Riu Palace Pacifico - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

7484 reviews

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  Amazing Once Again!

  Just back from another amazing two weeks at the Palace. The entire facility is just excellent in our view with cleanliness, service from hard working friendly staff and great food (especially deserts) at the top of the list. Best resort for adults we’ve been to not only for the things I’ve mentioned but also for the beach and quality and safety of areas outside the resort. We have a couple more visits booked for our home away from home this year and can’t wait to get back! Thank you to everyone at the Riu for making this a special place!

  Apr 13, 2026
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  Lovely resort that needs to change its approach to pools

  Visited this property for the first time earlier this month. We visit PVR two to three times a year (25+ times in total) and have stayed in both AI resorts and condo complexes all over Banderas Bay. There is a lot to like about the Riu Palace Pacifico. It’s bright, fresh and modern, and the entire property is spotlessly clean. The staff is excellent, as they are at so many resorts, working hard and often going the extra mile. Examples include (but are not limited to) Julian at the buffet, Junior at the front desk, Luigi at the sports bar, and Lalo and Maribel at the Elite Club beach area. The food is decent, overall, and quite good in some of the specialty restaurants including the Asian, the Italian and the Elite Club. Other positives include the nightly entertainment, the quality of the beach, and the flat, smooth ocean floor free of rocks/coral (no water shoes needed). There are beach vendors but access to the resort is controlled, and they do not solicit to the point of annoyance. The temperature of the ocean was a welcome relief from the heat but unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the three pools at this property. All of them are heated to the temperature of bathwater – or worse. You can debate the need to heat pools in tropical climates to begin with, but when you have three pools, why heat them all to the same (high) temperature???? Why not leave one unheated (or maintained at a much cooler temperature) to give your guests a choice??? And then there is the swim-up bar, which isn’t built at the end of a large, main pool like at most resorts; at the Riu, the swim-up bar is its own smaller pool and unsurprisingly, between the hot water and the fact hardly anyone gets out to use the bathroom, some days it reeked of urine when you walked by. Guests call it “the pee pee pool.” Finally, the chair-saving game is in full force at this resort. There are signs forbidding it, but the resort lacks the courage to enforce its own rules. I expect management to write a nice response, thanking me for my comments and promising to take them into account as they seek to improve their guest experience, etc. What I don’t expect is anything to change -- which is really a shame because it's a lovely property.

  Apr 11, 2026
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  Second Visit is Just As Great

