On the evening of 23 September 2026, RIU Hotels & Resorts welcomed the Bangkok travel trade to an introduction of Riu Palace Phuket — the group's first hotel in Thailand — and our Director was there on behalf of Explera. Thank you to the RIU team for the invitation and for a warm and generous evening. This dispatch, from a Thailand DMC for travel agents, records the occasion and sets out what the new hotel means for the files you are building for Phuket.
Explera DMC is an IATA TIDS-registered ground handler (96215733) trusted by 340+ agency partners, with in-house transport, licensed guides and 24/7 support. Reach the trade desk at b2b@explera.co.th.
A thank-you to the RIU team
A new resort only becomes sellable when the people who sell it understand it, and RIU chose to begin that work with the trade rather than with a brochure. The invitation promised a welcome reception, wine and tapas, and an introduction to RIU Hotels & Resorts, held at the Cagette Canteen & Deli fourth-floor lounge on Yen Akat Road in Bangkok. It was a relaxed, well-judged format for a trade introduction: time to meet the team behind the hotel rather than a presentation to sit through.
Our Director joined the RIU team for the evening. Meeting the people behind a new hotel before it goes into a proposal is exactly what a destination management company needs, and we are grateful to RIU for making the time. We look forward to working with the team as the hotel settles into its first seasons.
RIU arrives in Thailand
Riu Palace Phuket is RIU Hotels & Resorts' debut in Thailand, and the chain presents it as a new international milestone and a step in its expansion across Asia. The backdrop at the event said it simply: the RIU experience, now in Thailand. For agents whose clients already know the brand from other destinations, that recognition is itself a selling point — a returning RIU guest arrives knowing what the all-inclusive promise means.
The hotel is a five-star, beachfront resort on the north-west coast at Mai Khao, beside Sirinat National Park. It sits about 16 kilometres from Phuket International Airport and about 40 kilometres from Phuket's historic old town. That places it in the part of the island where, as our look at Phuket's new upscale room supply set out, much of the island's new top-end stock is being built.
The resort at a glance
The complex has 504 rooms, spread across several buildings of up to four floors and linked by covered walkways — a practical detail for a resort in a monsoon climate, and one worth mentioning to clients travelling in the green season. Alongside the spacious Junior Suites, 49 rooms belong to the Elite Club by RIU category, which is covered below.
There are six swimming pools, two of them for children and one reserved for Elite Club guests. The wellness area includes a fully equipped gym, a steam bath and the Renova Spa, with a menu of treatments, massages and hairdressing services. Two features give the resort a distinctly Thai setting: a meditation, prayer and offering area in front of the spa building, and a wooden palapa beside the dining area, an open-air space for massages in direct contact with nature.
For families there is the RiuLand kids' club and a daily programme of daytime and evening activities, and for active guests the RiuFit sports programme.
Twenty-four-hour All Inclusive, and why it matters to agents
The hotel brings RIU's 24-hour All Inclusive service to Phuket, and RIU presents it as what sets the property apart in the destination. For an agent, the value is in the quote: an all-inclusive rate turns a Phuket beach stay into a price the client can compare line for line, without estimating what dinners and drinks will add. It suits families, couples who want to stay put, and groups where one budget has to cover everyone.
The dining is spread across six venues that combine Thai cooking with international choices:
- Chantra, the main restaurant, with live cooking stations and themed buffets
- Ruen Siam, the Thai restaurant
- Il Gusto, for Italian cuisine
- a premium Steakhouse
- Pepe's Food, a casual grill
- the exclusive Elite Club restaurant
Seven bars cover different moods and times of day: the Mai Khao lobby bar, the Siang Sawan lounge bar, the Khon plaza, a Sports bar, the Capuchino coffee and ice-cream parlour, the Sabai pool bar with a swim-up bar, and the Elite Club Lounge.
Elite Club by RIU: the upgrade to sell
The 49 Elite Club rooms are designed for guests who want more personal service and more privacy, and they are the natural upsell on any Riu Palace Phuket quote. Elite Club guests have a private reception with personalised check-in, their own restaurant and pool, a selection of premium international branded drinks, an upgraded minibar, welcome amenities and an aromatherapy service. They can also book Swim Up category rooms, which have a private pool on the terrace.
For honeymoon, anniversary and incentive-winner files, that tier gives you a clear step up to offer without changing hotel, and a way to keep a group together while treating its leaders differently.
Sustainability on site
The resort has a solar panel installation across two buildings in its service area and a rainwater-harvesting system built into the rooftops, which collects rainwater to irrigate its extensive gardens. Those are specific, checkable features rather than a general claim, which makes them easier to put in a proposal for clients who ask.
What this means for your Phuket files
Riu Palace Phuket gives agents a new kind of option on the island: a large, five-star, all-inclusive beachfront resort from a brand many clients already know, in a quieter northern location that is close to the airport. It pairs naturally with arrival-day and departure-day logistics, because the airport is a short transfer away, and with day excursions to the rest of the island and to Phang Nga Bay.
As your Thailand DMC, we can build the hotel into a complete ground programme: private transfers, guided excursions and dinners outside the resort for clients who want them, and meeting and event arrangements for groups. See our Thailand DMC services for travel agents, our hotel booking service and our Phuket destination guide. For groups and incentives, our MICE team can advise on how the resort's layout and dining suit your programme.
Send your dates, room mix and group size to the trade desk, and ask for Riu Palace Phuket by name.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly is Riu Palace Phuket?
On the beach at Mai Khao, on Phuket's north-west coast, next to Sirinat National Park. It is about 16 kilometres from Phuket International Airport and about 40 kilometres from Phuket's historic old town.
What does the 24-hour All Inclusive cover?
RIU describes the hotel as offering its 24-hour All Inclusive service, alongside six restaurants and seven bars. Confirm exactly what a given rate and room category include when you request a quote, particularly for the Elite Club restaurant and the premium drinks served in the Elite Club.
What is the Elite Club by RIU?
A category of 49 rooms with a private reception and personalised check-in, a dedicated restaurant and pool, premium international branded drinks, an upgraded minibar, welcome amenities and aromatherapy. Swim Up rooms with a private terrace pool are available in this category.
Does the resort work for families?
Yes. It has two children's pools, the RiuLand kids' club and a daily programme of daytime and evening activities, alongside the RiuFit sports programme for guests who enjoy active wellness.
How do we include Riu Palace Phuket in a proposal?
Send your client's dates, room mix and any special occasions to our trade desk. We will come back with availability and a full ground programme around the stay, including transfers and excursions, so the proposal arrives as one package.
