Riu Playacar

we travelled as a group of 7 to mexico for the first time. and right of the coach we was greeted with warmth and friendliness. the hotel, grounds and beach was beautiful, clean and well maintained at all times. staff was amazing and couldnt do enough to meet our needs if needed anything. our room was very nice and very clean and was close enough to everything, there wasnt much noise from the evening entertainment unless you open the balony door. overall we had an amazing experience at this hotel and would like to go back.

This was our second visit to the RIU Playacar and, quite simply, it won't be our last. It's already earmarked for another visit May 2027, and that tells you everything you need to know. What makes this resort special isn't just the facilities, it's the people. Walking back in and having staff remember us from our last visit genuinely moved us. That kind of warmth isn't something you can train; it's a culture, and the hotel has it in abundance. Special mentions absolutely must go to Froy, Kristel, Mauricio, Dany, Uli, Jorge, Eduardo, Rafa, Marian, Neyba, Mayra and so many more. These people are a credit to the resort and to RIU as a brand. Seeing so many of the same faces still there says a lot about how the hotel treats its team. The food across the resort is consistently good and the team keep the buffet fresh and varied throughout the stay. We do try to eat Mexican food as much as possible when we're here, so it says a lot that our standout al la carte experience was actually the Italian. Brilliant every time, and not something we'd usually gravitate towards on a trip to Mexico. The beach is stunning. We never once struggled for a sunbed anywhere on the resort. Yes, the seaweed can be an issue in this part of the Caribbean coast, but the beach team work tirelessly - and we mean tirelessly - to keep it looking beautiful. It's a constant battle against nature and they fight it every single day. One gentle observation: the team leader on beach clean-up might want to pick up a rake alongside his crew now and then. Our room was spotless throughout, and on my birthday I returned to find a cake made entirely from towels waiting for me, which was a nice touch. Away from the resort, taxis are easy to find with fixed pricing to the different areas of Playa del Carmen, no haggling, no stress. The city itself is wonderful and well worth exploring beyond 5th Avenue. The food out there is something else entirely, from the taco carts to the sit-down restaurants. Playa has real depth if you're willing to wander. If you're considering the RIU Playacar, stop considering and just book it. Consistently brilliant, genuinely warm, and already our favourite place on earth to recharge. See you in 2027.

We've just returned from the hotel Riu Playacar, where we had a very relaxing 2 week stay. Probably our new 'go to' place! * staff are friendly, smiley, and should be a template for the world's hotels! A few of note are, Naty, Kristel, Yaquelin,Lizbeth, (all Palms buffet) ,Froy (24 hour bar) Rafa (pool bar) * rooms are immaculate, comfortable with great air con. * food is plentiful and varied * drinks are, again, plentiful and varied 1 negative - outside the hotel's control - sargassum on the beach/in the sea. 1 suggestion to the hotel - maybe have an ongoing programme to redo the seals under the shower screen. To summarise Wonderful! From 2 very chilled and grateful English holiday makers. Diane & Patrick Gibbs

My wife and I just enjoyed 14 nights at Riu playacar 17th - 31 May 2026.. rooms good size shower and balcony clean good Samsung tv. Room cleaned daily if you wish.. well stocked optics and soft drinks water ..Good variety of food and drinks ..The staff are excellent warm very attentive with a smile on. very hot days ...lots of activities to keep you active ..and you have Rui Yucatan and Rui Tequila hotels also to experience a short walk away for parties or enjoy their facilities..some sargassum cleared from beach daily didn't spoil holiday large beach area..some spanish useful not essential.. children activities included...The ANANA Looby Bar was to hot cooler please ! No smoking in rooms or balcony just designated area ...taxis not expensive....try all the restaurants..download Rui App.. free WiFi ...no jerk chicken...Any gifts to staff sign it or a note.. Many excellent staff are Naty,Kristel,Leyda,Froy,Marian,Yaquelin,Lizbeth Lafa poolbar ..good teamwork..so many made it a lovely holiday !

We stayed at the Riu Playacar last week, which was our fourth Riu stay, including our Riu wedding (can you guess that we love Riu?!) Check in was great, staff very friendly and our room was ready within about 15 min of our arrival. We always celebrate our anniversary with Riu so we typically ask if it's possible for a top floor room and one with some privacy (not located near bustling families). Riu Playacar delivered (for a few days until the loudest family we've ever been in the presence of moved in next door). Our room was decorated for our anniversary and we we delighted to find a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. Fredy was our room attendant and he was amazing - from how he set up our room, to the big smile and friendly "Hola!" every morning on our way out. The food was ok, we always managed to find something to eat. Though I do have to express a bit of disappointment with the steakhouse. The night we arrived for supper, there was a large party in attendance, so perhaps that had staff off their game. But service was slow, food was so overcooked some of it was inedible, and no one came back to check on us. We ate what we could and ended up leaving. I will also say the service at the breakfast buffet was not what I've come to expect from Riu. We're used to being greeted or at least acknowledged, we're also used to fresh, live cooking stations where you can get an omelet made to order. Playacar didn't have that. We also struggled to get service at all on a few mornings - having to wave staff down or yell out to someone just to get a cup of coffee. Each day we were also left to get our own cold drinks - water or juice. Again, none of this ruined our vacation, but being Riu fanatics, we've come to expect a certain level of service. That all said, I do want to give a huge shout out to the staff at the Italian restaurant. The service and food were so spectacular we ate there three nights for supper. If you do one thing on your trip to Riu Playacar, get the salmon at the Italian restaurant! The evening shows were nothing to write home about. Our favorite was the silent disco - always a so much fun. A few of the shows were pretty "meh" and it seemed a lot of guests agreed with us as we watched people leave during the shows. As far as bar staff, the absolute very best is Troy at the lobby bar. This man deserves a raise! By the end of night two, we felt like his regulars. He could be waiting on other guests, see us coming, give a smile and a nod and immediately start preparing our drinks on the side. And speaking of staff... Kenddell! I've never encountered anyone so personable, outgoing, over the top friendly, sociable in my life! He chatted us up on Day 1, and after our five minute conversation, he remembered where we're from, that we're in PDC for an appointment with INM, that we're learning Spanish (and he would let us practice with him). He even came up to us the evening after our appointment to ask how everything went - he had remembered it was that day. And the craziest part was Kenddell's ability to socialize with everyone like this. We would see guests run up to him and start chatting and laughing like they'd been friends for years. Honestly, he should be running the entertainment team. No one else on the team engaged with us in any relevant way the whole week - the entire team should be following Kenddell's lead. Imagine if every team member made every guest feel as special as he does! Please, give him a promotion! Otherwise, the week was good. The grounds are beautiful and so well maintained. The pools are clean, and despite some sargassum while we were there, the staff did an incredible job of keeping our section of the beach clean. Would we go back to this Riu? Probably not, but it's nothing against Riu. We're probably going to make our way back to an adults only/ Palace resort - we loved Riu Palace Las Americas, so that may be our next trip.