The Riu Palace Bavaro is a fabulous 24-hour All-Inclusive beachfront hotel located on Arena Gorda beach in Bavaro, Punta Cana. Enjoy sunbathing on one of the most paradisiacal beaches in Punta Cana or take a refreshing dip in one of the 9 pools, 3 with a swim-up bar. Accommodations include brand new and spacious Friends & Family rooms as well as the Elite Club by Riu concept for Adults only with swim-up rooms in premium locations and additional perks. The hotel offers an endless number of recreational and sports options like beach volleyball, snorkelling, kayaking, a gym and RIU Fit activities as well as 3 Tennis courts, a multipurpose sports court and the Riu Splash Water World water park in the resort. 
For the little guests you will find the Riu Land Kids club with an open air playground, a cinema and a pool and also a Mini Splash with slides and a pirate boat. There are 32 food and beverage venues with everything from a breakfast buffet to an all-American favorites restaurant, from a food court to an ice cream parlor, a coffee shop and more. For dinner you can choose one of the a-la-carte restaurants serving Mexican, Asian, Italian and fusion cuisine or the Steakhouse and of course the main buffet. Evenings are filled with nightly shows and live music at the hotel theatre. You can dance the night away at Riu Pacha discotheque and Riu Party events in the resort or enjoy the elegant atmosphere in the Lobby bar and try a handcrafted drink from the Mixology cart.

Location

Punta Cana - Beach
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) : 30 miles

Property Information

Year Built: 2011
Last Renovation: 2024
Floors: 4
Total rooms: 994

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Resort Details

Amenities

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Activities

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Hotel Advisories

Advisory Student Groups/Spring Breakers (either groups or individuals, regardless of age) are not allowed at any time during the year. Guests disturbing or generating complaints from other guests or hotel may be removed from the property, at their own expense. Parties in rooms are not permitted.

General Policies & Fine Print

Check In: 3:00 PM
Check Out: 12:00 PM
Minimum Check-In Age: 18
General Policies:

Check-in Policy - Deposits or credit/debit card hold authorizations are not requested at check-in. Minimum age of 18 is required for check-in, an ID/Passport will be requested upon arrival.

Convention Policy : Groups traveling together can book this property for their stay taking advantage of group benefits such as 6th or 11th complimentary guest, Group dinner reservation, One complimentary cocktail hour with a selection of appetizers, One complimentary massage for the group leader, Complimentary room upgrades to the next category, Fruit plate and bottle of wine for the VIP, Private check-in when arriving together,  Welcome sign. Applicable with Wedding Collections and Social Packages. Consult terms & conditions.

Hotel Spring Break Policies:  Spring Breakers (either groups or individuals, regardless of age) are not allowed at any RIU property, at any time during the year. RIU Hotels & Resorts, reserves the right to withhold admission to any Spring Breaker. The hotel reserves the right of admission and may request clients to show passport or official ID to prove full identification. Guests can and will be removed from the property at their own expense in case of any disturbance or complaint from other guests or hotel staff. Parties in rooms are not allowed. Spring break groups or unruly behavior is not allowed all year round at any property.

The connecting Junior Suites has a minimum occupancy of 4 in each room booked.

Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.

General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price.
Minimum night stay restrictions may apply.
Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.

Pet Policy Pets Not Allowed
Early Departure Policy:
  • Early Departure Penalty: 1 Night Applies: Sunday - Saturday 04Jul24 - 23Dec26
  • Early Departure Penalty: 2 Nights Applies: Sunday - Saturday 24Dec24 - 30Apr25
  • Early Departure Penalty: 2 Nights Applies: Sunday - Saturday 24Dec25 - 30Apr26

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_4.0 10289 reviews
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 1.0 star tripadvisor rating
    Traveler Beware...and choose another resort in Punta Cana!

