The 24-hour All Inclusive Hotel Riu Palace Aruba opens all year round and is located directly on the beautiful Palm Beach. RIU Palace is the most elegant category in the RIU hotel chain, with hotels that meet the highest standards in terms of luxury, excellence and sophistication, creating a unique experience. The location is ideal due to its proximity to Aruba Airport (10 km) and Oranjestad (11 km) and invites you to explore the area. The hotel has 450 cozily furnished rooms with free Wi-Fi and offers many amenities. Relax in our spa, or get in shape at the fitness center. 2 outdoor pools, 1 children's pool. Day and evening entertainment, as well as our discotheque in the neighboring Hotel Riu Palace Antillas. For lovers of gastronomy, we offer live cooking stations at our main buffet restaurant, Japanese and Italian, Fusion restaurants and Steakhouse, as well as 5 bars and our Capuchino patisserie & ice cream parlor.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
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The Hotel Riu Palace Aruba garners praise for its impeccable cleanliness and prime location, with guests appreciating its proximity to pristine beaches and local attractions in a safe, walkable area. However, some guests raise concerns over inconsistent housekeeping and the challenge of securing pool and beach chairs.
While the hotel buzzes with a lively atmosphere and offers ample dining options, the dated rooms and decor, along with variable service quality, have disappointed many. Additionally, noise disturbances and perceptions of poor value due to high costs and unmet expectations have been noted by travelers.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Lively
Rooms
Dated
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Noise level
Noisy
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Satisfactory
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Reception staff were great every time we needed them, booking in and out were simple. Room we were in 124 on floor 1 with pool view, amazing, and cleaned to a high standard, no issues with any equipement. Food outlets all amazing never had a problem in any of the specialists, nautilus and italian were our favourites, but all good. Pool and facilities were really good. Cappucino bar were great. The staff are all amazing, friendly and attentive, luis in the buffet restaraunt was absolutely fantastic, he really could not do enough for everyone. Overall an absolutely fantastic stay at a great location. Thank you al at Riu Palace Aruba.
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Rooms 120 to 130 are all at pool level with pool views.
And close proximity to eateries.
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Response from RIU Hotels and Resorts, Owner at Hotel Riu Palace Aruba
Responded 5 Jul 2023
Dear daveNewport, Thank you for taking the time to give us your valued feedback following your recent stay at our hotel. We are very happy to hear that you had a lovely time at our hotel! We look forward to sharing another amazing experience with you soon. Have a lovely day. Hotel Riu Palace Aruba Online Reputation Manager
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We just returned from a week in paradise, staying at the Riu Palace. I cannot say enough good things about our stay, particularly given that it was during the Covid pandemic. We were skeptical about going anywhere at first but I’m so glad that we decided to take the trip and stay at the Riu.
The accommodations, the staff, the food, the pool, the ocean… Everything was perfect!
Were there changes made due to the pandemic?… Yes, but that is the case everywhere. We found the Riu to be very cautious, taking every opportunity to ensure guest and staff safety, all while offering first class experiences. We have been to Aruba four times in the past, always staying at the Palace.
They still offered a fantastic buffet, a specialty restaurant was open each evening, they had beautiful piano music in the lobby prior to dinner each night (which we thoroughly enjoyed), there was also nice entertainment in which guests and staff participated each evening, and this time we didn’t even have to get up super early to find a Palapa on the beach! Lol.
The resort was extremely clean, staff were always sanitizing and thoroughly cleaning down common areas, including the pool deck and pool each evening. Social distancing was not a problem...we actually felt like we had “butler service” this time due to the limited hotel capacity.
The entertainment staff and bartenders were working hard as always making it a fun time despite the lower crowd. Also if you go to the Riu Palace be sure to check out the snorkeling trip that departs from Scuba Caribe right next to the hotel. They are fantastic! I have always snorkeled at the resort but this time decided to book a trip and it was well worth it!! You depart at 9:30 AM and return about 1 PM... the marine life that you see and the clarity of the water at the snorkeling sites, in addition to the shipwreck is just magnificent!
Riu management was on site daily, always asking if there was anything else they could improve upon or any items that needed attention. I also found this very nice and accommodating. Again no complaints whatsoever on our stay at the Palace. I can’t wait to return!
