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 Riu Bachata - Puerto Plata —  Location: Beach front - Puerta Plata - North Coast - 45 mins. from Puerta Plata airport & 15 minutes to the city of Puerto Plata All-inclusive - 610 rooms Description: 2 Hotel Room has A/C, ceiling fan, two 3/4 beds, phone, satellite TV, mini bar* with complimentary soft drinks, water & beer, liquor dispenser with rum, whiskey & gin, in room safe, full bathroom, hair dryer - restaurants - 24 hr. bar & snack service - Receive full exchange privileges between Riu Mambo, Riu Bachata, & Riu Merengue for breakfast & lunch as well as day & evening access to all pools, bars & shows - kids club  ~ Reviews posted on this page — 36  ~ Reader's Vacation Photos ~ 1, 2, 3
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| Riu Bachata | Nan ~ Baltimore |
Arrival: 30 May - 05 June
We flew from Baltimore, MD to Newark, NJ and then to Puerto Plata. The flight was uneventful. They served a breakfast sandwich, fruit and drinks. It took approximately 3.5 hours to Puerto Plata. Then from the PP airport, it took about 15 mins to the resort. We arrived around 1pm and our room was not yet ready so we were given our bracelets and were able to eat at the buffet and enjoy the facilities. The rooms were ready soon after lunch. Check in was pleasant and the reception staff were very friendly and courteous.
Rooms:
We were given room 311 which faced the Bay and the mountains. It had a king size bed, a dresser with 6 large drawers and 2 night stands. It also had a huge closet with 20+ hangers which was very nice. It also had a small sitting area with a table and 2 chairs. The bathroom was very nice with marble floor and granite counter tops. It was a bit dated but nicely decorated in island motif.
Restaurants and Bars:
We really enjoyed the main buffet. It always had a great variety of fruit, salads and main dishes. I really enjoyed the fresh fish and rice dishes which was always available and delicious. There were several theme nights, Mexican, International and couple of others. The pork dishes were also very good. They also had a carving station which had ham, turkey, goose and roast beef. The baked goods were really terrific. Variety of muffins, breads, cookies and cakes. We tried the A-La-Carte Steak restaurant but we were not really impressed. Although many people complained that it was hard to get a reservation, we had no problems at all. We checked out the buffet after and noticed that they also had steak as well as roast beef that night. Granted, it was nice to be served by a waiter but I felt that the waiters in the buffet were just as attentive. I thought it would be a nice occasion to dress up but found that some people were dressed much too casually in gym shorts and flip flops. So we decided to forgo the Italian restaurant and stay with the buffet.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The pool at the Bachata is really great. For those looking for fun and action, the pool area by the bar seemed to be the spot. And for those of us looking for quiet, the area by the water fall was peaceful. It seems as the area designated as the kids pool had the least amount of children. Most of the children seemed to gravitate towards the pool area by the bar which I didn't make sense to me. We arrived on Saturday and the pool did seemed to be a bit crowded so we opted for the beach. I know there were some complaints that the beach was not that great. Although the beaches were not like those in Punta Cana, it had a natural and secluded feeling. I don't think the beach at the Bachata is for the sun worshippers because it did have a lot of trees which provided shade. However, it was wide and the trees allowed for more privacy. And being that there were a lot of topless bathers, it was definately a bonus. I know that Europeans are lot less restricted but I felt a little uncomfortable when the topless women were walking around the pool and sitting in the area where children were playing. But that's just me. Only complaint I have about the beach was that on a couple of days, it was so windy we had to move to the pool. Other than that, we enjoyed both the beach and the pool.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went to Ocean World. They picked us up around 9am and we were told that they would bring us back to the hotel at 3pm. We saw the Shark, Bird, Sea Lion and the dolphin shows. The young men who put on the Shark show was very funny and entertaining. There were those who interacted with the sharks and the trainers made sure the crowd got an up and personal with the sharks. The sea lions were also very entertaining. Being from Baltimore where there is large aquarium with a dolphin show, I did not think I would enjoy the dolphin show. However, the dolphins did many tricks that I had not seen done before. It was nice that you could watch these shows in a shaded sitting area. The snorkelling in the pool and a private beach was also included in the entrance price. My only complaint about Ocean World is that everything was very expensive. A can of Pringles cost $5 and soda cost $3. A buffet lunch was $14. I would recommend bringing watere and some snacks with you, especially if you have children.
Other Comments:
The workers at the resort really go out of their way to make your stay pleasurable. From the maids who constantly clean your rooms, the public areas to the gardeners who are always working to keep the gardens immaculate. They always greet you with a smile and a hola. I would agree that this may not be a 5 star hotel only because of the lack of A-La-Carte restaurants. However, in every other way, it is very comparable to a 5 star resort we stayed in Punta Cana. I noticed that whether you tipped or not, the service was not that different. We did tip and that was just to let the workers know that we really appreciated their efforts and hospitality. I especially want to thank Luisanna in reception who went out of her way to accomodate us in getting a room with a view and sending a fruit plate and a bottle of rum.
| Riu Bachata | Rob and Debbie ~ Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada |
CanJet was about an hour late leaving Fredericton, the compressor on the starboard engine was broken and required an external boost. Once in the air the flight was smooth, the food good and the latest 007 movie was fun.
Emergency exit row 16 has good leg room and the seats recline on this 737.
Landing at POP was as smooth as that runway can manage. Immigration and customs were a breeze and there were beer vendors near the bus. A few stops at Playa Dorada and then on to Riu. Even with stops, the trip wasn’t 40 minutes. Two couples for Bachata and about half a bus for the other Riu’s.
We are 50ish and wanted a similar crowd.
Arriving very late, Kelvin, the night manager quickly delivered us to nearby building 9, 2nd floor where sandwiches and fruit were waiting. We had requested a building with a bay or sea view and were told that it would be arranged in the morning.
Room #921 was clean and well laid out. We wandered down to the late bar and had a drink and another sandwich before hitting the sack. Bed was a king and very comfortable.
Next day we were moved to building 1, 2nd floor, #123, overlooking the quiet end of the beach and reef and view of the surf towards the headland with wedding kiosk.
Again, a neat and clean room where everything worked; a large safe and a good working AC too. Two double beds made up separately but pushed together. Firm but very comfortable. One soft and one firm pillow each. TV channels 1 to 100 with about 10 English and some sports and golf. No weather channel. Rum, Brandy, Vodka and Gin in the dispensers and a fridge with Brahma, Pepsi, mixes and 4l water. No ice tray. Plenty of closet space and lots of hangers. Hair dryer but no coffee maker or clothes iron. 110V, slightly recessed sockets so an ext cord would come in handy.
This is a beautiful resort; mature coconut palms and mangroves; manicured lawns seeded with a sedge or herb, like thyme. (Hence the “Please don’t walk on the lawns” signs) Flowers in blues, gold’s and reds are everywhere. Petunia and Hibiscus varieties. Green mountains tower behind the property and 270 degrees of ocean, bay and reefs are the signature views from the Bachata.
Every morning the entire property is raked and cleaned. All day, the grounds keepers work at making everything perfect. While researching this property, we used GoogleEarth to have a good look. What we didn’t realize until we got there is the beach is actually much wider than the photos show. There are so many shade trees; it’s hard to see the top 200 feet of beach in the satellite shots. Indeed, the Mambo beach is widest and sandy and the beach narrows towards the Bachata end at the point, but there’s lots of room and more than enough loungers. Wear water shoes at the Bachata end because its beach is sandy but once in the water, the bottom is muddled corals and bits of shell.
We are beach people so we didn’t hang out at the pools but they are big and there are plenty of bars. Claims are staked on the poolside loungers by 9AM so stake out early and we never heard a complaint about missing towels. There is a separate pool for the kids and, on the beach, a children’s play area is supervised.
Beach volley ball, ping-pong and lots of games and activities by a frenetic animation team. The massage hut on the beach is a favorite here and women offer hair braiding services by showing photos of their work.
A paved walkway follows the beach for the entire length of the 3 resorts and almost every bar/restaurant is just off this trail.
The staff is fantastic. Front desk staff is as good as any in the business. Multi-lingual and competent. Not once was there a shoulder shrug or a lame excuse; just a sincere interest in making everything perfect. Marguerite knows everyone on staff and is very cool under pressure. A frazzled, mother-of-the-bride-to-be from Manitoba was politely and professionally attended to, all the while, I was being bought up to date on the history of the area.
Charlie, whose job is to call each guest and ask if everything’s okay, helped me try to reach our charity to take the 40 odd pounds of educational, medical and personal goods that CanJet allowed at no charge. In the end, the front desk staff made arrangements to deliver the goods for us.
Wait staff were great too. Argentis, at breakfast, made sure we had a great spot on the patio and Jose …. Well, what more can be said; Jose had fresh picked flowers and a candle on our table every night at our outdoor table. Caught him picking the flowers, himself, one afternoon and took a photo to send to “Zachsmom” and family in Ottawa who gave us some great advice and told us about Jose. (find him on the buffet restaurant patio, right side) There was plenty of staff at every bar. Slushy drinks with or without alcohol and many international brands. Brugal and Barceló rums are on display. Almost instant service, every time. Genuine thank you’s for tips too. Nice.
Every bathroom has a staff member dispensing hand sanitizer and another person dispensing at the entrances to restaurants too.
Internet service is available and the two staff I met were very helpful. WiFi showed some bars but no connection. Plugged my laptop into the wired network. Slow but better than Morse code and cheaper than a phone call.
As noted by others, the A La Carte we tried wasn’t as nice as the buffet. The house wines aren’t what a wine drinker would expect and beef-steak wasn’t the house specialty. The best place to eat lunch is the same place that becomes the a la cartes at night. Whatever is on the nightly menu is featured during the afternoon at this buffet. The pork, sea bass and salmon were great and there were fries, dogs and burgers that tasted very much like the frozen burgers we get at charity BBQ’s at home. Ketchup was pretty good. Breads, rolls and pastries were fantastic at all restaurants. And ice cream to die for.
The main buffet restaurant was better than any yet. So many choices for many tastes. Fresh fruit, cooking and carving stations. The morning omelets and the evening roast chicken were very tasty. The resort was full but there were no line ups unless you arrived late or close to closing.
An obvious attempt to make all nationalities comfortable was very apparent.
