RIU Hotels Reviews

My husband and I went to RIU palace in Costa Rica (Guanacaste) for our honeymoon. We went in October, which most would consider their “off season” and we loved it. We made a note before going that it was our honeymoon, and they left balloons and wine for us. The hotel staff was VERY friendly and helpful! The people who stood out to us the most at the bars were Gustavo, Warren, Bryan, and Kenneth! With a special shoutout to Julio being amazing with entertainment!

The hotel is clean. People are always working, cleaning the public places. See many senior aged workers cleaning. My experience is that at all inclusive hotels, workers are nice for tips. Tips get you service. Went to Riu Aruba with my wife, October 2025 for a week. Second Rui trip this year. Some construction and upgrading is going on. The Asian restaurant is undergoing renovations so they rotated every other day at the Krystal restaurant.

During my stay at Riu Palace Macao (Sept 22–29, 2025), I experienced one of the most shocking service incidents I’ve ever encountered at a hotel. While dining at one of the resort’s restaurants, I was served water poured from a wine bottle by two waiters — as if it were wine. When I confronted them, both admitted they had poured it from a bottle left in a sink, and the hotel’s sub-director later confirmed this in writing. This is a serious breach of hygiene and food safety standards. Serving an unknown liquid from an unverified bottle is unacceptable anywhere, especially at a resort that calls itself “5-star.”

Hotel billed me for a no-show even though I cancelled correctly. Have email confirmation and provided that to RIU but they still won't assist. They've had my money for 2 months and couldn't care less. Awful company! Keep your money safe and don't interact with RIU.

My family and I had a brief stay at the Riu Ocho Rios and upon checking in was met with a horrendous odor in our room. After reporting this to client services their response lacked responsive customer service. I was deeply troubled by their hotel’s inadequate response, which dismissed my family’s experience as mere “disappointment” and suggested that forwarding my concerns to the hotel management constitutes meaningful action. I had already engaged directly with their PR manager—and their redundant gesture added insult to injury. Their expressed “disappointment” in my declining an alternative room demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of customer service and accountability.

This hotel like to steal money from paying customers. Think twice before booking with the company. It also had rude staff when trying to solve the problem. They ignore you and if you try to record they snatch your phone.

Horrible customer service experience! Even though you book through Packagesus.riu.com, you are shipped off to a third party booking and if you have any issues NO ONE can help you! Three days before my trip, I had a medical emergency and I could not travel. I called them at 1-844-766-5455 to request to use the package at another time. They claimed to be unable to reach the hotel in Jamaica and would reach out and get back to me in 72 hours. I called the hotel myself and was told that they could not cancel because I was booked through a 3rd party - Expedia (news to me!) and they cycled me back to the RIU customer service. On day of the trip, I called again to see about the status of my request. RIU customer service tells me that they can now cancel, but I would get nothing back (3 thousand US dollars)

I stayed at the RIU in Aruba/Antillas from June 28th to July 5th, and while the location and beaches were beautiful, the overall experience was disappointing. The good: the room was clean, the maid service was excellent, and the beach was truly stunning—clear turquoise water, soft white sand, and postcard-worthy views. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives ended. The restaurants were chaotic—you had to line up at 5:30 p.m. just to try and get an 8:00 p.m. reservation, and even then, the food was mediocre. One of the restaurants was out of octopus and lobster bisque, which is unacceptable for an all-inclusive. My room key didn’t work the entire week. I had to keep going back to the front desk, and they kept blaming me, saying it must’ve been near my phone. I’m over 50, and I don’t carry my phone everywhere, so this was clearly a resort issue—but the staff offered no real help and were dismissive.

I’m a travel advisor who submitted a waiver request to RIU Palace Antillas on behalf of a client dealing with a serious medical situation in her group. After reviewing the request, RIU confirmed in writing that the penalty would be waived. My client relied on that confirmation and chose not to travel. However, on the actual day of travel, RIU reversed their decision, saying it was a “misunderstanding” even though my original request clearly listed the travelers needing the waiver.

Terrible experience booking here!! Customer service rarely responds. Their only California hotel is susceptible is collapse!! Per the city, the hotel MUST upgrade their structure to support certain earthquakes by 2040. Hotel does not disclose this anywhere on their website but as of April 2025, they have not made the necessary upgrades and appear to be taking people's money in the meantime and hoping we don’t get a big earthquake. Waiting until 2040 is unacceptable.