Riu Playacar - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8762 reviews

• 

  Not the best.

  I would say the hotel is good, not the best. It is very clear of people attempting to sell substances to the guests and the security, staff and management are not appearing to do anything about it. Sometimes blatantly offering this in front of the security staff. I don’t think it would be just this hotel being affected.

  Nov 16, 2025
• 

  Excellent hotel

  The hotel is impecable, it seems that they keep the grounds well clean . The food is fantastic, we didn’t even went to the restaurants, the buffet has everything. the shows at night great. We will be back.

  Nov 15, 2025
• 

  I would return & recommend

  Only 1 disappointment- the rooms are dated & we where given a adjoining room which had 0 sound proofing & i basically felt like i was sharing a bed with the stranger next door, this totally ruined my sleep all week & not to mention the dampener it puts on any connections you may want to make with your partner! Majorly fooked off about that. The rooms are also very very dated & smelt kinda foosty. Otherwise delighted :) Location 10/10 Beach 10/10 Cleanliness 11/10 Food 9.5/10 Be aware that the street sellers will see your wrist bands and say they work at your hotel to get you into their ‘family’ shops..they do not work at your hotel this is in-fact a tactic to get your money. Shop in the shops with prices as they are often x5 cheaper.

  Nov 13, 2025
• 

  Great stay at Playacar Riu

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ — Great stay at Playacar! Overall, we had a very nice experience at Playacar during our one-week stay at the end of October. The price and value were well balanced — not quite a 5-star resort, but definitely a solid 4.5-star in my opinion. Food & Drinks:
The buffet was consistently good with lots of variety. The à la carte restaurants were less impressive — especially the Japanese one, which turned out to be buffet-style too. We tried the steakhouse once and the Italian restaurant a few times and always found something tasty to enjoy. I didn’t like much for the wines offered, so I stuck with Prosecco and beer — both were good choices. Room & Facilities:
We had requested buildings 7 or 8 by email, and they kindly accommodated us. However, our first room was above the steakhouse, making it impossible to keep the balcony door open due to noise and smell . We asked to move and were relocated to Building 6, which we liked much better — it faced a peaceful tropical garden. The room was spotless every day, nicely decorated, and we received fresh towel art daily (which we really appreciated). Housekeeping did an excellent job, and we always tipped generously. Note: the fridge is not restocked unless you request it — we forgot one day and ran out of water, but we survived! 😄 Entertainment & Beach:
Entertainment was great, both day and night — shows at the beach, bar, and theater, plus a fun white party at Riu Tequila next door. The beach was beautiful, with warm, calm water and no seaweed during our stay. Even though the water was a bit murky near the shore, it cleared up further out. There were always plenty of sunbeds available at any time of day — no need to wake up early to reserve one! We loved relaxing by the pool facing the beach, enjoying the music and entertainment. Drinks were served nonstop, and the staff was always friendly and hardworking. Service & Cleanliness:
Service throughout the resort was excellent. The staff really goes above and beyond to keep everything clean and make guests feel welcome. I made sure to tip not just waiters and bartenders but also the cleaners and groundskeepers — they truly deserve it! Overall:
10/10 for cleanliness, service, beach, room comfort, and buffet food. The only downside was the à la carte restaurants, which could use some improvement in both design and menu. Still, we enjoyed ourselves very much and would happily return

  Nov 09, 2025
• 

  Nice hotel - Not great if you're gluten free / Coeliac

  It's a nice hotel with great staff, but it didn't quite live upto expectations. Positives: The entertainment team. Most of them are brilliant. Billy was so kind and was the only members who made the extra effort with us. My daughters are shy and he really made the holiday extra special for them so a big thank you to him. They were up dancing and had a lovely holiday. April and the gentleman (Sorry I've forgot his name) who do the aqua dance / aerobics are also superb and work incredibly hard. The Neon and White party nights are incredible. They're across the road at the Tequila, they start off slow but once the balloons come out and the music kicks in, you're in for a great night. Most of the bar staff are nice, but they will always prioritise Americans. I tipped 20 - 50 Pesos per order every time but it was never really appreciated and it would never get me served quicker. The staff are fast though and work very hard. Drinks aren't bad but not amazing, knock offs are used. The branded drinks were given to Americans automatically most of the time and it did feel a little unfair. We had the same wrist bands etc. so it wasn't to do with premium drinks bands like some hotels have. They also didn't pay an additional at the bar. The food was good and had plenty of options. However if you have dietary needs its bad. I'll get on to that below. The Bad: The beach is lovely, but we went in august for 14 nights and we managed to swim in the sea twice. The good days the water was still brown but ok to swim in. On the bad days the smell was atrocious. We didn't see the fuss at first and the smell wasn't to bad despite the seaweed/sargassum. But then after a week the smell was sickening on the beach and at the pool. This is everywhere on the coast though and the hotel works hard to clear it. I feel really sorry for them and the tourist industry as a whole. The Food: This is only bad if you have dietary needs, so if you can eat normal then skip all of this. I have Coeliac disease and quite frankly the hotel doesn't have a clue. Next to no one in the restaurant areas speaks English. I don't speak Spanish so I'm in no way suggesting they should. I'm just pointing out it causes issues when communication is vital. I downloaded a Spanish card from Coeliac UK explaining what my condition is and foods I must avoid prior to going. I shown this to staff and explained gluten will make me very Ill and was told no problem by staff. I was then sat down and given warm bread rolls and butter. Straight away alarm bells rung in my head. In the main buffet area they have a cabinet with bread but like all bad gluten free breads its inedible cold, but their is no where safe to toast it like in a lot of European resorts. They had muffins and cookies twice in the two weeks that were nice and they also had little banana breads that would rotate with carrot cakes. They were decent and very much appreciated. Everything contains gluten! White rice, Hummus, sauces, everything mexican including corn tacos contain wheat. Foods that has zero need to contain wheat, contained wheat. Everything is labelled with alergens however items will say they don't contain wheat but do. For instance the mousse says no wheat, but it has crushed up ice cream cones at the bottom. After 10 days I did get ill and was was ill for a week or so after getting back. I did email Riu and the hotel direct to share my concerns but I didn't recieve a reply from anyone. I will say again though, if you don't have a special diet you'll have lots of choice and lots of nice food. The buffet is better than the restaurants however. Their was one Chef who made me gluten free pizzas at lunch. So a huge thank you to the head chef at the pizza station for making me pizzas. Overall the hotel is nice, the staff are nice, the hotel and rooms are kept very clean, the food is good if you can eat normally, the entertainment is decent, Some nights are better than others, but overall we enjoyed the shows and entertainment. You will have a good time. It wasn't anything special but we had a good time. Lack of training around gluten free food, the sargassum and also everyone outside the hotel trying to rip you off (be wary. They will try and charge you £40 for a £2 ball. £9 for 1 bag of lays crisps. Even at the 7/11. Don't expect to find a bargain as they don't exist for tourists in Mexico.) all this did give me some negatives hence the score. I think 4 out of 5 is fair. I don't want to score the hotel low as my circumstances with my diet won't apply to 90% of people but i would advise caution if you're coeliac / celiac and do suffer with symptoms from it. The hotel has a lot going for it. But it also isn't perfect. If they can improve of thr dietary issues I would return however I couldn't as it is. My wife and daughters who return thought.

  Nov 02, 2025