Breakfast had cheeses of every kind, cold cuts and breads for some; Great bacon, eggs any style and toast for others and bangers and mash, and piles of pastries too.
The fresh fruit smoothies (love the mango) were very nice. Too bad there wasn’t fresh OJ and Champagne.
Dinner had fresh pork, several types of fish, roast leg of beef, goat, pork-hocks, chicken, sushi and more. So many side dishes, I had a full plate with just a taste of each. There were plenty of wait staff and bus boys; Management was always present.
Fine linen and nice glassware; monogrammed tableware and good silverware make this closer to a 5 Star than a 4 Star.
We chose to do a private tour with a local operator on the first rainy day. Our first choice was always busy when we called but we were fortunate to find a real gem.
Professor Fausto Guzmann is the definition of a DR tour guide. Always ready to introduce you to his friends and associates, he provided the most fun we’ve had in years. When we walked, our driver, Hito, shadowed our every move; his Camry always ready for us. A personal introduction and tour of the Amber museum by the manager. The drive and walk in the barrios, the kids waiting for us at a lookout and the one legged man at the cash machine across from the old church and the happy faces when Fausto brought us into the shops, cigar makers and jewelers workshops. We met a wonderful old man in a back shop who, by local acclamation, churns out almost all the “bent-over-palm-trees-on-the-beach-at-sunset” oil paintings with/without flocks of birds that are sold in Puerto Plata. He paints family portraits for the locals as his profession.
Prof. Fausto was a high school teacher of English, Spanish and History. Before hiring, I checked him out with some locals and resort staff who told me Fausto is president of a local citizen’s group and fights for services like water and transportation. A trained history teacher, we learned more interesting things than we ever could on a tour bus. A stop by the old fort, seawall, port, a cold Presidente in a neighborhood cantina where the locals checked out my snowed-in home photos then a tour through a new subdivision named Alto something where the houses were all walled, gated and guarded. We somehow managed not to hit a crazed moped or motorcycle and not trip into the gutters that line the streets. The perfect tour; 3.5 hrs for $65, car, driver and the Professor, including tips.
Arrived back at the Bachata with treasures, photos and memories … not once worried about our safety. Priceless!
There is a great retail area, Caribbean Street, between Merengue and Bachata that caters to the stay put shoppers. Prices are quite negotiable and it’s a great place to practice your bargaining. There are local vendors set-up in huts at both ends of the property too. Very good prices and pretty good quality at the bay location. Alberto at hut #2 is a load of fun. Average $10 per items like earrings, rings, bracelets and pendants in Amber, Larimar and Pink Coral. (5 for $50) Vendor #9 will sell you 3 - XXL Presidente/Made in DR, T-Shirts for $9 each. They’re $20 each elsewhere. We didn’t get to the Mambo beach vendors.
Remember to apply for your Riu Class membership at the front desk. Doesn’t cost anything to join and the ID card gets you 20% off Riu logo (not bad) merchandise in the gift shop and 10-15% off other items, massages and at stores in the resort. Also collects reward points for your next visit to a Riu property.
Nightly entertainment was fun and well attended. Lots of audience participation, good music, dance and humor.
Weather was off and on all week. Sunny with clouds, cloudy-bright and very warm and humid. No sweaters in the evening. A couple of showers and a heavy rain once, over night. We were on the beach all but the one day when on tour.
There were no mosquitoes. Not one. Just a few honeybees.
Didn’t use any repellant all week.
Had a good tour of the Dorada complex on the return to the airport then a quick run through security and immigration. Flight was a little late and the movies didn’t work. Sat up front with the attendants from Newfoundland and had a great trip, good food, good chats and a nice view.
The drug sniffing dog was a good diversion while watching the baggage conveyor run and quit and run again. Ran the rat maze to customs and were out in 5 minutes. The snow squall was depressing.
We are already planning for next year and would recommend this resort to our friends.
PM's to Spunky.
| Riu Bachata | Heather ~ Nova Scotia |
Arrival: Jan 25 - Feb 1
We arrived around 11:00pm and check-in was relatively quick. However, because we arrived late, we departed late on our last day and had to pay an extra $50 to access our room for a shower since our bus only left for the airport on our last day at 8pm. Hidden cost that we didn't expect!
Rooms
Rooms were not very nice. Probably nice in their day but definitely in need of a makeover.
Restaurants and Bars
The a la carte restaurants were extremely disappointing! It was basically the beach restaurant from the day that they put tablecloths on and call it a la carte. The food was not very good at the a la carte - much better at the buffet. We were asked one night by the General Manager who was going around asking questions what improvements could be made. We suggested that maybe "aromatic potatoes" probably shouldn't be french fries with parsley on them. The bars were good. A bar on the beach would've been nice.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The grounds are beautiful - except for the rat we saw at the pool on the last day. The beach is nice but very shady. The pools were crowded and the animation staff were very good but relaxing by the pool and getting hit by the ball during the water polo game was not so much.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did a 4 Wheeling Adventure and I am highly recommending it to anyone with a sense of adventure. It was not offered by our tour package and we were made to wait a couple of days until someone figured out how we could do the adventure but was well worth the wait. Be prepared to get dirty tho!
Other Comments
All in all this vacation was a disappointment. My last trip to Dominican Republic was to Punta Cana and trust me, I am by no means a high maintenance person, but Punta Cana was much newer and cleaner in comparison to Puerta Plata. The 4.5 star in Punta Cana would be an 8 in Puerta Plata! There is no way this resort should be rated a 5 star. We had to go to the other resorts in the morning to find bacon for breakfast. Again, I can't stress enough that I certainly am NOT a high maintenance person because I've read reviews like this before and thought I had the writer labelled as "fussy" but if given the chance to do it again, I'd use my money to go to Punta Cana instead. For a first time traveller to an all inclusive, it may seem wonderful but I would not recommend this spot.
| Riu Bachata | Lisa ~ New York |
Arrival: Feb 24 - March 6
Our arrival was without problems. Greeted by smiling faces and prompt service and a cocktail while we waiting for our room assignment.
Rooms
Our room was in building 3. Rm # 314 - overlooking Maimon Bay. It was a great location and just a few steps to everything else on the complex. The room was clean - maid service was great.
Restaurants and Bars
No complaints regarding the food. The salad was always great and with the amount of food offered, everyone should be able to find something they like.
The bars and the bartenders were great.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Large pools. The pool with the swim-up bar was always packed, but if you didn't want to be were it was so crowded, you could go in the other pool. They were both very nice.
I love to walk the beach, but not one for getting in the ocean. Many did say that it was rocky in some spots.
The grounds were maticulous - everyone does such a nice job.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The excursions are expensive. This was our 6th time to the Dominican Republic so we have been on many of them already. The only thing we did was go to the city a couple of times - once to the new Super Market...la Sirena....it's like a Walmart and the place was PACKED!! My husband and a friends husband were the 2 white guys with island shirts on handing out the store fliers and the shopping baskets....lots of smiles about that story!!
Other Comments
Even though it was overcast and raining the last 5 days we were there...we still had a GREAT time. Can hardly wait for next year!!
| Riu Bachata | zachsmom ~ Ottawa, Ontario |
Arrival: Feb 9 - Feb 16
We had used Isaira tours (www.isairatours.com) last year for a day trip, and contacted them again this year by email prior to arrival to arrange for a cab to pick us up at the airport. Wonderful service - this time by Martin himself! A real treat not to have to take the bus. Highly recommend the company once again.
Rooms
Being repeat guests, we had sent an email to request a room in a specific block. Previously, these requests have always been granted. This year on arrival I was told that the room location I was requesting was an upgrade, and would be $30. USD a night extra. As luck would have it, the person I was dealing with at the front desk was Victor, who introduced himself as the front desk manager. After some pleasant discussion, Victor gave us a lovely room just where we always have it without charge. Thank you Victor.
The room that we had is beginning to look a little worn. Could use some ugrades/paint. Small detail. Super clean as usual, maid was wonderful and remembered to leave 3 towels for us everyday after we asked just once. Left a note and a few dollars in the fridge asking for beer and it was stocked to capacity every day.
Restaurants and Bars
A bit of a change here - and not for the better. Seems more and more people take advantage of the "stay at one, play at all three" advertised by the Riu properties in POP. As Riu Bachata is the only dining room with outdoor covered dining, it seems a lot of people from the other resorts come to eat @ Bachata, making it very crowded. More on this in the Pool review.....
We had a wonderful waiter, Jose in the evenings. Once we met him, we sat in his section each evening and he reserved a table for us. Really a lovely young man. We tipped him well every evening as he worked hard for us, and deserved it. On Valentines Day he even had our table decorated with flowers and extra candles.
Food overall was good - we tried both A La Cartes once again. Really the best thing there is the change from the noise of the buffet area. The food is similar to the buffet. Good, plentiful, somewhat bland. Lots of selection on the buffet, with clean up and food replacement done regularly. Cleaning up of tables at the beach/lunch restaurant was hit and miss - certainly less service than before.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
We had 2 days of downpouring rain - but still enjoyed being in the warm air and on holidays. As a result of the rain that they had, the ocean water was quite dirty. The beach was cleaned up daily. Pool water was really quite cool - of course we got in anyway, but actually the ocean was much warmer.
Now, the Riu Bachata pool is packed daily with guests from the other 2 Rius. This means over-crowding of chairs, pools, the lunch buffet etc. The Bachata is the only one with a swim up bar and certainly has the largest/newest pools so that is the attraction. I can understand it, we just found it more crowded, loud and noisy than ever this year with all the guest from the other resorts.
Other Comments
Still a great holiday and resort. With some exceptions as noted, the staff are not as friendly or plentiful. Certainly some changes in a year; not for the better in our opinion. Of course, we have changed too. Our son is now older, and we will likely look for a resort with more a la carte options in the future.
| Riu Bachata | Harry and Jennifer ~ Sudbury, ON |
Arrival: December 15 to December 27, 2008
It was a sudden shock to go from Toronto's minus 25 degrees to Puerta Plata's 25 degrees--a 50 degree difference. The organization and bus trip to the resort was pleasant and relaxing, able to see the beautiful countryside along the way.
Rooms:
Our rooms were efficiently and quickly assigned to us, even though we all arrived early. The room was very clean, A/C, excellent bathroom, beds and a balcony that faced south with a view of the palm covered mountains.
