This is the 2nd time i've been to this hotel, the first being in april 2007. We went this year to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary and I can honestly say it was brilliant. The hotel itself is well worthy of its 4star plus rating, sauna/gym available: the rooms were all sea view, clean and air conditioned, with all the facilities that you'd need: sattelite tv, phone, bathroom with power shower, bath/sink/toilet,. Staff were also excellent and eager to please guests and do anything asked of them. Enteratinment is also at a high level as there was lots of variety. Ineternert cafe is available. Singers were on in lobby bar every night, with karaoke to follow, and also a show every night if u walked round the pool to the ampitheatre. The pools were always clean and tidy, towel keys were given out so u can swap everyday, sun loungers were extremely comfortable- just what u need to relax! swim up bar was an excellent place to make friends from all over the world at this popular hotel, however as we went at spring break they mainly consisted of ppl from USA. but friendly all the same! pool area was vast and also quieter pool areas around the back near the hot tub. Beach was beautiful. white sands and turquoise waters. Lots of trips to do also, me and my family swan with dolphins, went to chichen itza to explore the mayan ruins (very hot so make sure u cover up), snorkelled in Xel-Ha: beautiful fish, took our own speedboats on the jungle tour! felt like james bond! Also saw other mayan ruins at Tulum and the barrier reef where mexico was discovered! Also went out to explore the nightlife with my friend and we came back a little worse for wear! those reps certainly know how to party!!!!! Went on a bar crawl down the strip: irish bar with great cocktails, then an english bar serving drinks in yard glasses!!!! then on to senior frogs and then ended up in coco bongos which is the nightclub from the film "the mask", and danced till we dropped. Had to have a shoppin trip b4 we left so we got a taxi down to the mall- 10 mins away and 10 dollars in a taxi. All the shops you could imagine. In short, a fantasic holiday where i didn't want to leave. Will definatly be returning again.

Husband and I booked our first trip to Cancun at the Riu Caribe using Expedia's package deals. Reading the reviews on the hotel, we opted for this one over Park Royal. We noticed the bad reviews, but overall, it seemed that there were more good than bad, so we took a chance.

Along with our package, we booked a shuttle with Best Day Travel to take care of our ride to and from the airport. This worked out well. The Best Day Travel agent did not push us to purchase any tours and arranging our trip back was a breeze.

We were promised an ocean view room. Our initial hotel room was on the 7th floor, off in the corner. While you could still see the ocean, we knew that there were better views. Within a minute or so of being in the room, we were not 100% pleased. It seemed dirty, the A/C didn't work very well, the bathroom smelled like sewage and that area of the hotel seemed very secluded. Husband went downstairs to ask the staff for a room change. We were told there was no room today, but to check back by 10am the next morning (preferably before 2:30) and we would be moved.

Bedsheets were dirty, the bathtub was clogged, and the A/C made leaky water noises all night that woke me up. The next day, we tried for a room change, but apparently the person my husband talked to was not very clear. In order to get a room change, we have to pack up all our stuff, be downstairs with our luggage by 10am, and wait around until 2 or 3pm for a room to open up. Who has time for this? On our 3rd day, before going out for the day, we took our luggage downstairs, gave them our initial room key, actually trusted the bellhop with our luggage, and they promised they would have us a room by 2pm. When we returned around 3, our luggage had been moved to the new room (thankfully in one piece). The new room was a true ocean view room, seemed much cleaner and A/C was quieter. I suspect the second room is used more, and that's why it was maintained better.

The food left much to be desired. The two buffet places available for lunch do not have much variety. Our first day there, everything was oversalted. It got better during our stay, but not by much. Breakfast was very good, and so is the ice cream. Those are the only two things I'd rave about. There are 3 other restaurants which you need a reservation for in order to dine in. We never did try the Mexican food. The Asian food was HORRIBLE. Stay away! The steakhouse was actually pretty good, but the food was in very small portions. Don't be fooled by the idea of food being available 24 hours. It's not. The sports bar has nachos, hotdogs, burgers and sandwiches, but we never touched it. You have to heat it up yourselves, and there is no telling how long it's all been sitting there. The pizzeria is a joke. The drinks are all watered down. The wine is horrible. All the drinks seem to be made from the same clear liquor, whatever it is.

