All You Need to Know About the Massage
at Hotel Riu Jalisco
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Massage review highlights
... to bring it back. The spa: My husband won a 15 minute massage at a pool game and gave it to me. Deep tissue massages are...
... aforementioned, everything is great. I also tried their massage and the women there seem to have magic in their hands....
... screaming and yelling all night. I had two spa services (massage and facial) which were below average and cost far more...
Most popular question about the massage
Any one have a massage while there? if so what were they charging? Is there coke cola or pepsi served? What brand of Mexican beer was on tap? Sauna and steam room........men's...
Answer from Blacksmith12
Dec 2017 |
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Write a reviewReception:
We arrived at 11 AM, but our room was not available till after 3. We were wearing jeans for the plane and there is no air conditioned part to the hotel except the rooms and 2 restaurants that aren't open for lunch.
If you are staying there, either pack an easily accessible change of clothes/bathing suit or even better, arrive toward the evening. You'll be miserable otherwise.
Beach:
Beach is nice. It wouldn't be fair for me to try to compare it to the Caribbean so I will not bother. They have nice loungers, but no good shade there except for that provided by palm trees. Catamaran, kayaks, and boogie boards are included. The guy in charge of them has a nasty/lazy attitude though and only 1 hr per day is allowed. The catamaran was my favorite - only problem is that it's only available between 12 and 4 (the hottest possible time of the day) - i wore a T-shirt under my life jacket to protect my shoulders, but my legs got cinged one of the days we went on it. They also charge $25 for a lesson if you do not know how to use it. Save your money, it's not complicated. We figured it out on our own; it's merely a matter of physics. One day we even went far out enough to see a dolphin!!!
There are many vendors there, but they don't really bother you if you say "no thanks".
There are jelly fish and after 4 people got stung one day I was a little afraid to go in since you cannot see them coming with the murkiness.
Pools:
There are 2 pools. There is good shade around them. The water did get really hot 2 of the days we were there, but there's not much that can be done about that. They seemed clean enough though. The adult pool has a swim up bar and some cool areas made for lounging while partly submerged in water (very thoughtful). The family pool had 2 nice looking slides for the children. Separate entertainment staff/games at both too. Of course there were still kids in the adult pool - I fault the selfish parents for that though, not the staff. The staff made announcements to ask the kids to leave every few hours or so.
Rooms:
We stayed on the 6th right at the end.
Since there is only one set of elevators only in the middle of the U shaped hotel, we always took the stairs (it's good for you), but i don't think walking o the elevator would have been so bad if we had preferred that.
The balcony was great - even with a small drying rack. The view was beautiful - we could see the other side of the hotel, the ocean, and the mountains.
AC worked well.
Minibar had a dispenser with full sized bottles of Vodka, Tequila, Gin, and Rum. Then also a mini fridge stocked with Pepsi, 7-UP, Tri-Soda (best mineral water I've had - this was my favorite), and Coronas. Restocking occurred every 2 days.
Safe was in the closet. Someone complained that the same safe key works for multiple rooms - I think this is False. What actually happens is that you get a removable lock with a key. This is why
you could possibly take the same given lock and key to a different room if moved.
The room also had a TV with a sufficient number of English channels
and a good sized bathroom. Sound carries very strongly there. We had a family with a baby next door for 2 of the days there and were not only able to hear the baby crying, but also the squeak toy the parents used to calm it down.
The worst part was the bed. It was not only hard, but also lumpy. The sheets are not cotton - they're polyester, and the bottom sheet has some sort of plastic lining. This feels absolutely disgusting!!! And when I got sunburned, it was unbearable. Felt like I was getting a friction burn every time I tried to turn in the night. The small lumpy pillows we had smelled like mildew - I was more comfortable using a towel instead of a pillow. Overall, did not get one good night's sleep there. The good thing is that we were able to get up early in the morning to catch the best time to swim at the beach since there was no desire to stay in that bed at all.
