RIU Palace Las Americas Review Top All Inclusive Cancun Mexico

Boulevard Kukulcan, Km 8.5, Manzana 50, Lote 4, Zona Hotelera
Cancún, Quintana Roo
Mexico  77500
http://www.riu.com/?hotel=XLA

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• 8-story building, 372 deluxe junior suites and suites
• located in the heart of Cancun’s exclusive hotel zone
• All Inclusive
• Opened February 2004
• Beachfront property
• 20 minutes to downtown Cancun, 25 minutes to airport

Editorial Review

Hotel Riu Palace Las Americas is an exquisite beachfront property situated at Corazone, the resort area of Cancun.  It is a short distance away from Cancun Airport and has various shopping centers in close proximity.  It is one of the latest luxury resorts to spring up in Cancun and has been awarded with the ’08 AAA Four Diamond award.  This is a good choice for people who like the beachfront, and enjoy sinking their teeth in a varied range of cuisines.

For those who wish to try their hand at their favorite sport Riu Palace Las Americas has sports like beach volleyball, a gym and a tennis court.  People who like to play a game of tennis at night can be assured a good game, thanks to the floodlit hard surface courts.  When it comes to water sports, you can try snorkeling, or even canoeing in the blue waters.  Rookie scuba divers can get a tip or two at the introductory scuba lessons.  Guests at the hotel can also enjoy entertainment and multiple resort activities with exchange privileges at the neighboring Riu Cancun.  However, bear in mind that even though the entertainment is guaranteed every night, they could be very drab or repetitive.  The shows performed by outside artists are a must-watch.

In-room amenities at the Riu Palace Las Americas comprise of hairdryer, bathroom, and telephone with an internet data port.  Almost every room has a central air conditioning, internet, mini-bar, in-room safe, and satellite-TV.  If you don’t wish to have a balcony you might just miss out on a chance of viewing the breathtaking ocean.  Kids have the option of taking part in the daytime entertainment programs.  Riu Palace Las Americas resort has two swimming pools, along with a swim up bar, sauna, Jacuzzi and a children’s pool for all the tiny tots.  The pools at the hotel are open only during the day.  So, you might be disappointed to be deprived of a good swim on warm nights.

The Riu Palace Las Americas has 372 deluxe junior suites and suites.  The hotel is spic and span, but has a humid, musty smell every now and then.  This could either be because of the nearness of the ocean or the climatic conditions in Cancun.  Rooms and spacious and airy, and the hotel staff are very polite and helpful.  You will be provided with a telephone with internet data port, ceiling fan, central air conditioning, Satellite TV, mini-bar, liquor dispenser.  The living room of every suite comes with sofa or sofa bed, and an in-room safe.

The Riu Palace Las Americas has specialized restaurants that range from Gourmet, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Brazilian.  Each restaurant has a memorable experience of its own.  You can choose to have your meals indoors or outdoors.  The central lobby hosts a different theme every evening, dishing out a variety of palatable buffet food served along with a drink.  If you are take pleasure in good food you can try all the a-la-carte restaurants during your stay.

The Riu Palace Las Americas is an excellent choice for people who enjoy a la carte dining in a resort setting.  With the surrounding upscale shopping malls, shopaholics will also be entertained.  As well, Riu Palace Las Americas is located right at the pulse of Cancun’s bubbling nightlife.  By far, this has been rated to be an excellent choice for a stay in Cancun.  The resort is in close proximity to the Forum by the Sea (Hard Rock Café, nightclubs, etc.).  A favorite feature is the ability to switch over to the nearby Riu Cancun and Riu Caribe Cancun for various dining and recreational facilities.  Riu Palace Las Americas guests can go to the Riu Cancun for its vibrant "Pacha" Disco, which is open 'til the wee hours of the morning all 6 nights of the week.

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Reviews

Sara
Edmonton, Canada
33, Married
RIU Las Americas, March of 2005
Our Rating: 4/5 Stars ~ almost perfect!

