Riu Palace Paradise Island - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2955 reviews

• 

  Far from paradise

  When you enter the building at the smoker section, this is the first impression and all that you smell. Very little lighting in the lobby. Staff not welcoming. Nothing like other Caribbean resorts that we’ve been to. Then there are the rooms…hallways and rooms are outdated and run down. Temp in the rooms is set to 59 degrees. This can only be adjusted by engineering, who never come. The only bedding is sheets. No blankets. Only a cheap fleece throw. Televisions don’t work in the rooms. This is also fixed by engineering, who again, never show. The view from our room was of a junk yard, where old loungers were dumped. Towels are so old and dingy that they look grey and they are extremely rough. There is corrosion all over the lighting fixtures and refrigerator. We had to call for two days to have our room cleaned. Burned out lights in the shower. The shower barely drains. The only friendly staff is at the buffet. Even the bartenders lack personality. I call the front desk 5 times, no resolution to anything. This has honestly been the worst place I ever stayed.

  May 18, 2026
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  You need to get facts about this Hotel.

  I write this as a factual experience of our recent stay. Many people, including myself, read these reviews to determine whether a resort will be acceptable for our hard-earned vacation. The check in and check out process was great. No complaints. My only regret was that they hit you with a room upgrade to a higher floor. We paid an additional $30 per night and quite frankly it was a waste of money. The view would have been the same without an upgrade. It's just a money grab. The rooms were good but dated. The rain shower was the best part of the trip. The bed was very comfortable as well. The common areas don't really get cleaned. The floors were always dirty. And the beach doesn't get raked each day either. The pool area is a joke. People are crammed together like sardines. Also, the water must have been 15 degrees warmer than the ocean. The ocean front beach area wasn't much better. You can get the guys to set you up with a couple lounge chairs and an umbrella which was nice, but the beach area is small and gets very crowed as well. The food. Alot to say about the food. The buffet was fine to be honest. They change things up a bit at dinner. But the fine restaurants were terrible. First thing was trying to get a reservation in these places. We had to eat at the buffet morning, noon and night for the first two days we were there because we could get a reservation. The steak house wasn't anything fancy, but the filet was awesome. No real wine list. You'll drink the same stuff all week. The other restaurant's sucked to be honest. There were no true high-end alcohols for drinks. Don't go looking for a bourbon. The drinks at the bar were all way to sweet. Also, not much for choices. I real treat was the Jerk Chicken at lunch outside near the pool. Really delicious. I highly recommend it. I guess the most disappointing thing about the trip was the service. Don't get me wrong, half of the workers were awesome, but the other half couldn't give a crap about you, your questions or concerns. The resort is tired. I won't be returning.

  May 18, 2026
• 

  Total DUMP

  I am writing to formally express my extreme disappointment regarding my recent stay at the Hotel Riu Palace Paradise Island. This was the most unsatisfactory experience I have ever had at a resort, and I feel it is necessary to bring several serious issues to your attention. Upon arrival with our travel partners, the front desk was unwilling to accommodate our request to be placed on the same floor. Furthermore, despite requesting two double beds, our room was prepared with the beds pushed together, the bathroom was not cleaned and the condition of the room was poor. Our request for a room change or reconfiguration was ignored. The room conditions were equally unacceptable. The temperature was set at 18°C, and the thermostat was non-functional. Despite contacting the desk immediately, no assistance was provided until our second day. While a technician eventually came to the room after I got nasty and insisted, he adjusted the unit through the ceiling, his instruction was to simply turn the system off which then left the room excessively muggy and hot. I was also deeply dissatisfied with the food and service quality. The buffet and steakhouse offerings were of poor quality and poorly prepared, while other advertised dining options remained closed. The staff's overall demeanor—from the front desk to the pool attendants—was consistently rude. One evening, while we were sitting in the lobby, the lights were turned off on us, which was incredibly unprofessional and rude. Most concerning was the lack of safety and oversight. I witnessed a guest who was clearly over-served and physically ill passing out by the pool; no staff members intervened or sought medical assistance for him. It appeared that the bartenders prioritized tips over the safety and responsible service of guests. The guest was left there on his own and could have choked to death or drowned as he was getting physically sick and passing in and out of consciousness. A group of guests rallied to help find out what room this guest was in and accompany him back to his room. So disappointing and unacceptable! Due to the lack of hospitality, safety and concern for guests, and the substandard conditions at this property, I have no intention of returning to a Riu resort. I expect a formal response regarding how these lapses in service and safety will be addressed.

  May 17, 2026
• 

  Find Another RIU to vacation at!

  Other than the beach location which is beautiful, this place is old, outdated, unkept, and under managed! If you are in your twenty’s and looking to drink endlessly, and don’t care about the food quality, or if you even eat, this is your place! The restaurant reservation system is archaic and don’t even ask the concierge for help as she will direct you to their app, which was nearly impossible to get on! Then you have to make your dinner reservations for as many people as are in your room, at one of the 4 mediocre restaurants at least 2 days in advance. We tried several times to get into Bahamas (their steak restaurant), Kulinarium, and Tengoku, only to have no availability! However, when you walked by each of these restaurants during prime dinner hours, more than half of the tables were empty! Again, the reservation system is a sham and needs to be changed. Our room on the 12th floor overlooked the pool and was very clean and the well kept by the housekeeping staff. However, only 1 or 2 drawers on the dresser would open as the furniture is old. Also, there were a total of 3 electric outlets in the entire room and bathroom, and only one that is bedside. So bring an extension cord with you if you have multiple devices to charge, or they will charge you $20 to rent one! Lastly, the staff was for the most part friendly, but I would rate them a 5 out of 10 at best. The bartenders at the pool were inattentive and had their favorite guests to wait, or so it appeared. They certainly didn’t manage the bar area very well as despite NO Smoking signs posted around the bar and pool area, they let people smoke while standing under the signs! Very irritating to a non-smoker. Look elsewhere at other RIU’s as we heard from several of the guests we met, that most of the other RIU’s are very nice, updated, and far better than this one. My wife and I will ever go back to this resort as it doesn’t even deserve to be called a resort!

  May 16, 2026
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  Was OK, not Great

  This was a mediocre Riu hotel; started out with getting a room downgraded from what we paid for....they did give us the correct room after one night; Love that the ocean is right there, no long walk; Very clean rooms, however, they did not keep the grounds cleaned as well; The noise level was fine; food in restaurants could have been better; we ran into a couple employees that were very nice, but most not very friendly.......it was still a good vacation.

  May 11, 2026