Wonderful Resort!

I loved the time spent at this resort.Everything from the food to the amenities to the grounds were top notch. The only downside was that there were never enough chairs at the pool side,the beds were hard ( like all resorts I have been to) and the lobby at our resort(the Village Merengue) was nothing special and needed updating. Otherwise,we would definitely go back and might stay at the Bachata.

Old and run down

This resort is in dire need of a complete overhaul. Our room was always clean and done so in a timely manner. That being said it was overrun by cockroaches and mosquitos. The furniture was falling apart right in our hands. None of the drawers would work and were falling apart in our hands. The shower head was falling off the wall . There were no toiletries in the room. We couldn't even get a Kleenex. The air conditioner was more like a humidifier than an A/C unit. We have never had such poor qua [... read more]lity food in all our travels to the Caribbean including Cuba. The lowest quality and the same every meal. Smoking is a huge problem for the majority of guest who come from North America as the Europeans smoke everywhere including nonsmoking areas. One day we watched a waiter serve a guest several times in a nonsmoking area and do nothing until we called him over and complained. The beach was riddled with cigarette butts and never cleaned up. The ala Cart restaurants are not bad if you don't mind getting up at 6:30 to line up for a reservation. This is the last timeI will stay at a RIU resort.

RIU Merengue

Nice small report, grounds were well kept, nice beach. Food was okay, ice cream tasted like it had cough syrup in it though, but other than that the food was decent. Pool area fills up quick in the morning, the WIFI is limited and signal isn't strong.

Nice family vacation spot

Dining - not bad. Buffets were repetitive, but good. Tables could be cleaner! Wish there was an outdoor terrace for dining. Beach - not white sand, but nice. Ocean conditions are choppy. Lots of red flag days. Great for bobbing around. Pools - nice on Merengue side, little crazy on Bachata side Rooms - some great, some not so much. We asked for a room change and were given a beautiful room with balcony. Rooms are on the smaller side, but nice. All in all good resort for the price. Good for child [... read more]ren.

RIU MERENGUE Surprise

When we booked we did not know what to expect. From the moment we got out of the air port to the time we got to the hotel the experience was better than other trips we had gone on. The service at the hotel was unmatched by other resorts we have stayed at. The grounds where well maintained with no shortage of hounds keepers. The room was of a decent size and the house keepers kept our room extremely clean and both the fridge and the wall mounted bar where also stocked each day. The beach was alwa [... read more]ys clean and even thou it is not the white sand of some beachs you could easily walk with your toes in the sand (I would recommend water shoes in the water, it's a bit rocky). As far as food goes there was never a problem. Always something to eat no matter what time of day you could get a meal. The nightly shows where beyond what I expected. Some of them could have been Las Vegas style shows, with a bigger budget. The entertainment staff went out of the way to get people doing things all day long whether you where at the beach or hanging by the pool or you just felt like playing some fun bingo for prizes. The bars we had no complaints about at all and there was no shortage of the rum in the drinks. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone wishing to get away for either a quiet time away as a couple or as a group that wants to get away and party till the wee hours of the morning. You will find what you are looking for with this resort.

Great beach; great food; older rooms

I travelled with 2 young kids (2 and 4y) to Riu Merengue and we enjoyed our trip. We were disappointed with our room, the furniture and bathroom was old/dented/scratched, but on the other hand very clean and really thats more important. The beach and food made up for it all. The sandy beach is long and not over crowded, a few 50-200m out there is a small coral reef with many fish that we snorkeled through. I recommend to snatch a lounge chair in the morning before breakfast. The food at the buff [... read more]et was great - breakfast and dinner were amazing. But do not go to the a la carte restaurants, trust me!! A walk up to the light house was worth a great view.

Ok resort

The hotel rooms were great food was good entertainment was horrible staff were great was next to impossible to book an alacarte it rained for 4 out of the 7 days we were there all day all night and all through the night the beach was all rock .

It was a nice trip!!

The hotel was kept very clean. I had been there 3 years before so I knew it was going to be a good choice. My only disappointment was not knowing that I was booking a room on the village side. I would have preferred the garden side. The maid kept out room clean and tidy, and always brought fresh towels. Only complaint would be that the pillows could be a little thicker. The entertainment got pretty repetitive on the village side, same dances and what not, but we didn't watch much as we had to p [... read more]ut our baby to bed at a decent time. The staff was incredibly friendly!!!! I can't stress enough about how amazing they all were. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to go back to this resort. The food was good for a buffet. Lunch had the most limited selection, but let me tell you, those pancakes at breakfast were always a huge hit!! Not going to lie Sunwing was a little disorganized when it came to figuring out what shuttle we were on to get to the resort, and the staff with Sunwing at POP airport weren't the greatest either. All in all, I would go back for a third time! :)

Beautiful resort

We had a wonderful time! The staff is exemplary in their efforts to please you and outstanding in making you feel welcome. They definitely deserve to be well paid. The only negative aspect were the beds. They are quite uncomfortable. Never went in any of the pools; ocean all the way! Staff on excursion were wonderful as well!

Loved the resort

Riu Merengue is a great resort. I loved how all three resorts were attached. If one pool was busy we could just go to the other pools. Overal great experience but hated the locals pestering on the beach.

Great resort

Grounds were lovely and well cared for. My first time at a resort. Easy to fill a day with reading friends and water. Lots of food but always the same. Most of our party had travelers complaint which was not good. Love the living quarters. Staff very friendly.

Fantastic Stay with Family and Friends!

The resort was what we had hoped for, excellent rooms, plenty of food and drinks and nice atmosphere. It was nice having access to the other hotels and venues during the stay. Shows during the evening were well done.

Nice Resort but...

The resort overall was very nice. The rooms were clean, the food was good if a bit repetitive. The pools, grounds and common areas were kept nice and we always saw people working hard to keep it so. The beach was also nice. I was a bit worried after reading other reviews about the locals coming on the weekend but we had no problems. Our main complaint was the flies that were on everything. Out of a group of 18 people, 16 of us got sick to varying degrees. I don't know for sure but think it could [... read more] have been the flies that were all over the food. However, overall we had a great trip and found the resort and its staff very nice.

Hotel Trotter

Facility was great, rooms were good, food was good. Too many flies on food at the outdoor buffet. A lot of people in our group were sick with a gastronomical disorder. Beach was beautiful and pools were great.

Beautiful Vacation

The rooms were very clean and kept clean throughout the stay. The weather was perfect. The beach was clean and beautiful. The red flag was up for the whole stay, but still enjoyed the waves hitting the beach. The bathroom in the rooms should be updated and a better/levelled bar fridge.

Full of crazy locals

The resort was comfortable, outdated but that didn't bother us because it was very clean. The staff was very helpful, yet they hardly understood us. We could not go in the pool at the meringue because it was wall to wall full of locals, very, very dirty. We had no idea when we booked that locals were going to be staying at this resort. The Sunwing host Frank, was terrible, very cold. It was very intimidating, the "local" men and boys were very aggressive, especially since we had teenage daughter [... read more]s. The entire vacation the resort only spoke spanish during all shows and games. We were very disappointed not to know the truth about this resort.

Not great

airconditioner leaked quick fix patio door lock broke no fix toilet would not flush properly if at all bearing in exhaust fan squeal not fix .2daythen got the screamers lasted until I was home for 2 days. good way to lose 12 lbs.flight on time both way for a change also we got a up grade to a suite this were all the fun occured

Cant wait for my next visit!

Food was great, beach is amazing, staff friendly. A little too much North American music for my taste but still a wonderful vacation location. Safe and clean, rooms were well kept. Planning my next visit and have others interested in going as well. Wish our direct flight season in the Atlantic was longer tho... have to wait longer to go.

Amazing resort!

My best vacation ever! Amazing rooms, beach, food, drinks etc.etc. Absolutely no complaints about this resort. Only problem was the bug bites at night on the beach, forgot to take bug spray?! Perfect place and I would recommend to anyone. Cannot wait to return!

You won't regret the decision......

Rui Merengue was an excellent resort....rooms were clean and up-to-date, although no fan in the bathroom made for a very steamy shower!!! Open bar in the room was a plus!!! The food was excellent, offering alot of choice even for picky eaters and many familiar and domestic dishes to try. The facility was so clean, friendly staff and great shows kept you entertained every night. The beach was great, sandy but some seaweed in water and places of alot of coral so one had to watch their step!!! No s [... read more]hortage of beach loungers and sunshine...highly recommended and will likely return!!