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Hotel overview
The Riu Palace Bavaro is a fabulous 24-hour All-Inclusive beachfront hotel located on Arena Gorda beach in Bavaro, Punta Cana. Enjoy sunbathing on one of the most paradisiacal beaches in Punta Cana or take a refreshing dip in one of the 9 pools, 3 with a swim-up bar. Accommodations include brand new and spacious Friends & Family rooms as well as the Elite Club by Riu concept for Adults only with swim-up rooms in premium locations and additional perks.
The hotel offers an endless number of recreational and sports options like beach volleyball, snorkelling, kayaking, a gym and RIU Fit activities as well as 3 Tennis courts, a multipurpose sports court and the Riu Splash Water World water park in the resort.
For the little guests you will find the Riu Land Kids club with an open air playground, a cinema and a pool and also a Mini Splash with slides and a pirate boat.
There are 32 food and beverage venues with everything from a breakfast buffet to an all-American favorites restaurant, from a food court to an ice cream parlor, a coffee shop and more. For dinner you can choose one of the a-la-carte restaurants serving Mexican, Asian, Italian and fusion cuisine or the Steakhouse and of course the main buffet.
Evenings are filled with nightly shows and live music at the hotel theatre. You can dance the night away at Riu Pacha discotheque and Riu Party events in the resort or enjoy the elegant atmosphere in the Lobby bar and try a handcrafted drink from the Mixology cart.
Location
Punta Cana - BeachProperty information
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Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Check-in Policy - Deposits or credit/debit card hold authorizations are not requested at check-in. Minimum age of 18 is required for check-in, an ID/Passport will be requested upon arrival.
Convention Policy : Groups traveling together can book this property for their stay taking advantage of group benefits such as 6th or 11th complimentary guest, Group dinner reservation, One complimentary cocktail hour with a selection of appetizers, One complimentary massage for the group leader, Complimentary room upgrades to the next category, Fruit plate and bottle of wine for the VIP, Private check-in when arriving together, Welcome sign. Applicable with Wedding Collections and Social Packages. Consult terms & conditions.
Hotel Spring Break Policies: Spring Breakers (either groups or individuals, regardless of age) are not allowed at any RIU property, at any time during the year. RIU Hotels & Resorts, reserves the right to withhold admission to any Spring Breaker. The hotel reserves the right of admission and may request clients to show passport or official ID to prove full identification. Guests can and will be removed from the property at their own expense in case of any disturbance or complaint from other guests or hotel staff. Parties in rooms are not allowed. Spring break groups or unruly behavior is not allowed all year round at any property.
The connecting Junior Suites has a minimum occupancy of 4 in each room booked.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price.
Minimum night stay restrictions may apply.
Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
- Early Departure Penalty: 1 Night Applies: Sunday - Saturday 01May25 - 23Dec26
- Early Departure Penalty: 2 Nights Applies: Sunday - Saturday 24Dec25 - 30Apr26
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
10744 reviews
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Jun 29, 2025Nice all inclusive resort
Traveled with 5 other families for senior boys trip. Not usually a big fan of all inclusives but it made sense for the senior celebration trip. I thought the hotel, amenities, grounds, rooms and even the food we very good. Rooms were very nice, seemed to be remodeled not too long ago. Daily room cleaning, beverage stocking and new towels was very good every day. Not sure I have ever seen staff so consistently cleaning and mopping the floors every day, all the time! Had a couple fitness rooms to choose from, not huge but decent enough to get what you need done. Spa and treatments were solid and pretty much typical US pricing. Had to be nearly 7 pools, 2 that had swim up bars. An adults only pool that was nice to get away for some more peaceful time. Lots of options for food: food court with probably 6 choices, a nice buffet that was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then maybe 6? other restaurants. Agave mexican food was so so, but thought the Italian, Asian and Steak place were pretty solid for all inclusive dining. Decent coffee service in the morning and a few ice cream/candy places around. Felt like there were a lot of options for things to do after dinner. A couple bars to hang out, nightly shows, a late night disco for the kids to go hang out. Had a person with a cart mixing specialty drinks every night in the lobby that was pretty cool. They hold parties throughout the week at a separate "party" pool. The boys had a great time and even the adults enjoyed the show for a bit. Beach is pretty with lots of loungers sprinkled amongst palm trees so you can grab some shade. June had a lot of seaweed, a lot. So using the ocean at the resort was not existent, but there is nothing the resort could do. There is no way the resort could keep up with the amount of seaweed and the problem was up and down the coastline everywhere you look. This is my second trip to the Dominican and not sure either time I felt like the beaches were that nice so my expectations were low going in. If the beach is your main wish I might look at other vacation destinations. I thought this resort was a perfect choice for a senior/college trip.
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Jun 29, 2025
AMAZING family vacation!!! Best RIU yet.
