RIU Hotels & Resorts
Reviews and Complaints

To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to I inform you of illegal and fraudulent actions that a Travel Agency that has a current IATA and/or TRUE number and does business as Reko Tours/Sunny Vacations/Caribbean Holidays as well as the websites listed below at the end of this email. The agency is currently located in Brooklyn New York. It's " managers " are George Tsapelas and Vicky Stephaneau. I had a contracted with Reko Tours for 26 rooms at the Riu Palace Aruba Resort May 24-28, 2012. After being in constant contact with the agency and the reservation specialist at Riu corporate and after making full payment of over $43, 000.00, I was assured everything was in place for my group. Upon arriving at the resort and shortly after my group began to check in, I discovered thru numerous phone calls, emails, text messages, and faxes that Reko Tours' check payments to the Riu Palace Aruba for my group had bounced and my entire group had been canceled for non-payment. I paid Reko Tours in full and they never paid the resort. I was made to secure the group's stay that weekend using my personal American Express Credit Card for which I am disputing, for the second time. I was in a foreign country with 48 clients, a wedding ceremony, and a anniversary celebration with the threat of being locked out of rooms for non-payment..
I have emails, text messages and voice mail from George Tsapelas indicating he was having trouble with the resort, but him making payment to Riu Resorts on behalf of my group has nothing to do with me.
I have since retained an attorney, contacted the Better Business Bureau, the Brooklyn Attorney General's Office Consumer of Protection Affairs and the Attorney General's Office of Internet Fraud.
I wanted to make the public, travel agent/agency/consortium/host agency community aware of this criminal activity. He continues to do business using the above names and has also scammed others. I am in contact with an agent who also had to repay once she arrived at the Riu Resort in Mexico. She and other agents were on a FAM trip booked by Reko Tours/Sunny Vacations/Caribbean Escape. They too filed with American Express to retrieve their money back.
A Vice Principal from Tennessee booked air travel using Reko Tours for a group of students traveling to Europe. He was scammed out of $25, 000.00 due to the agency not booking the flights/changes to the flight. He has filed a complaint with the Tennessee District Attorney regarding the agency.
The agency is still doing business. I am still pursing a civil case as well as a criminal case. I am seeking to involve the US District Attorney since he has scammed people using the Internet and across state lines. His information is below, PLEASE WARN AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN about his criminal activity.
The $4, 000.00 check that he sent to me bounced!
I can provide documentation and other proof of the above charges. Please contact me if you are willing to help me with my case or need additional information to ban this agency from doing business with you or your clients.

