Riu Merengue All Inclusive

We actually got upgraded to the Bachata, but went to all 3 RIU properties. The setting is very nice, the grounds, the pools, the beach. Our room was musty and mildewed and we spent as little time in it as possible. The food was just plain bad. Yeah, there's a lot of it, but it's bad. Don't bother with the special Italian and Steakhouse restaurants, it's not worth the effort of getting up early to make the reservation. Also, know that the bartending staff's job is to NOT serve you alcohol. But when they mix drinks, they use mixed stuff that doesn't have alcohol in it, unless you specify and watch them pour it. They also serve near beer which could not get you drunk, and even their wine is extremely low alcohol (not to mention pretty gross). Oh, and they don't stock enough beach towels for some reason, so you'll need to get up by 8:30am your first morning to get one, and then hold onto it the rest of the time you're there. So unless you have really low standards of what you consider good food, just don't go here.

My husband and I booked a 4 day, 3 night get away, to the ClubHotel Riu Merengue in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Despite all the favorable reviews we found online, it was by far the worst vacation we have ever taken. It started when we were greeted by one of the front desk staff, who began with a ridiculous monologue consisting of one liners and bad jokes. He boasted about the superior level of service we could expect and then ended his speech by informing us that our room was not ready. He suggested we return in approximately twenty minutes, even though the front desk was filled with hundreds envelopes containing keys to clean and available rooms. Upon our return thirty minutes later, we were told the staff was busy with other guests and that we should come back in an hour. This was totally unacceptable and I refused to wait any longer. Each staff member I spoke to directed me to someone else. Finally, we found someone able to help us and learned that our room had been ready all along. Their website boasts of luxury, five star accommodations, which is why I was extremely disappointed when we were escorted to a tiny, dated guestroom. The bed was two doubles pushed together, there was not a blanket to be found and the toiletries were in paper packets. The mini bar contained a total of two beers and two sodas. In fact, it took an entire day, three phone calls and speaking to a manager before our request to fill the mini bar was addressed. Obtaining a reservation at one of the “a la carte” restaurants turned out to be impossible. Dinner reservations were taken between the hours of 7:00 and 10:00 am each day. Twice we arrived prior to 8:00 am, only to find out that all the reservations had been taken. I can not understand why a resort with 544 guestrooms, has forty dining tables and only two seatings per night. Basically, a very small percentage of the guests are able to enjoy a sit down meal, while the majority are left to a cafeteria style dinner of repetitive, mediocre food. The dining situation may have not been so bad, if the drinks had not been so watered down and served child size plastic cups. Perhaps worst of all was the discovery that our trip happened to coincide with a Dominican holiday. Not long after our arrival, hundreds of locals descended on the resort and literally took over everything. The sheer volume of people coupled with the rude and rowdy behavior made getting food or drinks into somewhat of a battle. The locals were catered to by the staff, leaving vacationers feeling like unwanted guests. We will never return to this hotel and will avoid all Riu properties in the future.

This was the worst hotel I have ever stayed at. No a/c, hard beds, room service barge in at 9am in the morning. The same exact food every day. Greasy, buttery and disgusting,,,inability to make reservations at the restaurant.

Well, where do I start. We booked 2 rooms, as I was traveling with my Mother and my 14 year old Daughter to celebrate Easter and my Birthday... This was shocking, we have never been so disrespected, by so many staff members in one hotel, in such a short visit of 8 days in my life, and we have visited many countries... Not even my 14 year daughter--- would they leave alone at this hotel!!! But what I found the most offensive was that one of the top 3 management, on my first day there; a married man, was propositioning me after telling me that he lived with a partner and had 3 kids- how GROSS is that? And he did it again, on my last day there, he asked me when and if I would return, to see him, OMG!!! Keep Dreaming is all that I kept thinking to myself!!! Anyway, the food was disgusting, low quality and low in quantity, no 24 hours room service or food that we could find, after a certain hour. The rooms were old, and had no real mirror to speak of; had to stand on a chair to look at ourselves and the beds were more like thin mattress with old thins sheets and old thin bedspread. The air conditioner hardly worked, had to complain more than 3 times to have my roomed changed. I would never return to this hotel, nor this country again, and I have been to D.R. 5 times, BUT never AGAIN and NEVER to this hotel!!! PS, they did not even acknowledged that it was Easter Sunday, no Easter Bunny, and there were many, many children there, go figure, also a few toilets around the beach and main lobby area were broken and would not flush, now how gross is that... Stay AWAY from this Hotel and chain if possible, I mean it!!! I have never bothered to write a review, but this I had to do, as not even for my B.D. did I get a decent meal, the "Rib Eye" steak, was paper thin and full of fat, it looked that they had cut the steak in 4 to feed my party of 4, so I say again, STAY AWAY!!!

