RIU Lupita-All Inclusive

PLAYA CARMEN HOTELS - LUPITA

by janewake about RIU LUPITA

We stayed here Jan/Feb 2007 and it suited us very well. It is NOT a Riu Palace, it is very different. We chose All Inclusive cheap end of the range because we wanted to spend money travelling around the Yucatan. Rooms are basic, there were plasters covering a break in the bathroom window screen, but this was fixed within 24 hrs without us reporting it. The rooms do not have a seating area. The Tv channels are pretty poor, only CNN Prime in English and even then poor reception. It was a peaceful, quiet place when we were there. The staff are very friendly and the reception cannot do enough to help and they are friendly in a non-cloying way too. We do not go for nightly entertainment but it is provided. I would say this is a low key, relaxed and easy going, basic place to stay. It is NOT like the two other Riu places nearby. Some people went to those two all day every day, or they went to the beach club. But, as we wanted peace we stayed by the quiet pool and it was great. HOWEVER, On our last day about 400 French and Spanish families arrived and we realised it was HALF TERM. It became awful, there was so much noise and screaming and very thoughtless behaviour.

Lupita's

by madamx

If you're looking for beautiful, traditional Mexican clothing that is almost heirloom quality, a stop at Lupita's is a must. Lupita Bravo de Whitehead has handpicked handmade cotton clothing from the Mexican states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas, as well as the city of Guadalajara and Mexico's neighbor, Guatemala

She also has a wide selection of chunky jewellry, traditional scarves, purses, and other accessories. The shop is tiny, but she has a suprisingly wide range of items. The downside is that Mexicans tend to be small, so I would say if you are more than a US size 12, you may be disappointed. The gracious Lupita will help you hunt for an item you are looking for, or her assistant Gaby, who is very helpful. They also do hemming on short notice as well. Prices are not cheap; these are hand-made, often one of a kind items. I purchased an embroidered Oaxacan dress, and it was approx $143 US . She does not take credit cards.

Very Laid Back

by A TripAdvisor Member

This is not a good choice for lovers of a raucous night life. Find that in Cancun. There is a very laid back and quiet atmosphere with no apparent rules or schedules. There is a shuttle bus to a very nice beach and the bus also stops two blocks from downtown Playacar. Many people used this service frequently. Tours to Tulum are convenient and cost $38 U.S. The ferry to Cozumel costs $8 U.S. and leaves from downtown several blocks from the shuttle busstop. The food was good and the grounds were well kept and the staff very friendly.Many families had small children and they were kept occupied by daytime and nighttime activities. The room was small and basic but we spent little time there. If you can get a good deal for a beachfront hotel then book there, but for the price we paid I thought we got a really good deal.There were relatively few Americans. Most guests were from Britain, France, or Italy and quite a few beautiful women were going topless at the beach, but none at the hotel itself. We stayed from Sept 5-8,2003.

Honeymooners Horror!

by A TripAdvisor Member

My husband and I stayed here for our honeymoon from July 22- July 28, 2003 and it was the worst vacation we ever took! The hotel LOST our reservation and put us into a room with DIRTY towels on the bed and a soiled tub. We spent the entire next day calling our travel agent to find out what happened with the reservation- the front desk ignored us and demanded a credit card in the middle of the night! The following day, we slept in but were interrupted by grounds keepers coming INTO our room and fumigating it for mosquitos- I am still lying in bed! The water pipe burst in the room next to ours and flooded our room. We were told we could use the sister hotel's services, but discovered that you have to ask for a pass at guest services. The guest services told us they had already given out all passes for the week and we couldn't get any until after we headed home. They accused us of not going to our informative meeting that the tour guide provided- we didn't go with a tour group! They also mentioned that they provide a package for honeymooners, but because they couldn't find our reservation, they were unable to give us the package. The week just got worse... Overall, the food was bad and bland, the drinks warm and light on alcohol, and service was nonexistent. We are still fighting with the hotel to refund the "lost" reservation and we lost the experience of a honeymoon that happpens only once in a lifetime.

Fantastic Value!!

by A TripAdvisor Member

I was somewhat apprehensive after reading some of the previous reviews, but after the first day I had to question whether they were writing about the same place. We are used to staying at 4or 5 star places in the U.S while on business, so were somewhat concerned. This place is not one of those, but was perfectly adequate in every way and very similar to all other tropical resorts we've stayed at (Club Meds, etc.) Everything about the place was fine! Rooms were clean, cool, and all of the service from the working staff was phenomenal. We tipped $1 or two for the chamber maids, restaurant staff, barmen and all were very appreciative. The workers were very genuine and pleasant people. Food was good - the Mexican restaurant was very good. Spent a day at their Allegro resort and it was very nice. Initially he told us all their day passes were used up, but we begged a bit and tipped him and he gave us some more day passes. I wish I would have checked into a night pass at their Cancun resort as we flew out early one morning and it would have been quicker to the airport from there. The one pool was down for servicing while we were there (bad luck) but there was another one to use.. It was quite quiet there (they said less than 40% booked this time of year is normal). So..this is a great time to book there. Beach was great (food there was so-so). My only real complaint was after taking a day-trip to Tullum and Xel-Ha (make sure you go there), we arrived back at 6pm and were quite hungry and no food was available until 7pm dinner. It would have been nice to have some snacks by the pool bar to fill the hunger voice untiil dinner. Would definitely go back as this was fantastic value for what we paid!!!

