Riu Palace Macao Hotel

We just got back from a vacation in the Caribbean. We stayed at the Riu Palace Macao, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Everthing was great. Short and to the point.. Will definitely go back to a Riu hotel, they have a chain. At the Palace, the service was excellent, workers friendly and helpful, foods delicious and all sorts of variety, waiters at poolside, at the beach, pampering you, have a sense of humor, weather was always the same 85 degrees with a breeze on the beach. The Palace was clean, beautifully landscaped, rooms quiet, provided entertainment nightly and throughout the day. It was great!!!

A group of 150 of us just returned some of us had to sleep 4 to a room because they "could not accomodate our group" hello...then you should not have taken our reservation. No compensation was given or offered. We weren't the only ones. The 3rd night 100 people had to be sent to another hotel because there was no room in the inn. One couple slept on the beach because no hotel could take them. As long as you don't have to deal with the management the resort is beautiful. The weather, the ocean, the pool. Food leaves something to be desired. Watch out for the safe key scam. Even though the key is in the room when you get there make sure you return it when you check out or they will hold your luggage hostage for a ransom of $50.00.

We just returned yesterday from our stay at the Riu Palace Macao. It was absolutely breath-taking. The palm tree lined view of the ocean is one to be seen for yourself. We had a rocky start when we arrived, they did not have enough rooms. There were 208 of us that went together from one company through Funjet. We volunteered to share a suite with another couple which ended up being a beautiful one bedroom suite with a twin sized cot in the corner. After complaining on and off for several hours, we were offered a room next door at the Riu Bamboo, which ended up being lovely. We had our own room right on the ocean. The Bamboo is the hot spot, everyone from our group ended up partying at our hotel and pool anyway. The pool has a swim up bar and funny bartenders. Be careful of the dark rum, the pina coladas sneak up on you and make it hard to exit the pool! The food is excellent, we tried every restaurant at least once on all 5 properties and never had a bad meal. If you are not sure what's in the recipe, then simply ask and they will tell you. I read the previous reviews for months before we left and to be honest, I was worried about what we would encounter. Let me tell you, if you stay at this hotel or the Bamboo, you have nothing to fear! You will be treated like royalty. The grounds and rooms are immaculate. There are no bugs, we saw one wasp (in the flower beds) and a few moths. That's it, I never saw or got bitten by any mosquitos at this resort. We went on the Kontiki Clypso Snorkeling cruise. The best party ever! 5 hours of fun in the sun and the best snorkeling around. They pick you up and take you over to the Carribean Sea side of the Island. It cost us $50 US per person and was well worth it. They provide all of the gear which is well maintained and even have a resident photographer on staff to take your digital pictures in the water and out. We bought a digital photo albumn (100 pictures) 2 t-shirts and a hat for $37 US. Not bad at all. I would definately recommend this resort to anyone. You pay more to stay at the Palace and the only difference we saw between the Palace and the Bamboo was that if you book at the Palace, you get a wrist band that you have to wear the whole time and it gives you unlimited access to all 5 Riu resorts, which are all side by side down the beach. Speaking of the beach, on both sides of the resort there are street vendors where you can purchase souvenirs, paintings, cigars, etc. and since there are a lot of European visitors, they are all topless. If you do not want your children exposed to this, then leave them with the Animacion crew for the day. All shapes and sizes are mostly exposed on the beaches outside of the resort areas. Do not pack a lot of clothes, you won't wear them. The average temperature is 95 degrees during the day and 80's at night. The closer you are to the ocean the nicer the breeze. But that sun is very hot during the afternoon. You will live in your bathing suit and shorts or a cover up. Men must wear long pants at night for dinner, they can be jeans if you wish not to dress up. But you can always eat at any of the outdoor restaurants any time of the day in your bathing suit if you wanted to. A little Spanish goes a long way. They really appreciate that you try to speak their language. But you can get by on just knowing please and thank you. Do not drink the tap water! They will stock your refrigerator with gallons of water, use that for everything or you will be sorry the next day. Bring Immodium and some ant-acids and you will be fine other wise. I would have rated this resort a perfect 5 if they had not over booked our hotel. Relax, be patient and enjoy the views. Adios Amigos!

