Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico

marko395 wrote a review September 2025

Gracias Daniela Nuno in Reception

Gracias Daniela Nuño at reception! You made our Mexico stay extra special and memorable! We hope to see you again soon! Keep up the good work! Riu is lucky to have you on staff!

Date of Stay: September 2025

vincenuno wrote a review September 2025
Chicago, Illinois

Great customer service!

We visited this resort during Mexican Independence Week.

From the moment we arrived, Daniela Nuño, at the reception, made our stay unforgettable. She was warm and attentive. Her excellent customer service and genuine friendliness stood out, and we felt lucky to be welcomed and assisted by someone so exceptional and engaging.

Thank you so much, Daniela!

Date of Stay: September 2025

61ewann wrote a review September 2025

What should be a great anniversary experience

We just went to the RIU Palace Pacifico this past weekend, for our 10th anniversary and wife's birthday.
Positives:
1. The hotel is clean and luxurious.
2. Drink and food is available 24/7 as expected because it is all inclusive.
NEGATIVES:
1. Tell me what happened here: my wife and got dressed to eat and celebrate our 10th year anniversary at the Krystal restaurant but upon arrival there were about 4 empty tables but the host told us they were out of seat. And that we could try a different restaurant. I told him we will wait until seats become available, so we stood outside the restaurant. About 5 minutes later 3 tables become vacant as guests were existing the restaurant. We continue standing outside but we were still not acknowledge or offer a table. Immediately, a group of six people walked by and said is this a good restaurant, so I said yes you should check it out. They Immediately seated this group. And said they don't have space for us. My wife and I are people of color. The group of six is not. I hate to see that this exists in Mexico as well. We were paying guests like anyone else. We tip generously like anyone else or even better than some of even those were seated. It was our 10th year anniversary. We didn't choose a 5 start to be profile.
2. We are Jamaicans and we could have take our business there but we choose Mexico. We end up eating at the buffet. RIU need to address this behavior. Black people need to shown respect and appreciation. What my wife and didn't look worthy to dine in such restaurant, or, we didn't look as people who tip. What a table of six has higher potential for tips? We pay for the service just like anyone else. The restaurant policy says, you need a reservation and it is first come first serve bases.

Date of Stay: September 2025

Culture662885 wrote a review September 2025

Super clean, nice waiters, good buffet- but rules need to be enforced.

Restaurant and bar service was excellent- especially Maribel and Jeudi in the Elite Club, and Nelson & “Chicken Little” in Sports Bar, and Carlos in Buffet. Room cleaning was superb, thanks Rosaria. Mini-bar stocking was bad- we kept on getting beer, which we don’t drink. Took three trips to front desk to get Tonic and Club Soda. The entertainment was mediocre to poor- except for Michael Jackson show which was great! All other nights were either bands that screeched and sang off key, or were all Latin- which I understand, we are in Mexico- but it didn't cater to the preponderance of Canadian and US guests. Elite Club restaurant was excellent, and Steakhouse was good. Buffet was really good. But skip the others; food was so salty it was inedible. Lastly, RIU does not enforce their rules: loud music at the quiet pool, loud swearing guests, crude women with barely covered breasts shaking them in the Elite Club, beach vendors entering hotel property and hawking their wares… If rules were enforced, restaurant food wasn’t overly salted, and there were more shows like Cancun RIUs, our experience would have rated a 10.

Date of Stay: September 2025

Gecko911 wrote a review September 2025
Wisconsin

Perfection

This was our 4th visit here since the renovations. We like this hotel a lot. The amenities exceed those of any Riu resort we have been to and there have been quite a few.

We took a short taxi to the hotel, got here in record time, about 20 minutes.

The front desk wasn't busy and check in was quick. We were fortunate to have Elite Club, due to Diamond level status and availability through Riuclass. If you don't already have the Riuclass card, you should sign up.

We had a great view of the ocean. The room was clean and comfy, AC worked great too.

The dining options here are plentiful. The Sports Bar is a feature not offered at a lot of the Palaces. Here it adds so much to dining options, along with numerous TV's. The menu is great. The Steakhouse has a wonderful fillet. There are 4 other restaurants and the buffet to choose from.

Bartenders, waitstaff and entertainment were very friendly!

