Riu Lupita

We had a wonderful experience at this low priced resort. The grounds are very nice and it was very clean. All of the employees were amazing and very helpful with whatever we needed or any questions we had. This is not a huge Mega Resort by any means but still has much to offer . [Details]

Hotel had everything you could ask for. No complaints except i miss the ocean being right there and a nice view from my room. All the staff, food and entertainment was amazing. [Details]

Overall experience was great.
Food at the buffet was very good, very tasty and a different selection every day. Did not try the a la carte restaurants because the buffet was very good.
Customer assistance was excellent. Was assisted a few times by Tania. Great job, Tania!.
The room was fine and clean, not a fuzzy sleeper but the bed was pretty hard. This is something that can be improved.
The beach and beach club were nice.
In the descripcion of Riu Lupita there is clearly explained that the beach is 15 minutes away,
a shuttle bus takes you every 30 min, always on time. Did not bother me taking the bus to gobto the beach.
Swimming pools were very clean. [Details]

I am going to keep this brief and say spend your money elsewhere.

The staff was rude and dismissive
The hotel was old and dirty
It is situated ten mins bus ride from the beach and about an hour walk.
It is litered with sick coatis (Mexican raccoon like trash pandas)
The food selection was mediocre and bland
There is no room service or wifi
The pools were very small like the kind you have in residential backyards, not upkept and dirty
There's no views at all
The air conditioning in our room was broken and we had only a wool blanket and a thin pillow with no cover for me and my fiancee
The rooms smell musky like there's mold potential
The bus to the beach pool (which is the nicest thing about this place) comes every 30 mins
There pools including the beach close at 5pm
There's no access to any other rius
The liquor is off brand
And when trying to figure out why everything was so different from the write up when I booked this vacation the staff told me "I shouldn't have been so cheap and booked a better hotel" and then they snatched my drinks away and told me "go somewhere else"
I literally cried for 24 hours until finally I was moved at a cost to the tequila (which was minimal considering I went from a 2 star hotel to a 4.5 star hotel)

The tequila was worth every penny to switch to but I lost an entire day and a half to this process.

Do NOT book here. It is awful. There are plenty of other hotels in this price range including the tequila which are worth it. I wouldn't ever stay here, even if I were looking for a 2 star hotel. [Details]

Relaxing vacation. Great getaway from the Canadian winter. Very well kept resort with friendly staff, excellent food with great variety, lovely pool at beach. Good walking beach. Part of a larger gated community of homes and resorts around large golf course where you can walk around the community. [Details]

Given the Riu name I had higher expectations, although I was not expecting a Palace, still I would rate it a 3 star. Given the Riu brand, I did expect better alcohol choices, or even an option to upgrade for better alcohol, it literally was like drinking gasoline and vinegar. Food was ok, you find the things you like and stick to that. The buffet was the same everyday with only a few dishes changing. Rooms were clean but tend to be noisy no matter where your room is located. Pool was absolutely disgusting, cloudy, green, dirty. Staff, hands down, best part of the hotel, warm, accommodating, friendly, helpful, no complaints. [Details]

This is a value resort. Food very good, rooms clean, swimming pool not clean at all, just two restaurants, one in the beach which can be reach only by bus transportation. mexican employees are very nice, always very friendly and respectful. There are not many activities for kids. they have a kid's club but not very interesting. Kids prefer stay in the pool most of the time.
I've been in others hotels from RIU company and this is a real cheap one. [Details]

We wanted a central location in Playa Del Carmin this time around to see more of the area and do a few more activities so we opted for a non beach location resort. It was good but we will not do that again. We realized that we wanted easier beach access and not rely on a bus to take us to and from the beach. The bus however, was efficient to say the least and had two drop/pick up points. One for Playa Del Carmin and one for the beach club. A 14 minute bus ride to the beach club.

