Riu Caribe All-Inclusive, Cancun

Biggest problem encountered occurred at the airport, when we walked out the doors and were bombarded with all of the taxi drivers wanting to be our "ride". Once at hotel, we were told we were being upgraded, but the room had 2 double beds. We decided to go ahead, even though it was just my sig other and myself. Room was not located in the main building, but closer to the Royal. Although the view was awesome, there was a beach bar below us with very loud music and we did not have a private balcony. When we decided that this did not seem to be an upgrade, we approached our "welcome staff, Rhonda" and were treated awesome. She showed us several rooms we could choose from and the staff eagerly moved us to another room. We were extremely pleased with this room and enjoyed the view from our private balcony. Although the beach was small, it was clean. We did observe that service was better when sitting by one of the pools. I am a very anti-smoking ex-smoker and was not bothered at all by others smoking. There was no scent of smoke in our room and we found both pools to be clean and inviting. As for the buffets, the food was always fresh and tasty. Although it's true that there wasn't a lot of variety from one evening to another, there was a large selection to choose from. The fish was awesome and we never had any problems getting seated or with service. We found most of the staff to be overly friendly and accommodating, willing to help whenever we needed it. During a trip to downtown Cancun to the market, we were greeted by waiter from one of the buffet's at the hotel. He recognized us and helped show us around the market, even though it was his day off. As someone else has mentioned, the service staff make very little for working here. We tipped often and I have no regret for doing so. Realize that the hotel is all inclusive, however, because of the $ saved due to this, it shouldn't be too much to expect that a visitor can cough up a dollar every now and then for a drink. Drinks did vary from bar to bar, but learned that if they were strong enough for my liking, to just order an extra shot with them. This was our first trip to Mexico and it left a very positive impression on us. Before we left, we had already decided that we would return. I am taking my children and mother back in January. We are going to stay somewhere else, however, that caters more to kids. The Gran Caribe was an awesome place to stay, but there were a lot of young adults there to party. Because of this, I was reluctant to take my kids there. I did see families with kids and have to say, honestly, that I did not check into any of the children's activities at the hotel. If I were going back on an adults only trip, I would definately stay here again. We enjoyed the music in the main lobby at night and didn't venture out. We did see lots of "youngsters" catching party buses and going out at night, just wasn't our thing. The Caribe was very close to shopping and within walking distance to Margaritaville, Frogs and O'Brien's. One piece of advice, the tour of the Royal is a VERY high pressure sales tour. Not sure it was worth the time out of our vacation for the bag and sarong.

Just got back from this wonderful hotel in cancun. It is the cleanest hotel I ever stayed in. The food was excellent and the entertainment was great. The entertainment team were 7 young guys who really know how to get the place hoping. If you want to go out..they go to a different place every night around 11pm and you get VIP treatment. Really there is no reason to leave this hotel, except for shopping and the shops they have right in the hotel have good prices and top of the line stuff. Fantastic.. you really won't regret booking this place!

We loved everything about this vacation...the hotel and staff were excellent. We were there April 2006. There was really no reason to leaver the grounds except to go downtown to shop...We are going back in April 2008 with friends and will stay here again!!!!!!Our friends won't believe it until they see it!!!!!

i recently went to Cancun with 4 of my really good girlfriends to celebrate our high school graduation..and while we were expecting a crazy time in cancun...none of us expected the emmaculate service..everyone was super friendly and glad to assist you..the entertainment staff was the most fun of all...they had us playing volleyball, football, and would come out with us at night. good tip is to go with the hotel to the clubs..u get vip treatment with a special section to sit in and unlimited drinks. the food was excellent, the drinks were divine...i can't wait to go back there again!

Awsome hotel. Has everything you would need in a hotel. The employees were outstanding and the service was excellent. I recomend this hotel to my friends.

i loved the place!!! the food, shows, and service were great. the pool and beach was fun and we were never bored. The rooms were comfortable and the view was brath-taking!

The location of this resort is in the middle of the hotel zone. They have an open buffet style eatery and a more formal one only open at night; both are really good. The open bar serves weak drinks would be my only suggestion for improvement. The room was clean but the "features" are very limited (such as the cable, Internet and telephone service). The "store/shop" was very overpriced, so bring your own film and sunscreen!

My family in a group of 13 vacationed here for the wedding of my daughter the week of aug 4th thru the 11th.The wedding was very nice and my daughter was happy so that is all there is to that. As for the hotel the reviews are pretty much on target. The rooms are nice, the hotel is very, very clean and the service from the various employees is top notch. Whether in the bars, the pools, or the beach, the employees were very attentive and could not do enough for you. Tips were graciously accepted by never sought out. Some people have complained about the service at the front desk by I had no problem. The first room they put us in did not have a working air conditioner. They switched us the next day to an ocean front room which was an upgrade and everything was fine. I also will agree to the reviews on the food. The two buffet style restaurants are okay for breakfast and maybe lunch but supper is pretty much inedible. After eating there once and checking it out a second night, we spent the rest of the week eating out in nearby restaurants on the strip. Seems silly after spending money for an all inclusive meal plan but it was better than eating that buffet food. Marias, the one night we went there, was fine. The main pool gets crowded during the day and you really need to reserve shaded chairs very early in the morning but there are always enough chairs to go around if you don't mind the sun. The beach is very nice and the ocean water is about 90 degrees in temperature all the time. You never want to come out. One last comment that is a bit negative. Granted I vacationed in the hottest month but their lobby is an open air lobby. There is absolutely no airconditioning and it is incredibly hot in there all the time. The reason I mention this is that the only bar they have inside the hotel is the lobby bar. It is beautiful and a nice place to sit around and have a drink but it is so hot that you can't stay more than a half hour without soaking through your clothes with sweat. They don't so much as have a celing fan to move the air. As a result most people don't stay there very long. A big negative for me. In conclusion it was a nice place for the money but I would try a different property in the future, maybe something a bit more upscale.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Cancun. We went last year and are going back this year! The staff was very friendly, our room had a fantastic view of the Caribbean Sea and the location was perfect for us. It is about a 5-10 minute bus ride to shopping and nightclubs. They have several restaurants to choose from in the hotel and the food was good. I have told all of my friends if they vacation in Cancun to make sure they stay here! It was a great experience!!!!

Service was fantastic, food was great, everything was very clean... value was all we could have hoped for. I would go back in a heart beat.