I'm giving this review 3 stars, because the staff here work very hard and there is staff that have gone out of there way to make our experience better. However, we were highly disappointed with the front desk management staff. Several things were brought up and after speaking to a manager, our issue was downplayed with no real solution. The Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction is just not there as a priority for management. I don't see any benefit in discussing the details here, but we are following-up with Riu directly. The rooms are as clean as they can be, meaning the staff does what they can with what they have to work with. The linens and beds need to be updated and the rooms need an upgrade. The food is also not the best in comparison to other all-inclusives, but I suppose it's o.k. for the price, as this is one of the more affordable all-inclusive hotels. The location was great, the beach front view was spectacular, the pool areas were fairly well maintained, but our main complaint was with the cleanliness of our room. We've stayed at other Riu locations and have been satisfied, but we were disappointed with our stay at this location. read more

Hotel Riu Emerald Bay - RIU Emerald Bay, Mazatlán, Sin. - Hotels Near Me - Mazatlán, SIN

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This is a review on the Riu and NOT the staff. One more time, this is about this Riu, and not the wonderful staff. This is my second time staying in a Riu (my first was in the Dominican Republic)and I've got to say that this one was pretty disappointing. Arrival: The airport is about 30 minutes from the resort & shuttles are only available to guest who book directly from them and not a third party, such as Expedia(like we did). We ended up paying about 500 pesos for the Taxi ride, and all of this was scheduled once we landed at the airport. We arrived to the airport and were met with a drink, we opted out and were given a beer instead. Check in is at 3, but we were on a red eye flight so we arrived around 10am. We were assigned a room but not given access to it because it wasnt ready(which we totally understood), instead we were given our wristbands and told that our suitcases would be safely set aside and looked after(we were not the only ones, there was a wall of suitcases set aside). At this point we were able to use the pools, grab food or drinks or just walk around. We decided to nap on the beach since we flew all night, and around 1:30 I went up to ask if by chance our room was ready, and I was told it wasnt. We were both really tired and asked if we could just be moved to a different room that was already cleaned & they did(again, staff is amazing). We stayed in the original hotel, not the addition that was later built on, so our room was pretty basic, but it was really clean and had an amazing view from the 9th floor. Our stay: We found out very quickly that this resort is more kid friendly than it is for adults. The evening shows began at 8pm. First 1 hour of Riuland which is for the kids, then 1 hour of the usual musical show for the adults/families. This meant that everything basically shut down at 10pm after the shows ended. Out of our entire week stay ONE night there was a live Norteño Grupo that began at 10 and ended at 11 but this was the only day, even though the app said it was a nightly thing, it never happened again. Like the other Riu Ive stayed in, there was a 24hour sports bar that you could go to, but that too is always full of kids taking up the pool tables or running around the bar. This left only ONE MORE OPTION in the entire resort, bar El Cerro that is located in the lobby. This bar is huge, and quiet. Usually just adults, no music or real vibe, and it closes at 12am. The bartenders in El Cerro bar are really entertaining so we continued to go in there whenever we were at the resort during the evening hours, but sadly we were told this bar is only open during half the year and closes during summer months, huh? Conclusion: I STRONGLY advise anyone who is coming to Mazatlan for a real MEXICAN experience to NOT stay at this Riu. The pool music is always dance/techno music, guest would bring their own speakers so they could play their own spanish music, and the live bands and vendors that are on the beach are kept at a distance by a roped fence. The bandas on the beach have to stop by 10 it seems, because thats usually when you couldnt hear them anymore. Our stay was really disappointing & it had ZERO to do with the staff. read more

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Somebody slipped something into my wife's and 2 other girls drinks at the swim up bar today

Currently a guest here and it is horrible. They did not honor any of the honeymoon package amenities, they checked us out 4 days early "by accident", the entire complex spells of feces including our room. It hits you right in the face when you open the door. The adult pool is falling apart and is dirty and stained. You can never get an elevator so plan on taking the stairs. The staff is the only good thing about this place. read more