Hotel was good. Not a 4 star as it is stated. More of a 3.5 star. Services were good but not great. The entertainment staff worked hard to provided some form of entertainment with the usual activites pool side and at night...oki some of the shows were somewhat boring. The day activities were oki. I enjoyed the rifle shooting at 10 am. Cause that's what I liked. The main pool was small but cozy and nice up until 4 pm..then the beach crowd came in and the pool was getting dirty. The second pool was perfect to just chill in. (No bar was there so you had to go to the main pool bar for your beverages). The buffet lacked a bigger variety. If you are not picky and enjoy the same thing everyday for breakfast and lunch and afternoon snack then it was good...but not us. One a-la-cart Mexican restaurant on the property open concept. Not closed off. Food was ok.( same as the buffet) The second one, a Steak house...was at the beach club. Avoid that at all cost...very poor food quality and if you like to be wind blow during a hot dinner service...well eat fast...your food gets cold in no time. We ordered steaks medium rare...we got rare. Not one steak was cooked right. You think they would get the steaks right...um no, many returned their steaks for the chicken. And those were over cooked. The beach club buffet was the same old repetitive food choice which was oki for the lunch and snacking. At the main hotel there was a snack bar...avoid that at all costs unless you get to the food as it was served. The food sits in the sun so anything cold turns to hot and smelly. Avoid it unless you like to get sick. We mentioned that to the service crew and they said no problemo. Its not normal to have food sitting in the sun where the birds have free access..yup its a buffet for everyone! The main buffet was oki not the greatest but just oki. The staff did their best to provide a variety for the dinner buffet, having a theme night every night outdoor BBQs etc....but it was the same old - same old. Just be creative with your selection of food to change it up. I have to admit they really worked hard to please everyone and they provided 5 star service. Overall at the buffet..the food was tasty and well prepared. Their house wine...NO COMMENT...we are wine drinkers, we rather drink grape juice then their selection of red house wine. The white was oki when it was cold. The rosé-better stick with the white.
Staff was great, friendly and helpful. They do work hard at that resort to service its clientele. Location was good for where it was in Play Del Carmin. Central to town and beach and right in the golf course. If you play golf is perfect. So if you want a small resort with not much to do on it and just chill...then this one is for you. We did not mind that aspect as mentioned, we wanted to get out and about and see more of Playa Del Carmin and its surroundings. [Details]

This hotel is definitely not a 4* there was no toilet paper,electricty in the bathroom did not work, and the patio door fell off. So they moved us to the Riu Yukitan which was wonderful except when we went to catch our bus back to the airport they did not have us on the list so we had to pay for our own transportation back to the airport which was very disappointing. [Details]

Who decides the star count on these hotels???

Been to the Mayan before and stayed at some very nice and some not so nice places. This time we specifically booked a place we thought would be on the nicer side. We were deceived. While there really was nothing bad about the hotel, there also was nothing good; nothing that made it a 4 star hotel.

If they were honest about what they were offering it would have been a better experience. This place is a great 3 star hotel, but unfortunately that is not what I signed up for. I give it MAX 3 stars.

1 bar.
sub par entertainment (very campy).
a joke of an a la carte restaurant.
"motel 6" type rooms.

Was expecting way more from a RIU! [Details]

Amazing staff, one quiet pool other for kids parties etc. [Details]

Firstly, we somehow missed that the resort was not on the beach. Since the ocean was why we had decided to go to that side of Mexico it was a great disappointment. Especially since I had broken my foot the week before we left and was in a cast. On that note: The staff were fabulous and the hotel took great care of us. No complaints at all on that front.
It rained the first two days we were there and everything is 'open air'. There are tables and chairs under a large palapa near the bar but the wind can get cold. With no closed in areas to escape to we were held up in our room. the room was nice enough but it had a view of a chain link fence and bushes the not the most inviting place to spend two days!
We made the best of the situation and enjoyed our last few days. [Details]

It was OK. I wouldn't rate it at a 5 star except for the food. [Details]

Hotel was excellent value for the price. [Details]

Not what I had expected

Normally when you talk directly with an agent you are supposed to get accurate information in relation to the resort that you are considering. This is where it went wrong for me. After reviewing information on trip-advisor I had mixed feelings about this Hotel but based on my conversation with the agent I was easily convinced that I was getting good deal.
Unfortunately for me and others at the resort, we did not get what we wanted.
First, in all brochures published by the RIU chain this particular hotel is rated a 5 star. Believe me this hotel is at best a 3 star. I travel extensively for business and pleasure and I have made frequent trips in the Caribbean and this is far from being what it is advertised at. Even the e-site from which I purchased the trip said it was a 4.5 and now in this request for a review is has been down graded to a 4? It is a 3.
Usually stars are allocated based amenities so here is where the issues start:
1) Far from the beach /at least 1:15hr walking distance. Although close to the beach you cannot cross the golf course whicxh would cut the walking time to 10 to 15 minutes…
2) Bus ride to the beach…Runs every hour? But if it rains when you are at the beach you have 300 people that want to make it back but there is only 45 spots on the bus. Having to wait in the street for the next bus and in the rain?
3) The rooms are clean but really, really need to be upgraded to today's standards…A coat of paint does not necessarily do the job…
4) No gym!!! Or exercise area?
5) They have 2 a la carte restaurants, one is located where? At the beach…Nice bus ride again but you have 2hrs to finish your meal, Why the rush? Having to leave a portion of your meal on the table or not being able to finish your coffee is not good and if you linger too much you are walking? Or taking a taxi
6) The hotel manager called me understanding that I had complained about a few things. As a compensation he offered me a bottle of champagne for my dinner at the off site steak house (beach club). When I arrived no such bottle, he had not given thee message to the staff…Does not matter as we would not had the time to drink it anyways
7) Small pool…Ok I guess but gain knowing what other 4 star hotels offer this is a step down or two

