Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico

Recent Reviews: 7506

• User:Global32858941430

  Trip type: Family

  Overall a Good Stay

  07 Jun 2026

  We traveled to this resort from May 20-29th. We normally go to the Riviera Maya area but decided to try this side of Mexico to get away from the sargassum. We were two women traveling alone and never had any issues with safety. This was also our first time at a Riu property, but have tried several other popular chains. We come from a cooler climate and were pretty sensitive to the heat because our summer had not started yet. We would recommend for others coming from cooler climates to prepare, this heat is no joke. Sun protection (especially clothing) and hydration are essential. Starting with the Positives:- The Front Desk Staff were easily the nicest check-in people we've ever experienced while traveling to Mexico. For some reason at other resorts the check-in staff tend to be rude/disinterested, but here they are very friendly and make a great first impression. Sandra checked us in and was very kind. - It's hard to describe how clean this hotel is. The cleaning staff work constantly to keep this hotel spotless. We saw the cleaning staff out in the early mornings and even mopping the pool deck well after sun down. They deserve a lot of praise!! - Overall food was great! The buffet was probably the best we have experienced. Tons of variety and popular items were replenished constantly. Food safety also was good, hot food was kept hot and cold foods were kept cold. We loved the Mexican resteraunt and the Steakhouse. - Loved the taco bar down by the pool! Having a snack in the late afternoon while the other resteraunts were closed allowed us to stay in the pool longer and have dinner later. Plates were also cleared very quickly which kept the wildlife from swarming. We were a little concerned about food safety here with the heat (over 90 degrees and feels like 105) but the cold containers the food is kept in seem to do the trick as we did not get sick. Would have loved to see a little Ice Cream option down there eventually too. - Staff overall were very nice. In the beginning of our trip, it didn't seem like many staff were overly friendly towards us. As the trip went on, we realized that the staff here seemed to speak less English than we were used to and that was probably why they were less talkative. Would love to highlight Janet in the buffet, she was so kind to us everyday and remembered our drink orders. - Nightly shows were awesome, however the theater could have been designed better. There are huge pillars blocking large areas of seating, so get to the theater early. - The hotel is very well-staffed. All of the bars had enough bartenders, resteraunts had enough waiters, etc. The runners from the pool bar came by frequently as well. This was especially noticeable in the buffet, even during busy hours there were still plenty of people around to replenish drinks and clear plates. This makes a huge difference in experience. - We have no complaints about the rooms other than the beds. Housekeeping was wonderful and did a great job. They do have smart TV's that you can hook up to your phone and there is a safe as well as robes. - No pressure to join the Elite Club was awesome. You do not have to worry about constantly being hounded to do a breakfast presentation or talk to the sales reps. It makes the vacation so peaceful. There were also no staff members asking to be mentioned in reviews, which is nice because it makes their interactions feel more authentic instead of striking up a conversation just to ask for a shoutout. Room for improvement: - The beds are awful. So bad. When you sit on them, you sink all the way to the bottom of the mattress. Very bad for back and hip support, especially if you have pre-existing issues. I would not recommend this hotel for anyone who has back, hip, or nerve pain. A bad back can seriously ruin a vacation. Even as a young person, my back was hurting after sleeping on these beds for 9 nights. We ended up switching rooms to try a different mattress and it was exactly the same if not worse. - No usable cold water. Usually people complain there's no hot water, but in these temperatures cold water was needed. No cold water for washing hands, rinsing swimsuits, showering, etc. With the heat, a cold shower is a great way to cool off, and we were not able to do that. - Pool area could have been designed a lot better in many capacities. Let's start with the shade. Pool umbrellas are plentiful however they are NOT UV and do not provide true shade. You can still see the sun coming through the umbrellas, meaning you are still at risk for sunburn and you will not really "cool down" by sitting underneath these umbrellas. There was also very limited shade around the pool itself, and the pool water was insanely warm. In the quiet pool by about midday, you could feel your body temperature rising as you got in the pool. Originally we thought this just must be because of the heat, but we visited 2 other neighboring resorts pools and their pools were significantly cooler. Also, I am going to echo several other reviews that talk about how slippery the pool deck is. It is very slippery and also very hot!! You will need shoes at all times. The tile looks very nice but was a poor functional choice. We also were disappointed with the design of the pools. The "entertainment" pool was a small rectangle. People have larger pools in their backyard. The "swim up" was pretty much a walk up, and the quiet pool is a large rectangle. Neighboring resorts have beautiful, large, infinity pools overlooking the ocean and the mountains, so this was a disappointment. - The ladies at the coffee shop in the morning were not friendly once during our trip and the drinks were not that great. - The app does not work and is almost useless. It will show activities, but not where they are. It also does not have enough adequate information to make it helpful. - This resort could use some more activities. Luckily we like to play volleyball, but other than the "crazy game" in the afternoon and water aerobics there wasn't much else going on. Also, one day the scheduled afternoon activity was water polo. There was a bunch of people in the entertainment pool that wanted to play water volleyball instead. Not a single person wanted to play water polo. So what happened? Nothing. Sebastian (the entertainer for the activity) then decided we weren't going to play anything. So all these people in the pool ready for an activity got nothing. Very disappointing. - While we greatly enjoyed the Steakhouse food, the reservation system could use some work. The only reason we knew how to get reservations was from a Facebook group. Nobody told us at check-in and there is no signange describing the process. Luckily we figured it out, but there were several groups of people who waited in the very long line not realizing that you needed a reservation hours beforehand. The host/hostess end up repeating themselves the whole night and some individuals became very upset with them, even though it wasn't their fault. This lack of communication sets their employees up to deal with some very unhappy people, which isn't fair to them. A couple of signs or a form at check-in would make things easier for everyone. - Last but not least, the resteraunt ambience could also be improved. In all of the resteraunts and buffets, the tables are extremely close together. At 90% of the tables we sat at, regardless of the resteraunt, we could reach out and touch the table next to us. This makes conversation difficult and slightly awkward, especially when you can hear other's conversations and they can hear yours. Also, on several occasions, other guests were blasting audio through their phones at the table. Nobody wants to hear someone else's speaker phone conversation (on max volume) while they are eating dinner 3 ft away. It's extremely tacky and should not be accepted at a up-scale resort. Requiring headphones or having to leave the resteraunt to take a phone call should be the standard. This did impact our experience but it was not the resort's fault: people threw up in the swim up bar pool 3 out of the 8 full days we spent here. When this happens, the pool is closed completely for the rest of the day (which is good for health and safety). There is water available at the top of the pool bar but not in the swim up area. Considering the people that are consuming the most alcohol are in the swim up area, there should be water available there as well to hopefully encourage people to stay hydrated. It's not the resort's fault that this occurred but hopefully people can be more aware of how much they should drink in this kind of heat. That probably seemed like a lot of negatives, but after 9 nights here we wanted to communicate all of the things that came up for us during our trip. Overall, we still had a great time. This resort still offers great value for the price that is paid. We wouldn't return to this part of Mexico during this time of year, as it was just a little too hot for us. Unfortunately, unless the beds get changed, we will most likely not be returning to this hotel.

