Thank you so much for making this video! We are planning a trip to Cabo in April and I think we are going to stay at the Riu Palace Baja California and get the best of both worlds!!
Hi Maria! Good plan! Like I said in the video - I think the food was slightly better at RPBC but we much preferred the pool & lobby areas of RPCSL. Also the lunch buffet on the RPCSL side, at the Italian restaurant - that was a great place to sit & watch the waves cracking on the shore! Hope you have a great time there!
Hi Feyi! Good decision! It's nice to have the updated room too! Have a great trip! PS Stay tuned - I'll be dropping a video this weekend on my fave bars in Cabo - might be worth checking it out!
Christine, we now have a more challenging configuration, would appreciate your advice: As you know from our earlier question, we are traveling for with our daughter. She’s staying with friends at Riu Santa Fe from 03/24 to 03/28, and we decided to stay at Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas from 03/23 to 03/29. We’d like her to stay with us in our room for two nights: 03/23 (before her friends arrive) and 03/28 (after they leave). We’ve emailed the hotel about this but haven’t received a response. How do we approach this? I emailed the hotel, and no reply. Worry that they will not allow her to be on property for those two nights. Thank you!!!!
Hi KBrev! Thanks for the detail on this. So for arrival, as long as you're booked Triple Occupancy with 2 beds and she's listed on the reservation, it's absolutely no problem for her to join you the first night and the last but for her, the usual checkin & checkout times will apply. In other words, on the 24th, she'll need to check out of your room by noon BUT they'll typically let her stay on the property to swim or have lunch. The great part is that she can leave her belongings in your room. Then on the 28th, after her friends leave, she'll be able to join you and they should be fairly flexible on her checkin since you already have the room. Normally, I would book this as 3 reservations so you don't pay the triple occupancy rate for the 24th-28th, and then just cross-reference the reservations. 𝗦𝗼 - 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 - 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions!!
@@tms6565 I’d say the Riu Santa Fe is full on party mode and music except for the courtyard pool - that one’s a bit more family & active but less party. The Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas is more combo of relax and music and active. Riu Palace Baja Cali is more music and active and party. I mean maybe for an hour or two in the morning it’s more chill but after that, it gets going!
My daughter is going with her friends for a spring break in March. We are early 50, and a bit less into the party scene. Based on comments below, sounds like Palace Cabo will be less hectic? Right now I am looking at booking on Expedia as a package. Are there other more affordable ways to book? Coming from San Jose, California.
@@kbrev2008 yes I’d stay at either the Cabo or stay at Baja, knowing you’ll be able to hang out at the Cabo pools for a less frenetic experience (& for more shade). You could also look at booking direct on RIU.com- they had some sales on over the weekend and they might still be available.
We got the last day of the sale, thank you! Was way cheaper than booking on the 3rd party site. We booked jacuzzi suite with ocean view. Any recommendations on which rooms / which part of the hotel to request, if they can accommodate?
@@kbrev2008 Ahh nice - those rooms are massive BUT I think they are standard with a King bed. Riu's are funny that way - they don't think it's weird to book 3 adults in a room with only a King bed, so you'll want to request an extra bed be brought in (this is not a camping cot - it's an actual bed with a mattress). I personally would request something on the East side of the resort, as it's farther from the Riu Santa Fe pools and will be a bit quieter. Views are great from either side though.
Hi Sandra! It’s walkable but slightly dodgy as you’re walking along a sandy road which vehicles use as a shortcut and if it rains, you might get washed away. That said, the walk is about 45-50 mins or you can Uber from the gates of the resort to downtown in about 7 minutes and it’s cheap as chips. ($4-6). When are you going?
@@sandramartinez7127 Hi Sandra! Yeah it sucks that you can't swim here but you're about a 45 minute walk to Medano beach (or same as above for Uber) and you can absolutely swim there! I was there in August several years ago & it gets crazy hot. I think I'd be spending a lot of time at the courtyard pool at the Riu Santa Fe because it's a massive pool so it won't heat up as fast and there's more palm trees for shade. Have fun!
