Loved this resort. Grounds are absolutely beautiful. Pool is large and gorgeous. Lots of seating and cabanas. The beach at this resort was the prettiest I have found in Mexico. The workers are extremely friendly and helpful. It is in a great location to do all the other activities in Playa. 5th Ave. is a five minute taxi ride. It is a nice shopping area. Lots of fun. Food is ok for an all inclusive. Ammenites right at the resort are plentiful. Snorkeling, canoeing, scuba lessons. We thought we would do more activities around Playa but we couldn't drag ourselves away from the pool! I am already planning on going back and will stay at this resort!

Traveled from June 9 2010 to the 14th and it was just amazing. Nothing could of gone wrong. The hotel was all we wanted and more. We arrived a few hours early and they had no problem giving us a room at that time. All the bartenders, waiters and staff were exellent. The hotel is small, but the best part about it is you are allowed to wonder onto the Riu Yuchatan, Tequila and Playcar. Riu Lupita is not on the beach, but the convient shuttle drops you off at the beach club and the other resorts are all within a walking distance. Like I mentioned the Lupita is a small resort so if your looking to party this isn't the place, it's a very relaxing cool atmosphere the entertainment staff is great at getting the guests involved and having a good time. Now for the food, for an All-Inclusive resort the food was great. Everyday was something different and very tasty. I have stayed at the Oasis in Cancun and the food at the Lupita was Sooo much better. The beds in the rooms are a little hard, but you do get used to them. Met a couple who were staying at a 5 star resort and told us their bed was as hard as a rock too. I have nothing but good things to say about this resort it met all our needs and can't wait to return to a Riu Resort.

I have stayed at many resorts and hotels in US, Mexico and Europe, from below average to average to true 5 star. In Mexico weighing all factors (some things are to be expected at ANY of the resorts.... the food just isn't great and it wont be, some will be better but none will be a true 5 star meal). However, this resort has been the best of them IF you are looking for peace and relaxation. The pool and beach are wonderful. The service is OK....not terrible BUT not 5 star. The rooms do need updating BUT again, of the resorts I've stayed at in Mexico, this one was the best when factoring all good, bad and indifferent. In the past men's dress shoes were always brought but never needed so of course, this time they weren't packed AND this resort is VERY strict on men wearing slacks, collared shirts (which we had) AND close toe shoes. Even if you look clean and very presentable men MUST have closed toes shoes. Yes, I would return to this resort, just know, if you have been to 5 star hotels or resorts this is not a true 5 star, but in comparison to other resorts this was one of best for the beach, pool and adult relaxation and peace.

In retrospect this was a great place to stay, but the initial contact with the front desk was not positive, unlike the other 2 hotel/resorts we stayed at this trip (see checkin below). Once you got into the rooms and rest of the resort things were nice, hotel employees were cheerful and efficient. Each morning from 8:00 to 10:30 you can reserve seating at one of the four specialty restaurants. We tried the Japanese and the Steak versions. In our opinions we preferred the diverse and well prepared buffet dinners where you can sample many kinds of seafood, good fruits both simple and mixed or topped with something, many fruit juices (at least one requires acquired taste), good Mexican variations of meats and vegtables. All service was very good. Rooms on the north side have substantial bass volume at times from the next door resort's entertainment (bar?) but didn't keep us up after all the days activities. The Riu allows full use of their adjacent resorts (except dinners) so you can eat and have drinks in multiple areas and you can easily walk between them. Mexican style evening entertainment in open courtyard was good (pleasant outdoor weather, free Marquaritas and beer enhance that) and the Riu Palace Riviera Maya also has evening shows. Check in: Our information booked with Hotels.com was acknowledged by the Riu chain, transmitted to the hotel but they couldn't find it on their system for 2 hours after we arrived and seemingly couldn't care less, couldn't go online to verify. Hotels.com tried to call hotel 3 times and tried to fax info twice to hotel but they couldn't get through and the fax machine was broken. My conclusion is that the hotel reservation system is so disconnected from their clients (who book online or through major group travel operations) that front desk customer service is not emphasized. Be sure your travel agent is on top of it because any problems and the front desk tells you to contact them. So front desk staff was 1 and service staff inside the hotel was a good 4. Taxis and Tulum side trip: Security and controlled access to most resorts means you can't get off the main roads or highways without passing through checkpoints so touring other resorts can be difficult. We rented a taxi for the day to see the Tulum ruins and adjacent area. The doorman at this resort was a good guy who got us reasonable prices without negoiation, other places a good practice might be to ask how much, quote the best price you've gotten in the past or offer less, usually they'll match it if you're reasonable. Also when you arrive ask the driver how much, on occasion final price was significantly less than what hotel staff (other than Riu) quoted or arranged. If you're going to Tulum, a good side trip is the Tulum public beach (a very nice place to be) just south of the ruins afterwards or whatever in the area you'd like to see on the way back (Puerto Adventuras?), seems like the taxi price does not vary from ruins-only price. We hired a guide for the ruins tour (after we walked past the ticket area we were offered a rate 100 pesos off posted rate), well worth it if you're going to block out the vacation time to go there. The site is somewhat protected from wind and can get very hot during the day. You can no longer climb the temple steps, like a lot of ruins, but there are good views and stairs to a nice beach at the base of the temple bluff. It was packed when we were there so we went to the picturesque and less used public beach just south (3-4 km?).

