ClubHotel Riu Mambo

stayed at the Mambo between 30th May and 13 June 2011. Apparently this hotel was being closed at the end of June and already a lot of the services were closed. The Italian restaurant and the Steakhouse/grill were closed the entire time we were there. There was no lunchtime restaurant open, just the snack bar. The main restaurant was half closed and although the food was ok there was not much choice. The second week we were there the part that was open was half closed so only 1/4 of restaurant open. Had paid full price for this holiday so Thomsons will be hearing from us !!
Must mention the staff - they were friendly and did their best,have nothing but nice things to say about them.
I had read other reviews from people staying the same time as us , some of whom had had an even worse time than us - these reviews seem to have disappeared !!

1 reader found this review helpful

Just arrived back from the Mambo, as it says it truly is Paradise Island, we went for my wifes 60th, everything was so clean, sheets and pillow cases changed every other day, pool was sparkling and warm, little coloured birds would come and try to steal your fruit drink and swallows would flit through the sunshapes after any careless insects so no flies!! the entertainment staff worked their socks off and were so friendly, food was excellent and my wife had a birthday cake surprise by the waiters in the steak bar and everyone sang happy birthday quite magical, the safari trip was excellent real outback experiance, and we had no problem with locals, There were a few little problems, the air conditioner broke down but they fixed it quickly (next day) and there were a few power cuts, the worst part was they painted our veranda while we were there so couldn't use it for three days and it smelt of paint, but not to bad, also the Thomson reps were pretty useless they gave out the speel but not really interested in any problems, that apart it was a fantastic holiday, would go again.

8 readers found this review helpful

Hiya,
We went to the Riu Mambo in May 2010 and had a fab time. There was myself and my other half and our daughter who was 21 months at the time.
When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by some amazing staff, the took our bag for us, we were offered non alcoholic cocktails and given a brief disucssion, which way rooms where, restaurants etc.
The room was just lovely. Two large double maybe king size beds, tv, table and chairs and they had even put a travel cot in our room for our little one, altho we didnt even request it, which was a lovely touch. Also gorgeous table and chairs that matched the rest of the furniture. We had a balconcy which also had some furniture on it. We had a fridge in the room, and i mean a FRIDGE. It was a full size under counter fridge!! It was filled with bottled water, diet pepsi, normal pepsi and some bottle of beers. We then had four full size optics, consisting of rum, vodka etc (im not a drinker so didnt really look to see what the other ones were lol).
There were two pools which were both really good sizes and cleaned every day and night. Also a sperate kids pool. There were alot of sun loungers, with padding, around the pool areas and plenty of shade.
The beach was amazing. It was a private beach and i now wld not go any where without a private beach. No hassle from sellers or beggars etc which was a welcome change. The water was lovely, nice blue and cool too. The sand was so pure, no stones etc and again loads of sun loungers there too. You could leave ur towel on your sun lounger all day, either at the pool or beach, and no one moved them or even touched them.
The food was great! It was buffet style for breakfast and lunch. You could pre book to go to one of the a la carte restaurants, but we didnt go to them as were so happy with the buffet for dinner too :) The staff in the restaurants were lovely. Getting us a high chair and drinks too, altho drinks were out to help yourself too, they still got them for you, which i thought was a nice touch. The meals really catered for everyone. There were british style dishes as well as local dishes. They also did themed nights, italian, Mexican etc and they were brilliant. They did the restaurant up with decorations etc.
The animation team were really good. There were alot of activites to do during the dya with them, e.g water polo, volley ball, spanish lessons, step aerobics, horse shoes. In the evening there was a mini disco, for the kids, and then some live music to dance to. Then the entertainment came on. It was diffenret every night, but consisted of a few tribute acts (michael jackson was a big hit) game show style events, some dancing from the staff etc. It was really good, very funny and enjoyable.
The bars were also kept very well staffed and waiting time was minimal. Loads of secletion, just like a bar here to be honest, altho they had all thesre fancy cocktails :D
The staff were all amazing! Everyone was very welcoming and helpful and they actually seemed to really enjoy making ur holiday as special as they could for you. Nothing was too much trouble and the all seemed really happy!
Over all a greta holiday, we are going to holiday next year within the RIU group as they just seem to be brillant!
Great for kids and families, as well as adults as there is plenty of space so u dont need to be beside kids etc if u dont want to.
Wld go again.

1 reader found this review helpful

I have just returned from 2 weeks at the riu mambo with my family,3 adults and 3 teenagers,aged 15,15 and 16, we all had the most amazing time ever,the hotel is fantastic,the rooms are spotless with everything you need,the staff from the cleaning ladies to the management were really lovely and couldnt do enough for everyone,the food was lovely and varied,there was no shortage of food or drinks for any taste,even the fussiest of people,i read a few bad reviews about this hotel but i disagree with them,we couldnt find fault even if we tried,we are already booking to go back,if you book this hotel you wouldnt be disappointed,it caters for the young and the old,paradise on earth.