Restaurants:
Food was mediocre. Comparable to a college cafeteria at best.
The claim to 4 restaurants is misleading.
Don Emilliano and Donna Adelita, right across from each other have the exact same food and only differ slightly in decor - it's really just 1 buffet restaurant with 2 rooms. It's also the only one (or 2) with AC. They serve breakfast and dinner only. The breakfast there was actually my favorite meal of the day - nice omelet/eggs station, small selection of fruits, and a cappuccino machine was all I needed to be happy. Not much to be said for dinner there. Nayarit - the restaurant between the hotel and the beach serves a buffet lunch and reservation only for dinner. It has no AC and lunch has really poor choices. We never really enjoyed lunch there - just ate enough salad or pasta to not be hungry and moved on. The first day we arrived to the hotel was actually our 5 year anniversary. I had e-mailed in advance to ask for a reservation at Nayarit as an exception (usually you have to get up at 7 am to ask for one the day of). That request was lost, but we were obliged anyway when asking nicely at reception. We dressed up and went for our 6:30 reservation. With no AC we sweat through our clothes before we even got our salad. However we really knew we were in for disappointment when we got the bread basket. It looked like nice hot buttered bread nice wrapped in a napkin like at most nice restaurants but first taste didn't seem quite right; upon inspection I can say I'm 95% certain the bread was cheap hamburger buns cut into strips and dripped with butter. When they say it's a-la-cart too, they actually mean that you eat what they bring you, not that there's a menu of choice. so they just brought out the meat in an attempt at Brazilian style like places - you got a
small piece of chicken, sausage, beef and ostrich. the chicken was the only good one. The dessert looked very pretty - like tiramisu - but tasted like something completely synthetic and horrible. We ate very little and went to the buffet afterwards - and were surprised to find normal bread there!!! We never bothered with the reservations again.
La Botana, the "steakhouse" by the beach, had average hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza as well as a soft taco station at lunch. The corn tortillas were good, but the meats were nothing to speak of. At dinner, they had steak which tasted okay, but only if you got it straight off the grill as it was cooked and pretty good chicken. They also have a guy with a pretty good voice and a keyboard providing entertainment in the evening there.
The Entertainment:
I thought the entertainment was good. The staff worked hard. There were pool games for both adults and kids, some beach volleyball and soccer games and rifle shooting for the adults too. There was live music in the evenings prior to the shows - that was nice. Prior to that there were some kid shows for kids to get on stage and do something cute - i didn't watch but it seemed like it was good for the children. The evening shows were good - nice costumes and good eye candy, but nothing spectacular as far as dancing is concerned. Tuesday night had the best show.
The animation team is very lively and good looking - you'll get extra attention if you're young, blond, and female.
The disco is a sad place. the entrance smells twice as bad as the bathrooms that are next door. the music is mostly hip hop and riggatone. the DJ does not know how to make a transition between songs and most of the "dancing" is just drunk booty shaking/grinding from sad drunk people pretending to be teenagers.
The bars:
Bars are good and bartenders there work very hard. It took me a little while to figure out that the mixed drinks tended to come without alcohol unless specified. A lot of kids enjoy the virgin daiquiris and pina coladas though so that's nice for them. No drinks are served on the beach and if you take one out there you need to take care to bring it back.
The spa:
My husband won a 15 minute massage at a pool game and gave it to me. Deep tissue massages are done under a canopy on the beach. I got mine from a guy named Miguel and it was HEAVENLY! He worked some sort of magic on my shoulders and repaired all the knots that were formed from the uncomfortable bed. Best back massage I've ever had. Made me wish we had booked a full session, but it was the last day of our stay.
The service:
We never once got anything that we asked for from the lobby. The closest we got was when we asked for more mineral water in the mini fridge and got beer. Extra towels never came - had to hunt down a housekeeping cart for that. Our shower never drained properly the whole time we were there. I called about it every day and nothing happened. Mid stay, I complained to the funjet representative who told us that he will take our complaints to a manager and that the reason we've had nothing answered was that we didn't talk to him. That led to no results as well.
