Riu Latino

I am writing this review as a 29-year-old British woman who recently travelled to Hotel Riu Latino for my honeymoon. We spent a significant amount of money and time getting here, and unfortunately, we left feeling incredibly disappointed. For context, I am no stranger to lively holidays. From the age of 18, I enjoyed the party lifestyle for many years and have visited destinations such as Benidorm and Magaluf. However, never have I experienced the level of immaturity and recklessness that I witnessed during our stay here. In fact, I have stayed at many family-friendly resorts over the years and can honestly say that guests were often better behaved. My husband and I chose Hotel Riu Latino for our honeymoon because we were looking for a romantic atmosphere. We weren’t expecting complete peace and quiet by any means, but we certainly weren’t looking for a party hotel either. We did a lot of research & there no was mentioned of the noise issues in the hotel. To be fair, there are many positives about this hotel. It is exceptionally clean, the food is fantastic, the beach is literally a stone’s throw away, the drink selection is excellent, and many of the facilities are very good. Most importantly, the waiters, housekeepers, bartenders, and restaurant staff are absolutely outstanding. They are friendly, attentive, and incredibly hard-working. However, as English guests, there were occasions when we felt overlooked. When dining in the restaurants, we were often asked what drinks we would like and then left waiting while neighbouring tables were served first. This happened multiple times throughout our stay and left us feeling as though we were an inconvenience rather than valued guests. Unfortunately, our experience began on a disappointing note. Upon arrival, the reception staff made us feel more like an inconvenience than welcomed guests. We explained that we were there on our honeymoon, having been married just two days earlier. Rather than receiving any genuine congratulations or enthusiasm, we were informed that we would need to provide a marriage certificate. I had emailed the RIU Latino beforehand; in which they were aware of our arrival and had acknowledged the fact it was our honeymoon. We explained that this was practically impossible, as our certificate had not yet been issued. We even showed photographs from our wedding, but there was little acknowledgement or understanding shown. While we appreciate that providing a marriage certificate is stated within the hotel’s honeymoon policy, the hotel was fully aware that we were travelling for our honeymoon and some flexibility or understanding would have been appreciated given the circumstances. We decided to put it behind us and focus on enjoying our holiday. Throughout our stay, it became very apparent that the hotel attracts a certain type of clientele, many of whom seem to treat it as an international party destination. We witnessed a group of younger guests returning from a RIU party behaving in a highly disruptive and inappropriate manner in the hotel foyer. Several individuals were jumping on the furniture, and one person vomited on the floor. In addition, a young American female guest was causing a disturbance and behaving aggressively. The situation was serious enough that police officers were present and intervened. We found this behaviour unacceptable and concerning, particularly in a public area of the hotel. It negatively affected the atmosphere and our overall experience as guests. We regularly witnessed guests becoming extremely intoxicated, with some being carried back to their rooms by friends and others being transported by staff in wheelchairs. On several occasions, this behaviour resulted in us being woken between 2am and 4am by shouting, screaming, and general disruption in the corridors/rooms. Staff were informed at the time, but the repeated disturbances significantly impacted our stay. The issue is made worse by the fact that the walls appear to be very thin, meaning you can hear almost everything happening around you. While the bed is spacious, it was not particularly comfortable, and any movement from one person could easily be felt by the other due to the mattress design. We had read that this hotel was considered one of the more relaxed RIU properties, which makes it difficult to understand how some of the marketing reflects the reality. The hotel has four fantastic pools, swim-up bars, and a generally pleasant atmosphere during parts of the day. Background music and activities such as aqua aerobics are completely understandable and expected at an all-inclusive resort. However, there seemed to be a constant emphasis on the party atmosphere. Large speakers would suddenly blast loud music around the pool areas, and guests were continually encouraged to attend RIU Party events at neighbouring hotels. For those hoping to relax during the day, this can be difficult. The music often travels throughout large areas of the resort, and even during the evenings around the restaurants, loud music remains a prominent feature. Another concern involved the pool water. We reported that our clothing had become stained yellow, the water had a strong copper-like smell, and my hair had developed a noticeable green tint after swimming. When raising this issue, we were met by a manager who stated, “We haven’t had this problem before, but we have had it with the Europeans.” While this may not have been intended negatively, it felt like an odd and unnecessarily direct comment that could easily be interpreted as dismissive or offensive. There was another disappointed incident involving housekeeping during our stay. We had clearly displayed the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outside of our door, which should indicate that we do not wish to be interrupted. Despite this, a housekeeper knocked on the door and then proceeded to open it before receiving any response or permission to enter. This is a clear breach of guest privacy and defeats the purpose of providing a “Do Not Disturb” sign. We expect hotel staff to respect this request and wait for an explicit response before attempting to enter an occupied room. While Hotel Riu Latino advertises itself as a 5-star resort, our experience did not reflect what we would expect from that rating. In our opinion, it is closer to a 4-star experience. Many aspects of the hotel itself are excellent, and the hardworking staff in the restaurants, bars, and housekeeping departments deserve genuine recognition. Unfortunately, the overall atmosphere created by the behaviour of many guests significantly detracts from what could otherwise be a fantastic resort. I fully appreciate that people go on holiday to enjoy themselves, but being repeatedly woken at 3am and 4am by screaming, shouting, and drunken behaviour is not what we expected from a honeymoon destination. If you are looking for a lively, social, and party-focused holiday, this hotel may be ideal for you. However, if you are seeking a romantic, relaxing getaway or honeymoon destination, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere. Based on our experience, we would not choose this resort again, nor would we be inclined to book another RIU property in the future.

