Riu Playacar

The hotel was clean, staff were pleasant and helpful, good food, nice size of resort and the beach was beautiful. Barely any seaweed, fine white sand, clear blue waters and excellent to swim in! Enjoyed the activities available each day especially the beach volleyball. Wish there was one more pool to use. The swim up bar idea is nice but it was constantly busy and people seemed to stay in there for hours. Entertainment was pretty good. Frustrating that people would reserve chairs everday in the early morning so you could never find one yourself unless you played the same "game" and reserved one too. But felt bad doing so when I wasn't using it a lot of the day. So wish they made a no reserve rule. Drinks were good but they needed another bar, you always had to wait to get a drink, not once in the entire week could I walk up and get one, it was always a wait no matter what bar we used. I liked that there were no mangroves close by. All in all we would stay here again mostly because of the beach. [Details]

We really enjoyed our stay at Riu Playacar, rooms, staff, location, entertainment, food, beach & pools were great, [Details]

We enjoyed our stay at Riu Playacar. Food was great ans staff really made a difference. Special mention to Eduardo and his bar team. Fantastic animation and super service. Abundant beach chairs, great restaurants, very clean !!! [Details]

The hotel was very clean; staff were friendly and helpful. Loved the size of the this hotel. very easy to get around. Food was top notch. !!! [Details]

I want to be fair and do an objective and pragmatic review considering the time of our travel and the world circunstances.
I spent a good amount of time researching hotels. Also this was my 5th time in Mexico and 2nd time in playacar so I was confident I was going to make a good decision. Not the case.
My room was simple and a bit old. Super clean until I found a fake nail in the brochure stand. In all fairness not the place I expect to be cleaned every day. But at least once before new guests. But overall the bedroom was quite clean and towels were replaced even with more frequency that I needed.
The common areas of the hotel were clean and well kept.
Restaurants, I believe that they were under-staffed. But, we never had to wait long for a table. The tables were not clean as I would expected to be, specially during covid. But I leave that to each person criteria and risk acceptance. There was a person at each buffet with sanitizer and everyone used masks. Still you would have to touch the serving tools. I choose to sanitize in and out of the buffet.
Food was the same, day in day out. Nothing notable or special. Was not bad but I will not miss it. Except for New Years Eve this was spectacular at the buffet. Maybe because every single meal was so blah...
Gym was a joke and I didn't even venture it.
Spa was non existent, just typical massage and treatments.
Beach towels, we had some difficulty on the first day. But after that no problem.
Beach, clean and with plenty of beds. Not enough shade. Just palm trees what made us constantly adjust ourselves. The ocean was just amazing and I loved it.
Swim pools, has 4. Very small. I dont use them but didn't seem others did, except for the tinny pool bar. That was crowed and we called the covid covil...
Covid safety. I didnt felt particularly safe, and guard my self more than I wished on vacation, what caused unnnessary anxiety. But again this is something that depend on each individual threshold.
Location, right in front of playacar market, with testing and pharmacy aside from all turistic shops. 15 min walk from Playa del Cármen.
Wi-fi and internet. You can only connect 2 devices. So in the case you have to extend your stay and work that would be hard to do. Network is also unstable.
Animation, I don't particularly like hotel shows and this was not an exception.
I don't think this hotel is a 5 star both in services and facilities so I must be missing something. We paid an extra due to the time of the year, but im not sure that the price/quality ratio matches other hotels in the area. [Details]

Great wonderful staff great food.I can't say enough about our stay it was absolutely wonderful. I would come back again. [Details]

Well maintained grounds, public areas, pools and rooms. Friendly , courteous service. Food excellent. Excellent value for money. [Details]

Great location, beach and pools. Staff are very friendly but seem understaffed. Room is functional, but bed is hard. Very good entertainment. [Details]

it was our 3rd RIU in Riviera Maya. The beach was perfect as in all RIUs.
Animators were great, the evening shows were very good.
The food was not bad but worse than in RIU Yucatan or Palace RM.

