Hotel Riu Yucatan — Hotel in Playa del Carmen

First a warning for smokers arriving in Cancun airport. You can buy cigarettes in duty free ( yes there you go through duty free at arrival) for us$46 (a good price) as long as you do not have any others packs of smokes in luggage ( any adult can have a max one carton a cigarettes when you entre country). For those extra packs in luggage you will pay 900% tax and they will charge you regardless you put those extra packs in garbage. If you do not need this hassle there is still lots of places to buy smokes witch I will tell later.|From the beginning Riu Yucatan give a very pleasant vibe. The resort is located among others resorts and private properties in a very restricted area, so for tourists is a safe place, like home ( you can see people jogging or walking dogs). Lots of green and clean.|Reception staff is very good, they accommodate us to our needs ( I have a mobility issue follow a surgery).|The resort is a bit outdate as is one of the oldest Riu resorts in area but is very well maintain. Rooms had a tow large beds, all equipment in good order, cleaning staff doing a fantastic job to keep everything clean (rooms, hallways, stairs, alleys- sand from the beach stick to your shoes and leave marks all the way to room). Also the room had a mini fridge well stock with soft drinks, beer, water and a dispenser for hard liqueur ( tequila, rom, vodka and gin) free, but after a whole day in the sun , drinking cocktails who needs the drinks in the room( well maybe the water overnight). |The grounds are well maintain, with lush tropical plants. If you pay attention during daytime the staff is busy keep everything in good order (painting something, keeping alleyways clean, taking care grass and flowers etc.) but not being obstructive. |The beach is nice, kept clean ( this resort was the only one cleaning very good the seaweeds- yes we had a bit of them but nothing major- in spring we heard was a big problem). For smokers yes we can still smoke on the beach but I tried to be considered of other and collect my cigarettes buts and put them in the trash. There is a problem with the shade because the resort opted for palm trees not umbrellas so constantly you have to move the chairs as the sun moves. |The pools are nice, lots of activities but getting a chairs you have to wake up early but this is a problem for most resorts.|The bars are well stocked for almost every taste (I am a scotch guy and there was 4 good brands there). There are very generous when pouring drinks so beware . Staff is working hard to help the guests so you do not have to wait more then 3- 4 min for a drink and also tip or no tip they keep smiling and they not ignore you ( I chose to tip them often for the hard work and good service ). |The food is very good and for everyone were you like pork, beef, chicken, seafood or you are simply vegetarian. There is always a good selection of fresh fruits and juices.|A very good note for a la carte restaurants you do not need a reservation. If there are to busy you have to wait 10-15 min to find a table .|Another good note is that management is always outside supervising or even tending to your needs. |Last but not least the resort do not privileged membership or time shares. Every gust is the same and treated good with respect and in time. In our 10 days spent there we never find somebody complaining about anything. |For outside trips is up to everyone what you chose. Same trips are good( like Tulum) same I found them a waste of money and more important time (like Isle Mujeres- spend 10 hours for nothing or Playa del Carmen). For a nice trip I recommend a nice walk of 10 minutes in the evening to the nearby mall. They have a convenience store, quite a few souvenirs stores, even a Starbucks. Is quite pleasant, clean, prices are a bit lower but not by much than Playa del Carmen and more importantly you feel safe. Please be aware when you pay because there is always a confusion between US$ and Mexican pesos. Just read twice what you pay. |We been traveling for the last 25 years in Caribe and for average Joe this is by far the best resort. |We just wait to return to...

Beautiful resort and great range of facilities, but I wouldn't say it's very high end despite the price! Pros: Amazing entertainment team and entertainment activities! So friendly and welcoming (special shout out to Gustavo and Eric - keep it up, you're amazing!) Incredibly varied buffet!! I haven't been to that many all inclusive resorts, but this has got to be the biggest buffet I've ever seen. - There's something for everyone (vegan, even gluten free desserts). There's a counter at breakfast full of pastries, cookies, waffles, crepes, syrups, chocolate spread and peanut butter!! Gorgeous views Room is equipped with everything you need on a day to day basis (including spirits on tap) I found the room temperature to be just plain cold when I arrived, had to use blankets because the room has a ceiling fan AND AC. BUT when you get sun burnt and return to your room after lunch, the room temperature is heavenly. Exactly what it needs to be. Great cocktail variety with quality spirits; international brands such as Absolut and Baileys are available. Italian restaurant is really good Beach is incredible Friday parties and foam parties are insane!! Safe, gated area only for hotel/resorts and their guests and staff. We were checked at the gate that we had the hotel wristbands before being let in. Free and reliable airport transfer Clean rooms, highly appreciate!

