Punta Cana - Riu Palace Bavaro

This resort was Very Nice. The room was huge with a Jet tube in it. It also had a full bar in the room. The shower was not always hot but luke warm. The bed was a little on the short side. I'm only... More>

This resort was Very Nice. The room was huge with a Jet tube in it. It also had a full bar in the room. The shower was not always hot but luke warm. The bed was a little on the short side. I'm only 6ft tall but I was not able to lay out completely without my feet hanging off. I went with a large group of people some of which had some items missing from their room that they'd left out so be careful with that. The ONLY bad thing was the food. One morning there was NO bacon at breakfast. Another night we ate at the steak restaurant that you have to pay more to eat at and it was not worth it at all. All of the drinks were top shelf. The pool and beach were great. I don't know if I'd rush back there I think I'd like to try a different resort next time. Oh the WiFi was not that great either.

Riu Palace Bavaro ? Punta Cana, Dominican Republic We just returned on May 10th after arduous connections on American Airlines via Miami. I have to say arriving and especially departing from the... More>

Riu Palace Bavaro ? Punta Cana, Dominican Republic We just returned on May 10th after arduous connections on American Airlines via Miami. I have to say arriving and especially departing from the Dominican Republic is long and tiring getting through customs/immigration. Just don?t forget your $10.00 per person fee for your tourist visa upon arrival! The 4 star property is located on Bavaro Beach about 30 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. Riu has a huge complex of 5 hotels on Bavaro Beach, anchored on both ends by the Riu Palace Punta Cana and the newest property, Riu Palace Bavaro. The Riu Palace Bavaro has several room categories including VIP and ?Sensi? villas that have their own beautiful private pools and pool bars right on the beach, plus they have their own restaurant. We had a Jr. Suite (all are Jr.Stes.) in the main building on the 3rd floor; which was great because we could see the gardens and the pathway straight down to the main pool and beach. It was also pretty close to the restaurants. The ?pros? for the property is that it is kept super clean, inside and outside. The rooms are large and all have a large hydromassage tub and 2 marble sinks as part of the whole area living area with the bed and couch. The double walk-in shower had a massage head and a rain shower overhead. It had a frosted glass door on it. The rooms have four bottles of liquor in them; Rum, Scotch, Vodka and Gin. I tasted the Scotch and it was good. They refill them, but we didn?t ever need it. The small fridges come stocked with plenty of water (you cannot drink their water), pepsi, 7-up, soda and tonic. The great plus is that they also have coffee makers, which we loved. Most folks do not watch TV while at a beach resort, but they had a widescreen with over a 100 channels, but only a few English ones. I have never been to a property where every and I mean every employee you passed greeted you with ?Hola? and a smile! Every waiter was friendly and helpful; although some did not speak much English ? but we had fun communicating with them and we learned some Spanish along the way. The front desk employees are great and very helpful. Also all the rooms have several plugs that look European, but that accept our 110 appliances and chargers. They have 4 ?table service restaurants, one of which is private for the ?Sensi and VIP accommodations?, so that left 3. They had 2 buffet restaurants that were loaded with a vast array of foods for all your meals. The wine flowed freely and the red Cabernet was very good. Of course there were drinks served in all the bars day and night and especially around the great pool bar. They also had a Sports Bar that served snacks and the very popular coffee bar. The main pool area is wonderful with plenty of shaded areas as well as loungers built right into the water. Off the main pool they had the other buffet restaurant and a wonderful kids area. The beach is one of the most beautiful I have seen with white sand that does not get hot on your feet. It is wide and very long ? miles. It appeared that they had a great children?s program as well. The kids and their counselors would put on a ?mini show every night in the Plaza bar. The other side of the Plaza bar would have a variety of entertainment every night, most of which was very enjoyable. The cons are that the rooms do not have much storage in the bathroom area ? everything has to be strewn around the two sinks out in the open. We had a King size bed and it was the worst bed I have ever slept on and in my 69+ years I have slept on many. In order to eat at a ?table service? restaurant you have to stand in line every morning from 8am to 10 or 11am to make reservations. Each of the 3 applicable restaurants are small and have 2 seating times, one at 6:30pm and one around 9pm. We received a variety of instructions as to where and when you make reservations and since we want to enjoy our coffee in the morning and relax on our balcony we did not want to include standing in the long lines that we witnessed from our balcony every morning; we did it once. Plus the man that took your reservations was just rude and unfriendly ? a stark contrast to the rest of the employees. We ate at the Italian restaurant and it was nothing special, except for the appetizers that were very good. I also do not wearing ?wrist-bands? that designate your status as well as identification ? the VIP?s had hot pink wrist bands and the ?Sensi? had pale green. I know that food tastes vary widely and as we are frequent cruisers, I can say the food just did not measure up to cruise ship food. The flies made their presence known and in a tropical location perhaps it is ?par for the course?. Overall, I would say that this is a great property for singles, young couples and families. The service is fantastic and the grounds are gorgeous. The property is large and it does involve a lot of walking for most guests. The pathways are always spotless and well lit at night. The beach is white sand, wide with plenty of chairs and palapas or umbrellas ? you can walk forever and they offer many activities on the beach and many different types of recreation. The entertainment staff is very active and friendly! The other properties in the complex are the budget Riu Naiboa ? not directly on the beach. The Riu Palace Macao which is Adult Only and has a casino. The Riu Bambu and the Riu Palace Punta Cana. We had exchange privileges at all properties, but why walk to them when ours had everything we needed!

