We stayed at the Riu Palace in Cabo San Lucas from May 10, 2008 to May 17, 2008. Overall, we had a great time and would recommend the resort to others who enjoy the all-inclusive type of vacation.

Check In
We reserved our trip as a package thru Expedia that included airfare, transportation to and from the airport, and out stay at the hotel. The room we reserved was a Garden View room, and when we first tried to check in, the front desk was going to accommodate us in a room on the outer perimeter of the property, which faces the Riu Santa Fe hotel next door. From our past experience with travel to places like Hawaii, Mexico, Aruba, Jamaica, etc, we have learned to walk around the property first to check out where we would ideally like to be situated during our stay. So after we found out what room they were wanting to check us into, we asked the employee for a map of the property, which he provided and we told him we would be back to complete our check in process after we walked around the property.

After walking around, we decided we would be happy with any room that faced either of the 2 pools. When we approached the front counter again, this time we asked the employee for any room the he could accommodate us in that faced towards either of the pools. I’m sure it also helped that we presented him with a $20 tip, asking him to help us out with the request. He was able to situate us in room 4111, which was a room in the back center of the pool that had a straight on ocean view and pool view. It was located behind the busier pool where activities and music are held daily.

During check in, it was also a nice gesture that one of the female employees greeted each guest with a margarita as a welcoming to the property.

Our Room
The room was nicely decorated with dark wood furniture and was very clean. The bathroom had 2 sinks and a deep bathtub. We had a few minor problems which included a toilet that didn’t flush very wall and one of the sinks leaking (which was fixed), and a smelly mildew shower curtain (which was replaced upon request). We always locked our belongings in the safe when we left during the day and never had any problems with theft like others reported. We also brought a laptop, which we locked in our luggage with no problems. By the way, there is FREE internet access in the Lobby and worked out just fine for needs to check our emails every couple of days.

The mini fridge was stocked daily with water, soda, and beers. The mini bar contained 4 types of alcohol: Smirnoff Vodka, Bacardi Light, Presidente Solara Brandy, and Jose Cuervo Tequila. Our bottle of Bacardi wasn’t completely full when we checked in and the first time we tried the Bacardi in the room, it did NOT taste like Bacardi. It really made us wonder if they refill the bottles with a cheaper brand of liquor.

We left our housekeeper a few dollars each day for a tip. Yes, tips are included with the all inclusive option, however, we were so impressed with how hard every employee worked that we wanted to give them something a little more to thank them for making our stay more enjoyable.

You are limited to about 5 channels at most on the TV that were in English – every other channel was in Spanish. Needless to stay, we didn’t watch much TV, which was a good thing since we were on vacation and TV wasn’t something on our sightseeing list!

I would suggest staying on any of the upper levels, if at all possible. It seemed that on some of the lower levels, in the hallways, you could always smell some sort of sewage. We never smelled it on the 4th floor.

Food/Drinks
This is the second Riu resort we have stayed at and probably the 5th all-inclusive vacation we have taken and we were actually very impressed with the food. There was a lot of good, authentic Mexican food always available and we lived off of the chips and various salsas and guacamole that were always available. There is something for everybody and we actually didn’t get sick of the food like we normally do. Everyday, the buffets were switched up a little bit to offer different choices to the guests. We tried the Steak House one night, which offered a Rack of Lamb and Beef Tenderloin with a Lobster Tail. The Rack of Lamb was delicious – which included 4 ribs. The Beef Tenderloin was good quality meat – very tender, and cooked perfectly. However, the Beef flavor is a bit different than I am used to at home and had a bit of a gamey flavor to it that I didn’t particularly enjoy.

The one big gripe I have about the food is the desserts. The desserts were never rich enough for my needs – you cannot find a good chocolate cake anywhere at this resort – so if you are a chocolate lover, you might want to bring some good chocolate with you! They did have really good soft serve ice cream though!

We really enjoyed the service we received at all the restaurants we visited. The employees were always willing to go out of their way to accommodate special requests.

