Riu Palace Bavaro

Newly renovated hotel, very clean, impeccable service from all staff. Spread over several floors with spacious rooms. Very good food both in the à la carte restaurants and at the buffet, which offers a very wide variety of dishes. Beautiful beach, not too much seaweed – windier days bring more, but it is regularly cleared. I love the RIU concept: 1. No rush to the palapas on the beach in the morning; they are large palm trees that provide shade, and there are plenty of chairs; 2. RIU only provides one beach towel per guest, which eliminates the situation where some people "reserve" several chairs with multiple towels but only use one, thus depriving other guests of lounge chairs; 3. The in-room bar where you can make your own cocktails. 4. No reservations are needed for the à la carte restaurants – they operate on a first-come, first-served basis (so there may be a wait, but it's usually never too long – it depends on the time you arrive). Although it's not an adults-only hotel, there weren't many adults during my stay (one section of the hotel seems more suited to families with young children). Therefore, I was able to enjoy a pleasant and quiet atmosphere in the restaurants. Overall, a very positive experience with RIU; I highly recommend them.

Hôtel nouvellement rénové, très propre, service impeccable de la part de tous les employés. Sur plusieurs étages avec de vastes chambres. Nourriture très bonne autant dans les restaurants à la carte qu'au buffet qui présente une très grande variété de mets. Magnifique plage, pas trop d'algues - les journées plus venteuses en apportent davantage mais elles sont ramassées régulièrement.
J'adore le concept de RIU: 1 pas de course pour les palapas à la plage le matin, ce sont de grands palmiers qui fournissent de l'ombre et il y a amplement de chaises; 2 RIU n'accorde qu'une serviette de plage par vacanciers ce qui élimine le cas où certains "réservent" plusieurs chaises avec plusieurs serviettes mais n'en utilisent qu'une seule, privant ainsi les autres vacanciers de chaises longues; 3 le bar dans la chambre où on peut faire nos mix à notre goût; 4 aucune réservation nécessaire pour les restaurants à la carte - fonctionnent sur une base de premiers arrivés, premiers servis (il peut donc y avoir de l'attente mais normalement jamais trop long - dépend de l'heure à laquelle on arrive).
Bien que ce ne soit pas un hôtel pour adultes seulement, il n'y en avait pas beaucoup lors de mon séjour (une section de l'hôtel semble plus adaptée pour les familles avec de jeunes enfants). Je pouvais donc profiter d'une ambiance agréable et calme aux restaurants.
Expérience toujours très positive avec RIU, je recommande fortement.

We are extremely happy with our decision to book this RIU hotel. The atmosphere, the staff, the cleanliness, and the price we got were all excellent. The only downside during our stay was five days of strong winds on the beach and very powerful waves.

Nous sommes super heureux d'avoir pris cette décision de prendre ce RIU. Ambiance, personnel, la properté et le prix que nous avons obtenu.
Le seul négatif durant notre sojourn était 5 jours de gros vent sur la plage, les vagues très forces.

The staff were friendly and kind, but otherwise I'll pass.

Personnel aimant et gentil mais pour le reste je passe

It’s only 20-30 minutes from the airport.

The resort itself is clean and well maintained. It’s not too big and nothing is more than a 5 minutes walk away. Multiple pools, bars, food options at all locations and different times of the day. The food court that’s by the beach and main pool has great options but regardless where you are you almost always have something close to snack, sweets, drink or coffee. All the restaurants are in the same area so you can browse and pick without having to walk all over the place.

The food was ok. The food court’s Asian Wok style restaurant was excellent. The buffet offered a good variety of options where you could always find something you liked. The most average where the ‘à la carte’ restaurants. No reservations were needed but the foreign cuisine themed food was not as good as the regular stuff they made at the buffet, which is to be expected of people cooking stuff they never tried for real or don’t eat themselves in their homes.

The room was fine, spacious enough for our family of 5. Beds were comfortable with plenty of pillows. Mini fridge with drinks, coffee maker and a few bottles of liquor. Everything in the room was clean and functioned well. So were the rest of the buildings and amenities. It was all very clean.

Personnel and service was on par with what I expect of a good Dominican resort.

The water slides are not huge but a nice extra and change of pace. There are some very good pool, slides and water play module options for kids as young as 18 months all the way up to teens. Also there is an adult section and pool I did not visit.

The beach was great. There is a deep section of coconut trees giving shade. We got side on wind, small waves and some algae but I’ve seen this same beach calm and clear so depends on weather. It’s all sand and there are no rocks in the water. The beach in that spot is not eroded. There is a lot of people selling stuff, excursions and boat in the water doing the parasailing and inflatables trips so not the quietest. Not really any water sports to do, they have a few kayaks.

I didn’t do any excursion or deal with the entertainment onsite so I can’t speak on that.

Overall, a very good option and I would definitely recommend.

It’s only 20-30 minutes from the airport.

The resort itself is clean and well maintained. It’s not too big and nothing is more than a 5 minutes walk away. Multiple pools, bars, food options at all locations and different times of the day. The food court that’s by the beach and main pool has great options but regardless where you are you almost always have something close to snack, sweets, drink or coffee. All the restaurants are in the same area so you can browse and pick without having to walk all over the place.

The food was ok. The food court’s Asian Wok style restaurant was excellent. The buffet offered a good variety of options where you could always find something you liked. The most average where the ‘à la carte’ restaurants. No reservations were needed but the foreign cuisine themed food was not as good as the regular stuff they made at the buffet, which is to be expected of people cooking stuff they never tried for real or don’t eat themselves in their homes.

The room was fine, spacious enough for our family of 5. Beds were comfortable with plenty of pillows. Mini fridge with drinks, coffee maker and a few bottles of liquor. Everything in the room was clean and functioned well. So were the rest of the buildings and amenities. It was all very clean.

Personnel and service was on par with what I expect of a good Dominican resort.

The water slides are not huge but a nice extra and change of pace. There are some very good pool, slides and water play module options for kids as young as 18 months all the way up to teens. Also there is an adult section and pool I did not visit.

The beach was great. There is a deep section of coconut trees giving shade. We got side on wind, small waves and some algae but I’ve seen this same beach calm and clear so depends on weather. It’s all sand and there are no rocks in the water. The beach in that spot is not eroded. There is a lot of people selling stuff, excursions and boat in the water doing the parasailing and inflatables trips so not the quietest. Not really any water sports to do, they have a few kayaks.

I didn’t do any excursion or deal with the entertainment onsite so I can’t speak on that.

Overall, a very good option and I would definitely recommend.

The hotel has been renovated with modern amenities. The food is varied and of high quality. The shows are always entertaining. The beach is magnificent with plenty of shade from the palm trees.

Hôtel rénové au goût du jour. La bouffe est variée et de qualité. Spectacles toujours divertissants. Plage magnifique avec beaucoup d’ombre des palmiers.