After a hectic string of flights and connections to get to Los Cabos-- we were so glad to have booked at the Riu Palace. Upon arriving we were served drinks while we waited to get checked in. Check-in was simple and then we were free to roam about the hotel and get into our room.

A few tips:

-Get the in room safe key and lock your stuff in there. It is Mexico, and although we felt completely safe, we did have $20 stolen from our nightstand drawer.

-Make reservations early, get there about 9:45, grab a number and wait. You are on vacation.. relax and grab a drink.

-Arrange transportation before you arrive. We booked with Apple Vacations and they picked is up in an SUV and also took us back to the airport. Otherwise, book a car, or something because a taxi is $60.

-Food is great, lots of selection for breakfast- pancakes, waffles, all kinds of eggs, fruit, salads, toast, pastries, even a smoothie bar. I would say lunch is the weakest, but if you go to the San Jose restaurant on the preoperty you will find better food!! Look around, this hotel is big! Drinks are great everywhere especially at night at the main bar, they will make you anything! And strong!

-Bring some $1's and $5's ... the staff was so amazing, and they honestly provided the best service and never once even hinted at wanting a tip. At the end of our stay we tipped the bar staff and a few wait staff. They are so polite and even bring drinks out to the beach!

For all the people who had nothing to do but complain, I would reccomend The One and Only Pamella, it's $1200 a night plus to cost of food and drinks, but maybe it will be more to your standards??

Airport arrival:
Our Continental flight arrived early in Cabo IN Darrived early. I just love warm weather airports where you de-plane outside! Thanks to the TA Forum, we knew what to expect with all the timeshare sharks after clearing customs. We made our way outside immediately. The only mistake we made was to exit out the wrong door. We exited through a side door, rather than exiting at the front entrance where all the airport transportation folks are. A security guard was helpful and got us to the right spot. We found Epic transportation easily and they were great. Our driver even stopped and bought cold beers for the trip! The drive to the RIU Palace was approximately 40 mins and takes you through a very quaint town of San Jose. .

Hotel Check in:
Check-in at the RIU was uneventful. There was no line. We did ask if an ocean view upgrade was available. Our travel agent also indicated on our reservation that is was a special occasion (birthday). Not sure if that came into play or not. At first they checked and said no, but a few minutes later, they indicated we could have a room on the 3rd floor with an ocean view. There were folks walking around with trays of drinks so it didn’t take us long to have a marguerita in hand The staff at the front desk were efficient and courteous and gave us the run down on the safe and dinner reservations. The lobby is actually on the 3rd floor, so we proceeded to the main bar/lounge for a look. The view is breathtaking!! The hotel has a perfect view of the Sea of Cortez and the Land’s End rock formations. There was usually a large cruise ship in the port as well.

Rooms:
We had room 3007. which actually faced the side of the Santa Fe and had a partial ocean view which was fine. We spent very little time in the room, believe me. .
The rooms at the RIU Palace Cabo are nearly identical to the rooms at the RIU Palace Mexico in Playa. We had two queen size beds pushed together, a ‘sunken’ living room with a nice balcony and 2 chairs. Closet space is plentiful and there is an ironing board and iron in the closet. The safe is also located in the closet. I did not find the beds too be uncomfortable or too hard as others have reports, but that’s probably personal preference. There is a large mini frig fully stocked with soda, beer and water and of course the famous liquor dispenser above. The bathroom is large. Tile floors can be slick so be careful while getting in and out of shower. I also noticed at both Palace’s I’ve stayed at the lack of lighting over the shower area, but it’s not a huge problem. As others have mentioned, we did detect a slight odor on occasion. It was weird, sometimes if was a slight sewer smell and other times it smelled like burning rubber. It was not really a problem, just a slight odor we noticed once in awhile when we entered the room. Towels were plentiful as well as other ‘standard’ toiletries.

Beach:
I’d say the highlight of the beach is the view of the Land’s End rock formations and the HUGE waves. There were some foolish people (IMHO) that went into the water. I would not suggest it at all due to the enormous waves and extremely strong undertow. I actually heard that a woman was injured in the water last week but can’t confirm it. The beach is pretty but the sand is very course and we spent alot more time at the pool. There is a section of beach under the palm trees if you prefer shade. I found myself comparing the two RIU Palaces (Playa del Carmen and Cabo) and I'd have to say that Cabo wins hands down for the pools and pool views and Playa wins for the beauty of the water and soft sand. There were a few ‘approved’ vendors on the beach at the Palace if you choose to shop. I don’t think they are permitted to approach you or solicit. They did not approach you at all and were very pleasant. I purchased some silver jewelry and a hat from them . The vendors at Mendano beach are a completely different story (see Cabo section of review).

Pools:
There are two VERY large infinity pools on the premises and they are gorgeous and well kept. The pool closest to the Mexican restaurant is heated and the other is not. I think the unheated pool is considered the ‘quiet’ pool. There is a swim up bar in the center area between the two pools. The RIU animation team held daily water aerobics classes, dance lessons, and volley ball games. They invited you to participate but were not obnoxious about it at all. There is a wait staff for drinks around the pools which is great. On Sun and Mon they set up a lunch buffet at the pool area with fajita’s and all kinds of drinks. This was in addition to the regular lunch buffets. My favorite spot was at the end of the infininity pool looking out over the Sea of Cortez. Priceless! We made many new friends at the pool.

