After reading the mixed reviews here, I wasn't sure if I made the right choice going there. But let me tell you something, I did made the right choice after all, the hotel was clean, smelled damp in the hallways. our room was clean, the bed was comfortable. the lobby is nice, the pool wasn't very big but wasn't crowded either.
the food was great, the breakfast buffet had everything you would ask for, the lunch buffet was good too, the dinner buffet was great. If you want to dine at the restaurants you need to wake up at 8 am to do the booking, I didn't like the Japanese restaurant, the Crystal restaurant was al-right we ended up going back to the buffet to finish our dinner.
The people who work there are great, you just need to be friendly to them and have a smile on your face, after all you are in a vacation, have some friendly attitude lol.

The weather was good, the beach is very clean. the view from my room was spectacular.

everything was going well till the last day when some crazy American women got real drunk at the pool area and started flashing their boobs, making out with other women and men, sucking boobs....all of this happening around some kids. few of us complained to the security, later they had to bring wheelchairs to take women's up to their rooms because they were sooo drunk. for goodness sake ppl get a room if you need to have sex, don't do it in public area near children !!!!

I'll definitely be going back there. and I'll recommend this place to anyone. this was my honest review.

After reading so many reviews that either loved or hated this place, it was with some trepidation (and pleasant surprise) that I spent five (5) great nights at the Riu on Paradise Island with a friend. First, the hotel is very clean and nicely appointed. It has a big beautiful lobby, the rooms are clean and updated and have nice views. Some reviews I read complained of a mold smell. The hallways sometimes smell a bit damp but as someone who lives in Florida and travels all over the tropics, that's just part of humidity. It's not overwhelming here and the hotel is very clean.

Second, the staff here is GREAT. They really go out of their way to make a guests' stay pleasant. They are responsive, get you what you ask for and quickly. They are all over service in the restaurants. It was really, really terrific.

Third, the food was good and the drinks were strong. Most of the liquor was middle shelf but at an all inclusive I'm pretty happy to see Havana Club rum and Jim Beam being poured. The buffets were very well done, very clean and had a nice variety. Again, this is not the Ritz or Casa de Campo, so don't go expecting Daniel Bouloud (and btw the pricing here is a lot more favorable than any "all inclusive" add-on at some of the 5-star resorts in the Caribbean). They make an effort to give good food, and it is really a great value for the price. Keep your expectations in line -- its a good deal.

Fourth, the location can't be beat. You're two steps from Atlantis if you want to hit the casino. Its the same beach. I went jogging a few times around Paradise Island and this place is really in the mix, right between the One and Only and Atlantis. You can't beat it for the price -- and I didn't want to pay Atlantis prices on this trip.

Lastly, we didn't see a lot of wild partying. We saw a pretty big mix of couples and a few families. I definitely wouldn't come expecting a singles paradise.

But, overall a very nice stay and a great value for the money. Highly recommend it.

There is so much wrong with this hotel, that I beg you to read all of this before even considering going to this place. And after I list the issues, read on - even upon getting home it was bad.

There is no exaggeration in this list of problems:
Loose rails on decks off of bedrooms. Mold and mildew in rooms. Wet carpets. Rusty toilet paper dispensers. Dresser drawers that would not open. Leaks in the lobby. Paint peeling. Arcade room cannot be used because machine to purchase magnetic card from was broken for several days. Pool has missing tiles. Pool edge is dirty, has hair, and not cleaned. Staff not accommodating. Managers not accommodating. Managers say they will look into issues and get back to you, but then they don't. Asked for a bottle of champagne to be delivered to room at a certain time to celebrate something - it never came. When we called, they said they'd get on it right away. 40 mins later it still was not delivered. Someone wrote about spoiled milk - yes, I can attest to that. Disgusting. Place is so dirty that words really cannot do it justice. Pink cushioned seats in lobby were black in many areas. We asked in advance for certain accommodations, but they failed to deliver on a single one.

Just when you think it cannot get worse - it does. I spoke with a manager at length about all the problems. He handed me a card with an email address. He did nothing about the problems. And he did not give me a phone number to call. He simply gave me an email address. I would have sent an email at that time, but wifi was down and not working very often.