Upon my first trip to Jamaica, I stayed at Riu Ocho Rios in room 1452 with two friends 8/17/12 - 8/19/12 (beautiful resort with immaculate views) to begin, we left Miami and arrived at the resort from MBJ airport around 5-5:30pm. It took about 45-min to an hour to check in but they had "welcome punch" which was very good while you wait. Calecia assisted us at the desk with getting our room and was very pleasant. They gave us a suite instead of the ocean view standard that we requested, so we were delighted until we got there and realized it was a lover's suite (open space w/ no privacy in the bathroom) and we were just 3 gals looking to enjoy the island lol ! so we asked if we could have a regular room. They moved us on the other side which was really nice, and I was happy bc it seemed to be less children on this side of the resort. We roamed the resort after check in and dinner, and enjoyed the MJ impersonation. The next morning, we went down to breakfast (loved the variety) early to get an early start. We then went to talk to our carib vacations rep to set up our excursions at Dunn's River and Mystic Mountain. After paying, she explained that we had about 10 minutes to go change and prepare before the bus arrived to pick us up. We ran up to the room to change. In the process of changing clothes I took the money from my pants pocket and sat it on the bed, in the midst of running out, I left my money on the bed ($120 US) and realized it when we were renting the shoes for Dunn's river and my friend had to loan me the money. I immediately used the phone at Dunn's River to call the hotel to let them know. I spoke to Calecia, who stated that she would let housekeeping know. Upon returning, I found a note from security letting me know that they had the money and to call. When I called the security guard came with an envelope which held $40 ! I asked where is the other $80 and he stated that he had to call the head security because that's the only thing they had.. When the head security came, he seemed very stern and didn't seem friendly at all. He explained that it's their policy that they can't reimburse me at that time and asked If I wanted to call the police I explained to him that I absolutely wanted an officer to come and he quickly left the room. About 10 minutes later two guys dressed in plain clothes (only one presented a badge) as Officer Hendricks (badge # 10811) came in immediately questioning me about the situation. I felt very uncomfortable with the line of questions and the manner in which they were talking to me that i got online and sent a message to my family to let them know what was going on in case something went wrong. About 5 minutes into the conversation, I felt like I was on trial or if I did something wrong bc they were insinuating that maybe I misplaced it or I was making it up. When clearly I explained what I left there, and what I spent. I even went as far as going online to show the guard my bank statement showing how much I took out right before the trip. He then explained that bc it's simple larceny I had to go down to the St. Anne Police Station (so while on what was suppose to be a relaxing get away I had to spend almost 2 hours of my vacation inconvenienced at the police station which made me very uncomfortable and nervous). He finished with the report at 7pm There were no computers and the police station sat in the middle of a very busy (chaotic) street where people were outside and I guess it was something I just couldn't get used to. But I had to take the necessary steps in getting this solved so I had to deal with it. After handwriting the statement, where I was further interrogated, having to answer questions about my job, how much money I make, where I live and who resides in the home (unnecessary), we were dropped off to the resort and I was given a Constabulary Force Customer Reference Form number 828703. When asked if I could have a copy of the statement officer Hendricks explained that the copy machine wasn't working and I would be emailed a copy of the statement, and they would follow up with me about this matter. Today 8/26/12 officially makes one week since I returned to the US and I haven't received a call nor an email from Club Riu Ocho Rios nor from the St. Annes Police Dept and I'm truly disgusted. Although $40US was returned and $80US was missing, it  really inconvenienced the remainder of my trip leaving me limited and unable to enjoy the rest of my time in Jamaica. In the midst of this trip my uncle passed the day before 8/16 and I was undecided if I should board the flight or stay home but I thought that a few days at a reputable resort would ease my mind and help me prepare for the tragic situation that I would return home to, but I actually left the island with more stress than I needed. It's really bad because I planned to bring my family back to Jamaica in April for Spring Break and I planned to stay at Club Riu Ocho Rios but after this horrible experience I'm uncertain if I ever want to return because I left with such a bad experience. Which is bad because outside of the missing $80, I enjoyed the resort and my experience in Jamaica. Had it not been for the sticky fingered employee, I would've given my experience two thumbs up but right now I have a bad rapport with Club Riu Ocho Rios and hope this can be resolved. In a timely manner. I hope to hear from someone soon.

Just returned July25, 2012 after a week at this all-inclusive RIU property with my wife.Our room safe was breached day before leaving losing all our $US from my wallet.The management could not have cared less about our plight. I know cash is difficult to prove and compensation unlikely however you expect some emapthy from the hotel manager who walked around all week pretending to be a caring leader.The manager, Frederick just walked away to eat his dinner saying it's never happened before and it's impossible.Without going into all the details it should be known what a terrible unsafe operation the RIU has in Puerto Plata.The resort has many hard working kind people however the management appears to be corrupt and totally uncaring.Please do not suffer a possible similar situation by going here.

Re:Holly Guevel
Please see attached complaint regarding my recent stay at the Riu in Paradise Island. I have attached the photos and I have also listed our concerns and unpleasant experience during our stay at the Riu in Bahamas.
This was my wedding and my fiancé and I brought eight family members. It was a very special time for all of us. We have stayed at the Atlantis in the past and it was amazing so we were looking forward to a vacation of a lifetime.