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• User:Johnnie S

  Trip type: Couples

  Riu Palace Pacifica just took number 1 spot on my list

  01 Jun 2026

  The Rui Palace is absolutely perfect for a couples getaway. I do not want to stay anywhere else after experiencing this place. The waterfront grounds were beautifully manicured. It was beautiful to be in a relaxed resort without the kids or grandkids. The room we had was fabulous for the 2 of us it had a couple steps down to the seating area and out the the balcony. Yes it costed a little more to go to this adults only resort but worth every dollar. The cleanliness was absolutely amazing, I own a cleaning company so I notice these things. I think own housekeeper is also a ninja I know she checked and cleaned things up multiple times a day I always had new towels and bathmats. One of my favorite people on staff was Theresa she was the Ruifit yoga, stretching and mediation instructor she has a wonderful personality and very fun to be around I just wished you guys had more yoga classes during the week. I also saw alot of Rui staff working at the White party on Friday night at the Flamingo and they still were able to bring there energy and enthusiasm well into the night which made me realize how long and hard they work. I went to the front desk with many questions through my stay and the front desk staff always helped me and remembered things I asked them about previously to make sure everything worked out for us. I worked in the hotel industry for years and i see and notice all the hard work dedication your whole staff puts into making your resort the absolute best place I have ever been to for vacation. I really want the management to know it is your staff who made this unforgettable experience for us. Mis más sinceros agradecimientos a todos en el Riu Pa PalificaJohnnie

