I am not the one to write a review, nor have I ever written a review, but I had too after spending $3,500 for not even a week. This was our first trip to Aruba and may be our last. We arrived and were greeted by great staff. When we got to our room, there was an overwhelming smell of mildew and the furniture was very old/outdated and stained. The tub drain was broken and the parts were left inside the tub. The room was dirty and still had hair on the floor in the bathroom from the previous customer.
We had an issue with a light blinking in our room, which was taken care of very quickly, but they left a mess on the floor where the light was changed.
Regarding the resturaunts, the buffet food was OK, but the outdoor seating had flies and birds everywhere.
You CANNOT make reservations at the specialty dining resturaunts. You must go there before they open and stand in line with your entire party or you cannot eat there. Most of the beach chairs were broken, and forget about actually trying to find a spot to sit. Many mornings, all the chairs at the pool and beach were claimed by someone leaving their towel on them and not returning. Overall, Riu needs to update and catch up with the resorts around them. My wife and I walked down the beach and walkway to see the other resorts which were more up to date and would have rather spent a little more to not have that experience.