Riu Palace is fairly isolated from the other hotels and away from cities. It is well-maintained and close to the beach, and the various restaurants have varied and interesting menus. The rooms are large and cool and for the most part pretty quiet. I got a bout of stomach flu and they had a doctor close by who fixed me up in no time. There is plenty of parking close to the hotel in case you bring a rental car

The front gate process sometimes takes some time, and when you check in for the first time, you need to have your reservation number and passport ready. They will not let you have your room until 3 pm so if you come in on an early flight, you will not be able to get your room until then. They will let you leave your suitcases in the lobby and they will check you in so you can go and change in the bathrooms on the main floor and head out into the sun and enjoy the restaurants early.

Good variety and flavor. The staff was awesome.

Dinner time. The way is set up. Too little restaurants for the amount of guests. The capacity of people is too little specially for the gourmet and Italian rests. Maybe having a reservation process will be better than just getting there to eat and find out that you have to wait and see if you can get in. Unacceptable, for the amount of money paid for an all inclusive .

The property is gorgeous! Multiple pools and they were all very clean. The food was very good there are a lot of options at the buffets. We weren’t crazy about the food at the optional “a la carte” restaurants but still a good option to have if you’re celebrating an occasion. They had activities and shows almost every night. Would consider this to be more of a family friendly resort as there were a lot of children so I would avoid if you’re looking for a honey moon or party experience. The bartenders are incredible! However they do not offer top shelf or a wide variety of liquors so I would recommend to bring your own if you have a preference. There is no ATM on the property or near it just FYI… there is one about 20 mins away, but you won’t really need cash anyway. The beach was not very impressive it was quite small but still lovely.. know that you will be bombarded by people selling souvenirs, excursions, massages etc. when you go to the beach. They don’t work for the hotel. Overall a good experience and a VERY good value for the price. *PSA* Liberia airport is the closest to this resort. We flew into San Jose and our taxi was $550 round trip and took about 4 hours to get there.

The rooms definitely need some updates. The glass on our shower was cracked, there was some stains on our bedding, furniture was old…. But it was VERY clean so we felt ok, we didn’t spend much time in the room anyhow. The WiFi connection isn’t the best but we were grateful it was available. There needs to be a little more lighting by the pools when it gets dark as this is a safety hazard. Not that people were in the pools at night but it was getting dark at 5pm while we were there and I’m sure people still want to enjoy a swim at this time.

I had issues with the cost upon arrival and the staff was not helpful at ALL and I am appreciate all of the efforts by Booking.com to resolve the issue for me. Aside from that, the service staff was excellent, but I do not care for front desk and the management team in Punta Cana who apparently make all decisions. Very unfortunate. Based on that we will never do a RIU resort again and cannot recommend.

I had issues with the cost upon arrival and the staff was not helpful at ALL and I am appreciate all of the efforts by Booking.com to resolve the issue for me. Aside from that, the service staff was excellent, but I do not care for front desk and the management team in Punta Cana who apparently make all decisions. Very unfortunate. Based on that we will never do a RIU resort again and cannot recommend.

It was clean, many activities

They charged me $1500 more than what booking.com mentioned, but with help of booking.com customer service it refunded

Quality of service and food were outstanding. Staff is friendly. Hard workers! The place was clean and felt safe. Kids pool area was good. The room was good and roomy for 2 people. It was like being on a nice cruise ship but on land.

Communication of events happening around resort would have been appreciated. We were expecting a lush environment instead of a dry one. So many people saving lounge chairs early in the morning around the pools areas was negative. Resort is located in a more isolated rural area. The hotel charged $78 (USD) for a small load of laundry! Staff didn't inform my son-in-law that it was going to be that expensive! What a RIP OFF! Was informed of this charge after I wrote review.

Amazing location with great surroundings and nature, great buffet food, good facilities, nice pools, great beach, nice gardens, helpfully and friendly stuff, lots of entertainment.

General interior design is lacking in comparison with many other 5* hotels. Lobby feels like train station, corridors have the feel of a hospital or mental institution, but rooms are the worst. Cheap amd realy badly painted DIY plywood furniture. It was the saddest lookin room we ever stayed in (and we stayed in probably 40-50 5* hotels around the world over last few years). Real shame as the area, staff etc. is all great. Also restaurants (apart from Japanese) are quite average and not worth the eait, which is weird as the buffets are amazing with huge variety of tasty food. Lastly they have smart TVs but with app casting unavailable for some reason which is pretty much standard now in most hotels.

The omelette was fresh and handed directly to me. The pineapple and papaya were excellent ( I reached to the back of the tray, so it was untouched) and the coffee from the machine in the small snack room was excellent.

The room was distastefully decorated ( purple and black) and the tub and sink area were literally a part of the room. We arrived on a weekend afternoon which made the entire place appear overly populated and tacky. HOWEVER, the week days were less crowded and loud…and the staff was sweet and pleasant so they/we salvaged our stay!

The staff and the entertainment crew is amazing. The property is beautiful and maintained very well. The welcome white party and the pool party were a blast! We had so much fun! The food and drinks are amazing! We did have to change rooms after the first night, Rooms on the ground floor have mildew from obvious repetitive water damage. The cleaning staff was working hard constantly keeping things clean, a challenge in a very humid environment. The staff was very attentive and determined to make our experience wonderful! They succeeded!

Mildew see above

We loved every part of our stay here! The views were incredible, staff was amazing and friendly, very attentive, particularly would love to mention the service from Jordan at the inside bar. The food was so good, so much variety to choose from. We loved that there was a gym and the choice to join some activities. The beach was beautiful and easy to walk to. We never had an issue getting drinks or food when we wanted. I would love to return here one day, it was a great place to visit for our first all inclusive experience.

The aircon wasn't very cold, only issue we found as it was quite hot at night.