Riu Palace Macao

We recently stayed at Hotel Riu Palace Macao and had an amazing experience overall! The weather was beautiful, the resort never felt overcrowded, and the service was exceptional from beginning to end. Special thanks to Amelie and Diamond at the front desk, Marco and Palano in the dining areas, Jose at the bar, and the hardworking housekeeping staff. Everyone we encountered was friendly, welcoming, and attentive. The food was great, the drinks were plentiful, and there was always something to do around the resort. We would absolutely recommend this resort to anyone visiting Punta Cana. We also booked the dune buggy excursion through the hotel and had a great time. Transportation was included, but be prepared to spend some extra time on the jitney since they stop at multiple hotels to pick up other guests. When we arrived at the excursion site, there were many locals selling souvenirs and extras, which felt a bit overwhelming at first. The excursion cost about $75 per person, but goggles and bandannas for the dust were an additional charge. The goggles were around $10 and the bandannas about $5. I used a towel we had purchased to cover my face, and some type of face covering is definitely necessary because it gets very dusty. Once the activity started, we really enjoyed it! You travel in a large guided group, and the speed is controlled, so don’t expect to go full throttle the entire time — but it was still a fun experience. A few helpful travel tips: • Bring small bills for tipping ($1s, $5s, and $10s). • Use the room safe for valuables. • Bring your own insulated cup with a lid for drinks. • Pack cards or small games for the evenings. • The room includes a hair dryer, but it’s not very strong, so consider bringing your own. There are also nearby shops within walking distance that sell essentials you may forget, including flip-flops, deodorant, feminine products, first aid items, and souvenirs. We never had trouble finding chairs at the beach or pool, although some guests reserved cabanas very early in the morning since they provided the best shade. Since we traveled outside peak tourist season, seating was easy to find. Most importantly, be kind to the staff. Even attempting a simple “thank you” in Spanish is appreciated, and tipping the workers — including housekeeping — goes a long way. They truly work hard to make your stay enjoyable!

Thank you to all the staff who made our holiday very relaxing and enjoyable. A special thank you to Roosevelt and Polanco in the main restaurant who helped me with my coeliacs which means I can't eat gluten. They made sure I had lots of nice things to eat. Thank you.

Best hotel with the entertainment

Review Me and my husband came to Riu Hotel Palace Macao for our 10 year anniversary and we are already planning our next trip here. We got the elite package and felt that it was totally worth it. We came to relax and loved the elite beach area and bar. We are not big drinkers so we did not take advantage of the alcohol perks but still felt that the elite package was worth it. When we checked in we got to go into the elite lounge and have someone check us in. We felt all of the staff were super nice and helpful. We definitely liked the vibe here as well. I felt the facilities were clean and well kept. The dining options were really good. The Elite restaurant alone was worth the package price in my opinion. The food was incredible and we ended up eating there 3 of our 6 nights. We also ate at the buffet, they had good options there but some of the foods were just ok. We also ate at the steak house and the Asian restaurant. We ate with Degoberto and Alejandra most days for breakfast. They were super nice and made us feel welcome to each meal. Elite has its own buffet dining area. The on site coffee shop was really cute and was open really late. It has more of a focus on espresso, so a cup of coffee would be a larger serving of espresso with more water. It was a very good quality. We did not really participate in the daily activities because we just wanted to be on the beach but there were plenty of activities throughout the day. We did bingo two evenings before dinner but that was the extent. The evening was also full of activities. Always live music to listen to. Shows were done several nights. Karaoke was done one night, a favorite of mine. Trivia a couple of nights. One of our favorite things was the Riu parties. We are not big on going to clubs at home but the parties were over the top and the music was really good. We went to all of them. The only thing I would do differently next time to try to get a room away from the evening entertainment. Our room was right over that area and it lasted until about 11:30 each night. It wasn’t a deal breaker but it would have been nice to have a quiet room in the evenings. We are already planning our next trip.

