By the Caribbean Journal staff

Spanish hotel giant Riu is planning more renovations in the Caribbean, the company said this week.

That will include two properties: the Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and the Riu Ocho Rios in Jamaica. (Riu will also be renovating its Riu Vallarta on Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit.)

“In 2019, our efforts will also be very much focussed on Mexico,” said Luis Riu, CEO of Riu Hotels and Resorts.

The Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

The refurbishment projects in Mexico will include a new design for the interiors, a restyling of the bathrooms bedrooms, bars, restaurants and public areas.

“We will preserve the basic character of the hotels as they are very special and have a loyal clientele who have made it crystal clear that we should maintain their core essence,” Riu said.

The 856-room Riu Ocho Rios, which was first built in 2005, will launch its renovation in April “so that we can relaunch a renovated and modern hotel in September,” Riu said.

The Riu Ocho Rios in Jamaica is getting a makeover.

Both projects come after what was a busy year for Riu in the Caribbean in 2018, which included renovations at properties like the the Riu Bambu in Punta Cana and Jamaica’s Riu Palace Tropical Bay to an expansion that saw the debut of the newest Riu Caribbean hotel, the Riu Palace Costa Mujeres, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico.

The Riu CEO said more renovations were planned in 2020 and 2021 as part of a companywide upgrade initiative.

Luis Riu, CEO of Riu.

“The hotels that have not yet been renovated are already being scheduled for 2020 y 2021,” he said. “once we finish it will be time to go back and start all over again in a continuous process of aiming for quality and keeping up-to-date with new trends and the wishes of our guests.”

Don’t miss our list of the top Riu resorts to try right now in the Caribbean.

— CJ