RIU PALACE BAVARO REVIEW 04.24. ? 05.04.2013 My husband, I, and 2 friends just returned from eleven day stay at the RIU Palace Bavaro Dominican Republic for our wedding anniversary. It was... More>

RIU PALACE BAVARO REVIEW 04.24. ? 05.04.2013 My husband, I, and 2 friends just returned from eleven day stay at the RIU Palace Bavaro Dominican Republic for our wedding anniversary. It was absolutely AMAZING. We booked our reservation based on TripAdvisor reviews, as we have done for other hotels in the recent past. We travel on average three times per year all over the Caribbean. We have stayed at several high end properties over the years and found the information in the more detailed reviews on TripAdvisor to be very accurate. I was so excited to go to this newer and more modern hotel, but it greatly exceeded my expectations. We confirmed our reservation via email. Immediately upon arrival (at 2:00pm, no waiting), we were greeted by the most friendly front desk supervisor Joanne Silvestre de Mota and her front staff saying to us ?Welcome home? and offered chilled drinks then, we were given a nice room with a great ocean view on the 3-rd floor. The views were breathtaking. The staff was incredible. They went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. ARIVAL Our airplane from Chicago landed on time in the Punta Cana airport and we were picked up by the bus, what a jock! The bus was going around the plane to let us out and here almost a nightmare started. One line to pay $10.00 for customs, another to go thru the custom and another to go god knows only thru what and all of it in outdoors room with no air conditioning on a hot day. Apple vacation people were poorly organized and were sending us from one bus to another, till we found our bus. Bus was well air conditioned and after 30-40 min. of waiting for the rest of the passengers, we left. Trip from airport was a short 25min. despite road works. ROOM ACCOMMODATION We stayed in 3 story building on a top floor near the beach. The room itself is quite spacious and nice - contemporary with relaxing furnishing. The king size bed was very comfortable and the bathroom had every possible amenity, a huge double size shower (with great water pressure), a separate toilet, jacuzzi, hair blower, and toiletries. There were plenty of bath towels and two robes they were fairly large - another plus. I loved the balcony with its amazing ocean and pool view and spent time watching the sunrise. The air-conditioning in our room worked very well. I was able to control the thermostat to make the temperature comfortable. This was the one of the times I didn?t need to turn on the ceiling fan. The room also had a lot of modern area lighting fixtures which made it very cozy in the evening. The mini bar/refrigerator was stocked with water, beer and various drinks, as well as a liquor dispenser. There really weren?t many English speaking channels on the TV, but they had 3 extra channels in different foreign languages but after all we were in the Spanish speaking country! The housekeeping service was exceptional. We always had clean towels and reasonable early cleaning service. There is Wi-Fi available all over the property including our room. Go to the front desk, ask for the "code" they will give you sheet of paper with it and its good for 7 days. There are computers in the sports bar for a small fee if you need them. DINNING MAIN RESTAURANT is called MONTECRISTO- BUFFET (which is located between lobby and pool/beach area), overwhelming selection @ all meals. I Loved the sunny-side-up eggs in salsa at breakfast. Other high points: croissants, pasta made to order at lunch, ice cream/gelato at lunch, pizza at lunch, and a great selection of colds meats and cheeses at all meals. BREAKFAST IS from 7-11am LUNCH from 1-3pm DINNER from 6-10pm A ALA CARTE: Book them as soon as you get there. Each restaurant has 2 sittings- 6:30/7 and at9pm LA BAMBOLA- Italian restaurant. I loved it! Buffet style appetizers and the main meals were delicious! KRYSTAL: fusion restaurant- really good, we ate here twice. It was my favorite of all of the restaurants. Starters: Tuna Tamaki and we liked the beef gazpacho, Appetizers: The soup was really good and the mini lettuce rolls were great. Entrees: The shrimp and the lamb were both really good. Desserts: The apple pie was OK, didn't care for the others. Steakhouse: Was during the day, located near main