My sister (18), her boyfriend (19), my husband (30), and I (27) stayed at Riu Mambo from April 17-24.

First of all, I must say that I was FREAKING out because of the weather reports for Puerto Plata just before we left. There was supposed to be rain every single day, but guess what! The only rain we encountered was as we were leaving the hotel to go to the airport on the last day. So the moral of that story is, listen to B0BK in the forums, and when he tells you that it isn't raining, trust him.

We arrived at Mambo around noon and were greeted with a drink and were told that our rooms were not ready. Not a big deal, we packed our bathing suits in our carry-ons so they were easily accessible. We were also able to get towels right away.

Our room was exactly as shown in the traveller's photos of Mambo. Spacious, CLEAN, booze was fully stocked. The only thing that I wasn't a huge fan of at first was the fact that the beds are two double beds pushed together instead of a real king size bed. There is a crack in the middle of the two beds, but two people can easily fit on one bed, or else just take the opportunity to sprawl on your own bed! The outlets are different and they sell adaptors at the gift shop. Two prong plugs do fit, however. We were also always getting nice gifts in our rooms; one day we got a fruit plate from the manager, another day a coconut from the gardener, and of course the towel art from the maid. My sister and her boyfriend used their mini bar A LOT, it's stocked with gin, vodka, white rum, dark rum, pepsi, tonic water, and bottled water. The pathways to the rooms are very well maintained - the gardeners take great pride in their work.

In my humble opinion, the best drink at the Riu's was the Mojito. I could really go for one now. Fresh mint, rum had a nice flavour, a bit of sugar, and tonic water. Mmmmmm... The best bet for any drink in DR is obviously rum (that's what they do down there!) My sister drank beer mostly (Brahma) and she compared it to Corona. I also enjoyed the Cuba Libre, Dominican Special and Cocoloco. The alcohol is definately not watered down in anyway and the bartenders are very generous with it, especially if you make a connection with them. The blended drinks are quite sweet, but you can get the bartenders to make them less sweet if you ask. Our favourite bar for after dinner was at Merengue I believe it is called La Plaza. It's a pretty atmosphere and you can still see the stage. If you're feeling adventurous, ask for some MAMAJUANA, it's a herbal mixture that is soaked in rum, red wine and honey. It's kind of like Jagermeister....

We went to all of the beaches at the Riu complex (Mambo, Merengue, and Bachata), and we felt that the Mambo beach was by far the nicest! Nice sand, nice water (a bit of seaweed in areas, but easily avoidable). There was tons of shade at all three resorts and plenty of chairs available. Bachata's beach was incredibly rocky, but if you're staying there, just go hang out at Mambo or Merengue's beach. There are vendors that come by occasionally wanted to braid hair, just say no thank you. Also, there are some shops (shacks) on the far side of the beach - don't go there unless you are really good at bartering (like moi). There are pedel boats, kayaks, snorkle gear and more available (most things for free) at the beach. My husband played volleyball with the animation team every morning. For anyone who might be sensitive to such things, many ladies of all shapes, sizes, and ages do go topless at the beach. It's really not a big deal.

The pools are always where the party was at. The animation team was usually organizing water polo, pool volleyball, various contests, or some other activity. The pool was also where most families with young children stayed. There are no hot tubs at any of the Riu hotels, but there is a swim up bar at Bachata and some really cool in-pool loungers. The pools were a good temperature and were kept very clean - kiddie pools emptied at night, regular pools closed and shocked at night. People got up really early to "reserve" chairs around the pool (the prime chairs taken up BEFORE 6am) . There are still plenty of chairs available with lots of shade. Each pool had a bar with a restaurant beside it.

Speaking of the restaurants...
We ate at the buffet restaurants at Mambo and Bachata and all of the poolside restaurants (Mambo, Merengue, Bachata) for lunch. We had quite the diverse group of eaters. My sister-abnormally picky, her boyfriend-willing to try anything, my husband-also very picky, and myself-vegetarian. There was always something to eat for all of us.
Breakfast was their favourite meal, they LOVED the bacon, custom omelettes and freshly made donuts. My favourite thing about breakfast was the smoothie bar-try the papaya smoothie! I had granola yogurt and fruit for breakfast.
Lunch was typical- burgers (the three of them liked them), hotdogs, pizza, pasta, fries, soup and salad (which included a really good chickpea salad). It was the same at all of the resorts.
Dinner had some staple items and then featured items. My favourite night was Mexican night. Homemade guacamole and salsa, black bean tacos! Yummy! The others had chicken tacos and tortilla soup. Dominican night was also a big hit with our group. There was a big pig roasted on a spit (being veg, I thought it was gross, but everyone else loved it.) Honestly, there was so much variety every night that if you can't find something, maybe you're better off staying at home with a box of Kraft Dinner. We wished that the restaurants were open after the club closed, but I guess you can't win them all. We didn't make reservations at the ala carte restaurants because we were too lazy.

