Riu Palace Punta Cana

I went to Punta Cana this summer and stayed in RIU Palace and this Resort was amazing. There are 3 other resorts that you can walk to. There is plenty to do there, its like its own city. The staff was so friendly and would bend over backwards to give you the best service, for example at dinner one night the chef made me a spiecal dish. The food was amazing! There were also tour guides at the resort that were very friendly and they give you many different options. The hotel was very elegant and I would go there again. Also, people usually dont tip there but please do because the people that work there work very hard and they only get paid 20 dollars a month there so they depend on a little tip for their families. Use the Miami Vacation Store to book the trip they were great and gave me the best price. Dont book threw the hotel its more expensive.

Awesome , How anybody can rate this resort down is beyond me. My wife and I go to Mexico or the Caribbean once or twice a year and found This resort is as good or better than any we have stayed.

spent 2 weeks at the riu palace punta cana starting 9/10/08 untill 23/10/08 what can i say but SUPERB enjoyed every minute me and the wife was there . the service was first class and the people are so friendly they cant do enough for you and nothing was to much trouble the rooms were comfortable but did have a bit of a musky smell but it did not put me off .The resturant and food was to the highest standard did not try any of the themed resturants because we was happy with the buffet one entertianment was supurb different every night beach and pool area was clean and well maintaned. Would i go back the answer is YES enjoyed every minute

I just read some reviews that really put down this hotel. I stayed last week, and found it just wonderful. This was my 14th trip to Punta Cana and my second stay at the Riu Palace Punta Cana. The first visit was when the hotel just opened and I admit it needed some improvement then, however this visit was to a new and much improved Riu Palace Punta Cana!!!

Rooms: Our room was just fine, spacious, well appointed...comfy beds, clean and well maintained. We did meet one couple who had to change rooms due to dampness..but their 2nd room was fine...Remember people it is rainy season now (October).

Housekeeping: On the spot, early and twice a day..we had more clean towels than we needed, even face clothes.

Staff: Friendly, helpful and never hung around for a tip. I had no language problems, they mostly all spoke English, they were even using English to converse with many Europeans. It is not realistic to expect them to speak 5-6 different languages, mostly they know Spanish and English. Exactly how many friends and neighbors do you have that speak more than one language!!!

Beach: Simply the best..

Food: If you went hungry here, it was your own fault. We went to 3 ala cartes, Italian, Steak House and Oriental and all were just wonderful, good service and food. Buffet had a huge variety every night. Only used room service for coffee in the morning, promp, quick and on time. We used the card to hang on the door at night, except the last morning...we called for coffee at 6 am.and it was in our room (near the beach) by 6:05 a.m.. The room service menu was quite limited, but once we were in our room, we could not have eaten another bite, and there was something for everyone on the menu, and 24 hour snacks in the sports bar...and it is Included..what more can you ask for.

Excursions: Did not do any this time, but have in the past and have not been disappointed, especailly with Amstar (Apple Vacations).

Flight: Always pleasant and on time with USA 3000 (Apple Vacations)..Arrived early, got to the hotel by 11:15 a.m., promptly given our room, unpacked and on the beach at 12:15!!! Yes they did tell everyone arriving the info at the same time...why repeat yourself 4 or 5 times and make someone wait to get their room. We had welcome drinks, our little overview and were on the way to our room in 10 minutes..that is service if you ask me!

We visited other Riu Hotels in the Complex, as we have in the past. This is a great place to stay. When I read some of these complaints, I just have to wonder if there are some people you could never please. I would sell this to my clients, and believe they would come back very satisfied.

Go you will have a great time.

A travel agent with realistic expectations!

I became a little nervous that I was going to regret spending the Labor Day Weekend in Punta Cana after reading some reviews.

I enjoy the good life and actually if there is not a mint on my pillow, i feel like I am ruffing it. Unless your standards and expectations are higher than mine, which I doubt, you will not regret this hotel selection.

The beaches are amazing, the Europeans could make you blush, 14 in Punta Cana is is still 14 and the hotel staff is friendly even if "Si", is the only Spanish spoken. Drinks go down fast and the food is an 8 out of 10. I recommend the snorkeling and driving the boat after the party in the lagoon.

The shows are amateur hour, but honestly, if you want a show, travel to Broad Way.

The worst part of the trip was another American who we will call Ed-noying. If you had the unfortunate opportunity of meeting this person, I speak for all Americans when I say, "I'm sorry".

The hotel is not much of a singles seen, but my friend and I were very fortunate in sharing a ride from the airport with a great family who adopted us. I hope that Diva, Christopher, Renee, Mom and Dad are well.

In closing, if relaxation is what your after, you will not have to search any further because this is the place for you.

Stayed at the Riu Palace earlier this month. In march we stayed at the hotel next door which was the Riu Bambu.

At the Palace, we received a tower suite which has a huge wrap balcony and a huge tub in the middle of the room. Also had a Ocean view which was lovely. Room was great and luxurious. Nothing to worry about at all.

Ate at the Gourmet restaurant, the Brazilian, Sushi and the Italian for dinner. We loved the Italian and the Gourmet the most. The Steak at the Gourmet was really good. Everything at the italian was as well and they had a largest anipast section ever. Felt like we ate dinner before we even received out entrees.

The pool was nice and warm so was the ocean. Staff was great and friendly.

The only con I can even think of is that the whole hotel is very marble like and can get slippery when its wet which is a lot. Just be careful when walking around.

My husband and myself stayed at the Rui Punta Cana for 14 days from the 21st Aug 2008. We have previously stayed at Riu hotels in Mexico, Cuba and the Domican Republic (Riu Merengu) and have visited other Caribean Islands. We felt that the hotel was on par with the other hotels we have stayed in and was what we expected - great, helpful service, very clean, good food, great pool and beach.

My husbands highlight was the gym, as an early riser (7 am) he would go and spend an hour in there while I slept. He also appreciated the internet connection in the lobby. If you take your own lap top you can access the internet for free and use skype (far cheaper than phones). It meant we felt in touch with the outside world and could keep an eye on the hurricanes in the area. My husband safely left his computer in a locked case or a drawer in the room.

Pool was very clean and the water only to warm on a couple of days. Choice of beds around the pool - could move with the sun. Pool bar good with very attentive waiters - sometimes found them a bit heavy handed with the alchol in the cocktails especially for the middle of day.

Beach beautiful with plenty of sunbed if you looked. Enjoyed the enthusiastic pool and beach entertainment.

Room did have a musty smell at times but not enough to ruin the holiday and have found this before in the Caribean. Maid kept the room spotless and even provided a turn down service.

The food was good but tended to be repetitive at times. There was always a good choice and the trick is to try something different. Did not try the Brasillian resturant but the other speciality ones were good. The waiters consitantly filled your glass and looked affended when you said no.

At times the lobby bar got busy and you had to wait for drinks - if you were in a hurry going to the bar yourself was far faster. Had no problem with the bar staff understanding what you wanted to drink - the drinks menu meant you can point to what you want if any confusion.

Hurricane Ike caused bad weather for two/three days and there was not a lot to do. But it was fun swimming in the rain and as you can use any hotel in the chain we walked to caribean street stopping at other hotels when it started to rain. If you go in the rainy season you have to expect rain, it is still hot - just make the most of it.

A great hotel for couples wanting a quiet, relaxing holiday, not the hotel if you want lots of action.

Ahem.....First of all this place is AWESOME. I don't care if you're 5-100 years old you will have a fun time here. You will NOT have a fun time here if you are a hermit , have no social skills, or are a depressiong person to be around. Now that that's out of the way let me tell you about my experience from beginning to end. I booked this whole trip by myself through the RIU. I had to confirm multiple times that transportation was definitely going to be provided and someone was going to be at the airport to pick me up. I was told that someone with a red sign and a blue shirt was going to be at the airport to take me to the hotel....not so much. Upon arrival I waited and waited and there was no red sign nor blue shirt anywhere to be found. So out of no where I see this little red sign that was attached to the information kiosk. If they made it any smaller it could be classified as a microorganism, Anyway, I finally got a hold of the proper personnel. Then they escorted my to the shuttle where I was told I would be waiting for another party (family) to arrive. At this point I needed a $5 corona at the airport because I had been waiting for over an hour at this point. Continually, as I'm sitting and sweating my ass off in this makeshift shutlle I'm still waiting and waiting. Mind you the taxi cab drive ris no where to be found. At this point I was 2 seconds away from putting it in 1st gear and peeling out of there. One thing stopped me- I obviosuly had to GPS and didn't want to wind up at the 'Welcome to Haiti' sign. So an hour and a half goes by and finally the other party (family) arrives. They are all smiles and the look on my face is like it's about damn time. My friend who I went with was not as contempt as I was, but was all worth it and you'll see why when you read later. So as we arrive we couldn't check in because the room wasn't ready, but the nice waitress kept bringing me drinks as I was trying to check in for some reason. So I have to wait (again) to check in and decide to take myself to the bar in the lobby to enjoy my all inclusive drinking. I had the drink with the family since they couldn't check in either , but (Diva) who you will read about later go to go check in early somehow. Upon finally checking into the room I'm ready to jump in the water. I didn't really even check out the room I was so hyped to finally start my vacation. On my way to the water I encounter many subpar female (upper parts) you know who you are you Euro-ladies. I guess the Euro's have no shame, but we have to draw the line somewhere. I would recommend if you bring a young child here to make sure they wear blinders because they will be scarred for life if they saw what I saw. Anyway, its about dinner time and unless you eat at the buffet you have to make reservations at one of the restaurants. Note that you must make reservations early or you may not be able to eat where you want that night. I'm no Sushi fan, but the word on the streeet says that it's not the best place to eat there. I'd recommened La Bodega or the gourmet restaurant. Now its nightlife time of day one of my epic adventure to Punta Cana. The 1st night they put on a show which was decent, but you know you're not paying for a Broadway production so make it fun whoever you with and enjoy the moment. you're in Punta Cana for sakes- it could be worse!. I wake up the next day after about 2 hours of sleep and massive dehydration and head to the breakfast buffet (with my new Mom Dad and brother- a part of the family that I've been tellling you about). Immediately after scarfing down some watered down eggs I head to the pool and begin working on my oh so needed tan- those of you know me will think that's comical. So I'm in the pool having a good time meeting new people from different countries and states. Oh please note that if you not meet at least one person here you have severe interaction problems and there's no way you should be on vacation. Now back to my story. I'm still in the pool wandering around spilling beers and who knows what else they gave me in my drinks in the pool, but with the smile on my face I could really care less. Now it's off to play beach volleyball!. That was hot. If you don't hydrate yourself you might be in for a world of pain and or passout. Lets continue to the nightlife-not much of one. The only 'club' on the property is Pacha. If you like hanging out with locals then this is the place to go. If not then you better have a contingency plan quick because there's not to much else to do. There is another club, but it's about 15 minutes by taxi away. Now it's the next day i do the whole buffet breakfast and I'm right back on my lounge chair by the pool people watching and hanging out with my new family. An excursion representative approaches us and we decide to go on a snorkling trip the next day. Diva was a little reluctant to go becuase of motion sickness,but after asking and asking and asking ultimate convinicing she finally decided to go. At night, we decided to stay local and enjoy karakoke where the previous night's performance was. It was medoicre at best duet o people singing songs in different lauguages it makes for interesting entertainment. Opps I almost forgot do not go to the casino- it's a joke a you will lose. If you're use to USA rules they don't exist here. Now it's the next day same thing (pool, beach, people watching, and eating etc). Now we're all off to snorkling having a blast. Saw the coral reef some dolphins and drank in the water with more people from other party boats. Needless to say it was a blast and I would I highly recommend on an excursion of some sort .Honestly i don't even know what I'm rambling about this is suppose to be about the hotel and I'm telling you about my vacation. There will be another review, but unfortunately I have to go out for the night. All in all I'd stay here although i barely saw the room and didn't sleep much. More reviews titled 'I GUARANTEE THIS IS THE BEST REVIEW(S) YOU WILL EVER READ' are soon to follow.

