Hotel Riu Palace Las Americas - Adults Only- All Inclusive

I would only recommend staying here to my enemies. If you’re staying there for more than 2 days, prepare to starve because the food served is inedible. Think of 7-eleven food that is served on white table cloth. The different restaurants are a joke since the buffet serves all the food from the restaurants, and it’s all so trash you can’t escape it. The cheap perfume smell in the lobby is so horrid it will give you a headache and nauseous, and will linger on all your clothes and hair. They have a scam of pick up/drop off at the airport that they outsource to creeps. We arranged for pick up time, they changed the time without telling us, and then told us to pay for a taxi for $400 pesos. Not only that, but I used my credit card to pay at arrival, and my debt at the Global Exchange counter, and a different credit card at the gift shop, and when I got back home, all 3 cards had fraud attempts on them and I had to close them. Seriously, book somewhere else if you want to enjoy your vacation. The beach towels were dirty with stains, the blankets were rough scratchy wool, and the shower drains and toilets clogged constantly.

My husband and I just got back from our stay at Riu Las Americas. We visited with a large group of friends for 7 days and had 11 rooms between us. Overall, we had a great vacation! Now for specifics…. The front desk was welcoming and quick to have our rooms ready. They were efficient and we didn’t have to wait long in line. They only charge hotel tax, and do not put room holds on your card. The tax was around $30 for our 7 night stay. The rooms were a little dated, but very clean and our room attendants were very thorough. Everything worked correctly and when we figured out the cooling system, we kept our room comfortable. (Note: bring an old gift card, etc. to keep the lights and air conditioning running while you are away from your room. Also, every time the patio doors open, the a/c goes off.) The entertainment staff worked very hard to provide fun things to do and were so friendly. The shows were awesome and we enjoyed the water volleyball games. It would have been nice to be able to play water volleyball when we wanted on the occasions that our group was one of the very few in the pool (especially on the rainy day). However, we completely understand they have a schedule to keep. Security did a great job in making us feel safe and the beach vendors were fair and respectful. Make sure to take cash to the beach to purchase some fun souvenirs! The beach was wonderful! The water was much calmer at this resort than some others, and the beach itself was clean. There are plenty of chairs surrounding the pools and beach, but the beach front filled up fast in the mornings, and most beach chairs were taken by 9-10am. As for the restaurants….the service was pretty good overall. We had a few occasions when we didn’t receive much service, at the buffet in particular. And the “no reservations needed” thing was a joke. Prepare to wait at least an hour at Black and White and Krystal’s. Our group liked Italiano and Sakura. I preferred the Mexican restaurant because it was a little more flavorful. However, to me, most of the food tasted exactly the same (think Golden Corral on its worst day). I didn’t enjoy the food at all and existed mostly on bread, cheese, and fruit. My husband enjoyed some of the food, but he is the least picky person on Earth. He enjoyed the sashimi, shrimp, salmon and tuna. He also enjoyed the omelet station for breakfast. Overall, I would give the food itself only 1 star out of 5. My husband would have given one or two more stars. By no means is the food amazing! As far as bar service, the drinks were plentiful. Tastes of the drinks could be hit or miss, but most of our group was not picky and could always find something tasty to sip on. On the beach, Felipe worked extra hard to provide us drinks. He was awesome! Since I am not much of a drinker, I stuck mainly with water, tea, and soda. (They only had Pepsi, 7Up and Canada Dry.) I am an iced tea drinker, so if you are, too, prepare to be disappointed. It was very difficult to get and often tasted terrible. You will need your towel cards every time you visit the beach or pool to get towels. They are given back after you return your towels. Make sure to keep track of your towel cards and wristbands. It’s a steep charge if you lose them. As far as the spa and excursions, none of our group used anything but the hot tubs (which are located in the spa and only allow groups up to 8 to go for 30 minutes at a time) and the snorkeling equipment. So we can’t rate the extra services. Would we return? Yes. (But next time, I am packing soda and snacks from home! Haha!)