Riu Palace Punta Cana - All Inclusive

My family and I stayed at the RIU palace Punta Cana from August 5-11 2025. I want to start by stating that we stayed at the RIU Ocho Rios in Jamaica in June 2025, so we expected a similar experience. When we arrived we were greeted and the check in process was smooth, we were given access to our room at 2 pm which was a great surprise since check in is at 3. Upon entering our room, the first thing we noticed was that the pull out sofa bed was not made. There were three of us and the sofa bed should have been prepared. I immediately called the front desk and they told me someone would be sent up to make the bed. We went out to the beach, and when we returned, the bed was still not made. My husband called the front desk again and asked for the bed to be made. We went to dinner and when we returned, the bed was made. I noticed that there was water on the floor of the bathroom, but thought perhaps it was still wet from being cleaned. Unfortunately, it was due to a leak in the shower which caused water to leak out onto the bathroom floor. I would place a towel on the floor everyday so that we would not slip. The beach- if you are looking for pristine beaches Punta Cana is not the place. They have a seaweed problem (which is NOT in the hotels control) which is incredibly off putting. It smells, has little bugs, and is an eyesore. What is in control of the hotel is the cleaning of the seaweed. While we were there, the seaweed on the beach in front of our hotel was not cleaned. The seaweed in front of the RIUs next to this hotel was cleaned, I watched them clean it, but they stopped cleaning before they got to our hotel. I am not exaggerating when I say that there was a small hill of seaweed that you had to climb over. At the beach we were constantly approached by people selling tours, jewelry, massages etc. It did not appear that they were employed by the hotel, they were all respectful, but we were approached at least 10 times a day. A positive experience on the beach was that there was service from the bar. It was nice to not have to walk up to the bar to order drinks. In regard to the performances at night, they were lacking. The service in the buffet dining room was great. We sat with Juan everyday and he was amazing. He was incredibly attentive and we looked forward to sitting in his section. The food was ok. We were hoping to be able to try more Dominican options, but they only had a few. In summary, we did not have a bad experience, but we would not come back. The experience we had at the RIU in Ocho Rios was far superior in all aspects.

natural circumstances, fauna & flora, beautiful a decent hotel but very average for the Riu Chain, most things need to be renewed maximum rating is poor 4

We combined a hotel stay with a white party and a pink party. The restaurants' themed are fabulous for those of us who enjoy unique dining experiences. There's so much to do and try in one place that 6 days isn't enough to experience everything.