My husband and i went here for a four night/5 day stay and we had a great time--Was a little nervous because of some of the previous reviews but i have to tell you we were pleasantly surprised. First of all the lobby and all the grounds itself are beautiful. We have stayed at Sandals before in St Lucia and this place was much cheaper but i thought better. We had an awesome room--jr suite with jacuzzi--it was room 2123--right at end so had awesome view of pool and ocean--large balcony that wrapped around since was on the corner--large room that was always cleaned and always had enough towels--the only complaint would be the musty smell--did bring a glade plug in--but for this room should have brought 2 of them--by 2nd day we really did not smell it anymore --maybe just immune to it but when we got home--everything in suitcase does smell like it so everything must be washed. Food was average--breakfast is best--large buffet and something for everyone--we really never ate lunch since ate large breakfast and for dinner we only did 3 of the restaurants--the Italian, brazilian and steakhouse--Out of the 3 would have to say the brazilian was the best--Italian was good but not Italian like we know it-NJ/NY italian food--but have to remember in DR so that is why i was not disappointed--Pool is warm, the round pool before the main pool is cooler, great service around the pool--We tipped one or the waiters the first day and he remember us each day and we didn't even have to ask for drinks--he was awesome--Make sure to bring plenty of ones with you for tips---

You do have to make reservations each morning but line moves quick and really where do you have to go--it is not like you are in a rush --you are on vacation--no big deal-

We just wanted a relaxing trip away from our 3 little kids--If you are looking for a big nightlife this may not be the place--I know there is a disco but we never made it there--We are in our late 30's but there was a pretty good range of ages there--some honeymooners, some families, some older than us, a lot of Canadians, some US, mostly Europeans--

We would definitely go back, beautiful beach, super friendly staff, definitely worth it and remember everyone is different and will have a different experience--We highly recommend it--

We stayed 5 nights at the Riu Palace Punta Cana and can truly say it is absolutely gorgeous with outstanding customer service. The lobby has the wow-factor and it only gets better from there. Everyone who works here goes out of their way to say hello - and with a smile. We would get a drink and were immediately asked if we wanted another...and they had plenty of alcohol in them. During dinner at both the buffet and the ala carte restaurants, the servers were constantly refilling our wine glasses and if you did not want the wine they would go get you whatever you wanted. (We loved Joel at the Don Manuel buffet) We ate at the Steakhouse, Gourmet and the Italian, we personally liked the Italian the best, since they had a nice selection at the antipasta/salad bar to enjoy prior to your meal. We never had a problem making a reservation for dinner. We actually would wait for the line to get small then go in a make our reservation. I think people panic and feel the need to be first in line.

We chose the second seatings for our dinner reservations at the ala carte restaurants, since we like to have pre-dinner cocktails. We would sit at the outdoor tables in the plaza and listen to the live band/singers. This was very enjoyable. But I do have one slight complaint. Right next to this area is the theatre. The large doors are left open so when the show starts people sitting at the outside tables may also see the show. During our time enjoying our pre-dinner cocktails - the theatre also has music for children playing and an employee is singing and dancing with kids on this stage. This tends to clash with the "adult" music we were trying to enjoy outside. I feel this type of child activity needs to take place during the afternoon hours and not when adults are trying to listen to a wonderful band.

Our room was very cool with minimal smell (I did bring an air freshner as a precaution). This was not a problem for us. This smell cannot be helped, it is a very warm, humid tropical climate. Evening turn down service with fresh towels was a nice touch also.

One more thing I should mention - for a hotel that is only 2 years old, I did find it outdated that you are given 1 key to your room (which has your room # on it) vs. the key cards which hotels have now converted to for saftey reasons. The in-room safe also has a manual key vs. a computerized key pad. So be prepared to carry 2 keys during your stay.

Overall - I would absolutely stay here again - it exceeded our expectations!

This hotel is fantastic. Everything about it is just stunning.. It is by far the nicest and the best out of all the Riu's. You can use the other hotels for snacks and drinks but we never did once, as we had everything we needed right here.

Some rooms are mustier than others but that really cant be helped due to the high levels of humidity. Just take a little glade candle and light it when in your room and its fine.

We had a senior suite.. oh my word it was gorgeous. The maids are so thorough when they clean your room every day and produce lovely towel art. The staff all work so hard, and are lovely! Cesarin at the pool bar waited on us hand and foot during the day, he really stood out to us, so he got a tip at the end of our hol! Some staff speak better english than others, but its not a problem, and you get to learn and pick up a few spanish phrases, so its all good!

A la cartes are yum! The brazillian is an experience! lots of meat! The Japanese, Sir Oscars and the Italian were by far the nicest! Buffets are gorgeous too, so much variety!

Pool is beautiful.. Weather gorgeous every day!

The animation team work hard and it was nice to chill out in the evening watching the different shows. the waitors and waitresses constantly come over to ask for drinks. They carry a tray with one hand with up to 10 drinks on it, without spilling a drop.. skill!

They finish at 11, and by that time, we were pretty much ready for bed. after a day in the heat and all the eating and drinking, you get worn out!

Standards are kept very high here and the director, Mario is always walking about, working hard, keeping the staff on their toes! He is a lovely guy.

We tipped the room maid and certain staff that really stood out..

My boyfriend proposed there and we had balloons put around the bed and i receieved a lovely bouqet of flowers. They really made it magical!!

The ice is fine to have.. its all made from bottled water.. Drinks are not watered down..

There is nothing bad to say! We loved it!

There was a powercut on the last night due to the weather.. It was on and off for an hour! But it was great fun and exciting!

Enjoy, you will not be disappointed!

By far this is the best of all the RIU resorts in DR. It was so relaxing every need we wanted was met. To all those who are saying this place is not good. Get real. You are visiting one of the poorest countries and they give everything to you to make your stay good. So what if I give them $10 when I get there as a "tourist tax" they need it more than I do. The food was good, some better than others, but definately good. the fruit was tasty and fresh. The staff is courteous and kind. I did have a pair of sunglasses "missing" from the room the first night. They were not that expensive but it did bother me, the rest of the trip made up for it. and in they end, If they felt they needed my shades for whatever reason, they probably needed the $$. Staff did not expect tips, but we gave them anyway, because they are sooooo nice! It was fantastic and exactly what we expected.

This is a truly fantastic hotel .The name Palace sums it up.How anyone can complain about the rooms i will never know ok there was a slight musty smell on arrival but within a day it had disappeared.As for the food we were there for 2 weeks and can honestly say we did not have one complaint plenty of choice you could have something different everyday. The drinks were also very good and the staff could not have been nicer.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

Me and two of my friends (aged 18) stayed at the Palace in june and we absolutely loved it!

From the moment we pulled up outside the hotel we knew we were in paradise. We felt like celebrities. When we checked in we were given an amazing welcome from Rosemary and the other front of house staff who spoke perfect english( I dont know who other people spoke to but it cant have been these staff as they are completely fluent in english)

We were then shown to our room and the porter brought us our luggage. The rooms were absolutely spotless and we did not experience the musty smell which has been mentioned in other reviews. The beds were a bit damp at first but this was a result of leaving the air con on full which was not needed to keep the room cool. Turning it down solved our problem and the beds were no longer damp. They were very comfy and spacious not hard at all. The maid service was excellent they brought us fresh towels twice a day so we never had to use the same towel twice. We also recieved turn down service numerous times. Our minibar was also restocked daily.

The pool is faultless you never have to get up early for a sunbed as they are readily available. The built in sunloungers in the pool were great and the pool was kept very clean.The staff by the pool were great and always made sure you had a drink even when you were on the beach. Cesarin was our favourite. The beach was straight from a postcard, crystal clear waters and white sand. There is a wide variety of water sports to take part in. We tried out the kayaks, pedelos and parasailing. Anything which didnt use petrol was all included so free.

The food at the hotel caters to everybodies needs. You name it, they have it. They cater well for vegetarians and we often didnt have meat with our meals. They occasionally have themed nights our favourite was dominican on a saturday night! The staff were very friendly especially our waiters Maiko and Abrahan they were very attentive topping up our drinks and our table was often scattered with flowers. Anybody who complains about the food must be mad. Our favourite A la Carte restaurant was the steakhouse, the chicken was so tasty. We always found reservations easy to make and we did not need to get up early to make them.

The only downside of the RIU complex was the slight lack of nightlife outside of the hotel. There is a pacha club however it was mainly for the locals and the waiters always tried to persuade you to go. However the evening shows at the hotel were very good. Our favourites were miss punta cana and all of the dancing shows - the dancers were very talented.

What made our holiday extra special was the staff, especially the animacion team Froggy, Munecon and Braulio all need a special mention. They worked very hard during the day and at night but did not pressure you to join in the activities if you wanted to relax. All the staff here work very hard and are always friendly, they did not expect to be tipped, but appreciated it if you did.

This was one of our best holidays ever, we would definatly return again. We want we want to go to RIU! (when you go you will understand)

If anyone has any questions, please send me a message i will be happy to help.

We recently got back from the RIU Palace Punta Cana, and it was amazing! We got married at the resort, and had a group of 30 people with us spread out all through the resort.

The amenities were fantastic, the food was great, and the people were very nice. The front desk management could use some help as they were a bit understaffed at times, but that is more of an observation than a complaint. Our room was the basic room for the first week, and we were upgraded (per our wedding package) a day late. However, it was worth the wait!

The beach was perfect, I would however suggest checking out the other pool bar at the RIU Macao next door as it is a bit less

crowded and the water is cooler.

Our number one recommendation is to make sure you book a dinner at Oscar. It is probably the best restaurant we have ever eaten at, but only holds 36 people. Make sure to get up extra early one day to get a reservation. The Brazilian restaurant is not the best, but again, there are 5 other places that are very good to pick from (not to mention the multiple buffets).

I would ignore any of the people who are giving the thumbs down here, complaining about lack of speaking english and hard beds. It is humid as you could ever imagine....because you are near the equator! People speak more than enough english to get around.

