Hotel Riu Palace Kukulkan

The resort itself is nice. The food quality was not up to my expectations. I had concerns about hot holding temps. The kicker to our trip was when security showed up at our door to tell us our music was too loud on our balcony. I’m 69 years old. I don’t like loud music. I have always been very cognizant of not “rocking the boat”. I felt like I was a child being reprimanded. The manager and security did not even offer to hear how loud the music was. They just took it for granted that our neighbors were right and we were wrong. After going to desk to issue our complaint, the supervisor Armando told us he’s doing his job. No apology. I was in tears. This is not how we intended to spend our anniversary. We will NEVER pay good money to go to a Riu again!! So disappointed. We go to bed early. The nights of the VERY LOUD party we just tried to ignore. (Because we are in a resort!) Too bad we couldn’t enjoy a quiet time on our balcony with some Kenny Chesney music.

Just got back and wanted to share a review because I always find these groups helpful when planning trips. Overall, we had a really good stay. The resort is modern, clean, easy to navigate, and never felt overcrowded. There were definitely some misses with the food and entertainment, but there were also quite a few things we really enjoyed. ✈️ Arrival/Check-In USA Transfers was very easy and I would definitely use them again. Check-in at the resort was great. We paid to upgrade to Elite at check-in, and for us the upgrade was worth it, particularly for the beach area, room service breakfast and upgraded alcohol. 🏨 Room The room was modern and very clean. The bathtub in the middle of the room is…an interesting design choice. 😂 The room also gets VERY dark at night. Bring a small nightlight for the bathroom area unless you want to risk walking straight into the tub in the middle of the night. ☕ Breakfast/Coffee Elite room service breakfast was great and very convenient. The breakfast buffet was also excellent. I got an iced coffee every morning from the coffee bar, and the almond croissant was SO good. Definitely try it. 🍽️ Food Buffet: Honestly one of the biggest surprises of the trip. Both lunch and dinner were very good. Everything was clean and fresh with plenty of options. Steakhouse: Easily our worst meal. The salad came with no dressing, the lobster was dry, the creamed spinach was gross, and the lobster mac and cheese tasted like boxed mac and cheese. We actually left and went to the buffet. Krystal: Very good. Definitely one of our better specialty restaurant meals. La Casa Flores: Underwhelming for us. Elite Restaurant: Better than some of the specialty restaurants but still not great. Honestly, we usually preferred the buffet. 🏖️ Beach/Elite Area The beach was great and there was plenty of space. Staff will help set up your chairs and bring you an umbrella, which was really nice. The Elite beach-facing cabanas were PERFECT. The only problem is there are definitely not enough of them. In my opinion, they should turn that entire area into cabanas because almost nobody was using the regular Elite lounge chairs. 🍸 Drinks The upgraded alcohol selection that came with Elite was great and definitely added value to the upgrade for us. My husband drank Macallan 12 and I pretty much lived on Don Julio 70. 😂 One of my favorite little touches was the cocktail cart they set up in the lobby at night with a cocktail of the day. I had a smoked Old Fashioned one night that was fantastic. 🏈 Sports Bar They did have NFL games, but we couldn't get college football. So if you're a college football fan and there is a specific game you really want to see, I wouldn't assume you'll be able to watch it there. 🎭 Entertainment Nighttime entertainment was pretty basic. The performers are clearly working hard, but overall we found the shows pretty underwhelming. This isn't a resort I would choose specifically for nightlife or entertainment. 🛍️ Across the Street The mall across the street is very convenient, although most of it is higher-end designer stores. I did find a really cute birthday dress at H&M, though! ✈️ Airport/VIP Lounge Our flight ended up delayed more than three hours, so we tried the Mera VIP Lounge in Terminal 3. I would NOT pay extra specifically to use it. It was very underwhelming and definitely not worth it in my opinion. Overall: We enjoyed the resort and would consider returning. The biggest positives for us were the cleanliness, spacious feel, beach, Elite cabanas, upgraded alcohol, coffee bar, and surprisingly good buffet. The specialty restaurants were hit or miss, and the entertainment isn't anything special, but if you're looking for a relaxing adults-only vacation with a nice beach, good drinks, and a modern atmosphere, we had a very good experience.