Hotel Riu Palace Baja California

GomeztheMan wrote a review August 2025
Bainbridge, Georgia

Great Stay

The rooms were very clean. The food, variety and service were superb. Shower temperature wasn't too hot though.

Date of Stay: July 2025

trbserv wrote a review August 2025

Summer getaway

This was our first stay at a Riu property and we had a great time. The room was clean, bed and pillows were comfortable. Food was good and we had no problems going to any special restaurants. We did have a problem with sleeping the first night as we traveled nearly all day the first day and were extremely tired and went to bed early (8:30) only to be awakened at 11 by a drunken young lady that was at the wrong door! Then awakened at 2 AM by the partiers coming from the Santa Fe resort. The next day we talked with one of the managers at the pool (she stopped and asked how things were going) and we told her about our evening. She said she would get us moved to the quiet side of the resort the next day. After we moved everything was fine and we had a wonderful stay! the staff at this resort were wonderful!

Date of Stay: July 2025

mardelln2022 wrote a review August 2025

Ok Stay - Beautiful Property

I’m not one to typically leave reviews and definitely not reviews this long but I feel this needs to be shared. This was our first trip to Cabo as we generally go to Cancun. I absolutely LOVE Cabo and it will be hard to go back to Cancun for various reasons. But this is about the hotel and having never been to Cabo before, it was hard to know what resort to pick. So I will do this review with a list of pros/cons and sadly I’m afraid the cons will outdo the pros. I’d have to really think twice about going back here. I’d love to give it another try but not sure if I can get past some of the things I listed. Mainly the cleanliness of the room in the beginning. I personally felt it was left cleaner than when we found it.

PROS:
1. The staff at the resort were so friendly. We didn’t meet anyone that wasn’t happy and friendly. They did everything they could to accommodate you. They would greet you whenever they saw you and were just genuinely pleasant.
2. Pool area is beautiful. There are plenty of pools so everyone can enjoy. They have little games such as corn hole, table tennis, etc. Fun little pool side place to grab a snack and there are plenty of drink options.
3. Room was okay. I’m not super picky but like things clean. I’ll go into more on the cons portion of my review.
4. Plenty of choices for food. There is Italian (yummy), a steakhouse, Mediterranean, Asian, Mexican, and the buffet. We never made it to the buffet for dinner or the Mexican restaurant. The night we planned to, the buffet was closed. Best guess is one restaurant a night closes. Don’t know. We had Italian instead and that was probably the best meal. The buffet, at least for breakfast, gets redundant. But I’m picky so for someone who is not, there’s plenty to choose from. There is also a great little coffee shop with yummy pastries, cookies and ice cream.
5. The 24 hour lounge is a nice little place to get a snack and a drink. Also great place to cool off if you don’t want to go to your room or be in the pool.
6. No pushy resort people trying to sell you stuff. They are there if you want to book something but they don’t hound you like at the airport. The resort staff didn’t push to join the Elite club either. This was a pleasant change from other places.

CONS:

