Riu Palace Reviews

This hotel is exclusive to Thomson in the UK, and when you see it you'll understand why we wanted it all to ourselves. Briefed to build a lavish hotel, the architects pushed the boundaries by adding all manner of sophisticated flourishes. From the outside, it’s pure white and tipped with colonial-era domes and turrets. Inside you’ve got a carousel of interior décor styles that demand attention. Everything starts with the lobby - black-painted columns, colossal chandeliers and stain-glass ceilings. The restaurants are something else, too. There are six in all and they’re completely different. For a taste of Japan, book a table at the paper-screened Yokohama to pick through elaborate platters of sushi and sashimi. The à la carte steakhouse meanwhile goes back in time, with Louis XV salon chairs and lots of wood panelling. Show cooking is a feature of every one, too. For palatial design though, it’s hard to beat the main pool. Peeking out from between the hotel’s two wings, it’s got a domed swim-up bar and four adjoining whirlpools. Beyond that, there’s a children’s pool and a series of elegant fountained ponds. The beach is back in the other direction, where soft white sands are trimmed with palms and the light blue Caribbean.

My wife and I stayed here for our honeymoon. i did a lot of searching for a good venue and found this one to be perfect. upon arrival, you immediately know that you are going to stay somewhere very special. We didnt expect it to look exactly like the pictures but it does and has a very majesctic feel and look all of its own. The lobby makes you feel like royalty and the pool and immaculately kept gardens really finish the whole place off wonderfuly. Of course the added bonus is that you are right on the beach and can sunbath under in the shade or the blazing hot sunshine with the added enjoyment of regular waiter service . If it all gets a bit too hot, and it did for us, take a plunge into either the warm or cold spa and feel the lovely cool breeze through the open windows. trust me this really came in handy!! The food is fantastic with immense choice and the waiters really enjoy serving you. We actually ate in the buffet mostly just because we didnt want to be tied to a certain eating time and also enjoyed dining in the open. The rooms are large with massive beds but possible pose the only negative we have in that you will probably notice a slight musty smell, but that is to be expected with such humity!! Please do as we did, do not pack more clothes than you need and before leaving the hotel, hang them out in the air on the balcony for a day and then pack them. We did this and have had no probs with smelly clothes on return. you may also notice a drop in water pressure in the evening, due to everyone taking a much needed shower at the same time. please remember this is a poor country and they do not have all the technology we do.

Was here for my honeymoon.Nice enough to spend two relaxing weeks in the sun.Staff are friendly, place is kept in relatively clean state(even though my room smelt of dampness).Another advice is to do as the leaflets advice you:Keep your valuables in the safe at all times.The location was just amazing and the swimming pools were ok.what made it icer was the swim up bar where you could go any time from 9:30am to 6:00pm and get refreshments.Food was very good, tried the restaurants ala carte and the best was the Steak House.The only downside was that you had to wake up at8:00am to book the restaurants. I would love to go again to the same hotel,but for the moment it will have to wait cos I have no money:)

stayed here for a 2 week stay. Myself, husband and 2 children aged 15 and 9. Never in all the time we have travelled have we come accross staff so cheerful and happy to help with ANYTHING we needed at anytime. The hotel was spectatular. Room had its own optics with rum, whisky, gin. The fridge was filled daily, (twice daily if required) the beds were really comfy and a goods night was has by all. Bathroom was cleaned twice a day and very large. Our balcony was really large with us having a corner room. The included aircon was really wonderful as midday heat can be too much. Nightly entertainment included "Bingo-Bongo" a fantastic multi cultral bingo game where the kids (and adults) could win small prizes. This was followed with singers/piano playing or other such background entertainment that soothed the evening away. The hotel and surrounding area was kept perfectly clean and tidy. Wouldn't hesitate to return. Both kids want to get married here. A couple of weddings were had on the beach while we stayed and the bride, groom and guest let the whole wonderful feeling of this brilliant hotel improve their wedding day.