pool and ocean, buffet and in the evening served as a restaurant only. Starters were OK, Surf and turf was good which included 3 medium lobster tails, and a steak with a bonus of a side dish , and the dessert was OK. We visit it few times Geisha Restaurant (Japanese): The sushi was good. The restaurant was not full, so we asked if they had extra sushi platters. They did, and they brought them out. Soup was very good. I had shrimp tempura for dinner, was good, but the most impressive of all evening restaurants was the dessert, baked Alaska! There were three specialty evenings at the buffet restaurant; Gala Night, Caribbean Night and Mexican Night, which were very enjoyable with again a variety of beautifully presented and delicious dishes. There was really too much to choose from. BARS They were great and had some of top shelf liquors available. Some liquor was kept out of sight and you had to ask for them by name. This was especially true of the better liquors. If you wanted a rum and coke and asked for it as such, you would get the cheap Mexican rum from the shelves of the bar. You had to be more specific about what you wanted, if you didn?t want very generic mixed drinks. POOL/BEACH AREAS The weather for the all of the 11 days was fantastic, hot from about 8am until 6pm. We stayed mostly on the beach as it was lovely and breezy. The main pool was great for going for an early morning swim, the other pool was a bar pool and tended to attract Americans and Canadians. My husband & friends didn?t spend any time by this pool as it was very loud ? great if you are into drinking all day and like noisy people but it wasn?t for us. The beach has got to be one of the best beaches we have ever seen, sand was so soft and the sea was really clear. We had a great time jumping the waves when the sea was a bit choppy. The hotel couldn't be more on the beach... Which was beautiful, the sand was super soft and the sea wavy, but nothing too much. Most stunning views were gained off this beach, as this is definitely one of the best spots. The pool areas were wonderful with plenty of places with both shade and sun. Everything was kept very clean. We were impressed with the 3 swimming pools and the activities around them. They were excellent, large and the water was amazing. As my husband and friends were spending all time on the beach I was enjoying the quiet pool overlooking the beautiful white powdery sand beach, it was awesome. My special thanks? to Andrea Kraft and Randy Zimmer for everything they did to make my stay even more unforgettable pleasure. The Bartenders and servers were great here, too. The activities pool is where the fun was. The Animation team tried to get everyone involved but didn?t harass you if you said, "No, thank you." NIGHT SHOWS The shows that entertained us at night were delightful. They did indeed work hard to put these shows on and deserved our applause. Finally, do NOT be discouraged by the weather reports. Before we left, the reports called for scattered thunderstorms every day in Punta Cana. We had a few drizzles at night and once a 20min. rain after 4.00pm and were pleasantly surprised with low humidity and no mosquitoes. We were glad that the weather reports here were as accurate as they are everywhere else (i.e., not accurate at all!) I realize that this review was exceptionally long and detailed. However, RIU Palace Bavaro deserves all the praise offered here. This was a place that couples can go to and have a really good time, whether it was laying in the pool area or laying at the beach, strolling on the long strep of the beach or enjoying a drink at the bar. We met so many nice people from all over the world. I don?t say this often, but we felt like this was the best vacation we have ever had. Our 11 days at the Riu Palace Bavaro were all we could have wished for ? fantastic beach, delicious food, good bar service and drinks, with a great room @ adults only! Anyone who gives this place a negative review must be just impossible to please. They greeted us with "Welcome to our home," and we truly felt their genuine hospitality. We will most definitely be back soon! P.S. Our special thanks to very pleasant , hard working and enjoyable people, reception manager Joanna Silvestre de Moya, Sencimar supervisor Andreas Kraft and Randi Zimmer who made my stay unforgettable. As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said: ?I?ll be back?.

