Riu Playa Blanca - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5750 reviews

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  Fantastic resort

  From the moment we arrived until the sad moment we had to leave it was a fantastic experience. Its a short 7 minute ride from the airport and check in was a breeze. The room was bright and very clean. Nicely stocked mini bar with 4 bottles of booze and beer,water and pop in the fridge. I recommend having the app so if you need anything, you request it and they quickly deal with it. The staff here work very hard and are more than happy to please. They decorated our room for my wife's birthday and it was a wonderful surprise for her. The food was fantastic. You will not go hungry. The buffet changes themes every night. They need more signs at the buffet explaining what everything is,and the ones they have are faded so hard to read. Asian,Italian and steakhouse are also fantastic but you need to line up early to get a table or wait until one becomes available. The sports bar has excellent coffee and is open 24 hours for snacks and drinks. Entertaining nightlife, and activities all day long. Monkey island was a hoot and the Buenaventure golf course is top notch. Bring your own balls and glove from home or $$. The ladies enjoyed the massage at the spa. Pools and beach are great but they have to do something about the ignorant people who put towels on the beds at 5 am and go back to bed. The vendors on the beach are not pushy and very reasonable. You can rent a jet ski or water taxi on the beach. Taxi stand at the front door is handy. $5 to and from the grocery store and dollar store down the road. The Lagoon next door has a restaurant called Calla that is open to the public. Bring a towel and enjoy the massive pool. All in all,a solid 4.5 star from me. I had a very pleasant time here and miss it already. I will be back for 2 weeks the next time.

  Jan 18, 2026
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  Will definitely be returning!!

  We just returned from a week and I don't understand some of the negative reviews. The staff go out of their way to make your stay fun. We sat in the same section every morning for breakfast because our server was amazing. The steakhouse dinner was so good!! The bartenders at the swim up bar are so much fun and love to experiment with the drinks lol. The lifeguards are very strict with the no children in this pool and since we were traveling without children this was appreciated lol. The only small complaint I have is that the food on the buffet could definitely be hotter but still tasted good and for the most part there was variety. The rooms are clean and staff is constantly cleaning around entire resort including grounds keepers. I will definitely be returning!!

  Jan 13, 2026
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  I would give it 4 1/2 stars

  We had a fabulous relaxing week at this Riu. I give this resort 4 1/2 stars. Everything was very good. Could it be a little better yes but I'm not complaining. Food was good, resort and rooms were very clean. The 2 most important for us. We were there for New Years and they did a beautiful job with the food and entertainment. (Thankyou) I was also pleasantly surprised by the beach. It was a nice walk for some exercise.

  Jan 09, 2026
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  Amazing food and atmosphere

  Resort was excellent and staff extremely friendly. Food was amazing and 4 pools. Great vacation we will be back. Sand is very hot careful.

  Jan 08, 2026
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  Don't bother !!

  We have been to a couple of Riu Resorts in the past and the service and atmosphere has always been second to none. This place was a huge disappointment. The room was spacious and clean. The resort itself is kept very clean in some areas (eg. they are constantly washing the paths to & from the beach), but the main dining hall is not cleaned nearly enough. At breakfast, there is still food on the floor from supper buffet the night before. When looking for a place to sit, we found ourselves, and others around us, cleaning off our own table. At breakfast, I really liked that they leave the coffee pot on the table, but getting one in the first place is a challenge. I approached a staff member after she looked at me twice and never came over, and asked politely if we could get coffee. I got eye rolls, a huff and eventually a pot. This resort has some of the unfriendliest staff I've ever experienced....especially being a Riu !!! They were unfriendly, even quite rude and that seemed to be the norm especially in the buffet dining room. As far as location, there is nothing around. You can walk the beach, but there was so much black stuff in the water, we didn't even try. Having said that, someone told us that if you get through the first ugly bit, it wasn't as bad farther in. We were good with the pool, and knew the beach would not be great. We did one excusion to Anton Valley. Very underwhelming for the amount you pay. Wasn't exactly as described...too much down time, not enough to see. Food was good...drinks were good. You are definitley left waiting if you are not Spanish-speaking. Entertainment was a disaster !! They try, but NO !! Overall I would not go back to this place...glad we got a good deal cause I would have been more upset if we had paid full price.

  Jan 07, 2026