One of the sinks sewage was leaking and was repaired after our complaint.
Magnet contactor on the balcony door was broken and never fixed so the air conditioner did not turn on sometimes. Toilet flashing was not good and needs 2-3 times.
My wife was once food poisoned and vomited 3 times. [Details]

Not very impressed with this resort. If I had nothing to compare to it may have been nice, but when compared to other resorts I've stayed at, it is not that great. Still had a good vacation, but the place needs some work 9mostly the rooms and the food). [Details]

Overall great resort. We had issues when we checked in as the room assigned (6114) had a bad paint odor and we had an infant with us so requested to be moved the next day. The second room was fine. Food is good quality and lots of variety and vegetarian options. A couple theme nights but most of the food was predictable day to day. Mexican night was by far the best. The other restaurants were all good but we didn't try the Chinese as people mentioned it wasn't very good beforehand. Beech is excellent not a lot of shade but we always managed to find spots under a tree. Pools were great kids had a lot of fun. Rooms are a bit dated but overall clean and no issues. Would recommend and would return again. [Details]

Returned from RIU Playacar December 7th and we couldn't be happier with our stay. The hotel is clean, food and drinks are awesome with lots of choices. The beach is beautiful, tons of loungers and plenty of shade. The pools are nice although we don't go to Playacar for the pools. Pool bar is great, excellent service. Live music was a nice touch in the evenings before the shows. [Details]

AVOID!! We chose to stay at Riu Playacar with most of our international wedding guests, despite it's higher pricing for our wedding days due to previous good experiences with the chain.

I noted during our reservation that this booking was for our wedding, so I was a little surprised to find we were not congratulated when we arrived or treated special in any way - words are free. My surprise soon turned to bewilderment when we discovered the hotel had put the brides parents room next to ours. This is despite the booking stating "We are staying for the night of our wedding", clearly there is a disconnect in the attention to detail or common sense here, no bride wants to spend her wedding night in a room next to her parents.

We had to spend 1 of our days moving room, wasting our time and creating more stress at what is already a stressful time. Unfortunately, the poor experience did not end there. After finally moving to our new room, we were getting ready to go out when my wife screamed due to finding a cockroach in the shower. I also had found one in the sink at the previous room but kept it quiet because I did not want to get her worried about bugs and hygiene in the hotel we are paying a small fortune to stay in.

Between the hotels mistake and the wedding planning we hardly had a chance to eat but when we did we were disappointed to find the buffet food was average, where Riu usually has such an amazing buffet. This combined with a general rudeness from staff which made you feel as though any question or request was painful for them is something we have never experienced at Riu or any other hotel before.

85% of our 50 guests were staying at the hotel, so we arranged transport to pick up the group from there. 6 of our guests who were not staying waited in the lobby with the rest of the group that did stay at the hotel. The playacar hotel was so short sighted and rude they said our guests could not wait in the lobby and will need to wait outside, seemingly not understanding the purpose of a lobby. We also had issues with the hotel trying to refuse to let our transport enter because of this.

The final straw and worst experience of all was when on our wedding night, one of our friends who was not staying at the hotel asked to use the toilet in the lobby while he waited for us. He was not only told he could not use the toilet but was told he would have to leave since he was not staying. I witnessed the security guard physically push him, he then pushed back and the security guard fell over. Security then physically threw our friend out of the building narrowly missing me the groom, I calmed my friend down who was ready to get physical back and reassured him I had seen the assault and would address it from here. He then left in the peaceful manner in which he had arrived.

I did not choose Riu for average food, lack of attention to detail or cockroaches in rooms. I did not choose to pay your ridiculous prices per night to stay at your hotel chain so it could assault my guests over using a bathroom. I did not choose Riu so it could do everything possible to make my wedding more difficult and stressful.

I not only feel defrauded because I did not get what I paid for but I also feel you took what was supposed to be one of the most special nights of mine and my wives lives away from us. I felt it was fair to give Riu a chance to respond before we share this with our social media followers and ask our wedding guests to do the same.

I sent this complaint to Riu Playacar almost 1 month ago, I received a response acknowledging my complaint but there has still been no response or action taken. I will now making sure everyone knows Riu Playacar ruined our wedding accomodation, assaulted our friend and is a disgusting hotel, which brings shame to the Riu name. [Details]

The whole resort was exceptionally clean and the grounds were well manicured. The customer service was excellent. There were a good variety of food choices. The beer selection was only limited to one and the wine choices were minimal. Mexico is not known for its wine. The room was good size. The bathroom design was not well thought out for its size. Small sinks very little storage for toiletries. They could of had more towel racks so you could dry things out in this moist climate. Walk in shower no tub poor shower head. The beds were passable but not that comfortable. The wifi the beach the pool the service was excellent and made up for the deficiencies. There was a lack of staff that could speak English. [Details]

We had such a wonderful experience at the Riu Playacar. Everthing was perfect! Since we have stayed at many all-inclusive resorts in the past, I would rate this hotel 4 1/2 stars.