The good:

1) The staff was really nice and genuinely very friendly…I guess this is a benefit of staying in a smaller hotel
2) Food is good with allot of variety
3) The beach club itself is good with many chairs, palm trees, nice pool and beach, Good bar service and also good food…

So I never thought that I would put so much into this but as you I would prefer to have proper warning as not to be disappointed when you arrive at destination. [Details]

Just remember that you get what you pay for. [Details]

the house wine was fairly decent as was most of the food. not overly luxurious but still very nice. very srevice orented friendly staff. [Details]

We arrived from the airport (via transfer) to the Lupita - the Playacar complex was beautiful and our resort was tucked away beside a golf course.

First impressions weren't all that good. The lobby is small and looked cheap - not as impressive as I had expected of a Riu hotel.

Check-in was prompt and courteous. The room was a room. No extras. I'm unsure of the last update at this resort, but it's way overdue. The bathroom needs to be gutted The room itself is simply a room, but the beds were uncomfortable, the tv was junk, there was no clock radio in the room, and the picture on the wall was falling out the frame - I definitely expected more. No internet in the rooms. 90mins a day only in the lobby. Internet service was ok, but a little slow (to be expected).

The main pool was meticulously maintained (there are 3, but I stayed at the main one), and so was the surrounding deck. Sun loungers were constantly being cleaned and lined up. The bar staff was great, as were all the staff at the restaurants.

The Mexican restaurant on site was nice, but could use some updating in the appetizer and soup department. The entrees were delicious.

The main dining room/ buffet was kept to a schedule which I found unusual, because they advertise Riu as a 24hour all inclusive -which this location is not. However, when we went for dinner, it was always fresh and tasty. My highlight was the Mexican night - amazing! Between the scheduled meals, the snack bar was open pool side, but the food was poor quality.

The grounds were maintained daily and everything was clean. However, you can see the age showing on the property even though the staff were constantly touching up imperfections. The concrete is wearing, curbs looked rough, and the amenities are looking very tired.

There are also tennis courts on site. It appears that locals use them with tennis instructors. I'm not sure how this works, but the property doesn't seem exclusive to the guests visiting.

This property does not have direct access to the beach. There is a shuttle bus that starts at 730am and ends at 630pm that runs every half hour. It will drop you off at the beach club. The beach club is attached the the Riu Palace and the guests staying there have access to the beach club too - You do not have access to the Palace or any other Rius in the complex as a guest at the Lupita.

My complaint with the bus service and access to the beach is that you are restricted to a schedule and can't come and go to the beach as you would hope.

The golf course beside the resort is privately owned. You cannot walk the grounds during off hours. We went for a walk - 5-10mins and found that there is access to the beach club via the course. Then when we went to return to the resort we were told that the course was private and had to walk 30mins back the long way:(

I think an improvement would be to somehow have pedestrian access to the beach, so you don't have to rely on the rickety bus.

Overall the experience was satisfactory. If the staff and the food was bad, it would have been a complete waste. The location is ok overall, because you have access to the town via the beach club shuttle as well - Playa Del Carmen. Taxis are cheap too - $7 in and out of town.

The guests were mostly European - Lots of English, French, and Spanish - a sprinkling of Canadians too. The ages varied, but the guests were primarily young families, or older couples. This is not a party resort. It's quiet and peaceful away from all the chaos of Cancun for example.

I would recommend for travelers to not expect much from this hotel and advise Riu to completely remodel this resort as soon as humanly possible. Additionally, this is absolutely not a 4 or 5 star, and is actually a 3 at the very most.

