Riu Palace Antillas

Poor Riu Facility I previously stayed at a Riu resort in Costa Rica and had a fantastic experience, which is why we decided to try another Riu property. We enjoy visiting a different country each year, but after this experience, I'm not sure I would choose a Riu again. One of the biggest disappointments was the lack of entertainment. There was no foam party, no white party, and the overall entertainment program was underwhelming. The activities around the pool were especially boring, and the evening entertainment was not much better. During my stay from the 10th to the 16th, karaoke was offered on two separate nights, which was not enjoyable and felt like a poor substitute for more engaging entertainment options. The service at the bars was also disappointing. The bartenders often seemed unhappy and uninterested in providing good customer service. I tip generously and consistently throughout my stay, but it made no difference in the level of service I received. One day, I went to get a beer at the pool bar at 6:05 p.m. and was refused service, which seemed unreasonable. This was especially frustrating after I had gone out of my way to help by collecting cups left around the pool area. Another issue was our room's shower, which smelled strongly of sewage. I reported the problem to the front desk in person shortly after arrival, but nothing was done to address it. If someone came to inspect it while I was away, the issue certainly was not fixed, nor were we offered another room. The one bright spot of the resort was the food, which was consistently good and enjoyable. Overall, this resort lacked enthusiastic employees, quality entertainment, and the level of service I expected based on my previous experience with Riu. I even have an email to the assistant general manager Lucia Schilkowske but no response after my first email.

Honest review here. Please research your options before staying here. The food was disgusting. We tried 4 restaurants and after getting sick twice, we knew we had to leacmve the resort. We stayed in a ground floor villa with Elite status. After the attendant threatened us numerous times about losing our bands and that we would have to pay $250 to replace them, we made our way to our villa. It was basic. It was dirty, dank, and no towels. I called front desk twice and tgey never brought towels. We were there a total of 3 full days and two half days. They cleaned our room and emptied trash 1 time and I had to call and prompt them. The ac was set and we didnt really mess with it, but all of our clothes were wet. It was like the ac really wasn't working in terms of filtering out humidity. So much so, that uou always had to becareful not to slip on tile floor. The fixtures were rusty and the laminate furniture was stained and bubbling. Being on the ground floor was nice, however, the balcony sliding door had no lock or a bar. We had to wedge a chair in it. On our last day check out was at 11, however, they knocked on our door 3 times starting at 10 to try and get us out. Our transfer to the airport was at 12:05 and flight wasn't until 3:45. So we spent most our last day at the airport. Adults only. Hmm, not sure what their age limit is on adult but we saw what looked to be teenagers almost every night drunk and running around. One night they were all puking. The security guard did nothing about it. Overall, it was a really bad experience and way overrated and over priced for what you got. I wouldn't recommend the Riu Aruba to an enemy.

For a 4 star all-inclusive, I was surprised at how many basic issues were not easily resolved. I had to update my key card, at least once a day. The elevator wait times and the times that they were unusable was too much to count on one hand. My family and I were surprised at the low quality food at the restaurants. We chose this destination and hotel for my father’s 70th birthday. Even a 3 star resort would have given them a cake or some sort of treat as a welcome. None of that happened. The hotel beach towel policy and the fact that the staff didn’t seem to have any autonomy to make their own decisions. The amount we paid was not worth what was received. I would've rather stayed at a nice resort where breakfast is included and gone out to dinner. The best thing about the resort is the location, the proximity to the beach and it is right next to the St. Regis which is a night and day difference.

Lots to say about this experience...... The Rooms at the Riu Antilles are great! The bed was comfy and the pillows were great. Bathroom and shower were excellent! Hot water, great shower! Restaurants: Italian was fantastic! Great buffet, we had the chicken parmigiana and lasagna. We were full when we left and the arancini was excellent! Krystal was very good. The portions were extremely small, we both had the short rib, flavour was excellent. But we were still hungry when we left. We did ask for a second serving and were told no. Steakhouse was very good. The portions again were small, but the flavours in the lobster and steak were great. Buffet was ok, the food that was supposed to be hot was Luke warm. And the food that should have been cold was warm. But they did have a different theme night each night. You definitely didn't leave hungry. Overall the restaurants were ok. The beach......was beautiful as usual. Palapa are available at 6 am which we did not get up for. Housekeeping was waking us up way too early! We are on vacation and not interested in waking up so early. Let's talk etiquette at an adult only all inclusive resort. Dear Adults, just because this is an all inclusive doesn't mean you have to drink until you're acting like a 6 year old. Also, we do not need to hear you screaming all over the resort that it's your birthday.....you are not 4 years old......it's supposed to be "adults only". The yelling and the tourists acting like children was simply over the top. Not the hotels fault. But due to this reason we will not return to the Riu. The way some tourists were treating staff was disrespectful and simply rude. As an adult I would hope you know your limit when you're drinking..... For those of us that wanted a quiet week of vacation......you ruined it for us with your carrying on. I think children would have been better behaved and tolerable. For our USA friends that travel from Canada, please be respectful towards your northern neighbours. We did ask for a quiet room as we were celebrating our anniversary and our room was directly by the disco. But ear plugs worked great. This hotel has a terrible reputation with the locals simply due to the excessive behaviour of guests. That's sad for a Riu Palace. DO BETTER and please take into consideration you are not the only guest there. Treat staff respectfully, you are a guest on their beautiful island.

We were very glad we decided to go off season (May - November) to Aruba during the first week of June since there were fewer travelers. The water was also warm enough to go swimming, and the constant breezes always kept you cool. Pros- This hotel resort was very clean, and we were happy with our stay. Based on prior reviews, we had no issues with the elevators and did not see long lines at specialty restaurants. Menus at specialty restaurants were limited and we liked the huge food options at the buffet - if you couldn't find something you enjoyed eating there then you might want to consider it's you! The pool had plenty of seating available also because it was off season. The majority of employees were friendly and welcoming and very hard working! Cons - Housekeeping manager needs to find a better system. Housekeeping never got to our room until late in the day and 1 day it was after 3pm so we had to forgo since we needed to shower and get ready for an evening activity. It appears rooms that get cleaned first are those that have been vacated. Each day we were out of our room between 8:30 - 3 so there should have been plenty of time to clean our room. The entertainment was fair. The shows with dancers were entertaining, however except for the rock band, the music could use improvement. It would also be great if the entertainment went later than 10pm.