Riu Palace Paradise Island Adults Only - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2906 reviews

• 

  Don’t do it

  Words can’t express the extreme of disappointment of this so-called resort. We’ve traveled the world and understand cultural expectation differences. But this place is simply unacceptable. Let’s start with the rust on all the bathroom fixtures, including the mirrors. Oh, and the water is non potable. Next, if you enjoy wearing a plastic bracelet constantly - you’re in luck. Remove it or lose it and it’s a $250 fine. Beach towels? You receive a card to exchange for towels (only one towel per card). Lose it? $20 fee. So don’t even try to ask for two per person. I’m not sure who would want to steal the old, worn out towels… Let’s talk “room service” bc it’s simply some coffee/old pastries/dinner rolls (for breakfast), cereal. Lunch? Club sandwich is bearable. Dinner? You mean lunch. It’s the same club sandwich menu. Drinks in your room? Cheap liquor locked in a cabinet with a spout. Bottles of wine aren’t offered- at all - ever/never. Next up: beach! Can’t put chair past a sign that’s clearly posted but yet they own the property beyond said sign bc the restaurant is there. So, be ready to be packed like sardines. If you love loud and obnoxious beach vendors - you’ll love it there. They are constantly walking in between chairs on the property- not just on the public part of the beach. Pot smoking is clearly allowed bc we couldn’t take a breath without smelling it. Not cool for us who don’t partake. I’d read the reviews and thought it couldn’t be that bad. I was wrong. It is that bad. Oh - and we witnessed two domestic violence situations on site. Food? Mystery meat and stinky fish! Two bright spot: the coffee shop and friendly housekeeping. They do the best they can with the run down place. The spa was absolutely not a spa. It’s simply rooms for massages - and the massage table is lined with beach towels, as opposed to the typical set of sheets. Just go somewhere else. We wasted two weeks of hard-earned dollars and vacation time here.

  Dec 22, 2025
• 

  It was nice, nothing fabulous but very nice stay

  Lobby clean and smelled so good everyday. Always staff around cleaning. Coffee bar is very nice in lobby. Staff at front desk, coffee bar, are not very friendly at all and aren’t eager to help you. Requests for towels and to restock fridge always took multiple attempts to get what we asked for. Our room, while dated, was fairly nice. The balcony was adequate but the view made it great. Bed was ok but pillows were too hard for me. Temperature in the room was impossible to control and it was very cold at times. Always felt damp too. No odors or anything. Hallways were freezing! And cold downstairs after sun goes down. Bathroom is nice, shower is great, very large with great water pressure. Pools were nice, chairs not so much; I found them very uncomfortable after a short time. Music was way too loud. Aerobics in the water was fun. Beach is just breathtaking. My first all inclusive resort experience, I was happy. The food in the Atlantis buffet was very good, staff there were helpful and friendly. We ate at the steakhouse one night and it was ok, nothing to brag about. Service was good. Reservations for restaurants must be made 48 hrs in advance which is a pain. The gym is nice but station equipment needs work/replaced. A few more benches needed. Free weights were adequate. Treadmills, bikes were nice. I used it daily. Mats, kettlebells and other things too. Activities weren’t interesting to us at all. Needs work in this area. Spa overpriced like most hotels but lots of nice looking options. All in all I was happy, so was my husband. Not sure if we would return but it was fun.

  Dec 16, 2025
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  Don’t expend money on this hotel!!

  My experience is not to good, we have a week with bad weather, the pool heather is done until 3:00 pm the water was so cold , the personal is the most of the time with bad face and something rude, we are never came back to any Riu, that my 3er and last time here.I never have any experience like this.

  Dec 16, 2025
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  Smallest shower ever

  Somewhat disappointing. Despite many positive reviews, we were not pleased with several things. First, we had booked an accessible king room. Pre=paid. We were asked at check-in to substitute a queen suite. Suites don't give you much more and we wanted the accessible king. They eventually gave us a regular king which we could deal with. Our biggest issue was the shower. We have never seen a shower this small. It was the same size or even smaller than the shower on a cruise ship. Don't drop the soap. The staff was very pleasant except when I mentioned our concerns at checkout. Then it was the usual "I'll make a note of it" attitude. Nice property but that shower without a tub was really poor.

  Dec 15, 2025
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  Great Anniversary Trip!

  We stayed here back in Feb (Valentines Day week) for almost a week for our 10-year wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful experience, and it was our first trip away from our kids, but thanks to the resort, we enjoyed every minute. The staff was so wonderful and the resort was beautiful! I couldn't get a reservation in one of the restaurants, and the staff went out of their way to make sure my husband and I had one on our anniversary!🙏 Our room was beautiful and the view from our (very large) balcony was BREATHTAKING!! The only thing was that we were supposed to have a complimentary bottle of wine it champagne for our anniversary in our room and even after I called it never happened; however, the staff and resort were so amazing that this minor slip up wasn't a problem for us! Lovely place!

  Dec 03, 2025