Riu Palace Bavaro

Overall great place to unwind and relax. pros: many activities for all ages. many restaurants to choose from, reservations not needed. Plenty of seating by pool and at the beach. Many beach spots with shade! very spacious room in the Family and Friends section. Bathroom offered sufficient privacy even though the wall separating it from the actual sleeping area has a window (it's frosted so you can't see anything really). In room safe, iron, and fridge are helpful (safe is wonky until you can figure out how to use it (tip: press the clear button before you try to lock it) Overhead fan in room is helpful to keep air moving at night and helps a little with the room temp. You can bring floats into the pool. Many, many pools that never get crowded. Towel stand staff was fantastic and friendly and seemed to always be having a good time! Cons: AC is set to 21 but temp never goes below 23. Too warm for my liking. Most staff, beyond the front desk, speak very little English, making it difficult tocommunicate. Also, very few smile at you which is very unwelcoming at a resort. Limited room service menu and the items available were not that good In general, staff did not seem happy to be working and it shows. Was not given towel cards upon check in and the guys at the towel stand gave us towels, even though it seems they shouldn't have without a card. Probably will book elsewhere next time to get a different experience but this place is pretty decent.

My family and specially my baby of 18 months old enjoy our stay here. They have spaces to have activities with the kids and also for the adults. The market and pharmacy that they have inside the resort save us a couple times. The only thing that maybe can be better is maybe the buffet because sometimes I saw a lot of flies on top of the food so we need to avoid eating there and instead we went to the restaurants. The room it was big enough and very comfortable. The check in in have to give a 4/10 the person who gives us the cards didn’t explain to us how everything works just gave the impression that he has in a rush. The rest of the personal was AMAZING.

Our family had a wonderful vacation at Riu Palace. The rooms were nice, large, and clean. The property was well maintained. There were several pools so you were able to find a loud party pool or relax at a quiet pool depending on your mood. I cannot say enough nice things about the staff. The staff at the buffet were amainzingly helpfull and friendly. The staff at the other restaurants and bars were also great. There were numerous food options wich allowed us to eat dinner at a different restaurant each night of our stay. There were so many options that we didn't get a chance to try some of the options. Our group consisted of my wife and I, our three teenagers, and one brought a friend (19,18,18 &15). There were enough activities to keep all of us occupied and having fun.

The stay was perfect for our large group. We took our boys here for their senior trip (42 of us) everybody loved it

Came back from 7 nights here and overall I'd go back, but let me break it down properly because this place has real highs and some things that genuinely annoyed me. Starting with the property itself, this place is spotless. They fully renovated it in 2024 and it shows. The rooms are spacious, well-designed, and everything works. Rain shower, double sink, in-room liquor dispenser stocked with actual premium brands, coffee machine, fast WiFi everywhere on the resort, not just in the lobby. Rooms get cleaned daily and housekeeping is solid. We got lucky with our room, corner unit, great location, easy access to everything. That said, depending on where they place you, some rooms are a serious walk from the main complex. Not a dealbreaker if you're traveling as a couple, but if you have kids that could get old fast. Check-in for us was smooth, room was ready before 3pm which was a nice start to the trip. Staff across the board is polite and genuinely helpful. I didn't have a single bad interaction in 7 days. A few bartenders even remembered what we were drinking the day before without being asked. One thing worth mentioning: tipping makes a real difference here. It's an all-inclusive so people assume you don't need to, but slipping a couple dollars to your bartender or server goes a long way. Service gets noticeably more attentive when you do. Also download the Riu app before you go. You can request things to your room directly and it makes the whole stay smoother. Bavaro Beach is everything people say it is. White sand, crystal-clear water. The first 5 days were perfect. The last 2 we got hit with seaweed. What made it frustrating is that the Iberostar right next door cleared their beach every morning while Riu just left it piling up. That was a miss. Also expect beach vendors approaching you regularly. They can be persistent, a firm no and they move on. The 18+ pool is a highlight. Walk-in bar, relaxed crowd, well maintained. Lounge chair hogging is a real thing though. People throw towels on chairs early in the morning and disappear for hours and the resort does nothing about it, so get there early. Nightly entertainment is consistently good, always something happening around the resort. The food court by the beach was one of my favorite things, pizza, tacos, fried chicken, desserts, right next to the water and always clean. The ice cream shop is something else too, my girlfriend loved it. There's also a lobby mixology cart running every evening around 5pm with handcrafted cocktails worth stopping at. And if you want to hit a casino, you have access to the one at the Riu Palace Macao next door. Food-wise, the steakhouse is legitimately great. Surf and turf is on the menu and included, which you don't expect at this price point. Zen was solid. Italian was decent. Agave, the Mexican spot, was the weakest, skip it. The buffet gets a bad rep I think is a bit unfair. The food isn't bad, it's just repetitive after a week. It does get chaotic and crowded at peak hours though. Our trick was going closer to closing time, less of a crowd and they keep refreshing the food all the way to the end so you never miss out on anything. The sports bar food is genuinely forgettable. Two things that actually annoyed me. First, paying to use the billiard table and foosball table at a resort in this price range makes no sense. Second, the a la carte reservation system is a mess. You have to show up at 6pm to book a table for that same night and half the time they're already full. There's no reason they can't guarantee each room a couple of reservations upfront and let you walk in for the rest. This came up almost every day. The Riu Party is everything people say it is and more. Best party I've been to in my life, no exaggeration. Last thing worth knowing, the Riu complex connects four resorts and as a Palace Bavaro guest you can walk through all of them. We did the whole thing. Do not go to Riu Bamboo expecting the same experience. It's a completely different level and the contrast is jarring. Stick to the Palace properties. Big resort, great location, a few things that should be fixed but don't ruin the trip. Worth it. ---