I had a great time here overall.

The place is brand new, and immaculate. The cleaning staff was always sweeping mopping, cleaning, etc... As soon as you lodged something down and walked away, it was cleaned up. I had my plate cleared from the table in the time it took to get dessert on several occasions. Phenomenal.

I didn't catch many shows, but what I did was interesting and entertaining.

The beach was very nice, and the vendors separated, and respectful. Water conditions seemed good for the most part, but not really my thing, so I can't comment much,

The pools are very nice, and the swim up was cool. Again, didn't spend a lot of time there.

The liquor dispensers and beer in the room was a nice touch, and the maid service was very nice, doing an elephant for me one day, and some fancy sheet folding. They would come several times a day if I didn't have the sign out, and the room was kept very clean.

All room have a balcony, and all face the ocean. As far as we can tell, ordering the ocean view just gets you a higher floor. That is nice though, as I was on 18, and the view was impressive.

The buffet was varied and quite good in my opinion. I can be a bit picky, but I always found something (usually lots) I liked, and I'm not a snobby eater, so I enjoyed it all. The desserts were a bit bland for my taste, not bad, just bland, but that's apparently common in Mexico.

Many people complained about the number of Mexican families and children there. I personally enjoyed it, but I can see how children could be a pain if you were looking for quiet. Complaining about Mexicans in Mexico is so stupid I won't even comment... Those people should stay were they are.

The bars are all clean and nice, with the possible exception of the disco, which smelled funny and was a little dank for me. I hate dance music and that whole scene, so it was fine for me. Mike at the lobby bar was fantastic, as was everyone else, but Mike really stands out.

My only down sides at all are pretty minor. The resort is a ways out of town, so getting in was longer than I'd hoped. That being said, I always took the pulmonia's, and the trip is always fun and interesting, so it's not so bad.

The other negative is the elevators. There are only two banks on either side, with 3 elevators each. There are 22 floors here, so busy times can mean some rough waits, and it wasn't even very full when I was there... Again, minor, but worth mentioning.

One thing I would say, and what made the trip for me really, was seeing the city. Getting around in old town, especially in the Plazuela Machado and the market areas, was really what made my trip something special. Everyone is friendly, helpful, and full of great stories. If you go to Mazatlan, I highly recommend you at least make it down there once, and really talk to the people and enjoy the culture, as it is something to see.

Overall, I had an amazing time, and I am already planning on going back... I can't wait.

Excellent - 5 star plus

The Riu Emerald Bay was a great place to spend a week. It was snowing at home, but hot and sunny in Mazatlan.This was a good quality hotel that we got at a great price - I probably wouldn't have paid full price for this trip, but it was wonderful at under $1000 per person.

Realizing we paid very little for a 5 star hotel, the issues we had aren't really the hotels fault but our own. We are beach people, I want sand and turquoise waters, I want to see my feet in chest deep water!! My husband needs shade, not from 30 feet tall palm trees, but from the huts that are usually on the beach!
So with that said, the food was great, except for 3 days the resort changed into a very noisy place. Elevators were nearly impossible to use without a 10 min wait!! Way too many kids ( yes I know its a family resort ) but for those 3 days, we were over run with them! After the weekend, everything went back to what we had expected.
Would we go back? No, its beautiful, the weather was fantastic, but if its always over run with locals on the weekends and it is on the Pacific side, we'll choose the Carribean!!

too rough to swim in the ocean, everything else perfect

From the time the we arrived at Riu Emerald Bay until the time we left was absolutely FANTASTIC and the large group of people that we hung out with all felt the same. The resort itself is always clean, all the staff, front desk, housekeeping, bartenders, waiters and waitresses, ground keepers, managers,
entertainment staff and everyone else working at the Riu Emerald Bay Resort were always happy, friendly and helpful but most of all they were polite,curtious and respectfull to thier guests. The food was good especially the daily lunch beach bbq. The was always at least one bar open 24/7 and the bartenders were a riot. The pools were all clean and very comfortable especially the adult pool with the swim up bar. The beach was kept clean and the ocean was beautiful however this is not the area of the Pacific to visit if ocean swimming is your thing. The waves can get quite large and there is a VERY strong undertow. Make sure you treat yourself to a sea food dinner at Playa Bruja, a 10 minute walk up the beach. Try the lobster tail and coconut shrimp combo, the best coconut shrimp I've ever tasted and only $20, and the drinks are always two for one including the Crown Royal. Security at the resort is good. My girlfriend and the other several females we got to know felt safe at all times. I would highly recomment the Rui Emerald Bay to anyone at any age...you'll have a BLAST!!!!