Cleanliness
The employees at this resort work very hard to keep the resort clean. There were always people walking around the pool area offering guests drinks and picking up empty cups, etc. There were always people cleaning the tile floors that covered the entire resort. We were very impressed with how hard everybody worked at the resort to keep the place clean. The employees were always very friendly and they really seemed like they like working here.

A Few Tips
If you are a Coca Cola fan, please be aware that this resort only serves Pepsi products! We ended up walking down the street to Sam’s Club and picked up a case of Coke Zero for our stay since our drink of choice is Bacardi and Coke.

One tip for those of you trying to decide between the Riu Palace and the Riu Santa Fe. The Riu Santa Fe is a bit cheaper, however, we felt the food was slightly better over there and the pools were a bit nicer. It is a newer hotel than the Palace resort. One benefit for staying at the Palace is that you can use the facilities at both the Palace and the Riu Santa Fe. However, if you stay at the Riu Santa Fe, you CANNOT use the Riu Palace’s facilities. The only restriction we did notice as a Riu Palace guest is that we couldn’t book reservations at the restaurants at the Riu Santa Fe for dinner; however, we could eat all of their buffets as well as use their pools.

The Lobby Bar at the Riu Palace carries the best Tequila that either resort has to offer, in my opinion. They have Don Julio Tequila Reposado as well as Cointreau – so if you want a good margarita, get it from this bar.

If you are interested in dining in any of the restaurants besides the buffet for dinner, it is highly recommended that you show up first thing each morning to make your reservation. The reservations are taken in the Lobby Bar, and they are first come, first serve. You can only make 1 reservation at a time for that same night – so everyday you have to go thru this routine if you wish to dine at something other than the buffet restaurant.

There are white “school” busses that stop at the front entrance of the Riu Palace/Santa Fe Resorts that cost $.70 and they take you right into town or to places like Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. They come about every 20-30 minutes and are basically a thing mostly the locals utilize – we didn’t see any other tourists utilizing this transportation. Another guest at the resort clued us in on this which saved us quite a bit of money since we didn’t rent a car. They only thing is that they stop running I believe around 11pm so if you plan to stay out late downtown, you will probably want to catch a cab back. We ended up walking back after a night at Cabo Wabo. The walk wasn’t that long, however, it wasn’t the safest thing to do since you are walking along the freeway in the dark. You can always choose to walk along the beach, which would be much safer. It is probably about 1 ½ miles to walk. A cab ride to downtown Cabo is a pre-negotiated rate of $10 from the hotel. The Riu doesn’t allow cabs to wait at the hotel, but if you tell the front door man that you need a cab, he will call one for you and they are usually there within 5 minutes. We also walked from the hotel to Walmart/Sam’s Club (same shopping center) and Costco. It was about a 15 minute walk to these places, which wasn’t too bad either.

The activities we participated in were the Canyon Canopy Zip Line Tour with Cabo Adventures (we booked it online before we left for vacation with a 25% off discount code). This is something we would highly recommend if you are an adventure seeking person. There was rock climbing, zip lining and rope walking cross canyons and rivers. It was a very tiring tour since there is quite a bit of hiking involved, but it was a lot of fun. We also visited Lover’s Beach and Divorce Beach. We took a Water Taxi for $10 roundtrip per person and stayed there for about 2 hours. We rented an umbrella for $10, which was well worth it to us. We almost wished that we spent a whole day there since the waves were amazing to watch over on the Divorce Beach side!

There is NOT a laundry facility anywhere on the resort our close by outside of the resort. So, do NOT underpack unless you enjoy washing your clothing by hand, which we unfortunately had to do on a few key items. They resort does offer laundry service, which costs an arm and a leg for each item.

Room Service is available for breakfast, although the menu is very limited. The buffet opened at 7am, which was always early enough for our needs. The Room Service menu consisted of Continental Breakfast types of items such as coffee, milk, juice, fruit, breads, cereals, yogurt, ham, cheese and a boiled egg.

If you enjoy black pepper on your food, you may want to bring some with you because it is nowhere to be found at the resort. They only offer powdered white pepper which just doesn’t cut it for me.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about our stay.

Thanks for reading.

