We actually booked our week vacation at the Riu Tequila, but spent about an equal amount of time at the Yucatan, so my review will cover both. Our family of 5 was there from 8/6-8/13. Here's what happened:

1. Transport.
We flew from Austin to Cancun via Vivaaerobus. I was a little shaky on the airline because I had heard so many conflicting stories. It was $2000 for all 5 of us, round trip, which was considerably less than a 'regular' airline. The flight was great, the service great and very efficient. I highly recommend Vivaerobus, but be sure to pay with a credit card to avoid 'issues'. Also, pay for the priority boarding. It makes a difference. There was a loud and obnoxious group that flew with us who figured out that if one person paid for priority, they could save 3 rows for their group....hmmm. Not enough to ruin my vacation, but kind of cheap and petty.

A note on the hotels. When we booked, the Tequila was about $1,000 cheaper than the Yucatan. We thought that was enough of a difference to stay at the Tequila....the walk to the beach didn't bother us because we're pretty athletic. We made the right choice.

2. Riu Tequila.

Grounds-
The Tequila is charming. We loved the grounds, the peace and quiet, the pool area is very tropical and lush. We aren't pool people, but it seemed lovely. We much preferred the down to earth charm of both the Tequila and the Yucatan to the Palaces. I thought they were kind of pretentious and out place for the beach, but that's personal preference.

Rooms-
The rooms were dated, but surprisingly large. We had 2 rooms that were not connected but side by side. We ordered a roll away and got it. The minifridge had drinks and LOTS of water. The towels smelled kind of musty, but hey, it's the tropics. Tons of towels, and we got new ones everyday. The shower was strong (my pet peeve!) and large....2 person for sure! :) The beds were hard, and I like that! The a/c was so cold, I had to put an extra blanket on the bed. Our rooms had the liquor dispensers, but no liquor, which was ok with us- we don't drink that much, and it was better for our teenagers not to have it around....

Food-
We ate dinner at the Tequila everynight and it was delicious. We are 'foodies', and were not disappointed. My theory is that because there are so many Europeans, there is a sort of mandate for the cooking to be good...and it was. I didn't taste a single bad dish. With little kids, the buffet was a godsend, our 7 year old was in heaven with handmade pizzas to order, mac and cheese, bean and cheese tacos. Our vegetarian was thrilled with all the veg entrees. Our 13 year old son was happy to fill his plate over and over. The Rius definitely lost money on him! :) The deserts are magnificent. You will NOT be disappointed with the food. We ate at the Mexican restaurant, it was outdoors and very good. We also ate at the Steak House, it was good, but being from Texas, well, hard to beat our steaks! Getting a 7.00 seating was not a problem, but I think that the 9.30 seatings go fast. We're Americans, so we eat early!

Entertainment-
The staff works hard. The shows are goofy, and lots of fun. It's not a professional production, but their heart is in the right place. They had a great tropical band. The sports bar is open 24 hours for food and coffee, and that's where the internet is. They charge $5 for 15 minutes. I recommend the Riu Yucatan- $8 for an hour.
More on that later. I don't know about the entertainment during the day, because we weren't there.

Front Desk-
Very responsive and helpful. They found a wheelchair for one of our kids...more on that later.

Beach Trolley-
The man who drives the trolley is wonderful, very sweet. The trolley seats 7, so you may find it faster to walk, and it's a quick walk. Good exercise and covered.

3. Riu Yucatan
As I said, we're not pool people, we much prefer the beach, and that's where we spent most of our day. The Yucatan's pool is just steps from the beach, and you can watch kids in the pool and the beach if you have a chair at the pool. Our teenagers would go back and forth.

-Beach
Any beach is a good beach...we even love the Texas coast! There are many beach chairs and lots of shade, thanks to the palm trees. No beach service, and the showers weren't always working. A bathroom is close by. Lots of topless ladies of all shapes and sizes. :) Lots of gentlemen in tiny suits, and not many of them are Michael Phelps look alikes! :) The first day is kind of shocking, but by the 2nd or 3rd day, you're fine.

