Reviewers Rating: 
Excellent
Following is my report of a visit to the Riu Palace, December 1 through 8 of 2001. This was my husband’s and my first experience at an all-inclusive resort and our first time to the Mayan Riviera area.In preparation for our trip, we bought the equivalent of USD200 in pesos the day before we left. I had read in my travel books that a service charge is added when making purchases by credit card and that smaller restaurants and shops in Mexico do not take credit cards. I had also read that you should not buy a large amount of pesos in one day, as the exchange rate fluctuates daily. We made several ATM withdrawals for pesos while in Mexico without any problems, though I had read that the ATM machines were fairly notorious for running out of cash.
We also went to a big drugstore and purchased Pepto Bismol chewable tablets. Pepto Bismol is recommended for mild cases of turista. We also bought, based on recommendation, bug spray with 10% DEET. We needed the first item, but not the second. There was barely an insect to contend with during our visit and we had perfectly gorgeous, warm, sunny weather with only one rainy afternoon.
On the morning of December 1, we made our way to the airport. Security at the airport was heavily staffed, with more signs and stricter measures, yet all went smoothly and we arrived at our gate with a couple of hours to spare.
We landed at the sunny Cancun airport three hours later with daylight to spare. We went from the plane to the airport shuttle bus, through the immigration line, picked up our luggage and pushed the button for the green go light at customs. Again, all went smoothly. We heard later that the line we were in at immigration, the one for those holding passports, went much faster than the line for those who were carrying other forms of proof of citizenship.
We looked for the uniformed person holding up the Vacation Express sign in the airport lobby as we passed through the gauntlet of sales people trying to get our attention. Not finding him, we went outside, looked over the crowd and found our man. We walked to the van and were offered ice-cold beers.
Once on its way, the van stopped first at El Dorado Royale, which appears isolated from other resorts, then at Gran Porto Real, sitting at the northern edge of Playa del Carmen. We then entered the beautifully manicured Playacar district, south of Playa del Carmen , and soon we were at the Riu Palace. We checked in and were led immediately to our room. It was on the ground level and faced a grassy area with sculptures and hibiscus plants. A row of palm trees and other vegetation provided a privacy screen between the side of our resort and the neighboring resort, the Viva Maya.
We changed into shorts and went to meet the Royale Tours representative in the lobby at 5:30 p.m. I was interested in seeing Tulum and so he described a tour combining a tour of the ruins at Tulum and snorkeling at Xel-Ha. It sounded nice, but the price was over $100 per person. We settled, instead, on a trip to Tulum and snorkeling at a lagoon in Akumal.
We were very hungry at that point, as we had not eaten a meal since breakfast. Snacks (raisins, cookies, pretzels, etc.) were offered on the flight to Cancun, although it was at a time when lunch normally would be served. We had been told that on the first evening we may make a choice between the 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. dinner seatings in the main restaurant, Don Julian, and then the next day were to contact the headwaiter to reserve one of these seatings for the remainder of the week. We chose the earlier seating that evening and then walked on the beach after dinner. There was a full moon and it was very lovely. Unfortunately, the beach was steeply eroded. It left a narrow strip of firm sand to walk on by the water’s edge. A four-foot drop separated this strip from the big expanse of soft sand beach.
I found the sleeping conditions at the Palace not exactly to my liking. If given a choice, I would have chosen one queen or king size mattress rather than two double beds, made up separately. I found the mattress too firm and the pillows too flat and the room felt clammy to me. We tried sleeping with the sliding doors open to the night air. The temperature was comfortable, but the noise from the Viva Maya bar next door kept me awake.
The next morning, when brushing my teeth, I found a small sign to the left of the bathroom sink indicating that the water was not potable. To be safe, we kept bottled water in the bathroom for the remainder of the week to be used for brushing our teeth. We went on to enjoy breakfast outdoors on the terrace of Don Julian and then went to the pool. The pool at the Riu Palace is beautiful! The central bar area is painted blue and white like a house you might see on a Greek Island. Fountains pour out water over the swim-up bar. A huge hibiscus flower and trailing vines are laid out in tile work at the bottom of the curvy edged pool. Tropical trees and vegetation surround the pool in circling bands. There are plenty of lounge chairs. There are quieter areas, away from the swim-up bar, there are shaded areas and there are areas with more action. We stayed in the latter area because it was fun to people watch. In this area, water aerobics were taught each morning. Each day, also, there was a volleyball game in the pool before lunch.
