Riu Playacar - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8559 reviews

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  Lovely Holiday and Hotel

  My wife and I spent two weeks at this resort, our first time at a Rui hotel and first time in Playacar/ Playa Del Carmen. We had a very relaxing time and would strongly recommend this resort. It is one of the smaller resports from Riu which we actually preferred as it was never jam packed with people and easy to get around, i.e. you can walk from the reception to the beach in 2 minutes. We did visit the two sister properties, namely Yukatan and Tequila but preferred Riu Playacar. Lots of reviews say how amazing the staff are and they certainly work so hard in all departments, but notable in the restaurants and housekeeping. A special call out to Carlos one of the waiting staff at breakfast and lunch who was so friendly and attentive and friendly. We did find the bar staff in the lobby bar to be less friendly and chatty but they were always efficient as was all staff we met. We did tip regularly and our room cleaner Yovani was so grateful a very nice young man and room was always cleaned by 10am. The beach was lovely, so warm but on occassion the sea was rough and red flag out. The Sargassum sea weed was not too bad, and the guys were out every morning collecting it and kept in under control as much as possible. We enjoyed the pools and didn't have to get up at 6am to secure a decent sunbed albeit late morning it was harder to find one with shade or umbrella. The room was kept spotless, albeit the decor is a little dated and the shower light was so dim it was almosy like showering in the dark! We ate in all the restaurants, our favourite was the Italian restaurant, which we visited several times for both lunch and dinner. The steakhouse was our least favourite as my steak was very fatty, served with about 4-5 wedges and the Salmon was very dry, clearly been under the light for too long the starters were meant to be chicken cesear salad but no chicken in sight just lettuce and dressing!. Overall there are plently of food options for everyone, but depending on the time of day the hot food in the buffet could be a be tepid and dry, but you expect that with buffets. The evening entertainment was a bit mixed and at times a bit amateurish but it was fun and the singers were good. The Abba evening was great and we won the Abba quiz night which was a nice surprise to get a bottle of Tequila! So overall a lovely resort. We travelled with TUI from Birmingham and upgraded to Premium which was our first time and we did not regret it it was way more confortable than economy IOO. We generally do not return to the same property, just because we like to try different locations and hotels, but if we do go back to Playacar we would definitely stay at this Riu hotel.

  Apr 23, 2025
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  Amazing Hotel! Fabulous staff dedicated to making sure you have the best holiday!

  We are a family of 3. Mum, Dad and 12 year old daughter. transfer from cancun ariport was just over an hour. We booked the hotel through Tui travelling from the UK. We had previously checked into the hotel online before arrival so check in was quick and easy when we arrived. The room was very clean and tidy. We were in block 5 on the 3rd floor. The hotel is in a fab location right on the beach and near a small area of shops and bars. It is approximately a 25mins walk to Playa Del Carmen with it's many bars, restaurants and shops. There is the ferry terminal there where you can get a feryy over to the island of Cozumel which takes approx 45mins. The food and drink were excellent! You have the main buffets and 4 speciality restaurants. I feel the meats were of a higher standard at the speciality restaurants. If you like steak the best dish for this was the beef fillet from the Italian restaurant. The Asian restaurant was probably my favourite. Although still technicllly a buffet the food was so good! There was a wide variety of Asian food from Japanese to Indian and Chinese dishes too. The hotel was kept spotless. The rooms were cleaned daily. The mini bar topped up every other day. we loved the towel animals! All the staff work incredibly hard and are dedicated to making sure you have the best holiday! You don't even have to leave your sunbed for a drink as they come round and take orders. They are constantly topping up your water and wine at meal times. So many little extras that made the holiday like cocktails in coconuts on the beach one day, mango on sticks another. Loads of great entertainment too. We particularly enjoyed the silent disco! Whilst there we did some excursions. The wildlife around the hotel is fab too. We loved all the agoutis, iguanas and valentine the monkey! I booked 2 before we arrived through NS vacation tours which I highly recommend. looking at reviews for the hotel I booked a snorkelling tour on Cozumel through MTK Tours Playacar "The Hut" which is located across the road from the hotel . Pablo was amazing! He sent me all details I needed by WhatsApp. The excursion was fab! All in all one of the best hotels we have stayed in. We would highly recommend this hotel for families!

  Apr 23, 2025
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  Perfect

  What a wonderful hotel, staff were polite and pleasant, cleaner was lovely, food was really nice and the whole place was so clean, they clean all day around the complex. Really would recommend this hotel.

  Apr 22, 2025
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  Love the RIU Brand

  Every thing was very good people food the property the only thing I would change is the bird problem at breakfast you need a net to keep them out very uncomfortable to eat and watch the birds poop and land on chairs peoples plates I had one poop on my chair when I got up to get water ….Not except-able

  Apr 21, 2025
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  Fantastic , cannot fault it , the cleanliness , the location , the staff , the entertainment , everything was amazing .

  This is our third time back and we are looking to book again , we cannot fault anything about this holiday , the staff are friendly and professional and go out of their way to help you . The hotel is clean and comfortable and the location is picture perfect .

  Apr 21, 2025