Other:
Money exchange is available but no ATM anywhere near. Take care of that at the airport. Internet didn't work when i needed to use it one day. And the girl working in the computer room doesn't even know a thing about computers. There is a $4 connection charge if you want to try to make a call and it's not guaranteed to work. We had to go across the street from the hotel for a public phone to call home. Luckily we brought a phone card.
Overall, I think this place is not 4 or 5 star quality. Part of the problem I had was failed expectations. You can have a better time there if you only expect between 2 and 3 star. If possible, I suggest staying at other hotels of similar quality.
We arrived at 11 AM, but our room was not available till after 3. We were wearing jeans for the plane and there is no air conditioned part to the hotel except the rooms and 2 restaurants that aren't open for lunch.
If you are staying there, either pack an easily accessible change of clothes/bathing suit or even better, arrive toward the evening. You'll be miserable otherwise.
Beach:
Beach is nice. It wouldn't be fair for me to try to compare it to the Caribbean so I will not bother. They have nice loungers, but no good shade there except for that provided by palm trees. Catamaran, kayaks, and boogie boards are included. The guy in charge of them has a nasty/lazy attitude though and only 1 hr per day is allowed. The catamaran was my favorite - only problem is that it's only available between 12 and 4 (the hottest possible time of the day) - i wore a T-shirt under my life jacket to protect my shoulders, but my legs got cinged one of the days we went on it. They also charge $25 for a lesson if you do not know how to use it. Save your money, it's not complicated. We figured it out on our own; it's merely a matter of physics. One day we even went far out enough to see a dolphin!!!
There are many vendors there, but they don't really bother you if you say "no thanks".
There are jelly fish and after 4 people got stung one day I was a little afraid to go in since you cannot see them coming with the murkiness.
Pools:
There are 2 pools. There is good shade around them. The water did get really hot 2 of the days we were there, but there's not much that can be done about that. They seemed clean enough though. The adult pool has a swim up bar and some cool areas made for lounging while partly submerged in water (very thoughtful). The family pool had 2 nice looking slides for the children. Separate entertainment staff/games at both too. Of course there were still kids in the adult pool - I fault the selfish parents for that though, not the staff. The staff made announcements to ask the kids to leave every few hours or so.
Rooms:
We stayed on the 6th right at the end.
Since there is only one set of elevators only in the middle of the U shaped hotel, we always took the stairs (it's good for you), but i don't think walking o the elevator would have been so bad if we had preferred that.
The balcony was great - even with a small drying rack. The view was beautiful - we could see the other side of the hotel, the ocean, and the mountains.
AC worked well.
Minibar had a dispenser with full sized bottles of Vodka, Tequila, Gin, and Rum. Then also a mini fridge stocked with Pepsi, 7-UP, Tri-Soda (best mineral water I've had - this was my favorite), and Coronas. Restocking occurred every 2 days.
Safe was in the closet. Someone complained that the same safe key works for multiple rooms - I think this is False. What actually happens is that you get a removable lock with a key. This is why
you could possibly take the same given lock and key to a different room if moved.
The room also had a TV with a sufficient number of English channels
and a good sized bathroom. Sound carries very strongly there. We had a family with a baby next door for 2 of the days there and were not only able to hear the baby crying, but also the squeak toy the parents used to calm it down.
The worst part was the bed. It was not only hard, but also lumpy. The sheets are not cotton - they're polyester, and the bottom sheet has some sort of plastic lining. This feels absolutely disgusting!!! And when I got sunburned, it was unbearable. Felt like I was getting a friction burn every time I tried to turn in the night. The small lumpy pillows we had smelled like mildew - I was more comfortable using a towel instead of a pillow. Overall, did not get one good night's sleep there. The good thing is that we were able to get up early in the morning to catch the best time to swim at the beach since there was no desire to stay in that bed at all.