First time here & worst experience ever, the manager was really rude and disrespectful he called me dumb and told me to shut up. We upgraded our room and since my partner couldn't sign the same signature as the ID he was upset made my partner sign over 6 times after we said my partner had a disability. He needs to be retrained or be fired. I will not return here again I hope they retrain there staff to better costumer service read more

Hotel Riu Emerald Bay - First time here & worst experience ever, the manager was really rude and disrespectful he called me dumb and told me to shut up. - Hotels Near Me - Mazatlán, SIN

Pros: Gorgeous beach and sunset Rooms are ok (as long as they are cleaned) but air conditioning is amazing! Some of the restaurants have a variety of food items (mainly Mexican food) Some of the waiters and reception staff (the ones asking people in the very long lines how they can assist) Cons: (too many) -This was the most unorganized hotel I've ever been to and I travel a lot and I'm used to inconveniences. The hotel has capacity to improve, but hotel management needs a lot of consultation and assistance. If there is a group of people checking in, they will send you to another reception area to check you in and give you your all-inclusive bracelet. However, they don't have their computers there and they do everything by looking at information on a list. This takes forever and your luggage is just sitting there. We ended up taking our luggage to the room ourselves as there was a shortage of staff to assist. This process ended up taking a good portion of our day. When we got to our rooms, one of the rooms did not have enough beds. We confirmed that we had asked for two queen size beds and they did not honor that. - Not good for people with physical disabilities or seniors. They have an "oh well attitude." The hotel does not allow the local transportation, Pulmonillas, to pull up to the hotel (they drop you off at the entryway which is far from the front/lobby so take an Uber or bus if on a tour!). We needed assistance getting an older family member a wheelchair and they told us we had to rent one. There was nothing in sight. We had to get some assistance from a tour guide not associated with the hotel. It took us about 45 minutes to get help. Also, a waiter told us to go to another restaurant for convenience when we asked to get seated on the first floor because our family member could not walk very far. - The worst watered down drinks ever! Every type of alcohol, including the beer is watered down!!! The type of alcohol is also terrible, using the cheapest brands and they add sugary ingredients. The beer tastes like hot water. I would suggest buying some bottles on your own and sneaking it in. - The layout of the hotel does not make sense. You have to go through the lobby constantly and the stairs to go down are somewhat steep for older people. The elevators are not too close to the restaurants. Everything is a bit far. - Do not lose your bracelet or your towel cards. We were very careful and we're grateful to the previous reviews on yelp. The last thing you want to do is stand in line in the reception area if you lose any of these items because you will be there for hours. Again, they are very unorganized and, you will waste a lot of time. - Despite asking for your room to be cleaned and sheets to be washed, the sheets don't get washed. I would suggest leaving a note. The beds were made, but when I pulled back the sheets, there was still sand in the bed and a little makeup on the sheets. - You would think that they would have good seafood or a seafood restaurant. Nope. You have to leave the hotel to go find a Mexican shrimp cocktail, Aguachile etc. which Mazatlan is also known for. * It was a very disappointing and pretty frustrating experience. I will never stay in this hotel again. read more

Pros: friendly staff, clean rooms, strong AC, fridge always stocked with beer, water, Pepsi, 7 up, Jose Cuervo, and some bottom shelf whisky and vodka. At the open bars they do have higher quality alcohol upon request such as Buchanan's and Don Julio. They have nice loungers on the beach and great place to take cute vacation photos. Cons:THE FOOD HERE SUCKS!!!!!! I swear I got sick after each meal and snack, I would have to rush to the bathroom. They offer snacks 24/7 in the sports bar but I'm warning you do not eat it! The food for breakfast lunch and dinner at the regular restaurant taste bland and is obviously made in bulk. Unfortunately we didn't get to try the other restaurants because reservations filled by 8/9 am. The pool area could also be cleaner or have more shade area. WARNING! They have a club in the hotel but do not go!!! Walked in and it smelled like puke, piss, and cheese (and tons of regret). The elevators are slow and not enough for all the guest, they need to build more, also add AC in the lobby. This hotel is generally great but they can fix a lot about them. read more

