Hotel Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas
Hotel Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas is the dependable workhorse of the Los Cabos all-inclusive scene, and it is the family-facing member of a three-hotel Riu complex on El Medano beach. The Palace tier buys you 7 restaurants and 7 bars, five pools and a 24-hour all-inclusive kitchen, and the resort markets itself squarely at families with the RIU Land kids club and the Fun4All program. It gets recommended again and again for reunions and large group trips, because 692 rooms across five floors absorb a big party without anyone feeling like they have taken over the hotel.
Traveler Insights
Pros
- +7 restaurants and 7 bars, with the Japanese Misaki, Italian San Jose, Mexican La Coyota and fusion Krystal all a la carte, so a week here never means the same dinner twice
- +Five pools on site, including a freshwater infinity pool with jacuzzis and a swim-up bar plus a separate children's pool, which matters because the surf in front of the hotel is off limits
- +The Suite Jacuzzi with sea view and the adults-only Junior Suite Swim-Up are the two upgrades guests single out as worth the money, and both are bookable categories rather than a gamble on assignment
- +Every guest gets free run of Splash Water World and the RIU Party events next door at the Riu Santa Fe, so the family water park and the late-night scene are included without having to stay at either
- +True 24-hour all-inclusive: the kitchens and bars run around the clock and rooms come with Riu's in-room liquor dispenser, which is a real difference from resorts that shut the bar at midnight
- +El Medano beachfront with hotel loungers on the sand, and the town of Cabo San Lucas with its marina, shopping and nightlife is 4.5 km away, so you are not stranded on resort grounds
- +Renova Spa with steam bath and whirlpool, a gym open 24 hours and RIU Fit classes, which is more wellness infrastructure than the price tier usually buys in Los Cabos
- +692 rooms over five floors means a 40-person family reunion can split into sub-groups and still all find a pool, a restaurant and an evening show that suits them
Cons
- −Swimming off the beach directly in front of the hotel is prohibited because of strong currents and heavy surf. Tour operators state this flatly, and the safe swimming is at the independent beachside aquatic center a short walk away
- −The gym is 18 and over, so teenagers travelling with the family cannot use it
- −Riu Palace is reliable rather than genuinely luxurious. Guests coming from Le Blanc or Garza Blanca notice the gap in service polish and finishes
- −Inclusions are good but not lavish, and guests expecting a butler-service product with a freely restocked premium minibar come away disappointed
- −At 692 rooms over five floors you get a big-resort experience, not the intimacy of the smaller boutique properties on the Cabo corridor
- −Cabo is an easy trip from the US West Coast and an expensive one from the East Coast, so the total cost of the week swings hard on where you fly from
- −A state environmental fee is collected at check-in on top of your package, which is small but catches guests who booked expecting nothing further to pay
The practical experience hinges on one thing worth knowing before you book: you cannot swim in the ocean in front of the hotel. Currents and surf there are strong enough that tour operators publish an outright prohibition, and the designated safe swimming is at an independent aquatic center further along the sand. So the five pools carry all of the water-based fun, with an infinity pool and swim-up bar at the center of it and a separate children's pool off to the side. Dining is the real strength: Mar de Cortes handles the buffets, El Medano turns from a poolside buffet into an evening steakhouse terrace, Pepe's Food covers lunch and snacks, and Misaki, San Jose, Krystal and La Coyota cover Japanese, Italian, fusion and Mexican a la carte. The Suite Jacuzzi with sea view and the adults-only swim-up junior suites come up constantly in traveler forums as the upgrades that actually change the trip.
