Riu Palace Bavaro - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10375 reviews

• 

  Terrible Hotel - Giant Bugs in Room

  Hotel Riu Palace Bavaro Google review summary 4.4 5,562 reviews 5 ★ 4 ★ 3 ★ 2 ★ 1 ★ Reviews on other travel sites Tripadvisor 4/5 · 10,360 reviews Priceline 8.5/10 · 73 reviews Reviews Search reviews Fern Karhu 1/5 5 minutes ago on Google I'm here now and the room smells awful (like mold). The staff does not speak english. It's very difficult to communicate with the wait The buffet lunch was awful, poor choices and poor quailty. We went to the Italian restaurant for dinner and we waited over 1 1/2 hours to be served. We had kids with us and they ordered plain pasta. Again no one spoke English. When we got back to the room there was a giant bug in the Bed and when we knocked it off the bed it ran behind the dresser and we couldn't find it. We called housekeeping and they were going to send someone to help. This place is awful. Very disappointing, as this is my fourth visit to the island and all of my previous stay have been great. Everything is difficult, in order to get pool towels you need a special key. Hearing people complaining of things missing from their rooms. Would not recommend this hotel and wish I could lesve. Trip typeHoliday · Family Rooms1.0Service1.0 Food and drinksWait staff can't speak English so they can't get the drink orders correct. Tried to order a club soda and he had no idea what we were asking for. Can't wait to keave.

  Jan 16, 2025
• 

  Good and not so good

  Overall after our stay at this Riu, we would recommend it. BUT the food was spotty, the buffet was not good, the food court for lunch was excellent. Our dinners were on and off too. The resort was beautiful with a nice beach and was well kept up. The staff was excellent, like usual at a Riu. All in all, I would go back.

