Riu Palace Pacifico Adults Only - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

7117 reviews

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  Amazing resort

  Everything about this resort was fantastic. This was our second time and will not be the last. The food was great, everything was very clean and the service was fantastic!

  Mar 16, 2025
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  Love this place!

  3rd stay in 5 months. Loved it. Will be back. Resort is great. Staff is great. Food is great. Beach is great. Pools are great. Rooms are great.

  Mar 16, 2025
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  Felt spoiled

  the hotel is beautiful, the staff is very good, the place is really clean, the maid on the first floor , wasn't as clean , the floors had stuff on them after the cleaning , the maid on the fourth floor , was so clean you could eat off the floors. The staff in the buffet was exceptional , the one waitress made up a special table on our second to last night, if you smoke don't do it on the balcony , they fine you 300.00 USD we met some people who were fined . They have three places to smoke , one in front , one at the bottom of the sports bar , an the beach. We were at the palace for two weeks, the only complaint was that the women , who were vulgar next door , were so crude , they moved us , after 11 days , they should have moved them. The food is fantastic, lots to pick from , the staff is mostly friendly , if you don't tip the bar in the lobby he gives only attitude, the women I mentioned , also yelled in the halls around 5 am in the morning . All around except for a few exceptions , it is worth going to the palace if you want to feel spoiled, the oxo is next door an so is the pharmacy, the turtles our just up from the townhouses , I will return , but the need to get a better place for smokers as they had a lot of smokers , an they should not have to sit in a sand pit down from the sports bar. They have bugs flying around an you need to take bug spray , or you will get eaten . It is not the hotels fault as they do spray , but the bugs our everywhere . They have plenty of chairs , so you don't have to save them even know people did , the beach is nice they warn you if they have creatures in the water , we saw stinky rays , jelly fish an snakes .A lot of dead puffer fish, they our killed by the fisher men all around it was fun . Met some fantastic people , they our all different ages , from 18 to 80 if you our looking for a great time go to the palace it is worth it.

  Mar 16, 2025
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  Excellent experience!

  This was our first all-inclusive experience and our first trip to Mexico. We couldn’t have been happier with our stay. The staff and service was friendly, attentive, fun, and welcoming. The resort was immaculate; they were always cleaning something. Food was great! We liked the buffet for breakfast, poolside grill for lunch, and tried all the restaurants for dinner. Krystal was our favorite. We are now hooked and will put both Riu properties and PVR at the top of our list.

  Mar 15, 2025
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  Beautiful resort with loads of potential

