Rating:
"The following is a review for the RIU Palace Punta Cana in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I hadn't posted here previously and thought it would be helpful...better late than never. My husband and I (ages 42 & 39) took our annual 2 week vacation to this fantastic 5+ star resort in August 2007 and highly recommend it to couples and singles alike.

We arrived in Punta Cana on a very warm, sunny day and exactly on time. We were met at the stairs by a rep from the airline and escorted to the baggage area where we only had to wait 15 minutes for the luggage to arrive on the carousel. Once our luggage was collected we made our way to the front of the airport, spoke to a taxi driver regarding a private driver to the resort, and in turn advised the tour operator that we wouldn't be taking the tour bus. The taxi cost $30.00 US from the airport to the RIU Palace. The tour bus is always provided free of charge when you book your vacation with a tour company such as Sunquest yet we have always found it takes twice as long to get to the resort and it's simply worth it to pay for the ride and be at the pool earlier. It is a half hour ride from the airport to the resort.

Location

The RIU Palace Punta Cana is located in the northern part of Punta Cana directly next door to the Bahia Principe to the left and the RIU Bambu to the right if you are looking towards the ocean. Directly in front of the beach at the Palace is an old ship wreck which certainly gives the beach front a piece of character to go along with the white sand and palm trees.

Check-In

The check in process was quick and painless. We arrived well ahead of the bus carrying others from our flight and were therefore the only ones at the desk at the time of arrival. We were greeted with a welcome cocktail and the General Manager was actually the person who opened the door and carried our luggage to the check in! We were provided with our room key, wristbands, ( Only the Palace guests are identified by wristbands, other RIU guests have no bands )2 towel cards, a map of the resort and the complimentary room safe key. Our luggage was gathered up by a bell hop and we were quickly taken to our room overlooking the courtyard. We had written an email request to the resort approximately 4 weeks prior to our trip requesting a room overlooking the courtyard/pool area and they kindly filled this request for us.

The resort is large but not so much so that it requires any sort of tram service to get from one place to another. I would say that it takes approximately 5 minutes to walk from the front lobby area to the beach/pool bar directly in front of the beach itself. There are no umbrellas in the rooms but during our stay it only rained one evening and didn't last longer than 30 minutes. Other resorts we have visited in Cuba and the Dominican Republic have provided umbrellas in the closets of the rooms but this certainly wasn't an issue for us.

One of the best things about this 5+ star resort is that there are several locations throughout the Palace that provide air conditioning for those moments when you've had a bit too much sun during the day. The front lobby is fully enclosed and air conditioned, the room air conditioning is very good and the rooms all have ceiling fans over the bed. In addition the main buffet and all but one of the a la carte's is air conditioned. As well the lobby has a full size washroom and shower area with towels and soap for cleaning up after you have checked out of your room but are not yet on your way to the airport.

Grounds and Beach

The lobby is just incredible with very high ceilings, marble, beautiful lighting, very impressive furniture and a sports bar area where you also find the internet café and 24 hour snack area. In addition the lobby bar has comfortable seating and a piano player in each evening for a couple hours.

The landscaping at this resort is out of this world. It seems like the gardeners are constantly in the flower beds and bushes working away at making them more beautiful. The grass is a perfect green colour and the fountains cover the entire length of walkway from the lobby entrance to the pool area. It is a great walk before and after dinner in the evening.

There are two pools at the RIU Palace Punta Cana and the best thing is that you also have full access to the four other RIU's in Punta Cana and are all within a 10 minute walk of the Palace (Bambu, Macao, Taino, & Naiboa). The first pool is a small wading pool with walk in steps and a seating area for lounging in the water. It is round, above ground and fun for quick dips. It also seemed to be a few degrees cooler than the large pool. The large pool consisted of a number of below water lounge seats in the shallow end, bubbling Jacuzzis and a swim up bar. As reported in other reviews, the pool (at least in the summer months) is quite warm, not a cool refreshing swim. We mentioned this to the Manager while he was touring one day and he explained that July and August are very hot and the pool is located very close to the beach and therefore there isn't much that can be done to make it cooler. He explained that the further back from the beach, the cooler pools will be. Both pools were kept very clean and seemed very well maintained by the pool staff. They also looked after gathering the drink glasses around the area and did an exceptional job each and every day. Despite the warmth of the pool, it didn't hamper a moment of our days spent around the pool and we still did a good deal of swimming and playing with our paddles and ball.

