Just back from my first trip to Punta Cana. Stayed at the Riu Bambu from May 26 - 30. Overall, had a great, relaxing & fun time. I will definitely visit Punta Cana again & Riu Bambu is definitely a good location. Me - single female, late 40's, went alone, mostly interested in hanging out at the beach & a little nightlife, dancing, music, etc.

This was my first time booking a trip through Apple Vacations & I will definitely use them again. Everything was seamless, smooth & easy. They have a bus to take you to the hotel & a rep on site to give you all the info you need for your stay. Especially since this was my first time in Punta Cana & I was alone I appreciated the extra bit of hand holding & security.

Check in was quick & easy, no problems even though I arrived around noon & official check in time was not until 3. A few of us arrived together & we were all checked in together. We were given a nice frozen drink which was very nice.

The room was a good size, clean & nicely decorated. It has a safe, mini-bar, fridge with bottled water & soft drinks. I had requested a non-smoking room & I noticed an ashtray in the room & thought I smelled a faint odor of smoke when I arrived. So I called the front desk & was told all the rooms were non-smoking & they could send someone to spray. I declined the spray since I had a travel candle & used that instead. I tend to be sensitive to smoke but I didn't have any problems. There were no diet sodas in the fridge so I asked for some when I passed by the front desk later. It took about two days for them to finally arrive. So if you need something that's not already in the room, ask for it early & follow up if you really want it. I just drank the regular in the meantime so it wasn't a big deal.

By biggest problem with the room was the beds. They were hard as a rock!!. Although I think that actually worked out for me because my back wasn't hurting in the morning like it sometimes does at home :-) I don't think I could handle them for a long period of time, but a few days was ok. Also, It was hard to tell if the fridge was actually working because it seemed to only get stuff barely above room temperature. I'm a person that puts ice in everything so add the weak fridge to the fact that there is no ice machine available for the rooms, that was a bit of an issue for me. Luckily, my room was not very far from the bar so I could fill up two cups & take it back to the room.

Most of the bartenders, waiters, waitresses etc. were very pleasant and eager to please. Every body had a smile & a good morning. A few sour apples but maybe they had a bad day. The Animacion team work their tails off!! I can't imagine having that much energy even when I was in my 20's. They put on the dance/theatre shows at night & then they are out on the beach first thing in the morning organizing games, leading dance lessons, stretch/aerobics, etc. So I'm sure they really appreciate any tips, etc. they get.

The grounds are beautiful, clean & well kept. Same for the beach. Lots of chairs, & palm trees to enjoy. Not a lot of unruly kids running around. The pool was beautiful & looked well kept with a swim up bar. I didn't really use it because I prefer the beach. One day I left my bag by the pool & wandered off for awhile. I didn't realize the pool closed at a certain time so when I came back the pool was all shut down & my bag was gone. I had my money & electronics with me but my room key was in the bag so I was a little worried. Thankfully, the bag was turned into the front desk & everything was intact. They made sure I checked it just to be sure. So thank you Riu staff!!

The nightclub was about a 10-15 minute walk, 2 properties away. But I felt pretty safe walking back & forth. They played really good local music with a little American hip/hop & reggae mixed in. I only ate in the buffet & the Pizzeria but I was always able to find something to eat. Really picky eaters might have a problem. The Spa is just a hut on the beach with tables where they give massages. So don't expect a full service spa.

I was a little surprised to see so many women going topless on the beach. I just wasn't expecting it on the main beach area. The places I've been before had a separate section for that. So if that is a concern, be aware of it.

I guess that's all I can think of right now. Final analysis, Riu Bambu is a good 4 star AI resort . (hopefully they will upgrade their mattresses soon). Punta Cana has a beautiful beach that I can't wait to return to.

My parents booked us this trip for a honeymoon after our wedding. The Riu Bambu was a beautiful resort, very clean, nice vegetation, and the beach was incredible - powder sand, fair amount of shade via palm trees and a relatively calm sea. The swimming pools and poolside areas were also clean and fun. We arrived at the beach/pool at about 9 am each day and we always found a chair, although not always under a hut/tree.

The resort rooms were clean and well appointed; cold AC, provided room safe, cable TV, patio, good mini bar and they always kept the drinks replenished (although I did tip the housekeepers twice throughout the week...). The beds, however, are hard as a rock and the pillows are flat. I realize that you don't usually go to all-inclusive resorts to stay in the room, but by the end of the week, I'd had enough with the bed. Also, the tap water in the DR is not potable, so be sure to brush your teeth with and drink the provided bottled water - my wife and I both did this and we were not sick from the water at all. Other than those two criticisms, the rooms were good.

