Riu Palace Las Americas

I am pretty hard pressed to hand out perfect scores, but this place darn near had me do it. Read on for more... Airport Easy peezy. Deplane, bit of a walk, then a standard customs area, just kinda look for the shortest line. Don’t be sheep and follow the masses. We found a shorter line, then one of the agents opened another line adjacent so we basically had zero wait. There are also restrooms down here. Pro tip, you can fill out the immigration and custom forms online and print. Saves you from fumbling for a pen on the airplane, trying to get your passport for the number, finding flight numbers etc. do all that crap a couple days prior to your departure. Once through customs, gather your bag and then one last pass through security where it seems they just random bag checks. We cruised right through then on to the area I call the (transportation) gauntlet. Lol Airport to hotel transportation We booked the trip through Riu website and opted for the free transfer option. They immediately emailed a voucher for this with good instructions on what to do. The short of it is, read those directions. The key is, ensure you are all the way outside before looking for the guy. The instructions said just that, I failed to follow said instructions, got roped in talking to somebody I should have ignored, and almost bought a time share, or maybe some bus ride to Mexico City, or worse, a time share in Mexico City. Lol. Now, there was a warning that this could take a bit. We found our guy pretty easily once I broke free from the time share folks, and he just had us wait by him near the terminal. There is a little bar there and you can get a little something, drink it while you wait and even take on the shuttle. Now, what I failed to do was inquire about price before ordering. Two margaritas were $38!! Pretty sure I got taken on that one. Drank too much on the plane if you can’t already tell. Lol. Now back to this bus business. We waited, about half a margarita (10 mins?), then was walked out to where all the buses were. Tossed in a van, waited another 5 mins and were off and running. What I can’t figure out is why the wait if they knew there were no other folks heading our same way, as we were the only ones in the van. Trip was about 20 mins. Check in Quick and straightforward. Gave us info on hotel, etc. the only issue we had here was with the bags. Bellhops were on us the second we pulled up. Took our bags as we went to check in. After checking in, went back to give them the room number. They said they would bring right up. Went to room, started getting thirsty and wanted to explore so we bolted. Came back after an hour or so to get ready for dinner, no bags. Went down to lobby, they were just sitting right were we left them. Lol. Grabbed them and that was the end of that little saga. Hotel Very nice overall. Rooms are nice, bathrooms have a nice big shower, above average cleanliness. Bed is nothing I would buy for the house, but it got the job done. Also, remember the climate you are in, room might feel muggy a bit. We did opt for a sea view, which we had but that also can put you above the pools and/or the theater, think possible noise. Keep in mind pools close at 6, well the bars do, lol so this just leaves some noise from the theatre but it’s manageable for sure. Speaking of bars.... Food, bars, restaurants We enjoyed almost everything. All bars open at 10am. Swim up and pool bar close at 6. Art Deco, aka lobby bar and the bar in the theater are both really fun and stay open till 11 or midnight (never made it that far, lol). There is a 24 hour snack bar I swear they called a sports bar, lol. It seems to be staffed all the time which is nice as it remains nice and clean. Now the hot food here is not always the freshest, but if in a pinch, it gets the job done. I think we actually did dinner there one night while watching some playoff football. They have the same little drink set up as you do in your room, and depending on the staff member, they might grab you something else from the lobby bar. For food here, think pizza, and finger foods, (nuggets, taquitos, burger dogs). Had an assortment of apples, bananas etc as well. The main Buffett restaurant seems to be open almost all day. Breakfast rolls to lunch then I think maybe closed for an hour to get ready for dinner. There are a handful of specialty restaurants, and you don’t need reservations!!! We noticed the steakhouse had a bit of a line but willing to bet that dies down pretty quickly. We tried the Japanese (it’s not hibachi), but boy was it good. Also have Italian, Mexican, and Asian fusion. We also tried the Italian, it was pretty decent, and better than most of the reviews I had read about. The Italian one is also open for lunch but believe it’s just a smaller version of the buffet. We found the main buffet to be pretty good just choose wisely,lol. Drinks at all bars were just right and service was quick. Lobby bar got a bit busy on a rainy afternoon but it was doable. Abu in the lobby bar is great and has been there for 16years. There is also a coffee bar that seemed to be popular and had sweets. Did notice they did a lunch outside by the pool on Saturday and it was pretty good. We think this is just a Saturday lunch thing. Pools and beach. Pools are nice and pretty clean. There is a main big one just in the middle. This one seems to be the more laid back pool. To the one side, (right if facing the water), is the pool with swim up bar, and pool bar on the near side. This pool has the volleyball and basketball set up and obviously is the more raucous (read fun) lol. They have an activity staff doing things throughout the day. The beach is actually pretty nice. Couple of different areas. Main beach area directly in front is probably the best for swimming. They actually have water aerobics out there. Beach off to the right is nice but is fronted with big rocks. Further down is another small beach were you can swim but mainly for the water sports stuff. One thing we noticed, that for this time of year, that sun stays a bit low, and hides behind the hotel in many spots. So you have to be selective on where you camp out (both beach and pools) if you want total sun. If you want shade, that seemed pretty easy to find, best I could tell that main middle pool stayed shady most of the day. Summary Very nice stay, very clean grounds/hotel, good drinks and decent food. We will definitely consider a return.

This will be a lengthy review; for anyone looking for a quick recommendation: this resort was the BEST! For those craving more details: read on! We were met at check in with a glass of champagne. I don’t really drink champagne, so the waitress went back and brought me a jack and coke. We were vacationing with another couple, the gentleman at check in heard us talking about how we hoped our rooms were close, so he put us side by side (even though I’m not sure we initially were). The maid service for the room was excellent, and our fridge initially had several drinks we didn’t care for, but leaving an empty with $5 under it changed all that, and the next day the fridge was all drinks we would drink! The food was great! There were many options: for breakfast, there is an omelet bar, countless types of eggs available, and the breakfast buffet is large! For lunch: another great variety! On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the resort does bbq on the beach! For supper: a sushi restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a steakhouse, the buffet, and Krystal (we didn’t try this one). Honestly, this was my first resort, so I can’t compare the food to other resorts, but compared to home, the food was fantastic! The entertainment staff was awesome! there were things to do on the resort each night, from bingo and blackjack to karaoke! Some nights there were shows, and live music. They were very engaging, and we participated in almost every event! Adrian, Janela, and Daniella were all especially great! The bartenders were also great! There is a bar in the theater area (one of many) and these guys never let a drink go empty (we tipped generously). Thank you Santi, Ernesto, and Ulises! The area around the resort was very safe, we walked around several days. Pro tip: visit Chedraui (a three story grocery store two blocks down from the resort) day one for souvenirs, alcohol, and toiletries at half the price of anywhere else! We had an absolute blast in Cancun, and Riu Palace las Americas was the main reason why!! My wife and I highly recommend!!