The guys that work at the resort were nice overall, but I would say they are kind of creepy as they try to get any and every woman that appears to be single to go with them...but again, just an observation and they were not pushy or ignorant in any way.

I would recommend this place to anybody, it is amazing! Just hope you don't get a group of any obnoxious French snobs and you will have a wonderful time! Even if you do, just avoid them, the resort is more than big enough!

We went to the Riu Palace Punta Cana from June 28-July 5 with another couple.

We've been to the Rui Palace in Cabo San Lucas so we already knew what to expect. We went there open minded. I have just one complaint and it's about the rooms! It was just our bad luck that we got placed at the rear of the hotel where the rooms were smelly and damp. You couldn't even lay in bed without feeling damp. The other couple that went with us had a room right next to us and it was the same, we figured it out that the smell and humidity was b/c we were at the back of the hotel, we tried to switch rooms but the hotel never moved us so we had to deal with damp and smelly rooms for 7 days!

Ok, so on to the good stuff...the restaurants were very good!! The Steakhouse was delicious, we got steak & a lobster tail, the Brazilian restaurant was great! The Japanese restaurant was ok, the food didn't have a lot of flavor. The Gourmet restaurant was also very good but of course the portions were small. The buffets were ok, not great but not bad either. I read some of the reviews that said the buffets were better than the restaurants..I don't know what they are talking about b/c the restaurants were way better than the buffets!!

The drinks were great, they didn't skimp on the alcohol at all, my husband got tequila shots and each time they were double shots! The staff was friendly and nice. I don't think it mattered whether you tipped or not b/c we got the same service when we tipped and when we didn't tip, it's more of a personal preference.

Souvenirs are EXPENSIVE! I guess since tourism is their main source of income, it makes sense...but still I was surprised at the prices!

There is absoultely no night life, you get to watch a show that ends at 11pm and then there's the club, casino, bars, bars, and more bars. So if you want to do something other than sit at a bar, this is not the place for you. They do not have a downtown or anything.

The beach was the best!! Loved the warm waters and the white sand. Always plenty of beach chairs no matter what time you went out.

Overall, had a great time, worth the money, loved the restaurants, loved the beach...everyone should visit the Dominican at least once in their life.

My partner and I stayed at the Riu Palace Punta Cana for 2 weeks at the end of June. It was our first time in a palace but have stayed at many riu hotels before across the carabian, including the Bambu nextdoor!

To those of you reading the reviews of this hotel i would advise you to ignore the negative reviews about hard beds and smelly rooms, these people have nothing better to do than moan, they even moaned on holiday all the time, nothing was ever good enough, at the end of the day the holiday is what you make it and if you moan about everything then you are not going to enjoy yourselves. This hotel is not 100% perfect but does not deserve the 1 out of 5 some reviews state.

I hope you find this review useful:

When we first arrived we thought 'wow', the ground are gorgeous and the hotel really is a palace, the reception is huge and very glitzy. Check in was short and sweet and all staff were very helpful and friendly the whole holiday.

Rooms: Our room was nice, a little fusky but nothing major, however our clothes did smell awful when we returned home. The beds are sleepable and our ac was fine! We had a sea view which was amazing!

Pool and Beach: The beach is the best beach ever! Soft white sands and clear blue sea, lots of space and shade if needed. We did not use the pool much as the beach was so nice, though the pool was again nice, large and had a swim up bar.

Food: The buffets for breakfast and dinner were nice, a little repetitive after a while so we ate at the a la cartes every other night. The only complaint we had is that the lunch by the beach was not very good, little variety. We ate at all a la cartes except the Japanese as we had eaten there before at another Riu and didnt like it. Sir Oscars is the best, excellent food and service, the brazillian if you like meat, we loved it, we thought the italian was ok and were not impressed with the steakhouse, poor food and service> I would say though that its a personal thing, we all like different things so is best to try them all.

Weather: the weather was brilliant, we had one storm and some rain in the evenings plus a few cloudly days here and there but was generally really sunny. Dont be misled by the wind, it is hot and you will burn!

The only other thing that bothered us was the language barrier, the staff speak little english! Having said that all staff were very nice and did not expect tips. Staff came around on the beach with drinks and were always filling up drinks etc

We met some great friends and had a lovely 2 weeks holiday!

Having been to Punta Cana twice, we will go somewhere different next year but we would recommend this hotel!!

Go and have a great holiday, you'll love it!!

We have just returned from Riu palace Punta Cana and I am amazed at some of the reviews. This was our first time in Punta Cana . When we arrived we were well recieved and amazed at the beauty of this place. Check in was very quick, and off we went to our room. We noticed how clean everything was. when we got to our room Yes okay it was a bit musty but then again how many of our basements smell the same way in the summer time because of the humidity . This is a very humid area so expect it you dont spend any time in your room other than showering and sleeping and after the first night you do'nt even notice it . Oh by the way they also have smoking in the room so that also adds to it and I am very sensitive to that and the room was fine. We had a little leak on the floor from the bar fridge so I immidiately went down to the lobby and politely and curtiously ask ed if someone could PLEASE come and check it out. Before I made my way up the cleaning staff and the guys were already there and fixed the problem. The room was alway clean and yes we saw an ant but by the way in the summer time we all get them in our own homes also not a big deal. Just think about how much we tip in our own country please tip if you can. I would suggest going on the outback safari excurion its a real wake up call to the real life in Punta Cana. a teachers salary for an entire year is around $325.00 us dollars. There inflation rate is 28% and they make maybe 6-10 dollars per day. putting in 10-12 hrs shifts and sometimes more. It is a great way to really meet the people of punta cana. The staff was terrific polite and alway ready to help all you had to do is be polite back. Which I noticed some people thought for what they paid they deserved royalty. Enjoy the beauty of this beautiful island. Beach is spectacular and yes there is topless sun bath its not as bad as one might think and after a few hrs you don't even notice it anymore. There was such a variety of food to choose from that you never went hungry and alway found fresh. We did try a few thing that were not to our liking but that's just our tast buds, but it was fun to try new thing. Our waiter Especially MARINO was a breath of fresh air and every time he saw us he alway went out of his way. We looked forward to seeing him every day for breakfast and dinner.

For us we preferred the buffet because we were able to choose the foods that we wanted and every day there was always something new. I would definately recommend this hotel to anyone but remember dominican republic is like a third world country . The most important thing to remember is to be polite when something is wrong and alway say thankyou it goes a long long way. The staff works very long hours and they work very very hard and if by chance they forgot to do something in your room,go down to the lobby personnally or if you see them in the hall way just let them know and without hesitance they will correct it. We will definately go back and stay at the Riu palace Punta cana and this time take our whole family. Oh by the way there is one thing that you will away see SMILES SMILE SMILES and lot of OHLA'S It has been such a joy and an honor to meet such wonderful staff. Thankyou for making our stay such a memory that will last a lifetime.

Myself and 30 of my family and friends stayed at the Riu Palace from October 14 through the 20th. I was married on Friday the 17th. As far as my wedding is concerned, it was perfect. Magnolia the wedding coordinator on site was amazing, she made my day perfect. The only thing bad I can say about the wedding process was all the other tourist taking pictures and video taping me....the pictures I didn't mine so much but a family member told me someone was video taping the entire thing....really wish I could get the video...that would have been great!

As I read the other reviews, I agreed with some others I disagreed with, I think some people just like to complain. I'm not the person that complains about anything unless it's really bad. The Riu Palace wasn't perfect but it was worth every dollar we spent. The things that I considered annoying were....THE SMELL(it does make your clothing stink a little-but it's because it is very humid in DR)...THE ANTS(any open food in the room will attract more-but they come from the flowers the maids bring to the rooms when they clean)....THE ROOM SERVICE MENU(if you get hungry in the middle of the night when the buffet is closed, the menu for the times in between is very limited.

What I mentioned above were the annoying things but not bad enough to ruin the trip. The beach and pool were great! The staff were very nice, extremely friendly...the guys from the Buffet Restaurant and the swim-up bar were very cool. My cousins and friends enjoyed hanging out with them at Pacha- the local night club. Our room was beautiful we had the honeymoon suite facing the beach-the view was awesome! I would definitely go again....We had an amazing time! My 13 month old daughter enjoyed her self as well. I suggest this hotel for couples to go together as group or family's in large groups-not so much for singles.

Despite what everyone else says you have to go with an open mine. The food is different but very tasty-the steak restaurant and Brazilian restaurant were the best. The seating times for dinner is 6:30pm and 9:30pm. The breakfast and lunch was good as well.

Travel time from airport to hotel-30min

Cab service available 24hrs- the front desk can call them anytime. We went off the resort to another night club...it was fun but very different from what we are use to in the states.

A group of six girls from work all vacation together and we found this all inclusive on the internet. We went for a long weekend

Thursd Oct 23- Sun26. We had a blast! The room s were spacious, clean, some little ants but too few to count. Kept snacks in the fridge. The food was very acceptable. Buffet was surprisingly varied. Choices for dinner were short I suppose because the resort was not full and they werent able to staff all of the restaurant choices which seemed really tick off the English fellow in front of us in the 8am line for dinner reservations. He unnecessarily reemed out the two staffers taking reservations.

You can not please everyone!

We meet wonderful Germen tourists and enjoyed the entertainment at night!

We stayed on site and had plenty of time to shop rest and spa!

The beach was great! It was wonderful to be able to swim and walk on the beach.

My husband and I just got back from one week at the Riu Palace Punta Cana. We did enjoy our trip, but we also had some problems. Here are some of our likes and dislikes:

LIKES:

1) Gorgeous hotel & beach.

2) Good food

3) Nice entertainment for adults (however, I would not have my kids watch it.)

4) Nice to be able to visit the adjoining Riu hotels

5) Basically good service

DISLIKES:

1) Room did have a slight musty smell.

2) There were ants in the bathroom.

3) The A/C never seemed to work well.

4) Too many rude smokers during dinner.......it would have been better to offer a non-smoking section.

5) Topless sunbathing at the pool....not just the beach. Not very family friendly. A few people......just a few....seemed to be exhibitionists and constantly walked around, took showers and chose very visible areas to be topless ALL DAY. In Mexico, this is not allowed in the pool areas of most family hotels.

6) Expensive to leave the resort and explore Punta Cana. It cost $36 round trip by taxi to go to a nearby local market. (Plaza Punta Cana). There is no bus system or inexpensive way to get to Playa Cortecito. You basically have to pay the higher tour prices if you want to see anything outside of the hotel. If you stay for only a few days that may be ok, but not if you are there for a week.

7) It was very hard to get a towel at the pool area in the afternoon.

8) It was also very hard to get a reservation at a specialty restaurant unless you were there at 8am.

Overall, we are not complainers and we still had a nice time. We would possibly go there again if the price was right...however, we would immediately ask to change rooms if the A/C did not work or if we saw those ants again! We would not feel comfortable bringing our children there.

