Riu Bambu - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5063 reviews

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  Terrible hotel

  Hello, we are back from our trip and I would like to express my dissatisfaction. We will never return, and the hotel was nowhere near a 5-star—it was at best a 3.5-star by Cuban standards. As soon as we arrived in the Dominican Republic, we were approached by the Nexus Tours guide who pushed us to take a taxi instead of the transportation that was included. We were then bombarded with offers to buy drugs by several drivers, and this happened while I was with MY CHILDREN—THEY HEARD EVERYTHING!!! I also downloaded the RIU app for our trip and we were allowed to make three requests: #1 a quiet area of the resort, #2 a possible ocean view, and #3 a better room if one was available. Upon arrival, I asked the front desk clerk if a larger or better room was available, since he hadn’t offered anything. He said yes, and I ended up paying $150. He refused to let me pay by card and asked for cash instead. Once we got to this supposedly better room, there was absolutely no improvement compared to the superior family room we had already booked. I went to speak with the Nexus representative about the room, and she confirmed it was the exact same superior family room—meaning we were scammed and received nothing in return. This left a very bitter taste. The front desk manager apologized for the inconvenience and offered only a $75 refund, which is extremely disappointing considering we received no upgrade and I ended up paying $75 for absolutely nothing. Completely unacceptable! The hotel is also in terrible condition. Our room was covered in black mold, the air conditioning duct was full of mold, the minibar had a leaking bottle and the wood was moldy. There was gum on the wall, a broken lamp, a broken patio door, stains all over the sheets, and some pillows smelled rotten. Even the towels smelled bad. The toilet lid wasn’t even the right size and didn’t close properly. I am also someone who trains regularly, and the gym conditions were appalling. I even injured myself because the only bench they had was broken, and there was no sign indicating it. The retention pin for the bench angle was broken, and it gave out during my workout, causing a strong impact to my neck and back for the rest of the trip. The food was not good—very similar to Cuba, just with slightly more options. I went to the steakhouse after being told it was great. I ate shrimp with my steak, and they tasted bad. Ten minutes after dinner, I felt sick and was ill the entire night. The mold in the room also triggered my daughter’s asthma and made her sick as well. Even worse, we couldn’t enjoy the beach because every two minutes someone would try to sell us something and insist even after we said no. Honestly, it ruins the beauty of the beach completely—you can’t even relax without being harassed. This was our first family trip, and it was a disaster. I am extremely angry and trying to remain polite. One more thing: the bed only had a thin blanket, no duvet or cover. We were freezing every night. I called the front desk five days in a row and even went in person three times asking for blankets for me and the kids. We finally got them on the last day of our stay. Great job (very sarcastic) RIU—definitely not 5-star service. And I nearly forgot: the shower drain wasn’t fixed in place, and I cut my foot while taking a shower. 🤬 Also, the smoke detector had been ripped out. ---

  Nov 26, 2025
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  Food poisoning - avoid getting thorugh hell as we did!