  Jan 15, 2025
• 

  Excellent All-inclusive

  4 of us (me, wife, son - 19, daughter - 18) traveled to the Riu Palace Bavaro from Dec 27-Jan 3. We have been to approximately 15 different all-inclusives [at a similar price point] over the years, and we would consider this one of the best. Note: we did not opt for the "Elite Club", so I can't comment on whether or not it is good value. In no particular order: Rooms: My motto for all-inclusives is "clean and comfortable". By that standard the Riu does not disappoint. I am sure it helped that this resort was recently renovated, but we had no material complaints about the room. It was spacious enough, the AC worked well (temps were from low 70's to low 80's outside, but summer may be different?), and hot water was plentiful. Not sure what someone's complaint would be, aside from noise or location. We did notice noise from the room above in the am when it was being cleaned (i.e. moving furniture around), but this was not a big deal. Our location was fine, but some rooms might not have been so great (e.g., directly above buffet/restaurants). This resort is not small, but it is not as big as many others in DR. If you have mobility issues then you may have problems here, as it is not uncommon to have a 5 minute walk. Restaurants: Overall, the food is perfectly fine. If you are expecting 5-star cuisine you will likely be disappointed, but that's on you for having unrealistic expectations. When comparing to similar resorts the food at the Riu is above average, though there are definitely hits and misses. The breakfast and lunch buffets have a lot of options, so I am sure you can find something to enjoy. The buffets do become a bit monotonous after a week, but that is being a bit nitpicky. In addition, there is a food court which the Riu added during the recent renovation. This is a perfectly good alternative to the buffets, and something kids will likely enjoy more than adults. As for the restaurants, the steakhouse and Asian were the best (also the most difficult to get into), while the Mexican and Italian were decent but not great. We did not try the French restaurant. Special mention to the so-called BBQ/Burger restaurant (American Country?), but not in a good way. The night we went (also open for lunch) there were maybe 5 tables occupied, yet it took about 45 minutes to get our food. When it arrived, let's just say it was the worst meal we had the entire week. This was the only place that UNDERcooked meat (our burgers), which was even more surprising considering we ordered medium-well. The other noteworthy mention is this was the ONLY negative experience we had with any of the staff. Our waiter was not only slow and rude, but when we tried ordering more than one side dish for the 4 of us, you'd think we were asking him for his first born child. Fortunately this was an exception to an otherwise pleasant overall dining experience. *Pro Tip: if you want to dine at the steakhouse between 7-8pm you will need to show up around 6pm to get a reservation for that seating. They don't officially take reservations at any of the restaurants, but since the steakhouse is the busiest they tend to have seatings, which I believe are 6, 7:30, and 9pm. For the 9pm you can probably just show up (maybe same for 6pm, too), but for the 7:30 you'll need to plan ahead. If you are an Elite Club member you can make reservations in advance. The only other food options are the Sports Bar and room service. The Sports Bar mostly had hamburgers and hot dogs, which were perfectly fine unless you ate them late at night. Based on experience, it seems like they just let the food they bring out around 5pm stay there until it's gone, without replacing it later at night. By that time they were, shall we say, less than edible. As for the room service, we only tried at night and had mixed results. Please be advised the menu is VERY limited (unless you are in the Elite Club). Not sure why they can't just add a burger or some fries, but hopefully you like salads, horrific nachos, or club sandwiches, as that is essentially the menu. On multiple occasions the app didn't work, so we couldn't even place an order. On the 1 occasion it did work, the sandwich and salad was fine, but the nachos were beyond inedible. It's actually impressive how someone could make nachos that bad. Pool/Beach: This is an area where the Riu excels and is superior to most other resorts. Here there is something for everyone. There is a "family" pool, i.e., pool for those with younger children. There is a "sports" pool, for those [kids] who want to play games in the pool. There is also and adults only pool (self explanatory, I think), and a second, similar pool for Elite Club members. Lastly, there is the "party" pool (supposed to be for those 18 and older, but mildly enforced), which has a well used swim-up bar and DJ. While most seats are taken at the family pool and party pool, the others have plenty of available seating throughout the day. Again, something for everyone, so if you can't find what you like it's probably you... not them. As for the beach, fortunately there was very little seaweed during our visit! Additionally, there is a lot of space at the beach, though seats go rather quickly in the am. If you miss out, rest assured knowing some people will leave in the early afternoon, so all is not lost. Furthermore, the walk from the pool to the beach is not far at all, so if you just want to go in the ocean or for a walk, you can do so from the pool if that is where you are sitting. A couple of notes about the beach: while there are lounge chairs, many could stand to be replaced, and there are no umbrellas/palapas. However, if you want some shade, plenty of lounge chairs are placed among the palm trees, which provide reasonable shade. Lastly, there is no drink service at the beach, though given the aforementioned short walk to the pools you can BYO from the pool bars. P.S. there are vendors on the beach, but they are respectful and not overly intrusive. Service: As briefly mentioned, with only 1 exception we had absolutely no complaints with the staff. They are all professional and friendly. Yes, there are times when they may work a little slower than you would like (we are from NYC, so we have come to accept our expectations are best left in NYC because most of the world does not operate that way), but I promise you will survive. I am sure it helped that my wife is a fluent Spanish speaker, and that we often tipped our servers/bartenders, but I saw many interactions with other guests that were equal to ours, so it's not like we were treated well while others were treated poorly. I have seen comments online about unfriendly staff, but I simply did not see that as an issue at all... and I'm not the friendliest guy around, either. On multiple occasions, bartenders remembered our drinks the next day and/or servers happily greeted us having remembered us from a previous meal. Hopefully this review has been helpful. If not... I guess you just wasted a few minutes of your time. Either way, The Riu Palace Bavaro is an excellent all-inclusive option, whether for family or adults.

  Jan 15, 2025
• 

  Awesome stay

  Had a great time celebrating New Year’s in the DR with family. Traveled with a group of 15 and We found something for the whole family to do, ages 12-60. Really good entertainment every night. Food was ok at buffet, but really enjoyed the restaurants.

  Jan 14, 2025
• 

  2nd time at this resort!

  We returned after a year and the renovations are breathtaking! Cristian was awesome and took care of us at the front desk. Margarita, Carlito, Mabel and Quezada were outstanding with their service! food was great! Beaches were gorgeous! Thank you for another memorable trip!

  Jan 14, 2025