NOTE ON THE BEACH.....
This beach is lovely, but the sand bags are a problem. The husband and kids loved jumping off, but on day 2, the beach workers were pumping up the 'whales' and had sand spilled all over the place...the sand covered one of the whales and our 7 year old jumped off one of the higher whales onto what he thought was the ocean bottom...it was actually one of the whales. He broke his ankle. At the time, we thought it was just bruised up, so we watched it for the rest of the day and the next day, when he still couldn't walk on it, we took him to HOSPITEN, the private hospital in Playacar. It was very clean, modern and plush. The first thing they do is put a $800 hold on your credit card...so be prepared. They xrayed his foot and said it wasn't broken...but a week later he wasn't able to walk on it, we say our home orthopedist and sure enough, fracture on his growth plate. Of course it was our fault for letting him play on the whale, but BEWARE. They are dangerous. We saw several other people who were similarly injured...twisted knee ligaments, broken arm, broken wrist. BE CAREFUL. Ok, rant over.

Pool.
The Riu Yucatan pool is lots of fun, very crowded and animated. We are runners, so we would get up very early to run and leave our towels...all the pool chairs were gone by 6.30. We'd run one at a time (on the main Playacar road, about 4 miles) and the other would stay by the pool, that's the fair way to do it. I really get crabby with those who put down a towel at 6.00 and don't come back until 2.00 pm!!! I highly recommend bringing your own towels, as the Riu staff will remove the Riu towels if you use them to save chairs. In fairness, they don't know if they're left from the day before. Other guests will move them, too. We are early risers, so for us, it's not a problem. That's a choice you have to make!

Food.
Similar to the Tequila, but I think that the Tequila was better...personal preference I guess. We ate outside at lunch and it was so-so. We discovered the main dining room was open at 1.00, so we started eating inside after that. Much cooler and a better selection.

Internet.
I highly suggest you use the Yucatan for internet access. They have wireless laptops you can rent (don't know cost...this was too much for me, I wanted to relax!) and for $8 you could get 1 hour of internet split up as you wanted. Great for just checking in. The room is hotter than H*LL, so just pop in to the gift shop to cool down, it's an ice chest!

Entertainment-
The poolside entertainment is pretty crazy. The bingo guy is nuts, '69, the international number' got me some questions from my 7 year old...'Why is it the international number, mommy?" hmmm...but they're funny. The kids loved the ping pong and shooting competition. The water aerobics are funny and goofy.

Guests-
The clientele of both Rius is highly European. We, as Americans, are definitely in the minority. We are used to tipping, bbut found it was not at all common. We tipped $2-4 at breakfast and lunch and $5-7 at dinner. We tipped $2 per room for the maids, except for the day the 7 year old wet the bed ($5 that day!)_and we also tipped the beach driver $10 on the last day.

3. Excursions
We booked a day with EDVENTURES, in part because of the great reviews on TA. It was great dealing with Bonnie, very professional and friendly. We booked 3 ziplines, swimming in the lagoon, snorkling in the cenote, swimming with the turtles, swimming in the 'aquarium' and Tulum. All the activities were amazing! The guide, Gil, was just great, and the driver as well. We were paired up with another US family and we had a blast. My only crititque, which I shared with Eduardo, was that it wasn't very specific that lunch was EXTRA. We went to a fabulous beachside place whose name has escaped me....anyway....we had to dip into the tip money to pay for lunch, because I thought it was included. We had enough for beer, so no problem! :) I highly recommend Eduardo's outfit.

4. Shopping
We went into PDC proper one evening and it was fine, very commercial and I felt somewhat overpriced. The little shopping center in Playacar was just fine for quick shopping, and I think if time is a problem, shopping for souvenirs in Playacar is ok. My daughter was thrilled to find an American Apparel in PDC, I was saddened...I remember when it was truly a little village! There are some very cool shops in PDC and Playacar that have some original/artistic crafts.

All in all, a great vacation...lots of good family time, beautiful weather, great food. The foot will heal and we'll be back! Have fun! I recommend:

-bring your own pillow
-pack lightly
-bring lots of sunscreen and bug spray
-tip when you have good service
-use hand sanitizer frequently and before you eat...this is key to not getting stomach 'issues'
-see at least one sunrise!

