Hotel Riu Palace Macao — Hotel in Higüey

We travelled from the UK, Glasgow to Birmingham and from there Punta Cana. We travelled this long way as had previously been in Mexico and watched the Macao on the RIU adverts they played before the show and the advert made it look spectacular. Let me start by saying, this an an adults only hotel for a reason......lots of eye opening activity going on, maybe not somewhere you would feel comfortable letting your son and daughter visit. |There is no hand sanitizer around the hotel which i was very surprised at, spoke to the rep who said since covid they have relaxed this service? She went and bought me some as mine was running low, lots of hand touching with staff here, also witnessed many not washing hands after toilet so not sure why they aren't concerned people may get sick.|Room given on arrival was a bit disappointing, on ground floor even though we had requested a high floor but seemed clean, there patio was more like a basement, a high wall making it private but smelt musty and on more than one occasion had to remove cockroaches from the area, not a very nice area to be sat out in. About a week later we had been chatting to other guests who were raving about their rooms and balcony so that did it, my husband went to reception to request a move, the manager complied but wasn't the friendliest encounter but we got moved to a move nicer room on the 4th floor with a great view so was a delight to be able to sit out minus the cockroaches but we did have some nesting pigeons which i enjoyed watching and feeding.|Cleaning was fine, always had fresh towels and full fridge and yes, we tipped every couple of days. The room could be very musty and sometimes taking clothes out the drawers really had a bad smell, what we would maybe do next time is get a wshing done at extra cost so you didnt return home with stinky clothes|Food I would say spoiled for choice, not huge menus but enough to be happy with. Sometimes there was a bit of a wait for the restaurants but there was joes bar in between the Italian and steak house and this was a nice place to have a pre dinner drink.|Krystal had a lovely position near the sea and the Japanese was inside near reception, all tasty meals.|The Cuban bar was a bit fancy but we never spent much time here as the air conditioning was very strong.|After a week we started going to the Bavaro due to behaviour of POOL BAR STAFF, even though we did time from time to time that didn't seem good enough, especially the barman called ANGEL and another boy who had full sleeves on under his shirt. I was patiently waiting at the bar only to be ignored, i let this go on for a bit then opened my mouth so get served, ANGEL then proceeded to almost throw the drink at me, i was very annoyed and spoke to my husband about the treatment. he had a word with him and yes, gave him a TIP, we are not Americans and shouldn't be treated as so, we tipped where and when we could but we cant tip every single person, there are tip jars everywhere, even at the face painting for the RIU parties.|Sports Bar was a good place to pop in to for a drink after breakfast but its not the kind of place i would want to spend inside it as air conditioning very strong but the service here from Batistuta was great, he was very friendly, even though he didn't speak much English and I have limited Spanish he was always talking away, you can get snacks in here anytime of the day also.|The Bavaro has a food court which we used for pizza, Chinese noodles and rice, ice cream, they also have an American restaurant which was great but beware, the portions were huge. We also attended a few shows here at the hotel which was nice to be able to do, we also went to Michael Jackson at the Palace Punta Cana and got the wee mini train back as it was taking people to a casino.|On site Casino, walked through a few times but never played.|Disco was okay if you fancy a late night drink or boogie, was nice to sit outside the disco also.|Gym, very small so we only went a couple of times as it was busy.|Spa, we went one morning and were enjoying until a couple of very loud people came in.|I got my hair braided for 10 dollars, husband had a hair cut which was around £33.|Splash Park, small but fun, take a mat for the slides, I didnt and hurt my back.|Room service was good but you had to wait around 2 hours for delivery.|As a non smoker I went with an open mind as I knew people can smoke anywhere and they did, my husband smokes and was a big surprise when a lady complained about to the waiter one night while we were waiting on the show, little did she know she would soon be surrounded by smoke. I carried a fan with me so did my best to wave the smoke away but not sure why they cant allocate areas, not just the smell, people with breathing difficulties cant feel too comfortable but when in Rome.|Rui parties, go to an offsite venue, we didnt stick around much, there is a pool with all sorts going on and after experiencing the Riu parties Mexico this wasnt really our thing but okay to go along for a short while/|Animation worked hard all day long, they give 100%, done water aerobics a few times but after hurting my back we started going to the Adults only area at the Bavaro which was nice and relaxing.|Beach, we spent about 2 days of the whole holiday here, not much seaweed so managed to get in the water for a swim, wore swim shoes each time. we did get drink service on the beach and yes, did tip. Many sellers going past with various items, parrots, iguana, asking if you wanted to buy anything dodgy, a polite no thanks done the job but you will constantly smell strong weed coming from many areas.|The area in Macao where the shows take place is quite small, didnt always get the friendliest vibe here, we just want to mind our business but we like to dress nicely and this seemed to annoy people hahahaa. The bar staff here were very attentive and friendly and yes, we did tip here. Good quality |Activity in the pools after dark were constant, nudge nudge wink wink but easy to your own. Saw people asleep on couches, sunbeds, saw someone get put in a wheel chair to get back to their room, Many people with their own music booming around.|To sum up, we did have a good 18 nights here, some of the staff were kind and friendly while others just seemed tip driven which did spoil the holiday a bit, we came a long way but we live and learn. Very hot at night, wasted time trying to do anything with my hair as sweat is pouring off you, lots and lots of insect bites even though used wipes etc but i know I shouldn't scratch but did.|Would we return here.......probably not, any...

