Riu Yucatan Reviews

You will not be disappointed when you arrive at the reception of this hotel, it is completely open on 3 sides, is full with traditional art, highly polished furniture, beautiful white lily arrangements, the most magnificent black horse drawn carriage and smiling/welcoming staff. While your checking in a bell-boy is unloading your luggage from the coach and a waiter is serving you with cocktails.

The rooms are set amongst beautiful tropical gardens which are full of monkeys, lizards, birds, squirrels, iguanas and funny looking little critters which we didn't know what they were. The rooms are large and bright with either a balcony or terrace, with air-con plus a ceiling fan, a well stocked mini bar, plenty of draws, wardrobe space and hangers. Theres a separate wc and shower.

NB: NO BATH so if you have toddlers be aware.

Theres 4 bars, 3 restaurants, the main restaurant is located off the main reception and you have the choice of 2 sittings in the evening, either 7pm or 9pm, the 7pm is popular with families, the choice of dishes are immense and erxtremely tasty you can choose from a roast, fish and chips to curried fish, squid and all things mexican and beyond. The beach club(seafood restaurant form 7-10.30pm evenings, bookings only) and pool club (steak restaurant from 7-10.30pm evenings, bookings only) is where you go for a wide variety of snacks/ice creams throughout the day and from 10-30pm til 11.30pm for a late night snack.

Theres a bar in the night club which is situated above the reception whcih is open from 11pm to 2am. A bar in the open-on-3-sides entertainment venue which is open until midnight. The evening entertainment is brilliant whether it's the animations team doing it or other professionals the enterainment starts at 8pm to 11pm.

The pool area has plenty of sun-loungers, tables and chairs, umbrellas, towel kiosk, papers/mags/book exchange, cold drinks dispenser, nachos and cheese dispenser, pool bar, a kids pool and the most fantastic pool with a swim-up bar (this was a first for us and what a joy). Theres plenty of entertainment here during the day for all ages.

You walk down the stairs from the pool, through the palm trees (theres plenty of shade under the palms) onto the most spectacular beach where there are plenty of sun-loungers, the most beautiful blue sea ever, white sands and the most welcoming sea breeze. Theres an aray of water sports, some you have to pay for ie jet skis, and organised sports during the day for all ages. You can also have massages and hair braiding done on the beach.

We went on several trips, the fist one we done under our own steam which was a day to Cozumal Island. We took cabs to the harbour (80 MP round trip about £3.50) then the boat across takes about 40 minutes (145 MP each round trip about £8.50, children went for less) we had a fun day shopping, sight-seeing and eating out, Cozumel is very lively and busy as all the criuse ships dock there (we see the Disney criuse ship) it's a definate for your agenda.

Our friends and their children went to Cancun to feed/swim with the dolphins, they said it was the most amazing thing they had ever done (they booked it through our rep as it included the coach, lunch and shopping afterwards. It was about £350 for the five of them).

NB: the 5 year old COULD NOT take part as you have to be 110cm and over and he is only 107cm. There was no problem with our rep getting his money refunded.

My husband Brian and I went on the Coba Ruins and Jungle excursion (we booked it with our rep and it was about £180). The cost included a really tasty mexican lunch, drinks all day and three separate tours, the ruins, the monkeys and the Mayan house. It was a long day out but fantastic. Our guide Miriam was interesting and funny, on the coach going she talked about the Mayan people, their culture and the ruins, we learnt a lot. The ruins are spectacular, and from the top of the highest temple you can see over the jungles canopy pick-out the other ruins and see the 2 lakes. While in the jungle we were shown poisonous trees, spider monkeys and by the lake 2 crocodiles sunbathing. We then went onto a traditional Mayan house where there were no 21st century influences, no water, electric ect. The lady of the house was married at 12 (their custom) and she has 13 children and is only 25 years old, and she appeared very happy.

NB: Miriams recipe for insect repellent and boy we needed it ";70% baby oil + 30% citronella"; (from a chemist/health shop) mix together and massage into you skin, works a treat.

NB: This trip is not suitable for people with walking difficulties as it's uneven ground and several miles of walking,, or young children if they are not interested in culture.

We also went into Playa Car (Playa Car is very lively and has a great atmosphere) for a couple of evenings (cab 80MP round trip) to have dinner and just wander round picking up trinkets as we went, I bought a beautiful saronge for 50MP about £2.80. For dinner I had sweet lime soup (sounds awful but was fab) followed by pork that had been marinaded in bitter orange, cooked in a banana skin and brought to the table and shreaded with salad, salsa, sour cream, it was delicious, cost about 150MP about £8.50 and thet price included a drink.