We visited Riu Palace for our honeymoon and it is absolutely beautiful! Our room was huge and we had a spectacular view. The nightly entertainment was awsome and the staff was great!

Thank you Riu Place for making our honeymoon amazing!

I stayed at the Rui cabo san lucas the first week of May 2008. First of all let me say the grounds are spectacular with lots of flowers, and shrubs. The property is relatively new opening in Nov or Dec 07 and very big. I don't suggest this for people who don't like a lot of walking or have difficulties getting around.

The rooms
were very plain but clean with two full beds pushed together to make one large bed. It was suppose to be an ocean view but is more like partial view because you can't see all of the rock formations from your room. Also, the aminities were not just a bar of soap and some other not so good stuff. Lets talk about the minibar. only pepsi, water, and some sort of drink like sprite. ( on our last day we saw a staff member with lot's of bottles of bubbly but not sure were that came from. We didn't see it at any of the bars so you probably have to ask for it. They don't put it out there for you to see.) Also, this place is in the desert so don't be suprised if you are coming back to your room and see a mouse or running in the hallways. We did.
No snacks and no juices. There were only four types of alcohol.
all no name brands except cuevo and smirinoff. but with no coke or OJ, cranberry juice. When we requested juices from the staff, they told us no. There is no room service.

The Food

The food was always cold or room temp at best. Most of it was not very flavorful with the exception of the steak house at lunch by the pool that had a crab and shrimp stew that was very good.
there were a lot of leftovers. Food from the night before would appear at breakfast. NOTE: There are 3 speciality eateries but BEWARE!! You have to get up and go to the central square early am to get a reservation. NO PHONE RES. Most of the time, by the time you get there all are full. We were there four days and could only get a res for the oriental eatery. Also, you can't get any alcoholic drinks in the specailty eateries unless you go to the bar outside. just beer. ( the have Corona which I like so I drank that most of the time)

The Town
We did go into town and I must say it is very nice. cab ride about 5 american one way. Good places to shop and eat but watch your belongs there. Lots of good clubs to party. When shopping make sure you barter and get the lowest price. They will start off very high. For example for a cap 25 dollars. If u say $15 they are still making a profit so always go down to 10 or lower.

Excursions

We booked the dinner cruise in the lobby that was offered for $82 dollars a piece. PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. It was not worth it. Just book a booze cruise instead. That boat is not a place you want to eat. Saw roaches around the tables were the food was and the smell was either roach spray or gas fumes I couldn't tell. Just book it for drinking and stay on top so you can see the spectacular view of the sea of cortez , the arch etc.

Pool Side.

The pool by the rock formations is great! They have one of those infinity pools and it looks right out on the beach and Rocks. It's one of the most beautiful sites I think I've ever seen. You can't swim in the water at the beach because of the current. So they do have other activites like, massages for a fee, vendors etc.


All in All Cabo San Lucas is a beautiful place and I do recommend it as a vaction destination but I would give this resort
3 stars out of 5

Just got back from Riu Palace after a week-long stay. I typically don't write reviews, but I had read what others wrote before we left and wanted to comment. My wife and I (mid-30's) had a great time. The resort was beautiful with awesome views. The grounds and our room were very clean. People cleaning constantly. We tipped the maid a couple dollars a day. Food was usually very good and available from breakfast through late dinner, which is good for both early or late eaters for any meal. Buffets always had a lot of selections. If you like to do activities, they can be booked right at the hotel. Sunset cruise is a must.

Cabo is a great town. If you like to go out, there are a number of niteclubs plus small, quaint sidewalk bars. Recommend dinner at The Office, which had great food and tables on the beach.

There were only a few negatives. One of which was the dinner reservation system. I got to the designated area about 9:30 am to get a number. They started to give out numbers about 9:45. I usually got a number in the 20's. When my number was called I had no problem getting what I wanted, and I was done by 10:15. The Gourmet restaurant was our favorite, but the Steakhouse was bad. Reservation times only for either 6:30 or 8:45.

Pools were a little cold and beds were a little hard for our liking. Entertainment was cheesy. Other than that, the trip was great. Cabo is beautiful and Riu Palace a beautiful resort.