Hotel Riu Palace Macao

Cant change date as late review - visited June 2024 Honeymoon & 2nd visit to this hotel as was perfect on our first visit 2nd time around not as good - restaurants had changed and food not as good as before and less choice, Staff not as helpful as first time around and quickly became apparent if didn't tip right away you would not get good service and that's not how we work as a couple we tip after we receive good service due to this we didnt get served around the pool as often and i just walked to the bar myself, drinks also at the bar not as good as before, cheap spirits , quick slush just no pride in the drinks however the cabana bar on an evening was fantastic as the barman which was regular all the time clearly takes pride in his work , strong measures and takes time and deserves all tips rather than around the pool staff buffet staff was always friendly and quick with drinks and clearing plates etc always left a tip Dissapointed at arrival, no welcome drinks and fresh towel on arrival like first time and when told was honeymoon and our 2nd visit to this hotel all we got from reception was a smile and saying we are like family then, no offer or complimentary room upgrade yet 2x normal travellers from usa randomly got an upgrade for nothing, our booked room wasnt available first night so coudnt unpack full but when moved we had a decent pool facing view so coudnt complain, rooms still modern etc no mould etc, just few like ant bugs on walls sometimes which put us off and made us check bedding regularly, rooms cleaned basic standard but nothing special , first time they used to make nice animal shapes out of towels but none of that this time Pool still has no shade over it so by 10am most days its like bath water and not very refreshing and still loose tiles in the pool even on our first visit this was apparent, they also changed their outdoor arena show area to build fancy swim up pool rooms & also got rid of the indoor theater which was air conditioned and now have to sit outside on an evening and suffer in the heat i just feel the hotel has gone a bit backwards and our understanding was the Palace Macao was meant to be the 5 Star Adult only top hotel in the area yet when we had a walk down the beach to the Bavaro (Under Construction at the time) and the Riu Palace which is a lot nicer than the Macao staff was not as good as our first visit and felt that maybe not looked after as well as they used to be hence the dip in customer service its really put us off the brand Riu now as our first trip was perfect and thought we would do our honeymoon there- still enjoyed our time never went hungry or thirsty but just not the same hope it has changed and got better but don't think we will return again

We have stayed at many Rius in the past and this one is just ok. The food is kind of mediocre and our favorite restaurant was the Asian one, Kabuki. The workers are phenomenal and all good above and beyond. We had the elite club swim up pool and they would bring drinks right to our pool. I definitely would recommend the elite club if you are on the fence about it. Was 100% worth it. The hotel is very clean. We had brought bug spray and wrist bands for insects, but never even opened em. The ocean is super rough in front of the hotel and mostly unusable. I'd recommend looking further south as it was very calm down there. The main swim up pool bar is loud, but the other 2 pools are very chill and relaxing. As other people mentioned, our clothes did have a terrible smell that I had to double wash when we got home. We did walk over to Riu Bavaro and it is massive. We went to the ice cream shop, Candy, and it was delicious. All in all, great vacation.