Overall feel of the resort:
The resort can be summarized with one word – breathtaking!  A short 20 minute trip in from the airport brought us through the hotel zone.  As we reached the resort everyone in the van was oohing and aahing.  We were delighted to find that from the first moment that you enter (off the main busy street) into a beautiful wide lobby that has a gorgeous view of crystal blue waters to the last moments a week later, we felt relaxed and taken care of.  Check in was quick and we were upgraded to a suite that overlooked the ocean.  The resort is beautiful with marble and artful details everywhere.  My husband and I were there for just a quick break and so we planned to do nothing but catch up on some reading, eat and sleep.  We had every opportunity to do all three.  The rooms are very nice and have some extras that you don’t always see in a resort in Mexico, like toiletries and face cloths!  The bed is hard but there are plenty of other places to grab a soft siesta like the beach!  We liked the hard bed as it gave us more motivation to get up in the morning and not waste the day away sleeping in.

Pools and Entertainment:
Although the ‘entertainment club’ did do some coaxing to get us to participate the first day, they left us alone after that and just partied with those that were for it.  We even sat by the ‘entertainment’ pool each day and did not find it too noisy that we couldn’t still read our books.  The beach itself was nice white sand and although it seemed short with rocks on either side, there was plenty of space to swim in front of the hotel.  There are enough pools at the resort that you could also find a more secluded spot to hang out in.  At almost every turn there is a bar and no matter where you sit there are wait staff coming around to offer you drinks and chips/salsa.  Not every resort has poolside service so it was a nice treat.  We made sure that we took some cash down to give them tips periodically.  This is a nice to do and certainly not expected.  Every night before and after dinner we spent having drinks in the main lounge inside.  It has a beautiful bar and a piano player.  You really felt like you were in the lobby bar of a high-priced hotel sitting there each night.  Any drink we wanted they somehow found a way to make.  We only took in the ‘nightly show’ once when it was "Grease" and it was as cheesy as one would expect.  They do try hard but do not expect any kind of award winning performance.

Food:
Each and every evening there is a theme with the central lobby hosting some type of a drink to coincide and the large buffet restaurant decorated and serving food along the same theme.  We only ate in the main restaurant for dinner once as we wanted to try all of the a-la-carte restaurants.  Surprisingly enough our favourite was the Japanese restaurant.  The presentation was gorgeous and the food actually quite good.  Being from Alberta we saved the Steakhouse for last expecting to be disappointed.  The waiter steered us in the right direction and told us what cut of beef to get that night.  The most disappointing restaurant was the Tapas style.  We had to laugh as their piped in music played traditional Christmas tunes ~ yes we were there in March!  The tapas themselves were nothing exciting and we both left feeling hungry.  Every breakfast and lunch was the same but there is always something to find to eat.  When we got bored of the lunch smorg we headed out to a nearby place (there are hundreds in the area) for some appetizers and drinks.  The only drawback for most people to the a la carte restaurants is getting line in the mornings to book your table.  I enjoyed doing this as it got me up at 7am.  I quickly dressed, grabbed a cap for my hair and headed down to be one of the first in line.  Some people got upset when they couldn’t get the reservation they were hoping for, and to them I say RELAX!  The staff are not being paid enough to listen to you shout and complain about something so trivial.  After I made my reservation I would grab a coffee and head out to beach to leisurely stroll and enjoy the peace and quiet of this beautiful place.

Shopping:
The hotel itself has a few stores which are fun to browse through but if you really want to shop just head across the street to the shopping mall.  We have been to Mexico a few times so we weren’t interested in any trinkets but I did find a couple of nice jewelry stores and purchased some small silver souvenirs.  Across and to the right is a large yellow building (sorry I can not remember the name) that sells all sorts of junky souvenirs.  We got some fun things for friends.  Behind the mall is a series of market stalls that will barter with you throughout the day and evening.

Travel Tips:
I had looked on the RIU website and registered as a RIU Class member (does not cost a thing) and two weeks before we left I sent them an email (also found on the website) to request an upgrade using my RIU Class membership number.  I received a response within a week saying they would do what they could do depending on how full they were.  Upon arrival we were upgraded to a suite.
We were told to head to the ‘old downtown’ to the large market to get some real deals but found that this was just a waste of a taxi ride.

Conclusion:
We would definitely go back to the RIU Las Americas and next time would like to stay for two weeks and maybe get out to see more of Cancun.

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