Hotel Riu Palace Mexico

We usually holiday in Europe but travelled further afield for my Dad’s birthday. The extra journey was worthwhile because this hotel surpasses other five-star stays we have had in Spain or Turkey. It is truly impressive inside and out. The attentive staff define the experience. Food: - Breakfast offers much variety, with fresh fruit and eggs always replenished. - The lunch buffet was less impressive, but the taco and snack bar were strong. - Specialist à la carte restaurants can be visited as often as you wish; the steakhouse and Kystal restaurants were our family’s favourites. With the food quality was among the best we have encountered, even as an all-inclusive resort. Whilst the selection in krystal is limited, it is all high quality food. Drinks: - Drinks match the food in quality and range. - The standard non-elite package includes plenty of choice. - Waiters and bar staff were consistently attentive; table service is rapid all day, from around the pool to evening entertainment, so queuing is unnecessary. Facilities The hotel is newly renovated and very clean. Cleaning staff perform well. Entertainment We watched only a couple of evening shows, so I cannot comment broadly. However, the Grease performance and the Mexican show were both good. The entertainment team worked hard from morning to evening. They were friendly and welcoming. Other reviews Some reviews noted power cuts and room facilities. We had one power cut lasting about 10 seconds one evening; no other problems arose. We had no plumbing issues or cockroaches. Sad to see so many negative reviews! Although there are a few minor areas where improvements could be made, these did little to detract from our holiday. Overall, the hotel provided a 10/10 service. Hopefully we can return soon!

We stayed Sept 22-Oct 1 a few days after the re-opening. The original re-opening date was supposed to be Sept 5 and the rescheduled to Sept 19. I didn't plan on staying during their 'soft' opening phase and we all thought they should have pushed the date out further. The new aesthetics are beautiful. SO much nicer than the purple trashy Vegas look it used to have. We used to stay here many years ago when it was all wood and very pretty. Once they changed to the purple/silver, we started staying at the other Palace (Riviera Maya) so it's nice to see they went back to a classier look. We had 2 full suites and had to change one of the rooms after 2 days of hot, struggling AC. The 3rd suite had issues as well, but the AC worked great. The 3rd room had an ant infestation, which was taken care of with spray. Then the spray was overwhelming. The lock mechanism on the sliding doors kept falling off and when the door was locked and fully closed, someone from the outside could still open the doors wide enough to stick a hand through. This was a swimout suite and the pool had no protective grate covering the main infinity drain, which is a BIG safety issue. It also drained the excess water into a pipe beside the pool, which creates permanent ponding and mud that will attract mosquitos. All 3 suites had shower drain issues. One also had toilet issues. One the plus side, they have new mattresses and pillows, which are much better than the old ones. Way more comfortable. There was construction on the roof that started at 7 a.m. and loud sanding of railings that started early. One afternoon, they even had a generator on the sidewalk next to the swimout pool we decided to relax in. The workers would leave razor blades on the floors where they were sanding. The pools were turning bathing suits and hair green. We stay at RIU's 4-5 times a year and this is the first time my bathing suits discolored. One of the ladies had her blonde hair turn green on the bottom. It didn't come out after she showered. The food is standard RIU, but I do think it's better at the other Palaces in the area. The steakhouse was our favorite if we had to pick. The new sports bar needs to cook the food better. The burgers were like they either threw them on the grill for a few seconds or they're microwaving them. They are almost raw in the center and not hot at all. Had a large bone in one of them and didn't eat there again. There was A LOT of flooding throughout the resort. Pipes were breaking behind the walls and flooding the restaurants, buffet, gym/spa. Pipes were exposed in hallways and sheetrock cut out. The freshly painted walls are already peeling in spots. I read other reviews, and it's like some of us were at different resorts. Perhaps we're a little more discriminating because we know the normal quality of the RIU Palaces and this really wasn't up to par. The servers, bartenders, housekeepers, groundskeepers all get 5*. They are working hard to keep RIU standards. We may try it again in the future once they work the bugs out. There were more problems, but I do think they're working on it.