Riu Palace Bavaro - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

11121 reviews

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  Clean Property with Beautiful Beach

  Property was clean and beach is beautiful. Decent value. This is a huge property and that creates issues. Breakfast at the buffet was chaotic. There was not a host stand to seat people so guests just grabbed empty tables or tables that appeared to be empty. It would take awhile for someone to take your drink order and no one was going to the tables offering water or coffee refills. The operation could be better managed to work out these issues. Entertainment was mediocre and one night there were technical issues. There was no place on the beach to place empty cups and trash so people were leaving them on the ground and no one from the resort was walking around picking up items.

  Jan 26, 2026
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  Would return for sure!

  My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this resort a would return! I’ll break it down, The beach is nice. There are no palapas but the trees do a great job of shading areas for those who need it. The water was warm but when we were there it was very windy so the waves would take you out lol. There are panhandlers but they will go away with a “no, thank you”. Front desk service was great anytime we needed it. The rooms were clean, but the pillows had kind of a musk smell which I had read before … and we weren’t always stocked up on water (and we tipped well at the beginning of the week). We enjoyed the steakhouse and the Japanese restaurant as well as American country bar. The Tani buffet was good because our people made it our favorite spot (Paco, Crismeli and Salas) Yohan and Darian at the adult only pool bar will treat you well - help them with tips. We always tip because these people are poor and need the help they can get. The pools were great som for families and some for adults. Lots of seating. I would recommend going to the beach early morning if you want chairs down there. Apparently you can use all three riu resorts , we never did. Only the riu bambu we went to, for the themed riu parties which we highly recommend for a good party time! A couple of bug bites nothing crazy. I read about dirty rooms and musty smells… but it is a huge resort and it wasn’t something that really bothered me and I am fussy when it comes to yucky smells. So like I said nothing that I thought needed attention enough to make a call or complaint. Be careful when booking excursions, the transportation seems to be miscommunicating and it wasnt just for us. Overall we enjoyed our week and our time spent in Punta Cana !

  Jan 25, 2026
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  3rd time staying at à Riu place and not our last!

  We were very pleased with our stay at the Rio Palace Bavaro. It was our first time to Punta Cana the hotel was incredibly clean, food options were endless, and we never had to make a reservation for an à la cart. We had some minor issues with our room that never got resolved, such as our TV not working properly, but overall a great experience. Also, I was glad to see they had some non-dairy options, such as almond milk and soy milk. This is often hard to find at large resorts.

  Jan 23, 2026
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  Amazing holiday

  The resort was lovely, staff were amazing, weather was beautiful. Clean places, lovely pools, food was amazing .

  Jan 22, 2026
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  Nightmare

  My wife and I arrived at this hotel on the 30th Dec after a week on a Marella cruise, with no welcome drink and hardly a smile on reception. Room was great, large and clean. Resturants are disapointing with a booking system that is a joke, as you have to join large queues at 18.00hrs to get a table. We found the beach was good but litter wasnt cleared in the mornings from the previos day. Entertainment included painful karaoke nights and wasnt up to much. On out last day on the 6th Jan 2026, we were told we would be collected at noon from the reception and would need to be there 15 minutes early. We waited and a TUI bus pulled up at 11.50hrs and the bus driver came over to us, I asked if this was our bus, but he spoke no english and used an app on his phone to talk to us, I wanted to be sure it was our bus, so asked a hotel porter to ask if it was our bus. He spoke to the driver and assured us it was our bus so we got on. When we got to the airport the driver asked me for money and became agresive when I explained I had no money on me and the transfer cost was included in our holiday? When we got into the airport we shockingly discovered it was the wrong airport. Furthermore, there were no TUI reps there either, thankfuly a lady helped us who spoke english and arranged a taxi which cost me $120 (cash only so had to use cashpoint) and took an hour to get to the La Romana from Punta Canna airport. I will never return to this hotel as its a poorly run waste of hard earnt money.

  Jan 22, 2026