Was not a great Experience, 2 days after we got to the hotel, one of the family members contacted bed bugs. He was in so much pain from the bites that we had to have a doctor come in to consult him. $150 later he was prescribe antibiotic for his bite as by scraching them, some of the bites got infected. He was bed written for 4 day during his 7 day vacation. The hotel did change the room to a different one after the doctor had told us we needed to move. I beleive we should have gotten some type of compensation for the inconvivience and the fact that his vacation was ruinned. Another negative with hotel was the fact that they only have 6 alevator and the wait to get in one was almost 5 minutes to go up and about 7 to 10 to come down, more often than not we handed up taking 18 flight of stair to go up or down as it was faster. I would would not go back there or recommended to anyone. The daily buffets were Ok, but the "A la Cart" was a little disapointing. When I think of an A la Cart, I think of a waiter or waitress serving you, but it was not so, it was also a buffet and the food was not that great, the daily buffet was much better. The whole time we were there, the fridge in our room did not work, my daughter try to blow dry her hair one morning and the blow dryer was on fire, so not blow dryer for the whole time we were therem, for such a new hotel, it was a real disapointement. I have been on many vacations, and also other parts of Mexico, this was probably the worst vacation we have ever been to.

We had a fantastic time on our holiday. Staff was great, food was great, weather was fantastic. No complaints here!

Second time here. visit was 3/29/12 to 4/5/12. The hotel once again met my expectations for the room, food, beach, pool, activities,price, etc. I am a suck when it comes to cool water for swimming so the ocean was still a bit on the cool side for me but I am an old fart. There were a lot of people enjoying the ocean. For ocean swimming I much prefer the Carribean side. Getting into the Zona Dorada(Golden Zone) or down to the Malecon(Seawalk)or the Centro(Old Mazatlan) is easy and cheap by public bus. No need to use taxis unless you are away from the hotel after 10 P.M. The front desk is fantastic at giving info and directions at doing this. I heard a few Canucks lamenting the fact that there were a lot of Mexican Nationals here. I found out that the week before Easter and the week after are extremely busy for Mexicans to travel and to take advantage of their fantastic beach resorts. I for one can't blame them. They are just as entitled as this Canuck to enjoy life. If I have a problem then I will just avoid this time. However I quite enjoy the exposure to the different culture, kids and all so it doesn't bother me. I had no problems getting a pool or beach lounger. If you have an issue with large resorts then take care because this place has 700 plus rooms. They all face the ocean which is good design, but it is busy when the hotel is booked up. The hotel now has 2 computers set up in the lobby for free internet use which I think is a great improvement over last December when the computers were set up in the sports bar and even though there were more of them you had to pay. I also observed that the Nationals seem to do all their boozing in the daytime so the pool and lobby bars were not that busy at night. Anyways go with an open mind, enjoy yourself, and be grateful that you are able to enjoy a resort such as this that a very large segment of our fellows can only dream about. I would not hesitate to go back again. Mazatlan has a real good Bill W. fellowship and all the info you need is on the internet. HAVE FUN AND ENJOY, GERRY.

Locals came in on the weekend and took over the hotel.The disco was fun on Wed.& Thurs. But was taken over by the Locals on the weekend.They are not friendly and can be quite rude.

Had a wonderful time. excellent value. check out the seafood restaurant at the north end of the beach.

Very good for the price we paid.
Food was the same breakfast/lunch and d inner. Hugh waves everyday couldn't swim, but the 3 pools were excellent.

Hotel was very nice. Not enough elevators to service everyone. Very often couldn't go in the ocean due to red flag. Simple rooms. Only two computers available, so always lined up. Great food, lots of variety and very authentic. Poor check out, due to large number of people leaving at the same time, wasn't managed very well.

very nice hotel
all was very good except some very drunk people were allowed to stay in pool when I thought it was unsafe!

Very clean and nicely appointed hotel.No security issues here. Beach was excellent. Food adequate with lots of variety. Bars well stocked and quality brands available.

An excellent accomodation. The food was excellent, service was impeccable, beautifully kept grounds, everything was kept spotlessly clean, and any of the staff that you needed to deal with spoke very good english.

Great holiday!! Arrived at the resort with a warm welcome by resort staff who took care of everything. Check in was a breeze and we were in our room within 20 minutes after arrival. Resort grounds were immaculate and service was fantastic. Would definitely go back again.

The hotel was beautiful all the staff was very very good to us!! Everything was easily accessible cabs called for you pick you up at the front door! And luckily a paramedic at the hotel; I had a scooter fall!! We went for the massages so good! Def recommend it!! Good was not bad! Lots of variety which was nice! Beautiful scenery! And the rooms themselves were amazing! Great vacation!!!

