Riu Palace Peninsula

Just got back from my stay at the Riu Palace Peninsula from Jan 9-12 for my sister's 23rd birthday so here’s my full itinerary info and review! 9th) landed at 1pm, followed all signs and traffic outside after going through customs. Fairly simple we went through and got our stamps (everyone says the egates are quicker but the lines were sooo much longer). We’re led to our shuttle and got to RPP in about 30 minutes. Checked in at about 4.30pm rooms took a while to get cleaned but it’s a big resort so we didn’t care too as we had seats in the lobby. More details below 10th) breakfast buffet, coffee and beach. Ample chairs and umbrellas more on right side, most people are to the left at the area between both hotels. Lunch at Italian, Dinner at Kabuki. Hit the strip that night and was offered free entrance to Coco bongo (we are a group of women in our 20s invited by men so we had it on easy mode there tbh)
11th) Breakfast at buffet, skipped lunch because we went parasailing! Dinner at the steakhouse. Hit the strip again, went to Rakata, Congo, D Cave, and Mandala. Mandala was the best out of the 4 that night. Came back and ordered too much room service 12th) Shuttle was scheduled to pick us up at 915am, came early at 9 and got us to the airport very quickly. Printed out our tickets at the kiosk and promptly walked through all security points. Pretty simple just followed where everyone else was going and most signs had English writing. RESORT- super clean lobby area, very attentive workers. Room service was quick every night. Clean out your plates often or you’ll get ants!!! No WiFi in the elevators or bigger beachside with all the hammocks/chairs/cabanas so be mindful of that. Very pretty scenery and walkway all throughout. Rooms were okay. Nice bathroom, no fan in toilet room. Pillows sucked. Had to request new sheets because they definitely didn’t have clean ones when we first arrived. Brought my own blanket from home but they do keep 2 bigger ones in the closet. Great closet space, lots of mirrors. Lights flickered a bit, and the room was always a little humid. Little blow dryer that packed a punch blew steaming hot air. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash in the room I used them they’re fine. Nothing too crazy it was all manageable for us women, we knew it wasn’t going to be exceptionally boujee FOOD&DRINKS- I’m not too picky, enjoyed the options at the breakfast buffets, there’s so many things to choose from. Pleasantly surprised with the Italian restaurant, but the buffet style appetizers sit out for a while and you can taste it in a few items, soup was soooo good though! Kabuki was great overall, I enjoyed the ramen and salmon, mochi too… chocolate cakes wherever were bleh. The fried rice tasted kind of weird idk, but we loved the mango ice cream! Steakhouse was pretty good too, very fatty steaks though so I was cutting off a lot of it in the end. Also the lobster was alright. Sports bar was gross, I opted for fruit anytime we went. Best thing ever at the resort is the caesar salad hands down. Wine costs extra wherever you go. We survived off scooby doo shots, tequila, and pina coladas wheewww! If you tip the bartenders like $5usd or 100mxd at least one time they will load you up with the good liquor. Didn’t touch the liquor in the room because it tasted whack haha I dont know how to explain. They offer water bottles everywhere except the pool bars. Everyone says the pool drinks were watered down but after tipping 1 time they put double shots in all of our drinks omgg Overall the reviews are right, foods nothing too special but definitely not the worst!
POOLS/ BEACH- the big long pool was freezing, the far one was nice,. We didn’t lounge around the pools at all honestly. We spent all day at the beach! The rocky areas closest to the resort are very nice and quiet so we preferred to be on the chairs there instead of the main loud beach area. Water was so perfect to cool down in as it was 26/80° on average daily and the sun was surely beating! UV was only 6 but the sun hits harder there for sure. No rain once, just light sweater weather at night if you get chilly easily :) NIGHTLIFE- parties next door Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat they’ll tell you what time and theme each is even on their app so you know what to pack. Easy walk down the path through the beach and up the stairs to the parties next door. We went Friday afternoon and Saturday night. Friday was fun and lively, Saturday was definitely crazier but a bit too… wild for our taste. Went to the strip both nights, always lots of people. Ranking best to worst is Coco Bongo, Mandala, Congo, D cave, Rakata. Coco bongo had a show and it was just so cool! English and Spanish music, lots of throwbacks, edm and house music, people just enjoying themselves. It is on the more expensive side we found out (info on their site). Mandala had great music, cool people, and nice workers. Congo was soooo packed and sweaty people were totally off their rockers but the music was pretty good.. we didn’t stay long. D cave was dead, not many people went. We saw younger crowds and we left just after entering. Rakata was just a big twerking contest for like an hour? Not a fan of the layout or much either. Lots of people though! We personally liked places where everyone was just enjoying themselves, not being extra af (obviously those types of people were everywhere) so that’s just my opinion!