Dream~ I just got back from the Riu Caribe three days ago and stayed at the Riu Cancun last April for a week. Be happy to answer any questions you have. I think Gran Caribe Real is a bit more of a 'party place' than the others you have mentioned~ although they all accept kids. Gran Caribe Real is where I was supposed to stay over Christmas but had a change from the Tour Operator so we went with the Riu Caribe. t.
Hey CHickie....Welcome back.. Yeah I think the gran Caribe Real will be my choice cause of the price point. The Riu Cancun is wayyy too much for my spending.. Did you happen to see what this hotel looked like when you were there??
Well maybe I am confusing hotels here...Umm. I think it was the Riu CAncun that was alot of money. BUt the Riu caribe I saw as well. But am confused as to which one it is cause in some travel brochures that htel and some other hotel , can't remember the nsame, have the same picture.. :?
Ohhhhhh...OK makes sense then.. Ok I was seeing it for 1580 that was the best price I could see with Taxes..
Dream~ Thanks~ Ugh~ hate being back in the cold though! I miss Cancun already~ the CWS have set in! I think I have found the same types of prices as you have for March departures staying at the Riu Hotels in Cancun...packages out of Toronto have Riu Palace Las Americas as the most expensive, then Riu Cancun is cheaper than Riu Palace, but more expensive than Riu Caribe and then Riu Caribe as the least expensive (although none of the three are 'inexpensive' hotels). BelAir quoted us $1688 pp for Riu Cancun departing March 05 (before taxes, etc) with Sunquest for a 'normal' room (and $1868 for a Junior Suite). Riu Caribe was a BIT cheaper, but only by about $100 to $150 pp. All the hotels looked great when I was there over Christmas. As you know, we stayed at Riu Caribe and it had opened just two days before we got theer and evrything was just fine. Riu Cancun and Riu Palace had both been open since the beginning of December~ if not sooner than that so they both are looking and operating just fine. Riu Cancun has a location that can't be beat~ right in the middle of everything. I did see the Gran Caribe Real as well from the street~ problem is it was tough to see very much without going into the property. They are in the middle of tearing down the villas, so only the main tower hotel rooms are open right now (and from what I hear, most people didn't like the villas~ they always wanted tower rooms~ so this might be a good thing). One thing I should point out is that the reason our trip was moved from Gran Caribe Real to Riu Caribe is because the beach is completely gone at Gran Caribe Real. That was for the last week in December though~ who knows how much it can be improved by March. Possibly lots due to the Beach Recovery Project. Gran Caribe Real is also a good location in my opinion~ right across from Marguaritaville and Pat O'Briens, etc. I have had friends stay at Gran Caribe Real and they LOVED IT! Couldn't say enough good things about it. Said the rooms were very nice and clean, they liked the food~ especially the sushi bar by the pool and 24 hour room service. They found the general atmosphere to be very lively and fun as well. Only other thing is that I find Riu Hotels to be very mellow~ but maybe its the time of year that I have been there etc. They still do daytime activities and take everyone out to different clubs evry night so its not like they are 'quiet' or anything (I might also just be used to BBG :lol: ) I think you have mentioned that you like chilling out a bit during the day anyway, so you would likely really like the Riu hotels. They are super clean, they have the a la carte restaurants and you can always eat at the main buffet restaurants without a reservation too. No room service but you can get snacks 24 hours up in the Sports Bar~ just nachos and cheese and hamburgers and sandwiches~ but it sure hits the spot at 3am when you roll in from the bars! Hope that helps a bit! t.
