Riu Vallarta All Inclusive

Rooms very noisy

The rooms are very noisy. Next to our room was a group of people very noisy. We claimed about this situation in the front desk but their actions wer not enough, the people continued making noise.

WE CAN’T WAIT TO GA BACK

We are really happy with everithing, all personal is so nice, amenities are wonderfull and the attention is the best. we make new friends that we will be happy to see them again soon. thank you RIU VALLARTA

Exceptional beauty inside and out.

The place is gorgeous and no need to leave the resort because there is so much to do and it is located in a naturally beautiful area that is unmatched. Fantastic , friendly service and great food make it really enjoyable. We felt totally spoiled, entertained and rested.

Great stay!

I traveled with my 3 grown children for the first time since they were little and we all had a blast. No complaints about the hotel at all. They tried to accommodate us with every request. Hotel is very clean and service excellent. They really try to make you feel at home. Safe box, bottle water and everything in fridge was included which was great.

Tips on tours, shop around, you will be surprise how the prices vary from one place to another. Watch out for taxi charges - bargain with them. Took taxi from airport to hotel they asked $50. I talked them down to $35.00. Jet ski from $50. for 1/2 hr to $45.00 for 1 hr. Take water shoes and lots of sunscreen and Solarcaine for burns. Take your own snorkling mask. No need to tip like in Cancun.

HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE

While we made the best of our stay, this hotel was absolutely horrible. We read posts about the amount of locals there with their children and we were hoping it wouldn’t be as bad as we read. IT WAS! It was 99% locals with their numerous children; They overcrowded the pool, bars, buffet lines and beach. The crowds would have been bad regardless of them being locals or not. The difficult part with it being all locals is no one speaks English and they have very poor manners. This made for some very tense moments in the buffet line. My cell phone was stolen out our hotel room, after 8pm at night. My phone was wrapped up in a shirt and hidden in the bottom drawer. I made sure it was there before leaving for dinner, and when we returned it was gone. The hotel staff was less than helpful, basically saying it was my fault for not locking the phone up in the safe. I do accept that was a dumb move on my part but no one should have been in my room after 8pm. The hotel wouldn’t allow me to use their internet to get contact info for my cell provider and they charged me $5 to make a call from the front desk. DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL!

Will never go Back!

Please read all the reviews before mine who are from the U.S. All will give a bad review for a reason. All the good reviews are from Mexican vacationers. I go on a lot of vacations every year, maybe once every 3 months. This was the worst. To start out check in took for ever. The beds are really hard, no joke. You have to wait in a long line every morning at 8a.m if you want to eat at the specialty restaurants, and beware the hotel gives special treatment to locals. Three separate days I was waiting in line and they gave 10 reservations for one couple to all different restaurants which took 25min, no joke. There is suppose to be two pools, one for kids and the other for adults. There was so many kids in the adult pool with boogy boards and some with diapers. One day we went to town and did not eat anything during that trip, we got back for dinner and ate at The Flamingo. I wanted to order two entrees and was denied. I was told that I was not allowed. "What, I thought this was all inclusive!" Also, there is two other sister hotels next to each other and you are not allowed to use their facilities. The security will kick you out! This hotel really caters to the locals. They have shows every night and none are in english. We checked out the shows 3 days in a row and left after 15min. Housekeeping is kind of a joke. You will find hair in the bathroom and on the linens that they just changed. I tried to talk to their customer service rep Erica but she did not help at all.

Traveler's tip

Stay near downtown. That is where all the action is at and also where the water is clear.

Good Resort + Tips

We enjoyed the Riu Vallarta Resort a lot when we went on our honeymoon. We will do a couple of things differently on our next trip to Mexico but overall we had a good experience. One thing we were surprised about was how many families at the resort but that might have been because we were there in the middle of summer which I’m assuming is also Mexico’s vacation season. Also if you can’t sleep on a firm bed this might not be the resort for you. Overall we had a good honeymoon at this resort though.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

First Tip, stay away from the ice. we’re pretty sure that we got sick from consuming ice that had been made from the tap water at the resort. Also make sure you take some vitamins or medication to help keep your stomach in line. Second tip, make sure you have a watch. We found out very quickly that although all of the restaurants and activities on schedules, there are NO clocks anywhere but your hotel room.

