Riu Cancun

Me and my fiancé stayed at the Riu Cancún for a couples holiday for two weeks. We was a bit worried reading some of the negative reviews but it was absolutely faultless. We had a first floor room on the quieter side of the building, we could still see the sea from our balcony. The room was spotless and the cleaners even put cute towel animals on the bed every few days. Wherever you turned there was someone cleaning the hotel, everything was kept on top of. The staff in the bars were amazing, they brought drinks to your sun lounger and came round regularly, you didn’t even need to move from your spot. The restaurant was really good, plenty of choice even with dietary requirements. We tried both the steak and Italian restaurant, we really enjoyed both. The infinity pool was really good, we enjoyed the poolside entertainment. I would 100% recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Mexico! We had an amazing time.

2nd time here and can’t fault this hotel though had issue with room type but probably more to do with travel provider, level 13 balcony view very poor with wall blocking any views, had to pay upgrade, much dearer than last time but worth sacrificing couple of excursions for pool view room. Love the food, love the location and staff can’t do enough to help you. Pool entertainment always good value. Will return again hopefully next year

We arrived at the RIU Cancun on the 23rd of December to spend Christmas week. As we arrived at the hotel, we were able to check in very quickly, however when we asked for a room with a view we were informed that as we booked through TUI, we only get a room on floor 2 or 13, neither have a view due to brick walls and trees, the only option we had was to pay for a room upgrade, however as this was Christmas week, only very expensive rooms were available so we decided against the upgrade. Once in the room we were shocked to find we only had 1 bed for ourselves and our child. When we asked for a room with two beds (As was on our TUI booking), we were informed none were available even though we had booked 18 months in advance. We were however provided with what can only be described as a Hospital/Camp bed which was brought to our room and was desperately inadequate. The room itself was very dated, had a very old dirty fridge which was noisy and leaking, plus the air con was musty and the filter full of dirt. The rooms are far from the 4 star’s TUI advertise or the 5 star’s RIU advertise and were more suited to a 3 star at best. Looking at other rooms which are mainly booked for the American clientele, the rooms are fresh, modern, newer fridges, thicker mattresses, new TV’s, good air con, worldwide/USB adapters in the walls and more a 5-star standard. All rooms have optics and fridges stocked up daily, however. Overall the rooms are very disappointing if you are a TUI customer, otherwise if you are not you should be very happy. Other than the rooms, we had no complaints. The facilities were exceptional, service and attitude of the staff fantastic, great beach/pools, and great selection of food. Below is a quick guide to what we thought… Food/Drink. The restaurants were fantastic. Tip, try the Japanese, it was our favorite, however the steak restaurant was a little disappointing. The rest were also very good and the buffet restaurant had a great selection. On Christmas eve, RIU do a Christmas meal which is amazing. Drinks were also good. Another tip is to ask for branded alcohol. Usually you will get the local stuff which on most occasions is very good, however if you ask for the branded drinks, you will also get this. We noticed Prosecco was not on the drinks menu, however it was available. If you want something but it’s not on the menu, just ask, the staff will always do their best. Bars. Throughout the hotel you will find many bars. We liked the Lobby bar and the corner bar the best as these were overall quiet and good for families. Rooms. Through TUI you get a room on floor 2 or 13 only. These are dated, smelly, and have the oldest equipment in them (Fridges/TV etc). They also are not serviced to the same standard as other rooms, have poor A/C, no view and have mold on the shower sealant. Rooms not booked with TUI are much better quality. Beach. The beach was great. Clear water, very little/none seaweed (cleaned early each morning), amazing soft white sand, and very clean. We got a bus to the Cancun letters ($1) and the beach there was also good, bigger waves, very long, and nice sand (not as soft as at the RIU) TIP Get to the Cancun sign early as queue’s get very long. Pools. The pools were great. To the right of the hotel you will find 2 infinity pools. These are big, clean and very quiet, great for kids and families. The only negative is they are the coolest pools . There is also a swim up pool bar with chairs and tables built in (great for photo’s), a lively pool set up for games/aqua aerobics, but also has sun loungers in the water and has vey warm water due to it being shallow, and then one more infinity pool which is again quite warm. TIP The sun beds towards the border of the beach get the sun for the longest time however these go fast. If you want these, put a towel down about 7:15am Entertainment/Kids Club. The entertainment team and kids club were fantastic. These people work exceptionally hard and are very friendly. They made the Christmas holidays even more special for the kids. Hotel Grounds. 2 of the 4 lifts were out of service for the week we were at the hotel which made a long wait for the lifts, however as we were on the second floor it didn’t bother us. Other than our room, the hotel is kept to an extremely high standard. The lobby is immaculate, bars/restaurants in great condition, pools/beach area safe/clean, and all the grounds in superb condition. We had a fantastic week at the RIU Cancun and would visit again (not through TUI but independently which would be cheaper and ensure we had a better room). The room issue we accredit to TUI and not RIU (I will be posting a separate review on our overall TUI holiday), so overall, we would rate our stay 5/5 if it wasn’t for the room, so unfortunately give it a 4/5. If the room is a massive issue for you, book direct with RIU and get separate flights (TUI or Delta/American Airlines/United/Southwest all via USA, Sunwing/Westjet/Air Canada via Canada). The RIU Cancun can arrange a safe, fast and inexpensive Airport Transfer which is everything a tour operator would do, but this way you save money and get a better room. TIP The hotel has a Customer help desk in the lobby which is just like having a rep onside each day every day. They are very informative and speak good English. I will post a hotel walk through video on YouTube to show the hotel/pools/beach etc (YouTube Channel Travel Capture, Hotel RIU Cancun walk though tour)