  During our stay at Riu Bambu Hotel in Punta Cana, we got food poisoning from one of the hotel's restaurants, Mamajuana. On Wednesday, September 17th, my wife, our one-year-old daughter, and I had lunch at the Mamajuana Restaurant, located by the TUI exclusive guests swimming pool. We ate seafood, including white fish and prawns. By around 2:30 PM, my wife began experiencing stomach pain and returned to the room with our baby to rest, while I stayed by the pool. An hour later, she called me, complaining of severe stomach pain, so I headed to the room to take care of the baby. As soon as I arrived, I also experienced stomach pain, and soon we were both vomiting repeatedly. My wife went back to bed, crying in pain and fearing for her life. I became very concerned and called the front desk to ask for a doctor. They instructed me to call the doctor's 24-hour line directly. Unfortunately, the doctor refused to come, stating I needed to visit the clinic first for insurance verification. I explained that my wife's symptoms were worsening, and she could barely stand, while our daughter was now feverish and crying. Despite this, the doctor still did not come. Eventually, my wife began to vomit again, this time a green watery liquid, which made me very worried. She did this a few more times and then fainted for a few seconds, frightening me greatly. It was around 7:30 PM, and it was getting dark, adding to my distress. I repeatedly called the reception five or six times, but no one answered. I reached out to the doctor line, imploring for assistance, but received a refusal. My wife began to scream from the floor, expressing that she had lost feeling in her arms from her fingers to her elbows. At that moment, I placed our crying baby in the stroller, gathered our documents into a bag, and with one arm maneuvered the stroller while I carried her on my shoulder towards the reception. It was around 8 p.m., it was dark, and I had approximately 200 meters to cover to reach reception (we were in room 1704). Halfway there, my wife started to scream once more. I set her down, and several Spanish-speaking tourists came to assist us. One lady attempted to calm my baby while I splashed water on my wife's face to keep her conscious. I asked one of the tourists to quickly head to the reception and request an ambulance. It was an absolute nightmare—this could be confirmed by checking the surveillance cameras, which cover all angles. After a few minutes, a baggage porter arrived with a wheelchair, and the doctor showed up too, despite my insistence on needing an ambulance. My wife was in a state of lethargy, her eyes were rolling back, opening and closing simultaneously as we placed her in the wheelchair. The doctor, who seemed more like an assistant in a blue uniform, did not administer any treatment immediately or even examine her. Instead, he presented a paper and requested my signature for payment, claiming he would not attend to my wife without it. I was appalled at how medical personnel could fail to prioritize care for my wife in such a dire situation. He then shouted at the other tourists to step aside, requiring me to acknowledge the impending charges. I expressed firmly, "Please, look at my wife; she needs an ambulance right away." After I signed these paper, we brought her to the reception, were we were picked up by a black car to be brough to the hotel clinic which was just 200m away. I was than asked to pay £5 to this 30 seconds pick-up/drop-off. The assistant put my wife on a table, and she was seen by the doctor (brown uniform). The doctor started to call immediately the ambulance and he told me the ambulance will come in 15 minutes which makes me very upset as this could have been called at least 30 minutes earlier. The ambulance arrived and took my wife to the Veron Hospital where she had several infusions and check-up analyses. The results were that she had abundant of bacteria (Blastocystis hominis) found in the seafood she ate. She was stabilised and was released from the hospital at 2am in the morning Thursday 18th September. When she came back, she called me from the reception to go to pay $60 for the driver who picked her up, which was a guy dressed in soldier uniform and was writing ARMADA on his jacket. I asked the hotel receptionist to tell exactly in English how much is this, and he confirmed is $60. After I went to the room with my baby after my wife went to the hospital, I started the chat with TUI app, and I have been told to see the rep next day after 11:00 (Jeroen). Since Wednesday afternoon until we left on Friday we stayed only inside the room, we all three had diarrhoea and had no appetite at all. We just drank plenty of water. We asked the reception for some special food, which initially they refused and asked us to go to the restaurant, and after my insistence they brough in the end just some bread and processed food and we threw it in the bin (the exact opposite food we need to). We had the worst holiday ever and we asked to live earlier on Thursday 18th September back in the UK, but apparently there were no UK flights. P.S.: The huge bug in the bathroom on my last day before checkout I simply put it in toilet paper and threw it outside as my wife hates them. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. NEVER EVER RETURNING TO THIS HOTEL. If you still want to go, just pay attention at the food you eat, especially the seafood and big bugs in the bathrooms. The hotel management is all corrupted and TUI did not involved as they should. Date of stay: 12/9/25 - 1/9/25, room 1704 (family with a 14 months old child)

  Nov 25, 2025
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  Ok.. but wouldn't go back.

  Just come back from 2 weeks all inclusive from here. We was in room 605. Room was dated and needed repair work. Toilet didn't flush properly, drying hangers hanging off the wall Fan sounds like a jet engine after running it for a hour and we clearly had a ants nest somewhere in the room. They were everywhere. Not something that's really the hotels fault, but we was eaten alive from mosquitos also. Usually when sleeping over night and waking up the next day covered in bites. Entertainment for me personally was rubbish. We did see some good acts over the 2 weeks but ill give you my honest input. 1. No one really wants to play on different riu resorts. Its boring 2. Your Internet isnt good enough to support that many people playing kahoot or bingo. 3. Your screen on stage is knackered.. its full of dead pixels and looks rubbish. 4. Advertisements constantly trying to push other riu hotels. Once is enough. Not every day. Food. Okay. Biggest issue with all inclusive. The food was terrible. Im not a fussy eater and the other 11 people we went on holiday with aren't either. But the food quality is poor. Its quantity over quality. That bad that for the 2 weeks i was there. My stomach or the toilet wasn't the same when I left (to put it bluntly) Majority of the holiday I went days without eating from fear from being sick. Also.. everything is so dam salty.. why?? Genuinely disappointed. Only restraunt that was okay was the steak house. Staff overall were helpful and friendly. Can't fault that side of things to be honest. Im glad I went, but I wouldn't go back to Rep dom anytime soon.

