There is an overwhelming number of all-inclusive resorts to choose from in Cancun, so how do you choose!?
My best friend and I spent several days researching which resort we should book and ultimately we chose to stay at the RIU Latino in Cancun (well, technically Costa Mujeres).
In a nutshell, this is a fantastic adults only resort… for what you pay.
This is definitely a budget luxury experience, meaning it’s not going to be top of the line, but RIU Latino is new and modern, has fantastic pools, a lively energy from both the vibe and the guests and a massive beach with turquoise Caribbean water.
Here is my review of the RIU Latino adults-only all-inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico!
I stayed here for 7 days in May 2024, and below are 6 reasons why I think you should book it for your next Mexico vacation!
This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase I may make a small commission. I only share information about things I know, love and trust!
Reason 1: The Price
The RIU Latino might just be the best value you can get for an adults-only all inclusive resort in Cancun.
You can find rooms for $240 per night! That’s for 2 people and includes unlimited food and drinks (yes – even alcoholic beverages).
For example, a one week stay in November (which is the start of high season and perfect weather), means it’s just over $1600 for the week for you and your travel partner.
That’s only $800 per person!
Adult-only resorts are usually a lot more expensive than this.
Check prices for your dates here!
RIU Latino is Budget Luxury
Because this resort is priced so well, it does lack a few amenities that other higher priced adult-only resorts offer:
There is no room service, but food is available 24/7 at the sports bar.
It’s a selection of snacky things like:
- Sandwiches
- Wraps
- Burgers & hot dogs
- Nachos
- pastries
So if you’re hungry before you head to bed at 2am, you can always grab something quick from the sports bar.
There are also no dedicated poolside servers. You’ll have to grab drinks yourself from the pool bars or swim up bars.
However, there are 2 walk up bars and 2 swim-up bars so it’s very easy to get drinks, and the bartenders work fast.
However, there is one staff member who usually roams the pool deck with a drink cart throughout the day serving basic drinks and beer.
Honestly, I didn’t miss the room service and we mostly got drinks from the swim-up bar so getting drinks was part of the fun lounging in the pool!
Reason 2: The Beach & Turquoise Ocean
The beach at the RIU Latino is incredible and the standout feature of this resort.
The beach is massive and the sand is insanely soft.
It’s basically split up into 2 parts – so the first section of the beach is lined with palm trees and many rows of loungers.
There’s even a section with hammocks!
This part of the beach is ultra quiet and relaxing. However, you can’t see the water from here, because there’s a slight berm that separates it.
BUT – when you come over that hill – the view is absolutely breathtaking and that turquoise blue Caribbean water just sparkles.
And the beach truly feels like it goes on forever….
The water itself was almost bathtub temperature, so warm and lovely. And a nice shallow entry as well.
Is There Seaweed at RIU Latino?
As far as seaweed (the sargassum), it’s almost hardly worth mentioning here. It was mostly clear other than a bit of schmutz.
The seaweed situation did change day to day though, some days had a little more, some days a little less.
As you can see these shots were taken a few days apart and there is a little more seaweed on this day.
There is drink service on the beach, but it does take a little long.
So if you’re going to spend a lot of time here, I would suggest bringing an insulated tumbler for your drinks.
There are beach loungers and umbrellas on the beach, but you do have to claim them by about 8 to 8:30am, otherwise they’re all taken.
Also worth noting is that the walk to the water might be considered a little far for some folks.
From the lobby of the hotel to the water, it’s about 1,000 feet or 300 meters.
That being said, with it being a little removed from the resort, the beachfront was very relaxing and quiet if you need a break from the music at the pools.
Reason 3: The Pools
With 5 pools to choose from you can really choose your vibe of the day.
You’ve got your choice of 2 swim up bar pools – one is the main one and the other is a little smaller, but otherwise they’re exactly the same.