Our arrival was a bit uncomfortable as our bus driver threw our luggage out of the bus on the curb. He broke one of my son’s suit case wheels off.
We went to the desk for check in to be treated extremely disrespectful by the staff.
I had requested rooms close together when I spoke with Book it. I also called the hotel to follow up on all reservations, room size etc. prior to my arrival. It was noted on my reservation. We also requested 4 Superior Suite w/ocean view and King beds and 1 Superior Suite w/ocean view with double beds. Upon check in we were told that was not possible and could not be honored. We were put on the 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th and 14th floor. Only two of the rooms had king beds. The other two had beds push together. (Unacceptable) No ocean views on two-Roof top views.
The video arcade did not function during our entire stay at the hotel. And no one cared even the slightest. No efforts to repairs the machine that gave the tokens to us. So we had to pay to go somewhere else to play games.
We rented jet skis for my granddaughter who is 15 and she broke down and had to get a ride from a stranger-they would not compensate us at all. Said it was not their company that owned the jet skis, yet they mention the rental opportunity as one of their amenities.
The business center had all the computers out of order for several days-
The water in the hotel was shut on for over 5 hours one day for repairs. It just happened to be on the 21st which was the day of my wedding. When I finally could shower the water came out on me BLACK. We called down and they said it was nothing just let it run for 15 minutes or until the black was gone. This happened at 1:45 and my wedding was at 2:30. It was extremely stressful.
The entire hotel is run down and unmaintained. The pool had trash and cigarette butts in it almost every day. The tile floor had drinks spilled all over it constantly. Pigeon poop was on everything-the chairs, tile floor and tables. No one cleaned during the day ever. The tables were sticky and dirty. I had to ask to have them wiped off before I would sit at them to eat. The Chair cushions are old and have MOLD on them. The chairs inside have food stuck to them and stains all over. (Pictures attached)
One night either the 21st or 22nd the 14th floor (where my step daughter and granddaughter were) was evacuated at 2:30 AM. The entire floor had to go down the stairs 14 floors for NO reason. When they got to the lobby they were told it was nothing but a false alarm.
Our kids tried to use the spa and when they went to get in the tiles fell into it.
We tried to get room service but one day the phone rang 23 times and I gave up. One of my step daughters also tried to get a menu and had to give up and go down to the desk because they would not answer after 28 rings.
The vent in my room (picture attached) was so dirty it made me sick. The corner of the cover is broken and exposed the filter inside. It hasn't been changed in years based on the way it looks.
We had mold in our shower (picture attached)
I left at least 6 messages for the General Manager. He never tried to talk to me. I was at the desk every time I left a message and he was never available according to his staff.
In closing, I find the hotel to be well below any standard that is acceptable to me or my family. It was very uncomfortable for me to pretend to be happy staying their during the 5 nights. We left the property almost every day because I could not submit myself to the uncleanliness and unpleasant condition of the pool, restaurants and staff. I travel for my job and I can say that this hotel has to be in the worst condition that I have ever seen.
Sincerely,
Holly Guevel
[protected] We couldn't up load any other pictures due to the size. We have them available if someone wants to see them.

When I had gone to a RIU resort in Jamaica for a friends wedding I had an unexpected fall down thirteen tiled stairs after only ten minutes from arriving at the resort. I was only able to sustain the pain of a broken in hlf arm for 1 day until I had to make the final decision to go home to New Jersey. I had to pay for not only the lost trip, doctor and xray costs, travel expenses to and from the hospital, light changes as well as missing out on my best friends wedding, I have tried to get some reimbursement from the resort, but they were NOT helpful as well. I have also tried to get a lawyer in order to get back some of the cost I had to pay because of their neglagence causing my injuty and have not gotten any help. I will now never stay at a RIU resort, nor will anyone I know. They were not helpful or at any bit ompassionate abou tthe incidence that had occurred or the injury I had received. In turn of this insidence that had happened at the resort, I had to get emergency surgery that lasted three hours and now have a titanium rod with screw in my left arm where I also hadto receive physical therapy for two months and still have difficulties with quick movements/reactions in the injured arm. I had only ished for some compensation and/or compassion for what had happened that day. RIU resorts is NOT the answer!

Just got back Jan 6, 2012 from the RIU Bambu, Punta Cana DR.
I have never previously written reviews or complaints on our vacation resorts experiences, but felt compelled to this time.
This was not our first time in Dominican (Punta Cana) but first time ever at a RIU property. I know Dominican Hotel star standings are not the same as North American cities, but I have stayed at very nice 4.5 -5 star properties so I know what to expect. The RIU Bambu is by no stretch of the imagination a Dominican 5 star Property.
1) Rooms are very very tired. Even though they say they were renovated last year, they still look and feel like they were the first property RIU opened in 1953. Bathrooms are nasty with a very small tub/shower that had mold in the grout.
2) I don't expect gourmet, but this was the worst food ever in the buffet (and very little variation) also, they did not identify what the food is so there was a lot of waste. I would not want to be someone with food allergies. I met a lady who just survived on the breads.
3) A La Carte Restaurant –Oddest thing is that to reserve your seating you must be in the lobby by 7AM each morning. You can only reserve for that day, vs other properties where you can reserve any time of the day and can reserve your seatings for the the duration of your stay.
4) Another oddity is the Pool/Beach towel processes. We went to the beach at 10AM but the towel supply was completely out, they said we would have to wait, no indication of how long. Also, around 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon, if you walked past the towel cabana, the staff was to the point of rude, demanding you surrender your towel immediately. They also were not at all accommodating in refreshing towels during the day if they got very wet etc. We are accustomed to other resorts that will refresh you towel as often as you wish, and don’t demand you surrender it at a certain time.

RIU should be embarrassed by their service and for a 5 star (Dominican) rating on what is clearly at bets a 3-3.5 star facility and management practice.
Very Very Disappointing, we won’t be booking another RIU property for sure.

