Hotel Riu Palace Antillas

H6120NGcharlened wrote a review September 2025
Santa Barbara, California

This hotel and staff exceeded our expectations!!

We have stayed at other Riu hotels in Cancun and were a little skeptical due to our previous experiences...This hotel and staff exceeded our expectations!! Food was excellent, the staff were excellent, especially Luis at the front desk!! Location was perfect! We ate at the steakhouse twice because we enjoyed Owen the waiter there, we all appreciate the sunset photos he took of us and others while waiting for our dinner!! We never had to ask for anything, drinks always refilled and the food choices at the buffet were excellent. We needed a cab- no problem, they called for one and was there in 2 minutes. Hotel room clean, A/C worked and room re-stocked as needed. I enjoyed a mimosa every morning at breakfast! Everyone had a smile on their face. Could not have asked for a better experience. We definitely will be back!!

Date of Stay: August 2025

SG679 wrote a review September 2025
Los Angeles, California

Rooms not cleaned well & Customer Service needs improvement

We stayed at this location for our anniversary and were truly disappointed by a few things. Front desk worker Evandra put us in a room that was not ready, required the beds to be put together when our reservation requested a king bed, and had our room next to the service doors. When we ask for a change, she stated we would have to wait until the next day. Unacceptable. She was rude to us even when we were leaving the hotel, not acknowledging us or providing excellent customer service, that we were told the RIU brand offers. When we ask if we could leave our luggage with concierge, so that we could have breakfast before our departure, the one thing she did say to us was to leave it unattended at the luggage counter, when we stated we were concerned about theft, she just laughed at us, so we took our luggage with us to the dining room and they accommodated us. This made our experience very unpleasant. After speaking with the manger Genoveva Gonzales upon check-in, she was able to put us in a real king bedroom, however the room was filthy (I have photos if needed). After a 10-hour flight from California and spending 7,000 USD on this trip we were very disappointed and had to wait 2 hours for housekeeping to come and I had to clean the room myself while housekeeping changed our bed just so we could go to sleep. This resulted in us losing a day of our anniversary vacation.

Manager Genoveva was able to make a reservation at 2 of the restaurants offered at the resort for us, however your policy on not allowing guest to make a reservation in advance and if we arrive and they are out of space on the waiting list, then we would not be able to eat there is unacceptable. Last, I felt my safety was in questioned. My husband and I went to the casino to play the slot machines and a European man walk up and put his hand on my back and made me very uncomfortable and my husband extremely upset. We have never experienced this treatment in our lives at any hotel non-the less a hotel that should be 5 stars. Unfortunately, we were not happy with our experience at the RIU and unsure if we will ever come back. We expected so much more from a 5 Star Hotel on our Anniversary. On a positive note there are a few staff members that were excellent and should be noted on their great customer service below; Andreas – Great pool drink server Lobo- Great pool drink server Benjamin – Great pool drink server Paola – Great pool towel organizer Owen- Excellent Server at the Steak House Nelli – Excellent Server for our private Romantic night dinner we did for our anniversary

Date of Stay: August 2025

Sooofisticated wrote a review September 2025
Dummerston, Vermont

Not Worth The Money

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.

Date of Stay: March 2025

mmsmie wrote a review September 2025

Terrible service, bartenders rude at pool bar. Asked for a coke at pool bar after it closed and was told no, you cannot even get

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.

Date of Stay: September 2025

mlotero510 wrote a review September 2025
Boston, Massachusetts

Poor room experience

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.

Date of Stay: August 2025

Carlos-hawn123467 wrote a review September 2025

First Aruba Trip

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.

Date of Stay: September 2025

lisavanvleet1824 wrote a review October 2025

Awesome place to stay!!!

Stayed for 2weeks. This was our 3rd time in a row to stay here. Love where it is located and that it is all inclusive. Had a great time, good food, good employees and very relaxing. Love Jaquelina Kelly the Front Desk Manager. She deserves a raise she is just the best. Also, had a lot of fun with the Entertainment group. Axel was great and a lot of fun. All the bartenders and pool waitresses (Jason was outstanding) were amazing. Loved the towel lady by pool -Pao. She greeted me every morning with a hug and was so sweet. Can’t wait to go back next year!!!! ❤️

Date of Stay: September 2025

LightPacker605195 wrote a review October 2025

Aruba, a great place to relax

The adults only RIU Antilles was a very nice relaxing vacation.
Pros:
Ocean is absolutely beautiful. Crystal clear teal blue water and white sand beaches.
There are no people trying to sell you things on the beach.
Cons:
No waiters on the beach to take you're drink orders!!
Speaking of drinks, the cups are extremely small (6 oz?)BRING INSULATED CUPS FROM HOME.
Also, the people that brought cheap blow up floats for the ocean/beach were the happiest
Also, there is no food by the pools or ocean. We would've appreciated lunch poolside.
Pros: Out of all the all inclusive resorts we've gone to, the drinks were the best and strongest here. We definitely got our money's worth!
For the most part, you could always find chairs by the pool. It's more difficult to find chairs by the ocean. You can ask some pool guys that are by the ocean for chairs and they will get it for you.

