The Pueblo Bonito Riu Emerald Bay Mazatlan

A review of Riu Emerald Bay, Mazatlan Mexico.

A review of Riu Emerald Bay, Mazatlan Mexico.

My wife and I spent the week of July 5-12, 2009 in Mazatlan at the Riu Emerald.  The resort had only been open for a few months prior to our arrival.  We had been doing our best to get a great deal on an all inclusive holiday. We usually travel to Mexico  but with the H1N1 Flu virus in full swing the airlines had cancelled all flights to Mexico.  We knew when the airlines decided to fly back to Mexico that there would be some great deals. 

That time arrived and the best looking deal was the Riu Emerald Bay in Mazatlan. We have never been to Mazatlan and were excited about a new Mexican destination. While shopping online we noticed there was a "free upgrade" at the Riu Emerald to an ocean view. That got us even more keen to get out the Visa card. Later I learned that all rooms are ocean view. Actually not all rooms are ocean view. Some rooms are obstructed even though they face the ocean. SO make sure you ask for an ocean view.  We booked our flight online with Sunquest. We flew out of Vancouver with Westjet.

Westjet left on time and four hours later there we were in sunny Mazatlan. Temperature about 95 degrees. One does not want to dilly dally at the airport in Mexico or you will be attacked by timeshare sharks. Some pose as people who pretend to assist you but really they are just hooking you. Unless it is a timeshare you want, be prepared to keep moving. We were greeted as we moved through the baggage claim area by a man holding a sign saying Sunquest and he told us to go through the doors to the bus. The ever present gauntlet of time share salespeople were gnashing their teeth waiting for those unsuspecting tourists. We ignored them and just kept going till we got to the bus.

The bus was a large tour type, fully air conditioned, clean, with a driver and his associate who explained to us how we would be checking in at the Riu Emerald Bay resort. The ride from the airport to the Riu was about 50 mins. We took in the scenery and the sights of Mexico. The bus turned the corner and there was the Riu. It is one huge structure compared to anything that is in the area. There is not much development in this area although I am sure the completion of the Riu will have developers building close by. The Riu is north of Mazatlan by about 15 mins of driving.

Our bus parked at the front doors and we were ushered into a reception room where our Sunquest representative met us. He introduced us to two of the Riu staff. They explained that we were going to trade our reservation confirmations for red bracelets or white bracelets. The red bracelets for the adults, the white for those under drinking age (18). We were handed an envelope that contained our room keys and a sticker to place our room number on our luggage for the porter to bring up the bags. We chose to take our own bags up to the room. That was check in. The whole process took less that 10 minutes. Amazing, no line ups, just trade your reservation papers for a bracelet and room keys. Thank you Sunquest... Thank you Riu.

The lobby in this hotel is quite grand. There are 3 sets of elevators each having 3 elevators leading to 716 rooms.

Our room was on floor nine and here is the view.

While most rooms are ocean view, actually they are really  more ocean front. I have been in Hawaii hotels claiming ocean views where i had to stand on my toes and stretch my head around a pillar to actually see the ocean. Riu Emerald Bay are genuine ocean fronts with balconies that are 8 x10 feet. How sweet it is to sit on your own balcony listening to the ocean and watching the magnificent Mazatlan sunsets.

Our room also had a fully stocked bar. I wish I was a bigger drinker to take full advantage of this bonus. Each room has a liquor dispenser holding hmmm I cant remember but I think it is either 26 or 40oz of rum, vodka, tequila and one more. (You can tell I am not a big drinker) The mini fridge just below the liquor dispenser has 6 Dos Equis ( a Mexican beer) and a compliment of Pepsi, 7 up and bottled water. If your supply runs dry, it is replaced every second day. We ran out of water before the second day and called down the desk. Within minutes we had three more large bottles at our door.

Our room consisted of a king size bed with a bedside table on each side. The rooms are concrete. I didn't hear a neighbour the whole time we were there. The large dresser held the Sony 26 in LCD. Television must be satellite. The picture was clear. You best brush up on your Spanish as most of the channels are in Spanish. The TV also has HDMI inputs and RCA inputs so your camcorder or xbox or whatever you bring can be hooked up. The bathroom was large with a shower/tub, nicely tiled. There is a double sink and a wimpy low flush toilet. The tub is kind of high and although there are handles to assist one in and out of the tub or while standing in the tub I can see how raising a leg over the tub and getting in or out could be a difficult exercise for some. My wife refused to model for the shower/tub photos.

The room has a safe large enough for a small laptop. Also included is a hair dryer, telephone, Ac, ceiling fan, min bar, liquor dispenser, satellite TV, radio/clock, iron and ironing table.

