My husband and I booked the RIU for a long weekend over Fathers Day. We had a great stay and would go again, however, there are a few things that I will comment on. If you are reading this, you are trying to gather all the info you can to make a good decision on where to stay in Cancun! I use tripadvisor as my major source of information when researching my vacations.

The pictures you see on this site are exactly what you see when you arrive. The hotel is beautiful. When you enter the lobby the first thing you see is the breathtaking view of the infinity pool and green/blue ocean. The landscaping is immaculate. The employees worked day-in and day-out to keep everything looking pristine. It was very very clean. The hotel, rooms, and grounds were great.

Check-in was a breeze, I think the entire process took 5 minutes. The staff is very friendly and accommodating.

As we went to our room, I will have to agree with others who commented on the smell in the hallways (and room). It is a chemical smell (not musty). You tend to get used to it while you are there , but when we arrived home and opened our suitcases, the smell was overwhelming. Even after washing, the smell is still in our clothing. It is not a musty smell, it is like a cleaning solvent smell. Another thing to note is that we actually had a king size bed in our room (some people mentioned they had two doubles pushed together). The bed was BRICK hard. I did call down for a mattress pad, and one was brought up, but honestly, it didnt really help. Maybe the double beds are softer? I don't know, but I can tell you that I am not picky about where I sleep, but this bed was HARD. We had an oceanview Jr. Suite (rm 235).
We loved our balcony and enjoyed having drinks outside in the early evening while watching the people at the pool and enjoying the view of the ocean.

The pools were nice, but in order to get a place at the "quiet" pool, you had to get up at 4am to "reserve" a spot with a towel or some other personal belonging. IF you were lucky enough to get a spot at the quiet pool it was fabulous. The staff puts large cushions on the king size loungers and it was so comfy. There is plenty of room to rest, nap, read or just enjoy the setting. Very very nice. You can usually get a spot in the late afternoon if you have had enough sun and just want to relax. The activity pool had the same issues with loungers, most were "reserved" by 8am!! The staff at the activity pool did a great job keeping everyone entertained. They had volleyball tournaments, name that tune, bingo and a variety of other activities for everyone to enjoy.

We stayed on the beach during our stay and did not have any trouble finding a chair on the beach. There is a towel hut and you can exchange towels all day long for a new ones if yours gets wet or sandy. The water in the ocean was calm and warm. The ocean floor was sandy (not rocky) and the staff raked the beach each morning so there was no ocean grass or seaweed in the area. There was an area of rock/coral off to the side, and you could check out snorkeling equipment at the activity hut if you want to. We checked out a kayak and had fun rowing out in the ocean (but my arms are sore!!). The staff on the beach literally ran back and forth to make sure everyone had a drink in their hand. They were excellent.

Now for the food. There is one large outdoor restaruant that you can enter in beach attire. This restaurant had hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, fruit and a variety of other "easy" food options. There is another restaurant (connected to the outdoor one) that is also casual (and airconditioned) that has a breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffett. The food was OK. The other restaurants required the men to wear slacks, and with a sunburn and 90 degree temperatures ,we just didnt want to do that. We did try to make reservations at the Steak House one night, but by the time we got to customer service desk (8:45am) it was already booked up. So remember to bring slacks if you want to go to the specialty restaurants, and book early!!

The location was great. We walked to an area about 5 minutes away that had a RainForest Cafe, Coco Bongos, Carlos and Charlies, Starbucks, shopping, flea market and more. It was fun and you can walk without worry. We went during the day, so Im not sure what it is like at night. There is a bank with an ATM right across from the hotel that dispenses pesos, and the ATM by the restaurants actually gives US dollars.

We booked a Jungle Tour with Olympus and it was fabulous. We had so much fun driving the 2-person speed boats. Take the time to look at the tours and see if one might be of interest. They are worth the money, give you a bigger picture of the area, and make for great memories!

What we liked best about the hotel was the friendly and accommodating staff, the cleanliness of the facitlies, the beach, and the location. What we liked least about the hotel would be the food choices at the buffett, the dress code and reservation system at the specialty restaurants, and the HARD bed.

Overall we had a great time. Drinks, sun, and smiles were plentiful. We would definately return to Cancun and the RIU Las Americas.