Riu Palace Punta Cana - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

3652 reviews

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  If you want Salmonella- stay here! 🥳

  Recently stayed at the Riu Palace Punta Cana for a long weekend with friends. When we arrived, we were not greeted (which missed the mark of feeling like you arrived at a resort), but the front desk wait was quick with check in. This is a big hotel and we did not have anyone escort us to find our room, which we understood why once we found our rooms... 1. Room: We booked a joined two bedroom suite. As soon as we opened the door, a strong musty smell hit us. It smelled this way in both rooms. The rooms were pretty plain and a bit worn but overall clean. The soap/lotion dispenser in the bathrooms were broken off the walls and sitting on the sinks, which was inconvenient because the soap/lotion came out of the bottom. We spoke with the front desk about changing our room, which they did accommodate. The first ones they offered had the same exact issues. The second ones they found (and only ones left) did not the have the smell, so we took them. We later figured out the fridge in one of the rooms did not work and there was a missing liquor bottle. This was not a big deal to us, but did make the room feel like it wasn't checked over for completeness. The shower offered extremely hot water which was difficult to regulate, so you spent time in the shower constantly adjusting the temp to not get burned. 2. Food: Not very good. La Isabella offers a buffet that had lots of offerings, except for chicken. Yet, the variety of foods was pretty unseasoned and not very tasty. Our server Raul was wonderful which helped make the meals better. We only ate at one of the specialty restaurants, Krystal, which we read was the best. Service was very slow and they did not have many food options and again was not good. It didn't make us excited to try any of the restaurants as we noticed similar food options with slight variations. 3. Pool/Beach: This is where I can give more stars to this resort. There is a pretty big swim up pool bar which had plenty of space. There is a larger pool next to it which accommodated families and more sun chairs. The beach is nice with lots of palm trees. The ocean water is very beautiful and was calm enough to swim in. Roman was amazing at making sure we had chairs on the beach everyday and Javier ensured we had drinks and were relaxed and comfortable. I didn't love all the people walking around trying to be sell things but they did not persist once they were told we were not interested. 4. Sickness: I must end by saying that I caught some sort of bacteria while at this resort which ended in me becoming extremely ill for the last couple days we were there. I had to travel home sick and then remained sick for several days after, resulting in me having to go to the ER. Dr. said it was likely contaminated food/drink. Ends up they detected Salmonella in my system. I know this is a long review but I wanted to make sure I covered everything so someone else isn't surprised when booking this resort. I'd recommend not staying here and looking elsewhere!

  Nov 20, 2025
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  Beautiful Resort

  Everything was amazing! The food was delicious overall, the resturants were fantastic, and creative buffet options. Great party options and cool themes. Friendly, above and beyond staff. The beach was beautiful with calm waves, not too much seaweed in the water. There were little shops near the pools, but the vendors were a bit pushy and charged us more than sticker prices and we felt a bit scammed. Other than that my only complaint is with the other people staying at the resort who didn't seem to have spatial awareness or consideration of others at times. Other than that, amazing resort overall, will be going annually!

  Nov 18, 2025
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  Birthday vacation

  Took my daughter to celebrate her 18th birthday, overall it was an amazing vacation, the staff was amazing and they kept our room clean and stocked, we got ripped off by one of the stores down by the pool area so I wasn’t happy about that, and the food could have been better but overall it was a beautiful resort

  Nov 17, 2025
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  Great Staff, But the Resort Misses the Mark

  Review: We had high hopes for this all-inclusive, but overall the experience was disappointing — though the staff truly stood out and made parts of our trip enjoyable. Pros: The service was the highlight. Javier at the beach took excellent care of us on Friday and Saturday—always attentive, friendly, and fun. Ruben consistently had our beach chairs ready each morning. At La Isabela, Raul and Ray were wonderful as well. Drinks were good, and the pool bar has a lively, upbeat vibe. The beach was beautiful, and the ocean was calm enough to swim in safely. Cons: Our original room had a strong musty smell. While the resort did move us, the second room had its own issues: a broken refrigerator and a missing liquor bottle. The elevator closest to our room on the third floor was unreliable—we were even stuck in it at one point—and the ice machine didn’t work. The soap dispenser in both our original room and new rooms had fallen off the wall. Both rooms shows various signs of disrepair. The towels had an odd smell and were often unusable due to the smell. The food was the biggest disappointment. Most options were subpar to mediocre unless you hit the buffet early. The specialty restaurant menus were extremely limited, and room service isn’t something I’d rely on. I ended up eating less than expected simply because the food wasn’t very good, and the options were limited. Because of the combination of poor food and the overall feel and condition of the rooms, the stay just didn’t feel clean, comfortable, or relaxing. We even looked into switching to Riu Macao, but no rooms were available. It is unclear if Macao would have been an upgrade but we wondered if because it was smaller if it would be better kept. Bottom line: While the staff we mentioned were fantastic and truly bright spots, the resort itself fell short. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t return here or recommend it to anyone seeking a fun, relaxing getaway with friends.

  Nov 17, 2025
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  Relaxing trip with beautiful weather.

  My trip was nice and couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. The people in the daytime on the beach could have done a better job on asking you if you needed a drink. Most times I just got up and got my own. Would love to see different shows every night and not the rui grand with all the little kids on the stage. I have been there a few times and this time the shows were not the best. The bed was not as comfortable as my last stay and the pillows need upgrading

  Nov 16, 2025