Riu Tequila - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

12620 reviews

• 

  Lovely, Lively and Luxurious

  Firstly, every member of the team we encountered were friendly, cheerful and intent on providing excellent service. The transfer from Cancun airport took about an hour with most people on our coach going to Riu Tequila. This caused a short queue for check-in, but there were plenty of staff who worked efficiently to minimise the wait. The reception area was large, comfortable and cool. Our room was modern, clean, comfortable and well equipped, including USB sockets, optics, minibar and coffee machine. No kettle, but I'm sure they would provide one if you asked, it felt like the hotel had every eventuality covered. Our room was on the ground floor with a small balcony type area and drying rail. We faced on to the main path so occasionally got disturbed by the shouty drunks heading home at all hours. The food in the main buffet was wide ranging and varied by different themes. Some of the dishes on display were not quite hot enough, but there was always freshly cooked dishes being put out. Once again the table service was fast and attentive. The a la carte restaurants were great! We didn't get to the Italian, but only because we got distracted by our favourite - the Asian. From sushi starters to freshly cooked mains, the food was wonderful, and again matched by the service. It may be a peculiarity of the weather on the day, but with the air conditioning we found the steakhouse cold and saw other guests going back for jumpers, so might be worth taking one with you if you are prone to feeling the cold. The pool areas were great, with plenty of beds, although still many towels out reserving peoples favourites. The water temperature was just right, cold enough to cool you down but not too cold that you couldn't stay in all day if you wanted to. The drinks trolley appeared round the main pool at 10am on the dot as the pool and swim up bars opened. It was nice to have a choice of joining the throng in the adult only pool with the swim up bar or having a quiet drink on your sunbed. The adult pool could get very loud late in the afternoon, and whilst we enjoyed the people watching, it wouldn't have been everyone's choice. Guests becoming so incapable that they had to be taken away in wheelchairs by security could make some uncomfortable. The animation team were cheerful, chatty and very busy. There was always something to join in with, but no pressure if that wasn't your thing. We went to the beach at neighbouring Riu Yukatan on the regular shuttle, which was easy and convenient, but also walkable. The beach was stunning and again there were plenty of beds with an efficient bar service. The evening entertainment was varied and professional. We loved sitting by the main bar watching before dinner, but rarely made it back after we had eaten. The Friday party nights (White or Neon) were a highlight with additional pop-up bars, face painting and really high production standards on the entertainment. The only real negative for us was that the on-site shop was stupidly expensive - £9 for a packet of crisps. However there is a small shopping area a short walk turning left out of the hotel. In summary, this was a great place to go for a lively vibrant holiday. If you crave peace and tranquility you might have seek out a quiet corner.

  Dec 02, 2025
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  Good all-inclusive with basic pools, decent food and drinks, nice beach, and fine (but noisy) rooms. Entertainment solid

  Medium-sized all-inclusive resort set back from the beach, surrounded by similar large hotels in a tourist-only zone (easy taxi or walk into town). There are four pools plus a kids’ pool. All are basic rectangular pools; one has a swim-up bar but looked a bit rough, so I avoided it. One pool is used for water activities (water polo, etc.), and the others are standard. Plenty of sunbeds, though people do reserve them for hours. Drinks service to your lounger is a nice touch. Daytime entertainment team is decent with lots going on. Evening entertainment is fine after a couple of drinks. RIU’s usual Friday party takes place here. Main restaurant is good with a solid variety, though like any all-inclusive it gets repetitive. Steakhouse is poor; Italian is mediocre. Asian is the best of the three but still nothing special. The beach is lovely — aim to get down there between 9–10am if you want a sunbed. You can use the beach club bar, which is really handy, and there are toilets available too. The sand is great, but avoid buying vapes on the beach as they’re fake. There’s a shuttle to the beach, though I always seemed to miss it by a few minutes and rarely saw it running. They could probably do with adding one or two more. A quick note on the rooms: the rooms themselves are absolutely fine, and the stocked mini-bar is a nice all-inclusive touch. However, the sound does travel. I happened to be next to a family who argued late into the night, and you can hear doors closing and people returning to their rooms throughout the night. It’s not really anyone’s fault, it’s just how the place is built — so I’d genuinely recommend bringing earplugs The 24-hour sports bar is handy if you want to catch a game, though personally, if the sun’s out I prefer to be outside. The lobby bar is decent, and to be fair all the bars around the resort are good. Drinks are solid too — if you’re into cocktails, they do a surprisingly good job for an all-inclusive.

