Riu Palace Peninsula

The hotel is a quick transfer from Cancun airport , 45 mins at most, and we were checked in really quickly and given a free upgrade to a slightly bigger suite which was a great suprise. The room was modern, really clean and kept that way for the duration of our 2 week stay, with a fabulous view over the whole resort and the beaches and sea beyond. There were only around 4 or 5 days out of the two weeks where seaweed was visible on the beach and in the sea, but this was quickly cleared each morning and left the beaches in pristine condition for the rest of the day, we noticed the resorts each side didn't clear the seaweed , I only mention this because I know the seaweed is a big issue in some resorts in Mexico at the moment , but there is no issue whatsoever at this hotel. We only ate in two of the speciality restaurants during our stay purely down to personal taste, the Italian was OK nothing amazing to be fair, the first visit to the steakhouse was incredible ,both food and service but the second was a complete shambles to be honest so I think its pretty much luck of the draw on who's serving etc whichever night you visit, so we stuck with the buffet restaurant after that becuase the food and service there was incredible, although I have to say the atmosphere for us was consistently spoilt by people who seem unable to eat without having a loud facetime call with relatives in Minnesota, Manchester , Mississippi wherever, or watch you tube videos at full volume while your trying to enjoy a meal, not the hotels fault I know just something I personally find quite irritating and I use my mobile phone as much anyone at the appropriate time . Selene at breakfast and Elvis and Luis at dinner times always go above and beyond to make your mealtime a pleasure. The staff really make the difference for us at this hotel , all of them seem really proud of the hotel and Cancun as well , Diego at the lobby bar and Luis who works around all of the bars from time to time particularly stand out as does Jorge who is always taking your drinks orders from your sunbed and making sure you are looked after at the beach. The only reason I didn't give a full 5 star review was because in our opinion the cocktails were of very poor quality and choice , they seem to be mass produced in massive plastic containers then served with crushed ice that tasted like undiluted squash, though I appreciate this could be just personal taste, also the beer both on draught and in bottles was for us only just drinkable almost always warm and flat by the time it hits the plastic beaker or glass. The other reason it's not quite a 5 star review is becuase we felt that by the end of the afternoon the pools were very dirty, I understand people drinking and smoking in the swim up pool, but feel it should be restricted to that pool and definitely not in the infinity pool overlooking the beach. The entertainment was OK , and people seemed to enjoy the activities day and night but that's not what we go on holiday for to be honest , so each to there own we were able to find plenty of quiet spots to relax and unwind which is what we were looking for. If you come and are looking for a good day out to arrange yourselves the ferry to Isla Mujeres is a must , $21 return per person and you can hire a golf buggy for $45 dollars for 8 hours to explore the island when you get there, a great day out that we did twice in the end because we enjoyed it that much. All in all would have no hesitation returning to this hotel or recommending it to anyone , and if you are coming you will have an amazing time, there really is something for everyone. Thanks to everyone at the RIU Palace Peninsula for an amazing holiday.

Initially arriving to the hotel (around 1) our room was not ready. It was said to be ready at 3 but did not end up being ready until about 4:30. The villas itself exceeded my expectations, it was very. It smelled really nice, and was cleaned thoroughly our entire time there. The property itself is a family property, so if you like something more quiet and secluded, you want to select the villas. The dining was very nice and well organized. The drinks were....interesting. I'm not a big drinker at all, but I took four shots to prove a point, that there has to be mostly water, because it literally had no effect on me. There were cute and entertaining shows during the evening hours which I thought was a nice touch. Shows that both adults and children could enjoy, and I can't stress that the property was very clean. Overall, I enjoyed my stay there and if I ever went with a family, I'd go back.