Hotel Riu Emerald Bay - Hotels Near Me - Mazatlán, SIN

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The resort is out dated the food was not great I ended up with food poisoning our room was not cleaned every day

Very clean and attentive staff, beautiful views Food is mediocre. Felt very safe. Neverending mariachi music can hear with balcony door shut, rude. read more

Three is generous. I'm giving the benefit of recovering from COVID and all ocean view rooms. Housekeeping staff and bartenders were friendly and happy! Thank goodness. The rest of the hotel staff is rude and unhelpful. The pools are beautiful! The food is bad. We tried to make reservations for restaurants and 1/2 were not open because of no staff, so they were rotating staff. All the food seemed rotated through the restaurants as well. I know this was an all-inclusive but it was supposed to be a higher end. I may be spoiled, may be a bit of a resort and food snob. High end, DEFINITELY NOT, mediocre is generous. In general, not worth it any way you look at it. Likely will not be back to Mazatlan for a while, and hesitant to try another RIU. read more

For this hotel to be considered a 5 star resort is ridiculous! We went with a large group in total we had about 10 rooms on all different floors and locations within the resort and every single room upon checkin had an issue, outlets not working, ac not working etc. Staff was friendly and accommodating, but only if you tipped them! Had a run in with a security guard from the hotel on the beach who wanted us to give him $300 usd to allow the band we hired to play past 8pm when we were told curfew for music on the beach was 10pm, he threatened to have the police come unless we tipped him. Mind you the hotel had outdoor events on the same beach with loud music past 10pm including a wedding while we were there. read more

Let's start with the good: Rooms were clean, beds comfortable. Friendly staff. Asian Buffet 'Bamboo' was excellent! A few pools so you could usually find one that suits you. Ones for the kids, swim up bar for the party animals, ones for older adults too who just want to relax! Good location on the beach with vendors just on the other side of the rope. Close enough if you want some souvenirs, far enough away if you don't! They were very friendly and not being too pushy at all which was appreciated. Lots of spots further down the beach too farther way from the action if you wanted quiet. There were really attentive lifeguards on duty keeping everyone safe in the ocean too as waves there can get pretty big. Amazing view from our double balcony on 6th floor! Some of the most beautiful sunsets we've ever seen in Mexico! Good snack shack by the pools for in between main mealtimes with burgers, hot dogs and nachos. Great for little ones or big ones who have the munchies! The not so good: Typical over crowded buffets and hit and miss nights with what's being served up. We ripped into town a couple nights to 'Topolos' for delicious pork shank and seafood enchiladas. Definitely worth the pamonilla ride in. That in of itself at night is a blast! Seems like the city really comes alive at night! Those open air taxis blasting their tunes is a blast! Great way to break up the sameness of resort, buffet etc. We didn't have hot water in our room(old side)of resort for first couple nights so had to move which was a pain as it took all day to get into our new room. Resort Bartenders were friendly and tried their best to make drinks we like from home. Bottled Diet pop for mixed drinks though was a big challenge for them to track down. Fountain "diet"was straight syrup though and wrecked the drinks. If you take your drinks straight up though or just like beer luck! Good selection of brands. No coffee makers in the rooms nor any room service!?? We had a long haul down to where they had coffee set up. We often bring our single serve keurig when we know there isn't one. Assumed a high end resort chain like Riu would either have a coffee maker or offer room service! No laundry service. I saw on their info provided they used to offer that. Hopefully it's just a temporary change due to lack of staff due to Covid? We were there 2 weeks and would have appreciated that service! Overall though we had a great time in Mazatlan! Next time will probably try renting our own condo though as we're getting tired of all-ins and Riu wasn't high enough caliber to warrant going back for us. Good affordable family place though if travelling with kids. read more

