I just returned from the Riu Palace from a week's stay from May.4/08 until May.11/08. The weather was perfect, low 90's and no rain. The hotel is very clean and nice. The food is definately European, as the majority of the guests are from there, but I didn't mind it. The steak resturant was really good, no complaints except that it is outside. The room did have a musty smell, but the key is to ask for a de-
humidifier. We asked a maid at night and she brought one in 5 mins!! It totally got rid of the smell and we had it for the whole week. The people at the front desk won't give you one as quickly though, so keep that in mind. The pools were great, no complaints. THe beach was terrific, the water was so nice, not too cold. The maids and the waiters were very friendly and we tipped them alot because of it. The other staff was not as friendly, but it didn't really bother us. Overall it was a great vacation. I have stayed at 7 other Riu resorts over the last few years and it is definately worth the trip. Just remember it is a very poor country and if the standards are a bit different. If you are going to relax and have fun, you'll enjoy it!

I never planned on writing a review but this is a warning of why future visitors should stay away. Arrived on May 4th(Sunday). Let's call this an adventure. They told us our room was not ready and to go and have lunch. Had lunch, went back to reception area. They gave us 2 keys one for the room the other for the safe. We gp to our room...the smell was awful!!!! Trying not to ruin our vacation we unpacked our luggage...that was our first mistake. By the time we finished I realized that I was not going to be able to stay in that room. Back to reception and very nicely told them that the room stunk. It was a horrible mildewy mold smell. They took us to another room which was a little better...but I knew that if we stayed in the room for any length of time it would get worse. Back down to reception area and with 2 more rooms to choose from we agreed on one that you could hardly smell the moldy smell. Now we go back to the original room and repack, go back down to reception area,turn in room key and get the new key for the room. My husband and I decided after unpacking that we definitely needed a drink. Went to the pool area with our suits on sat down and thought okay ready for the start of our very much needed vacation. Styed by the pool for about 2 hours had our drinks and decided it was time to get showered and dressed for dinner. The water in the room was just barely warm. I thought it was because it was close to dinner time and everyone was taking showers. Had a fairly decent dinner, had a drink, went to watch the entertainment, went back to room(which was beginning to smell worse) and went to sleep. Yes, now it's Monday a.m. time to shower before going for breakfast...no hot water!!!! Stopped at reception before breakfast to tell them that there was a problem. They said they would have it fixed. At 4:00 p.m. there still was no hot water. They said they were working on it. Tuesday a.m. again or still no hot water. They said by noon it would be fixed. Around noon I still had no hot water,once again went down to reception and was told the hot water would be on soon. I also talked to our Apple Rep who said she knew there was a problem but she was told that they gave them until Wednesday afternoon to fix the problem. Wednesday a.m. still same old song and dance. Water will be on by 4:00. These stories were getting old. I asked to talk to a manager. About 5 minutes latter Mario appears. I told him how disappointed I was that I kept on getting different stories. I also noticed that they were still taking in guests as if there was not a problem. I was real upset as I saw girls coming in carrying wedding gowns waiting to have a wonderful wedding, I truly felt very sorry for them. They were in for a big surprize Stinky rooms and no hot water. Mario and I did not see eye to eye on how they were dealing with a bad situation. I was wondering how all the help washed their hands. I was thinking of the health issues that could be arising. I was told then that it just wasn't the Palace that had no hot water but the whole chhain of Riu's in Punta Cana. I asked him when we were going to get the hot water and he finally said he could not guarantee when. I went back to the Apple rep and told her that I think she and Mario better talk. I asked her if Apple had a back up plan...she was not aware of any. By this time I was fuming. I was a lady on a mission to get the heck out of there. All I wanted was a hot shower. Yes, I realize that we are in a foreign third world country and the price we paid for the week definitely should have included hot water.This was a 6 star hotel that really had no idea how to handle a problem like this. At 4:50 that Wednesday afternoon I headed back up to our room...no hot water...back down to reception to find out what they had to say this time. Talked to Apple rep she said she could make me out a voucher to go to Dreams Resort but the bus was leaving at 5:20. Panicking I told her to make out the voucher, ran to get my husband to tell him that we had to get packed, check out of the hotel and be on a bus within 30 minutes.Poor guy road on the bus in wet swim trunks. I was lucky enough to be able to throw on a pair of shorts over my bathing suit. After a 35 minute bus ride we were at Dreams, It was a nice resort, workers were very friendly but I would not say that it is a 6 star Resort. Our vacation finally started late Wedneday nite. The pool was awsome. At 8;30 Sunday a.m. we were back on our way to the airport. Then when we got home and went to unpack Oh my God!!!!! The luggage stunk. So far I washed the clothes 2 times and they still stink from mold. I ave had the luggage out in the sun for 2 days and have been disinfecting it with spray and Frabreeze. I think I have to pitch the luggage. Like I said it was the worst vacation ever. You know, never did we get an apology or gee, I'm sorry. Sometimes it's the things like that that help you forgive...but I definitely must warn everyone The people at the Palace are not nice nor do they care what you think. The manger refused to give me his business card when I asked him. It's just the courtious thing to do when asked.

