Royal Palm Club at the RIU Palace Aruba Reviews & Ratings

Please take a few minutes to read reviews about the Riu Palace Aruba on Trip Advisor. They are much more up to date than RW. Most rentals are direct from the Riu Palace Aruba Timeshare website.

Timeshare at the Riu is a small community of 35 one and two bedroom apartments. The units were renovated in 2015. The Riu owns and maintains Timeshare but does not rent or sell the units. Rentals and Sales are private thru owners. Timeshare guest always have the option of purchasing all inclusive. The price starts at $85 per person per day. The Timeshare Units are part of the Hotel and include hotel facilities. They were purchased with the property. The Riu maintains all Timeshare Units just like the hotel. Part of the hotel rooms are in the Timeshare building. Hotel Rooms and Timeshare are furnished the same.

The Timeshare units are nicely laid out and very spacious. They are a little older and most are well kept. Please don't let the negative reviews discourage you from renting a timeshare at the Riu Palace Aruba. They are a great deal in the perfect location right on Palm Beach.

First and second floor units walk right out onto Palm Beach. Third floor units have large patio doors with French Balconies overlooking either the pool or the garden area. Fifth floor one bedroom units have two baths and again French Balconies overlooking Palm Beach. There are so many good features in these 35 units. The Riu amenities are always included allowing guest to be part of the resort experience.

The management has been proactive in making sure every unit is in the best possible condition. If there is ever a problem with a Timeshare unit, the Riu management will take care of the problem. Again the Riu owns and maintains these units and if something is wrong, they will make it right.

Take advantage of some of the great deals posted on Redweek for an affordable Aruba vacation. I personally stay in timeshare five times a year at the Riu Palace Aruba and wouldn't stay anywhere else. The location of the Timeshare units is absolutely the best.

We stayed at the RIU April-May 2017. The room we were assigned had MOLD in the bathroom (this seems to be a common issue based on a few other reviews I am seeing below). We told the staff and no one did anything about it. We also sent pictures to the owner we rented off of and he didn't do anything about it either! I sent the RIU HQ an email with the pictures I took and we never heard back from them!!!!!! We were just SOL - for the week we paid $1,500 for the rental and then the all-inclusive amount. The AC Unit was out of wack and it would go from being a stuffy hot room to a 40* freezing shivering so hard you couldn't sleep room! The rooms/hallway smelled like musty/mold-ish (dirty cleaning water). The one restaurant will not allow men in without long pants - so make sure you pack long pants for 100* Aruba weather!

Other than those issues - the service was very nice - activities at the Pool and beach were great! Breakfast and Lunch options were very good!

We love Aruba and will be back - just not sure it would be at the RIU.

timeshare renters beware Our experience renting a time share from kyle riley ar RIU Palace Aruba was a real nightmare. extensive black mold in both bathrooms. bathroom sink clogged with hair. tub back-up(we werent even using it). huge leak in bathroom ceiling. mold on upholstery,lamp shades & curtains. floors so filthy we counldnt go barefoot. general condition of unit was unkempt & unmaintained. A.C. units leaked water creating puddles on the floor. we paid 1400.00 . the best ms riley could do was refund a measly 400.00 RIU refused any help whatsoever. we wroke RIU headquarters they said they wounld look into it ha ha. to this date 7/14/2014 no word from them . we went in march 2014.

We rented a timeshare for the first time in this resort. The room was smelly, the ac was leaking, walls were peeling and mold was present. It took us one day to try to get another room, which was not better than the first one. Staff was very unfriendly, we asked for water bottles and they did not want to deliver in the room, we had to go an pick it up. Never again in this place...

We have just returned after renting 3 timeshare units for the Christmas holiday. I would never stay here again. ALL units had MOLD, and it was difficult to breathe and sleep. Water from my sister's upstairs condo leaked all week long. My parents returned home sick. The units were old and dated and not well kept at all. Beds were uncomfortable. Staff was not "happy". Pool was beautiful, casino very tiny. We went next door to Westin and Raddison to gamble and watch sports at their sports bar. Beware--- Some of the favorable reviews were written by owners to get you to stay here. If I ever go back it will be at the Marriot down the street-spend the extra $$$.