Hotel Highlights

- Front Desk Agents were helpful and attentive. Our check-in went smoothly and a welcome drink was given to us. Since our room was not ready (check-in time is at 3 pm), our luggage was stored.
- The lobby is immaculate and modern. Activities are organized early evening in that area: Latin band, casino night, games, dance lessons, etc. It is nice to hang out there before deciding where to have dinner.
- Location: Located in the Playacar gated community, it is safe and conveniently located, 25 minute walk from Playa del Carmen.
- Beach = perfection. Long stretch of sandy beach with immaculate ocean water. You can borrow kayaks and boogie boards on site and rent other equipment. There is a bartender that comes with a tray of various drinks. Lots of loungers and shade available.
- Restaurants: The à la carte restaurants do not require reservations, so you can walk in! The Italian is also opened for lunch at 12:30; if you are looking for a quiet meal in air conditioning, keep that in mind. The Japanese is a buffet style, which is great. It offers a wide range of items such as sushi, Chinese food, etc. It is not difficult to obtain a table there. The Steakhouse (same location has the Mexican, which we have not tried) was delicious and is quite popular, overlooking the pool and beach. Be prepared to be full when you exit! This is where we received the best service. The two buffets (one by the lobby and one by the pool) offer a wide range of items that can please everyone.
- Pools: They have one quiet pool, the activity pool and the swim up bar Las Olas. A nice addition are the pool loungers and the tables in the swim up bar. The pools close at 8pm which is great. You can also get a massage by the beach.
- Activities: a wide range of activities are organized throughout the day: stretching, aqua-exercise, rifle shooting, darts, bingo, zumba, ping pong, BBQ by the beach. Once a week, they have a pool foam party with water balloon fight and a beach party with a live band and coconut drinks. I recommend them both, they are a lot of fun. Zumba on the beach is the best... A suggestion for the hotel: always have Zumba by the beach as it is the best location!
- Bars: We enjoyed having a drink at the lounge bar La Cumbia before dinner, it's quiet before the shows. The bartenders do a great job. The lobby bar Anana is opened 24 hours a day and offers snacks such as fruit, Danishes, and hot dogs/hamburgers you can warm up in the microwave. The pool bar has tables where you can chill and also offers nacho chips and pop corn.
- Room: clean, modern, with a table and chairs inside and outside on the balcony, lots of storage, double sink, hair dryer, and complimentary safe. Large shower, mini fridge restocked every 2nd day, and with the famous RIU liquor dispensers. The maid leaves Hershey kisses chocolates and animals made of towels. By the end of the week we have a full zoo in our room!
- The resort is impeccable and the gardens are immaculate.
- Free WiFi in the lobby and pool areas.
- It only takes 5 minutes or less to walk from the lobby to the beach.
- Free access to the RIU Yucutan and RIU Tequila, except for dinner.
- Amazing sunrise!
- All employees do a really good job, they work really hard to please the guests. We tipped our entire stay, which is appreciated.

How RIU could reach 5 Star

- Offer free bike rentals at the RIU Tequila. Why charge your guests $6USD for a half day?
- Have to order drink service at tables at the Plaza, lobby, and pools/beach areas.
- Offer a full bar service at the buffet and at the à la carte restaurants (not just beer and wine).
- Upgrade the buffet warm up/heat lamp system to ensure that food is kept at a warmer temperature.
- When a guest makes a special room request upon booking (i.e. 2nd floor on the courtyard side), attempt to accommodate their request, and if the request cannot be granted, acknowledge their request at check in.
- Offer Room Service
- Rectify the subtle sewage smell at the Plaza and in the guestrooms.

Thank you RIU for this outstanding stay; we certainly will recommend your hotel and would return! [Details]

Beach is wonderful. Staff are great, evening entertainment was quite good, and pool area was quite clean. BUT rooms were small with a funny layout with the washroom. And the rooms were damp; beds the worst, damp, musty and had a strong musty smell. Became uncomfortable to sleep with this as you woke up smelling like this. If you sat on the beds, you were damp after as well. Food seemed fresh and there was a selection, but still IS NOT that good (soup and bread was my staple). DO NOT EAT at Jade a la carte, got quite ill and bedridden for the next day. Red wine is not, not good. After a couple days, you can't even make yourself drink it anymore (not many options for non-sugar drinks other than beer). The price of our pkg dropped after we booked, this MAYBE worth a good sale price, but certainly was NOT worth what we paid. We will try a RIU again, but most certainly not this one. There is too much selection available to make this one worth staying at again. Sorry. [Details]

Excellent hotel. Great location. [Details]

Although dated and not up the usual Riu hotel standards we found that the rooms were spotless and the beds comfortable. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The beach was one of the better ones that we have seen and the room we had was one of only two or three others that had an ocean view. The food was great and had a good variety at all meals especially at the evening dinner. [Details]

