Riu Republica: Was ok

This was a bigger resort than I expected. I was disappointed with the restaurants because out of 8-9 only a few were "à la carte" all others were like eating at the buffet. Would be nice to go for a meal with some atmosphere and get served. No issues with cleanliness of the resort Besides the drunken games in mid afternoon with all the 18-25 year olds, not many games or things to get people off their pool chairs, especially in the middle pool near the beach. In my opinion this was n [... read more]ot a 5 star. Maybe a 4-4.5 star

Riu Palace Paradise Island: Great resort

Nice hotel, recently renovated- looks great. Great location, beautiful beach. Great service and food. All the a la carte restaurants are first come first served but we never had an issue getting a seat and the food was great. Everything was always very clean from the room to the restaurants and all around the hotel. I felt very safe venturing out of the resort on my own. I would definitely recommend the resort and would go back!

Riu Santa Fe: Nice resort

Beautiful resort overall except for a few things, if you enjoy swimming in the ocean this isnt the hotel for you, the undertow is bad and you are unable to swim in it. Pools were warm and always clean, resort was spotless and maid was great, no problems there. Food was good and the staff was super friendly, except the manager was a bit rude and very strict. I reccomend going into town where the marina is, great mall to do shopping and lots of restaurants. Only a 10 min drive from the resort. Thi [... read more]s is definietly a party resort, so if you arent a big drinker, i dont reccomend it. Other than that had a good time!

Riu Palace Pacifico: Fantastic resort

Dining: All the dining rooms were fabulous, whether buffet or fine dining. Staff friendly yet very professional. Food was excellent. Accommodation: Very clean and comfortable. Housekeepers great. Poolside and beach area: Very clean and neat. Plenty of lounges. Friendly staff kept us well supplied with cool drinks. Entertainment: As much as anyone could want. A great value.

Riu Guanacaste: Amazing Resort

The resort was kept in impeccable condition from the grounds to the rooms to the bathrooms. All the staff were very helpful and friendly and did everything possible to ensure we had a great time. The food was absolutely fantastic with plenty of selection for every pallet.

Riu Montego Bay: updating required

Recently came back from staying at this location for a week, for the money paid I think some attention in updating the rooms are required, original room was dark and musty smelling, upgraded (for a fee) to ocean view, very large balcony but only two plastic chairs, would have loved lounger chairs or even a hammock would have made a huge difference. Pool was very large and clean, food in the specialty restaurants were average, great selection in the buffet, employees were fabulous. Good hotel [... read more] location if your looking to venture out to visit the shops outside the resort.

Riu Palace Macao: Beautiful resort!

Very clean grounds, beach, pools, bars and all restrooms. Food was great with alot of variety. Had to get out early to get a decent spot by the pool. No shortage of drinks. Lots of daily poolside and beach games if you like.

Riu Palace Paradise Island: Okay

Hated the quotas in the restaurant. New renovations look great. Do not understand why they dragged a guy through the lobby and did not call the police, Bartenders were great. Front desk staff were rude.

Riu Republica: Interesting resort!

We have been to the DR 11 times. The Riu Republica is a nice adults only resort. What we liked: The resort is new, very clean. Rooms very comfortable and when we had a small issue with the toilet the staff showed up immediately to fix it. All the staff were very helpful and quick to help. The beach was very clean as well as all the pool areas. No matter what time we went to the pool or beach we could always find a place in the shade. The beach bars were great and staff were very friendly. The [... read more] public washrooms were attended by staff all the time and spotless. If you wanted a lively pool experience you could find it as well as quiet pools to relax and read. There was no one trying to sell you a timeshare as they have a loyalty program. The ocean was a bit rough but fun, beautiful turquoise water with white beaches. We took many long walks. I participated in the yoga and stretching classes daily. Great instructors! We liked the Jerk Chicken shack on the beach. Geat chicken, ribs and burgers. Entertainment was very good. The food was very good n the main buffet and we could always find something interesting to eat. We liked the Chinese restaurant and enjoyed our dinner at the Indian restaurant as well. What we didn't enjoy. The Riu is a very large resort with over 1000 rooms. The dining experience was like a school cafeteria. Limited service, staff did their best, and crowded and extremely loud. Hard to hear your partner at the table. Trying to find a table was difficult. Had to get to the restaurants before opening time at 6:30 pm to get in at a reasonable time. The wait could be over 1 hour.

