My husband and I stayed at the RIU from June 1-7, and have absolutely no complaints about the RIU. Our room was perfect with no problems. I would mention that the shower floor was about 4" higher than the bathroom floor so it was always a little tricky stepping from the tub to the tile floor, but really who cares! Maid service came promptly every day, and the toilet, shower, AC etc. all worked great.

I've read a lot of complaints about the unswimmable beach. Actually, most of Cabo is unswimmable. The RIU actually has a prime location. The other 5 star resorts also have unswimmable beaches (i.e. Solomar). They call Medano beach swimmable, but it's a little roped off area with hundreds of people and surf. If you're looking for Carribean-type beaches with calm turquoise waters, go East. The Pacific is not it. It's a fishing area with significant surf around the entire Peninsula. If you love to swim in the Ocean, I would highly recommend the RIU Palace in Playacar outside of Cancun.

As for the "partiers" around the pool bars, what would you expect? In fact, the RIU did an excellent job of separating the main pools from the bar pool area. The somewhat murky water at 4:00p.m. in the bar with floating limes and straws does not mix with the main pool. Also, it keeps children out of the bar area completely. Frankly, we met some very nice and interesting people at the pool bar which made our vacation that much more memorable. If you're not into meeting new people over a cocktail (or seven) than just stay near the main pool, you can still get drink service.

The activities staff at the RIU did an outstanding job. My husband did the shooting, the Boccie, the pool volleyball, etc. and had a blast. It's up to you how much you want to get involved but if you like that sort of thing, it's there.

My best advice is to leave the resort and explore the downtown at least a few times during your stay. Cabo is a safe and friendly town and a $10 taxi ride or long beach walk away. The food at RIU is typical all-inclusive. There's plenty to eat, and it's hit and miss. It also gets a little old day after day. We ate at many of the local restaurants. I highly recommend Lorenzillos if you are a lobster lover. It is expensive, and you need a reservation. We never got sick, and I ate and drank everything!! I also recommend the Office on the beach for lunch if you're a people watcher. It is full of people of all ages and types. It is heavy on the vendors, but they learn quickly if you continue to say "No Gracias". The food is also quite good, at least the Mexican food, and the Margaritas are strong.

The only reason I did not give the resort 5 stars is that it wasn't quite as nice as RIU Playacar. However, I think this is because the beaches are so much nicer in the Carribean waters than on the West Coast. Overall, the RIU is a nice clean resort, a great location, and an excellent value. Plese feel free to email any questions.

My sister and I just returned from a week at The Riu...all in all...we had a great time. We arrived on the 4th around 10:00 pm...Went with the Apple Vacations Package. Arrived right on time in Cabo...but took over an hour to get through customs...we picked the wrong line...and our plane was the only one that was in. We then boarded a very nice bus to the hotel...but by then I had a splitting headache and just wanted to get to the hotel and to the room. We finally arrived there and they have everyone go to a certain desk...not the main check in desk to get your room key, etc. No credit card for incidentals… a little confusing trying to find our room...Floor #1 is really Rooms...2100, etc. (When we made our reservations...almost 2 months ago we requested a "good view"...when we arrived to our room...we couldn't have gotten a worse view...we were looking out to a parking lot and some old building). We called the front desk right away and told them this room wasn't going to work...besides it didn't smell very clean...we then went all the way back to the lobby and fortunately they were able to get a us another room that night...this one was perfect! This was close to everything and perfect view of the pools and ocean. On our way to our room...they had told us the room #...was also written on the envelope ...so we tried our key in the door and nothing happened...GRRRRRR....after about three tries...someone opened the door...Ooops. He was very nice about it. Our room ended up being a few rooms down...someone had made a 4 look like a 9...anyway when we did get to our room FINALLY...there were glasses that weren't clean from the previous guests...but at that time...I didn't really care. We did find out the safe didn't work....and the toilet kept running. We figured we'd talk to the Apple people in the morning. On Sunday we spoke with the Apple people to get our safe fixed...it finally got fixed on Monday...along with the toilet. Considering that was the two things about the hotel that were wrong…wasn’t bad…the other reviews I’ve read sounded awful. But it’s Mexico…it’s not the USA.

FOOD: We thought it wasn’t bad…but was somewhat the same a lot of the time during the week. I have to agree not a lot variety. We went to two specialty restaurants and hardly waited any longer than 10-15 minutes one day in line for reservations…the other day we just walked right up there. Both the Steak and Japanese were good…but the food could have been hotter we determined. My salmon at the Japanese was really good. The buffets were different everyday…the breakfasts were great…not used to eating that much food everyday. At lunch we got either a few slices of pizza or a hot dog and split it…along with fruit. Their ice cream cones were great!!!…

