just got back from a fortnight staying at the mambo,really enjoyed it after being anxious reading some reviews,the place was kept spotless this included the grounds, there are maids outside the toilets and the restaurants that squirt anti bacterial onto your hands the bar staff were always smiling the animation team were brill dont know where they get their energy from especially checkoky and crazy frog, you can walk between the three hotels in ten mins the pool was nicest at mambo,good shows were africaand michael jackson there was plenty of choice of food with a different carvery every night, fresh omlettes to order each morning, fresh smoothies, full english, continental, mexican night, dominican night, u can book in for the two restuarants once aweek, we went on two trips mega trucks where u do horseriding and then stroll to the beach and lie on a hammock, u visit a cigar making place,and go into a families home which was very humbling, u see how coffee starts out, u get to see carvings being made the guides we had were brill with constant flowing drinks soft and alcoholic, do make sure that u book it with the thomas cook rep tho becoz some friends we met booked with thomson and they didnt do any of the above, the reps are next to each other in the foyer bev and abi are very helpful bev lives there and is very honest and knowledgable my husband did his referral into open water diving which was 215 $ INCLUDING TRANSFERS but he did it at northcoast diving and was based at sosua he felt that the dive centre on the complex was very money orientated and also more expensive, if u want to do the water sports u have to book the day before so bear that in mind, u certainly wont be bored theres yoga on the beach, salsa, volley ball, darts, bowls, football, aqua aerobics, water polo, spanish lessons, ect. one thing we liked about it was they asked you but if u send no then they left you alone until the next time they didnt pressurise you if u just wanted to chill,ur children are quite safe there,we took teenagers too, aswell as two younger children, there is a night club but they do ask to see ur passport to verify age, as you walk onto the beach you will see to ur right some brightly coloured shops the do tend to pressure u a little into going into their shop, we also went on the paradise island tour which was amazing u only had to dip ur face in and there were hundreds of fish around u u could go on asnorkling tour if u wanted all equipment was provided, we certainly enjoyed it and im sure u will to,do have a trip to puerto plata in a taxi which u can find in th hotel loby ours cost 40$ for about 21/2 hours its an eye opener, take some crayons ect for the children if u go on any trips i was close to tears and my children realised how lucky they are the hotel shop is expensive so do take paracetamol ect crisps were around 4 pound and newspapers too,one last thing, if u do want to phone home dont buy the phone card we bought one and it was twenty dollars for 40 mins but each time u use it u hav to pay a connection chrge upfront whether u get through or not u can easily just give them ur number to call for u and pay at the end of the call,our card said different amounts each time and sometimes said it had no credit when it did u will love this place its very lush, enjoy, the Mortons,

My brother and I stayed at ClubHotel RIU Mambo in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic from August 17 to 24, 2008. The moment we set foot aboard the SkyService plane that was to take us to D.R. I started regretting our decision to book this vacation as the aircraft could be described as dilapidated at best. The meal service almost matched the plane’s interior, the hostesses (who were actually quite nice) almost threw your sandwich at you as there were no plastic trays which I found a bit strange. Apart from all that, the flight was quite pleasant.
So we touched down at Puerto Plata’s Gregorio Luperon International Airport which was a typical small airport for southern destinations. The bus ride to the hotel took a bit over an hour since to our luck our hotel was the last one in the chain of hotels where we had to drop off some passengers. We drove through the whole Playa Dorada area dropping off people on the way and arrived at our destination Bahia de Maimon. Our complex contained three RIU hotels – Bachata, Merengue and ours – Mambo. We were right on time for dinner which was great. The food service deserves a special mention. Everything was just great! Everything smelled fresh and looked appetizing. There were so many types of food that we were really having a hard time deciding on what to eat. By the way, all three hotels were interconnected and you could eat, relax or just sunbathe on each of the hotels’ property.
Another Oscar would go to the hotel’s bartenders, especially our friends Judith and Simon. They were always very helpful and knowledgeable in their choice of a particular cocktail. And always with a big sincere smile on their faces, even though sometimes you could tell the guys were tired.
The nightly entertainment was good, especially the Michael Jackson and Stars shows. The hotel’s entertainment team (equipo de animacion) were really working their butts off just to make you pass your time. All I can say, we weren’t bored at night and didn’t wanna leave the hotel once the darkness descended as you usually feel at other hotels.
The rooms were nice and the free alcohol dispenser in the room made our lives even more pleasurable. The hotel consisted of two-storey buildings with 8 suites in each. Each suite had a balcony with a table and chairs. The A/C wasn’t particularly cool but paired with the ceiling fan gave enough cool air to keep you happy.
The beach was nice with lots of palm trees to lounge under. The sea was clear only in the morning and became cloudy closer to afternoon time. If you are travelling with children watch for some European women baring their breasts in public. We saw quite a few ones of them during our stay.
The hotel offered lots of tours. We went on 5 tours and enjoyed each one of them. The best tour guide was Rudy, a passionate NY Yankees fan. He was very knowledgeable and funny and even though he had a typical Hispanic accent, his command of English was astonishing given some of the expressions he was using. His was the Outback Safari tour and if you see him tell him the Toronto brothers are sending their best wishes. If you like boogie-boarding, you are going to love it at a beach in Cabarete. The waves might not be as high as on California’s Pacific coast, but they are still enough to have a fun time.
The Puerto Plata Top View tour was a bland affair except for the ride to the top of Isabel de Torres mountain (800m) in a cable car. The view over the whole city and harbour was truly breathtaking. There was a guy who does magic tricks on the platform right before you get on the cable car. My brother was videotaping him while he was doing his tricks. If you see the coin trick where he throws coins on the floor and then magically spits them out of his mouth, watch his other hand go into his mouth while everybody else is watching his hand throwing coins on the floor.
We also took ATV and horse-riding tours. I would recommend both of them. If you have some change take it with you as there’ll be some poor Haitian kids in the forest during the horse-riding tour offering to wash your feet after you took a dip in the river. We felt really bad as we didn’t have any change with us to give them. Those are refugees so I’m sure your help there would be appreciated.
Another tour we took was the Santo-Domingo tour, which was a bit exhausiting. We spent more than 13 hours to get there and back. The only reason we took this tour was our desire to see the first city on Western Hemisphere. There was also a nice cave with three small lakes inside. The view inside was great. They will also show you a mausoleum-like structure where Christopher Columbus was once buried. The guide will tell you the remains are still there but it’s a popular knowledge now that they were transferred to the Seville Cathedral in Spain years ago. But you will be taken to the house where Columbus’ son Diego once lived with his family. To me one of the trip’s highlights was the drive back to Puerto Plata part of which lied through mountains. A gorgeous, gorgeous place! We also stopped at a mountaintop restaurant with a magnificent view over the surrounding areas. Nice place to take pictures.
If anyone from RIU Mambo reads this review, I’d like to thank them for the fabulous week we had at their hotel as everything was to our liking. I will definitely come back there some day.

