Dominican Republic

I will say this resort was very beautiful and the nicest room I've ever stayed in, well kept grounds. But Unfortunately most of staff was unfriendly from the time we arrived to the time we left, very rude and not willing to help and poor with basic English, we had room service ask why were calling, and front desk agents simply hang-up. I will say the cafe staff was friendly and some but not many of the bartenders were ok i do need to mention Felix from the sports bar was prime example of what the staff should be like. However other then that our service improved only with tips and for a short time only. And the food well The breakfast buffet was good enough but nothing special, the only lunch buffet on the beach was upsetting the same selection for 7 days and a poor selection at that. I will say the restaurants were all a good experience for us but we were disappointed there was no dinner buffet or snack area if you didn't feel like dressing up that evening or was looking for a quick bite in the evening. Bottom line is it's a nice resort if your going for a good price, unfortunately for us we overpaid for the poor service we received all trip long.

This resort exceeded my expectations. Staff are friendly and helpful.The place is very clean and well maintained. I rarely eat when I'm away but the food was so amazing,I had to. I really never got to try the restaurants except the buffet. I would eat at the Barefoot during the day, so I was never hungry in the evening. Amazing pizza

This was our third stay this year at the Adults only resort RIU Palace Macao (March, April & June). Our room was located on the 3rdd floor, it was nice & clean. We booked an upgraded room (Superior Junior suite) and were very happy being on the pools/ocean side. Wi-Fi is free and works fine in your room. We had a king size bed which we found comfortable. There is lots of drawers/storage space. There is a ceiling fan above the bed which we enjoyed as the AC this time was not as powerful. The patio door curtains are opaque. Balconies on the third floor are much smaller than other lower floors. It was private 2 chairs a small table & a small drying rack. The balconies have a cement wall (approx. 6.5 feet high) on each side that prevents you from looking at the neighbours balconies. Our maid service was excellent. We always had our fridge (beers, 500 ml soft drinks & 1.5 L water bottle) & bathroom towels/items... replenished when needed. There is also 4 bottles of different alcohol types (Gin, Tequila, Rum & Vodka) with a measuring dispenser. In the washroom you have a very spacious walk-in shower with the option of a rain forest flow or hand held shower head. There are two sinks. In the closet, there are many wood hangers (approx. 20). The free digital safe is located at the bottom of the closet (approx. 6 inches from the floor). The food was very good at all the locations we ate: Buffet (main building for breakfast & dinner. For lunch the buffet is served in a separate building away from the main building (between the night À la Carte restaurants (Italian & Grill specialities)). All the buffet style restaurants have a wide variety of meats, fish, pastas, cold cuts, breads, cheeses, salads, sushi's, fresh fruits/vegetables, jams, nutella, ice cream, yogurts, deserts, condiments, syrups, etc...). The food at the four À la Carte restaurants (No reservation needed) was very good. The service at the buffets & À la Carte restaurants was excellent. For a little extra sweet go to the Capuchino Café. During the day you can get small sandwiches/wraps with many different pastries and different flavoured coffees/Teas are served. After dinner the Capuchino Café offers different flavoured coffees/Teas & many types of delicious deserts. The service at all the bars was excellent. The 3 pools were kept clean and the water was clear throughout the whole day. All public washrooms we used were kept clean. For the beautiful large beach area you have plenty of lounge chairs scattered between the many palm trees (no palapas). There was no towel game to reserve a lounge chair early in the morning. No matter at what time you came to the beach there was always free lounge chairs. There is an interlock pathway (approx. 100 feet from the ocean) connecting the 4 beachfront RIU hotels (Palace Punta Cana, Bambu, Palace Macao & Palace Bavaro). The location of the Riu Palace Macao is ideal for beach walkers. You can walk either way (East/West) for very long distances. This time there was lots of algae's. But we still found the Beach amazing, white sand and amazing blueish/green ocean water. For the gym & Spa services you must walk to the Palace Bavaro (approx. 10 min. walk). The guests were mostly from USA, Canada & Europe. This hotel is quiet, no loud music/noise at night. The average age of the guests was younger this time 45 years. The hard working hotel personnel are ALL wonderful, friendly & give you an excellent service with a smile from your check-in (Ana Maria for us) to your check-out. My spouse and I will definitely return to the RIU Palace Macao resort as we had another very relaxing vacation at this small Adult only resort.