We chose Riu Palace for our twentieth wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, our event was spoiled by the theft of cellphones and 600 pesos from the room – with no signs of forced entry. The hotel staff filed a report, but our further efforts to seek compensation for this horrid event were completely fruitless, despite sending registered letter to the owners, Mr. & Ms. Riu in Mallorca, Spain.
We feel obligated to warn fellow travelers about this hotel, and please do not have a false sense of security, just because it is listed as five star. The day we reported the theft to our travel representative, we found out that we were not the only one robbed; looks like there is an organized gang at this hotel. Just imagine, what could have happened if I accidentely entered the room, and faced the robbers! Or we could have been robbed in our sleep….
Also, just to let you know that the ocean is absolutely unsuitable for swimming (actually it is forbidden), because of a huge undertow, and the beach is unsuitable for walking due to a very loose sand, so nobody is using the beach, but the vendors….

Name: Thomas Hall

Date:8.9.11

Contact Number:[protected]

Email:[protected]@hotmail.com

To whom it may concern,

I am currently on my holiday and i am writing to inform you about an incident that happened on the 6.9.11, in the Riu Garope hotel, Cape Verde.

I was in the reception area having a photo taken next to a large glass table with two ornaments on it. As i was preparing for the photo, i accidently knocked one of the ornaments causing it to fall. The ornament hit the centre of the glass and it shattered all over the floor. I immediatly admitted liability for it, but also you must appreciate that it was an accident. I was very apoligetic to the staff but felt that one member of staff in particular, who was the manager at the time, dealt with the situation in a ill-mannered way. He was very angry and abrupt quoting "you will pay, you will pay!"

We wantedto discuss the situation in a calm environment and with our holiday Rep. We arranged to meet with them at 10:00 oclock the following morning. I arrived at reception with a friend i had met whilest im on holiday as he was a witness to the incident and as the rep was in a welcome meeting, we were greeted by two managers of the hotel and a man who looked very intimidating, and was led into the managers office. We explained what had happened to the managers, but the manager who was on duty at the time of the incident had already informed them of a story that was completely different to what had actually happened. We explained again that it was an accident but it was at this point that one of the managers presented me with a scrap piece of paper with the sum of €6147.00 quoting again that "i must pay!" He also said that if i didnt pay we wouldnt be able to leave the country until w epaid the fee. As you can appreciate i was very scared and intimidated, and i also felt that i have been interegated and bullied by the managers into paying this fee, which i havent got. We left the meeting as we wanted to speak to our rep, Maria. We were told to return at 11:00 oclock to discuss it with Maria. We discussed it with her and she went in to speak to the managers. Within less than 5 minutes she returned and the sum had miraculously reduced to €3000.00. We discussed our insurance policy and we are insured against this but i am absolutly disgusted with how this has been dealt with. I admitted liability for the accident and feel that if i have took advantage of and discriminated against because i am a young man, and surely a huge company like this would have insurance accidental damage. As for the managers at this hotel they dealt with this situation in a inappropriate manner making me feel upset, worried and scared. I also feel that had this accident happened with a little child it would not have been dealt with like this. Riu is a well known company and have hotels all over the world, but this experience is abserd and i certainly wont be booking a Riu hotel again. This hotel is supposed to be a 5 star hotel therefore the customer service should be 5 star aswell. I would appreciate any advice or help you could provide using the contact details above. Thankyou. Thomas Hall.

Firstly, one of the reasons w e booked the hotel was due to the variety of restaurants offered. When we arrived on Weds 24th August, we were informed that we needed to see the head waiter at 5.30pm to book our restaurant choice. On doing so, I was informed that the bookable restaurants (Italian, Oriental, Fish) were booked until the following Thurs. 1st September. I immediately went to reception and spoke to Hachem, who told me that he would “see what he could do”. Each day I returned and he said that he was “still trying”. We became increasingly disappointed with the repetition of food in the main restaurant which had a detrimental effect on the enjoyment of our holiday. When I returned on out sixth day to ask if Hachem had managed to book us in, he called over the head waiter. The head waiter was very abrupt and informed me that i ought to have gone to see him in the restaurant to book other restaurants. I explained that on the first day, I had gone at 5.30 to book and was informed that it would not be possible for the duration of my stay. The head waiter told me that under no circumstances would someone have told me this and proceeded to raise his voice and tell me that I ought to have been to see him sooner rather than wait until our penultimate day. I once again explained what I had been told and he told me that I had misunderstood. Unfortunately the three other travellers in my party were present and they heard the exact same information. He told me to turn up at 9 and he would try to sort a table.
Secondly, on day five of the holiday, I returned to the room to ready myself for the evening, and when I went to charge my phone, it became apparent that my charger for my IPhone had been broken. I had left the charger in the wall and the cleaner had obviously pulled it out of the wall and broken the USB lead. I went to reception who said that they would “try to find someone with another charger”. I explained how upset I was that nobody had told me or apologised and Hachem said that he would try to have someone fix it. He took my room number and the charger and asked me to come back to check!
I returned every few hours to find out if it had been fixed or if an IPhone charger had been found and those who I spoke to had no idea as to what I was referring, despite the fact that my room number been given several times and the information written down. I have now returned to the UK with no phone charger and am therefore unable to use my phone. I have ordered a replacement at a cost to myself, which I find unacceptable.

