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.

the resort is very beautiful the adult only section had a modern look to it.

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.

L'hôtel est magnifique, taille moyen, bien entretenu

Thank you to Dario, Jasmin, Paolo, Isabel, Valerie and each and every staff member at Bahia Principe Luxury Buganville for your beautiful energy and smiles. You made our vacation a memorable one !

Definitely not a 5 star. I say that bcs I have been in DR many times in other 5 star. Cannot compare with RIU for example. Far from beach hotel& restaurant,long waiting time for drink, only 1 coffee machine breaks down often at the fast food restaurant by the beach( they could put 2 instead) hard matress no elevator to 3 floor no alcohol in room no access to other bahia resort , not even for a cooffe . Ala carte Portofino and Capricio are very far from italian cussine ( Im not using word horrible).The beach was a swamp bcs of the weeds ; first 2 days they didnt even clean the shore. I understand not much they can do in the water but if I knew I'd go somewhere else…

6th time to Punta Cana, first time staying at Punta Cana Princess. Love that it is adult only. Grounds are clean and the room was up to date. Everything worked. Staff from the lobby to the beach bar were friendly. The buffet had enough variety and the food was good. The Italian and Tex-Mex restaurants were very good. The beach front is amazing. The resort is small but we loved that. Entertainment in the lobby at night - no big shows like other resorts - but we like it on the quiet side. We will definitely be staying at this resort our next visit to the Dominican.

The hotel was beautiful. Very nice property. Food at buffet is horrible. Room service even worse. Stand alone restaurants are good, but very difficult to get reservations Kid got sick. All the reviews that talk about hand and mouth disease are unfortunately true... From what i've seen its from sanitation with food handling. Overall it's a beautiful resort, Service on the other hand is horrible. Servers are expecting you to tip them any moment you look at them, and whatever you give them is never enough.