Hotel Riu Palace Bavaro

Having come to Punta Cana many times at various other hotels and also this exact hotel 4 year ago, our experience here was exceptional in some ways and disssapointing in others. Dissappointment: The language proficiency of the majority of staff in English was far below our experiences in the past. The food selection and quality was lackluster to say the least. Breakfast was a repeat every day. The specialty restaurants were not special except for a small variation to the buffet offerings. Much of the food was oversalted or overly soysauced. The catalyst for this review is at the specialty restaurant american country. Advertised is a mac and cheese baked until golden brown. What was served is penne, butter, cheese powder, soup. The chef was called and said they do not do baked Mac n cheese. Exceptional: Elian, our server was truly exceptional and brought a level of attentiveness reminiscent of old days. We had sought him and requested him for the rest of our stay and he actively sought us daily for service as well. Eric, the Assistant GM was extremely helpful in helping us with our needs and took our comments on the food quality seriously. RIU PARTY. Great fun. Just do it. Neutral: Room quality small issues here and there. We initially checked into a group floor room. My toddler went on a killing spree of ants/ termites. We were subsequently moved to another room the next day as the hotel was fully committed our first night. Housekeeping arrived within 10 minutes to spray down the entry points to the room. For an all inclusive last minute booking exceeding 1k per night including flights for 2 adults and a toddler from Toronto, perhaps better value can be attained elsewhere.

During my stay at Hotel Riu Palace Bávaro, my camera was stolen inside a hotel-operated restaurant (American Country). Hotel management confirmed that CCTV footage shows a hotel employee taking my camera. An internal hotel document states that the employee took the camera from my table and placed it at the restaurant podium. After that, the camera disappeared while under hotel control. The employee involved (Gabriel) is still working at the restaurant, and no disciplinary action was taken. I personally spoke with several hotel managers, including Christian, Adrian, and Enrique Rosario. Each of them promised that an official email and written response would be sent “the next day.” Instead, I was asked to wait day after day, with no follow-up, no documentation, and no resolution. I was never provided with any official documents, incident report, or case number. The hotel refused to give me paperwork in hand, repeatedly stating that everything was “handled in Spain.” The only reason I was able to see any official document at all was by coincidence. While traveling to the police station with a translator (who worked at the hotel reception), I was able to take a photo of an internal document written in Spanish, which explicitly named the employee who took my camera. This document was never provided to me directly and was only shown to the police, not to the affected guest. I repeatedly asked the managers to speak directly with Gabriel and simply return the memory card with the videos. I made it clear that I was even willing to pay additional money just to recover the files. Despite this, no one took responsibility, and no one was willing to clearly acknowledge the theft or help facilitate the return of the memory card. The camera itself costs around $700, which is something I can earn again. However, the videos of my children and family moments recorded over an entire year are priceless and can never be replaced. I was forced to file a police report myself. The hotel did not offer any assistance with transportation, and I had to pay out of my own pocket for a taxi to the police station. The police also promised to come to the hotel, speak with the employee, and contact me, but once again this remained only a promise with no follow-up. I sent two formal emails to RIU corporate headquarters, providing all documentation. I have not received a single response. I am also a business owner, and I understand very well how customer service, responsibility, and crisis management should work. Speaking honestly, from senior management to the restaurant management, this situation was handled extremely poorly. No compensation was offered, no effort was made to improve or ease our situation, and instead of taking responsibility, I was given empty promises day after day. Each time I followed up, a new manager appeared, forcing me to explain the entire situation again from the beginning, only to hear the same promises repeated without any action. From the on-site management to corporate headquarters, this experience showed a serious lack of accountability, transparency, and proper guest care. Based on my experience, I strongly advise guests to be cautious with their personal belongings, especially when visiting hotel restaurants, given how this situation was handled. This experience has significantly impacted my confidence in RIU’s standards of safety and guest care.

The architecture of the property is no doubt so beautiful since it looks a real palace with pure white resort stands out against lush bright green landscape! The food is plentiful but the food quality is mediocre.and service is just okay. No information is provided at check in counter and they also forget to provide to provide you towel cards. We were just told to download Riu App. The tv wasn't working and also the iron stand was broken for which we called and sent message via app twice, but it was still not fixed in our 3 days stay. There's no tissue paper box and no plastic bags in the trash bin in our room. If you're paying about $700/ night, you wouldn't expect this at all. The room size was big and very clean and comfortable, though. There was a mini fridge for water and soda. We enjoyed food at Asian restaurant Zen as it was delicious while buffets were just good.. There were lots of desserts in lunch and dinner buffet. The beach was crystal clear and we relaxed and took Instagram worthy pictures under swaying palm trees. My kids really enjoyed parasailing over a beautiful beach! This resort is more of a party vibe and you will truly enjoy if you are social and enjoy crowds. It was a great experience, though. I would only return for the lovely beach.

