Riu Emerald Bay - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

6041 reviews

• 

  Good for families, but missing some magic

  Restaurant and bar staff was fantastic, hotel was very clean. Food was FANTASTIC! Stunning views from the room and patio. Really good resort for the value, and great for families. A few things: minibar was never restocked, including waters. We had to request constantly for water and restocking. We were only drinking the water and a couple sodas out of the minibar, so it wasn't as if we were asking for much. The beds are basically a couple sheets and an old fleece blanket, and not enough pillows. AC was good but a little challenging to figure out at first. Restaurant times were frustrating. Dinner seating didn't start until 630, if you could get in. Eating past seven with a 3 year old was a challenge. Reservations have to be made same day, and even at 8am they would say no seatings until 9pm. You could default to the buffet but we didn't want the same buffet every night, especially when it was basically the only lunch option besides tacos and burgers by the pool. We made friends with the wait staff and tipped them well and they're the ones that would give us a table in the evenings when we showed up for dinner. My biggest problem with the food situation was I could never get an iced coffee in the morning. I was able to get one ONE time, but the other mornings they told me no. There is no room service. You can't get anything brought to the room. If you want anything you have to get it yourself, but with the restaurants closed most of the time, there was almost no options at night. The kids show started at 730, which was late but the biggest problem is the restaurant opens at 630 so it was really hard to eat and then get to the show on time . There wasn't a lot of entertainment going on outside of the two shows. There was some live music but after a certain time the only thing to do was drink at the bar so most nights we just went back to the room early. The pools close at dusk . We got kicked out of the pool at 530pm! No jacuzzi either unless you make a reservation and go to a separate building. I would have really enjoyed swimming in the evening. Overall, it was a beautiful and clean resort and if you're a family with kids i absolutely recommend it. The staff was super friendly, the food is really good and there's slides, playgrounds and kids activities.

  Dec 06, 2025
• 

  Toronto DE

  I was perfect overall services I ever had in a resort after more than 10 vacation spots. It was beyond my expectation. At first, I will look at the RIU hotels when I search vacation packages. So, you deserve the 5 stars. Thank you..

  Dec 04, 2025
• 

  Mazatlan Family Vacation

  3rd different Riu resort we have visited. As always the food and staff were great. The rooms in the newer building are very nice and feel modern. We liked that there was a server at the lunch BBQ (Pepe's). We've seen at other properties where drunk guests are dripping pool water from their sleeves into the pool. I suggest Riu resorts look into how bacon is cooked. Every resort we have visited has either burnt or undercooked bacon, basically inedible. I enjoyed the self serve coffee machines. Having a proper coffee cup would have been nice, the tea cups are tiny. The mariachi bands on the beach were too much. To the point it got very annoying. Unfortunately we did all catch a bug and could not enjoy the vacation as much as planned. I would suggest more hand sanitizer inside the buffets so people can sanitizer after handling the serving spoons. We found the mattress in the room to be too soft.

  Dec 04, 2025
• 

  Great stay!

  Had an amazing time with my family and friends. Definitely want to give a shoutout to Amador at the pool serving drinks, he was very attentive, friendly and helpful. Probably one of the best servers we’ve ever had at an all inclusive. I loved the bands on the beach as well really made you feel the authentic atmosphere of Mazatlan

  Dec 02, 2025
• 

  Great Thanksgiving week trip

  Great food, drinks, pool and entertainment. Dinner could start earlier than 6:30. Only 1-2 restaurants were open at 5:30.

  Dec 01, 2025