The first couple of days it rained and then after that the weather was nice. The hotel staff, pool, beaches and food were great. The hotel is located in a gated area made up of hotels, houses and condos called Playacar. The location is a short cab ride away from Playa del Carmen which is like a mini Clifton hill in Niagara Falls with souvenir shops, stores and restaurants. Hotel is also close to Xplor, Xcaret and Rio Secreto. Only negative was that the hotel staff wanted to leave our bags in the lobby and not locked up while waiting for someone to bring them to our room. We decided to bring the bags to our room ourselves. [Details]

I enjoyed staying at the Riu Playacar. It is was nice small resort with all of it's amenities near by. From a décor perspective the resort is starting to show it's age, but even as such it was clean and fairly well maintained. I would definitely stay there again if the price was right. [Details]

The hotel was awesome. Great food, good people, especially Aaron at the front desk,and the beach and quality of drinks were wonderful. [Details]

I absolutely love this area in mexico. The hotel has a Mexican feel, it is a shame it will be torn down and redone to look like a vegas hotel this summer. Wish the riu would keep the countries culture in mind. [Details]

The room, beach & pool were great.
All meals were buffet style,but very good.
The staff were genuinely pleasant .
The entertainment was just OK.
We'd definitely go again. [Details]

pleasantly surprised after reading previous reviews [Details]

Way better than Cuba & we had great excursions also.....Great food, good people & staff, great beach, & just an overall great experience [Details]

We were disappointed upon arrival when the front desk staff asked the couple in front of us what type of room they would like. When we asked if we had a choice of room we were told no and that we would have to wait until 3 pm for check-in when our room would be ready. As we arrived at 11 am the front desk told us to leave our luggage unattended in the front lobby and to go down to the beach buffet for some lunch. We were told that a secure room to lock our luggage in was not available. We ended up lugging our suitcase down to the buffet. Our initial impression of the grounds was that visually it was clean. The whole resort had a damp and musty smell as we walked the grounds. Our room was in the green building at the front. We ended up lugging our suitcases up the stairs to the third floor as the front desk didn't offer to get anybody to bring our luggage to the room. The room was mouldy/musty smelling. The mini bar was not fully stocked and some of the pop bottles had already been opened. The bed was hard and the sheets were rough like sandpaper. We could never get the ac to get the room cold enough. It ran so much that it started to drip and created puddles on the floor at the front door. We asked for a matress pad the following day and were told that none would be available until the following day so we had to sleep on a hard bed with lumpy pillows for 2 days. Our bed sheets were only changed 2 times for our entire stay. The pillow cases were not changed for the entire week and our mini bar was only restocked once. We constantly had to ask the front desk for bottles of water daily because of this. The buffet was okay but the selection was limited to the same items for 7 days and we soon grew tired of the food. The buffets are not very allergy friendly for those with food intolerances. You are also out of luck if you need a late night snack as food was not always available in the early morning hours. This resort reuses the plastic cups that they serve drinks in. We were a little disturbed one afternoon when we saw one of the bartenders rinsing used plastic cups in the bar sink by hand and putting them back in the pile to reuse without properly washing and sanitizing them. The beach was okay but very narrow. The water was warm but it we didn't find it as nice as the waters in Cuba and the Mediterranean. The nightly entertainment was limited to the same dance troupe doing the same dances wearing different costumes every night. We ended up at this resort to attend a friend's wedding ceremony. We tried overlook the bad and made the best of our vacation. We would not return to the Riu Playacar as we have been to many other resorts elsewhere which we found to be much nicer with better service and more friendly staff. [Details]

enjoyable, friendly, quiet, great beach [Details]

We found the hotel to be very clean and just the right size. The staff was friendly and very helpful. [Details]

My spouse and I just returned from a week vacation at the Riu Playacar. We arrived in the evening and we were the only ones checking in so check in was quick and easy. We also received the room and building that we had requested which was a nice surprise.
The beach and ocean at this resort is fantastic. We have been to Punta Cana several times and the crystal clean water and sandy bottom beats Punta Cana hands down. The waves in the ocean were a fun addition to swimming in the ocean. Another plus for this beach is that no matter what time you arrived, there was always an abundance of chairs. The towel game is not necessary at this resort!!
We found the food fairly good, better than in the DR or Cuba.
The resort size was perfect for us and if one wanted more night life, the Tequila was next door.
The rooms were clean and spacious.
We really have no complaints about this resort other than an excursion we booked that went terribly wrong, but that of course is an issue with our tour operator.
We would love to return to this resort, however, we were told it was being torn down next year to rebuild something bigger. That is a shame! [Details]

been ther before and nothing has changed [Details]