Restaurants:
Food was mediocre. Comparable to a college cafeteria at best.
The claim to 4 restaurants is misleading.
Don Emilliano and Donna Adelita, right across from each other have the exact same food and only differ slightly in decor - it's really just 1 buffet restaurant with 2 rooms. It's also the only one (or 2) with AC. They serve breakfast and dinner only. The breakfast there was actually my favorite meal of the day - nice omelet/eggs station, small selection of fruits, and a cappuccino machine was all I needed to be happy. Not much to be said for dinner there. Nayarit - the restaurant between the hotel and the beach serves a buffet lunch and reservation only for dinner. It has no AC and lunch has really poor choices. We never really enjoyed lunch there - just ate enough salad or pasta to not be hungry and moved on. The first day we arrived to the hotel was actually our 5 year anniversary. I had e-mailed in advance to ask for a reservation at Nayarit as an exception (usually you have to get up at 7 am to ask for one the day of). That request was lost, but we were obliged anyway when asking nicely at reception. We dressed up and went for our 6:30 reservation. With no AC we sweat through our clothes before we even got our salad. However we really knew we were in for disappointment when we got the bread basket. It looked like nice hot buttered bread nice wrapped in a napkin like at most nice restaurants but first taste didn't seem quite right; upon inspection I can say I'm 95% certain the bread was cheap hamburger buns cut into strips and dripped with butter. When they say it's a-la-cart too, they actually mean that you eat what they bring you, not that there's a menu of choice. so they just brought out the meat in an attempt at Brazilian style like places - you got a
small piece of chicken, sausage, beef and ostrich. the chicken was the only good one. The dessert looked very pretty - like tiramisu - but tasted like something completely synthetic and horrible. We ate very little and went to the buffet afterwards - and were surprised to find normal bread there!!! We never bothered with the reservations again.
La Botana, the "steakhouse" by the beach, had average hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza as well as a soft taco station at lunch. The corn tortillas were good, but the meats were nothing to speak of. At dinner, they had steak which tasted okay, but only if you got it straight off the grill as it was cooked and pretty good chicken. They also have a guy with a pretty good voice and a keyboard providing entertainment in the evening there.
The Entertainment:
I thought the entertainment was good. The staff worked hard. There were pool games for both adults and kids, some beach volleyball and soccer games and rifle shooting for the adults too. There was live music in the evenings prior to the shows - that was nice. Prior to that there were some kid shows for kids to get on stage and do something cute - i didn't watch but it seemed like it was good for the children. The evening shows were good - nice costumes and good eye candy, but nothing spectacular as far as dancing is concerned. Tuesday night had the best show.
The animation team is very lively and good looking - you'll get extra attention if you're young, blond, and female.
The disco is a sad place. the entrance smells twice as bad as the bathrooms that are next door. the music is mostly hip hop and riggatone. the DJ does not know how to make a transition between songs and most of the "dancing" is just drunk booty shaking/grinding from sad drunk people pretending to be teenagers.
The bars:
Bars are good and bartenders there work very hard. It took me a little while to figure out that the mixed drinks tended to come without alcohol unless specified. A lot of kids enjoy the virgin daiquiris and pina coladas though so that's nice for them. No drinks are served on the beach and if you take one out there you need to take care to bring it back.
The spa:
My husband won a 15 minute massage at a pool game and gave it to me. Deep tissue massages are done under a canopy on the beach. I got mine from a guy named Miguel and it was HEAVENLY! He worked some sort of magic on my shoulders and repaired all the knots that were formed from the uncomfortable bed. Best back massage I've ever had. Made me wish we had booked a full session, but it was the last day of our stay.
The service:
We never once got anything that we asked for from the lobby. The closest we got was when we asked for more mineral water in the mini fridge and got beer. Extra towels never came - had to hunt down a housekeeping cart for that. Our shower never drained properly the whole time we were there. I called about it every day and nothing happened. Mid stay, I complained to the funjet representative who told us that he will take our complaints to a manager and that the reason we've had nothing answered was that we didn't talk to him. That led to no results as well.