Pros: Restaurants have delicious food.
Cons: other than the buffet, you have to get in line for dinner starting at 5:30. However, my husband went down at 6:30 and they gave him a beeper. We ended up having to eat between 8 and 8:30 every night.
Room was beautiful. Halls smelled musty and moldy.
The room service is terrible. There's like 2 or 3 choices for lunch or dinner and that's it.

Every RIU employee had excellent customer service. When our safe broke, mtc was called and at our room in 5 minutes.

Aruba will always be our vacation destination!!

Date of Stay: October 2025

P6619HHpamelah wrote a review October 2025

A wonderful family memory made at the Riu Antillas

Great food. Wonderful staff. Very nice room. Entertainment was geared to the younger, party crowd. Music by the party pool was quite obnoxious. The spa was first class. Beach is beautiful. Comfortable layout. Lovely atmosphere. Not located in heart of Palm Beach but only a mile away. All in all we had a very nice time. I was traveling with 3 seniors. Booked through American Airlines Vacations. The package was affordable and we thought a good value. The resort was very clean. Always saw someone mopping or just keeping things neat and nice.

Date of Stay: September 2025

A393IWpatb wrote a review October 2025
Lockport, Illinois

Aruba Get-away

My husband and I celebrated our 33rd Wedding Anniversary at Riu Antillas in Aruba - All Inclusive.
Upon arriving we were greeted with a glass of champaign.
We checked in, went to our room only to discover we were not given what we paid for - An Oceanview Suite. We were told there were none available until following day. The next day, we were moved/reassigned to a room on 18th Floor with a balcony exposing a beautiful, breathtaking, awesome view of Caribbean! The breakfast and dinner buffet was great! A lot of choices. The pool food bar served huge grilled Angus beef burgers with sides or you could choose next door indoor luncheon buffet. I loved eating from salad bar for lunch. We had difficulty getting in Steakhouse for dinner and it appeared they could accommodate more tables but noted there probably wasn’t the capacity at the visible grill for more people. Italian restaurant was good. The food service workers were always very attentive. There were bathroom attendants in every bathroom keeping them clean. The common areas were always being mopped and cleaned. Freddy in the main bar was awesome. Jennifer at pool bar was always smiling and also did a great job. Although it would have been nice for top brand liquor choices in bars. The Cons: pool party music. A variety of genres would have been nice.
The hallways on upper floors could use some freshening up. Overall it was a great stay and would love to come back!

Date of Stay: October 2025

LiaA233 wrote a review October 2025
Washington DC, District of Columbia

Riu Antillas – Extremely Disappointed! Stay at Riu Palace Instead!

Riu Antillas – Extremely Disappointed! Stay at Riu Palace Instead! ⭐

We stayed at Riu Antillas, but ended up spending most of our time next door at the Riu Palace, and thank God for that! The difference between the two is night and day. The vibe, energy, and friendliness at the Palace are on another level. A huge shoutout to Dulcinea at the pool bar — she was an absolute gem! Her kindness and positive energy made our trip so much better.

Unfortunately, Antillas was a huge letdown. A very disturbing incident happened at their steakhouse, and it completely ruined our impression of the resort. For four nights in a row, we tried to get a reservation with no luck. Finally, one evening they signed us up, gave us a ringer, and told us to arrive by 6:30 PM. We waited patiently until 8:00 PM, and when the ringer finally started blinking, we went to the entrance. The hostess coldly told us she hadn’t called us and still had seven parties ahead — even though we had been sitting there the entire time with a blinking ringer in hand.

Then things got even worse. The steakhouse manager, Lissette, came over and was shockingly rude and disrespectful. When my husband tried to read her name tag after asking for her name, she hit his hand and his phone fell to the ground. We immediately reported the situation to the manager on duty, expecting at least an apology or some action — but nothing was done. Absolutely no accountability.

This was completely unacceptable behavior from a supposed “all-inclusive, adult-only, four-star” resort. We felt disrespected, ignored, and disappointed.

If you’re planning to visit Aruba and want a relaxing, friendly, and respectful experience — skip Antillas and stay at Riu Palace instead. The difference in service, attitude, and atmosphere is unbelievable.