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Riu Hotels and Resorts, Owner at Hotel Riu Palace Aruba
Responded 14 Aug 2020
Dear Sheila, Thank you for your time to leave this fantastic review and your top rating. I am so happy to know that you had a wonderful stay with us and that our friendly staff always takes such excellent care of you. Your kind words have been shared and celebrated with our management team and we look forward to welcoming you again one day soon. With our best wishes we remain, Hotel Riu Palace Aruba Online Reputation Manager
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This was our 9 trip to Aruba and our first all inclusive. We have stayed at Costa Linda, Playa Linda, Marriott Ocean Club, Barcelo, and Divi Phenix. We were told our room was not ready but would be ready in an hour. It was more like 3 hours but that was okay we were in Aruba. We rented a timeshare so we were in the building closest to the beach on the first floor. Our patio was big and in a few steps you were on the beach. Now being on the first floor has its advantages but remember everyone who walks on the boardwalk walks by your patio and sees you with your pajamas on. The timeshare room had a crazy setup. The master bedroom had a nice bathroom with a shower and 2 sinks but no door in the bathroom. The second bedroom has two full size beds that were comfortable but no windows and the lamp that was in did not give enough light. There was a small closet with a 5 drawer dresser which 2 did not open. When you rent the timeshare and you do the all inclusive you are only allowed to have beer and soda . You do not get all of the other liquors in your room. The room has a stove and fridge and sink. No dish washing liquid to wash the dishes and no dish cloth or paper towel to dry them. When we asked for that stuff and we were told that the timeshare owner has to request it. All the bartenders were wonderful especially Billy, Keyla, Anthony, Christina, and Deigo. As the week went on and they found out that they would be closing for a while they were sad but still very friendly. The buffet was very good. So was the Italian restaurant. All the other restaurants were closed from Tuesday on. I wish that the hotel would have given updates of what was happening on the island and at the hotel. They could have given a notice under the door telling us that on Wednesday the prime Minister closed all restaurants and bars as of 10 pm. And Thursday as of 8pm so that we could have plan our day accordingly. Because one the last 3 days we were only able to eat at the buffet, we chose to eat elsewhere. Aruba is still the best vacation.
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Aruba
Responded 21 Apr 2020
Dear 292christiner, Thank you very much for taking the time to post your review! We are very glad that you chose our Hotel Riu Palace Aruba to spend your holiday and thank you for your compliments in regards to our bartenders Billy, Keyla, Anthony, Christina, and Diego. We are sure they will be thrilled to hear them! On the other hand, we regret that your holiday were interrupted by Covid-19 and would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused. RIU takes the health and safety of its guests and employees as a top priority and, after over 65 years of experience in hospitality, we have developed strict, professional and specific protocols against multiple contingencies. This includes the control of virus transmitted diseases. Since the outbreak, we have been forced to take extraordinary measures. These actions include, among other measures: limiting people’s free movement, either on the streets or in the common areas of our hotels; prohibit the use of swimming pools and leisure areas; and establish defined hours for restaurants. We have tried to offer detailed information to all our guests, both individually and by placing elements in common areas. We understand that this entire situation affects your experience, but we hope that you can understand that these extraordinary measures are intended to safeguard the health and safety of our guests and employees; and also to guaranty compliance with the law. We sincerely hope everything to come back to normal soon so we will be able to welcome you back in the near future. Stay safe meantime, Kind regards, Hotel Riu Palace Aruba Online Reputation Manager
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This hotel has a great location. It is very clean and has a great pool area and magnificent beach area. It is very safe area. Customer Service needs improvement with the exception of the restaurants and buffet. The buffet area is run very efficiently by the servers and they are quick to meet your needs. Food is above average in the buffet. The restaurants need to have more variety in each location except buffet. Requested low floor due to disabilities 6 months in advance and understood that it would not be guaranteed. Called the week before as a reminder. AT check in Was told did not have room on low floors and that the next day we could move from 6th floor to low floor. That did not happen. Also, when needed more towels had to wait three hours and two phone calls. Same with wanting water/soda in the room. Called twice one night and it never happened. Next day called and the water/soda showed up an hour later. Can't even go get it yourself. Also, you must be physically present to check out so they can cut off your wristband. When we left to visit friends in another hotel the afternoon before our scheduled check out, we asked if we could turn the towel cards in and the wristband in case we didn't come back (had a tour the next day and weren't sure if we were going to stay at friends place that night). Were told under no circumstances that we could do that and so we had to check out then even though we had already paid until the next day. Location is very quiet and family oriented.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Just know you are going to get whatever they have.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Aruba
Responded 24 Feb 2020
Dear Cathleen R, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback on your stay. We are glad that you enjoyed the beach and pool areas, the general cleanliness and our quiet location. However, since we truly care about the needs of our guests with mobility difficulties, we would like to sincerely apologize for the inconveniences that you experienced. It was surely the intention of our staff to meet your requests in a prompt and effective manner. Please rest assured that we will pass your comments to our leadership team for a proper follow-up. We hope that you will choose to visit one of our worldwide hotels once again, so we can provide you with a more satisfying experience. With our best wishes we remain, Hotel Riu Palace Aruba Online Reputation Manager
