Riu Palace Baja California

While the resort is nice and the ocean front room was beautiful. This is most definitely a PARTY RESORT. Adults getting wasted all day long. People bringing personal speakers with various music blasting from all different angles. Adults saving their towels from the day before just to go down and...

While the resort is nice and the ocean front room was beautiful. This is most definitely a PARTY RESORT. Adults getting wasted all day long. People bringing personal speakers with various music blasting from all different angles. Adults saving their towels from the day before just to go down and save a chair at 6 am. Then not returning until well after 10am. It was like spring break for mid lifers no matter when you visited! People couldn’t control their alcohol. Not relaxing at all. We walked down to the other Riu and found that one a little more peaceful. The hotel room was loud at night, you could hear everything outside your room. We liked the food but this was definitely not the resort for us to enjoy a nice relaxing vacation. Unfortunately it left a bad taste of Riu Resorts and we would not book again.

This is a well run meticulously kept resort. Staff is friendly and responsive and service is top notch. The food could compete with many higher priced resorts. The steak house manager seems very proud of the service his restaurant provides. We have done a dozen of these type of resorts...

This is a well run meticulously kept resort. Staff is friendly and responsive and service is top notch. The food could compete with many higher priced resorts. The steak house manager seems very proud of the service his restaurant provides. We have done a dozen of these type of resorts and this is the best value. The negatives are that the beach is difficult to walk. Masonry type sand and a steep grade near the water. We walk seven miles a day on other beaches but not here. We did see whales almost everyday. If you are looking for a quiet pool area to relax this isn't the place. Crowded and often noisy. We are beach people and there is always spots available. The staff will provide an umbrella if needed and it can get hot. Overall, the best value that we have ever experienced and the staff should be commended again for there professionalism.

Great resort and great staff. But the building are loud and it is very difficult to sleep at night and in the am extremely loud paper thin walls and floors. We had a great time the first 4 days so we extended our stay. We paid at the front desk...

Great resort and great staff. But the building are loud and it is very difficult to sleep at night and in the am extremely loud paper thin walls and floors. We had a great time the first 4 days so we extended our stay. We paid at the front desk an outrageous amount. Come to find out that was only for 1 night not the 3 promised. We then had to pay the same amount for the 3 more nights or we would have been homeless. The front desk completely lied to us and ripped us off. The 3 extra nights have now been more than double what we paid for the entire trip. The front desks refused to help with any of the banging at 4am. After this we will not be back.

This is the worst place we have ever been. Don't even bother booking here. Been to other Riu but this one got the worst service. FERNANDO and JAVIER are the most disrespectful staff in this resort. Such a bad experience. Carla the public relations didn't really do anything but apologies....

This is the worst place we have ever been. Don't even bother booking here. Been to other Riu but this one got the worst service. FERNANDO and JAVIER are the most disrespectful staff in this resort. Such a bad experience. Carla the public relations didn't really do anything but apologies. 2 night in a row. You come and plan trips like this, pay so much money only to be disrespected. If I could get an earlier flight out, I would have left. I was so looking forward to this vacation only to have such a very disappointing experience.

I have visited this hotel twice, once in 2019, and again in March of 2025 so I feel I can genuinely describe how sub-par our experience at this hotel was. The “complimentary” airport shuttle is a contracted 3rd party service that can only depart the airport with a full bus....

