Riu Palace Antillas

Our room was in the "adult only" resort - we enjoyed the visit and found the staff to be exceptionally helpful (and considerate). In addition to the buffets (morning, noon and night) - there was an area with "snacks", several bars and a few specialty restaurants. Entrance to the specialty restaurants was: standing in line (would have preferred to make reservations). We did manage a meal at "specialty restaurant" steak house -- the steak was delicious.

I stayed at the Renaissance adults only side of the resort the first week of December. The resort overall was nice. Lobby and grounds were modern, food was decent, but difficult to get into the a la carts as it’s a first come first serve basis. The Italian was ok, and the Aruban was wonderful. We couldn’t get into the steakhouse, but I heard it was very good. The guys on the beach in the morning were great at setting us up with chairs. They put them out as you come down in the morning which was great cause you didn’t come down to all the huts and chairs being saved like in most resorts. Beach is gorgeous! White sand, turquoise water. You just can’t get enough of it. The week we stayed it was a bit windy so watch out for that sand! It’s beautiful until it’s whipping you in the face lol They have a nightly show and a disco similar to most resorts and had live music on some nights which was nice. In the evening entertainment after 10pm was lacking, so we either explored the nightlife on the island or played at the casino most nights. The guys at the casino were fun! Especially the boys at the craps table. The only real disappointment for me were the rooms. They definitely need a refresh, not what I would have expected for this grade of hotel. They were clean, just dingy with age. I would come to this resort again!

This is NOT a 5 Star Resort! Our reservation was for 3 couples, and we shared two rooms. I was not at all impressed with the reception at the lobby desk upon arrival, mainly due to the push back I received in regards to my repeated reservation request. I was told on three occasions leading up to our arrival that my request for joined rooms should not be a problem at all. So, much to my surprise, the attendant at the front desk informed me upon check in that my request would NOT be able to be granted...the reason? RIU ANTILLAS DOES NOT HAVE JOINED ROOMS!!! I expressed my disgust because I felt that I had obviously been mislead from Day 1. After several minutes of back and forth he offered to "cancel out my reservation and I could go elsewhere if I wanted to". Wow, I was furious, but where would we find an opening for 6 adults during a holiday? We stayed, but why on earth was the accommodation availability never communicated to me? Both of the rooms we reserved were dated with peeling tubs. The second room had multiple issues, a slider door with broken lock, broken deck furniture, leaking frig, broken iron, dirty bathroom (hair!!!), and peeling/chipped tiles with an actual screw poking out of the floor tile as you stepped out of the shower. So, needless to say, given our rocky start, we needed to find some redeeming qualities. REDEEMING QUALITIES: *The pool servers were all attentive, cheerful and wonderful at their job! *The activity crew was energetic and fun, "Go Randy!" *Liquor tap in the rooms and drink fixins in frig, well supplied. *The ocean was perfection, blue water and clear. *The buffet (breakfast/lunch/dinner) was delish! So many options, and the service was fantastic! You're prob wondering why the odd title for this review. Midweek, we were having dinner when the manager, Justin, approached our table (as he made his rounds) to ask about the service. We commended the service but "attempted" to inform him of the issues we had experienced. In our opinion, "Justin" dismissed the issues completely!!! He never "apologized" for the issues, he only stated "excuses" as he went on and on about how "hotels are set up". Isn't the customer always right, Justin? According to Justin, I should have emailed him directly with our requests for joining rooms, and had I done so, he could have informed me of their hotel set up. Really? How does one do that if they don't even know you exist? And, shouldn't RIU representatives have this knowledge to share with their customers? So, at the conclusion of our interaction with Justin, he stated he would send someone up to the "bad" room to attend to the issues (broken iron, etc), and he stated he would slide his business card under our door for further communication. Guess what? The issues were NEVER addressed, and his business card NEVER arrived. So basically, once Justin knows he has your money, all he really wants to hear are the "good comments" you have to share. I truly believe he never had any intention of following through. In fact, on New Year's Eve, he approached our table and never acknowledged our previous conversation at all. Go back to CUSTOMER SERVICE class, Justin! The BEST of RIU ANTILLAS: *The food options, quality and presentation *Beach/Pool/Bar facilities *Service with a smile at the pool, bars and restaurants *Ocean access The WORST of RIU ANTILLAS: *Dismissive Manager, Justin *Rooms in disrepair *Overflowing trash cans (at elevators) every morning Summary: The beautiful pools (one with swim up bar/immersed lounge chairs/immersed bar stools &tables) and the other expansive with fountains, the restaurant service/servers, pool service/servers, and ocean access are all reason enough to try this hotel. You don't spend much time in the rooms anyway, right? But if a more modern updated accommodation is high on your list of "must haves", try another resort. And lastly, if you use this resort and anything is not up to your standards, don't waste time, go to the front desk and demand to speak with Justin!