Riu Palace Peninsula - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9331 reviews

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  Dissapointment

  Its our first time at Riu hotels, and Palace as well. While writing this review, I am still on vacation - its our 3rd day (we took vacation for 10 days as I've expected top quality, yet, far away from it). All of our friends said, that Palace is highest level of Riu compared to other ones. I've double checked it on internet - confirmed. Yet, unfortunatelly, cannot call it 5 stars at all. At the best is 4 stars with BIG minus. But to be true - 3 stars maximum. During my life I've stayed in many hotels around the world (even worked at one for half year), yet, this 5-star hotel (according to USA standards!!!) is not 5-star at all. To start with - upon our arrival receptionist started from negative points - 2 beds, no view, etc. Its not the way how you meet the visitors. After complaining, she said that her manager found better room. (with view and king bed). Not sure why we need to initially complain. Design of hotel is old. OK, whatever, it can be (you dont renovate hotel every year, right?). Yet, the Riu Caribe (literally hotel next door) that is lower by the level, the lobby is way better and modern. But as I said, OK, whatever. Rooms - you can see doors literally painted with brush and some stains from the paint. Then there is no ventilation in the toilet - all the smell goes into the room. All furniture - painted with brush. And it looks like its not proper furniture, but build from some wooden pallets or other cheap wooden material. Mirrors - rusty (dont ask me why and how, but corners are rusty). Restaurants - buffet and steak house are OK. Yet, other ones - Japanese, Kristal, etc. - its Mexican Japanese, etc. Not really authentic. As my wife said - if they would like to cook properly, at least what they could do is just check a few videos on the Youtube (thats the minimum what they could do). SPA - its a joke, not SPA. Steamroom is just a name for room with a bit of steam that does not reach you while sitting on the bench (to feel it you need to stand), and 2 jaccuzzi - hotter & colder. Hotel staff - instead of English they start to speak Spanish, and only then English. Really? Everyone knows that most of visitors are English speaking visitors... The actual difference between Palace Peninsula (5 star) and Caribe (we've checked around) is the (1) menu in the restaurants, (2) you get umbrella on the beach, (3) lobby has air conditioning. Initially we were thinking to go to RIU at Playa Del Carmen but with cheaper hotel (Riu Playacar was twice cheaper) but decided to go to "World level famous tourist destination Cancun" and try one of the "better" hotels. Dissapointment. In Spain or Egypt 3 star hotels are at the same level. (maybe max 4 stars, but not 5 star for sure). If someone says RIU Palace Peninsula is 5 star hotel - dont believe them. And for those who says that its 5 star hotel- please visit 5 star (even 4 star) hotels in Turkey, Egypt, Europe. You will see difference straight away. But I've never could imagine that this, 5-star hotel, serving USA tourist, would be such dissapointment. If your goal is just to get drunk and stay in swimming pool - this might be an option. Yet, if you want to enjoy your vacation at fullest (not only beach and sea, but premises as well) - I do not recommend. I can say for sure - next time I am not paying this money for this hotel. Not even sure if I want RIU anymore...

  Jan 22, 2026
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  Mixed experience

  We recently stayed at the Riu Palace Peninsula as part of a large group of approximately 20 guests celebrating a birthday. Overall, the experience was mixed, with both positive aspects and areas that clearly need improvement. The resort itself is in need of updating. We were informed that the property will be closing for renovations, which is encouraging and very much needed. The spa, in particular, requires a complete remodel. The outdoor jacuzzi faces the main road, which significantly detracts from the relaxation experience and does not align with expectations for a resort spa environment. Service throughout the resort was excellent. The bartenders and waitstaff were consistently friendly, professional, and accommodating, which made a positive difference in our stay. The buffet was delicious and exceeded expectations; we enjoyed it for breakfast, lunch, and one dinner. Among the specialty restaurants, the Japanese restaurant stood out as the best dining experience. We stayed in the adults-only VIP villas, which we found to be a very pleasant and relaxing area. It was quieter, less crowded, and securing beach or pool lounge chairs was never an issue, which we appreciated. Our main and most serious complaint involves an activities representative at the pool advertising Coco Bongo tickets. We paid $40 per person for what we were told were Coco Bongo tickets. The representative provided his Snapchat as the primary method of communication. When we arrived at Coco Bongo and presented our receipt, we were informed that the tickets were not valid for Coco Bongo but instead for Congo Bar across the street. When we attempted to contact the representative, his response was that he was too drunk to speak with us. This behavior was unprofessional, inappropriate, and fraudulent. This individual identified himself as “Chino.” We strongly advise future guests not to purchase any excursions or event tickets from poolside representatives and instead book directly online or through verified channels. While we appreciated the friendly service, food quality, and the adults-only villa experience, this incident significantly impacted our trust and overall impression of the resort. We hope management takes this complaint seriously and addresses both the renovation needs and the oversight of third-party or on-site vendors to prevent this from happening to other guests.

  Jan 11, 2026
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  An unforgettable experience!

  This was my second stay at a Riu Palace (a different location), and it certainly won’t be my last. From relaxing pool and beach days and crystal-clear waters to spotless rooms, incredible dining, nonstop entertainment, breathtaking views, and exceptional service - Riu Palace was truly unforgettable.

  Jan 11, 2026
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  Finished Disappointed!!

  We stayed at RIU Palce Peninsula Dec 13-20 2025. At first it was wonderful, midweek resort lost power for most of morning. On the 18th our room flooded due to a broken pipe above us, at 1 AM ish. They did not want to move us due to them saying resort not having many rooms left. They ended up finally moving us to a different room. We had family and friends stay at RIU Caribe next door who experienced no issues. I was really disappointed. Find out later that resort is being closed due to needing full renovation makes sense to me now. What really got me was upon checkout NOT ONE PERSON asked us how our stay was.

  Jan 08, 2026
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  RIU was awesome! Excursion company ruined it.

  I am not usually one to write a review about a hotel, and I want to start off by saying that my 3 stars is not for RIU as they were wonderful and deserve 5 stars. This is based on one of the excursion companies, World2meet, that they have at their report. The hotel itself was great, all staff was very pleasant and great to deal with! The food was great - my husband and I usually aren’t buffet people but it was excellent!! My husband had an unfortunate experience and contracted some sort of viral infection and ended up in the Cancun hospital. We do not know how he contracted it. The day we booked our excursion for was unfortunately the day my husband ended up in the hospital and had to stay overnight. When we arrived back at the resort from the hospital, we went to speak with the agent and he told us right off that bat that they don’t process refunds. In his words “in 17 years we have never processed a refund.” Anyway, we accepted that and he proceeded to tell us we could get vouchers and we could get them soon. Long story short, we still don’t have our vouchers and I don’t think anything is being done. The agent has stopped responding to me. I emailed his company but have not gotten a response. If you choose to go to this resort, just please don’t purchase an excursion through World2meet.

  Jan 06, 2026