Booking this vacation as a Christmas gift to my spouse and THEN reading the reviews, I didn't know what I got us into, so I decided to leave it to myself and keep an open mind. The hints and tidbits I did get from the reviews were very helpful and I appreciated the advise and warnings. I was armed with this information and empowered with the knowledge to enjoy our trip.

I was impressed when checking in that the front desk had noticed I had requested and paid for a full ocean view room and
had reassigned us before we even had the chance to locate the first, partial view, corner room that had been originally assigned. So that started me out with some confidence in the place.

We found the room very clean, aromatic, with our king size bed covers and drapery sheers fan-folded with the housekeepers personal touches. On the bed daily were "little surprises" of towels arranged into swans, birds, with fresh flowers in the center of them. Complaints about the room were that there was no fan or intake system to remove the bathroom or shower moisture. And the tub...it was great for soaking, if you could risk your life getting into it! I'm tall and physically healthy and I still feared hurting myself getting in and out of it. What were they thinking when they put those in!

One other thing I need to mention....when in your room...PUT THE DO NOT DISTURB SIGN on the door! My husband and I had gone to the beach and swimming in the pools. We were wet and exhausted, so we just took off our suits and laid down (naked) on the bed to cool off. Just starting to doze off when we heard 2 small knocks on the door and the dead-bolt lock turn and a man standing there to check the mini-bar. We barely had time to cover ourselves up with the sides of the bedspread. How dare he come into our locked room like that! I wonder now if that's not how all the stealing is going on in that place! I thought the housekeeper re-stocked when cleaning. So they can get into your room when it's bolted...Beware!

As far as the food. The Buffets were nice. The pork chops were our favorite, but we found the food to be the same day after day, and we were there 7 days. The Italian restaurant's Risotto and Prawn...don't order it...it's scary and there was no prawn under the shell, just flour! My husband had the beef filet and he said it was the best he ever had! Making dinner reservations sucked. They should have made a system to sign up on your TV, not stand in line early in the morning for 45-60 minutes to find out that the only one left is the one you never wanted to go to to begin with. And none of the food was hot...luke warm at the most, so that was a disappointment.

One other thing. My husband would only go into the pool one day. After he noticed that there were no bathrooms around the pool areas and no one left the water when drinking all day...it grossed him out so much, he wouldn't go back in. I even had a hard time thinking about it. Isn't that a health hazard? You can't tell me the chemicals can kill all that urination!

But the best thing of all was the view from our balcony in building 7. We saw the sun come up in the morning on the sea and it set behind the rocks at night. That glorious view was the highlight of our vacation! Then the Lunar Eclipse also appeared one night, how exciting. We kept our balcony door open a bit a night and listened to the sound of the ocean coming to shore and the faint sounds of the sea lions at Arch Rock. Couldn't beat those gifts from God!

1, We were definately overcharged for what we got.
There were others there who payed 600.00/per roundtrip
for a longer stay and had the same category room we
had. I know we also flew first class, but I doubt
that our tickets increased the cost of the flight by
1800.00. I had looked online right after we booked and
priced the seats for an economy seat at 279.00/per
person/round trip. I also looked at the website and
priced a garden view for 89.00/person/night,
2. Concerning the ocean view, you had to go out to the
balcony to see it. I asked for another room that had
direct view of the ocean from the room and was told
they were booked and they would get back to me.
Oliver, the manager, never did.

3. Buffet food was cold many times.

4. For 4 of the restaurants, you had to make
reservations in the am. So, since we arrived the first
day in the after noon, we were not able to make
reservations for that night. Also, we were told that
we could make reservations from 8-11 am, but it
actually was at 7:00 am, so we were only able to get
reservations for 7:00 pm one night and 8:00 pm, the
other.

5. For the transfer back to the airport, we were told
that the driver would be wearing an orange shirt,
turned out he was wearing a white shirt, so almost got
left.

6. Told gift store opened at 8:00 am, opened at 8:30
am.

7. King size bed was two doubles pushed together, so
created interesting sleeping arrangements. Many times
had to push the bed back together.

8. Bathrooms in the plaza and near the pool were
greatly used and frequently ran out of soap and toilet
paper. Also, no toilet covers were available.

9. No 10.00 calling cards available, only 20.00. The
need to stock more.

10. We able to convert US dollars to pesos, but
unable to convert those same pesos back into US
dollars. Need to inform patrons of this at the
beginning.

11. Need to keep more change available at the front
desk.

12. Pillow case had dried blood stain on it.

My wife and I stayed at the Riu Sante Fe Feb 2 -Feb 9.After reading all the reviews we were a little worried about all the negative reviews. I was wondering where these people actually stayed.Our room was in building 7 what a beautiful view . Seen whales almost every morning,We also met a lot of nice people.We watched the Super Bowl at the sports bar Israel is the best bartender ,all the staff was very friendly.Food was actually pretty good. The steakhouse was GREAT!!!!! the weather was pretty cool at night so if I go back it will be in March or April.There is a lot of walking but that was fine with us we were on VACATION.our rooms were always clean and the mini bar was stocked daily..There is one drawback they could have more bathrrooms by the swimming pools by the beach. The staff was very friendly and helpfull.I recommend this hotel.....

