Riu Palace Paradise Island (Adults-Only)

To begin, I must state that I go on an island vacation annually with my girlfriend. We both have exhausting jobs and look forward to leaving all the stress behind and enjoying our girls trip. This trip was a disappointment. We arrived at a hot, humid, and unpleasant smelling hotel. The front desk tells me my room was upgraded to an ocean view. I stated that's what was booked and asked what makes this room an upgrade. After a few seconds of a fake smile and blank stare, she states it's more spacious. Ok... but why the odd stare. My friend and I take our luggage (because no one has offered) and head to the elevator. We enter the room and it immediately smells like mildew. We walk in and see a king size bed in a not very spacious room. We go back downstairs where I refuse the "upgrade" and request the room I booked with 2 beds. We tell the front desk the room smells horrible and the floors are slippery. We listen as the manager is called and we are then informed the manager will have the room mopped to get rid of the smell. We refuse and ask for a new room. It is suggested we go have lunch and the room will be ready shortly. We ask what to do with our luggage. We were given stickers to put on our luggage and told the bellboy will get them for us upon our return. We head to lunch and stand at the front as employees walk by without greeting us. After a few minutes, I ask if we should seat ourselves. An employee points to a side room and says sit in there. Hmm..ok. We sit at the table for more 5 minutes without being offered something to drink. I go into the buffet to get lunch and almost fell. The floor is damp and slippery. Everyone is taking baby steps to prevent falling. It is still incredibly warm. I asked the waiter why it's so warm. He has no idea but opines it may be the generator. We eat less than satisfactory food and head back to the front desk, where our luggage is where we left it. Sigh... We are assigned a room and head upstairs. The room smells less like mildew, it's not spacious, and it has 2 beds but they are pushed together with one headboard. We convince ourselves that going to the beach will make us feel better. I enter the bathroom where I again almost fall due to the damp floors. Dinner was my biggest complaint. The restaurants do not accept reservations. There are 5 restaurants but unless you are in line by 6:15, you'll most likely be eating at the buffet. More than one night we were in line around 6:15 but not seated til about 8:30. I sat outside the restaurants as people left after eating but people weren't being seated. It made no sense. I didn't pay for an all inclusive to stand in line for food especially when the food was mediocre. I can continue to complain but fear I will run out of space. The beach was beautiful but that's about it.

Overall good time. Small resort, beautiful beach. Atlantis right next doer. Perfect for 4 nights any longer I would have been bored. Special restraunts I wouldn’t even bother with if I go back. Buffet was great!!

Overall we enjoyed our stay at the Riu Palace Paradise Island. The service was good, but some of the staff at the hotel were not friendly & we felt as if we were bothering them when we had a request. The front desk staff was friendly & helpful & we loved our housekeeping staff (Dora), The hotel staff provided a special treat & decor for our wedding anniversary & we were truly appreciative. We didn’t get a chance to try any of the resort restaurants specifically the steak house for dinner due to the limited amount of guest they accommodate each night so you have to be in line by 6pm.

This was one of the best trips I have ever been on! Great beach, amazing hotel and great snorkeling.