Just returned from a 1 week stay - Feb. 3-10/12. All of the staff were extremely friendly, helpful and the service was very good. Hector at the Pool was excellent.Grounds were well maintained and hotel was very clean and that is where the the good reviews end.

The beds were extremely hard with the smallest pillows I've even seen at a resort. My back is still sore. Between being uncomfortable and the noise, had mostly sleepness nights.

Drinks on average were lousy, watered down with fountain pop. Used bottle pop from room to make a lot of drinks. Had to ask for the better brands of alcohol or they just served you the cheap stuff.

Food was ok - general fare at AI restaurants. Sir George Al La Carte Restaurant was ok, other two Al La Carte Restaurants were terrible.

Beach was fairly nice - water very murky.

Definitely would not return to this resort a/o recommend to anyone else.

This was our first time at a Riu and we were really impressed. We found the service great, the food good, the staff friendly and always willing to help. The rooms are very clean.
The entertainment staff is friendly and the dancers in the nightly shows are very good. The beds are a bit hard but still comfortable. The mini fridge in the room contains soft drinks, water and beer. The say they restock every 2 days but they never did. We had to call the front desk to get more. The only negative comment is the lack of sunny spots and chairs near the pool. You need to get out of bed early to reserve a chair in a sunny spot at the pool.

After reading some of the reviews my husband and I didn't know what to expect. We were very impressed with our whole stay here. The staff are the most helpful and friendliest people around. We were treated wonderfully. The beach is amazing, lots and lots of chairs, miles to walk, clean and not to crowed. Even though the hotel was full there still was enough space between people to be comfortable. The only thing that I did not care for was there were 3 women who thought it was okay to go topless. I personally found them to be distgusting as this is a family resort with lots of kids around. If you want to be like that, go to a nude beach so the rest of us don't need to look at you. The food was great. The buffets had tons to choose from and the food varied every day. They make the best pizza. The only thing that we won't rave about is the al le cartes. They were good but not like the DREAMS as we were used to. We didn't have to much to choose from and had to make reservations. We ate at the flamingo and sir george. We never tried the asian place as we don't eat sushi. We were concerned about having stuff stolen from some of the reviews we read but never had a problem or heard of anyone else having one. We definatly locked all our valuables up though. The bar staff was great always had people coming down to the beach to see if we wanted something. The entertainment staff was always walking around and talking to everybody. We did notice managers always around in the buffet area and court yard asking how everything is going. As other reviews the wine was not good at all. I found the beds not a problem they didn't seem to hard, we had a junior sweet with king bed. The rooms were pleasent not as good as I was expecting but nothing to complain about. Never had a problem with noise. Everyday our room was made up and our fridge restocked. We asked for extra water and beer and always got it. Never had to call down for anything. We would come back here, and we were glad to look past the negative reviews because there are some people who no matter what they get will never be happy. I am a picky person and would not have any prolem recomending this hotel to anyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We just returned from Mexico and had a fabulous vacation at the Riu Vallarta. Rooms are spacious and the housekeeping was top-notch. Staff was friendly and fun from the moment we arrived. Food was plentiful and tasty. If you can't find something to eat here, you must be super picky and that is sad. The Steak House Restaurant at the beach is a must. I had the Rib-eye steak and it was really good!! Plenty of chairs at the beach. Did notice that the pool area filled up early, but that's par for the course it seems. Plenty of palm trees for shad or you can rent an umbrella for $10.00 for the entire day. Grounds are very clean and well groomed. The usual activities available all day. We stayed in rooms 5061-5062-5063 and had a courtyard/partial ocean view. We will definitely return