We stayed for six days, five nights. Overall, we had a very good time. The was pretty good and the staff was very friendly. They definitely do not skimp on the free alcohol. The room was a little smelly, which we had read on trip advisor so we bought a candle with us - no problem. They only thing I had an issue with was the little bugs. They were like gnats or fleas but they weren't either. I had some candy and popcorn which we brought from the States to munch on. I left it out on the table and within 40 minutes, the bag was infested. DO NOT keep any open food in your room. Also we ended up having to wash all of our clothes (clean and dirty) and airing out our luggage when we got home because we could still smell the room on them. For the price we paid, we really did have an excellent time besides those small things. The pool was awesome and the beach was spectacular. Out of the nearby resorts that we saw, Riu Palace Punta Cana was the best (it was also the nicest out of the other Riu's on Punta Cana). We went on the 1/2 day Outback Safari and had a great time. We got coffee and souvenirs cheapers than other places and the hotel. General - not good or bad just things that we noticed - There were a lot of topless sunbathers. The crowd is middle aged (35 - 55) so we were on the younger side and the majority of the people were European or Brazilian. It helps to know some spanish but it's not a necessity.

Iam a travel agent in the US and just came back from the Riu Palace Punta Cana. I can't believe all the bad reviews. I love this property and the people at the hotel.

I have been to alot of all-inclusives and this is one of my favorites. When I read the reviews on this sight before I went I was a little concerned, but they were all wrong.

Yes, the pool is warm, not hot, I don't like cold water. My bed linens were never dam or wet. The food at Sir Oscars is very good, the only one I did not like was the Brazalian restaurant.

Sometimes I think Americans have bad attitudes when traveling and do not treat the people with respect. I find that people usually treat you the way you treat them.

I find the people at the Riu Palace to be very friendly, they wait on you hand and foot. The service was outstanding. We had very clean rooms and fresh towels day and night.

We stayed at the Riu Palace it was beauiful. The ride from the airport was very long and a little scary. We arrived at the hotel and was checked in right away. The room was very nice. The power was wierd it had a main shut off switch witch took us awhile to figure out. The beds were rock hard I mean like sleeping on the floor. The room was very clean and had a jacuzzi tub. The only thing was it had a musty smell. I wish I had brought febreeze.

The first night we ate at the buffet the food was very good, lots of choices. The lunch buffet seemed to have the same thing everyday. For all the resturants you need long pants and sleaved shirts for dinner, no tank tops for men. During lunch no bathing suits anywhere.

Lugui- Was very good, the buffet was the best, The chicken and alferdo was good. Portions are small.

The Brazlin- Was ok. Most of the meats were over cooked. We asked what one of the deserts were and it took 4 people including 2 cooks to find out what it was.

The steak house- The app tray was great if u like seafood. The ribeye was very good. The lamb chops were also great but small portion. The surf and turf, the surf was not good. The surf was bad. The desert was wierd.

The French- Was good. The app were small. The one with shrimp and ravolis was very good. The resurant catered to vegatarians. The steak was the best I had the whole time I was there.

The japenase- Was good the vegtable sushi was good. the soups were not what they said they were. The steak and chicken dish was very good.

You must get up very early to book the ita and french one by 8 am. The steak house u can book in advance and also the brazlin.

The place has some premium liquirs but not all of the tasted like they should. Sminoff, stoli, jim beam, jack , jose, red label, and one or two others. I didnt find a special drink i liked all week. The bartenders didnt speak english. So I had a hard time ordering. The had liq and beer in the rroms which was nice. Also they had waiter service at the pool and beach.

The room service menu had 5 things on it but the main bar at some food all night.

The other resorts catered to a younger crowd. my group was in thier 20s and 30s and we felt out of place. Most of the people that were there were family and older couples. No singles there mainly couples. We went to the other resorts and they were alot more fun. The disco was really hot and the men were vultars, so dont go alone. The casino in macao was fun too, go inside and get your drinks and then they were incuded.

If u have the time go out and walk down to the straw market good deals but they hound you. Dont pay full price go about halfs.

The stores they have are expensive and wont make any deals.

The market at the resort was nice but make deals. Also dont buy any sea turtles or anything that was once alive because you can't bring it home.

We went dep sea fishing and caught nothing. We also went to the Carbiean festival and that was great. You get to swim with the stingrays and nurse sharks.

I would recomend this hotel to couples or groups of older people. Its alittle boring for younger groups or singles.

Pros:

--Beautiful beaches

--Wide variety of food (those who disagree are overly demanding in my opinion)

--Brazilian restaurant was awesome- tons of different meats

--All-inclusive so you don't feel like you're spending a ton more money once you're there

--water sports easily accessible on the beach (though I got motion-sick parasailing)

--Room service is free and included, but limited variety

--easy access to other Riu resorts

--bar right by the pool and beaches

--rooms were always clean

--not too many annoying children around

--shopping nearby

Cons:

--sticky bedsheets that never get dry

--they "claim" to use bottled water at restaurants but make sure you pack some imodium just in case

--the AC didn't work for one of our friend's rooms and it took several days before the resort gave them a room with working AC

--limited nightlife/ nighttime entertainment

--European women who insist on exposing themselves

--men in speedos

--only two kinds of beer available

We stayed at the Riu Palace Punta Cana 07/26/08-08/09/08 with a group of seven, in four separate rooms. Airport arrival was as noted in previous posts. Have $10.00 per person on hand for immigration fee. Porters are fairly aggressive. If you aren’t careful your bags may be picked up by more than one. Airport transport to Riu was about 25 minutes.

Complex of Riu hotels are within a gated property which is nicely maintained. They have a thing for speed bumps within the complex. Riu Palace property is very nice in appearance (as pictured on their web site). Check in was straight forward. We had superior suites with courtyard views and as we had arrived early in the day and there appeared to be a number of unoccupied rooms, we requested a room change to a higher level. Reymundo at the front desk accommodated us. Rooms with 2000 or 3000 series numbers are on the top floors and have better views.

Rooms were nicely appointed and clean. Musty smell was evident in all four rooms, but not over the top. Took advice from an earlier post and brought a Glade freshener which helped a bit. Keeping the air conditioning on 100% of the time and the sliding glass doors closed helps reduce the humidity and smell. Tipped the maid 100 DR pesos a day ($3.00US) and she did a great job of creative towel art and taking note of our typical schedule so the room was always ready for our afternoon siesta.

The grounds were well maintained and personnel always cleaning or working to keep it so. Plenty of room in the pool, but it was a bit warm considering the 85-90F daily temps. The ocean was much more refreshing. Bring sandals as the pool deck heats up. Grab towels and beach chairs by 9:00am, otherwise they may run out. Some people showed up to the beach after noon and had to lay towels in the sand. The other hotels are worth visiting and there is a paved pathway, parallel to the beach, connecting the Riu Bamboo and Macau. Plenty of shops along Caribbean Street, near the Macau. Riu Palace guests can eat or drink at the other hotels and we stopped at a couple of the beach bars for drinks.

The food was fine. Not sure what the real problem on previous posts is all about. Always something good for any meal and plenty of selection at the buffets. Fresh fruit, juice, pastries, omelet station for breakfast. Pizza, sandwiches, fresh salads and hamburgers for lunch. Soups, salads, fish, chicken, pork, vegetable dishes and plenty of desserts for dinner. Beef was available, but is not a specialty in the islands. There were also Caribbean and European twists to some of the food items which made the meals more interesting than the standard US fare. Plenty of places to hang out for drinks. Sports bar, lobby bar, open air courtyard bar and the pool bar. Tip the bartenders/waitresses and it doesn’t take long for them to remember what you drink and how you want it. They will fix you anything you want. Saul at the pool bar and Kennedy at the beach, did a great job.

We wanted to shop a bit and the front desk lined up a taxi to one of the Plaza’s. Don’t recall which plaza, but Steve’s Corner bar is located there. The taxi was about $12.00 and we asked the cabby to come back in a few hours. He did so. There were plenty of shops with interesting items you don’t see on the hotel grounds. Vendors can be pushy and some of our group had to learn to just say no thank you, otherwise they would be stuck in that shop. Don’t be shy about negotiating. Every one of the shops came off their starting price by 40-50% on jewelry, carvings, paintings, etc. Stop in at Steve’s bar for a cold one to cool off and watch the people.

We also wanted to see the capital city and asked Reymundo at the front desk about going to Santa Domingo, which is supposed to be the oldest city in the New World. He lined up a van and driver for 7 persons, which gave us the flexibility we wanted over a similar bus tour. Cost was $300.00 for all day. Other tours along the way, tour guides and lunch added $200.00. This is about a 3-hour drive each way, so be prepared and start early. We left at 6:00am and returned at 7:00pm. If you are interested in history it’s worth the trip to see the old city within the original fort walls, the three eyes cavern and the Columbus light house.

Miscellaneous: Vendor’s set up in the hotel courtyard every evening. Again, don’t be shy about negotiating. One cigar vendor started at $125.00 for a box of 25 DR cigars and it didn’t take long to get to $50.00. Doubted they were the real deal, so I passed. The on-site casino is located at the Macau, which is a short walk, or there is a golf cart transport every 15 minutes from the front lobby. The casino isn’t much to write home about. If you need internet access, the Sports Bar has 6-7 terminals and you can buy an access code with 25 minutes for $5.00. Be sure and click on the STOP icon at the top of the screen when done and then you can reuse your access code with any remaining unused minutes.

Overall, the hotel and beach were very nice; the people warm and friendly. You won’t find everything exactly like at home, but that’s one of the reasons to travel anyway. Enjoy.

Just returned from our stay yesterday so wanted to write this review while everything was fresh in my mind.

First, this is a third world country. Don't go expecting much from the country. In fact the area between and thatched roof airport and the resort is actually covered with litter and the roads are terrible.

We booked through Apple Vacations, and were very impressed with the quality of the people Apple had working for them. The transportation to the hotel was nice and very clean and the hosts were very helpful.

My wife and I had never stayed at an all-inclusive resort before. We have been on several cruises and thought this would be like a cruise except on land at one place. While we had fun and enjoyed the Riu Palace Punta Cana, we will probably stick to cruises in the future.

The resort was very clean, and the staff were very friendly and accomodating. Everyone greets you with an "Hola" when they cross your path. We took the advice of some of the reviews and took several $1 bills to use as tips. This worked out good. The tips seemed to really be appreciated, but we did not get the feeling that they were expected. This is a tropical climate and the weather was VERY HUMID. We were wet all of the time. The only cool place was our room.

Speaking of the room, it was very clean with ceramic tile floors, a king bed (firm like we like) and a small sofa, color satellite TV with only 2 or 3 English stations, but several in Spanish, Russian, French, and other languages. The English stations were from New York City. ABC and Fox. The bathroom was very clean with twin sinks, a jacuzzi tub and shower. The balcony had two chairs, a small table, and a pull out rack to dry your beach wear. However, due to the humidity, it took a long time to dry, even in the sun!