My wife and I recently spent the week of may 2nd to may 9th at this faboulous resort. First, lets talk about the few things other
reviews find not to their liking. WE have been to the carribean
every year for the last 10 years and If you step off the plane and
don't smell that tropical musty smell then you are not in the carribean. The beds are firm only beacuse the resort is new and
if you lay out the extra blankets under you that the resort gives you
that can be found in the closet above the room safe you will have no trouble sleeping. The food is not the best in the world but in the main dining room the multilpe choices you are given are more than enough to satisfy any one. We had lamb one night,
roast pork the next and they offer a different meat each night. This along with a great saled bar, a fruit bar and a desert bar
give every one a great variety of choices. You can also make reservations at one of their 5 different eateries located on the
propertry. They have theme nights in the main dining room 3 times a week. We really enjoyed mexican night. The beaches are
beautifull and unlike what happened to the beaches in play-a -car mexico after the hurricane a couple of years ago you can walk or jog them to your hearts content. A few tips for you first timers you can use. 1- Channel 76 on the room tv's is nesn and
covers all the red sox games. 2- Stay away from the casino in the
palace-maco. They will give you a 10 dollar chip when you walk in
the door and lead you to a new game to use it on. The game is a rip-off so beware. If you just want to play slots then visit the sports bar in the palace punta cana. they have their own. 3- Bring
a couple of your own towels and right before breakfast take them
to the beach and secure your beach chairs for the day, no one will
touch them. This resort has planted a good number of palm trees
to keep you out of the direct sun if you prefer. 4- While there fill out
a form for a RIU CLASS CARD and turn it in to the lobby desk. This card will get you a room upgrade on your next visit.
This resort is beautiful and clean and the service is great. We gave our server a base-ball cap. an extra I had, and he just bent
over backwards to please us. Please don't let a negative review
stop you from enjoying this faboulous resort. We can not wait to rebook this resort again. Just outstanding

We stayed here on our honeymoon the week of Aug 21st . Here is quick and honest review of what we thought of our stay.

Upside: The resort is clean, the building is decorated nicely, the food was above average (for a 3rd world country), the beaches are great, and the staff is pleasant and attentive to your needs.

Downside: 1) The rooms definitely smell. Its like the humidity just rots the linen, couch fabric, and basically the entire room. The air conditioning helps but its no where near what it needs to be when you want to walk into a room that is refreshing and cool instead of musty and sticky.

2) The dining system is flawed, the whole idea of setting an alarm to get up and wait in a 15-20 minute line on vacation does not make sense. We have been to "Dreams" all inclusive in Cancun which was open seating and that system worked fine. Also, although the food was good, some dishes seemed pre-assembled like it was mass produced earlier in the week and waiting for you in a fridge.

3) Drinks are just okay. The bars outdoor and at the pool all serve drinks in these little flimsy cups that are only 8oz (not exactly ideal).

4) House Keeping - Until we complained our room would not get cleaned until around 3:30pm - 4:00pm in the afternoon. This could just apply to certain rooms since we were at the end of the hall, but it was pretty annoying when you're up and out by 8am everyday.

All in all the stay was good. Its just when you pay the extra money for a 5/6 star "Golden Apple" resort, you expect to have no major complaints. I guess since The Domincan really only became developed for tourists in the past 20 years, they may be a little behind. I've defintely had nicer vacations in Mexico.
I would not choose to stay @ Riu Palace Punta Cana again.