Riu Playa Blanca - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5752 reviews

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  A smaller Riu

  You get what you pay for facilities wise. The Riu in The DR cost more for a reason. Still a nice resort (7 mins from the airport) with 3 Ala carte (line up) bacon at breakfast a good selection at the general buffet. Chairs at the pool that get shade all morning are very limited and you better be up early to get one. Smoking in designated spots was enforced politely by the staff. Staff were very great. Juan gets it done.

  Jan 25, 2026
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  poor resort

  we stayed 9 nights at this resort and were very dissapointed at the service little to no drink service at the pool or nightly music. the shows are late and not worth staying up for as they are the same old song and dance. I asked for sugar free soda and reg coffee in my room 3 times also the dishs and coffee cups were not clean all the time at the bufett. resort is getting old and they need to fix things not just paint over them. not enough chairs in the resort for everyone and food signs in bufett are worn out and not readable. Panama weather and beach were great I will go back again, but to a differant resort and use a differant airline as Copa had us wait about 3 hours for our luggage after we landed in Boston I reached out to them and so far no responce! I would give the riu Playa Blanca 2.5-3 stars at best and i have stayed in alot of riu's in differant countries

  Jan 20, 2026
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  Fantastic resort

  From the moment we arrived until the sad moment we had to leave it was a fantastic experience. Its a short 7 minute ride from the airport and check in was a breeze. The room was bright and very clean. Nicely stocked mini bar with 4 bottles of booze and beer,water and pop in the fridge. I recommend having the app so if you need anything, you request it and they quickly deal with it. The staff here work very hard and are more than happy to please. They decorated our room for my wife's birthday and it was a wonderful surprise for her. The food was fantastic. You will not go hungry. The buffet changes themes every night. They need more signs at the buffet explaining what everything is,and the ones they have are faded so hard to read. Asian,Italian and steakhouse are also fantastic but you need to line up early to get a table or wait until one becomes available. The sports bar has excellent coffee and is open 24 hours for snacks and drinks. Entertaining nightlife, and activities all day long. Monkey island was a hoot and the Buenaventure golf course is top notch. Bring your own balls and glove from home or $$. The ladies enjoyed the massage at the spa. Pools and beach are great but they have to do something about the ignorant people who put towels on the beds at 5 am and go back to bed. The vendors on the beach are not pushy and very reasonable. You can rent a jet ski or water taxi on the beach. Taxi stand at the front door is handy. $5 to and from the grocery store and dollar store down the road. The Lagoon next door has a restaurant called Calla that is open to the public. Bring a towel and enjoy the massive pool. All in all,a solid 4.5 star from me. I had a very pleasant time here and miss it already. I will be back for 2 weeks the next time.

  Jan 18, 2026
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  Will definitely be returning!!

  We just returned from a week and I don't understand some of the negative reviews. The staff go out of their way to make your stay fun. We sat in the same section every morning for breakfast because our server was amazing. The steakhouse dinner was so good!! The bartenders at the swim up bar are so much fun and love to experiment with the drinks lol. The lifeguards are very strict with the no children in this pool and since we were traveling without children this was appreciated lol. The only small complaint I have is that the food on the buffet could definitely be hotter but still tasted good and for the most part there was variety. The rooms are clean and staff is constantly cleaning around entire resort including grounds keepers. I will definitely be returning!!

  Jan 13, 2026
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  I would give it 4 1/2 stars

  We had a fabulous relaxing week at this Riu. I give this resort 4 1/2 stars. Everything was very good. Could it be a little better yes but I'm not complaining. Food was good, resort and rooms were very clean. The 2 most important for us. We were there for New Years and they did a beautiful job with the food and entertainment. (Thankyou) I was also pleasantly surprised by the beach. It was a nice walk for some exercise.

  Jan 09, 2026