Riu Republica

Our stay at RIU Republica in Punta Cana was extremely disappointing. The resort is outdated, unkempt, poorly maintained, and nowhere near the standard we expected. Although the front desk staff were wonderful and check-in was easy, the airport transfer took far too long due to multiple hotel stops. We also had to carry our own luggage to our room, and only one elevator was working. Our room had rust throughout the bathroom, shower, and closet doors, stained bedsheets, and unpleasant-smelling water. On day three, we had no hot water, and maintenance never showed up despite being notified. Housekeeping was excellent for the first couple of days, but afterward, the floors weren’t even mopped unless we specifically requested it. The minibar was rarely restocked, and requests through the app took hours. The resort grounds were equally disappointing. On our first morning walking to the gym, we found a USED CONDOM lying on the ground! Absolutely disgusting. The gym equipment was broken, the treadmills were rusted, and the facility was overcrowded. Breakfast was one of the few highlights, thanks especially to Matias, a wonderful staff member in the breakfast area. The food was good, although repetitive, and the mimosas were a nice touch. Yuma at the pool bar was absolutely amazing and entertaining, but the same 70s, 80s, and 90s music played repeatedly. There was also no nightly entertainment, which was surprising for an adults-only resort. The jerk chicken near the beach was delicious, but dinner selections were disappointing and the restaurants overcrowded. The so-called sports bar served cold, pre-wrapped hamburgers and hotdogs. Another guest even told us she found glass in her hamburger! If you’re expecting a peaceful, relaxing, mature adults-only atmosphere, LOOK ELSEWHERE! This resort caters to a younger party crowd. We even witnessed someone vomiting on the grass near the palm trees. While a few staff members genuinely made an effort, they cannot compensate for the resort’s poor cleanliness, lack of maintenance, disappointing food, and overall atmosphere. We would NEVER recommend RIU Republica, nor would we EVER return. This vacation was a complete waste of money, and our biggest regret was not spending the additional $1,000 to stay at a proper five-star resort. We certainly learned our lesson. Save your money and book somewhere else!

Unfortunately, my stay at Riu Republica has been very disappointing. The problems started immediately upon arrival. After approximately 12 hours of travelling, I arrived at the resort around 9 PM, exhausted and looking forward to finally settling into my room. Instead, I was given a room number and left to find it on my own. The resort is enormous, and the confusing room numbering system makes it unnecessarily difficult for first-time guests to navigate. I ended up wandering around the property, getting lost while trying to locate my room. When I finally found it, I discovered that the room appeared to still be occupied, with other guests' belongings inside. I then had to return to reception and was assigned another room. This one had three separate beds instead of the double bed I wanted, was not properly cleaned, had a noisy ceiling fan and was missing equipment. When I raised the issue with the three beds, staff members seemed to find the situation amusing rather than taking my concerns seriously. After yet another room change, the TV in my new room was not working either. The beach itself is decent, but unfortunately, that is one of the few positive aspects of my experience so far. To make matters worse, a waiter spoke to me in an aggressive and unfriendly manner in Spanish. Another major issue for me is the language barrier. In my experience, very few people here seem to speak English, and almost all the conversations I have heard around the resort have been in Spanish. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but I would not recommend this hotel as a first choice for guests who do not speak Spanish, particularly solo travelers hoping to meet English-speaking people. I am though not sure if it's only the case in my particular time of stay. The drinks are also very inconsistent. Their strength varies significantly, even when prepared by the same bartender. One drink can be noticeably stronger or weaker than the next, making the quality and alcohol content unpredictable. Overall, the combination of room problems, unprofessional service, communication difficulties and inconsistent drink quality has made my stay unpleasant. I am seriously considering changing hotels. Based on my experience so far, I cannot recommend Riu Republica.

I am a Riu fan, we have stayed in several Riu Palace locations in several countries. We really did not know what to expect. We are older and not big partiers anymore. I loved this place, we stayed in the front area, the pool played 70/80/90s music many GenX people having a great time. The other end was younger hard partiers. We ate the buffet each day, good salad bar. Staff was super friendly and our JR suite was recently upgraded. Loved the jacuzzi tub. Be friendly to staff, por favor and gracias goes a long way to great service. I will say I would come back in a heartbeat.

i absolutely love the riu ever time i stay it’s a beautiful experience we had fun the pools n resort were beautiful excursions were awesome literally can’t complain only thing is i wish it was easier to get a steak house reservation

Terrible horrible words cannot express how disgusting this place is the outside is pretty the lawn is well kept but the room I had was a mess paint falling from feeling elevator stuck with me and other guess for half an hour, they had no sence of urgency to get us out the food is nasty the let us know they don’t supply wash rags we have to request it honestly it’s the worse hotel I’ve been in my entire life the television never work from the time I got there until the time I leave and they day someone is coming to take a look at it up until we left I have seen a picture on that tv it was as if some held me at gun point and rob my money the way I feel and the never give back a simple compensation we were told to send our complaint to complaints@riu.com all they did was apologize then tell us to send the complaint to Expedia who sell us the vacation then Expedia made a gesture by giving us 1 key chain it’s not fair for people to spend their money and be treated like this