I went with my boyfriend in Oct 2007. This was the newest hotel there at the time. It was definitely the talk of the island. Many people there own timeshares, and are anxious to know about the Riu. Aruba is filled with honeymooners and affluent retirees, so if you are looking for a spring-break party trip, Aruba isn't for you :)

Rooms - soooooo clean & spacious! We had an oceanview, walk-in closet, his & hers sinks, king size comfortable bed. Ideally you want to request a room not directly attached to the hotel....they are larger & nicer.

Pool - very spacious, great swim up bar with tables & chairs right in the pool.

Beach - beautiful beach, no one tried to sell us anything, comfy beach chairs - note: get up early if you want a cabana! ie-5am!

Food - it's a Riu so it's fantastic. All the restaurants were amazing - the nicest I've ever eaten at at an all inclusive.

Entertainment - is indoors at the stage (which is kind of weird) and it's not every night. Find out the schedule the first day or two you are there. The casino is ok, but the one at the Radisson next door is better.

Grounds - they were just starting to plant some flowers and trees in Oct. Some people were complaining, but if you are going to Aruba for greenery at your hotel, you have a problem...go have a rum punch :)

Tours: If you are going to do any tours, do the snorkelling island tour at DePalm island!!! It's a great tour that you can do through your hotel. There are TONS of beautiful fish all over the island, so it won't be a waste. Invest in an underwater camera. If you are feeling adventurous, spend the extra for the upgraded SeaTrek Tour. My boyfriend and I won it at the orientation meeting. We thought it was going to be really stupid, but it ended up being the highlight of the trip...we even bought the underwater video...LOL

If you are contemplating about staying at the Holiday Inn Sunspree or the RIu, spend the few extra dollars and stay at the RIu...you will not be disappointed!!!

We stayed at the Riu from April 16th to the 23rd. We took the advise of the forums and took a taxi to the hotel which cost $23 and worth every penny.

We had a parital ocean view room. We had room 1035 on the 10th floor second from the end at the beach and what a view. It was the best ocean view I have had yet.

Room: Excellent, Marble top in the bathroom, Jetted tub, good size with double sinks. The bed was hard but I slept really good and was not bothered by it. The room was spotless. I did leave a $3 tip and $1 for restocking the fridge daily and the room was spotless everyday.

Beach: What can I say it's great. The water on some days was a bit cloudy but most was pretty clear. We had to get out by 6;30 to get a beach hut and wait till 7 for the beach boys to unlock the chairs. The weather was great the whole week not a sprinkle.

Food: Prob the best AL food we have had so far. We did go out for dinner 3 times, Madame Janettes, Gianni's Ristorante, and Chalet Suisse all exceeded expectations. We ate at Natulaus the steak house and the italian resturant at the Riu both really good. The best thing about the italian was the appitazer buffet it was worth going just for that. Lunchs were good at either the beach or the main buffet. We did tip at everymeal and we didn't want for anything, either a drink or Soda, etc. Drinks were good but I think the liquor is watered down.

Nite life was pretty dull. Most nites we had drinks at the outdoor bar or watched the show for a bit. We went into the casino 3-4 times with $10 each (I know big spenders) but the first nite I won $160 after spending $3. Yee Ha. I did'nt put it back in either.

We did the Jolly Pirates tour, great fun especially with the rope swing. We also did a Jeep tour with De Palm tours to Baby beach. It also was fun.

I give the Riu a 5* and would come back.

DM

This was my husband's and my first trip to Aruba. After listening to our friends and family rave about it we decided to visit. We are die hard cruise fans - we've taken 8 cruises so far and wanted to go to Aruba but keep the pricing more in line with what we are used to paying for a cruise - balcony room, airfare, bar tab and excursions.

Our travel agent looked into some of the hotels in Aruba, we specifically wanted to stay on Palm Beach and the prices were very high! She came back with the suggestion of the Riu which was comparable to what we would pay for a cruise and is an all inclusive resort.

The hotel is magnificant - beautiful lobby, enormous pool, beautiful beach with plenty of chairs and palm trees and huts on the beach. Our room was on the 10th floor of the hotel, it was a junior suite and was great. Spacious bathroom and sitting area with a large balcony overlooking the pool and the beach.