Had a great time, very beautiful hotel with access to the most gorgeous beach. ||The rooms were beautiful and clean, lots of variety in restaurants and bars which we really liked as well as the buffet restaurant being spectacular for food quality and variety. ||Special shout out to staff who made our stay extra wonderful: Daniel in the buffet restaurant who we saw every morning, he’s an absolute asset to your team and deserves a lot of recognition for his customer service. As well as Salas and Alberto also in the restaurant. ||Karina and Franklin in the bar were absolutely lovely and so friendly. We spent most of our time at the adults only pool so also a special shout out to Alexis and Rueben at the adults on bar. ||||The only thing we wish was that pool volleyball was offered as an activity and my partner loves to play when we come away!!

Hotel itself 4/5 for the price! We payed ~$450/day for family of 4. My family with kids enjoyed our stay here. Below I'm ranking this hotel by different categories: - Cleanliness 5/5 - they constantly clean and mop every surface indoors or outdoors, every pathway. Everything including the rooms looks fresh and like new! - Room 5/5 - interior is modern, roomy and functional with things like outdoors dryer rack for swimsuits. The only downside is there are no elevators in most buildings, i.e. it's a problem with strollers. - Food 4/5 - quality is top, selection is good, but they don't know how to cook the meats. Every steak or beef and often chicken is overcooked. But there are plenty of options to find what you like. Variety of fresh juices! - Amount of people 5/5 hotel is very well planned and there was no lines or waiting anywhere even on busiest weekends or holiday. Most of the time it feels like the hotel is empty, but it's fully booked. - Beach 5/5 this is why you booked Dominican Republic. Sand and palms are amazing. Blue water. They daily rake away all the seaweed too. Plenty of space available too. - Bars 4/5 great selection of branded alcohol, but nothing top shelf. Overall almost no wait on bars and high quality drinks - Level of service 2/5 this is the same as anywhere in DR. No one hassles around to serve you or help you. When you ask them it feels like they are on vacation and not you, and you make them work by asking something. No service on the beach or by the pools, i.e. you have to walk and find yourself a drink. - Experiences 3/5 those offered on the beach are lied about. You'd be told 30 min paragliding while reality is 5 min, or travel for 2h where reality is more like 5h, etc.. They will lie about anything to sell, and then your expectations are screwed. Choose more expensive vendors, like TUI to get better experience. - Check-in experience 1/5 - this is where this hotel has a lot of room for improvement. No one cares to explain to you the hotel amenities, you won't get notified when your room is ready, then you'll get a wrong room, they won't answer your questions either, will forget to give you towel cards, overall terrible experience when compared to other hotels that greet each guest with a drink and give you personalized check in experience.

I give it a 4-star for services due to my room not being replenish daily as promised within the mini fridge. Location is good as it's along the beachfront shoreline with a nice long beach stretch regardless of the direction you go. Not to far from Coco Bongo and the Hard Cafe and Casino and other lil' locations. I gave it a 5 for rooms due to the fact that I had a nice suite which was better than some Riu's I've visited. They provided us with some great shows, but the Circus show by far was the least liked. They can do better when transitioning and so forth. Overall, great location to stay as the other three resorts are literally next door to each other as most Riu establishments.

We loved our stay at Riu Palace Bavaro. The hotel is gorgeous and the upkeep is great. Access to the beach is easy but the pools in the hotel are also great options. Our room was very comfortable and clean. Food was fantastic, with many different options, including an ice cream parlor. Staff was attentive and friendly for the most part, although we found some variance in restaurants. I would definitely come back again in the future.

We just got back and we had the best time. So wonderful and relaxing. Resort is so clean and well maintained. We were 30s, 40s, 18, 15 and 12 and the waterpark was a fun addition! The beach was gorgeous. The surf was pretty rough while we were there, not sure if it was the weather or always like that. The food was as expected but there were some highlights for sure. Bartenders and drinks were amazing and I appreciated the premium liquor! Resort felt very secure! Wouldn’t hesitate to return!