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All 195 Playa del Carmen hotels

Riu Palace Mexico: Traveler Reviews

4.0 of 5
Avenida Xaman-Ha Manzana 3 Lote 4 | Playacar, Playa del Carmen 77710, Mexico
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Riu Palace Mexico
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Ranked #34 of 195 hotels in Playa del Carmen
Most recent review
4 of 5 stars Reviewed September 24, 2012
Sone-a-rone Eugene, Oregon
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2,323 reviews from our community

Traveler rating
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Rating summary
  • Location
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Sleep Quality
    4 of 5 stars
  • Rooms
    4 of 5 stars
  • Service
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Value
    4.5 of 5 stars
  • Cleanliness
    4.5 of 5 stars
Date Rating
Eugene, Oregon
Top Contributor
67 reviews 67 reviews
13 hotel reviews
Reviews in 27 cities Reviews in 27 cities
17 helpful votes 17 helpful votes
“Beautiful all-inclusive hotel!”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed September 24, 2012

I stayed here in July with my family and we loved it! You are pretty close to town (a short drive, taxi ride or a longer walk), which has lots of shopping and great restaurants! The hotel itself was fantastic! Big rooms with balconies and beautiful views of the grassy courtyard and fountains, fantastic service and HUGE and DELICIOUS food buffets.... different every night too! The beach area was fun and we enjoyed the pool and many different options for food and drinks throughout the day. If this is not good enough, you can go to all of the other Riu hotels free as well for amenities, variety, etc!

We were very impressed with the hotel, had a fantastic vacation, and would go back for sure!

Two quick complaints...
the hotel claims to have two tennis courts, but have one of the two covered in building supplies that look like they have been there quite a while. If you are a tennis player and looking forward to this amenity, know that you can also use the courts at the neighboring Riu resort which has 4 beautiful courts in their garden-like area.

Second, the beds are almost crunchy feeling! Yuck... it feels like they have used bed protectors made out of crunchy plastic that makes noise when you roll over. This would be something that the hotel could fix to drastically improve the quality of sleep.

Room Tip: Rooms on the second floor have much better views, and the further towards the beach, the better the...
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  • Stayed July 2012, traveled with family
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 5
Ask Sone-a-rone about Riu Palace Mexico
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Covington, Kentucky
Senior Contributor
33 reviews 33 reviews
6 hotel reviews
Reviews in 19 cities Reviews in 19 cities
14 helpful votes 14 helpful votes
“Paradise in Paradise!”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed September 21, 2012

One of the top RIUs I've ever stayed in! Even the wood room numbers were polished on a daily basis! Attention to detail was unbelievable. Staff was very friendly and even engaging! A first for traveling in Mexico!

Room Tip: Ground floor between the pools and the lobby worked well for us.
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  • Stayed November 2011, traveled with friends
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 8
Ask Ron O about Riu Palace Mexico
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
15 helpful votes 15 helpful votes
“Amazing best holiday in years”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed September 20, 2012 via mobile

What can I say beautiful hotel lovely decor staff who cannot do enough for you . I was there for my birthday and came back the night before it to champagne and chocolate covered strawberries the following night the same but white wine this time. Food was lovely particularly where ever you ate but especially yashima and krystals. The animation staff were superb a fourteen hour day meant nothing to them Ricky is a legend and angle so warm friendly and helpful good luck with your future It's worth saying that two of the crew were fifteen and sixteen but you would never know so professional. The only thing that could be better was the slightly uncomfortable beach sunbeds but with tummy full of excellent food and drinks supplied by the incomparable Santos we are definitely coming back ASAP Thank you for an. Unforgettable holiday

  • Stayed September 2012
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 9
Ask Mrsp666 about Riu Palace Mexico
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
manchester
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
3 hotel reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
19 helpful votes 19 helpful votes
“Amazing hotel”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed September 15, 2012 via mobile

Hotel was brilliant. We had a very quick 5 minute check in and our luggage arrived in the room 2 mins after us.

The room was very spacious and clean and we were sent a fruit basket. The mini bar was full and contained Dos Equis lager, small and large bottles of water, Pepsi, Pepsi light and other mixers. We had 4 bottles of premium branded spirits.

The bed was huge and very comfortable. The air conditioning was brilliant and could be left on all of the time as long as the balcony doors remained shut.