Hotel Riu Emerald Bay - View from our room - Hotels Near Me - Mazatlán, SIN

At check in I found out that the room I reserved was not in ocean view room. I was told that it is a bigger, more upgraded room that I currently had reserved. But the room faces the garden, none of them faced the beach. So I asked to be shown both rooms, which they did. Upon initial look at the beach front room it looked fine. I opted to go with the beach front room that was smaller. I was traveling alone, so I didn't need two beds. The comforter was dusty and a did not look or smell clean. The sheets seemed fine, but I brought my own sheet with me to avoid having to lay one the resort's sheets. I didn't want to take any chances amidst the Coronavirus. The pillow cases on the other hand were not clean, I did notice stains on all 3 pillowcases. So I used the sheet I brought with me to cover the pillows.   I then showered, which was a pain. The shower is very slippery, I fell in the shower several times. Thank God I did not actually hurt myself, since I was staying alone. That could have been very dangerous. Dinner that night was very lackluster, I chalked it up to the fact that I had arrived on a Sunday. So I assumed that breakfast, lunch and dinner the following days would be better. I was wrong. Not sure the reason, but it is completely unacceptable to have that low number of choices as well as poor quality food options that I experienced. If I could compare it to anything it would be a Motel 6 version of an all inclusive resort on the beach.  Even the restaurants where you need reservations (There are only 2 open right now), had lack luster poorly cooked/seasoned/prepared food. No customizations what so ever and a lot of "serve your self/buffet options".   Now customer service wise, that's a different story. Everyone was really nice. Even though there were several things I requested be sent to my room over the course of my stay and none of them were delivered. I assumed that they are understaffed, due to covid.   The worst meal I had was the night of my actual birthday, which was the whole reason I came to celebrate. I went to the Mexican restaurant, where I had a reservation. Got there at 9, was sat at 9:10. Got water by 9:20, ordered by 9:40, & got my food by 10. Once my order was finally taken, I ordered the filet. My food came out with the large parties food. The steak that came out was not filet at all. It was also super thin, grey and over cooked. I don't ever bother to mention these things to the serving staff only due to the language barrier. Sometimes it is rather hard to communicate, even with Google Translate. So I just decided to go eat dinner somewhere else. Once coming back from lunch one day during my stay, there was brown water coming out of all of the pipes in the bathroom. The instructions given upon check in are completely writren in Spanish, hence why they are only usable by people who speak Spanish. No 1 ever responded to my request on the resort app. I used bottled water to brush my teeth and decided to head to the pool. I stopped at the front desk to let them know about the brown water. They let me know that they were aware of the issue and it should be fixed shortly. They let me know if I got back to my room and it was still an issue to come back down. After 4 trips to the front desk and 8 hours, it was fixed. I am told by the man at the front desk their maintenance has already gone up to my room and fixed the issue. I did not authorize anyone to go into my room without me. I travel alone, this is for safety reasons. This is my preference and as a guess it should be. I'm sure he thought that he was doing me a favor. But if a guest requests something their requests should be respected or it should be told it to the guest at the time of the request that their request can not be accomplished.  So overall I don't know how I feel about RUI resorts anymore. I thought that they were very modern and very luxurious, but I did not see anything that I would describe as luxury at this hotel. Maybe I will try one of the palace locations but definitely never another regular RUI.  I travel a lot and this was definitely one of the lower quality hotels that I have ever stayed at. Especially for the price of that they are charging.  I forgot to mention that the downgrade on my hotel room apparently does not come with a refund for the difference in the rooms. This is the 1st time I have every experience that, and I think it is stupid that they will allow you to stay in a cheaper room and not give you the difference of your money back for that cheaper rome. I think is just a very horrible way to get over on your guests. Also lastly I think that it is not a good look to have cheap light colored hotel towels. They look dirty when they are in the rooms and they are not bright and white. The common areas were constantly cleaned. The silverware and the bathroom in my room, not so much. Pick a better all inclusive resort or just stay at a regular hotel, it's not worth staying here. read more

Hotel Riu Emerald Bay - The brown water coming from the sink - Hotels Near Me - Mazatlán, SIN

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I recommend this resort! The hotel staff are super friendly. And the beach is spectacular. All the hotel rooms here are facing the ocean. The food here is delicious. They have also self-serve ice cream machines all around the resort which is awesome! Also there's no mosquito here !! read more