Restaurants and Bars:
Even though our building was right next to the main stage, bar and pools, it was quiet to sleep. The main restaurant was spectaluar, the waiters polite, and the food was wonderful. The Christmas meal must have been $300 each!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The RIU is 3 resorts in one, with wonderful pools, a mile long private beach. This is the North Alantic, so the reef broke the surf coming in. In the north the beaches tend to have coral bottoms. The grounds were kept immaculate.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We partiicpated in the Animacion Team activities, quadding, and massages at the Renova Spa. White Water rafting was 2 hours north, scary and exhilarating. Danny our guide was honest, very experienced and very funny--he bonded the six of us in 10 minutes, as he would often jump out of the raft and leave us, then jump back in at the last minute. We also took taxis(Ford Explorers)into town to purchase amber and lanimar stone--these were taxis that were posted at the resort and could be purchased.
Other Comments:
We would advise anyone looking for a truly relaxing time. There were 85% Canadians at the resort, ages from 30-50, with only a few families. We're going back! We made friends with many of the staff(Sunquest reps,waiters, bartenders, taxi drivers). Remember always that off the resort, you are in a developing third world country and the appearance of poverty may bother some people.
| Riu Bachata | Kelly and Ken ~ Ingersoll, Ontario |
Arrival: Nov.21-28/08
Flight from Toronto Pearson International was good. It was raining when we arrrived. Had a private driver that took us to resort. Was about a 45 min. drive. Weren't able to see much as it was dark but what we could see looked interesting. Our driver was very informative. Check in went smooth. Hotel was booked solid. We were here for my niece's wedding.
Rooms:
Rooms were large and very clean. We never had any problems with getting towels-always had plenty. Beds were comfy. The TV got a few english channels-enought to keep us happy. Maids did a great job.
Restaurants and Bars:
Food was good. We were travelling with some picky eaters but they managed to find something to eat. Pancakes and banana milkshakes at breakfast were awesome. Be sure to leave a tip for the waiters, they work hard.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The grounds were beautiful and very well kept. Everything was so clean. There are 2 pools. One has the swim up bar. Would have been nice if they had been connected. There was always some activity or another going on in the pool. Only went to the beach a few times. Wear water shoes-there are stones and pebbles. Beautiful beach. Plenty of chairs by the pool and beach. Not like some resorts I've been too where if you didn't get a chair by 7 am you weren't going to get one.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The entertainment group did a fantastic job of trying to get people to join in. They are full of energy. The night shows we saw were not our kind of thing but they were lovely to watch. We went on a Mega Truck excursion and on a trip to Ocean World to swim with the dolphins. Both were great trips but pricey.
Other Comments:
This resort is rated as a 4 or 5 star but in comparisons to other resorts we've stayed at this resort should be listed as a 4 star. The grounds are beautiful, the food is good and the service is top notch but it was missing some of the fine details that make a 5 star. We never once saw or had anybody from the bar come around by the pool or lounge areas and ask for our drink orders. We always had to go up the bar ourselves. Just little things like that. We did have rain for a day but then this is the "winter"time for the DR. The temps were around 85 with no humidity (which I like) and from Oct to Jan. is their rainy period. Overall this is a good resort that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for an inexpensive holiday.
| Riu Bachata | Leigh & Keely ~ Luton, England |
Arrival and Flight: Flew with Thomson from Gatwick. Comfortable flight, don’t bother upgrading to extra legroom. We were one row behind the Premier cabin and apart from the menu/drinks there was little difference. Standard legroom is more than enough and you can pay £5 to upgrade to the same entertainment package. Call Thomson direct and you can prebook your exact seat numbers for £10each person. We had row 7.
Rooms: Good size room for the 2 of us. We requested block 5 with a view of the bay and got it. Great sunset everynight. Block 6 would be good too. More than enough storage and loads of coathangers too. Air con not that good but ceiling fan has 2 speeds and more than makes up for it. Room always well cleaned. Towels do get taken to wash every day and they only leave you a couple until they restock at between 4 and 5 in the afternoon. We always had too many towels. Very clean too. Minbar was great. Optics of rum, whiskey, vodka and gin. Fridge had beer, pepsi, tonic water and gallon of water. We left a dollar tip in the fridge and got 6 bottles of each every other day when they restocked. Also left a dollar tip for the maid and also left some sweets. We got towel art and flowers scattered around the room each day. Really nice touch. TV had loads of channels but mostly spanish. Still had CNN, ESPN for sport and a number of the spanish channels showed English shows anyway. AXN, People and Arts, Cinecanal for films but you’re not really in the room much anyway. Big queen size bed (not 2 doubles pushed together either)
Restaurants: For breakfast we always went to the main buffet. Open from 7 til 10. Endless amounts of food. Even the fussiest eater would be happy. Full cooked breakfast, fresh rolls, cheeses, meats, fruit, cereals. Highly recommend the banana smoothies. Very nice. Continental breakfast was also from 10 til 12 in the outdoor restaurant. Lunch was always taken at the outdoor restaurant by the beach. Again, loads of choice inc chips, pizza, burgers and hot dogs if you wanted. Also loads of fresh salad, pasta, fruit for healthy option. This was open from 12 til 5 so you could pop in and out for snacks as needed. Evening meal was either in the main buffet which was themed differently every night including Dominican night, mexican, chinese. Great food with loads of choice again. Great grouper fish. Evening meals are from 7 til 10. We used to eat at 8.30 ish and was nice and quiet but still fully stocked with food. Even had a couple of guys serenading people whilst they ate too. Nice touch. You could also go to the ala carte steakhouse. We went 3 times in the 2 weeks and again couldn’t fault the food. Rib eye steak was very good. Outside every toilet/restaurant, there was a maid with antibacterial handwash too. Good to see they are worried about germs.
Bars: 4 bars. One by the side of reception which is 24 hour. One by the stage, one swim up and one for the beach the other side. Never waited more than 30 secs for a drink and couldn’t fault the measures. Always say if you want rum in cocktails or not. Beer good and cold always. Wine was ok but what do you expect. Rose best. The guys work bloody hard in them and are always smiling. By each bar was coke/soft drinks and coffee/ tea machines which you help yourself too. Coffee machine was Nescafe. Very nice
Beach and Pools: Pool was very nice but very hot as no breeze round the pool. Best pool out of the 3 hotels by far. We preferred the beach. Nice and quiet and plenty of sunbeds even by lunchtime there were plenty left. Nice breeze by lunchtime too. Round the pool was busier with the umbrellas usually gone by 9 ish. Still pretty good, last year in Egypt they were all gone by 6. Beach has golden sand and plenty of natural shade from the trees. Bit rocky in the sea by the Bachata but if walk down the beach to the right it’s ok. Entertainment very loud round the pool too. Nice if you like that kind of thing.
Grounds: Immaculate. Gardeners were constantly tidying up and trimming. They always said hello every morning to us and the guy on the beach sweeping the leaves up even brought a little table over to us every day. Only a little thing but those things make all the difference. Great job and well kept grounds.
Activities and Entertainment: Very good. As busy as you want to be with entertainment from 10 til 5 ranging from dart and volleyball to live bands and bbq on the beach. No pressure if you just wanted to sleep anyway. Shows in th evening very good. Don’t expect Vegas as it’s the same guys as who do the daytime stuff. Best were Michael Jackson show. Madonna show and Grease show Usually start at 9.30 for an hour or so. Have got a disco from 10 til 2 and a casino too.
Tours: We only did one this year. The VIP Ocean Discovery booked through Thomson. Excellent day. Picked up at 7.45 by minibus. Boarded yacht and had hour and a half cruise up the coast with open bar and snacks. Even had champagne and oysters. Lunch on the beach, and then speed boat to Paradise Island. The driver we had was nicknamed ‘crazy man’ due to the speed he drove. He went faster the more we sung along with him. Great fun and soaking wet. Was grinning for the rest of the day. Paradise Island was great if a bit windy when we were there but as part of the VIP thing there were only 50 people on the island as opposed to 200 earlier in the day before we got there. Great diving round the reef. Then back on the boat, into the mangrove swamps and back to the beach. Opportunity on way back in bus to stop at local shop for souveniers too. Great day. Was £100 each but well worth it. Special mention to both monster truck and the dolphin swim trips too. We’ve done them previous years and they too are worth the money.
Departure and Check: Out 20 second check out. Make sure you have keys, safe lock and barrell and all towel cards and simple. Easy check in at airport. We prebooked the VIP lounge with Thomson. Only air conditioned bit of the airport with free bar and snacks too. They have 2 TVs on and were happy to put an English channel on for us too. Nice end to the holiday. Flight home was rubbish as normal. (only cos we’re going home)
Conclusion: This was our second stay at the Bachata and yet again we could not fault this place. This was our fifth trip to Dom Rep and still our favourite resort in the north. We’ve stayed at Iberostar, Superclubs and Ocean hotels so we’ve seen quite a choice. Not sure why some people complain as we couldn’t fault anything. We’ll def be back.
| Riu Bachata | Rae ~ Ohio |
Room 434, Building 4 - We’ll start here, room was fine with the exception of no control of air conditioning or ceiling fan. With temperatures in the 90’s and humidity making it feel over 100 degrees Fahrenheit it was a necessity and was simply unreliable and unavailable. Many nights it was very hard to sleep because it felt as if air was turned off all together. Horribly hot and uncomfortable. Must give credit to the ladies that were cleaning, definitely worked to keep things tidy and clean. Towels were few and far between, second day came back to room to find all towels removed and not replaced but just had to ask Leonilda for towels and she promptly dropped off a couple. Mini bar was sparsely stocked with sodas but never really asked for anything special and it was a different person taking care of that aspect.
Restaurants – Just OK, a nice place to sit with a/c would have been welcome. We sat on the patio of the main buffet most nights and insect spray is a must. This was the only place to get a little breeze but the bugs were biting. No food to write home about. Breads are always fresh and tasty. Pizza was good, again the dough made it. Bacon wrapped filet was very good. Didn’t care for the uncontrolled children putting there hands in everything and making a mess running about but that is typical of some buffets I guess.
