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Luis Riu: The Great Renovation of All-Inclusive Gastronomy at RIU Hotels & Resorts
11 August, 2026 Share
The Origin of Change: The American Country Restaurant at Riu Santa Fe (Mexico)
The Riu Santa Fe hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico, needed one more restaurant. It is a large hotel, and the Operations team at the destination raised their hand. But what kind of restaurant should we add? We already had everything: Mexican, Italian, Asian, steakhouse… I was returning from a trip, and at the Cancun airport, I saw customers eating burgers and giant nachos. I thought that was what they had been missing at their hotel. And I saw clearly that this was exactly what we would give them in Los Cabos. That is how we took the first step of what ended up being a major gastronomy renovation project for RIU’s all-inclusive concept.
The corporate Food and Beverage team is responsible for RIU’s entire culinary offering. Their experience is enriched through travel and the onboarding of chefs in different destinations, but this time I asked our board member responsible for the area, Carles Madrenas, to seek external advice for this project. I wanted a menu crafted directly by a specialist in this type of food, in the style of “Friday’s,” “Hard Rock,” or “Foster’s Hollywood,” with the most authentic burgers and barbecue ribs we could offer. And I wanted the thematic design to be intense—not just on the menu, but in the decor, service, lighting, and atmosphere.
That is how we met the consultant who not only developed, together with our team, the American Country restaurant menu, but also inspired a deep evaluation of our gastronomic offering. A project born in the Americas, specifically in Mexico, which served as the spark that triggered a revision elevating the all-inclusive experience of our guests across four continents.
Adapting the Buffet at RIU: Differences Between European, American, and Caribbean Guests
We are a Spanish company, and we grew up serving European guests, who have very different tastes and expectations compared to Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, or Argentinians. For years, our offering in different areas of Europe, Asia, Mexico, or the Caribbean has been adapted to the profile of the guests we welcome; however, we had not abandoned our European DNA. That is why I wanted to bring in an outsider with a different sensibility from ours to help us look at things with fresh eyes.
If I focus on the main buffet, I can give a few examples of things we detected in the Americas. Europeans greatly appreciate a highly varied bread selection featuring whole wheat, seeded, crusty, soft, rolls, baguettes, and loaves. They also enjoy sampling small portions of many different desserts; they love the variety and color of a sweets buffet. The same goes for salads, where they also expect to find pickles and canned fish. All of this is a central part of our main buffet offering and continues to be in our hotels in Spain, for example. However, we realized that the typical guest in our Caribbean and Mexican hotels prefers fewer options as long as they include their absolute favorites—for instance, ensuring there is always a bagel, a cheesecake, and a Caesar salad. There, we streamlined the selection and focused on higher quality in the preparations.
Specialty Restaurants at RIU: The Evolution of Krystal and the RIU Palace Experience
Specialty restaurants are a different story. We were already working on restaurant themes featuring interior design based on subtle references to the culture of each specialty. We were also creating distinct atmospheres through lighting projects specific to each space. The revision we have implemented now has introduced enhancements to the gastronomic experience, such as a welcome cocktail tailored to each restaurant, alongside a combination of shared appetizers, buffets, and à la carte options for each specialty. Timing, tableware, glassware, and cutlery were details that used to be standardized, but are now fully themed as well. We have placed a strong bet on gastronomy and elevated the experience across our finest all-inclusive hotels, allowing the Food & Beverage team to make the most of their talent and creativity.
Ultimately, this process led us to incorporate new trends into our offering. We started in the Americas, but step by step, the initiative was integrated into every new opening across the entire RIU world. Today, we no longer offer a standard Japanese restaurant in RIU Palace hotels; instead, we open high-quality Asian venues featuring tapas and street food from various regional cuisines, providing an experience that easily rivals a great restaurant in any major world capital.
Our Krystal restaurant, created nearly 20 years ago to elevate our house gastronomy, has also evolved from a fusion cuisine menu—a major trend at the time—to a much more contemporary “traveler’s cuisine” concept. All delivered with the same care and high quality as always.
30 years of innovation in RIU’s All-Inclusive culinary offering
Gastronomy is the central pillar of the all-inclusive experience. It is absolutely vital for guest satisfaction. Looking back today, I see the massive distance we have covered over these 30 years. It was back in 1996 when we opened our first all-inclusive hotel. It was in the Dominican Republic, and our teams worked true magic with those “miracle restaurants” we set up every night at the beach shack. Today, we design our hotels to house six, seven, and even up to eight restaurants. Each one is a project crafted down to the finest detail to add quality and memorable experiences to our guests’ stay.
Our guests’ top favorites are always present—which, in this order and regardless of the country, are consistently the steakhouse and the Italian restaurant. The former used to operate somewhat as a “miracle” venue, being set up at the beach shack or within a section of the main restaurant. But in this latest review of our offering, we gave it the standing it deserves, and it now features its own fully themed space rather than just a specialized menu.
The Italian restaurant is next in line to undergo its transformation. As our second most popular option, I felt we needed to give its offering another twist to make it even more authentically Italian, which guests will soon be able to experience at our hotels.
This is yet another example of how we are constantly refining our product. Just because something works well doesn’t mean it can’t be done better. With our guests always top of mind, we will never stop working to elevate their experience.
Fdo. Luis Riu