For the money spent, we should have went somewhere else. [Details]

It's a small cosey resort, where you get acquainted quickly with the entertainment team, staff, and other guests. Food was very good, with different variations everyday at the buffet. Common complaint from other travelers, "resort not beach front," should read, as it's clearly stated on sites, which they offer free daily shuttle every half hour, and the driver is quite punctual. The beach is amazing and we heard it's nicer than North of town, nice blue water, no rocks on the beach and in the water. This resort is more family oriented, and for romantic couples, who want to have a relaxing vacation. They do not promote their Pacha Disco enough, as alot of guests did not even know it's by the smaller quiet pool. Thank you Aldo (front desk), Jossie & Omar (Entertainment), and Blanca (pool bar) for your hospitality. [Details]

peaceful vacation, great staff and lots of sun! [Details]

first look at the rooms and we wanted to run old old old ,no coffee maker just lots of booze and mix so if your going to party and pass out for the price this place is a gem ,other wise beds very good service exceptional best beach club ive ever been to food good lots to choose from very close to 5th ave for shopping ,they even drop you off at the end of resot area so you dont need to take ca bs which will take you anywhere for 7 dollars,overall would go back in a heart beat. [Details]

We were very disapointed in the entire hotel stay. The number one thing we requested was a balcony with an ocean view. We were two miles from the ocean, no balcony and our view was a chain link fence. The service was a three star resort at best. No help with luggage, mini bar was only stocked once in a week only after two requests. I requested a new box of tissue three times and never did recieve it. The front desk was of little help as they told us we had to talk to sunwing for any issues. Towel card system was attrocious, never would get card back at end of day because they took all cards to office, then try to get a new towel in the morning. I eneded up buying new beach towels!

Resteraunt closed at 10:30 in the morning. My teenage daughters on vacation never once got to eat breakfast.Oh yes there was a snack bar consisting of;
Bannana bread, mustard ketchup, mayo, no hot dogs or burgers, but there were buns. Fruit and salad but no dressing, and oh yes as any good 5 star resort they did have Fruit loops and Frosted flakes!

I am requesting a full refund! [Details]

As expected from RIU it was nice [Details]

The food is great and they are great with kids. [Details]

Our fourth time at the Lupita. The price was right and the beach is great. The rooms are modest and old but they try and maintaine them. The proximity to Playa Del Carmen is great ,a short shuttle ride or a twenty five minute walk.
The front desk staff are very good. The cleaning staff were off this time (not as much attention to detail)and seemed to be slacking. The resturant staff are good at their job and very plesant. The shuttle bus to the beach or Playa is always clean and on time.
The hotel management are on top of all issues immediately. We had a large group of kids arrive and their first night was rough for those around them. They were tuned up the next day and all was well after that. We also had a leak in our bathroom ceiling and they offered to move us immediately.
The animation crew has changed and I think that they need a few more seasons to mature. But as usual the small children are totally doted on and they really enjoyed the animation crew.
The food was good, there was always something we liked.
Our main complaint is that the food at the beach club and the bar are not always monitored close enough. There are always the people who refuse to close the doors after they have taken what they want and not thinking that there are other people who will want to eat food that is refridgerated and pest free.
Although we are not handi-caped the availability to the beach club will require you to pay for a cab,the bus is not equiped for people who need wheelchairs.

Last but not least, The Beach and beach club. The beach is spectacular and the club is relaxing and clean. Plenty of food and refreshments.
Would we go back, yes, however if you are looking for that "5 Star" experience this is not the place for you. A four star rating is being generous for this hotel, but it offers all that is needed for a relaxed holiday. [Details]

Staff and service at the hotel were great, food was tasty and ther was plenty of choice..
However hotel rooms especially the bathrooms are in desperate need of renovations and therefore I would only rate this hotel as 3.5 star.
If you can get a good deal on this hotel I would still recommend this place. [Details]

This resort is not new but very clean and accomanable.You have all you can need for your stay and more,the staff is very friendly and will do everything to make your stay with them enjoyable,the front desk was very proffessinal and they would call for me and my family and tree other couples traveling with us, to see and ask if every thing was ok and if they could do somethimg to make our vacation more confortable.This hotel is very clean ,and well kept.You have a sense of being part of the hotel family. My brother who travel with us with his wife had a cold and was not feeling well nothing to do with the resort he was feeling this way when we left so durring his stay the staff and front desk bend over backwards to accomodate him and his wife he had to stay in his room due to his not feeling well his wife went to the hotel store and pharmacy to get some medication but wath she needed was not in the store the front desk went out and made arrangement to get him the medication and made sure he always got wath he needed to get better including sending fruits and soup ti his room also a supply of soda biscuit. I am 55 and been traveling at least twice every year since I was 22 and never experience the kindness and service this hotel gave to all of us,,in my book they deserve a 6 star and would not hesitate to go there again or suggest friends to go ,We are talking vacation in february and thinking of going back to this hotel for two weeks. I can honestly say Ive been staying at five stars hotels for the last 5 years and never got this kind of service,,, A plus for this resort other resort should learn from this resort in my book they are No one,,, [Details]