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the resort. The service and hotel itself are definitely 5-star. We really appreciated the little touches, such as coming back from dinner to find the room turned down by housekeeping, or receiving a knock at the door to ask if we’d like fresh towels. One night we came across the a cockroach in our room- no issues can’t be helped and it’s one of those things and we didn’t mention it. The lady who turned our room down must have found it as all of a sudden we had a bug shield fitted to our door (previously didn’t have one) absolutely amazing staff. ||The staff are an absolute credit to this hotel. They are all fantastic and do not deserve some of the negative reviews that they are getting . Every single member of staff we have came across were fantastic. || The food and service in the hotel were also excellent. After a few days, the waiters began to recognise us and would look for us to sit in their section, which made the experience feel more personal.|That said, the biggest disappointment was the steakhouse. For a restaurant that’s meant to specialize in filet mignon, we actually found the steak at the buffet to be better. We also found that the restaurants had no dress code and this resulted in people coming in wearing just a bikini top and some shorts, whilst we have no issue with this is just made the restaurants look slightly scruffy. Wish they had a stricter dress code in place. ||The main drawback of the resort, however, is its overall atmosphere. If you’re looking for a quiet, relaxing holiday, this may not be the best choice. As our two-week stay went on, the hotel became busier and noisier. Many guests brought their own Bluetooth speakers to the pool, often competing with the hotel’s entertainment team, which made the pool area far from relaxing.||On the hotel grounds is a small shop, it has various souvenirs and toiletries should you forget anything. However they don’t have any paracetamol or over the counter medicines so make sure you pack them. However the shop is very expensive. A bottle of Gatorade it was $4, a box of tampons were $33 which is equivalent to £25 so it’s extortionately expensive. ||The beach itself is beautiful, with two distinct areas separated by a path linking all the Riu resorts. The section on hotel grounds is pleasant but lacks umbrellas, so shade is limited and you often have to move your lounger throughout the day to stay in the shade. The area closure to beach is stunning. Some seaweed was present (this was due in part to a recent hurricane) but the hotel can seen actively clearing the constant influx of seaweed. The issue island wide and no beach is untouched. Snorkelling at the beach was not great but this may have been to do with the recent hurricane so can’t really comment. It didn’t affect us as we had booked a snorkelling tour with Hispaniola tours and scuba caribe . Who we both would recommend highly. ||The pools were challenge. By midday, the water was almost uncomfortably hot, which shows just how strong the Dominican sun can be. While this isn’t the hotel’s fault, perhaps shaded canopies over parts of the pool could help create cooler areas for guests.||Our room was always spotless, and the housekeeping staff did an outstanding job. We would go out for tea and were only gone for an hour at most and yet they have turned the rooms down and are very on the ball. ||Top tip: avoid Saona Island is not worth the hype. It’s is extremely busy and overcrowded. There is very little to do once on the island and it takes 2 hours to get there and you can’t comfortably swim as speed boats are constantly coming in and out and there is no marked off area for you to swim. You always felt rushed around. Not relaxing, had a big party vibe. ||Book with Scuba Caribe at the water sports centre to go Catalina Island. The scuba caribe staff are excellent and do not rush you and are constantly looking after you. Catalina is a smaller island and has a lot more to offer, such as marked off area for just snorkelling, a nature walk, a small souvenir market ran by local vendors. Who unlike at Saona don’t hassle you every two minutes. Both snorkelling spots were fantastic. The staff look after you the entire time and it’s a far more enjoyable experience than Saona. ||In conclusion, the Riu Palace Macao is a beautiful hotel with excellent service and facilities, but its lively, party-like atmosphere and the type of clientele it attracts let it down somewhat. For those seeking a fun, energetic environment, it could be perfect. For us, however, we prefer a quieter, more relaxing holiday, so we would likely not return but would return to...

