RIU Tequila - All Inclusive

We had heard a lot of good things about Riu resorts and went in with high expectations. My husband and I had stayed at a Sandals Resort last year and loved it. We were overall so disappointed with the Riu Tequila (and Riu's in general since we could go to other Riu locations in the area). We loved the bartenders and drinks. The bartenders were attentive and the drinks were strong and delicious. Our room was clean and overall pretty comfortable, however it was very noisy. We could hear every noise that people made in the hall, which made for poor sleeping in the morning. I had to sleep with ear plugs in and my husband slept with pillows over his ears. The pool area was nice but way too crowded. You could never find a seat since everyone reserved them in the morning and never went back to them (although this was against the rules but never enforced). The food was horrible. It was all buffet style and never very good. They had two restaurants you could make reservations at (which were also just buffet style) but if you didn't get up between 7 and 8AM you couldn't sign up for the restaurants and there was no other way to get in, even if they weren't full. We managed to make a reservation one night and there were so many open seats but they still turned people away because they didn't have a reservation. It was ridiculous. The Riu staff was not friendly or helpful. They did the minimum and nothing beyond that. The customer is "never" right seemed to be the motto at the Riu Tequila. The Riu did not cater to 30 year-olds without kids. It wasn't exactly family oriented but there was nothing to do after 10pm except go to the local sports bar or disco, which were both filled with 18 year-olds getting smashed (who knows where the parents were). We will never return to a Riu. We are already planning our trip for next year...Sandals all the way!

A much less satisfatory hotel than the Riu Cancun I stayed at 3 years ago and which I enjoyed for 3 weeks. RIU TEQUILA is far away from Playa del Carmen. 3.5 kms to get to the exit of the Playacar compound; then you need to add another 2 kms to get to the nice parts of the village. No buses are available from the hotels to the village; only an expensive taxi ride ($10.00 return from the entrance of Playacar to the hotels. Result: I only went to the village once in 2 weeks and bought nothing because the beginning of the village, next to the Playacar compound, has been commercialized in the ugliest and cheapest way possible and was a complete turn-off.The prices, however are far from cheap. There are new hotels downtown Playa del Carmen which would offer a much more satisfactory holiday. None of the restaurants are very good or even good. My first dinner in the main restaurant was excellent; after that it went downhill steadily. The Steak restaurant serves meat that is tough; the Oriental restaurant is average; the beach restaurant is poor. None of the restaurants were anywhere close to being on a par with the RIU CANCUN restaurants where I stayed 3 weeks for the price it cost me for 2 at the TEQUILA. Of course, that was 3 years ago, but still . . . I felt trapped at the TEQUILA. I am middle-aged but in decent shape. However a solid 10kms-a-day walk to go anywhere is not my cup of tea. They have a golf-cart to take clients to the beach. Why can't they have one to take them to the entrance of the PLayacar compound? I certainly would not go back nor recommend it to friends. It's a pity because I had been to Playa del Carmen some years ago in a little hotel downtown and had loved it. They were building Playacar at the time.

We absolutely loved, loved, loved our stay! It was very relaxing, re-energizing and satisfying 6-day get-away. The hotel is super clean, the staff is awesome, and the buffet left us speechless and full. There were still homeless cats and some other weird-looking creatures, but it really did not spoil the comfort of the hotel. We went to visit one of our friends at a different hotel and what a difference: dirty and depressing rooms, dirty bars and facilities, unfriendly staff. RIU Tequila is always full! We booked 8 weeks prior to our trip, and 2 weeks after our booking the hotel disappeared from [...] (it was ALL booked up!!!). The housekeeper kept leaving cute swans, elephants, doggies made out of the towels. Several things that would make it even a better hotel: bathroom robes, slippers (the floor was always cold), and a little heater. The rooms were a bit damp in the evening especially if it was not a very hot day. So bring warm pajamas, it will help! :) Also, my bf and I were looking forward to soaking in jacuzzi, but it was small and located on the 2nd floor at the Spa Center. Was not the best location, but we survived! The buffet was awesome. We could use the buffet facilities at other RIU hotels: Yucatan and etc. It was very useful. We soaked in the sun all day long and went for lunches right at the beach (RIU Yucatan facilities are right off the beach). The food was delicious and had all sorts of food even french fries and pizza for picky little eaters! Coconuts right on the beach!!! Yam! Several times we woke up at 7 am to book specialty restaurants, but we found the buffet much more satisfying! Maybe steakhouse was the only good alternative. Asian restaurant was nothing special at all! :) The walk to the beach is short and very beautiful. You can always take a little golf cart there. Perfect!!! It an awesome hotel for the money you pay!!!