  Nov 21, 2025
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  My Review of Hotel Riu Bambu – Punta Cana

  1. Room, Hotel & Lobby From the outside, the hotel looks impressive, but the inside tells a different story. The lobby is very big, but nothing special or memorable. The entertainment on the Riu Stage is extremely limited and honestly quite boring – mostly bingo every night, with a few other shows that are not engaging or exciting. The room itself was a major disappointment. It felt very old, worn out and generally dirty. When we first arrived, the bed sheets were stained and unclean. Even though housekeeping came every day, the sheets still remained dirty throughout our stay. Overall, the room condition was far below what you would expect from a resort of this brand. ⸻ 2. Swimming Pool The pool area is decent and looks good, but we barely used it because we preferred the beach. The towels provided for the pool were stained as well. Even when exchanging for a “new” towel, many of them were still visibly dirty. ⸻ 3. Beach The beach is the highlight of the entire stay. The water is a beautiful blue, and the sand is soft and clean. Even though the weather can affect the water, the beach itself is stunning. ⭐ I would give the beach a solid 5 stars. ⸻ 4. Staff Some of the staff members are genuinely kind and helpful. However, those in higher-level positions were rude and unapproachable. When we asked for bottled water to take on an excursion, we were told they didn’t have any—even though they clearly did. It was also upsetting to see how the workers such as cleaners and bar staff were treated. They work over 10 hours a day without proper breaks and earn around $300 per month. They appeared overworked and treated poorly. ⸻ 5. Excursions Be cautious when booking excursions. People on the beach will try to overcharge you significantly. Do NOT book through beach vendors. Always book excursions directly from the hotel. Prices may be a bit higher, but you can negotiate safely and avoid scams. Bring cash whenever possible—card payments come with additional taxes and make negotiating harder. If you want to buy cigarettes, book a taxi through the hotel. They will take you to a petrol station and bring you back for free. Prices per pack are around $7–$9. ⸻ 6. Food The food was extremely disappointing—cold, unappetising and, in some cases, unhygienic. On several occasions, I even found bugs in the dishes. It was honestly the worst food experience I have ever had at a hotel. ⸻ ⭐ Overall Rating Although the beach and excursions were amazing, the hotel itself—rooms, food, cleanliness, entertainment and management—was extremely poor. 👉 My overall score for Hotel Riu Bambu is: 0/5

  Nov 19, 2025
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  Good cheap hotel, Foam party a must!!

  What works well Check out the vlogs on Taits Travels on YouTube Beach & location * It’s right on a beautiful stretch of white‐sand beach at Playa Arena Gorda — genuinely a good spot for beach time. * The resort is large and offers multiple pools and decent grounds to wander. * For a budget‐friendly all‐inclusive, you do get good value in terms of “what you’re paying for” (especially compared with ultra luxury). Fun / lively atmosphere * If you’re after a more active, social, party‐friendly resort, this one delivers. The swim‐up bar and daily entertainment cater to people who want more than just “quiet and calm.” * Staff are frequently praised for friendliness (though consistency varies). * Foam parts are a must do!! What could be better Rooms & maintenance * The rooms are described as dated, with decor that hasn’t been modernised in many cases. * Maintenance issues have been flagged: outlets not working, furniture worn, some complaints about cleanliness and upkeep. Food & drink * Many guests say the buffet food is average at best. The à‐la‐carte restaurants and speciality options don’t always deliver. * Drinks are included (all‐inclusive) but often bottom‐shelf liquor — which may not match what you could expect at a higher‐tier resort. Cleanliness & service consistency * Multiple reviews cite issues with cleanliness (pools not cleaned thoroughly, public areas messy) and inconsistent service levels. * Some serious complaints too — for example bed‐bugs, hygiene issues raised on forums. > “I woke up covered in bed bug bites … They moved us to another room … new bites even in the second room.” Reddit Crowd & noise * If you prefer a very quiet, upscale, “tranquil resort” feel, this might not be ideal. There’s a more energetic, party‐vibe side. The noise level can be higher. Who is this resort good for, and who might want to look elsewhere Good for: * Groups of friends or couples looking for fun, beach time + social atmosphere, who are okay with a resort that isn’t ultra‐luxury. * Travellers with a moderate budget who want “all inclusive” convenience and plan to spend most time enjoying the beach/pool rather than scrutinising every hotel detail. * Families with children — there are kid‐friendly amenities as well. riu.com Maybe skip or upgrade if you: * Expect five‐star luxury, pristine boutique accommodation, gourmet dining and ultra high service standards. * Are looking for peace and quiet rather than a party‐oriented, lively resort. * Have very high expectations for room modernity, maintenance, top‐tier food and drink brands. Bottom line Riu Bambu delivers a solid if not spectacular all‐inclusive beach resort experience in Punta Cana. If you go in with realistic expectations — good beach, fun vibe, moderate luxury — you’ll likely enjoy yourself. But if your standards are very high (boutique lodging, exceptional gourmet food, flawless service) then you might find it falls short in certain areas. If I were giving it a score (out of 10) for a typical stay: around 6.5-7/10, maybe higher if you prioritise fun + beach over luxury.

  Nov 11, 2025