Cabo San Lucas 9/26/05 - 10/1/05 Riu Palace Resort

My girlfriend and her family all were looking forward to this week long trip in Cabo San Lucas. We found this all inclusive vacation package online, it was $1100 per person. It is my first time to Cabo and I was totally excited about it. This hotel (Riu Palace) advertise that all the food and drinks are included. Also there are 5 different theme restaurants available if you want to try something different other than the main restaurant. Well, we made reservation for the Japanese Restaurant one night and it was horrible. We should've question about having sushi in Mexico in the first place and it turned out the food was from the main restaurant (buffet). We ended up eating at the main restaurant all week (more to that). My girlfriend and I got sick on the third day and stayed in our room for two whole days (stomach cramps persisted till the day we left). I thought our stomach was strong enough but apparently not strong enough. Stay away from the salad or anything that is not cooked since they washed it with the local water. We had to cancel my deep sea fishing trip due to hurricane Ivan moved in two days before we were supposed to fly home. I have decided to go home a day early since the weather was horrible.

When I packed up to leave, I discovered my camera from my luggage was gone and there was a room cleaning manifesto on top of it along with my empty camera case. It was then that I realized my camera was stolen by the maid since nobody else had access to my room besides us. I went to the front desk and talked to the customer relation manager. She told me that she would talk to all the maids and get back to me for possible compensation. I really only care for the wedding pictures that I had in the camera memory.

It was just yesterday (11/2/05) that I received an email from Riu Palace's headquarter in Spain. They told me that there isn't anything they can do and I should've locked all my belongings in the safe. BTW, they ran out of safe lock the first day so I had to go back and get it the following day (by then, I have already forgotten about my camera in my luggage).

Overall, the hotel is old (our room door would not close unless you slam it really really hard) and our phone didn't work throughout the week. During the day, loud top 40 music were played throughout the pool area. It was not a relaxing trip at all compare to my previous Cancun and Hawaii trip.

I would not recommend this place to anyone who is planning on going to Cabo. You'll have better luck sticking with American brands such as Hyatt or Hilton.

Ben

At first glance the Riu Palace in Cabo is a striking resort that excites your inner child upon arrival. However that feeling quickly goes away when the numerous challenges occur day in and day out! Getting a decent room is tough to say the least, and the hallways are incredibly long so stay away if you have difficulty walking long distances or stairs!!!!! It took almost 1 hour to get our 5 rooms when we arrived at 6pm and once we got our keys we were told there were no more safe locks because the hotel had run out. The following challenges were pretty universal for our 5 rooms located throughout the resort: It took 3 days before I got shampoo and the only reason I got that was because I took it off the Housekeeping cart myself. The beds ARE hard and the floors are never swept properly. Towel service was spotty at best.
The fitness center is in a great location overlooking the Sea of Cortez however almost half of the Cardio equipment was broken, leaving long waits for those of us looking to burn off the extra calories from dinner the night before....
The food is ok...at best. All inclusives have never been known for their quality of food just quantity and the Riu is no exception... Beware of the Mexican restaurant, there is no A/C and it is very very hot inside, make sure to book outside table!!!
The pools are large and beautiful but too cold and there are no heated spa's.
There are a few good things about the Riu: The People!!! Not all the staff was up to the task of 4 star guest service but most were and that is impressive at a hotel this size and with a noticeable lack of management. The drinks were amazing, small but strong and they use premium liquor in everything!!!

We stayed from 10/26 - 11/2. The first room we got facing west was not great - but the resort quickly changed us the very next day - and even moved our baggage over for us while we were at the pool!

Pools / Gardens: GORGEOUS - but pool was quite a shock upon entry - very cold! The pool bar on the quiet side was great and ALEX the bartender took great care of us. Don't forget to tip them - they work 12 hour shifts!

Food: Lovely! I LOVED the food - there was seafood everyday at both lunch and dinner and plenty of variety, octopus, squid, fish. We did not care for the Japanese Ala Carte - but we live near Chinatown and in Chicago the Asian food is the best so not fair to compare. The rest of the nights we ate buffet dinners because the selection was HUGE and the service was spot on also!

Sea: Be careful!!! The glass bottom boat ($10 round trip) was fantastic and we took it twice the view was so nice around the arch. The Lovers Beach was gorgeous and the water is crystal clear over there. BUT - - on 2 separate days I got stung by jellyfish and was SO ILL the next day I could not get out of bed. I so wished someone (or the hotel) had warned us because I lost 2 days of my trip. The first time was not so bad as the 2nd and I did not know what it was -the 2nd time I went to visit the DR (on call 24 hours there) and found out that it was jellyfish stings. I would not recommend going in the sea!

Overall though - it was a great trip and had I not been sick could not say one negative thing. The Riu Palace is truly a great choice - but most likely we will return in the future to their resorts in Riviera Maya because the water is better on that coast!

Feel free to email with specific questions!

My husband and I and two of our closest friends stayed at the RIU from 10/23 to 10/29. We were rerouted from Cancun, so we were just thankful to have a vacation at all!

First of all, the GOOD:
1) The hotel and grounds are beautiful! Excellently situated on the beach with spectacular views.
2) We had oceanfront rooms, which were very spacious and clean. NO complaints!
3) Christina, the activities director at the north swim-up bar, was awesome. We really enjoyed her high energy cocktail lessons!
4) John at the swim-up bar was very friendly and served excellent drinks. We liked the spicy bloody marys and the mudslides. And you received immediate service at the bars, not like the lines we've experienced at other resorts
5) The weather could not have been better...sunny and in the 90s each day.
6) We went horseback riding on the beach and would recommend the trip. It was great!
7) The cleaning staff were very friendly and accommodating. Our room was thoroughly cleaned each day and we were provided fresh towels as often as we liked.
8) Although there is sign at each of the pools that states you cannot save lounge chairs, they do not enforce the rule. We had an early riser in our group, and he was able to save us prime chairs everyday. For us, this was a plus!

The BAD:
1) The beds are rock hard.
2) A lot of the rooms have double beds pushed together, instead of the king-size you request.
3) The food is not that good...a lot of repetition. (This was our biggest complaint. We stayed at Aventura Spa Palace on our last vacation, and we were spoiled...the food there is excellent.)
4) You must stand in line to make reservations at the restaurants, and the line can be very long. Additionally, you can only make reservations for 2 nights at a time. We like to eat late in the evening, and most of those spots were already taken. We had to settle for the early slots, which we were not happy about.
4) There is only room service for breakfast, and that is only for continental breakfast. (Again, we were spoiled at Aventura)
5) Our refrigerator was only restocked once while we were there, and that was only after I went down to the front desk and requested that it be done that day. You must ask for what you want.
6) Some of the bartenders are not very friendly, and it was not due to a language barrier. My husband speaks fluent Spanish, but it didn't matter! It seemed as if they did not want to be there.
7) Even though it's all-inclusive, the staff expect tips. We tipped for everything!

All in all, we had a great time, but would probably not return to the RIU on subsequent vacations, based on our personal preferences.