  This was our second visit to the RIU Palace and we just love it so much! The staff is really top notch and everyone goes above and beyond to make your vacation unforgettable. Each resort staff from the moment you enter the resort and until you say goodbye makes you feel like a friend. Janet at the breakfast buffet is so kind and helpful. Pablo at the evening buffet is one of the best servers. Kiki at the specialty bar each evening is friendly and makes amazing drinks. Our housekeeper, Angela took great care of our room each day. The staff around the pool and down at the beach really work hard to keep the guests happy. Food: We ate at the Steakhouse twice during our stay and really enjoyed our meals. The Mexican and Italian restaurants are also quite good. I didn't care for what I ordered at the Mexican restaurant this visit but everything else was very good. The Sports Bar was a nice place to visit the day we arrived while we waited for our room to be ready. We really loved Tiki Tacos and Pepe's. Both are great options for a daily poolside snack. Then of course the buffet has great options for breakfast and for lunch or dinner. If you can't find something that you like, you are being too picky. Pools: We spent most of our time at the quiet pool. All pools are very busy with the Swim Up Bar being the most active. That is generally not our scene but the guests that did hang out at the Swim Up Bar looked to be having lots of fun. Bring a pool floatie for the Quiet Pool. We also really loved lounging on the beach chairs. We were hesitant at first because you need to rent an umbrella ($20 USD) from the vendor stand that is to the right when you step on to the beach. However, this ended up being a great option. The man we rented the umbrella from came around often throughout the day and moved the umbrella as the sun moved. Now For the Chairs: When we were at the resort last year, we had no problems finding chairs by the Quiet Pool. This year it was a bit more of a challenge each day but we still found chairs. On our last day there was not an available chair to be found. This was at 9:00 am. It seems that more and more people are playing the Towel Game. The beach always had chairs available. If one reads the Hotel and Resort Rules within the RIU App or in the RIU book left in the room, it is stated that you are not supposed to place towels or things on the chairs and then not use the chairs. Of course if you step away for a short bit that is understandable but to be gone for hours at a time really should not be allowed. The RIU app states that staff may remove your belongings if you do that, but we did not see that enforced at all. Dress Code: The RIU app states that men may enter the restaurant with a collared shirt and that sleeveless shirts are not allowed. We also did not see this rule enforced either. I imagine that the RIU does not want to upset the guests who have paid so much already for their vacation. I could say more on the dress code but will leave it at that. Negatives: Overall this is an amazing resort and we will likely return again. A few things that I wish were different. One is that the resort really should have built washrooms on the far side of the Quiet Pool. Yes, it would have taken up some lounger spots, but it sure is a long walk to the washroom from the Quiet Pool Area. I also wish that people would read the hotel policy especially about being silent in the hallways after 11:00 pm. Some very loud, giggly women woke us up around midnight one evening. Not a huge deal, but the hallways do echo. I also think we had some neighbors smoking on their balcony which was annoying. One negative thing about our room is that we detected a slightly musty odor in the bathroom especially coming from one of the sinks. If I was at home, I would put a deodorizer/cleanser tablet in the drain. One thing to note is that there is not a high powered fan in the bathroom. There are only a couple of vents. Next time I will bring a little battery operated fan and maybe some air freshener to help combat that musty scent. A final negative feature that I am not sure where the breakdown was is that we did not receive turn down service until we requested it. Last year we did not request it and seemed to come back to our room each night with fresh towels. I asked if we were supposed to request it and really did not receive an answer. It was not a huge deal, just a bit unexpected. I will say that on a positive note one day my husband joined me later in the morning at the pool. He forgot to switch our card from Do Not Disturb. Once we got back to our room to get ready for dinner my husband went to the Front Desk and asked if our room could still be cleaned. Our room was cleaned while we were at dinner. Overall we love the RIU and all it has to offer. It truly was a relaxing vacation and we hated to leave and come back to the real world of jobs and other obligations. We recommend the RIU Palace to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation. You can do as little as possible or you can take part in all the extra activities and even do some excursions or little side trips like to the Malecon or to Bucerias. Take walks on the beach. There possibilities are endless.

  Apr 11, 2026
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  One week get away to recharge....loved it! (2nd time here).