Riu Montego Bay: Family Trip - 2018

Took the family on vacation to the RIU Montego Bay. There were four of us, my hubby and I, and our 2 daughters. We arrived on Friday evening and check in was super quick and easy. we were given 2 rooms side by side, in building 4. Initially we thought "Wow, what a long walk, but it wasnt'.. not at all." and the walk is what you need after a big meal at the buffet or restaurants. Rooms were clean..dated, but the only thing that really matters is that it is clean and it was. My girls had great bed [... read more]s, but my hubby and I didn't.. they were older, and not really comfortable. Spoke to front desk, and they offered to move us, and showed us a number of different room options but in the end, we just stayed where we were, and they "padded" our beds.. which was fine, and definitely made it more comfortable. But they were certainly willing to accommodate us. Food was good. Chop Chop serving up the Jerk chicken on the beach was SOOO GOOD! Steak house was good, Italian and Asian okay. Buffet was good, but with most all inclusives, it is often the sames choices nightly, that can get boring. The grounds are beautiful.. beach is small, but I think big enough for everyone to enjoy. Water is calm, so nice for families with smaller children. The pools are gorgeous, with lots of awesome seating in the pool bar area. This resort is close to the airport, bonus when you are travelling to and from, but when you are relaxing by the pool, the planes are loud, like really loud. Not much you can do about it, but it can be distracting. Smoking is only allowed in certain areas, so not sure if you are a smoker if this is for you.. (I am not, so I was quite fine with it!) There were a couple days where chairs around the pool were difficult to come by.. but it always worked out, even if you had to drag them from another spot. The staff are awesome.. all of them, the grounds staff, wait staff, bartenders, front desk, everyone is welcoming and kind and helpful. And the entertainment team.. they work hard, and do a good job. Nothing to do with the resort, but we had spectacular weather.. EVERY DAY! That is a definite first for me on a vacation.. that was delightful! All in all, I can't say I was over the top about it, but I can't say I was disappointed either. Many people we met at this resort were return visitors, and that tells me that they must be pretty consistent in how they do things there.

Riu Palace Paradise Island: Beautiful beach!

Beach and pools are gorgeous and most staff very accommodating. Room was comfortable and clean. Buffet food was good and had a variety. Specialty restaurants were impossible to get into and poorly managed. Food in specialty restaurants was poor. There was also a sewer smell in the hotel throughout our stay.

Riu Playa Blanca: Does NOT come as advertised

Unfortunately this Riu lacked a fundamental component to a high star rating, SERVICE. There was an evident lack of people at this resort which led to poor service, poor maintenance and dirty facilities. You can tell this was once a beautiful place but unless they put money back into it and hir more staff, it is going down hill. 3 star rating - pity!

Riu Palace Punta Cana: Very good resort

All was very good except room wasn't replenished with bottled water, consequently got travellers sickness on 2nd last day of vacation. Other than that it was very good. Would only recommend if assurance of safe water was made.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Quite wheelchair Accessible

I am in a wheelchair, but also can use my rollator Walker for short distances, but there aren't many short distances. We have travelled. The pathways were in good shape and fairly flat. There are several ground floor rooms that should be asked for ahead of time. The toilet was directly behind the door, which wasn't good! There are only 2 bathrooms on site. They have good grabbers in the bigger stalls. Just be careful, as the floor is very slippery. There are ramps to all places, but you have to [... read more] look for them.