Hotel Riu Emerald Bay - Sunset - Hotels Near Me - Mazatlán, SIN

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Stayed here for one week. And then extended our stay for a second week. Lots of money. The first week we wanted to get additional Wi-Fi code so we found the front desk and they had to activate something in the system to allow us to do that. Everything is fine. Second week is here and the code has expired so we tried to do the same process. They are insistent that we walk to the lobby to pay a measly 600 pesos for the first week before the activate the second week. This is the service of a five star? Hardly. Every other hotel in the world you pay your incidental costs when you leave the hotel. They won't accept that here. Additionally, we asked to change out one of the bottles of the in room liquor dispenser and they won't. Never even suggested that they could do it for a price. Never be more then 3* hotel if you can't put customers first read more

Great stay here at the hotel Riu. The hotel staff are incredible and the facilities are great. However the elevators are a little slow and with one elevator being down it made it hard to get up and down. The rooms are decent and clean and every thing is quick to be cleaned and maintained. The gym is nice but lacking in equipment and a few machines are broken too. But overall a good experience, great staff and food is decent. Highly recommend this spot! Nice area with a great beach. read more

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Don't waist your money on this place. It is so big that you are treated like cattle grazing. Management is not very receptive. We came for a wedding and if you are not on the list to go to the wedding they charge 750 pesos for you to access the hotel. No if and or buts it's essentially what they say. The food is very bland and the entertainment is here and there. I have been to other resorts where you are treated like royalty. This place treats you like a number and because there is so many people you are just a number to them. Don't waist your money at this place. read more

Was very disappointed with this place. Reasons being: 1) Web page very vague on room views. I specifically looked for an ocean view room and got a pricey suite for 10 days. Unfortunately, my view is of a few palm trees. 2) The food (even the restaurants that you had to make reservations for) was cold, choices were always the same and my stomach always felt like i left a cheap Chinese food buffet. 3) The "fitness center" was tiny and not much equipment. The preacher curl machine had to be from the 70's. 4) The entertainment was like I was watching a middle school talent show. Their "best show" Abba, was cheesy.....and not even humorous cheesy. 5) According to their web site there was supposed to be catamaran's, boogie boards, and kayaks. If they had those, they certainly did not promote them and make them easily accessible. From what i could see, if someone went more than 10 feet out into the ocean, they'd be whistled back in. I get that they don't want to have any injuries, but I have never been to a beach that was so strict on being in the ocean. 6) Speaking of activities, for a resort, there just was not much to do. There was one ping pong table for a gigantic resort, there were 2 pool tables hidden in the sports bar, they had i believe one pool volley ball net that was sometimez up and some very old beach volleyball nets. I have been too quite a few resorts and there seemed like there was always some fun and entertaining activity going on.....not here though. 7) A plus was that the employees were nice and helpful. Bottom line is that this place has put a sour taste in my mouth for Mazatlan and RIU resorts. Maybe Mazatlan is a great place, but this resort did not do it any justice. Also, maybe other RIU resorts are amazing, but I will not spend another 5-6 thousand dollars to find out. Sorry so negative, but I looked forward to this vacation since October and I feel like I just spent a lot of money on 10 days I will never get back. read more

This is a pretty great resort. It's missing a few things but it was a wonderful vacation nonetheless. For a five star, we would have liked actual a la cartes. There is a big buffet and then there are a few other restaurants that were also buffet style. We tried going to the Italian restaurant for dinner but it was closed. The food is decent though. I LOVE the breakfast here. Coffee is awful. There was minimal service outside of the bars. There is no drink service at your seats whether you are on the beach, by the pool, or in the lobby bar. The theatre was the only spot where I saw waitresses. If a lively nightlife is your idea of fun, this resort may not be for you. It was very quiet and the disco is quite sad. Everyone was pretty much in bed after the theatre show. The sunsets are wonderful and the city of Mazatlan is really fun to explore. I highly suggest heading into the city and checking it out. Good food, lots to see. I would recommend this spot to my friends and family for sure! read more

