. The food was mediocre. Dinner buffet menu sucked - a whole lot of variety but not much to eat. And the food was too salty. Felt wary taking children to any restaurant, including buffet, because guests were mainly old and young couples who seemed to despise children being there. Or maybe it's because a lot of them were European or Latin American. After a few days, each meal was the same. Got bored of the food. Sushi at the Japanese restaurant sucked -not comparable to US. Steakhouse had some tough steaks. Housekeeping was not consistent. Walls were too thin. Only got hot water, no cold. All in all, a two or 3 star hotel, but this is Cancun, and it probably is one of the best in Cancun. If you lower your standards from that of US, then this is probably heaven. I'd like to try the JW Marriott or the Gran Melia next time.

Just returned from the Riu last week. My fiancee and I stayed there for 4nights (and unfortunately stayed at the Hilton the last 2 nights) and we had a great time. This is my 5th trip, and had previously stayed at the Royal Sunset and Gran Caribe (now the Riu Caribe). This was by far the best. As a matter of fact, the day I returned, I booked again for next year. Anyway, here's the lowdown:

Rooms-fantastic. We had an ocean view on the 6th floor, directly in the center of the hotel (also overlooked the pool). The rooms were spotless and beautiful. Fully stocked (and re-stocked) minibar. We had no cold water for about an hour on our first day, but it was quicky resolved. We kept ALL valuables in the safe (as always instructed) so we had no problems. Walls are a little on the thin side, but didn't matter too much b/c it was a quiet week)

Food-not too bad. Having to be on line early to get a restaurant reservation kind of sucked, but it forced me to get up and enjoy the day. Only ate at the buffet and steak place b/c there were a lot of great restaurants downtown that I wanted to eat at (LaHabicuela and Rolandi's...we also found a great burrito place next to Coco Bongo) The snacks, etc were ok, enough to tide you over. Overall, the drinks were the best. You can also have breakfast, lunch and drinks at the Riu Cancun next door. While the old Gran Caribe offered room service once a day, the Riu does not, but no big deal.

Drinking/Bars-the guys at the poolside bars (Can and Cun) were great. Gave them a good tip the first day and were set all week. The girls on the beach bringing the drinks were great too. Never did I have an empty cup.

Pools-beautiful, though the one nearest the lobby was chilly. Get out early if you want a prime spot near the bar and poolside.

Beach-Beautiful as was the water. Very rocky and hard to see them, so stay near the end closest to the Riu Cancun.

Location-great!! Close to the good clubs and bars. We walked to Senor Frogs too. Very close to bus stop and to Plaza Caracol.

Activities-everyone had a lot of energy and were fun, although we walked over to the Riu Cancun at night and there was a lot more going on. If you want peace and quiet, lay on the beach. We also went snorkling, which was fun, but because the waves were rolling that day, everyone was getting seasick...kind of funny.

Check-in/out- no problems at all. We arrived on a Wednesday around 11 and there were no lines and our room was available. When we checked out, it was a little crazy, but only had to wait 5 or so minutes and they held our bags for the afternoon.

Staff-Not a problem with anyone. All were very friendly and accomodating to any request.

Overall- Great place. Am going back and would never stay anywhere else there again!