Riu Palace Pacifico

I thought the hotel was great. I find that in PV and around, it is hard to find a good quality all-inclusive resort. This one raises to challenge. The only downfall though, I found that social distancing and sanitary measures were quite loose. There are arrows on the floor and rules to follow, but no one to enforce them. The pool bar was packed with people, without masks and just rubbing on each other. We made sure to stay away from people to be safe and made sure to have food when it wasn't busy because otherwise, it was quite cramped. Also, the bathrooms are outdated, but I mean, for the price we paid it's decent!

4 of us went here Sept. 20 thru 26th, 2020. Pool very nice and big, very warm. Weather was great. Sprinkled for one minute during the day the whole time. Rained a couple of times in the night but still warm. No mosquitoes at all. Buffet had so many options that you will find plenty that you will love. Their guacamole was my staple. Birria soup and their pozole were so so good. The service at the a la carte restaurants made you feel like being in a fancy restaurant. They love feeding you wine, liquor and beer if you desire. A few a la carte restaurants offered filet mignon. It's tender and worth it. Lobster was mediocre but still worth it. The butter tastes more like margarine. Lots of yummy looking fruit (not my thing) but looked good. Overall food quality was pretty great. New york steak was pretty good. I love rib eye and it was great one night and pretty good another. Men had to wear pants in a couple of the a la cartes. There are so many staff, you get service faster than you need. If you tip, they really give you the service like royalty. The lobby is beautiful. The rooms are really good. Not stinky. Bathrooms aren't stinky. So you know, the female staff go in the bathroom to clean it even if you're in there, fyi. Our rooms were cleaned, sometimes twice a day. That may be because leaving a tip on the bed helps. They make your bed even if you have things on the bed, so you know. Not used to that but nothing came up missing. I needed a lighter and one of the male staff gave me his lighter and said he'd just get it back from me some time later. The service and hospitality from staff was superb. The only place that seemed to slack a bit was the sports bar. It wasn't ever busy but sometimes we would be waiting and the bartender would serve their buddies (it seemed) first even though we were there first. Also there were several times when the bartender was talking to (a buddy?) at the bar and we'd get ignored for a little longer than seemed normal. Overall, not really worthy of complaining about. Snack foods like hot dogs in the sports bar that you can just grab out of the refrigerator and microwave up. Not too shabby actually. Played lots of sand volleyball and water volleyball. That was super fun. Oh and ping pong. I was the champ by the way. There was some form of entertainment each night. It was the time of year that a lot of the guests were mostly Mexican. It was rare to find people who spoke English. I personally didn't care. I speak enough spanish to get by and the Mexican guests were great. Very friendly. The service in the entertainment section was ridiculously good. They checked on us very often. (probably didn't hurt that we tipped every time). I think the one that stood out the most was Adriana? She took good care of us. Use Uber, not taxi. Uber is way cheaper. We went to Bucerias nearby and it cost 2 to 3 bucks. Taxi was 6 or 7. Try all the a la carte restaurants. There's something good at each one. If you go to Bucerias visit The Snack Shack. We went there twice. The owner was awesome. He sat down with us and kicked it with a beer or two. His name is Alex. He even went and got us a cigar when we expressed interest. Who does that? Most beers in Bucerias are 1.50. Exiting the airport beware of the "shark tank". Oh man, it's a real thing. People trying to hit you up and get your business, get you to use their services. Just keep your head down and keep on walking toward the exit. The resort takes visa and US dollars. You can tip in US dollars. I hear people prefer pesos and we got some while in Mexico at an ATM but not entirely necessary. If you need change for your large pesos from the ATM just get it from the front desk. Overall, food was great, very clean, amazing customer service, due to covid the sports bar didn't have pool or foosball but sports were on the tv's. Alcohol is watered down but thank god. When you drink all day it's a blessing. Gotta wear your mask til you are drinking, eating,or sitting down at a buffet or restaurant table or outside pretty much. Enjoy feeling like Royalty.