@@tealover4664 no they were everywhere when we were there but I that’s changed a lot from the past. Used to be big fights between the taxis and Uber. Now everyone is getting along. At least that’s my experience in Cabo and in Cancun.
hello, i would like to go to the riu santa fe from march 2nd to march 9th. but i am afraid that the clientele is young at this time of year. i read that it could be 80% of clients in their twenties. is this the case? we are a couple of 45 years old…
Hi Nancy! Well that's spring break for elementary school for a lot of north americans but it depends when college spring break is and that varies across the country. Feb & March are the key months for the 20-somethings though, and if you stay at Santa Fe, you don't have the option to slide over to one of the other Riu resorts and hang out by the less crowded pools. Is it much more to upgrade to Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas? It might be worth it to give you more options.
Great page Christine! Question for you we will be staying at the Rui Baja and another portion of our family with kids will be staying at the Cabo side. How far is the walk in between resort and would it be accessible with a wheelchair?
@@johnb7678 hi John! There are 2 ways to get over to the Cabo side. One is exiting via the front of Baja which then means going down some stairs to Santa Fe then up a bunch of stairs to Cabo. Obviously that won’t work but if you go from the deck by the beach, I don’t recall any steps to walk thru Santa Fe and over to Cabo. Shouldn’t be any issue with a wheelchair. At normal speed of walking, at best, it’s about a 5minute walk from Baja to Cabo. Hope you have a great time!!
Hi WYZ! Yeah you can look at the current activities program via the Riu app. Just direct it to the resort you'll be staying at and you can see the restaurant menus, activities, and show times!
I’m going to the Rui Santa Fe and I love the terra cottage look and the large space and cactus and I’m fine with middle of the road food and don’t care for the cookie cutter looks of the Palaces or paying extra
Hi Peter! Exactly this! This is why this whole complex is so great - so many different styles - it's really easy to find the one that you like. And I just cannot shut up about that courtyard pool area. Such eye candy!!
I've been to all three multiple times, overall hotel detail, quality, layout, and pools palace cabo san lucas. One of my favs anywhere in mex. Baja is great but a find a little thin with the build, and noise is an issue. But Baja great if kids are an issue. Note now that Baja has elite status, you cannot book at cabo palace and utilize Baja amenities.
Hi Brett! Yeah I agree - I preferred Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas but it was nice to have the newer & bigger room at the Baja, as well as the slightly elevated food. I found out about not being allowed in to Baja unless staying there when we walked in one day, wearing our Cabo bracelets. They marched us out of there very quickly!!
We are planning to take kids 18 and up during Christmas week. Is this a good time to go? Are they able to drink at 18? Will the parties be going on during that time? What about wine? I didn’t see any in the rooms? Can you tell I’m excited? 😂
Hi Deeann! Yeah I've been in Cabo for Xmas before and it's nice to be away BUT it can get chilly in the evenings & early mornings, so be sure to pack a sweater and maybe some long pants. The Riu will have the resort all decorated and they'll have a special mean on the 24th and Santa may make an appearance on the 25th - it'll be good fun. Yes, drinking age in Mexico is 18, so kids should have no problem drinking but make sure they take it easy - shooters are commonly poured here and it's incredibly easy to overdo it without even trying to! No wine in the room, only hard alcohol in the wall unit and beer in the mini-fridge, but you can get wine at any of the bars. Sounds like you will all have a blast at the resort!! Have fun!
Oh and one more question: When you arrived at airport , how bad and how long is the immigration line? Do you need to fill out the immigration form or just only the passport? We only have been to Cancun so many times but not Los Cabos area, just wondering if the process is the same with Cancun now which they only ask for passport at immigration. Thanks
Hi Tea Lover! Yes this is correct - arriving by air into Mexico, you no longer need the FMM (immigration form). It's all just passport and electronic forms, so it's way easier. When we landed, there were no other planes that had just landed, so we went straight to the front of the line - lucky too, because a bunch got to Passport control after we'd already lined up & it filled up very quickly! Just depends how many planes are landing at the same time as you... (you can check on FlightRadar or the airport website)
@@ChristineTurner oh that is good to know. We just loved it when Cancun airport stopped requiring the FMM, even with long lines from many planes landed, it took us 20 minutes to get through custom. Thank you so much . Just booked our trip for just me and my husband early in November. Hopefully the weather is good then😃
@@tealover4664 That's actually a really great time of year to travel. Essentially out of hurricane season and the weather isn't as hot as it is mid-year. Quite comfortable! Did you book the Riu CSL or Riu Baja?