Hotel Riu Emerald Bay - Playa - Hotels Near Me - Mazatlán, SIN

Horrible . They aren't friendly. The food is just ok but not a lot of options. They weren't doing room service and failed to mention that when we booked. They said because of covid but all the food at the restaurants was buffet style!!!!!!!! I would never stay with them again!!!!! read more

this place sucks everything about it. they have cheap alcohol, nasty food. super far from everything. elevators always full & restaurants. the only 2 they had. I've stayed at 5 star all inclusive resorts way better than this. The Riu charges same as Barcelo and they are not even worth the stay for the prI'ce. I will not return to the Riu nor do I recommend it to anyone. A air b n b is even better than this hotel. the pools were also crowded & dirty. I felt disgusted. I paid for 4 nights and all I did there was sleep could not enjoy anything else because they sucked. everything there not worth the price or stay. read more

I was at this hotel 2 days ago and I absolutely loved it. The scenery is breathtaking, lots of food to eat all day long and they were very polite to my family and I. It was 23 of us and they always made sure we were able to sit next to each other at every meal. My only complaint would be is that I wish the night life was better! I loved this place and I would definitely come back. read more

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Let's start with Luis & Eddie great pool bar tenders. We brought our family of 26 and 8 rooms. The check in and out was a nightmare. Very unorganized and poor customer service. Be careful on the bracelets as some of our party left before others checked out and we were required to pay for the bracket at check out. This is same for their towels. No room service and very stick on filling room refrigerators daily. The entertainment was very selected. The wifi is spotty at best. read more

Worst experience ever total disaster no organization worst customer service no body want to face the customer needs or expectation dont come and waste your money go somewhere else big no no read more

This place is horrible. The AC went down twice. Wifi kept going down.. I had to call them to bring us an extra blanket and iron 5 times... 5 TIMES! The pools are dirty almost as if they don't clean them at all the night before. I've stayed an other Riu's and I've had weak drinks before but here they were literally ALL juice. And here comes the worst part. ELEVATORS!!!! Expect to wait 20-30 minutes for an elevator. The elevators to me was the worst thing about this hotel. It will kill your mood read more

Had a good time here but not quite a 5 star experience. I didn't enjoy the loud housekeeping and maintenance staff that made a ton of noise everyday around 7 am. The noise continued til about noon. Also wasn't a fan of our "king size" bed. It was basically 2 queen beds right next to each other so the middle of the "bed" was uncomfortable. The last thing I didn't like was the smell and noise coming from the mini fridge. And the beer in the fridge isn't stocked daily. It was probably stocked twice in our 1 week stay. I did enjoy the pool area, the restaurants, and the beach. The waiters and entertainment staff go out of their way to make sure the guests are satisfied and having a good time. I had a lot of fun in the pool area and at the nightly show thanks to the friendly staff. The disco/club was fun too but I think we got lucky because a lot of Canadians were there celebrating spring break and a few bachelor/bachelorette parties so we enjoyed meeting and hanging out with them. The location of the resort is away from the downtown strip (El Melancon) and the Golden Zone so there's little to no traffic near the resort. There's a bus that stops at the resort about every 15-20 minutes and it's only 11 pesos each way. It's about a 30 minute bus ride to El Melancon. You can always take a taxi for 120-150 pesos which is a bit faster and more enjoyable if you're in one of the open air taxis (Pulmonias). The views from the rooms are priceless. You can't beat the sunsets over the Pacific. Last but not least, the food. There's only 4 restaurants at the resort which are all buffet style but there's a good variety of food. Leave the diet at home because there's plenty of good food to splurge on. read more

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Don't bother. Arrived from cruise and they were super rude. Wanted to relax outside and their staff kicked us out, making us walk through the outside ditch. We wanted to buy a day pass and they wouldn't even give my wife and I the dignity of exiting through the proper entrance. Go to Playa Mazatlan, save money, dignity and enjoy a nice beach escape. read more

Terrible service terrible food one of the worst RIU hotels I've ever stayed at. Customer service at the front desk was bad all around one of the worst trips I've taken read more

