After booking travel for our 10th Anniversary Getaway to the Riu Palace Las Americas, RPLA, I found this site in searching for reviews on what to do in Cancun. My husband and I visited in our 20's about 12 years ago. The Riu Palace was a beautiful hotel with dark wood trim, marble floors, and stained glass ceilings. Almost all rooms have balconies that are Ocean View. We stayed on the 6th Floor and had a fabulous ocean view. I read all the reviews and took in all the negative comments and have to say that overall, you have to expect a few negative things, but we are not finicky travelers and don't expect the world just because we are on vacation. The service staff was extremely attentive, checked us in early, helped us with area sights, and even provided an anniversary gift for our stay. The beach is clean...in fact they do it every day! they rid the beaches of seaweed and rake them flat everyday...never heard or saw any of it being done...just woke up to beautiful beach. The pools were clean...really warm. We did not have alot of kids there either. There were more families on the beach. The poolside service was great for us. They asked all the time if we wanted refills. The beach watercraft staff gets alittle overwhelmed. They offer 15% off if paying by credit card, but were extremely confused giving a crad to the wrong person and a credit to someone who wasn't supposed to get one. I chose cash. The Spa was awesome. My husband and I had a 45 minute couples massage for 150.00. They did a fantastic job! The All-Inclusive meals were not our style. We had lunch upon arrival and dinner the first night at the Brazilian restaurant. I made reservations by email for the first night and on the verranda for the other nights, but cancelled later. Be prepared that at the Brazilian restaurant, you are shown a menu, but it only shows you what they are giving you and not what you can choose to have as a single meal. It was like a buffet brought to your table. My husband and I went out for every meal after that. The lunch we ate upon arrival was not fresh and yes, part of it is outside in the heat. The halls do smell musty and every piece of clothing worn or not in your suitcase has to be cleaned because it comes home with you...but what can you expect of a resort where it is 100 degrees. That did not bother me. The room floors do get slippery if you have had the air on and open the door. Condensation builds up on the floor and gets slick. Not a big deal. The only thing I would change in the rooms would be new towels. The towels are scratchy...especially after sun and sand. I would have loved to dry off with a soft plush towel, but maybe most people don't care. Overall, if I were going to Cancun again, I would love to stay at the Riu...without meals if possible...visit Coco Bongo...wake up to Starbucks across the street and eat dinner at Ruth's Chris a short cab ride away!

My husband and I stayed at the Palace las Americas for 3 nights over the July 4 weekend. The property was beautiful and our room was great as we got upgraded to a master suite instead of a junior suite. One complaint we had was that they did not allow us to make restaurant reservations before our arrival and when we went to the reservation sign up right when it opened we were told that the restaurants we wanted to go to were booked during our entire stay. We did find, however, that if we went to the restaurants we were able to get in because of cancellations. We ate at the Fusion or French restaurant, and the Brazilian steak house. The Fusion restaurant which we were told used to be the French restaurant was great. I would not recommend the Brazilian steakhouse unless you like chicken and sausage because they try to give you a lot of that before they actually bring out the steak. It was different from the Brazilian steak houses we were used to in the U.S. We tried out the pool the first day. We got out there about 10am were able to get a couple of chairs but there weren’t many left. The majority of the chairs were supposedly reserved with towels on them. The waiters did a great job of serving drinks and would bring refills without even being asked. Starting around noon there was music and entertainment/games. We tried out the beach on the 3rd day and it was much quieter than the pool, had more chairs available and also had drink service. We rented waverunners one day and had a lot of fun. I think they rented for about $60/hour. The hotel also provides kayaks and catamarans as part of the all-inclusive package. We tried out the kayaks and had a great time.

It is beautiful from inside and out. The lobby is gorgeous and clean. There was always people cleaning everywhere. We were welcomed with a drink and check in was a breeze. There were no funky odors that we could detect throughout the building. The bed was fine for me. The room was clean, well stocked mini bar, and we had a balcony overlooking the ocean which was wonderful. There was a separate area with a couch and television set. There was a stain in the tub and one of the sinks didn't work too well. We used bottle water to brush our teeth at night.

We quickly made reservations the moment we checked in and couldn't get a reservation for just one night. Tapas was ok, had better in the city and the Brazilian was either too dry or too salty. Krystal was a great place. Couldn't make reservations for the Japanese restaurant. The dinner buffet wasn't very good, breakfast was a lot better. There is quite a selection of food, but its a hit or miss. I also wish they had a larger selection for room service.

The beach is quite small but Riu Cancun is just next door and you were able to use their facilities. The pool was great. There were people always willing to help you where ever on the resort.

Good experience from a first timer in Cancun.

Beautiful Hotel - the lobby was beautiful. The rooms were beautiful, the lobby bathroom was gorgeous! Clean - very clean - every morning the lobby was filled with staff dusting, wiping, sweeping, vacuuming etc...I cannot say enough about the hospitality - fantastic. The staff in the restaurants were superb! I eat at a lot of restaurants and the service was that of any high end restaurant I've been to. I know tips are supposed to be included, but I'm sure these people are not earning a living working at the hotels. We tipped and they appreciated it. Buffet restaurant was excellent. Steakhouse very good - Tapas was very good. Did not try the Japanese, Italian or Brazilian restaurants (heard the Italian restaurant was very good). Make your reservations the minute you check in - they fill up quickly. The pools were very nice, only 1 pool bar though and it got very loud in the afternoon. If you have children, the "childs pool" is a joke - it's no more than a 6' diameter and 1' deep. Unfortunately, if you do not get out to the pool by 7am to reserve your chairs and umbrella, you will not get a primo spot for the day. If you like long walks on the beach, you might be disappointed. Now for the rooms: we did not have a problem with our air conditioning what so ever - worked very well. Of course we went in July so humidity filled the room pretty quickly if we chose to have the door open. Make sure everything in your room works - our bathroom fan and tv remote did not work, but we delt with it. Unfortunately, I did not like the beds, for me they were hard and I did not sleep well at all. The first couple of nights I heard every little noise ie: doors closing, drawers opening, people being rude yelling in the hallway at midnight. I think the hotel should do a better job at setting just a few guidelines for the guests like...no walking through the lobby with barefeet, wear a coverup or shirt when walking through the lobby or eating in the restaurant. The last thing I want is to look at someone's bare belly , man [--] or harry back while I'm eating my food and for the sake of self respect, clip your toenails before you go on a beach vacation! This didn't happen in abundance, but it happened. If I were looking for a romantic, quiet, luxurious stay I probably would have been happier someplace else. Would I go back?....If the group I was going with really wanted to then I would, but I would like to try other all inclusive properties first. :>)