Great Hotel, very clean and friendly staff. The drinks were good and the food, We tried all the restaurants. The only cons are more personal than hotel related. There’s so much sargassum on the beach you couldn’t get into the ocean( not hotels fault) they tried their best to keep it clean. The hotel is very remote will cost around $40 to go into Cancun. The swim up bar is more for 20-30 year olds but there is a quieter pool by the waterslide. Pros- really everything is a pros the Spa is the best massage I have had at a Riu ( Thanks Day). Over all I give it 5 stars but because of the remoteness I probably wouldn’t stay here again not the hotels fault just personal reasons. Our favorite so far is Riu Palace Peninsula.

This resort is average at best. It is newer and quite clean. Most of the staff were friendly and helpful. The room was prepared nicely and the housekeeping staff always did something special for us. We weren't satisfied with the view even though we paid extra for Ocean View. The view is mainly of the courtyard. To see any of the ocean, you need to go onto your balcony. The air conditioning was very loud and made it difficult to have a restful nights sleep. The food was average and the same almost everyday. We didn't go hungry at all. There was a bounty of food and options but limited gluten free. Kulinarium restaurant was not good at all and the power went out for 30 minutes while we were dining there. They asked us to leave without serving us our dinner so we left and then the power came back on so we returned to the restaurant but the staff didn't seem to be so happy. We were not impressed with the meal. The steakhouse was the second worst of the restaurants. It was way too bright and loud inside. The ribeye steak was all fat. The Asian restaurant was a buffet style and we ranked it third worst. We enjoyed our meal at the Milan Italian restaurant and we went back a second time. We never went back to any of the other restaurants. The buffet was a somewhat better option than the restaurants. We enjoyed the lobby bar before our dinners but the mosquitos were terrible at night and made it hard to enjoy a drink or two in the open air lobby. The pools were decent. We enjoyed our time around one of the quiet pools which is right next to the waterslides. It was much quieter than the other pools which tended to get very loud and rowdy as the day progressed. We went down the waterslides once during our stay. It is something different that other resorts don't have. People seemed to enjoy going on them. The landscaping is very sparse. The building itself looks very bland. There is zero character. It felt as though we could literally be anywhere. It was so nondescript. We love going to beaches but not this one. We were charged a beach cleaning fee when checking into the resort that we had to pay by credit card. There was tons of seaweed which they tried to keep cleaning but it just kept accumulating. The tractor would pass by all the time and we would smell the strong gas which polluted the air. Walking from the building to the beach was difficult as we had to walk a very long way through deep soft sand. There were no washrooms by the beach. The ocean had lots of seaweed and actual human feces on more than one occasion. It was so bad that we stopped going to the beach altogether and decided to stay by the pool instead for the rest of our vacation. It was disgusting and shocking...something we have never witnessed before in other resorts in Mexico or anywhere else. We think this Costa Playa Mujeres area has a big problem. The entertainment was average and typical. Nothing really stood out to us. The type of guests at this resort ranged from late teens to elderly but the majority was a younger crowd who liked to party and get wasted. We felt it was very ghetto and trashy at times. We observed many incidents of people getting completely intoxicated and falling down, passing out, needing medical attention, screaming and yelling, being pushed around on wheelchairs, fighting with staff and even the police had to come one evening to deal with guest/staff fights. Overall our time at Riu Latino was not worth remembering. We will certainly not be back. There are so many other places to go which are far better Save your money and go elsewhere.

Where to start? Ignore the negative reviews, my wife and I have travelled extensively and this is definitely one of the best and we have stayed in a lot of 5 star hotels that don’t come close to this! From the moment we got here and was greeted by Raimondo one of the bell boys , everyone has been so friendly and helpful.. big shout outs to Nelly ( morning ) and Vicky ( evening ) for looking after us every day in the buffet. Emy on the customer service desk who went above and beyond when we had a problem with our bank in uk! Wilbur who kept the drinks flowing by the pool. The spa is really good, staff not pushy. Massage was good and my wife had a pedicure experience and manicure and due to being in a wheelchair they did everything to make her comfortable. The lady that done my wife’s treatment called Tere was exceptional. The food is so good and had no issues at all. The steaks in the Italian and Kulinarium were better than the steakhouse but that’s a personal preference as prefer leaner meat and the steakhouse had only Ribeye. The whole resort is totally wheelchair and mobility friendly , all restaurants and entertainment are accessible! Everthing is flat. There are pools that are accessible bar one that has a ladder! How this resort is not 5 star I don’t know! We don’t often return to the same resort but we will definitely be returning here

Second AI resort experience, first was Zilara so different location and lower price point this time. Overall it was fine - service at food and beverage and on the beach was great. The service at reception desk was awful both check in and check out, staff were pretty rude and unhelpful. Drinks are weak so if you like to drink definitely buy a bottle or two at the airport on your way. The inroom bar items were ok but a pain to get refilled. Beds as others say are hard and flat, ask for extra pillows - we got six and it worked! Food was better than Zilara at the buffet, restaurants were not great but they also didn't cost more like Zilara. Beach was great - they kept it clean, beach staff helped get you chairs and umbrellas and it didn't cost extra! Limited drink service on the beach but it was fine. Pools were lively and fun. Lots of room and while busy it was kept clean and chairs always available. Overall I wouldn't go back as I prefer a more luxury experience and to be more centrally located. But for a cheap getaway it's pretty great.