Bars- Ask for rum in your drink if you really want a drink, otherwise drinks such as pina coladas, and daiquiris are dispensed with none if any. The bartenders do try to accommodate if you ask. One couple in the group left a large tip ($30 us dollars) expecting it to be split and noticed that the bartender pocketed it. After asking he did say that they do not split tips. You must tip each bartender individually if you care to, don’t expect them to split it with there coworkers. I noticed the same thing the night before, gave a $5 (us) tip and immediately it went directly into pocket of one, meant to be shared. There was a terrible stench at pool bar during the day. Swim up bar was overrun with children, no seats for adults. Twice during our short stay, the locals were drinking to the point of vomiting and the pool staff had to “yellow tape” the area and close the pool. It was quite disgusting.
Pools- Filthy, no presence of chlorine, scum floating on water and sides of pool, Jets hardly circulating any water through system. I swam in the pool one time for about 30 minutes. That same evening I was violently ill. I can’t say for sure if it was something that I ate or something that I caught during short swim. I took great care not to open mouth but did dip my head twice.
Beach- Nice enough, not the nice white sand that you have in Punta Cana. Plenty of chairs. Another nice place to catch an occasional nice breeze. Very rocky, wear water shoes if you plan on going in water.
Grounds – Well kept. Workers always picking up garbage and tidying up.
Entertainment – A joke.
Tours – None organized by the hotel personally but family partook in horseback riding and enjoyed it. They mentioned that one of the horses got hit by a car and was limping, I hated to hear that they were ridden in an area where that could even occur. Ocean world was also a hit with kids traveling in our group. We stopped at an orphanage on the way to the airport and met the nuns that ran it and dropped off some supplies. They were very appreciative and gave us a tour. Evidently the children are sent to extended family for the month of Aug due to heat. Not sure what happens if there is no extended family. This particular orphanage is run on donations from the Brugal Rum factory. Hit a supermarket in the city area just to see if there was anything different before heading out.
Check-out – Very simple, no problems, all credit card transactions were done at check in. As long as you return room key, safe key, and towel cards you should be good to go.
Conclusion – Be afraid, Be very afraid. I got more sick on this 4 night 5 day trip than ever before, cannot say exactly how and that’s the scariest part. Credit to the workers that keep the grounds, beach and rooms nice. I really feel it’s the hotel chain or maybe management that needs to resolve the more major problems such as no air conditioning, keeping guests in check, and pool situation mentioned above. This resort should not even be considered for many reasons, lack of air, temperature, influx of locals with children just to name a few. Not being predjudice, we were actually there for a wedding, half of the guests were from the US and the other half were from the DR. The problem is with the people that are offered rooms at a cut rate and bring large numbers of children and allow them to run wild, party until they throw up, basically reek havoc and then leave a day later. Yuck. I would never go back to this resort. Find it hard to even believe that I will make it back to the DR ever at this point. I may change my mind in time but right now…… I feel really bad for anyone who has to stay here due to confirmed reservations.
| Riu Bachata | Mike and Carol ~ Plaster Rock, N.B. |
We stayed at the Riu Bachata from April 16th-May 1st to attend our son’s wedding. There were 31 wedding guests and two sisters getting married on two different days.
Our flight from Halifax with Air Transat was great, met our Sunquest representative at the airport, no problem. On our arrival, our rooms were not ready and we waited from about 11 am. To 2 pm. No problem, we toured the resort, had lunch at the Beach restaurant. Our room was as requested, king size bed, oceanview.
Wedding
On our first full day, we met with Maria, the wedding planner, to chose the flowers, location of the wedding, restaurant, discuss times, program, costs etc. That took about 20min to ½ hour for the two bridal parties. On our son’s wedding day, we just had to show up at the Pagoda on the hill 15 minutes and everything went as planned. The weather was amazing, view was amazing, wedding was effortless. The only suggestion that I might have is that the area should be closed to anyone other than the wedding guests for at least 15 minutes prior to the wedding, so that pictures can be taken of the setting prior to the wedding without tourists in them. I don’t think that is too much to ask when extra is paid for the location.
Renaldo ?, the waiter at the wedding, was great fun, organized the chairs, munchies, champagne etc. very well. It was all truly amazing and I would highly recommend a destination wedding; a lot less fuss, cost, amazing surroundings. The wedding dinner was held at the Steak House, complete with cake. The second wedding the next day was at the Spaghetti Specialty restaurant. I liked the food at the Spaghetti House best.
Food
I don’t know how anyone could complain about the food at this resort. There was an amazing selection of everything that one could want. We ate most of our lunches, if we ate lunch at the Beach restaurant and again the selection was very diverse and of good quality. One of last nights at the resort, there was bacon wrapped filet mignon and it was the best we have ever tasted.
Tours
Most of the wedding party went on the Mega Truck tour. Talk about an action-packed day. We visited a typical Dominican home, school, coffee making session, carved stone location, horse-back riding, held a python, sat on a 2000 pound Brahma bull, ate a great Dominican lunch, and went to a secluded, white, sandy beach for about an hour. This is the first time we have gone on a tour while on a Caribbean vacation because we chose to stay two weeks and are glad we selected Mega Trucks. A few others went on the Skyview tour and were a bit disappointed because a good part of it was shopping, bartering and not enough time was spent at the Amber museum. Some took a taxi from the lobby to Puerto Plata to see the Amber Museum, Brugal factory and that may be the way to go as it might be cheaper and you could see what you want and stay as long as you liked.
We have been to the Dominican 4 times and this is one of the nicest resorts. We didn’t spend a lot of time at the two other resorts as Bachata really has the nicest pool, although when we went for walks, we would stop in at other hotels for a cool drink. Certainly the beach is better down near the water sports area, I think the Meringue area. Loungers were plentiful and even though there were people who marked their spots early every morning, there was usually space where you could either have shade or sun, (must be sad to be so regimented on your vacation). In the morning, our biggest decision was beach or pool? Some people lounged at their spot all day and only got up to go in the pool. That became a concern to me as you wondered what they were really going in the pool to do! Good thing they really shock the pool at night! After my observations, I preferred the ocean.
This is our second Riu hotel stay and we really like this franchise. Everything is consistent and of good quality.
Entertainment
When we had the energy to stay up this late, we attended most presentations. Most were very professional. There were a few sketchy night where the audience is used as the entertainment. These are a little less than what I would like to see. Unfortunately, during our second week, there was a Karaoke night, which had been quite good at one of the other hotels the previous week, but the second week, there was an influx of children. Karaoke Night became a night of children wanting to perform. They usually had their time from 8:30 pm. to 9 pm. The 9:30 pm Karaoke should have been left for the adults who wanted to perform only. There were a few amazing adult performers, but the children left a lot to be desired. The Animation team did a great job trying to find the children something else to do, but some parents just don’t “mind” their children. The night of the fire-eater and glass walker, the kids were pushing right to the stage, even though there was something else planned for them. I found that the second week there were other locations where parents should have “minded” their children too. Four teenage boys were climbing and jumping all over the nets across the pool, tearing them and could have possibly hurt themselves. Guests shouldn’t complain about the locals on the weekend, when they can’t look after their own kids. These “obnoxious” children were not “locals”. This week made us think that another time, we might look for an “adult only” resort. Wonder whether Riu has such a thing?
Only suggestion that I can make would be that on our last day, we had a late flight. The hotel was kind enough to let us stay in our room free of charge until 2pm., but it is still a long wait until departure from the hotel at 7:30 pm. We had dinner and played cards, but what would be really nice would be an air-conditioned room with maybe a TV, internet, tables, chairs, couches, so that you could relax and not take up lobby space. Just a suggestion. I think every resort should have such a room for late departures.
Wonderful time had. Would recommend Riu Bachata to anyone for a wedding or for a vacation. Could have stayed 2 more weeks.
| Riu Bachata | Holly |
We got on the bus at the airport, and we were immediately told that our reservations had been changed from Riu Merengue to Riu Bachata. Since Bachata was a 5*, we did not complain.
I arrived at the resort at 11am. We were told our room would be ready by 3pm. We were given our bracelets and had the run of the 3 resorts. At about noon, we returned to the desk and asked if we could have some medication refrigerated. The staff immediately tried to find us a room, so were could keep our meds cool. The room was nicely decorated and very clean. The floors were very shiney, the furniture was all real wood, and in good shape. The beds were low and not overly comfortanle, but clean. Our rooms were thoroughly cleaned every day. Our maid also made decorative designs out of our towels and clothing, and decorated with fresh flowers.
The pool was clean and had lots of lounge chairs, same as the beach. Unlike at the complex or Iberostar beaches, there were no vendors trying to sell you stuff. There was one man selling excursions and one lady who offered to braid hair. A simple "No Thank You" sent them on their way. There were locals selling stuff at a market around the corner on the public beach. A guard from our resort was standing close by to look out for those from the resort who ventured to the market.
Carribean St. was full of little shops, but very overpriced. They asked $8. US for a noname toothbrush. They finally dropped the price to $5. The stores that do not have the items priced should be avoided. They make the prices up as they go along.
The food was great. The Steakhouse and the Italian were nice, but the buffet had a lot of variety. Food is available 24hrs.
The wait staff and the maids and grounds workers were all very helpful and friendly.
The entertainers worked hard and did everything they possibly could to make everyones stay enjoyable.
I really enjoyed my vacation and do not know if I will stay anyplace else than the Riu's. The area is breathtaking.
Any questions, contact me at hkmartin@eastlink.ca
| Riu Bachata | Zachsmom ~ Ottawa |
We stayed at Riu Bachata March 13 – 20, 2008. This was our third time at this resort. We were travelling with our 10 year old son, and our friends who had their 6 year old son with them.
Flight: Skyservice direct from Ottawa. The plane was a 757 this year; a big improvement in seat room. I could go on about the service etc…but we got there and back safely, and in this case, it is about the destination not the service on the journey. Enough said.
Arrival at Resort: Sunquest rep easy to find at the airport, just after you collect your luggage. You just tell them which resort, and they tell you which number of bus to get on. Bus from airport went just to Riu Bachata, so it was a quick trip of approx. 25 mins once we left the airport. Check in was well organized, room key, towel cards, safe key and map of resort all ready in individual envelopes. Our room was not ready, but our friends was, so we dropped off our luggage in their room, changed and headed for lunch and the beach. We could have checked our luggage or had a porter bring it, but as we knew the resort well, we just took the luggage with us and found our own way.