The buffet was themed 7 nights a week and the food in there was fit for a king. The choice for starters main and dessert was extensive. The waiters were brilliant and kept your drinks topped up and gave you a hot water lemon bowl if they saw you having something messy like king prawns or crab claws.

I could talk forever on the buffet food but I won't do. It was just outstanding and I have never seen a breakfast like it.

We booked into all of the restaurants and I liked them all. My favourite was the Japanese that I was reluctant to try. The steak house was very good and the lobster served with the steak was perfect. We had no problems booking into them and we never queued up to book.

The evening entertainment from what I saw was very good but I only sat and watched on 4 occasions out of 14 nights as I had to retire to the bedroom in a food coma.

The lobby bar was open from 10am to 7am and was great for pre dinner drinks. They had a wide variety of premium branded drinks such as Bacardi anejo, bacardi superior, Smirnoff red label, finladia vodka, absolut vanilla vodka plus other flavours. They had Jose Cuervo and mezcal tequilla and were more than happy to make up shots to people's specifications I.e B52's, lemon drops. They had Kahlua, beefeater gin, Jim Bean, Southern Comfort, Pernod blah blah blah.

The cocktails were very good, I particularly liked the mojito buy found the piña colada to be a bit too sweet. Only disappointment was the Caipironhias were made with rum instead of Cachaca.

They served peanuts to us in the lobby bar while sipping our drinks and listening to the piano man playing beauty and the beeeeeeeast! Amazing. Once your bum touches that seat the waiter is there in a flash, two thirds down your glass and they ask what you would like next. Service was brilliant in the lobby bar.

At 10am the pool bar opens and the water volleyball starts. The waiters work their butts off taking orders around the pool and they bring your drink over to you. We meet had a problem getting a sun longer there was always good availability both at the pool and on the beach.

Beach BBQ at lunch time was to die for!! This happened on many occasions. There is a beach bar/hut and they serve drinks to guests on the beach.

Discovered the jacuzzi on the second day- there was never anybody in it wheneer we went over and it was so strong it pushed you around. It was fun!

The whole holiday was brilliant. There is so much more to say but so little time. You will not be disappointed. Stay here if you have chance!

  • Stayed June 2012
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 15
Ask KayeBe about Riu Palace Mexico
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
shrewsbury
1 review
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“cant wait”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed September 8, 2012

We spent two weeks at the Riu Palace Mexico and had a great time . We are waiting to see how it looks after the face lift they are doing this autum . then we will decide if we will return again next summer
The staff are so good at the job of looking afrer people and so friendly ,they werent looking for tips but if you do they were so greatful .

Room Tip: facing the courtyard
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  • Stayed May 2012, traveled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes 7
Ask irishShrewsbury about Riu Palace Mexico
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
 
 
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Additional Information about Riu Palace Mexico

Also Known As:
Riu Palace
Riu Palace Mexico Hotel
Riu Palace Mexico Playa Del Carmen
Riu Palace Playa Del Carmen
Riu Palace Mayan Riviera
Riu
Riu Playa Del Carmen
Mexico Palace Riu
Riu Palace Mexico Riviera Maya/Playa Del Carmen
Rui Palace Mexico
Address: Avenida Xaman-Ha Manzana 3 Lote 4 | Playacar, Playa del Carmen 77710, Mexico
Region: Mexico > Yucatan Peninsula > Quintana Roo > Riviera Maya > Playa del Carmen
Amenities:
Bar/Lounge Beach Business Center Fitness Center Free Breakfast Free Parking Restaurant Room Service Suites Swimming Pool Wheelchair access
Hotel Style:
#16 Top resorts Hotels in Playa del Carmen
#22 Luxury Hotels in Playa del Carmen
#26 On the Beach Hotels in Playa del Carmen
#29 Family Hotels in Playa del Carmen
#36 Romantic Hotels in Playa del Carmen
Price Range: $$$
Hotel Class:4 star (4*)
Official Description (provided by the hotel):
* Located on the Yucatan peninsula, 3 km / 1.9 miles from Playa del Carmen * Within the Playacar resort, along with the Riu Palace Riviera Maya, Riu Yucatan, Riu Playacar and the ClubHotel Riu Tequila hotels * 2-storey building * Surrounded by 20,000 m2 / 24,000 sq. yards of lush gardens * Located on the beach * Complimentary sun loungers on the beach * 200 m / 650 feet from Mexican Street * 55 km / 34 miles from Cancun Int???l. Airport * Credit cards accepted: Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Diners ... more   less 
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