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Hotel overview
The Riu Palace Bavaro is a fabulous 24-hour All-Inclusive beachfront hotel located on Arena Gorda beach in Bavaro, Punta Cana. Enjoy sunbathing on one of the most paradisiacal beaches in Punta Cana or take a refreshing dip in one of the 9 pools, 3 with a swim-up bar. Accommodations include brand new and spacious Friends & Family rooms as well as the Elite Club by Riu concept for Adults only with swim-up rooms in premium locations and additional perks.
The hotel offers an endless number of recreational and sports options like beach volleyball, snorkelling, kayaking, a gym and RIU Fit activities as well as 3 Tennis courts, a multipurpose sports court and the Riu Splash Water World water park in the resort.
For the little guests you will find the Riu Land Kids club with an open air playground, a cinema and a pool and also a Mini Splash with slides and a pirate boat.
There are 32 food and beverage venues with everything from a breakfast buffet to an all-American favorites restaurant, from a food court to an ice cream parlor, a coffee shop and more. For dinner you can choose one of the a-la-carte restaurants serving Mexican, Asian, Italian and fusion cuisine or the Steakhouse and of course the main buffet.
Evenings are filled with nightly shows and live music at the hotel theatre. You can dance the night away at Riu Pacha discotheque and Riu Party events in the resort or enjoy the elegant atmosphere in the Lobby bar and try a handcrafted drink from the Mixology cart.
Location
Punta Cana - BeachProperty information
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Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Check-in Policy - Deposits or credit/debit card hold authorizations are not requested at check-in. Minimum age of 18 is required for check-in, an ID/Passport will be requested upon arrival.
Convention Policy : Groups traveling together can book this property for their stay taking advantage of group benefits such as 6th or 11th complimentary guest, Group dinner reservation, One complimentary cocktail hour with a selection of appetizers, One complimentary massage for the group leader, Complimentary room upgrades to the next category, Fruit plate and bottle of wine for the VIP, Private check-in when arriving together, Welcome sign. Applicable with Wedding Collections and Social Packages. Consult terms & conditions.
Hotel Spring Break Policies: Spring Breakers (either groups or individuals, regardless of age) are not allowed at any RIU property, at any time during the year. RIU Hotels & Resorts, reserves the right to withhold admission to any Spring Breaker. The hotel reserves the right of admission and may request clients to show passport or official ID to prove full identification. Guests can and will be removed from the property at their own expense in case of any disturbance or complaint from other guests or hotel staff. Parties in rooms are not allowed. Spring break groups or unruly behavior is not allowed all year round at any property.
The connecting Junior Suites has a minimum occupancy of 4 in each room booked.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price.
Minimum night stay restrictions may apply.
Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
- Early Departure Penalty: 1 Night Applies: Sunday - Saturday 01May25 - 23Dec26
- Early Departure Penalty: 2 Nights Applies: Sunday - Saturday 24Dec25 - 30Apr26
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
10705 reviews
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Jun 09, 2025Dolores Perry
There was one flaw in my stay that put a bitter taste in our mouths. When we arrived at PUNTA CANA Airport there was no transportation arranged for us. We paid $40.00 to get to the resort, we reported this at the front desk AND NO COMPENSATION WAS offered. When we returned we had the same issue after going to the Theatre and making arrangements. However the front desk helped to resolve the issue and we were allowed on the bus. I am waiting for reimbursement of the $40.00 I paid.
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Jun 09, 2025It was a 5+ 🌟 experience
Everything was top tier, the entire staff were the friendliest and most helpful. The rooms and the resort itself were flawless. The only thing that was a bummer for me was the beach, excessive seaweed had washed up on the shore but I don't blame Riu for that. Thank you for an amazing experience! I can't wait to come back♡
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Jun 08, 2025
Stunning hotel, as long as you don’t want to relax around the pools!
