Riu Palace Aruba - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9442 reviews

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  Unsafe Room Conditions and Poor Service

  This was our third stay at this hotel, but unfortunately this time we did not feel the level of service expected from a 5-star resort. Our family of four was placed on the ground floor in a section that was said to be newly renovated. However, the cleanliness was shockingly poor — something I would never expect from Riu Palace. The floors were never properly cleaned; my children wore white socks inside the room because the floor felt so dirty, and after one walk around, their socks turned completely brown. Safety was also a concern. Our ground-floor room had a main door lock that kept sliding loose and wouldn’t stay secured. We called staff to fix it, but it kept happening again. With construction happening right outside and people able to walk past our door, this felt very unsafe — especially with children. Service was nonexistent. Not a single smile, no greeting, nothing welcoming — especially from the lobby staff and the café area. It simply did not feel like we were staying at a 5-star resort. If you are looking for an all-inclusive experience, I strongly recommend reconsidering. For the price we paid, the service and cleanliness were far from worth it.

  Nov 24, 2025
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  False Advertisement for cruisers; a complete waste of money

  CRUISERS: If you purchase a Day-Pass via the hotel, which they advertise as Adult-Only, you will be disappointed to find out, not only is there a small children's play area (little plastic slide type thing) set up by the main pool, but there were kids in the pools. Some kids weren't following the rules and the workers had to blow whistles to correct their behavior. This is the type of non-adult events we were trying to avoid when purchasing the day pass. We feel like we were completely lied to, purchasing an "Adult-Only" day pass and not getting what we paid for, which was quite expensive for only roughly 3 hours at the pool. Another negative was at the buffet, eating lunch. Half-way through our meal we began smelling a strong smell of bleach or ammonia. After a couple of minutes of trying to figure out where the smell was coming from, we noticed a small stream of something running under our table, which we traced to doors, which workers were cleaning something right outside of a double door in the backside of the restaurant. The cleaner was steadily running through the threshold of the door frame. We abruptly ended our meal, and got up to leave. The workers begun laying down towels at the base of the door to stop the cleaner from coming in the restaurant. By that time, the damage was done (cut our meal short). At checkout (exchanging our wrist bands for our driver's licenses), we were asked how our time was at their property. We voiced both of these issues without any response and no intent to address these issues. There was literally silence. No "sorry to hear that", or "let's try to make things right", just silence. My advice, Aruba is a beautiful island, spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. This was a complete disappointment and definitely the lowest point of our trip. Also, I did email the hotel with these concerns, and just like the front desk worker, nothing but crickets. They don't care.

  Nov 24, 2025
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  Disappointed and taken advantage of

  Extremely Disappointed – Felt Taken Advantage Of at RIU Palace Aruba I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel obligated to share my experience so other travelers are aware. What was supposed to be a beautiful and memorable vacation at the RIU Palace Aruba turned into one of the most stressful and upsetting hotel experiences I’ve ever had. I booked an all-inclusive stay for myself, and during my trip my husband surprised me by flying to Aruba to join me — something that should have been exciting and joyful. Instead, the way the hotel handled the situation completely ruined that moment. When I approached the front desk to add him, I was met with rigidity, poor communication, and absolutely zero empathy. Instead of trying to help us or offer reasonable solutions, the staff made me feel cornered, pressured, and taken advantage of. The way everything was presented felt inconsistent and confusing, and it seemed like the hotel was more focused on squeezing out extra money than treating us fairly as guests. The interaction was handled so poorly that it overshadowing my entire vacation. I fell embarrassed, stressed, and honestly shocked by how dismissive and unhelpful the staff were. A resort with RIU’s reputation should understand hospitality and compassion — especially when a guest is clearly trying to do the right thing by being honest and upfront. What should have been a happy surprise turned into a deeply disappointing experience. Instead of enjoying my time with my husband, I’m spending my vacation dealing with uncertainty, frustration, and the feeling of being taken advantage of. I truly hope RIU management takes this seriously, because no guest should ever feel the way I felt during this trip. Aruba is a beautiful destination, but unfortunately, the service and treatment I received at the RIU Palace left a lasting negative impression that I will never forget.

  Nov 20, 2025
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  Racist security guard

  I was harassed by security. I racist security guard at the rear of the hotel who does not speak english did not let me back in through the rear entrance. He made me walk around the hotel through the front even after i showed him i was staying at the resort. DO NOT COME HERE. Bad service dirty property NO Hospitality… Go anywhere else

  Nov 10, 2025
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  Disappointing Experience at Riu Palace Aruba

  I was extremely disappointed with my recent stay at Riu Palace Aruba. When I asked staff about the General Manager, I was given conflicting information and even lied to. I was told the GM had left, but I noticed someone in a suit in the back. When I asked to speak with him, I was informed that David was actually the Assistant General Manager—not the PR Manager as I had been told. Additionally, attempting to dine at the restaurant at 8:30 PM was frustrating. I was told the restaurant was at capacity, even though there were clearly open tables. They claimed they seated guests until 9 PM, which made no sense. Finally, the elevators in our tower were consistently unreliable—at one point one elevator was down for two days, and later both were out of service. Overall, the misinformation, lack of transparency, and maintenance issues made this stay very disappointing. I would not recommend this hotel unless significant improvements are made to staff training and facilities management.

  Nov 10, 2025