Rooms: We had sent an email with a room request, and we were given our requested location, (thanks Hector) and our friends were just across the hall. We were in building 6, facing the ocean. Safe included with room, bathroom has ample room and hairdryer provided. The room was very clean, kept clean all week – I can never believe how they clean away all the sand that seems to get into the room, but they manage somehow. We had towel sculptures most days, and always shampoo, soap etc was refilled. Our mini-bar was restocked daily, including water, beer, Pepsi and tonic. The drying rack on the balcony was well used again this year. (hint- bring some clothespins, we did and left them there) . The balconies are quite big, and have 2 chairs and a small table on them. There are 6 large drawers in the room, and the closet is huge with about 25 plastic hangars. We appreciate the screens on the window and patio doors – I can’t comment on the air conditioning because we slept with our patio door and window (we had a corner unit, so had both) open and listened to the sound of the waves each evening. Lovely! The sunset over the Bay is beautiful.
Food: One complaint. It was all too good and we ate too much!!! The selection is outstanding, and one of the reasons we returned to Riu after trying other resort. Can’t say enough about the variety of food, presentation and quality. They have different theme nights – one night was Mexican, one Dominican and one Asian as I remember. Lots of fresh fruit at each meal, at dinner there is more than one kind/preparation of beef, chicken and fish, as well as at least one roast being carved, huge salad bar, soup, vegetable dishes, pizza, and made to order pasta. (this is not a complete list) One night there was a large presentation of paella, other nights there were mussels and smoked salmon available. Always a large selection of desserts and ice cream.
We had lunch every day in the beach restaurant which suited us well. It is open air, and close to the beach and pools. They serve sandwiches, salad, burgers, hot dogs, pasta, chicken, fries and more. Ice cream always available, along with other desserts. A couple of days they had cooking demonstrations near the beach restaurant at lunch time, and one day a beach bar-b-que. Evenings and breakfast we enjoyed tables on the outside deck of the main restaurant.
Breakfasts had cold cereal, fruit, made to order smoothies, cold meat, cheese, huge selection of assorted breads and pastries, omelettes made to order, other types of eggs, bacon, sausages, French toast, pancakes and fresh donoughts (I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things)
We had one meal in the Steakhouse; easily made a reservation one morning. They take reservations from 7:00am just for that day. There are two fixed seating times at the specialty restaurants, 6:30pm and 8:30pm. The salad bar and hot appetizers are buffet style, and then you are served your main course and dessert. The atmosphere is quieter than the main restaurant, which was a nice change. The steak was just o.k. – tasty but very thin. The onion soup was delicious, as were the other hot appetizers. Our son had the ½ chicken dinner which was a bit hit – tasted like rotisserie chicken. We did not try the other specialty restaurant which is Italian. Menus for both restaurants are posted just outside the main restaurant.
Pools & Beach: The main pool with the swim up bar is very busy in the afternoons; the other pool with the waterfall is always quieter so we used both at different times. Both pools are very large. The pool with the swim up bar was sometimes sandy by the afternoon, but the pool staff were continually cleaning floating leaves etc out of the pools. We also spent a lot of time at the beach. The small beach in the cove beside the Bachata has good snorkelling, and wonderful shells. Too bad they have removed the beach chairs from this beach. The main beach has lots of shade, and some areas are a bit rocky. Neither of the kids in our group needed water shoes, nor did the adults. The last 2 days we were there the sea was as rough was we have ever seen in Puerto Plata, and the waves were something to see. Unfortunately, we had to stay out of the ocean, but still enjoyed walks on the beach.
Staff/Animation Events: We found everyone we had contact with to be helpful, friendly and polite. The animation team works hard to include everyone; and is continually in circulation and chatting with guests. They always seem to be laughing, or trying to make you laugh. Great fun! Many activities available throughout the day including darts, horse shoes, volleyball, aerobics, to name a few. We had quick service at each bar. The kids enjoy the self-serve pop, water and juice. We noticed staff cleaning continually – in all areas. The washrooms all have an attendant providing hand sanitizer, and this is available at the entrance to the dining room as well. The evening show schedule is posted in the main lobby, as well as notices regarding daily special events such as the beach party, street party etc.
Tours: The only time we left the resort was on a tour we arranged with Isaira Tours, which was recommended to us on this site. We set our own agenda and pace, the driver spoke English very well, and we had a great day on a tour that included the fort, amber museum, cigar factory, market, Brugal, and other sightseeing. Highly recommended this tour company.
Shopping: This was our 6th trip to the DR, and we don’t go for the shopping. However, the rum at Brugal is I think the best price going, and we found that for the few things we did buy we had a price in mind, and stuck to it during the bargaining process. As usual, there were times when we did not agree on a price with the vendor, and we pleasantly thanked them for their time and moved on. Now, a few times this worked well for us as when they realized we were ready to leave the price became acceptable.
The Caribbean Street on the resort has a lot of selection – we browsed through, but the bit of shopping we did was in town. Also, one night additional vendors come in to the resort. A craftsperson making glass ornaments and small animals was in the lobby a few evenings as was a cigar vendor every evening.
We had a great trip, and have come to depend on Riu to provide consistent service which they have. We hope to return to a Riu property in the future!
| Riu Bachata | Cindy ~ New Minas, Nova Scotia |
I just got back from staying at the RIU Bachata (March 5 - 12). This was my third visit to the Dominican and I can say that this resort was the most picturesque of all. The grounds at the resort were beautiful and well kept. The food was fantastic - the buffet had everything to choose from. The fish was the best I have ever had in the Domincan - sea bass. The calamari was exellent. They served Dominican specialities at the buffet - yukka, Dominican soup, rice and beans. All very good. The Steakhouse was my favorite restaurant. Excellent steak!
I loved having the ladies with the sanitizers outside the washrooms and the restaurants. A great touch.
I would recommend that you bring water shoes with you. I didn't and bought some at the gift shop for only $13 but it was worth every penny. I loved swimming in the ocean - the water was so warm. There were always enough loungers at the beach and also at the pool. You had to claim the ones at the pool early in the a.m.
The Dominican people are all so friendly and accommodating.
Something else I would take next time is binoculars. The mountains were breathtaking and the binoculars would have brought that view in closer.
This resort is rated 5 star. I'm not sure it is a true 5 star but definitely a 4 1/2. I would definitely go back again. One more point of interest. There was no $20 US deportation tax to pay. You can spend all your money while you are there.
| Riu Bachata | Morris & Sheri |
Myself and my boyfriend vacationed at the Riu Bachata from March 5-12 (yes, we just returned home last night) I could not wait to get a posting on here regarding this resort! We have done alot of travelling and vistited many resorts in the past and we both agreed that the Riu Bachata was by far the best we have ever visited! I am not sure why peple would rank this a 3-4 star resort when it is close to PERFECT!!
We checked in at 4am due to delays with our flight but the check in was fast and within no time we were showed to our room. The rooms are very attractive with dark wood for the closets and door way, marble floors throughout and even in the bathroom. We had a balcony and the view was of the next block of rooms, we didnt ask for a view so it was no big deal to us anyway! The rooms we always well stcked with rum,beer , pop and water. The towels were replaced a little later in the evening which was a little too late if you wanted to shower after being to the beach. But if you place a call they have them sent to your room no problem! and even call to make sure you have gotten them! The pool was always very busy, but it was spring break so we were informed by others. Some of the people at the pool side were very loud and obnixious when they had a few drinks too many, and this was too bad because famalies were also in the pool with small kids, having said this, it was only noisy at the pool that had the swim up bar, but if you want you could move to the next pool which was more relaxing. We didnt mind too much because we didnt have small kids with us.
The food, again I dont know why people would complain!!! How can you say its always the same things offered when its because they serve EVERYTHING!!!! We did not have any issues with the food, always plenty and plenty of everything!
We watched some of the nightly entertainment shows but we were normally pretty exhausted from the sun to stay until the end!! But the shows were always great as well, especially the Michael Jackson show!!! The staff are amazing, always singing always a smile! sooo pleasant to be around! we visited many of the huts at both end of the beaches for some bargain shopping but really alot of it was garbage (shirts are very dirty and damaged so be careful when chosing) but we purchased alot of wind chimes, paintings ( ask them to remove them from the wood they are stretched on) so you can easily pack them in your suitcase. Along the main street right outside the Bachata is more shopping ....these people are not so inclined to give better prices, but you can understand that too. If you would like to contact me I can give you many more details and I have alot of pics as well. Overall I am planning to return to the Bachata next year, I would rate it a 5 star without a doubt!
soneill25@hotmail.com
| Riu Bachata | Bev and Ivan ~ P.E.I. |
Our first vacation at a Riu resort and we certainly enjoyed ourselves. We have stayed at other resorts and this was by far the best. The weather was great and the afternoon breeze was welcome. The beach was O K and you could always find privacey if you wanted it. We wore water shoes when in the water. We did not make much use of the activities that were available as we were there to relax on the beach however the Animation Team were certainly energetic and there was lots of activities that we could have participated in. Really enjoyed the beach B-B-Q's (roast pork was delicious), and the entertainment dancers great. This was a nice break in the day . The beach bar was a hit and the bartender "Angel" was great. He was worth every tip. We enjoyed the food and found it was well prepared and there was great variety. I would like to have had more Dominican foods to try. Fruit was delicious. The rooms were very clean and the bar well stocked. Lots of water in sealed containers was appreciated. The Facility was extremely clean and the Ladies with the sanitizers outside the bathroom and the resturants was a wonderful idea. They were always so pleasant. We were really impressed with the overall cleanlieness of the Resort. The Resort was quite large with the sister Resorts using the same area however we never felt crowded and we always felt safe and comfortable. Over all this vacation was a great experience and we would recommend this Resort to all. We will certainly use the Riu chain again as we heard from others at the Resort that the 4 and 5 star RIU Resorts were like this one and some even better.
| Riu Bachata | Louise & Graham |
We stayed at the Riu Bachata Feb. 7-21, 2008. This was our 6th trip to the D.R., which we love, and the 5th resort we've stayed at. We've always stayed at 4-star or higher resorts, but the Bachata was our first 5-star.
