Riu Palace Aruba Reviews

This is a BEAUTIFUL resort, kept extremely clean, and has every amenity you could possibly want or need. The room was very spacious and comfortable. The only problem was no exhaust fan in the bathroom. The food was plentiful and fantastic and there was all the booze you could drink. We spent our evenings in the casino so can't comment on the night-time entertainment but we completely enjoyed our vacation.

We stayed at the RIU Aruba in December 2008 for our honeymoon. We've stayed at other all-inclusives before and thought the RIU was much better than others we had previously stayed at. Food was much better (even the buffet was pretty good), service was great, and the pool was awesome. We had a great time!

If you like the all inclusive stryle resort you will love this place. If you are in addition a diver you will love the diving school next to the hotel. Great vacation!

My husband and I purchased Aruba Riu hotel package on Cheapcaribean.com 7nights at December 9-16, 2009 I was very happy that we picked Aruba and Riu hotel as our honeymoon destination! Our room was excellent, the service is incredible good! Very welcoming! I loved everything about the hotel, food was great, service A+, pools are great, activities and nightly shows A+. We were able to win a free massage and a free bus tour from the activities that were by the pool! One thing that I didn't like is that people were fighting over the umbrellas by the beach. We got into one of these arguments, but this is not the hotel fault, its human being humans! Overall, I really recomend to visit Aruba and stay at RIU Hotel!

What a beautiful place and an excellent vacation. My husband and I wanted a short getaway after having a baby 8 months prior to our trip in Nov.2009. We had such a great time, beautiful room, view and pool area/beach. The food certainly offered something for everyone. We loved everything about it and strongly recommend it to anyone thinking a bout an all inclusive in Aruba.

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Riu in December. We had a fabulous time. The service was impeccable. The food was great. The rooms were clean. The grounds were well taken care of. I would highly recommend the Riu to anyone.

This was truly an incredible experience! Aruba manages to accommodate any vacationing style and taste! if you are adventurous, there are jeeps at your disposal (for rentals) so you can discover the island at your own pace... if your choice is to relax by the pool or beach, you will most definitely have that and in one of the most beautiful settings you can possibly find! The Riu was an excellent choice for myself and my partner, i would not hesitate in recommending it to anyone that plans to visit Aruba.

My wife and I decided to go to Aruba on pretty short notice (2 Months). It had been a really long year for my wife losing her job and us trying unsuccessfully to start a family. We were also going for our 5 year anniversary, which I had to unfortunately miss in April due to work. We decided on Aruba over the Bahamas and Cozumel. We really wanted to get away from everything and this seemed far enough. We were intrigued by the pictures we saw but concerned about some of the reviews on Trip Adviser about theft. We got there and they treated us to the customary punch that they give on arrival. I had asked for a top room in the reservation for our Anniversary, and the guy at the desk wished us a happy anniversary and gave us room 711 in the main building. It was nice to see they paid attention to our request. Room 711 had a perfect view of the pool and ocean. The room was very nice. The beds are pretty hard, but they will soften it up if you ask. We didn't have any problems with security in our room. The safe was left alone. We ordered room service and it was fine and pretty quick. They restock the beer in the fridge every day and its nice to have the alcohol dispensers. The food is great at the buffet. The restaurants are pretty sub-par. I didn't like the Japanese restaurant. The Italian one was ok. We decided to eat out or at the buffet the rest of the time. My wife loved the cheese spread at the buffet. The buffet by the pool has self-serve beer. I thought that was pretty awesome. If you eat out, go to Texas de Brazil. Its expensive, but worth it if you like steak and other types of meat. They do not tell you the price. It's $45 a person and if you get a pitcher of sangria, that will run you $45 too. We spent about $185 there, but hey. its vacation... The bar on the same level of the lobby has 1 good server. I think his name was Noshonne. He is fun and gives good advice on where to go on the island. He recommended Texas de Brazil over other steakhouses. We were supposed to go out on Saturday night with him, but we were so exhausted from the day. It would have been fun I'm sure. We spent our first day at the pool and our second at the beach. I got up at 6:30 and got the last Palapa. Every morning I would get up at around 7 since I normally am up anyway and save us chairs at the right side of the pool by the bar. Not the best first come-first serve system, but it worked for us. Make sure Freddy serves you for your drinks and tip him well because he really is good. He will remember what you like and make it as strong as you want throughout your entire stay. We only did the beach once because the winds would whip the sand on you. But the ocean water is the most comfortable I have ever been in. If you decide to take a bus downtown, make sure its the actual bus, not a small white van. It is part of the bus system, but they pack it in. We were the only tourists in it, but it actually made it interesting to sit with locals. The shopping was fine, but we really just wanted to get stuff for our nieces and nephews. I got cologne for cheap. We did a full day to De Palm Island. It was fun, but not necessary to take a full day. Just go to the banana boat right when it opens so you don't have to wait in line. I'm not sure if it was the particular day (Mother's Day), but there were a lot of locals there, and they were pretty rude there. The food and drinks are not that great there. We had our own beach most of the day on the other side of the island and that was nice. The blue parrots are pretty cool to look at. Try to buy an underwater camera before you come because they are $27 here. Also, bring lots of sunscreen. We brought 3 bottles and it wasn't enough. My wife is very white. We had to buy another bottle at $27 too. If you need snacks or random toiletries go next door to the westin. Its a bigger store. Overall, it was what we really needed, a relaxing vacation. There are a lot of families along with younger and older couples. My wife and I feel like we found a good place we will go back to.

Overall good experience and good location. Hotel, casino, staff were all nice but the food was not great. Buffet in main dining was less than average, smaller dining area was average and reserved dinners at night were average to less than average. Some great restaurants outside of hotel. Really had a great time, food was our only issue.

This was the third time we stayed at the Riu. We wont stay any other place. The hotel is just beautiful. The beach and the ocean are excellent. The food is good and most important everyone treats you like you are royalty. The bars are equipped with quality liquor. We love the casino. Why would we stay any place else, when we love everything abou the Riu in Aruba??? We paid extra for the ocean view rooms and the view was unbelievable.