Riu Palace Punta Cana Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

The pool

The scene at the Riu Palace Punta Cana is definitely more mature and mellower than at other Rius, or most other all-inclusives for that matter. There are very few children, or spring breakers, and the average age is at least 50. Unlike the 24-hour booze fest found at many Riu properties, the emphasis here is on the ornate décor, upscale dining, and very casual drinking.

The grand resort, which opened in 2006 and is the newest hotel in a five-resort complex, sits at the top of a very steep hill, with towers on either side reminiscent of a Moroccan sultanate. The lobby is filled with chandeliers, and replica paintings adorn walls throughout the interior. The style: glitzy on a budget.

The resort very clearly dies down after the evening dance-type show ends at 11 p.m. (only the sports bar stays open past midnight). For late-night kicks, guests need to walk 15 minutes along dark paths to the Pacha disco on the Disney-esque Caribbean Street, in the center of the Riu complex. The disco attracts younger revelers from the sister properties, as well as a number of locals -- particularly younger staffers who work on the massive property. But don't forget your wallet: the Palace may hype it's 24-hour all-inclusiveness, but the disco's bar charges for drinks.

A porter handles luggage

The Riu Palace motto is "It's all about you." I didn't quite feel that way -- how could it be all about me in a 600-room hotel? But given the size and scale of the property, service is solid.

Initially, check-in was simple, even speedy. The desk attendant issued me some luggage tags, which I then had to deliver to a bellman, who would then bring my bags to the room. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the room, the door was already open, there were towels all over the floor, the bed was a mess, and the lights were on in the bathroom. Fortunately, I was able to find a housekeeper in the hall who immediately began cleaning it and told me to return in 15 minutes. I left the room, and when I returned I called the front desk to ask about my luggage. Someone brought them to my room only five minutes later. The porter also fixed my television, which wasn't fully plugged into the wall.

My room service order arrived quite promptly, and service at the à la carte restaurant, Rodizio, was very attentive. The bartenders also did a great job, and I noticed that a lot of guests seemed to be on a first-name basis with their favorite barkeeps.

Interestingly, a few TripAdvisor reviewers mention a lack of English speakers on the staff, but I found that almost everyone communicated quite well. In general, I had no difficulty communicating with the staff. Like most resorts, the front desk attendants are the best English speakers, but here even bellhops, bartenders, and housekeepers seem to have a good command of the language.

View on a Larger Map

The enormous Riu complex is like a village unto itself, but the resort gates are across the street from the Punta Grande golf course, and other nearby resorts include Majestic Colonial, Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana and the Iberostar complex.

The beach

The Riu complex is located along a choice stretch of Bavaro Beach, and guests can walk uninterrupted -- seemingly for miles -- past four Riu resorts (the fifth, Hotel Riu Naiboa, is set back from the water). The sand is sugary soft, and the big turquoise waves are clear and warm.

From afar, the colors evoke a David Hockney painting. But up close, it's a clotted mass of flesh. I could barely take a step without bumping into someone, and it was a struggle finding lounge chairs, which are lined in rows of 10 back from the water -- that's far more than most all-inclusives.

On the bright side, or actually, the shady side, there are nice little groves of palm trees scattered down the beach providing shelter from the beating sun. Of course these are just as crowded, if not more so, than the rest of the beach.

Another nice feature of the beach is drinks service, which is available from the nearby pool bar. Of course, I only saw a couple waiters, and given how densely populated the beach is, it can get pretty tough to wrangle some attention.

There is also a nice size water sports shack that's shared by all of the resorts in the complex. As is the norm, windsurfing, kayaking, snorkeling, sailing, and boogie boarding are all available free of charge. There is also a shipwreck visible from the beach that's now popular for scuba diving. The Russian freighter known as the Astron was scuttled in 1978, allegedly en route to Cuba.

The Junior Suite

The Riu Palace opened in 2006, and every one of its 612 rooms is a suite. The only thing that makes a room "superior" is its view of the pool and gardens. The standard junior suite looks out to an adjacent lot and mountains in the background (I appreciated the quiet). Guest-room buildings are four stories high, and can be accessed by an elevator. As at many other Rius, I didn't have a slim keycard, but an old-fashioned metal key on a fairly clunky keychain.

The décor is neutral, with dark wood accents and a beige color scheme, but there isn't anything stylish or unique about the rooms; they're basically a place to sleep before heading to the beach. They don't exactly match the opulence of the lobby or the many highly touted amenities.

The rooms tend to smell musty, which is the primary complaint among TripAdvisor reviewers. Even with the fan running and the window open, the smell in my room prevailed, and the bedsheets always felt slightly damp. High humidity is a natural problem in the D.R., but the rooms here seem more affected by it than most resorts.

