Clean hotel, great food and best entertainment staff of any resort. Only issue is the amount of people offering weed, hash and cocaine, it’s everywhere and many locals and cab drivers offering it. They don’t understand no.
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Riu Palace Punta Cana: Great place!
Riu Palace Punta Cana is a fabulous resort! Everything about the Resort is first class. The most amazing part, was the service which I have not seen at other resorts for many years now. Apart from the weather which nobody can control, we had a great time at Riu Palace.
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Lili -
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Riu Playacar: could not of picked a better place for our 2nd anniversary
The room was spacious, the food unbelievable, the staff so courteous, the facilities exemplary. The site was very clean. Mini bar refilled with more water and soda than we could consume. I'm so glad we went to the Riu Playacar and will never forget this trip.
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Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Loved this resort
The hotel is very inviting. The Rooms were very spacious, Very clean and comfortable. Beautiful grounds, well kept. Staff were all friendly and helpful. Food was really good. Lots of shops on site to visit. I would definitely go back.
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Bonnie -
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Riu Negril: Riu Negril
They need to do a little upkeep on some things. Our phone didn't work all week and some of the balconies didn't have towel racks fixed to hang towels. Also always dirty dishes on top of the garbage cans that should have been picked up more often.The people that worked at the resort were wonderful. Very friendly and always asked if you needed help with anything.
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Riu Guanacaste: Loved the resort.
The grounds were very well kept and beautiful. Pool area also well kept and stunning. Lobby and restaurants well kept. One issue is with the booking of dinner reservations. System they use is horrible. You end up having to line up in your bathing suit at 6 pm in order to get an 8 pm reservation. There must be a better way so one can enjoy the sun/sunset and then get ready for the evening.
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Riu Montego Bay: Pretty good
This is our 8th visit to Jamaica. We have stayed in 3 different all inclusive hotels in Montego Bay and many small hotels throughout.
This was our first stay at Riu MoBay (January) and really found the resort to be very nice, the rooms are very clean and fairly well maintained. They need to change their A/C filters because it does create a musty smell. Although once we opened the patio doors it was gone.
The food at the buffet was great found lots of fish and shrimp and great deserts. We lov[... read more]ed the Steak House!! The bars have awesome service with plenty of staff.
The entertainment is good too. The young staff members do a great job of keeping everyone happy during the day and at night performed beautifully. Sunshine was my favourite.
The beach is nice and warm and a fair size. Plenty of beautiful trees for shade and we didn’t have a hard time finding loungers. Unfortunately this hotel is about a kilometre from the airport so planes are a real nuisance and fly directly over the beach. It would be nice it they had service on the beach for drinks since you have to walk a distance to the pool bar. A few locals on small boats provide Ganja and this was very convenient and helpful to many guests. The beach party was fun too!
The pool is huge and beautiful. I didn’t get in but it looked warm and lots of chairs and shade. Don’t miss the weekly Pool Party because it was hilarious and lots of fun!
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Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Amazing Resort
Staff is very friendly and helpful The resort is clean The food was very good and a nice variety We would definitely go again the beach has lots of shade available but to swim in ocean was a little ruff while we were there overall it was a great experience and we will return
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Riu Playa Blanca: Beautiful resort
This is a typical beautiful RIU resort. The staff are always keeping everything clean and constantly working on upkeep. Grounds are also kept up and look great. My family and I just got back - January 2018
The beach was long and beautiful, only thing is if you are used to the white sand it doesn't compare to that. At first there was a large area with black sand and I thought it was dirty, but when the sun shone onto the sand it was sparkly and very different. I was told it was the volcan[... read more]ic fallout into the ocean. There were sea shells if you like looking at those.
Pools - there was a nice kids pool, pool where the entertainment/games were, the swim up bar/pool and one more adult pool. Great variety and well kept.
Staff - the entertainment staff were always trying to include everyone and there was a lot you could do such as; pool volleyball every morning, water exercises every morning, crazy games - which were the best (had lots of fun either participating and/or watching), dance lessons every afternoon and of course the evening entertainment. The rest of the staff were also good, however the only BUT would be it doesn't compare to the exceptional friendlier staff in the Dominican Republic (which we have gone 3 times in the past 10 years to 3 different resorts/locations). Some staff spoke English, like the reception and entertainment staff but most of the rest didn't.
Food/drinks - the a la carte restaurants were exceptional with exceptional staff too! Highly recommend - also you didn't have to make reservations but suggest going right for 6:30 to ensure you get in. Worth the wait! At the buffet the food was ok, BUT if you don't tolerate onions, like myself and some other family members it was difficult to find main food options without the onions. Example - Pizza with ham/pineapple and onions!, chicken cooked with onions, even the salmon was wrapped in an onion! So up to you, I know many people do like the onions.
