October 28, 2024

Resort Review: RIU Palace Bavaro


I stayed for seven days at the RIU Palace Bavaro, which is an all-inclusive resort recently renovated for 2024. The RIU Palace hotels offer more of a luxury and relaxation touch compared to their Classic hotels, but RIU advertises that this resort has something for the whole family. The RIU Palace Bavaro is part of a compound of RIU resorts in the area (that also includes the RIU Palace Macao, RIU Bambu, and the RIU Palace Punta Cana).

Check-In

I got to the hotel around noon and the check-in process was standard. My room was not going to be ready for the next hour, but the staff advised me that I will get an email once the room is ready. Sure enough, I get the email an hour later and received the keys to my room, which is in one of the stand-alone villas. A kind staff member collected my luggage and brought my luggage up two flights of stairs to my room, which was much appreciated. I wished there was some staff on hand handing us welcome drinks while we were checking-in.

Rating: 6/10

Room

I made a video of a tour of my room, so check it out:


The room was much bigger than expected, and it was obvious that this was a recently renovated room, because everything looked so clean and modern with good natural light during the day and even better room lighting in the night. The room had the standard amenities including TV, air conditioning, an iron, a safe, bathrobes, and a coffee machine. I had a mini-fridge full of water, soft drinks, and beer. There was even a dispenser with various hard liquor for drinking, which I thought was impressive. The king-size bed was a bit too squishy and uncomfortable for my liking but it was not terrible. My balcony had chairs, a table, and a drying rack for my wet clothes (and a great view of the pools and the ocean to boot). For some reason, my screen door to the balcony could not close properly; most likely due to shoddy work.

Two smaller rooms within the hotel room make up the bathroom. There is one room specifically for the toilet. The other room had the big mirror, double sinks, and the walk-in shower, which looked nice and bright.

Rating: 8/10

Food


The main place to get food is the buffet restaurant between the lobby and the pools/beach where you can get breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There was more than enough food for all dietary needs. The food here was average overall. There were some items that tasted good and there were other items that were not as good or was not cooked properly. I also noticed many flies around some of the food items, particularly the bread items during breakfast.

There is also a food court next to the pool that is open during the day. The food court mostly focused on quick-service foods such as burgers, fries, tacos, etc. There was also an Asian food station, a bar, as well as desserts and ice cream. The good thing about the food court is that the food is behind a door that you must open, which is good for sanitary reasons. The food was maybe just as good as the buffet, but this was a good place to get food after some time at the beach or pool.

There are numerous 'a la carte' restaurants at the resort and you do not have to book a reservation ahead of time to dine at these restaurants. I went to a couple of the 'a la carte' restaurants. The food at the American restaurant was mediocre and the service was just as bad. We had to wait a while for our food. The food at the Italian restaurant and the service was average.

The 24-hour sports bar next to the lobby serves hamburgers, hot dogs, and nachos, but the food looked nasty. Avoid eating there if possible.

There is also a dedicated room where you can get desserts, gelato, and soft-serve ice cream.

Overall, I was impressed with the variety in places to eat, and the variety in food, but the food needed to taste better.

Ratings:
Buffet Restaurant: 5.5/10
Food Court: 5.5/10
A la carte restaurants: 4/10
Sports Bar food: 0/10

Shops/Vendors

There is a general store on the road between the RIU Palace Bavaro and the RIU Palace Macao where you can get souvenirs, travel products, cigars, etc. Prices leaned more on the expensive side, so it might be better to do your souvenir shopping outside.

If you are hanging out on the beach, there will be no shortage of peddlers walking around and trying to sell you fake cigars, clothes, and toys. They are a bit annoying to deal with, and they like to hang around longer than usual, even after you tell them you are not interested.

Beach


Hanging out by the beach was a pretty good time. There were lots of palm trees for shade and there were enough beach chairs for people to lie down and leave their stuff at any time of the day. The staff could do a bit better in keeping the beach clean; both in terms of cleaning the seaweed in the water, and cleaning up the trash around the beach. Still, the beach was a very nice place to relax.

Rating: 7/10

Pool


The general and the adults only pools were probably my favorite place to relax and swim in. Both these pools felt like they had the perfect temperature to swim in. It never felt like the temperature was too hot or too cold. Just like the beach, there were many chairs around and I never had to go looking too out of my way for an empty chair. Occasionally, there would be staff hanging around that will deliver drinks to you, which you can sip right in the pool.