A quick commentary on the trips from and back to Ottawa....abysmal! We confirmed our flight directly with the airline (Skyservice) at 9:30 p.m.on Feb. 6th. and were assured there were no problems. We arrived at Ottawa airport around 4:45 a.m. for our 7a.m. departure only to learn from our carrier, Skyservice, that the flight would be delayed until 6 p.m., and that we would not be checking in our luggage until 3 p.m. We were offered vouchers for either a taxi to go home or food if we stayed at the airport. What we didn't hear was any sincere apology from Skyservice staff at the airport for this delay, due to "unscheduled maintenance", nor was there much effort to move people quickly through a long lime-up to even receive the vouchers. The attitude seemed to be, "too bad, so sad, now move along". We later found out that a very few passengers had received phone calls advising them (at around 2-3 a.m.) that the flight was delayed, but it seemed most people had no contact from the airline before getting to the airport. The flight was further delayed, again the Skyservice staff were not very considerate of frustrated passengers and were even rather rude to a few people we heard who had the audacity to ask questions on the whereabouts of the aircraft. We ended up spending over 16 hours in the airport and did not check into the Riu Bachata until 3;30 a.m., having essentially lost a day of our holiday. The return flight wasn't great either as we were boarded on the aircraft only to be told that owing to some "embargo" by Venezuela, Skyservice couldn't get fuel in the Dominican Republic and we would have to fly to Puerto Rico to get gas. We sat on the tarmac in Puerto Rico (no one allowed off the plane) for over 2 1/2 hours as there was a problem with "paperwork" before we got fuel! Why people couldn't have been told about this gas issue before we got on the plane so that family gack home could be advised is beyond me, but then the "service" in "Skyservice" seems to be a classic oxymoron!
As far as the Riu Bachata, thankfully check-in was a fairly rapid affair and at least there was still a bar open. Our room wasn't exactly what we had requested, but after a couple of days being promised we'd be moved, we decided to forget it (as apparently did the front desk as we never heard from them). The rooms are actually quite fine, bright walls, dark wood cabinets, and the bar regularly stocked as promised. Our cleaning lady (block 600 rooms) was fantastic! The air conditioning is a bit sporadic, but overall power wasn't a problem until the last day when the resort lost power just before we had palnned to get up, shower, etc. I'd say the rooms were better than any of the previous four resorts we've gone to in the D.R.
The resort is quite attractive, well maintained and surprisingly compact (it's the largest of the 3 Riu's there). The Bachata pool is also the largest, and most attractive, which does mean people from all 3 Riu's come to it. Be early if you want to claim a chair, we saw people putting out their towels before 7 a.m. Mind you, the pools at all 3 Riu's seem too small for the volume of guests and poolside chairs seemed scarce at all 3 resorts.The beach isn't usually as crowded, but be warned. This is the windiest beach we have ever encountered, by mid-afternoon it feels like there's a hurricane brewing. We asked staff at the beach massage hut if the wind was always like this and were told it was actually worse normally. With wind like that, you also get some rough water. A few days we did find that there was less wind at the other Riu beaches, especially the Mambo (furthest from the Bachata), but it wasn't always calmer. One plus for the Mambo is they have an actual beach bar.
Our biggest disapointment at the Bachata was the food. It's not that it's bad, it's just that we've had better at the four other resorts we've stayed at in the D.R. The buffet has plenty of choice but it seems pretty well the same nightly. Other ersorts have had more "theme" nights for variety. The two specialty restaurants also weren't as 'special' as other resorts, and other resorts usually have more than two. The Italian at Bachata isn't very 'Italian' in the food offered, and my wife's seafood pasta dish arrived with one mussel in a mass of pasta. Even sending it back didn't result in much of an improvement. The first steak I had, ordered medium rare at the Steakhouse, was way overcooked, and the thinnest rib steak I've seen. To be fair, we did have other meals at both specialty restaurants that were better, just not quite on a par with our experience at other resorts. For a 5-star we were expecting something better overall. The buffet restaurant, while perhaps not laid out the best (congestion at the entrance were you have desserts) does have a lovely veranda for dining outside, which we enjoyed most evenings. Surprisingly, while you can get beer and wine in the Bachata restaurants, none had a bar inside. If you wanted a cocktail, or a brandy with coffee, you had to go outside to one of the bars. A small item but again other resorts we've been to have restaurant bars. As far as the bars that were there, the bartenders are are mostly a great bunch and the local drinks are fine. The selection of "international" brands, however, is the most limited of any resort we've been to, basically a couple of vodkas (thankfully Stolichnaya), some scotch, but no rye, bourbon, brandy, etc. that I could find.
If this had been our first visit to a resort in the D.R., we'd probably have been quite impressed with the Riu Bachata. Alas, it wasn'y our first and the Bachata wasn't quite up to our expectations of a 5-star, but it sure beats shovelling snow!!!
| Riu Bachata | David ~ Canada |
Arrival -
Our arrival was trouble free. We actually enjoyed the bus ride from the airport to the hotel as you get to see some of the real DR. Also the guide was quite entertaining. We had been to the Bachata 5 yrs ago and noticed that the grounds had matured since then.Rooms -
We had asked for a top floor room with a king bed over looking the sports beach. Even though we had booked 4 mons. in advance we ended up over looking the pool. We could have moved 4 days after our arrival but by then we were settled in and decided not to bother. The rooms were comfortable & clean (except for the drapes). Maid service was very good, however, sometimes the laundary wouldn't supply clean towels until about 5pm so you could end up w/o towels for a while if the maid had removed the used ones. The Riu needs to use better quality and FITTED sheets. Our room was on the north side of the building so stayed nice and cool.
Restaurants -
The buffet: quality & quantity were both good; variety each night was good, however each night was just about the same, there should be two or three specials per night & be different each night of the week. We always ate out on the veranda. Rosario was our waiter and he was quite a character. Breakfast was good with good selection. Lunch was also good but I would have liked to have had the same cold meat selection as at breakfast.
Ala carte: Food was very good at both. Great onion soup and kalamari (try them even if you think you don't like them).
Bars -
Great, the bar tenders love it when you try to ask for your drinks in spanish. Ursala at the stage bar was a real sweatheart and earned a few tips from us.
Beach and Pools -
Nice pool, but gets noisy at 4pm when the animation team starts up.
We like the beach. Lots of trees for shade, yet easy to find sun. The sand may not be white but is still very plesant to walk barefoot in. We would walk the length of the beach each day. You do need water shoes to go in the ocean at the Bachata beach, but it gets better as you go east toward the Mamba. The last time we were they had lounges, roped of swimming area and a small bar on the sports beach on a lovelly bay that was protected from the wind on the west side of the resort, however they have removed the bar, swimming area and lounges. No one could tell us why. It's to bad as that was our favorite beach!
Grounds -
The grounds are ncely kept and attractive.
Tours -
We only went on the Paradise Island tour. It was GREAT! Make sure you take this tour. The clarity of the water is incredable! Lots of fish.
Conclusion -
First the few negatives. The staff didnot seem quite as happy as the last time we were there, although the were still very nice and friendly. The food does get somewhat repetative. The closing of the sports beach was a dissapointment, they have an expanded flea market there now. We did have very nice massages there fore much less than it would have been on the main beach.
Now the positives. Even though this is a large resort and it was full you never ever feel crowded. Nice relaxed atmosphere. You get to meet people from England and Western Europe. It may only be a 4 star billed as a 5 star but it is still good value for your money. If you don't enjoy your vacation here you would probably find lots to complain about almost anywhere.
| Riu Bachata | Jim |
We have to say that this was one of the best resort that we have visited in many years. We have travelled extensively in Asia and a number of Caribbean islands. Our choice for the DR and an RIU resort was last minute. We were very pleasantly surprised!
Our room did not have the best view! It did not matter to us since all we did there was sleep. The food at the hotel was excellent. Good variety, lots of non smoking areas. The service staff was always attentive without being overbearing. Most wanted to be friendly and practice their English.
Our room was always cleaned and well stocked. Nothing but good things to say about our stay there.
| Riu Bachata | Sharon & Frank |
Just returned from a week at the RIU Bachata and I hate to say I was a little disappointed. Overall, you make the best of the time you have in paradise, and that being said I loved the sun and people. The staff are friendly and work very hard (as everyone states) to please you.
This was our first experience staying at a RIU resort and being classed as a 5-star I wanted to see how it compared to our 5-star experience in Punta Cana. Well maybe that was our mistake. In my opinion the RIU Bachata has the potential to be a great 5-star resort. The layout of the resort and the staff that work there are top notch and the bar service and drinks are to die for.
The big let down for me, was the food and lack of variation. Breakfast was the best meal of the day. The desserts served at the buffet during lunch and dinners were very good, but the quality of the main courses offered were a big let down. This is where I would rate it at a 3 or less. The al-a-carte restaurants were better, but again not what I would have expected from a 5-star resort.
The resort seems to cater to weddings, as the one good dinner meal we had at the buffet was when a big wedding had just taken place. We hoped this was a changing point but the quality next day reverted back to the same old drab offerings. Yes, there were different offerings at each meal – from pasta, pizza, meat dishes to vegetarian, but with little variation and I found it was too salty.
I found the layout of the buffet caused congestion. As you walk in, desserts or fruit are available. Further in along the same wall were the hot main courses being offered. The desserts and salad bar were a little more centered. The congestion was the line up for the dessert blocked people coming in or leaving.
The air conditioner in the room did not work very well. Even though the balcony door and window were kept closed, it seemed to go off and on. We mentioned this to the front desk and they added it to the list of maintenance items to be handled. We did receive a phone call from the front desk as we arrived back at the suite before cleaning up for dinner asking if the air conditioning was better. I advised them we had just got in and it did seem a little cooler but I would let them know. During the night it was hot and stuffy again so we advised the front desk again the next morning. We heard nothing more from them.
When chatting with repeat guests at lunch one day they told us that they had been told a previous year that the resort was only allotted so much power and therefore the air conditioners would only work at low power. Using a combination of air and the ceiling fan on high would keep the room comfortable. Unfortunately the rattling of the fan at high speed was too loud and kept us awake so we left it on low speed.
For those that like to walk the beach, this is not the resort that can accommodate that completely. Although the beach looks great with both sunshine and shade, walking can be difficult. It goes from a steep incline to the ocean at the Bachata side to very course with lots of broken shells, coral and rock at the Merengue to an easy walking beach at the Mambo. This has nothing to do with the resort itself, just the location.
