RIU Hotels & Resorts
Reviews and Complaints

Good afternoon,
My husband and I have booked our honeymoon at Riu Antillas from 08/24/2021 - 08/24/2021. We are extensive travelers and what we experienced at the Riu was completely unacceptable. When we first entered the hotel, I voiced to the front desk that I was upset because I attempted to contact the hotel to confirm if there was an issue with the plumbing. We had friends who stayed at the hotel a week prior and experienced an issue with running water in their room. When calling the hotel a week prior, the front desk woman kept transferring our calls to different locations throughout the hotel and then placed us on hold for over 20 mins. This call cost us over $60 to not even answer our question. When I addresses the front desk, instead of expressing some concern or apologizing on behalf of the hotel, she just informed us "well we were probably busy". Not the response we were looking for.

The real concern was our hotel room. How is a hotel that is completely under construction not notifying travel agents that no matter what floor you are on, you will be encountering construction dust, noise, and workers. The original room was in horrible condition. The tub was clogged, a broken TV and the door handles were broken. Absolutely unacceptable. The front desk switched our room to one of the "new rooms" however, how are you offering rooms that guests have to step over wires, wooden floorboards, and cross an ACTIVE construction site.

We lost two days of our honeymoon addressing the room situation, changing rooms, and finally changing to the Riu Palace. The last thing we wanted to do was spend our honeymoon with children swimming in the pool next to us. We then met some couples who have transferred over to the Palace as well and were being showered with champagne to their rooms and rose petals on their beds. Riu provided a very inconsistent and upsetting experience.

Out of the dozens of Caribbean hotels, we have stayed at this was by far the worst experience.

I can happily provide pictures of the active construction site we would have had to cross to get to the room we were offered upon request.

Thank you!
Mariya Evsevich
Edmund Rivers.

Riu Antillas is disappointing. There is constant construction between the hours of 7am-7pm. The hotel does not provide a relaxing environment. Banging drilling loud workers. The hallways a mess, water stains, dust, musty smelling rooms. Room was dirty on arrival. Mold stains. This degree of construction was not mentioned prior to booking. Upsetting

Disorganization would actually be a compliment for this resort! From the time we checked in .

1. They messed up room after I paid $1000.00 a night for the Villa they put me in another room. I told them I was not moving until they changed my room, They made me wait 3 hours! I didnt get into my room until 1:30 AM.

2. Upon arrival I told them that my group would be in late to please have us dinner, they said ok. Upon check in we was told the kitchen was closed and they would bring up cheese sandwiches and fruit. My customers have been paying on this vacation for 2 years, was told all inclusive. No room service, No wine nothing! But cold sandwiches and hot water!.

3. The next day a manager told me that he had organized my group a dinner for the confusion . I told him I rented a yacht for the group and didnt know what time we would return. I asked if we could get it rescheduled they said NO. It was never complimentary . This was the group dinner I paid for that was scheduled for Sept 3rd they moved it to August 31st WITHOUT MY AUTHORIZATION!

NO MANAGER WILL SPEAK TO ME, THEY WILL NOT COME OUT OF THEIR OFFICE.

I made reservations for dinner on the beach for 9/3/2021 at 8:00 pm (RIU Reggae). Upon arrival for the dinner, I was told that the person at the front desk never put my arrangements in. The whole point of this trip was to surprise my husband for our anniversary which was totally ruined as there was no dinner provided for us. The manager did not seem to care as he offered no remedy for the fact that they failed to notify me via phone or note that the dinner plans I made were not processed even though they had my room number. I could have saved my $3000.00 dollars and just celebrated in the United States. At least I would have been compensated for the hotel's mistake.

