If you're looking for the best beach in the world, look no further.
Warm water, wide and long, underpopulated sandy beach with a large portion under palm trees. Shade and ocean breeze, with all inclusive drinks that you can either pick up yourself or wait to be delivered right to the beach to you.
This was our third trip to Punta Cana, and second time at the RIU Palace Macao. Hotel is showing some signs of aging, but food and service are still excellent. If you can't find what you like, you may have deeper problems... :-)
Suites are really nice, but not sure if it's worth the money - no special service in the suites, just more space, living room, two balconies, two crappy TVs and same all inclusive mini-fridge and bar with vodka, gin, rum and brandy.
Pool looked decent, but we didn't go to the pool at all - as mentioned, while on the most beautiful beach in the world, it would be a sin to "pool it"...
Entertainment is "so-so" but with appropriate amount of pina coladas, caribbean orange, etc. it's still better than watching TV...
All in all, perfect to relax and enjoy...

We checked the apple vacations web site and found a last minute deal to this resort. The reviews are mostly on the positive side so we gave it a try.

Our stay was SHORT...but more on that later.

Arriving at the Punta Cana airport, we grabbed our luggage and headed outside to find our Apple Representative. You can't miss the flowered shirt, so off we went to the nice large bus for transport. We landed in the evening so you couldn't really see much on the way, and the ride took approximately 30 minutes.

First stop was the Iberostar Bavaro and you couldn't help but be impressed with the lobby. A few people got off, and we headed next door to the Riu.

Check-in was interesting. I'd call it a group check-in of about 30 people maybe more. They were annnouncing instructions to all of us which was difficult. Granted everyone had had a long day of travel, and just wanted keys to their room. After some paperwork and wristbands went on, off to our room.

We had asked out travel agent to request pool view, higher floor, in a quiet location and that's exactly what we received. (#3365) A very nice room, with a balcony.

The fridge was stocked, and we were given plenty of towels.
Yes, the bathroom is aged...but it was clean and perfectly fine for us.

From reading previous comments on this hotel, we knew there had been some problems with the A/C. I packed a table top fan just in case. This worked out great! Our room was comfortable. Would I keep it colder if I could? Yes, but we were fine.

The resort itself is beautiful and well kept. The pool is very nice and the beach is beautiful. Both are a short walk. It sure would be nice to have more restrooms around. One near the beach would be nice.

Yes, they play the chair game, but we could always find them. We even saw a Riu employee saving about 10 loungers front row along the pool every morning we were there. When someone tried to sit there, they were asked and helped (by bringing another lounge chair), to another spot. He must have received a large tip ... we watched those chairs stay empty for several hours. Not sure who they were for.

When it comes to service, high marks for the maid, bar and wait staff. These folks work very hard and they really appreciated the tips. They deserve them. Laying around the pool or on the beach they came around to take drink orders-very nice.

I would say that some food is good...my daughter and I could always find something at the buffet. The pasta station was a favorite. For breakfast we love taking advantage of the omelet station. No real eggs are used here- just the mix, so they were okay.

My husband didn't have much luck finding something he liked. We did try the steakhouse and really enjoyed sharing the "mixed grill." The roasted chicken was really delicious.

What a great spot the Caribe Grill is. We had lunch there one day, and all I can say is, who cares how the food tastes when you have a view like that? If what I heard on the bus ride home is true, this lovely place is no longer there due to a fire. Thank goodness no one was hurt.

By now you are probably wondering why the low marks? This is strictly directed at MGMT.

We arrived on a Saturday evening, and by Monday evening we had no running water in our room. We couldn't take showers, use the toilet, wash our hands, etc...

My husband called the front desk and was told it was not just our room, but the entire resort was having a problem.

Monday morning still no running water. We headed to the lobby right away to speak with our Apple Representative Julie. She was already working the phones, aware of the problem. She was starting a list of Apple guests, room numbers, and the problems they were having. After recording our problems, Julie said MGMT was working to fix the lack of water situation, with the hopes of having it taken care of by noon. We were told to check in with her then if things hadn't changed in our room. By the time we left her, a line of about 10 people were forming to speak with her...

No change by lunch time so back to see Julie. Several folks were already in line. Julie was on her cell phone, running back and forth to speak with the Assistant Mgr at the front desk, and then relay as best she could to the guests.

We kept wondering why she was left to handle all of us on her own? Why weren't we hearing from the Front Desk MGMT? They were across the lobby watching this whole mess of (unhappy)guests waiting in line to speak with Julie for almost 2 hours.

Guests in line were calling their travel agents for help and advice. Some had already spoken to the assist. mgr. with no solutions offered them. It was obvious, the hotel mgmt was not going to take action on their own. One couple gave up on being moved, and were about to pay another booking fee just to be moved somewhere.

I contacted our travel agent for help also. All she could do was contact Apple Vacations on our behalf to report the situation. Her advice was to demand to speak to the GM.