The food was OK, breakfast was best. A large variety and nicely displayed. Stick with the chicken and fish dishes, we did not think any of the beef had a very good flavor, and was very chewy. We ate at the Japanese restaurant (again OK, but not the best), the Gourmet restaurant (one of the better meals), and the Brazilian restaurant (again just OK). A few of the items in each restaurant were good, but nothing to stand up and cheer about. The food we have had on cruises (Norwegian and Royal Carribean) was much better.

The grounds are beautiful. The beach was very pretty, with lots of palm trees. The hotel definitely caters to Europeans and that seemed to be the majority there. People from Italy, France, Russia, Germany, England, Poland, etc. We met some very nice people. Several of the Europeans used the beach in their customary way (topless). Some also changed clothes right on the beach in view of all. We prudish Americans were surprised, but not totally offended!

I suggest you take an excursion to see the real Dominican Republic. We went on the Outback Safari and I highly recommend it.

Do I recommend this facility? Yes. I thought it was clean and nice. If you are used to a Ritz Carlton or better, this is not the hotel for you. If you want a very clean, spacious, hotel in a tropical destination, I think this is right up there with others I have stayed in at Cancun and other locations. Probably even better.

We enjoyed ourselves, but will probably stick with cruises from now on. But that is just a personal opinion.

So for the past 4 years I have been going to Riu's all over the place, Cancun, Bahamas, Puerto Vallarta and now Punta Cana. Ill go through everything step by step for everyone.

Ride from airport is I say about 30- 40 mins not to bad it costs around 40 bucks to get to the hotel. Punta Cana isnt really something to look at on the way but whatever. Arrival at hotel, it is gorgeous, the lobby the grounds are kept amazing there is someone cleaning every part of that place all day long. Check in went smooth and me and my family checked into our Junior Suite.

Rooms; Rooms are nice simple, just like any other Riu However, the maid place beautiful towel art in your room everyday with fresh flowers in them. Its so nice but fresh flowers bring bugs it seemed ants were everywhere around the hotel and in my room and in those towels. Beds were hard but stuff like thats doesnt bother me Anyway maids do there job well and keep the room nice and tidy. Its a huge hotel that is goregous but is in a "U" shape so there are only like 19 rooms that are ocean view and they are like honeymoon suites so if your on the outskirts of the "u" you see either the Huts of Riu Bambu or just trees and trees and trees. So its kinda better to spend the extra dough to see the beauitful water,

Beach and Pool; beach is wonderful always a nice breeze water is cool and refreshing and some ppl come by to sell u things a simple no thank you does the job and waiters come around give out drinks and what not. The pool is soooo warm im talking really warm. lot a warm bath. However its very clean and there is a bar in the pool. There is another pool which is circular and way cooler. Never had a problem with finding chairs or anything.

Drinks were fine alwasy had one the waiters are on top of it and alil tip goes a long way. I never thought any was watered down.

shows at night are entertaining and funny however they are a lil risky. kids are around and they are doing sexual postions on stage and girls walking around with thongs and what not so i felt they should have stated that the shows are not PG.

Here is where i dont think Riu Palace doesnt compare to other Riu's food .. Gourmet was amazing, hoever i thought the other restruants didnt compare Brazilian was all meat and its all soaked in fat.. so i wasnt a fan ... lunch everyday was the same and kinda got really boring. Breakfast was nice u really cant ruin that. Buffet was nice too .. but like i said it was just ok there was something for everyone. but I really wasnt impressed all the other rius had something new every night and it tasted good. here i was just eh. Now i usually read reviews all the time and when ppl complain about food im like oh whatever and this is the first time I was proven right.

the entertainment staff is wonderful they have activites for kids and adults everyday and they try and get to know you.. they work 10 hours days so I give them a lot of credit.

casino is small but does the job kinda of addicting lol

Lots of couples and familes. all in all. the hotel was beautiful, scenary amazing... only complaint is Lunch is soooo repeitive.. I didnt travel from ny to have hotdogs and hamburgers everyday. but i got over it haha but it was very nice

After reading all of the reviews on TripAdvisor I was in a complete panic about our trip to RIU Palace. I am happy to report that I had panicked over NOTHING! The resort is absolutely beautiful. We stayed at the RIU Palace from July 23-28.

Our rooms did have a humid feeling. Bring a glade plug-in, this is nothing that will ruin your vacation. Although I will tell you that when we got back home, the scent was veryy noticeable. Once again nothing that I would cancel a vacation over. Remember you are in the Carribbean.

The food was OK. None of us got sick. There are more than enough restaurants to try out so you can find one that you like, and if you dont, leave the restaurant and just go to the buffett. Not a big deal! We preferred Luigis, its just a matter of personal preference. You do have to get up about 8am to make your reservations. Its not a beauty contest, go in your pajamas and then go back to bed if its a problem.

I will tell you not to drink the water. They supply water to brush your teeth and for whatever else you want to do with it. There were no problems with the shower water. It did fluctuate from hot to cold every now and again, just pretend your back at home and someone flushed the toilet. The water pressure was fine.

I will agree with the other reviewers that there is a lack of nightlife. So, if your the party type who wants to stay out late and live it up. This is not the place for you. There is a casino at the next hotel (which is about a 5 minute trolley ride away). However, there is no air conditioner and you have to pay for your own drinks. Sooo... we didnt stay there long.

As for the drinks, you have to ask for the type of liquor you want. Which can be difficult since no one seems to speak english. I recommend not speaking in sentences, just say the words, stoli y 7-up. Quick, easy and to the point. Find a waiter, tip him $3 and he be yours all day!

The pool was clean, there were no fights over any beach chairs, nor did I have to wake up at 7am to find one. There were more than enough chairs available when we arrived.

Overall, our stay at the RIU Palace Punta Cana was a nice relaxing week away. And now that we are home, we wish we were sitting back on that beach!

As far as the Punta Cana Airport, yes you did have to pay $10 per person to get into the country. Why? I have no idea, considering you had the "$10 Tourist Card" in your hand for about 3 minutes, then they take it back, very strange. It has nothing to do with the resort. Just a policy of the country. Whatever!

We just got back from a week at the RIU Palace. We went with our entire family...14 of us. My parents renewed their marriage vows there and had a beautiful ceremony at the gazebo near the beach.

We had people in our party ranging from 65 to 2 years old. Everyone enjoyed their stay and the staff was accommodating to all of us and our individual needs. They were particularly kind to the children and helped us when our two year old was not so agreeable during dinners! Our room was clean although, yes the beds were very hard (my husband was happy as he prefers a firm mattress). However, we played so hard every day that we slept great and were ready to get up and go again each morning!

My husband and I stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe (next door to the RIU Palace) last year and found both places very nice. However, when I took my teenage children next door for a view of the Bahia, they all said they preferred the RIU Palace as it is smaller and has a more classy feeling.

The food was not always that great and the drinks were not always that great, but we enjoyed the atmosphere, service and family time. The pool was very relaxing and also had great poolside entertainment. But it got VERY hot. You could tell they tried to pump in cool water, but it was like a hot tub! The night time entertainment was very good. All ages of our group enjoyed watching the shows.

The resort is beautiful and the staff is great. You will certainly have a great time if you stay here!

The RIU Palace is a great place to spend a honeymoon.

The Good:

1) Great Beach

2) Friendly Staff

3) Clean Rooms (Good House Keeping)

4) Hotel Lobby is stunning

5) Balcony's are clean and spacious (interior rooms = ocean view)

6) Nightly entertainment was really good. Different each night.

7) Food Selection and availability good.

8) 24hr room service is a life saver

9) Excellent pool bar. Staff even walks along the beach to replenish drinks. Very friendly.

10) Japanese and Sir Oscar's food was really good. Great service.

The Bad:

1) Apple representative was not helpful. She persuaded us into booking two excursions. After the 1st excursion, my wife became ill. We attempted to cancel the 2nd excursion (due to her illness) and the Apple Rep declined a refund. Very hard to find. When finally found -very pushy and at times even arrogant.

2) Our first room (we had to change) was very musty and damp. There was no view (we upgraded prior) they did promptly correct.

3) You have to wake up and wait for reservations around 8:00am. The early bird gets the worm. They sell out quickly. You can't make future reservations, only same day and in person.

4) The casino (Macao), beware. The staff is very pushy. They will offer you a five dollar (US) chip to play a specific game upon entry...You can't win and will end up spending much more than intended. Don't use a debit card to advance money, they charge around $25.00 for each transaction. They actually encourage this. The fee will state "commission." You do the math.

5) No access to American cash. Take lots of ones for tipping etc. Try to use credit/debit as much as possible with the vendors and stores.

6) Food = Stomach problems regardless of who you are. Take precaution. "Don't drink the water!"

7) Warm drinks everywhere throughout the resort. I guess filtered ice is an expensive commodity???

8) Beds are very hard.

You have to take the good with the bad. By far, the good out weigh the bad. Stay open minded. Have Fun!

We just returned from the Dominican Republic. I had some concerns with the reviews on this site. According to Apple- this is a 6 GOLDEN APPLE resort. I'm unsure how that rating holds as it is rated in the bottom 3rd of all resorts here in Punta Cana on trip advisor.

Upon arrival at the airport: how neat! Thatched roof-no gate- exit the plane and walk into the airport. It was a gorgeous day and we're so excited to leave 40f degree gray Illinois weather for sunny Dominican!!

We took the bus included with our package. We're stop #2 out of 3. Had to make sure they didn't leave our luggage at stop #2. They had it set out with the luggage for stop#1- but we had them put it back.

Arrival at RIU-about 45minutes from airport.

Check in was easy. We're honeymooners-as noted by our TA when we made reservations. We were told we'd get a better room tomorrow (after MUCH agruing). Our men decided to fight it out for a good view. (here is how this is supposed to work- 3 rooms-standard (jungle/road view) Garden view (extra $50/night) and Superior (extra $75/night). These are all Jr.Suites- balcony-sitting area 2 steps down off balcony. Marble floors.

The beds are typical- hard- but it's nice. The pillows were wonderful. The maid did a nice job- nice towel art every other day. They also do turn down service. I tip $3/day for the maid- but I don't think she went over and above. Oh- I did have to ask for wash cloths for 2 days straight. Then it was habit. Oh- the air in the room was barely tolerable. It wasn't effective at all. Also- there is no bottled water at this resort. It is available at other places.

We had a terrible time getting the fridge restocked. I thought it was supposed to be daily- then maybe every other- but there didn't seem to be any consistency. We had to ask repeatedly for the water to be brought and Pepsi.

Restaurants:

We tried the Gourmet, Steakhouse (x2) and the Italian. The surf & turf was great at the steakhouse. The ribeye was very thin- but the flavor was great. I also loved the lobster tail. I had the Seafood Alfredo at the Italian- it was good. The service was good- tho we had issues with ice (had to ask avg of 3times).

The beach side buffet for lunch got repetitive. It also doubles as the Steakhouse everyother night. Men don't have to wear long pants to it. The main buffet got repetitive for lunch, too. Also- it isn't air conditioned- so long pants and hot- not terribly comfortable.. The Mexican night at the bufet was pretty good- the guac was fab!