There is an excellent variety of alcohol choices to sample.

The 8 days we were here the weather was fantastic only rained at night.

Can't wait to come back again!

Date of Stay: September 2025

57yvonneg wrote a review September 2025
Calgary, Alberta

Wonderful experience yet again

This is the first time we’ve returned to a resort & it didn’t disappoint. From the food, staff, room, weather it was all terrific yet again. The steakhouse, Krystal, buffet, Asian restaurants were all superb, The sports bar is great for lunch & Pepes by the pool is also a good choice for lunch snacks. All the staff here make your stay a memorable experience, nothings to much trouble for them. The beds are so comfortable we never have a problem sleeping. The coffee bar in the lobby is a must, the goodies change throughout the day. The cocktail cart every evening is also a must. You are allowed floats in the large quiet pool but not the swim up bar pool. There is a pharmacy & a small store about 100 yards from the front of the hotel if you need anything. The entertainment staff are wonderful, Sebastian & Milton work very hard to make your stay a joy. Our favourite show was the crazy show done by the staff, it was a wonderful night, thanks to all the staff that took part. They came round the pool daily with popsicles or fresh fruit cups which were a huge hit. We met some wonderful people as usual. We would highly recommend this hotel if your looking for an adults only first class service and terrific food & drinks. Thanks again to all the staff for making our vacation so memorable. Till next time.

Date of Stay: September 2025

Departure818440 wrote a review September 2025

Just ok. Probably won't be back

Just ok. 1. Room cleanliness - 3. Although the room was tidied up daily, the floor remained dirty. 2. Room configuration- there is a 2 stair step down between the bed and couch area. Beware of this in the night as you won't see the steps and can fall. Yes, I did this the first night and was pretty banged up and bruised. Tip - bring a nightlight. 3. Best shrimp taco lunch is in the American bar. Yummy. But, if you don't actually sit at the bar, you'll have to wait awhile to get a drink since they get drinks somewhere else. Never did figure that out. 4. The staff in the restaurants were great. Staff at bar areas were a bit moody. Either they were attentive or gathered together and ignored customers. 5. Bring bug spray if you in the sandy beach area. You won't see them but you'll notice bites later.

Date of Stay: September 2025

zoer260606 wrote a review September 2025

Incredible!!

This resort was amazing. The people are nice, Melanie from entertainment staff has the best energy and also she’s one of the best dancers. The food was a huge plus
We would come back

Date of Stay: September 2025

karinas137 wrote a review September 2025
Moorhead, Minnesota

Consistently good. 3rd time at a RIU palace, so far will stay with RIU,

He had a great time. We usually stay at RIU's. Have been to Cabo RIU palace and Cancun. I absolutely love the weather in Vallarta the best. Like most RIU's I have found the staff to be super friendly and helpful. The staff in the sports bar here was our favorite (but all were nice). The dinner at the Asian restaurant was confusing. We had a large group and had some confusion with ordering. Was slightly annoying but not that big a deal. The food at Pepe's was pretty good. Buffett was full of fresh fruits and juices, so I was happy. We aren't too picky. We come for the sun and fun. If we want Michelin star food we go to that type of restaurant. The water aerobics and crazy games were fun pool activities. The foam party was interesting. the foam was 3 feet deep and you couldn't see very well. It didn't bother me but I think it was a bot much for some folks. Room service was quick and cheerful. Maid service was good too. Room stocked with beer, water, booze etc... We head to Riu Caribe Dec 25. Hope it's another positive experience at the RIU's. Not staying at the palace this time, going to the RIU party hotel instead. Hoping for fun!

Date of Stay: December 2024

mrsp192 wrote a review September 2025

No more Rius for me!!!

Couple years ago I went to the Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas and did not like it at all, but before that I was a big fan of the Rius so I thought it was just the Cabo hotel that the quality wasn't good anymore. WRONG.