disaster

by A TripAdvisor Member

we stayed here for 3 nights at the end of a trip going around mexico.
we were very disappointed. Firstlt we had been misinformed by hotel staff (when booking) that it was on the beach, it wasn't... we were told we could use the facilities of the sister hotel on the beach, however, then we were told there weren't any available passes, until after we had left. The worst problem was, we booked our rental car through the hotel, the guy at the hotel lied to us about the car insurance, the car was 1 and a half hours late, and finally, the car company cloned our credit car and spent about £500. we know it was them, because it was the only time we used the card on holiday. Don't go to Playa del carmen or cancun, if you want to go to mexico. it is more like a little USA in terms of the actual atmosphere. will not go to this hotel, or partner hotels ever again

enjoyable for the value

by A TripAdvisor Member

I went to the carribean last march during spring break with my best friend. we were supposed to go to cancun but a mistake from the travel agent sended us to playa del carmen. it was soo much better. we arrived there very late but if you like to party the entertainment staff will great you with a drink of tequila. the rooms are very small and not luxurious at all but who cares!! you're not going to be in your room all day long. the people there are very friendly, they will go out of their way to make your stay extremely enjoyable. the food is good, nothing to brag about except for the mexican specialty. very good service and good food. the most important thing is to be nice to them and try to talk in spanish. you're vacation will seem so much more fun.
every day we went downtown playa, for a nice walk. i usually went for a nice run in the morning, some of the gards will be reluctant to let you go but just be nice and they won't mind. we took a tour to tulum/Xel-ha, its 70$ but its amazing. you get to learn about the mayan culture and also go snorkeling in beautiful waters. the weather was great, didn't rain once and usually had something to do every night. at the beginning we had a nap after supper and missed some of the nightly entertainmnent but the jungle(disco) always opened after 10. so the staff would come and dance with you guys. its not an exiting club but for a small 4$ cab ride you should venture out to Capitain Tutix or Senor frogs in playa del carmen. Very fun The atmosphere is very nice and relaxing but for more partying i would go to cancun.

The Best

by TripAdvisor Member kioro

The place was awesome, although when we arrived it was late and nothing really looked to fun or appetizing.. LOL... The next morning we woke up to a beautiful day... SUN, HEAT, and Iguannas in the yard. Our balcony was awesome. The fun had started from that moment on. The food was good and the service was excellent. I cannot stress how friendly and enjoyable the entertainment crew, which made the whole trip worth it. I am going back in January, and I was just there in March.. LOL not even a year and Im heading back...

A overpriced all inclusive

by moondeaux

"Charter to Cancun"

The folks on the plane were partying the minute we took off.
There was a foursome...2 young couples...sitting right next to us, and they acted like they were on Spring break! By the time (9:00p.m.) we landed in Cancun, they had each already had 6 drinks at $5.00 each.
We looked for the representative from the Riu hotels, and were promptly ushered towards our bus, one man trying to rip my luggage out of my hands. We had already paid almost $3000.00 for this 1 week all inclusive, and I wasn't about to tip anyone else related to the Riu Playacar. So I didn't. The next thing we had a small group of folks, maybe 12 who were all staying at one of the Riu's hotels. We all asked the representative for a cold beer, thinking they would surely welcome in this just way. He stopped at a convenience store and bought a case, and proceeded to charge us 6 bucks a beer. I was astonished at his brash attitude. He was the 2nd sign of how greedy and selfish these people of Mexico were.

"At the Hotel"

The Riu was a nice hotel, and was kept very clean.
Our room was nice, but we had no ocean view, nor did anyone else.
The beach was washed out, leaving a 12 food drop from the edge of the resort, where the staff had thrown in sand bags, for guests to get down to the water.
The pool was the nicest area, other than the annoying gay men that were hired by the resort to try and entertain guests with terrible imitations of pop music songs.
The food was another great part, and I did enjoy some great variety for the first 3 days. After that it was deja vu.

"Sidetrips"

We took a side trip to Tulum...the ancient Maya ruins along the coast.
I was approached by a local and I almost gave in to his bag of tricks, since I wanted to find a great snorkeling place so bad. He promised to take us to 3 different spots for great snorkeling for a pittance of $130.00.
Luckily I had reservation enough to tell him I would think about it while I toured the ruins. He was nowhere to be found by the time we came back out. Surely he had suckered some other naive tourist by that time.
Our other side trip was to Cozumel and I did manage to ward off serveral attempts to rip us off on some jazzed up tours.
We did find a nice little beach along the island where I indulged in hours of mediocre snorkeling. I did not regret the ferry trip over there, or the taxi ride from San Miguel and back either. Because we remained committed to being the captain of our own ship. Why pay extra to some tour outfit to do exactly the same thing. We trimmed 50% off of their cost's.