Other:
Money exchange is available but no ATM anywhere near. Take care of that at the airport. Internet didn't work when i needed to use it one day. And the girl working in the computer room doesn't even know a thing about computers. There is a $4 connection charge if you want to try to make a call and it's not guaranteed to work. We had to go across the street from the hotel for a public phone to call home. Luckily we brought a phone card.
Overall, I think this place is not 4 or 5 star quality. Part of the problem I had was failed expectations. You can have a better time there if you only expect between 2 and 3 star. If possible, I suggest staying at other hotels of similar quality.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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I found a good deal on Travelzoo for this hotel so my friend and I decided to get out of town for the weekend. If I had to stay longer than 3 nights I would definitely pick a different hotel.
The staff here is very friendly but sometimes communicating with them can be a bit difficult. This hotel has a lot more locals then foreigners so the staff communicate to you in Spanish (quick way to brush up on your dusty Spanish).
The room: perfect size, however when you shower the water takes forever to drain. After the first day, the cleaners didn't make too much of an effort to clean up the room and just did a quick job just for the sake of cleaning the room. Because of the humidity the pillows had this wet smell that bothered me but again that's probably due to the weather there.
Buffet - good and nice variety. There are other dining choices where you have to make a reservation - DO NOT go to the steak house, the food is crap and cold and you're better off at the buffet. I didn't get a chance to go to the other restaurants but the other reviewers can guide you.
Entertainment - meh its okay but I was so tired from day time activities I wouldn't stay too long. You can always go to the other hotels and catch their shows if you want.
Other then the aforementioned, everything is great. I also tried their massage and the women there seem to have magic in their hands. Walked out feeling so good and relaxed. The beach is a short walk from the hotel and you can walk to the nearby hotels too.
This hotel is good for a weekend getaway, family vacation (reasonably priced) and the the essentials you need. But if you're looking for more look up other resorts.
Wi-fi - only available in the lobby, giving you a chance to really disconnect. 2 thumbs up for this.
The staff here is very friendly but sometimes communicating with them can be a bit difficult. This hotel has a lot more locals then foreigners so the staff communicate to you in Spanish (quick way to brush up on your dusty Spanish).
The room: perfect size, however when you shower the water takes forever to drain. After the first day, the cleaners didn't make too much of an effort to clean up the room and just did a quick job just for the sake of cleaning the room. Because of the humidity the pillows had this wet smell that bothered me but again that's probably due to the weather there.
Buffet - good and nice variety. There are other dining choices where you have to make a reservation - DO NOT go to the steak house, the food is crap and cold and you're better off at the buffet. I didn't get a chance to go to the other restaurants but the other reviewers can guide you.
Entertainment - meh its okay but I was so tired from day time activities I wouldn't stay too long. You can always go to the other hotels and catch their shows if you want.
Other then the aforementioned, everything is great. I also tried their massage and the women there seem to have magic in their hands. Walked out feeling so good and relaxed. The beach is a short walk from the hotel and you can walk to the nearby hotels too.
This hotel is good for a weekend getaway, family vacation (reasonably priced) and the the essentials you need. But if you're looking for more look up other resorts.
Wi-fi - only available in the lobby, giving you a chance to really disconnect. 2 thumbs up for this.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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We returned to the Riu Jalisco this year for Christmas, and I have to say I was very disappointed. We had stayed there two years ago for the holidays, and were very impressed. However, this time it was apparent that the quality of the staff, food, and service had gone downhill significantly.
I can't say enough about how bad the food was. I wasn't expecting haute cuisine here, but there was no variety and the food lacked flavor. As someone who loves food, and will eat almost anything, I had a hard time finding something I liked.The buffet had the same food every day, and I enjoyed almost none of it. And they were out of pico de gallo and guacamole almost every day! If the food wasn't disappointing enough, I was laid out for 3 days after I got home with the "Mexican flu". It would have been worth it if I had at least enjoyed the food that almost killed me.
