Now that I have done Koh Lanta if I was going back I would do Railay this time. We did not actually get any overnight time in Railay. We just went for a day visit this trip. Koh Lanta is a beautiful place to relax and chill and slow down and so is Railay so they are definitely comparable but Koh Lanta was awesome for renting a scooter but Railay is a better place to explore on foot!
We have been researching this beautiful resort. But did I understand you correctly the lobby bar is closed during the day. Seriously, I have been to a lot of all inclusives they are always open during the day up till late at night. We love to go for a drink during the day. Can you let me know pls.
@@canadafragrancereviewerdia9119 they open in the afternoon. Like they are not open around breakfast time, I don’t remember the exact time they open but I would guess around noon.
@@alexiacalderon6686 it was very hot and extremely humid in July. The days were all direct full sun, so freaking hot and the evenings would pour rain almost every day which makes it really difficult to use their terrace. I would only reccomend getting married here in July if you plan on using their ballroom.
@@MrAkashrintu so all over Thailand they sell gas in bottles just on the side of the road. There were a couple gas stations for sure along the way as well and we did stop when we saw one but you will see people selling gasoline in glass bottles all over the place too it is not hard to find somewhere to buy 2-3 bottles if you are nervous about running low to get to the next gas station.
Hi, Me and my girlfriend watched all videos of your trip as we were debating going to this resort. We're definitely booking, thanks to you! Also, we were absolutely mind blown to see that you guys were from Calgary- small world! Thanks :)
Great Video, Can you control in which direction the bus takes you by switching buses or do the buses run in circles; or would I need to seat for the entire ride to reach my point of origin?
Really good video. It was a nice touch cutting all the noise out of the buffet video so we could understand what you were saying. Did you eat dinner at any of the specialty resaurants? If you did, was it worth the hassle in your opinion?
I found the specialty restaurants much preferable to the buffets for dinner mostly just for variety. The buffet can become to redundant. It is pretty much the same every day. The even the Italian and Asian one are both just buffets but serve different things than the main buffet and the Gourmet, Mexican and steakhouse are a la carte and we’re the better meals of the trip for sure!
We were on the main floor so we did not require an elevator to get to our room and I honestly didn’t notice if there were elevators in our complex but they are not very high buildings only about 3 floors, so there are a lot of main floor rooms at this resort.
It was really awesome for our second week once our friends and family left but we barely used it on the first week when we had lots of family and friends around and we were busy with the wedding! One thing to note is that they play mariachi on the beach almost constantly, but it’s not very good mariachi, it sounds kind of like a bunch of pre teens learning to play their first musical instruments so if that is something that would really bother you, then you might not love having the jacuzzi. That being said the sunsets from the balcony cannot be beat so it was pretty cool.
It was called la misión, it’s their Mexican restaurant, you do have to wear clothing like a bathing suit coverup and a shirt to eat here for lunch which is different than Pepe’s which are the poolside lunch offerings but the food is much better here. The only thing that is good at Pepe’s is the fries.
@@williamwright6509no we didn’t receive anything special. We booked an extremely basic package though with Sunwing. Might be different if you book through an alternate method.
I did enjoy staying here! If you’re the kind of person who does not like to leave your resort it’s is a good resort as it is VERY far from the city of Puerto Vallarta. The highlights for me was the 24 hour coffee shop, the waves are so nice and swimable ( but this is consistent around most of the puerto Vallarta area) and I really enjoyed all of their a la carte dinner restaurants. The roof top bar at sunset is also a highlight in my opinion. I think my best tip for this place would be to just never bother with the lunch buffet. It is always worth it to trek down to the beach for the taco bar!
@@robbieunger850 it was not cold at all in July! Haha I actually wished it was colder. I am not sure how it would be this time of year though and I did not notice any construction at all though.
@@jadedrescher7651 sorry for so many questions. What room did you have? We are getting the premium sunset room. I am hoping it faces inward towards the property so we can see the pool.
@@robbieunger850 we had a garden view room! My mother had the ocean view and if you get the ocean view room you will not see the pool at all, they are on the lower levels under the terrace but my grandmother had a sunset room and they could see the pool and the ocean, but they were quite a lot further from the ocean.
Yes I agree! I just filmed our next trip on the iPhone instead of trying to figure out the camera I brought on this trip. It was too easy to accidentally take footage in slow motion and then I would loose the sound which was so disappointing!
