RIU is a nice property....the staff is sweet and can't do enough for you....the food sucked at all levels (ie. breakfast, lunch and dinner)....decided to go out to Nick-San for sushi every nite...best move we could have done...this saved our holiday....best advice I can give you for your upcoming RIU holiday is:
1. Stay off the beach...the sand will destroy your feet...this is not the place to go for a Beach Vacation
2. Don't worry about eating dinner at RIU just because you are cheap and feel that you "paid for it" through all inclusive....just drink up...you will get your money's worth from the booze....the breakfast buffet is OK....how can you screw up cereal??? Lunch is great at the little Italian place in the left corner that no one knows about and has great views and excellent service. As for dinner, go to Nick-San and enjoy....go every nite...you could go there 100 times and never eat the same thing twice....get the spicy soft shell crab, the tune/avocado in cilantro, the bass fried ribs (awesome!!), the eel roll, etc etc.....otherwise, if you stand in line like a loser to eat a bad RIU restaurant, you'll waste your precious holiday....it's not worth it.....go out.....
3. If you are not a golfer, go to another part of the world....Los Cabos is a Golfer's dream vacation.....try them all but the Raven is associated with the RIU and you can play a round for $77 US (after the $10 WRIP OFF CAB RIDE).....nice course.....best value for golf in the world!!!
4. Go on the ATV tour.....but do the 3 PM tour....great value if you take someone with you on the ATV....$80 US and you'll have an entire afternoon of fun in the sun...
5. Do NOT eat at the OFFICE.....on the beach....it's gross, there are a lot of RIF RAF there and you'll get food poisoning after being herrased by the mexicans selling T-shirts and hats for your entire eating experience....gross-out....don't go!
6. Do NOT eat at Raphael's.....it looks like a bachelor appartment from the 1970's from hell with the bachelor fromt he 1970's cooking the food....another gross place....don't go! Take my word for it! After you eat at Nick-San, you will not want to eat anywhere else!!!
7. The best drinks at the hotel are MOJITO, MOJITO and MOJITO again....the rest is water.....
8. Buy earplugs before going to RIU.....they forgot to install pressure gages in the doors and the doors slam so loud you think an atomic bomb exploded outside of your room.....most irritating situation....also, they put small tiles in the hallways so that when they roll their room maintenance carts, they make a loud racket.....irritating once again....
9. Don't waste your time with the whale tours.....you can see them from shore.....
10. If it's not too late, cancel your RIU reservation, then go to the Bungalows and have a great time.....that's what I planned to do at the last minute but my wife told me we should give the RIU a chance....what a mistake......otherwise, bring lots of PeptoBismol for stomach upset and Valium to put up with the irritating RIF RAF

The Riu Palace In Cabo San Lucas. 5 star...Don't believe it! We are very experienced travelers. This, unfortunately, was the low point of our entire trip. Frankly, we should have known better. We violated our own personal policy of not going to any resort in the first six months. We got caught up in the sizzle of the resort on the web. This resort, The Riu Palace, is a beautiful resort in a great location on a wonderful beach with a view of Land's End. That's, unfortunately, where it ends. They, in our opinion, were, at best, a 3 star resort. Their staff and service were among the most worst and most difficult that we have endured. We made the best of being there, but their service staff was poorly trained, disorganized and took liberties with the truth. We met with the front desk supervisor, his supervisor and the hotel manager a total of four times in six days. We changed rooms 3 times and if they hadn't disinfected our room on the next to last day to get rid of the sewer smell, we would have changed again.
Our itinerary had oceanfront on it, so that's what we expected? We didn't end up with an unobstructed view oceanfront room until day 2 and, if we hadn't been so forceful, I'm sure we would not have.
Their policy to eat at any of the four restaurants beside the buffet, was to go to a designated desk between 7 and 9:00 a.m. and wait in line to sign up for that day. That's right! 7-9:00 a.m.... when you are on vacation! We were told by many of the guests who tried and failed to get their choice of restaurants or seating, that if you were not there by 6:45, generally, you were shut out of the top restaurant. A terrible policy, that they eventually changed as of New Year's Day. They changed the sign up time to 9-11. By the way, you could only sign up for that day. You could not book your places to eat for the rest of the week. So, each day you have to wait in line starting at 9:00 a.m. to see what's available by the time you get to the front of the line.
The list of concerns was long which I will not bore you with. In the first hour there we knew we had made a mistake. Clearly, they were not ready to open. Everywhere we turned, people were complaining to the staff or to other guests about the craziest situations including giving keys to guests for occupied rooms, theft of passport and id's, poor food, lies and disorganization everywhere. As for the food, it was average at best based on our experience as travelers. The top restaurant was fine, the others were average and the buffet was below average. At breakfast they kept running out of food that sometimes required a 15 minute wait. Very inconvenient.
The hotel itself is massive, maybe too large, and very spread out. We had a very long walk to our room each day. The constuction is not of high quality and is very noisy. Additionally, they have no closing devices on the entrance doors to each room, so the sound of slamming doors through the day and night is unnerving.
Our highlight of the trip to Cabo was a half day fishing trip where my wife caught an 8 foot marlin!
Outside of that and beauty of this location, it was a disappointment. We would not recommend the resort to anyone. Perhaps in a year it may deserve a 5 star rating. Until they get their staff up and running, and their act together, I would not recommend this resort to anyone, and, if you are booked there, call your agent and change immediately.

