Riu Palace Peninsula after the renovation: reopened on 25 July, with an adults-only Elite Club
RIU emptied the Riu Palace Peninsula, kept the façade and reopened it on 25 July with 618 new rooms. As a couple I’d book the Elite Club, adults only, ideally with the pool outside the room; with a family there’s all the rest, RIU Land included.
Photo: RIU Hotels & Resorts
Emptied and rebuilt in just over 3 months
The Riu Palace Peninsula has stood in Cancún’s Hotel Zone since 2012.1 Its closure was announced from 6 April 20266; it reopened on 25 July1, after works RIU describes plainly: the hotel emptied2 and redesigned from scratch, with the façade left as it was. All 618 rooms are new, in natural tones and warm woods.
The news is the Elite Club5, a first for this hotel: the 100 best rooms in the villa area, the part that used to be adults-only, some with a private pool.1 It has its own à la carte restaurant for breakfast and dinner, a pool with a swim-up bar, its own lobby bar, priority check-in and late check-out.5
The rest of the resort is for everyone: all-inclusive around the clock, themed restaurants included,2 9 restaurants and 7 bars, RIU Land for the children and their pool.1 And in the gardens stands Ta’akul, a 700-year-old Mayan site.2
By comparison, the resort has only just arrived.
The renovation’s dates
Booking the Riu Palace Peninsula after the works
| Where to book | On 18 October, on Google Hotels, a single site sold the nights of 15 November and 15 December, and riu.com wasn’t there:8 start from RIU’s own site, which quotes per person. |
|---|---|
| Prices | On RIU’s site rates start at $130 per person a night in a garden-view Junior Suite, and at $163 in the Elite Club.4 |
| Who to ask | +52 998 848 8090 or palace.peninsula@riu.com; check-in from 3pm, check-out at noon.3 |
| Evenings | Adults get into the 4 weekly RIU Party nights at Riu Caribe next door.1 |
If you want an alternative in Cancún
3 resorts in the guide, in the Hotel Zone and further south, 7 to 35 minutes by car.
Hyatt Ziva Cancún
For a family holiday of sea, pools and restaurants close by; as a couple, the Turquoize suites and their rooftop pool.
The spa, cabanas, transfers and some dishes cost extra.
Why choose it
On the tip of the Hotel Zone; it’s a 7-minute drive from the Riu.9
NIZUC Resort & Spa
For a resort among the mangroves and 2 beaches at Punta Nizuc, with family suites and Ocean Suites from age 16.
Breakfast, meals and the spa depend on the rate you choose.
Why choose it
It’s a 22-minute drive from the Riu.9
Moon Palace Cancún
For a family holiday of pools, games and different dinners without leaving the resort.
For evenings in the Hotel Zone you need a transfer.
Why choose it
It’s a 35-minute drive from the Riu.9
Driving minutes on OpenStreetMap’s roads; the rest from each hotel’s page in the guide, each with its date.9
Riu Palace Peninsula Cancun renovation, before you ask
Has the Riu Palace Peninsula reopened?
Yes, on 25 July 20261, after a closure announced from 6 April.
What changed with the renovation?
All 618 rooms are new, and there’s the Elite Club, adults only, in the 100 best rooms of the villa area.1
Is the Riu Palace Peninsula adults only?
No: only the Elite Club5 is for adults. The rest of the resort welcomes families, with RIU Land and a children’s pool.
What does the Elite Club include?
An à la carte restaurant for breakfast and dinner, a pool with a swim-up bar, the lobby bar, premium drinks, early check-in and late check-out.5
How many pools are there?
6, says the reopening release1: 3 for everyone, 1 for adults, 1 for the Elite Club and 1 for children; the hotel page still counts 4.
Where else to stay in Cancún?
At Hyatt Ziva, a 7-minute drive, for a family with the sea in front; at NIZUC, 22 minutes, for the mangroves and the suites; at Moon Palace, 35 minutes, for a resort you never need to leave.
We wrote this on our own: Riu Palace Peninsula reads it as you do. We sell no rooms: the links go where we read it.
Where we read it
- 1 RIU, release of 26 July 2026 on the reopening, 18 October 2026
- 2 RIU’s blog, the new Riu Palace Peninsula, 18 October 2026
- 3 RIU’s website, the Riu Palace Peninsula page, 18 October 2026
- 4 RIU’s website, the Riu Palace Peninsula rooms, 18 October 2026
- 5 RIU’s website, the Riu Palace Peninsula Elite Club, 18 October 2026
- 6 Caribbean Journal, 16 February 2026, 18 October 2026
- 7 Caribbean Journal, 27 July 2026, 18 October 2026
- 8 Google Hotels, the Riu Palace Peninsula’s nights, 18 October 2026
- 9 OpenStreetMap, walking and driving routes, 18 October 2026
