This is my more informal companion post to my recent review of the RIU Palace Bavaro resort in Punta Cana where I talk about my experiences within this resort. I planned for this to be more of a relaxing vacation for me, as I did not partake in many excursions outside the resort. In fact, I only left the resort once during my trip for “shopping”, which meant an impromptu trip to KFC. Regardless, there are things on this trip that I would like to share.
I spent much of my time on this trip on the beach; particularly in the ocean. The temperature of the water was reasonably warm, but the strong undercurrent and the somewhat rough waves battered my body. I could handle the roughness, but there were others that had to stay on the shore because the undercurrent could suck them under. I managed to snag some picturesque beach shots as well.
At the pool with the swim-up bar, the RIU staff would have these dance contests to see which woman (or man) can dance the best (in reality, it is who can dance the sexiest). I was at the swim-up pool on the first day where the RIU staff had the contest for the women (I swear this is not the reason I was there). I saw some women release their inner inhibitions, to put it mildly.
I had to take a picture of the resort in the evening, which looked nice.
I went to the American-themed “a la carte” restaurant for some burgers, fries, and other “American” eats. It was a shame that we had to wait a long time for our waitress to bring our food to us, and even then, the food was not very good at all. The picture says “Good Bites Only”, but I have determined that this is a lie.
I did not spend a whole lot of time checking out the theater shows, but I could hear them all loudly from my resort room. They were all weird. There was a pirate show which had even worse effort than pirate night on the MSC Seaside. There were some singers and musicians as well which were decent. There were other shows (such as a Michael Jackson show) that I did not bother to see.
On a couple of mornings, I would attempt to get an iced coffee from the cappuccino bar in the lobby area, but the waitresses would not know what I was talking about. The first time I tried to order an iced coffee, I received a hot coffee in a glass instead. The second time I tried to order an iced coffee, I received a hot coffee in a plastic cup with ice in it.
The view from the balcony of my resort room was incredible. You can see that the ground floor rooms in the villas had their own mini-pools in the back, which I thought was cool. There are also clear views of the pools, and even out to the ocean. This was probably the best view I could have ever had from my room.
This picture is of the general pool, but I like to spend my time in the adults-only pool, and you can bring your drink in the pool as well. It was the most relaxing experience.
One of the things you can do when you go to a RIU resort is to go to one of their themed RIU parties, which they had a few times during the week. The place is one big club vibe with tons of people drinking and partying. Much of the venue space are shallow pools where you can stand and dance in (and I am 100% certain that people pee in those pools). The DJ would play EDM and Spanish music, while the MC tries to hype the crowd up. Occasionally, there would be a machine at the top that would spew foam on the people below. The RIU parties were not for me; maybe I am getting too old.
The local discotheque would be open from 11pm to 3am, and I would sometimes go and check it out. I do not know what is up with these resort DJs that play music straight from YouTube, but this DJ was mediocre. Other than that, the flashing lights and the neon cherry was neat. It was an okay place to spend some time and go dance with middle-aged Dominican ladies (of the night).
This RIU resort had a water park on the property, which was a first for me, and it was free to use. This water park was no major attraction, but it had some decent slides. I went on a few slides, and I had some fun, until I went on the big slide with the sled, overshot the end of the slide, and hit my stomach on the edge of the concrete. That was my last time on a water slide on this trip.
I spent some nights at the casino to play low-stakes roulette and blackjack. Usually, I am lucky at the roulette tables but I think I left my luck at home in Canada. I had a good time at the roulette tables but I ultimately lost my budgeted money. At the blackjack table, I lost my money in a flash.
The one time I left the resort to go shopping, I saw this mural that I need to take a picture of.
That was my trip to Punta Cana. I was sick for a couple of days on the trip, but I was glad to get out of the country for a bit. Legitimately, the best food on the trip was the expensive personal Pizza Hut pizza at the airport on the way back.
More pictures below:
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