From the moment we got to the lobby, we knew we made the right choice by booking this specific resort. Riu Palace Bavaro (don't get it confused with riu palace punta cana) is by far the best resort... More>

From the moment we got to the lobby, we knew we made the right choice by booking this specific resort. Riu Palace Bavaro (don't get it confused with riu palace punta cana) is by far the best resort out of the entire Riu complex. It's luxurious, modern, chic, clean, has an amazing stafff that makes you feel like you're family from the minute you walk in through those revolving doors. We went during the perfect season where it wasn't too crowded so there was no need to pay extra for a boring, private pool. Honestly, every time I walked by the VIP section, every one there just looked SO bored. Yes, they play music but the fun games are at the main pool. I suggest going before the Summer when children are still in school just to avoid the large crowds i'm sure they get at Riu. I've read a lot of reviews where people complain about the double beds pushed together to make a king size. Yes, this is true. However, you can request a room with a king bed. My husband and I upgraded to a room with a better view and king size bed. We only paid $30 extra per night and had the fantastic view of the courtyard, pool, and ocean view. The housekeeping staff are very well mannered and do not have sticky fingers like in other resorts. The food was amazing. Though we liked the japanese the least, we always found something delicious at the buffet. Guys, make sure to bring long pants and button-down shirts (long sleeves or short sleeves) as they are pretty strict about dress code for the restaurants that require reservations. You are allowed to dress a bit more comfortably at the buffet (Montecristo) as long as you have sleeves. (no tanktops for men) As far as the reservations, you are allowed to make them from 8am-11am for up to 3 days. We woke up early for breakfast and never had a problem getting the restaurants of our choice. Room service though it is indeed 24 hours, it is very limited. there are club sandwiches, fries, nachos with cheese, desserts like chocolate cake and fruit salad. That is it. The waitors are very attentive. They make you their priority during your entire stay. we did tip them $5 or 200 RD pesos but it didn't make a difference whether you tipped or not. the service was always impeccable. Drinks were delicious all the time. There isn't much left for me to write, only that we just got back and already booked our next stay for October. it is THAT great of a vacation. Go see for yourselves and don't get discouraged by the negative reviews. It is indeed the perfect resort for the perfect vacation.

This was our 5th trip to Punta Cana but our 1st stay at the new Riu Palace Bavaro. The accommodations were excellent. Plenty of choices for your meals but we ate mainly in the main restaurant. These... More>

This was our 5th trip to Punta Cana but our 1st stay at the new Riu Palace Bavaro. The accommodations were excellent. Plenty of choices for your meals but we ate mainly in the main restaurant. These aren't 5 star restaurants, but the food is plentiful and there is always something that we liked. We've stayed previously in te Riu Palace Macao (which is now remodeled and adults only) and the Riu Palace Punta Cana. The new Palace Bavaro is the nicest yet. There is a good sized pool with a swim up bar and the beach is excellent. Being directly on the Atlantic, the water is perfectly calm but enjoyable,