Hotel Riu Palace Bavaro - All Inclusive

“Relaxation”

This trip was the first vacation that I took with my mother in over 40 years. It was very relaxing and fun. The Riu Palace Bavaro is a very nice place. The only minor negative is that room service does not have a full menu, it is very limited. But this will not stop us from coming back again

“More than what I expected !!”

I can only say it was WOW! Everything was amazing since I traveled alone, I was a little bit hesitant but when I got to RIU everyone welcomes me with a beautiful smile till I finished my trip THANK YOU RIU

“Smokers paradise”

I have mixed feelings about the resort. I'll give you my good & bad bc I know what bothered me may not be a big deal to others. We checked in online & let them know we would be there around 2:30. Our room wasn't ready so we upgraded from the Elite Jr Suite to the Elite Suite. There were tons of pe… more

I have mixed feelings about the resort. I'll give you my good & bad bc I know what bothered me may not be a big deal to others. We checked in online & let them know we would be there around 2:30. Our room wasn't ready so we upgraded from the Elite Jr Suite to the Elite Suite. There were tons of people waiting for a room so I think they were running behind. The check-in woman was friendly but struggled with English & had to refer to someone else several times in order to communicate with us. The Elite Suite was their biggest individual room, had an ocean front view, and we liked the extras that came with being Elite at another RIU. The trees are mature since it's an established resort so they do block the view to the ocean a bit. Nice breeze being on the top floor. FYI - The swimout rooms have zero privacy, often have pathways going right next to them, and the best view we saw for any of them was looking at one of the pools. The room itself was very nice, comfortable bed, nice shower, and huge balcony. There was so much room! Few issues with the room though: - minibar wasn't stocked when we got there except for a couple beers & club soda. I had to request water so we could brush our teeth. They only put snacks in once even when I requested. Other RIUs have always had the fridge & room stocked with waters & sodas, and stocked snacks daily. - housekeeping requests through the app were ignored for extra towels & missing towels. Took more than a day to get the extra pillows I requested. - the AC quit working our first night. I sent a maintenance request through the app but it took Roger going to the front desk to have someone come fix it. - Elite rooms have an aromatherapy machine that you cannot control. I'm sensitive to scents so I have had them turn it off at other RIUs. Despite multiple requests through the app, at the front desk, and to the maintenance person that fixed our AC, it was never turned off. We had to rig a towel over it to cut down on the scent but it didn't fully stop it. The front desk ended up telling me they didn't know how to turn it off & that her manager was reaching out to another hotel to find out how. - we had to go to the front desk to request our welcome gifts (insulated cups that are supposed to be waiting in the room when you book Elite). The cups are great at keeping your drinks cold. Restaurants all had very friendly staff and decent to good food. All of the soda was diet despite what they tell you. My partner drinks diet but I like regular. They would bring a bottle of soda, pour into his glass saying Pepsi lite, then pour the same bottle into my glass saying Pepsi regular. At first we thought there was a miscommunication but it kept happening and just became comical. I finally read the bottles and they all said sin azucar (no sugar). I swear I read on the website that smoking was only allowed in designated places. At every resort I've been to, that usually meant a spot off to the side, away from everyone. Here the bartenders lit cigars at the swim up bar, people smoked in the pools (I watched a woman flick her ashes on the side of the Elite pool & extinguish her cigarette in the pool). The waiters hand out ashtrays, and there are tall ashtrays near the entrances. Cigarette smoke gives me an instant headache so it made it uncomfortable hanging out at the pool most of the time. The beach was beautiful! Lots of trees for shade, soft sand, it was windy so there were waves to play in, there was a great sand volleyball court, and they had games going on the beach. There were vendors around but they weren't super pushy. There were massage people offering massages at your chair but no massage huts on the beach. There's a nice spa between RIU Bavaro & RIU Macao. They have a free hydrotherapy room that you can reserve. We ended up taking a nap in there before our couples massage. The massage I had was a joke but my partner said his massage was great. My massage therapist kept watching what the other one was doing and tried to mimic her but was terrible. RIU Macao has a small casino that we went to a few times. We met some nice people playing poker a few nights. Scuba Caribe had some great diving options. They offered dives right off the resort but better dives if you were OK with driving a little over an hr. We chose to drive. They picked us up at 7:15a, and dropped us off around 2:30p. No lunch so make sure you grab a sandwich before you leave. They took us to Bayahibe to catch the dive boat. Equipment was in great shape, and the reef we went to was super healthy. I saw so much stuff, and loved it. For night entertainment, there was always something going on on the main stage in the middle of the resort. Most of the performers reminded me of a high-school talent show but they tried. The RIU theme parties were next door, and they had face painting to help prep. There are shuttles to it but I heard you have to walk back. It's only a 10min walk so a lot of people walked to it too. This resort is sprawling. There are no elevators in the suites buildings but it wasn't that big of a deal unless we had our suitcases. I would not recommend this resort to anyone with mobility issues. Also, the majority of the staff and guests we met spoke little to no English. I've always been able to get by with my limited Spanish, and Google translate but it was difficult here. Even with Google translate, it was a crap shoot on whether or not we were understood. We joked about the chances of us getting what we ordered bc it was hit or miss if we would.

less

“No shuttles or store in this resort, shouldn’t have to go to the resort next door for those services.”

Once again, a Riu resort has been opened, or reopened after renovations in this case, before it should have been. This is not the first Riu we have been to that was unfinished, but opened. I am referring to the Riu Republica. As this was a Palace, we expected a better standard than we got. I think … more

Once again, a Riu resort has been opened, or reopened after renovations in this case, before it should have been. This is not the first Riu we have been to that was unfinished, but opened. I am referring to the Riu Republica. As this was a Palace, we expected a better standard than we got. I think we will stick to the regular Riu resorts in future. Not impressed.

less