Our family of 5 just stayed at the RIU from Dec. 25-Jan 1 (Prime Holiday week, 90% occupancy rate) and we booked through Sunquest. Upon arrival at the airport we walked past the taxi drivers and time share people directly to a coach bus waiting to take us directly to the hotel (most beautiful hotel in Los Cabos)with a guide who told us about the area & hotel on the way. We were greeted with fruit drinks and shown to a gorgeous reception area with an amazing view. The hotel is absolutey beautiful, very grand, clean and immense, food is good, plentiful and lots of variety, service is very good-sometimes a little slow but who cares, we weren't in any rush. We ate everything, drank mixed drinks with ice and only bottled water. We all remained healthy throughout the trip and once we got home. The pools are beautiful and large. One is more heated than the other-just walk right in-and one swim up bar is more heated than the other-some like it cold, some like it hot. They changed the reservation system for restaurants so you can book your dinner between 10am-12pm. Grab a coffee and relax while you wait in line to book your dinner reservation at the Japanese, French, Mexican or Steakhouse - or just go to the buffet. There is lots happening in Los Cabos too. Tons of restaurants, bars, shops, flea market.

The entertainment is ok and the dancers are very talented. New Year's Eve Party was a big party. lobster tails, quail, salmon, beef fillet, more food than you can imagine, fireworks on the beach, dancing.
There are plenty of activities-water aerobics, water and beach vollyball, 2 lighted tennis courts, gym etc., water taxis to Lands End (Lovers Beach & snorkeling), horses on the beach, 30 minute walk to town along beach. You'll see bars & restaurants along the beach. Heard from many that The Office is a great place for breakfast & dinner. The ocean is really not too safe for swimming but you can walk easily to the safe beach.

We stayed in room 3163 not a great view of the ocean & 3164 a better view, and a very quiet side facing away from the center of things. Request a side room on the left side or over the excercise room. Do not stay over the disco. Maid service was excellent. We left a tip daily on the bed. The day that we left a Roots Canada t-shirt for the maid, she brought her supervisor to make sure it was ok to take it. The staff is very friendly and kind. The hotel has some minor issues that will be resolved, and the staff will become more experienced week by week. I met people that seemed they were just there to complain rather than enjoy themselves. We did not have any problem with bees the week we were there nor any major problems to report. We would definitely return.

I have read a number of the reviews regarding the Riu in Cabo. I had a much different experience. We just returned from a long weekend and I wish we could have stayed a little longer.
Drinks were very good. Food was about a 7 out of 10. Service was great.
This is a great plae to go relax with friends and have fun. If you are looking to get dressed up every night and have a long romantic diner you should try the Ritz and spend the extra $$$$$$. This is a great place for the price.