4 readers found this review helpful

I retured from the Riu Mambo two days ago, and although my enire party had a very enjoyable time, I felt I had to share this as women on their own and young families may not find it a suitable destination.
At weekends the hotel is open to all local people, and although the majority were nice, many people in my group had items, such as inflatables, stolen and then sold back to them by local people. Pimps and Prostitutes were in the hotel every night in the club, and the 24 hour bar situated in the ajoining Riu Bachata, not ideal in a family resort.
If $5 was paid to any security guard, one could go to the beach and shoot his shot gun - meaning for $5 anyone had access to a gun. Women travleing without men felt very uncomfortable walking in the resort at night, and had to ask other male guests to walk them home as local men would often follow them.
On a less serious note,our keys didn't working so we had to wait 2 hours for a repair man to fix it before we even got in our room (not perfect after a 9 hour flight).
Our mini bar wasn't filled for 10 days, we had to request more water twice, however our phone was broken meaning we had to walk all the way to reception from our room (which happened to be the furthest room away from the reception) in the pooring down rain.

5 readers found this review helpful

I have been back from Riu Mambo for 3 days, I went with my Husband, Sister and Brother in law and we all enjoyed our stay, this hotel would suit anyone whether you have children or are looking for a singles holiday.
The rooms were extremely spacious and immaculate, there was a wide range of food and drink.
We did find it difficult to get drunk in the first week, the cocktails and spirits are very weak but we went on red wine and tequila slammers and they did the trick.
I got stung one of the last days by a sea urchine, this was at the sea by Bachata Hotel, the sea there is very stoney and a perfect place for sea urchine to hide, I would recommend that swimming is done by the Mambo beach as the sea bed there is just sand.
When I got stung the staff were helpful and the Doctor didnt even take my insurance details.
An enjoyable time had by all, I would highly recommend.

5 readers found this review helpful

same time last year we went to the mambo and all had a great time we decided to go again this year what a difference a year makes ,the staff are all still lovely and friendly in every department rooms the same except we had to ask to have the mini bar restocked a few times ,the animatoin team are good but nowhere near as friendly as last year .BUT standards have dropped !!!!especially the entertaiment at night some nights it was like a kids party ,when the show finishes at 10.15 .people are not made to feel welcome to stay and have drinks,a singer sings in spanish for 1/2 hour nobody dances as there is nowhere to dance the bars were closing at 11.30 im sorry to say most people were very bored please could the manager tell us why the next hotel had the same entertainment followed by excellent singers that got everybody up dancing and in the holiday spirit??this was what it was like at the mambo last year !! also beware the germans have arrived in numbers this year and reserve sun beds at least 6 sunbeds for 3 people (3in shade and 3 in sun )and wont give them up even when reported to hotel and rep managers also start to reserve beds from 5.30am this is not fair to other holidaymakers.we found the hotel manager very un helpful especially when a child messed themselves in the baby pool was took to the poolside shower to be washed down the manager would not close the pool to be cleaned and refilled but just made the pool boy dissinfect the shower area !! most holidaymakers were disgusted,; many with children refused to let them back into the pool.apart from this we still had a good holiday even though we heavy rain for 5days solid .on leaving we were told the mambo manager was new to the hotel this year i hope he reads this and bring the hotel back up to the greatname and standards its had for the last few years.

2 readers found this review helpful

We went to the Mambo for two weeks from 22nd Nov until 6th December. This is the second time we have been to this hotel and we enjoyed it just as much this time as the first time.
For me, the best thing about the Mambo is the staff. Everyone from reception,cleaners, gardeners, bar staff, restaurant staff are all so friendly and willing to please. So what if the rooms need a bit of an uplift and the shower water is always as hot as you would like! We had requested the same room as we had in 2006 and were lucky to get it-two strides and you are on the beach. We spent most of our days on the beach, the breeze is lovely and if you get too hot just pop under a palm tree :)
The food was great and the cleanliness was too. I would not hesitate to go back - in fact I would love to go for New Year 2009. The hotel had been beautifully decorated for Christmas

