INESCAPABLE BANDA
The Riu staff is to be commended on being hard-working and friendly. For the first three days of our stay, we were able to hear the ocean waves from our 19th floor room balcony, enjoy the tranquil beach from a beach lounger and even peacefully take the sun from our balcony loungers. HOWEVER, after the first three days, we have one monumental complaint. The INESCAPABLE BANDA MUSIC was intolerable. On the fourth day of our stay through the seventh and last day, this music would start at around 2:00pm every afternoon and would not stop until after about 7:30 EVERY DAY. It was so loud that we could no longer enjoy our balcony to watch a peaceful sunset, to read a book, to converse or even relax. The music reverberated throughout the ENTIRE grounds of the hotel. We would even return to the room after sunset and have to play music on our cell phone to drown out the sound of the banda music that could be heard through the walls and sliding doors of our hotel room. The tuba and drum were particularly loud and many days TWO different bands would be playing different songs SIMULTANEOUSLY! This cumulative afternoon disruption had a negative effect on our stay in Mazatlán. We both speak fluent Spanish and recognize and respect cultural traditions and have traveled extensively throughout México and other Latin American countries and enjoyed every city and country that we have visited, but this banda music was INESCAPABLE and we will NEVER be returning to Mazatlán.