I have visited this hotel twice, once in 2019, and again in March of 2025 so I feel I can genuinely describe how sub-par our experience at this hotel was. The “complimentary” airport shuttle is a contracted 3rd party service that can only depart the airport with a full bus. After over an hour wait and discovering the bus would make multiple resort stops, we instead opted for an Uber. Had we known this in advance we would have an hour of our trip back and the $90. Upon check-in we discovered the hotel had overbooked reservations and the king bed we reserved would no longer be available so our only choice was a room with 2 double beds without refund despite the difference in fares. To add insult to injury, when we asked how to get to our room they pointed us in the general direction of the room without any offer to help us with our baggage. After multiple elevator rides we discovered our bottom floor room was only accessible via one stairwell which meant we had to carry our luggage down 2 flights of stairs (and up upon departure). One of the big selling points of this resort is items vicinity to the marina, but we also discovered that rideshare drivers to not have access to pick-up at the resort. In order to leave you must walk the 0.4 miles down to the main road. Despite being told multiple times that this would not be the case to depart for the airport we discovered that to be another discrepancy in service. This was only discovered after booking so we absorbed another canceled Uber fee which our options being — walk to the main road with all of our luggage or pay the hotel transportation $80 cash only. My biggest issue was the noise. The sister RIU property adjacent is known to have a robust party scene and while not something this hotel can necessarily control, the noise levels made it nearly impossible to sleep at all hours. When we asked if it would be possible to change rooms, the overoccupancy made it impossible and the staff couldn’t have been less apologetic. I reached out to customer service in hopes of some resolve and I was given a THANK YOU/GRACIOUS auto response which leads me to believe service isn’t a priority.

Fantastic pool. Guests are NOT permitted to enter the ocean as it's too dangerous. The food was average for a 5 star. This area brags they only get 11 days of rain per year. In town I thought about buying a $1400. belt. Like I said thought about it. It...

Fantastic pool. Guests are NOT permitted to enter the ocean as it's too dangerous. The food was average for a 5 star. This area brags they only get 11 days of rain per year. In town I thought about buying a $1400. belt. Like I said thought about it. It isn't what it was 10 years ago. Been there done that.

Rooms: This is where Riu Baja earned a 4 for me. Open concept (fine for couples just noted no privacy). Bed was super soft, so anytime you moved, your partner felt it, too. The shower was warm, but only hot enough for a decent shower 1 of 7 nights. Use...

Rooms: This is where Riu Baja earned a 4 for me. Open concept (fine for couples just noted no privacy). Bed was super soft, so anytime you moved, your partner felt it, too. The shower was warm, but only hot enough for a decent shower 1 of 7 nights. Use the app to replenish your fridge, don't bother with the front desk it won't arrive. We were on the main floor facing the Santa Fe, parties are super loud, but didn't bother us as we only used the room to shower and sleep, so didn't spend much time in the room. Housekeeping was very good, but always left the balcony unlocked, which is a bit uncomfortable (main floor is 2 so there are lower balconies). Food: I found the buffet and all restaurants great! Love that Riu has no reservations! Steakhouse was excellent, but bread could use a pat of butter, tenderloin, lobster, and lobster ravioli?! Yes please...ate here 3 nights. One night we had to come back in 30 min, enjoyed a glass of wine ( which was good too) and returned and were seated easily. Asian was probably the surprise one for me. Typical Mexican Asian for me is overly salty teppanyaki with buffet style apps, this was fresh ( chicken a bit dry), but overall great! Mexican was great too! We enjoyed the breakfast buffet followed by cappuccinos at capuchino coffee bar overlooking the ocean every morning. Snacks and tacos at Pepes was super fresh all day and made "fries supreme a few times". Pools: The back swim up bar was warm, which was a bit weird, all other pools refreshing. Towel game in full effect for the first row, fine with us, always spots all day. I think staff should remove any unused towels or items like sunscreen bottles holding seats. Bathrooms are too far from the swim up bar area/ beach. Obviously beach is not swimmable. Service: All servers at all bars/ dining were very good! Pretty used to a bar in the main lobby, not the case here. They do special drinks during the shows so check out the bartender at the cool long table, had an excellent fresh cucumber agave Paloma! Entertainment: Went next door to people watch at the party, way too many people for us, but fun vibe for 20 somethings. Santa fe is jam packed, sports bar as well. Shows at Baja were OK, but met some great people and enjoyed ourselves. Walked over to the other palace one night, and they had live music. That's a bit more up our alley, but the adult only won out on this trip. Overall pricey for our trip ( previous Riu vallarta twice, riu reggae, riu playacar), not sure the value is there for us.

We were delayed one day because of bad weather and plane not flying. We called resort to say we would be day late and keep room. The lady just says you didnt book with us so cant help and hangs up. I called travel company and they contacted resort and...