The biggest beef I have which many guests I spoke with felt the same way was sharing of all the facilities with the other resorts. The 3.5 and 4 star sister resort guests could use the pool located at the Bachata (5-star) and often arrived early to reserve the best loungers near the pool. Since the Bachata guests were the only ones with wrist bands, it was easy to pick out visitors from the other resorts. By allowing this there is no incentive for the Bachata 5-star guests. The only thing not allowed between resorts was dinner service - you were to stay within your own resort for this meal of the day. Unfortunately this was not always enforced.
In talking with other repeat guest that have stayed at other RIU locations, they are all run the same way. Normally we stay two weeks, but this year only one was enough. Would I go back again – not likely.
| Riu Bachata | Mike and Carla |
Travel from the airport was an adventure. Our driver took us through town and over some pretty rough roads. Check in was fast, since they already had our keys and everything ready in an envelope behind the desk. We were taken to our room #312. What a beautiful room in building 3, with a spectacular view. All the staff is wonderful, and you couldn’t ask for better service. We changed our clothes and headed for the pool area. Although the complex looks big on a map, once you get there, everything is less than a 2two minute walk. Food was always good. Something for everyone. Special theme nights, Mexican etc. Staff clapping for you greets the first few guests into the buffet in the evening. Make sure men wear shirts with sleeves. We tried to get in after an excursion and were not allowed until hubby changed. We ate at the Steakhouse and it was very good. Steaks there are cut very thin, but have exceptional flavor. There is so much to chose from, that you won’t go hungry. I didn’t care for the milk though. Breakfast is unbelievable. As you first walk into the buffet, there are various juices (fresh) to chose from. The passion fruit juice is to die for.
The rooms are quite spacious and comfortable. Although the beds are a bit stiff. Nice balcony with a beautiful view. I found the shower (tub) to be very narrow, but shower works great. Never had a problem with hot water, always plenty. Swim up bar can get quite rowdy in the afternoon. Really fun. Plenty of pool chairs, if you just move a couple towels that have been sitting there all day. All in all I enjoyed this resort, and will definitely keep it in my plans for another visit to the DR.
Everyone remembers to tip the maids and bartenders. Everyone forgets about the grounds keepers that keep this placing looking fantastic. I bought a couple dozen pairs of gloves, both cotton and leather. I gave these gloves to the workers along with a $2.00 tip each. Really made their day. On our final day, I had several hundred pesos left, and handed them to a grounds keeper (Rudy) He looked like he won the lottery. So keep the grounds keepers in mind, as you are enjoying the beauty of the resort.
| Riu Bachata | Scott & Shelly ~ USA |
Flew Continental through Newark. Perfectly fine flights both ways. And, amazingly were served meals, one with actual real silverware.
We were originally were booked in the Merengue, but were “upgraded” to the Bachata.
We stayed at the Merengue last year and were very pleased with it.
Our room at the Bachata was in the first building next to the entertainment stage. Which made for a couple of loud late nights. The room had a king size bed, as opposed to the Merengue, which primarily has 2 queen beds. It was neat and clean, and maid service was always good and usually early in the day, except that most days towels were brought late in the afternoon.
The fitness center shared by all three resorts is antiquated and small. It has two treadmills, three stationary bikes, one stair climber and one elliptical machine. There is a universal weight machine and a set of free weights. It really does not live up to the quality of the rest of the complex. Riu should renovate & expand it. It also does not open until 9am, closes at 1pm, reopens at 3pm until 8pm. We usually prefer to work out prior to breakfast. Open it early. For those of you who like to run, there is a path way that runs between the buildings and the beach from one end of the complex to the other, it is ½ mile long, runners out there every morning.
The food was good, but repetitive. And the vegetable you have at dinner will generally be available at breakfast. The kitchen staff does a great job of carving fruits and vegetables into intricate centerpieces. The steakhouse restaurant was good, but if you are accustomed to an American thick steak, that is not what you get. The rib eye was good, but thin.
Outback Jungle Safari worth every cent of the US $79. We had gone on the tour when we were in Punta Cana a couple of years ago & loved it; this one sounded a little different and decided to go again. A great time. There is a little river ride, very peaceful, you can have your picture taken with a small alligator. The day ends on a secluded beach, Cabarete. The beach is beautiful, but unfortunately covered in litter. The company gives a lot back to the community by supporting churches, schools and families. At the end of the day they have tshirts, hats and bags available for purchase to help pay for those efforts. We cannot recommend this trip enough. Both times our guides were fabulous, and obviously loved their country.
Now while the Bachata is technically an upgrade from the Merengue, I don’t know that I’d pay much more. The only real difference is that there was a king size bed instead of 2 queens, and a swim-up bar in the pool. We had trouble with our tv remote (there are only a couple of channels in English), eventually they gave us the instructions to reset the remote, which we had to continually do. Not a huge problem, but annoying. The pool is lovely, plenty of lounges in sun and shade. However, chair saving is out of control. We awoke around 730 most mornings, and could see the pool from our room, and there would already be many towels out on chairs to reserve them. If you put it out and go to breakfast, then retire to the pool, fine. However, if you’re not going to show up for hours, we find it to be rude and disrespectful. Everyday we were there, we would see towels on chairs, but no people until mid-afternoon.
There were lots of kids there, most were well behaved and stayed with their parents, no problems.
The restaurants have only Sweet N Low, no Splenda or Equal. Bring your own Tums, we had to buy some in the shop, it was 400 pesos, the equivalent of US $12 for a small bottle.
The room key chains are big, consider a lanyard, which we saw many people using.
The rooms have a clothesline on the balcony/patio, bring a few clothespin to dry your bathing suits.
At the end of our trip I noticed the cleaning bag and prices, they weren’t bad. Next time I may consider packing a few less clothes and have a few cleaned.
Overall we would definitely recommend the resort. The staff is friendly and eager to help. James at the front desk could not be any friendlier or more helpful. The resort is beautiful.
| Riu Bachata | Mike & Alison Derry ~ Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada |
My husband and I just enjoyed a fabulous week in Puerto Plata and at the Riu Bachata, Jan. 23-30, 2008. This resort, as others say, is not a 5-star, but very comparible to other 4-stars.
This was our third time in the Dominican Republic. In 2004 we flew to La Romana and stayed at the Costa Corale Caribe. The best features at this resort were our view (6th floor of main building, ocean view) and the 24-hour snack bar where you could always get a hamburger and fries. In 2007 we vacationed in Punta Cana at LTI Beach Resort. The buffet restaurant was fabulous with create-your-own omelettes, pasta bowls and stir fry. Our room had a king sized bed for a change, but the shower from the bathroom above leaked into our bathroom and we always had a wet floor.
All of these resorts had their good and bad points, which I rely on these reviews to provide. So this time I thought I should contribute. We would return to any one of them, but generally like to try something new.
ROOMS - We had two-3/4 beds pushed together, they looked much harder than they actually were. The television had a few good american channels and we had hot water all week for our showers. We had a patio with no extraordinary view but it was still pleasant to sit out there. We gave housekeeping a tip every day and we had great service all week. Our room was always sparkling clean. She often made swan towel displays and left fresh flowers. I read somewhere that the mini-bar is stocked by another person. When we arrived we had only 1 bottle of water, 1 tonic water, 1 soda water and 1 beer. Two days later the bar was re-stocked with 2 bottles of water, 4 pepsi (two diet), soda water, tonic water and 4 beer. Two days later we slipped a dollar bill into the fridge and were rewarded with seven beer!
FOOD/BARS - The resort has a main buffet, a snack bar buffet and two a la carte restaurants.You can also go to the two side resorts, the Mambu and the Merengue, for breakfast and lunch, but we decided to stay at ours. We did venture down to both and had drinks from the bars closest to the beach. We had supper at the buffet every night but one (Steak House) because we enjoyed the staff. Melvin was our favourite waiter. Even the pickiest eater can find something they'll enjoy, but there is not a lot of variety. The beef was tough everywhere including the steak house where we both ordered ribeyes. There are three bars: one near the pool (swim up on one side) and two near the stage. We tended to favour the bikini bar because it was outside and closest to the entertainment. Each afternoon/evening we had happy hour there and played bingo at 5:00 p.m., which was rather interesting. We got to know the bartenders by name and they were always glad to accomodate our drink requests. We were a little disappointed in the late-night snacking, which featured sandwiches in a fridge near the bar. We were also told of 24-hour snacks available at Merengue, but never did venture down there to check it out.
POOLS - The resort has two pools. The water was always crystal clear and was always clean. We had to get towels beside the pool, but never lounged or swam in either.
BEACHES - There are two beaches you can use. There is the main one for all three Riu resorts, and we could always find a lounger, no matter what time of the day. The beach is about half a mile long and has many trees, so sun or shade could be enjoyed. The smaller beach shows a beach bar on the map (we never found this) and doesn't have any loungers. We travelled down there the first day and were approached by several vendors and women wanting to braid our hair. We didn't enjoy the pushiness.
ENTERTAINMENT - The staff was very friendly and helpful. We attended the show most nights and always enjoyed something, even though it was not as professional as some of the shows we have seen in other resorts. In 2005 we travelled to Holguin, Cuba and the shows at the Blau Costa Verde were very well done. The animation staff is very friendly and always had a smile for us.
SHOPPING - On the resort, there was Caribbean Street (full of little shops), that we visited, even though everything was overpriced. On Monday, some locals came in to the resort to sell souvenirs and they loved to barter. We got worn out from the vendors at the beach market in Sosua, because they just wouldn't take NO for an answer.
EXCURSION - We booked the top-view tour through Sunquest and really enjoyed this fun-filled day off the resort. We visited the Brugal Rum Factory, a fort, rode a cable car to the top of the hill which featured and exquisite view of Puerto Plata. We then visited the Amber Museum and stopped at a factory-outlet store to shop. We had a delicious lunch at the Bologna Italian Restaurant in Sosua and then went to the beach market for souvenirs.
All-in-all it was a fabulous week. Beautiful weather, fantastic people and a nice resort.
| Riu Bachata | I and B ~ Canada |
Our family stayed at the RIU Bachata from the 17th to the 25th of December 2007. My wife and I along with our "older" kids ages 15,18, and 21 had a great time at this resort. The staff work very hard at making sure your stay is enjoyable and the few issues we had with the rooms were resolved very quickly.