While we may not be big drinkers we sure were ready for drink. My wife wanted something fruity and I wanted a cold beer. I know there is beer in the fridge but we wanted to check out the bar downstairs. There are numerous bars throughout the resort. There are numerous bars and that does not include the main dinner buffet where there is self serve beer on tap. We changed into our swim suits, grabbed a couple of towels, easily found some lounge chairs and headed for the swim up bar. While the cups are small one can go back as often as one wants. My wife ordered the pina colada and I had a dark beer (nerga cerveza) One has to ask for the dark beer even though it is on tap.

I had visions of sitting around a pool bar chatting with other adults I was amazed at how many kids were in the pool and the on the swim up bar stools. I'm not a grump old guy (yet) but I did find the amount of kids at the bar at times overwhelming. The kids can order drinks (non alcoholic) at the bar as well.

At our time of visiting, early July to mid July we found ourselves in the midst of school vacation and the Mexicans families have arrived for fun and frolic. During our stay the majority of the resort occupants were Mexican families with mostly pre-teen children. The Mexican's families that were at the resort were extremely cordial, very friendly, somewhat shy, and well behaved. I can't say that about all the non Mexican guests who realize that the free drinks will continue as long as they ask for them, went a bit overboard. In contrast I can hardly remember a Mexican father hanging out at the swim up bar. (Maybe that's what happens when you have the wife and kids along.) The kids although a minor irritation at the swim up bar played and played in the warm sun and equally warm pool until they were exhausted.

The ocean while not your Caribbean poster blue water had a lovely sandy beach, not the white sand, but sand sand lol.

Unfortunately, the red flag was up warning us it was unsafe and we played in the ocean for a few minutes preferring the lounge chairs of the pool.

Lunch is served in the same restaurant as the grill house and is buffet style offering the usual pizza, pasta, chicken, beef , salads, Mexican and more. Lunch is also available on the beach. No need to go get all cleaned up. It was hard to imagine how difficult it was for the guys wearing full black and white uniforms complete with the chef hat lighting up the BBQ with no shade, cooking hamburgers, chicken and pizza.

At dinner time we headed for the main dinner buffet Las 3 Islas. (The Three Islands). We are warmly greeted by a hostess who calls for a server who politely directs us to a seat for two. He asks what we would like to drink and heads off while we seek out what's in the buffet. It's not your average 20 item buffet. There is so much more. It's almost hard to remember all the items on the buffet. There's a combination of salads, and cold cuts, some Mexican foods that seem a bit scary :), There's the pasta island where spaghetti, pizza and other noodles await. There's the meat island where beef, pork, chicken and fish await, some breaded some not. There's the ____ island. There are bread rolls, nacho chips, etc etc.

Upon returning to our table our drinks are waiting and our server asks if everything is OK. While most servers do not speak fluent English they can certainly be understood. They light up when you try to converse in their language. The servers ranged in quality of service. Some performed the basics while others went rout of their way like pulling out a chair for my wife. Never did we encounter the slightest hint of a negative attitude.

Desserts consisted of pastries, sliced fruits and cakes. I liked the 5 or 6 flavours of ice cream with chocolate sprinkles (there is a kid in all of us) While tipping is not necessary, we always left a $1 or 2 for the servers. I spoke with one young man who said he had worked for 15 days and his pay was about $200 US. He seemed proud to be making the $200 US. While there is plentiful food I can't help but say the main buffet gets a 7 out of 10. It's just not that exciting.

Here's an eating tip. Mexicans eat late. If you go early then you avoid the rush. Eating with the 'Mexicans was interesting. There were two new activities during our meals I did not know were on the Riu card. The two new activities were synchronized screaming and constant crying. We learned to avoid the rush.

There are also three unique restaurants in addition to the buffet. Each restaurant requires a reservation and has a set seating time.

These are the restaurants listed in order that we visited them. Formal dress is required but I saw no one in formal dress. A nice shirt and shorts is just fine. I think they would frown on sleeveless shirts or flip flops but chances are no one is going to chase you out.

"Las Gaviotas" grill and steak house:

The steak house is located in the same place as the lunch buffet. It has a beautiful view of the ocean enhanced by tropical breezes. That's sounds wonderful doesn't it? However, when we were there the humidex factor has it being 130 degrees and no air conditioning it can be a tad uncomfortable. We were courteously seated and our server asked us for our drink order. My wife and I are no connoisseur of wine but we both ordered wine. Our soup appetizer came and to our dismay they had scorched the soup. At first I thought it was some kind of Mexican specialty but nope the soup was scorched and had that burnt taste.

