8.6/10 Excellent! (1,734 reviews)
I was extremely disappointed by my stay at RIU Palace Antillas. Although the property has been renovated, my experience as a Black woman was deeply uncomfortable due to what I perceived as a repeated pattern of differential treatment by staff toward me versus white patrons and/or patrons appearing to be white.
From arrival, I noticed it. I entered the hotel without being greeted. On my third day, a bellman standing at the entrance did not acknowledge me as I walked through the revolving doors, but immediately greeted 2–3 white women behind me loudly and cheerfully.
At the grdn bar Friday, a female bartender made my drink, left it on the bar and walked away without giving it to me. When I approached another bartender, a male employee sarcastically asked if I was “good.” At Friday night's all-white party, another female bartender similarly made my drink, left it on the bar and walked away, later calling out, “Mami, what happen?” Meanwhile, I repeatedly observed white patrons receiving warm greetings and cheerful service.
The dining hall hostess, Eliana, also treated me noticeably differently from the white couple ahead of me, whom she greeted and seated while I received no greeting and had to be directed toward her by another waitress.
These interactions were not isolated; the cumulative pattern left me feeling there was underlying racial bias in how I was treated.
There were, thankfully, several genuinely kind employees, including front desk staff Stephany, Emanuella and
Reviewed on Sep 7, 2026