I’ll be back soon

excelent service and very good drinks.. 100% recommended

Great Hotel Choice

Excelent hotel to stay with the whole family or with friends, the beach is beautiful as well the hotel. All the people who work there are so nice and the food its so good too

too many locals stay there

nice accomodations, average food, too many locals. Had great time but would not go back.

in Nuevo Vallarta...far from downtown ...

My Fiance and I went to Puerto Vallarta for the 1st time, we can honestly say we wouldn’t go back not because of the hotel..just weren’t impressed with the town itself.. make sure you know spanish... The Rui staff was very helpful and accommedating. Our complaints are...WATER’d down DRINKS..we drank all day and never had a buzz..very HARD BEDS, had to wait 20 mins for an elevator, buffet food not so good so get up early for the special dinners..We like the Asian one the best, You have to take a 30 min drive to downtown ($20-25 each way). We didnt’ like that there wasn’t anything in walking distance of the hotel. If you are looking for something to do STAY somewhere ELSE closer to downtown!!

Traveler's tip on local attractions

We did the City Tour the first day...that was nice because it gives you a quick glace at the entire island..If you like something you can always go back via taxi or buss.

Hectic - Not peaceful or relaxing

This is not the place for you if you are looking for peace and relaxation. The place is huge and the restaurants are extremely small considering the number of people the hotel houses. In order to enjoy a peaceful meal, you must get up early (not at 9:30 am), otherwise, it gets so hectic it seems as if people are about to fight over the food. Plan on not getting hungry between 10:30 and Noon because there is nothing to eat during these times other than salads. The beach is beautiful and the sunset breathtaking. You do get your workout by walking back and forth between the bar and the beach - they are far from one another. Be careful when it rains as the water enters the hallways of the rooms and makes them extremely slippery. The staff was very friendly and trying their best to deal with a throng of unsatisfied vacationers.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Unless you are suffering from an extremely rare disease, don’t ever get medical services at the hotel for any reasons-It is outrageously expensive. If you are in need of regular medical services, drive outside of the hotel area and visit any pharmacy... Explain to them what your ailment is and they’ll suggest the medication to take... Otherwise, get ready to pay close to 20 times what the average mexican pays.

Not For Me

Our first and last time trying an all-inclusive. Food was marginal at best. The ’Gourmet’ and ’Steakhouse’ restaurants were laughable they were so bad. Too many small children...way too noisy. Does anyone really want to play games by the pool? As adults do you need ’Entertainers’ at the pool? While we enjoyed the time away and as always the pacific sunsets are the greatest, this is not, nor will any all-inclusive ’family’ hotel be a choice in the future. I want a little luxury and pampering on vacation. Want a little solitude by the pool, or on the beach....you aint going to get it here.

Traveler's tip

Stay closer to town!!!

Good for a Family Trip not for a Romantic Getaway!

Very dissapointed with the supposed quality and services of this hotel. Definetely not intended for a romantic getaway. Upon arrival there were more than 10 clerks at the front desk, but they were "so busy" it took them almost 15-20 minutes to begin the check in, when we were only 6 people waiting for them, at the end they gave us very basic information on the services and ammenities offered. The quality of the food buffets were average, sometime lower tahn average, except for the Nirvana restaurant that was a little above it. The facilities although were cleaned everyday many of the public areas were always dirty, including the main restaurants and restrooms. The entertaining staff were too annoying, always at the pool with a huge sound system with loud music. The check out process is worst than the one for check in. Not the best option for resting and relaxing, check other destinations and options.

Traveler's tip on dining

Try Nirvana asian restaurant at the hotel, make sure to get a reservation for it.

Will return

Overall the food was very good with a good variety. Our only complaint was the pool needed to be cleaned more often. Nice facilities. Great access to the beach. We will return.

wanting to get married there

As all the RIU’s this was another beautiful place. The timing was great for us....Not that busy and did not need to get a beach chair early in A.M. they were always available. Only problem if you want to call it a problem was that there was No service for drinks at the beach or pool. You had to get up and get it yourself. We checked with the wedding planner and are planning our wedding in October

Traveler's tip on dining

All three (3) restaurants were fantastic with great service and food. Buffet was fine also

Please come to Mexico!

Even in tough times, RIU is offering an excellent service, there was just a day (May 16th), that all the personel went overwelmed by the bunch of people that was in the hotel, and apparently, without all the staff that usually works in there (economical reasons, I guess). After this day, the stay was excellent. Great place to go, specially if you’re not travelling with small kids.

OK. Not enough sea food.

