Riu Palace Macao

Beautiful hotel, good food and excellent service. The hotel was well maintained and rooms well serviced. The evening entertainment was good on the whole, daytime could be a little loud. The negatives were that we had a huge shower cubicle in our room but the ceiling shower did not work and the wall shower was extremely poor - you had to hug the wall to get wet. The pigeons on the balcony were annoying as they were noisy and dirty. The room was noisy at night so an early night was out of order! I think the biggest negative was the noise - there were so many noisy American and Canadian guests that just liked to shout all the time and never left the pool with the swim up bar!

This was my 3rd try at Punta Cana and although the best of them, came away fairly disappointed. Since booking several months prior, I watched and/or read just about every review, so had really high hopes. Booked Sunwing which became WestJet flight and was fine. Plane seating a little tight but I survived. PUJ airport ok but a little confusing finding the correct transportation, but again I survived. Close to 5 pm on Sunday arriving at resort, check in with Rodrigo was excellent however at 5pm, our room not ready??? Came back about 5:30 and it was. Grounds, room, pool, beach all very nice and well maintained. 1 problem, in room safe locked on arrival, so I couldn't use it. Reported it to front desk 3 times, and on RIU app 5 times over 3 days and only by dumb luck of me trying different codes every day, it opened on Tuesday!! Nobody from the resort ever came. At least I could use it now. Reviews talked of plenty of sun beds available without "saving" them at 6 am.... Not true. People would leave their things there and be gone all day! 99% of staff from front desk, to servers, to cleaners, bar staff and entertainment were very pleasant, friendly, and helpful!!! But there was the other handful who weren't. And they became the noticeable ones because of the miserable demeanor. Not the best job probably, but I bet there is someone else who would appreciate it! And whether you don't like tipping or not .. TIP!! They absolutely appreciate it! Food. Biggest disappointment yet! Reviews praised it. Must have been an off week! Breakfast buffet was the best meal. However with that being said nothing was ever hot if supposed to be or cold if it was supposed to be... Almost room temp. For some reason, every piece of meat from hot dog (?) , burgers, steak, chicken was just beyond well done and dry. Volare, Italian, was the best of the a la carte restaurants... Steaks at steakhouse so tough, they were hard to cut! Or and well done (requested not well). Krystal short ribs good... A friend loved the red snapper there. Did not even try Asian due to menu. All in all not a good food week and that's coming from one who's been to dozens of all inclusives. Nightly entertainment pretty bad. Singers just singing with a recording like high class karaoke. Diva show good. Violin soloist great! At the close, although we made the best of it, enjoyed what we could but probably won't return. Sorry RIU

Great Experience But not Excellent. Minor tweaks would make it stellar. #1 Handicap Assability is poor. We were there with a friend in a wheelchair. They had no Handicap rooms available. Cobblestone trails make it hard to push. Also no handicap access to the beach. It would be nice if RIU would build beach platforms for wheel chairs. Right on the sand. With enough room for 6 wheel chairs and chairs for their partners. The food was excellent, along with the rooms and service. Entertainment was also Great. We stayed in an Elite room with a pool which is worth the upgrade. The gift was sub par, cheap cup, a bag and a $5 bottle of sparkling wine. The appetizers in the Elite restaurant were terrible however, the surf and turf was superb. #2 Laundry, 48 hour turnaround. The property could put a laundry room in with 10 machines $5 / load and make a fortune. That would allow guest to wash at their leisure. Keep it open 24/7. Most guest stay a week and don't need laundry services till their 5th day. Entertainment was great, nice shows. It would have been great to see some Stand- Up Comedians. Doing two shows in English and Spanish. RIU could certainly get a contract with a Comedy Circuit to provide Comedians to all of their Properties. We will definitely be Back and had a Wonderful stay.

Room Upon entering the room, the first thing we noticed was a strong, musty smell. The room appeared unclean, the bathroom sink had a large crack, and the view was very disappointing — it overlooked the back of the hotel and directly faced rooms from the neighbouring property. We returned to reception and paid for an upgrade. The new suite’s highlight was undoubtedly the stunning sea view from the generous balcony — absolutely worth it. Food & Restaurants There are five different restaurants (including the Elite Club restaurant), all offering delicious food. However, the buffet truly stood out. The variety was incredible — I have never seen lobster and caviar offered at a buffet before. Elite Club guests also have access to a separate breakfast menu. On our first occasion ordering from the Elite Club breakfast menu, the food was beautifully presented and tasted excellent, just like in the pictures. However, on a second visit, we waited 45 minutes for the same dishes. After reminding the waiter, he apologised and the food arrived quickly — unfortunately, the quality was noticeably lower, as if it had been hastily assembled from buffet items. The same thing happened on another morning, so we eventually chose to stick with the buffet, which was consistently excellent. Hotel & Atmosphere Riu Palace Macao is a beautiful property with a modern, organic design style. Walking through the corridors felt elegant and comfortable. The restaurants were stylish, though the Elite Club restaurant occasionally lacked atmosphere. The Cuban bar was visually stunning, but the lingering musty smell slightly detracted from its charm. Staff & Service The staff were consistently friendly and welcoming. At times, we had to wait or gently remind waiters about drinks or coffee orders, but as the hotel was busy, this was understandable. Drinks Although we didn’t drink much alcohol, the cocktails we tried were tasty and clearly made with good-quality ingredients — especially those served in the Elite Club. Beach The beach was beautiful, and every morning a tractor cleaned away seaweed, which was great to see. If you want the best sunbeds, it’s worth getting up early, as they are taken quickly. Overall Despite the initial disappointment with our original room, we had a beautiful holiday and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We would definitely consider staying with RIU hotels again.

Third stay in two years at this hotel. We visited many Riu's but this one is our favorite. Location is amazing directly on the beach, proporty not to big and the other riu hotels are walking distance. The food is good, buffet for every meal and the a la carte restaurants in the evening also really good ( it would be nice if they changed the menu's maybe twice a year ) drinks are good but the best thing at this hotel and a reason why we are coming back is the staff. We want to thank all of them to make our vacation amazing every time again. We didn't remember all the names but special thanks to: Wilfredo at reception, Adonis from the coffee shop, Pablo, Wilton and Jose from the pool bar, Alojandri from the cubano bar, Jose Juan and Alexander from the buffet/Italian and Luis at the beach! See you next time!