This trip was to the all-inclusive Riu Hotel on Paradise Island, Bahamas for 7 nights and 8 days. Our travel agent (Kaiteur Travel) found us a deal for $3,100 through Sunquest Vacations plus $97 for travel insurance for the 3 of us. The 4 hour flight with West Jet was pleasant and the hosts were funny. We don't like paying for earplugs or blankets so we brought our own.
When we arrived at customs we had a bit of a wait but a calypso band was playing in the airport to get us in the island mood. In the line we met a very nice couple who we are still in contact with. One young man was in line by himself. He told us that he didn't know where he was staying, didn't have a cell phone on him and his friends told him they would pick up up just outside of the airport. I'm so glad we were ahead of him. Customs asked us a lot of questions and I think he would be the perfect traveller to be detained. We suggested that he start thinking about what his answers would be and he felt that he had nothing to worry about. Oh well.
Our customs officer was wonderful and even gave us tips on a shark adventure. It sounded just a bit too adventurous for us and we decided not to try it. The activity had something to do with feeding food to sharks and pulling the food line close to you (along with Mr. Shark) and then ...wait for it....pet the shark. Right.
The hotel shuttle bus dropped us off within 30 minutes. When we arrived at the RIU, the hotel room key system was down. We were starving and thought we may have to find food off site but one of the restaurants was open. We enjoyed a delicious buffet, drinks and refreshments and immediately got to experience our first all-inclusive meal.
Our room had two double beds and a view of the ocean. It wasn't the most modern set up but it clean and comfortable. As a matter of fact, the hotel will be shut down from mid-August until the end of November for renovations and a complete overhaul. We were told that more kid-friendly services will be added as well as another pool. The staff and room service was excellent.
I would give this hotel a 10 out of 10 except for it's smoking policy. The Riu is still in the age of the dinosaur. They allow smoking in the lobby and entertainment room. The rest of the world has recognized the effect on both the smoker and non-smoker and they allow guests to smoke and affect the health of other guests and their staff on a daily basis (and your clothes stink of smoke). Even guests who smoke were surprised to find out that they were allowed to do this. The lobby is your access to the front desk, pool entrance, dining rooms, elevators, entertainment room and the 24 hour bar making it impossible to avoid.
The Beach was fabulous. Beautiful sand, hot weather, aquamarine water. When you stepped out of the lobby, you would walk past the pool, down a dozen stairs and there it was. You could pay to jetski $70/1/2 hour, banana boat ride $15 per person, get your hair braided. If you walked along the beach to the right for about a 1/2 hour you would pass other hotels and at the end is the beginning of golf course where we were told Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey own homes. At this same spot we got to experience a small bay where the water came up to your waist and was inhabited by many different types of fish. The water was very warm and we stayed there for a couple of hours chatting with other tourists and enjoying the sun. It was glorious.
If you went to your left from the hotel the beach extended right by the famous overrated Atlantis Hotel.
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