Riu Latino

We have just returned form two weeks at the Riu latino hotel and we were not disappointed! Having travelled from the UK, we were warmly welcomed at reception and swiftly checked in and shown to our room. The pros of this hotel: * The staff are amazing and work really hard, nothing was ever too much trouble. We changed Mexican Pesos into smaller denominations regularly at the hotel desk without any issue, in order to tip staff. I was a little confused as to why Americans take their own currency to a foreign country! Mexican Pesos are the legal tender here and it's a perfectly strong currency. * The room was large and comfortable and regularly cleaned by the team. * The food was great, something for everyone, I ate like a pig for the first few days, but healthy options are also available. * The A la carte restaurants were decent, our favourite was the Asian one, had lots of Indian and Chinese dishes. * The bar areas are nice, the Velvet bar was nice for a drink at the bar where you can get chatting to people. The staff here are fantastic! *Evening entertainment is always subjective, however, I do feel that if you were over 35 they didn't really bother with you!- silent disco was good though! * I loved seeing the Iguanas, they are everywhere, don't touch them and don't feed them, but they are a delight to see. * The pools are good, we avoided the 'party pool' to be fair, but if it's your vibe, then go for it. * Loved the water flumes, there are 5! We also used Uber to take us to Puerto Juarez to get the catamaran to Isla Mujeres. We only paid MXN$185 for this, some people were getting massively ripped off. We also paid for an uber to take us to Walmart in Cancun for some bits. * The beach is also great, albeit for some seaweed, but the sea is so blue/ turquoise! UK PEOPLE- remember to tip staff, bar staff, 50 pesos (£2.14) every few drinks Staff that wait on in the buffet, 50 pesos plus per sitting etc...don't forget the towel guys too. Visiting Mexico is always an absolute privilege for us, and this hotel is ideal - it is slightly off the beaten track compared to the hotel zone, so nipping off to a shop isn't easy, but we enjoyed our two weeks here!

I stayed at Riu Latino on July 9th, 2026 for a few nights. I am a travel agent and brought along a friend of mine. I wanted to check out this resort for my clients who have a lesser budget than some others. I have stayed in many adult only all inclusive resorts all over the Caribbean and Mexico. I have even stayed at the Riu Palace Kukulkan twice before. I am very fond of that resort so figured I would try Latino even though it is not a Palace resort. I have to tell you... I was thoroughly surprised! Every employee I encountered was very nice, extremely friendly and helpful. I thought the entertainment team was fantastic! They put together a lot of fun games in the pool and at evening. If you like Latin dancing, that is great, too! Excellent bands and lots of dancing! I can't believe how clean this resort was. Every early morning, there are workers scrubbing pools, cleaning litter thrown around by some guests, landscaping the place, etc. The room attendant was also fabulous so A+ for cleanliness! I was also very surprised to see they had Tito's vodka. I thought only the Palace Riu's had that. In fact, if you don't see a liquor out that you prefer, just ask for it as they have some on the lower shelves. The drinks were great.. pool bartenders excellent and throughout the resort. They had a greater number of pools here than Riu Palace Kukulkan so that was a bonus as well. And the beach is just gorgeous here... great place to go during seaweed season because the barrier reef over across in front of Isla Mujeres blocks a lot of it from hitting the beaches in Costa and Playa Mujeres. The food.. there was some hit or miss and the food is better at Riu Palace Kukulkan but you will pay around $900 a week more than Latino. I found the main buffet to be excellent at Latino. There are so many choices, friendly service and good quality. I have just read a lot of negative reviews from a number of people all from the same group. I have to say, the lower price point of the resort will naturally attract a certain number of rowdier people. It seems apparent that they must have been scolded or removed. I was lucky not to encounter this on my stay and instead made some great friends! Overall, as a travel advisor for 15 years, I give Riu Latino a big thumbs up! If you need a nice lil' beach and pool getaway, friendly staff and a clean environment , it's a short 25 minute drive from the airport and the price tag is just lovely! Enjoy!

Really enjoyed our stay at Riu Latino! The location felt very safe, the room was modern and clean, and the beach was beautiful. The food was decent not amazing, but there was enough variety to keep us happy. Overall, it was a great place to relax, and I’d definitely stay here again.

We had a great stay at Riu Latino and overall we would definitely recommend it. Pros: The cleanliness was outstanding. Our room was cleaned every day, the entire resort was spotless, and the public restrooms were always very clean. The pool was cleaned daily, as was the pool deck, and the sun loungers were always neatly arranged. We also noticed that the areas around the pool were regularly disinfected with chlorinated water, which was very reassuring. The bathroom amenities were of excellent quality, including the soap, shampoo, and even the pleasantly scented toilet paper. The food was good. While it can feel a bit repetitive after a while, there is a wide variety of dishes to try throughout your stay. If you’re staying for a week, you’ll probably never get bored. After two weeks, however, the menu starts to feel somewhat repetitive. The beef dishes were especially delicious. The staff responded very quickly whenever we needed assistance. For example, the bathroom light in our room stopped working, and maintenance replaced the bulb within an hour. The minibar in the room was fully stocked. In our case, it wasn’t replenished every day, probably because we rarely consumed the drinks, so it wasn’t an issue for us. Suggestions for improvement: The hotel should enforce its non-smoking policy more consistently around the pool. Some guests smoke while lying on the sun loungers or very close to non-smokers, and this can be unpleasant. The staff are always polite and respectful, but they should feel more confident reminding guests to follow the rules. The same applies to reserving sunbeds. Although the rules clearly state that guests should not reserve loungers with towels, many people place their towels early in the morning and then leave for breakfast. If you are someone who follows the rules, even arriving at 8:00 a.m. may not be enough to find a good spot under a palapa at the pool or on the beach. While the guests are responsible for this behavior, the staff should also help enforce the policy to prevent unfair reservation of loungers. Finally, it would be very helpful if the hot sauce station included labels indicating the spice level of each sauce. Some of them are extremely spicy, and a simple heat scale would help guests choose more confidently. Overall, we had a wonderful vacation and really appreciated the cleanliness, the quality of the facilities, the friendly staff, and the overall atmosphere. We would happily return.

I recently stayed at the Riu Latino in Cancun, and unfortunately, the experience fell far below expectations, especially disappointing since this was my first trip to Cancun. From the beginning, the customer service was consistently rude and dismissive. Many staff members seemed overworked and overwhelmed, and even simple requests were met with frustration or indifference, which created an unwelcoming atmosphere throughout the stay. The food was another major disappointment. Several dishes were undercooked, lacked flavor, and felt carelessly prepared. Even the specialty restaurants didn’t offer much improvement, making meals something I didn’t look forward to. A serious issue occurred when someone in my group was wrongly accused of fighting another guest. The situation was handled poorly and without professionalism. Even after video proof clearly showed my friend was innocent, the staff did not offer an apology or make any effort to correct the mistake respectfully. The incident added unnecessary stress to an already disappointing trip. The one positive was housekeeping. They were consistently prompt, thorough, and clearly took pride in their work. Our rooms were always clean and well-maintained, and their professionalism stood out. What makes this experience even more frustrating is that I’ve stayed at Riu Negril and had a completely different experience: warm staff, great food, and excellent service. Because of that, I expected the same level of quality in Cancun, but this property didn’t come close. Overall, the poor customer service, low-quality food, and mishandled incident overshadowed the few positives. As a first-time visitor, this stay left a bad impression of Cancun and Mexico. I hope the hotel addresses these issues, but based on this experience, I would not return.