What is the difference between riu and riu palace

Riu Bambu guests do have access to Riu Naiboa. Riu Naiboa is the lowest level tier and usually also the cheapest resort among the Riu Resorts in Punta Cana. Even the Riu complex is one of the biggest all-inclusive resorts in Punta Cana, Riu Palace Punta Cana is a rather small hotel where everything is walkable in minutes. This makes Riu Palace Punta Cana particularly suitable for travelers looking for a compact resort with shorter distances.

Riu Palace Punta Cana is also very suitable for handicapped travelers, of which we saw a few during our stay.

The main walkways between the beach, restaurants, main plaza and rooms are all equipped with ramps and the hotel does offer a couple of wheelchair-accessible rooms. The lobby continues this impression with its classy design and a historical touch. It is not your typical Caribbean open-air lobby. It is quite a huge 3-story building, but thanks to the well-maintained garden in the interior including its pool with fountains and springs, it still features a very tropical feel.

All the restaurants except the beach restaurant , the open-air theatre, the live music stage and the coffee shop are located around the lobby, which makes it a great area to hang out at night, as all facilities are close. All 3 pools of Riu Palace Punta Cana are located next to the beach, where you can also find a huge beach bar, the swim-up bar and the lunch restaurant, which turns into the steakhouse at night.

Talking about the beach, there is not much you can ask more for when planning a vacation on a Caribbean beach. Finest sand, turquoise water, lots of palm trees, a few waves — Playa Arena Gorda, the beach where Riu Palace Punta Cana is located, does have it all. It can easily be counted as one of the best beaches in Punta Cana, even it does have tough competition by Playa Bavaro and Playa Juanillo.

As there is a beach bar and waiter service right at the beach, you can also enjoy a steady flow of drinks. Thanks to the high amount of palm trees, there is also enough shade for everyone and no need for the typical beach huts, which gives it a more natural feel.

If you enjoy beach walks, you are definitely in the right spot as well. In both directions, you can walk literally forever without your feet leaving the sand. In both directions you can walk more than 5 miles one-way, passing a couple of other all-inclusive resorts first before finding a particular virgin stretch of beach to the north after passing Hard Rock Hotel and a couple of public beach clubs in El Cortecito to the south.

Riu Palace Punta Cana has a total of rooms, all located within the same building. Riu Palace Punta Cana makes it easy to pick your room as there are just very few categories:. The room, a Junior Suite, had everything we needed and there was absolutely nothing to complain about. Everything worked well, the bed was comfortable and the shower with lots of pressure and hot water was super relaxing. What we particularly loved most about our room at Riu Palace Punta Cana were two things: 1 The balcony had a mosquito sliding door, which means we could leave our balcony open the whole time without that any kind of tropical animals could enter.

Sleeping while hearing the ocean breeze and the waves crashing is priceless! We were lucky to get a Junior Suite with an ocean view, which we absolutely loved. If you are reading this review of Riu Palace Punta Cana, chances are that you are also looking to book this all-inclusive resort. Interestingly enough, some Riu resorts, for example the Riu Palace Punta Cana, are not bookable through some of the major online booking websites.

Please note that a couple of search engines are still showing very! The room photos seem from 20 years ago. If in doubt, please refer to the photos here in this article all photos were taken in February or on the hotel website. The buffets are straight-forward and with the kind of quality I expect from a resort in the medium to upper price level.

What is the difference? Which one do you recommend? Is Palace worth the extra couple hundred dollars? Also, how far is the hotel from the city restaurants, clubs and if we do need to cab, how much is cab fare roughly? What's Cabo like in the first week of January? Do the crowds die down since it's the first week after the holidays or is the atmosphere still as fun?

Basically, I'm hoping that there'll be lots of young people in their 20s there when we go.. How's the weather then? I know it's not as hot as usual, but is it hot enough still to tan? The Riu's are next door to each other on a really large stretch of beach on the outskirts of Cabo.

They both have their own charm the Sante Fe is newer - the Palace is larger. Overall, they are pretty much the same. I swear you won't lose out if you pick the cheaper one. The grounds and the actual building with be gorgeous in your pictures.

See pic at left. I took that with my cell. So can you Imagine if someone with a real camera had taken it. I don't know how to upload pics here or I would show you a few. I've only walked thru the Riu Guan. I've stayed at Palace twice. It is more expensive. It also has more pools and restaurants. My friends stayed at RG this year while we were at RP. He said ours was more elegant. Room service is also available 24 hours a day.

The hotel also has five meeting rooms that can accommodate up to people. Disclaimer: This content was accurate at the time the hotel was reviewed. Please check our partner sites when booking to verify that details are still correct. Subtract one room 1. Subtract one adult. Oyster Award Winner. Prices shown for:. See All Sardinal Hotels. See All Rates. Cons Few attractions within walking distance A la carte restaurants require advanced reservations Reports of spotty Wi-Fi in rooms.

Activity Pool. Relaxation Pool. Ocean View Junior Suite.