However, the downside was the food. It was simply terrible! The breakfast buffet was huge - too huge. There were so many items and none of them were very good. After the first day, I ended up eating a muffin and fruit for breakfast. They had the worst coffee I've ever tasted. Lunch wasn't much better - ending up having a salad everyday. Dinners were horrible. Even the specialty restaurants were bad. The "steakhouse" is the pool/beach restaurant and it looks the same at night with the exception of cloth napkins and candles on the tables. Northing special except for the beautiful view. We ate at the Krystal Gourmet restaurant and it wasn't much better. However, the wine was superb and the dessert was very good.

Overall the Aruba experience was wonderful. But we ended up eating in town 2 nights because we couldn't face eating in the hotel another night. It's really a shame because it is such a beautiful hotel and location and the staff is very friendly.

I would defintely like to go back to Aruba, however we will not stay at the Riu again.

As a travel agent , I have been to Aruba at least 10 times over the years and enjoy staying in the different properties on the island. I have stayed in low-rises, high-rises, villas and all inclusives. We usually travel with the same couple, good friends of many years, and this time, our choice was the Riu all inclusive which opened in July 2007.
We went down on the TNT charter so we had a great nonstop flight on the way down. The transfer to the hotel was a zoo. The TNT people have you stay right outside the airport door and get into crowded confusing lines and we waited at least 35 minutes for a bus to arrive. They need a more organized system.
We arrived at the Riu and the checkin was fine. I would advise everyone to sign up on the Riu website so that you can get the Riu Class Card number before you go. This is like a frequent flyer card but it allows you complimentary fruit platter and champagne in your room as well as allows you to request building preference, terrace or french balcony, high floor or low floor. Our rooms were 809 and 810. We were on the eighth floor, which was the highest floor for the ocean view junior suites. The two top floors are suites. We were in the main building facing the pool and the beach dead center. I liked the set up. You get to your floor and see that tiny corridors hold two rooms. If you're with family or friends and have the two rooms, you can close the main door of the corridor, it locks and both your keys can open it. Once closed, you can both leave your room doors open and go back and forth like a two bedroom suite. Great idea and lots of fun. Enough has been said about the rooms-they are very nice and new. The only thing to note is that not all rooms have a terrace. Some just have a small french balcony so that you would no be able to sit out on the balcony. If this is important to you, be sure to mention it.
Food was very good. I don't usually like the buffets for dinner but these were very fresh and gave you many choices. Breakfast buffets were great and the lunch grill was very good. The specialty restaurants were good but very gourmet as far as food selection and portion. Our husbands aren't too daring with their food choices and we love the restaurants in Aruba so we had dinner at Madame Jeannettes (wives choice) and Tony Romas (for ribs-the husband's choice). We tried the Asian Fusion restaurant (sushi and strange entrees.) We tried the steakhouse--the food was better but you were in the Grill where you have the lunch buffet so it lacked atmosphere. Much has been written about making reservations and waiting in long lines. There was no problem. I got there about 845am and was usually the first one in line in the lobby. At no time did there seem to be a huge line.
The only complaint was from beer drinkers. You read that the resort will give you heineken etc. if you ask nicely--no way. They have Balashi beer, the local beer and that's it. It's not bad but my husband likes Heineken and our friend likes Coors so Monday, we took the bus downtown, saw the sights and shopped. There is a local supermarket right downtown, the Hong King. We go there every time we hit Aruba. We stocked up on Coors, Heineken and Corona (for the wives) and limes and brought this back on the bus to the resort. Happy Hour in the room was now perfect. The pool was beautiful and we hung out there for the music and swim up bar and then went down for a swim in the ocean when we wanted to. Very windy all week on the beach and there was a lot of sand flying around.
Check out was fine and the charter home was VERY DELAYED but we made it home fine. We went to casinos, saw the water display at the new mall near the Holiday Inn and saw a Jazz Show at Mr Jazz. All in all, a great trip! Love Aruba and its people! It very safe to walk around and go from hotel to hotel.
Beach is all ripped up near the Holiday Inn so keep away from there!