Riu Palace Mexico Adds Elite Club and 30 Private Pool Rooms

Riu has finished rebuilding the Riu Palace Mexico, the adults only all inclusive in Playacar, Playa del Carmen, and has added a premium Elite Club inside it. The 434 room beachfront hotel was Riu’s first Palace property in Mexico when it opened in 1999.

Riu Hotels and Resorts presented the completed renovation on September 21, as reported by the Spanish trade outlet Hosteltur and Economía de Mallorca, citing the chain. If you are weighing the hotel against its neighbours, our guide to Playa del Carmen all inclusive resorts compares the options along the same coast.

The Elite Club Upgrade

Elite Club is the headline change. According to both reports, it takes 56 of the hotel’s best rooms, and 30 of those have a private pool. Guests get a separate reception with personalised check in, premium drinks, a la carte breakfasts and a dedicated restaurant for dinner, plus a new infinity pool with its own bar.

One detail differs between sources. Both articles give 56 Elite Club rooms in their main text, but a photo caption in Hosteltur, credited to Riu, says 50 rooms are exclusive to Elite Club guests. The count of rooms with private pools, 30, is the same in both. Confirm the room type on Riu’s site if a specific Elite Club category matters to you.

For couples choosing between a standard all inclusive room and something closer to a luxury stay, that creates a hotel within a hotel. Prices for Elite Club have not been included in the reports; check Riu’s booking engine for your dates, since the gap between categories is what decides whether the upgrade is worth it.

Rooms, Restaurants and Bars

The rooms were refurbished with living areas and large windows opening onto terraces or balconies, in soft tones, natural wood and warm lighting, per Economía de Mallorca. The hotel keeps all 434 rooms.

The nine restaurants include the Don Julián international buffet, Guacamole at the pool, Miyagi for Asian food, La Dolce Vita for Italian, the gourmet Krystal, a Steak House, the Elite Club restaurant, the Tiki Taco station and Pepe’s Grill. The six bars include the Cubano lobby bar, Capuchino, the 24 Horas sports bar, Los Mariachi, the Tequila swim up bar and the new Elite Club bar. Guests keep access to the RIU Party themed nights at the neighbouring Riu Tequila.

Checking the Reopening Before You Book

The hotel’s own page still carried a renovation notice with a September 2026 reopening when Deep Arrival checked it, alongside a description of Elite Club. Riu’s official listing is the place to confirm that your dates are bookable and that the Elite Club rooms are available.

If you stayed here before, expect the core format to be familiar: adults only, 24 hour all inclusive and a beachfront Playacar setting. What changes is the finish of the rooms and the option to pay up for a quieter, more exclusive section.

Riu’s Wider Quintana Roo Refresh

Hosteltur reports that the project follows the recent renovation of the Riu Palace Peninsula in Cancun’s Hotel Zone and comes ahead of the Riu Palace Quintana Roo, planned as the chain’s fourth hotel in Costa Mujeres. Riu operates 15 of its 23 Mexican hotels in Quintana Roo, according to the same reports.

For travelers, that means more renovated Riu inventory across the Cancun and Riviera Maya corridor over the next year, and a reason to check which properties have been refreshed before booking an older room at a similar price.