Don’t write in all caps

Vacation with mom

The hotel was beautiful and clean but commercialized for mexico. I like hand made towell art and fresh flowers on the beds and even though we tipped the maid every day we didnt get any special touches that are traditional for Mexico. The drinks were watered down and the rooms were loud so if I were to stay in Puerto Vallarta again I would stay closer to downtown to go out for a good margarita. The adult pool had small children in it and the manager allowed it so both pools were noisy.

Traveler's tip on shopping

If you want to shop I would recommend staying in Puerto Vallarta rather than Nuevo Vallarta

Overall, a positive experience

Our visit was to attend a destination wedding. The hotel and service were great. I was a little disappointed in the food compared to a couple of their other resorts, including the one just down the street. I thought they handled the wedding well. Overall, I rate it well above average for an all-inclusive.

Good Value

We just got back from a 5 night stay @ the Riu Vallarta, first impression was it’s in a nice, quiet area. It was a 15 minute cab ride from the airport, and about 7-10 minutes away from Vallart Adventures. Room was clean, stocked with beer and soda’s. Only complaint about room would be the bed was extremely hard, almost box spring hard. And 3-4 english channels on the television, but who’s on vacation to watch tv. Hotel Grounds were kept up great, staff was super friendly, beach was large and clean and hotel offered a lot of activities on the beach. Food was decent, one thing I wasn’t thrilled about was having to make reservations early in the morning if I wanted to eat anything else besides buffet for diner. Nightlife was grim, resort really shut down around 10pm. The resort drinks were decent also. One major downfall which seemed to be a trend w/the local hotels is the pool closing before dark, pool hours were 10am-8pm... Never been to a resort that had such limited pool access. Overall I was happy, Puerto Vallarta was a great place to stay and i’ll be going back again.

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

My suggestion would be DO the jungle canopy tour offered by Vallarta Adventures! It was about 90 bux, and 6 of the funnest hours in my life. Also I’d suggest the "Rythem of the Night" tour by vallarta adventures, but don’t waste your time w/dolphin swim. Overpriced and 30 minutes of being froze in smelly water, my wife and I were both disappointed w/the dolphin swim. I HIGHLY recommend the canopy tour, zip lines, reppeling down a waterfall.. Great half day adventure, and fantastic experience!!

A no suprises resort

Planning next year already. This is our third time there and it gets better each time. We have never had a resort where the employees were so glad to help you. Only downside was when I lost my wallet the last morning they did’nt call me to tell me that it was found minus the money, I had to call them.

We had a fabulous time!

The pull out bed in the Jr. Suite was very uncomfortable so my children actaully slept with me. Overall it wasn’t a big deal, but the hotel should investigate that. The bed was very firm and thankfully that is something my children and I like, but it could be preblematic for those that don’t like firm beds. It could be uncomfortable. We were on the 4th floor and even that low of a floor, the view was AMAZING! The food was good, and the selection at every meal was none like I’ve ever seen. The staff was accomodating and friendly, and we will definately stay at the Riu brand, if avaiable, whenever we travel. We will return to Puerto Vallarta just because of the overall stay.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

The Dolphin Adventure with Vallarta Adventures is totally worth it if you have kids. GREAT STAFF! Vallarta Adventures has all kinds of fun things that we will take advantage of when we go back!

Medicore in Mexico

Ok, so they make you wait in line for many things. For example, if you wanted to reserve for dinner at somewhere other than the GROSS buffet you had to get up before 8 AM and stand in a line, in the lobby for 20 minutes to reserve. If you are not an early riser you’re pretty much screwed because they only take reservations by hand (no computers in this joint)until 10 AM and by that time there WERE no reservations. P.S. You could only reserve one spot per day! Onto the pool, it usually had things floating around in it. You also have to get up early to reserve a pool chair if you want a decent spot. The sheets on the bed stunk. The drinks were decent, but the cups were teeny tiny. The beach area was nice and peaceful. Overall, we had an okay time at an okay hotel.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Don’t turn in your towels at the end of the day- switch them out for new ones and leave them and something else on a chair before breakfast and you should be golden. Bring one of those huge insulated mugs with you.

Loved It - Riu Resorts are the Best

Second visit to Riu Resorts. Last year Playa. Very accomondating staff. Small things wrong with the room (light bulb burnt out, shower head didn’t stay up) and they took care of them immediately. Very safe property. Food was excellent, service was exceptional. Loved the entertainment. Will go back to Riu again next year. Riu in Cabo here we come!!

Great for families of all ages. Something for everyone.