The Bad:

*The room*
It was disgusting. We stayed on the first floor which was a bit of a hike from the lobby. The bathroom/room was infested with little ants and had a bad odor. The beds are hard as rocks and the pillows are flat and equally as hard (kinda felt like resting your head on a notebook). The water smells that comes out of the showers/faucet and they give you a gallon of bottled water to attempt to brush your teeth with. There was a liquor dispensor with thee CHEAPEST nastiest liquor in it and a few bottles of coke (which are the only bottled beverages you will be given throughout your entire stay...so savor them). There aren't any american outlets nor is there an iron or an ironing board. You can get an adapter (that is old and broken, and an iron that doesnt even steam and is 50 yrs old) from the front desk for $20.

*The Food*
It was absolutely disgusting and misleading. **There is NOT a steak house or an italian restaurant... i repeat... there is NOT a steak house or italian restaurant** There are two places to eat on the resort: The colonial restaurant and the Mama Juana.
The colonial is a buffett for breakfast lunch and dinner. It is nasty. The salad bar has no salad on it just nasty looking slops of mess and it smells by the salad bar the same way it smells in the bathroom. All of the fountain sodas are flat and room temperature.
The mama juana is a buffett during the day and then at night it TURNS INTO the italian restaurant ANDDDD the steak house!!! We went to the supposed "steak house" the second night and got the steak that came with the same veggies that we saw on the lunch buffett that no one ate and french fries. I then got food poisioning from it and was sick for the remainder of my trip. Needless to say we didn't bother making reservations at the supposed "italian restaurant" that was 2 tables over from the "steak house".

*The bars*
They only serve bottom shelf liquor, ONE kind if domestic beer and you can ONLY get it on tap, flat/warm soda, and one kind of white boxed wine and one kind of red boxed wine throughout the entire resort. The only way i lasted through the week was by visiting the little gift shop in the lobby and buying bottled waters and gatorades. One night, we found some corona bottles in the bottom back of the cooler in the gift shop and bought a few. It was worth it.

*The service*
Some people were cheerfull and helpful, but not most. I actually found them down right rude. I called and complained that the adapter and iron (that i just walked 6 blocks to the lobby to get) didnt work. They told me to walk BACK to the lobby and they would give me another one. I got upset and refused and then started going on about how unhappy i was with the room and everything and they ignored me. They finally sent some guy on a bike down to our room and he fixed it with his tool kit.
The day before i was leaving no one would help me to find what time the bus was coming to get me and the other fellow apple vacationers to bring us to the airport. The guy at the front desks words were "i dont know... goodluck man". Also the apple vacation rep that was supposed to be on the resort the whole time... was completely NOT helpful. She didn't speak english and didnt help me either. (Americans are definitly the visiting minority on the resort... you wont find many other fellow americans the whole time your there)

*The Beach*
The beach is BEAUTIFUL and the ocean is teal blue, warm, and clear.

Overall the only good thing was the beach. However, i wouldnt return to another RIU resort if my life depended on it.

We stayed at Riu Bambu from 11 to 25 May 2008. Previously we have stayed at Riu Tequila, Mexico and Riu Bachata, North Dom Rep. The Bambu is a typical Riu Hotel, well kept grounds and very very attentive friendly staff who are eager to please. The rooms are typical of all Riu hotels. Pillows are hard as you will read in other reviews but in the grand scheme of things so what.

This is the most beautiful beach I have been to. Plenty of shade, plenty of sunbeds and very clean - what more can you wish for. Pure white sand, no rocks in the ocean - amazing.

If anything the only disappointing aspect of the hotel was the pool. We are beach lovers which is why we chose this resort so it didn't matter but if you are a pool fan beware. The pool was small and very noisy and busy and looked a wee bit dirty. Too many people hanging around the swim up bar, spilling drinks and smoking cigarettes - just not our scene.

The hotel is a bit older as is the whole resort and the pool and bar areas could do with updating if you look closely but on the whole it is fantastic value for money and the staff, the service and beach more than make up for it.

The trip was through Apple Vacations. I did not see any Apple reps there other then the guy at the bus. The flight down was decent, the flight attendants were all in to the "Vacation" spirit, telling jokes and having a grand ol'time. The airport was quick and the bus ride itself was nice. The 40 minute ride to the resort provided plenty of sight seeing and re-enforced why you should NOT attempt to leave the resort. There is a lot of bad news outside the gate.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Bright side's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* The beach was really nice. The Palm trees hid the resort.
*Scuba Caribe- Provides lots of activities, take advantage of them, book kayaks and such in advance. We did the Speed Boat/Snorkel Trip... NICE!
*You have access to the Palace Pool. It is 10 X better then Bambu, we hung out there often.
*Lots of European guests... not only do you get the Dominican feel but you get France, Germany, U.K. and Canada too.
*Wendy's is located at the Resort with 7-8 USD Value meals.
Taste Great after resort food!!!!
*Heading Home

****The Bad!****

As for RIU Bambu - This was my first all-inclusive vacation so I was going in with high expectations. Sadly I was left down. The resort at first glance is nice, the lobby is clean and inviting. As for the room... well that left something to be desired. I understand that all the room is used for is basically to shower and sleep at a resort.

The Room -Well the beds were rock hard, we had to acquire beach chair pads from around the pool to help soften the bed.
The liquor bar was a neat idea, but the liquor was HORRIBLE!
Beware, i found lots a broken glass on the sidewalk. PLEASE wear some sort of footwear.
They provide you with a couple of bottled Pepsi's in the fridge, cherish these because anything you drink at the resort is horrible. You can't use the tap water for anything but a shower, they provide a gallon of purified water so you can brush your teeth and I guess to drink, it tasted NASTY! The soda fountains located through out the resort were usually room temp and flat. The same nasty alcohol in the room is served at the bar. The "top shelf" stuff was refilled. You might want to pick up a real bottle at the U.S. Duty Free before leaving.

The Food - The Buffets, well... its up to you. The steak house/Italian restaurant is the BUFFET during the day, (feels like a secondary school cafeteria.) The steak dinner was not all that great. The CARIBE grill was located at RIU Macao The atmosphere there was wonderful, but the food, DISAPPOINTING I am not getting into detail.
((Saw huge roaches walking around by the main bar in the middle of the resort, under soda fountain,and on the bar.))

Money - Americans are basically ripped off. If you are USA and reading this, Don't forget the little things! Europeans make out. One example of cost - a standard bottle of Banana Boat SPF 15 Sunscreen costs $20 USD.

Night Club - Forget It!

This was my first all-inclusive and I was quite pleased with it. The rooms leave a lot to be desired, small, AC barely worked, no fan in the bathroom and just your basic room. The hotel was great, workers very very pleasant, great location, great beach, happy happy service people...great sense of humor. We did the aerobics, used the pool and had dinner at the steak house and the Carribbean Grill, both were excellent, so much food and lots of variety. We fell in love with the coffee as well. We had to get an adaptor for use of our cell phone, and camera chargers and the only wireless is in the Palace...which feels like you are on the Titanic in the lobby. If you are used to washclothes bring your own as they do not use them there. The gym is small and is open to the extreme heat, we did run but were consumed with sweat. The wind is constant which keeps the bugs away...and the ocean is a bit choppy compared to Cancun or Aruba...lush vegetation inland as well, but a very poor country. We did an all day which included horseback riding, a different beach, tour of a real farm and how they make coffee, chocolate, etc. we went to a school and we were able to stop and give candy, toys, crayons, etc. to the children we saw on the roads.