We visited on 22 March 09 for a week. All inclusive element was fantastic but buffet food was fairly ordinary. We enjoyed the gourmet restaurants but you have to be up early to book them each day. The hotel itself looks superb but the rooms are very damp and smell dreadfully. Our clothes still smell after having been washed!

Myself and my boyfriend travelled to Punta Cana last August for a 2 week All Inclusive Holiday of a lifetime. The Hotel only opened in April/May of last year and has to be seen to be believed. Our jaws dropped when we walked into the reception - it looks very grand and is decorated in marble and crystal. The upkeep into the Hotel is fantastic, every day we saw maids/janitors cleaning all the walkways, painting or planting trees. Very impressive considering the Hotel wasnt even 6 months old when we went! The only down side this Hotel has is that not alot of British/Irish travellers go there so we found it very difficult to gt decent and fair reviews on the facilties.

BEDROOMS
Every room in this Hotel is a Junior Suite complete with jacuzzi bath. The rooms are huge with a seperate sitting area and balcony. The bathroom even has his and hers sinks. As with all the RIU hotels there is an optic in the room - except this Hotel stocks the premium brands eg Stoli vodka, Brugal Rum etc. We had maid service every day and our fridge and optics were also checked/filled each day. They have a day maid and a night maid who comes to your room to turn down your bed and leaves a sweet on your pillow! We found this a lovely touch.
We had major issues with Thomsons on this holiday, which i will not go into here but everything on this holiday that did NOT involve Thomsons was first class and beyond.

POOLS
There are 2 swimming pools - the main one has jacuzzis in the pool along with a swim up bar and sun bed waiter service. There were ample sun beds both around the pool and on the beach.

RESTAURANTS
The restaurants here are out of this world! My boyfriend and i are fond of eating out and even to this date have not come across a steak as good as the one we had here! Sir Oscars is fantastic, the decor the food, the service everything. Best gourmet dining i have ever had. There are 5 A-La Carte restaurants at the Hotel, Italian (which we didnt try),Brazilian which was interesting and certainly different but im not so good on that type of food, Steak House, which was excellent and situated in a lovely location right on the beach front (very romantic!), japanese - which was very different and a little on the brave side for me but my boyfriend who is a big fan of sushi said it was fantastic and the decor has to be seen to be believed - very Oriental and realistic! Finally ther was the Buffet that had the biggest range of foods ive ever seen - noone could possibly go hungry and nothing was ever repeated. Lunches were again fantastic with choices of hot food, salads, soups, burgers and even a chef in place to make up sandwiches for you.

Breakfast was certainly my favourite meal - everything you could ever think of was there from full fry up to rolls, ham and chees, numerous buns and freshly made donughts and pancakes. To be honest it was the smoked salmon croissants and Bucks Fizz that won me over. We also indulged in room serice for 2 mornings (at no extra charge) and were able to pick what we wanted from a menu. If you would like something different then you just write it down and they bring it at your specified time. We ate in Sir Oscar twice and the Steak House twice but beware trying to book these. At the start of our holiday we didnt have a problem and alternated bewteen A-La Carts and the Buffet. However at the start of our second week more American guests arrived and they refused to eat in the Buffet. Throughout that week they managed to book out every A-La Carte for both sittings. We asked the Hotel if we could prebook a restaurant for our last night, after queuing unsuccessfully for the A-La Carts for 4 days, and were told they work on a first come first serve basis. As a result my poor boyfriend started queuing at 8.30am that morning (bookings started being taken at 10am)and managed to secure the LAST table in Sir Oscar. I have been to other RIU hotels and normally their systme works well. However, if you have certain people that will take advantage like this it does really ruin it for other guests as a couple we met didnt even get to try 1 A La Carte in their 10 day stay. Rant over!!

