Location
Punta Cana - BeachProperty Information
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Resort Details
Hotel Advisories
General Policies & Fine Print
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.
- 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
10289 reviews
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Nov 25, 2024Pretty setting, but beware of the food!
This was our first time in the Dominican Republic, but not our first time staying at an all-inclusive Riu (Ocho Rios, Jamaica). The facilities were great. * Lots of pools (6 swimmable). * Lots of restaurants. * Big buffet. * Nice beach (though folks had a tendency to put their chairs right in the main beach access points). * Roomy, enclosed lobby. * Splash Park (waterpark). * Our bottom-level Elite Club unit had a mini-pool out the back door. The definite low point for us was the food. There was no shortage of food; in fact, it almost felt like a burden, getting full at breakfast, then lunch comes while I am still full, but gotta eat now or forget lunch and do dinner later. But the food was uniformly a huge disappointment. We tried all the specialty restaurants, as well as the buffet, and with the exception of the BBQ ribs at American Country, they brought various levels of disappointment. We had filet mignon (tiny, and overcooked), lobster (overcooked, or not fresh? almost inedible), shrimp, fish/snapper, and many other foods that I expected to please, but they didn't. My wife stumbled upon a great cut of prime rib one evening at the buffet (I was sick and full and stayed in the room), and my sea bass at the Elite Club restaurant was pretty good. I was looking forward to the week being over so I could get back home to familiar food (or familiar preparations of food I like). The other disappointment was the entertainment. On cruises, or at other all-inclusive resorts, the kid entertainment has always been separate from the main entertainment. There were a couple of good singers, but they were surrounded in the schedule by Kahoot, Bingo, RiuLand kids program, or ambient music (piped in). There was a magic show, which was good, in principle, but was slow, boring, and too predictable (we gave up and left early). I would have hoped for a headliner-type show each evening at 8pm or 9pm, not a schedule that is kind of tossed together, and you never know from night to night what time the general entertainment will be. Lots of the staff were nice and helpful, but I was surprised how many people (including staff) would walk right past you without so much as eye contact or a greeting. The language difference (me, the English-speaker, vs. the Spanish-speaking staff) made it challenging to carry on conversations with folks (including staff), and in addition to making it hard to order food, or describe something clearly, it probably also contributed to a lack of friendliness and spontaneity between guests and staff. I was surprised how much problem I had with mosquitoes there. Sitting out at the pool, I killed a number of mosquitoes who wanted to feast on me. But there were also a number of mosquitoes I killed in my room; and a number more who fed on me before I got them. We were careful to keep our doors open no more than a few seconds as we entered and exited. I don't know whether room service had the doors open longer when they were working on our room, or there was some other way the mosquitoes were getting in. But I could never truly relax, even in my room, because of the mosquitoes. And I gave up on sitting on the back porch (or using the mini-pool) because of the mosquitoes. I loved having the water park on the edge of our resort. It had some fun water slides (suitable for adults; there were also child-focused water play areas) and was a nice recreation option. I wasn't real fond of the layout of the resort, as it was a challenge (or took some learning) to find the different pools and know how to get from one area to another (e.g., from the Elite Pool to the water park). But it had the benefit of getting to explore more of the resort than I might have expected. I read that this is the newest Riu in the area (there are four grouped together), so maybe this is the new favored layout? Overall, I found the experience at Riu Palace Bavaro disappointing, and would not recommend it to my friends (though somewhere else in the area may do better).
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Nov 21, 2024Traveler 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.
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Nov 17, 2024Really 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.
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Nov 16, 2024
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!
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Nov 11, 2024
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 .