Hotel refusing to offer a courtesy extended stay after my daughter tested positive for covid. We are still here at the hotel paying for services while in quarantine
I will be using all social media outlets at my disposal and contacting news outlets in houston upon arrival back home to tell of this treatment and service and how riu hotels wouldnt do their very best to accommodate thist guest

Good day,

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Brenda A Williams my family a party of 30 people, booked your hotel on the 26th June to 5 July. This has been the worst experience I have ever had in my traveling days. To start of I arrived at the Airport in Guanacasta Costa Rica only find out that my car rental reservation was canceled. I rebooked my car rental and headed to the hotel only to find out that my hotel reservation was also canceled. I arrived at the hotel at 2pm only to be in the lobby on the phone with your customer service agent until 1030pm. The agents at the hotel tried assisting me however, they were unable to resolve the issue. I asked to speak with a manger and I was informed the manager was unavailable. A supervisor came and spoke with one of the employee informed them to have my husband pay for the room for the night and will refund the funds once the issue has been resolved. The next day at 9am my husband and I was back at the lobby from 9am- 2pm. I was assisted by a supervisor and she was able to give me the information showing me that my reservation was canceled prior to that I did not receive the email showing my reservation was canceled. During the night of the 26th I requested to cancel the other two reservation attached to my email..res# 72083144558042 and 72081913615824. I called reservation department to make changes to reservations however, instead of making changes they canceled my reservations. My husband and I did meet with the manager whom we taught was the (security guard) the first night he stood there looking at us without assisting, even though we did ask for a manager he did not assist us. My husband and I was called to the office only for him to be rude where my husband had to tell him do not speak to my wife in that tone. He did not like what was said and decided to kick my family and I out of the hotel. He refuse to refund the money promised and after a few minutes he decided to charge $300 plus for the night stayed. We left the office and went to the room to pack only then we received a phone call given 15 mins to pack our belongings to get out the hotel. That night we left and headed to the airport, my family spent the night at the airport. The worst experience ever. I have called every week for the the past 2 months to get the refund on the room and car insurance rental only to be told that it has been escalated and the manager at the hotel have not approved the refund. PLEASE HELP.

We checked into 2 JR Suites on 7/27/2021. One room was extremely cold. When we complained about the temperature the following day, we told them that we could not turn down the AC which made it very uncomfortable registering only 18 degrees so we had to turn it off. He replied that that was dangerous, someone could fall on the slippery floors and he would send someone to fix it. Nobody came that time or the 4 other times we complained. My daughter did slip on the wet floors onto her bad knee and we either slept in wet, musty clothes in an 18 degree room or had to all sleep in the same room and waste the money spent to have 2 rooms. Each time we complained, the staff member would pick up the phone as if they were going to call for maintenance but never did. On 8/2/2021, we, again, stopped at the desk to see if they would send someone to fix it. We spoke to Junior, who blatantly mocked us and laughed at us. He said, "So you're complaint that our AC works too good? Our customers like it cold." When my 20 year old daughter and her friend said that it was too cold, Junior eyeballed them up and down as I was standing there and said, "You girls just need to cuddle then." This was sexist, harassing, offensive and extremely inappropriate, He, also, never sent anyone and was laughing at us as we walked away.
All of the girls' clothing was wet and musty and that room became a waste of money for us. We were told that the rooms are set at 21 degrees but this room never got above 18-19. It was freezing and miserable. Every time we tried to express our concerns, we felt like the staff was bothered by us and really didn't care about our comfort or safety. We really felt like we were just an annoyance to them. The first time I visited Aruba, I felt welcomed and thought the locals were all very friendly. This time, I felt that the staff was disrespectful, uncaring and outwardly showed their discontent for Americans, even though the country depends on tourism. The last person that we spoke with was Santana, the manager on 8/3/2021. Although he seemed concerned, I walked away feeling like he, too, would do little to address the issues. Before speaking with Santana, I spoke with Genova, who was the only employee who I felt was legitimately concerned and did offer to clean an outfit each for the girls to wear home so they didn't have to travel 12 hours in wet, horrible smelling clothes.