IT'S TIME TO UP DATE THIS REVIEW BASED UPON EVENTS OF THE PAST YEAR, INCLUDING OUR THREE WEEKS JUST ENDED. When we got there at the beginning of July, the air was off and the apartment was at least 102 F. They got it repaired within two days, but we had to sleep in the nude the first 2 nights it was so hot. We had 3 plates, 2 forks, 2 coffe cups, no microwave ready dish to use, the frame around the door number was missing one side, the hall carpet is filthy. Jelishka got the dishes straight as soon as we got a list to her, so she's doing her job. It is just that the unit was not ready for the 6 it is supposed to sleep. The windows along the hall for the beach-front units have been sealed closed, so there is no circulation in that hallway and it IS HOT. The furniture continues to deteriorate badly and there are no signs of improvement. The old TVs look like they are out of the 50s. Thus, our rating has dropped drastically! The old Aruba Grand is gone, along with staff. The new Riu Resort is spectacullar! New staff is still learning the ropes and timeshares are not their top priority--but for the money, it's now a steal. Our last two weeks were in October 2007. Plan to spend a month in the spring and again in the fall. This is a follow up--we went back for 4 wks June-July. The landscaping was done and the grounds beautiful. It's everything any family would want now. Staff has their act together and everyone was great. Ads say "tips included" but all expect tips for service, from bellmen to wait staff and we were happy to make their lives better in return for the exceptional service. Go and stay as long as you can. We'll be back in September.

My Husband spend the first 2 weeks in August at this hotel. The air conditioner was not working properly. Coming off the beach to a warm room was terrible. This Hotel had been sold while we were there, hopefully things will get fixed. They had construction going on, on 2 floors, the noise was terrible. When I spoke to management, night management, I was told that the air conditioner was old, and probably needed to be replaced,(that is for sure) Complaints had to be given to house cleaners to get the room cleaned properly. They finally got it right the 2nd week. We needed this vacation, I had an operation and lost both my parents 9 months apart. It was a relaxing vacation while on the beach or out to dinner, at other hotels not this one. i would hope the new owners will make changes. We stayed there 2 years ago and loved it, this time was very different, Giving it a 2 star rating is only because the chair people and towel people were the nicest you could meet. I do hope this helps some people in finding out if changes have been made since August.

I just love this resort have been going there for years:

The Royal Palm Club at the RIU Palace Aruba is our home away from home! We have been going here several times a year for over 10 years!

Loved this resort. I cant say enough about our vacation. We stayed at the timeshares at the Riu. I was very impressed with the large rooms and fantastic views. The unit was very clean. The service was great. Staff very friendly. What a great value for your money. Can't wait to go back......

We just got back from spending a week The RIU timeshare in Aruba. We have been to the island many times before and used our 1 BR Renaissance Aruba week 49 unit for the exchange. The 1 BR 1 BA unit (170) was an ocean front unit on the lower level, which is right on the beach. It is not a true 1 BR because there is no private sleeping area. If people are sleeping on the pull out, they have to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. The way the resort it built, you drive up to the front lobby door and are actually on the second floor. I uploaded a resort map as a picture. There are over 734 all inclusive rooms between the Palace and Antilles in addition to the 34 timeshare units.

We walked into the lobby which was very fancy; high ceilings, some of which had stained glass, large chandeliers, and very nicely furnished. We went to the front desk to check in and were told that we needed to go to the separate timeshare check in desk, which was tucked away in a corner on the other side of the lobby where the activity and car rental desk was. Everyone was friendly, however, we felt like we were not “real guests”.

The property is a U shape, with a large pool in the center. There are 3 buildings around the pool, with the restaurants being in the main building (which also has the front desk) and buildings on either side. The timeshare building is on the right hand side of the main building and getting to our unit was an adventure. We had to walk to one building, take the elevator down to the first floor, go out to the pool and walk to the second entrance to the same building. On the way to our unit, we noticed that many of the room number signs on the wall were broken and the hallway was scraped and marked up from luggage carts or luggage hitting the walls. Obviously, minimal maintenance is done on the building. It’s pretty from the outside but inside is something different.

When we got to the unit, we immediately noticed it was dark, stuffy, outdated and had a mildly musty odor. After 2 days, I got a horrible runny nose and nasal drip that almost immediately stopped after being outside for 10 minutes. My wife & I would both sneeze while in the unit, but not when outside or at restaurants. There were not a lot of lights in the unit (only one in the living room and one on each side of the bed in the bedroom) and all the furniture was dark brown. The room was clean and adequately furnished with very old & tired furniture. The living room had a horribly uncomfortable pull out sofa, coffee table, 2 end tables, a cabinet which held the TV and 2 arm chairs. There was no slider to go outside; rather just a regular door. The kitchen was another story. There was a cooktop, full fridge and a microwave that was hung under the 20+ year old cabinets. However, there was probably less than 12 inches of space from the bottom of the microwave to the cooktop. There was also a blender, toaster, and coffee maker. There was also a hodgepodge of tableware; 2 coffee mugs with 7 saucers, 4 bowls, 6 small plates and 4 large plates. There were eating and cooking utensils but no corkscrew or anything to clean the dishes with (some of which were dirty when we arrived). We were talking with one of the original owners who told us they never provided dish towels or soap. She also told us that she needed to buy a dehumidifier for the 6 weeks she’s here because her luggage got moldy. Gee, wonder if that’s why the unit smelled musty. The smoke detector was black with dirt, and when we arrived, there were no washcloths, only 2 hand towels and no shampoo in the dispenser. It took 2 trips to the front desk to get the towels taken care of. The veneer on the front door was bubbling and the only clock in the unit was on the microwave.