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This is a super fun family and adult oriented hotel. Check in was super fast but you cannot get into your rooms until about 4pm. The food is very good, especially at the buffet but I would recommend venturing off the resort to eat a couple nights as well. I found it slightly annoying to wait in line at 630 to get into the themed restaurants but there are no reservations there so that's what you have to do. The resort rooms are a little dated but even with a partial ocean view you can get a great view of the gorgeous beach. Beach chairs do fill up quick and so do the pool chairs. Everyone stakes out seats early morning and puts their towels on them. The pool is always pumping with music from like 12pm to 6pm. They do a great job of having games for kids and adults. Someone mentioned towel clips for chairs and it's definitely a must! That wind is blowing all day every day. Also bringing your own cup is a must, the plastic ones they use at the pool are very tiny. Drink service is great and the staff is very friendly. Do not go to the poolside lunch buffet too kate or else the food will not be up to par. It closes at 4 and we went at 330 and it was not so great. All in all we had a great time and would recommend the resort, especially because it is one of the only all inclusives on the island. The island itself is very safe and we went into town to the shops and had no problems at all.
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Bring your own reusable cup and towel chair clips.
Bring cash for the restaurants not affiliated...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Just returned from 5 days at Riu Palace all inclusive. I would give it an overall 4 out of 5 rating. Resort is impeccably clean and very concerned with health and safety With masks worn by all Employees and public places being constantly disinfected And social distancing emphasized. They even provided coved testing free of charge to visitors who require negative tests to return home.
We were in room 916 overlooking the beautiful pool and beach. The only problem we found is with the air conditioning. It cools the air but does not get rid of humidity thereby causing a mold smell with the constant feel of wetness on every surface, clothing and Even books and paperwork. We were very conscientious about not leaving doors open but this did not help
The other issue that needs improvement is the quality of the food and liquor and the fact that you cannot order cocktails only beer or wine in the restaurants. The Japanese Restaurant was horrendous and extremely noisy with work being done in the casino upstairs while we dined. The fine dining restaurant Krystal was average and again very noisy. The only restaurant we really enjoyed was the Italian restaurant.
The people however working there were so attentive and lovely. It made our stay very special.
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Date of stay: April 2021
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This property is fairly big. Huge useless lobby. Room was spacious, well stocked with beer and soda in the fridge, alcohol dispensary (Vodka, Scotch, Rum and Brandy) always replenished. Staff was great, hard working and friendly. Buffett had absolutely everything, decent quality, even gluten free options. Wine was OK, they could up the quality a bit for not much more $. Steak restaurant was perfect. Did’t visit the other ‘theme’ restaurants because they were closed (I assume because they were slowly shutting down due to Corona Virus). Beautiful beach, incredible sunset view. I recommend. On the negative, huge negative, the Casino is absolutely useless!
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Date of stay: March 2020
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:First floor.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RiuHotelsandResorts, Online Reputation Manager at Hotel Riu Palace Aruba
Responded 2 Apr 2020
Dear PilotCanadian, Thank you for sharing your words with us. Whereas it is nice that you liked the spacious rooms, the great staff and the beautiful beach, we are sorry that the casino did not come up to your expectations. We hope for your understanding that this service is provided by an external company that does not depend on RIU and, therefore, we cannot comment further on the matter. We will share your comments with our leadership team and we look forward to welcoming you once again at RIU Hotels & Resorts. With our best wishes we remain, Hotel Riu Palace Aruba Online Reputation Manager
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We would like to give this resort 5 stars but there are some issues. First, let’s start with the positives: staff is surperb! I don’t recall anyone hard to get along with. Very helpful, all smiles and pool staff is fun and quickly becomes your friend. Food is very very good - we were able to eat at every restaurant for a 6 night stay and none were bad. We did get to Krystals, Japanese and Italian restaurants pretty early but the Buffett on Don Nicholas was pretty fantastic for a Buffett. Recommend the beef tenderloin at Krystals. Don’t recommend the lamb at Italian it was pretty disgusting. Drinks were very very good and always have to recommend the BBC! Rooms were clean and have no complaints on rooms, housekeeping (they service rooms 3 times a day), also we had two rooms and nothing wrong with either one. The entertainment was TOP NOTCH! We actually watched every evening and tried to plan our evenings around it. We loved the walking path for morning workouts and were able to get about 2.5 miles in and beaches were clean and well maintained. So now for the negatives: the elevators are a major issue. There are 2 elevators per building and they hold maybe 6 people for several hundred people. Keep in mind we were there while occupancy is still not at 100 due to covid. We would sometimes wait up to 5-10 minutes for an elevator and no stairs to be an option. While we were able to eat at all restaurants, the 3 that require reservations is not ideal and not everyone gets to eat there. It requires a member of your party being in line at 6 to guarantee a table for rooms for 40-60 seating. A reservation system would be more optimal for people and not waste time waiting for a table. We would certainly come back and felt we got our money’s worth. It is family friendly and you can go next door to Antilles for casino.