My review of Punta Cana/Royal Palace Macao dated January 29, 2004If you are a seasoned traveler and have already booked your vacation, go and you will have a wonderful time. If you are looking into going my suggestion would be to wait for a few years before going. It is everything said in previous reviews both good and bad. It needs a few years under its belt to work out the kinks and develop further.I was a minority on 3 different levels. 1. I am a gay male. 2. I am an American. 3. I am single. Of those 3 possible obstacles I was surprised to find that being American put me most at a disadvantage. The majority of people there were Dutch and German. Americans are definitely NOT the center of attention there which although it was surprising I found it to be quite humbling. It was a nice reminder that the world does not revolve around the USA as we often delude ourselves into thinking.The drive from the airport was unspeakable. The level of poverty is astounding. There is definitely a slight language barrier. English is about the 4th language in priority there. I have a working knowledge of Spanish and even I found it to be challenging. My hotel, the RIU Palace Macao was beautiful. Pictures do not do it justice. It is immaculate, ornate, enormous and well organized. There are no ocean front rooms due to the situation of the hotel. The staff by and large are wonderful and incredibly hard working. I won t go into the conditions under which they work but will suffice to say that whatever MONEY you choose to leave them, anything, is richly deserved and vastly needed.The food is abundant but repetitive and flavorless. It almost seems that a special process was invented just to extract whatever possible flavor out of most things. During my 5 night stay I can say there was possibly 3 things I would consider good. Again, this is a result of the European influence. My friend and I do not drink so we cannot comment on the alcohol but there seemed to be plenty of it available including a cool wall bar in each room. The eating procedure, what, when, where and how took us 4 days to master. The maps and literature they give you at check in are all contradictory and inaccurate.Now onto the good news which vastly overshadows any and all small difficulties mentioned above .the BEACH, POOL AND SUN. These 3 things are outstanding!! If sun, beauty and isolation are your goals in a vacation, this is paradise. I spent every minute of daylight in the sun and water. I was so exhausted (in the good way) by the end of the day I was ready for bed at 9pm. It was utter heaven for a sun worshipper like myself. The beach is pristine, the water clean and gorgeous and the sun strong and searing, just like I enjoy it.I will write another review that will be more informative that will detail how to avoid some of the problems I encountered and advise on what you should bring, what you need to know to optimize your experience and any tips I have for future trips to Punta Cana. My criteria for a successful vacation is if I would chose to return. My 5 night stay at the Palace, all inclusive, including airfare from Philadelphia came to a total of $690.00 per person. I travel with my travel agent who obviously gets deals. For $700 I would definitely return to the Dominican Republic now that I know what to expect. I would not however return if a week cost me $1000 or more. There are too many developed and tourist ready islands that would provide more for my money.

Our family of four spent New Years week at the Palace. We had two rooms....loved being on the first floor as we seemed to run back and forth to our rooms often. I appreciated the suggestion about the candles.....we burned candles on our balcony every evening. The balconies are wonderful....a great extension to a beautiful room. We took alot of $1 bills with us......they came in very handy when getting pool chairs in the morning. Every day I left our maid a dollar and a small bottle of lotion or candy. We had a few favorite waiters and we tipped them occationally during the week. The staff works so hard and they work very long hours. If you have a 110 v adaptor...take it along. Many of our US plugs do not fit into the DR outlets so you need an adaptor and during our week.....they were hard to come by. Take a travel clock along if you want to know what time it is in the middle of the night. The buffets worked out well for our family....young adult children who could always find something to eat and alot of it. Breakfast was actually our favorite.....loved the fresh fruit at every meal. We walked and walked and walked on the beach. It was very windy during our week so we were not able to use alot of the water toys because the red warning flag was out almost every day. Our kids took one excursion but we were very happy just hanging at the beach or the pool. There is a huge European influence.......we did not find many people speaking English during our week and that made it interesting. We enjoyed the casino a few nights. Our son enjoyed the ability to go in and out of the other RIU hotels and he met people from all over the world. We would be happy to re-visit the Palace.

