Hotel Riu Cancun

Blvd. Kukulcan, Km 8.5, Manzana 50, Lote
5, Zona Hotelera, Quintana Roo
Cancun 77500
Mexico

Description: 714 rooms

"Great for families with older kids!"
The only real negative about the Riu Cancun was our arrival. They wanted to "upgrade" us to the Riu Las Americas next door. We had to hold firm and argue to get them to give us the two rooms we had reserved and paid for 6 months earlier. Thanks to TripAdvisor for reviews that were posted warning us of this tactic.

Once we convinced them to give us our rooms everything was great! We have two teenagers 18 and 19 years old, stayed 5 nights and they were entertained the whole trip. Rooms were spacious and very clean. Food was great with plenty of variety. We tried both the Brazilian and Japanese restaurants and enjoyed both although my family prefered Japanese. Our kids favorite was just going to La Mission Steak and seafood restaurant and eating when we pleased rather than having to show up for a seating. Pools were clean and there was plenty of room to get roudy or just relax. You did need to get down to the pool by 7-8 am to reserve a chair in prime locations. It is true that the pool is in the shade by 2:30 during the shortest days of the year. Late in our trip we discovered the solarium which is in the sun throughout the afternoon. Beach is small but usable even after the hurricane. Staff was extremely friendly and helpful. The entertainers worked hard but don't expect Vegas shows. After the shows the disco came to life and we enjoyed dancing with the rest of the guests. Highly recommend this hotel if you have 18-22 year old kids.

"Enjoyed our stay!"
My husband and I just stayed at the Riu Cancun from 12/19-12/23 and we enjoyed it very much! The resort was great but DO NOT fly on Mexicana airlines EVER! That airline is horrible and we will never ever fly on them again. Also, we booked our package through beachdestinations and they were okay but I would not use them again. Back to the hotel...you would never know that a major hurricane hit there two months ago except for the palm trees being kinda skimpy. The town is working very hard to get back up and going and there are restaurants and shopping malls open for business. Here is my advice and some pros & cons:

Advice
1. There are two speciality restaurants that require reservations (Japanese and Mediterranean). At check in they will tell you that you can make reservations between 7:00am-10:00am but the reality is is that people start lining up to make reservations at 6:15am and the spots are full by 7:45am. Get in line early!
2. We ate at the Corozone Restaurant and it was very good but be ready to eat a TON of food! Make sure to have a small lunch so you can enjoy all of the many courses at dinner! At first it seems like another buffet but it isn't.
3. Grab your chair by the pool before 8:00am. The signs say that you cannot reserve a chair at the pool with your towel (etc) but everyone does and all of the good chairs are taken by 8:00am.
4. The snorkeling that is included at the hotel does not leave the hotel's beach property. If you want to snorkel, book an excursion away from the hotel. The mall across the street has several excursion companies available.
5. Bring lots and lots of singles for tipping. Please remember to tip your housekeeper and waiters...they work very hard to keep you happy!

Pros
1. The beach is huge with plenty of chairs. The sand is very clean, no shells and very little seaweed.
2. The bedroom and bathroom were both plenty big and very clean. The showers had great water pressure and good temperature. There were always plenty of towels and they refilled the mini bar every two days.
3. The staff is extremely kind, polite and helpful! They will go above and beyond to help you...especially Wendy at the front desk.
4. There are three pools and there was always plenty of room for everyone! The pools aren't heated but the temperature was fine once you got all the way in.

Cons
1. The two main restaurants are buffets (Don Juan and La Mission). The food is acceptable but is VERY redudant. We have been to Sandals Negril, Jamacia and the food was significantly better. After 4 days we were ready to eat somewhere else!
2. The evening entertainment was not very exciting.
3. In the winter the sun goes down behind the hotel by 3:00pm so get up early and catch those rays early!
4. It was very, very windy which made it cooler at times and cancelled all of the water sports off the hotel beach.

Overall we were very happy with our stay at Riu Cancun Hotel and would recommend it to friends & family! We hope you enjoy your own trip!

"Had a wonderful time.."
To begin with, do not fly with American West. This is by far the worst airline we've ever flew with. They have no concept of what customer service means.

My friend and I just came back from Riu Cancun. We were there from Dec 14th to the 19th. First impression of the hotel when we walked in is 'wow, this is a really nice hotel'. As we were waiting in line to check in, the hotel staff came by to give us a drink. It was a tropical fruit punch, which was very nice and refreshing after a long plane ride. We got a room on the 14th floor which had a beautiful view of the clear blue water. It was gorgegous!!! Though to much of our disappointment, the room did have a strange odor, and the facet does not work and the toilet will not flush. We went back downstairs with our luggages and wanted to switch to a new room. The person at the front desk told us that they are undergoing some plumbing right now and this will get resolved within the hour. Besides that, they do not have any more rooms available. That is strange because I know the hotel is not fully occupied at the moment. We felt just a bit miffed that the front desk personnel lied to us..

The water and odor problem was resolved not long after. Those were some of our main complaints. Besides that, the hotel is really a nice resort. It's very clean and the staffs are really friendly. There's plenty of pools so you don't get the feeling that it's too crowded.. The weather was hot.. around 80-90's so it was nice to jump into the pool to cool off..

The beach is one of my favorite part of the hotel. There's lots of lounge chairs and we never have to look very hard to find two that are not occupy. There is a volleyball net right on the beach, so much of our stay was spent playing volleyball.

The activities staffs are just full of energy and fun, especially Vince, Alexandro and Lobido. You guys are the greatest! They work very hard at entertaining their guests and by the end of our stay, we did feel that we'll missed those guys terribly..

There are four restaraunts to choose from. There's the Brazillian, Japanese, Buffet, and the SteakHouse. It's kind of expected that you will not get the best food for going to an all inclusive resort. The food is decent, and they do offer a large variety of selections to choose from.. I think even the pickest eater can find something that they will like..

Last but not least, in the evening, they do provide nightly entertainment with different themes. We watched Grease (this is pretty good), Michael Jackson (okay),Carribean Dances (the dancers are hot.. hot.. hot.. ) and the Perfect Couple (which is very funny.. )

Overall, our stay at Riu Cancun has been a very enjoyable one. We would definitely come back again when we are ready for another Cancun trip.