Riu Caribe

We’ve stayed at this hotel five times since the major renovations a few years ago now, and we’ve always appreciated the quieter north‑Cancun location. The ocean in this area is usually calmer and historically has had less seaweed than the main hotel zone, although the entire region has been dealing with heavy seaweed recently, there was certainly some here as well. They need a more automated option for removing it. Also, a net to catch it would be nice. This visit, however, came with several frustrations. The double beds are simply too small for two adults, and I woke up with back pain every morning as I also had in the past. Entertainment also felt more limited than in past years. As Riu Gold members, we were upgraded to the 9th floor for part of our stay. The view overlooking the pools was beautiful, though the room layout was the same as the standard rooms. One major issue involved the interior connecting door between our room and the one next door. These doors are helpful for families, but if you’re not traveling with family, I strongly recommend requesting a room without one. Noise travels through them extremely easily, and I will never stay in another room with adjoining doors. I would also suggest that if you are given one, that you do not unpack and immediately go to the front desk and do not accept such a room. This time on our last night, guests were placed next to us who created a strong, natural herb‑like odor commonly associated with smoking certain substances. The smell came directly into our room and onto our balcony through the connecting door, and my wife and 16 year old son had headaches because of it. Their television was also left on all night long, and even with earplugs I could hear it clearly. It made it very difficult for my family to sleep prior to our early morning travel back to the airport, and the design of the connecting door amplified everything. We also had an issue with the fridge not being restocked the one day, when we called for water, we were told it would be replenished the next day, which was disappointing considering we only needed a few bottles. The main pool was so hot it was more like a jacuzzi actually. On the positive side, the elevators were fast which is important in Cancun especially when you're on the 9th floor. We’ve always appreciated the staff here — many of them remember us from previous visits, and we’ve enjoyed seeing familiar faces. Unfortunately, the issues we experienced this time were significant enough that we’ve decided this will likely be our last stay at this property. I mean we love RIU, and I guess it may have been more my fault in accepting a room with the room adjoining door for one. There are many reasons to be disappointed with travel these days, price, lines, schedule, etc., but when prices keep going up and there isn't any additional service it's time to change the habit. We are in business also, and we must never forget who actually fuels the engine!

7 years ago my wife and I stayed at the hotel next door Riu Palace Peninsula and thought we might have been underwhelmed by what The Riu Caribe had to offer but we could not have been more wrong. The hotel is lovely and spacious, the food on offer all day was very very good and the staff could not be any friendlier. The team in the Sports Bar very friendly and knowledgeable and remembered our favourite order every day. The Animation team full of energy. , Tony and Sara especially attentive. I absolutely loved that when my wife and I arrived in our room it was decorated to celebrate our wedding anniversary, lovely towel animal and balloons. Our Tui Reps always available in the morning every day and extremely helpful when we booked our tour to Holbox island, and on departure. I really could not have asked for a better holiday in Mexico with the wonderful team at The Riu Caribe. My wife Kerry and I cannot wait to return.

Bad experience. Front desk lady was rude and unaccommodating, it was like a auction of who can come up the most amount of times in order to get a room. Then when we got into the hotel Omar one of the employees was following us around and yelling at us for doing almost anything in the hotel, multiple times! It got to a point where I we had to sit in our hotel room for the rest of the day because we couldn’t do anything without getting singled out.

We had a fantastic stay overall and would happily recommend this hotel. The location is excellent, with stunning views that are hard to beat. The staff work incredibly hard and are always friendly and helpful. Our room was spotless throughout our stay, and the Asian restaurant was a real highlight – the food was amazing. The drinks were also excellent, and it was a lovely touch to be welcomed with a cocktail on arrival. We also loved that the hotel screened the World Cup in the large bar areas, which created a great atmosphere for guests. There were a few minor downsides. The coffee in our room was only replenished every two days, which was a little disappointing. The main pool area was very loud most of the time, so if you’re looking for a peaceful day sunbathing, this may not be the best spot. We also found that none of our UK hair appliances worked with the room sockets, so it’s worth checking what adapters or appliances you’ll need before travelling. Reception was often uncomfortably hot, and the on-site cash machine was out of service for over a week. This meant crossing a very busy road to use the cash machine at another hotel, which wasn’t ideal. A quick note if you’re planning to visit Market 28 – it gets extremely hot, and the vendors are very persistent, so be prepared! Despite these few issues, we had an amazing holiday. The positives far outweighed the negatives, and we’d definitely consider staying here again.

We booked Riu Caribe to celebrate our anniversary, but unfortunately it turned out to be one of the most disappointing holidays we’ve had. We arrived to find we’d been given two single beds despite requesting a double bed. We then had to change rooms twice in the first two days, spending hours without a room while waiting for the next one to be ready. The reception staff were some of the rudest we’ve ever encountered. Rather than listening to our concerns, we were spoken to dismissively, repeatedly told we were wrong, and made to feel like we were an inconvenience. It completely ruined the start of our anniversary. Our final room had numerous issues. The air conditioning barely worked, the balcony constantly smelled of rotten eggs, the shower water regularly stopped while in use, and we even had yellow-coloured water coming from the sink. As shown in one of the photos I’ve uploaded, there were also times when no water came out of the tap at all. A maintenance worker attended once and said he would report the issue, but despite us complaining again on several occasions, nothing was resolved. One night an intoxicated guest repeatedly banged on our door for around 40 minutes. We called reception and were told security would come, but nobody ever arrived, leaving us to deal with the situation ourselves. Other issues included getting stuck in a lift when it stopped working, a power cut, repetitive food, and an undercooked steak that looked more like a lamb chop than a properly cooked ribeye, so I sent it back. During our stay, both my boyfriend and I became unwell. We cannot say for certain what caused it, but given that we never left the resort, it was another disappointing part of our holiday. What disappointed us most was RIU’s response afterwards. Instead of accepting responsibility for the overall experience, many of our concerns were dismissed or disputed. This hotel fell well below the standard we expected from RIU, and sadly we would not return or recommend it. There are far better hotels in Cancun with much higher standards of customer service.