In 1953 the international RIU chain was founded Mallorca, Spain by the RIU family and is still owned by the family’s third generation. The first hotel was a 80-bed property in Playa de Palma (Mallorca, Spain). RIU specializes in holidays resorts and 70% of their properties are All Inclusive. RIU owns more than 100 hotels in 19 countries. RIU is the Caribbean’s most popular resort and the third largest in Spain.
During the 60s and 70s the company underwent expansion in the Balearic Islands and in 1976 RIU Hotels S.A was established in order to be able to build new hotels.
In 1985 RIU opened its first hotel outside of the Balearic Islands on the island of Gran Canaria. Today the Canary Islands are one of RIU’s main destinations, with over 20 hotels located there.
The first international hotel was opened in 1991 in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, RIU expanded in Punta Cana to 5 hotels and also did a major extension into several countries including Mexico, Jamaica, Aruba, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Cape Verde, Morocco and Tunisia. Some destinations have more than one property in their complex.
2010 brought the biggest change in the RIU Hotels and Resorts with the launch of the RIU Plaza hotel brand. Panama City welcomed the first RIU Plaza Panama Hotel, it was the first RIU in Panama and the first of the RIU city hotels. The company’s commitment for this new line of hotels continues with the opening of RIU Plaza Guadalajara in Mexico and the RIU Plaza New York Times Square, which is due to open the end of 2015.