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• User:Chris W

  Trip type: Couples

  Hotel Riu does it right

  26 May 2026

  Overall we had a great stay at Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico. It was pretty affordable for an all-inclusive.PROS: The food was consistently amazing, seriously, this is the best food I've ever had at an all-inclusive resort. We ate at the steakhouse twice. You need to either line up at 5:00, or go back later, grab a buzzer, and plan on eating after 8:00. The buildings & grounds are high class, clean, and well-maintained. The bedrooms are spacious. There's liquor in the room with a stocked mini fridge including mixers, beer, and bottled water. Housekeeping is on top of things. No kids allowed. Good WiFi.CONS: These are minor gripes but worth pointing out. There are lots of beach chairs by the pools, with nice looking shades overhead. Beware, though, the shades are porous. I sat under these for hours on my first full day and walked away with a pretty serious sunburn. It's definitely a party atmosphere here, with frequent bros doing shots at the swim up bar. In my opinion, the hotel was a little light on activities, aside from being in the pool or ocean. There's only one public bathroom for the whole hotel, which means you may have a walk ahead of you depending where you are. The towel service is very strict - you get one beach towel, and they will charge you if you lose it.Puerto Vallarta itself is pretty, but also touristy and crowded. If you're looking for a quiet, relaxing beach vacation, this is probably not the town for you. Online Reputation Management, Owner at Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico, responded to this review Dear Chris,We are thrilled to know you enjoyed your stay.We strive for excellence, so we are pleased to read you had a nice holiday.Thank you very much for your feedback.Looking forward to welcoming you again.Kindest regards,Hotel Riu Palace PacíficoOnline Reputation Manager

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• User:David C

  Trip type: Family

  No RIU for me anymore

  21 May 2026

  I won't be staying at a RIU again, Elite Club membership is worthless. Staff was inconsiderate at dinner. Sexist policies and discrimination are enough for me to never book at any RIU property again and discourage any other travelers from booking at RIU properties. I understand policy, I don't understand a lack of information and consideration for your guests.As a frequent traveler, I look forward to finding a place that has better customer care policies.The app sucks, you can't select whether you want spicy or mild wings. You can't select cheese or chicken quesadilla. You also apparently can't request spa services through the app, even though the app acts like you can. They won't respond. You are left with a pending service.It also frequently forgets what hotel you are at, while you are there. The policies for men to be able to eat dinner are inaccurate. You do not need a collar shirt, but they will reject you if you do not have full sleeves. Not even sleeveless, just short sleeve. Online Reputation Management, Owner at Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico, responded to this review Dear David,We truly appreciate your rating and the time you took to share your impressions. It is a pity that your recent experience did not reach the level of excellence we aim for. Your comments regarding our staff members come as a surprise. Our policy is to make every attempt to please our guests and for this reason, we are very disappointed to find that our team did not turn around this situation to your complete satisfaction during your stay. We would like to clarify that it is very important to us that all our guests feel welcome at our resort and treated in the same way. We are sorry that you left our resort thinking otherwise.In all our Palace hotels, we have a Gentlemen Dresscode for dinner, which must also be respected. This prescribes that no sleeveless T-shirts and short pants may be worn.We understand your frustration regarding the challenges you experienced. Our primary objective is to enhance our guests' experience and make things as convenient as possible. We will certainly forward your feedback to the appropriate department for review.We look forward to having the opportunity to welcome you again to provide you with better memories.Sincerely, Hotel Riu Palace PacificoOnline Reputation Management

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• User:Gecko911

  Trip type: Couples

  Fun Time

  17 May 2026

  The Pacifico is our favorite all-inclusive. We have been coming for almost 20 years. We enjoy the staff, throughout the resort. Waitstaff, bartenders and entertainment crew were fantastic.This resort fits a lot into the space they have. Our room was on the 7th floor with a gorgeous view of the ocean. We tried the steakhouse, Italian and buffet for dinners. The sport bar, Pepes and Tiki Taco had a lot to choose for lunch. Do not overlook visiting the sports bar for food, they have a great menu and view if you sit outside.One day we participated in Meditation on the beach at 8:00 am this was very relaxing.The pool deck is very slippery, so be careful around the stairways when it's wet.Massages on the beach are another benefit of this location. Great value!We had the good fortune to witness a turtle come up on the beach to lay her eggs (93 of them)! So cool to see.We are coming back in September. Online Reputation Management, Owner at Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico, responded to this review Dear guest,Thank you very much for your kind remarks, for a fantastic review and for staying with us.It is great to learn you enjoyed it.We will be waiting to have you back soon :)Warmest Regards,Hotel Riu Palace PacificoOnline Reputation Manager

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