The booze:

The drinks weren't as slushy as some places. Tho they were generous with the booze. But most of them add it to the top of your drink- then you have to stir it up. If you leave the resort- EL Presidente is very good beer. At the lobby bar- they have Barcelona- it was good. The champagne was ok- but the Rosotto (blush) wine was pretty good for dinner. The sports bar had really good drinks-so did the lobby bar. I wasn't impressed with the service around the theater at all.

Pool - not much activity until late afternoon. The water temp was ok tho it got warmer later in the day. Nice sized pool. Lounges always available in and around the pool. Good service around the pool. No water v-ball- only beach.

We saw the show:Grease. It was ok. We actually saw most of them. Grease was the best one.

It's a different culture from Mexico. In Mexico- they seem to really want you there and really want to make it wonderful. If you tip in Mexico- they will come and check on you t/o. And the mexican peso was 10-1 us dollar the dominican peso was 32-1 so I don't understand why unless they don't get to keep the tips... They'd rather you just didn't ask.

The beach makes up for any shortcoming at this resort.It is truly the most amazing!! The appearance of the resort is amazing- it just doesn't hold up. We were told the Paradisus Palmira is the best- may try that next time...

Stayed here 8/9-8/16...Resort only 2 yrs old, my room was clean, but others had serious complaints...lots of relocating to other rooms. Food mediocre at best, don't expect much..best meal was breakfast buffet. wine lovers will suffer, ALL the wine served is severely watered down and awful!! They can do themselves a great service by presenting premium wines with meals for a fee, most would pay, I'm sure. Pool is 200,000 gallon hot tub without the bubbles, water temp never below 92^!! Beach is beautiful and water is refreshing.

Trip to Saona Island is TOO LONG!!! 11 hour day for $90. but takes 4 1/2 hrs to get there and 4 1/2 hrs back!! Beach there is heavenly but kills entire day for 2 hrs with BBQ lunch!! Specialty restaurants were overall so-so. My opinion was Brazilian steakhouse was best, Japanese was the worst!! Overall I'd give it 3.5/5.

We just came back from the RIU Palace Punta Cana. We stayed at the hotel July 21-28, 2008. The hotel was mostly sold out as it is high season for South American tourists and for European tourists.

The hotel is spectacular to look at, however, the only 5 STAR thing about the property is the beauty of the lobby. We booked thru Sunquest and felt that the property was misrepresented. My husband owns restaurants and felt that the food was not at a 5 STAR standard. We rated the food 5 out of 10. Every morning between 8am - 11am you had to line up outside the Italian restaurant and put in your reservation at one of the 5 restaurants for the evening. You could not book in advance.

Secondly, the property was chosen as a 'favourite' for families with young children. Unfortunately, there is NO SUPERVISED CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES, NO KIDS CLUB, a small tiny pool for children, which bakes in the sun with no shade. The parents had to be with their children at all times. This is not 5 star quality.

Furthermore, both the main pool of the hotel and the children's pool was EXTREMELY HOT. We think this is because the spill over spas and the pool plumbing are linked together. With an average temp of 32celcius....a cool refreshing pool would have been nice. The pool temperature was as hot as our hot tub at home @ 95 degrees. This is not 5 star quality. The other RIU hotels, Macao, Bambu etc... did not have this problem.

The beach was nice however, there are not enough loungers and absolutely no shade on the beach. The few palm trees that are there are reserved very early in the morning. There are no umbrellas nor huts on the beach to shade yourself. This is not 5 star quality.

Drink service on the beach is very poor. You had to walk back to the resort to get your drinks and bring them to the beach. The ocean water was warm, however it was not crystal clear....all the sand was clouding it.

The entertainment was very poor for a 5 star resort. There are no Las Vegas style shows but instead a very poorly orchestrated animation staff. The resort is not for people with children as there is nothing for the kids to do. The animation staff only entertained the spanish speaking children for about 30 mins prior to the main show. There is no disco either for young people. This resort is for older people who do not want a lot of excitement and are seeking a quiet time, relaxing, and going to bed early. I do not recommend it for families w/ children or for honeymooners because it is extremely quiet and boring.

We booked a standard room. It was clean however, it was extremely damp. All the bedsheets felt wet. Our bathing suits took 2 days to dry on the balcony in the sun. It was extremely humid outside as well....especially at night. No mosquitos, though. The main thing that bothered me about the rooms is that for a family of 4, they gave us only 1 king bed and 1 pull out couch for the kids which was extremely uncomfortable because of the springs in the mattress. When I requested two beds they said none were available even though we had booked 3 mos in advance. A true 5 star property would not make such a crucial error when there are 4 people on a file.

We spoke with other Canadian and American couples and everybody concurred that the property was grossly over-rated. As I mentioned earlier, the only thing 5 star about the place is the beauty of the lobby. However, you don't live in the lobby.

This hotel is very nice and new. I read the reviews before and they were pretty much right on but you do get what you pay for. It was very clean, neat, and we got the wrong room the first night and then they graciously changed us. The food was good. We only went to one restaurant but the buffet was the best. I was sick when i got home but thinks its cause I ate too much salad. We went off the resort and it was safe and fun. Went deep sea fishing and to the beach and markets. The beach in front was great too. Real wide! I think I will try a different resort next time only b/c we have stayed here a few times and want to try something new. Preferably without kids. We are young and would like to not have as many there.

This hotel was amazing!! The lobby was beautiful and loved the decorations!! We stayed in a jr. suite with the hot tub and it was greatl!! The view and grounds were beautiful!!! We got married there and the wedding coordinators were great!! They did everything and took care of everything I needed. If you do a gazabo wedding for a catholic services beware that people are right there to watch take pics and get in your pics. The photographer was great I loved my album!! Only took 2 days to get it and loved all the pics we had taken. It was amazing...

Most the food was great!!!

Problems: 1st suite we were in had no a/c!!! They kept tryng to fix it but did not work. Also the rooms were very moist. When it sat on the chairs or selpt in the bed you felt damp!!! They were unable to change my room for many days. The all-nite food was not good!!! Room services was not good either. Beware of topless women on the beach! All of my clothes had a funky smell and wedding dress and all had to be dry cleaned before they could near the closet.

Overall it was agreat time and the resort was amazing!!! I was a little upset with the room (no a/c, for damp/moist conditions) but everything else was amazing. My wedding was beautiful an everything was perfect. The resort offered many different things to do that were included. But get there early to reserve most time was gone by noon. I would and od recommend people to use this resort it was amazing!!

Travellers = 4 people between 30 and 37 yrs old

Hotel

looks grand, nice gardens, loads of space, generally well kept,toilets very clean.

Rooms ( we had 2 double suites)

1)reasonable size (for standard)

2)very limited sea view

3)smell musty ( use fabreze, turn off aircon and use the fan to reduce the smell)

4)fridge and optics regularly restocked

5)jacuzzi bath didn't work in either room, even after reporting it three times.

6)towels regularly changed

7) turn down service very irregular and normaly coincided with a tip !!!!

8) small ants are always visible

Pool and pool bar

1) Excellent size, temperature and cleanliness

2) clean towels daily, no issues getting them

3) staff generally helpful and drinks free flowing

4) looking towards the beach use the left side of the pool, Victor and Francesco will look after you well. Very well if you drop them a few $$!!!

5)Sun beds reserved by the normal culprits, but never caused us an issue.

Sauna , steam room, turkish bath, spa and gym

1) all good and not used by many people.

2) apx $130 for top massage, the rest f.o.c

3) take some olbas oil to give the sauna a little "kick"

Food

Buffet evening (don manuel) = fair choice, quality not great.

Buffet lunchtime (la altagracia) = similar to don manuel.

Brazilian (la bodega) = walked out part way though when pork ribs arrived uncooked! Other guests had "reasonable" meals.

Italian (luigi) = best by far, ate here 3 times without any issue.

Japanese (yokahoma) = visited twice. The first time was excellent ($10 tip). Tried again on a friends birthday. Starter came cold and soggy (tempura). We advised of this and sent them back. 5 mins later the same food arrived still cold, soggy and my wifes came back with a half eaten shrimp on the plate. When we explained the the problem the manager looked as us as if to say, just eat it! Consequently we left this restaurant without eating and feeling very disappointed.

Sir Oscar = the flag ship!! Food was ok, first visit required us asking for bread roles for soup(already on all other tables) and cutlery on numerous occasions. 2nd visit i had the goats cheese crustini. Looked ok but had to ask for the goats cheese!!!

Night service = had veggy sandwich which arrived in 20 mins and was well presented and tasted ok.

Most people we spoke to had dodgy tummies for a good proportion of their stay.

Sports bar

1) has most english footy on via setanta sports (no sky)

2) snacks ok

3) staff good

4) gets very hot

Excursions

Went to saona island, cost $155 each but well worth it.

Weddings

Very intrusive by other guests, didn't look that special at the couple we saw.

Overview

We are fortunate as a group of 4 good friends who could see the funny side of any situation and would not let anything ruin our holiday.

Don't go here expecting the best, it isn't.

It is very average and is very inconsistant.

This hotel is all about grand appearance but not a grand quality.

Try another hotel brand !!

We just came back from a trip to Punta Cana and stayed at the Riu Palace Punta Cana (November 6-13). We were quite disappointed with the rooms. We booked standard rooms, and they were very large and roomy, but also VERY smelly. They smelled musty/moldy and all our clothes smelled of it. The bed linens were damp and awful to sleep in. Other people on our trip had the same problems. Some bought candles and air freshners to try and help, but not much helped When we got back home we had to wash everything - even things that weren't worn - to get rid of the dreadful smell - it was disgusting. The air conditioner in the room didn't work well - thank goodness for the fan. The hotel relies very much on tips.....if you don't tip you get lousy service. I thought tipping was something you did when you were happy with the service....not to get service!

Food was average. Looked great but tasted blah......by the end of the week we were glad we were leaving because we wouldn't have been able to stand another week of the food.

We were told we could eat at any of the other 4 Riu resorts when were were there, but when we tried to go to other ones for dinner we were refused access. Very disappointing.

The beach was beautiful. Ok Hotel but would stay somewhere else next time.

I just came back from a trip to Punta Cana and stayed at the Riu Palace Punta Cana which is supposed to be a 5 stars hotel. (October 17-30) I was very disappointed. Mind you this hotel is only 2 years old!

Rooms

We booked standard rooms. Well let me just tell you that there was a major problem with our rooms, they smelled musty, the bed linens were humid and as time went by my clothes got damp as well. We visited other rooms and they were the same. Now that I am back home I washed my clothes even with fabric softener, my clothes still smell, it is disgusting. My 300 Euros suitcase smells as well, I have emptied half a bottle of febreeze to no avail. Our travel rep was telling us that it was the Caribbean sometimes there is problem with humidity. Please give me a break, I lived in Florida for over 15 years I know all about humidity. I have also travelled to a lot of other places in the Caribbean and I have never experienced such a thing.