The rooms were good, if you enjoy sleeping on a bed of concrete. They only re-stocked our fridge when we called to complain. The last few days of the trip were sleepless, as there were people running up and down the halls screaming and yelling all night.
I had two spa services (massage and facial) which were below average and cost far more than they were worth.
The best part of this trip was the time spent in town (Puerto Vallarta... if you go, eat at Pipi's and drink at De Santos).
I can't say enough about how bad the food was. I wasn't expecting haute cuisine here, but there was no variety and the food lacked flavor. As someone who loves food, and will eat almost anything, I had a hard time finding something I liked.The buffet had the same food every day, and I enjoyed almost none of it. And they were out of pico de gallo and guacamole almost every day! If the food wasn't disappointing enough, I was laid out for 3 days after I got home with the "Mexican flu". It would have been worth it if I had at least enjoyed the food that almost killed me.
The rooms were good, if you enjoy sleeping on a bed of concrete. They only re-stocked our fridge when we called to complain. The last few days of the trip were sleepless, as there were people running up and down the halls screaming and yelling all night.
I had two spa services (massage and facial) which were below average and cost far more than they were worth.
The best part of this trip was the time spent in town (Puerto Vallarta... if you go, eat at Pipi's and drink at De Santos).
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Our first all inclusive vacation and we certainly picked the right spot. Booking with Sunwing was not only very affordable, but a very good experience (except the airport experience in Fort McMurray). Representatives on the flight and in Mexico were throughout very helpful. The Riu Jalisco was absolutely fabulous. Location, beach, pool, accommodation were great and rooms were clean. Staff was very friendly. The food was outstanding. We had no expectations and my hubby is very picky when it comes to food. 5 specialty restaurants you need to make reservations for is not worth your while as the every evening buffet with changing themes every night are outstanding, from quality of food to service. We decided after trying a speciality restaurant to just eat at the buffet location. Thanks to Salvatore and Alberto they made us feel very special every night. Remember to leave some tip. Anybody who complains about the food should try eating something else besides burgers, hot dogs and beef or should get themselves out of the sports bar. Also, if you are not in party mode avoid the pool with the swim up bar after 3PM.
Try the massage place - very relaxing and experienced massage therapists. The entire experience exceeded our expectations and we would and will go back to the Riu Jalisco for a quick getaway
Try the massage place - very relaxing and experienced massage therapists. The entire experience exceeded our expectations and we would and will go back to the Riu Jalisco for a quick getaway
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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+1
I truly, do not know what people want.
We stayed at the Riu Jalisco Feb 5-12/07 and had no problems with the resort or staff what so ever. We received good service and the resort was very nice. We went on a last minute deal and for the money we paid we sure got our money’s worth.
The manager would calls us every afternoon around 5:00 to check and make sure everything was alright or if there was anything that we needed. I have never had this before at any other resort.
We arrived in Puerto Vallarta an hour early so that also means we arrived at the resort an hour early. We were greeted, had a quick orientation, and received our wristbands and keys to our room in a very timely manner.
We didn’t have time to exchange our money at the airport so we didn’t have smaller bills to tip the bellman (Oscar) for taking up our luggage, we had told him this before he had left the lobby and his reply was, this is an all-inclusive and that the tip was included. Shocked after everyone complaining about how you can’t get service unless you tip.
Our room was on the fourth floor with a view of the courtyard (4145). A little musty smell, but I always bring febreze. Remember if you open your patio door the air conditioner will turn off. It will not run if your door is open. People were complaining that the air wasn’t working and didn’t listen in orientation or didn’t read this in the info that was in their room. Our mini bar was great as well as the liquor dispenser in the room. Was a bit disappointed that there was nothing for toiletries supplied, but the mini bar and liquor dispenser made up for that. The rooms are not overly large and big enough when all you do is sleep there any way. Yes the beds are harder then you are probably used to, but this was my 4th trip to Mexico always staying at a different resort and the beds have all been the same. I never had a problem with the noise at night because I read the reviews on Trip Advisor before we left, and had purchased wax earplugs (they are great) didn’t hear a peep.