This is a beautiful hotel, absolutely stunning. The staff have been amazing and it is literally the cleanest resort I’ve ever stayed at. It’s absolutely spotless. The quality and variety of food/drink on offer is spectacular and the entertainment is great. The waterparks are amazing, with slides suitable for toddlers, kids and adults. The only reasons I dropped this resort to 4 stars: - The resort is situated on the Atlantic side of the island, so if you’re expecting the crystal clear Caribbean Sea, you’ll be disappointed (the rest of the beach, however, is idyllic) - While badged as a hotel for everyone, it’s clearly pivoted more towards a party hotel. Even around the family pools, they bang music out 12 hours a day. The resort is so huge, it feels like they could offer this at the adult side of the resort and tone it down a little in the family side. - Most annoying (and not the hotel’s fault, although they do nothing about it) are the inconsiderate groups of (mostly American) families who bring their beatboxes to the pool and blare out their own deep bass music at all times of day (I’m bringing our Bluetooth speaker down tomorrow and hammering out some 80s cheesy bangers to counter them!). Basically, if you’re looking for a chilled relax around the pool, this isn’t the hotel for you! - If you can, request an inward facing room, the views from the outward facing balconies are pretty disappointing - we’re overlooking a bin shed and the staff car park
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Jun 05, 2025Eh
We have been here since Monday and leave Saturday morning. Here is my review, it will be long so I can hit all of the points: To start off, this is my third time in Punta Cana and my first time at a family all inclusive. I have been to Secrets Cap Cana and Secrets Royal Beach. For our family trips we usually take carnival cruises, so I was expecting that kind of vibe. Honestly, didn’t even notice the kids. They were all wonderful and very respectful. My babies even made some friends in the pool. I came here with no expectations because while I’ve stayed at all inclusives, I recognize that we were probably going to get what we paid for. My kids requested a water park and this was one of the only AIs that had a decent one that was within our price range. The kids did enjoy the water park but I think they would have given it up for better food, service, and quality of experience. When you get here, nobody is there to welcome you. You aren’t handed a drink or a towel like at other resorts. The employee who checked us in was very nice, but there was a serious language barrier. The language barrier continued across the resort. I recognize we are in their country etc, but you can’t even get across basic requests here. This is not normal amongst the resorts I have been to. It felt very impersonal and not like you’re walking into your paradise resort. One of our rooms was ready but we had to wait for the other one. It was well after 4 and we still had not received an email it was ready. I checked in at the desk and got a ton of attitude because I requested a ground floor room and that seemed to be like too big of a request (that I made..when I booked lol). There are no elevators so if you’re disabled like I am, stairs can be tricky. The people who had my original room did late check out so she gave me a different room. They gave us 2 keys, we had 4 people, and 1 didn’t work. We probably had to get a dozen more keys because they either stopped working or never worked. The food is bad. It’s edible at best. I haven’t been sick or anything, but I have never cleared a plate. The flies are insane. I never noticed a fly problem at other resorts but I worry about the cleanliness of some of the food areas here. It very much reminded me of cruise food. The food courts have the best food. I did like the steakhouse (bring seasoning) and Agave was good. Also, the salt and pepper shakers never work and the food needs it. I wish I had a travel bottle of tajin, Salt, and pepper. The service is laughable. I genuinely laughed yesterday at lunch because the lady at the taco bar at the food court couldn’t have been more annoyed with having to heat up people’s tortillas. At other resorts I was handing out money like I was Oprah. I haven’t felt like anybody did their base job here, let alone went above and beyond. The only person we have given a substantial tip to was the employee bringing us drinks at the pool (I will have to get his name). He was fast, professional, and joked around with the kids. Most employees, though, you feel like you’re a burden just asking for the smallest things. Most don’t even acknowledge your presence. There is no entertainment. We tried to stay indoors today and we were all bored due to the lack of music and liveliness you may have at other resorts. I saw the riu party people come through yesterday and it was crickets as far as noise goes. The music out at the pools is really really bad. We spent a majority of the time in the pools. The pools are pretty clean and feel amazing. I will say there were people smoking cigarettes in the pool with a bunch of kids in there. Please don’t do that. It’s so disgusting. Drinks are ok. Again with the service issues it was hard to get any of the bartenders to even acknowledge you exist. Once you were able to order your drink they moved as slow as humanely possible to get your drink going. The coffee place is really bad. I’ve had about a 5% success rate there. However, the cakes at the coffee place are delicious. Room service and housekeeping were both amazing. My kids loved ordering late night snacks from their phones. The rooms were great! They are a great size and felt really clean. The air conditioning is fantastic! Beds are very comfortable and I slept like a baby. I was worried most about this part because I’m recovering from spine surgery but the rooms exceeded my expectations greatly. I love the showers and the seperate toilet. The grounds are so gorgeous. Other resorts I’ve been to I was dreading walking outside because there was a horrible smell from the ocean but I haven’t noticed it here. The buffet, American country, and the sports bar all have a weird smell indoors but it’s not horrible. They do an amazing job of keeping it clean and maintaining. It’s cool to sit in the pool and look around at all of the rooms. It reminds me very much of some places in Greece and Spain I’ve been to. Overall I’ve had an amazing time. I think they have the skeleton to give their customers a better quality experience. Give entertainment, keep your customers in fun mode. Play good music and work on food quality and cleanliness. Get bartenders who know how to keep a crowd engaged and having fun. Hire employees who want to help people and don’t look like they hate their lives. I wouldn’t return but it was a good intro for my kids into the world of all inclusive resorts.
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Jun 05, 2025
RUN LIKE SONIC FAST
Do not and I repeat DO NOT stay here. Upon arrival my room was not clean, shower did not work, and the room smelled. I complained about the smell annd adied the manager to come to the room. I asked to be refund. I was told I could not. My family and I were severely congested and found mold all over the walls. For the inconvenience they are saying they can only change my room. No upgrade, no credit. I will never ever return to any RIU ever.