Food

Well the food was very average. In fact in June 2008 I stayed at the Grand Palladium Palace in Punta Cana where the food was very tasty.

Beach

Great

Waiters even bring you drinks

It is a nice hotel but due to humidity problems with the rooms, I would not recommend this hotel. If I were to return to Punta Cana, I will for sure go to the Grand Palladium Palace which is only a 4 1/2 stars hotel but at least this hotel does not have humidity problem.

I was going to put that the stay was "terrible" but I guess after a week of giving exceptions and making excuses for this resort I still am. The resort it self is the problem, as the destination, the wonderful sun, sand and options for having fun were fine.

As a travel professional for over 30 years I may have been expecting too much, but then I will add a few details of items that hit me as not up to par and you can determine for yourself.

The company I traveled with rates this hotel a 5 out of 6 to which I was to compare this to other 5 rated hotels.

Upon arrival there were 6 of us and we were all lined along the front desk and lectured to by one of the employees as to, 'here is your key, here are your towel cards, fill out the paper and then you go to your room". Yes not a really pleasant beginning.

I wanted to try out the specialtiy restaurants and when I got to my room I called to see if I could do so, as our paper work told us that the resevations could only be made day of meal, and up until 12:00pm, which it was past. I was curtly told on the phone 'run you can catch them', and I couldn't ask fast enough where to 'run to' but finally found an open door and found only one restaurant had room for that night. All their restaurants are not open all nights during your stay, so choose wisely.

The room and the first impression was very bad, like others had mentioned a very musty, moldy smell, and damp immediately upon entry. Now even in more moderately rated hotels at least someone would show me where things were. But since my baggage didn't show up for awhile, and he seemed really busy, and just took enough time to stand waiting for a tip....yes, a tip!!! And shortly after I got in the room and found my way around the maid from housekeeping came in and made a swan out of a towel and added flowers, then asked and asked if I liked it, again me reading...do I get a tip? To which I also asked if I could get more pillows and she hesitated, and then said later.

The meal that evening was okay, but I noted three other tables who had their orders mixed. And a simple question about, 'what is in this' would not get an answer, so I had to opt to not eat most everything except for the steak because I am allergic to shell fish and no one could tell me if there were any in things or not. This was an issue to come up all through my stay. They evidentally don't believe it is an issue.

The beds are the hardest I have ever experienced, and even with the air conditioning at full bore the room never got cooled off. At times it was cooler to leave the screen open and fan on even in the 90+ degree heat and humidity then have the air conditioning running and not doing anything.

There were tears in the furniture, the clock radio didn't work, the mini-fridge never got cold. I asked for different stocked supplies and were never given them.

Keep in mind as with many all-inclusives any room service is really limited, but there were only 6 items you could order on their menu, and no deviations.

When I placed the hang tag out for breakfast, one morning it was an hour and a half late, the next an hour late and wrong, and the third on time but incorrect. Again, don't try to deviate from anything on the list as only the basics are available.

The lunch and dinner buffett's are nothing too special, the usual fare. I was just a bit surprised that asking for much of anything even just a cappucino after dinner usually got a negative response or if someone did actually go do it they expected some tip, and/or it took forever.

The worst food incident was one of my last evenings when I was in one of the specialty restaurants and noted that when I went to the dessert buffett and there on at least three of the desserts were the tiny ants that live everywhere, crawling all over the food. To say the least I didn't eat anything more.

If I had been able to approach and address any of these concerns to appropriate management and got anything other than the 'so what' attitude that I did get from them I might have felt less crappy about the place. But my concerns were taken as just 'complaints' and I was indeed 'blown off', even when I attempted to make inquiries as to the fact that I do (or did) sell their location to customers. I guess they don't need the business.

Again, I spent the week making excuses for them, I guess I have stopped now. Good luck on your stay, and if you haven't been to other resorts you probably may not note any problems.

I just returned from the Riu Palace Punta Cana and I must say some of the problems I've read are correct.

Room

The standard Jr suite is small. The bed sheets were damp every night. Good luck getting towels. We even had to take towels off of the maids cart so we could have more than 1 towel per person. One day after spending the day at the pool I go back to my room to shower and find I have NO towels and for some reason no TP. I called the Front Desk to get these things sent to my room. I'm still waiting:( I had to find a maid to get them off of her.

Pool

Maybe 1 day out of 7 the water was cool. The other days it was hot. The water level in the pool was too high for the skimmers to work. So you had a lot of dead bugs floating in the water. Also, the water was cloudy.

Food

We did have dinner at 3 restaurants:

Sir Oscar

When we got our food, they placed it in front of us and left. However, there was just 1 little problem. They never gave us utensils. They gave me a butter knife to cut my steak (and this is their gourmet restaurant). After eating there we wished that they never gave us the utensils.

Luigi

Very good food. No problems:)

Grill and Steakhouse

The best. We went there 2 times.

Buffet

It was the same thing everyday. And it was not good. On the day of our return flight we got there at 7am (opening time) and the majority of the food was not ready yet. The beacon was only half cooked. The only food that was ready was the room temperature fruits and lunch meats.

Front Desk

I asked if there was any transportation between the other Riu resorts and was told no. I later found out from another guest that info was not correct. They do have golf carts that go between the other resorts but later in the day.

My feeling about this hotel are if you are an American you are over looked. The employees feel over themselves helping the people from Europe.

Now this is not my first time to Punta Cana. It's my fifth, but the first at this hotel. The other times I've stayed at the Iberostar Bavaro. I know the families that own the Riu chain and the Iberostar chain are friends. I think it would be best if the family that owned the Riu resorts ask the family that owns the Iberostar resorts how to run a hotel. And how to treat all of their guests. From now on I'm sticking with the Iberostar Bavaro

We just returned from the Riu Palace early this morning (4am). It was NOT what we were expecting at all. After reading the reviews for the Riu Macco we decided to switch over to the Riu Palace. The main reason for this was that the reviews mentioned that the rooms had a musty smell. Unfortunately, the Palace was no better at all. We arrived late around 10pm and we were given the keys to our room along with the key to the safe and our beach towel cards. Upon opening the door to our room (standard room) the musty smell just about knocked us over. We immediately went to see the front desk to change rooms. The other two rooms we were given had the exact same musty moldy smell. Again we went to the front desk and explained that I couldn't possibly stay in any of those rooms due to my asthma. Being rated a 5.5 star property it was really disappointing. The manager at the front desk seemed to get annoyed that we came back again. He gave us a Superior Jr Suite and said that I would like this one better. Well, surprise surpise... the smell was no different. We decided to stay in the room and not bother with this anymore. I pulled off the bedspreads from the beds (two double) and asked that they remove them from our room. The smell lingered on everything. The maid came in and sprayed the walls with some sort of sanitizer and it lifted the odor for about 1/2 hour. After that I called down and said that we were offered a dehumidifer from one of the other guys at front desk and that we really needed it due to my asthma. The manager told me that the person who delivers it is no longer there (it's a small dehumidifer and can be wheeled in without any real exhaustion). Anyhow, we had to wait for the morning. Needless to say, no one bothered telling us that we were now responsible to empty it out. In the middle of the night my husband stepped in a large amout of water spilling over the bedroom floor. We got up, emptied it out and dried up the floor. It would fill 2.5 buckets of water each day. Enough about that.

The food was good. Pretty much the same every night and got a bit boring but the main restaurant (Don Manuel) was very clean in itself. We ate al la cart two nights. One night at the Altagarcia which is the steak house and the other at the Krystal. The steak house was a waste of time since we ended up at the buffet again (wouldn't recommend it). We talked to other couples who agreed. No one that we talked to recommended the Brazilian or the Japanese so we didn't even bother. The only other one suggested was the Krystal - a gourmet a la cart. It was really good and the service very friendly. Had we eaten there earlier during the week we would have gone back again but this was our last night there.

The service was okay.. they don't speak much english and it was hard to try to ask for anything that wasn't usual at the table..ie gingerale. Not sure what they brought me but it wasn't ginerale. The wine wasn't that great, the beer watered down. I could go on and on but I'm sure that maybe we were just expecting the 5.5 star service we've received in other places.

The beach is beautiful and the pool really well kept. The bartenders at the pool bar were very friendly and the service great. The grounds and the building outside was well kept. The inside was very clean and well kept also. The musty smell is pretty much everywhere.

We walked over to the other riu resorts in the area and found that the Bambu was the most lively. As for the entertainment it's the usual resort stuff. Nothing to get excited about.

I would not recommend this resort to anyone who has expereienced 5 star service or ammenities.

My fiance and I love Riu. Prior to our stay in Dominican Republic - Punta Cana resort, we have stayed at Cabo San Lucas and Aruba. Those two experiences were extraordinary and I literally have no complaints. However, there were a few aspects of this particular resort that made our stay less than flawless. I'm only going to point out what I found disappointing, only because despite these topics, everything else was fine - otherwise, this review will be 20 pages long.

ARRIVAL -

We arrived at the hotel on August 23, slightly before check in time. My fiance and I browsed the main building/lobby area as usual. Upon checking in, we discovered the room to be of an unfavorable location. We initially requested inner/pool view. Being lenient and understanding, the front desk switched us to a room near the pool. We understood that there was a minor miscommunication. As we arrived in our new room, the housekeepers were just finishing up cleaning the room. We noticed that the pillows did NOT have pillow cases, and there were only 3 pillows total on the bed. We immediately called housekeeping to have the problem fixed, and it was fixed - after 15 minutes.

TOWEL SYSTEM -

Having it been our 3rd time a Riu Palace, we already knew how the towel system works. You get a towel card, and you exchange it for a towel. If you're done with the towel, you can exchange it for a card again, or switch it for a new clean towel. I would have to say that during the entire 7 day stay, we made about 7 trips to the towel booth to get clean towels. Of those 7 trips, we were able to get clean towels ONLY 3 times. 1 of those 3 times was after checking in our room. They seemed to be always out of towels, and it seemed there was only one towel booth for the hotel. We were forced to use our beach towels over and onto the next day in some cases. I can go on with my frustration here, but bottom line: as long as we are within the towel booth operating hours, we expect to always have clean towels available. When drying off from the playing in the beach, I don't want to have to use that same towel again later on that day. We never had this problem in Aruba or Cabo.

HOUSEKEEPING -

Despite what happened on the day of our arrival, there are a few more incidents which led to my unsatisfactory feelings towards this particular hotel. On day 2, when coming back from lunch, we noticed that our "Please clean our room" sign was on the floor at the entrance, and and top portion that is used to hook on the doorknob was SNAPPED OFF. We asked ourselves, maybe it's because we complained about the pillow cases? I took the door sign down to the front desk myself, and they sent a housekeeper a new door sign, along with an extra "do not disturb" sign.

