RIU Palace Punta Cana All Inclusive

The hotel is nice, the food is ok. My main complaint is you are isolated to the hotel grounds. It is very costly to take cabs and there is nothing in walking distance of the hotel. No one explained y\to us how the dinner reservation system worked, we were given a map of the hotel complex but it was a verry dark copy and no explanation of numbered locations. Specifically I was not happy wth COCO Tours, our transportation company, they scheduled us to arrange our transportation tio the airport and did not show up. The rep was only available one day, but we were told they would be available every day. Air travel from Orlando is miserable, since you have no direct flights to DR.

I travel alot. I have been to alot of places. When my partner and I arrived, we thought the place was very pretty inside. We asked for a suite. We paid an extra 100/night for a suite. After an hour of waiting for a room. We took what we received. This room was pretty but extremely dirty. There was MOLD in the ceiling. The bed was so mildewed that I needed towels to put down over the bed to sleep ok. The air did not work when we got there. Just horrible. The staff is average. Not very friendly and actually needs more training. The food is definitely below average. We got up at 7 am to make reservations in the Italian restaurant for that night and when we got there, we had a buffet of pizza. I was able to get an average steak. Very little choices. Very disappointed. I would not go back. Not worth the money. There is no quality control and they do not maintain the hotel well.

Went to this hotel with 7 of my best buds to cut loose and hang out. The place had zero night life. The hotel staff was nice but the entertainment was non-existent. The poolside entertainment was even worse and the music never changed. Sadly all three RIU's are the same. And don't bother hitting the Casino in the Macao because it's a sad excuse for a Casino and full of scam artist trying to rip everyone off. I REPEAT do not hit the casino unless you want to get ripped off. When you ask about clubs they send you to Pacha which is outside the Macao and not part of the all-inclusive. This place is nasty and frequented by hookers looking to lure in unsuspecting travelers.

Staff not very friendly and unwilling to get you the necessities like towels or clean room or bring up extra pillows and blankets. Room just looked wiped down, not actually scrubbed cleaned. They left balloons taped onto the bed from the couple that had their honeymoon before.

Overall my experience with great, because we made it happen with the people we meet at the resort. The experience with the staff is extremely hard when you don't speak their's and they don't speak your language. Wash cloths were NOT provided, the A/C did not work 5 out of 7 days and the restaurants you have to go in person between 8:00/10:30 to make reservations for dinner. Can not make over telephone. Food was not all that good for a 5 star hotel. Again, overall we did enjoy, but will not return.

Not to complain too much as I had a wonderful vacation. The smell of must in the room was a major dissatisfier, if it wasn't for the wonderful receptionist at the spa I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the room. She however gave me some incence and another air freshener for the room. The resort lacked atmosphere and the entertainment left alot to be desired. Standing in line every morning to book the a-la-carte resteraunt was not the best of experiences. However the a-la-carte resteraunts were wonderful. The beach was beautiful and we did take advantage of the spa and fitness center. Again I have alot of praise for the receptionist at the Spa she out did herself in givig us ideas on where to visit and helping me to rid the room of the bad odor.

The bad first! Well, be prepared for a few things. I've never had these types of things happen to me on vacation so it was a bit of an unpleasant surprise. Be ready for no hot water- and I mean NONE....for 4 of our 6 days we took cold showers. Not only that. We were without total water in the room on the morning of our departure. So here we are- fresh out of our massages, all greased up and sticky, and there was no water to be had for a shower. Great feeling just before having to catch a flight. Prepare for sporadic power outages that translate into no AC which translates into a nasty and musty room. It was quite the dilemma getting that musty and moldy smell out of ALL our clothes and luggage. Everything always seems wet in our room. Beaches were beautiful. We walked and walked for miles. You can find your own little hiding hole in between the branches of palms for the lady to go topless or just to get some quiet space. Weather is hot. Pool is OK. Bars serve typical 'all-inclusive' types of drinks. None all too strong. Hotel grounds were pristine. Go snorkeling. Reefs were beautiful. Huge yellowtail snapper everywhere. Bring some bread from the buffet so you can have them eating right out of your hand. Go Sailing. Go Kayaking. We went on a fishing charter and caught a white marlin...highlight of the trip for me. Restaurants were on the low side of OK. Skip the Brazilian fiasco. Weird and interesting at the same time. I ate it but I'm a guy and I eat just about anything when I'm hungry. Do the steak house and the tapas place. Good luck!

The room I stayed in had a constant order of mildew. The smell pervaded everything in the room and even clothes that I didn't wear had to be washed when I got home. Other than that, the service was excellant and the food and drink were above reproach.

The vacation was okay- the resort itself was well maintain and beautiful. The beach was great and there were plenty of chairs/ space for everyone. The food was awful. I lost 5 pounds on the trip. Drinks were average. Although the package says tips are included, it was obvious that the staff expected them and you definitely got different treatment if you left them, which we did not. The desk staff were very unhelpful, did not appear to know what they were doing, and were not willing to assist us in making changes to our package. The company we booked with itself was awful to work with. We were looking to stay longer due to flight problems at the beginning of our trip, but they were not able to assist us, and kept asking us to call back.

Stayed there for New Year's Eve. The hotel pulled out all the stops.