We arrived 2 hours before official check-in, and were received by a porter and given a welcome mimosa drink! Fantastic! We were told we could check in right away as our room was ready, that was lucky! Our room was better than hoped for, the entertainment was mostly wonderful, the other guests dressed well too, and were very friendly, as was all of the waitstaff and service (plus they were very pro-active!) The food in all the restaurants was good, and so were the wine and cocktails. There's a dedicated coffee bar with freshly baked (except Sundays) pastries, take that coffee, to go, to the breakfast buffet, where the coffee from the machines is not great. The view from the hotel /pools is amazing, you can gaze at the ocean with a drink in your hand in the infinity pool!
The only minus point were the flies and other insects (I had at least 10 bites by some insect on my lower legs) on the outside terrace in front of the buffet restaurant. Something should have been done about that.
Overall, I highly recommend the RIU Palace Baja, we will be back!