Hi . We recently returned from a stay at this fantastic property. We stayed there from June 13, 2008 until June 20, 2008. We also stayed there on Jan. 27th for one week. Needless to say, we returned to this resort because it is absolutely fabulous. We loved the size. It is much smaller than the Riu Palace, making it much more easier to socialize with other guests. It also was easy to get around, and we never had trouble finding anything.

The rooms are beautifully furnished, with marble everywhere. We had rooms overlooking the pool, which was nice late in the day, when after showering you could still look out at the activity on the resort. Some rooms also afforded a look past the pool, through the trees, to the ocean. There was a mini-bar that was stocked every day. As well, there were liquor dispensers in the room, which we personally never touched. The rooms were always spotless.

The Buffet Restaurant was incredible. I agree with everyone else that the buffet was far superior to the a la cartes. We had superb variety, and they served everything from caviar and champagne, to lasagna. There was something for everyone. We also liked the fact that we were shown to the same table every night. This enabled us to establish a good rapport with our servers. They anticipated our every needs...special kudso to Elias and Villy.

The Bars were just as outstanding. They did not skimp on the alcohol at all. We especially liked the 24 hour bar which served martinins and always had live entertainment at night.

As mentioned in previous reviews, there was no swim-up bar. We actually liked this, because it meant that people were not sitting in one spot and not moving the whole day. It offered lots of shade around it, and the bar service was very quick. We loved the mermaid statues that were everywhere. We also enjoyed the massage hut that operates in between the pool and the beach. The ladies that give the massages know what they are doing...they get out all of your kinks and you leave feeling totally relaxed.

The beach is the best part of the resort, of course. The resort is blessed with lots of natural shade. Riu did not remove a lot of the palm trees, as other resorts have done. There there is a lot of shade to be had...very important when you are going in the summer! For those who wanted to be sun-worshippers, there was plenty of wide-open expanse to sunbathe as well. We have been to many resorts all over Mexico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. The beach at Punta Cana is in my opinion, one of the best in the world. One can walk for miles. The sand is white, powder-soft, and never hot. The ocean is usually clear, due to the reefs just off of the shore. The waves for the most part are very gentle.

I have done most of the excursions in Punta Cana, but the land excursion that I would recommend the most is the Monster Truck Safari. You get a full day of Dominican life experienced in a fun, safe way. You will visit a voodoo doctor, go swimming in the Altos de Chavon River, visit a school, see sugar can plantations, etc. I cannot say enough about this resort. Be careful when booking it. Make sure to request the Monster Truck Safari by name, as there are similar excursion out there that do the same thing, but do not give the same value for money.

The water excursion that I would recommend highly, if you don't mind doing something that is booze-free, is the Coral Reef Explorer. It is owned by the same company that does the Marinarium exucursion, but instead of getting just 45 minutes of snorkelling, you get about 3 hours, along with getting personal encounters with de-stinged stingrays, and swimming with sandsharks. It is one of the best snorkelling excursions I have had. The reefs are beautiful, and the whole things is very relaxing. You can take out water kayaks, and even get a massage for free!

On the whole, I abosutely love Punta Cana, and plan to return again this winter!

My Boyfriend and I went to the Riu Palace Macao on 19th May for a 2 week stay. We travelled with Thomson. We went to the North of the Dominican 2 years ago and stayed at the Riu Merengue so we knew what great service we would receive again staying with Riu. The outbound flight was without doubt more comfortable since Thomson extended the legroom to 33". The only disappointing part of the flight would have to be the meals. The Aldo Zilli food is not great but is better than nothing.
When you arrive at Punta Cana airport some ladies dressed in Dominican costumes will get everyone to have their pictures taken with them. They will be available to buy in the departure lounge when you leave. I think they cost around $10. When you get your luggage and head for the coaches there are lots of men hanging around wanting to carry your cases for you. They will keep asking you for your cases but if you say no politely they will leave you alone. The coach takes about 40 minutes to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel we were taken into the lounge and given a cocktail, told a bit about the hotel and given our room information. One of the bellboys brought our cases up to the room. They really appreciate a little tip.
The rooms are very spacious with two queen size beds, satellite tv, air conditioning, iron and board and a safe. There are full size optics in the room as they have in all Riu hotels. There is also a mini fridge with pepsi, 7 up, orange, soda, tonic and beers and water. The fridge is filled up every day and the optics every two. On your first night you have to go the restaraunt and tell them which dinner sitting you want to go to. Our choice were 6.30 and 8.30. There are speciality restaraunts to choose from. You have to book these in the morning. We stayed in the buffet restaraunt and we really enjoyed the food. There is plenty of choice and I can recommend the chocolate cakes! You have your own waiter at dinner. Our waiter was called Villi. He was really good and very friendly. They all work so hard - most from breakfast at 7am to after dinner at 10.30. The entertainment is mainly dancing and shows were the audience participate. You get waiter service day and night.
The pool area was lovely. You may need to reserve sunbeds before breakfast if you like a certain spot. We found we had to as many people had reserved their spots before 8am!
We mainly stayed by the pool during the day and went to the beach later in the afternoon. The beach is wonderful! Lovely white sands and clear water. It is paradise! Be careful in the sea, the waves can get quite strong and can push you over quite easily.
The hotel is a lovely place to stay. We really enjoyed our stay. The staff are very friendly and always check if you are ok and if you need a drink!
The people who were there when we stayed were from all over the world. America, Canada, Spain, Germany and the UK.
This is the ideal hotel for anyone who wants a relaxing break away from it all. Just lie in the sun and enjoy!

My boyfriend and I (early 20s) just returned from a 5-night vacation at the RIU Macao and had a fabulous time! This was my second trip to Punta Cana (previously staying at the Iberostar Punta Cana).

