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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 04Jul24 - 23Dec26
- Early Departure Penalty: 2 Nights Applies: Sunday - Saturday 24Dec25 - 30Apr26
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
10385 reviews
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Jan 22, 2025Not a 5 star Resort
Overall, it was a beautiful resort with very clean water and a pristine beach. There were so many nice pools to choose from, depending on whether you wanted to relax or have fun. My favorite was the adults-only pool. The front desk staff were generally nice, except for a couple of them who could have helped in certain situations but chose not to. This includes Marcos, who gave me a hard time about checking out late. My flight was at 11 PM, and I was willing to pay extra for a late checkout, but the charge of $150 USD for 5 hours was ridiculous. I ended up checking out at 12 PM because I didn’t feel confident that the money would go toward the resort and not directly to him. Honestly, this situation soured my last day. On the other hand, Juan at the front desk checked us in quickly and gave us a great room, and Cristian was incredibly helpful and proactive. We always enjoyed our chat with him and he is definitely one of the reasons why we still enjoyed our stay despite some of the issues we faced. Another issue was that none of the waitstaff spoke English, which could be frustrating at times. For example, I asked for a napkin 4-5 times, and each time they said “okay” but never brought it. I eventually got up to get it myself. The breakfast buffet was very simple and repetitive, with the same items served every day. Each corner of the buffet offered the same options. Lunch was much better, but we preferred the beach food court over the buffet. If you plan to visit the specialty restaurants, I recommend going early. On our second night, we went past 8 PM and couldn’t find a table. Eventually, with some tipping, we got a table at 9:30 PM at the steakhouse. After that, we started visiting the restaurants around 7 PM. If a table was ready, we went in; if not, we waited for 45 minutes to an hour. Fortunately, you don’t have to stand outside the restaurant as they give you a buzzer to notify you when your table is ready and by doing this we got to try all the restaurants. This is a very packed resort, and I’d suggest extending dinner hours to 5:30-11 PM to accommodate everyone and avoid situations where guests are upset or even begging for a table, which I witnessed. I also want to mention after any food or drink intake, my husband and I had to take medication like Tums or Gas-X due to severe heartburn and bloating, and sometimes you may feel a rush to go to the washroom which was a bit of a struggle throughout my trip. Another major issue was that the maids would knock and immediately open the door without waiting for a response, and we didn’t have a "Do Not Disturb" sign. Even though the cleanups were done, it was still inconvenient to be interrupted daily like that. To ensure our room was cleaned, I left a tip and treat on the bed each morning before leaving, especially after reading negative reviews about rooms not being cleaned. The Riu party was fun at first, but it got repetitive by our second or third visit. The same music and shows made it less exciting, and we didn’t stay for more than an hour. One thing we noticed was that 90% of the guests were Spanish-speaking, either locals or visitors from South America. This might explain why the staff didn’t speak much English. Despite these issues, I had a good time overall, but I don’t think I’ll go back to this resort
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Jan 22, 2025Best Resort Experience Ever!
Right from pick up at the airport, to check in, to the beautiful rooms, amazing food, gorgeous resort and phenomenal staff. 10/10 highly recommend!
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Jan 19, 2025Good times…
Overall the stay was good. Food quality could have been better. Staff was friendly, but the night we made it into the Italian restaurant was terrible. Food wasn’t good and the staff was terrible. Water and wine was never refilled, Waiter disappeared, had to track down another wait staff to get things moving so we could finally Get out of there. Room was overall clean, though we had a few instances of bugs. Also the toilet was falling off the wall and leaking. Called maintenance and someone came and took care of the leak but it kept pulling away from the wall. I have to give a shoutout to Francisco at the family pool bar. He was fantastic. We always ended up at his bar late in the afternoons and enjoyed his daily drink recommendations and pleasant conversation.
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Jan 19, 2025
Beauty
Hotel is large with lots happening. The service, food, entertainment were all great. Room was musty smelling but it’s vacation and didn’t spend much time in the room.
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Jan 18, 2025
50th Birthday Celebration
I celebrated my 50th birthday. I was pleased, overwhelmed, And grateful how I got treated. The resort was clean , the staff was amazing from the time we checked in on Tuesday, January 7 until we left today January 11. I give a huge shout out to Mr. Pascual And his team…… to Angel, who greeted me with the warm smile, the first day of arrival. To Ramon Who thought that me and my sister and friend was supposed to eat at the restaurant he was at breakfast lunch and dinner 😂😂. To the housekeeping who kept our room, nice clean, smelling good to the ones who decorated my room for my birthday. I had a great experience. I was treated like a queen over there. I will be returning back to that resort. Thanks again to everyone that made my birthday special. Kudos.