The animation team was FABULOUS! When we wanted to get involved they were there ready to get us pumped, and when we wanted to just relax they respected that too. They are so dedicated! We heard SEVERAL animation team members declare to everyone who was listening "I LOVE MY JOB!!" One of these employees was Stefan, the children's co-ordinator for Mambo. We don't have any kids, but watching him run around, play and dance with the younger guests at the resort (some looked as young as about 2) was so entertaining! The kids ADORE this man and we saw him communicating a lot with the parents. The kids program at Mambo looked like a parent's dream come true! The rest of the animation team just wanted to do anything they could to ensure we had a great time! They are friendly, hard-working (morning to night), wonderful individuals. I would hire all of them to work with me if I could!

We went to a different show every night. We watched most at Mambo and Merengue and one at Bachata. We thought the best shows were the ones that celebrated Dominican heritage. The costumes and dancing were fun and energetic. We also enjoyed the magician. Sadly, we missed the infamous Michael Jackson show (I don't really know how we managed that, but we did). The shows that tried to be American were so bad they were almost good, but just almost. Don't waste your time with Grease unless you're pretty drunk and want a laugh.

The club, Pacha, but we called it Club Cherry was alright. They played too much merengue and salsa and being pasty Canucks, we didn't have the rhythm-even after many, many drinks. We still had a good time pretending we knew how to dance. It also would have been nice to have somewhere to eat after a night of drunken dancing.

The casino is pathetic, so unless you're a die hard slot jockey, don't bother.

All in all, we all had a fantastic time! I was one of those people who was sceptical of the Dominican Republic because of things that friends and family had said. How wrong I was! I'd go back in a heartbeat!

We have just returned back from the Mambo and we had a brilliant time, nothing too much trouble for the people who work here. We stayed in block 3 which is next to the pool and only minutes from the beach. The food was lovely and plenty to choose from, the drinks were nice too especially the cocktails (yummy). We would def go back to this hotel and out of all the Riu's in the same complex we thought our's was the nicest and less hectic than the others. Hope to return there very soon.

Riu Mambo is a great hotel,also the Riu complex with Merengue and Bachata along the beach. I went with my boyfriend for my21st birthday and loved it. Room was fab as we were really close to the pool bar and restaurant but had a realy nice lush garden to look onto.maid was fab she made swans and allsorts out of the bath towels everyday,room spotless to come back to. bar staff were a laugh and couldnt do enough for you.the olnt thing i would say would be the Animacion people were sooooo annoying if you didnt want to do the games as they scream th place down telling you whats happening and actually wake you up on the sun loungers to tell you! if you like to join in the games then they would be really fun and they do work hard,but when you just want to relax they are a bit much.would thoroughly recommed the trips,we went on the Paradise Island trip and the Megatrucks.Paradise Island is a sandbank way out in the sea, white sand a crystal clear water excellen for snorkelling. Megatrucks get you out in the countryside in what i could only describe as a 6x6 opentop like dumper trucks,they are great and the guides are really knowledgeble.there you will visit the people in the country who really do have nothing,visit a school,a village and a tiny cigar making shop all fab.weather for the 2 weeks was fab,really couldnt fault the holiday but for one thing theres always the asking for tips weather you are on a trip or in the hotel,you dont have to but we did a few times and they are really grateful.the food in the buffet restaurant was great always choice and a few queues but didnt really mind.you have the option to reserve a table in the steak house or the italian restaurant we went to both and to be honest the food was better in the buffet. would so recommend this hotel and would deff go to a Riu hotel again!

Firstly, I know it's a late review but I felt this hotel deserved a mention for the first rate service it provides.

My girlfriend and I booked to stay at the Riu Mambo for our first holiday together and I can honestly say we were not dissapointed with our choice.

The staff were extremely friendly and nothing ever seemed like it was a problem for them. Every single member of the team had a constant smile and always happy to greet you with a friendly hola!

The resort was kept spotlessly clean and people were working round the clock to tidy the palm trees, rake the beach etc. A special mention to Marisol, our maid who worked tirelessly to keep our room immaculate, despite our attempts to the contrary! Little touches from her really made the stay, including the towel animals left in the room and even a birthday card for my girlfriend left in the room on the day!

This was the first all-inclusive holiday we have ever been on, but based on this experience we're definitely looking at another. My biggest apprehension was the fact you will be mainly confined to the hotel grounds for the duration of your stay but with two sister hotels in the same complex there's a fair amount of choice to keep your days varied along with a wide selection of excursions to choose from to keep you entertained.

There was always a good selection of food on offer at the dining hall buffet, varied daily to make sure it doesn't get repetitive. I especially enjoyed the saltfish dishes despite not being a big seafood fan.

The drinks were also great with a wide selection of spirits available along with daily speciality cocktails, usually made with fresh fruit juices. The only slight downside was the lack of branded drinks but to be fair this is supposedly pretty much standard at all-inclusive resorts.

My only gripe of the whole holiday was the legroom on the flight being a little on the stingy side. But to be fair it was 'recommended' by the travel agent to upgrade to the luxury seats with more legroom due to me being 6ft 3in!

All-in-all, I wouldn't hesitate in recommending this resort to anyone who will listen and will definitely be looking to book again next year. Fantastic value for money.