I stayed at the Riu hotel chain in Miami from 10/10-10/12 2009 in room 438. I was very disappointed in my stay. I have stayed in their resorts before and never had such a horrible experience. There are list of problems I encountered from my arrival to departure.

1) The floor was saturated with water. Later, it was explained to us, that there was leak on the fourth floor and were trying to fix the problem but have not fixed it completely.

2) We could not use the AC because it would condensate and drip adding more water to the already saturated floor

3) The TV did not work. We tried everything from switching outlets to turning it on manually. Then we realized it had to be a short in the power cord because nothing worked.

4) The room had a moldy, smoky odor.

5) The room I was put into was not the room I reserved. (Res# RNT07SRM, I have pictures of the room if you need them). The staff at the from desk (Jose Angel) seemed very annoyed that I even brought these things to his attention and offered to put us in a worse room (I didn't think it could get much worse, but it can) because there was nothing he could do.

6) Upon on checking in I was told that if I paid for the room up front, there would not be an additional hold of $100 on my card, so I used my debit card. Upon checking out the lady at the front desk told me that there was an additional hold on my card and she was not sure why I was told that.

If I did not pay for the room up front I would have left that night and found somewhere else to try and enjoy my vacation. Eventually I was told that there would be a room available for me by 8 am the following day, because there were some overnight checkouts. So, I waited and inquired. There was not a room available until 2 p.m. the following day. That was more than half my stay gone already. I did not want to ruin another family or couples vacation and waste the rest of mine switching rooms. I spent a grand total of 9 hrs. in that hotel because it was unbearable. I just came back from my vacation and everything else was wonderful but this was just a disturbing experience and an even worst beginning to my vacation.

I tried calling the reservation line and there was nothing they could do. I even spoke with the general manager (Joana Calatayud) and she referred me to this department, because there was nothing she could do. This hotel looked and felt like a ran down third rate hotel built in the 80's and you bought it out, slapped your name on it, and did not bother to upgrade the staff or rooms to your standards. I really felt that it was a waste of money and would like to speak with someone about this situation so that it could be rectified.

WATCH OUT! This resort is not safe!...On the 3rd day of our stay the nightmare began.Someone got into our room and robbed us of all our cash,credit cards,cell phone,keys,personel belongings and worst of all my wifes medication!We believe this was definitely an inside job.The manager could not be found until the next morning and they refused to call the police.Why Not? because they said they will not come!Maybe only if someone gets killed!When we finally got to the manager,we were raising our voices to her,and then she threatened to call the police on us!!The hotel clerks were laughing at us behind her back as my wife and children were crying,trying to get answers.We had no cash,nothing,and they wanted me to go to the police on my own to file a report!When i asked the mgr. to take me there,they refused and smirked!The management and hotel clerks are unprofessional.They offered us absolutely nothing for the rest of our stay.A report was made by the RIU,and they refused to give us a copy!Also they refused to give us a copy of the info.of our door lock ,which was a swipe card key.My children were so scared they wanted to leave that night,and so did I!!Security? What security?...it is non existent here.There is not one single security camera on the property!The outside perimeter is wide open to anyone who wants to come in from the beach.Don't be fooled by the photos of this hotel,it is located in a very ugly and desolate area.If you are concerned about the safety of your loved ones,I would stay clear of the RIU Caribe.It is going on 1 month of the crime and all we have heard so far is "We're Sorry".My wife and children are still scared over this!I have been to Mexico 7 times and never gave all of this any thought.Thank God they did'nt take our passports....but they lost us for good.I will NEVER go back to Mexico again....P.S by the way,the food was repetitive and made us sick,and the pool was dirty every day!....and that's the God's honest truth!

You would not believe what happened to us at the RIU Caribe Hotel in Cancun. Twelve of our girlfriends decided to take a vacation to Cancun, and booked 6 rooms at the RIU Caribe Hotel. We entered our room and noticed how unsafe it seemed. They gave the two of us a room in the basement, with no elevator to get down there, placed on a dark, remote side of the hotel, with a sliding patio door that had direct access to the grounds. On top of that it had no ocean view at all, which we paid for. We returned to the front desk to request a room change and were told, in a really dismissive attitude that it was not possible. I asked to speak to the manager and she informed me that the hotel was full. Are you kidding me, this hotel claims to have over 500 rooms! Hard to imagine EVERYONE in the hotel was checked in by 7:30pm?? Never the less, she assured us that the room was very safe, even going so far to say she would stay there by herself!