We stayed at the riu Tequila on a 2 week all inclusive at the end of july 08. This is not the first time we have stayed in a riu and have always been very happy with the hotel chain in the past. However we were very dissapointed with the accomodation on offer at the tequila, the room was foisty and smelt of damp, the decor was drab and dated and we felt very unhappy with our room. We requested a change of room and were shown a first floor alternative which was marginally better as it did not smell of damp.The towels and linnen were very old and threadbare and were possibly as old as the ten year hotel.
Although the hotel grounds and pool areas are pleasant they did not appear to be cleaned very often and were in need of repair. It was a ten minute walk to the beach through a covered walkway which was full of biting insects. A golf buggy was available however it only seated 10 people and often it was quicker to walk. The beach was fantastic, very clean and well worth the walk although the sunbeds were reserved with towels quite early in the day.

The quality of the food in the dining room was acceptable however it was not what i expected and it was repetitive. At times the waiter service left a bit to be desired although the bar staff were very friendly.
During our stay we discovered the tequila was due to be closed down for refubishment 2 weeks after our departure and feel that Thomson should not have been advertising this hotel as a platinum holiday. All in all a nice resort but not what i would expect from a Riu.

Have returned from riu tequila on 04/08 and had a fab holiday - this is our 2nd time there and would recommend this to everyone - all the staff from cleaners to the managers can`t do enough for you - there is no need to do any trips because all you need is at at the Riu Tequila

Food - anything that you want - always fresh and prepared in front of you.

Rooms - maids were in room everyday - always had clean towels and bedding.

Befoer we went there was a review on that complained about everything - don`t know why someone would do this because the standard is very high as it was 3yrs ago when we were last.

We will be going back!!!!!!!!!

We have just returned from an amazing holiday at the Riu Tequila. This is the second time that we have been to the Riu Tequila, but we got married their. We first travelled to the Tequila in 2006 and loved it so much we decided to get married there. There were 18 of us that travelled between the ages of 18-50 and everyone really enjoyed themselves.
The hotel itself is of a high standard, the gardens and pathways around the hotel are kept imaculate, rooms are spacious and clean, the pool area is large with a lovely swim up bar, the pool is split into two, one area for relaxing and another for watersports and games. The other reviews I have read have said that the pool at times doesn't look that clean, this is correct, it could definatly do with painting,there is a lot of paint is peeling away and the water does look like it has a lot of sun cream in it, although they do their best to keep rubbish, leaves etc out of it. We were told this year the hotel is being refurbished in November, so hopefully this will be attended to.
The steak house is lovely and the food is amazing, we had our wedding reception meal there, there was a lot of effort put in, the tables were specially decorated with white tables cloths, candles, rose petals, it really nice and it felt very special. The Main restaurant is also lovely and caters for all tastes, the BBQ they put of is really good and also the Theme nights make a nice change.
We were very worried about the beach, we had seen it in 2006 when there were not any sandbags and it had blown us away, we were concerned as the pictures we had seen worried us. It does spoil the beach compared to what it was like before, but it certainly did not spoil our holiday and infact we spent most of our time there. The only thing I would say is that at times the sea was very rough and I felt quite dangerous on one day the life guards wouldnt let anyone in, we also witnessed a life guard rescue a couple that seemed to be stuck behind one of the sandbags, as the undercurrent is strong, not suitable for young children.
Our wedding was brilliant and hassle free,I had not been able to find much on the internet about other peoples weddings their, which is quite suprising as there are weddings going on most days, we had a meeting with the wedding coordinator the day after we arrived and then 4 days later we got married in the gardens of the Tequila. We were blown away by how amazing the day went, the ceremony was very private and very romantic, much of our wedding party were teary eyed as the wedding was so beautiful. It was firstly in spanish and then translated into english, we then had photos taken in the grounds and on the beach, we were really pleased with out photos that were taken by the hotels photographer, he was a really nice guy, very relaxed and professional, we were very worried about the quality of the photos before, but they exceeded our expectations, they are beautiful, we loved them so much we ended up buying 24 extra photos, plus a disc with all photos taken, the wedding coordinator had then arranged for a small cocktail party near the bar in reception, whilst we waited for our meal. We ate our meal, made speeches and cut our cake. We could not have asked for a better day, we were soo pleased.
We had an amazing time, dont be put off or worried by the beach, Mexico is an amazing place and so is the Riu Tequila!