The hotel was by far the nicest and cleanest hotel I have stayed at during an all inclusive vacation. With the preferred club upgrade, it was so worth the extra money. There were many options for the a la carte's and we had our own person to request our dinner reservations with no issues. The junior swim up suite was the perfect room and was so nice to have an area to swim and access the preferred club bar within walking distance instead of using the common pool areas. Staff were superb and very welcoming! Will highly recommend to others.

We enjoyed our stay because the beach was incredible and the grounds/pool were immaculate. That's what we came for and we got it. But like most places since the pandemic, service has taken a nose dive. From check in, to the lobby, to the restaurants, there is barely any motive to serve you. It didn't matter if I tipped or didn't tip. Sometimes servers would disappear after getting a tip. It was not like this before the pandemic. The food was not appetizing. I lost three pounds in the week I was here. The Brazilian steakhouse was good and the breakfast hash browns were my favourite. Everything else was poorly seasoned and way overcooked. The food problem is easily solved by better training. The poor service is solved by better management. I saw a manager in the lobby pointing out people to servers who were without drinks and the servers moved to solve that. These are easy fixes. I saw the cooks making the burgers over an inferno on the grill which explains why they were all burnt on the outside and almost raw on the inside. The cooks need better training. So much food is wasted because it is made poorly. The room we had smelled bad like mold. It's probably tough to keep that smell away but it's necessary. We had to plug our noses when we first entered the room. I'm not too put off by chips and dents, but smells are a problem. I would come back here if I got another amazing deal and if they fixed the food. Our next vacation will be somewhere that is a true five star. This place is a strong three or weak four. If they fix the food and service it will be a strong four. The entertainment crew is five star. They are bright, cheery, friendly, and kept the mood light.

Not the greatest. Not the worst.

We had an amazing week here! Everything was clean, staff was very friendly and accommodating and the food was great!

Hotel and the property is beautiful. Staff are friendly and courteous, rooms were spacious - overall it was a good holiday, The only negative I would say was the food. The buffet food was repetitive and dinner reservations was a joke - good luck in getting one! We stayed at Iberostar's in Jamaica and Mexico and one thing that get us back is the food. Unlike the other Iberostar's there is no 24 hour snack buffet - just in case you arrive too early or late or have an early morning excursion planned. Pool bars were always busy, with perhaps just two service staff going around. Had we to have a good dining experience, our stay would have been really memorable.

Tucked away in a lot of green is this wonderful spot. The beach is a little small but certainly good enough. It was so so clean everywhere you went. The food was just fine, only one alacarte a night but they got us in anyway. All staff were kind and helpful, the water was nice and clear. I was really surprised for a smaller resort how much lobby space inside and out they had.

I will give to this resort 4* This resort is NOT located in Punta Cana= white sand Caribbean Sea. The location is 40 km away from Punta Cana a 50 minutes away. The beach in this town is not nice and not turquoise water no white sand it have a lot of seaweed. NO sanitary measures when you arrive or during regarding Covid-19 or intestinal infections, no hand sanitizer or soap in the main washrooms the dispensers are not working or are empty the dispensers are just for display only. The lobby is very nice big with A/C. but slow check in. The adults side it have few big pools which are clean and not crowded. The pool bar is nice and the bartender are really nice and prepared good drinks. The bartender which have braces is really nice and friendly I will give 9 points. The activities are good Franco is nice and alway happy to help. The DJ. at the pool need to spice up the music. The rooms are not luxury but are nice, clean and comfortable, mini fridge pop, beer, bottles of water. The adults buffet is good and organized, good food breakfast and lunch close for dinner :( Which is a problem because no many a la carta restaurants, you will force to go to the main buffet El Mercado which is a zoo because is very big and the kids are touching the food with they hand and many people there and everyone had touched the buffet spoon and no gel sanitizer or wipes a the end of our trip few people were sick coughing. Brink your own gel sanitizer because 100s of people touch the same spoon at the buffet and no gel or wipes. The main plaza is good but for shows majority is karaoke only Michael Jackson show, Dominican and beach show. For adults at night time NO separate shows many kids running. It Is a new big resort if you are in the adult side you have to walk a bit because not transportation to get to the main plaza or back. The Mike's coffee really good. A la carta is only 2 available we were able to book Mexican and French the service and food are good 8 points the other ones are close or are privileged. The buffet El mercado is not good. Management need to step up with sanitary measures.