One thing I was not happy with was the day of check out. We didn't have a secured locked area for the luggage it was kept in the lobby from the time of check-out (noon) until 6:30 pm. All other resorts the luggage was put into a separate locked room where they would unlock the room closer to the time you leave. Maybe they don't do this because people need to keep going into their luggage?
I was also disappointed with some of the Sunwing Rep's, as we asked them specifically certain questions and they either flat out lied to us in order to book an excursion or they were clueless as to where/what you can find on the property, such as the gift shops. My suggestion on any question around/about the hotel ask a RIU staff member instead. That being said, the shopping excursion was very good.
The days were always hot, which is one of the main reasons I chose Panama. Overall thought for the price paid compared to the Dominican Republic, I am not sure if I'd go back unless I wanted guaranteed heat.
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Riu Republica: This Hotel should have rating 3 Stars
I was there with my 2 sons, booked 2 rooms. 1st my room phone did not work. I complained for 3 consecutive days and finally on day 3, I was told that it is not fixable and they moved me to a different room, this time closer to my sons, however it was not Garden View as requested and payed for. When in this the phone was working, however Shower was not as well as Hair Dryer was not and the room safe was locked. I advised the reception and the Shower and Hair Dryer were then fixed but the safe in [... read more]the room NOT. It was not corrected during my entire stay, I had a huge concern about my valuables as I needed to take them with me everywhere. I was not able to enjoy the pool or the ocean as I was continually concerned about my valuables and therefore confined to my pool or beach chair. Food was OK as well as service in the restaurants, however only local wine and extremely limited international liquors .... most liguors mentioned on their menu were not available during my entire stay. NO I would not recommend this resort for anyone seeking 4 or 5 star accommodations. On the positive .... relatively new hotel with lots of choices for dinning.
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Johnny 5 -
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Riu Palace Pacifico: Great resort and staff, very clean
The resort ,food and staff are great from the breakfast guy Antonio and Thomas to all the people from lunch to dinner... try the special coffee after dinner you will love itâ¤. Very clean resort. Wish I would have up graded room though. Do not get 3031 as it is right next to service area. Seems they like to fix things in the middle of the night. All good. 1 bad thing is the beds, never had a good sleep in 14 days. Pillows and beds no good. In saying that.... didn't come to Mexico to sleep.
Bea[... read more]uty beach , short walk to bucerias was nice. Could use a few more bathrooms for common areas. All and all a good resort. The people make it forsure.
Best part was the piano man from 7-8:30. Amazing voice and talent. Here's to you John thanks for the great entertainment. Shows and bands were great as well. Thanks for the premium tequila...
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Esher -
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Riu Palace Paradise Island: reconsider this hotel
This hotel is the worst hotel we have ever stayed in. We spend 4 nights Jan 21 -24. On our 2nd day we were moved to another room. our 1st night in the 2nd room my partner c/o of red bump on is skin. He said it could be bed bugs. I though no way the room appears clean. On our forth night we saw bedbugs running on the bed along with roaches on the floor. We came back home in terrors, hoping that no bedbugs came in our belonging. To date Jan 30 our suitcases remains in the garage. We wash our cloth[... read more]s in hot water, but is still afraid to bring them to bedroom.We have no peace of mind since returning because it takes a lot of work to get rid of bed bug. We did a incident report b4 leaving the hotel and no one contacted us back. This means they are aware of the problem.
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HamishMacLeod -
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Riu Palace Riviera Maya: Exceptional Stay!
Our stay at the Riu Palace Riviera hotel was wonderful. The hotel has a colonial style, and one feels they are in a 5 star grand European hotel. First and foremost, the hotel staff were fabulous. From the maids who cleaned our rooms, to the front desk crew, groundskeepers and restaurant waiters and waitresses, all were so friendly, hard working and attentive to the guests. My hat is off to them and management.
The grounds are beautifully kept, the beach and pool side very well maintained, hi[... read more]ghlighted by swaying palms.
The restaurants were all good, with a special mention to Manolos, where the selection and preparation were first class.
We have already recommended the resort to a good number of people, and plan to come back again.
Gracias por todo!
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Klang75 -
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Riu Palace Antillas: Perfect Getaway
Great vacation! Hotel was very nice, food was very good, and the service was excellent. Beach was beautiful, perfect sun set every night. Friendly and safe island...... I will be back to this resort.
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Dave -
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Riu Guanacaste: Beautiful resort
Very nice hotel, room was ok. Promised a king bed, got 2 doubles put together. Restaurants were very good, lots of variety in the buffets. There was 4 ala carts which had reservations, we ate at 3 of them, all very good. Grounds were very well kept someone was always around trimming grounds or cleaning up. Nightly entertainment was ok, nothing special. Awesome Pool, grounds around the pool where excellent. Plenty of bars throughout the hotel. Staff was very friendly. Entertainment staff were ve[... read more]ry good and friendly.