This experience at RIU was terrible and I feel like I wasted a large amount on a 2nd room. I was also originally told that 3 people couldn't fit into 1 room so I had to have 2 rooms yet on our last day, the girls joined me in my room and the hotel even offered to bring up a cot. This tells me that I was deceived from the beginning telling me I had to pay fir 2 rooms when, in fact, I could have paid for 1 room and potentially avoided having my daughter and her friend freeze all night, get no sleep and having my daughter injure her knee. On top of that, the hotel is advertised as 24 hour all inclusive, which it is not. There is no room service as advertised and the only food available after 9 pm are undercooked hotdogs, nachos and old sandwiches in the sports bar. This is not equivalent to having access to room service 24/7. We were told room service would start on 8/1/2021 so we thought we'd at least have it for part of our trip, but this was a lie also.

This stay at the RIU was such a disappointment. I felt deceived from the beginning and disrespected throughout our stay. We paid a significant amount of money for the 2 rooms and would not expect to be laughed at, sexually harassed or made to feel like we were a complete annoyance to the staff at a reputable, large hotel chain. We have traveled all over the world and I have never had such poor treatment anywhere we have ever stayed. This was extremely upsetting.

My name is Richard Andreana 2220 Sheffield drive Easton pa, if you look up my name you will see I have stayed at the riu Aruba many times plus the riu paradise island, Punta Cana and also st Martin I have had great times in the past but this time I'm not satisfied with the room I am disabled with a back injury and need rest but couldn't get much rest because my room faced the construction site of the atilis My room is 5039. I called to change but no others were available.I feel for the amount of money spent I deserved better. I'm also disappointed that there was no room service nor a full bar in the room anymore things that I was not told about when I booked this trip. I was celebrating my wife's 60 th birthday and we were disappointed . I hope you can look into this matter. Sincerely Mr Richard Andreana Pennsylvania, us.

Dear Rui Hotels,  

I am writing in regards about our vacation experience at the Rui Antillas Hotel in Aruba that we booked with Triple A. I have already put in a complaint with Triple A as well.  I would like to begin by saying that we found the service workers (restaurant help, bartenders, custodial help) to be very friendly, courteous, and helpful. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed, angry, and shocked at the condition of the hotel that we had to spend a week in. Please note that we were aware that the hotel was under construction, but we had NO idea that they were gutting the building and that it was in such bad shape. When we first arrived, the transport brought us to the wrong hotel to begin with.   When we eventually  got to the Rui Antillas, we were greeted by several customers waiting in line that were irate(people were raising their voices and swearing at the front desk staff) about the condition of their rooms and the heavy construction that was going on in the hotel.   The customers were asking over and over again for a manager and there were no managers that came out.   We managed to receive our room key.  We went up to the 15th floor, the hallway to our room was covered in dust from the construction, the rugs were filthy and it smelled badly.  They put us in a new room but the construction was right next door to rooms that were  being gutted out.  There was loud banging and drilling.   On top of it, the construction workers were swearing and using the F word.  The television did not work and the phone was not working properly.  We went down to the lobby to complain and they said there was nothing they could do.  We insisted on seeing a manager and we were told that they were not there.  We complained again and they told us we would have to wait to speak to a manager.  In the meantime, other guests in the lobby were complaining that the electricity went out in their room and some guests were complaining they lost water in their room.   When a manager finally came to us, we asked to move to the Rui Palace next door and we were told they were sold out because many people had already transferred their from the Rui Antillas.  We discussed the hours of the construction and we were told they start at 9:00 and end at 6:00 and that they would not work on Sunday.   We woke up to drilling at 7:30 a.m on Sunday.   The manager told us we would be able to move us to a different floor away from the construction.  We agreed to view the room the next day. The room we were given was further away but very outdated.   It had a musty, mildew smell to it.   The noise from the construction was still there just muffled a little bit.  The minute you stepped out into the hallway, it was loud and obnoxious.   We were really disappointed since this was our 25th wedding anniversary.   Throughout the week, the fire alarms would randomly go off and on with no communication from the hotel if it was a real alarm or if they were just testing.   When we walked in the hallways, it was dingy and dreary.   When we went down to the buffet, there were several ceilings that were dripping condensation and the workers were wiping them down daily.   Part of the ceiling in the main floor going to the buffet started to collapse on the last day we were there, again with no communication from the hotel.  We took a few excursions and rented a car so we could get out of the hotel as much as possible. Throughout the week, we heard from several guests(in the water, at restaurants and in the lobby)  how they had to change rooms and were very upset about the the conditions of Rui Antillas.  We felt unsafe, disappointed and discouraged at this hotel after spending thousands of dollars to go there.    
Thanking in advance for your help and guidance in this situation. I will look forward to hearing from you.
Melissa Mello
[protected]@comcast.net