1. Our room wasn’t ready when we checked in. We get it, and was okay with it for a bit. We grabbed some lunch and hung out waiting for it to be ready. They told me they would email me when it was ready. So after several hours, we checked with the front desk only to find out our room was ready. Who knows how long it had been ready as no email was received. This was frustrating because we were tired from traveling and wanted to rest and freshen up.
2. We finally got to our room and was pleasantly surprised. It’s kind of a weird setup but I knew that when I booked. The bathtub sits in the middle of the room. Zero privacy if you are sharing with someone you’d not want to see you take a bath.
3. We were so tired when we did finally get to bed that we didn’t notice that our sheets were not clean. They obviously had not been changed from the previous guests or longer. Not to get into too much detail, but they were soiled with human waste. We discovered this at 2:00 in the morning. EXTREMELY gross and annoying as our room wasn’t ready and we had to wait. We really thought we were getting a clean room. I think someone just got lazy.
4. Housekeeping won’t unless you put out the sign to make up the room. Didn’t know that, so I requested clean sheets and was going to change them myself. This was disgusting. Housekeeping does not do a great job cleaning the rooms. You can opt for them to not come in which we did one of the days. But the few days they came in, the floors were minimally cleaned, we didn’t get towels. I will hang them up and reuse what I can but some of them were dirty and needed to be replaced. By the time we left we had no hand towels or wash cloths. However, they come by every night around 8:30 or 9:00 and bring you bath towels. They are supposed to restock your fridge. I had to call room service to get more soda pop and coffee packets for the room. I’d left a note asking for it and even translated it to Spanish but nothing was left. I spoke with one of the maids, but couldn’t quite understand what she told me.
5. Beach access is right below the pools. It’s easy and convenient to get to the beach. One big issue is the minute you walk down the steps, you are bombarded with people selling you stuff. Again, fine and I’m not sure how much the hotel can control that. It was so annoying that we only visited the beach once and it was brief. The kicker was someone offered my husband marijuana. Not huge but when he declined the guy offered him cocaine. Just something to be cautious about if you visit the beach from the resort. You also can’t swim in the ocean on this section of beach. You have to go closer to the marina to swim in the water.
6. One last thing, they have these RIU parties. Great if you are into that. They didn’t bother us too much because they are held at the resort next door; however, where our room was we could hear the music and see some of the parties because it was super loud. We were able to block it out but not everyone might be able to. At the beginning of our stay there were a bunch of young adults, we were guessing college kids out for one last fling before school starts. They were rowdy and loud and some were rude. I think if we go back, I’ll pick a different time to possibly avoid that. We picked an adults only all inclusive to avoid kiddos on this trip and had a bunch of drunk college kids. Not sure what’s worse. LOL
I know this seems like a lot but overall, as the week went on and most of the rowdy’s left, it was quite nice and peaceful. Maybe we also figured out the best times to go out and about on the resort. Will definitely be going back to Cabo, I’ll just find another resort to stay at.

Date of Stay: August 2025

L6871VZvirginiag wrote a review August 2025

V Experience at Riu Palace Baja California

I had a great time at this hotel. The rooms were clean and spacious. The only problem was that you heard all the noises coming from the hallway and the next room. The a la carte restaurants are not organized. You wait long to be served and it's almost impossible to get a seat. They don't take reservations on the app like other RIU Hotels. I had to eat from the buffet every evening. The staff is fantastic and the ambience around the facility is always enjoyable.

Date of Stay: August 2025

9alexb2025 wrote a review August 2025
Edmonton, Alberta

My favourite resort in Cabo

Had an amazing time , I been there more then 8 years times and I found this trip to be one of the best , the service have improved, the entertainment team has improved, the shoes had improved . the resort overall is going a great job and moving forward with the overall service

Date of Stay: August 2025

MLittlejohn44 wrote a review August 2025
Raleigh, North Carolina

Vacation

Overall I had an amazing experience. I would stay at another Riu and refer someone else to stay. Such a great stay.

Date of Stay: August 2025

SbTravels2025 wrote a review August 2025
Seattle, Washington

Great service!

Great service! Walkable property, fun crowd and engaging programs!
Cons - Not enough vegetarian food options for lunch, no vegetarian protein options. Mattress - could not sleep well and woke up with back pains 2 nights.

Date of Stay: August 2025

RDKW24 wrote a review August 2025
Palmdale, California

Fabulous time!

We've been to Los Cabos multiple times. This was the first time we never left the property at which we stayed. It was like a land-based cruise ship. Everything we required to have a relaxing, wonderful time was on property. Two of the restaurants in particular were found to be top notch. Sofia Italian and Krystal restaurants were fabulous.
We can't remember Carla's title, but she was like the cruise ship director. A very pleasant and willing to please member of their staff. Hats off to Hugo at the pool bar, and last but certainly first in our hearts are Reyna and Rodrigo who were absolutely the most wonderful people anyone could hope to meet. They greeted us every morning at the breakfast buffet, and helped to make our trip delightful.