The food was also pretty good, but by the end of the week I had enough of the "Colonial" food. The dinner menu changes its main entrees, but the lunches and breakfasts were essentially the same throughout the week. There is a large selection however, so you don't have to eat the same things day in and day out. We made reservations at both the Caribe Grill and the Italian Restaurant. The Italian was ok but the Caribe Grill is very good. I would definitely recommend eating there at least once.

The hotel did provide some watersports for free although I didn't use any of it. We did do a full day excursion through our trip representative (Turinter) and that was $90/person (USD).

The resort was also mostly hispanics and europeans (French and German mostly). We were there for 7 days and only met 3 other Americans. If this doesn't bother you, you'll be ok, but it's something to consider if you're not used to being the minority. The people (both tourists and hotel staff/locals) were friendly. One thing that really bothered me however was the prevalence of beach walkers and vendors outside of the hotel. They constantly bother you to buy this or go on that trip or get a massage. It is not so bad at the hotel except for Friday and Saturday nights when the hotel allows table vendors to line the lobby - it's like running the gauntlet when your trying to get to dinner ;)

All in all, aside from the rock hard beds and the irritating vendors, the trip was amazing. I would recommend it to both couples and families alike. There is plenty to do and plenty of time to relax and enjoy the Caribbean!

Myself , wife, daughter and friend just returned from a week at this hotel. I should start by saying that we got less than what we expected. I should give kudos to Apple Vacation personnel, who were very helpful. However, I am not sure where to begin. We got to the room to find it very small for two adults and two pre-teens. The mattresses were like slabs of stone, the shower did not work and the toilet ran constantly. The buffet was set up primarily to appease European tastes. So if you are a person who has a limited culinary tolerance, bring snack food with you. The only air conditioning in the place is in your room, so if you have low tolerance for heat and humidity while outside your room beware. Also note that there is no food available at the pool, and the drinks at this resort are exclusively self serve. There are no roaming waitstaff for drink orders. Speaking of drinks, if you are used to top shelfliquor you will be sorely disappointed. They have very little liquor that is recognizable to most Americans. A working knowledge of Spanish would be a plus since very few people speak English. The shows put on by the Animacion crew are repetative and amatuerish. The specialty restaraunts are also not worth making reservations for. Overall, this hotel is a 2.5 star. Took a tour that was nice, the DR is pretty but we would never go to this propety again. The chief problem is that we usually stay at Secrets properties and this hotel is not even in the same ballpark.

11 of us just got back from a 4 day stretch from this place. First of all I will say the service and staff are MUCH better than Cancun or Cosumel, maybe a little better than Jamica, but too many other things are wrong. First of all our room was bad, I know most people do not stay in the room very much but you need a good bed. We had comforters that looked like what I had in the 70's as a child. They pushed to regular beds together and the bedding seemed to be worn out. The drinks were cheap, real cheap. They were made from large pre-made containers. The food was better than Cancun, but that is not saying very much. Even the famous Carbie Grill was just "OK" at best. I would stick to the buffets if I was going to eat. But 2 of us got sick since we have been back, one girl has been to the doctor twice, both times getting different kind of shots and I have had diarohia for the past 4 days. My wife has some kind of rash that has broken out on different parts of her body.

We did love the beaches, they were the best we have seen. If you are going to do activities book them from the guys on the beach not the people that are in your hotel lobby, because you can negotiate more with the beach guys. But be careful, you must read what they are promiseing you, they will tell you what you want to hear to make the sale but generally what you are getting will be in some form of writting. Like if it says 2 hr "sunset cruise" then it is 2 hours, they might tell you 3, BUT they have no control, they are booking the adventure with someone else who is in charge.

If you decide to visit Puna Cana, I would suggest the RIU Palace Punta Cana, it is a 4.5 star instead of the Bambu 3.5 star. We went over there 2 different days and hung out. We were not suppose to get to drink because we did not have arm bands, but everytime I ordered a couple of drinks I would have a dollar in my hand they the bar tenders would jump at the chance to get the dollar. Otherwise they will tell you "NO". They make your drinks as you order them and they have choices of better liquiors. They also have guys walking around the pool asking to bring you drinks. We did a site visit, including looking at the room and it was MUCH nicer than the Bambu. I would not stay at the Bambu again but might try the Palace.

I would say only about 20% of the people there are Americans, so get ready to hear many Europeans. Also many of the woman do not wear tops on the beach....but 85% of them NEED TOO!!!

My final advice is if you are American then trust American reviews.