Riu Naiboa Hotel

We had the best vacation of our lives here. :The staff were wonderfull and the food was out of this world. try their paella, cooked outside beside the pool. We could not have had better service anywhere in the world, well up to riu standards

if you never been you have to go, a time you will never forget, so much to do,so much to eat, so much to drink. my boyfriend and i never went anywhere and finally a friend got a good deal we could not pass up and had the time of our life. people are great only want to make your trip the best it can be, ( i realy miss them) i can not wait to go back. the staff, and everyone were great, the beaches were beautiful and the booze cruise/snorkling trip was so much fun that you will never forget and must go to captian cooks resturaunt a place you will neveer forget. be ready to have fun and if you want to relax but have to experince it--can't wait to go back.

My wife and I went to Punta Cana in April 2003, first off we would like to thank everyone for taking time to write thier reviews, we went from being uncertian of our choice to being very happy after finding this site and the excellent comment from everyone. The Naiboa is a super value, the help is out of sight, friendly, always happy and helped out in anyway. We booked our trip with Apple who also gave us great service from a very nice flight to making it a easy transfer from Airport to the resort with no problems. The food was great, pools and beaches are beautiful you will be very happy with the Naiboa. We'll be back next year!

My husband, son and I just got back from our stay at the Riu Naiboa in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We all absolutely loved it! The hotel was beautiful, the staff was great! They were always smiling, cheerful and happy. They treat you like royalty! Our hotel wasn't located right on the beach, but actually we liked it better that way. Its just a short walk down caribean street and your right on the beach. The beach is absolutely gorgeous! The water is so blue and clear. You can be in 5Ft of water and see your toes ...it is so clear! It is great that you have use of the other Riu hotels also. Its nice that you can go in for a swim and then go in to any Riu and have lunch and a few drinks. Another thing that was fun was being able to go shopping right on the beach! You can either go to the left or right on the beach, about a 20 minute walk and there are many vendors. They are very willing to deal with you as well! I also would recommend doing the Outback Safari Tour. It was great! We had a great time and you will see more of the Dominican Republic! Also take the KonTiki Snorkel Tour. That was great also! For anyone thinking about going to the Dominican Republic....don't hesitate and go! You will be very happy you did!. We are already planning a trip back in November and again in April! P.S. To Jose..."Whats Up" We miss you!!!! See you in November!!!

My boyfriend an I just got back from an excellent vacation at the Riu Naiboa, April 5-12,2003. It was the best vacation that we have ever had and we are already planning on going back next April. Everyone working was so nice and energetic. You never saw them without a smile and always dancing. They will do anything to make you happy. When ever you see them they say Hola with a big smile. We met a bartender named Felix and he is the best!! We thought it was going to be hard understanding them, but it was fun learning spanish and they do understand some english. The food was great but different. I am a very picky eater so I didn't try everything. The animation people were very funny. There was always something going on by the pool, and shows at night. There was a BBQ one day and a Coco party. there is always exciting things like that going on. Even though the Hotel isn't right on the beach it is actually better. you have to walk down Carribean Street to get there,which is a very short walk with shops on it. We actually enjoyed the walk. The beach is beautiful and the water so blue. When they say all inclusive they definetly mean it. You sure do get your moneys worth, on drinks alone. We liked how we could use the other hotels too. We didn't even get to do everything we wanted to. The hotel was always clean and flowers everywhere. We had a good size room with a king size bed, cable TV, AC, and a mini bar (did I mention the MINI BAR)!!! GWV is a great travel agency. We never felt like we didn't know what to do, and all of our questions were answered. They had a meeting the next morning to answer any questions and tell us things to do. We would recommend going to that. Our GWV rep. was Robert. We thought he was great. He even left us his cell phone number so we could reach him anytime we needed him. We recommend The Outback Jungle Safari. It was very fun and we learned a lot about the Dominican Republic too. We had a wonderful time!!

BeachThe beach is beautiful and long and winding. White sand. Clear blue water. If you're an adventurer walk down the beach for a 1/2 hour in either direction; you'll be glad you did. The snorkeling is pretty good from the beach, too. There are lots of coral reefs you can swim to. Take some food along and an underwater camera. I saw some incredible fish. Definitely some lotion on your neck though; the sun cranks. Right on the beach, a couple of the other hotels have bars and buffets. You use them. It's very cool. PoolNaiboa seemed to be the least trafficked and certainly had the quietest pool area of the of Riu chain. But don't forget this is an all-inclusive, so for a couple of hours everyday by the pool the staff cranks loud and (in my opinion) cheesy, but fun island music and gets activities going. Not many kids when I was there which was nice. FoodThe food is great if you stick with the Dominican dishes and pastas. All the fish and chicken dishes were awesome. I ate that every night leaving little interest in checking out the restaurants. Drinks. They're always there. There are bars everywhere. Even right by the beach. I drank frozen blends, "Dr. Funk" and Pina Coladas -- that sort of thing. A little weak, but that's fine because you really want to be a little more freshed than drunk. You have all day and night to work on your buzz. The rooms are stocked as you might have heard: rum, gin, beer, sodas. The local beer is Quisqueya (not sure about the spelling). It is excellent. Better than American beers for sure. And they get you looped. I started to get nice after two. DemographicI am American. The tourists are mostly European. Everyone who works there is Dominican. It was fun to meet people from different places and see new faces. Americans: you are in the minority for sure. Spanish will help you get around easier, though perhaps not essential. Many fo the Europens I met knew very little English. Don't be surprised (and some damn American-centric). I sensed most of the travelers were couples and families (though not necessarily with little kids). TennisThere are two outdoor hardcourts you can use for free and two clay courts connected to the main Riu hotel that you have to pay for. The clay courts looked like they were in good shape. I played on the hardcourts. They are painted light blue and lined white, making it sometimes hard to track the ball. Courts are usually empty but you're better off making a reservation. They are also lighted at night, but I'm not sure how that works. No one plays during the day; too hot and sunny. Evening play is better; the courts get some shade. Take a lot of water with you; there is no water to be had close by the courts.Overall I had an excellent time. It's one of the few carribean vacations I would consider a good value. Very clean and comfortable all around. Do it.

