The hotel is new and there were are definitely a few problems.
We arrived on Nov 23 and stayed until the 30th. The front desk couldn't find our reservations when we arrived but they were very courteous and quickly got things sorted out.
We found the staff very friendly and very helpful. They seemed to be trying very hard to respond to requests or sort out problems. Hotel and grounds are beautiful. The food needs to be improved especially the booking of and the food at the specialty restaurants.
We had a great time at the ocean front pool and bars. Bar staff were eager to please.
I would recommend this hotel but keep in mind it just opened.
It will only get better.

The rooms-- We had booked an oceanview upgrade for $67 per person on Cheap Caribbean.com. The first room was nice, air conditioner worked well, and the king size bed was comfortable. But.. the ocean view was only if you leaned way over the 3rd floor railing. We asked for a view room and were told we had to pay an upgrade. I told them we had payed, showed them my receipt, and was told that all the rooms in bldg 7 are marketed as ocean view. The 2nd day I complained again, and we were given a room on the first floor, where a corner of the balcony had a view. There was no ocean view from the room at all. The second room had a broken air conditioner which never got fixed despite repeated complaints, was off a noisy lobby, and frequented by mosquitoes and other things that bite you in the middle of the night and itch like crazy. The king bed was 2 double beds pushed together so one of us kept falling in the crack. The sheets were somewhat like burlap--hopefully they'll get softer over time. Odd that a new hotel doesn't have flat screen tvs and uses keys for the doors rather than electronic card locks. Lose your key somewhere and the finder can go straight to your room. The room water is not potable, but the only way to know that is a very small sticker on the lower corner of the mirror.

The food. Leaves a lot to be desired. OK for breakfast with lots of selections, but on 3 days they ran out of oatmeal and on our last 2 days they ran out of COFFEE BEANS for the capuccino machines. Odd, because they could have easily gotten more at the brand new Costco down the road. Lunch was repetitious, and when we would get there after 1 pm they were out of a lot of things. Plan on going in to town for dinners even though you've prepaid meals if you want anything better than mediocre.

Staff was nice, bartenders very friendly. Don't expect to get the same drink made the same way twice. Always a new experience, and theyre always willing to pour it out and try again. We asked for a price list at the spa to take back to our room, but were told they only had one copy. We didn't go to the spa.

Overall. if you want a budget vacation this will be ok, but don't expect anything fancy. Save your money by not upgrading to an ocean view and use it for a few nice dinners in town. Remember, it's probably not walking distance for most people, so that adds another $10 each way for cab fare. If I had to do it again, I'd stay closer to town and avoid the all inclusive resort.

We stayed at the Riu Santa Fe from Nov. 24 - Dec 1, 2007. Overall, our experience was excellent. We have a 7 month old baby, so were a bit nervous about our stay, but we're happy to report that our stay was made easy at the Riu Santa Fe.

POOLS - yes, these were a bit cold, but by the 4th day of our stay, they had started heating them and they were much better. Warm enough to take our baby girl in for a swim too!

FOOD - we thought the food was excellent. The reservation system is a bit odd, and in our opinion, the food was just as good at the main buffet. There's lots of choices, including healthy, vegetarian options. You can have different meals every day even if you always dine at the main buffet.

STAFF - excellent, extremely friendly and helpful.

ROOM - our room was in the back of the resort, so not as much of a walk to the oceanfront rooms, but still very nice. Housekeeping was thorough and professional. Our safe wasn't working properly...within minutes of notifying the front desk, a staff member came to our room and replaced it. We never experienced any problems with mosquitos, in fact, we never even saw any.

SMALL CHILDREN - I was happy to find good quality high chairs in all restaurants. A crib was provided in our room, and the staff were very responsive to our little girl. One challenge we encountered was that we were on the 3rd floor of our building, which didn't have an elevator, so we had to haul the stroller up and down the stairs.

OTHER COMMENTS - while the resort is large, it certainly isn't a 10+ minute walk to the oceanfront building. From the lobby, you're probably looking at about 5 minutes. We enjoyed being able to stroll around, especially in the evening...we didn't find lighting to be an issue. Weather was wonderful except for one day of rain.

Don't take what you read too seriously. This is a brand new resort. And it's huge! Yes, everything was not running 100% smoothly, but you have to give the Riu staff credit for doing an excellent job just the same. Bang for your buck, this is a fabulous resort ... clean with beautiful landscaping, interesting architecture and a view of the the Sea of Cortes that will take your breath away. Our group was there week November 17th. Some were not pleased with their assigned rooms upon arrival, but the front desk had alternate rooms ready for us by the next morning after our arrival. We quickly began to love the expansive layout, extensive landscaping and gigantic pools including the infinity pool at the ocean. Between the drinking and eating, the walking was appreciated. Give the staff here a break, we got to know most of them on a first name basis and they were very friendly and accommodating. The resort has only about 10% of the rooms with a water view, but if you can get a room with a mountain view over Cabo San Lucus (not an upgrade) you will see the sunset over the mountains. Absolutely gorgeous. Main floor rooms are wheel chair accessible, so if you're not able to climb stairs or have little ones in strollers, ask for one of these. There are no elevators. The oceanfront has a current and abundant sea life not hospitable to humans, so don't plan on swimming here. There is a water taxi to Lovers Cove which can be seen from the resort for swimming. Cost $10. All the restaurants, even the a la carte were buffet when we were there. If you go on vacation for plate service, this may disappoint you. Overall, we found the food varied and delicious just the same. This was more than made up for by the fact that Kahlua, Tequila & Corona are readily available, as are most international brand name liquors. The beds were very comfortable with an extra fuzzy blanket supplied for the nights, which do cool down. We checked out the Riu Palace, but concluded we liked our resort better. Many Palace patrons were at the Sante Fe because of the superior pools and more spacious environment. The staff was extremely helpful when our group hosted a farewell party complete with D-jay dancing. We had 7 perfect weather days and felt privileged to have stayed at the Riu Sante Fe. God willing and us able, we'll be back.