Cons: There's no privacy to be had in the room. No bathroom door and the shower door is transparent. The toilet door can be closed and is not transparent, but since it doesn't have ventilation, there are slats in the door for air circulation so you can hear everything that's going on... There's only 1 good restaurant out of 4. The evening we went to the steakhouse, i think there was some issue in the kitchen because we stayed at our table for more than 2 hours for a 3 meal course. Drinks got served after food (???), appetizers was just a salad (no choice for appetizers so why did it take like 30 minutes?) And despite being a steakhouse with only 1 steak on their menu, their steak was worse than the Italian's after more than an hour wait. It was a complete mess!! I don't know how people didn't storm out and just go to the buffet. The Mexican was just a disappointment. The tortilla soup was excellent, but the fajitas and enchillads were not good. The fajitas didn't have any souce and the rice was just not nice. The enchilladas had dry meat and only a sprinkling a cheese. I thought enchilladas were supposed to have loads of cheese on top? I can't express how disappointed I was that there was no churros. Anywhere. Not even in the Mexican restaurant. The asian restaurant was just okay. Noodle choices weren't great. The lunch options at the margarita restaurant by the pool is quite weak tbh. Especially compared to breakfast and dinner. Very generic choices like burgers and pizza. Hotel towels get stolen!! I know it's not the hotel's fault, but it's still a bad experience to go through. One of our group consistently woke up at 6 am to grab good sunbed locations and people would just take our towels or completely move them! And you can only get as many towels as you hand in! We even witnessed a fight that got a little physical over sunbeds/towels. Front desk advertises cat cafe on grounds but front desk staff don't know where it is. You can actually drown at the foam party if you're short like me due to just the amount of foam that can pile up on you making you practically invisible to anyone else and making you choke and not able to breathe while being hemmed in by the sheer amount of people in the pool. Be really careful because they're not... Man, fix your donuts. Never had such bread textured donuts before. It's just embarrassing. Room toiletries are basically nonexistent. There's a shower gel + shampoo dispenser so you're better off bringing your own

TL;DR: I might had have more to say about the cons, but it was overall a pleasant experience! I enjoyed my time here, but would probably go to a different hotel if I were...

After spending more than a full night in the Riu Yucatan lobby, it is hard to write a positive review about the initial 6 days without also sharing the horrible way we were ignored and forgotten on our final day by Sunwing, Nexus (transport to airport), and even the front desk at Riu Yucatan.

My wife and I ended up sleeping in the lobby with 2 grandchildren on our final night, also her 66th birthday. We waited until the next morning at 9am when the Nexus (Sunwing) rep arrived. It seems we never had a dedicated Sunwing rep at this hotel, and relied on the “Sunwing App” until that was ended when our flight was originally supposed to be.

The front desk staff were indifferent and unhelpful and referred us to the Sunwing or Nexus rep. Tracking down our Nexus rep when our transport from the hotel to the airport did not arrive as originally scheduled for 6pm, and again 10pm after the 2nd flight delay. The onsite Nexus (Sunwing) reps depart the hotel usually by 3pm. The onsite rep should have been our 1st point of contact when the shuttle/transport never showed up, or at least the Sunwing App? We could not reach anyone after the 1st shuttle delay at 6pm on Feb 17th, then we received our last notification on the Sunwing App that our flight had been delayed, and in turn our shuttle would now be 10pm.

After sleeping in the lobby all night, at 9am Tues 18th my wife located the Nexus (Sunwing?) rep who was surprised we didn’t get another room or hotel transfer, but instead of ensuring us the situation was now under control, Carlos Quintero was dismissive and annoyed that continuing to rely on the Nexus app or even his Whats App was worrying. We hadn’t had a reply all night while waiting in the lobby, but he was insistent that we would later that day. Carlos also assumed next that the 8pm shuttle coming for Sunwing customers destined for Montreal, would also include us since we are all going to Cancun airport.

At 12pm my wife went back to see Carlos again, as he had suggested, for an update. Once again he was dismissive but reminded my wife to check Whats App.

Fast forward to 8pm on the 18th and no shuttle AGAIN. Tried to reach the rep Carlos by Whats App (could see he read msgs), but no replies, calls, or texts. The hotel front desk staff apparently don’t have any contacts for Sunwing or Nexus as well?

Finally, after getting an email response from our original travel agent at SellOff Vacations to confirm the flight and take a taxi, we left the hotel at 9pm to ensure we were on time for our 1:30am flight. Upon arrival at the airport we discovered WG 512 was now delayed (for the 9th time) until 3am, but at least we were finally at the airport, and not an hour away in a hotel lobby!

Back to the HOTEL - RIU YUCATAN

Positives: Great food and variety. So much so that buffets were fine all week, unless you really wanted a more subtle experience. Beach was clean and lots of room. Grandkids had fun in the waves and not too deep within the buoys. Rooms and facilities were clean and despite some other comments about the building showing its age, the hotel was well maintained and in good repair, pools included.

Negatives: Constantly running out of beach towels. Just need more ready for the 9am-10am rush (after breakfast) Front Desk needs more management presence or a customer service liaison after 5pm. This group comes across unhelpful to people who have a problem and dismiss customers. At least help contact the vendor or provider for us, or gave us another way to connect. (Understand our issue was with Sunwing flight delay and Nexus transfer, but at least show a little empathy to grandparents and children who were polite with you!) WI-FI: for guests who are stuck overnight in your lobby, it would be nice to have continued access to wi-fi to help us find a solution online. Once you are checked out you are cut off. Also not a nice way to treat a RIU...