We just left after a week here with two kids ages 14 and 11 and we had the BEST time with ZERO complaints. We have stayed at several RIU’s and this one was BY FAR the best one weve ever been to. Our room was a family room with a king and queen size bed in building 67, first floor right across from the family pool. Our kids went and swam there most nights. The pools never close which is great! The room was cleaned before noon every day. They left 2 towels a day but each evening when we came in to get ready for dinner I’d request 4 towels in the app and they always came within 20 minutes. Be patient with the app, sometimes it takes a couple minutes to fully open but we had no issues as long as we gave it just a bit to load. We didn’t have data here and relied fully on wifi and airplane mode the whole trip. We had no issues. Wifi gave out at the beach but it worked great until the Scuba Caribe hut. We had the bakery (it’s a little coffee shop with pastries) right across from our room, near the family pool, so every morning while the kids slept my husband and I would go grab coffee and a muffin to eat on the patio since they opened at 7am and we’re early risers. The only bugs we saw the entire time were ants and they were usually where prople had left plates, cups or spilled things in the hallway or by the pool. I made sure to rinse all plates and cups we brought into the room and take them out when we left morning or evening. If there were any in the hall near our room I would move them. We never had any ants in our room. Every employee we met, from check in to check out, front desk, bars, restaurants, maintenance, security, housekeeping, wait staff, EVERYONE was friendly and greeted us as we passed by. One day I lost my credit card from my phone case and less than 2 hours later I had an email from the front desk letting me know someone turned it in. My daughter also left her portable charger at the Mexican restaurant and when we went back to get it about 30 mins later they’d turned it in to the front desk for us. The only issue we had, which was NOT with RIU, but the guy with the parrot was there one night at the beach. Avoid the people with the birds and iguanas at all costs. They’re intimidating and pushy. Every other vendor on the beach leaves you alone if you say no throughout the day. We ate at the steakhouse, Italian, Asian, Mexican and American Country and we all enjoyed each of our meals. The kids are pickier than we are so if they didn’t love all of theirs we’d stop by the buffet for them to get a snack (and honestly just to visit with Jesús!!) each evening. The steakhouse was my favorite, my husband loved the Asian best and the kids enjoyed the Alfredo at the Italian restaurant best! The buffet had plenty of variety and we ate dinner there twice and breakfast and dessert every day. We ate at the food court by the main pool or by the family pool for lunch each day. The one by the family pool isn’t as large but it is quieter and less busy and I liked that better! We found out the bakery there that we got coffee from each day also had little sub sandwiches for lunch and the kids ate those for an afternoon snack several times or took one back to the room to keep in the fridge sometimes. Our son and my husband loved the water slides. Our daughter played about a hundred games of beach volleyball! I have already recommended this to friends, family and people on the plane!
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Jun 29, 2025
Riu Palace Bavaro Punta Cana
Some of the Facebook reviews were concerning after the remodel, but we had a great experience. Just a couple little flaws. Check in was fairly easy but we had someone in training so it took longer. He forgot to give us a towel card but we have stayed at Riu's in Mexico so we knew how to navigate it. You are given a card and get a towel at the pool area towel station. Must return a card at check out so you aren't charged. The buffet was good and all 4 of us could find something. They had themes for the night which was fun. Steakhouse restaurant fills up so get there at 5:30-5:45 for the first seating. Steaks were really good but mine was more medium than med rare. It was a smaller filet since it was surf and turf. Still had great flavor. Zen, the Asian restaurant was our favorite. Italian wasn't a fan favorite like we had in Mexico but still good. The food court was quick for lunch. My fav was the WOK but it was busy as they cook to order. RFC(chicken place) wasn't that good to me. Chicken was over cooked. We like the Sports Bar for afternoon nachos and to see a couple scores for our hometeam. This was NBA Championship time so it was busy and fun environment. Had a lot of pools to choose from that were not Elite. We hung out at the pool bar for a couple of days but found the Adult pool better for us. Albeit, the water was warm after the sun for the afternoon. We were only able to enjoy the beach/ocean for a few hours as the sargassum seaweed was an issue. They did a great job of clearing with bulldozers and tractors but it was so much coming from the ocean. One day we saw it coming and and a couple hours later it came to shore. Too much to clean up. I have heard it disappears in July. May and June are bad months apparently. The views were still pretty most of the time. The rooms were great with a couple of issues. The towel holders were only put up with putty so the towels fell to the ground. Rooms were kept clean in the day and came at night as well for us. Fridge seemed to be stocked well. We did use some of the bottled water but once at a restaurant or bar, the water is filtered so it was fine. I always bring some over the counter stomach meds as coming into a different country can mess with you. We got a couple of mosquito bites but not bad at all in my opinion. I did use spray some but not always. I get more bites in my midwest back yard. All in all a great place to visit. Services was outstanding all around.
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Jun 29, 2025Disappointing Stay – Not the 5-Star Experience Promised
We recently stayed at RIU Palace Bavaro in Punta Cana and, unfortunately, our overall experience left much to be desired. While there were a few positives, the negatives heavily outweighed them. The Good: We stayed in the area near the Naiboa bar and pools, which turned out to be a great location for families. The rooms were quiet and comfortable, and we appreciated the layout of the Naiboa pool area—shallow, family-friendly pools close together, a splash pad for the kids, and a swim-up bar for the adults. There were also plenty of lounge chairs available and lots of shade throughout the resort, which made relaxing by the pool easy. The Bad: Customer service was virtually nonexistent. Staff often seemed uninterested or overwhelmed, and getting assistance or even basic service felt like a chore. The food was average at best—certainly not what you’d expect from a resort advertising itself as 5-star. One of the biggest disappointments was the beach. It was overcrowded with very little usable space and absolutely no cabanas. On top of that, the constant harassment from vendors walking the beach made it impossible to truly relax. For a destination where tourism is touted as the #1 industry, the level of hospitality and guest care was severely lacking. Bottom Line: If you’re looking for a cheap all-inclusive vacation in a large, busy resort where you won’t feel particularly appreciated or well taken care of, then RIU Palace Bavaro might be for you. But if you’re hoping for a true 5-star experience, look elsewhere. Club Med seems to get much better feedback—and after this trip, we’re not likely to return to the Dominican Republic. Once was enough.
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Jun 28, 2025
Great Family Resort
Great getaway and family resort with many activities. Sit down restaurants were good and dinner buffet venue had many choices for everyone