Riu Palace Punta Cana

“Lovely hotel”

Fantastic 3 week family holiday! We are a family of 4 with a 12 and 16 year old children. We have visited Dominican Republic before and stayed at the Bahia resort next door so we had a direct comparison to this hotel. The check in was seamless and very fast, after a nearly 9 hour flight this is re… more

Fantastic 3 week family holiday! We are a family of 4 with a 12 and 16 year old children. We have visited Dominican Republic before and stayed at the Bahia resort next door so we had a direct comparison to this hotel. The check in was seamless and very fast, after a nearly 9 hour flight this is really important and was a sharp contrast to previous experiences. We found the service far superior in the Riu Palace. The staff literally couldn’t do enough for us and greeted us like family at mealtimes and by the pool. We usually sat outside for breakfast at the buffet and were treated beautifully by the staff, the best in the dining hall in our opinion. The bar staff are excellent. The pool bars are extremely busy but they have lots of staff and the pool servers who come around will check regularly if you want a drink, even when you’re in the pool. We had lovely interactions with Cristian who really took our kids under his wing and made then feel special and Santana who was teaching us some Spanish phrases,but to be honest they were all fabulous. We tipped with US dollars a dollar or two throughout the day, and tipped the cleaning staff and ground staff too. They all work incredibly hard in the heat and we felt the service was worth tipping. We are from the UK and we don’t really have a tipping culture here but it is something that you should factor in to the cost of your holiday if you are travelling to the Caribbean. Yes the rooms are a little tired but we knew this before we arrived and didn’t cause us any problems. Any issues we had we reported on the App and it was quickly resolved with no fuss, my only tip would be don’t report issues at night unless you want them to be resolved then and there! The rooms we clean and the cleaning staff were efficient and would come back if you put a do not disturb on the door the room was attended to later. Yes it is humid and we took some damp rid hanging packs for the wardrobes but the only time you really have an issue is if you turn off the air conditioning, which as Brits we sometimes did as the air con felt cold at times. The food was great and some of the best I’ve had in equivalent hotels. We particularly enjoyed the steak restaurant and the Japanese. You do need to go early 6-6:30 to be seated straight away at the À la carte restaurants. The entertainment staff were fantastic, fun, encouraging but not overwhelming and work very hard all day and night. We went to a couple of the RIU parties and can highly recommend, very fun in their own pool party venue. Our highlight was the cappuccino bar, it was lovely to get a decent coffee and the cakes are the best I’ve had in an all inclusive hotel. Lovely sandwiches and the staff were lovely. Overall we had an amazing holiday, would definitely return to this hotel and will be staying at RIU hotels in the future because of this experience.

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“25th Anniversary Vacation”

We have always stayed at a Riu resort for vacation. The rooms are clean, most of the staff are cheerful, pleasant and kind. Rene at the check-in desk was very welcoming. He also upgraded our room. Esteban at the buffet restaurant was also very welcoming and attentive. Housekeeping did and amazing j… more

We have always stayed at a Riu resort for vacation. The rooms are clean, most of the staff are cheerful, pleasant and kind. Rene at the check-in desk was very welcoming. He also upgraded our room. Esteban at the buffet restaurant was also very welcoming and attentive. Housekeeping did and amazing job. I wish there was more local food being served or maybe like a local themed restaurant. The beach was kind of rough. There was a lot of seaweed. I wished we were served drinks at the beach. We we accustomed to being served at the beach on other Riu resorts. Overall we had a great time.

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“Nice experience”

The staff was very nice and helpful throughout my stay. However, cleanliness, especially in the bathroom, could definitely be improved. My first room was located near the entertainment area, so the noise was quite difficult, especially at night. However, once I raised the issue, the staff was very… more

The staff was very nice and helpful throughout my stay. However, cleanliness, especially in the bathroom, could definitely be improved. My first room was located near the entertainment area, so the noise was quite difficult, especially at night. However, once I raised the issue, the staff was very understanding and made it very easy to change rooms. I really appreciated how quickly they addressed my concern and provided better service afterward. Overall, the staff was friendly and responsive, but there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to cleanliness and room location.

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“Good stay on 10 year anniversary”

Some aspects of the hotel are fantastic and others average. The front lobby area is excellent and spacious. The rooms are good although some amenities starting to get old( leaky shower floor, toilet flush issues, fridge not having a tight seal) . The outside balcony area was disgusting with bird po… more

Some aspects of the hotel are fantastic and others average. The front lobby area is excellent and spacious. The rooms are good although some amenities starting to get old( leaky shower floor, toilet flush issues, fridge not having a tight seal) . The outside balcony area was disgusting with bird poo all over it so couldn’t sit out there but we wouldn’t sit there anyway. The pool areas are good, plenty of beds available we preferred the smaller quieter pool with the volleyball net as the swim up one was busy and loud. The restaurants and food were to a decent standard. Most of the food was excellent with a few desserts etc not great. We enjoyed the Japanese, luigi Italian and the beachfront steakhouse( although beware you need to turn up at 6 and make a booking for one of their 3 sittings which you don’t get informed of by reception) the bars and drinks are good although some staff are clearly overworked making them less cheerful. We loved lying at the beach watching the sun go down with cocktails before dinner. The spa and gyms are of a good standard in macau adults only and smaller in the palace. overall I would say the service is 4 star in this resort, some of the services are not fast enough and staff are not trained well enough to make it 5 star.

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