Riu Bambu

Our check-in process was efficient and handled with professionalism, despite a short seven-minute wait upon arrival. While our room was confirmed as ready by 3:00 p.m., the luggage assistance service appeared somewhat disorganized and lacked adequate coordination. Furthermore, despite my prior request for a ground-floor room, we were assigned a unit on the second floor. Although the room was well-maintained and comfortable, we experienced a minor issue with the climate control system; while this was addressed promptly the following day, the ceiling fan remained excessively noisy throughout our stay, and the maintenance team was unable to resolve the mechanical defect. While this resort is often classified as a luxury five-star property, I would characterize it more accurately as a three-and-a-half-star experience. The main pools were consistently overcrowded, which led us to spend most of our time at the quieter "blue pool." I would like to specifically commend Moses, Christian, and Nelson for their attentive and professional service; however, the lack of poolside beverage service—a convenience readily available at the Riu Palace Punta Cana—was a notable drawback. The culinary offerings were merely average, both at the main buffet and the various à la carte restaurants. Overall, while the resort is acceptable for the price point, my visit to the Riu Palace Punta Cana in November offered a significantly superior experience in terms of dining quality, service standards, and general atmosphere. We have a stay booked at the Riu Palace Bavaro this September and look forward to comparing the quality of that experience in a future review.

This is definitely a party resort, so keep that in mind when booking. Most of the staff were wonderful especially the bartenders, who were funny and friendly, and the servers, who provided great service throughout our stay. My biggest complaint was the constant sales pitches. It was hard to fully relax on the beach without being approached about excursions or souvenirs. I also found the other guests less friendly than at similar resorts I've visited. Overall, it's a good resort with great staff, but the atmosphere just wasn't the right fit for me.

We arrived and checked in quickly as I’d pre checked in on the app . My request for a higher floor room was not able to be accepted and we had a ground floor room in villa 8 . The room was tired ! See pics . They definitely are in need of a refurb - the tv was broken and took a day to be fixed but despite this our room was cleaned daily and we had our drinks restocked as needed . The resort is busy ! The animation team imo are not the best - the shows are 3* and they seem to want to only promote the RIU parties 4 times a week rather than do anything for the guests who don’t want to party ! The TUI pool was a nice touch but hard to find beds in the shade unless you do the 6am bed run ! The pool was busy and I was put off with the film floating on it most days that we moved to the beach for the rest of our stay. The beach is wonderful - lots of beds and the sea breeze is welcome in 30+* heat ☀️We found if you say no thank you to the beach sellers they walk in by ! Don’t engage with the parrots or monkeys and you won’t get stung for pics !! The resort staff , cleaners and gardeners work hard and the communal areas are well maintained - it’s the guest that cannot pick up after themselves or flush a toilet that ruin it for everyone 😳 The food was as expected - as a vegetarian with an egg allergy I struggled to find more than rice and veggies most days ! We ate at the Mexican restaurant but left after starters as it offered nothing for us . The Asian restaurant was better and we ate there twice . You do need to get there early to try and get a table as you can't prebook , if they do have availability they give you a buzzer to come back when they have a table . The buffet restaurant- lots of choice , even for picky eaters you won’t starve ! The restaurant staff are wonderful! Shout out to Pacheco and Eliani - in the outside restaurant . Always happy to see you , and some of the best service I’ve had in a RIU hotel ! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Overall , despite the food choices and tired shows we had a wonderful 11 nights ! I’m glad to hear they are expecting a refurb and if so I would definitely return!