When we got back to the room, we found it broken into, luggage rummaged through, and all of our electronics and cash stolen! We returned to the front desk, explained what we had found, and asked to immediately move rooms. We were told NO, and then FORCED to stay in a room that had just been broken into! When we suggested moving to another RIU, she said we would have to PAY the difference! Instead we returned our keys to the hotel, and asked our friends if we could share a room with them for the night. Later we found out that another one of our rooms was robbed at the same time, with the same type of goods stolen! Is this some kind of inside job targeting American women??

The next day we were turned away when we asked for another room again and told that there was nothing vacant and to check back again. We went almost 24 hours without a room we paid for, after being robbed! When we finally were able to talk to the area manager, he actually tried to insinuate that the said robbery might have not occurred, but that I chose to waste the three out of four days of my vacation perpetuating a scam. All of our vacations were ruined because the RIU Caribe has a lack of safety and security for their guests.

It is been over a month, and I have yet to here from any representative of the hotel. They have my information and a complete description of the events, as well as a police report, not because they asked for it but because I demanded they take it. If this is what people can expect from the RIU chain, no thank you! What if we would’ve been in the room! The RIU has NO customer service or cares about customer safety or satisfaction at all. Not only do I believe they could have found 1 other room available that night, but then what kind of hotel has a policy of asking for more money to switch their guests after they were robbed on their property!

I will NEVER stay at another RIU Hotel again and will probably never return to Cancun, as well!

You will be SHOCKED after reading what happened to us at the RIU Caribe Hotel in Cancun, and how we were treated! I’ll try to be as short as possible. Twelve of our girlfriends decided to take a vacation to Cancun, and booked 6 rooms at the RIU Caribe Hotel. We entered our room and noticed how unsafe it seemed. They gave the two of us a room in the basement, with no elevator to get down there, placed on a dark, remote side of the hotel, with a sliding patio door that had direct access to the grounds. On top of that it had NO ocean view at all, which we paid for. We returned to the front desk to request a room change and were told, in a really dismissive attitude that it was not possible. I asked to speak to the manager and she informed me that the hotel was full. Are you kidding me, they claim to have 506 rooms! EVERYONE in the hotel was checked in by 7:30pm??? Hard to imagine! Never the less, she assured us that the room was very safe, even going so far to say she would stay there by herself!

When we got back to the room, we found it broken into, luggage rummaged through, and all of our electronics and cash stolen! We immediately returned to the front desk, explained what we had found, and asked to immediately move rooms. We were told NO, and then FORCED to stay in a room that had just been broken into! When we suggested moving to another RIU, she said we would have to PAY the difference! Instead we returned our keys to the hotel, and asked our friends if we could share a room with them for the night. Later we found out that another one of our rooms was robbed at the same time, with the same type of goods stolen! Is this some kind of con job???

The next day we were turned away when we asked for another room again and told that there was nothing vacant and to check back again. We went almost 24 hours without a room we paid for, after being robbed! When we finally were able to talk to the area manager, he actually tried to insinuate that the said robbery might have not occurred, but that I chose to waste the three out of four days of my vacation perpetuating a scam. All of our vacations were ruined! All this because the RIU Caribe has a lack of safety and security for their guests.

It is been over a month, and I have yet to here from any representative of the hotel. They have my information and a complete description of the events, as well as a police report, not because they asked for it but because I demanded they take it. If this is what people can expect from the RIU chain, no thank you! What if we would’ve been in the room! The RIU has NO customer service or cares about customer safety or satisfaction at all. Not only do I believe they could have found 1 other room available that night, but then what kind of hotel has a policy of asking for more money to switch their guests after they were robbed on their property!

I will NEVER stay at another RIU Hotel again and will probably never return to Cancun, as well!

They claim that all the rooms are ocean view and put you up in a sucky room and charge you more. They tell you that there are other guests that need to be transferred first and they put you on a "list". Their hospitality, buffet menu, and drink list

We stayed here in May of 06 and are going back October 07. Can't think of anything bad to say about the hotel or the staff. Room had partial view of caribbean, and partial of lagoon. This hotel is a little out of the hotel zone, so it didn't get much damage from the hurricane (Wilma?) and isn't so close to the bars, which for us is a good thing. The hotel doesn't cater to spring breakers which for us is anther plus. The food wasn't 5 star, but the fresh fruits and juices were great. Our room was always neat and clean and the mini fridge stocked. And they have a mini bar in the room which is included in the all inclusive. We never got to see any of the actual shows, but did meet some of the entertainment staff. They play pranks with the guests that we thought were great. Overall, a great experience, one I would recommend to anyone, including myself, as often as I can.