  Nov 30, 2025
• 

  This hotel could be amazing

  My friend and I stayed at Riu Tequila at the beginning of November for 2 weeks, We enjoyed our stay, the rooms were really clean and all the staff in and around the hotel were so hard working. My main disappointment was the food. The main buffet was very varied but the meat and fish were always overcooked and the pizza/pasta didn't taste nice at all. We also disliked the Mexican restaurant and the Italian restaurant as we didn't enjoy the flavour/quality of the food. The best restaurant in the hotel is the Steak house, the steak, burgers and ribs were delicious. The best things about this hotel are the staff, the evening entertainment and the location as it is a very short walk to the beach. The pool areas were well looked after, I was impressed that the security guards were always watching what was going on. The TV in the room had loads of good film channels - the only thing I didn't like in our room was the open shower area as there is no privacy!! It's ok if you are in a relationship but not if it's your sibling or friend! Whilst on holiday we did 4 trips which were all amazing. The Xel-Ha park was very impressive - it's definitely worth paying for all inclusive as the food and drink were some of the best we had the whole holiday,! Also worth going to Coco Bongos, Chichen Itza and exploring the cenotes.

  Nov 27, 2025
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  Brilliant stay, would come back for sure!

  Stayed here for 2 weeks with my husband, I felt sceptical at first reading reviews and the Facebook group but we certainly didn’t need to worry. The hotel is kept immaculate 24/7, cleaners, gardeners and grounds men constantly on the go. The room was cleaned daily exceptionally well. Food was very good, from the buffet to the al a cartes, service everywhere was second to none no matter if you tipped. Plenty of drinks to choose from whether you’re into cocktails, spirits or soft drinks. The staff work incredibly hard and will go out of their way to help in any way possible. Entertainment we saw was good but in bed early most evenings so can’t comment too much, even still they work extremely hard. Had read some negative comments regarding the adult pool etc but we just sat at a different pool or went to the beach, which is beautiful. Plenty of activities/entertainment for both adults and children, although never felt pestered to join in. We requested a quiet room on the app before check in and that’s exactly what we got, a room facing the trees with lovely coati to watch on a morning. We would come back in a heartbeat.

  Nov 25, 2025
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  Wonderful experience and family friendly

