Riu Emerald Bay - All Inclusive

Dining Options: The hotel offers diverse dining experiences, including varied restaurant menus and a well-received breakfast with a mix of dishes. Guests praised the quality and variety of food available across different dining areas.

I stayed at Riu Emerald Bay – All Inclusive in Mazatlán with my family from June 14 to June 17, and unfortunately, our experience was extremely disappointing — especially regarding safety, medical attention, and the overall treatment by the staff during an emergency. On June 17 at around 11:47 a.m., my sister and I were walking along the shore when she was stung by a jellyfish. The sting injected a high amount of venom, causing her severe pain, difficulty breathing, and loss of movement in her leg. We immediately looked for help, but the lifeguard was not at his post. I had to yell for assistance, and with the help of other guests, we eventually found him — chatting with beach vendors, completely unaware of the situation. When I explained what was happening, his response was shockingly unprofessional and insensitive. He dismissed the situation, saying jellyfish sting him all the time and the pain would go away in 30 minutes. Despite my sister clearly being in distress, he refused to provide any help and told us to go to the front desk. At reception, they told us not to worry about check-out and to focus on getting my sister medical attention, which we appreciated in the moment. However, all they offered us was a bag of ice, which the doctor at the hospital later confirmed worsened the condition. We had to call an ambulance, and my mom and I accompanied my sister to the hospital. My grandparents stayed in the hotel lobby, waiting for our return. Later that day, when I returned to the hotel to hand in the wristbands and towel cards, I was told I had a pending charge because my grandparents remained at the hotel. This was completely inhumane. They stayed behind out of necessity during a medical emergency, and could not travel in the ambulance. Charging me for this showed a total lack of empathy. Even worse, the hotel has no access to basic medications or trained medical staff for emergencies — something that should be standard at a beachfront resort. When I spoke to the shift supervisor, Juan, to explain what happened, his only response was that the hotel was not responsible for anything that happens on the beach, despite having a lifeguard there. I also mentioned that there were no warning signs about jellyfish. Several other guests — including children — were also stung that same day. Only after multiple complaints did the hotel decide to close the beach. This was a situation that could have been prevented if the lifeguard had taken immediate action after my sister was stung, warning others and escalating it appropriately. His negligence put more guests in danger. What’s most disappointing is that my family and I have previously stayed at other Riu properties — Riu Punta Cana, Riu Los Cabos, and Riu Cancun — and we never expected this level of unprofessionalism and lack of basic care. After this experience, we will never stay at another Riu hotel again. This was a traumatic and unacceptable experience. The lack of empathy, medical support,

This resort is all around great. It’s close to the airport, so no long bus ride to get the vacation started. The resort itself is very beautiful. Lots of palm trees and vegetation. Very clean. The beach was beautiful, lots of walkable space. I didn’t see a speck of seaweed/kelp the entire trip. There are sellers that park along the rope but they don’t bother you when you say no, that was nice. There are live bands that play in the evening along the ropes (not part of the resort) I enjoyed the music. There was an ample supply of loungers on the resort! It was so refreshing!! 12/10 for that. And they had lots of shade all around, whether you wanted to sit around the pools or the beach. The food was plentiful and delicious. The hardest part is not overeating at the buffets, since I wanted to try everything! They had lots of snack stations. Pepe’s had good burgers, hot dogs, fries, nachos, chicken. We only went to one a la cart, the Italian night and it was pretty good! Recommend the salmon. The Sports bar was one of our top hang out areas. They have 24hr snacks, which they monitor quite frequently. The staff are all great! Alfredo, who worked at the buffets, was amazing! He made sure our glasses were always full and that we always had a table. He deserves a massive raise! The bartenders in the far adult pool were funny, efficient and made delicious drinks. We felt very taken care of. The security guy was attentive and made time to ask us how we were every day! You can tell he has pride in his job, it’s great to see. I very much appreciated them keeping kids out of the adult pool. All in all, this was a great resort, great price, great staff! My ONLY complaint are the elevators, which they can’t really help. It was slow. I took the stairs alot. Other than that, I have nothing bad to say. You’ll enjoy this resort very much! Thank you for a great week :)