The view was great, when we were sitting on our balcony we could watch people coming and going from the lobby. The balconies are very large; we would take the extra blankets lie on the balcony floor and read in the later afternoon after too much sun.
Got a little tired of the food, not a big buffet lover. There was always some sort of seafood. Breakfast was always the best meal. We never had to wait to get into any of the buffets. There are really no Ala-Carts at this resort, 5 buffets, 2 you have to make reservations at. The buffet at the beach was the best for lunch and the international was good for dinner.
The adult pool was very nice, but did notice that there were a lot of chairs that were reserved in the morning and never seen people at them all day. If you were not down to the pool by 9:00 a.m. you would not get a chair in the sun you would have to sit in the shade in the back row. It could be quite loud around the pool. I would just put on the MP3 player and pick up my book. The built in loungers in the pool were very cool.
Had an outdoor massage, WONDERFUL.
The beach was great, never wore water shoes while walking on the beach. You could walk forever on the beach either way. You can walk to Bucerias in about 1hour ½. This is where we do our shopping. Barter hard, they start off high but they will always go down. Start with ½ of what they are asking.
There is one little vendor that is in the front of there building and you can buy coffee mugs, sugar bowls, salt and pepper shakers and other pottery for a great price. I bought two huge coffee mugs for 60 pesos each. You can take a cab back if you have bought too much about $7.00.
The Riu is about 20 minutes out of Puerto Vallarta. You can catch the bus to go into town. Walk out of the Riu, turn left and walk to the Samba, the bus picks up at the corner.
We went into Puerto Vallarta twice, meet up with friends the first day, they spend the month of February every year in Puerto Vallarta. We had lunch at Andale’s, great food even better Margaritas (best meal of the trip). The next day that we went in, we did the tour of the Pirate Ship (evening cruise), the show was good, I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t gotten nauseas. Supper looked good, just couldn’t do it.
Trip back to the airport was fine, just didn’t want to leave. Yes they check your luggage when you leave.
I would rate this resort as a 4 star, not a 5. Would have liked to have better selection of places to eat.
We had stayed in the Mayan in October, were we paid twice the amount of what I paid to stay at the Riu Jalisco, hands down the Riu was a lot better value for my money. You can at least walk down the beach at the Riu in your bare feet and walk forever.
As for the people who have the negative reviews you know there are going to be people that you just can’t please.
The other resorts in Puerto Vallarta that I had been to were 90% Canadians and I sure missed this.
When you are planning a trip it is well worth your time to read over the reviews in trip advisor, there is always someone who will have some good advise in their reviews and this is why I took the good earplugs.
We stayed at the Riu Jalisco Feb 5-12/07 and had no problems with the resort or staff what so ever. We received good service and the resort was very nice. We went on a last minute deal and for the money we paid we sure got our money’s worth.
The manager would calls us every afternoon around 5:00 to check and make sure everything was alright or if there was anything that we needed. I have never had this before at any other resort.
We arrived in Puerto Vallarta an hour early so that also means we arrived at the resort an hour early. We were greeted, had a quick orientation, and received our wristbands and keys to our room in a very timely manner.
We didn’t have time to exchange our money at the airport so we didn’t have smaller bills to tip the bellman (Oscar) for taking up our luggage, we had told him this before he had left the lobby and his reply was, this is an all-inclusive and that the tip was included. Shocked after everyone complaining about how you can’t get service unless you tip.
