Riu Palace Aruba

We had my son's wedding here in November 2019. It was so beautiful! Everything went off without a hitch. We all had an awesome time. The food was excellent in the buffet. The rooms were clean and everyone was friendly. I am planning on going back. Just an absolute treasure!!!!

This property is fairly big. Huge useless lobby. Room was spacious, well stocked with beer and soda in the fridge, alcohol dispensary (Vodka, Scotch, Rum and Brandy) always replenished. Staff was great, hard working and friendly. Buffett had absolutely everything, decent quality, even gluten free options. Wine was OK, they could up the quality a bit for not much more $. Steak restaurant was perfect. Did’t visit the other ‘theme’ restaurants because they were closed (I assume because they were slowly shutting down due to Corona Virus). Beautiful beach, incredible sunset view. I recommend. On the negative, huge negative, the Casino is absolutely useless!

This was our 9 trip to Aruba and our first all inclusive. We have stayed at Costa Linda, Playa Linda, Marriott Ocean Club, Barcelo, and Divi Phenix. We were told our room was not ready but would be ready in an hour. It was more like 3 hours but that was okay we were in Aruba. We rented a timeshare so we were in the building closest to the beach on the first floor. Our patio was big and in a few steps you were on the beach. Now being on the first floor has its advantages but remember everyone who walks on the boardwalk walks by your patio and sees you with your pajamas on. The timeshare room had a crazy setup. The master bedroom had a nice bathroom with a shower and 2 sinks but no door in the bathroom. The second bedroom has two full size beds that were comfortable but no windows and the lamp that was in did not give enough light. There was a small closet with a 5 drawer dresser which 2 did not open. When you rent the timeshare and you do the all inclusive you are only allowed to have beer and soda . You do not get all of the other liquors in your room. The room has a stove and fridge and sink. No dish washing liquid to wash the dishes and no dish cloth or paper towel to dry them. When we asked for that stuff and we were told that the timeshare owner has to request it. All the bartenders were wonderful especially Billy, Keyla, Anthony, Christina, and Deigo. As the week went on and they found out that they would be closing for a while they were sad but still very friendly. The buffet was very good. So was the Italian restaurant. All the other restaurants were closed from Tuesday on. I wish that the hotel would have given updates of what was happening on the island and at the hotel. They could have given a notice under the door telling us that on Wednesday the prime Minister closed all restaurants and bars as of 10 pm. And Thursday as of 8pm so that we could have plan our day accordingly. Because one the last 3 days we were only able to eat at the buffet, we chose to eat elsewhere. Aruba is still the best vacation.