Hotel Riu Palace Macao - All Inclusive

“Very pleasantly surprised by our experiences here-April 2026”

My wife and I decided to give Punta Cana (Bavaro area this time) another try. We stayed at a resort last year which was half way between the airport and this location. While that trip wasnt at a Riu, the vacation was nice but not great. This year we were very pleased with not only the resort, but t… more

My wife and I decided to give Punta Cana (Bavaro area this time) another try. We stayed at a resort last year which was half way between the airport and this location. While that trip wasnt at a Riu, the vacation was nice but not great. This year we were very pleased with not only the resort, but the staff and beach area as well. It was an excellent trip and we felt it to be a very good value. My wife and I are in our early 50’s and traveled from the Northeastern US. We flew direct and stayed at Riu Macao from 4/8-4/15. We met a wide range of people from Europe, Canada, and Americans representing young couples to those enjoying their retirement years. The atmosphere was very laid back with typical events like volleyball, pool aerobics, stretching, and other games to keep guests engaged by the pools and beach. There are 3 pools, in relative close proximity to each other. The pool with a swim up bar naturally gets pretty busy but there is still plenty of area to enjoy yourself. We never once had to play the towel game. There were always seats available and I believe the resort was at capacity during our trip. At no point did it feel terribly crowded. This area was beautiful. The stretch of beach was long and wide. We did a 2 mile walk every morning in each direction. The water was mostly clear of seaweed but there was a little more on our second to last day. The resort uses heavy machinery to keep the beaches virtually immaculate. Even on the beaches there was plenty of chairs for all. We have grown to really like the Riu brand. Their staff in our opinion has been among the best we have encountered. We have stayed in Aruba many times as well as Cancun, their hotel in NYC and now Riu Macao. Their customer service makes you genuinely feel welcome. Last year the resort staff (again, not a Riu) was the main factor of us not being very pleased with an otherwise very nice resort. We were almost reluctant to return this year. Id like to thank our breakfast server in particular Degoberto and the bartender Kelvin at Joey’s Bar for remembering my decaf coffee in the morning and my wife’s espresso martini’s after dinner. There were many other very personable staff but these two in particular really went out of their way day in and day out with exceptional customer service with a smile. The dining options here were pretty good. We are spoiled with very good Italian cuisine at home so we skipped their Italian option. No reservations were needed at any time for any of the restaurants. We ate at roughly the same time every evening (around 630) and with the exception of our last night we never had to wait to be seated. On the second to last night (our second visit to Kabuki-the Japanese themed restaurant) we did have to wait an hour, but we went across the lobby to the Cuban bar and had a drink while we waited. The buffet was good with typical offerings. Each night featured a different theme (Latin seafood, Italian, American, etc…). The resort itself was immaculate. It seemed very well staffed and maintained. Our room was nice with a king sized bed, walk in shower, and double vanity. Due to all of the palm trees and distance from the hotel to the beach, several hundred yards) ocean view really wasn't a big factor although we did end up with a view facing the ocean. Noise level was pretty good. The Japanese restaurant ws pretty loud inside and occasionally the evening entertainment ran until about midnight and could be heard from our room-but it wasn't overwhelming by any means. I don't want to ramble on too long but wanted to share some our experiences here. Aruba has always been our “gold standard” for vacations- but this is a very, very close second at a far greater value!

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