Riu Palace Aruba

My wife and I booked a 5-day stay at this property. Hours after booking, we discovered an unexpected immigration rule: because our flight included a stopover in Panama exceeding 12 hours, Aruba required us to have yellow fever vaccinations at least 10 days prior to entry. Since we could no longer legally enter the country, we immediately contacted Expedia to cancel. We were informed that the hotel’s policy required a $900 charge for the first night. Given the unforeseen circumstances, we asked if the hotel would consider a partial refund or even a credit toward a future stay. Expedia attempted to contact RIU daily via phone and email to advocate for us but received no response for days. Ultimately, RIU denied the request and kept the $900. As past guests of RIU properties, we even reached out directly to management to ask for credit for a future stay, but six days have passed without the courtesy of a reply. The lack of flexibility and poor communication is incredibly disappointing for a major resort brand.   We continue to hope they do the right thing and contact us to discuss this unusual situation.

Horrible experience, we had a water leak from the ceiling of the hotel and wall was open with pipes. Second, our Air condition malfunctioned and couldn't stay in the room due to severe heat. Staff was unable to assist with changing rooms and now won't answer emails regarding compensation. Spend your hard working money somewhere else. Also, food was subpar with no real entertainment. Once they take your money know one cares that you're a client.

We have stayed at the Rio Palace Aruba for a total of three trips to Aruba. Except for a few glitches which one might expect at a large resort, we have enjoyed our stays. The exception was our last stay. When we checked out we were presented with a $1,338 bill for 8 local phone calls. They stated that we were charged international phone rates for the local phone calls. We had chosen an all inclusive plan. The staff stated that the local phone calls were not included. We checked the Web site for exclusions and phone calls were not listed. We also did a Google search for exclusions and phone calls were not listed. We were not informed when we checked in about phone calls and there was no information on or next to the phone concerning phone call charges. Eventually the charge was reduced to $168 or $21 per local phone call which we decided to pay since we did not want to miss our ride to the airport. This was not the way we wanted to end our vacation. We will not be staying at the Rio Palace Aruba when we visit Aruba in the future.

We just got back and absolutely loved our stay. From the service, to the room, to the property itself, everything was fantastic. Very close to the action of Palm Beach shopping and restaurants all walkable. Anthony was a phenomenal bartender!!! And Luis and the team for activities and exercise daily at the pool bar were amazing. My husband and I don't usually do group exercise class, not to mention in the water too, but Luis's infectious personality just makes you want to get up and move!! Great time, highly recommend!!

Beautiful hotel. The staff is extremely friendly and will help with anything you need with a smile. The buffet was phenomenal. Everything was kept spotless. I would highly recommend the riu palace. I know our family will definitely return