    First of all, this is a beautiful resort and the renovations are fantastic. Overall, the food and drinks were good, especially in the specialty restaurants. The Elite Club restaurant was our favorite...ate there two evenings. The Elite Club bar was great, and the entertainment fun. The beach is clean...no rocks or shells, so pleasant to take a swim. If you only speak English, there is a bit more of a language barrier than in other all-inclusives in other countries that we've been to. Overall, we felt like the Elite Club was worth the additional money, except for the pool ran out of towels every single day by 11AM and were never replenished...and it wasn't packed by any means. Also, housekeeping did not show up in our room for two days of the five, which having my room cleaned and bed made is something I definitely want on vacation. One thing to note...there are no elevators in the Elite section villas, so the third floor is a haul if you don't particularly like stairs. Now for the spoiler alert...with all of that being said it was completely ruined by what happened while there. I am a travel agent who booked 5 couples (myself included) for our annual trip. After being there a few days...and after there had been some things the days prior that were just off and a little strange in their room...one of the couples discovered the cash they had left locked in their safe had been swapped out for counterfeit money. Our friend always keeps all of his money face-side up and going in the same direction. When he opened the safe, every other bill was back side up and was movie prop money. I went with him to report to management, who mentioned that perhaps he had left the safe open and no one got into it. I pointed out that even if the cash was left on the bathroom counter it was still wrong for it to have been stolen and swapped out for fake cash! Our friend was escorted by hotel staff per his request to the local police to make a report the next day, and the resort manager said they would do an investigation and get back with him. There was an actual security camera just outside their door, so if it worked at all, there is no way there wasn't footage of who went in the room. Plus, with electronic keys, they should be able to tell when someone went in/out. Our friend was supposed to get with the manager the next day, but when he did, was told he was on lunch break. He went back an hour or so later and was told the manager had left for the day...and conveniently, was off duty the next day which we were headed back to the States. Two days after we checked out, our friend received an email from the Riu Palace Bavaro for him to stop at the front desk! After trying to contact the manager multiple times with no reply, I actually filed a complaint on my client's behalf to Riu Corporate to try to at least get their money back. Three weeks after checking out, they finally did email. The customer service regarding this incident has been terrible, dismissive, frustrating and time consuming! First of all, this is not the typical Riu experience I have had personally and have sold my clients for years, which was actually incredibly disappointing with how they reacted at the local Riu Palace Bavaro level. After reading other reviews, I have seen others who have complained recently about theft and shady things that happened with their stuff at this particular resort as well. I have been to over 30 all-inclusive resorts and have to say this has never happened anywhere else. While our friends were good sports about it, they really reported it and went to the lengths of filing the police report in hopes the bad eggs would be caught and weeded out so that it doesn't happen to someone else. The bills actually looked pretty real on the front side, so if he hadn't been so OCD with the way he stacks his cash and the thieves had been more observant, he may have not noticed the fake money (that he got out of the bank before the trip) until he got home...which I bet has actually happened to other travelers. It's honestly too bad, because like I said, they did a really good job with the renovations and it's beautiful with lots of positives. But I personally will never return to this resort because I want to be able to relax knowing that my stuff won't be ripped off and that in the event something happens, there is staff there that cares and tries to take care of me...which is not the case here.

    Nov 21, 2024
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 5.0 star tripadvisor rating
    Really Great Holiday!!

    We were so happy with our decision to stay here! There were some negative reviews which made us cautious but our holiday was perfect!! Clean room daily, lots of towels, minibar restocked more than enough, and poolside wait staff. Always something great to eat. Awesome!! Not a bad thing to say.

    Nov 17, 2024
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 5.0 star tripadvisor rating
    AMAZING- Would come back every year!!

    We have just come back from Riu Palace Bavaro and for the second time we had an absolute blast! The hotel has been refurbished to a really high standard and looks very modern. The choice of food was brilliant and the restaurants (which are all inclusive) were delicious. Our favourite was the steakhouse and the Asian restaurant. We had an issue at first with our room as the bed was 2 doubles rather than a superking as requested, but Juan at reception was super friendly and helped upgrade our room which we were not expecting. The staff throughout the hotel were fantastic and very hospitable. They couldn’t do enough for you. De La Cruz, Quezada and Daniel were poolside and constantly getting us drinks, they were funny and so friendly to speak to which made our stay very comfortable. Ramon, Eddie, Junior, Yudi and Margarita, Cepeda served us at breakfast lunch and dinner and we always looked forward to seeing them! We love this hotel and the staff make our vacation so memorable. We are looking to get married at Riu Palace Bavaro in a couple of years and can’t wait to get a date booked!

    Nov 16, 2024
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 5.0 star tripadvisor rating
    amazing

    beautiful resort and amazing customer service we were English speaker and the staff make sure each time we have questions they will get some that speak English to assist us ,will definitely return here again ,the food was good as well .

    Nov 11, 2024
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 4.0 star tripadvisor rating
    Good Hotel!

    So the place has its ups and downs, in short! The food in the main buffet is relatively good, some nice meals and some nights we walked around it and saw nothing we’d want to eat. They offer fish options most nights but it is a bit repetitive, the same fish most days (marlin, tilapia). The pizza in the main buffet is pretty good to be honest, really tasty. The breakfast however is fab; plenty of meat, cheese, full English if that’s what you want, fruit, yoghurt, the list goes on it really is great. We used the American Country restaurant twice with it being open later (until 11:00pm) which was handy and the ribs were pretty darn good for an all inclusive. Drinks were okay; we drink neat amaretto which was nice as it was branded but the cocktails were pretty horrific to say the least, other than the daiquiri was actually nice, along with the mimosas. We used the coffee bar once but it took 25 minutes to get served, so I couldn’t be bothered after that. The rooms were good; very spacious, plenty of storage and all have a good amount of USB ports and plug sockets. WiFi was good enough to stream live football matches which was pretty impressive. Bathroom mostly clean, some issues near the ceiling with black mould. Towels replaced daily, and the one day they didn’t I used the app to request some and they came in 15 minutes which was great. Staff are friendly in parts, some feel like they don’t really want you there. The pool is quiet and the drinks service is pretty good although it was a quiet time of year I can’t speak for peak season! Beach was nice but I can’t swim, so don’t go in the sea! 😂 All in all it was a nice place, wouldn’t rush back and I think I have stayed in better hotels over the years, we had 9 days of rain out of 11 as well so maybe that dampened the holiday!

    Nov 09, 2024