These pools got rowdy about 3-4 out of the 7 days we were there – but still lots of fun, lots of socializing and lots of shots!
Inside tip: Each week there are 2 RIU pool parties at the sister resorts (off-site), so on those days we found that the swim up bar pools were a little more chill, less crowded and quieter.
To find a lounger by the pool, you have to claim it by about 10 am.
However, we found that a lot of people started to leave around 2 in the afternoon and more loungers would become available.
This is great news if you like to sleep in!
Tip: If you want to split your day between beach and pool, start your morning early at the beach, and then move to the pool for the afternoon. This will be your best chance to get loungers.
There is also an activity pool, which is also pretty chill in between activities.
They do allow you to bring floaties into the pool, but only this kind of floatie!
At this pool, in addition to pool sports, games and exercise classes, they also do lots of promo for things like Coco Bongo and the RIU parties, so there’s definitely things going on throughout the day.
And there is one pool that is zero entry, completely wheelchair accessible.
This pool was for those who want a more relaxing pool experience.
And there are also 5 waterslides! Which is so fun because this is a completely adults only resort.
The pools are open from 8am to 7pm each day.
Reason 4: It’s Newly Built
As a newer resort only built in 2022, everything is modern and fresh, including contemporary décor.
Being so new, it really feels more high-end than it actually is.
Since this resort is new, the palm trees are quite young and therefore still pretty short.
While I generally love more lush-looking resorts, I saw this as an upside.
Because even if you book a partial ocean view room, you’ll be able to see so much ocean, since you don’t have to look through palm trees.
Resort Overview
The resort itself is basically one u-shaped building with all the restaurants and bars on the main floor and rooms above.
There are 5 pools, including waterslides, a massive white sand beach, a few a la carte restaurants, a 24/7 sports bar and a nightclub.
The lobby is open air, so no there’s no air conditioning, but there was lots of air flow to accompany all this seating and lounge space.
The lobby bar is called Velvet. This was our favorite spot to enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail – great espresso martinis here!
Around the corner you’ll find the sports bar, which is all enclosed and has very cool air conditioning.
They do play most sports, so if your team isn’t on just ask.
And they have an espresso machine here so I came down every morning for a coffee before hitting the buffet.
There’s also a shop and souvenir store and then across the hall is the gym and spa.
The gym is quite small and it was pretty busy every morning from 7:30 to 1030am.
After that it quieted down. Inside you’ll find 4 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, 2 spin bikes, and a couple functional trainers.
There’s a small bench and free weight area and some yoga mats and exercise balls.
Overally, I’ll admit, not the greatest but it’s enough if you absolutely need to get a workout in.
Word of caution – it gets grossly hot in the gym!
And they don’t have towels, just paper towels. So bring a small towel from your room if you tend to get sweaty from your workouts.
Reason 5: the Rooms
The RIU Latino has swim out rooms! I believe there are 8 swim-out rooms available at this resort, and they’re on the ground floor.
They’re not attached to the main pools (which close at 7pm), so if you like some alone time or want to swim late, these would be a good choice.
All the rooms at the RIU Latino are modern and spacious.
The bathrooms have dual vanities and a separate water closet (toilet room).
I also liked that the shower was fully enclosed in the bathroom.
I hate when the new resorts build fancy glass showers in the middle of the room with no privacy!
In your room you also have a mini-bar with 4 kinds of liquor (vodka, tequila, rum and gin).
You also have a mini-fridge stocked with soda and beer.
We found our fridge was only stocked every 2-3, but we also didn’t consume everything – so I imagine if you emptied the fridge you would have no problem getting it restocked.
Your room will also have a spacious balcony with a seating area and a clothing rack to hang your bath suits, towels, etc.
Oceanview vs. Partial Ocean View
I will say while the view from our ocean view room is lovely.
But the beach and the water is still quite far away, so honestly I don’t think having an ocean view compared to a partial view would be that much of a difference if you don’t want to spend the extra money.
