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Hotels in Mexico Reopen After Hurricane Wilma

Riu Hotels & Resorts announced that their five resorts in Playa del Carmen welcomed new guests starting Friday, October 28, less than a week after Hurricane Wilma passed over the area.

The Riu resorts in Playa del Carmen, which include Riu Palace Mexico , Riu Yucatan , Riu Playacar , Riu Tequila and Riu Lupita, received minimal damage and have been open and operational since the storm passed over the area. Damage was mostly to the gardens and pool areas. After the storm, the five Riu resorts in Playa del Carmen welcomed Riu guests from Cancun as well as guests from other hotels in Playa del Carmen, which suffered severe damage due to the storm. The hotels will welcome new guests starting October 28, 2005. A Riu construction crew was on site the day after the storm and has finalized repairs and clean-up. Painting and decorating of the few damaged rooms continues. All the public areas of the Riu resorts including bars, restaurants, pools, beach and lobby areas have been cleaned, repaired and are fully operational.

"We have been fortunate to be able to advance rapidly due to the infrastructure we have in this destination, which is, fortunately, also currently backed up by the construction team which has permitted us to rapidly channel sufficient human, technical and mechanical resources into the resorts," stated Jordi Planella, Executive VP Contracting, Sales & Marketing, Caribbean, Mexico & Florida for Riu Hotels & Resorts.

Though the Riu resorts in Playa del Carmen are in good condition and offering all the food, beverages and services offered through their all-inclusive program, the surrounding area of Playa del Carmen was impacted by the storm and operations in the surrounding area are not yet back to normal. The area suffered much damage to the tropical vegetation. The area is quickly repairing the damage, though the vegetation will take time to return to its pre-storm beauty.

The three Riu resorts in Cancun have announced their opening schedules. Riu Palace Las Americas will reopen Saturday, November 5, Riu Cancun will reopen on November 11 and Riu Caribe will open on December 20, 2005.

Paraiso de la Bonita, another resort in the Riviera Maya, was spared extensive damage after Hurricane Wilma. No structural damage to the luxurious resort occurred after strong winds and flooding caused the heavily populated tourist coastline to go without power and telephone use. To ensure Paraiso de la Bonita will continue to provide Five Diamond service and a perfect vacation for all of its guests, the property will re-open January 22, 2006. With a large increase in its beach, Paraiso management is expecting to re-open in better condition than before the storm hit and will also use this time to make enhancements within the property.

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