I just read in the comments that you were pregnant on this trip!! We are going in a couple weeks I will be 25 weeks when we're there. Did you find any difficulty with the food options, non alcoholic drinks etc?
No I wouldn’t say I found it difficult. I drank lots of virgin mojitos and virgin slush drinks it was awesome. Drinks were easy to get yummy non alcoholic options by the pool but were a little limited at the meals. They really wanna serve you beer or wine at dinner haha. I usually opted for a lemonade or soda with lime.I did stick to safe foods and ate a lot of the same things though but didn’t have troubles finding those safe foods, breakfast was easy I did fruit a bagel and hash browns almost every day. Lunch was harder because Pepe’s isn’t very good we went into town for lunch a lot and dinners they had so many specialty restaurants we got to eat at a new one almost every night and it seems like they put more care into those meals than their buffet. You may want to consider bringing something like Metamucil if you are like me and most of your safe foods are low in fibre 🙊
We went on the first floor and I don’t remember the number but if you are standing in the building where the lobby is and facing the pool it was immediately to the left
Thank you! Haha do you think? It’s kind of a prickly feeling but nothing else has ever happened. No rash or tummy trouble or itching or anything like that but I’ve always kind of wondering the same thing.
I did get sick one night after eating at the “gourmet” restaurant for dinner so it is a possibility but my husband did not get sick and I was pregnant so I am not sure! Haha
It was included with our west jet package so I am not actually sure! We just got put into a single cab instead of onto a coach bus because we were the only people going to that area from our flight.
We didn’t bring any ourselves but we saw a few other people with floaties, I am not sure if they have any rules around size or if they are allowed in all pools ect.
Buffets are ok, breakfast one is the best and the sit down restaurants at dinner are much better than the buffets though! So we ate breakfast and dinner every day at the hotel and went into town a few times for lunch!
Hi, Just watched all of your riu santa fe videos. Very informative, thank you. I was wondering which building you would recommend. I would like to request a room that isn't too far away from everything. Also, how was the weather in February? We are planning to book for February as well. Tia
February was surprisingly chilly at times for Mexico. It was beautiful weather for exploring the town and Marina but the second the sun went behind the clouds it was a little chilly if you were wet and in a bathing suit. Their climate is similar to California rather than other places in Mexico. I don’t remember exactly which building would be the best because I don’t remember the system for numbering them but I would just recommend asking for a room that is NOT near the pool party pool or too close to the disco. Although they are both fun places they are very loud and huge party places and the music can be SO LOUD from both of these places.
I was just there last week nice. We really didn't like the food at riu. So we ate at Roasted,The office,mango deck, and la casa county all perfect restaurant's. All riu food taste like cheaper cruise ship food. We went to riu kukulkan in Cancun last month the food was a little better. I also didnt like you had to pay for the games in the sports bar that's crazy I can drink for free but have to pay for pool. We always love the riu themed parties they are the same everywhere but never gets old. Good footage Jade you made me want to upload our vacation
Oh thank you! I would have to agree, you can always find food to eat at the buffets but there isn’t ever anything that really stands out as excellent. Edible but not fabulous! That’s why I end up with a bagel and fruit every day for breakfast because they are hard to screw up hahaha! But we also loved the pool parties! That and the water slides were the highlight of the hotel for us!!
Definitely worked on our phones well, we didn’t bring our laptops down though so I can’t vouch for how it worked on there. More than sufficient for social media, FaceTime ect
You cannot swim in the ocean in front of the Riu but if you walk about 40 minutes down the beach towards the Marina there is a roped off area where you can swim!
It was included with our booking through Sunwing! We just had to find a Sunwing representative when we got off the plane and they helped to direct us, they are easy to find as they wear orange uniforms
Hey how you doing. I wanted to know at the pool party was the guys and girls a little too friendly as in touching your butt. I seen and other ppl videos that men/woman can get a little close and sometimes being drunk you know take it a little too far. Just want to know your experience. Thank you
@@jadedrescher7651thank you for such a fast response. I mean they didn’t say it was horrible but that since it be so pack and everybody drinking be prepared. Thank you so much on your take on it.
Glad you put out episode 2! My dad and I are going in January and enjoyed your first vid. Watching this one now, Def gotta hit that gym up:) Looking forward to the rest of the vid 😊