Since we were leaving at 7.15am on our departure day, I went to book a breakfast box to take with us. I was unformed that the Italian restaurant would be open for a contintental breakfast so we could eat there. On arrival to the Italian restaurant at 6.45am, the only food was ham and cheese. There was no bread, pastries or even a drink. We therefore got on the bus feeling tired and quite ill from not having eaten.

In terms of cleaning, we also lost jewellery by the maid pushing things into the drawers and nose studs went missing as they obviously went onto the floor and were swept away.

My apologies for having to report this information to you. RIU is always my first choice of hotel – I have stayed in Portugal, Dominican Republic and Lanzarote and always seek your hotels over all others. However, on this occasion, I do not feel as though the holiday was up to the usual RIU standard.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Carys Summons

[protected]
[protected]@hotmail.com

we have just received a text from our 17 year old daughter who is away with friends for the first time without us and we are really concerned, she was approached by a member of staff a waiter on her second night there asking for SEX and that they should go to another hotel because his job was at this hotel our daughter feels very uncomfortable and we as parents feel helpless, we have told her to text us every day so we know she is safe .As a family we have always stayed in riu hotels.going away two or three times a year especially in the Dominican Republic but had noticed a decline in hygiene, entertainment and staff as of today we will NEVER book a riu again

On Saturday May 7 2011, My wife, my inlaws and I Jorge Mora where at the Riu Jalisco -Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, About 6 pm after comming from the beach we noticed that our money was not in my wifes purse, 500.00 US dollars and 10.000.00 Mexican pesos.So we called security and made the compliant and also talked to the sub-director of the Hotel-Javier Huertas Mateos and they said they would investigate but really unprofesional .They seemed like they did not care and the next morning they said they could not get in contact with the people that entered the room that day to do service, I asked the other maids and Olga was the maid and Ema was the supervisor that day of the 7 th.on Saturday, I have never had this happen to us and intend to go as far as I need to so the person or persons that did this can pay for first the bad vacation and bad memories they made us go through, my money and bring to justice if there is any in that Hotel Riu Jalisco-Puerto Vallarta Mex. this is my first of many letters that I am going to write to the company and other people, I really home you do something about this bad experiance we all had, thank you ! Jorge Manzo Mora

I just returned from the most disgusting vacation in negril. The hotel rooms (Lower levels) are infested with roaches. The roaches were in my bed. After many complaints and many promises, I requested a refund to leave. Warning!

Do not join the riu class membership. We have stayed at the following riu locations - palace in punta cana, palace in mexico x 2, lapita in mexico, panama city, los cobos x 2 & recently had 80 guests in los cobos for a wedding. Joined the membership over a year ago, trying to get a password, over a year has gone by and at least twenty emails to their customer service department, to no avail. We were thinking of riu montego bay this april but I will not book at another vacation at a riu hotel, their head office customer service is very poor and even though I have loved the on site service, if they can afford to treat a customer this way, why give them any more business

Our recent stay at RIU Resorts was a dissapointment. The room requested was not given to us. The room smelled terrible and all our luggage and clothing now has that smell. For three nites we tried to get an extra pillow. It was never brought to our room. Requests to front desk and maids both. Also the food was absolutely disgusting. We could only eat french fries and many people in the hotel were voiceing similar complaints. We would not stay at another RIU Resort. Unfortunately this was our first experience with this hotel.