Hi Chad! Depends where your room is located but they are literally side by side. From either palace lobby to the pool party is maybe a 5 minute walk. There’s no shuttle or anything because they are all so close. Hope that helps!
Hi Larry. What do you want to know about noise? Do you mean from the other resorts? Pool party? Noise in the rooms from neighbouring guests? Pool water was typical - cold at first but not so cold that you couldn't spend lots of time in there. I stayed in March 2024. If you're staying at any Riu in Cabo, you will have access to Santa Fe, just not for a la carte dinners, but you can go to any bar, pool, or buffet.
@@larrydawson2580 Well I always say I was there recently, which, in my mind, means within the past few weeks but I do know that some people can be 3 or more months behind in their editing, so their 'recent' trip definition is more like 'in the last few months'.
Thank you so much for making this video! We are planning a trip to Cabo in April and I think we are going to stay at the Riu Palace Baja California and get the best of both worlds!!
Hi Maria! Good plan! Like I said in the video - I think the food was slightly better at RPBC but we much preferred the pool & lobby areas of RPCSL. Also the lunch buffet on the RPCSL side, at the Italian restaurant - that was a great place to sit & watch the waves cracking on the shore! Hope you have a great time there!
We are going with our family to Riu Cabo San Lucas in December. We have been to this property a few times and love it.
Hi Joan! Ahh yes. I think I like the perks of the Baja Cali one but the lobby terrace bar at the Cabo one can't be beat! Love those views. Enjoy!
This is exactly why I booked Riu Palace Baja California, the access to the other resorts. Thanks for your review! I’m looking forward to my trip 💃🏾
Hi Feyi! Good decision! It's nice to have the updated room too! Have a great trip! PS Stay tuned - I'll be dropping a video this weekend on my fave bars in Cabo - might be worth checking it out!
Great review. Thanks for the comparison between the 3 resorts!
Hi Mark! Thanks for watching! I'm glad you found it useful!
Christine, we now have a more challenging configuration, would appreciate your advice:
As you know from our earlier question, we are traveling for with our daughter. She’s staying with friends at Riu Santa Fe from 03/24 to 03/28, and we decided to stay at Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas from 03/23 to 03/29.
We’d like her to stay with us in our room for two nights: 03/23 (before her friends arrive) and 03/28 (after they leave). We’ve emailed the hotel about this but haven’t received a response.
How do we approach this? I emailed the hotel, and no reply. Worry that they will not allow her to be on property for those two nights.
Thank you!!!!
Hi KBrev! Thanks for the detail on this. So for arrival, as long as you're booked Triple Occupancy with 2 beds and she's listed on the reservation, it's absolutely no problem for her to join you the first night and the last but for her, the usual checkin & checkout times will apply. In other words, on the 24th, she'll need to check out of your room by noon BUT they'll typically let her stay on the property to swim or have lunch. The great part is that she can leave her belongings in your room.
Then on the 28th, after her friends leave, she'll be able to join you and they should be fairly flexible on her checkin since you already have the room.
Normally, I would book this as 3 reservations so you don't pay the triple occupancy rate for the 24th-28th, and then just cross-reference the reservations.
𝗦𝗼 - 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 - 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions!!
Thank you again! Ended up calling RIU directly, and making 3 separate reservations. Then emailed them to confirm that we are staying in the same room.
@@kbrev2008 Oh that's great!! Good job getting it sorted - now you can sit back & relax and look forward to your vacation without any worries!
hi what's the overall "vibe" at the Baja ? chill/relaxed or party/music atmosphere ?
@@tms6565 I’d say the Riu Santa Fe is full on party mode and music except for the courtyard pool - that one’s a bit more family & active but less party.
The Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas is more combo of relax and music and active.
Riu Palace Baja Cali is more music and active and party. I mean maybe for an hour or two in the morning it’s more chill but after that, it gets going!
@@ChristineTurner ok thanx !
My daughter is going with her friends for a spring break in March. We are early 50, and a bit less into the party scene. Based on comments below, sounds like Palace Cabo will be less hectic?
Right now I am looking at booking on Expedia as a package. Are there other more affordable ways to book? Coming from San Jose, California.
