WHAT’S NEW WITH RIU: Quite a lot, actually.
The popular hotel brand definitely has a lot happening in Fall of 2023/Winter 2024. Throughout this year, several characteristic hotels will be renovated, like Riu Caribe and Riu Palace Pacifico (Mexico), as well as Riu Palace Macao (Dominican Republic). In addition, the new Riu Palace Aquarelle (Jamaica) will be opening in 2024.
We mentioned The Elite Club by RIU in a story earlier this week, this new room category is available to Canadian travellers at select RIU Palace hotels. The Club allows customers to enjoy an even more elevated experience than what is currently offered at RIU Palace properties, including rooms in privileged locations with welcome gifts, a personalized check-in area and guaranteed late check-out. Additionally, the Club features early check-in (subject to availability), premium drinks from dispensers and select hotel bars and a special room service option for Club members.
Different benefits will be added at hotels that have Elite Club status, such as Elite areas on the beach, an exclusive swimming pool for Club customers and privileged restaurants with à la carte breakfast items—depending on the hotel and the destination. Riu Palace Macao (Punta Cana) and Riu Palace Pacifico (Puerto Vallarta) will soon offer this room category after their renovation, in addition to Riu Palace Jamaica (Montego Bay), Riu Palace Baja California (Los Cabos) and Riu Palace Antillas (Aruba).
Riu Palace Macao in the Dominican Republic is currently undergoing renovations and in addition to implementing the new Elite Club room category, a complete overhaul of its rooms will be carried out, converting some into swim-out rooms that will have an exclusive private pool for Elite customers. Two new specialty restaurants will be added to the list of those remodelled, as well as a new Pepe’s Food grilled food stand and an innovative spa for customers. The makeover will also bring with it a new style and new decoration in the common areas that is fresher and brighter, being adapted to the new spaces and changes that RIU is making at its hotels. Its reopening is scheduled for September 9, 2023.
The complete renovation of Riu Palace Pacifico (Puerto Vallarta) began this August and will end at the beginning of December. It will showcase a complete revamp of all common areas and rooms, as well as the implementation of new services. The hotel will become an Adults Only establishment and will have an exclusive bar and beach area for Elite Club customers. All renovated spaces will have a greater influx of natural light and a more sophisticated and fresh style, using light colours in the common areas and sober shades in the restaurants and bars.
The renovation of Riu Caribe (Cancun) completed on August 26, 2023 brings a radical change to all rooms and common areas. The entrance boasts natural light and a welcoming sense of openness to the lobby and reception area.
The hotel will go from offering one swimming pool to three, one of which will be an infinity pool and another featuring a swim-up bar for adults only. The remodel will also include two new products. One will consist of five swim-out rooms with a private pool, providing a space with privacy and exclusivity for those who want it. The other is linked to one of RIU’s innovative concepts now available in Cancun – RIU Pool Parties – which came to be five years ago in Los Cabos and offers an exclusive area for hosting themed parties where all RIU customers from the five destination hotels are welcome. For this reason, Riu Caribe will have themed RIU Party rooms, including Neon, White, Pink and Jungle – so that customers can really feel part of the daytime and evening parties.
Famous in Mexico for five years, RIU Parties have managed to crop up in different countries, taking on the form of RIU Pool Parties or RIU Get Together Parties (more aimed at families and designed for all ages). In Mexico, these events are going to be present at most RIU vacation destinations (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Costa Mujeres, Vallarta and Los Cabos) and are currently available (and will be available) at Guanacaste (Costa Rica), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Montego Bay (Jamaica) and Aruba.
In 2024, RIU will unveil a new hotel at a new destination in Jamaica: Riu Palace Aquarelle, located in Falmouth, Trelawny. This new hotel will house 753 rooms and, in addition to several swimming pools and a variety of culinary offerings from different restaurants (international buffet, Italian, Japanese, fusion food and a steakhouse), will also have its own Splash Water World water park open to all customers during their stay.
In addition to its expansive presence in Mexico and the Caribbean, available to Canadians through Sunwing Vacations, RIU will continue to grow its urban line, setting foot for the first time in Canada at one of the great multicultural capitals of the world: Toronto. Located in the bustling Financial District, Riu Plaza Toronto will have 350 rooms. In 2024, RIU will also open a new city hotel in the United States: Riu Plaza Chicago. The hotel will be located in Streeterville near the Magnificent Mile shopping area and famous Navy Pier, offering 390 rooms, a sky bar on the 26th floor and views of the entire city.
And ,of course, RIU continues to be wholeheartedly committed to a number of Corporate Social Responsibility projects. During 2023, in addition to the chain’s long-term projects in the Mexican Caribbean, Costa Rica, Aruba, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, new projects have been added to support children and biodiversity in destinations in the Mexican Pacific, with the company increasing its investment in social and environmental projects in Mexico to US $800,000.
First published at Travel Industry Today