During our stay, we placed our empty bottle of Riu lotion on top of a $1 tip, hoping that the housekeeper would replace or refill our lotion. Sure enough, both times that we left the bottle out, the tip was taken but no lotion. Finally on our second to last day, we left a note saying "more lotion please", and we finally had our lotion. Please bear in mind, that EVERYDAY, we leave a $1 tip for the housekeeper, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We understand that tipping is not necessary, but we understand that $1 means a lot to the workers, and we also hope to encourage greater service by giving tips.

On our second and fourth day, we noticed that the housekeeper made a creation out of two towels, and sprinkled it with rose pedals. I thought that was very kind. When we stayed at Aruba, the housekeeper did that every day. Not so consistent here; especially since we actually use those towels to step on when getting out of the shower, or when entering the room with wet feet.

FOOD -

The food at Don Manuel (buffet) was great as usual. No complaints there, however I do have a few things to say about a few restaurants.

Brazilian: Food selection was great, but there could have been more of a selection at the salad bar. More importantly, being an ice cream lover, the icecream at the car was always melted like a milk shake.

Japanese: We've had the Japanese at our two previous stays with Riu and they were great; so we had no problem going to the Japanese restaurant here. We wanted to try an entree that we haven't tried before, so we ordered the Beef Tepanyaki. Unfortunately, the beef was near tasteless; it even seemed like the servers ran back to the buffet and brought over a random beef dish and served it as "Beef Tepanyaki". Extremely disappointing; did not taste like Japanese food at all.

LUNCH AT THE STEAKHOUSE -

In between noon and dinnertime, lunch would be served at the steakhouse. There were TWO instances where one of the two soda machines were non-operative. As for the juice machine, there were always at least 3 different juices that were low on mix. Food selection was average, and ice cream was always ridiculously soft.

BEACH SERVICE -

There were two instances where we ordered drinks from the servers in the beach. Both times were a failure as we did not receive the drinks. We stayed in the same place for at least 30 minutes while waiting for the drinks, and we were more than willing to tip for prompt service. I ended up walking to the bar to fetch drinks for my fiance and I.

SPA -

Workout room was horrible. I know that I did not come to Riu to workout and weight lift, but having only two machines (one for chest, one for back) was pretty insufficient. After a short workout, I met with my fiance who just finished with a massage. We went into the jacuzzi room 20 minutes before closing time. We were asked to leave the room just 5 minutes later. Rather upsetting; I even had to leave the building by walking through the women's locker room since they locked the men's.

OVERALL -

Overall, our stay could have been better. As I mentioned, I could write pages on all the good points of our stay. I am only being critical because the service at the ARUBA and CABO San Lucas palaces were much better and I would even go as far as saying that the two previous locations "set the bar" on our stay at Punta Cana. During the trip, I kept reminding myself that this was a 5 star all-inclusive hotel, and that we should not have to deal with these problems. The country was beautiful, and all our excursions were fun. I wish the people of DR would cater more towards the English language - because communication was a struggle throughout the trip; and I do say that on a country level rather than at a resort level.

I love Riu, however our stay at Punta Cana has made me consider other all inclusive resorts. My fiance and I are getting married on 4/11/09, and we had originally planned to have our wedding destination from 4/9-4/16 or 2009 at the Riu Palace - Mexico. Honestly, it might require some convincing for us to continue with our wedding plans with RIU.

This was our first time to the DomRep and we were looking forward to a luxury holiday all inclusive holiday as described by the web page. The hotel was classed by Thompson UK as ‘A la carte’ and with a 5T rating. Unfortunately the experience didn’t really live up to the hype. I travel extensively with my work so I think have pretty broad experience of good hotels (and some bad) so can hopefully give a balanced view of the Riu Palace.

The flight was pretty good and I was glad I booked the Premium Seats for 9 hour flight. Transfer to the hotel by Taxi was also okay and the journey took about 35mins and gave us an insight into just how poor this island is. Hotel welcome was pleasant and informative after which we set-off for our ‘suite’. This is where the first disappointment arrived; the room could hardly be described as a suite. Granted the double bed was huge but the bathroom was nothing special with a tiny bath and a dodgy shower. There was a bed settee in small sitting area leading to a balcony. The bed settee was required for the whole of the stay because my 18 year old son was staying with us and quality of the mattress and therefore the sleep quality very poor. The bed settee was left out all the time therefore the room felt very cramped; we had certainly envisaged something much grander. I have slept in much larger ‘ordinary rooms’ all to myself. The balcony was adequate but I didn’t trust the handrail which was very badly fitted and loose. The sliding patio doors onto the balcony were a terrible fit and difficult to lock which was a bit of a niggle also. The mini-bar was restocked every day but the choice of drinks in there was limited; local beer (which tasted disgusting) water and Pepsi basically. The optics on the wall were kept well stocked with cheap brandy, local rum, gin and vodka. The major room disappointment was the overwhelming stench of damp which frankly knocked you sick on entry and the bed sheets were damp and smelly. I immediately complained and to their credit the sheets were changed and de-humidifier delivered. Thompson Holidays describe the rooms as ‘Special’; a special smell yes, but in any other department? No not really. They promised us a room change if things didn’t improve. Things did improve gradually and the amount of water removed from the atmosphere by the de-humidifier was extraordinary! I say they improved but now I believe that we just became accustomed to the smell, which was evident in lots of other areas of the hotel. This was confirmed when we returned home and we noticed that all our luggage and clothes wreaked of damp and even the clothes we didn’t wear needed cleaning. To the credit of the management they did check with us from time to time and we decided to stay put based on the evidence that that all rooms were probably afflicted with a similar problem.

Meals were either self service buffet or ‘a la carte’ restaurants. The food was plentiful but samey in the self service buffet whether breakfast lunch or dinner. Thompson describe the buffets as ‘sumptuous’; no way. Quality of food was average with chef stations preparing over-cooked meats and the same sort of fried fish fillets every day. We hoped that seafood would be plentiful varied and well cooked but it wasn’t. Pizza and pasta were okay or adequate but as with all the self service food invariably lukewarm at best and often cold. The usual rotation of leftovers through the fortnight made in onto the mezze/buffet display. The is NO choice of wine other than red white or rose and it’s just about drinkable as a one-off, but everyday for 2 weeks it pretty dire. The so called champagne (a cheap cava) was just palatable and probably a better choice than the other wines on offer.

The ‘a la carte’ restaurants were very ordinary with the best definitely being the Italian, with the Spanish La Bodega and Altagracia close behind. Don’t bother with Sir Oscars and definitely not Yokohama (Japanese restaurant? No way José). There are 2 sittings in each restaurant, typically 18.30 and 21.00 and this must be booked at 8.30am each morning. Leave it until 8.40 and you won’t get in to the Italian be warned. The restaurants are just not relaxed and it’s as though they want to get you out as quickly as possible. The menu choices are limited and remain the same every night (no specials) and the food quality is very average. Seafood choice is also extremely limited. I tried the surf and turf in Altagracia with promise of a lobster tail. There was a lobster tail but it was very small and massively over cooked. Any average British Bistro is miles ahead of anything available here. The have a lot to learn on food quality and presentation. Oh and the wine was just the same in the ‘a la cartes’ also; so frustrating.

Lunchtime buffet in Altagracia near the beach is the usual bun fight of people stacking their plates as high as possible and then leaving most of it! Self-serve drinks here are from tap dispensers and hardly ever worked properly. There are several speciality food days with Paella by far the best.

The main bar off the very grand reception area serves all manner of drinks with a wide choice of cocktails. The spirits and liqueurs are mainly local so don’t expect a Cointreau or similar if you ask for one, it’ll be a copy and not a very good one! Draft beer is better than the bottled but still pretty awful. There are some brand name products but not many. The coffees are generally pretty foul also having come from a Nescafe automatic dispenser. The exception to this was the breakfast coffees served to each table from flasks; it tasted okay. Forget tea though!!

The so called Sportsman’s bar was for us to be avoided, with a constantly smokey atmosphere and steady American football/Nascar TV everywhere. I tell you what, you don’t realise just how no-smoking in public areas has improved life in the UK until you come here. The majority of the guests seem to smoke and it’s hard to escape anywhere; even the beach.

The pool area is generally okay until it’s full of drunken Spaniards (mainly) by mid afternoon. The entertainments staff sees to it that there is never a moments peace either with constant stupid games, salsa dancing, pointless in-pool aerobics and bingo!! Throwing the beanbag through a hole in piece of plywood generated much excitement! I have to say that those taking part seemed to enjoy it, but it’s not my idea of relaxation. If you like to swim forget it, because the large pool is shallow across its full area (1.2m) and people mostly stand around chatting, drinking and smoking all day. Most of the very few pool umbrellas available are broken so we decided what with the noise and lack of shade to go to the beach.

Aah the beach! Definitely the best part of the hotel with nice fine sand lots of shady areas under palm trees and beautiful clean sea to swim in (although not small child friendly be warned). Entertainment abounds here also but you can get away from most of it quite easily. Merengue and Salsa music infuse every minute of every day and drove me bonkers after a while. Pedalos, small sailing catamarans and kayak etc are free also.

Evening entertainment is there every night and we found it a little ‘holiday camp’ although once again many found it seemingly watchable we found it all a bit too much for 14 nights.

If you’ve bothered to read this far you’ll probably guess this was not our favourite holiday ever. You are of course right, but many of the people there seemed to be having a great time drinking, smoking, troughing, salsa-ing and playing inane games. The one thing that held whole holiday together were the staff who were generally kind helpful and seemingly very happy. I was happy to tip them $1 on regular basis for good service and that includes the cleaners who were quick efficient and cheery.

I realise that this reports make me sound very pompous, well so be it. Perhaps I am just not suited to all inclusive. It’s just that the Thompson brochure paints this as a luxury holiday and it’s not really. In a place like this where you are basically captive for two weeks, you have to go with the flow and for us the ‘flow’ was in general not to our taste. If you enjoy copious amounts of food and drink and quality is a secondary consideration then this is for you. If you like to relax over good food and nice wine and enjoy local restaurants and bars then go elsewhere. The price of the holiday seemed too good to be true and it was.

ONE MANS MEAT IS ANOTHER MANS POISON AS THEY SAY!

Before I get started, it seems appropriate to give a little bio of myself. I am 26 and traveled to the Riu with my 30 year old husband. We are very down to earth people, and honestly not hard to please. I like most foods except spinach and homeny (whatever the hell that is). We have traveled around quite a bit and went to the Sun Palace in Cancun last year for our Honeymoon (WONDERFUL RESORT, by the way.) Like many others I read hundreds, maybe thousands of reviews before booking this hotel. I convinced myself that even though there were a few bad reviews, that it couldn't be that bad. One word of advise-

trust the comments. In this case, they were true. Okay, now here is the scoop.

ARRIVAL: We had our FIRST red flag at the airport. The 10$ ticket to walk 5 ft. and give it someone is a huge joke. A nice little welcome. There was a little band playing to welcome us to the Domenican. I enjoyed this, up until the guys playing literally kicked their hat at me to give them a tip. I was extremely irritated and would have been glad to tip had I not been begged to do so forcefully. The ride was around 40 min to get to the hotel. It is quite