We have been avid trip advisor users over the last few years and have learned a lot of great things that have helped us get the most out of our vacations south…but have never actually written a review so here it goes.

We stayed at the RIU Santa Fe from March 27th through April 3rd. Just to give you an idea of who we are…we are a young couple (age 26 and 24) and were traveling with another couple (age 29 and 25). The last few years we have stayed at Bahia Principe Tulum, Bahia Principe Punta Cana and Dreams Punta Cana (formerly Sunscape the Beach) and have really enjoyed all those resorts for many different reasons. We do not normally get too out of control as we like to get up early every morning and make the most of our days there so we were not treating this like a spring break vacation and we still had a blast here. We were just going for some relaxing time in the sun in a destination we had never been to and that is just what we got.

We were obviously a little tentative booking this trip back in January due to all the negative reviews but decided to keep an open mind and trust that over time some kinks would work themselves out. We are pretty easy going but work hard for our money and want to get good value for the dollars we spend.

We flew out of Toronto with Skyservice…flight and service were what you would expect from a charter flight. Transfer to the airport was smooth…make sure to giver through the airport after you get your bags…lots of timeshare people wanting your money. They will say Sunquest but are not actually the Sunquest person. The actual Sunquest rep is in an orange shirt and is outside by the buses.

When you get to the resort check in is easy…our room was ready which was nice. We were in building 7 which turned out to be great for us. As long as you don’t mind a bit of a walk (maybe a kilometre) to the buffet/lobby it is in my opinion the best place to be. We ate and drank so much that the walk was a nice way to enjoy the resort/weather and walk off the buffet!

Room was clean and well appointed with all you would need…king size bed, balcony, double sinks in the bathroom and a well stalked fridge. What more do you really need…we hardly spent any time there anyway.

We spent most of our time at the pool/pool bar to the left of the resort (facing the ocean). We found there was always good music and lots of action if you wanted it…and a short walk to a banana mama, corona or tequila popper. The entire resort is gorgeous…clean, new etc. You will not be disappointed!

Food is our top priority when we vacation. We like to frequent the a la carte restaurants get dressed up and make an occasion out of it. We had absolutely no expectations here after reading the reviews so it was not going to take much to impress us…that being said the food at the resort was really very good. Breakfast and lunch were by far the best meals. The breakfast buffet has everything you could ever want. The lunch buffet at the steakhouse has lots of selection even though we stuck to the guacamole and salsa mostly…it was so good. We ate dinner at the Italian, Steakhouse and Oriental. The Italian and Steakhouse were both buffet appetizers and dessert with a served entree and the Oriental was completely buffet. I was disappointed with this but I think it is just a case of them not having enough staff to adequately serve all the tables a full a la carte meal. None the less, the food in all three restaurants was good. The steak at the Italian was really good as was the salmon...and the sirloin at the steakhouse was actually pretty tender. There was some sushi at the oriental which was nice but it was not like what you can get back home. The reservation system is a bit of a circus and could use some fine tuning to say the least. They start giving out numbers at 7am just outside the Baja California (buffet). Then at 8am they have everyone with a number line up to book their reservations in order. We would always head over to the table to get our number at 7 or so and would get something between 40 and 60. If you want anything lower you have to line up a lot earlier. We heard that people were lining up to get there number as early as 6:15…just to get a number. Anyway, with a number like 50 you still pretty much have your pick of times and restaurants. We would get our number at 7…go for a run on the beach or around the resort and then get back by 8 to stand in line to book the dinner. It was nice to eat as many meals as you wanted at the a la carte restaurants but was a bit of a pain to book them. We ate out one night in Cabo…this is a must do…go to Mi Casa it is unbelievable and not too expensive. It is a traditional Mexican restaurant with traditional menu items and an awesome ambience…if you want the true Mexican experience you really have to do this. We were four people…each had two drinks, an appetizer per couple and an entrée each and the bill still only came to $125 US…not bad as far as I am concerned.

Taxis are really easy to get…it is $10 each way into Cabo…$12 to the far side of the marina where you would go to catch the sunset cruise. They are waiting at the front of the resort and are all over town so it’s easy to get back. Make sure you have your price before you get in though…that way they won’t try to hold you to any more.

We did three excursions…Sunset Cruise through Sunquest. Was $50/person and well worth it. You take a catamaran out into the bay, by lover’s beach and the arch and then out into the pacific for a bit to see the sunset. They serve wine and hors d'oeuvres…it is a great chance to get some good shots of lover’s beach and the arch. We went parasailing which was cool if you have never done it. We talked them down to $75/couple…not sure if that is good or not though. Be really carefull when getting into the boat from the beach. It is incredibly rough in the water so I would not suggest going in a water taxi unless you are in good shape. We actually saw one of the taxi’s get flipped over in one of the waves…dumped all 15-20 passengers out into the surf including all of their personal belongings...ie camaras, wallets etc. BE CAREFULL. The water is a bit calmer down the beach to the right about 500 yards and is safer. We also went deep sea fishing…caught 6 tuna and a 165 lb marlin…took us almost an hour and a half to bring it in. What a rush that was. We negotiated the price in town the day before ($430 for 4 people in a 33 foot boat…included bait and licenses for a full day). The boat was called “Gaviotas”. Carlos Pena is the owner (044) 624-115-3684 is his cell…he has 11 boats and runs a pretty good operation. You can find him in the Marina by the “Pirate ship”. Our captain was Chapa and we were really happy with them. If you are on your own and want to find people to go with the Sunquest rep is a really good resource to help you find other people in your situation. The only other thing we did was we went for massages down the beach…it is $20 for a 40 minute massage. There are about 5 different spots that you can do this down the beach…we went to two of them through the week and they were both great.

We went into town twice at night…both to Cabo Wabo…they have an awesome house band that literally plays everything. Drinks are not cheep but it is a must if you are heading to Cabo, and it’s a bit of an older crowd (25-45 ish…. El Squid Roe and The Zoo seem to have a lot of 16-19 year olds).

All in all this resort is great, staff is friendly, food quality is good and the weather is perfect. My only issue was with the service in the a la carte restaurants and the lack of washrooms near the pool…everything else was top notch.

If you have never been to Cabo and are considering Santa Fe I would encourage you to give it a go…you will not be disappointed. Keep an open mind, be flexible and easy going and remember you are on vacation…you will have a blast!

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email…I would be happy to help.