Nunca he llegado a un resort donde son tan groseros, el servicio es HORRIBLE. No te ayudan en absolutamente nada, no son nada de amables, ni parece que trabajan aquí. La gerente Ericka es una grosera que no sabe nada de hospitalidad. Ella es una de los razones que nunca regresaré. Tanto dinero que gastas y te tratan como una molestia. Nunca regresaré aquí y no lo recomendó. Aparte que apesta todo el hotel, no hay aire acondicionador, y te pican los chinches en la cama No pierdes tu dinero aquí en este lugar culero. read more

Started off rough on our 2nd visit here but they are top notch because of great people who care. They fixed the issues and people like Eddy in the pool bar and Daniel in the restaurant and the wonderful maid service brought everything together. We tip well and Americans need to because we saw so many Hispanics and others not tip. It's not required but the people here work hard and deserve it. And show their appreciation with even better caring service read more

I would rate zero stars if I could. As I'm standing in line (a different line than the one in main lobby because we were forced to check in at this one that seems to be a result of discrimination), I'm not surprised that this hotel is not listed as a 5 star hotel. I can safely say this is WORST HOTEL IN MAZATLÁN EVER! We usually stay at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay and only chose this one because that one was out of rooms, but please be assured that we will NEVER make this mistake again. Also, as we're standing in line, we overheard another complaint by a woman whose room key didn't work anywhere - not surprised. Please use your money somewhere where you'll have a great experience and go to Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay. read more

It is beautiful it is clean the pools are amazing and the service is excellent and super clean I wish I could take some of their crew home with me to work for me and my company!!! read more

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I got food poisoning to start off. The location is nice, the beach is gorgeous, and the staff is very nice, and the pools are pretty cool too, but the place itself is severely outdated in many aspects. The soda machines need to be updated, the soda tasted very flat in one of the restaurants. Also please provide a more hygienic ice dispenser, having to shovel it with the same scoop that everyone touches and leaves on top of the rest of the ice is gross. As far as the rooms... they are very small for more than two adults, but they're ok. Maybe a better TV and better decor would be nice, like I said, it's outdated. read more

Location is nice buttt food was not great same meals over and over and not many options. Had to wait hours in lobby till I got my room. Cleaners didn't clean room well used same blankets didn't even replace wet dirty towels. Pools were alright. Would I come here again? No. Maybe to a different hotel in same location because the beach was nice. read more

riu was fun, we have only stayed at riu palace las Americas and you can't compare hotels because this is an open air hotel where the palace was air conditioned, the employees were great, sandy was the best person we met. she made us feel at home. she was great at her job also as well as irvin at the front desk, irvin, pedro,carlos and several other wait staff. the pools and views were excellent read more

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RIU Emerald Bay - spot of dishonor on the reputation of RIU I have been visiting RIU Emerald Bay in Mazatlan (Mexico) for one week from Dec 27, 2019 to Jan 3, 2020. My experience that time was completely different vs. my previous visits of other (at least five) RIU hotels. To make my review short, I will mention only some things, which make RIU Emerald Bay incompatible with five stars rating. First, I was shocked by dirty tableware in restaurants, which I have seen many times during my stay there. One time waiter brought me a dirty cup for coffee. I cannot understand how he could not see this. One time I have seen a whole stack of dirty plates for ice cream. I have checked at least ten plates. Now about reception and minibar refill. To have drinking water, you have to call reception and they send someone to bring it to your room then. Looks easy. It worked two times. Next time, I have been waiting more than three hours. I went to the reception, they said "sorry, we will do this right now". Nothing happened after that. I needed to go to a bar for drinking water. Fire alarm. During seven days, I have heard/seen myself four false fire alarms. Two times it happened during night hours. Especially nice it was at 6:15am on Jan 1. There were some more small things. Sometimes we were waiting for ten minutes for a waiter in restaurants. One waiter after arriving was able to understand the word "coffee" only after five times of repeating. Food and drinks selection limited vs. other RIU hotels I visited before. There is only one shop in the hotel. On the second or third day of my stay in the hotel paying machine stopped working and the issue was not fixed until my leaving. Everyone will have to pay in cash. Barmen and room cleaning are OK. read more