  We spent 7 nights at the beautiful adults only RIU Palace Pacifico. The resort is thoroughly impressive. All the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful and the whole resort is spotless. This was our first time staying at a RIU which we selected because of the good reviews, price point, adults only and ability to book a room with two bedrooms. Room We arrived around 4 pm, check-in was quick with no waiting and the room was ready. It is a very small resort so no long walks to the room or need for bell service for luggage. We made a room request in advance and received an amazing location. Our room was two bedroom family suite, top floor (8) on the corner. It was near the elevator but that was actually a bonus as it was far enough not to be noisy but the shortest walk. The room was spectacular. There were two separate bedrooms each of which had a patio door leading to the spacious balcony. There was plenty of room for both the patio furniture and room for yoga. We had a direct ocean view from both rooms and the balcony had afternoon sun. One bedroom also had a sitting area. The bathroom was huge with both a massive walk in shower and a tub. The room strangely had a huge walk in closet. This space would have much better been put to use as a second bathroom. Only one bathroom would be the only downside to this room. The mini bar was always stocked and large bottles of water are provided. We used the RIU app a few times to request the water be restocked. The room was cleaned early in the day and was always restocked with plenty of towels. Food There are so many restaurants to choose from we didn’t even try them all. Breakfast is available at the buffet only. We went to both the Steakhouse and Italian twice. You can even get lobster without an upcharge. The Italian had a lovely appetizer buffet with some great seafood. We also went to the Mexican and several times to the Sports Bar. All offered good food but it is a very limited selection, especially for vegetarians. More on that later. The buffet had better options for vegetarians and everything is labeled well. We didn’t go there as much though as we prefer ala carte dinner. The coffee shop is great, very friendly service from the girls there. They have yummy fruit and pastries available in the morning and sandwiches and cakes later in the day. Nice to have an option to grab something without going to a restaurant. It would have been a perk to have self serve coffee available somewhere in the morning. It can get lined up due to the fancier coffee and we like the ability to grab a regular coffee on our own, even before 7 am when they open. There are self serve snacks by the pools but again were not very vegetarian friendly and mostly fried foods. Around the pool in the afternoon they also have a taco cart, ice cream and even popcorn one day. We were happy to find non alcoholic beer readily available. The cart in the lobby has fun daily cocktail options that we really enjoyed. RIU Fit & Entertainment Love the team at RIU Fit! The classes with Jazmin were amazing, she is a gem. They were true pilates and yoga classes and she is a professional. Don’t miss her Tibetan Sound Bowl Meditation on the beach, it is a beautiful and peaceful experience. There are lots of other activities and entertainment to keep you busy. We did not watch the evening shows or go to the RIU party. We did make a point to see the Mariachi band, which was excellent. We are earlier risers and make the most of the daylight hours, the shows were pretty loud but that is typical for any all inclusive and didn’t bother us. We loved the location and walked to Bucerias a few times. Took a taxi once when we did some shopping. The walking trails are great around this resort and it was fun to walk the path to Bucerias and walk the beach on the way back. We also took a water taxi from the marina to Puerto Vallarta and then taxied back. Beach & Pools There are 3 pools, and they all seem to get congested due to the large amount of guests and none are particularly large. There is no need to reserve loungers, there are plenty to go around any time of day but people still do get out there early to save a spot. There are loads of loungers available on the beach too, this is a true win for this resort as too often it is a chore to find a chair. It is a shame so much real estate is taken up by the Elite Class cabanas as they mostly sit empty. We did see someone get injured and kudos to the RIU team as their response was excellent. Why its not a 5 * We have stayed at some higher end resorts and we did not pay the same amount here so our expectations were lower. The buildings, cleanliness and rooms measure up with the best resorts but there were some things that fell short. These things did not have a big impact on our experience but there is room for improvement. Perhaps it is the ownership as RIU was new to us but found some policies to be ridged and some things just quirky: -The room service menu was downright lousy. Sandwiches only? Only continental breakfast? Plus when you ordered they gave you a time about an hour later. -There was a huge lack of vegetation items on restaurant menus, some of which had none. I get that I went to a Steakhouse, but did so because that is what my family likes. There were literally zero vegetarian entrée options and they would not accommodate or have any non meat alternative. I have never encountered this issue in my previous travels and it’s a bit unheard of these days. They also only served certain drinks; beer, wine and pop. So no cocktails? Not even if you asked, which in my experience is also not typical. We tip well and resort staff usually will go the extra mile to satisfy guests. Twice at the Sports Bar I was served a ‘Veggie Burger’ with real meat. -Pool tables are not free and you have to go to the lobby for change. Not a huge deal but it should be included. Pretty sure they don’t charge to use the ping pong table. -There are no umbrellas on the beach and you have to pay to rent one. The beach loungers are crappy and worn out. -There are no paddleboards to use. -No restaurants serve ala carte breakfast. I missed morning chilaquiles. Not the same trying to prep them yourself at the buffet. -The wifi is terrible and the RIU app is super glitchy. They limit the number of devices you can connect which I suppose is a good thing as the wifi was constantly disconnecting at high use times during the day. Had less issues with it early in the morning. -We were unable to pay to upgrade to Elite Class because of the room we booked. We were told we need to book two Elite rooms but we were firm on staying the 2 bedroom family suite. I was surprised they wouldn’t take our money and give us access to the other perks like the Elite restaurants and beach area, its not like they were busy. -The towel cards and room keys are a hassle. The room key would be better on the bracelet, ours also had to be reprogrammed several times. Many resorts do not use towel cards and instead have towel return baskets. Overall, this is an excellent quality resort and good value. I would not hesitate to stay again or recommend it. The issues above are just suggestions that could take this resort to the next level based on other places we’ve experienced. It was one of our favorite vacations and the resort was very nice. We had a great time and a wonderful vacation at the RIU Palace Pacifico. If you are on the fence, just book it, you won’t regret it.

  Mar 15, 2025