I recently returned from the Riviera Maya area outside of Cancun, Mexico. The area is comprised of a long stretch of beach with all-inclusive resorts one right after the other. It begins approximately 20 minutes from the Cancun airport and can take up to 90 minutes to get to your chosen resort.
I had the pleasure of experiencing the Riu brand of all-inclusives. They are located in Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. The resort was picturesque with a beautiful beach area, very large pool with swim up bar, and several restaurants and bars. Rooms were a nice size with a balcony or patio. Although, it smelled very musty upon arrival, it was discovered when the sliding glass doors are open or left unlocked, the air conditioning automatically shuts off. It would have been nice to be notified of that...
The in-room safe malfunctioned on the second day...would not open. Called the front desk to ask for assistance and was advised I must wait in the room for the attendant. Waited, waited, and waited...decided my vacation time was valuable and headed back to the pool bar. Called that evening...waited, waited, and waited...dinner was calling my name. On the way to dinner, we stopped by the front desk to give them a piece of our minds regarding the this issue. We were advised there is only one man on property that has access to the safe. Fine...should a guest have to spend their vacation waiting in their room for access to the safe??? Not to mention, our credit cards, money etc were in this said safe...prohibiting us from spending any money in the spa, gift shop, or excursions.
That evening, an apology letter was in the room along with reservations to the Japanese restaurant. This opens yet another can of worms... RESERVATIONS at the restaurants were impossible to get! They only accepted reservations from 12p-3p (prime pool and beach time). Each of the times we attempted to get them...NOTHING AVAILABLE. The real kicker...we attempted to check out the restaurants a few of the evenings, just in case, there were any no-shows or cancellations. The Mexican restaurant had 9 empty tables...WOULD NOT LET US IN, Japanese had 6 empty tables...WOULD NOT LET US IN... Do you get my drift? Why oh why, would they not want to try to accommodate all of the guests at the resort and insure they were able to, at least, try one of the specialty restaurants? The buffet was good, had a nice variety of food, and diversity each night....BUT!
Getting back to the Japanese Restaurant...we thoroughly enjoyed this dining experience. Great food, service, atmosphere...too bad you have to be "susie complainer" to have the privilege.
As with many of the resorts in Mexico, language does create some issues. The staff, while very friendly and accommodating, need English as a second language classes. It posed a few problems, which were easy to laugh off, but could be annoying to some.
Entertainment was wonderful in the day and evening...pool aerobics, dancing contests, comedy, live music...list is endless. You would not be bored!
Overall, I would give this resort a 3.5 stars out of five. Adios!
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