This is the right pick for a family or a multigenerational group that wants Riu's consistency, genuine beachfront, and a town worth visiting 4.5 km down the road rather than a hotel zone. The sister-hotel exchange is a bigger deal than it sounds: Riu runs a stay-at-one, play-at-three arrangement across this hotel, the Riu Santa Fe and the adults-only Riu Palace Baja California, so breakfast and dinner happen at your own hotel while lunch, snacks and drinks are open at the other two, and Splash Water World and RIU Party at the Santa Fe come with it. Against the top of the Cabo market it is a tier below Le Blanc on polish and a close call against Hyatt Ziva, winning on restaurant variety and value rather than on finish. The airport is 40 km away, about 35 to 45 minutes, and the El Arco boat trips, sportfishing and the marina bar scene are all day trips from here.
Common Questions
Can you swim in the ocean at Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas?
How does the Palace compare to the Riu Santa Fe and Riu Palace Baja California next door?
Are the Suite Jacuzzi and swim-up rooms worth the upgrade?
How far is the resort from town and from the airport?
Is this a good choice for a large family reunion or group trip?
Is the hotel closing for a renovation?
Restaurants (7)
| Type | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Buffet | Mar de Cortés |
| Mexican | La Coyota |
| Italian | San José |
| Japanese & sushi | Misaki |
| Steakhouse | El Medano |
| American & grill | Pepe's Food |
| International & fusion | Krystal |
From the resort's own dining pages. Only restaurants the resort lists are shown. All are covered by the all-inclusive rate, per the resort.
What's nearby
Medano Beach3 min walk · 0.1 mi
Palmilla Golf Club30 min drive · 15 mi
Santa Maria Beach20 min drive · 6.6 mi
7 min drive · 2.4 mi
Cabo San Lucas Natural History Museum7 min drive · 2.6 mi
Marina Cabo San Lucas7 min drive · 2.4 mi
More things to do (24)
- Chileno Beach · beach15 min drive · 7.5 mi
- Monuments Beach · beach9 min drive · 2.4 mi
- Playa del Estero · beach35 min drive · 21 mi
- Sunset catamaran cruise · excursion7 min drive · 2.4 mi
- Snorkel cruise to Santa Maria Bay · excursion7 min drive · 2.4 mi
- Glass-bottom boat to El Arco and Lover's Beach · excursion7 min drive · 2.4 mi
- Snorkeling at Pelican Rock · excursion7 min drive · 2.4 mi
- Sportfishing charter · excursion7 min drive · 2.4 mi
- Iglesia de San Lucas · historic site7 min drive · 2.7 mi
- Cabo San Lucas · town8 min drive · 3.0 mi
- Cabo Dolphins · adventure park9 min drive · 3.1 mi
- Cabo del Sol Golf · golf13 min drive · 5.1 mi
- Quivira Golf Club · golf20 min drive · 6.9 mi
- Cabo Falso Old Lighthouse · historic site20 min drive · 7.4 mi
- Cabo Real Golf Club · golf25 min drive · 12 mi
- Acapulquito Beach · beach25 min drive · 15 mi
- Costa Azul Beach · beach25 min drive · 16 mi
- Palmilla Beach · beach30 min drive · 15 mi
- Club Campestre San José · golf30 min drive · 18 mi
- San José del Cabo · town30 min drive · 18 mi
- San José Estuary · nature30 min drive · 19 mi
- Misión San José del Cabo · historic site30 min drive · 19 mi
- Cerro de las Chivas · viewpoint30 min drive · 20 mi
- Sea turtle release, San José del Cabo (July to December) · wildlife30 min drive · 19 mi
Amenities
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Style & Rooms
Atmosphere
Room upgrades
Seaweed & sargassum
Cabo San Lucas is not a sargassum destination.See the month-by-month guide →Google Reviews★ 4.4 · 14,441 reviews
“This place was amazing! I had such a great time during my stay. The food was great, and there were lots of options to choose from. The staff were all friendly and humble. My room was clean, comfy, and had everything I needed. The mini bar inside the...”
“We had an amazing stay! The staff here are absolutely incredible — friendly, attentive, and always willing to help with anything you need. The food was consistently great, and there’s always something going on with entertainment throughout the day an...”