  My wife and i were just there March 22-29, sunday to sunday. Just a quick week away to recharge a bit. We go down to MX 2-3 times a year, but had been a while since in this area. We were here at the RPP prior to the reno's and def wanted to check it out since, and sure glad we did...what a great renovation and definitely a major upgrade. Walking in, the lobby is a beautiful as ever, and the reno'd lobby bar, though pretty simple, was really nice to have as a meeting spot prior to dinner or heading into town. Cappuchino coffee bar also very nicely updated and has some nice snack options...iced mocha coffee was delightful. Our room was 3073. When checking in we were told we were being given a partial ocean view upgrade. What we got was a room overlooking the new condo construction site next door, and yes you could see the ocean. The noise from the construction started pretty early each morning, but really it wasnt as bad as youd expect. We dont hang out in the room or on the balcony too much, so wasnt a huge concern.....just dont think i would label it as an 'upgrade' lol. I would say the resort was at about 60-70% capacity during our stay. We are used to getting up early to go get the 'good' seats around the pools, but we never found this to be the case this trip. always loungers available as long as you were down by 9am-ish, after that it started to fill up. One thing should be noted, and seen in other reviews, is the slippery tiles around the pools. They were doing a foam party thing on our first full day, and we were just standing watching, and one of the big beach balls came out of the pool....i went to give it a light kick back and ended up going for quite the slip and fall. landed on my upper back/neck/shoulders and hit my head really hard. my glasses and hat went flying about 20ft. not only painful but also a terrible start to our trip. they gave me a bag of ice for my head and ended up with a mild concussion for two days (dizzy, nausea, huge goose-egg, and what i would call mild whiplash in the back and neck...still not 100% back to normal and been two weeks almost). anyway, we said we'd make the best of the rest of our trip and we did, and here's what helped make it great: ROOM - clean, nice walk in shower, smart tv for those that require such. beds were quite soft/fluffy, and not a huge fan (prefer firm) but still very nice. pillows were decent but again quite soft. a/c worked well in conjunction with the ceiling fan. housekeeping did a great job, no complaints there. FOOD - Main Buffet - we went for breakfast and a dinner or two. always good. lots of fresh fruit and juices and the like. carving station rotates daily for dinner. nice for lunch also but found we may over eat a bit for lunch lol. either way everything was always quite good and no complaints, service very good also. STEAKHOUSE - we went once, no problem getting seated. wife had the surf and turf and said her steak was a bit overdone. i had the lobster tail, and it was huge. caribbean of course, and too much for me to finish. still a great meal. service was decent but not as good as we'd received at other a-la-cartes. KRYSTAL - the gourmet restaurant of the resort, and service and food were very good as expected. MEXICAN - again, really good food and service. wasnt as hungry that evening so i had the posole and was very good. we did NOT try the italian or the asian, but everyone we talked to said they were also quite good. and of course mid-day you have Pepe's and Tiki taco if you want a lighter bite around the pools without having to go sit inside...really good wings and ribs (and burgers and tacos and everything else). SPORTS BAR: this was a major part of the reno. real seating, real service, and real food...none of the prewrapped sandwiches and burgers of the past that youd have to microwave. def recommend the shrimp tacos, wings, mac-n-cheese, cobb salad to share....really nice and casual if coming from the pool and you can sit inside or outside (nice AC if you sit inside, and a great view if you sat outside) BAR SERVICE - always very good....interactive staff and decent drinks. one thing i truly found appealing was their beer selection....all the bars offered canned or bottled Tecate Lite or Coors Light.....a real nice break from the typical draft Dos Equis (not a fan, yuck). Beach was beautiful as always, great for long walks and getting some steps in. Go left and you can check out the RIU's down the beach...Jalisco and Vallarta (and we've been to those ones also over the years)....do a walk around, grab a pop for walking back. Go right and you can walk to Bucerias and get your steps. evening entertainment was pretty typical AI.....music themed shows and of course an MJ show. theatre is open air, and they really need to get the big fans moving sooner than later as gets pretty hot/humid. service in all aspects was very good. grounds were clean and felt safe, never any issues with theft whether in the room or by pools. did an afternoon/early evening with another couple in Bucerias (also where our rescue doggo is from)....great way to get off resort for a while, check out the flea market, lots of bars and restaurants (see separate reviews for Mariscos El Payo and Yo Yo Mo's) Clientele was quite the mix....lots of fellow Canadians, quite a few Americans, some locals/nationals....not as much European folks as we've met previously. Most people were quite respectful and having fun without overdoing it, though there were a few that seemed to be on a mission to drink the place dry lol....what did irk me a bit was the amount of people more concerned about taking selfies and never putting their phones down and actually enjoying their vacation....one case in point, in the mexican restaurant, one woman had her phone in her hand the entire time including getting her appetizers and whatnot....she was clumsy and dropped an entire plate of food all over herself and the floor in front of the appetizers and just laughed and kept filming herself while watching staff clean up after her. no apology to staff, just obnoxiously laughing and very ignorant and self-absorbed and walked thru the mess she created. if you want souveniers and the like, theres lots of options in Bucerias at the flea market (i got a decent hat for $13 CDN equiv). at the same time, if you head across the street and walk about 15-20mins, you can go to the La Comer and the Mega...both are like big grocery stores back home (think Superstore if youre CDN). i loaded up on coffee and oaxaca cheese to take home, and much more reasonable and greater variety. well, there is probably 100 things i'm forgetting, but at the end of the day we had a great trip, with great weather and a very nice resort. i can very easily recommend for location, quality of food and top notch service. yes, all these AI type resorts have their share of ups and downs, but focus on the good, be a bit flexible on the not so good, and certain youll have a great time. i can definitely see us going back and highly recommend this resort.

  Apr 06, 2026
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  Absolutely lovely

  Our last trip was to this resort, and we absolutely loved it. It was the best resort we had ever been to. My son and his wife also chose it for their honeymoon, and they loved it just as much. It’s smaller than many other resorts, but that’s part of its charm — the quality was excellent. The à‑la‑carte restaurants were genuinely different from the main buffet, which was a first for us. Usually, the food is the same as the buffet, just plated nicely, but here it truly felt like a separate dining experience. We also had full access to the two neighbouring Riu resorts, so technically it was a 3‑in‑1 experience. But after visiting one of them, we decided not to bother with the remaining two since this one was higher‑ranked and clearly the best. It’s also located in the gated resort section of Nuevo Vallarta (Nuevo Nayarit), which made the whole area feel very safe and private. I’m not sure if the entire city is gated or just that part, but the resort itself is definitely within a secured zone.

  Apr 05, 2026