There are a good number of umbrellas located around the pool area. We were there in August and never had a problem finding chairs with an umbrella. We had pool service for drinks and once every 10 minutes or so our pool server Cesarin, the best bartender at the entire resort, would come and take our order. He really was exceptional in the making and delivery of the drinks and I would suggest to everyone that you sit in the area that he looks after each day. If you do, tell him that we send our best. Don't forget to tip these servers, they work very hard to make your vacation memorable. We didn't spend our days at the beach but heard from others that the servers also took drink orders on the beach for those staying at the RIU Palace.

The beach itself is stunning, with white sand and many palm trees. In fact the RIU properties appear to have the most or only trees on the beach and this was a good touch in my opinion as there was always a place to go out of the sun. There are no umbrellas located on the beach but they are not necessary because of the great number of trees for coverage. As well, the beach is both wide and long and never seemed crowded. The ocean was a tad rough during our stay but not rough enough to keep the boats or other water sports off the water.

Scuba Caribe runs the watersports program at the RIU resorts and I believe they also run the program at other resorts along the beach. Included complimentary with your stay at the RIU is kayaks, catamaran, windsurfing, boogie boards, sunfish and scuba lessons in the pool each day. The time limit for most of these services is one hour per day. There are also paid services available including sunset cruises, parasailing, ATV tours, scuba doos and diving/snorkelling. If you want to make use of the catamarans, make sure to reserve ahead of time as the reservations fill up quickly, and I suggest making reservations days ahead of time. Excursions booked at the Scuba Caribe can be paid for by Visa or Mastercard, but only for amounts above $100.00

Keep an eye out for the professional photographers that walk around the pool each day with parrots or iguanas to pose for pictures with. They take excellent pictures and they are developed each day and are kept at the Bambu. If you like the pictures taken that day you can purchase the 5" x 7" photos. They will also print extras and will schedule photo sessions if you wish.

Rooms

All rooms in the resort are junior suites in the 4 storey building and there are several elevators located throughout the hotel. Our first week we were located in one of the regular junior suites facing the courtyard on the third floor and during the second week we upgraded to one of the larger suites on the first floor closer to the pool than the first room. Either way, the rooms are very well laid out with either two queens or one king bed. They are very firm beds but no problem to sleep on.

In every room you will find the famous RIU mini bar with fully stocked fridge of water and pop and above the fridge is the liquor dispenser consisting of full bottles of rum, brandy, vodka and gin. If you enjoy tea or coffee each morning, there is no coffee maker or tea kettle but there is room service available. I talked to a couple from the UK who wish they had known to bring their portable kettle. Keep in mind however that the voltage is the standard North American 110 volts.

In addition the rooms are nicely decorated, and have a seating area with couch, and table, telephone, clock-radio with alarm, satellite TV (19") with a lot of English stations (network channel NBC, cartoon channels, CNN, movie channels, sports channels, etc.) and balcony. There is a full bathroom with Jacuzzi tub and shower, hairdryer, and makeup mirror. In the room you will find shampoo, bath gel, shower cap and wash clothes. Beware that the water in the Dominican from the taps is not potable, DO NOT DRINK IT ! Use the water provided in the fridge for brushing your teeth, taking your meds, etc. The mini fridge is refilled every other day but if you need water sooner, just ask.