@@kbrev2008 yes I’d stay at either the Cabo or stay at Baja, knowing you’ll be able to hang out at the Cabo pools for a less frenetic experience (& for more shade).
You could also look at booking direct on RIU.com- they had some sales on over the weekend and they might still be available.
Thank you, Christine! Booking direct was $500 more affordable!
Glad it worked out for the better!
We got the last day of the sale, thank you! Was way cheaper than booking on the 3rd party site.
We booked jacuzzi suite with ocean view. Any recommendations on which rooms / which part of the hotel to request, if they can accommodate?
@@kbrev2008 Ahh nice - those rooms are massive BUT I think they are standard with a King bed. Riu's are funny that way - they don't think it's weird to book 3 adults in a room with only a King bed, so you'll want to request an extra bed be brought in (this is not a camping cot - it's an actual bed with a mattress). I personally would request something on the East side of the resort, as it's farther from the Riu Santa Fe pools and will be a bit quieter. Views are great from either side though.
Hi. Love your videos. How far is downtown to walk and browse shops?
Hi Sandra! It’s walkable but slightly dodgy as you’re walking along a sandy road which vehicles use as a shortcut and if it rains, you might get washed away. That said, the walk is about 45-50 mins or you can Uber from the gates of the resort to downtown in about 7 minutes and it’s cheap as chips. ($4-6). When are you going?
@ChristineTurner I was looking at august but haven't decided for sure. Disappointed about the beach.
@@sandramartinez7127 Hi Sandra! Yeah it sucks that you can't swim here but you're about a 45 minute walk to Medano beach (or same as above for Uber) and you can absolutely swim there! I was there in August several years ago & it gets crazy hot. I think I'd be spending a lot of time at the courtyard pool at the Riu Santa Fe because it's a massive pool so it won't heat up as fast and there's more palm trees for shade. Have fun!
@@ChristineTurneri heard uber is not a thing or popular there. Mostly just Taxi?? But i guess it's not true
@@tealover4664 no they were everywhere when we were there but I that’s changed a lot from the past. Used to be big fights between the taxis and Uber. Now everyone is getting along. At least that’s my experience in Cabo and in Cancun.
hello, i would like to go to the riu santa fe from march 2nd to march 9th. but i am afraid that the clientele is young at this time of year. i read that it could be 80% of clients in their twenties. is this the case? we are a couple of 45 years old…
Hi Nancy! Well that's spring break for elementary school for a lot of north americans but it depends when college spring break is and that varies across the country. Feb & March are the key months for the 20-somethings though, and if you stay at Santa Fe, you don't have the option to slide over to one of the other Riu resorts and hang out by the less crowded pools. Is it much more to upgrade to Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas? It might be worth it to give you more options.
Great page Christine! Question for you we will be staying at the Rui Baja and another portion of our family with kids will be staying at the Cabo side. How far is the walk in between resort and would it be accessible with a wheelchair?
@@johnb7678 hi John! There are 2 ways to get over to the Cabo side. One is exiting via the front of Baja which then means going down some stairs to Santa Fe then up a bunch of stairs to Cabo. Obviously that won’t work but if you go from the deck by the beach, I don’t recall any steps to walk thru Santa Fe and over to Cabo. Shouldn’t be any issue with a wheelchair. At normal speed of walking, at best, it’s about a 5minute walk from Baja to Cabo. Hope you have a great time!!
Your video was helpful..Is there a schedule of events on the website or once you get to the resort?
Me and my friends will be going in August
Hi WYZ! Yeah you can look at the current activities program via the Riu app. Just direct it to the resort you'll be staying at and you can see the restaurant menus, activities, and show times!
I’m going to the Rui Santa Fe and I love the terra cottage look and the large space and cactus and I’m fine with middle of the road food and don’t care for the cookie cutter looks of the Palaces or paying extra
Hi Peter! Exactly this! This is why this whole complex is so great - so many different styles - it's really easy to find the one that you like. And I just cannot shut up about that courtyard pool area. Such eye candy!!
I've been to all three multiple times, overall hotel detail, quality, layout, and pools palace cabo san lucas. One of my favs anywhere in mex. Baja is great but a find a little thin with the build, and noise is an issue. But Baja great if kids are an issue.
Note now that Baja has elite status, you cannot book at cabo palace and utilize Baja amenities.
