Riu Palace Costa Mujeres

We have just today, returned from this hotel. I will start with the bits of the hotel we considered needed improvements. The first is the location, we totally realise the location is the location, but it's very expensive to travel into Cancun from here, we traveled into Cancun and it cost us £50 each way and around another£60 for the ferry ⛴️ to the island of Mujeres. Having stayed in many Riu hotels around the world , many offer shuttle buses free of charge, however if this hotel offered a shuttle bus and charged people say £10 and ran it say every 2/3 hours, I'm sure this would be widely used by clients. Sometimes we and indeed other British people felt we were treated differently to other nations, we were always treated with respect, but often left waiting longer for items than others. Now the good, and there is indeed lots of good about this hotel. On arrival we were greeted by smiling and pleasant reception staff and Bell boy's, who looked after us well. We were allocated room 3074, it was a large modern and very spacious room with a sea view and large balcony. We had four optics in a cabinet on the wall and all were internationally renowned brands, replenished daily, if this was needed. The fridge was also well stocked with many cans of beer, lots of cans of Pepsi and 7 UP, Canada dry tonics and ginger ale plus numerous bottles of water. Our room were kept spotless by our maid Delores, you could tell the days she had off during our stay. Food, there are many offerings to choose from. The buffet restaurant is of a good standard, but can be picked over if you dine late. The five themed restaurants are very nice and generally serve up the standards you would expect from this standard of hotel. Unless you are elite club members you need to book these on the evening you wish to use them. The steak House was our personal favourite, the Italian was also used by us on more than one occasion. The Krystal restaurant is supposed to be the fine dining restaurant, we ate here on two occasions and were not disappointed. The Asian is very popular so book as early as you can. We can not comment on the Mexican restaurant as we chose not to use it. PEPES, is the go to for many at lunchtimes, its located at the side of the tequila bar, this place dishes up the best 🍔 burgers, hot dog's, 🐔 chicken thighs and wings and pulled pork I've ever eaten anywhere, the sauces used on these are to die for. The ribs here were my favourite food of all offerings in this hotel. You could also get chilli , nachos, salads etc from here. As for the pool scene, we spent all our time around the tequila pool and bar, just a nice pool and not over rowdy . The guys behind the bar and around the pool were fantastic and as for alcohol, they could mix what ever your heart desired except they didn't know what a measure was, NOT A BAD THING WHEN ON YOUR HOLIDAYS. The cleaners and gardening services also deserve praise as they keep the whole complex clean and are sometimes overlooked, remember these if you intend handing out a few tips. Overall a very enjoyable holiday, but the cost of transport into Cancun put a bit of a downer on the holiday.

We just returned from a week at the RIU Palace in Costa Mujeres and I can already hardly wait to return! The food was probably one of the best we have had at any resort! We enjoy the Italian, Asian, Steak house and the Elite restaurant dry much! We did buffet for breakfast and lunch and it’s typical buffet food but we enjoyed it! I think our favourite was the Elite restaurant, where Uriel could not do enough to make your evening more enjoyable. We had the best service around the pool, particularly Yei, who was always cheerful and very efficient! Every evening we would go to the piano bar where they had piano or saxophone music from 6:30 - 7:30. Javier took care of us most evenings and he was a pleasure to have waiting on us! This was our first time with the Elite club. We usually like to book oceanfront and at this hotel it included the Elite club. There definitely were some nice perks, sunbeds, a specialty restaurant, restaurant bookings, a welcome gift in the room and top-brand drinks in the mini bar too. My husband and I both like rum, we received tequila, gin, vodka and rye. We did ask if we could sub in rum for one of the bottles, they said some times they will do it, but only once, that they would check, they would not do it for us, not sure why. The beach is probably one of the nicer one on the Cancun side. Sure they get some sea weed but they do their best to rake it up daily, and do a pretty good job! Overall we had a great holiday and would look forward to returning!

We hosted our wedding at this resort and overall had a truly incredible experience. The property, staff, and overall atmosphere made our wedding unforgettable, and our guests had an amazing time. We brought a large group and spent significantly throughout our stay, so this was a very meaningful experience for us. Unfortunately, the final interaction at checkout left a disappointing last impression. We were approximately 30 minutes past our late checkout time, partly due to coordinating luggage pickup with the bellman, and received no courtesy call or reminder. When we arrived at the front desk, the manager (Carol) addressed the situation in a way that felt abrupt and unprofessional, immediately focusing on an additional charge rather than acknowledging the circumstances or the significance of our stay. While we understand policies need to be enforced, tone and customer experience matter—especially for guests who just hosted a wedding at the property. A more courteous or understanding approach would have gone a long way. 2 of our guests also had a bad checkout experience. Carol also was incredibly unprofessional. We still had an amazing wedding and are grateful for the overall experience, but I hope management takes this feedback seriously so future guests don’t end their stay on a similar note.

My fiancé and I got married on this property on April 18, 2026, and overall, it was absolutely amazing. We stayed in a suite with an ocean view, and it was one of the most beautiful rooms we’ve ever experienced. We are big fans of RIU properties and have stayed at many of their resorts throughout the Caribbean, but this location truly stood out. The food was exceptional, the service was outstanding, and the grounds were absolutely stunning. Our wedding experience here was incredibly special, and we are so grateful for that. However, our checkout experience was unfortunately the worst we’ve ever had at a RIU property. We encountered an issue with a front desk manager named Carol. We were approximately 15 minutes late checking out because we were waiting for the bellman to pick up our luggage—we didn’t feel comfortable leaving our belongings unattended in the room. As soon as our bags were collected, we immediately went to check out. At that point, Carol informed us that we had to pay a late checkout fee. We explained the situation, but she was dismissive and unwilling to show any flexibility or understanding. Despite the circumstances—and the fact that we had just hosted a wedding at the resort—she insisted on the charge and handled the situation in a way that felt unnecessarily aggressive and unprofessional. What could have been a simple, understanding interaction turned into a very uncomfortable experience at the end of an otherwise perfect stay. We truly loved this property and had an incredible time overall, but this interaction left a disappointing final impression. I hope management takes situations like this into consideration to ensure future guests are treated with more understanding and professionalism.

When we had dinner, Manuela took care of us . At breakfast and lunch, Heidi. Entertainment Alexis , was an amazing dance and a very sociable person. We went to play games just because his positive attitude. We love all 3 of them.. We will be back.