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Riu.com
$310
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10% for RIU Class Members
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Fully refundable before Thu, Mar 28
Breakfast included
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Fully refundable before Wed, Mar 27
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Reviewed November 2, 2010

Just spent a week in this hotel, I am a returning costumer with RIU, I went 3 time to the RIU Jalisco and this time to change, we decided to "upgrade" to the RIU vallarta.
So we spend more money and the service and overall pleasure we much less than what we used to get at the RIU jalisco.....
This was low season and already a mess at the buffet, there are supposed to be 3 theme restaurant, but they open only one every day, so even if thereis less people, it gets full in no time.
There was only one lunch buffet, there is 2 at the jalisco, 2 pools "Family pool" full o people where it's hard to get a seat and "Adult" pool with a bar with much less people and where you cannot access with your kid, even if they are very quite.
As far as food, there was a big selection, quantity is ok if you get early to the buffet cause when it's full n week end, you get the remainings. As far as food quality, I was not happy, I eat better at ryan's buffet than there.
I used to like animation at the other RIU, very entertaining, in this RIU, there is a team, doing some animation cause it's their duty, no more. If you don't know that at this time and this place there will be some activity, nobody tells, only one speaker at the familypool playing some music will make annoucement impossible to hear because of the general noise and kids screams.
As I said, I used to go to RIU and I was telling my friends all good about it, but with this last experience, I will definitly choose a other resort next time I go, I don't like paying extra to have downgraded service.

Date of stay: October 2010
  • Trip type: Traveled with family
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7  Thank traveling_me_again
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 2, 2010

We had an ocean front room overlooking the adult pool. The hotel rooms are in dire need of renovations. Our water was cut off twice in our room and we had to wait an hour for their repair guy to come fix it both times so we could have a shower and get on with our day. Every time I was able to have a shower, the water would spontaneously turn super hot and I had to jump out of the shower otherwise get burnt - be careful with this - it stays boiling hot for a minute or so, so get out of the tub! LOL! The bathroom shower had a ceiling that was literally falling down. The beds were ok - not comfortable, but not terrible either. The bar was stocked in our room every second day, but we called the front desk a few times and they came right up with drinks within minutes if we ran out. The hallways are EXTREMELY noisy and echoy and you hear every door close in the hallways all night - this is NOT the hotel to stay at for a regular or light sleeper. Unless you sleep like a log, forget getting any rest at this hotel at night.

The entertainment is tacky and again, it's noisy. The sound echos throughout the hotel.

The food was OK. There is a large variety at the buffet (usually the same, but there is A LOT to choose from). I only tried one of the four a la carte restaurants as you have to book in advance and also book early in the morning - I would rather eat the buffet food when I want rather than watch the clock on vacation to get to a reservation on time. The one that I went to I felt very rushed. I just stuck to the buffet and I was happy.

The bartenders are GREAT! The can make pretty much make any drink you ask for, and they have their own drink menu that they created.

Everywhere we went, it was packed with people. It really feels like they are trying to cram as many people in as they can. You have to get everywhere early, or there is no beach chair left, etc. I really don't like being rushed - especially on vacation.

In short, for the amount of money they charge for this place, it is entirely not worth it. This is a 3 star at best. If you're going with the kids and need a lot of "busy" to keep them entertained, this is the place, but if your vacation is to relax - forget it.

Date of stay: September 2010
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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Thank GlobeTrotter11172009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 1, 2010

Just got back from this resort last week. Let me start by saying; Neuvo Vallarta has by far the worst beach I have ever seen in all my travels. The water is dark, murky and brown. I will definitely not return for this reason alone because my husband and I live for the beach and we were turned off by the water. It also had a sewage smell to it. Just was not at all inviting, so we didn't spend much time in the water or doing any water sports.

Now, onto the resort. If you are trying to decide which if the 3 Riu's to visit, I would strongly suggest you choose this one. The Jalisco is packed with locals and much rowdier. It's also the lower "class" of the three. The Riu Palace is pretty but small and very quiet. They have 1 pool and they do not have a lunch buffet overlooking the ocean like this resort. Other then that the palace and the Vallarta are pretty much the same in layout. The nightlife at the Palace is non-existent. Most of the people from the palace looking for fun at night, came over to our resort. Our resort had a great nightlife and a great mix of Canadians, American and Mexicans. The Mexicans...or "locals" were the life of this resort. They come in on Thursday and leave on Sunday. During the week when they were gone, it was pretty boring and quiet. I was extremely worried about the "local" situation before arriving here, but was soon surprised on how much more fun it was when they were there.
Also, it seems the "good" food was served more during those times.

It was a relaxing trip and like I mentioned earlier, we will not be returning. But this is because of the location, not the resort. If you are a beach person and are looking at a few locations thoughout Mexico or the Caribbean, do not pick this place. If you have already booked, have fun & relax.

Oh! I almost forgot...the service at this resort is fantastic! In all our travels we have never received such wonderful service. Whether it was our waitress at breakfast or the bartenders at night, they were all amazing! At night during the shows, are bartender would keep an eye on our drinks and when they got low, she would quickly make us a fresh drink without us asking! Awesome! One last quick note...because it's the slow season, the main buffet is not open for lunch. The only place is the beach buffet. This was fine by us but the food definitely became very repetitive.

Date of stay: October 2010
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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3  Thank BeachYum
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 1, 2010

My husband and I just returned from the RIU Vallarta. What a disappointment. We have travelled to quite a few all inclusive resorts (8) throughout Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican. This is definitely not a 5 star hotel. The good: beautiful ocean view room, very friendly, helpful staff. The bad: buffet food was ok but it was the same thing every night. No variety. There are only 3 specialty restaurants but the Steakhouse was closed - although they wouldn't just tell us that. They kept saying it was open the next night but it never was. The Asian Restaurant was another buffet and it wasn't very good. The Gourmet was the only true ala carte and it was ok. For lunch the only option was the oceanside buffet which had very limited choices - burgers (be careful - they aren't always cooked), hot dogs, salad bar, some pasta and chips, salsa, guacamole. Not even some meats and cheeses to make a sandwich. How much chips and salsa can one person eat? It was off season and the resort wasn't very busy so we paid for that with very limited food choices. The pool grounds area was very nice but the pool itself needs work - missing tiles and kind of grungy in places. The beach was cleaned once a week but it didn't last long - cigarette butts everywhere but that isn't the resorts fault. If you are not familiar with the RIU chain, they are all built pretty much the same, u-shaped tall buildings with the courtyard and pools in the middle. This makes for many ocean view rooms however it also is very noisy in the rooms as all the music from the pool and nightly entertainment is loud and clear, don't expect to sleep before 11 pm if you are a light sleeper. I know eleven isn't that late but when you have an early morning tour or flight it might seem very late.

We had a wonderful time in the Puerto Vallarta area but we will not return to RIU resort.

Date of stay: October 2010
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
1  Thank gochlm
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed October 28, 2010

Riu Vallarta was a great resort!!! I would recommend it to anyone that wants a great relaxing vacation. Beach and pools were great! The food was really good. Went to all the restaurants there. Went to the gourmet restaurant twice, and the asian restaurant twice also. The steak restaurant was just open one night while we were there. Got to see the sunset when we went to the steak restaurant because it was right on the beach and we sat right there and were able to get great pictures of the sunset. The entertainment was really good. Especially three of the nights. There was a grease show, a michael jackson show, and an 80's show. They were so good. the staff was great. great service. Check in and check out went so fast. Nothing at all to complain about. I want to go back to the riu vallarta in the near future.

Date of stay: October 2010
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3  Thank marshmallow7
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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