Date of Stay: August 2025

Tamara_Alexander wrote a review August 2025

Great Resort

Such a wonderful resort with a beautiful view of the Cabo rock formations. We felt safe the entire time, ate wonderful entrées, and soaked up so much sunshine.

Date of Stay: August 2025

bui1ds wrote a review August 2025
Columbus, Ohio

Excellent Value Beautiful Property Good food

Every aspect of this property exceeded my expectations. The staff were friendly. The food was delicious. There were no lines. The room and property were immaculate.

Date of Stay: August 2025

Marlynn90 wrote a review August 2025

Relax stay

I spent two nights only after a week long of adventure in La Paz. I was able to relax it was a great time at Riu Palace Baja California adults only. It was peaceful and quiet just what we were looking for.

Date of Stay: August 2025

shaunteg2025 wrote a review August 2025

Beautiful Hotel

This hotel/resort is very nice and clean. Staff are friendly and welcoming. From where our room was located there was lots of walking and steps leading to the main eating area and pools so be prepared. Lol. Otherwise I had a great time! I rated sleep quality as average because our bed was not that comfortable but I’m used to a higher quality mattress at home so that’s MY opinion only!

Date of Stay: August 2025

hardeeps2013 wrote a review August 2025

AVOID AND GO ANYWHERE ELSE

So many of the staff were rude. Rules seemed to change depending on staff whim and day to day. Absolutely no consistency.

When I called it out on one of these rules stating that it was "stupid that we can't take the restaurant food out of the restaurant" when it was already ordered, because it took over an hour to get to our table and in the mean time my wife started feeling bad so she went back to her room. There were no other good options for food left (room service food selection is a joke, and the 24 hour cafe lounge is disgustingly bad) so I said I'd even get a plate from the buffet area to take back to her since that was an issue that the waiter brought up saying they were special. The waiter didn't really understand english well, which is fine, so I asked him to get his manager.

But he must have told the manager I called *him* stupid instead of the situation. The manager came out aggressively and before I could even say a word to him, threatened to have me kicked out of the resort.

For what? Even if I *did* say that, why is he coming out and escalating the situation to that point? What is this power trip for and what did it to to resolve anything? From what point onwards I no longer wanted to be at the resort but had no choice for a few days longer. Definitely didn't feel safe in the premises anymore when a simple WORD could get you kicked out.

Even as I was trying to explain the situation to this manager at the italian restaurant, Javier, he seemed uninterested in having a conversation and was instead just grabbing his walkie talkie as if he was gonna make the call to have me taken out. Why was *I* the one trying to deescalate this situation?

What kind of service is this?

Mind you this wasn't the only situation that resulted in terrible service, but it was certainly unreal that this even occured.

Date of Stay: August 2025

N2482XKstefaniec wrote a review September 2025

Nice Get Away

It was a nice get away. You get a lot for what you pay for. Renova Spa for wonderful. The staff was respectable at the hotel.

Date of Stay: August 2025

ryankP980ZI wrote a review September 2025

Overall “cheap” Hotel for College Partiers - not worth the value

Disappointed in everything - food, hotel, front desk manager.

I asked for an early checkout and refund due to the environment and accommodations at the hotel - provide hard liquor but wine in the rooms is a No-No.

Gave me a lame excuse for not providing a refund so I am stuck at a hotel I don’t want to be at…

Date of Stay: September 2025

Margie7273 wrote a review September 2025
Edmonton, Alberta

4th stay…..a tad better however some faults.

I wrote a review 2 years ago after our 3rd stay here and said I would never come back……

So I came back LOL as I needed a vacation that was a direct flight and during off season not many options.

My stay was better over the last however I think the overall bad thing is here is entitlement of some guests.

Groups of young ladies just demanding drinks and shots one right after another. The screaming and yelling sounded like we are at a daycare and not an adults only resort. It was embarrassing to watch.