Here are a couple images showing you which rooms are considered ocean view and then versus partial ocean view.
Reason 6: Activities & Entertainment
As far as entertainment, there are nightly shows and gatherings at the stage.
You can expect things like dance shows, live bands, karaoke, silent discos and more.
Because this is a RIU property, you’ll also have access to 3 RIU parties each week.
There’s a weekly night party each Wednesday which is either white or neon themed (alternates each week).
There are also 2 daytime pool parties: the pink party and the jungle party (2 separate days per week – Monday and Friday).
However, the parties are over at the RIU Caribe resort. You just have to take a 20 minute bus ride to get there (it’s all free, including drinks once you’re there).
For evening entertainment onsite at the RIU Latino, there’s a nightclub open every night except Sundays.
It’s open from 11pm to 2am and we found that it was fun no matter what age you were!
The Food & Restaurants
I’m going to put this bluntly: the food is not a reason to book this resort. However, that doesn’t mean I think the food is bad.
If you read a lot of reviews about this resort, one thing you’ll find is that people aren’t crazy about the food here – I don’t disagree, but I think it all comes down to expectations.
While mostly mediocre, everything we ate was perfectly edible, and neither of us got sick.
At this price point, it’s nice not to have to cook dinner and do dishes for a week!
Here is a brief overview of what you can expect for food at the RIU Latino.
Main Buffet: For Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
The buffet for all meals had fantastic variety, lots of dishes to choose from and the ingredients felt fresh .
I had no complaints about the buffet and I think this is something RIU properties do well.
Poolside Food Options
By the pool you’ve got Pepe’s taco bar.
Here you’ll find hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, pizza, tacos, nachos and other small snacky items.
It’s open from noon to 4 and this is mostly here to keep you sustained so you can have a couple more tequila shots by the pool!
Otherwise the buffet is about a 20 second walk from the pool.
Dinner Restaurants
For dinner there are 4 restaurants to choose from if you don’t want to eat at the buffet.
There is an Asian restaurant which is essentially a specialty buffet of a mix of sushi and Chinese food.
I found it had a nice variety and you certainly won’t go hungry here.
At the Italian restaurant there’s a salad and appetizer bar that’s self-serve and then you order your entrees from the menu.
Again lots of food here – we tried the chicken Milanese, and the beef filet with gorgonzola sauce. This restaurant definitely had the best desserts.
At the fusion restaurant you also order from a menu – we ate here twice, it was definitely the best dinner meal we ate.
I think having this quality of a restaurant as an option elevates the overall food experience at the RIU Latino.
We tried the potato casserole with yellow tiger’s milk, the mushroom ragout with poached egg and potato, the tamarind beer tenderloin and creamy lobster rice and a brownie and ice cream for dessert.
The steakhouse was our least favorite, but you do get served.
We tried the caesar salad, mozza sticks (oddly enough) and steak and chicken.
Sports Bar
There’s also the 24/7 sports bar.
So if you need late night food you do have a few options like sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers as well as nachos and pastries. This food is self-serve.
Again, not going to be the best thing you ever ate, but when you need something, it’s there.
Thankfully there is an espresso machine at the bar, and they did make us fantastic coffees all week long!
Overall Thoughts on the RIU Latino & Who This Resort is Best Suited For
For an adults only resort, you really can’t beat this price.
I think it’s perfect if you’re looking for really good value, want to enjoy drinks and sunshine at the pools or beach all day, at a place with some energy and evening entertainment.
And especially If you like meeting people!
Best Deals on RIU Latino Resort
My friend and I found a fantastic deal by booking on Plannin – you check prices for your dates here.
(you just have to create a free account to get the deal).
But you can also check prices & availability on Expedia here
Video Tour and Review of RIU Latino Cancun
For more details, check out my full video tour and review of the RIU Latino Cancun which gives you a thorough overview of everything you want to know about staying here!