January 29, 2011 to February 5, 2011 Riu Vallarta room 2029
I am a seasoned traveler and have been all over the world in the last 20 years. This is the 5th all-inclusive resort I have been to, and the second Riu resort in Puerto Vallarta. I consider myself a positive person and always think the best even when reading negative reviews of hotels. I decided to write this review as a warning for fellow travelers to Riu Vallarta.
When you check in you get a lock and key to the room safe. They make a big deal of telling you not to lose the key or they will have to break into the safe since they do not have a master. My sister and I immediately put our stuff in the safe. Since we did not want to lose the key we hid it in a coat pocket in the closet. The safe is in the closet. On the third day we went to get money out of the safe and my wallet and envelope with cash was gone. I had about $150 in cash, my drivers license, one credit card and insurance cards in the wallet. We went down to the front desk to file a report with security. He did not speak great English so we asked to speak to a manager. Security walked us down to the pool where Juan Blanco the General Manager talked with us. Juan said there was nothing he could do since the safe key was in the room and not with us. He told us several times that these safes do not have a master key. We went up to the room with him, where again he stressed this was not the hotels fault. We showed him were we hid the key in a coat pocket in the closet. We did this specifically because no workers should have been in the closet for any reason. We told him we wanted to see a copy of the internal report he filed. We also told him one of our concerns was to make sure he was aware that we were in the room when the worker who filled the mini bar and the worker who brought in an extra pad for the bed were in the room. He gave us the email address of Riu customer service. I also asked to file a police report and he said he would call the police but it wouldn’t do any good since the key was in the room. I want to point out if you stay in this hotel the key does not have a hole in it or any kind of key chain for you to easily take with you outside the room. We never did get an apology. We did see Juan later in the week and he said he did send an email to me, which I have not received.
Musty smell of resort room will stay with you for days when you return home. When we exited the elevator and started walking down the hall of the 2nd floor you could smell a strong musty odor (imagine the smell of a 20 year old hotel in Southern Florida on the ocean). When we got to the room it was even stronger. We tried opening the window, and turning on a ceiling fan which did not help. Room 2029 has a balcony but is over a roof, so you could not keep the window open at night, since it would be very easy for anyone on the second floor to “hop” over the balcony and into your room. When I returned home and emptied my luggage my husband (who was not on the trip with me) said our laundry room smelled like a farmhouse that had been closed up for years. After 3 washings all my clothes still have a faint musty smell. Many people we talked to in the resort said they had the same problem with their room smelling musty.
Heads up that pool is not heated and was freezing. It was in the 50’s at night and 70’s during the day. Some hearty soles were standing at the swim up bar, but very few in the pool for the week.
Last issue at this resort is the noise. I had seen the complaints but figured it wouldn’t be a big deal. If you have a room facing the courtyard, you will hear music blaring until 11:00. They have live musicians every night. Even with a white noise maker we could not block the sound out. Riu halls are always loud and at 7:00 every morning like clockwork you could hear doors slamming and people in the halls.
Positives:
The bartenders, and waiters were extremely friendly and helpful at this resort.
Entertainment staff was great. Excellent shows, and daily activities.
Hotel extremely clean. Many people working to keep halls, public bathrooms looking good.

Sunwing Complaint
My family and I went on vacation to Riu Emerald Bay on our last day, when we were going home we were very disappointed with the service that was provided. We are six of us, there were alot of empty seats, and my husband was not allowed on the same bus as us. I couldn't understand why we were separated into two different buses. I tried to see if my luggages were on the bus but the hotel management told me I couldn't get off the bus, and I was assured that all the luggages were on the bus. The bus that I was on with my kids, made 3 different stops, we were circling around and around. This bus was supposed to go straight to the airport. It took our bus 2 hours to get the airport. My husband left half an hour later then us and he arrived way before us. My husband was very worried because not only was he there before us but he waited 45 minutes, during which he got scared that something had happened to us. This is very unprofessional and upsetting. What kind of service is this, this is supposed to be a 5 star hotel, I should be receiving 5 star treatment, not 2 star treatment. Finally, at the airport we realized that the hotel forgot one of our luggages . The Sunwing respersenative told my daughter that she had placed her luggage in a different room in the hotel which was a lie, all of our luggages were in the same place together. Not only was my daughter hysterical about her missing luggage we do not appreciate being lied to when I saw the bags myself and they were all together. While I was on the bus I specfically asked if I could go check to see if our luggage was on the bus, not they refused to let me or my son off the bus to go check. My daughter had to go buy stuff that she needed because everything was in her luggage, and we were told that it would be 2 week before it would be sent to toronto airport. My daughter had to go back to the doctors to get the medication that was in her luggage, she had to miss work to do so. She also had to go buy some new clothes because the clothes she needed were in her luggage. All in all we were very upset at all the situations that had happened. To top this off my daughter cut her leg on the chair in the airplane Sunwing airplane. Picture will be attached to show you the cut that she got. I strongly suggest that someone call me back or write to me regarding my mishap. I am not happy for what has happened to us.

