Riu Emerald Bay - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

6087 reviews

• 

  Great experience overall from my perspective.

  Background…usually take 4-5 trips a year. Now that in forced retirement, hopefully more …lol. Well two in the last two months…RIU Gunacaste (costa Rica) and this one…Emerald Bay (Mazatlan). Location beautiful..on the beach. Beach beautiful, can play in the waves, but no swimming…( went every day) lifeguards around and always guide ya if anyone goes too far. Vendors on the beach, but always cognizant of your space. A simple “no thank you” was sufficient. Rooms…well the first floor was a mess ( 4 couples, two had first floors) we were on the second..not the best, Room so-so. Bathtub was high and narrow..had issues, as was absolutely not conducive for taking a shower. Elevation and ocean view not that great, but in the long run was glad, as it’s true about the elevators…it took its time, just 3 of them in our wing, but like I said, worked out as we used the stairs. Housekeeping was amazing, so was the beverage replenishment. BTW, did call to change room because of the location, but was like pulling teeth with the receptionist we spoke to (no won’t state her name). The other couples in our group though were moved, and they loved the new rooms in the same wing. This was our only gripe…not the end of the world, but a damper nonetheless. Food, amazing (not a picky eater, but have eaten many a delicacy), there was always something to be had…no shortage that I noticed. Chef Patricio runs a tight ship. Look for Chef Jonathan….both Chefs are “Chef’s extraordinaire”. Very customer focused . Yes speciality restaurants are buffets. No “a la carte”. Well a hybrid type in one restaurant. Honestly (the 8 of us), were quite comfortable with the buffet selection. Surprised with the comments about the food…(our experience 22 years ago in Cuba was nice…probably changed now), but this was great…not high end gourmet..but great. Staff…cannot say I met many that were not customer focused (in a resort this big and with so many employees, there is always going to be the odd one). Heck if I don’t have my coffee when I wake, or I get up on the wrong side, or…you get my point. It happens. But I could think of at least 14 names (so that’s a wide selection), that went over and above. Kudos to all the staff. Great job. Yes green bus to town is 13pesos or a US$. Nice place, friendly people (but then all Mexicans are). Tour the town, mingle with the people (on resort and off), and most important, go with an open mind and enjoy yourself.

  Dec 30, 2025
• 

  just the 2 of us

  we had a great time but the food was below averge and we could not understand the tv it was only in spanish

  Dec 30, 2025
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  Moments Ruined by other Moments

  I really wanted to love this resort, but several factors made it a 2-star experience for us. The Good: The beach is absolutely beautiful and the staff are very friendly and easy to communicate with in English. The food itself tastes great, but be warned: there is very little variety. The buffet is almost identical every single day (if you like the roast beef on Tuesday, you’ll see it every day for the rest of the week). The Bad: The resort's cleanliness is mediocre at best—we saw trash like confetti sitting in common areas for days without being cleaned. There is also a severe lack of shade on the beach, making the afternoons unbearable. Location-wise, you are a 20-minute cab ride from almost everything. The Dealbreaker: The most disappointing part was the lack of flexibility. My 14 year old non-alcohol drinking son lost his wristband in the ocean with only 13 hours left before checkout. Despite our honesty, they charged us a non-negotiable 1,000 pesos. Charging that much for a piece of plastic on the final day felt like a cash grab and left a very sour taste in our mouths.

  Dec 29, 2025
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  Emald Bay Mazatlan Christmas

  Great resort to go to with many great pools and food is good as well. I would really like to see the Bamboo restaurant open more that it is. Seventh year coming and it is always a fantastic time!

  Dec 28, 2025
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  Very slightly above average

  The old original hotel tower needs not only a good interior face lift but is badly lacking maintenance/replacement on electrical switches and outlets , toilet tank parts and replacement or cleaning of filter, fan, coils and grills ..intake and exhaust of the HVAC's fan coil unit located above the suites/rooms entry foyer. The elevator overhead motors are noisy and appear to rattle quite a bit and I could not but help notice the look of anxiety on some peoples faces as they were using them. The front desk staff especially the tall blond haired manager or supervisor originally from Romania I believe and one of the other front desk staff member who had a very good command of the English language with a slight west coast American accent, was quite intuitive for his young age, Aram, If I remember his name correctly where particularly helpful and made all the difference to us in enjoying our stay for the 2 weeks .We noticed also , a cut back on the food choices and the quality since our vacation there in 20 24 which is leading us towards looking at possibly another Riu location or another provider and for us that is a bit unsettling as we have relied on Riu since we first used the brand almost 30 years ago not only in Mexico but elsewhere . However, as we are older, a little wiser and have travelled quite a lot and expect to be travelling a lot more now that we will be both retired, we have become a little more discerning while being conscious of the costs and overall value as we are back in Canada looking now and planning to vacation for another 2 weeks in March 2026 some time. Best Regards and A Happy New Year .....Tomas and Madeleine O. #91683135 and #91745204 ..... an old retired Architect and Interior Designer / Government Employee from Canada..

  Dec 28, 2025