5 readers found this review helpful

Well where to start, firstly my wife and I had a great time better than we expected going on alot of the unjustified reviews we had read prior to depature.
1: The flight was okj leg room was fine but if your over 6ft your better of booking emergency exit seats or upgrade to premium. The meals were nothing special but they did break up the flight, in flight drinks were not free other than one supplied with your meal. The movies on the flight were outdated and not very good choice on our return flight the misus TV kept flicking on and of which was annoying when you wanna sleep. The cabin staff were ok too I had read that they were very unfriendly but they seemed ok to me and I have travelled on alot of different airlines. The only observation was on the outward journey one male hostess complained to a child about pressing the call button, which is in a stupid place (top of the arm rest).
2: The journey to the hotel was good and the reception at the hotel and initial brief were very good. The hotel and the staff are the best from all three hotels next year we will return there. The other two hotels seem to get over run with local over the weekends our hotel had them too but not as bad as the other two hotels. The staff were excellent they cant do enough for you the food was good but after two weeks does become samo samo. We suggest you take your own tea bags because the local one are nothing like ours here in UK. The brief we got the morning after arriving from Bev and Abi wes very detailed and well brought across, but I did feel it was a boring brief and lacked a little something but maybe thats me being picky.
There are plenty of excersions to go on we did the cable car trip which was a full day out starting at 07.30 returning 18.00. Also we did the mega truck trip which was ok but if you have a bad back may not be advised the horse riding was fun although the horses have a mind of their own and look alittle bored and under feed. We paid $20 each to go on a disco trip with the animation team to Coco bongo this included travel, entrance and a free drink (which was like juice). The whole thing was a waist of time the music isn't like our clubs and we ended up waiting 2 hours over the pickup time because one German guest wanted to get friendly with a local. We left her there in the end as she is a grown woman so if your offered the disco trip tuesdays and fridays We suggest you decline, but thats up to you be warned.
3: There were plenty of sun loungers both around the pool and at the beach, due to german guest sometimes the prime spots did get reserved even though it states no reserving using towels. But in all even at 08.00 we got a good location on the pool. A good sun block is advised as the sun there is very strong we saw many milk white people going staright in the sun coconut oil in had and within an hour burnt to crisp lobsta style lol. The second beach is behind the barchetta hotel and to be honest was lovely and very quiet hardly anyone uses it as there are no facilities and everyone wants the get there monies worth with the all inclusive. We went there for a morning the water is lovely no waves on it at all and there is plenty of shade to be had if you get hungry the barchetta isn't that far away to get food and drink.
4: There is so much to write about this place but alot of it has already been covered by others just i feel alot of the negetive stuff is incorrect maybe because some people are expecting far too much. For example I couldn't find any rocky beach only the reef in the water far right to the hotel and the water was although not clear like in the south i was able to see the bottom. the sands are not white that I do agree on but they are clean and if you want white sands dont complain goto the south instead.
And last of all it still amazes me how people rush at the airport to get their suitcases i was surprized to see both our cases come of first on the way out, the down side to that was we had to wait for the other guests for our coach. Going back its like a sheep pen cattle being hearded through check-in and for every Kg over you will pay £8 so be warned.
All in all we had a great holiday and we hope you have as good if not better one than us, we will return next year.

3 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from the Mambo and had a great holiday.
Although most of the comments we would make have been covered by other reviewers, I would summarise as follows.....
Pro's:
The Dominican people are friendly, happy and helpful, from the passport inspector through to the hotel staff, everyone was wonderful.
The Mambo is very clean and has a great position, right on the beach. (This is definately the best of the 3 hotels in the complex).
The entertainment staff work incredibly hard and whilst some of the shows are a little cheesey, you cannot fault the hard work and enthusiasm.
Our 6 year old was unsure of the Kid's club, but Steffen was wonderful and we hardly saw her!!
We did 3 trips - Freestyle Catamaran - This was a very relaxing and fun trip. The crew kept us entertained all day and we made a couple of great snorkeling stops.
Paradise Island - We found this a long day, but the island is lovely and Renzo, our tour guide was fab!
Ocean World - We did the dolphin encounter, which was great, but if we revisited, would definately do the sea lion encounter. There is plenty of things to do, and the food and drink are reasonable considering they had a captive audience.
Talk of reserving a sun bed at 5am is rubbish!! If you want to sit in a particular place then you may need to reserve a bed early, but otherwise there is plenty of choice.
Con's:
We are both Bacardi drinkers and were slightly concerned when we realised that all drink is locally produced. However, we drank "bacardi and diet" all fortnight and whilst it wasn't particularly strong, was perfectly acceptable!! (Special mention to Tito and Judith on the bar staff).
The air con in the room was just about ok - however, it was very, very hot whilst we were there so it did at least feel abit cooler than outside!
Whilst we thought the beach was great, if you go to the Mambo expecting a "Bounty advert", you will be disappointed.
Overall:
The atmosphere is great, the people are wonderful and everything is there for you.
You can participate in as much as you want, or just sit back and enjoy the sunshine.
If you have children, there is plenty to keep them occupied and happy.
For late teens, it may not be lively enough, but for a couple with a 6 year old, it was fab!!