Pros:
The beach was decent and swimmable
The Mexican restaurant "Guacamole" was excellent
Most of the staff was nice
Staff works hard to keep the grounds clean
The steak house was good but you have to show up 45 minutes prior to get a seat and the AC wasn't working. Everyone was seated outside but there were ceiling fans so it was tolerable.
Beautiful property and destination

Cons:
-The pools are as hot as the weather. Nowhere to cool off. Feels like a people soup. ew.
- The buffet was sloppy, nasty, and basic AF. Half the items were not labeled so you had to ask what it was. Staff there seemed irritated and underpaid. Salad bar didn't even have cucumbers and tomatoes half the time we were there. No onions or tomatoes for the nasty hamburgers they were frying. How do you make a bad burger though? How do you make nasty pizza? Such a waste of food, I would try a
couple of bites and had to go back and try to find something else. It was ridiculous. They didn't offer creamer for your coffee, only milk yet the rooms had packets of creamer. What restaurant do you know that doesn't offer creamer/half and half?
- The WIFI - the Wifi only worked for half the time we were there. You have to use your own streaming services for the room so when the wifi didn't work, you were stuck.
- Room service had horrible food except for the cheesecake. I asked them to bring ice with our order and they wouldn't do it. Said we had to get our own ice from the ice machines on all the floors - Oh sorry except for your floor ma'am. Talk about customer service. smh.
- The Asian Restaurant -DO NOT GO THERE. Worse Asian food ever. You can tell that the food was made a day or 2 before and reheated in a microwave. Soggy, over cooked mess. They should be ashamed to serve it.
- No meeting rooms. I just need a quiet place to do a 30 minute meeting and there wasn't anywhere I could go.
- The spa was WAY over priced. 300.00+ for a massage! Same thing you would pay 100.00 for normally WITHOUT hot stones.

Pictures I uploaded:
Soggy nasty Pad Thai
2 pics of the gross pizza
Pan Fried Gyoza (what we ordered, what we got)
Ramen (Nasty fishy broth with day old tasting noodles
Over cooked chicken tenders
Their whack salad bar (Made me miss Sizzler)
Bland shrimp
Picture of one of my plates (3rd attempt at a good meal) Best thing on the plate was the onion rings. Even the steak was nasty.
Awesome view from hotel room

Bottomline:
When you go all inclusive the food MATTERS. I will NEVER go to another Riu again. The quality has went down the drain. Maybe that is why they are lower in price than the others but I don't know who they are paying to give them a 4 star. This is a 3 star tops. All the beachfront resorts will be beautiful, so it comes down to food and beach really.

Date of Stay: September 2025

tinkerbel36 wrote a review October 2025
Chester, Cheshire, England

Fabulous hotel

Fantastic hotel .We loved the elite service
The restaurants were amazing ,the food delicious. The elite bar on the beach was lovely , top range of alcohol and the bartender was so nice . The beach was long and sandy but we didn't go swimming because of the sea snakes .We would definitely return but sadly tui doesn't fly from the u.k anymore.

Date of Stay: November 2024

compdo wrote a review October 2025
Las Vegas, Nevada

VERY POOR SECURITY

My wife and I stayed there Sept 25-28. Absolute horrible security do nothing team. I'll start with the should be easy to handle. We watched a very, very drunk woman by the pool. She kept falling down. Security just watched her continue to fall. My 55 year old wife was going to go help her. Finally after watching this poor lady fall down about 10 times in front of them and security laughing, they finally got a wheelchair for her.

Then one night we had a woman screaming, and a man pounding on his room door. Sounded like a couple fight, man was locked out, and woman screaming and man pounding and trying to break door down. We called the front desk several times with "they are taking care of it". Finally after. 5 hours of this we called again at 3:00 AM, and were told that security had been there several times and now police were on the way!! So this went on for 5+ hours!!! Why would RIU let this go on for so long?

And the next day call or apology from RIU? NOTHING, no call, no apologies, no nothing!!!

Worst handling by a resort I've ever seen in my life.
I've sent them a formal complaint letter, so we will see how serious they take this poor action by the resort security.

Date of Stay: September 2025

jennr434 wrote a review October 2025
Calgary, Alberta

Gracias

This was our first time staying here and we was very pleased with everything. The food and variety of restaurants were great. Thank to all the staff who work here, especially Melanie she always had a beautiful smile and attitude.
Definitely return here!

