Riu Palace Bavaro - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

11121 reviews

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  Mixed feelings - Please read if travelling with a baby

  I want to start by saying that we had a good holiday, however there were a few issues with the hotel which did impact our stay, and some especially worth being aware of if travelling with a baby. Upon arrival I found the welcome really cold. We’d had a long flight and there was no interest shown in how we were/ our journey. We were just presented with the bill to settle up. I checked if our room had bottled water as we needed to make formula for our baby and was told that there should be but to call room service if not. We got to the room and the cot that I had requested was not there, and neither was the bottled water. There was also no kettle in the room, and so no way to make formula for our baby. We requested all three things promptly. The water arrived 45 mins later, the cot 90mins later and the kettle never arrived. Our baby was extremely distressed by this time and unfortunately due to the language barrier we simply could not seem to resolve the issue. The next morning we spoke to customer services, and once again the language barrier meant that the situation was not properly understood. I found the staff in this situation quite dismissive and it worries me that reading other feedback, we are not the only parents to have this issue and yet it still hasn’t been resolved. Cots set up in advance and kettles for the room should seriously be considered. The other thing to be aware of is that this is quite a noisy hotel. It’s huge and caters for lots of different groups from families to those wanting more of a party holiday. Most of the time this wasn’t an issue and there are lots of separate areas. However, our family room was right next to the on site nightclub (Pacha) - which I would have loved back in the day - but wasn’t great at 1am when trying to settle our baby. There were also occasions when we sat in the lobby bar (which was beautiful!) having a drink while our baby slept in the pram, and the party staff would come through the lobby screaming about an event to try and drum up interest. It didn’t seem entirely necessary, but I appreciate we were just worried about our baby waking. We also tried to catch up on some sleep in our room a couple of times during the day but the cleaning staff are extremely noisy, dragging furniture back and forth in adjoining rooms, making it impossible to sleep. There was also drilling in the room above us one day with all of the debris falling onto our balcony. Another issue for us was the cleanliness. It was fine on first glance, and the lobby and grounds were beautifully maintained. However around the pool there were often dirty glasses from the day before, tissues in the plants, dirty plates and the tables hadn’t been wiped down. The rooms were ok, but for example the shower-head was dirty, the rainfall shower and TV didn’t work, the hook for the towels was stuck on with glue and kept falling off. It was all just lacking a bit of attention to finer detail. The food was nice, albeit a bit on the unhealthy side. I found I had to really plan what my baby could eat as the only place with healthy options was the buffet which was open at certain times. Other food was available all the time. There was a great selection of restaurants but they were all first come first serve, making it difficult to plan some nights when you could eat. A booking system would be preferred. We had a pram and so needed to use the lifts to get to our room. There were only 2 lifts to our block and one was constantly broken so we often had to wait some time to use it. The pool towels were pretty poor quality and could do with some investment. It’s also worth being aware (especially as a Brit!) that there is a big tipping culture and it is expected, even for the most basic things. As an example, when shown to our room we asked for the missing cot to be arranged and the person sent a message and then stood looking at us until we gave him a tip. The cot never arrived until we chased it up, so this was quite frustrating. Most staff did not do this, and some were especially accommodating who we were happy to tip. Now for the positives! The bar, restaurant and entertainment staff were absolutely fantastic. They made a special effort to include us and our baby which made us feel really welcome. They always helped us find a good spot to eat in the shade, with plenty of room for the buggy and high chair. Special mention to Daniel and Astacio for looking after us. We never had to wait too long before being offered a drink, and there was a fantastic selection of premium and local spirits. I loved the table service, it meant you could really sit back and relax. The entertainment was brilliant, in the evening we saw some of the best holiday shows we have ever seen. During the day there was plenty to do, without being pushed into doing it. We loved the aqua gym with Roberto. There are lots of things for kids to do, and different things to try each day. We went to the on site water park a couple of times and was great to be like big kids! There were always plenty of sun loungers and places to sit, even if you were up late. It’s a fairly mixed review. We had a good time, but there was a bit of a bad taste left in our mouths with the issues we experienced and unfortunately for this reason would not stay here again. Hopefully these issues can be looked into and resolved.

  Jan 26, 2026
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  Clean Property with Beautiful Beach

  Property was clean and beach is beautiful. Decent value. This is a huge property and that creates issues. Breakfast at the buffet was chaotic. There was not a host stand to seat people so guests just grabbed empty tables or tables that appeared to be empty. It would take awhile for someone to take your drink order and no one was going to the tables offering water or coffee refills. The operation could be better managed to work out these issues. Entertainment was mediocre and one night there were technical issues. There was no place on the beach to place empty cups and trash so people were leaving them on the ground and no one from the resort was walking around picking up items.

  Jan 26, 2026
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  Would return for sure!

  My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this resort a would return! I’ll break it down, The beach is nice. There are no palapas but the trees do a great job of shading areas for those who need it. The water was warm but when we were there it was very windy so the waves would take you out lol. There are panhandlers but they will go away with a “no, thank you”. Front desk service was great anytime we needed it. The rooms were clean, but the pillows had kind of a musk smell which I had read before … and we weren’t always stocked up on water (and we tipped well at the beginning of the week). We enjoyed the steakhouse and the Japanese restaurant as well as American country bar. The Tani buffet was good because our people made it our favorite spot (Paco, Crismeli and Salas) Yohan and Darian at the adult only pool bar will treat you well - help them with tips. We always tip because these people are poor and need the help they can get. The pools were great som for families and some for adults. Lots of seating. I would recommend going to the beach early morning if you want chairs down there. Apparently you can use all three riu resorts , we never did. Only the riu bambu we went to, for the themed riu parties which we highly recommend for a good party time! A couple of bug bites nothing crazy. I read about dirty rooms and musty smells… but it is a huge resort and it wasn’t something that really bothered me and I am fussy when it comes to yucky smells. So like I said nothing that I thought needed attention enough to make a call or complaint. Be careful when booking excursions, the transportation seems to be miscommunicating and it wasnt just for us. Overall we enjoyed our week and our time spent in Punta Cana !

  Jan 25, 2026
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  3rd time staying at à Riu place and not our last!

  We were very pleased with our stay at the Rio Palace Bavaro. It was our first time to Punta Cana the hotel was incredibly clean, food options were endless, and we never had to make a reservation for an à la cart. We had some minor issues with our room that never got resolved, such as our TV not working properly, but overall a great experience. Also, I was glad to see they had some non-dairy options, such as almond milk and soy milk. This is often hard to find at large resorts.

  Jan 23, 2026
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  Amazing holiday

  The resort was lovely, staff were amazing, weather was beautiful. Clean places, lovely pools, food was amazing .

  Jan 22, 2026