We stayed at the Riu Lupita from February 7 – 21, 2013. This trip was our second to the Riu Lupita. The Riu Lupita is off the beach but does offer a free shuttle service that stops near 5th Ave to drop off people and then continues to the Lupita’s beach club (in all it’s less than 15 minutes). Since our last visit in April 2012 they have added a small pool down at the Beach Club as well as full bar service there. In exchange for these new services, access to the other Riu properties has been removed. Flights After a less than impressive trip with Sunwing last April I have to say that I was quite pleased with them this year. The crews on both flights were very friendly which is a change for charter airlines. Oh, and the Elite Premium package – well worth the cost!
Room Number:
1614
Room Block:
16
Arrival:
After the 50 minute shuttle ride, which was just our group, we arrived at the resort. As there were 8 of us checking in, it went really fast. We filled out a registration form, and were given our room key, safe key and towel cards.
Rooms: I had emailed ahead and asked for ground floor in building 18. We were not able to get rooms in building 18, or even in the same building. Those of us staying for 2 weeks were in buildings 16 and 17. The rest were in 12 and 21. The rooms have the typical set-up, double beds, dresser, TV, safe, etc. The rooms were clean and ready to go. In addition to the Air Conditioner (which works well), the rooms also have a ceiling fan. Our fan had 2 settings, on or off. Our housekeeping person was good. The room was clean every day and that’s what matters the most. For some reason they flipped the main power switch each day after cleaning, but luckily the AC wasn’t tied to it so the room stayed cool. Our rooms had a patio that looked back towards the golf course. Very quiet and provided an excellent place to watch wildlife that’d roam around out there.
Restaurants and Bars: Food As with last years trip, the food was delicious! The buffet is a bit smaller than some other Riu’s but there never was an issue finding something good to eat. The staff were constantly refilling dishes at the buffet. A couple times we had to wait a minute for something but they were on top of things for sure. Supper was always a different theme each night at the buffet so that was good. We got reservations for the Mexican restaurant once (we could have booked again but were too lazy). You need to book it the day you want it. There were 2 seatings, 7PM and 9PM. The food at both the buffet and Mexican restaurant was delicious. Snacks – The snack bar is open and stocked between meals and after supper till midnight. We had a few things from the snack bar and never had any issues. Beach Club – We ate lunch a few days at the beach club. Not a big selection but good enough. The one thing that is a negative is that I found the food didn’t stay hot, but I suspect it’s due to the winds on the beach. NOTE: Supper at the Buffet: Men can wear shorts but must have a shirt with sleeves but we did see some men in tank tops – for some reason no one was turning them away. For the a-la cartes men are to wear pants. Bars There is one main bar and the Disco (at night) plus one at the beach club. By default they serve the cheap brands, just ask for Bacardi if you want the good rum. The beach club has been expanded to include full bar service now.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: The Beach We spent 4 days at the beach – it would have been more but day trips and self-inflicted injuries prevented us from doing so. It was the white sand, the water was clear and the breeze was refreshing. Loads of loungers around to make use of, though towards the end of the trip they were getting fuller. Pools We made use of the main pool each day of our stay. The pool is a good size and while the towel game is in use, we normally never had an issue getting chairs at around 9AM so we didn’t worry. The resort also has an Adults-only pool next to the in front of the Disco plus a kids only pool in the Kids Club area. They have also added a pool on the beach for Lupita guests to use. It’s not big but it allows you to use both the beach and a pool at the same time.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: Entertainment The resort offered live singers each night between supper and the evening show, they did a great job. We did see many of the shows and they were good. The Mayan show was the best by far – it started off slow but then it got quite interesting. Activities The Animation team posted a schedule of activities going on throughout the day outside of their control booth. Between us we took part in the dart tournaments, horse-shoes, bingo, bracelet making, and “Crazy Games”. Trips The resort has the shuttle that will drop you off near 5th Avenue – it’s about a 5 minute walk from the drop off. If you’d rather taxi it, it’s $7 USD each way. We spent a couple afternoons on 5th Ave doing some shopping and visiting one of the bars for a drink. We also did a trip to Cozumel for an afternoon. The ferry was $13USD each way per person.
Other Comments: General Signature Vacations advertises this resort as a 4 Star resort. I’d say it’s about a 3.5 Star. Summary We had another great time. All the staff were friendly and those who spoke English would often stop and chat with us. As mentioned above, the Lupita guests no longer have exchange privileges with the other Riu’s and in fact are not even able to walk through their properties – which is wierd. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at bryanjbrown@rogers.com.