My husband, cousin and I stayed here Feb. 3rd to 10th. We enjoyed the stay even though we took the flu down with us.
I didn't enjoy booking with Sunquest that had our flight leaving from our airport at 11:00pm and arriving at 5 in the morning. We got there and we had to wait for a little shuttle bus for 1/2 hour. Usually we get a big coach for our transportation and we don't have to wait in the heat. I think this will deterr me from booking with them again. We also had to check out on Sat at 12:00pm even though our shuttle didn't come until 2:00 in the morning Sunday. I wasn't impressed that we had to sleep on some couches and I specifically asked our agent about that so this wouldn't happen. So make sure you get them to double check with the hotel about those arrangements. We put in a complaint about that with the agent so hopefully we get some restitution for that.
Now the good stuff.I really liked the entertainment staff even though we couldn't do any of the activities. They kept everyone busy and the night etertainment was the probably the best I've seen yet. The food was alright. I was disappointed with the Asian restaurant. The sushi was good but the rest was buffet style and it's always nice to have fresh in a restaurant. I enjoyed the other 2 restaurants. You have to book the Steakhouse. We were nicely surprised with the steak, especially coming from Canada. I think you can get more snacks after supper at the Pool restaurant as well which we didn't realize. The drinks were good, especially the mango daquari. I was disappointed with the margarita because they did it old style without the blended ice but there are plenty of other blended drinks to choose from, eg, dirty monkey, mud slide, pina coloda. We liked our view from our room even though we were stuck with double beds. I really liked the bathroom and the tub. I had some nice baths because of the flu. It was nice and relaxing.
The beach was nice and beautiful. I was a little perturbed with people leaving there towel on the chairs the whole day and taking up a space and not coming back until the day was over.
I would recommend this hotel. It was busy but you didn't have to wait too long for service. I hope this helps.

My husband and I stayed at the Riu Caribe 2/10 - 2/14/08 for our 12th wedding anniversary. We were a little bit nervous about the hotel given the negative nature of some of the reviews. We worried for nothing!!! Our Ocean View Junior Suite was available upon arrival. The front desk attendant could not have been nicer and answered all of our questions about the resort. While the room was nothing super fancy, it was clean and bright! It was also quite large. Our balcony was huge and included two lounge chairs and a table. The view was spectacular. The refrigerator was stocked with Corona, Soda, and Water. We ate at the Steak House (excellent food and service) and at the Mexican restaurant which was fantastic. Again, we received excellent service! The lobby bar is gorgous and we never had to wait for service from either the bartenders or the servers. The drinks were good and they will take special requests. The buffet restaurant offered many many options for breakfast and dinner. On our first night at the buffet, a hotel representative came over to our table to make sure that we were happy with our room and the hotel. We did have an issue with the sink at one point, but the hotel sent someone up within 5 minutes to fix it and we never had another problem. The beach was short but very well kept and the water was calm and very swimable. The lobby bar does get noisy at night because of the entertainment (we could hear everything from the 5th floor), but the hotel makes sure that it is quiet by 11pm, so we were not bothered. Also, the hotel staff puts on a different show at the hotel "theatre" every night. The shows were great! Very funny and you can tell that the staff works really hard to make them enjoyable. We would absolutely return to this hotel without any hesitation.

My family and I stayed at Riu Caribe from Feb. 8, 2008 to Feb. 15, 2008. We booked the trip through "Sell Off Vacations". The travel agency was Signature.
My husband and I had a VERY large room with a king size bed and a sofa. Our 3 teen age kids shared the VERY large room directly above and had 3 double beds with 3 full dressers.
Our rooms were on the 3rd floor, which was a bit disappointing, at first, but because they were so large and the kids each had their own bed, we were VERY happy.
We tried all of the restaurants....they were all fine but you do have to get up early (0630 - 0700) for a dinner reservation before 8:30 pm.
You also have to get up very early (0630 or 0700) to get a spot by the pool, but it was worth it for our teenage kids. The sports and entertainment team were so much fun...the kids loved the pool games. The beach was also fabulous. We used the catamarans several times, they never "ran out" of equipment to borrow. There was beach volley ball etc... lots of fun.
Every single person that provided service was friendly and polite. They could not do enough for us. NOBODY requested a tip and I even saw one waiter turn down a tip.....although most of the staff were very happy to receive them. We never felt that we had to tip to get service...........we tipped in response to good service.
We booked 2 excursions through the Signature representative. We felt that both were excellent value. When we went to see the Myan ruins our tour guide was VERY well spoken and educated. We stopped for a swim along the way and an excellent buffet lunch was included. It was a long day, but a great day too! We also did the "jungle tour"...it involved driving our own mini speed boat and snorkling. It was great fun for all of us.
The night life ends around 10:00 pm after the show in the theatre (which is on site), but they usually provide bus service to and from a night club if you want to party into the wee hours. For our family, 10:00 was fine. The bar in the main lobby is open until midnight and there is always live enertainment provided.
We enjoyed the shows provided by the sports and entertainment team....our only question...When do they sleep?
All in all..........we had a great time. I would think the hotel is closer to 4 star than 5 and the rooms could stand to be updated. It was a very comfortable place to stay in that one did not need to be overly concerned with their evening wardrobe .... it was a very relaxed environment that way.

Riu Caribe, Cancun, Mexico
Date, February 18, 2008.
We just returned from 14 fantastic days at the Riu Caribe. Please do not settle for the first room you are given if you are not completely happy. The front desk is willing to make a change for you providing you let them know. In Mexico it is quite common to leave your unpacking until you have a room that makes you happy.

The hotel has three a la carte restaurants that you need to make reservations for by 10:00 a.m. In most cases you will be able to go to the restaurant of your choice. They are all good. The buffet restaurant, the Albatros is excellent both in the ample selections of food and the service. It may in fact be the best restaurant of all and there's always plenty of room.

The pizzeria is a separate little building on the outside of the hotel and makes the best pizza. Fernando, the chef, will make it to your exact specifications. This little restaurant is a little jewel and you should be sure to visit it.

I can't say enough about the Sport and Entertainment Team. Not only do they keep the clientele thoroughly entertained during the day, they also perform very professional shows every night in the theatre and then take anyone interested out to various nightclubs in Cancun after their performance. They are very conscientious in ensuring that children of all ages are involved in the various activities offered during the day and at night.

We only just left the Riu Caribe and we are already planning our next trip back to this excellent hotel.

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada