"Bigger is NOT always better"
As a Riu class member, we have visited many of the hotels. I have to say this is certainly the biggest hotel we've stayed at but sadly the worst one by far!! Our Main Issues were:
Check in
Staff
service
Main Pool area
Food
Check in
I booked through a third party ( Tui ) but as a RIU class member checked in online prior to our arrival for ease after a long haul flight. We arrived at the hotel & wasnt greeted with a refreshment drink as we usually are, not a smile, not a hello just 5 members behind the desk in deep conversation about something or other. We went to the Riu class section on the reception as we had pre checked in & i had all the paper work ready to go, We were ignored. Further holiday makers who were after us came to the desk & were served immediately. I was stood there gobsmacked! There were 3 members of staff now all at the reception checking in customers who came after us and ignoring myself, partner & little boy like we were invisible! After 27minutes i finally lost it and demanded to be served. My father was also with us at the time (arriving the day before) who also was trying to get their attention but to no avail. We then were served by a gentlemen who apologised & said we would be looked after. He then said that we had booked a Double room which we hadnt as Tui had booked it and we needed a triple room, This was corrected & we were checked in. He gave us our wrists bands, keys and a piece of paper with the wifi on and left!!!! We didnt know the room number, so when the bell boy came to take our luggage we hadnt a clue and he then had to go and find out!!
Once arriving in the room, we found the room to be tidy & spacious but we were parched so opened the fridge to find the mini bar empty!! It had not been restocked! It was empty! So we then had to go on the app and request it! Not good enough.
Main Pool area
We then went to the main pool area near the larger food court to find that the poolside was covered in litter, plates, empty cups, discarded food and a scum like substance on the top of the water!! It was disgusting. There were no members of staff to be seen in that area & it was only around 4pm in the afternoon, so we moved to another pool area.
We found that the staff, service and general are of the family areas & smaller food court near our room to be much better.
Staff, Service & Food
That evening we headed to the Taino restaurant for Dinner, When looking around the buffet we noticed the salad to be old & withered, there were flies all over the food, particularly the seafood. Which put me off eating there again. The choice of food looked plentiful the quality of food was extremely poor compared to previous hotels.
We then went to the entertainment area & sat there for 20 minutes before anyone came to take our drinks order after us waving to them. There seemed to be a system where only certain members of staff could take the orders & then they passed it to another member of staff who then went & got it! This system is floored..... The staff who are meant to take the orders are miserable & just ignore you & the poor girls who get the drinks acknowledge you and are lovely but are unable to take the orders! Crazy!!
We ate in the Steak House, The country bar, The Chinese & the Taino restaurant ALL the service in these restaurants were dreadful!! Steak house, food was delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed it - the service was the opposite, We ordered drinks and were on the main mail and still hadn't got them, so we went to the bar ourselves to get them. In the Country restaurant we were told that they couldn't accommodate a table of 9 on one table so we all sat separately but it was clear they just couldn't be bothered. It then took 47 minutes for our food to come out & then when it did it was cold. Needless to say 8 out of 9 of us all had Stomach problems the day after. Loosing a day of our holiday confined to our rooms! The Chinese again the food was delicious but the staff looked like someone had died. We were told to order 2 dishes each as they were large portions, they were tiny so when we tried to order further portions we were grunted at by the girl server and she disappeared, returning 25 minutes with the wrong dish! We were thrown our cutlery - literally! It was thrown on the tables whilst we were sat there!
The Taino restaurant was no exception, We went in one night for dinner, we were ignored, we wasn't even offered a drink or a table. We sat there and waited for 25 minutes and again was ignored, so we left!
The saving grace of the restaurants is by far the Italian!! The entire staff, service & quality of food is exactly what we would expect! We ate there every morning and most evenings! The staff are welcoming, friendly, talkative & cannot do enough for you. It was like a breath of fresh air & what we have experienced in previous hotels.
The majority of Staff are uninterested in providing the service that is expected at Riu hotels and seem very reluctant to be there. So if you looking for good service - Avoid this Riu! Go to the Palace Punta cana next door. We went last year & it was Great!