ENTERTAINMENT
Is a bit dire in this Hotel to be honest. We found the entertainment team a bit lacking in getting people involved in the activities and seemed to stick to asking the same people throughout the 2 weeks we were there. The night time entertainment was worse and we gave up watching the dancing after the 2nd night. If you are after a Hotel with a lively nightlife then this isnt it. We tended to either visit the other Hotels at night or go to the Sports Bar (in Hotel). This is the best invention - a 24hrs bar with popcorn machine, snacks fridege and pool tables. For the male (or female)american sports fans they have large screen tvs all around the bar. There is also internet access and slot machines off the bar.

BARS
Im trying to remember them all so apologies if i miss any! Swim up bar, guys there are brilliant, lots of music and fun and waiter service which is brilliant for the particularly hot days. Even if you are on the beach they send a waiter up and down with a tray full of drinks every 30 mins. Sports Bar - great idea but a little ";Americanised"; for my liking. Piano bar - my favourite! Very grand and we felt like we were in Titanic or something! Got into the routine very quickly of a glass of bubbly every night after dinner and just sit and watch the world go by. If you like your champers (its cava really) this is the best bar to get it as they chill their glasses. Unlike other all inclusives champagne comes at no extra cost and they were more than willing to serve it.

TRIPS
We did 2 (organised through Thomsons - enough said) Saona Island which was very beautiful but has a few issues with the food and sanitary conditions on the actual island. Dolphins in Ocean World - fantastic. Please pay the extra money to take the plane flight and go north. After 2 weeks being in the Hotel we found it to be a welcome day out and the little planes were an experience in themselves. There is a Park nearby in Punta Cana - Mansata Park or something but we heard some awful stories about it and avoided it without a thought. We heard that all their animals were caged up and a some animlas were allowed to roam free resulting in a little girl being bitten! Ocean Worls is clean and they are 100% focused on their animals safety and happiness.

As you have probably gathered we both loved this hotel and would love to go back soon. There are (as with everything)a few negaitives. The amount of Americans at this Hotel drove us crazy. Apart from the Restaurant saga above we found them to be very loud, pushy and extremely disrespectful towards the staff. We found the staff to be lovely and very helpful in every way. Unlike the North of the island there English isnt very good so they may appear ";ignorant";. We attempted a few spanish words and always said please and thank you and in return received a smile and excellent service.

This is a fantastic Hotel with fantastic staff and facilities, we have recommended it to everyone!

We booked this hotel as we had previously stayed with the Riu chain twice in Cancun, Mexico.

All we can say is what a dissapointment, this hotel may be very new but the cracks are begining to show already from the bugs in the room to the rehashed and barely warmed buffets to the staff attitudes and entertainment.

You may initially be impressed as we were with the grandness of the build, beautiful fountains, elegant furnishings and wow factor chandeliers but this reaction will quickly disolve when you see it for what it really is. Nothing more than a wham bam get it up as quick as you can job to get the punters in.

We both suffered bad food posioning and over heard alot of other guests with the same problem, infact we both became so afraid to eat we resorted to several packets of crisps and Oreo cookies which cost a bomb from the shop in the hotel.

The drinks were often watered down and the glasses often cracked or chipped.

The beach was lovely but there was no fish to be seen, even on a fishing excursion my husband failed to see any fish which was very disappointing for a keen angler. On the Marinarium excursion we found there was no running water to wash hands with after using the single toilet. We were also served lunch on a platter which consisted of slices of bread, cold meats and cheese which you hand picked yourself after each and every one had used the WC with no hand washing facilities?????????

The best excursion was the helicopter tour which we highly recommend, we took this trip on the day of our 1st wedding anniversary.

I also pre booked a table at Luigi, the italian gourmet restaurant through the hotels wedding planner as a surprise for hubby. I provided her with ";happy anniversary"; baloons and banner to decorate our table, romantic eh?- No......When we arrived the table was decorated with ";happy birthday"; baloonsandbanner, you can imagine my fury?

I don't want to go on too much but seriously this hotel is the pitts and unless there are dramatic changes things will slide further and further downhill,