Riu Palace Pacifico - Adults Only All Inclusive

“Riu Palace Pacifica just took number 1 spot on my list”

The Rui Palace is absolutely perfect for a couples getaway. I do not want to stay anywhere else after experiencing this place. The waterfront grounds were beautifully manicured. It was beautiful to be in a relaxed resort without the kids or grandkids. The room we had was fabulous for the 2 of us it… more

The Rui Palace is absolutely perfect for a couples getaway. I do not want to stay anywhere else after experiencing this place. The waterfront grounds were beautifully manicured. It was beautiful to be in a relaxed resort without the kids or grandkids. The room we had was fabulous for the 2 of us it had a couple steps down to the seating area and out the the balcony. Yes it costed a little more to go to this adults only resort but worth every dollar. The cleanliness was absolutely amazing, I own a cleaning company so I notice these things. I think own housekeeper is also a ninja I know she checked and cleaned things up multiple times a day I always had new towels and bathmats. One of my favorite people on staff was Theresa she was the Ruifit yoga, stretching and mediation instructor she has a wonderful personality and very fun to be around I just wished you guys had more yoga classes during the week. I also saw alot of Rui staff working at the White party on Friday night at the Flamingo and they still were able to bring there energy and enthusiasm well into the night which made me realize how long and hard they work. I went to the front desk with many questions through my stay and the front desk staff always helped me and remembered things I asked them about previously to make sure everything worked out for us. I worked in the hotel industry for years and i see and notice all the hard work dedication your whole staff puts into making your resort the absolute best place I have ever been to for vacation. I really want the management to know it is your staff who made this unforgettable experience for us. Mis más sinceros agradecimientos a todos en el Riu Pa Palifica Johnnie

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“Overall a Good Stay”

We traveled to this resort from May 20-29th. We normally go to the Riviera Maya area but decided to try this side of Mexico to get away from the sargassum. We were two women traveling alone and never had any issues with safety. This was also our first time at a Riu property, but have tried several … more

