Riu Palace Baja California: Review from a Travel Agent
We just returned from our very first trip to Los Cabos, and one thing is certain: it definitely won’t be our last! When planning our first-time itinerary, I knew we wouldn’t want to stay cooped up on a resort property 24/7. We wanted to get out, explore the local culture, and experience some of Cabo’s world-class off-property restaurants. This is why we chose Riu Palace Baja California.
Is Riu Palace Baja California close to downtown Cabo San Lucas?
Yes, Riu Palace Baja California is located on El Médano Beach, just a 2.5-mile drive (about 10 minutes) from downtown Cabo San Lucas and the Marina. This prime location makes it one of the best value adults-only all-inclusive resorts for travelers who want to balance on-property amenities with off-site dining and nightlife.
That desire to explore is exactly why we chose the Riu Palace Baja California. Not only is its location perfect for quick trips into town, but its highly competitive price point made it completely worth it to venture out and eat dinner off-property a few nights without feeling like we were overpaying for our stay. In this review, I’m sharing how this resort serves as a great value home base for the perfect, flexible Cabo vacation.
Cabo Airport
I was very impressed with the airport. It was easy to navigate for the first time. The kiosks in Immigration worked and we breezed right through. Once you have bags and pass through customs (red light, green light game) you walk all the way outside the airport to find your transfer. This is just like Cancun. Do not stop inside the airport, keep going!
Your transfer company will likely be under the umbrella and the spaces are numbered. We used Cabo Shuttle. There are several bars outside if you are waiting on friends to arrive.
Our transfer was with Cabo Shuttle and I have used them for clients several times. The price is reasonable and we got an SUV. The ride to the Riu is about 40 minutes.
The Riu Palace Baja California
We got to the hotel about 11AM. They checked us in, we changed clothes and found lunch and a spot by the pool. Our room ended up being ready about an hour later but we were poolside so we stayed a while and enjoyed the sun.
We opted for a partial ocean view room. I try to explain the differences in views to clients but sometimes it’s hard to convey. This is 100% a partial ocean view room but some hotels would also categorize this as ocean view.
Riu rooms are mostly all the same, with open concept for the bathroom. The toilet rooms do have a solid door on them.
The vanity is 2 sinks, not a lot of storage room so make sure you are organized. The hair dryer is attached to the wall. There was a make up mirror, but it does not light up. There are plenty of drawers in the dresser which was great!
The shower does have 2 shower heads, the hand held one and the overhead rain shower. There is plenty of storage in the shower for your toiletries.
There is no privacy stepping out of the shower. This can make it hard to share a room with a friend or sibling.
The Pools at Riu Palace Baja Califoria
There are two large pools plus two smaller pools with swim up bars. The pools with the swim up bars are for sure the busiest, they start out a little quiet in the morning though.
The big pool overlooking the beach is where the aqua classes and volleyball is set up. They also have music or a DJ playing nearby. This pool would be your most active.
They do have a lot of pool chairs around and lots of shade. The prime spots right by the pool go early but there is still plenty of seating. Side note, Riu uses towel cards for the pool. This means at check-in you get 1 card per person and each day have to exchange it for clean towels. You get your card back on the last day you turn in towels and you must have this for check out. They charge a fee if you don’t.
Pros of choosing the Riu Palace Baja California
Cons of choosing the Riu Palace Baja California
The Food at Riu Palace Baja California
I’m gonna be honest, the food at the last Riu we stayed at was not good. If I get a complaint from a client about a Riu, it’s usually the food. However, the Riu Palace Baja changed my mind, at least about this property. We had several really good meals and really no complaints to think of.
Our favorite was the Mexican Restaurant for sure!
We also tried the steakhouse and Italian restaurant. Both were good.
The room service menu is very limited though. I would have loved to see pizza on that menu for a late night snack. The buffet is open for dinner at Riu.
Lunch options were the buffet, which we tried two days. I liked the pizza options and fruit. They had lots of tacos, pasta, seafood, and salad options as well.
The Riu Palace Baja also offers a poolside grill, Pepe’s Grill. They usually had tacos, nachos and burgers or hot dogs there. It’s walk up, but there was usually some seating in the shaded bar next to it.
The Bars at Riu Palace Baja California
During the day there are poolside bartenders as well as the swim up bars. My favorite drinks are the night time bars. Our favorite bar here was the Gold Bar. It’s in the main plaza where the nightly entertainment is. Fernando and his team are fantastic!
Get them to make you a lemon drop martini and old fashioned with Bulleit.
We went out to eat twice – went to The Office and Harry’s. we love Harry’s in Cancun and wanted to try Cabo! Both were really good (and not cheap!) Keep in mind the cost of eating out and the taxi there and back. Both were $15-18 USD each way, which is about 350 Pesos, depending on the rate.
The views at Harry’s are hard to beat!
We definitely will go back to Cabo, but want to try different resorts. We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary and had a great time relaxing and exploring a new to us destination.
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