We were delayed one day because of bad weather and plane not flying. We called resort to say we would be day late and keep room. The lady just says you didnt book with us so cant help and hangs up. I called travel company and they contacted resort and got room held but was told we would still be charged for 1st night. I understand that and we had insurance so no worry. We arrive the next day and the first words were you are here at noon and check in is at 4pm so no room is ready. I said but you charged me for last night so why is my room not ready? Plus i have lots of riu points can i get an upgrade. He ask his boss who just says no rooms available with out ever looking. Then they fumble around and find us a room suddenly `that is clean. We were meeting our daughter and husband there and they did arrive on Monday ahead of us. But their a/c didnt work and they told front desk. Next thing same thing telling front desk and nothing. So they told the travel ambassador at resort and they got it fixed. My wife asked for a robe , never got it. Our tv remote had dead batteries and had just enough power to turn on but not change channels. Another trip twice to front desk. Nothing changed they write it down and i guess toss it when u leave. Our refrigerator was never restocked , but they did leave water. My wife asked maid and she got her a robe. Our soap dispenser was full but never worked either. Then i looked under at drain on it and found the cap had never been removed so after pulling it off it worked fine. Now at pool there is signs everywhere it opens at 7am. If you leave anything before that it will be picked up and they did lol. Still most were there by 7 am and plenty of chairs. Yet some did leave only to return at noon. But with that said the guy next to us got in pool to cool down and a staff took his umbrella to give a guy that shows up at noon. No problem he just took one from someone else. The good side the grounds were clean and the food was fantastic everywhere we ate. Over all staff was friendly and helpful. Just front desk was a joke if you had problems. I emailed the resort when we got home with this info and since it was an email that no one will ever see except maybe front desk. They have yet to ever respond and dont plan on them too.

We paid a lot of money to listen to loud 20 and 30 somethings yelling and hooting and playing loud speakers...at all hours we thought we were going to an all adult resort and paid extra but think this resort was one of the worst resorts we have visited. The...

We paid a lot of money to listen to loud 20 and 30 somethings yelling and hooting and playing loud speakers...at all hours we thought we were going to an all adult resort and paid extra but think this resort was one of the worst resorts we have visited. The so called adults at this resort we're obnoxious and rude! The service, food and cleanliness of the resort was great but if you want a relaxing vacation this is not the resort to visit!

Awesome trip. Hotel is very clean. Staff is helpful and courteous. We loved the options for meals especially the little coffee shop for cappuccino and pastries. Also the 24 hr cafe. It had food, beverages, fruit, and even alcohol to serve your self. Pool area is spacious, great options for...

Awesome trip. Hotel is very clean. Staff is helpful and courteous. We loved the options for meals especially the little coffee shop for cappuccino and pastries. Also the 24 hr cafe. It had food, beverages, fruit, and even alcohol to serve your self. Pool area is spacious, great options for loungers, drink servers ( loved the drink carts, saved time waiting). Snack food both hot and cold. View of Lands End, ocean front, and the marina from hotel. Looks amazing at night all lit up. Great tour and adventure options to chose from The one part we discovered is…we’re told do not need to make reservations it is first come first served, but the steak house opens at 530 and you had to be in line by 5 to get in right away. Closes at 930 but they are usually filled up around 8 pm to accommodate the requests. All restaurant food was amazing Loved our stay

We had a great time at this resort. The property was beautiful and clean. The room we had was stylish and comfortable. The food was good for the most part, typical all inclusive type food and restaurant options were ok. A few times we were told to come back in...

We had a great time at this resort. The property was beautiful and clean. The room we had was stylish and comfortable. The food was good for the most part, typical all inclusive type food and restaurant options were ok. A few times we were told to come back in an hour but we didn’t mind. All the staff and bartenders we met were so nice and we really enjoyed our stay. The nightlife at Baja was meh.. we usually ended up walking over to the Santa Fe or the Palace to watch their shows. They rotated all the shows throughout the resorts but the vibe was better at the other resorts and it was warmer there, it gets chilly at night and we found Santa Fe and Palace show areas to be warmer. We loved the adults only aspect of the Baja, especially when walking through the other resorts it was nice to come back to ours!