I'd like to be sharing a positive review about the RIU resort chain, but right now, I am so frustrated, I thought I would share my experience with all other travelers with a disability who are thinking about using this hotel/resort chain.

I have been to the Riu Palace in Cabo San Lucas, I was there in 2009 and I have to say, the staff are great, the food is great, the room is great, the pools are great.... my whole experience once there, was great.

This year I wanted to go back, so made my booking in mid-December for a mid February trip, and made a special request for an accessible room.

This is a key element to staying at this hotel, as all the rooms have a step between the bathroom and bedroom area...and I use a wheelchair and cannot walk at all.

Suffice to say, it is now almost mid January, and I have just found out, that Riu will not confirm that I can have an accessible room until 1 week before travel, if at all. They will not guarantee it - it will be allocated upon arrival.

If you do not have a disability or require any special assistance, you can anonymously make your resort booking on the internet, show up and get a room. You know when you book, you have a confirmed room... My husband and I have both booked time of work, for the week we thought we were going... I don't believe its reasonable to have to wait until a week before I'm supposed to go, then find out I can't have an accessible room... it is then unlikely I can get an accessible room elsewhere. So, I have cancelled my reservation with them

Why RIU cannot confirm for people with disabilities if they can have an accessible room within 7-10 days is beyond me. How hard can it be to look at their bookings and allocate a room or not?
To me, this is 2nd class treatment....

Its too bad they don't want me to spend my money there.... I take several trips a year... I won't be going to a Riu resort anytime soon, and rest assured, I won't be recommending them to anyone either.

I know many people will think I'm just whining, and maybe I am, but since no-one else has to wait that long for a confirmation, why should I? I don't get a discount because I'm waiting.

Marnie

Hotel/property - lovely and very well maintained.
Rooms - dark and dingy, with TV sets from the early 90s and no English language channels.
Beds - uncomfortable mattresses.
Pools - cold; heated sporadically.
Staff - lovely, helpful, friendly.
Food - plentiful and wide variety.
Guests - generally very friendly. Tough not to notice that the majority have (or are heading towards) serious obesity problems. Can be off-putting.

This resort was amazing! My husband and I stayed at this resort from Dec. 28th through Jan. 3rd. We had a great time and very much enjoyed our stay at the Riu. I will go through and talk about the positives and negatives, although there was very little to complain about. Just a couple things to improve to make the resort close to five star quality. Large property. It is shaped in a horseshoe and both sides are mirror images. Two huge infinity pools. Two swimup bar pools. Two baby pools. They make it look like there are six hot tubs throughout, but they are the same temp. as all the pools. They have one real hot tub in the spa area, but you have to make an appt. to set in it. During the time of year we were there, the mornings and evenings were chilly, so it would have been nice to have available hot tubs. The property was very, very clean and beautiful. You are not supposed to reserve or save pool loungers, but every morning before 7am, towels were placed all over chairs to save for the day, especially the chairs that were closest to the beach and facing the ocean. They have beach chairs too, but on the beach they have a long rope that divides the resort beach from the public beach and all on the other side of the rope, the Mexican residents are standing and trying to sell products to everyone at the resort. So, I didn't think lying on the beach was as relaxing and they blocked the view to the ocean. We had a beachfront room. Our first night we were put in a room directly above the entertainment area and it was very loud way into the night, could not sleep with door open to hear the ocean waves. That is the point in getting and paying for an oceanfront room, so the next day they moved us to a direct oceanfront at the East end of the horseshoe, Perfect! Food was average. Loves breakfast, they had everything you could ever want. Lunch buffet's had a large variety, but nothing was great. Kinda bland. Japanese rest. was probably our favorite. Steakhouse was pretty good. We did not like the Mexican rest. at all. And we did not eat at the Kristol, although that seemed to be the most popular. You have to make reservations at 7am in order to get into the Kristol and there is a line every morning. Lots of kids at this resort, so if you are looking for a place to get away without children, this is probably not for you. We also went during the holidays, so maybe not as much kids at other times. I think my only other complaint was the workout facility. They have a great setting for the workout area, a room right next to the beach, facing the ocean. But, the equipment is very outdated and doesn't work properly. If they would just update machines, this area would be great. Beds are hard, so if you like this, you'll sleep good. Drinks are not very strong, the daiquiri's and margarita's are good, but taste like slushies, with no alcohol. You really know they are weak, when you have a drink off property! Everything else about the resort was fantastic. Service was the best! We have been to Playa twice and this was the best resort in Mexico that we have stayed at.

Everything about this resort was average, the food, rooms, and service. If you are fine with average, then you will be delighted by this resort, if not, you are probably going to be dissapointed. The view from this resort makes up for some of its serious downfalls. The only meal which you were guaranteed a good meal was breakfast. All other meals, it was hit or miss, having perhaps only 1 dish that was appetizing, and if you found the dish warm, you had struck gold. The specialty restaurants are nothing to write home about. If you require any alterations to what is on the menu (in my case, an allergy), its not possible, and you may be left without a main course. Reservations are very hard to get as well for the restaurants. Service around the resort was varied, sometimes you would find the servers fighting to serve you, and at other times, you would go hours without a drink. One thing I did find common around the resort was the lack of understanding of the English language. Very often you would speak to the staff, asking for something, they would acknowledge what you had said, but then never bring it, even if you asked many times. The rooms were very standard for Mexico. There were alchohool dispenser in the room with Vodka, Tequila, Rum and Brandy. Getting your room cleaned is a difficult task. Even if you leave your room at 9am, if you return by 3 or 4pm, there is a good chance that it may not be cleaned. As mentioned before, the resort is mediocre, good enough, but nothing special.