Complaint Review: RIU Palace Aruba

My wife and I checked into your RIU Palace in Aruba on March 6, 2018 and were suppose to check out on March 13. On Friday the 9th at around 1:00 PM I called from the room to let them know that the air condition blower was making a loud screeching and rumbling sound. We than went back to the pool for the day. We came back around 5:00 PM to shower and go to dinner, the AC was not fixed I just assumed they were busy and didn’t get to it yet. We came back to the room about 11:30 PM and it was still not fixed. I knew at that hour nobody was going to show up if I called again, so I decided I’d call in the morning. Well during the night I got very sick it turned out to be food poisoning,

we had eaten at the buffet. I was so sick I never got back out of the room until Sunday afternoon. Today as I’m writing this (Wednesday March 4) I’m just getting back to normal. I called again on Saturday morning to get the AC repaired nobody showed up again so we put up with the noise for another night and didn’t sleep again. Sunday I didn’t even bother calling I just figure its Sunday no way is anybody coming. So we spent virtually 3 nights in a row with little or no sleep. Early Monday morning I went up to the front desk and asked to speak to a Manager. The woman said I’m a Supervisor, can I help you. So I explained to her everything written above. There was virtually no offer to change the room, no apology, nothing at all.

At that point I made a decision we have to get out of this place. I told her we’ll be checking out today. She offered no compensation at all so I asked for it. She told me since I booked though Expedia I have to contact them, I told her the only reason I booked though Expedia is because the RIU Web site directed me there. That meant nothing to her; she gave me a piece of paper with the RIU email address. I went back to the room and told my wife we are leaving I’m not spending another night here listening to the AC in the room and I’m afraid to eat here, on Sunday we had already starting eating off site except for toast and coffee in the morning. While she was packing I called Expedia to see what they could do, they told me stay on the line I’ll call the Hotel.

About ten minutes later he came back on the line and said to me they will do nothing you have to write a letter to customer service. I was flabbergasted this is the way this Hotel does business. So that’s what I’m doing writing to you to see how you are going to compensate me for suffering with the food poisoning and loss of my vacation for four days, not sleeping for three days, paying for food off site for Sunday for my wife and I, lunch and dinner on Saturday for my wife off site. I also checked out a day early, we checked out at 11:45 AM on Monday instead of Tuesday. I’m not looking to stay at any of your Hotels again. I’ve attached our receipt for food on Sunday night; my wife did not save her receipt from Saturday’s lunch or dinner. The RIU response is below. But first I would like to say my wife and I have been traveling all over for 40 years and have never had an experience like this or been treated like this before.

Another thing that we did not like and other couples mention it also is the load head banging music. It is non-stop from around 10:00 AM until 11:00 PM. It consist of three screaming girls who screamed because they could note carry a note in a suitcase. It started out at the pool and than moved up outside in the restaurant areas. The three building are set up in a U so the music echoes through all the rooms on the inside. They did not play to the crowd which for the most part where adults very few kids. None of the restaurants serve any drinks just beer or wine. As mention by others which I wish I had read before we made our arrangements is the four restaurants do not take reservations, and if you are not on line by 6:00 PM and at the front of the line you get handed a beeper with no guarantee of a sitting because the restaurants only serve from 6-9 PM. Each restaurant is small and only seats at best 50-75 people depending on which one you go to.

The two that we got into with another couple, the food was UN eatable the four of pushed it away. Aruba was nice but stay at the Hyatt or the Marriott or any of the other nice Hotels in the area, and eat at the restaurants on the street there are many good ones. RIU Response: Dear Mr. We have received your claim regarding your stay at our Riu Palace Aruba hotel in Aruba. We thank your comments as it is always our customers’ feedback which helps us to improve the quality of the services we provide. We regret to learn that your stay with us did not completely fulfil your expectations. We particularly feel sorry to hear that some members of your party became ill during your stay and we hope you are fully recovered. We can assure you that our hotel adheres to the predetermined hygiene standards in food and beverage. At the same time, our hotel is strictly submitted to both internal and external regular check-ups and food analysis. Our clients’ health and well-being is of our utmost priority.

You may agree that if your indisposition may have been caused by any bacteria present on food, with a high occupation rate and an all-inclusive buffet restaurants catering program we would have had many other gastric illness reports on the same dates. Nevertheless, there was no significant number of reports that week. Unfortunately, given the current lack of any medical notes received we cannot further investigate on the possible source of your ailment. Please understand that given these circumstances RIU Hotels & Resorts cannot be held liable for your unfortunate incident. We are very surprised to hear that the air-conditioning didn’t work as one would wish in room 6125. We understand that it must be very frustrating to have a noisy AC. Our maintenance staff is constantly checking the rooms, but nevertheless we are sure you will understand that some unreported issues can go unnoticed.

Once commented to the Front Desk, our staff will do their best to fix it as soon as possible, but unfortunately fixing some issues can take more time than one would want. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Dear Mr. we can understand how this unfortunate event impacted your holidays and we want to apologize in the name of the hotel's manager and staff. In any case we have forwarded your complaint to the relevant areas' decision-makers and they will start follow-up actions where necessary. We would like to apologize for the inconvenience and wish that you will consider our brand for your future vacation. With warm regards, Francesca Pinder After Travel RIU Customer Service