Hotel Riu Palace Bavaro

On arrival it was chaos, no clear check in lines (there are but everyone stood wherever). No “class” recognition or welcome drink. Checked in online before going which speeded this up a lot, had to ask for a resort map. Food ok, nothing special. Visited steakhouse which was a let down, terrible service and food not cooked as asked for, so we left. Room was great and very spacious, lots of storage but air con did not go below 22, had to ask for mini bar to be refilled as it was never done, had to ask for towels one day as these were not left by housekeeping. We had an interconnected door and we asked for his to be locked but it never was, this was a security issue. People in room next to us smoked and smoked weed, so we could never sit on the balcony. Buffet was often like a school canteen, people pushing in, food not always hot and often they had run out and had to wait for refill. Tables not cleaned properly, just wiped not cleaned! Most staff ok but we found many not friendly and slow to do things. We tipped well after getting service we thought was good, I never tip to get good service. Plenty of sun loungers round the pool and beach but some people still reserved and turned you later in the day. Beach sellers get a bit much sometimes and one even asked my teenage daughter if she wanted to buy weed, never experienced this before. The gym was small for the size of the hotel and eve though says over 18s there was often kids in there and some young ones. We found reception staff not very friendly and took ages to do something. We have visited several RIU Palace hotels and found this the worst. Lots of sargassum but they do clear this every day.

I went there with my family and have to say that the resort is really nice BUT if you are travelling with anyone under the age of 18, then this is not the place to be. Unlike the other Riu in Mexico or Jamaica, there is absolutely no entertainment for children 13-17. All the entertainment is at the Riu Partyland and you have to be 18 or older to go. The lights goes out everywhere including the bar and cafe which is in the lobby at 11:30. We were left sitting in the dark one night.