During my stay in Aruba at the RIU Antillas from July 22, 2021 thru July 26, 2021, my stay/room was very uncomfortable, hot, and dangerous with cracks in the foundation of my balcony in room 809 (which make me scared to go out to touch or lean-over the rail to enjoy the view)!? Due to the fact that when I signed-up for my vacation with RIU, nothing was mention the construction that was going on and the air-conditioning was not working properly!? At times, I was not able to sleep, hot all-over the hotel, had headaches of the loud noises, and dust! This was very frustrating and inconveniences! I spent lots of money for good services etc... to travel all the way to Aruba from the United States and was disappointed!? Even some constructions workers said to RIU management that working with vacationers around etc... Wasn't a good idea, but was told my management to go ahead anyway!? Also when I got ready to leave on July 26, 2021 to the airport on (De Palm Tours) pick-up time 11:30 am, my bag was not loaded and left behind when I got to the airport with was also very much unsatisfactory and inconvenience! My info for contact: Mr. Malachi Tolar

email: [protected]@bellsouth.net
ph. [protected]

I have several issues, so I will begin with:
1. Room credits - the only place we found to redeem was at the over priced spa. No store we went into would accept. False advertising.
2. Rooms - the room we had (1200) was old and in much need of upgrading. Paint chipped from door frames. Furniture was old. The slider took both of us to close to keep the air from seeping out.
3. Tub - Most All Adult resorts we have been to do not have a bath tub, but a very nice shower. There was a hand held shower wand...but very disappointing.
4. Service - We have been fortunate to stay at several All Inclusive resorts. This was by far the worst service. (a) We called downstairs regarding Distilled water needed for my husbands C-Pap machine. We were told to walk down the street and we probably could find some in a grocery store. (b)Only on check in did we have the cute towels on our bed (silly, but disappointed ). In our opinion, Rui Antillis is nothing but an glorified hotel. Not the RESORT we expected.
5. Room Service - we had no room service or even the mention of any. A couple we met said they called and requested...told it did not offer.
6. Check in - Check in was smooth, but were not told of any amenities offered. Everything (restaurants, shops, taxis, bus, excursions) were found by us during our stay.

***To be fair... I will say the food was good and the pool was clean**

The service of riu taghazout is 0/100 the reception the personnel everything is 0 in this hotel its shame to call him riu very dirty room without towels is it serious to pay 4000dh for one night for this service ?

I stay at riu las americas from July 16-21 I paid for the penthouse with hot tub room 714 to be exact. My stay started off good and declined quickly. From security and maintenance banging in my door at 3am shining a flash light in my face and barging in and turning off the water to my hot tube and never fixing it to the toilet than ran all night and and the ticking fan. The ac cutting out multiple time a night and the utter rudeness and care free attitude of the front desk staff. It was supposed to be a 30th birthday to remember and turned out to be one I soon hope to forget