The master bedroom had a king size bed with those mini pillows, 2 night stands and a dresser. There was a full closed and the unit has plenty of storage. The bathroom had walk in shower with a rainforest shower head (which didn’t work) and a corner bathtub. There were two sinks in the bathroom they come to empty the trash and change towels daily if you want. They do a full cleaning on Tuesdays (I think) but are not sure since we left the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door all week. You can pay for additional cleaning if you want. Overall, I’d have to guess the room hasn’t been touched in at least 20 years. While we don’t spend a lot of time in the unit, this was not what we expected, especially after all the years of coming to Aruba and seeing this magnificent looking building.

The once really nice feature of our room was that being a first floor ocean front unit, we had our own private patio. It was large enough for 2 loungers and an umbrella and had astro turf on the ground. All we had to do was to walk through the gate and we were on the beach. However, by 8:30 am, all the palapas were empty, but tagged.

The grounds were nicely maintained. There is one outdoor pool, kid’s activity room, hot tub, spa and health club. There are plenty of loungers around the pool, along with some umbrellas, but as with most resorts, many are “tagged” early and left empty for a long period of time. One day I saw a guy take loungers from one of the patios. When we went to our patio, I said something to him. Later that day, we came back from lunch and one of our loungers and towels were gone! Very RUDE people.

The resort is all inclusive, and it was offered to us when we checked in, but we declined. You can buy tickets for meals (breakfast $25, lunch $35 and dinner $55) or buy an all day meal pass for $95. We found out that if you wanted the all inclusive plan for the week, it ended up being $85 per day, which really wasn’t all that bad. We inquired about drinks at the bar and were told that we can “pre pay” $50 for drinks and each time we ordered, the cost would be deducted from the $50. We decided to do this, since any unused dollars would be credited back to our card. We ended up not using the prepayment. Since they make if difficult to eat or drink at the resort (if you are not AI), we just ate and drank at other places. The ceiling in the parking garage also had holes, exposing the concrete and rebar. We also noticed an unusual number of missing tiles in the pool. All of a sudden one day, the lights over the vanity stopped working. Called and they sent someone. When he was done, he just left without a word. Since he was in and out during the 2 hours it took him to fix it, we figured that when we didn’t hear anything, he just went to get something else he needed. So, g-d only knows how long we sat in the room waiting for nothing. We had read and heard from others that the owners of the resort really want the time share owners out and don’t take care of the units, which we found to be verifiable after staying here. Allegedly, the timeshare units were renovated in 2016 but I highly doubt it. We were very disappointed with the resort, especially since we thought the RIU brand was up there with the Marriotts and Hiltons. Based on our visit, we will not consider any RIU property and would not recommend staying here when in Aruba. We have stayed at a half a dozen resorts in Aruba and this was hands down the worst.

TImeshare at the Royal Palm Club may be the very best deal in Aruba. My husband and I were fortunate enough to rent 3 weeks in the same Timeshare Unit. We loved it so much we returned home and immediately decided to purchase two weeks of our very own.

The entire experience has been wonderful. We rented thru Kyle Riley and she handled our purchase also. She is not a Broker or a timeshare agent and just helps out the current owners.

The timeshare units are spacious, clean and our new home away from home. We enjoyed access to all of the amenities at the Riu. The pools are amazing. The gym is spacious and clean. The beach is beautiful with possibly the largest expanse on Palm Beach. You do have to get up early if you want a Palapa on the beach. The system works perfect-first come-first serve. If you don't want to get up early there is a water sport company right on the beach that will rent you chairs and a large umbrella. Ask for Orlando and he will set you up with a front row seat. There are a few things the Riu could do to make the beach a little better. While we prefer not to sweat the small stuff we are certain they will include these things in the renovation.

Timeshare resales seem to be in demand right now possibly driven by the rumors of a complete property renovation . We feel very lucky to have found two consecutive weeks to purchase.

All Inclusive is a great deal for Timeshare if you like lots of food and drinks. Where can you eat and drink for $75 a day? The selections are endless. We purchased All Inclusive for one week and enjoyed it very much. Three weeks would have been too much. Throughout the next two weeks we purchased a meal ticket when we felt the urge to splurge on breakfast. There are so many great restaurants in Aruba we wanted to make sure to enjoy as many as possible.