We stayed a week at the Palace in September. It was wonderful! The staff was very pleasant and helpful. The hotel was elegant, the rooms (ours on the third floor) overlooking the pool were spacious and beautifully decorated and spotless with a view to die for. The restaurants were really great, great variety of food , beautiflly prepared and presented. Champagne on the veranda in the afternoon and port in the evening served by white gloved waiters! The beach out of this world. A great place to stay!

We just returned from the Palace. Dec. 25th. We had booked the Taino first and when we arrived I almost had a heart attack! No 5 star there! Anyway thank God I booked the hotel directly with RIU and I immediately switched to the Palace.The place was spotless and service for the Dominican was absolutely amazing! Been there three times and found the people rude and often lazy. This place was service with a smile the whole time. The management is very involved there presence was felt all over the place, we saw them everywhere. They run a very tight ship. I felt if I needed anything they would accomadate me. We had 2 kids with (age 9,6) they felt right at home, The towels and chairs were nice and cozy not old and weathered. The pool was very clean, the food was great and the buffet restaurant El Patio was very classy inside. The men must where long pants for all dinners there is a certain upper class feel to this hotel which was great , there was no "bar flys" hanging out at all the bars inhaling drinks because they are free! I hate it when the hotel is full of people who are there to take advantage of the free booze and food and act like this is there first holiday in there life! This resort was full of well traveled people and a very mature croud. The beach front was the best in front of the Palace the Iberostar was awful with a million yellow old chairs and straw huts everywhere! The Palace is a place I would definitely reccommend for relaxationan and quality with a smile.

My mate and I just got back from Punta Cana. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel, Riu Palace Macao. The service was good. I've read earlier on the review that tippings didn't affect the level of service, but in our case, I think the tippings made a difference. My girl friend, Kim brought several pens with Canadian flags on them with strings to put around his or her neck. She gave the pens away and the pool side waiters loved them!!! These people deserve a good tips. They do work hard. Also, the manager, Ramon was very helpful. The two things we want to inform the new visitors. There is no clock radio in the room. Bring one. It will be nice to know the time during the night, and you can enjoy the merenge music while you are relaxing. Secondly, the patio outside the room does not have a light. So... it was good that we've brought some candles. It is very romantic to have 4 or 5 candles while having a stimulating conversation with the love one, and sipping a brandy! Cheers and enjoy your vacation! Sean and Kim from Vancouver, Canada

My husband and I spent a wonderful two weeks at the Riu Palace in November. We were there in May for one week and found it so enjoyable, we had to return. We've been to many resorts throughout our 28 years of travel and have finally found the one which meets our expectations for an enjoyable holiday. The location is spectacular; clear turquoise water, miles and miles of white sandy beach to stroll along, lovely tropical plants and trees and fresh air. The hotel itself is breathtaking and the staff are very friendly, extremely helpful and keep the resort spotless. The food is excellent in terms of quality, variety, freshness and presentation. The resort is quieter than most resorts, which is perfect if you want to relax and enjoy the scenery, without noise coming at you from all directions.

Having llived in Paris 17 years, traveled around the world and stayed in most of the best European and Asian hotels. I believe my opinion has some value. Though reluctant to spend a 10 day vacation in the Caribbean with my lady of 20 years, I finally agreed. What a surprise!! 'Twas the best hotel experience I have had in 35 years of world travel. The holel's staff, food, architecture, works of art and interior decor rate among the best in the world. Charles Stewart [stay was from Oct 30 to Nov 10]