When a client is torn between two all-inclusive packages, the RIU name often comes up in the conversation. No surprise there: the Spanish chain has about a hundred hotels in 22 countries and welcomed 6.8 million guests in 2025, many of them in Mexico and the Caribbean. I have stayed at the Riu Palace Macao, the Riu Palace Bavaro and the Riu Republica in Punta Cana, at the Riu Palace Costa Mujeres near Cancún and at the Riu Tikida Garden in Marrakech, and I have visited the Riu Palace Las Americas in Cancún. Here is what I took away, and what I tell my clients before they book.
Palace, Classic, Plaza: finding your way
Before comparing two RIU hotels, you need to know which family they belong to. The Riu Palace hotels are the chain's top tier: roomier rooms, more à la carte restaurants, and some of them are home to the well-known Elite Club. The Riu Classic hotels are more relaxed and often designed for families, with RIU Land, the kids' club, and sometimes a water park. Finally, the Riu Plaza hotels are city hotels: the chain opened its first Canadian hotel, the Riu Plaza Toronto, in September 2025. Within the first two families, some hotels are adults only and others welcome everyone. That is often the first thing I sort out with a client.
A chain that truly renovates
What strikes me most about RIU is how the chain looks after its hotels. One simple reason: it owns nearly 90% of its properties, so it has every interest in keeping them in good shape. Rather than repainting a lobby, it closes a hotel for several months and rebuilds it from top to bottom.
Recent examples are easy to find. The Riu Palace Macao, the first Riu Palace in the Americas when it opened in 1994, reopened in 2023 with all 476 rooms redone and an adults-only formula. In 2024, the Riu Palace Bavaro took over the grounds of the former Riu Naiboa and now has 994 rooms, more than 250 of them family rooms. The Riu Guanacaste, in Costa Rica, gained 300 rooms before being renovated in 2025. And in 2026 alone, the Riu Palace Peninsula in Cancún, the Riu Palace Aruba and the Riu Palace Mexico in Playa del Carmen all reopened after full renovations, while a brand-new hotel, the Riu Ventura, welcomed its first guests in Cancún. Another property is under construction in Costa Mujeres: the brand-new, adults-only Riu Palace Quintana Roo.
RIU rarely publishes figures. Luis Riu Rodríguez, who heads construction for the group, puts a full renovation at 40 to 60 million euros for a hotel with more than 1,000 rooms. The trend is clear: modernize, move upmarket towards Riu Palace, and add adults-only sections, even in family hotels.
For you, that means something concrete: when I suggest a RIU, I check the year of its last renovation. Two hotels from the same chain, in the same city, can offer a very different experience depending on whether they were redone last year or ten years ago.
The atmosphere: you also come for the party
RIU has a reputation for lively hotels, and it is well deserved. During the day, the entertainment team runs activities around the pool; at night, there are shows and live music on stage. But the chain's real signature is the RIU Party.
Launched in 2018 in Los Cabos, these are themed parties with DJs, dancers and shows, included in the all-inclusive. There are four of them: Jungle, White, Neon and Pink, each with its own dress code. In Punta Cana, Cancún and Los Cabos, they take the form of adults-only pool parties, four times a week, and the chain now and then brings in well-known DJs. Elsewhere, in Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica or Aruba, it is a family party once a week in the hotel's theatre. You have to be staying at a RIU to attend, and several hotels give access to the party at a neighbouring hotel.
At the adults-only Riu Republica in Punta Cana, the mood is definitely festive! It is the party resort par excellence, with pool bars where it is easy to meet people and make friends with travellers from all over the world. But it also has two pools with a much quieter atmosphere, where the only noise that sometimes disturbs your afternoon nap is a game of pool volleyball.
Another detail that surprises first-timers: in several hotels in the Americas, the room has a liquor dispenser, restocked by the hotel.
And if you are looking for peace and quiet, tell me: some RIU hotels are much better suited to it than others. A hotel that hosts the parties, or sits next door to one that does, is not the best choice if you like to turn in early.
What about the kids?
Families are well looked after too. RIU Land, the chain's kids' club, is offered in more than 40 hotels, with Calú, the little sea turtle that serves as its mascot. Several family hotels also have a Splash Water World water park, such as the Riu Guanacaste or the Riu Palace Aquarelle. For a family, I look at those two things first, then at the size of the family rooms.
Elite Club by RIU: is it worth it? Yes and no.
The Elite Club by RIU was born in 2022 at the Riu Palace Kukulkan, in Cancún, and has since spread to about fifteen Riu Palace hotels, including the Macao, the Bavaro, the Peninsula and the Costa Mujeres. These are not separate hotels: they are rooms within a Riu Palace, with access to exclusive areas.
In practice, depending on the hotel, you get a private bar or lounge, a private à la carte restaurant, and a pool or a section of beach for Elite guests. At the Riu Palace Macao, for example, it is a private beach with its own bar. On top of that come personalized check-in, late check-out until 1 p.m., premium drinks, a better-stocked minibar and a dispenser of higher-end spirits in the room.
Yes, it is worth it if you spend your days at the hotel, if you are travelling as a couple in a family hotel such as the Riu Palace Bavaro, or if you are celebrating an anniversary or a honeymoon. No, if you go on excursions almost every day, or if you make little use of the bars and restaurants.
RIU does not publish a fixed supplement: it varies with the dates and the room category. I always compare the two prices at the time of booking, so you can decide knowing the real difference.
How I choose a RIU for a client
With all that in mind, my questions are always more or less the same. Are you travelling as a couple, with friends or with family? Do you want a lively atmosphere or peace and quiet? Will you stay at the hotel or go out and explore the area? With those three answers, the list of possible RIU hotels shrinks quickly, and we often end up with two or three options that really suit you.
Our favourites
This is not a ranking, just six hotels we often recommend, each for a specific reason.
Riu Palace Macao, Punta Cana
I stayed there. It is the first Riu Palace in the Americas, adults only and fully redone in 2023, right on Arena Gorda beach. Its guests also have access to the facilities of the neighbouring RIU hotels, including the Renova Spa, the Pacha nightclub, a casino and a full gym.
Riu Latino, Costa Mujeres
Opened in 2022, it is the first adults-only Riu Classic in Mexico. You get the calm of a hotel without children, along with five pools and a water park on site.
Riu Palace Peninsula, Cancún
Fully redone in 2026, it manages to please two kinds of guests: families, with RIU Land, and couples, with its new Elite Club set in the villas section.
Riu Palace Aquarelle, Jamaica
Opened in 2024, it is one of the newest RIU hotels in the Caribbean. It sits on White Bay beach, close to the historic centre of Falmouth, about 35 minutes from Montego Bay airport.
Riu Tikida Garden, Marrakech
I stayed there. Adults only and renovated in 2021, it stands on the Palmeraie circuit, a few kilometres from the medina, with a palm garden, a heated pool for the winter and a hammam on site.
Riu Guanacaste, Costa Rica
The only one on the list on the Pacific, on Matapalo beach. The family hotel was redone in 2025 and has a water park.
Torn between two RIU hotels? Write to me: I will tell you which one best matches the way you like to travel.