I'm stayed Here before and I really enjoyed my time here. When I arrive this week I found my bathroom to be dirty outlets not working I called down to customer service twice and no one bothered to respond. I noticed a young gentleman in a suit I asked if he was a manager he told me he was the assistant general manager @riu Antilles. My bathroom was clean and the outlets repaired. But I've had to deal with the noise of ongoing construction weather in my room or at the pool. Today I had to deal with ear piercing alarms going off in my room one went off for two minutes and 31 seconds my ears are still ringing! Call down to the reception said I want to speak to a manager. And instead of contact the manager she called at the maintenance department and when I asked about it when I went down to complain they told me we notified maintenance. That is not what I asked for I asked for a manager. Poor customer service. I was not happy I was told there be no refunds. And I should file a complaint that's what I'm doing. With approval 30 other Guests-with complaints, some of them did not have electricity in their rooms. That's unacceptableNot happy I will not return and I will tell my friends about the poor experience at your resort

Capital One, Aspire, Case# [protected]
Name: Vanessa Anania & Maria Anania
Date: February 26th, 2021
Card Number **2405 & **3419

Capital One, Aspire, Case# [protected]
Name: Vanessa Anania & Maria Anania
Date: February 26th, 2021
Card Number **2405 & **3419

3147 Garthwood road
Mississauga, ON L5L 4Z1
Canada

Please forward this to further Review.

Dear Capital One Fraud Department
This is my letter explaining what happened on the week of Dec 21 while at the Riu Playa Blanca, Panama. Upon booking the hotel in early November 2020, there was only a small notification on the Riu website regarding COVID-19, saying some things may be different, but there was no explanation as to what, and upon making a phone call to their reservation department, they had let me know that the hotel was open and running and pools and restaurants could be used. Until then, no further e-mail or notifications were received.

December 21, I checked into the hotel, they let us know 2 pools were open, and 2 restaurants should be open, and 1 bar, this would be the situation for the first 2 days there. After that, full lockdown came into place, which they then informed us, via a letter in our door at the hotel, that everything was shutdown, all pools, all bars, and all restaurants, we would have 1 hour, 3 times daily to eat, all alcohol and drinks were to be ordered to the room and drank in the room, and the beach was closed. This was absurd, as the hotel was now not limited to services, it was next to no service at all, except for meeting our daily human needs of food and shelter in the hotel. We paid for a full service hotel, multiple pools, bars and a beautiful beach for Christmas holidays, and instead received the absolute bare minimum. A hotel anywhere else with a "UberEats" would have been more sufficient and more enjoyable. The food that was served was similar to prison food, 4 trays and served to you at a "buffet" with limitations, being a vegetarian was more than difficult. 

When we checked in they said you can cancel at any time, but being the most expensive time of the year to travel, 3 days before Christmas, we had nowhere to go, and no way to get there. We already had to pay a way to get there and a way to get back. All buses were shut down as well, and you were not supposed to travel within Panama unless you had a flight leaving the country, this was due to the lockdown in effect. 

We were offered a 50% refund which we of course accepted at the time but never intended to leave it at that. The service we received was ghastly in comparison to what was advertised and we were always going to dispute it. To be left high and dry in the middle of full lockdown in a country we are unfamiliar with is hardly a second option.  


If Riu had let us know what was happening in regards to restriction, we absolutely would not have gone. Offering us a cancellation on arrival is absurd, it was no longer possible at this point. An email 1 week prior would have taken one of their staff less than 5 minutes and avoided the entire mess, instead we feel as though they mislead us into thinking it was normal, so that they could secure our stay and our money. When we arrived there were less than 50 guests and everyone we spoke to had the same to say, nobody had been warned of any changes. Letting 50 guests know of changes would not be a hard task at all, the only reason I can discern from this is that they wanted the guests to still arrive in the hopes that it would be too difficult to leave, as was the case for us.

Riu is a very large and international company, we are quite shocked as to the extent of their unprofessionalism in this situation. We really thought that their customer service would be better than this and are extremely disappointed at how unwilling they are to resolve this properly. The refund we have requested is an entirely fair one and we hope that the right thing be done and the refund honoured.

