Riu Palace Bavaro - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10570 reviews

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  Great Experience: Honest Review of all items

  Just came back from 5 days at Riu Palace: Elite Club, Swimout room. Before listing the items, I have travelled to many all inclusive in the Caribbean, last year staying at the Royalton Bavaro. I'm providing my objective review and you can decide what is ' good for you'. General Hotel Grounds and Lobby: Nicely kept. Beautiful upscale lobby with marble floors, and sculptures. Looks like a nice hotel in a big city rather than a Caribbean hotel. Beautiful. Lobby had a coffee shop and a bar. Hotel is not excessively big and everything seems to be within a reasonable short walk. NOTE: the kids area and waterpark is at the very front of the hotel. We only knew it was there because we passed it while on the bus-ride in. This could be good or bad depending on if you have kids or not. But, it's not close to the rest of the resort. Pools: There are 5 main pools (excluding the waterpark section). Elite Club and Adults only: VERY quiet. only a handful of people at these pools on any day at any time. Great if you want COMPLETE quiet. Activity Pool: Basic rectangular pool. Empty 90% of the day with the exception of water aerobics once a day. Drinking Pool: There is a separate pool with in-pool tables and bar. This is only for those who want to sit drink and chat all day. No swimming. Main Pool: Given the above, the main pool is very busy. As with most resorts, people reserve their chairs. if you want a seat in the 'front row', then you will have to do the same. But, if you don't mind being a row behind, then there are seats available. These back 'rows' also have a lot of shade. This pool can also be loud with kids. Given how far the waterpark is, I guess most parents just bring them to this pool. Surprising, no music or entertainment group throughout the day. They have some games a little later on (4pm), but nothing other than that. I would have at least expected some music playing on the speakers. Pool Service: There are waiters coming by taking orders, and a bar cart there during the day. I never had to wait for a drink. Room: Elite Swim-out: Swim out was kind of a waste (Royalton is 100% better). There are stairs, going into the 3ft pool. So, there is nothing you can do with it... if you go in, you are basically standing there. Royalton, had a shallow platform and had the two loungers partially submitted in the water. This has a patio area with loungers, but they couldn't be in the pool. Main benefit was you are on the main floor. Room was large and clean. Separate 'room' for the toilette (water closet), huge shower and restroom with double sink. No complaints. Elite Club: Your room will be closer to the pools. Separate loungers on the beach. These were at the back of the beach, so you couldn't even see the ocean. Not sure why they would have them so far back. Separate Pool: very quiet if you want that. Only Elite can make reservations at the restaurants for either 6pm or 8pm. This is helpful, but others just walk in since they don't see to be overly busy. Overall: My opinion, there isn't much benefit for paying for Elite. The only benefit is that you know you will have a room in a good location. Other than that, I don't see much use for it. Beach: When you walk down from the pool to the beach, it is VERY crowded. BUT... if you walk to the left for 30 seconds, you are still infront of the resort and the beach is almost empty! Huge beach area (length and depth), many chairs, and a lot of palm trees for shade. No seaweed, no rocks. We walked along the beach in front of other resorts (Grand Bahia to the left and Iberostar to the right). Riu had the best beach area (for size, flatness, and seaweed). Restaurants: Buffet: Large with a lot of selection. Lunch is the same everyday with little change, but there are many options. Dinner is mostly the same, with some variances for 'theme' nights. Nothing amazing, but always something good to eat. Food Court: There is a food court closer to the main pool. About 8-10 small restaurants, with Fried Chicken, Wok bowls, ice cream/crepes, hamburgers and Tacos. Fresh made tacos were great. Nice place to grab some quick eats without having to go into the buffet. AlaCarte: They were all good. If you are Elite, there is an Elite Cub restaurant which was the best. Service is top notch and food is excellent. American: Ribs, wings, etc Italian: good with antipasto buffet Elite: Great Krystal: High end. Very good. Japanese and Mexican: did not try Menus are outside the restaurants, so you can decide accordingly. Overall, the resort was very good and I would definitely go back. Everything was good with nothing to complain about. Nice hotel, good rooms, good service, no lines, and great beach area. I would put it inline with Royalton Bavaro, but Royalton would have a slight edge due to better SwimOut Room, slightly better restaurants and Diamond club amenities (ie beach loungers). But, you will not be disappointed with this hotel.

  Apr 14, 2025
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  Great place, food below average

  This was our first time in an All-inclusive resort and also first time in the DR. WE do have experience in travelling around the world and in different resorts as well as cruises for comparison. The room was great, felt very clean and comfortable. Everything worked well and was better than expected. The pools were also very nice as well as the beach. The resort had different entertainment which we didn't see too much of but what we saw was fun. We did go to the theme parties at the RIU party place and found them to be very entertaining. The bad: We had a very bad experience as far as the food. The first night we ate at Krystal and the short ribs were overcooked, potatoes were cold and desserts were not edible. Coffee Creme Brulee had no caramelized sugar on top and I found it to be inedible. Others got the smoked cheesecake and they also refused to eat it. Streakhouse for the 2nd night- The rest of my group said their food was fine but not great. I got a filet which appeared to be a large round blob and not in any way cut into a typical filet cut. I was able to carve some meat out of it but it was very veiny and full of muscle. Japanese restaurant (forgot name)- Food was good and not real complaints. Buffet- Average taste and food sitting out quite a while. Had lunch here twice. Selections were fine but overall lacked taste. Looking at hamburger patties reminded me of what is served in school lunches. Food court- Wok place was nice but the rest again had food sitting out for what seemed to long Overall service was great and nice people but this was the worst food experience of all of the resorts/cruises we have been on. I would hope they can improve because the overall place is very nice but food is such a significant part of the trip it can't be discounted.

  Apr 14, 2025
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  Fantastic holiday

  First time in the Dominican Republic, the hotel was superb. Great food, room was massive. Plenty of room for my wife, my 5 year old and myself. Pools were great and right next to the beautiful beach. We are already looking at visiting the same hotel in February next year.

  Apr 14, 2025
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  Riu Palace Bavaro

  Overall, this is a very nice resort! Tons of restaurants, great lunch buffet/snack area, lots of pools & great beach! We’ve stayed at Riu hotels about 10-12 times now and really enjoy to consistency of the brand. The water and beaches are beautiful in Punta Cana. When comparing Punta Cana to other resorts in Cancun, Aruba and Costa Rica, we found the service here to not be as good as in other locations. The towel booth staff was literally telling us to tip them. Service at the restaurants was sub-par compared to other resorts. Overall though, this is a great place to stay, very clean and great value for the money! Enjoy!

  Apr 12, 2025
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  Excellent Stay at RIU Palce Bavaro

  Our second trip to this resort. It is a beautiful resort. The staff, especially Christian at the front desk was very helpful with a room issue we had. The grounds were very well kept. Our room was very well kept. The staff was very friendly. The food was excellent. Will be back again !

  Apr 12, 2025