Good thing I did not send the email during the trip - it would have been a waste of time. I sent the email on Wed, Jan 2nd. Two days later I still had not heard back so I emailed again. Sent another one a couple days after that. Then sent one every day this week as I was in awe that they literally do not respond.

Finally got a response today from Karina Sierra Guerra. 9 days after I sent my original email.

Her response was horrible. She wrote things like, "I would like to comment that this unfortunate situation that was brought up to our hotel management attention..." Absolutely not true. We did bring it up. We brought things up to the front desk, to assistant managers, and to the head manager - Pedro Cepeda. This means that Karina simply asked the staff/management if such issues were raised and they must have said no. Unbelievable.

Hang in there - it gets worse. Instead of offering to refund a tiny part of the trip - she says she'd like us to join the Riu Class Program wherein we can earn points towards future trips. Talk about not getting it. If I have a horrible experience and they do nothing about it - why would I go back to any of their hotels?

Still getting worse: in my original email, I asked to have someone call me. 9 days later and no one has. So when I read Karina's email, I immediately emailed her back asking for her to please call me. Get this: instead of calling me, I got an email that said I should allow time for a response. I am not even making this next part up, but they asked me to wait 20 business days. What kind of customer service is that? It took 9 days to get a response from my first email. As soon as I did, I immediately responded reminding her I'd like to be called (since she did not include her phone number). And the response was literally, "Please allow a time response frame of 20 business days." 20 business days? That brings us to February.

I am writing this because this place was that bad. I have no review history because I have never stayed at a place so bad that it had to be shared. I have traveled a lot. I've stayed at more expensive places and at cheaper places. Regardless where I have gone, I have never encountered a place as bad as this one.

Managers that do not get back to you. Staff that puts out spoiled milk. Customer service that asks for 20 business days. And the place is dirty, not to mention dangerous (ie, the loose rails on patios is a liability and an accident waiting to happen). If you like losing electricity, when the surrounding hotels and venues did not lose it -- if you like being kicked off the internet after finally getting on -- if you like being told they ran out of what you ordered at the Krystal restaurant (a full hour and 20 minutes AFTER you ordered it) -- if you like disrespectful staff -- if you like no one helping you with your luggage upon arrival when you get out of your vehicle/taxi -- if you like rooms not to be ready on time -- if you like dresser drawers that have no bottom -- if you like the remote control to your tv not to work -- if you like them cooking up burgers at 9am to serve at lunch 3 hours later -- if you like AC that does not always work -- then this is the place for you.

We just came back from Paradise Island and spent the last 2 days of our trip at the Riu. It was truly a disgrace. I can't see how it could be rated as 5-star. The hotel smelled like mold, it was so damp. The carpet in our first room was literally soaking wet. You could wring it out. I asked a few other people if their room had wet carpet and they were all equally horrified. We asked for a room change And our second room was even worse. As soon as we opened the door it was obvious that the carpets had not even been vacuumed. There was wood shavings and carpet staples all over the place. I picked up at least 12 huge staples within the first minute. The room was also damp with sopping wet carpets and paint bubbling off the walls. Bed sheets had blood stains on them and were so damp they felt wet.

I could go on and on! But the bottom line is ....... Do not stay here. We have done a lot of travelling and I think our expectations are reasonable. However, this hotel is marketed as a 5-star and I have seen better 2-stars.

As well, I booked a 2 bed room as we were travelling with our kids. Our confirmation showed that we were getting one, but when we arrived they put 4 of us in a 1-bed room and my husband had to sleep on a roll away cot. We were paying far too much for this to be considered acceptable.

As well, the wifi did not work any of the time we were there, so my husband was unable to check emails for work. As well, the computers were down the first nightso we did not even have room keys.

And to top it off, my daughter left money in her bag and had $250 stolen.
The place was a damp, dirty, place that I would not recommend to anyone.

We stayed the first week of our trip at Atlantis which was wonderful - and of note, the hotel was not one bit damp so this wasn't just due to the climate of the island. Pay the extra money and stay next door at Atlantis!