We don’t need your Bluetooth music blasting when the resort already provides music at the swim up bars.

Twice the pool was shutdown due to vomit. Staff over served them as we watched.
Standing on the bar twerking and yelling. Yes we understand you are on holidays but have respect for others, you are not the only paying guests.

Security and staff need much better training to make it enjoyable for ALL guests not just a “certain group”

Restaurants seemed better this trip along with service. I felt horrible however on the days the rain hit as half the staff couldn’t make it in. Resort did their best to accommodate everyone. I could eat Pepe tacos everyday. Just delicious!

Entertainment was good. The Santa Fe parties are great too. Even in our 40’s we have a blast.

Only complaint is maybe enforce a few rules and watch the guests more in the sunset pool. RIU over served and because of this the best pool was shutdown twice in 4 days. We are all there to enjoy and these rowdy entitled crowds shouldn’t be able to run the place and take over how they do.

Date of Stay: September 2025

72jasmins wrote a review September 2025

WE LOVE ANGEL AND CARLOS

Had an overall lovely stay at this resort during a family & friends trip. There were a lot of different pools and places to check out, and while most of the staff were kind and accommodating, I want to give a personal shoutout to ANGEL in the Elite Club bar and CARLOS on the Riu Fit/Entertainment team.

These two employees went above and beyond to make our vacation memorable. Angel is an incredible bartender and is super fun to be around. He made everyone in the Elite Club happy and made it easy to talk to each other.

Carlos always looks like he enjoys his job on the pool deck and he’s not afraid to walk up to anyone to start a friendly conversation or game. His positive energy spreads to everyone around him, and I’m grateful we got to cross paths during our stay!

If you’re looking for a good time, visit Angel and Carlos!

Some downsides — We visited during a tropical storm so it was raining during half of our vacation. Many events were canceled which was upsetting and service was limited, so that was unfortunate but understandable. The WiFi was spotty during our entire stay. A cruise ship also ruined the view, since it parked right in front of the resort for two days straight. The pool closes at 9 p.m. which I think is too early for those wanting to have a night swim after dinner. Make sure to ask someone about nut allergies or other dietary restrictions if it’s unclear. Many times, the food court did not have labels, so you just had to figure it out on your own. The discoteca also closed on Saturday without warning so we walked 15 minutes to get there for no reason. I wish the Riu app would include last minute changes in events and business hours.

Overall — a fun experience with some inconveniences and unexpected closures caused by a lack of communication. Not a trip killer, but something to keep in mind!

Date of Stay: September 2025

rickhW6419RT wrote a review September 2025
Washington DC, District of Columbia

Nice rooms, but skip the Ocean Glimpse Room

The facility was recently remodeled and the rooms were very nice. Unfortunately, the "partial ocean view" was not worth it, as one can barely see the ocean - it should be called an ocean glimpse room. It was much quieter than the Riu Santa Fe next door, with a more mature crowd (probably averages 30-35yo). The gym was tiny, with just a couple of pieces of weightlifting equipment and a few cardio machines - there were 10 people in there when I visited, and it felt crowded.

The buffet meals were pretty good - a better selection and better quality than many all-inclusive buffets. The restaurant food was a disappointment, at least the Italian (I had very dry salmon) and Mexican (I had boiled-chicken fajitas). The drinks were terrible. We tried margaritas, mojitos, daiquiris, all were terrible. The pina colada, though, was good, but you need to stick with beer if you want to get a decent beverage with consistent amount of alcohol. We went to the Friday night party at the Santa Fe next door, and it smelled like human feces and sweat and the music was generic - it was awful. We skipped the Saturday party, but others said it was much better.

Date of Stay: September 2025

aimeejeane wrote a review September 2025
Lee's Summit, Missouri

Wonderful pool waiter

Jose H a waiter at the pools was phenomenal! Always had a smile on his face, very attentive, knew what we wanted and needed, always checked on us and very kind and personable! Great at what he does! We had so much fun!

Date of Stay: September 2025