I was reviewing my travel documents last night for my trip in March and ran across some interesting info for my Riu Palace Kukulkan stay. If you have a late arrival to this new resort, be aware that they will only hold your reservation until 6 p.m., after that they will release your room to other guests. You must give the hotel advance notice that you will be arriving late for them to hold your room until you get there. Interesting, this is the first time I’ve come across this policy for a late arrival, I’m used to resorts holding your room until midnight the date of arrival. Also, it looks like Riu may be cutting an hour from check-out time, the official check-out time here is 11 a.m. instead of the typical 12 noon check-out which most resorts have. The last Riu I stayed at that had an 11 a.m. check-out time was Riu Palace Peninsula several years ago. So, be aware of a resort’s check-out time or else you may be charged extra. Even though a resort’s website often says something about late check-out, that is only if there is availability. Every time I’ve asked for a late check-out at a resort I’ve been told no, that my room had other guests coming in that same day. So don’t count on it, and don’t assume the same rules apply from resort to resort.
Just a case where my OCD tendencies actually came in handy, or I’d have been out of a room the very first day of my Mexico vacation. Even if you have a travel agent, not all agents will know enough about specific resort policies to give you important advance info, so take the time to acquaint yourself with policies of the resorts you have booked.
I am just a bit confused … does this mean if you have a later flight arriving ON TIME after 6pm you could lose your room? OR, is this only for when your flight is delayed causing a late arrival.
I have tried contact the RIU in the past and their customer service is not great.
If the RIU has later flights on the roster, then IMO they should be honoring those rooms. Can you please clarify, because it certainly will affect where I stay going forward.
When I read my Riu travel doc it said if you plan on arriving at the hotel after 6 p.m. you will lose your room unless you notify the hotel you will be arriving later and if so, at approximately what time. It suggested I if I hadn’t mentioned it on the initial reservation, I should call the resort directly. I emailed last night first, so far nothing back from reservations dept. If necessary I will call closer to my departure date and notify the resort directly as suggested.