Riu Yucatan

Don't book.this hotel if you are looking for something relaxing. We have been here 1 week of a 2 week stay and all.we have heard is drilling, hammering, generators from.power washing, blowtorches when refoofing what I think is block 2 roofs. I understand that there needs to be a degree of maintenance when you stay however this is above everyday maintenance. To top it all off the rooms are damp and had to wait 2 days to a room where the was no sign, feel of smell of damp. Then had a sickness and diarrhoea which confined me to the room. There is no room service for food so if you cannot make it to the restaurant then you are goosed. The food is burgers, pizza, not dogs, pasta,salad bar, fish, soup everyday with no change its the same in the evening. They have specialised restaurant however the food is not much better. It's cold and inedible. I ordered salmon in the Italian and it was burnt black on the skin, turn it over and it was burnt on top. In have been I. mexico.4 times and stayed at a Riu hotel before and the only time I have been to Mexico and struggled with the food. We keep been told this is a 5* hotel but she. The clear the tables in the bars/Lou be areas they don't clean the tables. There is no waiter service in the bars or beach however they do have the drinks cart at the main pool right beside the bar. The rooms are in First need of upgrading, our wash hand basin has hairline cracks, the shower drain has rust around it and the grout in the tiles are dirty. First time ever I am looking forward to going home!!!!!

On our arrival we were greeted with a wonderful welcome by Selene who was genuinely so happy and welcoming which is exactly how you want your holiday to start. We then opened the door of our room and the bed was full of balloons and a bottle of champagne and a note was waiting for us on a table as we were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. This was so lovely and thoughtful. We were given room 1605 which had a lovely view over the ibiza pool. The cleaning staff here work so hard and go above and beyond to keep the hotel and it's grounds spotless. There is always somebody cleaning something at all times of the day and if they're not cleaning they're painting something!! The waiters are always so friendly, professional and helpful as are the bar staff. The animation team literally never stop, a massive shout out to Meriel who is just amazing and so naturally funny. The food was so good and there is always something for everyone. We tried the Steakhouse and Shanghai restaurants which were both amazing, the rest of the time we ate at the buffet which was always good quality and had something for everyone. We didn't have a sunbed at the main pool as this can get quite busy, we spent our days at the beautiful beach instead where there were plenty of beds and if you can't find any a member of staff will quickly get some for you. We also didn't see the point of spending time at the pool when there is such a stunning beach. The RUI app works so well, during our stay we requested extra pillows and some more drinks on the app and both were dealt with promptly. Please ignore the negative comments on here, I think some people simply try to find faults. I've seen people on Tripadvisor moan about chipped doors, small toilets and believe it or not the coat hangers!! 😂 We would rather concentrate on the many positives here and enjoy our holiday. We had an absolutely amazing time here and did not want to leave after 14 days. We will 100% definitely return. Thank you again to all of the staff at Yucatan, you all made our stay memorable.

When checking in they give you a welcome drink, we was given our room (3323) 3rd floor up - when we got to our room it was ok but there was a load of steps to climb up… it was a good location (quiet), I thought the air con was good (until we moved) services via the app was extremely good and fast! 4 days into our holiday we had a call to ask if the room was ok, we informed them that it was quite high up, and my partner suffers from a bad back therefore climbing steps everyday was killing him off the reception staff member said she would look for a ground floor for us, however we was used to a king sized bed (in 3323) she informed us that king size beds was only on third floor and second floor, so we asked for a second floor if they had any available, she then informed us they found a room ground floor with a king so we moved to 6109 ground floor right next to the theatre … the room was in a prime location right next to the theatre / pool close to the beach, however I will say that it was very noisy as in the base from the theatre but it was ground floor but we was extremely thankful that we was given a room lower ground than to keep walking up and down the steps, I will say that the air con was absolutely spot on and so cold to the point we had to turn it off, as it got too cold. The base we could deal with, as it went off at 11pm, however we didn’t think about all the guests screaming and shouting at midnight , therefore we asked for a second floor room quiet, they gave us block 1 (1201) this was absolutely perfect! Right next to the Ibiza pool quiet ! We came in one day from being around the pool, and the cleaner had broken the toilet seat, I reported to reception and I ordered some coffee literally same time and the coffee came first and it took ages for someone to come fix the toilet seat. I will say though the beds are not that comfortable, soft pillows and rock hard mattress, and the rooms for all was very dated there was a lot of floors such as the design as in the bathroom being separate if you ever found yourself to have D&V you’d have to use the bin. The food was lovely and the staff were very friendly…that was until we visited the Mexican restaurant! That was absolutely terrible! I had wine with my meal and when I finished there was no staff to fill my glass back up- in fact they was filling up everyone around me with wine including the table right next to us, and totally ignored us! The food was cold! It was just an awful experience in comparison to the steakhouse that was out of this world, as soon as I was half way through my wine they’d come around and top up at the steakhouse ! & they was so quick with meals and it was hot, and it was perfect- so was the Italian, the asian restaurant was ok ish, but it was more fish than anything.. and my partner is allergic to fish, and apparently he saw them use the utensils with both the fish & chicken. After informing reception of the terrible experience at the Mexican restaurant, the very next day we was invited back to either Mexican or steak house, so we booked to retry the Mexican, after booking with reception we went down to the restaurant at the specified time we agreed with reception, nothing special was put out for us, when spoke with the manager in charge he apologised and said he didn’t know anything about us attending after informing him of the complaint/issue he came around with some tequila shots & made sure we had drinks flowing it was all so good until my partners soup came out cold.. I think if we knew nothing was special as the invite had alluded us too we wouldn’t have gone back. We visited the Riu tequila, and the activities seemed to be better , In our honest opinion if we’d have known we should have booked the tequila, the guy who drove the buggy back and forth from tequila to Yucatan was absolutely outstanding such a friendly guy. the sports bar at tequila was again fantastic as they had different food options whilst you either watched some sports, played some pool or table tennis… and it nice and cool they had a/c on, also they had bar staff members walking around the pool taking orders and delivering drinks to people again yucatan don’t have that option. Also in ways of feedback for yucatan - the tequila had Mexican themed day, at their fast food bar (near the pool bar) which was absolutely spot on! - they served tacos, and nachos with hot cheese, where as Yucatan had cold cheese, and yucatan seemed to have the same food every day. It was very repetitive, I get that they have to cater for all guests but surely you are in Mexico you should do a section of Mexican food? Not here … that is until I noticed the Mexican food at breakfast, perhaps Mexican food is for mornings traditionally not sure. But we did see all the animals including the monkeys, and other animals around was great.. funny little characters. Overall I’d visit Riu again perhaps not in Mexico. Also I’d like to add that you can have devices connected to their WiFi throughout your stay, however as soon as they cut your bracelet off it goes from say two devices connected to one device connected, therefore as the second person on the booking you ain’t getting any internet! Good thing I was able to hotspot off my partners phone, but this is awful customer service! I’d like to say that my bad experience wasn’t with reception or a selection of waiting staff who let it down (as a few was outstanding and made the Holiday worth while especially the lady on reception who helped us move along side her supervisor), for me it was the staff in the Mexican restaurant. Betty at the lobby bar is absolutely outstanding! She’s so happy and makes the best iced coffee (Hasta la vista, baby) honestly Betty is an asset to Riu hotels so was memo whom we only seen the once haha!! He was absolutely such an amazing guy and so patient! Again food is repetitive but good ( stick to non Mexican food ) not sure why they can’t deliver outstanding Mexican food and we are in Mexico I’ll never get my head around that. Activities are ok ish the silent disco was outstanding! And the foam party was again outstanding, some entertainment was ok, but they do try… it’s there if you’d like to get involved. The seaweed was so bad everyday, but the hotel staff was out every day removing it but the smell was awful… but didn’t bother us as we were around the pool every day. Can I also suggest that the hotel puts more than 1 sachet of milk in the coffee complimentary bags they provide, unless you get the carton from the bar… OR you request Leche on the app. And I’ll also suggest to anyone do not go whilst spring break is happening you will not get a lounger by the pool. In all it’s been a ok holiday :-) They have my partner a bottle of tequila for his birthday which was a lovely touch