To Whom It May Concern:

My husband and I celebrated our wedding at the Hotel RIU Guanacaste on December 4, 2010. I am writing to tell you how disappointed we are in your staff and how we were treated at your resort. Specifically, the theft of over $3, 000 of our wedding gifts while in your staff’s possession left us devastated and ruined our special day. More disappointing than the financial loss was the attitude of your staff toward the theft, which ranged from a cavalier indifference to annoyed hostility. The final insult came in the form of an “extra charge” which was unauthorized and inexplicably added to our credit card. We have instructed our credit card company to dispute the unauthorized charge. While we contemplate legal action over the theft of our wedding gifts, we want to make you aware of our experience at your resort. Below are more specifics on the theft and other disappointing actions by your staff.

Theft of our Wedding Gifts. We last saw our wedding gifts in the possession of a RIU employee. It was at the end of our reception. As our guests began to leave the reception area, my husband Gian Luca approached Lourdes (the RIU’s wedding coordinator) and asked about the remaining champagne, wedding decorations and our wedding gifts. Lourdes assured Gian Luca they would be put somewhere safe, and that we could collect them in the morning. At that time, he saw a RIU employee (wearing a RIU uniform) wrapping up the cake and clearing the gift table including 12-15 wedding envelopes. In the morning, we went to Lourdes’ office to collect our things. We waited 45 minutes while Lourdes tried to locate our property. She returned with 2 bottles of champagne, our wedding cake and center pieces. However, she could not locate our wedding envelopes. Once Lourdes realized that the envelopes had gone missing, she changed her story and said that one of the bartenders saw our D.J. collect the envelopes. We know this cannot be true because we saw a RIU staff member with the envelopes after the D.J. had left the reception.

From this point on, we were treated as an annoyance and were subjected to a series of half hearted attempts to prove the RIU did not have possession of our gift envelopes. The most embarrassing of which was the delivery of the trash (reportedly from the reception) for us to look through. Indignant by the RIU’s staff’s efforts to locate our wedding gifts, we were sent to speak with Riccardo (the head of Security). Riccardo was the most rude of all and completely unhelpful. After six hours of attempting to retrieve our wedding gifts, we realized that the RIU staff would not help us and, in fact, treated us as an annoyance. Our greatest disappointment was the RIU staff’s attitude. We were never offered an apology or any real help in trying to locate our gifts.

$2, 300 Unauthorized Credit Card Charge. Upon returning home, we learned that the RIU had added a $2, 300 charge to our credit card. This charge was never authorized nor explained. We therefore have disputed the charge with our credit card company.

RIU Recommended Florist. At the recommendation of Lourdes, we contracted with Mauricio Jimenez Masis to provide flowers for the ceremony and to decorate the wedding and reception areas. Despite putting down a 50% deposit, the only flowers we received that were not included in the wedding package were the bouquets for the bridesmaids and corsages for the groomsmen. I never received the materials (for which I paid) to decorate the areas of the ceremony and reception. On top of which, I spent over $500 on paper lanterns, white tull and other decorations which were never returned to me. Furthermore, my mother and family friends had to spend the hours leading up to the ceremony decorating these areas with whatever materials they could obtain at the moment, including fake flowers for the altar which she had to steal from the main buffet! If my mother had not taken matters into her own hands, the wedding and reception would not have been prepared as promised by the RIU. I never received any phone call either before or after the ceremony to explain why the flowers and decoration were not delivered, or even to be offered an apology.

Consideration for Bringing 140 guests to the RIU. Our guests booked over 60 rooms (some for multiple nights) in order to attend our wedding at the RIU, equalling over $45, 000 in revenue for the hotel! We were told we would be upgraded to a suite for choosing the RIU and bringing so many guests to stay in the hotel. At check in, we were told that the hotel was full and the upgrade to the suite was not available. We understand if a suite was not available. However, we were given a room with two single beds with no view. Several of our guests offered us their rooms because they either had a king bed or a view or both. Relative to our other disappointments, this was a minor distraction. However, is it really so difficult to ensure that the bride and groom receive the best room of the 60 block of rooms they reserve for their wedding?

