I’m working backwards with my resort reviews since I spent a year on another project apart from my blog (if you want to read my most recent resort reviews from late April/first part of May 2026 then check out Riu Ventura, Majestic Mirage Costa Mujeres, and Ocean Allure Costa Mujeres reviews).  This resort stay occurred early Dec. 2025 when I visited the adults-only Riu Latino on a solo trip; it was followed up by an additional resort stay at Krystal Grand Cancun which will be the next review to post.  One resort review at a time!

If you follow my blog you know that I am a Riu resort fan.  Always a great bargain for what you receive as a vacationer.  Riu Latino was no exception!  I got a killer deal by booking with the resort online and since I am a Riu Class (loyalty club) member, I received an additional discount on my stay.  If you visit Riu resorts or are thinking of doing so consider signing up as well, you get points towards your stay for special perks, additional discounts, and unexpected surprises like free upgrades and better room locations (I received a true oceanfront swim-up room location at Riu Ventura, a complimentary room upgrade at Riu Palace Riviera Maya, a complimentary stay at Riu Dunamar, and a complimentary location upgrade from Riu Cancun to Riu Palace Las Americas years ago).  If I remember correctly, at the time I booked Riu Latino there was a minimum four night stay requirement, so be prepared for this possibility if booking directly with Riu resorts (Riu Caribe does the same thing).

It took over an hour to drive from the Cancun airport to the resort–my plane unfortunately arrived during mid-week Cancun rush hour which delayed my private shuttle transportation travel time.  When there is minimal traffic it should only take about 40-45 min. to get to this resort from the airport. I was greeted by staff who collected and tagged my carry-on and escorted me to the front desk for check-in where I received a tasty and refreshing non-alcohol drink.  Everything went smoothly and fairly quickly during check-in and I was escorted to my room which was a Double Room With Sea View and given a quick tour.  While the room was only 409 sq. feet it seemed much larger and even included a sitting area with small sofa and coffee table (some rooms have sofa beds), a decent sized balcony, and a bathroom with its own door for privacy (it always surprises me how many all-inclusive vacationers these days decide on a resort based on swim-up bars and bathroom privacy).  I did have an ocean view from my balcony, so that was a plus (sometimes resorts sell ocean view rooms which only have partial ocean views).  My room was mid-resort on the south end of the property and was located right across from the outdoor theater; music typically ended before 11 p.m. and I’m kind of a night owl anyway so it didn’t disturb my sleep.  However, if you are a light sleeper or go to bed early you may want to request a room which faces away from the courtyard area to avoid the worst of the noise (sound did travel into my room even with the sliding door closed).  Of course, since this was a Riu property there was the wall liquor dispenser with bottles of tequila, vodka, rum, and gin.  Since this was a non-Palace Riu property there were lesser quality brands of alcohol present, but the room did include a regular coffee maker which is typically not the case at most other non-Palace Riu resorts.  I unpacked and had dinner at the buffet restaurant followed by an initial walk around the property to familiarize myself with the layout (and to see the very pretty Christmas decorations that were already out).  It was a fine ending to my day of travel and I finished my time pre-sleep by looking at the app’s list of activities for the next day.

I had breakfast the next morning at the buffet with the usual–scrambled eggs, the requisite chilaquiles, a few pieces of bacon, some fruit, a small pain au chocolat, and a hot tea.

I rolled myself out the buffet door and proceeded to take a much needed walk to see what the property looked like in daylight.  One of the amenities I was dying to see was the water park area, a rarity at adult-only resorts in this part of Mexico.  Since the resort was fairly compact, it only took me a couple of minutes to reach it and I found the water park already open with several male guests bravely battling the waterslides like pros–I had no compunction in taking pictures and videos of a stranger’s forays into vacation fun.

I decided to spend the rest of my day at the beach which was quite lovely I have to admit.  As a matter of fact, I found it to be better overall than some Cancun Hotel Zone beaches and that is saying something given the bright turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea in the Hotel Zone as often depicted in post cards and literature.  Ocean water at the resort was more of a brilliant aquamarine color with mild waves, smooth ocean entry and exit, and very swimmable.  There were lots of loungers but it took me a bit to find one open lounger with a shade umbrella since it was a beautiful day and many guests were already having fun or tanning at the beach.  As soon as I got settled I had a wonderful lengthy beach walk which really helped me get into vacation mode and helped reboot my nervous system–don’t miss beach walks, they are a boon to one’s mental and physical health.