We went to the restaurants near the beach for lunch. One of the restaurants serves Italian (La Traviata), the other Mexican (El Patio.) The restaurants are connected and you can easily sample from both sides. All of the seating is open air. You can’t see the ocean from the restaurants, but the view of the resort grounds and the coconut tree grove on the beach is very pleasant. We enjoyed the salad and cold foods bar at La Traviata and only ate at El Patio one day when chips and salsa looked good to us. On that day, I bit down on something excruciatingly spicy hot while eating the salsa. I was in extreme pain. My husband jogged over to the ice cream freezer and brought to me a scoop of coconut ice cream. It cooled the burn and I decided I would not eat anymore salsa at El Patio!
After lunch, we took the beach access path to the Riu Tequila, which runs behind La Traviata. We were picked up by the backfiring guest shuttle and zipped to the lobby of the Tequila. During our stay, we walked around at each of the Riu resorts in the area, the Playacar, Tequila and Yucatan. The lobbies of each are grand, open-air affairs, very impressive and lovely. The pool areas of the resorts varied, but I felt that none were as nice as that at the Palace.
That evening, my husband went to the resort’s palapa hut near the beach for a back massage. At the palapa hut, you can have a massage, have your hair braided and have a temporary tattoo applied, all for a fee. They were busy at the Palace hut, so my husband went over to the hut at the Riu Yucatan and had a very good back massage. He returned after dark, yet the evening was still young. This is when I discovered that there is no entertainment provided in the early evenings at the Palace and there is no place to go for a snack while awaiting the 8:45 dinner seating we had chosen for the remainder of the week. The next day we changed our dinner reservation to the 6:30 seating and requested a table outside on the terrace. We found that we did not have to be at our table precisely at 6:30 p.m. We showed up as late as 7:15, trying to be considerate of the wait staff who had to prepare the tables for the later seating by not lingering too long over dinner.
My husband took a windsurfing lesson the next day (for an extra fee.) The instructor, while good natured and patient, spoke limited English, making communication a challenge. Later in the day, my husband played volleyball in the pool. After the game, the teams waded over to the swim-up bar for Riviera Mayas.
Getting involved in activities at the resort is a good way to meet people and I wish I had participated more. I would have found it helpful if there had been an orientation meeting at the beginning of the week to describe the various offerings and activities at the Palace. There was a board located near the doorway of the main restaurant listing the times of activities during the week, but it did not indicate where the activities took place. When I asked for a sheet of paper listing when and where the activities occurred, I was told that there was none available as the activities had recently changed.
On Tuesday after breakfast, we walked to downtown Playa del Carmen. We walked on the main road, saying “No, gracias,” several times to the persistent time share salesman who stands near the gates of the Viva Maya Resort, past the row of shops at the Playacar Plaza and then through the residential district with some beautiful homes and with several homes under construction. It was about a 25 minute walk to the edge of town. We had to pass through a gauntlet of aggressive vendors vying for our attention on Avenida 5. We stopped in a few market shops, but found the prices, for the most part, surprisingly high. We also found that when we offered a few dollars less, we were flatly refused. I had more fun shopping at the Playacar Plaza later in the week, where I bought Christmas presents for my family members. We did have a nice lunch in Playa del Carmen at La Parilla, which was recommended by my Frommer’s guide.
That evening back at the Palace, vendors set up tables around the main fountain. We enjoyed browsing in that very pleasant setting before going to dinner.
On Wednesday, we met our tour guide in the lobby. We stopped by the Barcelo Maya and picked up a group there, all Canadian women, and then we were off to Tulum. The ruins at Tulum are located a short drive south of the Playacar district. They are in a beautiful setting, on a cliff overlooking the sea. Visiting there, especially with a good tour guide, gives you a glimpse into how the Mayans lived in this trade-based, caste divided city. Afterwards, our group went to Akumal for snorkeling. We saw brightly colored angelfish and observed sea turtles feeding on the ocean floor.
I was recruited by one of the activity coordinators, Elvis, on Thursday for what he called karaoke happening that evening. It turned out to be live music, back up dancers, a feather boa flung around my neck, a faulty microphone in my hand and a sheet of paper with lyrics on a podium in front of me. The male participants had a large, ill-fitting sombrero plopped on their heads. One man completely stole the show, singing, “I did it my way,” in a very dramatic fashion and passionately flinging his sombrero into the audience. At 11 p.m. we went to the discos at the Riu Tequila and Riu Yucatan. They are laid out the same, with very small dance floors. They were kind of smelly and not much was going on. With the evening outside so beautiful, it didn’t feel right being cooped up there while we waited to see if things started hopping, so we moseyed on back to the Palace.
On our last evening, we discovered that a wonderful pianist played at Bar Cubana off the main lobby. We enjoyed listening while we had after dinner drinks.
What did I like most about our experience? The weather, the tropical foliage, the good-natured staff, the beautiful pool at the Palace, the visit to Tulum, the fresh juice bar at breakfast, eating every meal on an open air terrace and the Palace grounds lit up at night with little, white lights.
Mary Sarah Stout
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