Riu Palace Bavaro - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10385 reviews

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  Not a 5 star Resort

  Overall, it was a beautiful resort with very clean water and a pristine beach. There were so many nice pools to choose from, depending on whether you wanted to relax or have fun. My favorite was the adults-only pool. The front desk staff were generally nice, except for a couple of them who could have helped in certain situations but chose not to. This includes Marcos, who gave me a hard time about checking out late. My flight was at 11 PM, and I was willing to pay extra for a late checkout, but the charge of $150 USD for 5 hours was ridiculous. I ended up checking out at 12 PM because I didn’t feel confident that the money would go toward the resort and not directly to him. Honestly, this situation soured my last day. On the other hand, Juan at the front desk checked us in quickly and gave us a great room, and Cristian was incredibly helpful and proactive. We always enjoyed our chat with him and he is definitely one of the reasons why we still enjoyed our stay despite some of the issues we faced. Another issue was that none of the waitstaff spoke English, which could be frustrating at times. For example, I asked for a napkin 4-5 times, and each time they said “okay” but never brought it. I eventually got up to get it myself. The breakfast buffet was very simple and repetitive, with the same items served every day. Each corner of the buffet offered the same options. Lunch was much better, but we preferred the beach food court over the buffet. If you plan to visit the specialty restaurants, I recommend going early. On our second night, we went past 8 PM and couldn’t find a table. Eventually, with some tipping, we got a table at 9:30 PM at the steakhouse. After that, we started visiting the restaurants around 7 PM. If a table was ready, we went in; if not, we waited for 45 minutes to an hour. Fortunately, you don’t have to stand outside the restaurant as they give you a buzzer to notify you when your table is ready and by doing this we got to try all the restaurants. This is a very packed resort, and I’d suggest extending dinner hours to 5:30-11 PM to accommodate everyone and avoid situations where guests are upset or even begging for a table, which I witnessed. I also want to mention after any food or drink intake, my husband and I had to take medication like Tums or Gas-X due to severe heartburn and bloating, and sometimes you may feel a rush to go to the washroom which was a bit of a struggle throughout my trip. Another major issue was that the maids would knock and immediately open the door without waiting for a response, and we didn’t have a "Do Not Disturb" sign. Even though the cleanups were done, it was still inconvenient to be interrupted daily like that. To ensure our room was cleaned, I left a tip and treat on the bed each morning before leaving, especially after reading negative reviews about rooms not being cleaned. The Riu party was fun at first, but it got repetitive by our second or third visit. The same music and shows made it less exciting, and we didn’t stay for more than an hour. One thing we noticed was that 90% of the guests were Spanish-speaking, either locals or visitors from South America. This might explain why the staff didn’t speak much English. Despite these issues, I had a good time overall, but I don’t think I’ll go back to this resort

  Jan 22, 2025
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  Best Resort Experience Ever!

  Right from pick up at the airport, to check in, to the beautiful rooms, amazing food, gorgeous resort and phenomenal staff. 10/10 highly recommend!

  Jan 22, 2025
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  Good times…

  Overall the stay was good. Food quality could have been better. Staff was friendly, but the night we made it into the Italian restaurant was terrible. Food wasn’t good and the staff was terrible. Water and wine was never refilled, Waiter disappeared, had to track down another wait staff to get things moving so we could finally Get out of there. Room was overall clean, though we had a few instances of bugs. Also the toilet was falling off the wall and leaking. Called maintenance and someone came and took care of the leak but it kept pulling away from the wall. I have to give a shoutout to Francisco at the family pool bar. He was fantastic. We always ended up at his bar late in the afternoons and enjoyed his daily drink recommendations and pleasant conversation.

  Jan 19, 2025
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  Beauty

  Hotel is large with lots happening. The service, food, entertainment were all great. Room was musty smelling but it’s vacation and didn’t spend much time in the room.

  Jan 19, 2025
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  50th Birthday Celebration

  I celebrated my 50th birthday. I was pleased, overwhelmed, And grateful how I got treated. The resort was clean , the staff was amazing from the time we checked in on Tuesday, January 7 until we left today January 11. I give a huge shout out to Mr. Pascual And his team…… to Angel, who greeted me with the warm smile, the first day of arrival. To Ramon Who thought that me and my sister and friend was supposed to eat at the restaurant he was at breakfast lunch and dinner 😂😂. To the housekeeping who kept our room, nice clean, smelling good to the ones who decorated my room for my birthday. I had a great experience. I was treated like a queen over there. I will be returning back to that resort. Thanks again to everyone that made my birthday special. Kudos.

  Jan 18, 2025