Resort in General:
The resort is strikingly beautiful and the grounds are meticulously maintained. The staff works non-stop to clean, sweep, and maintain this beautiful property. The natural beauty of the water, rock formations and beach in combination with the architectural design of the Palace and lush grounds makes it impossible to put your camera down! The demographics of the resort, in my opinion, were a mix of 30-50 somethings, some children ( more towards the weekend) and an occasional smattering of bachelor party groups. There are numerous bars throughout the resort and areas to sit, relax and have a drink or take in the view. The staff was friendly and hard-working. I found the staff at Playa to be a little more ‘fun’ but I must say it was August and the resort was not full at all. Our friends had to check out very early and requested a 4:30 a.m. wake up call that never happened. Also just a note that there are no bellhops before 7:00 a.m.

Food:
The food was not the highlight but it really was not bad. My husband and I go to all-inclusives for the reasonable rates, good service, free flowing alcohol and the fact that we can budget for a vacation and not have to worry about expensive meals 3x day plus drinks. So we did not come with extremely high expectations for the food. My favorite is actually the wonderful breakfast buffet. You are greeted with champagne mimosa’s or Bloody Mary’s if you like. They serve you coffee and juice at the table. The omlette bar is great and there is a huge variety of fresh breakfast food/fruits/breads to choose from. The lunch buffets are also very good with a variety of fishes, chicken, beef, salads, nachos and many more options. We found the lunch buffet in the Mexican restaurant to be a little different and very good. We had one extremely bad dinner experience and that was at the ‘Steak House’. It’s actually set up inside the lunch buffet area. They were obviously short staffed that night due to a private party. Our waiter was down right rude and we sat for 1 ½ hrs only for him to bring all the wrong entrees. He then took our order again, and we waited another ½ hour. It was a disaster and we should have just bailed out and gone to the buffet. I would avoid the Steak house at all costs. The next night was at the gourmet restaurant and it was pretty good. The dining room is very pretty and the staff was fun and attentive. We also enjoyed the Mexican restaurant for dinner. We went into town for dinner the first night, although I don’t remember the restaurant name. My only other serious complaint about food/drink is the wine. I’m no wine snob but honestly their wine is undrinkable. I heard many people complain about the wine. My thought his that they are close enough to California. I’m sure a corporation as large as RIU could negotiate a good deal on some decent wine. I hate to even complain about it due to the fact that the other alcohol is so free flowing but a lot of people enjoy wine with dinner or lunch.. With regard to mixed drinks, my husband never had a problem getting Absolut and they make terrific Mojitos and Caiprinia's!

Entertainment
We only attended a show one night and it was the ‘Grease’ show. It was cute and some of the Animation staff perform. Again, not why we come here but folks seemed to be enjoying the shows each night.:

Cabo in general
We did take a walk down the beach to Mendano Beach and I did not care for it but to each his own. We tried to sit and have a drink at the Office. We were told we needed a reservation to have a drink, yet all the tables were empty. Then we went next door for a drink and the vendors would not leave us alone. It was non-stop vendors coming up to our table. I totally understand that these folks are just trying to make a living and I feel for that but I could not wait to leave that area. That problem does not happen on the beach at RIU Palace property. We did take a $10 cab ride to town one night to go to Cabo Wabo and that was a blast. We also went to Rips for an infamous rainbow birthday shot! Deborah was a sweetheart there! I really wanted to do the Tropicat sunset Jazz cruise but unfortunately they were fully booked for our entire stay. My recommendation is to book in advance if possible. We found an alternative sunset sail cruise that turned out to be fantastic! We took a sunset cruise on the Yael Chica sailboat with Captain “Y” and first mate Mario! My husband and myself and our two friends had a private sunset sail that was beautiful. I would highly recommend the Yael. They also have a larger 14 person sailboat. It’s a class act for sure. All in all, my husband and I had a wonderful trip and we decided we would definitely visit Cabo and the RIU Palace again.

To all you negative rewiewers,Shame on you! My husband and I stayed at the palace 2nd week of February and I must say we had a fabulous time.Its tuff when your biggest decision of the day is what are we going to eat and where are we going to soak up the sun.The room was great. The views were incredible.The staff made us feel like royalty and the food was delicious.We read all the negative reviews and quite frankly it scared us.I can only comment the negative people are never satisfied no matter what the situation.So all all you people that are swayed by the candid comments.Please just ignore them and go and see for yourselves.You won't be disappointed.One more thing the staff work for peanuts so a little tipping can go a long way.Thanks to all the smiling faces and we'll see you next year.

The hotel was great, as was the staff. Where I believe Riu excelled was in their concierge service. My boss took the entire company to Riu, so I had to do nothing but show up! But, what I really wanted to do was organize a surf trip for me and some of my co-workers. I sent an email to the general concierge address and met the most helpful individual, Carlos C. Ruvalcaba Ruiz. He organized the most amazing day of our trip. All my group had to do was be in the lobby with our confirmation number ready to go. Our day involved a scenic drive to Playa Los Cerritos, a couple of hours of surfing and drinking at a nearby bar, lunch in Todos Santos and a beautiful drive back. I could not have asked for a more perfect day.

Prior to leaving Texas I sent Carols an email at 4:00am asking for him to help me with last minute reservations at Edith’s. By the time I set my suitcase down in my hotel room later that afternoon Carlos was calling to tell me he had made my reservation and I was taken care of. This is the type of service that made my trip absolutely amazing. Without Carlos and his help, I would have had a very nice time but with his help this trip exceeded my expectations.