Date of Stay: September 2025

FarAway34056000057 wrote a review October 2025

Best vacation spot for couples

Everything was excellent including the all inclusive food, staff, drinks, the room and the hotel. We had the room on the top floor for couples. I wish we had the balcony facing the ocean but our view of the city and partial ocean view was nice. The bathroom was a walk in shower with all the amenities. The entire hotel was always clean. Everything was in walking distance but if you have health issues then you don’t want to walk too far. The atmosphere was warm and inviting centered around vacation/ island mode. The lobby was loud at night but the hallway by our room was always quiet. We stayed at the adult only resort with all inclusive. Definitely worth it.

Date of Stay: October 2025

lanaw950 wrote a review October 2025

Amazing Hositpity at the Riu Antillas

My husband and I I arrived at the Riu Antillas and after we checked into our room we received a phone call from Kevin,who manages the front desk. He asked how our check in process went. We have stayed at this hotel three times and we love the views. This time our view was obstructed. I informed him of that and he immediately tried to find a way to make our view more in the realm of what we were used to. He was able to change our room and my husband and I could not have been happier. True, genuine hospitality. Thank you, Kevin!!! The best part was that I went to the front desk to thank Kevin again, he looked at me, remembered our room number and called me by name. Special! We will be back…again.

Date of Stay: October 2025

Connector26390422517 wrote a review October 2025

Everything you want for a beach vacation

What a fabulous week!! Everything was outstanding. Every single person that worked there was out to make your stay amazing. Facility was spotless. Rooms were spacious. Our room overlooked the pool and ocean. Food and drinks were delicious--buffets or specialty restaurants. Beach and pool were awesome-bartenders and pool attedants were so attentive. Having the resort on the beach is so convenient. We really enjoyed the poolside and nightly entertainment. Brendan, Tyrese and Axel were absolutely amazing. They made everyone feel welcome. Worth going just to see them dance!! I highly recommend this vacation spot.

Date of Stay: October 2025

mgrimes10 wrote a review October 2025
Monroe, Ohio

Resort visit

Food and location was excellent. Loved the swim up bar and direct beach access. There is a short walking distance to a variety of bars, market place and restaurants.

Date of Stay: October 2025

Seaside49287434402 wrote a review October 2025

First time visitors!

It was our first time to Aruba and we were blown away with how friendly people were! We have visited other islands and all inclusives and I can’t say enough how hard the staff works here to please the guests. I read some reviews who said differently prior but still booked and had a great experience with all the staff being friendly and accommodating to say the least.

The rooms are spacious and updated, and the full mini bar was a plus and I appreciated it being restocked daily with beverages. Rooms were always made up and clean upon our return from our adventures. The shower is the star of the show and the hot hot water love it!
Minor cons is I wish there was more then one towel hook in the shower, it seems so minor but when there are two of you and no where to hang the other they just end up on the floor. Secondly having more plugs in the room (American plugs) or a warning to guests to bring conversions, I understand people from other countries come here so it’s battle of the plugs. And the AC, I was fine but my fiancé runs warmer and 69 was not cool enough for him, that’s where the thermostat stops.

Next the food! I’ve been to a lot of all inclusives and the food is either limited or huge menus with mediocre quality. Here you get variety steak house, Arubian, Italian, and a French/ Spanish style restaurant. Now the restaurants have limited seating so it’s first come first serve so you have to get down there around 5:30pm if you want to be seated at 6 or a little later. The other option is the buffet which has a different theme every night so if you prefer a buffet you have lots of options and not the same old stuff each night. The other bonus is lots of bars! A lobby bar, 24 hour cafe, and pool bar during the day, and then at night an additional outside bar opens when the pool closes and you have the lobby and cafe. Around 11pm the club there opens which has different parties each night. (We didn’t attend since we are early birds, so 11pm we are out!)
All the restaurants are amazing, the menus are small but for an all inclusive the quality is there, even the buffet there are so many options!

The beach chairs are also first come first serve but they will continue to set them up on the beach until they run out so first day we didn’t have an umbrella. We did notice that people bring tumblers to keep their drinks cold since the outside pool drinks are small cups and usually don’t keep your drink cold long, highly recommend a yeti style cup, we ended up buying them here.

If you do forget something the bottom floor has shops you can visit for most essentials or town is just a short 5 min walk.

We also got a couples massage which was really affordable and super relaxing, the spa seemed brand new and the massage beds were huge! It was a really relaxing massage to kick start our trip.

We loved staying here and would highly recommend it to our friends and family!

Date of Stay: October 2025