One last observation:-

On arrival and departure at Cancumn be prepared for a further 1 - 2 hours wait (on top of the usual waiting time) as Cancun Customs check all cases and hand luggage both in and out of the Country.

THE WAITING IS WORTH IT BECAUSE ONCE YOUR THERE IT'S HEAVEN.

We visited Playacar for the second time last July. Once again we had a fantastic holiday, great weather, friendly staff and 1st class accommodation.

Our accommodation was a one bedroom suite which included entrance hall, full bathroom, lounge and bedroom with 2 queensized beds. The room was very clean with good standard of furnishings, free mini bar and satellite TV. We were lucky enough to have a double sized balcony, with excellent views of the monkeys who can be quite noisy at time but it all adds to the fun.

Hotel staff were very good but the head waiter's in the dining room and bar staff in the entertainment bar were wonderful. The bar staff made sure everyone felt at home and had a great time. Don't miss out on the Tequila Bum Bum's and the Mexican Flag's there great fun.

The hotel is located right on the beach which we found a little crowded up to other Caribbean hotels we have visited. The beach itself has sloping powder white sand and safe turquoise waters. As someone has mentioned in an earlier review the watersport staff are reluctant with the catamarans and always tend to say they are fully booked. Despite them spending most of the day sat on the shore.

The food was of a high standard with many extra touches that helped make the holiday special ie Champagne breakfasts that went down a treat.

Entertainment was of a good standard.The staff worked hard, Really enjoyed Grease and Michael Jackson shows.
Overall we had a great holiday and would say if your looking for a relaxing holiday with plenty of fun and sun give the Riu Yucatan a try you won't be disappointed !

Playacar is lovely safe place with a golf course and about 20 shops in the plaza. The beach is fantastic, soft and white. Playa del Carmen is about 2km away, here you will find a variety of shops, bars, restaurants and the ferry to Cozumel.

The hotel Riu Yucatan is in an ideal position directly on the beach. There are ample sunbeds dotted amongst the palm trees. The staff set them out in lines but you can move them to suit yourself. The sea is very clear with shoals of fish swimming around you, many people were feeding them.

The pool isn't hugh but has a swim up bar and is used for pool games. It was a bit more tricky getting a sun bed here but this didn't bother us as we prefer the beach.

The rooms are pleasant, we were overlooking the pool and probably had one of the only seaviews (we requested this at the time of booking). The mini bar was usually restocked daily even though it said every other day in the brochure. The beds were a little hard but we got used to them. Our only complaint was,the balcony had no light so we couldn't use it at night. Every thing was spotlessly clean,when the maids have finished in your room they are inspected by another member of staff.

The Food was excellent and varied lots of choice. We only ate in the al la carte restaurant once, it was good but so was the buffet. They did Lovely fresh fruit smoothies for breakfast the banana one was gorgeous. My husband Steve did have a bit of a dicky tummy but I think it may have been too many cocktails rather than the food.

There are plenty of bars and a good choice of drinks, including cocktails, on offer. The staff throughout the hotel are very friendly and will do anything for you. The entertainment wasn't brilliant. The animation team worked hard but their shows were a little weak. The Michael Jackson show was good and we enjoyed laughing at some of the others (especially bingo in about 6 different languages, there'd be about 10 false calls before some one eventually won).

We did the dolphin swim and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a reasonable price to do the swim about £69 but works out expensive with the photos and video (we couldn't resist them though). Xel ha eco park is well worth a visit, the snorkling was fantastic and it's a beautiful place, although a little crowded.

Chitchen Itza was interesting and we are glad we've been but the coach journey was long and bumpy and the heat intense when you arrive. Once we'd climbed the pyramid we spent most of our time sitting in a cafe with bottled water. We also hired a car for a day it was cheapest from the place in the plaza. We drove around the area, visiting the beach and shops in Cancun (We found Cancun very built up and a little bit scruffy in some areas, the beach in Playacar was much better). Steve didn't find driving in Mexico a problem at all.

All in all it was a fantastic holiday, we are going back to playacar this year and taking our youngest daughter. One word of warning, Cancun airport is terrible. We were searched (including cases) on the way in and about 4 times on the way out. Flights are called by a little man walking around with a loud hailer (it all adds to the charm).

We would recommend Mexico, Playacar and The Riu Yucatan to anyone

Fantastic accomodation, wide variety of food, beautiful country. Holiday was worth every penny and we'll be going back again next year.