Hotel Riu Palace Antillas

Extremely fantastic resort in a great area! The beach area was amazing and there was plenty to do in walking distance if the resort. Staff was excellent in all facets. Mirian was our favorite at the buffet area. Best buffet food at any resort we have been at.

Google review summary 4.2 3,761 reviews 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star Reviews on other travel sites Tripadvisor 4/5 · 6,359 reviews Priceline 7.9/10 · 172 reviews Reviews Search reviews Nicole just now on Google 1/5 Vacation ❘ Couple Had a trip booked at the Riu Antillas 1 full year in advance for my partner and I after he was deployed for the past year. We booked a full year in advance (which is the earliest the hotel website allows you to book) and splurged for the oceanfront suite (the top tier of available rooms). When we arrived and got to our room, I noticed that it was a partial ocean-view suite, not oceanfront. When we addressed this with the front desk, we were informed that the hotel "overbooked" and they are unable to provide the room that we had booked, as it was not available until halfway through our trip. This was never relayed to us when we first got our room assignment, as they clearly hoped that we would not notice or say anything. We were told we would be getting a partial refund for the difference in room types and to touch base with management throughout our stay. We checked in with them every day and were informed the refund would be put back on the booking credit card. We were ultimately moved to the correct room for the last couple nights of our trip. We touched base with the staff before check out stating that we needed documentation sent to us of the refund, as we had not received it yet, so that we did not run into issues getting it once we returned home. We were told there would be a refund of $1269 placed back on our card and have email documentation of this amount from management. Fast forward multiple MONTHS of not receiving a refund, RIU fighting our credit card dispute, we finally received a refund of $634. When I reached out regarding the incorrect refund, I was informed that the original calculated amount was incorrect and that we would only be receiving that half. This went on for multiple months with me reaching out to management multiple times, and the hotel has still not refunded us our full promised amount. The hotel began offering an "elite club" booking option back in October of 2024, which they converted all oceanfront rooms to. This was put into place 7 months following our booking, meaning the hotel bumped our booking in order to charge guests more for the "elite club" experience. What was supposed to be a romantic vacation following my partner returning home from deployment, ended up being a huge headache and having over $600 taken from us and not returned. I do not recommend the Riu at all.

Overall, my stay was just okay—and unfortunately, the biggest letdown was the room. I had booked an ocean view room, but upon arrival I was told that the room type I reserved was unavailable. Instead, I was shown to an “upgrade” that was anything but—an outdated room on the first floor of the villa side with no real view at all. After raising my concerns, I was moved to a higher floor with a partial view. However, this still wasn’t the room I paid for, and the cleanliness left much to be desired. I found hair in several areas, the floor was dirty, and the bathroom looked like only the vanity had been wiped down. When I complained again, I made it clear that if they couldn’t honor my reservation, I wanted a refund. I was then told that the correct room would be available the next day. By that point, I was frustrated and exhausted, but I agreed to wait. The new room finally had the view I expected and was somewhat cleaner, but even with daily housekeeping, it never felt properly maintained—beyond the bed being made, nothing seemed refreshed. For the price I paid, I expected an immaculate room and the exact ocean view I booked from the start. Instead, it took multiple complaints and two room changes just to receive what I had already paid for. That’s simply unacceptable. On the positive side, the resort grounds, food, staff, and entertainment were excellent. Unfortunately, my room experience overshadowed those positives and left me disappointed. Because of this, I would not choose to stay here again.

Let me start by saying we have been to lots of AI hotels in Mexico, DR, Bahamas, Jamaica. Rooms ok. Drinks at pool bar stink. Only serve 8oz cups with cheap booze. They are too strong when filled with ice and taste terrible. Pool was filthy the first day, but then looked ok afterwards. Guess that may be normal with all the sunscreen after a long day. Service .. sucks. We rented a jeep for the day to drive around. I pulled up to lobby and had my buddy ask the bellman to fill cooler with ice. Well he asked if he was staying in the hotel, he said yes, then asked what room, then he said well go up to your room on the 8th floor and there is an ice machine there. Full service at it's finest there. Then the day before we were leaving, my same friend walked to pool bar that was closing up, and asked for a coke. We were waiting for the steakhouse restaurant to open at 6. The bartender said no we are closed and you can't even get a water. Then the workers just laughed out loud. I mean WTH!!?? I would never recommend this hotel to anyone... RIUs are ok in Mexico and the Bahamas but this one these people are rude and expect tips. Not very pleasant and really disappointed in this place. Oh, no TV the entire week. None of the rooms had any English speaking channels. We were told they were working on it on day 1. At day 7 no tv and no one cares. Stay away... Much nicer hotels here... All inclusive is not worth it. Just glad I didn't fall into the elite club upgrade. 1 week was far too long here.

We’ve been to a few destination resorts, but never been to a Riu, most friends have said Riu was incredible anytime they stay there no matter where they are, so we thought we’d give it a shot. For what it cost, it was highly disappointing. If it hadn’t been in Aruba, and the incredible staff our trip probably would have been a bust. The young kids that run the entertainment crew were the highlight! It’s the first time we’ve ever stayed at an all inclusive resort and had these experiences. I know it sounds like first world problems but when you pay top dollar, we like a little production value! It was all mostly food related. We just always assume we pay high prices because it’s all inclusive and the food options are unlimited. This is not the case with this Riu experience and will set the tone for us to ever consider going to any other Riu. - Not a single person from the hotel staff serving drinks on the beach. We had to get up and go to the pool bar and back every time. - We’re told that we could only order 1 appetizer per person at the Aruban restaurant. Like, what? We’ve never had an all inclusive resort limit the food we could have. It was crazy enough that we were not welcome at the adjoined resort next doors restaurants even though we were told we could go between the 2, but, Like to then have the audacity to have limited places on resort to eat and then tell us we can’t order more than one appetizer!? Like, it wasn’t even an option if we didn’t want to get an entree! - No option to make ANY dinner reservations at any of the restaurants on resort. Aside of the buffet, every night there was a rush to go get in line for first come first serve service. We basically ate at the buffet every day and night or went off resort to eat because you had to wait in line at any other place on resort. - Minimal food options. Lunch was a buffet or a fast food joint serving burgers and fries. Dinner was a buffet, an Arubian restaurant, a steak house, an Italian spot and that’s it!! Oh, and the only restaurant you could go to at the other adjoining resort was….. a buffet, but with kids. So, you can only guess how sanitary that must have been! We didn’t pay top dollar to go to a Golden Coral. - The swim up bar pool was like a swamp. Literally no one gets up to go to the bathroom, there were floating band aids, floating cigarettes and a layer of sun tan lotion on the top. This is where the highlighted entertainment is, so you gotta look past all that to go get into it and watch or be apart of the games. Key take aways, Don’t pay for Riu all inclusive adults only, Aruba can easily and safely be an air bnb type vacation where you buy food and make it at the house and rent a car to drive around and go places or pick a different resort.