Regards,

Vanessa

I am filing this complaint in regards to Riu Antillas, as this has been my first experience in Aruba. The management and staff seem to be lacking a deal of respect and etiquette. As well as being able to comfortably resolve issues. The hotel is run down and under maintenance. As a traveller, I have never stayed in a hotel more horrid than this place. My stay was about 4 days and this is the last day. The list of issues is as follows
- Rude employees
- Refusal to serve those staying in the hotel adequately
- Failure to adequately provide labels and info on allergies
- Failure to serve properly in the kitchen
- Little to no room service
- brown stains that look like feces on bedding and shower curtains
- rugs tripping people in the hallway
- inadequate lighting
- refusal to replay light bulb leaving me to sleep in a half lit room
- Lack of care when I told them the food made me sick the second day of my stay

It was my 25 wedding anniversary I was so upset with the rooms look. I booked a suite it looked and smelled like a truck stop motel 6. The air conditioning was giving out mold and mildew. Also air was blowing the dust from the construction into my room. The whole room and furniture had mold mildew in and on it. Ever room they offered in that Quality had the same problem. Unexpected really taken back. Wouldn't wish this on anyone.

We always stay at Riu hotels.We have referred family who chose your hotel on our recommendations. We had our honeymoon at Riu Palace Cabo then my wife's 50th Birthday and most recently our 13 wedding anniversary.. On the night of our anniversary we chose to eat st the Steak House Restaurant. My wife ordered the Surf and Turf . My wife wanted lobster instead of shrimp the waiter said he couldn't do it so he call Ed the manager over. The manager was not accommodating and treated my wife like a child and told her if she finished the steak she would then be allowed to have the lobster. We made him aware we were on our anniversary dinner which made no difference to him and he was vere cold in his treatment to us. We stat exclusively at your hotel because of the treatment we get from staff there.All of the other restaurants especially at the Japanese restaurant. My wife was so upset that night we left without.eating dinner and our special night was ruined.

1. Been up almost 24 hours and no food when arrived to RUI Montego Bay. We were told room would not be ready for 3 hours and no food was open.. Waited with no food for 3 hours to get food and room. Went back to office and our room had been ready and the girl that checked us in gave our other room away.
2. Fridge did not work
3. Was not king size have 2 double beds together.
4. No tub just shower.
5. No liquor dispensers
6. No room service
7. Only 1 blanket
8. Was told could go to all resorts and then was not allowed. If you paid more for orange band, we were given yellow.
9. Was offered weed and cocaine constantly by workers and one called himself the doctor.
10. We had to tip for anything and never have been so harassed by it.
11. Ask for a ride to convient store and was told had to tip or walk. Feeling in danger we walked across the street to get liquor and sodas and chips since we could not get at ALL INCLUSIVE RESORT!
12. NO ice buckets, tried to put in bags.
13. Workers rude and very discrimitive against guest. Some could go eat almost naked in buffet, but I was sent back for having shorts and shirt on.
14. Guests was partying on beach at 130am woke me up and that morning I had to catch flight. Called front desk and was told they sending security. One hour later I had to call front desk again, nothing was done.
14. Food was good, but buffet served same food all the time.
15. Ocean was horrible with seaweed and grass..hardly any clear water. Husband could not see anything snorkeling was cloudy and dirty and found trash and hair weaves everywhere..
16. The big boats circling around in front of resort made it impossible to enjoy what little spots of white there was. The boats caused stirring up dirt and trash that would get all over you.
17. I will expect compensation or get my money back. When I pay for something that is advertised and not offered is false advertisement and a rip off.
18. Asked regarding $500 in credits. Acted as if they had no clue

Went to resort for birthday upon arrival I was greeted with "because your room is not ready we will move you to another room " well the room was a one bed room when it was supposed to be a two bed room. Suppose to be a balcony with ocean view, well the only thing I got was a tree with leaves. Went to tell the person at the desk and had to wait an hour and ten minutes to speak to someone after which I was told that I did not pay for what I was complaining about. The rooms at RIU Reggae at upon availability. Not what reservations told me. So ended up with a room with two beds and a view of a tree. Have to walk two exits down to see the beach. Birthday celebration was ruined.