This would be a perfect resort for a “Bubba mug” since beach wait staff don’t take drink orders.  Bubba insulated mugs (or the equivalent) would enable guests to fill up at a poolside bar and bring it to the beach so you don’t have to worry about getting (more) dehydrated–alcohol will already do that to you all by itself much less being in the hot sun.  It’s a bit of a walk from the beach back up to the pools so having something handy would save some steps.  Here’s some pics of what the resort offers as you step from the pool area to the beach area…

And here’s what else you will find on your way to the beach…

Now let’s discuss the pools.  Riu Latino offers six pools (one being the water park pool), and two of them have swim-up bars.  Yes, I did say two swim-up bars.  All pools are beachfront and while they don’t have excellent ocean views, they are not far away from the golden sands of the beach area.  The following day after “beach day” was “pool day”  where I basically acted like a sloth and moved gradually from one pool to another and had some drinks and poolside food in between bouts of extreme laziness.  Did I swim laps? I had several pools from which to choose to accomplish that task.  Nope.  Did I participate in any aqua fitness/aqua aerobics classes?  Again, nope.  I considered taking pictures and videos of the pool areas to be maximizing my energy and acted accordingly–laying supine on my lounger with my favorite playlists coming from my earbuds.  It was just what I needed; I guess I was more exhausted mentally and physically than I thought.  Before I digress further, let me get back to the pool-related logistics…If you are hungry and looking for food fear not, Pepe’s has what you need for poolside energy with their burger, chicken, hot dog, and taco offerings.  Multiple swim-up and stand up bars are nearby so that’s not a problem, you just have to wait in line for about five minutes to get served.  The line for the food around noon is a LOT longer than lines for drinks so be prepared and try to eat earlier or later than the crowd.

If you’re hungry and can’t wait, Pepe’s is the place to be for lunch…and if you’re hungry enough even that cheese sauce looks pretty good.  (All kidding aside, everything was very tasty).  For those who want a nicer sit down restaurant, your option is the buffet while the sports bar has more hamburger, hot dog, and nacho options.  (The Italian restaurant is not open for lunch at this Riu location).

Here are some pics of the pool areas…

The resort also had live entertainment poolside while I was there which consisted of a local Mexican troupe in native costumes playing Mayan music and performing Mayan dances which was very interesting to see…

Let’s talk more about food and restaurants.  In terms of a la carte dinner restaurants, there were four from which to choose; all were first come first served with no reservations needed.  Since I have visited quite a few Riu resorts over the years I pretty much know what to expect in each and so there are some I regularly return to and some I miss altogether.  I was surprised that this Riu location did not have a Mexican a la carte restaurant, but then I have learned over time that if you choose to dine at a Riu resort’s Mexican restaurant the best food is at the buffet-style choices and not the entrees.  So I didn’t mess anything I guess.  The Asian restaurant, Geisha, was outstanding, however.  It was served buffet-style but there were so many great food choices I just had to return for seconds it was that good.  So I would definitely recommend you dine at Geisha.  I did try the Italian restaurant but it was what I expected–an OK experience but not a stellar one like the Asian restaurant.  Just an FYI–this is not a Riu Palace resort so there is NO room service, just so you know.  Also, no coffee shop with fancy treats or ice cream so don’t expect that either.  (Look for ice cream in the buffet).

Are you into evening entertainment when at a resort?  It takes a lot for me to forego relaxing somewhere following my after dinner walks and this resort was no exception.  With one exception.  When staying at Riu Latino, guests have the option of taking provided transportation over to Riu Dunamar on Wednesday evening for their Riu theme parties.  I decided what the heck, I’ve got nothing better to do and wanted to check out what this resort looked like since I had last stayed in 2018 when it first opened.  Riu Dunamar theme parties are family-friendly so don’t expect wild adult antics; the entertainment was actually pretty good overall so I decided to stay later than I had anticipated and took Riu’s bus transportation back to the Latino property when I decided it was time.  Here are some pictures of their party–it’s either Neon or White parties which are held at the Dunamar property, and I happened to be there for the neon party.  You don’t have to sign up for the party at the Dunamar–you just show up at the lobby area and get in line for the bus, but if you decide to visit any of the Riu Caribe parties you must sign up for them.

I actually had a lot of fun and wasn’t sorry I went to the party, just adjust your expectations to what’s acceptable at a family-friendly Riu party and you will hopefully enjoy yourself as well!

Here’s as close as I got to the evening entertainment at Riu Latino…and I had my camera on full zoom mode.  It was great from what I could hear at night when in my room.

To wind up this resort review, here are some random pictures I took during my stay.  I’m not a spa person and didn’t get any treatments at this one either, but just know that from what I understand Riu guests are free to enjoy any hydrotherapy amenities for free.

I had a great stay at Riu Latino with a massive surprise concerning how great the beach was at this location.  Would I return to this resort?  Absolutely!  What kind of vacationer would most likely appreciate this property?  Adults who want a lot of resort amenities while still being on a budget.  This isn’t a party resort by any means, but it is a resort with a more lively atmosphere–during my stay ages ran from mid 20’s to mid 60’s.

The comments in this review are those of the author/reviewer.  This trip was paid for in its entirety by the author; at no time were any monies or services exchanged for this review.

Location:  40 min. north of the Cancun airport

Telephone:  52-998-689-2252

Email:  hotel.latino@riu.com