Our menus had more than steak. My wife ordered the ribs and I the chicken. Both were very delicious. The table next to me had the wrong order delivered to them, should have been the table to the other side of me. Not a big deal but more work needs to be done to be professional. Those that had the steaks said they were very tasty although they are not you super thick and juicy kind of USA or Canada steaks. These are thinner and dare I say a tad tougher. Overall the food tasted great.

"Tabasco" Mexican restaurant

I heard some unhappy mumblings about the Mexican food in the Mexican restaurant but we had no problem enjoying the food. Now what did I order? Yes Air-conditioned. My wife had a quesidilla and once again I had chicken. Again there was plenty to eat. The food tasted great. The waiters were courteous and thoughtful but did mix up our order with someone else's.

"Bamboo" Asian restaurant

Living close to Vancouver I have been spoiled with amazing Sushi. So for them to have a sushi bar was kind of cool. The restaurant is buffet style and air conditioned. Once again I had not heard positive comments about the Sushi bar but I found it quite enjoyable. The rice for the Sushi was a bit crunchier than I was used to but there were many varities and it all went down with a nice cold beer. There was miso soup. In reality I think it was French-Onion soup. The specialty of the night was duck. It was a nice golden brown and very tasty. Highlight of the dinner was the Tempura ice-cream served to us for dessert. I'd give the Sushi Restaurant 8 out of 10.

Evening time is entertainment time and we didn't go to all the evening shows. They do a show for the kids then it's the adults show (who usually still have the kids beside them ). One night there was Grease dance, another history of Mexican dance, the best couple contest and the Miss or Mr Riu contest. It's all good considering its all part of the all inclusive. Once the show is over a band of two or three come out and play dancing music. Once finished the disco opens... more drinking and dancing. I can't report on the disco and we never even peeked in the door.

One of the bars overlooks the show stage and I was sitting at the bar stool one evening when a lovely young lady of about 15 came up to the bar and asked the server for an alcoholic drink. Seeing she was wearing a white band (under 18) he politely refused. She asked again saying it was for her grandfather. Again the bartender politely refuse to serve her. She then left. Good for the bartender I thought. Why lose your job over a 15 year old wanting a drink? Why the heck doesn't she just sneak up to her room where there are bottles of the stuff :)

The evening concluded and off to our room we went. The beds are on the firmer side but not rock hard. I think they changed the sheets once in the week The maids were certainly respectful of our "do not disturb sign" on the mornings we wanted to sleep in. The rooms were always cleaned properly, restocked with alcohol or soft drinks (every other day) and the odd towel animal appeared.

Hotel Riu Emerald Bay
From: Riu Hotels & Resorts

Other notables:  There is a sports bar that has internet connection. If you're like me a few days of no internet and I was having withdrawals. There are about 10 stations for internet and the cost is $8 for one hour. I checked my email and that was about it. I spent a whole $8 for the week. Compare that to Hawaii where I was charged $10 a day and had to take the full week.

The sports bar has a billiard table, a foosball table and a couple of arcade machines. There is a fee to use these. A good number of wall mounted televisions surround the bar so watching sports is quite easy. I think i counted 10 or so televisions. This room is air conditioned. It is also the place where one can get food 24 hours. There are sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers nachos with a packet cheese sauce all ready to go. You have to heat up your food in the nuker (microwave). People stock up on check out day so be forewarned in case you find the cupboard bare.

Smoking.  I can't stand smokers and the hotel says it is smoke free. That makes me question why there are ashtrays in my room. Luckily the room did not smell of smoke. I did not see anyone smoking in the restaurant but there were smokers at the outside bars and terraces.

The Gym.  My wife went to the gym. It is located where the Spa is. There were a few tread-mills, ellipticals. A total of about 8-10 pieces of equipment. It was air-conditioned. Juice was available after the workout. My wife was there at AM and had no problem being able to use the facilities. Gym shoes are required for entrance. The gym is part of the all inclusive.

The Outdoor Water Sports.  It says they are there but I didn't see it open. Perhaps that's because the red flag was up the whole time and thus too dangerous for water sports. I did hear them announcing introductory scuba lessons at the pool. No extra fee for that.

Nudity    A couple of years ago we visited the Riu Tequila in the Mayan Riviera. Because of a large number of visitors from Europe it was common to see topless women around the pool and even more frequent on the beach. While public nudity is frowned upon, and even illegal in Mexico it turns a blind eye to this type of nudity. We are not offended by nudity and don't consider it a big deal. At the Riu Emerald there was no nudity either around the pool or on the beach. The majority of visitors were Mexicans and Mexicans are a modest group of people. I noticed on the Riu Emerald correspondence that some of it was in German. It will be interesting to see if the German's who are far more open to nudity are allowed to be topless at the Riu Emerald.

Upon our second day we headed out to the dentist. Read about our visit to the dentist.