Riu Bambu - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4941 reviews

• 

  It all depends on what you are looking for.

  To preface this review, I have been to many RUI resorts in the Carribean and am a RUI points member. I was traveling with 4 Adults and 2 teenagers. I would say that this resort is a good choice for anyone looking for certain things, managed expectations. If you are looking for the following things A good value for the money, families, enjoy the 'Resort" style vacations, are not a picky eaters, if you speak Spanish, like kids, if you are a European with a TUI affiliation, like the pool party scene, heavy pour tropical cocktails It follows that if you are looking for the following things you will not like this resort You are a clean freak, you like upper end spirits, if you speak English, like to explore the native culture outside the resort, you're a foodie, Here are some details in no particular order: The resort is huge, be prepared to walk a lot It's a paperless resort, everything is done on a phone app. Check in - slow, seemed to be language barrier. they do not give you a map, just point in the general direction of your room, it will seem very confusing. Language - There seems to be a bias towards Spanish speaking people, we only speak English at times we were ignored by the restaurant workers and bartenders, it was language, or they just didn't care for me, I have no clue. but it tended to make us fell unwelcome. Bellman - There is no service to take your bags to your room. There are no elevators in the buildings There are 4 fair sized pools, something for everyone Lots of kids running everywhere. Lots of bars The beach - lots of loungers and bar service but it was covered in seaweed, a lot of it, not the resorts fault, but there was no effort to clean it up, not totally sure you could, there was a HUGE amount of it. Restaurants are all pretty much the same except for the Steak House. the problem I had with the buffets were that they had little fresh fruits, salad and vegetables, it was mostly over salted starches and over cooked proteins. Steak House - big portions Mexican place - the chef should meet a Mexican person; the food had little Mexican influence Hibachi restaurant - it is not a Teppan style restaurant, it's just a buffet with sushi Italian place - Buffet Ole - never found it open Sports Bar - Kid food Main Buffet - Pretty standard fair Breakfast Buffet - Where manors and decorum go to die. It was the most crowded and a lot of rude pushy people and it seems a lot of them have never seen a piece of cooked bacon because they sure took a lot of it and don't get in their way Room - Fair; clean, good sized, nothing either outstanding or lacking about any of it other than the TV did not work all week. Mini Bar - Ration the contents, we were there 7 days, restocked once and ran out of drinking water. Overall, it's a decent place, could definitely use a deep cleaning and updating but if this is an issue, maybe you should spend a little more money for the Rui Palace or Macao. The resort has its station in the resort world: budget minded, Spanish (or Euros) speaking families looking for a fun resort holiday, nothing more. Please understand, this is all just my opinions and observations from our visit, take it for what it's worth. If you have any specific questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them Be a traveler, not a tourist!! Skip

  Jul 07, 2025
• 

  transportation

  Would like to see transportation for senior citizens provided to the restaurants and lobby. Visitors should be informed at check-in if there is shuttles available.

  Jul 07, 2025
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  Awful, avoid!!!

  Absolutely dreadful hotel not a 5* that it claims to be!! Ant’s cockroaches everyday!! Reported to reception and eventually sent a lady with a can of bug spray !!!! Just changed our bedding, requested a full room clean and fumigation to the Tui rep and they said it had been done . Don’t believe them as the bedding STILL had the same dirty stains on them from the night before!! Wanted to move us 3 days before us coming home!! Not acceptable!! Hair dryer hanging off the wall, towels in the room stained or ripped. Bedding which was supposed to be ‘clean’ had stains on every time. Drawers literally falling to pieces. Fridge leaking had to put a towel in front of it to soak up the water reported it and 2 days later someone came and messed with the dial inside and left !! Pool area NEVER cleaned always covered in some sort of slime/scum debris sometimes had fruit in it as well. Needed a really good shower afterwards. Beach was covered in seaweed and I don’t mean a little bit I mean mounds of it, had to dredge through that and I wade past some in the water to get to the clearest part of the sea. ( Not that I went in it ) smell was offensive to.

  Jul 06, 2025
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  Great time!

  The staff was very attentive. We were unhappy with our room, but they quickly changed us to a room that was better for us. The pool was awesome, especially the wet bar! I will say that the food could have been better, although was adequate. Overall we were very happy with our stay!

  Jul 06, 2025
• 

  Can't Wait to Go Back!

  We went to the RIU Bambu at the end of June and all I can say is I can't wait to go back! This hotel delivers big on hospitality, activities, food and drinks selection. The resort is clean and well kept. The little two story villas are lovely. Our room did show a little wear (minor in scope) it was clean with a good shower and comfy bed. We loved sitting our on our balcony watching the palms sway in the breeze. Lots of activities at this resort - darts, ping pong, french boules tournaments to aqua fit, salsa lessons, zumba just to name a few. Special shout out to the ever energetic and wonderful activities director Roberto who made every activity fun and memorable. He and his team were phenomenal! The bar staff and restaurant staff were equally as impressive and made us feel like family. We were always greeted with a big smile and kind Hola! They ensured that we had all that we needed and even anticipated when we needed a refill. The maids, ground keepers, front desk personnel etc. all added to our excellent experience. It was warm and friendly service from check in to check out and it was extaordinary!

  Jul 05, 2025