this is not i repeat not hell on earth as one guest implies. the hotel is in an area that is having massive reconstruction undertaken in the area between the rui and the area people know as south beach. the hotel is nice friendly and clean with a beautiful beach right outside. the buffet breakfast is superb and pool area clean and tranquil. miami has a massive spanish / cuban influance wherever you go so be ready for this or go somewere else. i would personnaly go back so dont let other reviews put you off i allmost did

Both lifts worked, we had a bathroom, we had a seaview, Most of the staff are really nice and helpfull, however a four star hotel?? I have stayed in better 3 stars. It was our honeymoon and also my birthday so we decieded to book what looked like the best hotel they had to offer in the agents. (I kind of wish i read this site first.)
When we got there we were greeted very nicley and everything was easy and pleasant at check in, We even had a Dutch girl explaining everything in Dutch (where we live). Our room was an ocean view room on the tenth floor, we were lucky enough to have one of the two only king size beds. The room did smell of wet dog, I presume that is because of the humidity and leaking balcony door on the old stained carpet. The walk in wardorbe was nice and contained a fridge(without mini bar) and the safe (which costs 2 dollars per day) The bathroom was very basic and the bath was a bit dirty (This is not to say it hadnt been cleaned, just that it was old and needed replacing) The room just seemed to lack class, something that I would have expected. It was travelodge, without the fininshing touches, but with a balcony. The view if you stood looking in one direction is really good, but if you look staright forward you see a borded up old hotel with stagnant water and broken glass. An ocean view room is not the same as an ocean front room (something that we were never offered) It was our honemoon, so we were recomended this as a good honeymoon location. The second day we were given a bottle of Champangne and some fruit and a calander of south beach from the Manager. Most of the staff were really nice. But the hotel had no room service!, (a must on a honeymoon) and the snacks avalible down stairs, were limited over priced and lacking flair, but nice if you want burger and chips. The swiming pool is good and the beach is two minutes away. It is a 20 min walk from all the restuarants and shops, we didnt mind that too much. The resturaunt downstairs was quite good value, the buffet was very good but again lacking in much class, but the wine was good.
The entertainment consited of a bass player and a girl standing under a tacky disco ball singing karoke, she wasnt a bad singer but niether a good one. I feel that the Hotel is not what I expected but the staff try really hard to make up for the obvious problems.

Although being a Spanish chain, we had never been in a RIU hotel and after an extensive search, we finally chose it for our 2 days stay in Miami.

After being there I can say that we more or less agree with all the previous reviews.

Pros: a) Concierge: Same as another reviewer, they could not find our reservation (4 rooms). However, they were able to to give our rooms immediately, awaiting an internal confirmation from Spain. That's what we call a quick & efficient reaction, b) Miami Beach: You only need to walk 200 mt. and you are at the famous Miami Beach. Nice temperature and white sand and c) Breakfast: In line with many Spanish hotel chains, excellent breakfast buffet, including "state-of-the-art" eggs & omellettes, live made.

Cons: a) Location. This is a crutial tip. Despite being at Collins Avenue, it is perhaps located in the worst area of the whole Avenue, far away from South Beach / Lincoln Avenue, where the heat is on and also far away from the relax atmosphere of North Beach / Bal Harbour, b) I also agree that it needs a refurnishment, especially the rooms.

This was due to be the relaxing part of our holiday after New York And Washington and I must admit I was worried after some recent reviews! We chose the Riu partly because we could upgrade to a seaview room with our travel agent and this couldn't be guaranteed with some of the more famous, central hotels. As we were due to arrive on our 32nd anniversary I emailed the hotel. When we arrived we were greeted with the promise of a lovely room and it was! 902 was a corner room with balcony and front and side windows. After going for a walk we arrived back to find champagne and fruit in the room- a lovely touch. Both lifts were in operation for our stay of 8 days and although a lot of renovation and rebuilding is going on the only effect was that the beach was really quiet with less people. Breakfast was fresh and varied and we had no problem with making any staff understand us. A good end to our holiday.