My wife and I went to this hotel after doing research and reading reviews on this site. We knew what to expect and we were ready for what we thought awaited us. However this hotel under achieved at every turn. We knew this hotel was not on the beach but they were supposed to have a shuttle to take guests to their own beach club but their beach club was closed for renos (not told prior to booking)and they shuttled guests to the other Riu's on the beach that were already over-crowded. This made the beach not an option. The pools at the Lupita and the other Riu's were so cold that no guests ever used them. So that made the pools not an option. The rooms at the Lupita were smelly with showers that did not have enough water pressure to work and rarely any hot water. The house keeping was sparse at best. Now comes the really bad part, the food. The selection and quality of food was horrible. Both my wife and I became violently ill at this resort. We have been to Mexico numerous times at 7 different destinations and have never had a problem with the food in Mexico. We were not the only people who became ill. After the 2nd day we had no confidence or desire to eat at this or any other Riu and had the rest of our meals in town at various restaurants. On another note we are english speaking Canadians and found that almost everyone that frequents this hotel was either Spanish or French (from France). This was something we had never experienced anywhere else we have been to for a vacation. Even the air around the hotel was sometimes unbreathable due to the sewage treatment plant across the street. The smell was unbearable on many occasions. So in summary, no beach access, no pool access, no shower, no room cleaning, no non contaminated edible food, unbreathable air and no one to socialize with = no recommendation. I dont know about everyone else but I go on vacation to enjoy myself and the beach, pool, room and food are a big part of my enjoyment. If you dont care about these things then you may be happy at the Lupita. Otherwise avoid this hotel at all costs. [Details]

We were at the Riu Lupita for a week stay from November 17th to the 24th 2012. The resort itself is small and cute, not a “party” type of resort. There are lots of European folks there so if you have issues with people speaking French or a foreign language, this isn't the place for you! Also the resort is not a beach front resort(we knew this already as it's posted everywhere), so if you plan on walking to the beach each morning…that won't happen either, it's a simple bus ride there (15 minutes)that runs every half hour to and from the resort (provided by the resort at no cost). During our week stay nobody mentioned that the “beach access” path that is for the Lupita was closed for construction, so when we got off there the first day we had to walk to the next Riu to access the beach through that resort. Not a big deal but you'd think someone would tell you that beforehand. In the end going to the beach at the Yucatan (our favorite) or Playacar is good and the shuttle dropped you off right there and you are able to use their facilities (food/bar/bathroom/pool etc…). The staff at the Lupita are great, never had any issues with anyone. Our housekeeper was amazing and left us different “animals” each day made out of extra towels. Was very cute and you could tell she took the time to make sure our room was nice and clean and it was always done very promptly. The bad part was that there was something (we assume from the food or the ice) going around the resort that got both of us sick and many others that were there at the same timeframe. I was out of commission for 24 hours (right at the start of our trip) with symptoms such as a fever, major abdominal pain (felt like I had done a million sit-ups), bloated stomach and the runs, then my girlfriend had the same issue for 36 hours (at the end of our trip). Originally we assumed it was just us but as we talked to others we found out that they also had the same issues (many with more symptoms) and it lasting varying amounts of time. One of the couples that we spoke with had spent 2 days without leaving their room and had met the doctor (the resort had a few doctors on sight walking around checking on people) and he had told them it was a flu, I find that hard to believe as it was only at our resort. It's an unfortunate event as we were very excited to go away on vacation and have some time to relax, not spend over half our holidays in our room sick. Now that we are back home we are still feeling some lingering effects and trying to get over it. Hopefully whatever it was (food or ice) they have found it and fixed it so that this doesn't happen to others. We feel like we wasted our time going all the way there to get sick. :( We just wish that they would tell people what is happening. [Details]

The snacks were leftovers from meals, food was similar most days, only two restaurants as the snack bar was the leftovers. Several folks became sick the hotel did little to investigate the issue. We lost 3 days due to this at a 4 star hotel. [Details]