Just returned from a 6 day stay at the RIU in Cabo and I LOVED it!! I had read some bad reviews before I left--and I was scared. However, the RIU was a wonderful place and I will return. I took my mother for her Mother's Day trip and the 2 of us just soaked up the sun and enjoyed the gorgeous views from the infinity pool. Here are a few tips of you are planning on going to Cabo or the RIU.

1. RENT A CAR ONLINE BEFORE YOU GO. We rented from Payless online and paid $11.50 per day. We had a Dodge Neon. They will try to sell you the "extra" insurance for $14 additional per day-but we did not need it. Just check with your car insurance provider before you leave and find out what is covered when you rent a car. Taxis are $10 wach way to Cabo and a shuttle from the airport is about $50 per couple. Do the math. Rent a car and drive into Cabo (about a 10 minute drive) 10 times per day if you want. DON"T BE SCARED TO DRIVE IN MEXICO. It was safe and there is only 1 road (Highway1) so you can't get lost. Rent a car and you will have much more freedom and fun.

2. Eat at THE OFFICE ON THE BEACH. Cool restaurant and bar directly on hte beach. Just ask how to get there. There is parking available. It will cost $20 per couple to get there and back by taxi--so this is where the rental car is a neccessity.

3. TAKE A SUNSET CRUISE TO LAND'S END. Or, you can catch a water taxi for about $10 each. My mother disn't want to climb into the small boat because the current is strong and there are BIG waves. So, we took the pirate ship sunset cruise that leaves from the marina. Once again, a $20 cab ride to the marina if you don't rent a car. You can book the cruise at the Apple Vacations table in the lobby.

4. There is FREE parking at the Pueto Paraiso Mall (You can't miss the mall-it is just about all there is in Cabo) Just look for the signs. We parked there and ate at Ruth's Chris after the sunset cruise.

5. EAT AT LORENZLLIOS. It is on the marina and it is FABULOUS! We had crab claws, oysters, lobster... You can't get good seafood at the RIU. Take your money and go eat a GREAT seafood meal while you are on holiday. We spent about $200US for 2 of us and we had salad, apps, entrees, wine, dessert and cappucchino. YUMMY!

6. The food at RIU is good. Breakfast is best. Lunch in the little restaurant beside the pool on the left (as you are looking at the ocean) is the best. It was NEVER busy and the VIEW is GREAT. Go there and skip the main buffett for lunch.

7. The "gourmet" restaurants ----. We ate at the steak place and could not even cut the meat. Just like shoe leather. You are best off skipping the long lines for the reservations and just eat the buffett or go to Cabo for some good seafood at night. I know you will be tempted to get in the line, BUT DON'T. Sit by the pool.

8. As far a the "rednecks" and "drunks" someone wrote about...I have NO idea where they were!! The pool was quiet and very relaxing while I was there. However, I did not hang out in the swim-up bar pool. I just read my book and watched the parasailers and the cruise ships. It was great.

9. Be sure to tip a dollar here and there. Tip a waiter on the first day and then look for his section the rest of hte week and you will be fine.

10. have fun--I will be headed back to the RIU in September. The location is GREAT because it is so close to town. All of the other hotels (in the corridor) are at least 25 minutes from downtown. You are best off staying at the Rui and being close to all of the attractions.

Have Fun. I sure did.