There is also a dedicated pool with a swim-up bar, which was less nice than the other pools. There were tables in the water where you can set your drink and chat with others, but the water always looked murkier than the other pools. Add the fact that there would be people at the swim-up bars all day and you can guess what would be happening at that pool.

Ratings:
Swim-up Bar Pool: 4/10
General Pool: 8/10
Adults Only Pool: 9/10 (this was a bit more relaxing)

Entertainment


During the day and evening, there is always something going on that the RIU staff organizes. There is usually something going on by the beach where the staff would organize some games including darts, volleyball, and beach soccer. The RIU staff would dance around by the swim-up bar, and would invite guests to dance to the music. Usually, the songs would be comedically sexual by nature like "Pony" or "I'm Too Sexy".


The resort also has a theater and a mini-stage across from the theater. There would be shows going on every night from 7-8pm up until around 11pm-midnight. They had your typical themed shows (including the all-important "Michael Jackson" show) as well as musicians and other performers fill the time on the mini-stage. I only saw a couple of the shows, and they were fine, nothing special.

RIU also hosts themed parties throughout the week at a dedicated space that you can walk to from the different RIU resorts. Some of the themes include a pink party, a neon party, and a white party. The RIU parties are a pool-party, nightclub style with people dancing and having a good time in the pools and by the bars. The DJ will mostly spin EDM but they will play some Spanish and pop music as well.

One major criticism of this resort is that from my understanding, there is only one place where you can see the schedule of events going on during the day, and that is at an e-kiosk next to reception. It would be nice to see this information in the RIU app or on your TV.

Rating: 6/10

Bars


There are many bars in this resort where you can drink. The main bar is the lobby bar just past reception with its own mixology cart set up during the evening. Across the lobby bar is the coffee bar where you can get some coffee or baked goods in the morning and throughout the day. 

There is the sports bar where you can drink and watch sports (just do not eat the food).

Other bars include:
- the food court
- the special Elite Club bar (for Elite Club guests)
- the theater
- the pool bars
- there was another bar on the side of the reception area but I did not visit it

Nightlife


There were two dedicated night spots that are just outside the RIU Palace Bavaro resort. The first place is the casino in the neighboring RIU Palace Macao resort. The casino was small and intimate, but had the standard slots and low-stakes blackjack and roulette. You can also play Texas Hold'em and they even had bingo nights on some days during the week.


The other place was the Pacha Discotheque open a few days a week. The vibe was nice (though small) with neon and flashing lights, but it was obvious that the DJ could not mix properly. He would be playing songs straight from YouTube. I also want to note that I did not have to pay for any of my drinks at the club (probably due to my RIU wristband).

Ratings:
Casino: 7/10
Nightclub: 6/10

Service

I thought the service from the RIU Palace Bavaro staff was decent, but not excellent. The staff take great care in cleaning the resort, though there were areas where I thought they could do a better job, such as the beach. The housekeeping staff cleaned my room well and were nice. The staff at the buffet restaurant were reasonably good as well, but the "a la carte" staff was not particularly great. The quality of the service depends on the staff member (and how much you can tip them).

Rating: 6.5/10

Other Notes/Amenities


- There is a gym in the resort if you are looking to exercise and the staff keep the equipment clean.

- There are sports facilities on the premises, including a tennis court and a basketball/football court.

- The spa is in the neighboring RIU Palace Macao. I did not go see the spa facilities.

- There is a waterpark on the RIU Palace Bavaro grounds with some splash pads and a few water slides for your amusement. This was a fun trip.

- There is free wi-fi throughout the resort with surprisingly good speeds.

- You can download the RIU app and check into the resort you are staying in. The app shows the hours of operation for all of the resort facilities, including pools, restaurants, and bars.

Final Verdict

The RIU Palace Bavaro benefited greatly from the renovation, as this feels like a clean and modern resort with many things to see and do. The rooms and the pools were my highlights from the resort, as well as enjoying the beach from a deck chair. However, there are things that need improvement. The food could be better in terms of quality and taste. The buffet restaurant also needs to take better sanitation measures with its staff, and to protect the food from flies. The RIU Palace Bavaro also needs to better inform its guests on the events happening each day at the resort; maybe put the list of events on the TV and/or in the RIU app. With that said, I would still recommend staying here if this was your first time at the resort, but I would not go back to stay here for a second time.

Final Rating: 7/10

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