Where do I begin! Ok I booked this trip for my wife and I. It was her 30th birthday present from me and our overdue honeymoon that we waited to take for 5 years do to financial issues. She has never traveled by plane before. Lets just say the highlight of our vacation was the plane ride. When we got off the plane the person that took our bags to the van wanted me to give the driver a $20 tip which is crazy considering the ride to the hotel and back is included in our trip that I already paid for. The gentlemen only carried our bags about 100 yards and put his hand out for a tip which I expected. I gave him $5 and he looked at me and said whats this $5 more. I said to him for WHAT HELL NO!!!!!! We should have know right then and there that we should turn back around and go home. On the way to the hotel we almost crashed like 5 times and almost hit a women crossing the road. When arriving to the hotel we checked in and got our room key. When arriving to our room it was a disaster. Lets just say the bed was terrible. The best way to explain it would be that it was like sleeping on a worn out pull out couch. When asking to change rooms we were told that we would have to pay to change rooms for a cost of $125 per night. Needless to say we didn't have the money to do this so we had to stay in this room. My wife and I wanted to go home right there and then but we knew we couldn't. The next day we went to the beach which was not fun. The current was too strong for the whole stay and the beach was littered with trash from careless people leaving there empty glasses behind. To top it off the men working at the hotel were all overly aggressive on hitting on my wife which made us both uncomfortable. If a guy tried doing that here I would have said something but I didn't want to get into trouble in another country. We felt like we were trapped inside our hotel room for the rest of the vacation. I would have rather been in a jail cell in the US then in that room at this hotel. Oh did I say that there where prostitutes at the hotel as well..... and the food was the same stuff served every day. I got sick of eating the same reheated food day in and day out. I hope this review helps for I would never stay here if I had read a review like this one!!!!!!!

Poor internet service (did not work at all) you had to go to another hotel to get service TV was built when the flintstones were a hit! Food was predicable but ok

The room were comfortable and the maid service excellent.

The hotel is very nice. The Beach is nice as well. Staff is attentive and gracious. All speak English and work to serve the guests needs Rooms: So-So NO king size beds at the hotel two doubles beds pushed together that sag in the middle. Get a second floor room I had frogs coming in through the toilet on the ground floor flush them and they come back the next day had to change rooms Food--Awful....sour fruit for breakfast don't eat the hamburgers dinner was passable Too many kids (rotten rude ones)parents were not much better. TV only has 5 or 6 english stations, rooster fighting a prime time event on TV in spanish ( all good) Perhaps another week other than presidents week would be better to go there The RIU in the Bahamas is 10 times as better I don't take many vacations and this one was a horrible

Having stayed at the RIU Santa Fe in Cabo San Lucas Mexico several times, I was looking forward to the same level of service, food and accomodations in the Dominican Republic. I visited for 4 days (Feb 5-8) With the exception of one day when it rained for a couple hours in the morning - the weather was sunny and warm (and humid) The Good: -With the exeption of dinner, guests were allowed almost free range of all 3 resorts- including pools, bars, breakfast and lunch. -The entertainment crew was engaged with the guests. -The beaches were nice and have plenty of lounge chairs. The Bad: -The rooms smelled horribly moldly. The staff attempted to cover up the oder with some sort of cleanser (pine sol?) But it only made it more unbearable. - The air conditioning was almost non-existant in the rooms. This made the humidity 10x worse and everything in the room - especially the bed sheets had a slick layer of mosture adding to the stench of mold. - The outlets will not accept 3-pronged plugs or many 2 pronged plugs. (They were designed for European plugs) However, for a $3(US) deposit they will loan you an adapter at the lobby front desk. -The food: the RIUs in DR offered about 1/4 of the selection I was used to from the one on Mexico. The menu was geared towards a European clientele. Supprisingly - very little seafood. Luckily they offered some staple "American" options like Pizza, burgers, fries and hotdogs. Other fun facts: The RIU Merengue pool boasts a topless area. As does the beach. The Bachata and Mambo pools have a swim up bar. (yay) The guests were an even mix of English, America, German, French, Dutch and Hispanic. Do not attempt to leave the resort to go to a club or bar without a member of the hotel staff and a group of friends. During my stay - I was told a young group of Canadian twenty-somethings paid $20(US) each for a cab ride to town to go to a club. When they arrived they were asked to pay $80 each just to get through the door. (This does not include any drinks) This left them no choice but to pay $20 more to take a cab back to the resort. I've vacationed extensively (3-4x per year) single with friends and as a couple. This resort is not geared towards singles. There were a lot of families with small children and the great majority of guests were either approaching or past retirement age. It didn't seem geared towards my age range (early/mid 30s) Even so. I managed to have an alright time. Vacations are mostly what you make of them. However, the little things DO make a difference in your experience.

you had to buy water shoes or it was impossible to use the beach. We asked for a wake up call our last day which never came.