TOURS: One small mishap: We decided to take a sunset cruise on Thursday evening. We set everything up with Apple…told to go to Dock #4 to get the boat. When we got to “Dock #4”…there was no one there…we waited around and realized that we must have been told the wrong place to go…figures. Anyway, we got a water taxi to the boat which cost us $8.00 USA (was told $4.00)…but before that we had paid $12.00 for a taxi from the hotel to town…a big rip off because there were 3 others with us that must have already paid about $12.00 or more…so for a $12.00 ride he made an at least an extra $12.00-$14.00 more…that’s where they can get you so watch out there. ( It’s $10.00 no matter how many are in the taxi.) So by the time we got to the boat we had almost run out of money to get a taxi back after the ride…our other option was a bus…but it’s a walk to the hotel…and we weren’t going to do that at night. A long road up to the hotel. So…after about 5 minutes we decided to not take the cruise…it wasn’t what we expected anyway….to crowded and I was almost sea sick after only 5 minutes. When we got off the boat…my sister miss-stepped and her one foot landed between the boat and the dock… She cut her leg and also scrapped it on the cement of the dock. She was dripping blood…a few boat guys were still around so they went and found a first aide kit…They got some alcohol and a few bandages and we started our walk back to the main area of the marina. At that point we just wanted to get back to the resort. But when she fell she broke two of the mugs we had brought…so we went back to the store and got two more before we left.

On Friday morning we went for an hour horse back ride. That was really fun. Just long enough…we got the horses right there in front of the hotel on the beach. We had wonderful horses…It was one of the highlights of our trip. It’s a must. We took it in the early morning…9:00a.m. and no one else was with us.

We were supposed to leave on Saturday afternoon and didn’t leave until Sunday morning early. Nothing like getting stuck in Cabo. Flight was delayed in Ft. Myers (USA 3000). So we ended up having an extra day. If I ever go back, I would definitely go back to The Riu. We really did have a great time. Please feel free to contact me for more details.

My wife and I went to Cabo for our first time. We chose the Riu Palace based on what we had read and heard. We were not disapointed in anything that this great and new resort had to offer.
We arrived on June 7th and left on June 14th, and left with nothing but memories that were wonderful about the entire trip.
There is such an array of food that no one can go without finding what they are wanting. We found that we did not want to play the "get in Line" game for the non buffet restaurants. And found the buffett to be great, so that became our dining room of choice.
We found many restaurants that were great for varieity.
You must go for dinner one night to the Villa Serena. There are not enough words to discribe how romantic and fantastic the food is! This is a must for a romantic evening. Get the Serana special, cost,$25.00, and includes a Lobster tail, 4 large shrimp that are butterflied, and a rack of lamb. They were perfect in seasoning and preperation. This was the best meal that we had regardless of what country we have been in for the last year.
The Marina has many great restaurants as well. Don't forget about the Office Bar and Restaurant on the beach. It had the most potent margaritas in existance right on the beach and even has sarape blankets on each chair if you get cold! we had a Dollar rent a car and found driving to be the way to go. It is impossible to get lost with one highway and is a snap to rent and turn in. You will want to go to Todos Santos about an hour away for drinks and lunch at the Hotel Callifornia. The weather there is pure San Diego compared to Cabo.What a great time and Vacation!
Midlothian, Texas

I was at the RIU Palace July 6 to July 13 and traveled with a friend who was the same age as me 23.

I will start out with the negatives during my stay on this holiday. The ocean was not swim able the under toe is really strong and an older couple got sucked in and had to be rescued. The sand on the beach was a little bit pebbly but not a major concern (I’m not being picky its letting you know!). Some times during the day but mostly at night it was a bit breezy and would recommend long sleeved shirts and pants (unless you intend to go to a club down town as they are pretty hot, you’ll have a mix of people wearing jeans or shorts to dress shirts to t-shirts so pretty much anything goes).

Now to the positives: The resort really is a palace, our room was pretty big. We had a his and hers sinks, a bath tub/shower, two double beds, mini bar filled with sodas and corona along with a liquor dispenser (Bacardi rum, San Jose Tequila, Smirnoff Vodka and Brandy), a little step down with a couch and TV which was next to our balcony. I was really surprised with the food it tasted very good. The buffet was good seafood was very fresh, and the ala carte restaurants are fantastic. The staff was incredibly friendly and ensured that we had an awesome stay (there is no pressure to tip, but they work hard for there money and if you do tip the people that you think you will be seeing a lot during the trip e.g. a favorite bartender). There is always something to do day and night with there animation team or just relax in the sun we had 8 day of sunshine (I did not see one cloud in the sky the whole trip). It the temperature was in the mid 30’s and did not feel any humidity. The hotel atmosphere had a mix of different ages but was predominately older couples. It did not get busy until later in the week, so the hotel disco was not busy, if you wanted to party I recommend going downtown Los Cabos, Bars: El Squid Roe (probably one of the busiest places there, great mix of music), Cabo Wabo (sometimes there is a live band but also have a mix of rock dance and hip hop), giggling marlin (dance hip hop also with a pretty funny show), love shack, Roxx.


Overall I thing this vacation is a perfect fit for people of all ages single, couples or married. This is my second RIU and it has really has proven itself. I’d defiantly love to go back.