Okay, I never write anybody for anything... very easy going. Nothing fizzes me. First I have stayed at a lot of nice places and yes, the grounds of the Riu Palace in Punta Cana were stunning. But those beds!!!!!! They were horrible!!!!!!!! Hard as rock. It ruined my whole trip. I went down, yes, with a sore back but I came back with a herniated disc and sciatica. When I got back I went to the doc and got diagnosed and am now in bed for one week straight (a comfortable bed btw) By the third day, I could not walk... literally couldn't straighten my body when I got out of bed and I am 46 years old. I went with three other couples. ALL of us said the same thing... we would never come back because of the beds. If you like hard beds, then stay there or if you are in your twenties, stay there but if you are forty or over, stay at the Majestic Colonial - you will love it there, much better than here.

My husband and I just returned from a five day stay at the Rui Palace Punta Cana. There were several things we wanted to share regarding the resort. First the good - the resort is beautiful, food good, the hotel is very clean, the beach is outstanding. Plenty of lounging chairs at the beach and the pool.

Now the bad - the room smelt like mildew. It was terrible. We noticed the odor became stronger when the air conditioning was running. When we returned home I had to watch all our clothing twice (Frebreeze helped to eliminate the smell). Our luggage had to be sprayed and put out in the sun to help eliminate the smell.

On two separate occasions we tried to get beach towels, one time at 10:30 AM, and they were out of towels.

Language is a problem - most of the employees do not speak English.

The main reason we would not return to this resort is due to the mildew smell in the rooms. If that problem was resolved, we would return.

Just came back from a 7 day stay at the RIU Palance, Punta Cana. We were very nervous due to so many bad reviews of this hotel. The hotel was the cleanest place we have ever stayed in. The grounds were just beautiful. As mentioned by other reviews, the food was bland, but we could always find something to our liking. The beds were fine. We actually slept very well. There is a very strong musty smell that is very apparent. We were on the third floor, so we had hoped that the smell would not be so bad, but it was. I think you get used to it by the middle of the week, but when we arrived home, it was very noticable, especially our suitcases. We finally got the smell out of our clothes after two washings. The water pressure was fine and the rooms were actually very spacious for all the more you are in it. The pool area was beautiful. We never had trouble finding a place to put our towels, and I don't think there was a bad spot. The waiters were very prompt everywhere we went. By the second or third day, they would even remember what your usual drink was. Every evening, there was music and entertainment which was very enjoyable. The beach in front of our hotel was probably the nicest due to the palm trees which provide plenty of shade if you have had too much sun. Every morning, you can make reservations at each restaurant for dinner that evening by going to the Italian Restaurant and signing in (just a little tip, some people were making reservations for several days in advance!) Don't let the bad reviews keep you from the Palace. We had a great time and would recommend the Palace for a quiet low key vacation which is just what we were looking for!

First of all I would like to start out by saying that you cannot believe everything you hear. My husband and I came to the conclusion that there are some people that will find anything to complain about. We were leary about this resort due to the postings we read here.
A little background on us: we are both in our early 30's and I am a teacher and he is a financial advisor. We have stayed in the Mayan Riviera twice. Once at the Moon Palace and another time at a not so nice place.

We had an excellent time! Our room did not stink and I have terrible allergies along with a "dog nose" for bad odors. I was so worried about the "room stink issue" that I packed Febreze, an air freshener and an odor absorber. I did not need to use them at all. We will admit that we goofed up our a/c switch on the last day and yes it did become humid and had a scent. Therefore, keep the a/c on.

Food: We were pleasently surprised...again, we read all of the complaints about the food. It was actually very good. We are used to All- Inclusive places not having the best food. However, that's not why we go on vacation either.
I believe that there are some people that forget that you are in a foreign country and you cannot be so ethnocentric and expect to have everything "Americanized" for you. I enjoyed trying their cuisine and we even enjoyed the buffet. (we are not buffet people either).
The Steakhouse was good...loved the chicken. Many people raved about SIr Oscars (we missed our reservations). The Japanese Rest. was not that impressive but, was okay.

Service: Great service. A little tipping goes a long way. These people drive 8-9 hours to work at this resort. They leave their families for 12-15 days and go back for 3. Therefore, even though it's All-Inclusive a dollar or 2 is appreciated.
See Marino at the Buffet...he was wonderful! Josuelo at the pool bar took great care of us, too. Juliana at the lobby bar...she was a sweetheart.

Grounds/Maintenance: Very clean and well maintained. The people are always working and cleaning. We did not see one critter or cockroach anywhere!

Room: Beautiful. The bed wasn't too bad. We have stayed in much worse. Very clean and beautiful.

Our only complaints: The bathrooms are too far from the pool and beach. Our second is the most common: the reservation system for dinner. We didn't like having to commit to where we were going for dinner at 8:30 a.m. Then, you only have two dinner time choices 6:30 and 9:00. We often missed our reservation due to too much fun at the Pool Bar or a certain place was booked.

We would highly recommend this resort to couples. There are some families however, due to the dinner schedule and lack of kid programs I would say to leave the little ones home.

We had a great time and we met some wonderful people. We hope you find this review helpful.
Stacey
Midland, Michigan