Stayed at the RIU Palace from 30April to 6 May and thought this resort was beautiful. Was just me, my wife and my 6 yr old daughter and couldn't of been happier with our stay.
-used Transcabo for the transportation, no problems at all
-our check in was smooth, fast, and no issues
-Room 2125 facing the main restaurant, the ocean, and land's end view (Jr Suite)
-the room was cleaned every morning, mini bar refilled each day, had no issues at all with the people who took care of our room
-the food (ate mostly at the main buffet restaurant) was excellent (a LOT of shrimp)
-active pool was fairly warm sometimes but was just refreshing enough usually, if you want to be more refreshed then head to the pool near the gym. Was not as busy as well. We usually stayed at the active pool, my daughter liked it better and was fun to watch all the activity there.
-never had a problem getting chairs at the pool, in fact if you wanted to sit closer to the pool and there were no chairs, one of the staff usually helped us haul stuff over
-there were bees around the area but I don't think they really were after people, they usually hang out at the pool bar and the bartenders don't seem to mind them
-only went to one specialty restaurant, Mexican, and was happier with the buffet. They were understaffed at the specialty and did not have the greatest service (plus only 5 main course choices, and bringing a 6 yr old a full adult meal seemed like such a waste)
-the line up for the specialty restaurants seemed a bit absurd to me, no way was I going to do that. We did book some other times (ending up going to buffet instead though) and to do that we just went after the line was gone. Also I noticed the restaurants don't seem to be full after all those reservations anyway, I am sure you could get in if you just walked up and tipped a bit at the front door
-The kids club was great, Carolina is doing a great job and my daugher had a LOT of fun with them (she was one tired little girl this trip)
-booked Scuba and glass bottom boat through Scuba Caribe (at the resort) and have to say both experiences went extremely well
-I have read a lot of comments about weak drinks, well if you think so, ask for more alcohol. I do not think they were weak, it just seems you can take in more when you are outside by the pool (I brought an insulated container and would usually get them to use that instead of a glass)
-not sure if tipping helps anything or not, they do appreciate it but overall I can't say that it got us better service
-walk to Cabo town took about about 1 hour on the beach, the sand is soft but it was good exercise (and if a 6 yr old can do it then anyone should be able to). Watch out for the waves though, it can be dangerous.
-I think the people heading to this resort will change, I have to say I saw a lot of very, very casual, dress in the restaurants, interesting activity around the pool and resort that I have not noticed at other RIU's. This was our first stay at a Palace and was surprised by some of the guests. Could be in for a shock next time they go to this resort.

Also, I remember seeing comments about theft. One day my wife left the key in the safe lock sitting out and headed off to the pool. When I got to the room we had a note saying we left our key in the room and to come to the front desk (safe was locked). Went to the front desk and got the key. Nothing was missing from the safe, I was very happy about the outcome.

Our only real complaint was that this is the first RIU that did not make the towel animals...lol. Not a big deal of course, was just surprised that not once did they leave any for us.

We spent a wonderful week away for our honeymoon at the Rui Palace (May 9th - 17th). We truly enjoyed the weather and the atmosphere. We would definitely recommend this resort for a honeymoon vacation.

The service was prompt, the staff were friendly, the house wine was great (especially the white) and the buffet always had a good selection of foods.

We hope to return to this resort for our 1 year anniversary.

Just returned from the Riu Palace in Cabo. This was our third trip to a Riu Palace....we stayed at the Playa Del Carmen one 3 years ago....there is no comparison to the one in Playa. Although the property is beautiful both inside and out we found that the service was lacklustre and the calibre of clientele was nothing short of a trailer park atmosphere. Taking into consideration that the resort is fairly new ( opened in Dec/04) and the prices are introductory there was reason to believe that because of this the rif raf had a field day ( or hay day ) with the discounts. We vacationed for two weeks and with each week brought a fresh busload of undesirable eager drunks who made fools out of themselves at the swim up bar. You know who you are.......we didn't need to see your moon when the sun was shining brightly all day ! The food was good at all the restaurants. The a la carte reservation deal truly ------. My husband and I left the pool area early each day ( the sun is out until 7 ish so there would have been no rush to go upstairs). He jumped into the shower and ran down to stand in line for at least 45 minutes to make reservations. On our last day we noticed that the line was no longer taking a vertical position. Most were camping out on the floor playing cards or drinking in order to get lucky enough to book into one of four restaurants. We tried them all because of my husband's patience and we enjoyed them all. The system has to change as it was not necessary to endure this at any of the other resorts we have visited over the past years. The other problem was location of rooms. There is a section of the hotel that is located directly over the disco. Choose this if you are hard of hearing or you don't mind the booming sound until 2:30 a.m. There is also a quiet side pool and an activity pool. We spent one week at the activity and then decided enough was enough.....we choose to relax at the other side and endured the frigid pool temps. Yes it was cold but refreshing. The gym was equipped with 3 treadmills ( 2 usually worked, one broke several times), 2 stairmasters an eliptical and NO FREE WEIGHTS. There were weight machines but the gym was sparse. There were 4 bikes as well. This translates to long waits if you want a treadmill in a resort with 650 rooms.....need I say more? The view from the gym was awesome, overlooking the ocean ( which is unswimmable due to a strong undertow) and the cruise ships. Watch out for the Horse dung if you attempt to walk the sinking sand. Your calf muscles will get a workout so you don't even need to worry lining up at the gym ! Many a fool or drunken hillbilly got caught in the undertow and needed rescuing. Be careful ! Cabo is nice, we walked around bought souveniers and ate dinner there......prices vary so ask first. All in all would I go back ? Definitely......they need to raise the prices by about 2 grand ......that should keep the undesirables where they belong at their 2 + star hotels.