The rooms were adequate (not quite 5 star as claimed in the tour books, but nice), a mini bar with 3 beers, a couple of pops a gallon of bottled water and liquor dispensers were replenished as needed. The maid prepared a wonderful towel art daily and my wife left small items for her along with a few dollars each day. As noted previously the resort is now 5 years old and it feels like the beds have never been replaced, they are quite uncomfortable but "sleepable".
If you are beachlovers this is not the resort for you, the beach is very narrow and the entire beach area is covered by tree foliage. The ocean front contains large amounts of coral pieces on the sand both at the entrance to the water and in it near the shore making swimming very tricky, also a very strong current exists near the Bachata end pushing you
towards the Merengie beach area. The Merengie and Mambo beaches are a little better but a bit of a hike from the Bachata.
Our 18 and 21 year olds enjoyed the Disco nightly and met many new friends who they hung around with for the 9 days. There was a few "incidents" of rowdiness at the disco mostly involving local Dominicans but the staff and security seem to handle these scuffles quickly, but we did hear of serious trouble a week or so earlier where a large number of well armed police were needed to deal with some troublemakers (Dominican). This brings me to a concern that will needed to be addressed by RIU, on Fridays and Saturdays the resort is over run by younger Dominicans who pretty much take over the place.While we were there a group of about 8 trashed 2 rooms at 4am and caused much disruption in building 7 by banging on every door, cranking the music in their rooms and just being obnoxiously drunk and rowdy, certainly not what is expected at a reputed 5 star resort. To their credit the culprits were ejected by the hotel management but not before scaring the living daylights out of a family from England and their 2 young daughters ages 3 and 6. I'm not sure what benefit the resort gets out of this kind of publicity and they need to have one standard for client behaviour, not a seemingly more lenient level with locals for whatever reason they have for allowing these rowdies into a resort full of "foreign" clients....odd business practice.
The resort is maintained immaculately and despite its size never seemed busy, bartenders were outstanding, Angel, Diego, and all the others worked very hard and we never waited ever for a drink at any of the bars. I tipped each of the bartenders a few dollars the day before I left and presented them each new ball caps I brought with me, they were very pleased with the caps and bartered with each other over the ones they wanted.
The food was average to good, but not what I expected from a reputed 5 star resort. Having been at many other resorts in the DR, Cuba, Mexico and St.Martin the food especially at the a la cartes was disappointing. At other 3 star resorts we have stayed at in the Playa Dorada complex shrimps and fresh grouper or other nice seafood was present in the buffet, not at the Bachata, only on Christmas Eve did we see any shrimp and grouper fish, odd.....
Overall we had a wonderful vacation the weather was superb, sunny everyday and the resort setting is very beautiful with the mountains in the background. The Animation staff are great and we met a wonderful group of travellers from around the world, go and have fun at the Bachata.
| Riu Bachata | Ken |
We stayed at the Riu Batchata from Dec 7-14.Unfortunately the weather didnt co-operate with Hurricane Olga brewing so it Rained every day but one.As far as the resort goes we felt welcomed and the staff went to great lengths to make sure you were happy,the staff called our room twice during our stay to make sure everything was ok.room was nice with everything you should need and the maid service was excellent.For the food it was good overall with a good variety at every sitting.Went to the steakhouse and the steak was very tasty but very thin.The beach is very shaded in front of the resort but we had no prob finding sun when it did shine,if you wanted more sun all you had to do is walk to the next resort where the beach was wide open.The grounds are very mature and makes for a beautiful setting unless you needed lots of open space for some reason.The pools were very cold,probably due to the lack of sunshine. If you want to swim in the ocean I would suggest water shoes as it is hard on the feet.After the storm hit it took the crew no time at all to get it cleaned up.As far as the cleanliness of the whole resort it was spotless,one morning @ about 7:00 I counted 6 maids in the lobby cleaning.Some people seem to be upset about the ladies outside the washrooms with the sanitizer,I thought this was an excellent idea and they were there for your own health,if you didnt want to use it just walk by,its not like they chase you down the hall with it.I thought the entertainment was about what I expect at a resort..average.As far as the drinks go they had everything we asked for .All in all we had a good time and would recommend it to anyone.If you are a sun worshipper and would rather bitch about the shady beach rather than take your butt down the beach a bit where the beach opened up go elsewhere!!
| Riu Bachata | Dennis and Lucy ~ Canada |
We stayed at the Riu Bachata from Nov 19th -Dec 3rd. I would like to start off first by saying that this resort is listed as a 5 star resort but it is not even close to that rating. There were numerous things about this place that are just not 5 star worthy but there were a couple of things that were good.
BEACH I would rate at 3 star because it is so overgrown with trees that you have to hunt for sun through them and they grow right to the waters edge. There are lots of rocks and coral pieces in the water for you to step on and the current is so strong that it pushed you down the beach as you swam. Good swimmers were swimming against the current and going nowhere. Lots os sea weed that was not raked very often
POOL is also 3 star because it is so small even though they have two,they are both small.
BARS are 3.5 stars as the drinks are so full of sugar and lacking alcohol and they could not even make a simple Mai Tai. At the pool bar it seemed like the drinks never had alcohol unless you asked for it,why would an adult have to ask for alcohol in thier drinks at a bar
ENTERTAINMENT is 3 star at best.The sound system is terrible and so many times the performers were out of step with each other that they looked clumsy
ALA-CARTES- 3 star, there are only two so your choice is limited, Steakhouse was'nt bad went three times had the chicken twice,Italian was not very good, and they do not enforce a dress code as they claim
ROOM- 4 star, the room was nice,location was lousy
MAID- 5star, our maid (Juanna) was top notch probably the best thing about this resort
BUFFET- 4 star with good variety and good food, only beer and wine available in the buffet,no mixed drinks
SCENERY -4.5 star the surrounding areas are very nice as you have mountains behind the resort
AMBIENCE-3 star they just don't play enough music at this resort,none at the beach,none at the pool,none at the bars,the only place that had music was the maracuya restaurant
BEDS-2 star these suckers need to be replaced(about two years ago)
CARIBBEAN STREET -4 star you could shop here without the normal high pressure cheapy-cheapy sales and you could still get a fair deal
GROUNDS- 3 star there are very little of them to see as the resort is kind of crowded with buildings
WORKOUT ROOM-2 star very small and is for all 3 resorts, they do not supply towels but they will not let you workout without one so you have to bring one from your room
AFTER HOURS SNACKS- 1 star come on a couple of cold sandwiches in a fridge at the bar, this is all you get after the buffet closes at 10 pm
If you are a pool person you will probably like this resort, if you go expecting a 3-4 star resort you probably won't mind this resort. If you are a beach or ocean loving person DON'T go to this resort.We had 14 red flag days at the beach, and you must search for the sun at the beach because of all the trees
There seemed to be very little grounds at all 3 of these resorts but what was there seemed to be well kept. On certain nights they served specialty drinks in the lobby,and iced coffee with ammereto and kahlua in the buffet,and in the mornings they would have special tea or hot chocolate at the buffet entrance. One real pain at this resort is the ladies with the hand sanitzer at the entrance to the food areas and bathroom exits.
As I have said this resort is not a 5 star resort, I have previously stayed at Casa del Mar on the south coast and it is rated at 4 star but it is far superior in the pool,bars,alacartes,beds,grounds,workout room,after-hour snacks,entertainment,beach,and ocean. So if you want a nice 3-4 star resort go to the Bachata, but if you want 4-5 star go somewhere else
| Riu Bachata | UK |
The place was great i would love to go there again the beach was a bit weedy but they clean that up and the staff are really friendly if you are thinking about going there i would book it straight away i would give it 100 star.
| Riu Bachata | Robert |
Just returned from Riu Bachata Stayed there Aug 18 to Sept 1, 2007.
Let me get to the things we didn't like, before I start spouting off about all the fantastic things we loved about the resort.
First off. We had an issue, with so many locals staying at the resort.
Now, don't get me wrong, that's not the issue. I liked having locals stay there. I love the Dominican people. They're all so nice and friendly.
It's
Just that they're not schooled on how to behave at a world class resort.
Therefore, they
don't know how to behave in public. Just little things like not giving way when walking on a sidewalk. When there is a large group of them.
The people who were staying in the two rooms next to ours were very noisy.
They would get ready to go out either at 7:00am or 6:00pm with the door open. They would let the kids run wild and screaming up and down the narrow halls.
Yes we were awakened many times.
But let me say, once we complained to the front desk, they immediately offered to move us to a better room. Front desk was very nice about the entire thing.
That's the only complaint we had about the entire resort.
Now for the good stuff.
Bachata has the best and largest pool. With the best swim up bar. Angel and Jose were fantastic bar tenders.
There is actually two separate pools. One has the swim up bar, with a small whirlpool section. The other pool was a bit larger with a nice waterfall you can swim under.
The beach is fantastic. Plenty of lounge chairs for everybody. Sand is fantastic. There are plenty of Palm trees for shade if that's what you prefer.
If you swim into the rocky areas, make sure you wear deck shoes.
There's plenty of Sea Urchins to step on. My wife and I both stepped on one.
The nurse on duty was very nice and helped us very well.
Make sure you have travel insurance. Luckily our extended health plans went with us, and we didn't have to pay a dime.
We tended to spend much of our time just floating in the water. The water temperature there is a dream come true. Buoyancy is fantastic.
Leaving your things unattended is not an issue. We never worried once.
We never once saw an outsider at the beach. Or at the resort either.
It takes about 15 minutes to walk the entire length of the beach from end to end. And it's a very nice walk. Some people don't like the brown sand.
But what difference does it make to me?
I loved it.
There is a fantastic private beach on the West side of the resort. Nobody lounges there. It's fantastic if you want a day away from everybody. The water there is also much warmer than the other beach.
The ocean is fantastic. Snorkeling is best at the far west end. It tends to be a bit clearer there.
The resort is very well looked after. Grounds were cleaned every day. Even after a large storm. The hills on the opposite side of the road are a fantastic backdrop when staying at the pool.
Night time shows were top notch. Very entertaining. Great pastime for late nights.
I think Bachata also had the best shows as well. All 14 nights, were different shows.
The animation team