We had booked through Apple Vacations, which included a transfer from airport to hotel (word of warning - once you collect your baggage and head off to your buses, there will be many guys trying to grab your bags to carry 20 feet to your booking agency stand to get a tip - you don't need to give your bags to them, you can carry them the 20 feet yourself). Travel to the hotel was a bit bumpy and fast, but nothing worse than being in a NYC taxicab...

Arrived at the RIU Macao around 2:30 pm. Check-in was quick and easy and our room was ready for us. Also got a welcome drink..All front desk staff were all smiles and very friendly, and spoke enough English to get your questions adequately answered.

Room was nice, bedspread and shower showed some age, but everything was very clean. Maid service was great, room was always clean and stocked with fresh bath towels and new towel art everyday. Mini-fridge was also always stocked.

The entire staff was extremely friendly and nice. We did not pass anyone without getting an 'hola', and all the staff members we encountered really seemed to want to do everything possible to make your vacation experience great.

The food was good. The Japanese ala carte restaurant was, in my opinion, outstanding (our favorite - we went twice), and the breakfast buffet was also very good. Lunch was decent, we tried the caribe grill and the buffet by the pool (stuck mainly with the buffet by the pool because of the outstanding pizza!) - the food was a bit heavy and greasy to me (all the buffets), but I was fine with it - my boyfriend loved it all. We ate dinner at the buffet (El Patio) the first night we arrived and were extremely impressed with the atmosphere and service - very pleasing to the eye. Men do have to wear long pants here. Aside from Japanese, we also tried the Caribe Grill and the Mediterranean restaurant for dinner - these were ok. Caribe grill was nice because it was on the beach, therefore you get a nice breeze, and the food was decent. Didn't really care for Mediterranean - my chicken dinner was overly burnt and I wouldn't recommend the lobster bisque soup, but again, this didn't really bother us (we just decided not to go again). The service at every meal, buffet or ala carte, was outstanding. My drink would never even reach half empty - someone was always coming around to refill water, wine, or soda. Some waiters didn't understand much english, but truly worked hard to make your meal enjoyable, and were always available if you needed anything. Reservations for the ala carte restaurants (4 of them) are made in the morning (between 8 and 10:30 am) in the breakfast buffet - 2 separate seating times, usually 6:30 and 8:30 or 9 pm. We usually made reservations around 9:30 or 10 am and only once had a problem (Caribe grill was all booked for the later seating, but we were able to get a table for the earlier seating).

The drinks were outstanding and had a great selection and variety - from various martinis, to frozen drinks, to mixed drinks - all were very good and they definitely don't skimp on the alcohol, but if you want some more, just ask!

The entertainment staff works extremely hard, and I thought they were great - we saw 3 shows (10 pm) which I very much enjoyed. They also did a great job of entertaining at the pool.

We spent most of our time at the beach, and never had a problem finding beach chairs or space. Went to the pool once, in the middle of the day, and easily found two seats (although I would advise to get chairs early if you plan on staying at the pool all day).

Although you don't have to, we did tip..no one is ever pushy or makes you feel like you must tip, but we did because of the great service we were getting (and because of the meager wages and long hours these people put in). A few dollars goes a long way, and they are always very grateful...

There were a couple minor issues, but nothing that seriously bothered us. The entire resort was apparently having trouble with the AC in the rooms, but our room luckily wasn't so bad - not as cold as it should have been, but definitely tolerable (ceiling fans helped) as we really only were in the room to sleep (and by night time it was cold enough to sleep with a sheet or more). The first night we arrived we called the front desk about the AC not being up to par, and within 5 minutes a friendly maintenance man was up to look at it (whatever he did, it did cool the room off). Same thing the second night, and after that the room seemed cooler for the remainder of our trip. Again, this wasn't too serious for us as we didn't spend much time in the room and it wasn't that hot to begin with.

Other than the AC, the electric outlets are a bit different in the rooms - they fit American plugs, but if the plug has a fat base it won't fit. Some of my plugs fit, my hairdryer plug didn't, but I used the hairdryer in the room, which worked fine. I did go down to the front desk when my camera charger plug didn't fit to see about borrowing a power strip or something - the front desk knew what I was talking about but said that he didn't have one available - instead I left my charger with them to charge, which was fine.

Overall, we loved the RIU Macao, it is a great resort with great people and we would definitely return!

I stayed a the Riu Palace in Punta Cana, Dom Rep from June 20-24th, 2008. Do not be alarmed by the drive to a beautiful resort. The local scenery was very dirty and unattractive. However, the resort itself was very beautiful. My first impression of the room was clean but smelled like mildew because of the humid climate. Everything in the room was wet making a good nights rest uncomfortable. There was plenty to drink with alcohol in the rooms and a refrigerator to store additional items. The buffet was displayed very nicely but the flies sampled everything ruining the appearance. The staff was friendly at the resort until it was time to shop. They were very aggressive while tempting to sell overpriced and outdated merchandise making the shopping very uncomfortable and tiresome. Do not rely on off resort shopping. The experience was unfriendly and rude almost to the point where I felt as if they would physically harm me if I did not make a purchase. There was inconsistent pricing from guest to guest and the hospitality short-lived if you gave a sense of browsing. There were times when I was not given my change back and the taxi driver tried to charge my friend and I $20 for a ride to the next resort. With this, I would not advise leaving the resort without a male escort. There was plenty to do and much fun as you make it. I loved the pool area, the outdoor bar and the view. You may get hungry throughout the night because the 24 hour food in the Sports Bar was old and unsanitary. I would recommend the stay for the price but would probably reconsider because of some of the negative hospitality.