The hotel is huge, very clean. Our room was nice and very cold but a little old. It certainly needs to be upgraded and remodeled but not bad at all. Really, we were only in the bedroom just enough time to take showers, change clothes and sleep time. The restaurants were all excellent. We visited the Brazilian steakhouse which btw the service was outstanding. It was my husband's birthday and we had gone to capcana for the day ( fantastic), the tour was late one hour coming back. When we arrived at the hotel I went straight to the restaurant to ask the manager if we could still have dinner vi explained the situation to him and told him that it was my husband's birthday. He said, don't worry, go to change, take your time and don't tell your husband anything. We will have a surprise for him. Wow, when we came back the table was beautiful, and the service was amazing. At the end, they brought him a beautiful cake :). Very special indeed

Everyday we had lunch at the all you can eat restaurant by the pool. A great selection of food, cheeses, fruits and fresh vegetables

The beaches are one of the most beautiful ones I have seen and I travel a lot. The people are so generous and hospitable. The activity crew are the best. They go out of their way to entertain you. The only thing I really didn't care as for the low grade alcohol. If you are looking for a premium, don't come here. They don't even have jw black The monitors and pool drinks were pretty good

We were booked at the Riu Bambu, but upon our arrival, they asked if we wanted to change, free of charge to the Palace. Evidently, they had overbooked. Since the lobby swarmed with folks with luggage looking travel-frazzled, we grabbed the opportunity.
They called a taxi to shuttle us next door.

Let me back up and say we booked the vacation with fun jet. We printed travel instructions from home, including airport arrangements. This turned out to be more crucial than I could have guessed.

When we arrived in the rooms, there were drinks in the refrigerator. The room was spotless and clean. The beds were two large singles put together to form king-sized. Nice, full sized tub, plenty of towels, which get replenished more than once daily. This is the first place where'd I've stayed that brings fresh towels around 9:30 at night.

Immediately changed and went in search of sustenance. The lunch buffet at 4:00 is nothing much to brag about, but it was post-peak. I gulped down coffee, and we went strolling. While checking out the restaurants, we ran into a fellow American who was very unhappy with his lack of transpo at the airport. (we had a private shuttle employed by fun jet.) we found that we'd have to eat at the buffet that night, then sign up for restaurants the next morning.

Our experience at the lower level Riu was that restaurants are always booked. At the Palace, we were able to sign up for 3 nights. The food has been phenomenal! At the Krystal, we had elegant and prettily-plated food that included appetizers, main dish, and desserts. At La Altagracia, we had escargot, oysters on the half shell, smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail. Lobsters and steak with carrots, cauliflower, and baked potatoes formed the main meal and baked Alaska topped it off. We don't drink at all, but all sorts of drinks were offered. This is an all inclusive, so you don't have to pay a dime, however, tips are surely appreciated.

If you go to this hotel, you will be pampered. The pool is nice, the beach is pristine. The atmosphere here is not party or clubbish, but down the road is the Riu club. I assume more of that can be found there.

My family arrived at the hotel for a March Break vacation. My first impression of the lobby and the main entrance was clean and very well maintained. The front desk was occomadating and friendly. The rooms were somewhat not to my expectations, i would almost discripe the room as standard. My kids slept on a sofa matress that i would describe it as slightly below average. The room service was was excellent, very friendly with a "hello- olah" every morning however did not speak any english. The landscaping was excellent, very well maintained, the pool was very clean, the entertainment staff were very friendly and alway found them trying to get guest to participate in activities. Again, the only draw back was the lack of some of them not speaking much english. The beach was fantastic and very well maintained. The gym was alilttle dissapointing, a little small and some days the exercise machines would work other days not. The did have a childrens play ground a little of the path, however they were only open during the late part of the afternoon. The italian resteraunt was dissapointing, considering i love italian food. The steak house was o.k. however the buffet is the best bet. Get there early becouse it was fresh. The buffett had a different theme every night, the selection was excellent and the service was excellent. The pool service was good, however i would recommend tipping a $1 every order, service is faster, bigger smiles every time. There is a kiosk that provides photos, i would highly recommend, not only were they very friendly, Elena one of the photographers was very good with the kids, a litte expensive but the quality was great. The nightly entertainment was average to good, they always put a strong effort to entertain every one. More accomadating to the age group of 40 to 60 years of age. I would say the overall experience was great. i would recommend the Rui Palace Punta Cana.

We stayed at Riu Palace Punta Cana 2/24-3/3/13. We read all the bad reviews b/4 we left, and were a little worried we'd picked the wrong place. Honestly, after being here, it made us wonder about people--are they just being mean, or are they impossible to please? We are from Iowa, and appreciate SO much being able to get away from the cold to beautiful places like this. If the sun is warm, and the drinks are cold, we are generally happy!! We traveled w/ a group of 8, and we had so much fun! This is a lovely hotel, super-sweet, hard-working staff. We spent a lot of time by the pool. Thanks to Sylvestre for helping arrange chairs for us, and thanks to Garcia for being such an awesome pool-side waiter! If you go, PLEASE tip wait staff, housekeepers, etc. We always do, and found here, like other places, no one acts like they expect it, but it is surely appreciated. The beach and water here are most beautiful. We traveled w/ a group of 8, and we all had so much fun! Afternoons by the pool were a great meeting spot, as well as the plaza bar after dinner. Great music in the eves. Nice, reasonable-priced shopping areas within the hotel complex. Be sure and bargain w/ them, as well as the beach vendors, who were very nice and not pushy! Beautiful walkway b/t hotels. Never experienced any musty smell, unless you mean humidity, which is everywhere in the Caribbean! There was a sewer-ish smell now and then, but have experienced this at many other resorts, possibly b/c we're at sea level? Ate at all the specialty restaurants and buffets. Food was generally good. Oh, sure, some stuff better than others, but don't you find that everywhere? Drinks were PLENTY strong, so not sure how much alcohol people want! Ask for a double, if your drinks aren't strong enough for you, and bartenders will pour it for you. They even had Jack Daniels, which made my husband happy! We have experienced Sandals that prides itself on "luxury" (with prices to match) that was always running out of JD! Our accomodations were great, room spotless. The best fridge-restocking I have ever experienced. We have traveled to the Caribbean probably at least 40 weeks, and stayed at many other resorts in Mx, Jamaica, Caribbean-- other RIU's, Jewel, Sandals, Excellence, Secrets, Iberostar, and this resort compares favorably. There was lots going on here, which we loved! Took the afternoon snorkel/party cruise, and had a ball! I would not hesitate to return to this hotel.