I have just returned from a 10 night stay at Riu Palace Macao and we had the most amazing time! I went with my boyfriend, sister and brother in law and our age range is 26-30. Room - We stayed in the deluxe double room and were very impressed. The room was spacious and had lots of storage space, including the wardrobe and drawers. There was even lots of hangers, which is always useful! The bed is one of the comfiest hotel beds I’ve ever slept in, as well as the pillows. The air con was really good as well and was consistent and actually kept the room really cool. The mini fridge was restocked everyday with Pepsi, Fanta, Sprite, beer and water. The bathroom was a generous size and the whole room was cleaned/tidied immaculately everyday. We have no complaints about the room at all! Food & Drink - Firstly, I would like to say how incredible some of the waiters are; David, Angel David and German!! They were so friendly and welcoming and polite and kept us topped up every day with Mimosas! All of the wait staff were really nice but these three really stood out for us! The buffet restaurant was brilliant and there was lots of choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There were different themes each night including Mexican, American, Spanish and Italian. I am coeliac and can only eat gluten free and there was so many options for me which I was so impressed with. The food was good quality and there was a great selection of meats, vegetables, fruits, cheeses as well as others. The dessert options were also really good! The only à la carte restaurant we ate at was the steakhouse, which we were really impressed with. The only downside was there was no gluten free option for dessert. As we did not visit the other à la carte restaurants, I can’t comment on these. The coffee shop/bar was great and offered a range of sandwiches and pastries (not gluten free) and fruit and smoothies. The iced coffees were really nice! The sports bar is a good size and has foosball and pool table, though I think you need to pay for this. There’s several TV’s and the staff give you the remote to select what you’d like to watch. The sports bar is open 24/7 and there’s a good selection of food here; nachos, burger, sandwiches, salad and muffins. Pepe’s pool bar is really good and has a good choice of food if you don’t want to attend the main buffet. The drink menu for the entire hotel is amazing, there’s lots of choice and the bar staff will also make anything you request. The quality of the drinks, both alcoholic and soft drinks, were so good. Pool / Beach area - Juana is one of the waitresses at the pool area and she is absolutely incredible!! She came to our loungers regularly everyday to take our drinks order and even remembered our orders without us asking - she really is an asset to the hotel! The pool area itself is a really good size. There are 3 pools; the main one with the loungers in the pool, a smaller one and the swim up pool bar. All are really good. The temperature of pool water was perfect. There are plenty of loungers and there were some still free at about 9:30/10am. Due to the time difference we were up quite early and went down to get our loungers at about 7am and there were plenty to choose from. There are about 10 cabanas however these were all already reserved by about 6:30am. The pool side entertainment was good and consisted of a games and music. It was really good vibes! The entertainment staff were friendly but they weren’t pushy with trying to get you involved with the activities, which we really liked. We’ve been to a few resorts before where the staff can be a bit too pushy with trying to get you involved, where aa at this hotel it was super chilled! The swim up pool bar has music in afternoons which can be a bit loud but it’s not all afternoon and we found this good as it added a good vibe. The hotel is literally on the beach and the beach area is beautiful. There’s so many loungers on the beach and on the sand between the hotel and the sea, so there’s never any worry to get a lounger here. There was a little bit of seaweed but that’s as to be expected and was not an issue. The sea was gorgeous!! Spa / Gym - we went to the gym a few times which is open 24 hours a day. It’s a decent size and has a good variety of equipment. The spa area is absolutely gorgeous and you can book the indoor pool area (with 2 jacuzzi’s and a cold plunge jacuzzi) for free as many times as you like. We visited it nearly every day and really loved this area. There’s loungers and beds to lie on, it’s super chilled there! Casino - we went to the casino a few times. It’s a good size and lots of slots to play on. There is also roulette, blackjack, poker and bingo. The casino is independent to the hotel and drinks are free for players only. Hotel area - the hotel itself was so clean and it’s kept in immaculate condition, both indoors and out. The hotel is modern and decorated really nicely. It didn’t feel overcrowded and had a really nice feel to it. I’d seen a few negative reviews and sometimes Riu hotels can have a reputation for being loud and more like a club, however this hotel is nothing like that. There are Riu parties within the resort however this was not in palace Macao and the parties did not impact or affect us staying at this hotel. The area for the Riu parties is located within a different part of the resort. We didn’t go to the nightclub so cannot comment on this but we spoke to other guests who said it was really good. There’s a shop onsite which sells pretty much everything you need. The evening entertainment was really good and there is a really good mix of entertainment. There’s lots of places to sit outside on an evening for a drink and to watch/listen to the entertainment. The waiters and waitresses are really friendly as well. It’s really easy walk to the other Riu hotels and despite the hotels being within walking distance of each other, it felt nice and private at Palace Macao! The weather was absolutely perfect. We were a bit worried as the weather apps said rain and thunderstorms, however we didn’t have any rain at all and it was sunny everyday. We had the best time at this hotel and are already planning to return next year!! I definitely recommend this hotel!