Riu Palace Aquarelle

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1420 reviews

• 

  Not great at all

  have stayed in a few Riu establishments and due to my previous experiences I had high expectations, this probably was the problem… Riu Aquarelle was not what I expected at all. Maybe as we arrived at the end of summer and the staff were over it, but I found a lot of the members surprisingly moody, rude and unprofessional, however there were notably a few exceptional and kind members such as Jade, Melissa, OJ and a small handful of others but that was it. I had a troubling encounter with a reception supervisor Christabal who was unapologetically disrespectful and dismissive. Unfortunately I was given a converted cost into GBP for an upgrade and was charged more double the amount in fact £1500 on top of the costly amount of the holiday ( so just a room at the back of a their standard sized bedroom no thrills / no views) when I addressed it with him he became triggered and aggressive. Very unprofessional . The room was no way near worth that amount , it did not even have a view, but this fraudulent matter will be escalated. To be clear Riu’s employee took my money using the company’s card machine!! The restaurants were chaotic unfortunately We tried two of the themed restaurants, however the service was extremely slow. food was cold at times, often you could find yourself waiting a lengthy amount of time for a refill Coffee was awful and definitely not blue mountain which we expected , we received this at Riu Reggae. Pool bar staff were fun and prompt apart from one who tried to organise an illegal deal with me and family again totally unacceptable. Cleanliness was not great , I tried to overlook it but after a while seeing rubbish in the same areas for days on end it’s impossible to ignore, mirrors in the lifts extremely dirty. There needs to be more attention to detail. Water pressure with the rooms were weak , and we got little to no hot water frequently throughout the stay. Beware! floor tiles are really slippery outside going towards the beach. We organised a lot of excursions away from the hotel which made the holiday spectacular thank goodness, however I really wished we tried elsewhere or returned to Riu Reggae which was an outstanding hotel.

  Sep 10, 2025
• 

  Great vacation

  Great place for a vacation. Edwards at the pool is for sure the best server out there. He makes great drinks and takes care of his customers. Be sure to take care of him. He takes care of you!!! Food is good for an all inclusive and rooms are nice. The water is beautiful with white sandy beaches. People are friendly and fun at this resort. No issues. Just fun.

  Sep 09, 2025
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  Bad experience checkin

  Check-in process took time, when they say check in 3pm they mean it.. check out seems to only apply to local residence which is 12pm.. families travelling by plane have to check out very early 6am. - best to pack swim suite for everyone and change of clothing we arrived around 12pm and they ask to check back around 3pm. your provided towel cards and provided wrist bands - after 3pm they kept saying room will be ready in 5min.. then 10min.. we didn't get into our room till 4pm. - 4 elevators - room was small for 4 people - 2 twin bed and pull out sofa bed - room service first day came early around 9am, afterwards came later 11am and one time after 3pm. - last 2 night our fridge was not filled. - you need to use one access card to turn on AC, TV and lights in the room - our balcony wasn't latching had to get room service to fix, TV would not turn off at night had to change to channel 32 which is a blank channel. - power outlet is not a lot best to bring a power bar if you have many phones to charge -safe and fridge in room - shower water pressure not the best - shower and toilet in separate rooms - download the Rui App and you are able to book restaurants thru app. Steak house gets book right away. reservation you can only book 2 days in advance. new booking is available after 12am. 4 restaurants to book, one sports bar(located just leaving main entrance to pool) Jerk chicken station(pool area) and main buffet area for breakfast, lunch and dinner. restaurants you can rebook each day. if you cancel best to use app to cancel. - can't bring restaurant/buffet food to your room. if you need food you need to order from room service which is very limited. -resort restaurant is not the best, as well the buffet in the main area seems to be lot of repeating food each night. - Beach area is small, very windy, wavy and rocky. there was no clear area where it's just sandy in the beach. you may need to wear water shoes. - 2 Water parks, big kids/adults and smaller kids. -3 pools very small and middle pool is only adult only. 2 Pool bar is only in Adult area. there is one outdoor bar. one good thing is Jerk Chicken at the pool area only open between 12-3pm. - Entertainment was ok not the best - there were plenty of beach seat no need to rush out early to save seats but notice there are few family who rush each day to get the seat. -leaving for home your band will be cut at front desk and they will not provide any to keep it's their policy.

  Sep 09, 2025
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  Nice weekend getaway

  Newly built property, I book the ocean view suite and it was great Not much to do on property though so enjoy the bar and take in the entertainment

  Sep 06, 2025
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  The best trip so far

  To all of us, it was the best trip due to below facts. - it's in Palace catagory - close to airport (30 min) - brand new building - atmosphere - adult pools were noisier than entertainment one :) Food , entertainment , A La Carte restaurants were excellent and as expected from RIU. Just look for the sign of Riu and no need for more search (from a picky guy) and they know well how to treat their guests

  Sep 03, 2025