Riu Palace Aruba All Inclusive

This was our first time in Aruba for my husband and myself. We were in a poolside,oceanview room with a king size bed, and jacuzzi bathtub. It was the most wonderful and relaxing vacation we have ever taken. For an all inclusive we felt the buffet was excellent. We weren't too impressed with the restaurants they had, so we just did the buffets all the time. The drinks were top shelf alcohol. This Rio had mostly families and older couples. Which was fine with us. But if your looking for more stuff for the 20 something group,like a disco, this Rio does not have one. This hotel is in the high rise hotel area, this helps to block the wind. We will definitly be coming back to this hotel.

My wife and I chose the Riu for our 10th anniversary getaway. It was just short of perfect in our opinion. The staff was fantastic, the food was wonderful, and the location was beautiful. The only thing we could come up with to complain about would be the restaurant reservation process and seating times, and the spa prices. You must make your reservations in the lobby between 9AM and 12PM each day and you get to choose from a 6:30 or 9:00 seating. If you don't make reservations or don't like those times, your only choice is to eat at the Don Nicolas buffet (which is actually great food for a buffet). The spa services were wonderful, but the prices were inflated by at least 30% (although I don't think the Riu actually owns the spa). tl;dr : My wife and I were discussing plans to come back next year at the end of our first day there.

This was our first trip to Aruba on our honeymoon so we really didn't know what to expect. The Riu surpassed my expectations for sure, it was amazing. It is a larger hotel so there are more people than other hotels but they manage everyone extremely well (we also believe there are so many people because it's such a great resort). From our experience, everything was great if you are a reasonable person. The food was delicious and the drinks were free flowing at all of the bars. You do need to wake up extremely early to reserve a cabana but they do allow you to go back to your room and go to bed (just wrap a towel around the cabana - mildly annoying but it's worth it!). We saw some bad reviews but truly don't understand them; these people have to been extremely picky and unreasonable for the most part. The hotel accomodates you, you're in paradise, and nothing is perfect. We went on the Antilla 3 hour snorkel trip (arranged through Red Sail Sports across from the Riu) and had a great time!! Sunken ships and tons of fish, it was raining and we still had a great time. We also went on the ABC 4 hour jeep tour (also arranged through Red Sail Sports) which was ok...it wasn't organized that well (we started an hour late) and the sites aren't that thrilling to see, with the exception of the natural pool. I would highly recommend the Riu to all of my family and friends and consider going to another Riu in other parts of the world.

This hotel is reminicent of "Ceasar's" The pool is gorgeous, and the hotel definitely earns bragging rights. The beach is right off the pool, although what is weird is that there aren't outdoor bathrooms by the pool and bar area. You have to cut thru the open air cafeteria and then feel guilty going in there with your wet suit. What is nice is that this hotel has a 24x7 sports bar that is open, if you want to take advantage of your all inclusive drink options. In the sports bar, they have hot dogs, sandwiches, fruit, nachos and popcorn readily available for snacking. The hotel is very nice, and the rooms are so great (we stayed in a junior suite). The junior suite felt like a little apartment, and it was always spotless. In the rooms there is a mini fridge that is stocked and also some in room liqueors (vodka, gin, whiskey etc). Activities go on during the day by the pool, there aren't a TON of activities but just enough to not be annoying. It didn't seem like a big 'hit' for small children, this hotel, it isn't unfriendly toward kids, just prob could be more to do at the holiday inn or other hotel that caters more to children. I really enjoyed the stay at Riu, though, I was disappointed that I did pay for the all inclusive because the food was just ok. Next time we decided we would try the Raddision next door.

We enjoyed the hotel and would stay there again if we ever go back to Aruba.

Aruba was so beautiful and the hotel was the best!!! we will be back

The resaurants were better than average for an all-inclusive. The buffet was pretty good also. Resort and rooms were beautiful! Lack of elevators that work and there are too few!! Staff was friendly and drinks were great!The entertainment left much to be desired!!

Overall, great trip. If you want an umbrella by the pool make sure to be up at 6am...otherwise burn in the sun or $25 by the beach

very nice property, great pool & beach, friendly staff,food was good, only thing we didnt like was having to make reservations for ala carte restaurants every morning starting at 9.00am. there has to be a better way. we have been to 3 different riu locations and we have enjoyed our stays.

We had only one complaint about the hotel, the bed was very hard. Other than that, everything else was perfect. Staff was very friendly and the food was great.