The king-size bed is as hard as a rock, and most guests have trouble sleeping on it.

All rooms have a large closet that includes a safe (with a key, not electronic) and an ironing board, a sunken seating area with a loveseat, coffee table, and an older Zenith television. The English-language channels are from New York affiliate networks, ESPN News, CNN, and Fox News.

As at every Riu, rooms come with a stocked minibar that includes four bottles of unlimited liquor (all the contents are free). The fridge contents are pretty standard: Pepsi, club soda, 7-Up, orange soda, and a gallon of water. There are also a couple bottles of Brahma beer, which one of my favorite Dominican cab drivers once referred to as "cheapy-cheapy." What isn't cheapy-cheapy, though, is the liquor selection, which is what sets the Palace apart from regular Riu properties. I had Stoli vodka, Gordon's gin, Brugal rum and Veterano Brandy.

The suite has a standard balcony with two chairs and a small table. I greatly appreciated that it has a screen door, a woefully rare occurrence across the D.R. for some reason. I loved being able to let in the night breeze without having to worry about bugs and other small creatures.

The bathroom is a bit cramped, and not at all remarkable (in fact it was smaller than a number of other bathrooms I've had at other Rius). The hotel touts the "hydromassage bathtub," but it looked so narrow I think even one person might feel cramped in it. Bathrooms have a good selection of toiletries, although I managed to receive three bottles of conditioner and no shampoo. On the bright side, regular Rius usually distribute toiletries in annoying paper packets; at the Palace they go all out with real plastic bottles. I had some issues with the blow-dryer; its motor struggled and at times sounded like a weed whacker, and then I couldn't turn it off. It was very stressful.

I also visited my coworker's suite in the Riu Palace Macao, and found that room's décor to be a bit busier with a chintzy gold armchair and random throw rugs. Frankly, it was pretty tacky. On the other hand, I greatly preferred the atmosphere and more relaxed décor of the Macao's common areas, plus my co-worker received a complimentary fruit plate and souvenir figurine. Both resorts offer a nightly turn-down service.

Watersports

The Riu Palace has two swimming pools, although guests can access any pool on the resort's sister properties. A series of decorative shallow pools stretches out from the main lobby toward the ocean, and dead ends into a small, round infinity pool that was very popular with kids. Directly adjacent to the infinity pool is the main pool, which is large and often crowded around the edges. Jacuzzis circle the main pool, which also features built-in loungers and a swim-up bar. Poolside drink service is also available, unlike at most all-inclusive resorts.

The Riu Palace Punta Cana has its own spa and small gym with fairly modern equipment, though both were very quiet when I visited. The spa did not look particularly nice -- I've seen better spas at other Rius -- but there is a full range of treatments available.

There are no tennis courts on the immediate property, so guests must venture next door to the Riu Bambu. Equipment and lessons are included, however.

Open 24 hours, the Sports Bar includes an Internet café, four flat-screen TVs to show sporting events, and pool and air-hockey tables.

There is a large amphitheater at the Palace Macao, making for a less intimate experience than what I had in the Palace's Bar Rosario Salon. Each activities staff also runs daytime activities like pool Olympics and water aerobics near the pool.

In the evening at the Palace Punta Cana the most popular attraction seemed to be a live outdoor music performance in the Plaza, where guests packed tables and received drink service from tuxedoed waiters. The band played a selection of mellow jazz and Latin music, and though a few couples may have felt inspired to dance, the majority of the tame crowd preferred to just sit and listen.

The kids club

The crowd at the Palace Punta Cana is definitely on the older, tamer side. The social scene centers around the lobby bar, and kids can even come up against some hostility:

"It's not child-friendly...kids were sneered at by some of the older generation and one lady actually pointed out the following day that the kids were making a bit of noise during dinner service. Also, the layout and marble stairs were not good for the kids," writes one TripAdvisor reviewer.

"The environment is a bit sterile; everyone is in their own little world. A big resort means a long walk to the beach and to the pool," writes another.

Although I did see a lot of kids playing in the pool, when I stopped by the kids club and playground it was a veritable ghost town. Of course, the benefit of staying at the Palace is that it has access to the facilities of all the other hotels on the property, so perhaps kids were off participating in activities elsewhere. Furthermore, some suites do come with pull-out sofas, meaning they can sleep up to four people.

In short, if top-shelf liquor is a priority for parents, they'll understandably prefer the Palace over the other Rius on site. Just be prepared for a less kid-friendly atmosphere.

The hotel's exterior seemed to sparkle

Most rooms smell like mildew, but this is more a function of the area than a failure on the part of housekeeping. Everything else around the hotel is spotless, and I frequently saw housekeepers working in the halls.