This is our second AI resort we have ever been to, the other was a sandals resort. Everything said and done the Sandals resort (Emerald Bay) we went to was better but the reasons were few and far between. First let me talk about the food. Everything was really good my wife and I had no complaints about anything we ate. The only thing were Sandals had the edge on this was all of the places to eat were buffet here and I guess I just prefer the made to order menus at Sandals. The pool was nice we didn't spend much time there however. One thing I didn't like is the fact there was no hot tub. I know most people wouldn't want to sit in a hot tub in Mexico but it was chilly one day and it would have been nice, or at night. We spent most of our time at the beach which was amazing. There were always plenty of chairs for laying out and sun bathing. The drinks and bars were good not great I think they could use more of a drink menu most of the drinks they had were pretty standard fair that people would already know. We liked at Sandals how they had all the different drink and we could just try all kinds of different new things. The rooms were very nice, everything was clean and neat. All of the staff was very friendly. Overall we had a great stay and would highly recommend this hotel. Although we did think the other resort was a little better we would for sure say here over Sandals being that it was less then half the price and we thought a much better deal.

I have been to a few all-inclusive resorts in the past and noticed a difference when it came to the food and the service. Most resorts I have been to, the staff is very attentive by making sure and ask if you need anything. Not at this resort. I found myself waiting or having to stop someone to ask for things I needed. Also, the best food was located at the buffet restaurant. Most resorts have the best food served by the individual restaurants that serve an a la carte menu. This resort had the same quality food at the other restaurants compared to their buffet restaurant.

We booked a 14 day trip in feb.2010 to playa del carmen to escape our canadian winter..We chose the riu yucatan based primarily based on our desire for hopefully getting a hotel that would be a great place to vacation without being too upscale or breaking our bank account--we were not disappointed---using the services of expedia.com we got a great price,actually cheaper then previous hotels of far lower quality that we have used in dominican republic and mexico..We pre-booked a private car from the airport for the same rate as a cab ride .The riu yucatan turned out to be everything that we had hoped for-- GREAT buffet food --premium bar drinks--casual atmosphere--great staff--VERY clean rooms and grounds..The exchange priviliges with the other riu resorts was great --nice to go for a beach walk and be able to stop off for a cool drink down the beach ..we had a great stay at the riu yucatan and would definetly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a resort that caters to you as their guest without pretentious airs..very casual atmosphere...john&phyllis...british columbia..canada

We stayed at the Viva Wyndham Maya in mid-May 2006. I chose this hotel b/c it was affordable and my fiancee and I were very pleased. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Our room was great - big, clean, jacuzzi tub, and a stand-alone shower. The food was fine. I wouldn't say great, but it wasn't bad either; it was about what I expect from a moderately priced all-inclusive. The beach was a little more crowded than some of the other resorts, but it wasn't a problem. The two pools were nice - one was the main pool near the beach and the other was the "relax" pool at the back of the resort. There is a fun atmosphere with a lively crowd and the guests are a healthy mix of Europeans, Latin Americans, and US citizens. The resort only has one type of beer on tap, but it's a decent Mexican beer (ie Dos Equis, Sol, etc.) If you order Pina Coladas, then you may need to specify that you want rum. The line for check-out was long so give yourself enough time when leaving. Overall, it was a good stay. ***Travel Tip: From the Cancun airport you can ride the ADO bus for $8/person to Playa. The bus runs every hour. A cab from the bus station in downtown Playa to the resort is $5. We just missed the ADO at the Cancun airport and didn't feel like waiting so we actually took a van from the airport for $15/person and they dropped us off at the resort. If you take a van, be sure to haggle with the couriers offering you a ride.

Over the last 10 years, we have stayed at many all inclusive resorts. Our family unanimously agreed that this was by far the best spot in Playa. The reasons we loved this resort were many. Great and friendly service, clean rooms, and the best beach ever! We had stayed at two different 5 star(Iberostar) resorts in Playa in the past. While those resorts were lovely, they were also HUGE. The Wyndam Azteca was quaint, and the clientele was very European. This place had character, was clean, and the service was exceptional. We loved the fact that you could snorkel right off the beach, go sailing, wind surfing, kayaking, or ride your bike into town. It was very close to the ferry to Cozumel. There was always something to do. You also have access to the sister resort, and if you have small children, I recommend that resort, as it appeared to have more activities for the smaller ones. My only complaint would be booking the restaurants. The food was much better at the restaurants, but getting into them was a hassle. They need to figure out a better system. The food at the buffet was hit or miss, though we could always find great things to eat and fresh fruits and veggies. We give this resort a 4.5 out of 5. We are already planning a return trip. Have fun...we certainly did!