We can't wait to return in 2015 and see the newly remodeled Riu.

This is hands down the best property in Aruba!! If you can complain about this place then you are really need help. I loved being right on the best beach in Aruba! 2 Large Pools with a swim up bar thats out of this world. Felix the bartender at the swim up bar can make the best "Dirty Monkeys" ask for the Absolute Vodka in it, No Problem! WOW!!!

A week at the Royal Palm Club/Riu Palace is like a week no where else. The ability to be on the beach in literally minutes or even seconds from the Ocenfront time shares is literally unique to ALL the other high rise hotels on the entire palm beach strip. My family & I have been everywhere from Cancun to Hawaii & they are certainly all nice but Aruba & this resort makes them look like they're all standing still. The people at the hotel & Island are as pleasant as can be & will bend over backwards to make your trip memorable. Over the years our family has made MANY Friends on the Island & we enjoy their company on every visit. The water & beaches there are #1. The food can range from a 1st class dinner of Steak & Caribean lobster to a simple night of pizza & a beer. If you want something, this resort will have it or get it for you ! The rooms are kept clean & the king size beds are a welcome sight after a hard day on the beach.

Looking at the overall rating of this resort at 4.5 stars says it ALL !

IT'S A REAL SHAME WHEN 1 "PILL" OF A PERSON WRITES UP A POOR REVIEW OF THIS RESORT AND ESPECIALLY THE PEOPLE AT THE HOTEL & ISLAND !!

Granted & keep in mind ALL the hotels & resorts on this Island are in the "Caribean" Folks !!! The ave. Temp. is 89 Degrees YEAR ROUND !! With a temperature of that combined with a temp. of 70 degrees in the actual rooms a slight musty smell may occur at 1st on your initial arrival. This is NOTHING that a good 15 minutes of frest air opening your windows won't take care of !!

Enjoy yourselves and your stay at the Royal Palm. You'll be back again & again !!

We stayed at the Rui in January 2012. The resort is the best there is no doubt about that but I was very disappointed with the timeshare condos. The place needs updating. I was very disappointed at check in and complained to front desk about the cleanliness and the mold smell but they refused to do anything since we had directly dealt with the owner. The units are old and smell like mildew. Everything inside is old, the TVs are from the 60s the decor is dated the garbage cans are rusted. I would not stay here again even for free. I heard RUI refuses to take care of these units because they want to get rid of the timeshare owners. The resort is Gorgeous and if you can stay at the hotel I think the rooms are Top notch. Anyway we made the best of it and tried not to stay in the room more that we had too. We took full advantage of the resort amenities and took the all inclusive option. I would go to Aruba over and over again I think its the best island I have visited. we Like Aruba so much that we ended up buying a timeshare next door at Divi Resort.

I recently returned from Aruba and stayed at the RIU. We are repeat customers and we love this hotel. The staff treats us wonderfully and they remember us every year we return. Even though we don't swim in the pool water, it is a gorgeous pool. Our room always has the most beautiful view of the Aruban ocean. I never slept better. We love the Japanese and Italian restaurant. The buffet is not your ordinary buffet. It is a ballroom filled with all types of foods/desserts/fruits/etc. Amazing! The maitre de at the buffet is Ale de Cuba. He is a wonderful man and makes sure we are pleased. Carlos is another A+ staff member. The ONLY problem I have is walking from my beach chair to the pool bar for a drink, but I can look past that for all the other positive aspects of this place. I couldn't say enough about it. All-inclusive is the way to go! Well worth it every year for us.

One of the grandest resorts on Palm Beach and with one of the best beach front areas. Yes, service is not always perfect due to the size of the resort, but as part of the Riu chain they are learning fast. Staying at the resort via a timeshare rental through the timeshare owners gives you a fantastic deal in Aruba.

I have been there 16 times and I enjoy it more every time. Location is excellent and the people are great

The hotel rooms are just OK and the pool is also OK. The ocean front timeshares (2 bedrooms) are beautiful and the location (Right on the beach) next to the boardwalk are the best on the island!!

The hotel is great for families with young kids and it is one of the quietest locations along the high rise area.

My husband and I have had the pleasure of staying at the Aruba Grand several times. This hotel, in our opinion, is the best on Palm Beach.

The hospitality is excellent, the beach area is beautiful and is more quiet than the others along Palm Beach. The food is very good. We most expecially enjoy the filanges for breakfast. We like the serenity and peace you feel there. It is like a dream. A home away from home. Without the stress!! We recommend it highly.

Rooms are very clean. Great snack bar. Employees are very accomodating. Been there 15 times.