My family and I stayed here for 3 nights on arriving in Florida. We found the hotel to be clean and comfortable and we even had a partial view of the sea. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The breakfast was really good and set us up for the day. We walked to South Beach each day along the Boardwalk and walked back in the evening along the street. Although there were a few seedy areas along the walk back we never felt unsafe or threatened.
We did the Duck Tour which was fun, however they did not cover the whole route as indicated on their leaflet, and most of the time was spent on the water looking at "celebrity homes". If you are from the UK like us, most of them won't mean much to you. It is a fun trip though.
The best place we ate was Joe Allen's. It was a little off the beaten track (junction of Dade Boulevard and Purdy Ave) but the food, service and atmosphere were great!
Arranged to pick our Dollar hire car up from the Eden Roc hotel for 9.00am, we eventually got it at 11.00am! It didn't matter to us as we weren't in a hurry but there were a lot of frustrated people waiting there, so be warned.

My roommate and I stayed here for spring break this March. When we got there we had to confirm our room and give them our birthdays, when the staff member checking us in found out that the next day was my birthday he immediately gave us a beautiful ocean front room. Also, the next day there was a fruit basket with a card from the manager wishing me a happy birthday. The room was clean and the staff was wonderful. The pool area is great as well, so relaxing! It's only a short walk to the heart of South Beach too. I would stay at the Riu again anytime!

My husband, 12 year old daughter and I just returned from Miami Beach, staying at the Riu for 6 nights. We enjoyed our entire stay at this hotel. We had a long day of traveling and it took 2 hrs to get from the heart of the Art Deco district down to the hotel. (We quickly learned other routes and bypassed the heart of the partying). When we got to our room (which was suppose to be an oceanfront room), opened the patio door and was looking at the side of the Palms Hotel. Went down to the desk and without hesitation, Wilbert took us up to a different room that looked directly out on the pool and ocean. Wilbert was nothing but kind and always smiling. The rooms were clean, the pool was awesome and the staff were very friendly. We personally liked that it was down several blocks from all the "hub-bub." The boardwalk was great and we took several walks. The Outback steak house is a short walk and had very friendly staff as well.

For next year's spring break, we are actually checking into one of the Riu's all-inclusive resorts. We are certain that they are as top-notched as the Riu in Miami.

Just got back from the RIU in South Beach, Miami. We stayed there for 2 days prior to our cruise (Mar 9 & 10th).

The amenities were pretty good, and the rooms not bad. Not great, but not bad. I can only assume that they're still cleaning up from the past hurricane season, so I'll give them a little leeway.

We had an ocean view room, 7th floor, and had a great view of the beach, ocean, and pool area. The beds were hard as a rock, as were the pillows (the pillows were about 2 inches thick - no cushion).

Staff were generally friendly, but spoke very little English. We could barely understand the guy when we checked in, and all the forms we signed were in another language. And when you ordered a drink, for example, the bartender would acknowledge you & then start speaking in another language to his buddies behind the bar. They could be talking about the weather or about your wife - I don't know. But it's kind of rude. And yes, I know RIU is a European hotel chain, and most guests & employees speak spanish, but there should be at least SOME english there - it still is the USA's official language, is it not?

The hotel isn't in the best section of South Beach - very few stores, no restaurants nearby, and a little rundown neighbourhood. But the touristy section is only a couple minute taxi ride away. And it is on the beach - a real beautiful section of beach and boardwalk, actually.

Overall, not really worth the price. Definitely would not stay here again if I was in the Miami / South Beach area.