My husband and I stayed at the Riu Naiboa 3/19 - 3/26, we have nothing but great things to say about our vacation. Flight:Purchased the pkg thru Apple Vacations (Don Freeland at The Travel Store), used the USA 3000 airlines. Flights were uneventful and on time both directions. The movie shown on the flight was entertaining. We requested the Exit Row seats for more room and felt more comfortable on the 4 hr flight. Airport:What a sight the Punta Cana airport was. Don't be discouraged by this by any means. Service was excellent, you just have to look past the tiki huts or what they consider the airport. The shuttle to the hotel was great, air conditioned and very comfortable. Don't forget to tip the driver! Resort: What a wonderful idea to pay one price and have access to 5 hotels. The Naiboa was excellent in service! Should we have the option to return, we will go back to Naiboa. In my opinion, Naiboa had the best pool. The Taino had the second best pool because it had a swim up bar. It was difficult to find seats at the swim up bar around noon though. We asked for suites after checking in, there wasn't one available so we asked again the day after. We were given a suite at no extra charge. Be sure to always ask for a suite, it doesn't hurt! Food:The Steakhouse restaurant was by far the best. Be sure to order the grill for 2, it was delicious. As far as I know, there isn't a limit as to how many days you can go to the reserved dinners, we went twice to the Steakhouse. The Mediterranean was pretty good. The buffet dinners were always very delicious. So much is offered at the buffet dinner, you will always find something that you like. Entertainment:The nightly shows at the Naiboa were pretty good but we were unable to enjoy them as much due to the numerous people that smoked. If smoking bothers you, you will find it difficult especially in the bars. It seemed like every time you turned around someone was smoking. The Ocean:A 5 - 10 min walk (away from Naiboa) down Carribean Street. There are many bars near the ocean and you can eat breakfast and lunch at The Taino which is right off the beach. There are plenty of watersports you can do for free. Overall, we had a fabulous vacation and plan to return as soon as we can. I would recommend this trip to anyone. Before I left on this trip, I was getting nervous because I read many negative reviews about the resort and apple vacations. I read about theft and the planes not being on time. We did not encounter one single problem at all. This was the best vacation ever! I have to thank the wonderful staff at The Naiboa and our travel agent, Don for making this trip so successful.

After staying at the Catalonia Bavaro in 2002, my girlfriend and I went down to Punta Cana in March 2003 and were very impressed with the Riu hotels. A couple we know visited in November and gave the Naiboa rave reviews. I was skeptical when first looking into it (no pool bar and the rooms are located in a hotel building), but the amazing price was too good to pass up. Needless to say, the gamble was well worth it. The resort is beautiful and the staff is first class. Try to tip the bartenders, maids, and waiters a few bucks. They really appreciate it and they'll take care of you for the rest of the week. The rooms were fine and the beach is beautiful (not nearly as much coral as duing my previous visit). We had access to all five Riu resorts, but we actually hung out at the Naiboa most of the time. The food was great. Note: make reservations for the Mediterranean and Steak restaurants early in the week, they fill up fast. The American crowd at the resort was great as well. We're in our mid-twenties and were happy to find a good mix of young couples and nice older families. The singles scene didn't seem to be too hot, so take note if that's what you're looking for. If you don't want to be surrounded by obnoxious spring breakers, rest easy because there were none at the Riu Naiboa. Of course there were some Europeans (but not too many) walking around in their speedos and dorky sandals, but they mostly stuck to themselves and the few who were sociable were actually really friendly. Off site excursions we did: the Saona Island tour, which was absolutely incredible ($80/person through Apple). The booze cruise/snorkeling ($55)was also fun if you like to drink. The speedboat tour ($55) was a little overrated, but fun nonetheless. We also did the Captain Cook seafood restaurant (all you can eat and drink for $40) and it was a lot of fun and the food was awesome. The shopping center is a half hour walk down the beach and is worth it if you want rum, cigars, and standard souvenirs. The used car salesmen who run the shops will literally take whatever money you offer them, but you have to be willing to walk away first, after which they will come running after you. In all, a great trip and I would highly recommend it!

The people are friendly, The weather was perfect, The sun was hot, The beaches are white and pristine, The ocean is warm, The food is superb, The drinks are plentiful and as strong or as mild as you wish, The rooms are of very high quality, The pool is breathtaking, The beach markets have some great treasures to be haggled for and there are no drunkin 'spring break' yah-hoos running around either. You wouldn't have to spend a dime if you didn't want to, and you would still have the trip of a lifetime!60% European - 40% North American20% Families - 70% Couples - 10% Singles I would highly recommend going to this RIU resort to my closest friends and family. The Dominican is the best place to holiday. All Inclusive is the only way to go!

We spent 7 days here and really had a good time.The rooms are of moderate size and the bathroom was nice. The only two problems we had were there were no wash cloths (they don't use them), and not much air conditioning. The ceiling fan seemed enough, but at times the humidity got the better of us. You could always find something to eat-numerous items were offered. The staff was quite helpful, speak broken English, but could be understood-very friendly people. Visited the flea markets on the beach. Make sure you bargin with them. They always ask at least three times what an item is worth!!! We would return to the Naiboa, very comfortable and pleasant place to stay.