Riu Playa Blanca - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5230 reviews

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  Excellent experience!

  Stayed at the Riu Playa Blanca from April 4-11 with a friend. The hotel is beautiful, and the grounds are immaculate. The gardeners work tirelessly throughout the day to keep the grounds manicured. I was speaking to one of the gardeners and asked about Iguanas and he took me around the back of the hotel to see some. There were also mango trees at the back. (I gave him a tip for the tour). The Front desk staff were pleasant however not very helpful when asking for change. I went to the front desk twice throughout the week to get change for $10 to leave tips for staff and on both occasions, without even looking, they said they didn’t have any change. I have stayed at several Riu Hotels and the food and drinks have always been good. Riu Playa Blanca did not disappoint. We enjoyed the buffet and the Italian restaurant the most. The buffet had a lot of selection, food was tasty (one day they served curry chicken, and it was fantastic), an assortment of desserts, and the fruit was always fresh. One thing I would suggest is to have a vegetarian/vegan section in the buffet and to ensure that the food labeling is accurate. At one point I was going to serve myself some rice and the cook took the dish away to replenish and it was rice with shrimp. The sign did not say that there was shrimp in the rice and the dish I was going to serve from didn’t have any shrimp left in the rice. This could have been a catastrophe for someone with a shellfish allergy. At the Italian restaurant the caprese salad was excellent. I had the lasagna, and my friend had the salmon and we both enjoyed our dishes. We did go to the Asian restaurant but found service very slow and we had to ask more than once for wine. At the Steak restaurant however, we found that they were in a hurry to get us served. The courses were coming out several tables at a time and we couldn’t complete the dish before the next dish came out. The cheese sticks were cold, my ribs were very tough, and my friend’s steak was just okay, the Caesar salad was excellent though. The hotel should also consider having air conditioning or at the lease ceiling fans in the restaurants. Almost everyday I had to retreat to my room after lunch to escape the heat and cool off. The Lobby Bar and the Bar by the stage served the best cocktails. Shout out to Tupito at the Lobby bar-he knows how to put on a show when making drinks, and shout out to Carlos at the stage Bar-he knew our drink order by the second day! Our room was an Ocean view and was located right outside the elevators. The room was a very good size for two people. It was very clean, and housekeeping came everyday, and on some days, we had a lovely surprise of “towel art”. The shower needed some updating, and the water pressure was very poor, perhaps due to the shower head needing to be changed. I also was very disappointed that there was only body wash and hand soap and no shampoo, conditioner and body lotion. I have always had basic toiletries available when staying at a hotel, so this was surprising. The only other issue I had with the room is that our neighbour was smoking on the balcony. There are dedicated smoking areas at this hotel and there is no smoking permitted directly on the property. Guests are advised of this and there are signs posted. I wish that people were more considerate and abided by the terms outlined by Riu. The beach is a black sand beach, this is due to volcanic eruptions. I have never seen black sand before, and I found this fascinating. The sand looks grey and seems darker in various areas, but if you pick up the sand you can see it is black and has a sparkle to it. So, you will need to wear shoes when walking on the sand, it is very hot! No, the water is not clear, but it is nice and refreshing after sitting on the hot beach for hours. There are tons of shells along the shoreline, and we saw a jellyfish washed up, so be careful. There are several vendors set up each morning to sell souvenirs at a very reasonable price and there are also horses available to ride for 30 mins for $10. Be careful, the guys may tell you to get on for a picture only at no cost but then they start to walk the horse around and before you know it you are full on riding, and they expect payment. A simple “no thank you” to any of the vendors is sufficient and they don’t bother you further. We went on the Anton Valley tour, which we booked on the plane with Sunwing, and it was fantastic! We travelled by bus to a town that is situated in a volcano. We went to the hot springs, saw a beautiful water fall and ended the trip by going to see hundreds of butterflies. As we booked on our plane ride to Panama, we save 5%, paid in Canadian dollars and it ended up costing $78.00 per person. We were picked up at the hotel around 8:00 am and arrived back around 2:30 pm. On another day we booked a taxi from the desk in the front lobby for $10 for the two of us and the driver took us up the street to the Grocery store and the Dollar store. It is a quick 3–5-minute drive and the driver waited for us as we shopped for 30 minutes. I recommend this if you find that you forgot to bring something like shampoo, water shoes or a travel mug on your trip. The Dollar store has all the essentials. Overall, Riu Playa Blanca was a wonderful resort and I would return!

  Apr 22, 2025
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  riu playa blanca vacation panama

  Resort was fantastic, food very good , room very clean and nice, bed very comfortable only bad thing is the beach. Unable to snorkel , wave very rough, sand and rock abrasive.

  Apr 21, 2025
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  Paradise

  My husband and I stayed at the Riu Playa Blanca the week of April 07/25. Our stay was excellent. Our room on the 4th floor was very large with a large bathroom. The room was very clean and very comfortable. Even though our room was considered “garden view” we had a great view of the ocean. I can only say very positive things about this RIU, the staff were always smiling and seemed to truly care about their work. The food was excellent both in the ala carte restaurants and the buffet. The 4 pools were always clean. while you had to get your chaise early if you wanted to be in a particular area there always seemed to be chaises available, none of the pools ever seemed to be overcrowded. The sand at the beach got to be hot especially the black sand closer to the water. Definitely hope to return to this RIU.

  Apr 21, 2025
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  Pleasantly surprised

  This resort was one of the best my husband and I have stayed at. The staff were friendly and accommodating. The room was immaculate, just like the grounds. The food was exemplary at the buffet and the three specialty restaurants. I looked not having to sign up for dinner reservations, but go and wait your turn. We had a problem with our safe and fridge. We reported to the front desk, and within 10 minutes someone was there to fix it. The problem was that we had a red flag all the time and we could not swim in the ocean…..that was Mother Natures problem. All things considered, it is a fabulous place to go to for a holiday!

  Apr 21, 2025
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  Update

  Some areas of the property needs to be updated. Like repainting the balconies, curtains, and mattresses. The room I was in the bottom of the mattress was coming apart. Room 4050 And the showerhead was a bit tarnished As well as the sink handles! The dresser drawers were spotted and stained. And the update of the refrigerator. The pillows seemed too small for the bed. I didn’t complain to the hostel staff because they accommodated me. But the food was absolutely delicious

  Apr 21, 2025