Could have used a few more restrooms around the hotel, had to walk along way at times. Beach was ok for the area.
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Riu Montego Bay: Missing the little things
Having stayed a a few RIUs it wasn't hard to book a RIU again. The resort was lovely and the people friendly. Very clean surroundings and the food okay. I was surprised there was no room service for early morning coffee in our room but was even more surprised when I wasn't allowed to take a pot of coffee to our room. I get up early so enjoying a coffee on the balcony is a real treat. So to be able to do that US$26.00 later I bought 2 travel mugs and walked to get 2 coffees to take back to the ro[... read more]om each morning. And what happened to supplying little lotions? As small as those things are, I look forward to those little things on my vacation. According to staff these are part of cost cutting measures. It's too bad. I'm not saying that if I don't book my vacations at a RIU they will shut down but, I'm definitely going to try some place different next time.
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Riu Emerald Bay: Lovely place
Nice friendly staff. Great food. Helpful people. Activities were fun. We did water aerobics, stretching, bouncy ball exercise, beach volleyball.
Waiters were fast and friendly. Food presentation was beautiful. We liked playing cards in the large foyer.
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Riu Republica: Solid 4.5 star resort
The RIU is very large, I understand more than 1300 rooms.
Pros
-New resort - everything is fresh and new and works, Rooms are clean and bright
-Food was very good
-Gardens are well kept
-Staff were friendly
-Hotel manager was very helpful when we ran into problems
- Resort and beach were kept clean and bright
Cons
-Hard to get away from the noise between 9 and 11 pm - we were originally at the back of the hotel (new section) by the sound stage. If you are not a late nighter you will not[... read more] be sleeping if anywhere near either of the resorts stages. Management changed our room and moved us nearer the front of the resort - much better.
- The Beach is seriously crowded. I expect when they added the new section the overcrowding began. wall to wall chairs. If you walk down the beach the resort stands out because of the open expanses of beach at all the other resorts except at the RIU which is noticeably congested.
- There does not seem to be a reef protecting the beach at the resort. It as very rough all week. We like wave hopping but this was extreme. First few days waves were at times in excess of 10 feet in waist deep water. We were tumbled repeatedly and quite violently. Also there is an undertow. We witnessed one rescue of a swimmer that was swept out to the buoy line. It was a close call. The rescue team and life guards did a good job bringing them back from the brink. The swimmer was on his back for about a half hour.
- Very few bathrooms near the beach and pools. We did not go into the very, large, busy, and crowded swim up bar pools (3). Given the lack of bathrooms we ended up calling them the Pee Pools. They shock them at night and they turn a milky colour. Not nice.
- Very slow service in the steak house - the only restaurant we tried. 2 hours for the meal with an hour between appetizers and main course. It is overcrowded and understaffed.
- I like the architecture of many of the resorts we have visited over the years. Did not find it here. Everything is block concrete construction and identical throughout and all painted white. Very bright but drab. Has a bit of a soviet block mass housing look.
- We would not go back because of the over crowding and noise. If those things don't bother you will like the resort - expect 4.5 star service.
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Riu Playa Blanca: Very beautiful resort
Hotel was wonderful . Food was awesome,staff was great. Grounds were kept beautiful . Loved the activities. Would gladly stay there again. Weather was perfect . We would liked to have had more shopping
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Riu Playa Blanca: Great bang for your buck!
I was with a group of 7 and we all enjoyed our stay at the RIU Playa Blanca. Rio Hato airport is new, small and a 10 mins drive away. Rooms were clean, food was very good and the men did not have to wear long pants at the a la carte restaurants. The food at the buffet was just as good if not better than the a la carte restaurants. Reservations were not required and we did not have to wait more than 5 mins. The Asian Restaurant is buffet style, the Italian is buffet/a la carte and the Steakhouse [... read more]is a la carte. Tipping is not required for good service. The Balboa beer served at the resort is very good, and they have a good variety of drinks and real fruit juice. I had beer and clamato as my first drink of the day almost every day. The mojitoes were the best i have ever had. You can get real Baileys on ice and yummy pino coladas too. The U shaped resort layout is great, all the pools, bars and restaurants are conveniently located in the U. The beach is beautiful and nice for taking long walks. This is my 7th all-inclusive trip, I've tried Barcelo, Sandals, Couples, Melia and now RIU and the Playa Blanca is the best bang for your buck. My last 4 trips were adult only resorts however my experience at this "family" resort was a good one and I will likely consider this type of resort in the future. The tours supplied by Sunwing/Nexus Tours (Panama Canal Partial Transit and Jungle Boat Tour) are excellent and so is the golf $60 US 9 holes) at the Sheraton Bijao a 12 mins drive from the resort