Great hotel for the price, its non stop drink and food.
The staff are wondeful even down to the maids who are stuck on the toilet door till early hours of the morning.
The Pasha club was good for a change it was air con and played some good music.
The entertainment on a night time was 5 out of 10, mainly for kids. We use to walk along to the other hotel and had a few drinks. The carnival in caribean street was fab the best night we had, there was pop corn men (free) bars set up and dancing.
The weather wasnt too good it use to rain around 3 every day and a few nights stayed on till late.
The air con in the rooms was rubbish and i think the mini bar should be stocked daily. There is a fridge in room.
The food was good the resturants italian and steak were more or less same menu, the problem i found was you had to que for 10am to book and people use to start queing at 9.15 which was a pain as who want to spend time queing.
There is free pedalos and other things on the beach but the life jackets stunk of BO!!
For the price we paid i was please with what we got. I emailed hotel in advance and ask for room near reception whcih they did and we were right next to bars resturants pool.
There is no toilets on the beach which was a pain. There is a beach bar at the Mambo.
Out of the 3 hotels id say the mambo was better its was quieter and had the beach bar, there was mainly english in this hotel as well.
Try the monster trucks trip well worth it but take sweets for the kids, id read to but didnt and felt guilty as the kids wait fir the trucks coming. Also take anything you dont want ie shampoo from hotel, clothes these people live in the jungle with nothing.
Be aware though, dont give kids on the street books and pencils as we witnesses a mother take them and but them on a stall she had. Give them in at the schol they take you to.
Try pay for an upgrade as its a long flight.
any question feel free to mail me.

First, I would like to say we had an amazing trip. My girlfriend and I went to the Riu Mambo hotel, which is one out of three riu resorts located to puerto plata. You pay for one hotel and you can have full access to the two others, which is quite unusual for the price. Dominicans are very smilly people. They make you fell like your one of a kind. You have a private minibar in your room, filled with rum, gin, coke, soda and beers. The rooms are VERY VERY clean. There is always someone wating nearby to clean your hands. Lots of free activities are organized troughout the days, like bingo, aquaform, shows (for children and adults) and even snorkling (deposit required). I really recommend trip to paradise island. It'll cost you about 150 $ (2 people) and you'll feel like a VIP for the whole day.
I don't recommend the hotel for young teenagers who would like to make party. If you wanna do so, go to cancun (oasis cancun). Riu mambo resort, as the two others, are for families with young children and couples who wanna live an amazing honeymoon. Families would be pleased according to the fact that there are plenty of activities organized for young children. While children are busy, you can take it easy at the bar, well it's only a suggestion :)
For couples, the unique look of the hotel (small villas instead of an hudge building) makes you feel like you live in your own condo, quiet, clean and really comfortable.

The only negative point is the food. It's good actually, but I would have liked to get more sea foods (only available at italian restaurant, which is a la carte)

Hope it'll be helpfull

Francois