Date of Stay: October 2025

ahrma wrote a review October 2025
Polk City, Iowa

4 stars

Very nice place clean good food and drinks and we enjoyed that it was adults only. Our room was nice but somewhat small and had a terrace not a balcony. Make sure that you clarify that you would like a balcony not a terrace as ours had no chairs and very small as in standing room only. there were 2 pools, one with a swim up bar that was known as the pee-pool as it seemed no one left the pool and just let it go. We enjoyed the other pool and surroundings. Be careful walking around the pool deck as it is very slippery and saw a few people slip and fall. If traveling to the Malecon it takes roughly 35-40 minutes from the hotel, but we were caught in traffic for 2 hours coming back. Not sure if we will book this location again as we attempted to eat at some of their specialty restaurants a couple of different nights but were turned away because we did not make reservations even though they were less than 1/2 capacity.

Date of Stay: February 2025

IslandLover06 wrote a review October 2025

A Very Pleasant Stay

Overall, this resort was amazing! It was very clean; the food was above average and they had a nice variety of dishes (even as a non-meat eater, I had plenty of options). The fitness center was probably one of the best I’ve seen on a resort. The staff was very friendly and welcoming.

One thing that needs improvement is the evening entertainment. A variety of nightly entertainment would’ve been nice. But we still had an amazing time! We would definitely stay here again!

Date of Stay: October 2025

183slyk wrote a review October 2025

Stop the RACISM!!

Booked 4 nights 5 days at Riu Palace Puerto Vallarta, resort was very stunning, and they had great amenities. Drinks were flowing and everything was good. EXCEPT, on our final day we experienced RACISM!!! We were playing on the small pool with friends and we had a speaker with very low tone music, infact the security had asked us to reduce the volume and we complied. However after like 5 mins, the head of security shows up and starts to harass us at the pool, It took the intervention of some spanish speaking guests who were at the pool and were familiar to them, to leave us alone. Immediately they felt support from everyone at the pool, they apologized and left us to be.
We decided to play music because, we saw other guests doing it, there are no signs to say you cannot, we had previously asked if it was okay and we were given a go ahead. The same person who said we can play it, went back and called security on us.
That cast a dark cloud on my whole experience at the hotel. I just want to warn anyone of colour, to be careful at this hotel. Be warned!!!

Date of Stay: October 2025

2010hometown wrote a review October 2025
Delta, British Columbia

Did Not Disappoint

The early October weather teetered on stormy, most often sunny with clouds, perfect! It was super hot, between 29 and 32. Hurricane Priscilla passed by without reaching shore but churning up the ocean enough to remove most of our beach and pound the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta. Yellow tape, diligent life guards and massage providers(!) kept most people back and safe, protecting what was left of the fragile edge. Within 3 or 4 days most of the sand had been pushed back inshore. The beach came back.

Staff seemed extra kind and efficient, especially Diego at the beach, Tomas at Peninsula Buffet, our unnamed cleaner for room 5025. The only complaint is there needed to be one more server at the quiet pool. Yes it was impressive to see how many drinks she could stack and deliver. Salvadore and Louisa at the Steak House made the effort to keep us happy. Just being there was great. Having staff recognize us and chat made it greater. The staff at Krystal, ditto, Krystalin and the maitre de’ quietly took care of our needs with a smile.

This Riu Palace's buffet is one reason we keep returning. The selection at every meal is fresh and higher quality in our opinion. Yes some dishes are too salty, but often a version of a food is available in plain form. Chopped spinach instead of cooked with cheese, or quartered avocado instead of guacamole. Saltiness is the natural state in most resort buffets, so I work around it. The fruit selection was very complete and the cucumbers were amazing. My husband was impressed seeing freshly prepared steak at lunch and dinners. I enjoy grilled fish.

Other guests can be idiots late at night and early morning, totally unaware that their happy hallway conversation just woke up X number of fellow guests. Another reminder is to not converse on the balcony when it's obviously quiet elsewhere. We had an air-conditioning leak twice, which was fixed pretty much immediately, the 2nd time around 9 pm.

The front desk always had at least 4 staff and we seldom waited long. The main lobby gleamed and a specialty drinks cart changed every night. The theatre was too hot to stay long, but drink service seemed timely. In any case if a drink wasn't forthcoming there was always a properly staffed bar nearby.

We tried the 24-hour Sports Bar Restaurant. The first time the food was better, but the staff was good both times.

We felt welcome. We would like to return.

Date of Stay: October 2025