Overall I had a good and enjoyable time. I chose this resort because it was recently renovated and they just started implementing the Elite Club and it was Adults Only. With the Elite Club I did have a ocean view room but, you don't get a clear view of the ocean do to all of the palm trees, but that wasn't an issue for me. The room was nice and clean, room service came by in the morning and again in the evening. AIso, I got a complimentary bottle of Merlot. There was alot of seawood being pushed ashore on the beach, but the workers was doing the best they could.

To me the food was adequate. I am not a big foodie, so I only eat basic foods. I usually at El Patio which is the main buffet. They have a good selection. Also, Kabuki (Japanese) and Pancho (Steakhouse) Restaurant is good. The staff was great. everybody greets you from the front desk personnel to the servers and housekeepers. And remember people just because it is all inclusive doesn't mean that you don't have to tip. Please tip the servers, bartenders, and housekeepers. You will realize it goes along way. You don't have to tip a lot. It can be just a few dollars when they serve you. You will find that there isn't much of a language barrier if you don't speak espanol. I think all of the front desk personnel speak Spanish and all of the other staff that you would interact it with speak enough English.

Some of complaints which weren't many is that because I had the Elite Club, I had aromatherapy spray in my room which I didn't like. The smell was too strong for me and you can hear it when it sprays at night. I did ask if it was a way to disable it, but I got conflicting answers and when I asked they couldn't get one of the maintenance people to disable it.

Also, you will read many reviews about people complaining that the A/C doesn't work well or it can't get the room cold enough. Well that is somewhat true, but you have to realize where you are at. You are on a hot and humid tropical island in the Caribbean. Punta Cana is really humid. So yeah the floor in the hallways and the tile may be wet or a little slippery. Especially if it rains. I stayed at other resorts and have experienced the same issue. Just turn on the ceiling fan and keep the A/C on it's lowest setting. The A/C will probably run all night because yeah it can't keep up with the humidity. And remember the temperature is in Celsius and not Fahrenheit. But it really isn't that bad. It did rain some when I was there, but hey it was October and it is there rainy season. I was there for about 6 days and I think it rain all day the first day and cloudy with off and on rain the next, but after that if it did rain it wasn't all day maybe about 10 minutes and then the sun will come out.

This resort is more chilled and relax, which is what I like. Every night there is some show or live music on the RiuStage. The good thing is that you have access to the RIU Palaca Bavaro , Riu Bambu and Riu Palace Punta Cana. The Bambu is a much more livelier crowd, but it isn't all adult. You can easily walk to all of those resorts and enjoy there ameneties and come back and chill at the Macao. However, you don't have access to the RIU Republica. The RIU Republica is more of a party resort. So, if you really want to be in that turnt up, young party crowd then the Republica is where you want to stay. But you will find that the rooms and food at the Macao are much better than the Republica.

The great thing is that everybody has access to the RIU Pool Party's. That is where you will probably have the most fun listening to music and drinking and playing in the foam. It is a short walk from the Macao, but you will see yellow buses filled with people coming from the RIU Republica. There is a nightclub "Pacha" discotheque, that is a short walk, but the music was not good to me. They played some type of Spanish hip/hop / electronica music all the time every night I went.

Overall, I would definitely recommend it. Just set your expectations accordingly. This isn't a big party resort or a ultra...