Riu Yucatan Hotel Playa del Carmen

My sister and I went to Riviera Maya for a nice, relaxing vacation to soak up the sun. We wanted an all-inclusive so that we did not have to think about anything. The RIU Yucatan provided everything we could ask for, including a liquor dispenser right in the room (except I don't drink). The room was a nice size, and was quite comfortable.

Being all-inclusive, we could eat when we wanted and what we wanted. The breakfast buffet offered some really good pancakes and chocolate muffins. The buffet for lunch was really good, too. For dinner, there are more options: the buffet, plus on-site restaurants: a steakhouse, Mexican, and Asian. We ate at all of them, except the Asian (Emily doesn't like Japanese food, and I was afraid the selection would be too much shellfish, to which I am allergic). Each were really good, but reservations are required at each of the restaurants, and the steakhouse proved to be an elusive reservation to get -- they fill up fast, so it took us two days to eat there. The dinner buffet offered a Mexican-theme night, complete with every Mexican dish imaginable. It was probably the best food we'd eaten all week. Also on the buffet is a selection of five or six ice creams. The best: coconut, creamy, sweet, delectable coconut, and also a divinely rich vanilla.

The resort is located beachfront to the Caribbean Sea, offering the most amazing turquoise water. It was so nice to roll out of bed, grab some breakfast and head to the beach for hours in the sun.

An added bonus: onsite wildlife. We encountered a couple lizards, and there was even a monkey!

Various travel agents are available to schedule excursions from the resort. It's an easy process to complete -- the challenge is deciding just what to do! (We opted for a zipline tour, where we rode 4-wheelers out into the jungle, flew on three ziplines through the jungle, and dove into a crystal-clear pool at the bottom of a cave).

We had an amazing vacation and I truly loved the all-inclusive experience!

Most everything is pretty clean; the grounds are beautiful; the staff is very friendly; the buffet food is a little above average. It was nice to be able to visit the other nearby Riu hotels.

Our room smelled musty- sticks to your clothes and l...read entire review at TravelPost.com