Riu Republica: Our Stay at Riu Republica Dominican Republic

There are many points that I want to review. Firs the hotel itself was very nice, nice clean room but with our stay our balcony faced the laundry so it was noisy and not the best thing to view. The overall hotel grounds were very good and easy to get around you just need to walk as it is a large complex. The grounds were clean but I thought more attention was needed to cleaning up cup, plates, and litter around the facility. I have stayed at the RIU in Aruba and they were constantly policing [... read more] the grounds for litter, plates, cups, etc. A plus was the numerous swimming pools at the complex so there was never a problem finding chairs by the pool, in Aruba the RIU usually did not have enough chairs. The hotel staff were great and I thought always friendly and accommodating to our needs or questions. Yes not all the staff speaks fluent English but I thought they still did their best to help us. The hotel surprised me by decorating my room on my birthday with balloons and towels that reminded me how old I am :). The hotel as RIU's do had daily poolside entertainment and games which are fun and I recommend you participate in. Evenings the hotel put on shows at the two stages which are loads of fun and you get to see local entertainers show their talent, I also highly recommend you see the shows! Now the RIU is all inclusive (food and drink). The food was ok but we found much of it to be to salty and limited in taste and flavor. You can manage but do not expect to be overwhelmed. We did attend some of the themed restaurants (Indian, Asian, US) and again they were fun but limited in taste and flavor. The drink was not great. Much of the hard drink, like whiskey, gin or jack Daniel's taste watered down I usually do not drink hard drinks but I tried them. I am a beer drinker and the only beer available was Presidente. That beer had no taste and no flavor or impact, the RIU must do something to either improve it or instead offer other beers both local and foreign. I had multiple cups of the Presidente beer and after two days (we stayed 6) I just stopped drinking it. So overall if the food and drink was better I would say that the price we paid was worth it, but I feel like I paid to much because of the food and drink quality. We did take a 1/2 day tour of the local area which included a local family and farm, I would recommend seeing the local community.

Riu Palace Paradise Island: The best service

Rooms service incredible food delicious pool beautiful and the best is also the service by all the professional people and I have already recommended to quite a few of my friends let’s not forget the beach spectacular and all the activity offered what more anyone can ask for thank you and I am sure I will be returning to RIU hotel

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Good time for the price

I've read a lot of bad reviews about this resort and some fair ones, I'll start with the good Pros: food was fantastic, pool was nice and resort was exceptionally clean and well looked after. The staff is amazing and always happy to help. Cons: air conditioner did not work and rooms smelt strongly of mildew. The smell was almost unbearable. The liquor was bottom shelf garbage and sugary mixed drinks. The beach was very rocky and always red flagged due to the current. Bring beach shoes. People [... read more] do pester you frequently on the beach just politely say no thanks. The reps are decent and the guides and nice. All in all its a nice resort well worth the money if you get it for a decent price. Be aware it's closing soon. Will revisit once it's upgraded!

Riu Palace Costa Rica: Beautiful Resort!

Hotel itself was very high end featuring modern decor and elegant touches throughout. We were delighted when we stepped into our room to discover that it was beautifully decorated, spacious, included not only a large walk in shower, but a jacuzzi tub, a private balcony, mini bar with stocked fridge. This room was cleaned daily along with the fridge and mini bar dispensers reliably refilled by very pleasant staff. All the staff from the servers, pool, bar, cleaning, front desk were very prom [... read more]pt, accommodating and polite. There were many pools that served the different needs of their guest which was excellent in our view. Since I (Catherine) swim early in the morning, I personally saw the lengths to which the staff went to maintain these areas. The buffet restaurant (Arenal) was the best of the many resorts that we have attended. The variety of food choices changed daily, so the menu choices remained interesting. We tried all 4 specialty restaurants and found the Steakhouse (Papagayo) to be the best for our taste. The steaks and lobster were consistently excellent. The other specialty restaurants were classy, food was still good, but were less to our tastes. The one disappointment was that the beach was not as swimming and snorkel friendly as we would have liked. The lack of a barrier reef caused the unchecked waves to make the water hard to see and swim in. There was only one tennis court and it needed to be reserved in advance. The court itself was excellent quality, well lit and provided several days of fun for us. I would like to say a special thank you to Kay at the front desk who made the reservations for us and helped me with other requests that we had. Overall both my husband and I were very impressed by the Riu Palace Costa Rica.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Hotel closing in one month - Sold to Senator Resorts

For the most part, the Resort was good. The biggest problem was people from the sister resort were coming and using ours. This cause poor service and long wait times. It took us 3 days just to get Beach towels. The FREE internet didn't work for 3-1/2 days. As everyone will be out of work in a month, as the new owners will renovate and reopen in November, some workers were not very happy.

Riu Montego Bay: Great service

Thank you very much to Sally! She took it to the next level booking an “impossible” to possible vacation with my friends. Thank you once again for the follow up call. Jamaica was beautiful, I highly recommend the Riu Palace