Riu Palace Punta Cana - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

3319 reviews

• 

  Family Vacay Riu Palace Punta Cana

  We took our kids and grandkids to DR and stayed at the lovely Riu Palace Punta Cana. We had an amazing time. The staff and service was wonderful. Big shout outs to Juma & Antanio at La Isabella who always looked out for us. Also to Olvi at the pool for his jovial laughter and wonderful attention. Only downside was the fire alarm that took us out of our room at 1:30 am on our last night. BUT, better safe than sorry.

  Mar 25, 2025
• 

  RIU Punta

  Every bar we went to had someone super friendly, funny, and always ready with a drink and a smile. They remembered our favorite orders, hyped us up with music, and made us feel like VIPs every day. Whether we were chilling by the pool or dancing at night, the bartenders brought the energy. Shoutout to the whole crew behind the bar—you guys are legends! 🍹🔥Every bar we went to had someone super friendly, funny, and always ready with a drink and a smile. They remembered our favorite orders, hyped us up with music, and made us feel like VIPs every day. Whether we were chilling by the pool or dancing at night, the bartenders brought the energy. Shoutout to the whole crew behind the bar—you guys are legends! 🍹🔥

  Mar 25, 2025
• 

  Alarms going off were first sign of trouble

  Our 1st day the alarms were going off every so often until it started to continue into the evening then at 12:30 AM were instructed to evacuate. No manager came to address the large crowd assembled in the stage area. I then returned to my room around 1:30 AM and it had a mildew smell. Day 2- I went to the reception area the next morning and said I wanted another room. I also mentioned that the alarm noise was an issue for me since I get migraines. Rafael switched me to another room but, all night long. we heard shouting and banging doors. Each night it got progressively worse. I then got sick and couldn't move. Day 5- I went for the 3rd time to have my room changed. I spoke with Edwin. He gave me the option of checking the location/room before I moved in. Finally, I was able to have a good's night rest with minimal noise. This was an Anniversary celebration and supposed to be a relaxing vacation, it was not! Our first room was not habitable, and moving 3 times is not how. I wanted to spend my time. You need to get it right the first time. I have been visiting the Dominican Republic for 30+ years and have never had this negative experience in all of the various resorts I have visited. The resort is beautiful and I wanted to mention great service from Esteban & Roberto from the buffet, Marcos one of our servers and two cleaning ladies Dona Maria & Dona Ana. The specialty restaurants were good.

  Mar 24, 2025
• 

  Punta Cana is a beautiful destination

  Punta Cana is a beautiful destination! The sunshine, the blue water, and the softest sand are all amazing! The Hotel Riu Palace was fantastic, for the most part. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Huge shout out to Espinal at the pool bar. He did an outstanding job making sure we were happy and that our drinks were full at all times! Another shout out to Lamares at the La Isabela buffet. We had a group of 8, and he made sure that we were all seated together at the best tables. We ate at 3 of the a la carte restaurants, and they were very good. Unfortunately, there are a few complaints as well. One of our rooms did not have working air conditioning, and it took 3 maintenance visits before a new room was offered. The new room was a handicap room, so it was not ideal, but it worked. On our last night, alarms in the rooms started going off at 1:30am and lasted a good hour or so. After they had stopped for a while, an announcement came over the speakers for us to evacuate the building, so we all headed down to the lobby. There were many upset guests in the lobby, and it was not a good experience. After about an hour, we went back to our rooms, just to be woken up again by the alarms at 7am. Not a good way to end a fantastic vacation. Unfortunately, we will not be returning to this hotel.

  Mar 24, 2025
• 

  Avoid Riu hotels

  Room was okay. Food is very bad. Only the buffet was edible. There are 4 restaurants with only 4 menu items (4 Appy, 4 main, 4 dessert) and the food is barely edible. Drinks are mixed as cheaply as possible so expect lots of weird syrup or off tasting drinks. Upper management male staff seem to be quite sexist due to a few interactions on my last days here with my family. I mentioned this at customer service and they seemed to think I was funny instead of taking my complaint seriously. Therein, there is systematic issues within Riu that seem to perpetuate or even encourage sexist behaviour. I will not be booking with Riu again and will encourage my friends, family, and clientele to not use Riu resorts in the future. Friend went on some trip they got from a man wearing a booking.com shirt on the beach in front of the resort but was actually not affiliated with booking.com. They ended up on backroads for 4 hours in the back of a truck a non-English speaking teenager was driving, while the service desk offered no help other than to 'give them the money they ask for otherwise you can be stranded'. They take no responsibility because the beach is public even though it's 20 feet from the resort lunch area. Insanity and so unsafe.

  Mar 24, 2025