RIU Emerald Bay is the worst resort we have ever stayed at. We are a family of 6 with 4 children. The resort has you wear cheap plastic wristbands as do most all inclusive resorts. Our 4 children played on the beach, in the ocean on the waterslide so predictably one child had a wristband that broke. Luckily he was able to see it break and keep it. It took 1/2 a day to get a new one as the front desk lines are alwasy extremely long and when we finally got to the front they were out of wristbands and made us return the following morning. Again, the day prior to our depature while on a banana boat ride his wristband broke and fell off somewhere in the ocean. As it was the night before our depature and we had made plans to eat somewhere else other than the resort, we decided it wasn't worth the hassle to wait to get a replacement. Upon check out we were told we had to pay $1,000 Pesos for the lost wristband since we didn't have it to turn in. We explained that we didn't need a new wristband and it wasn't our sons fault that this time the wristband broke while he was in the ocean and wasn't able to get it. On principle alone, we decided we shouldn't have to pay for the lost wristband since we didn't need a replacement. Keep in mind the RIU doesn't accept US dollars nor will the exchange your Pesos for US dollars and their ATM machine was broken most of the time. As a result, we decided to spend our Pesos on souvenirs that morning. The front desk person notified the Bell Hop by pointing us out and telling him to make sure were weren't allowed to leave the resort that kept us HOSTAGE at the hotel and would not let our hired transportation company leave the premises unless we paid for the lost wristband. The driver of the van we hired called his company and was told that the RIU Emerald Bay will shut their gates and not let them take us off the location and would refuse to allow that driver and that company to pick up customers from their resort in the future. At this point we realized the one Hotel Employee was going to keep us Hostage and make sure our driver never has business there again. We decided we had no choice but to pay for the wristband. Being charged a fine is one thing but being threatened to be detained and held crosses the line. Our son was so worried & felt it was his fault. Please be cautious. Most people when traveling to Mazatlan are worried about the safety and Drug Cartels. It's the RIU Hotel Staff holding you HOSTAGE that you should be worried about. read more

What a great Dec. vacation, first the rooms are all Ocean view yes when peak times, like breakfast lunch dinner, and shows 15 min. wait can be, also if the hotel is pack, so really longest wait we had in our week was 10 min. big deal im on vacation and married 22 years she can wait for my body lol. Now when you enter the room huge bathrooms in marble, the tub biggest ive seen very deep. Then over the fridge a liquor cabinet with 4 bottles of booze and a fridge full of beverages to mix, all included, drink up they will refil every 2 days and you paid for it. Now take advantage of the free massages in the health spa. The sports bar was on point with snacks and burgers and sandwiches for you and the drinks are not your usual 3 star watered down. 3 places to choose to eat one a buffet that does fresh smaller fare that they keep refilling, none of their restaurants allow beach wear, then they also have an italian, mexican and asian restaurants for you white table cloth by reservation. Make sure you attend the steak fiesta on the beach. This is a great value for what you get, enjoy the swim up bar read more

Second time staying at this resort. Sunwing bills it as a five star, but it doesn't live up to its billing. Food has gone downhill since we were here four years ago. Rooms are adequate but nothing special. Don't waste your money upgrading to an ocean view room as all the rooms face the ocean. It's hard to find hot food. Staff is friendly and helpful although at times it seems there are too few to meets the needs of all the guests. Bedding is substandard and the resort itself is pretty far away from town (11 pesos will get you on a twenty bus ride into town) paying for things like playing pool in the sports bar irks me in an all inclusive resort. It seems overall the quality of the experience has degraded since we were here last. Don't think we'll be returning. read more

This hotel might look good from the outside but the inside is really outdated. Upon arrival we noticed that the elevators in the building are really slow and very time consuming. I've been too a couple resorts around Puerto Vallarta and Nayarit and they are way better then this location. The people working here are nice but the service and Amenities this place has to offer are very poor and low quality. For the price you could go to a better more enjoyable experience. read more