The food was good for an all Inclusive, the food at the speciality dinners was better. The entertainment was very good.

So many side trips to choose from. The Three guided tours we really enjoyed were: Rio Secreto Nature Reserve, Dive Mike Caribbean diving, and the Mayan Xtreme over the edge. Then for fun we took the ferry to Cozamel and spent the day shopping in the plaza market

This was our first all inclusive trip, and we loved every minute of it. The hotel staff works so hard (yet makes it look effortless) to make visitors comfortable and entertained. The shows that they put on at night are not to be missed. We had planned to spend a lot of time at the recently refurbished beach (gorgous and not a far walk if the golf carts are too lazy for you), but the sprawling pool is more than adequate with plenty of comfy deck chairs/towel service, lunch nearby, and palapas if you want shade. The swim up bar is fabluous!!! The food was also delicous: the three restaurants are nice if you want a more intimate experience (view at beach club is fabulous!)but honestly we found the food to be the freshest and most varied at the standard restaurant. What the restaurant does to carve centerpeices out of vegetables and ice is breathtaking... The grounds are beautiful. There are five other RIU hotels in the area that you can visit with your bracelet. We had the opportunity to visit RIU Playacar which seemed perfectly nice but like one long stretch. Since it is on the waterfront, the grounds are thin but long. RIU Tequilla felt much more spread out with curving paths, different views depending on which way one walked, and much more variety. There is abundant wildlife to be seen too. It is cool to be able to check out the other RIUs though if you want to. We took a day trip to vist the Mayan ruins of Coba. Visitors can still climb one of the ancient ruins there and see old ball courts too. I recommend cooling off afterwards by swimming in one of the numerous underground cenotes (underground caves). I can't finish this review without mentioning the friendly and professional concierge staff...Joseph was more than accomodating and even send fresh fruit to the room the night my husband was not feeling well. All in all, I would highly reccomend staying at the RIU Tequilla!

Fourth Riu vacation in Playacar area in last two years. Always happy with Riu experience. Unfortunately timed it with beach restoration project but that wasn't Riu's fault. Prefer Riu Palace Riviera Maya, but you get what you pay for.

We arrived late and still found a great buffet going on!! We relaxed by the pool the first day and booked a ziplining excursion to Aktun Chen through Lomas travel. All week the staff were amazing and very accommodating!

Beautiful Hotel! I was very impressed with the service, the dining options and how very well kept all the green areas are. The rooms are big and very clean. It has an excellent location, close to everything you need and the staff is always willing to help you. Would definitely go back.

The overall stay was very nice and the staff was very accomodating. As I was checking in and filling out my paperwork, I was provided with a cool fruity drink after 2 hrs in Customs/Immigration, it was very much appreciated. We took a tour to Chichen Itza, which included lunch at the hotel next door. The lunch was buffet-style, but the food was great (much better than at the RIU - although the food at the RIU was not bad - very "cruise-ship" like). The entertainment at the resort was also good. We also had dinner at the "Beach Club" restaurant at the RIU Yucatan, the food was not great, but the view was certainly worth seeing (esp at night). One interesting thing I noticed at the RIU Tequila was there were quite a few cats that were on the premises. They didn't bother you or anything, but I just found it to be odd. All-in-all it was a great trip/stay and I would do it again.