We were fine with the entertainment, mainly because this was our first time in Cancun and we had nothing to compare it to. The staff does seem to work very hard at making sure everyone enjoys themselves. We never did participate in the poolside activities (it felt more like college spring break) but the people who did seemed to enjoy themselves. That said, some of the people staying there that we often ran into seemed very trashy.

The front desk staff is not helpful at all. Aside from the room change fiasco, husband forgot his belt and shaver in our first room, and never could get it back. We notified the staff immediately, but they never got it to us despite being told by one guy that it was found by housekeeping. They kept telling us to come back later, come back later....until later became the day we left, and we never got it back. We were given the email address for the hotel manager, and he has yet to respond. We’ve been back 3 days.

I’ve seen the review from people who stayed there during the same time we did, and am disappointed that they seemed to have a better time at the hotel. We did not like this hotel at all, and will not be returning.

First we are Cancun regulars, first time at the Riu Caribe were there for 7 days Sept 28-Oct 3, 2009. Rooms are decent, nothing fancy we had the suite the bed was not hard becasue they added a foam topper to the regular mattress. Neither of us had back problems ot hard time sleeping. I would sussgest a couple things to make you stay better, first tip the maids they were very helpful and kept everything clean and left us a few surprises (good surprises), I left 1 or 2 USD a day. They stock the bar once a day, beer water, Pepsi, etc. The liquor dispensor never ran out but we got close, think it is filled by request or once a week. We asked for additional beer, other guests were told to call front desk to get our maid took care of us! At the bar the drinks are good, if you ask for premium brands they will appear otherwise you get no name stuff. Tips help here too. I never tipped more than 2 USD and got excellent service. We did go to Walmart and get cups as they use regular plastic dixie cups for drinks. The beach is nice but we found going to the RIU Cancun was better. The food at Carribe is nothing fancy but it was good better than several other higher starred hotels we have stayed at!! The theme resturants are nothing fancy I would not waste too much time trying to get into one. When you stay at Caribe you can go to the Cancun we had a fun time at the Cancun and the Braziaian resturant was one of the better ones. We also snuck into the Palace one day, we did not have the arm band for there but were never asked to leave and we watched a show there too. I am sure had they been full we would have been asked to leave. Probably will stay at Palace next time so we can experience that fully. Also you will get bugged about excursions, we took several and investigated before our trip. Example scuba diving, I checked with the hotel 2 tank dive $250, offered a discount blah blah.. I called Cancun Dive Center and got better trip for $65 for 2 tank dive. We also went to Isle Merjiedes and Garaffon Park, that was beautiful and the zip lines were fun but made for a long kinda boring day, only so much nature I can take.. ha. The most fun was the Albatros Catamaran trip, I would suggest that to anyone unless you are feeble or fat (sorry) you have to have a bit of agility and tollerence for sailing. Your on the deck and out in hot sun, Ask which side is the shaded side of the boat and grab your spot ask for an adult only boat if you dont want kids. Dont waste your money on the video, but the still photos are nice.. dicker on the price!
If you are inclined find out about the zip line tour (not Garaffon Park zip lines) we missed the bus that day but others that went said it was a blast and the top spot in Mexico. We will definately do that next time we are there. Have a good time and remember you are in "their" country, we saw so many Americans and Canadians that acted badly and copped attitudes, dont be one! Enjoy yourself and remember you are not in the US.

My husband and I just returned home from a wonderful visit to the Riu Caribe. I, too, had read some negative reviews but this place was wonderful. We travel quite a bit and this resort was very nice. The grounds were well kept, the rooms were more than adaquate-but the thing above all was the staff!! Our waiter JOSE was wonderful and took great care of us and we loved ROSS at the pool bar. Everyone we came in contact with truly wanted to make our visit special-and they did. We hope to return soon.