Riu Bambu - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5014 reviews

• 

  Do some research, save this as a last resort option

  Pros • Friendly staff – Overall, the staff were kind and helpful when approached. • Steakhouse restaurant – Probably the best dining experience at the resort. The food here stood out compared to the other options. • Something for everyone at meals – While variety was limited, there was always at least something to eat, even if it wasn’t gourmet. • Good hot water showers – Consistently reliable water temperature. • Sports bar A/C – The sports bar had the best air conditioning on the property, offering a cool break from the heat. • Fun parties – The entertainment team and parties were enjoyable. Cons • Outdated rooms – My “deluxe” room did not feel like a deluxe at all: two twin beds pushed together, dated furniture, a small table with two chairs, and a non-functional TV and hair dryer. • Unfair downgrade – I had booked and paid for a deluxe king room, but after asking to be near my friend and her kids, I was reassigned to what was essentially a downgraded twin room without being clearly informed this would happen. Note- they told me at the front if you make a room request such as mine you’re asking to be downgraded? This was surprising. • Cleanliness issues – Cockroach spotted beside the fridge (went under and couldn’t be removed), stained linens on arrival, and ants on the terrace. Pools often had visible dead skin buildup. • Room maintenance problems – Broken screen door, weak air conditioning, phone that didn’t work, and a random rusty metal rod left on the dresser. • Mini bar concerns – The liquor dispensers had black residue, making the alcohol questionable; beer was only replenished twice during a 7-day stay. • Housekeeping hassles – Room cleaning had to be requested through the app, sometimes more than once, rather than being consistent. • Food quality hit-or-miss – Hibachi tasted off; sports bar food was heavily outdated and ultimately led to food poisoning (hot dogs on my last night). • Facility upkeep needed – The resort as a whole feels like it hasn’t been renovated in years (sports bar and rooms especially). • Towel return location – Inconvenient to have only one towel return spot despite multiple pools spread across the resort. • Security concerns – My shoes were stolen at the pool and never returned, which left a bad impression. Overall, the resort has potential with friendly staff, decent hot showers, and a fun atmosphere at times, but it’s in serious need of renovations and better communication with guests. Between the outdated rooms, cleanliness issues, maintenance problems, and an incident of theft, I can only give this stay 3 stars. If you’re considering this resort, just go in with tempered expectations and know that what’s advertised as “deluxe” may not match what you actually get. This is the third resort I’ve been to, and not the best one for sure.

  Sep 09, 2025
• 

  Nice but needs some attention

  Firstly, it’s not a 5 star hotel. 4 at most. Initial thoughts, nice hotel, lovely setting. Rooms are fine, bit tired, plug sockets could do with an upgrade. Beds were comfortable. Food is nice but could do with being a bit hotter, food in the specialist restaurants were good, especially the steak house and Mexican. Staff are both very friendly and attentive. Drink selection is good. For what I paid, I’ve had a nice relaxing break, just needs a few things updated to bring it back up to scratch Would be good to add some hammocks about the place, there are plenty of palm trees on the resort and beach and this would be nice. As a TUI only pool and pool Bar which was nice and quiet, just not sure why the bar doesn’t open until 10am? Very important. Make sure you have enough sun lotion/after sun etc as well as painkillers. Plasters etc. there are a few souvenir shops on site which also sell this stuff but massively tip you off, asking $35 for a bottle of sun cream which in the UK would be £7-8. You can haggle but it’s still a rip off

  Sep 08, 2025
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  Family of 5, Riu Bambu, Sept 2025

  I returned from a one week stay at the Riu Bambu start of Sept 25 Family of 5 - x2 girls 23 & 18 and 1 boy 13 I have a very mixed review… . Check-in - very long process, took best part of 2 hours. I had requested our rooms be close together. However we were advised our rooms were very far apart (bearing in mind there are around 9000 rooms). The receptions asked us for 700 dollars to move our rooms. We explained that was ridiculous and eventually he agreed if we gave him “cash in hand” he would sort out for us. Clearly we were being ripped off, however after travelling for a full day we were exhausted and agreed. . Room - no bell boy to take our bags or even anyone to show us where to go, we hung around and eventually headed off to find our room, no help with luggage and no sense of direction, our block was in the 8000 area!! When we arrived in our room, we were bitterly disappointed, this was by far the biggest let down of the holiday. Rooms are dated, rust on the mirrors/ fridge - basically anything metal. Not what you would expect at a 5* resort. The air conditioning was cool, not cold and very loud. The optics on the wall- we had 3 rum and a whiskey, drank none of these. The fridge had beer, juice, fizzy water and water - this was restocked every second day. The cleaner attended every day and did a good job, however it was needed as the room smelt stale and the towels reflected this. . Beach is beautiful, the sand is a beautiful soft white and the coastline is picturesque. Yes there is a lot of seaweed, however a large portion of this is collected everyday by a tractor. The seaweed affects the first 3 metres of the water and it looks dirty, but once past this the water is clean. The beach and sea was well used everyday and the seaweed did not put anyone off. There are lots of people selling trips, souvenirs and drugs on the beach, however once you say no they tended to move on. .pool and waterpark - All pools are great, there are areas for everyone depending what type of day you want - loud, party areas, quiet chilled zones etc. Yes, the pools got pretty dirty as the day went on, however that is to be expected being used by so many people, lots of sun creams etc. The waterpark is a great feature, we spent a few mornings there and it was a nice fun way to start a day. TUI pool are is lovely and chilled and serves some premium drinks. . Bars/ restaurants - bar areas are all decent and the staff are quick to get you a drink. They are interactive and friendly. Drinks were nothing exciting but tasted ok. The main buffet has a large selection and is weak air conditioned, however it is very busy and extremely loud. All other restaurants are really good, we particularly enjoyed the steak house and Mexican. .shops - do not use the shops at the beach, you are completely ripped off here and nothing has a price on it. Use the shop which is out past Paschas nightclub. Everything has a price and you can keep track of what you are spending. They have souvenirs, snacks, sun creams, toiletries, vapes. .Entertainment - for anyone not attending the Riu parties the entertainment is poor. Yes, you will sit and watch as there is nothing else to do, but you will come away thinking this is time you will never get back! . Riu party- my daughters attended one party and certainly enjoyed themselves. All in we had a good holiday as a family, however this is certainly not a 5* resort and consideration should be given to this, I was recommend you consider this closer to a low 3* and you won’t be disappointed.

  Sep 06, 2025
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  Riu Bambu update 2025 September

  This was my second stay (2022 and 2025), I noticed some changes for the worse but everything was working in the room (vila 5 room 8) and that is something! The downgrade in drinks, pool service, worn furnishings, beach chairs is kind of sad, but you can live with it. Food was not so good as years ago but you can still find something to enjoy, room was clean, even had a bathroom fan (which Palace Punta Cana does not have, and they call it a higher tier Riu!!!) Now Bambu is re-filling the mini-fridge every other day. Overall it was OK but has become too expensive for what it really offers.

  Sep 06, 2025
• 

  Poor

  It was bad experience for me at Riu Bambu they say it a 5 stars hotel that is true. We had are room I notice that the socket was hanging of the the wall none of the sockets was working. The frigde was wobbly the floor was patchy with paint the bath towles was hard the sheets had stain on them although the maids change the sheetes every day. The food was not for me at all the bacan was burnt everyday some look half cook the seafood made me sick the fruit was warm I was very diappointed worst experience. I would only say that the maids did make me comfortable they where very nice and pleasant even some of them at the reception and the bar staff, the only thing was the drink was water down. Going to the beach that was the only thing I had enjoyed nothing els.

  Sep 02, 2025