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I had this special trip planned for months. I will start with the pros....Beautiful ocean pool view. Very serious about covid here, constant cleaning, masks required in all inside areas with social distancing, I recommend the beef tenderloin, it was the best dinner I had all week! The resort made my Birthday special...a requested bottle of wine to my room, a little picture frame & nice note. I was treated to a fabulous shrimp cocktail I requested, a beautiful decorated table with flower petals & a delicious Birthday cake!! The staff was very generous & accommodating. The Cons.....Between Delta Vacations, RIU & Covid I did not get the room I requested as they only have one building open instead of all three buildings, very disappointing. The rooms are tired, new mattresses & pillows would be a huge plus! After many experiences at 4 or 5 star all inclusives the food was very dissatisfying. No lobster, escargot or Eggs Benedict as these make a holiday special. Only one specialty restaurant open on weekend nights, buffet the rest of the week, I'm really not a picky eater but it gets old. The drinks weren't great as compared to past experiences.
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Date of stay: September 2020Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from RIU Hotels and Resorts, Owner at Hotel Riu Palace Aruba
Responded 2 Oct 2020
Dear Guest, Thank you for choosing our hotel to spend your birthday. While we are delighted to read all your positive points such as beautiful views and implemented safety protocols, we regret that we could not fully convince you with our rooms and gastronomic offer. Your impressions will be shared with our management team for future improvements. To end on a positive note; it is so nice to know that our staff prepared some nice details for your birthday, we are glad you appreciated their effort. It was a true pleasure having you staying with us; hopefully you will return again sometime soon! With our best wishes we remain, Hotel Riu Palace Aruba Online Reputation Manager
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We spent 11 days here with 35 family and friends for our wedding and It was the absolute best time!!! Riu was so attentive to all of us the whole time we felt so special! The hotel is so beautiful- from the beach to the pools and the rooms. The food was great (especially the breakfast!) The staff took safety precautions which included hand sanitizing, taking our temperature and wearing a mask when entering restaurants. We were able to take the masks off once seated and you do not need to wear one outside. It felt so safe and normal at the same time! One person who really went above and beyond for us was Sandra she is the BEST!!!! She always made sure we were being taken care of and was always attentive to all of us- such a sweetheart! Billy and Reidy the bartenders were amazing too and kept the drinks flowing! Some of us went to the spa for massages which was the best massage I’ve gotten! The beginning of the week was more empty than the remaining week which felt amazing because we felt like we were on our own island with just family and friends. There were so many palapas available we got the first row every morning without having to wake up super early. Our wedding didn’t take place at Riu since we had more than 25 people but our pre wedding photos came out amazing with the views of the beach with a palace like feeling. I was skeptical about trying a new hotel since we usually stay at the Marriott but Riu really blew us away! Don’t hesitate to come here especially during these times, you will have the BEST time!!!
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Date of stay: October 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed there in August and everything was perfect. Everything was clean and I didn’t see any bugs. The staff was wonderful and extremely pleasant. Have a wonderful time!!!
They did offer a stretching/ yoga session outside but I wasn’t able to attend. I believe it was a simple yoga class. If you’re looking for a full yoga class there is a studio close by but you obviously would pay for classes. I was only there for 4 days so never had time to investigate that!
There are more places to choose from in the Palm - Eagle Beach area.
PRICE RANGE
RM 3,063 - RM 4,586 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
riu palace aruba hotel palm/eagle beach, riu aruba, riu palace aruba resort
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Aruba Grand Beach Resort
LOCATION
CaribbeanArubaPalm - Eagle Beach
NUMBER OF ROOMS
450
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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