Hotel Riu Palace Antillas

RIU It all started out ok at check-in. Was greeted with some sort of Rum cocktail. The room was ready on time. The Bellhop walked us up & into our room. We were pleasantly surprised that there were decanters of common types of alcohol inside a contraption on the wall above our fridge. My Fiancée cannot tolerate Rum too well so on Day 1 she called the front desk to inquire about getting the Bacardi replaced with any type of tequila.The person answering said that they don’t think this can be done but that they’d see what they can do. Day 2 still no change. On Day 3 we returned to our room to find that not The Bacardi but the VSOP had been replaced with Gin. Appreciate the courtesy but what was the logic? We believe that because of that call about the Liquor & the trouble with our room key for the second time we received a letter under our door from a Jaqueline Kelly, The Front Office Manager offering to meet with us but we never followed through on this. The pool area was nice and there was the typical patron-habit of putting down a towel on a lounge chair but never using it for hours at a time but that’s everywhere these days it seems. We managed to find a spot somewhere nonetheless. Later in the afternoon there’s poolside entertainment and it was rather lively. At the poolside bar there were drinks available but the cups they offered just weren’t too appealing and were rather small. The cups were the size of something you’d put OJ in at breakfast; If I had to guess they were probably around 7-8oz. At this same bar there are also water dispensers where you could fill up these cups or fill up your own insulated cup as well. Gotta stay hydrated! Back at the room, In our bathroom the ceiling fixtures on the whether it was a light or the motion detector there were some with an unsealed gaps that easily could’ve been finished nicer with some caulk. Overall our Suite was well appointed, there was a very nice sized balcony with unmatched privacy. It seems just that the maintenance of things especially the fixtures were lacking. One bothersome thing and it may seem picky but why wouldn’t there be a soft-close toilet seat at a 4/5* Hotel? There was daily housekeeping Service but for some odd reason there was a lack of replacement towels even though we left the soiled ones on the floor. Usually we take a shower after our morning activities & then head to the beach/pool/sight-seeing and then another shower prior to heading to dinner. One would think there should be at least 2 sets of towels after the room is made. The TV signal went out on our 3rd night prior to heading to dinner and I called the front desk. Their response was that they were working on it. We did notice that there were other electronic devices around the hotel halls that did also seem to be offline so it must’ve been a systems issue. We did make additional calls to the front desk about the tv and the response was always “we’re working on it”. One can only guess what the overall issue was. Maybe they were hacked? Never did see any sort of repair team around the hotel. The TV signal never returned for the remainder of our stay. On the Main floor near the lobby, the Bar there was always a happening space around dinnertime. Also around that time across from there and down the hall a bit near the casino there was a bar station that offered a drink of the day and I thoroughly enjoyed the night they offered the Old Fashioned. I went with the smoked option and wasn’t disappointed. One thing that was one of biggest issues that really bothered us was that our room keys constantly became de-programmed. We followed the front desk advice, kept them away from our phones and other magnetic material. It always seemed to happen at the most inopportune moments. I’m talking 10-15 different instances over a 6 night stay. In talking with others staying at the resort they had similar experiences. What they could really use is a bracelet that also acts as a door key like others have at other neighboring hotels. The grounds were well manicured, when encountering staff in the halls we were always greeted with a smile. It seemed like the staff were rather pleasant. The Buffet Restaurant was one of the better experiences I’ve encountered during any vacation I’ve been on. There were options for any kind of appetite it seemed & lots of variety. The omelette station was great at breakfast as well as the pancake/waffle station. The Pasta station at dinner was fabulous, there was also a Sushi section though I cannot speak on that as I avoided it this trip. At lunchtime there’s a separate buffet area near the grill on the pool floor. There too they had some great selections. We didn’t choose the Elite package and although I understand they pay more for their experience but it seems unfair that they can make reservations to The Specialty Restaurants yet the regular folks can only wait on a line & hope there’s an opening. Never were afforded the opportunity to enter The Steakhouse because of this policy. We got to try The French Restaurant and we were disappointed that there weren’t any of the typical French items on The Menu other than Onion Soup. We were looking forward to having some Escargot but wasn’t an option and were told that it never is on the menu. Also disappointing was The Waiter denying my Fiancée from ordering multiple Entrees. She wanted to have us each share one them as a second but he said that policy doesn’t allow it. Later during our meal the Maitre De came over to ask how our experience was and we were straight with her about that and she said that we should’ve had our waiter ask her; it shouldn’t have to come to that and besides that our waiter never offered to check on it; he was adamant about the policy. Overall the experience staying at The RIU was average. There were some major inconveniences but there were also some highlights. The Buffet, The Balcony and The Bar experience were positives but The Room Key, Towel issue, Specialty Restaurant & Liquor were the negatives. When shopping another All-Inclusive in the future I’d probably go with another brand before staying at another RIU again.

Love the location & the staff! As far as the food, buffets are great but for dinner prefer to be served. Unfortunately, as far as the 4 restaurants, we are only happy with the Steak restaurant, which is difficult to get in! We have been to the Riu 4 times & the last 2 times had most dinners at restaurants outside the hotel. Wish all 4 were good! As far as entertainment, we have enjoyed the music at night (especially downstairs outside) more than most of the shows. Also, sound system too loud in Carnaval Theater! As far as pool music, wish they would play caribbean music, steel drum music & more American music too! Say this after each stay!

I would like to say this is easily my wife and I most favorite place we have ever been to. Aruba weather the laid-back safe environment the lay out of the hotel the fantastic beach and service without expectation, make this property truly a gem.The restaraunts and buffet are exceptional and the first come first serve on the beach and restaraunts is the fairest possible way of dealing with expectations.So you go grab a pager get cleaned up and go to dinner, or you get up have a cup of coffee and claim a chair, eat breakfast and enjoy the day truly paradise.I didn't even negotiate room placement and found our room on the 7th floor to be great.

One main reason for doing all inclusive is not having to live by a clock for your reservation, trying to find a restaurant, wait for a table or waiting in line for a table. SHOULD BE EASY!!!! Yet almost every review for this property states the same thing. ‘to get into a restaurant you have to wait in line starting at 5 pm every night for over an hour and once you have waited an hour plus you are turned away due to being booked for the evening’. And amazingly every response from RIU is the same robotic response- ——- thank you for helping us learn from your experience. REALLY! Obviously no one cares since majority of your guests have the same complaint and it has not been addressed. No thank you, not interested in spending $8500 for average buffet every evening for a week. No to this property in my vacation future.

Just returned from 5 nights at the Riu Palace Antillas. The location was perfect. Beach and pool were beautiful. The room, a JR suite was average and small. They need to replace their towels, some of them were thread bare. Like a lot of resorts now a days, they try to be conservative and not replace the towels every day. That would be fine except for there's really no place to hang your towel once you've used it. In the bathroom there was a large wall with nothing on it. They could easily install a few towel racks there. Right now it's wasted space. The food, again just average, nothing special at all. I think for the price, they need to do some updating. Staff was all very friendly and helpful. Would we go back? The juror is still out on that.