The hotel is absolutely beautiful and the beach is to die for. The pool is great and the pool bar is good. The rooms are fantastic and kept clean. The lobby is huge and all the employees at the hotel treat you great. Bring lots of cash because the closest ATM machine is far away at another hotel and will only give you pesos when the machines are working. Stay on the grounds because the surrounding areas are not pretty. Everything was a 10 except for the food. The food at the Riu was horrible. We are not picky and will eat almost everything, but we had a very hard time with the food at this hotel. Not much night life except for the casino which was very small and seedy. This casino also allows the locals. I was not comfortable at the casino with my wife and daughter. We loved Punta Cana but would not go back to the Riu due to the food. Friends of ours stayed at other hotels in the area and said the food was great.

Just returned from Riu-Punta Cana on 06/19/08. My husband and i were there for 8 days.
Upon finally getting to the hotel, the front desk was chaotic,no sense of order. People standing everywhere trying to get attended. Front reception staff hardly spoke any English, so we were lucky because i happen to speak Spanish, my husband does not as other guests didnt,definitely language barriers going on.
The first room we were put in was horrible, way to the back facing a field, smelled musty, was hot. We did not have a Garden VIew or Beach view as we had requested.
2nd room we were sent to was dirty,hot, the tub had sand in it! The restroom smelled of urine.
So there we go again to the front desk, after being on a long flight, tired, hot....we were given the key to another room.
This 3rd room was decent...felt a bit hot also, but it was cleaner, didn't smell bad. The ceiling fan did not work, so my husbnad notified the front desk and they finally sent someone to fix it.
Throughout our 8 days there, we had problems with the A/C,the room was very humid,the bed always felt wet, the room was never cool. We would almost everyday have to call for wash cloths or hand towels, they would run out -I suppose and just leave the bath towels. Had to call for them to replenish the fridge which was part of the inclusive deal.
The food was pretty good, sometimes the food was not labled at the buffet and had to take a lucky guess at what you were about to eat.
When would would go at times to get beach towels-they had run out. One day we went and we got "dirty" towels, when i unfolded one is smelled and was full of sand, so i guess they recycled the towels.
At the restaurants and some of the bars they would serve drinks with hardly any ice or with no ice,only to be served a lukewarm soda,tea or water. We had previously stayed in Riu Cabo San Lucas and you can't even compare the service we received there to the service and accomadations here at Punta Cana. I will never recommend or come back to Riu Punta Cana!

If your looking for a romantic getaway or just a nice family reunion, Riu Palace is the place to do it! This is a very nice hotel situated right on the beach. The best part is it's all inclusive! Never paying for drinks at the bar is the best. The pool is a nice big pool featuring a swim up bar. If you do stay here, please be sure to parasail, its the most beutiful thing you will ever see. They have the best coastline ive ever seen (and ive been many nice places) Be sure you know some spanish because thats all they speak down there. You will get by just by saying Hola (hello) and gracias (thank you) and por favor (please).....room was very nice, and featured a balcony and soak tub. The water at this resort from the sink and bath will get you sick, but the hotel provides you with a gallon of fresh water in your mini fridge and its replenished every day or 2. Great hotel and beutiful beach. Loved it here!!!

Went for a 5 day trip. the hotel was more majestic and beautifull than in the pictures on their website. Everything was included, and they mean it. The food was very good. There were 2 buffetts, and 4 other restaurants to choose from. You have to get in line at 0830 hrs to book the reservations for that night, but it was worth it. The sidewalk at the beach offered a great place to run if you're into that (we were). We also ran around the other hotels there. The Riu has 5 hotels side by side there- we were in the nicest one. If you book at the Palace, you have priviledges at all of the other 4 hotels too! The pools were clean and plenty big enough. The rooms were great, and had good service. The staff was a little standoffish, but if you actually talked with them, they warmed up quickly. The flight down there cost more than the stay in the hotel! I thought it was a bargain. But then I'm no world traveler either. We went snorkling for a couple of hours, worked out 3 out of 5 mornings in the gym (5 treadmills, and an antique weight machine, but very nice), had a wonderfull massage, paddled around in the sea kayaks, and really had a ball of fun. the atmosphere was first class, and there was no little hassle about anything because it was all-inclusive (I'll be doing this every chance I get from now on). In all, the stay was perfect, and the facility was beautifull. The only minor complaint was that the power went out twice 2 nights in a row for about an hour. I had brought 2 small flashlights and used them. Other than that, perfect vacation, would be a great honeymoon, and will be a second visit soon!