Riu Palace Bavaro - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

11317 reviews

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  Deeply disappointed in RIU Resort Punta Cana

  Property was stolen from our room, Room 4004, on the first day of our five-day anniversary stay at RIU Palace Bávaro. A police report was filed. What is most disappointing is not only the theft, but RIU’s failure to clearly confirm whether room access logs, security footage, and staff activity records were reviewed and preserved, and their failure to explain why management did not properly follow up with us during the remainder of our stay. I understand RIU says compensation will not be provided, but I expected a far greater level of concern, accountability, and at least some meaningful goodwill gesture such as points, a credit, or a free-night voucher. This incident overshadowed our entire trip.

  Apr 22, 2026
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  Cockroaches in Bedding and Flooding

  BEWARE of first floor rooms at RIU Bavaro: Location was nice to be able to walk out and move along but that location was good for water and bugs too. The first night, our ground-floor room flooded due to heavy rain. We spoke with a RIU manager, who sent housekeeping and provided a RIU branded gift (nothing worth anything) as an apology. We were not the only first floor room to be impacted, so beware. We can be understanding, so accepted it as a one-time incident but made it clear we would be less understanding if another issue occurred. The next day, we discovered a cockroach** in the bedding in our children’s room. The RIU manager agreed this was unacceptable and offered to move us to another room. At that point, we wanted to leave the property entirely, but the hotel stated they were only required to offer a comparable room. JetBlue Vacations, our travel agency was no help and told us that if we left the hotel, we would forfeit the remaining nights of our stay. RIU Manager told us that it could take hours to days to get an answer whether we are approved to leave with refund. Our hand was forced, RIU moved us to a higher room which felt better yet they did very little for the lack of comfort being there. OVERALL: - We were told by our resort vacation guide, "Be sure to use the safe because if you leave anything valuable then consider it gone". Shared with us on property, not RIU employee but still someone close to that environment. Shocking to here it there but an understanding you have somewhat anyway.s - Weak Service Level / Not Impressed: Tipping will determine your experience. Servers have attitudes all over the property and if you find some that provide different response after tip then stick with them. This is not a place where it is enjoyable to reward excellent service, it is a place to pay for service even though you have already invested so much to get there. - Pay to play pool, $2.50 per game. Bring cash. Yes, all inclusive and you will need to buy tokens to play pool in the sports bar. - Serious Undertow: Beach has serious undertow so be certain that you can swim out past the initial waves. Scenery is great, especially at sunset but be prepared for a strong current. - RIU Sister Properties: It is not seamless to just walk over the other properties and request towels or enjoy food. We were advised that we were welcome to enjoy 2 other RIU properties during our stay but could not have dinner at those locations. The walk is about 10 minutes just off the beach to the next RIU property from Bavaro Palace. We tried to use our RIU Bavaro towel cards for towels near the Bambu pool and were denied. Nobody informed us of that. - Excursion Research: Do not believe your excursion agent (Amistar) at resort about the duration of the excursion including travel time. They lie to sell you, we wanted a 1/2 day trip with kids which we were told and selected because it was 4 hours. Completed end to end, over 6 hours including after dinner hours. Review and fully understand what is involved in travel time to these excursions and how much dead time there is at these excursions waiting for people to buy photo packages or any other upcharge possible. - RESTAURANTS: Nothing overly enjoyable and you order via the RIU app while sitting at the table. There is a limited selection to choose from at each of the main restaurants shown in the app. Pre-fix menu style. If you find something that you enjoy and wanted to order more of it, be prepared for dirty look, confusion from servers. Yet you are at all inclusive. FYI - Waits at restaurants should be in your plan. They keep doors closed to restaurants yet there are tables, it's awkard. Have read that this is a ploy for a tip. Buffet rotates offering at dinner but you tend not to go there at night because of the other dinner options. Pastries at breakfast were enjoyable. Steakhouse was dissappointing as the meat tasted like charcoal and it was tough to chew, not sure where they source the meat. Shrimp mac n cheese was pretty good. All 4 of us left the steakhouse hungry. Zen, asian restaurant, was the best option. Not exciting just good enough to be enjoyable, not memorable. Frozen drinks outside of a pina colada or daiquirri were tough to come by. Margaritas might be served warm at some bars. CONSIDER: - Take probiotics before arriving in DR. - Bring floats for pools - Not a lively, high energy place for families. You will need to seek or create the fun. - Elite is for guests that want status, nothing truly valuable as the exclusive bar and restaurant are not that great. Room options are an upgrade but not worth it for bar or restaurant. **Baby cockroach often means there are more nearby and this happened during the day. During the day is not good as roaches are nocturnal. Daytime activity can indicate a larger infestation or overcrowding in their hiding areas.

  Apr 20, 2026
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  Our stay

  We initially did not have wash rags in our room and it’s was hard to get because the maid didn’t speak English. I also asked if our room could possibly get decorated for my birthday and they advised that they would put in the request. When we arrived the room wasn’t decorated.

  Apr 20, 2026
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  Big family holiday

  First experience staying at a Riu and I was thoroughly impressed. Everything you would expect from a 5 star resort and more from the flight to the staff at resort and the communication. Such an amazing holiday with lovely memories, I would highly recommend this place.

  Apr 19, 2026
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  Excellent!

  Been staying at the Rius for years in Playa Del Carmen. First time to Punta Cana Palace Bavaro. Cant wait to go back. Beaches and water a little nicer. Rooms are updated and pood is comparable.

  Apr 19, 2026