We traveled to this resort from May 20-29th. We normally go to the Riviera Maya area but decided to try this side of Mexico to get away from the sargassum. We were two women traveling alone and never had any issues with safety. This was also our first time at a Riu property, but have tried several other popular chains. We come from a cooler climate and were pretty sensitive to the heat because our summer had not started yet. We would recommend for others coming from cooler climates to prepare, this heat is no joke. Sun protection (especially clothing) and hydration are essential. Starting with the Positives: - The Front Desk Staff were easily the nicest check-in people we've ever experienced while traveling to Mexico. For some reason at other resorts the check-in staff tend to be rude/disinterested, but here they are very friendly and make a great first impression. Sandra checked us in and was very kind. - It's hard to describe how clean this hotel is. The cleaning staff work constantly to keep this hotel spotless. We saw the cleaning staff out in the early mornings and even mopping the pool deck well after sun down. They deserve a lot of praise!! - Overall food was great! The buffet was probably the best we have experienced. Tons of variety and popular items were replenished constantly. Food safety also was good, hot food was kept hot and cold foods were kept cold. We loved the Mexican resteraunt and the Steakhouse. - Loved the taco bar down by the pool! Having a snack in the late afternoon while the other resteraunts were closed allowed us to stay in the pool longer and have dinner later. Plates were also cleared very quickly which kept the wildlife from swarming. We were a little concerned about food safety here with the heat (over 90 degrees and feels like 105) but the cold containers the food is kept in seem to do the trick as we did not get sick. Would have loved to see a little Ice Cream option down there eventually too. - Staff overall were very nice. In the beginning of our trip, it didn't seem like many staff were overly friendly towards us. As the trip went on, we realized that the staff here seemed to speak less English than we were used to and that was probably why they were less talkative. Would love to highlight Janet in the buffet, she was so kind to us everyday and remembered our drink orders. - Nightly shows were awesome, however the theater could have been designed better. There are huge pillars blocking large areas of seating, so get to the theater early. - The hotel is very well-staffed. All of the bars had enough bartenders, resteraunts had enough waiters, etc. The runners from the pool bar came by frequently as well. This was especially noticeable in the buffet, even during busy hours there were still plenty of people around to replenish drinks and clear plates. This makes a huge difference in experience. - We have no complaints about the rooms other than the beds. Housekeeping was wonderful and did a great job. They do have smart TV's that you can hook up to your phone and there is a safe as well as robes. - No pressure to join the Elite Club was awesome. You do not have to worry about constantly being hounded to do a breakfast presentation or talk to the sales reps. It makes the vacation so peaceful. There were also no staff members asking to be mentioned in reviews, which is nice because it makes their interactions feel more authentic instead of striking up a conversation just to ask for a shoutout. Room for improvement: - The beds are awful. So bad. When you sit on them, you sink all the way to the bottom of the mattress. Very bad for back and hip support, especially if you have pre-existing issues. I would not recommend this hotel for anyone who has back, hip, or nerve pain. A bad back can seriously ruin a vacation. Even as a young person, my back was hurting after sleeping on these beds for 9 nights. We ended up switching rooms to try a different mattress and it was exactly the same if not worse. - No usable cold water. Usually people complain there's no hot water, but in these temperatures cold water was needed. No cold water for washing hands, rinsing swimsuits, showering, etc. With the heat, a cold shower is a great way to cool off, and we were not able to do that. - Pool area could have been designed a lot better in many capacities. Let's start with the shade. Pool umbrellas are plentiful however they are NOT UV and do not provide true shade. You can still see the sun coming through the umbrellas, meaning you are still at risk for sunburn and you will not really "cool down" by sitting underneath these umbrellas. There was also very limited shade around the pool itself, and the pool water was insanely warm. In the quiet pool by about midday, you could feel your body temperature rising as you got in the pool. Originally we thought this just must be because of the heat, but we visited 2 other neighboring resorts pools and their pools were significantly cooler. Also, I am going to echo several other reviews that talk about how slippery the pool deck is. It is very slippery and also very hot!! You will need shoes at all times. The tile looks very nice but was a poor functional choice. We also were disappointed with the design of the pools. The "entertainment" pool was a small rectangle. People have larger pools in their backyard. The "swim up" was pretty much a walk up, and the quiet pool is a large rectangle. Neighboring resorts have beautiful, large, infinity pools overlooking the ocean and the mountains, so this was a disappointment. - The ladies at the coffee shop in the morning were not friendly once during our trip and the drinks were not that great. - The app does not work and is almost useless. It will show activities, but not where they are. It also does not have enough adequate information to make it helpful. - This resort could use some more activities. Luckily we like to play volleyball, but other than the "crazy game" in the afternoon and water aerobics there wasn't much else going on. Also, one day the scheduled afternoon activity was water polo. There was a bunch of people in the entertainment pool that wanted to play water volleyball instead. Not a single person wanted to play water polo. So what happened? Nothing. Sebastian (the entertainer for the activity) then decided we weren't going to play anything. So all these people in the pool ready for an activity got nothing. Very disappointing. - While we greatly enjoyed the Steakhouse food, the reservation system could use some work. The only reason we knew how to get reservations was from a Facebook group. Nobody told us at check-in and there is no signange describing the process. Luckily we figured it out, but there were several groups of people who waited in the very long line not realizing that you needed a reservation hours beforehand. The host/hostess end up repeating themselves the whole night and some individuals became very upset with them, even though it wasn't their fault. This lack of communication sets their employees up to deal with some very unhappy people, which isn't fair to them. A couple of signs or a form at check-in would make things easier for everyone. - Last but not least, the resteraunt ambience could also be improved. In all of the resteraunts and buffets, the tables are extremely close together. At 90% of the tables we sat at, regardless of the resteraunt, we could reach out and touch the table next to us. This makes conversation difficult and slightly awkward, especially when you can hear other's conversations and they can hear yours. Also, on several occasions, other guests were blasting audio through their phones at the table. Nobody wants to hear someone else's speaker phone conversation (on max volume) while they are eating dinner 3 ft away. It's extremely tacky and should not be accepted at a up-scale resort. Requiring headphones or having to leave the resteraunt to take a phone call should be the standard. This did impact our experience but it was not the resort's fault: people threw up in the swim up bar pool 3 out of the 8 full days we spent here. When this happens, the pool is closed completely for the rest of the day (which is good for health and safety). There is water available at the top of the pool bar but not in the swim up area. Considering the people that are consuming the most alcohol are in the swim up area, there should be water available there as well to hopefully encourage people to stay hydrated. It's not the resort's fault that this occurred but hopefully people can be more aware of how much they should drink in this kind of heat. That probably seemed like a lot of negatives, but after 9 nights here we wanted to communicate all of the things that came up for us during our trip. Overall, we still had a great time. This resort still offers great value for the price that is paid. We wouldn't return to this part of Mexico during this time of year, as it was just a little too hot for us. Unfortunately, unless the beds get changed, we will most likely not be returning to this hotel.

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