The electricity in the rooms is the same as in North America, 110 volt, your plugs for hair dryers, etc. will fit in the outlets just fine. There was turn down service for the bed each evening but if you don't require it, just put the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door. The maid service throughout our two week stay was very good, always cleaned by the late morning. We left a $2 US tip each day for her and in return she left us towel artJ

Bars and Drinks

We are far from heavy drinkers but we did have a few drinks throughout the day at the pool and a glass or two of wine each evening at dinner. As I mentioned above, the pool server named Cesarin was the best bartender we came across during our stay. The drinks were always consistent and delivered with a smile. There was a wide range of international brand liquors to choose from and the wine at the restaurants consisted of selections from Italy, Chile and Spain in both red and white. If you want a good Margarita then see Cesarin the poolside server and ask him for one, plus ask for the rim to be salted.

Restaurants

All of the restaurants (except the beach steakhouse restaurant) are air conditioned. Men must wear long pants at all the restaurants in the evenings at dinner, something my husband didn't like, but at least it's only an hour or so and you can go back and change back to shorts right after. There was no restriction placed on the better sexJ But we did see women wearing casual pants, skirts and one was wearing an evening gown...very varied in the buffet for certain. Breakfast is served at the main buffet and you can have Mimosas for breakfast every day.

We found that the buffet restaurant each evening had the best selection of food but there are a la cartes available to choose from each evening including an Italian, Japanese, Steakhouse and Brazilian.

During the day there is a lunch/snack bar buffet with table service for drinks. It is located directly on the beach with a great view of the water. There is a salad bar, hot food, pastas, hamburgers, hotdogs, French fries and nachos and cheese type fare to choose from.

Internet Access

Internet access is located in the Sports Bar and costs $5.00 for each 25 minutes of service, yet if you are a RIU Class card member you get double the time for the same price. Don't forget to bring your card or sign up for one prior to your vacation and bring along a print out of it. I understand it takes 6-8 weeks to receive the actual card by mail so I just gave them the print out and had no problem. I found the Internet speed consistent and comparable to high speed in Canada. No problems logging in. As well the card will entitle you to a 15% discount on merchandise at the stores and at the Scuba Caribe among other places.

Money exchange

Money can be exchanged at the front desk. You can buy US dollars, or Dominican Pesos. Never a problem with exchange and the rate seemed fair.

Spa

The spa is located beside the pool area and the "Mini Caribbean" street on the other side. There are a number of spa services available but I didn't use any of them. There is a Jacuzzi room located at the back of the spa that is free of charge and a really nice addition to the resort. There are two jacuzzi's in this area, one being warm water and the other very cool. There are open windows surrounding the jacuzzi's looking out on the beach and it is very relaxing. Highly recommend you check it out.

Summary

In conclusion, we were very impressed with our first visit to Punta Cana and third visit to a RIU hotel. The service was exceptional, the resort itself absolutely gorgeous and the beach was top notch. I can't comment on the entertainment in the evenings because we never attend the shows. They just always seem the same at every resort location.

I would recommend this resort for singles and couples alike but wouldn't say this is the ideal location for families with young children. I think you would likely be better off at a Breezes or Club Med type location for that. There is a kids club in place but there weren't a lot of small children there and therefore the ones who were could have got bored rather quickly. Just an observation from a childless couple so likely not worth much. If you are considering this location for a honeymoon or romantic getaway, look no further, this is a great place!

As a final note, the airport is not like the airport at Puerto Plata and the only duty free you can buy there is Rum and cigars. There are no other liquors so if you were planning to buy some additional liquor to bring home, you will need to go into town, or buy at your airport before the vacation. Talk to your cabbie or the front desk staff about shopping outside of the resort. It is safe to go into town, and my husband took the public bus into Plaza Bavaro. Cost about 25 cents US and then when he came back, did so by taxi, $10.00 US. Going into town was not that much fun as you are constantly urged to buy merchandise or enter stores. However there were some nice little cantinas where my husband had a beer and watched the locals going about their daily routine.

LOVED THIS RESORT and considedring a return in July 2009!!!!!"
Reviewer: lovlos
Date: Mar. 10, 2009