We got a good deal for 2 weeks to this hotel, our 3rd RIU all inclusive. Because of the price and reviews we went in with our expectations low. It was a good thing!
The drinks (any mixed drink) ranged from tasting bad to tasting worse & if you want caesars, bring celery salt. If you don't like beer or wine you will probably not have many drinks.
Internet was down more than half of the 2 weeks we were there and the front desk would only suggest that we pay to use their computers in the sports bar. The responsible thing for the hotel to do would have been to pay for our connection themselves.
The food is not bad, but not great, there will always be something to eat for everyone though. The a la carte reservation system is very frustrating and the food in all three is not worth the hassle.
There are always people sweeping and mopping in the lobby, but no one cleaning the tables or anything other than the floor in the lobby. The bathrooms were always clean, but rarely was there soap in more than one soap dispenser.
The outdoor massage hut is right by the activities pool, so the relaxing ocean harmony massage is done to the beat of Baby got Back and LMFAO.
On the plus side, the beach is huge, and the ocean was not too rough for swimming. We even saw dolphins one day.
There were a couple of staff members that really knew what good service is, Rafael and Raoul were always great. When we didn't get either of them, the service was not very good.
We felt safe everywhere on the resort.
The rooms are very basic, but clean and comfortable.
Overall we enjoyed our trip as none of these things could take away from the fact that we were on a beach every day! To us this hotel was a 4 star at best though.

Lots of fun but so many mexican in the hotel

over all a good experience however there were some low points such as no internet access, pool was on the cool side due to weathe at this time of year and a la carte resutrants were buffet style.

We enjoyed our time in RIU: weather, staff and food was great all the time. Three a la carte restaurants but only Mexican one worth to visit: regular "Tres Isles" buffet was always better choice and we usually came back there after a la carte ones.

Real good 2 week vacation. Free internet ,in the lobby was a bonus!! Typical Riu quality..

This was more like a 3 and a half star. Asked for mimosa in the morning and they said champagne was only for special occasions. Then I told them it was my wifes 50th birthday but still could not get any. The food in the buffet did not vary in 7 straight days, breakfast, lunch and supper. The staff were good and the room was good except that the pillows were very small. The resort was not very busy so only one ala carte open each night and was booked up 2 days ahead. 24 hour food what a joke! We had a 7 AM excursion and the only food after 10 PM was the sports bar were they had hot dogs and hamburgers in a fridge that you would have to warm in a microwave. There was supposed to be sandwiches but none there. Resort did not offer roomservice so your breakfast choice was disgusting. Took the local bus to the market by ourselves and had a great day including paying 150 pesos for a pulmonia driver as guide for 2 hours. Overall glad we went but would not stay there again.

Experience was great!

The hotel is beutiful, the beach is great, the pools and property are very clean and the staff were very pleasant. The alacarte restaurants were not 5 star and were not worth a repeat visit. Seafood was almost non existing in any of the restaurants or buffets. However, there is a great restaurant " Playa Bruja", just up the beach, a 10 minute walk, which serves excellent food.

I thought the hotel and the staff were amazing. The food and entertainment was also great. I would recommend Rui to anyone.

Due to the exceptional sale price this hotel was an excellent bargain for a 5 star. Because the Riu was given so many stars, it simply met my expectations. However, it was wonderful for someone used to 3.5 stars!!! I can't comment on family or single stays as that wasn't my trip but it seemed great for kids and had singles for mingling.

Awesome hotel with the best service from staff. The hotel staff could not do enough for us. Food was great. Take Canadian money to change over at front desk, American money is accepted everywhere else. Low capacity this year so tons of beach and beach chairs available. The nicest resort we have ever stayed at.

I stayed at the Riu Emerald Bay near Mazatlan in February 2012. The resort is beautiful, incredibly clean and well-maintained. The staff were friendly and the service was excellent. I made three requests to the front desk during my stay (1 for housekeeping and two for the mini bar). They met my needs immediately, and then called 5 minutes later to make sure that I was happy.

The resort is gorgeous, the three pools have different crowds and water temperature, and the beach, sand and surf were amazing. The resort is large, which meant there is a lot of variety in the buffets. The food was excellent, and the wait staff were very friendly and accommodating. I had no complaints at all.

ALL of the rooms in the resort are ocean views. And be sure to get a swedish massage on the beach!

The vendors on the beach were kept from harassing the guests by a rope boundary, but they're there when you want them.

It is important to note that the Emerald Bay resort is an hour's drive away from Mazatlan and is not bothered by the poverty and crime of a city of 800,000 people.

I travelled on my own, and as a single woman I felt safe, comfortable, and accommodated at the resort. The Riu Emerald Bay is the third Riu resort I've been to in Mexico (each time on my own), and I will not hesitate to book with the Riu again.

I had a great time and highly recommend it.