Hi Brett! Yeah I agree - I preferred Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas but it was nice to have the newer & bigger room at the Baja, as well as the slightly elevated food. I found out about not being allowed in to Baja unless staying there when we walked in one day, wearing our Cabo bracelets. They marched us out of there very quickly!!
Are the walls thin at the Riu Baja? Wonder if we get a room by the empty lot if it would be quieter
Do you mean that the walls are very thin and you could hear a lot of noise at the Baja?
We are planning to take kids 18 and up during Christmas week. Is this a good time to go?
Are they able to drink at 18?
Will the parties be going on during that time?
What about wine? I didn’t see any in the rooms?
Can you tell I’m excited? 😂
Hi Deeann! Yeah I've been in Cabo for Xmas before and it's nice to be away BUT it can get chilly in the evenings & early mornings, so be sure to pack a sweater and maybe some long pants. The Riu will have the resort all decorated and they'll have a special mean on the 24th and Santa may make an appearance on the 25th - it'll be good fun.
Yes, drinking age in Mexico is 18, so kids should have no problem drinking but make sure they take it easy - shooters are commonly poured here and it's incredibly easy to overdo it without even trying to!
No wine in the room, only hard alcohol in the wall unit and beer in the mini-fridge, but you can get wine at any of the bars.
Sounds like you will all have a blast at the resort!! Have fun!
Oh and one more question:
When you arrived at airport , how bad and how long is the immigration line? Do you need to fill out the immigration form or just only the passport? We only have been to Cancun so many times but not Los Cabos area, just wondering if the process is the same with Cancun now which they only ask for passport at immigration. Thanks
Hi Tea Lover! Yes this is correct - arriving by air into Mexico, you no longer need the FMM (immigration form). It's all just passport and electronic forms, so it's way easier. When we landed, there were no other planes that had just landed, so we went straight to the front of the line - lucky too, because a bunch got to Passport control after we'd already lined up & it filled up very quickly! Just depends how many planes are landing at the same time as you... (you can check on FlightRadar or the airport website)
@@ChristineTurner oh that is good to know. We just loved it when Cancun airport stopped requiring the FMM, even with long lines from many planes landed, it took us 20 minutes to get through custom. Thank you so much . Just booked our trip for just me and my husband early in November. Hopefully the weather is good then😃
@@tealover4664 That's actually a really great time of year to travel. Essentially out of hurricane season and the weather isn't as hot as it is mid-year. Quite comfortable! Did you book the Riu CSL or Riu Baja?
@@ChristineTurner I booked riu palace. Booked both flights and hotels through Expedia and I didn’t see the adult only was available, only palace 😊
@@tealover4664 I hope you have a great time!!
If I were to stay at the palace how far of a walk is it to the Santa Fe?
Hi Chad! Depends where your room is located but they are literally side by side. From either palace lobby to the pool party is maybe a 5 minute walk. There’s no shuttle or anything because they are all so close. Hope that helps!
Nothing bout noise. Nothing about temperature of pool water or when you stayed. Grand kids are at the Santee fe. Access???
Hi Larry. What do you want to know about noise? Do you mean from the other resorts? Pool party? Noise in the rooms from neighbouring guests?
Pool water was typical - cold at first but not so cold that you couldn't spend lots of time in there.
I stayed in March 2024.
If you're staying at any Riu in Cabo, you will have access to Santa Fe, just not for a la carte dinners, but you can go to any bar, pool, or buffet.
@@ChristineTurner I hear that building 7 is the best if you want to avoid loud noise from the rui party area. That’s my assumption.
@@ChristineTurner thank you.
@@ChristineTurner thank you. I notice after looking at review after review no one ever mentions when they are there.
@@larrydawson2580 Well I always say I was there recently, which, in my mind, means within the past few weeks but I do know that some people can be 3 or more months behind in their editing, so their 'recent' trip definition is more like 'in the last few months'.
No mention of what beer is served. None.
Hi Larry. They had Tecate and Dos XX. Not sure what other brands they had but definitely had some light American beer.
Where are kids allowed. No mention!
Hi Larry. Kids are allowed at Riu Santa Fe and, if staying at Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas, they are allowed throughout that resort as well.
Oops terra cotta and open lobby sorry