I asked for the GM at the front desk and the assistant mgr came over, along with a gentleman from reception. I was told the GM was busy working "on a problem" and wasn't available. I asked to be moved to the Riu Palace, and was told there was no availability. Another disgruntled apple guest happened to be at the front desk a couple hours later, and witnessed new arrivals being immediately transferred to the palace upon check-in.

They asked me to be patient and wait until 5:30 to see if they could fix the problem. My reply was that we had been patient. I felt bad for their problems, but having no running water was unacceptable.

I asked that they contact the GM so I could speak with him directly. They kept repeating that he would tell me the same thing. The back and forth went on for some time.

We just wanted a shower to use, and a toilet...

Off they went to the back room. I waited for about 10 minutes,and they came out to tell me they would be moving us to the Iberostar Bavaro. By now it was almost 2:00...

Why not be proactive and avoid this entire mess?

We packed, check-out and called for a taxi.

No, they did not offer to transport us to the Iberostar.

Just back from a fun filled week in the DR. This was our first trip to Punta Cana and while I must say we really enjoyed our vacation but encountered a big problem with the mold in the hotel and in our rooms. The hotel is beautiful, and well maintained. Overall, the staff does a good job at seeing that you are enjoying a great vacation - calling each day to see if you are happy, this is a nice touch but not at 8:30 in the morning on a day you want to sleep in. The lobby staff speaks adequate english, the rest of the staff speaks little if any english. Thank God my daughters can speak Spanish and I had taken a course for my job. There are are handful of staff that goes above and beyone and a handful that are darn right rude - but you would get that anywhere.

My sister and I used trip advisor to select the hotel and we were aware there was a musky odor to be expected and I took precautions for my daughter and myself by bringing medicince and inhalers for the two of us. This was really not enough, we spent less time in our rooms than we would have liked too due to the mold issue. The Japanese restaurant, and theatre behind the lobby bar were simply off limits to us as well as a few other areas in the hotel. My sister who never really had a problem before developed one and we have to make the medicine divide three ways to keep everyone safe. Take a mask to sleep in if you are sensitive to mold or better yet select another hotel. Medical care is slim to none as we spoke with other guests during our stay - many had developed respitory problems. I felt sorry for quite a few people. Take with you anything you may need as they are VERY expensive in the hotel and there is simply no where else to buy them. Overpack over the counter meds, and do take bugspray!
Other than that we did have a good time. The food was good, actually above average for an all-inclusive. There is not as much to do activity wise for teenagers but the beach is great and in close proximity to the rooms. They had a good time! No one really has a sea view but can see it through the palms. The grounds are pristine as is the majority of this hotel. Take a few excursions, the Outback Safari (while extremely hot) was a great cultural experience for the kids and myself. The DR is rather undeveloped and extremely poor. I took some crayons and other school supplies to give to the children we encountered and they were genuinely happy to get them. I also left a good amount for our maid in addition to the tip and she cried in happiness at the gift - I think it meant more than the money. These items are in short supply and costly in this country and are a luxury. Take a towel as you stop at the most gorgeous beach on the way home - you will suddenly forget how hot you were all day. The stringray trip was great too! You can swim with them and it was pretty cool! The kids enjoyed the ATV tour they took into the countryside as well.
Overall, this was a good vacation and the six of us 4 adults and two teenage daughters enoyed ourselves but will probably not return to Punta Cana. There simply is not enough to do on this rather undeveloped country. The beach is nicer than Jamaica or most of the other islands that we have been too, but there is so much more to do at the hotels and it is not safe to venture off and even if you did there is no where to venture to.
Topless bathing is a norm here that I did not anticipate but it really is okay and my kids accecpted the difference in the European norm. Americans are definately a minority here, but you are in good company with the Brits and Canadians. The others cultures there were amazing and this was a great cultural awareness trip for my kids and they enoyed the experience immensly.
Have a great vacation and do pack a larger plastic glass for yourself as the cups they give you are about 6 oz. and you need more liquid than this as the wait can be a bit long at times. We took this advice from another posting to trip advisor. Have a great vacation - but do take care if sensitive to mold!

We have just come back from two weeks at the Riu Palace Macao, Punta Cana. Check in was good and the reception staff were great. Room was ok,large enough but smelt foisty.
The pool was cleaned every morning but still appeared dirty. The beaches were beautiful and if you get a sunbed under the palm trees, with the breeze off the sea, it feels like paradise.
The meals were average, the Caribe restaurant seemed a fantastic way to watch the sunset and enjoy but the food was not good at all, so try and stick to the buffet, then go and watch the sunset on the beach.
The staff at the hotel were superb and always seemed to want to please.
The entertainment was poor and I took a fourteen year old girl and there was nothing for her to do, so not good for that age group.
The main thing that concerned me was, I got a upset stomach after a few days, and I have never have any problems, and when we got talking to other people they had too. In the end we put it down to the lack of hygiene with the glasses at the bars, as we all didn't think it was the food.
All in all, the holiday was ok, and definately the best out of the Rui chain along that beach, but how they get a five star rating then I will never know?