To close, I would not be writing this letter if your staff had been even somewhat sympathetic or helpful in regard to the problems encountered during our stay. On the contrary, they had an attitude of indifference and annoyance. Said more plainly, they made us feel as if they already had our money, and they just wanted us to go away. Maybe this is your business model and you are satisfied with the actions of your employees. However, if you aim higher than simply taking your guests money and leaving them feeling insulted and cheated, we highly recommend you investigate the customer service practices at the Hotel RIU Guanacaste. We would very much appreciate a response to this letter. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Lindsey & Gian Luca Arcieri

Jan 21st 2010 > 2 weeks

We decided on the riu meringue as, being 5 star hotel looked safe and reliable. (This gave our parents a peace at mind) Taking the last 24 hours out of the equation - it was the best hotel Ive ever been to. The last night of our stay we booked a taxi at around 1 am to go to a different hotel complex to go to the club and say goodbye to friends. we got back around 5 and went straight to sleep not noticing anything different. We awoke to find both our mobiles, both IPOD, my camera, my friends £90 ipod speakers, 100 US dollars, my passport and my drivers license all gone from our bags...

when reported to reception we were told to leave the hotel before 12pm or they would charge us another night, the man was laughing at me when i was trying to reason with him and made me pay him $3 per to call my mum to ask her to find out my passport number so i could actually get an emergency passport. Seeing as something like this had just happened in his hotel and that i only had $200 dollars left to pay for a passport and for me and my friend to leave the country. i thought this was disgraceful.

I had to pay for an emergency passport and for both me and my friend to leave the country as all her money had been stolen.. The hotel staff at the front desk NEW we were traveling along with no parents, the NEW we had to leave the next day or miss our flight, They had access to a room key and they new that all our stuff would have been packed in our bags.. NOT in the safe as we were leaving early the next day. They said it was our liability and we didn't even get a 'were sorry' or an offer for any kind of compensation. And now the insurance company wont even pay up.

I feel like this happened because we were young and vulnerable and too trusting, nothing was done because they know they could get away with doing noting.

My husband and i stayed in Riu Aruba, for 10 days which were a nightmare! It started when we got there, we booked and paid for a water front suite, and were told that they overbooked and that room wouldn't be available for 5 days and when available we would be moved, and basically because there is NO management on premises that the refund for that 5 days would have to be submitted by email to head office in Spain in the form of an email and they have up to 15 days to respond!? then we attempted to get something to eat at the only place open at 3pm(when we first arrived) which was the buffet... how it's not shut down by the board of health/sanitation is beyond me! Now starving we attempt to eat at one of the "gourmet" restaurants and now we are told that you have to make a reservation with the concierge, which closes at noon, in order to eat there, so we go to steak house which is the only one we could get into and the food was uneatable! now speaking with other hotel guests, that ALL the restaurants are horrible and rather than take a chance on not eating we ate out everyday! More $$$ lost! The only advantage to that is that we discovered that the locals are the most friendly and kind people and that there are Many Excellent restaurants in Aruba!ie.. Madame Janette! and that the Riu does not reflect the beauty of Aruba! Aruba should be extremely upset! This was our first visit to Aruba and we are anxious to return because of our experience outside of the hotel! The Riu was a nightmare all the way around, service, food, not clean, etc! I hope that this hotel is shut down so that no one experiences this nightmare again!

Thank you,
Rosemarie LoPresti
EHT, NJ

After reading many negative reviews we still decided to take a week's vacation at the Riu in Mazatlan in November 2009.

I have had trouble deciding what was making me feel disenchanted about our vacation - I could not really put my finger on one thing until I started talking about it ---- the food, the food, the food!

Although the hotel is rated 5 star - which it truly is in its artichecture and maintenance - there is ALWAYS someone cleaning somewhere!

But the food is definitely 1 star. EVERYTHING you drink is like liquified plastic...fruit juices...never fresh - only the powered stuff mixed with water. I guarantee that the white wine is powdered too...a glass of wine came to our table with froth and a hazy colouring and it tasted awful. The red wine on the other had was a tad better tasting and a crisper look to it.

Oh my goodness...the coffee! was pure disgust in a cup! After the breakfast coffee was served your only option for the remainder of the day was to get coffee out of the coffee machine...tasted like bird poop! ---milk was powered stuff - dispensed out of the machine too...at times only lightly coloured white water. It really was a sad story - that coffee machine!

The dessert table looked spectacular...cheese cakes...chocolote mousse cakes, creme brule and a host of other wonderful looking stuff...UNTIL YOU ATE IT...it was once again like liquid plastic...fake cheese cake, pudding chocolate, non-descript creme brule (what the heck is this taste!) and oh my goodness the cookies - tasted like a cardboard box that had been left in water and liquified ughhh it was horrible!

What a huge disappointment this vacation was and how the Riu is mass producing food by using powdered instead of real ingredients.

Riu Company - I only wish that you could read this -or at least offer a contact on your website where one could pass on valid concerns and perhaps take note and better the quality of your hotels which might better the value of your hotel chain ...(or not) -- or just choose to operate in such an arrogant manner and not take heed to your visitors feedback...