I was quite anxious about coming to this hotel after reading some of the reviews beforehand, but here is my honest account of our experience. Arrival & Check-in Our arrival at Punta Cana Airport was smooth; however, we then had to wait around 1.5 hours for our luggage despite flying Premium and being advised our cases would be unloaded quickly. When we finally got cases and my husbands had been opened and was open when on the belt to collect , lock broken off and case looked though. I don’t have a problem with them looking through if they thought they had too but it was a mess inside, everything tipped out and no note to state why they opened the case. Check-in at the hotel was quite slow. After an 8-hour flight, nearly 2 hours at the airport, and a 30-minute transfer, we would have appreciated a quicker and more efficient process. Hotel & Rooms The RIU Bambu complex is huge, and it took us a while to find our room as the room numbering system doesn’t seem very logical. The rooms were basic but clean and had everything we needed, including an iron and ironing board, safe, minibar, and fridge stocked with Pepsi, 7UP, beer, and water. There is also a coffee percolator, although you’ll need to get milk from the restaurant, and there isn’t a spoon provided for stirring. The RIU app was useful for requesting minibar refills, extra pillows, laundry bags, and other items. There were a few issues with rooms: I had requested on many occasions that we were placed close to each other being a large family. This was done via Tui and the hotel direct. We wasn’t near each other and then there were issues with the rooms. My brother and family (with young child) was placed next to the Riu party pool- far too noisy for them. They asked to move after day 3 and was moved to a room close to the children’s pool. Mt niece had bugs in her room and had to move middle of the night- the staff at reception was not helpful and left them to move at 1am with a time limit of half hour. We reported this to the Tui rep and they got an apology from hotel. Our son in laws parents also requested a move to be closer to their daughter and this was done right away. Food & Restaurants The food was pretty much what we expected from an all-inclusive resort, but there was plenty of choice each night. One downside was the lack of a dedicated children’s section, so my 3-year-old nephew mostly lived on pizza and hot dogs. We were not impressed with the à la carte restaurants. We waited over 45 minutes for a table at steak house despite being told that TUI guests had priority and didn’t need to pre-book. The food in the steakhouse was disappointing, and we actually preferred the buffet restaurant. The staff in the main restaurant were excellent. Despite our group of 19 people, we never had any issues getting seated together. During our stay, our daughter got engaged to her boyfriend, and the restaurant staff made the occasion extra special by bringing over celebration drums and a cake. They were absolutely lovely and helped create a wonderful memory. We did tip well . Entertainment Was okay. We watched the Michael Jackson show and the Diva one other than that we stayed by the Tui bar each evening. No announcements about activities in the day so we missed most daily sports or games. They were on the app showing times etc but we only used app for re stocking fridge. Pools & Bars The main pool near the towel station was lovely, clean, and had a great atmosphere with plenty of entertainment. Plenty of beds. We tried the swim up pool bar but soon removed ourself due to the dirt and grime in the pool. This was not a clean pool atall and was avoided this for the remainder of holiday. The TUI guest pool was quieter and closer to the beach, benefiting from a pleasant breeze. The pool bar was fantastic, and we particularly want to mention Louis, who worked at the TUI bar in the evenings. He was friendly, attentive, and provided excellent service throughout our stay. The TUI pool itself could do with some maintenance. There were tiles missing from the pool beds and around parts of the pool area and floor. Excursions & TUI Team The TUI reps on-site were fantastic. We booked several excursions through them, including the buggies, a shopping trip, a tour of Dominican towns and churches, and a dolphin swim experience. Everything was well organised, and the team was very helpful. Beach: it was beautiful, the sea was lovely and warm but the amount off seaweed on the beach and in the water was disappointing- I know it can’t be helped as it’s nature but it didn’t stop us getting in the sea .. A Few Negatives The main downside for us was the lack of bins around the pool areas. There were also no toilets near the TUI bar, meaning guests had to walk to the larger pool area whenever they needed the bathroom. Overall Despite a few frustrations, particularly with check-in, the à la carte restaurants, and some maintenance issues around the TUI pool, we had a very enjoyable holiday. The friendly staff, good buffet food, lovely pool areas, and excellent TUI team made for a memorable family trip. Coming home: check out was quick - they cut off our bands but said we could still use AI till coach pick up. Quick transfer and quick through Airport, however the airport staff at the gate were rude and obnoxious to all passengers. We should have flew at 4:05pm but because there was no room for all premium to make a straight line to board they wouldn’t open the gate … -after is then trying to make the line she wanted gate still did not open and we didn’t take off till 5:45 Flight home was great all Tui staff were lovely on the flight I’d rate it around 4/5 stars based on the positives outweighing the negatives

We travelled as a party of 19 to celebrate big birthdays. We was a little worried after reading reviews but I’ll give a honest review on our stay. Airport: waited over 1 and half hours for bags off plane- it was very busy and not well organised.My husband’s case was open when came of belt and had lock broken off and had been searched. I wasn’t bothered about that if they felt the need to search the case but at least put a sticker on it or put it back the way it was when leaving Manchester. Everything opened and case a mess- nothing missing though. Transfer was half hour or so to Riu Bambu Check in was very slow and after a 8hr flight 2 hrs in airport and a transfer it was a little frustrating. Complex: is huge and number on blocks for rooms very confusing. I had asked several times via email & via tui to all be placed close to each other as we were a big family travelling together. This did not happen we were all spread along the resort. The main pool was lovely (near towel guy) we spent most days there. The swim up bar was questionable- wasn’t very clean we only ventured once into that until a nail floated past followed by questionable fluid we left that pool. The Tui pool was quieter than main pool and right near beach so a slight breeze. However the pool its self needs some repair - tiles were missing on the beds in pool and pool itself. The Tui bar was where we spent most our time at night as a family. “Louie” (bar man) was fabulous and really joined in with us as a family travelling together making our evenings fun. Evening entertainment was okay, we didn’t spend much time in that area but when we did we enjoyed the show- micheal Jackson and the Diva show was good. Food is as all inclusive is- but lots and lots of variety. It’s missing a kids section- we travelled with a 3yr old but not much for him other than pizza and hotdogs. Staff were lovely - in restaurants and bars We had no issues getting a table for all 19of us when we ate together they were very attentive we did tip well as a group. While there my daughter and her boyfriend got engaged and the staff in restaurant at very short notice came over with a drum and sang and gave them a cake with candle it was lovely. Breakfast was amazing - I love a holiday breakfast. Rooms were basic but had everything we needed including iron and ironing board. Beds comfy and using the app we restocked fridge when needed. Rooms clean, all areas of complex clean. Gutted about the seaweed on the beach.