We stayed here on our honeymoon the week of Aug 21st . Here is quick and honest review of what we thought of our stay.

Upside: The resort is clean, the building is decorated nicely, the food was above average (for a 3rd world country), the beaches are great, and the staff is pleasant and attentive to your needs.

Downside: 1) The rooms definitely smell. Its like the humidity just rots the linen, couch fabric, and basically the entire room. The air conditioning helps but its no where near what it needs to be when you want to walk into a room that is refreshing and cool instead of musty and sticky.

2) The dining system is flawed, the whole idea of setting an alarm to get up and wait in a 15-20 minute line on vacation does not make sense. We have been to "Dreams" all inclusive in Cancun which was open seating and that system worked fine. Also, although the food was good, some dishes seemed pre-assembled like it was mass produced earlier in the week and waiting for you in a fridge.

3) Drinks are just okay. The bars outdoor and at the pool all serve drinks in these little flimsy cups that are only 8oz (not exactly ideal).

4) House Keeping - Until we complained our room would not get cleaned until around 3:30pm - 4:00pm in the afternoon. This could just apply to certain rooms since we were at the end of the hall, but it was pretty annoying when you're up and out by 8am everyday.

All in all the stay was good. Its just when you pay the extra money for a 5/6 star "Golden Apple" resort, you expect to have no major complaints. I guess since The Domincan really only became developed for tourists in the past 20 years, they may be a little behind. I've defintely had nicer vacations in Mexico.
I would not choose to stay @ Riu Palace Punta Cana again.

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!