We visited here in April 2026. The hotel is super. Great location, extremely safe in the gated Playacar community. The staff are exceptional, from waiting and dining staff, cleaners, bar staff, entertainers, reception, etc, across the board. We felt spoilt ftom the time we arrived. It was our first time in Mexico and we weren't sure what to e pect. The staff at Riu Yucatan exceeded all of our expectations. The room was spotless and serviced daily. There's a great food offering with four a la carte options. Located on the beach, it also allows access to the Playacar and Tequila Hotels nearby. Gustavo and the team if pool entertainers are so much fun, even for someone who couldn't participate, their energy and enthusiasm was infectious! The various evening shows, and in particular the White Party was brilliant and so well organised. Its our first stay at a Riu and the staff here have set the bar very high for our expectations going forward. We definitely hope to return and hopefully next time I'll be able to participate more fully once a current injury has healed. Thank you Riu Yucatan and the fabulous Mexican people.

This hotel is a bit confused, it doesn't know whether it's aimed at families or parties of 18 to 30's or adults. There is a kids club, but the kids pool is possibly one of the smallest and most poorly thought out I have seen, as a result kids are in every other pool available. The main pool is split into 2 with the activities taking place in one of these, including aqua fit, water polo and the foam party. There is a "quiet" pool but this is just a suggestion, there is no monitoring so it's pot luck if it is actually quiet or not. The pool bar is separate again and this is the only one that they don't let children in, and to be honest, I wouldn't go in there, it's a small pool with a lot of people at times and the water just has a permanent layer of scum, despite the best cleaning efforts. The other thing that should be noted is that whatever chemicals they use in the pools, particularly the quiet pool, turns everything green, from our swimwear to our hair and skin. This was mentioned to the hotel by a few different people, but I would advise not to wear anything white in there. Having said that, once home most of it did come out in the washing machine. The main buffet restaurant is open for breakfast and evenings, there is a decent selection to appeal to most tastes. Lunch is either in the margarita restaurant, which has a bit of choice or Pepe's which is tacos, chicken or burgers. There are 4 speciality restaurants, none of which required booking, we tried the steakhouse, very disappointed, the Italian, much better quality, and the Asian, again, much better quality. The rooms are big enough with plenty of storage but there is no door into the bathroom/beverage/dressing area, so if one of you is unwell, as often happens on holiday, you only have a door on the toilet for privacy. For some reason the fridge, coffee machine and optics are in this area rather than the main part of the room, which is a bit strange to me. The wildlife in the grounds are great to watch, there are plenty of notices about to tell people not to feed them, and for the most part people do adhere to it. The overall cleanliness of the hotel is great and the staff work hard, but everyone is pleasant and helpful. We did have a lovely time, but I doubt we will return to this hotel, and if this was my first experience of a Riu hotel I would probably think twice before booking another, but that's my opinion, I don't mind family hotels as long as there is an adult only area other than the pool bar which is what we have experienced in other places.