  We just got home from Riu Tequila. We stayed Sunday through Saturday, family of 7 with kids aged 3,6,9&16 with three adults. We do not drink and hoped it would not be “the party hotel” but selected this hotel based on budget. It did prove to be a decent family friendly option. It was really nice. Everyone we came across from hotel staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Entertainment: apparently my husband ad teen son caught a really awesome circus act the Sunday night we arrived. The kids and I were tired and went to the room after dinner. I wish we had known, as that was the best stage entertainment of the week. They had a piñata for kids to hit one night, the kids loved that, and there was a Michael Jackson show one night that was pretty cool, but the other entertainment was pretty lame like game show type stuff and not very entertaining. The neon party Friday night was a total blast, my husband and two of my kids enjoyed all of it. Very family friendly. We all waited in line to get neon glow paint on faces and the music and lights were fun. Too much for my aunt (very loud rave music and flashing lights) who took the littles back to the room. VERY packed because alllll of the hotels come. Standing room only unless you camp out at a ta le early in the day. We had purchased “glow” shirts for about $11 USD earlier in the week and they were perfect for the party. Rooms: we got a room in the top floor of 800 building in the back. Very quiet most of the time. The rooms have everything you need and they are quick to respond to the ap for more towels or water. I called reception probably 10 times over the course of the week and no one ever answered but they responded quickly to the ap requests. Like within 10 min. We booked with a TA who told us we were getting a suite for our large family of 7. At least in the building we were in there are hallways with a door that closed and locks, each leading to two rooms. We did not get a suite but we did get two rooms that shared a hallway. I do wish we had been able to keep the doors open to more easily go back and forth, but it worked out ok. The beds are SMALL. Like it says 2 queens, but they are the size of the full beds we have for our kids at home. They are not “true queen” sized just FYI. Until the party people moved in and started smoking below us we absolutely loved our room and building. There is NO PRIVACY for shower. No door to close to bathroom area for changing and even having a towel over the shower door doesn’t quite cut it (leaves a gap right where you don’t want one when moms and teenage sons are trying to shower in same room). Luckily we had two rooms we utilized strategically, but be warned, if I had known I would have brought large binder clips to try and let the towels hang further but there just is no place at all the have privacy to change. Walk to the beach: with small children it is definitely a 10 minute walk. An adult at a brisk pace no more than 5. The shuttle is a golf cart with three rows and this trip reminded us that people all over the world are rude as hell. Several times we waited for the cart and a family or teenagers (or a family with teenagers) would run up and try to jump on before you. I saw it happen to others too. It is a nice walk, you do cross the street. Food: the food was more than decent. We did not feel the need to eat away from the resort. Plenty of variety and options for kids at the main buffet in the main building. Many options in the main buffet (Rosa rioja) were above average, most was good not great. Several seafood options better than average. Hot dogs hamburgers and pizza every lunch and dinner. Dinner items are slightly better than lunch items. Breakfast at the main buffet was FABULOUS, anything and everything you could ever want. Ends at 10 am daily. The burger and salmon were great at the steakhouse and the Asian buffet had great options as well. The Italian restaurant we didn’t end up ordering off the menu there, they have a small buffet and like 5 entrees in a menu but none looked awesome to us. We also did not try the beach Mexican dinner, but we did enjoy their lunch buffet (at the beach).(beach restaurant at Yucatan is lunch buffet and then switched to Mexican restaurant for dinner). They have a 24/7 sports bar with pool tables and meager food offerings. But more than decent if you missed dinner or need a 1am snack. They had like a pot roast type meat and potatoes that were very good, chips, salsa, guacamole, fruit, nachos, and a big cooler of ham and cheese sandwiches and burritos. They also have hot dogs and hamburgers. All self serve. The grill at the pool is also great, basic offerings but they did have ceviche that was delicious in addition to the burgers and hot dogs and nachos. Something definitely changed on Thursday, it was extremely quiet and peaceful Sunday through Thursday. It’s like the crazy party weekend crowd showed up. Definitely more people and harder to get chairs at pools and on beach. More loud music and waaay more smoking. What we did not like: smoking EVERYWHERE. I come from a state where smoking in public is not legal and I just didn’t realize what it was like before. You can’t escape it. We could not enjoy our balcony because there were kids smoking cigars and cigarettes right underneath us. Our clothing we laid out to dry smelled of smoke. At the pools, smoking, on the beach, smoking. We were sitting in chairs behind the lifeguard tower for a while and that was the worst, the lifeguards and people who try and sell you tours and pictures are right there SMOKING and leaving their butts in the sand. The sand itself was full of cigarette butts, not thousands but I counted 12 walking across the beach on just one walk. I do think they need to restrict smoking to certain areas. That would be the only reason we might not return. I was so excited when I saw designated smoking areas around the tequila property but apparently it means nothing or nothing is enforced. It’s much worse at beach then at tequila. There is a ton of seaweed (November) but honestly it didn’t bother us at all. My husband was at the very back of the water where buoys are and he was stung twice by a jelly fish, he said it felt like fire and hurt until the lifeguard sprayed it with vinegar then it didn’t hurt at all. As a large family we usually do laundry on week long vacations. It was extremely expensive here. You pay per item, it was $1 per sock! They did a great job but it was not affordable. I did do the massage for my aunt and I, it was very pricey but they did a good job. All in all I give Riu Tequila 4 out of 5 stars. If they change their smoking policy we will absolutely come back. Again the staff were amazing and it was definitely worth what we paid. We used a really awesome local guy down there to arrange transportation and tickets to Xcaret and to guide us on a tour of pyramids and cenote and it made the experience even better. He also does transport to and from airport and we will use him next time. We did have some issues with the Amstar the TA set up.

  Nov 23, 2025