Our room was on the fourth floor with a view of the courtyard (4145). A little musty smell, but I always bring febreze. Remember if you open your patio door the air conditioner will turn off. It will not run if your door is open. People were complaining that the air wasn’t working and didn’t listen in orientation or didn’t read this in the info that was in their room. Our mini bar was great as well as the liquor dispenser in the room. Was a bit disappointed that there was nothing for toiletries supplied, but the mini bar and liquor dispenser made up for that. The rooms are not overly large and big enough when all you do is sleep there any way. Yes the beds are harder then you are probably used to, but this was my 4th trip to Mexico always staying at a different resort and the beds have all been the same. I never had a problem with the noise at night because I read the reviews on Trip Advisor before we left, and had purchased wax earplugs (they are great) didn’t hear a peep.
The view was great, when we were sitting on our balcony we could watch people coming and going from the lobby. The balconies are very large; we would take the extra blankets lie on the balcony floor and read in the later afternoon after too much sun.
Got a little tired of the food, not a big buffet lover. There was always some sort of seafood. Breakfast was always the best meal. We never had to wait to get into any of the buffets. There are really no Ala-Carts at this resort, 5 buffets, 2 you have to make reservations at. The buffet at the beach was the best for lunch and the international was good for dinner.
The adult pool was very nice, but did notice that there were a lot of chairs that were reserved in the morning and never seen people at them all day. If you were not down to the pool by 9:00 a.m. you would not get a chair in the sun you would have to sit in the shade in the back row. It could be quite loud around the pool. I would just put on the MP3 player and pick up my book. The built in loungers in the pool were very cool.
Had an outdoor massage, WONDERFUL.
The beach was great, never wore water shoes while walking on the beach. You could walk forever on the beach either way. You can walk to Bucerias in about 1hour ½. This is where we do our shopping. Barter hard, they start off high but they will always go down. Start with ½ of what they are asking.
There is one little vendor that is in the front of there building and you can buy coffee mugs, sugar bowls, salt and pepper shakers and other pottery for a great price. I bought two huge coffee mugs for 60 pesos each. You can take a cab back if you have bought too much about $7.00.
The Riu is about 20 minutes out of Puerto Vallarta. You can catch the bus to go into town. Walk out of the Riu, turn left and walk to the Samba, the bus picks up at the corner.
We went into Puerto Vallarta twice, meet up with friends the first day, they spend the month of February every year in Puerto Vallarta. We had lunch at Andale’s, great food even better Margaritas (best meal of the trip). The next day that we went in, we did the tour of the Pirate Ship (evening cruise), the show was good, I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t gotten nauseas. Supper looked good, just couldn’t do it.
Trip back to the airport was fine, just didn’t want to leave. Yes they check your luggage when you leave.
I would rate this resort as a 4 star, not a 5. Would have liked to have better selection of places to eat.
We had stayed in the Mayan in October, were we paid twice the amount of what I paid to stay at the Riu Jalisco, hands down the Riu was a lot better value for my money. You can at least walk down the beach at the Riu in your bare feet and walk forever.
As for the people who have the negative reviews you know there are going to be people that you just can’t please.
The other resorts in Puerto Vallarta that I had been to were 90% Canadians and I sure missed this.
When you are planning a trip it is well worth your time to read over the reviews in trip advisor, there is always someone who will have some good advise in their reviews and this is why I took the good earplugs.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Helpful
Questions & answers about the massage
Answer from Blacksmith12
Dec 2017 |
1) I never looked
2) It was on tap, couldn't tell
3) TECATE in the fridge in the room. Bar: on tap
4) Never saw one there.
Answer from R S
Mar 2017 |
You do not need reservations for any of the restaurants. I'm sure you do for the spa services but they didn't look busy? Hope this helps!
Answer from Joylee
Feb 2016 |
Riu do NOTanswer these Questions on Their Resort, not even sure if they Read them. This is anew TA feature, but we CanNOT post an email here.
You can click on my picture/ profile, then send a Private Message and I can help, OR go to the FORUM, top of Page,Click More Button.email has been posted there in Lots of threads.
Nice of you.Wow.
JoLeen2 DE
Answer from Trudi Powell
Feb 2016 |
There is a hut for massages yes :) it's literally as u walk between the pools onto the beach. Impossible to miss
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