Riu Vallarta - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9551 reviews

• 

  Great Vacation

  Very nice hotel. The only complaint would be that there should be more bathrooms by the pool and ocean area. Al

  Feb 08, 2026
• 

  Book now, unless you’re a real karen, you will love it! Register as member for the best price!

  5 stars for its class! Do not let the negative nancies dissuade you, this resort is great for a mid-level family resort! I saw a complaint where a lady “noticed”people “peeing in the pool”. This was what I saw first when looking up this hotel, next to the Tripadvisor logo. First of all, lady, if this is the first time you “noticed” this, then maybe you should stay sober more often. Eye roll. I hope that comment gets dislodged soon because, first of all, that happens at ALL resorts. Secondly, this is why we never go in the swim-up bar pool. I mean, think about it. These folks rarely get out of the pool and they are drinking…. NOT the fault of the resort. We enjoy the beach. Flamingos beach is exceptional, we absolutely love it. The vendors are not pushy at all. A simple “no, gracias” and they smile and move on. If you do want to buy something, they love to negotiate and will give you a good deal. There is always a lot of free loungers at the beach. The many palm trees provide shade if you don’t want to sit nearer the waves. If, like us, you enjoy the waves, the vendors rent and will install umbrellas from the hut on the beach. If you want a chair near one of the four pools, get up early. Like everywhere. I notice there is a glass wall at the pool that overlooks the beach, and people like to turn their loungers around for the sea view. There are umbrellas in that row, courtesy of the hotel. That’s where I would sit if I wanted a sea view without paying for shade. There is music coming from the pool bar however, the pool closest to the hotel is quiet. Across the property, the pool nearest the kiddies spray park has a ramp and the resort is very good with folks with disabilities. There is a ramp from the elevated area to the beach. The food here is really very good! We judge it to be the best food we have had at an all-inclusive. Next to the GP on the cusp of Bahía Banderas to the north. Apart from being easily an hour away from the airport, the palladium happens to be three times the cost. Also GP is very hilly, not suitable for seniors or those in wheelchairs. We are very happy with the buffet, it’s large, with indoor and outdoor seating. Huge salad bar, loads of fresh fruit cut up, steamed and sautéed vegetables and lots of yummy desserts and ice creams, make yourself a cone. The fresh juices are real fruit, no corners cut. They are happy to make you a speciality coffee, and the servers are friendly and amazing at helping you out. Most nights there is a roast at the carving station, and fish choices as well. Manned sections surround the room, with Mexican, Italian and Indian food. We stayed at the KG (krystal grand) down the beach and while the prices went way up, the food went downhill there between our two stays. Mystery meat in sauces. Here, they grill cuts and carve slices. Yes, it’s a big deal. They say the steak bites are good at the Italian, but the three of our party eating steak at the steakhouse enjoyed it! The Italian restaurant was not as good as the pasta in the buffet, where we had it wok-tossed with toppings of our choice. So good! And nice and hot. The person at the Mexican section makes tortillas fresh if you don’t mind waiting. The “gourmet” place was a bit slow and not really worth going for. The Japanese was very good, but if you want tuna or beef tataki without sriracha you have to ask. Our meat-eaters loved the ribs. Sushi was good, but not very different from the wide array at the buffet daily. Honestly, we could have eaten at the buffet alone for our stay and enjoyed all of our meals thoroughly. We did walk to the RIU Jalisco for lunch, but although identical, their buffet is way smaller. As for our room, we did get an email after joining the rewards program that invited us to choose our room number, we had not been here before so just picked a partial sea view room. At the desk they confirmed that these rooms face the courtyard where the nightly entertainment is, so if we went to bed early then we may not want that. The young man then found us a similar room on the outside of the building, and it has been very quiet through to our stay. Much appreciated. King bed, very comfortable! The maid does an awesome job, we always return to a sparkling clean and cool room, with a light, clean scent. I believe they also call our room a junior suite. The hotel is full to capacity (Jan Feb), so getting us this room was no mean feat! Staff are all so kind and helpful. The gift shop is a godsend, btw! I forgot to pack flip flops and they have them there, good quality, decent price! They have dresses and swimsuits too, but only in s/m. Sadly. Thanks to this stay, we are absolutely sold on RIU resorts! We are Canadians who love Mexico so we don’t venture much further for vacation. But if the opportunity should arise, we won’t hesitate to choose RIU again!

  Feb 07, 2026
• 

  Great vacation

  Enjoyed the resort, the 4 pools were nice. Great location with nice beach walks. The activities were good, lots of tour options available. Food was good

  Feb 07, 2026
• 

  Family trip

  Travelled with my husband and 3.5 yr old twins for a week at Riu Vallarta, it was our first time in Nuevo Vallarta and at a Riu. We loved this resort, the buffet was huge and yummy for every meal, we loved the pool snacks and went to the steak house twice and loved it. We unexpectedly got three beds in our room, we were happy with the cleanliness of our room and around the hotel. The kids pool could be a bit warmer haha!! Lots of great entertainment for all ages. There was construction happening at the time we were there but they were respectful to not go too late into the evening and always cleaned up and made it safe for us to walk through.

  Feb 07, 2026
• 

  Does the job

  Stayed at Riu Palace up the road two years ago and found this place to be similar. Friendly staff; food service decent. No bill provided upon checkout (booked via Expedia) was off-putting; also received no opportunity to book a transfer at any point which made getting to property more difficult. But overall, youll not be disappointed if a week away for sun and sand is your goal.

  Feb 07, 2026