My husband and I stayed at Riu Santa Fe from Feb 8th-Feb15th. We've stayed at a Riu in the Bahamas before and were not impressed with the service or selection, but thought to give the chain another try, especially since this one is brand new. Arrived via transfer through Epic, no problems there. Room was not yet available so we checked our luggage and grabbed a bite to eat at La Mision. Food was somewhat cold and limited, but we were arriving at the end of lunch so we gave it the benefit of the doubt.

When we checked into our room we were placed on the top floor of block 3. Having heard what a hike the stairs were we asked to be moved to a lower floor and they accomidated us, no problem. Our room was decorated nicely. We've stayed in numerous locations throughout the carribbean, and were fully expecting the explosion of carribbean colors. We were pleased to see muted shades of brown, slate and cream. Everything looked fresh and clean - additional blankets and pillows were easy to come by once we called housekeeping. We suggest you ask for an extra blanket if the cold bothers you. The nights did get crisp, and our floors never really warmed up at all. We turned off the AC on the very first day, and only used the fan. We were definately glad we packed long sleeved shirts and sweatshirts as it does get brisk. We found no reason to complain about the cold since we knew we were coming to a desert. C'mon people (all ye who complained) have some common sense please.

We were very pleased and surprised when we walked down towards the beach The vast amount of space to find a lounge chair, and the view from the swim-up pool are awesome. We spent two days of our vacation just soaking in the sun, fun and drinks at the pool bar. I've never had the experience of lazily floating in a pool with a cocktail and watching whales in the distance. The quality of the drinks are not top notch, we had difficulty communicating our requests, but once they got it - life was good. We were patient with our requests, and they appreciated that. Top label brands weren't always forthcoming unless asked for, but this was a trend at the Riu Paradise Island so we knew to expect this.

Food was indeed MEDIOCRE. We always go all-inclusive and know better than to expect the best - but this place really falls short of the mark. Breakfast is a nightmare in the main dining hall. We went once and decided to opt for a more limited menu, but quieter setting at La Mision. Every item is the same every day. Lunch here is the same way. The other dining hall for lunch down by the water offered a greater variety, and between the two we didn't go hungry, but didn't leave wow'd either. Dinner was at the main dining hall (we didn't make it to our one reservation and decided not to make any more after that). There were occassional dishes that were very tasty, but mostly tried a little of this and that.

We did three excursions while in Cabo. I found it curious that they didn't have one reservations desk for everybody. Instead they divided you by the tour company you came in with, and not everybody has the same selection of excursions. We met a lovely pair of Canadians while at the Riu and they booked a tour called the Taste of Cabo which wasn't available through Epic. This tour included a trip to the glass blowing factory (kinda interesting), glass bottom boat ride (fun), an hour of shopping in Cabo San Lucas and lunch in San Jose del Cabo. (Be careful ordering drinks as they are NOT part of your meal and are costly. Bottled Fiji water was priced at $5.50 and strawberry margaritas were $11 - THEY DO NOT TELL YOU THIS WHEN BOOKING THE TRIP, NOR ON THE BUS BEFORE LUNCH). The food however, was fantastic.
We also opted for the whale watching trip through Ocean Riders. There were many guests who said not to book a whale watching trip because you'll see whales while out on the water with other trips, but we found this not to be the case. The tour was excellent though more expensive than others ($55/pp). While out for 2 hours we say approx. 20 whales, some very close. We went with the 4pm tour (bring a jacket) and got to enjoy the sunset too!! Our canadian friends took a catamaran for $35/pp but didn't see nearly as much as we did.
Lastly, we booked the Jazz & Wine sunset cruise through Tropicat for $49/pp. Can I just say - LOVELY!!! Great music, great snacks, sufficient beer, wine & drinks - great crew, lovely sunset - really the complete package. Plenty of room on the catamaran unlike other sunset cruises who pack you in like sardines.

Outside of all of this, we spent a day shopping in Cabo, and an evening out at Cabo Wabo and The Giggling Marlin. We had a fantastic time during our stay. We went with friends to The Giggling Marlin and negotiated a good deal. If you don't know already, they have a contraption that will string you up from your ankles and they'll give you three tequila shots for $15. We got three people strung up, one tequila shot a piece for the same price. In addition, we bought one picture that they took/framed for $12 - it was worth it!

In conclusion, go to Santa Fe, it's not the horrible place some people seem to think it is. Overlook the buffet (you eat to live, not live to eat) but drink and be merry. Explore downtown with your new friends - you'll definately meet a few here. To Lisa and Sean from Canada, you really made our trip that much more fantastic!! Our copy of the pictures will be in the mail soon!