As evidenced by pictures, the hotel's exterior was so white and clean it almost seemed to sparkle from afar. The pool area and beach, while crowded, were pretty clean, though I did see the occasional cigarette butt or abandoned glass in the sand.

The cleanliness in the enormous buffet restaurant, Don Manuel, was slightly subpar. When I sat down to eat breakfast I noticed that the tablecloth was stained. Granted there were many open tables, but few were set up for guests, as discarded dishes and napkins were still sitting on top of them.

Citrus at La Altagracia

The Palace has six restaurants -- more than any other single hotel on the Riu complex -- and all are exclusive to Palace guests only (though my two co-workers from Macao and Bambu were able to eat there without a problem). Because the Palace is the most expensive resort in the complex, guests also have the freedom to eat at any of the 15+ other restaurants at neighboring Riu resorts (it's hard to give an exact number because restaurants will sometimes close on certain nights of the week, depending on occupancy levels).

The food itself isn't impressive, and many guests come away pretty disappointed, considering the cost of the resort. For my first lunch at the main buffet restaurant, Don Manuel, I had such a hard time finding food that looked appealing (everything had corn on it!) that I ended up dining on plain rice and blueberry pie. Yes, there was a variety of food -- pasta, pizza, cooked meats, and a salad bar -- but it all looked either wilted or recycled, and this is an issue former guests have called out. I was also never offered a drink. I later stopped by the beachside buffet, La Altagracia (it morphs into an à la carte surf-and-turf restaurant at night), but the food was basically the same.

The Palace has a strict restaurant reservation policy for its à la carte restaurants: Japanese, Italian, "gourmet", churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse), and surf and turf. Guests typically have to line up at 8 a.m. to make reservations for food that's little better than what's at the buffet, and are only allowed to secure reservations from 8-11 a.m., though by 11 most spots are usually full.

At La Rodizio, the churrascaria, the three of us dined on various cuts of meat that were brought to our table, including moist turkey, chicken drumsticks, and beef. The three waiters tending to us were very attentive.There were also some delicious potatoes bravas that were heated over an open flame at our table, and we all agreed this was the highlight of the meal. The salad bar was OK, except we discovered that the lettuce and cucumbers were frozen to their containers. Yum. For dessert we tried some nice-looking lemon meringue pie, but it was so sickly sweet that I immediately yearned for my toothbrush.

Unlike many other all-inclusives, the Riu Palace offers 24-hour room service. The one-page menu is extremely limited, and mainly consists of a few sandwiches, salad, and a couple dessert options. In other words, there were no burgers, fries, or pizzas to satisfy a late-night salty food craving. I ordered a fruit plate in the early afternoon and it arrived in just 15 minutes. The selection was great and the fruit looked and tasted much better than what I'd had at the breakfast buffet.

These are available at every one of the six bars, including the sports bar, which is open 24 hours. From the pool/beach area, to the lobby, to the nighttime entertainment area, bars aren't hard to find, and drinks are easy to come by. The in-room minibar also has Stoli vodka, Gordon's gin, Brugal rum and Veterano brandy.

A beautiful ceremony location, in full view of other resort guests

• Wedding Size: Up to 300 people; two to three weddings held per day

• Extra Fees: Day passes for non-hotel guests range from $50 to $100, depending on time of year; $100 fee for each outside vendor. At least 80 percent of the wedding guests must stay at the hotel.

• Wedding Packages: The Classic Package costs $995 ($1,150 for a civil ceremony) and includes a wedding coordinator, a bouquet and a boutonniere, decorations, recorded music during the ceremony, a wedding cake, sparkling wine, and a "semiprivate" dinner in one of the resorts a la carte restaurants. The Classic Package covers 15 guests; $10 extra for each additional person. However, the basic package is free if your wedding party books more than five rooms.

• Ceremony Location: Under a gazebo, on the beach, or at City Hall (for civil weddings)

• Photographers: Packages range from $415 for 30 4-by-6 prints in album with a CD.

• Music: Options range from $450 for a DJ for three hours to $1,100 for a five-person band for three hours.

• Food: Dinner and drinks are included as part of the package, but appetizers cost an extra $16 to $18 per person. No specialty menus (kosher, vegan, or gluten free).

• Cakes: From $250 for 20 people to $650 for 100 people

• Spa Treatments: The spa offers massages, facials, and hair and nail treatments; 10 percent discount for the bride and groom.

• Honeymoon Suite: Newlyweds usually book a Superior Room.

• Airport Transportation: No airport shuttle or free transportation service; 45-minute, $40 taxi ride to the Punta Cana International Airport.