Hotel Riu Palace Punta Cana - All Inclusive

You come here for the full resort routine rather than a small hotel with a timetable pinned to the wall. Hotel Riu Palace Punta Cana is an all-inclusive resort with 676 rooms, four floors and direct access to Arena Gorda beach, giving you plenty of room to make the day as active or as lazy as you like.

The practical advantage is that English and Spanish are spoken by the hotel staff, so sorting out dinner, a taxi or a request at reception should be straightforward. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel, and the setting combines a private beach, gardens, pools, restaurants, bars and evening entertainment without asking you to leave the grounds every time you want something to do.

This is a place for couples, friends and families who want the hotel itself to carry much of the holiday. You can swim, eat, take a massage, play billiards or simply find a sun lounger and let the Caribbean do the heavy lifting.

The hotel sits in Bávaro, in the Dominican Republic, directly on Playa de Arena Gorda. The beach is white sand, with sun loungers, parasols and beach facilities close at hand; there is no shuttle-and-sandbag operation between your room and the sea.

Bávaro city centre is about 3.7 miles away, while the surrounding area brings Arena Gorda Beach, Iberostar Golf Course and White Sands Golf Course into the picture. A golf course is about 1.9 miles away, and the hotel can help arrange excursions when you want a change of scenery.

Punta Cana International Airport is a 30- to 45-minute drive away. Once you arrive, the resort gives you a self-contained base on the coast, with shops on site, free parking and a taxi-booking service for trips beyond the gates.

The room choice is mainly about how you want to sleep rather than finding a completely different style of accommodation. Double beds suit couples, while twin beds make sense for two friends travelling together. The junior suites keep the layout relatively simple; the superior junior suites and double suites are the step-up choices when you want the room category itself to do a little more of the work.

Air conditioning matters in this part of the Caribbean, particularly when the day has involved heat, salt and more sun than planned. Rooms include a minibar, cable television, an alarm clock, a hairdryer, a bath or shower and toiletries, with private bathrooms across the available categories. Some room equipment varies by category, so it is worth checking the exact room card before booking rather than assuming every feature appears everywhere.

The details that make the night easier are the unglamorous ones: a minibar for cold drinks, a proper bathroom after the beach, and air conditioning when you are ready to stop pretending that a warm breeze counts as sleep. Selected room categories also include a safe, telephone, mirror and towels.

All-inclusive is the central idea here, with breakfast, lunch and dinner covered within the resort’s dining offer. Breakfast comes as a buffet or à la carte, while the restaurants include themed settings built around Italian, Spanish, fusion and grill cooking. Some of the dining takes place on terraces or by the beach, which is a useful arrangement when changing into formal evening wear was never part of the plan.

Buffets include live cooking stations, so the plate need not be decided before you have seen what is actually being cooked. There is also a 24-hour room-service option for the evenings when your legs have voted against another walk across the resort.

Five bars spread the drinking stops around the property, and coffee, tea, bottled water and the main meal service are available as part of the hotel’s food and drink offer. The important caveat with all-inclusive is the same one everywhere: check which meal details belong to your booking before you arrive, rather than treating the label as a substitute for reading the reservation.

Four outdoor pools sit among the palms, with a further indoor pool and a water park for days when the sea is not the only place you want to get wet. Beach loungers, parasols and pool or beach towels keep the logistics pleasantly dull, which is exactly what you want from a day with no ambitions beyond moving from shade to water.

The Spa & Wellness centre offers massages and facial treatments, while a sauna, steam bath and fitness facilities cover the more structured ways to recover or keep moving. There is also a solarium terrace, a garden, billiards, tennis and a nightclub when the evening needs more than dinner and an early night.

For a change of pace, the hotel offers cycling and cultural excursions, including trips to Saona Island and cenotes. Boat excursions are available too. Families get a kids’ club, children’s play areas, a games room, babysitting and a children’s pool, so younger guests have their own programme while adults attempt to finish a coffee while it is still hot.

Check-in runs from 3 pm and check-out is at midday, with reception open around the clock. Express check-in and check-out, luggage storage, concierge assistance and excursion support help keep arrival and departure from becoming the least relaxing parts of the holiday.

You can arrive by car and use the hotel’s free parking. A taxi-booking service is available for local journeys, while the airport transfer itself takes around 30 to 45 minutes by road. Shops, a souvenir shop, an ATM and laundry and dry-cleaning services are available on site; some laundry and dry-cleaning services may carry an additional charge.

The property has lifts, wheelchair-accessible facilities and an accessible restaurant. An on-site infirmary is available, and the hotel accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Express. The resort also has conference and event facilities, although registered guests are the only people permitted to access the rooms.

The hotel holds Ecostars certification and combines that with practical measures rather than a slogan on a wall. Its environmental programme includes recycling, information about the local ecosystem and the use of certified electricity from renewable sources.

Water consumption is being reduced as part of the property’s operating approach. That matters in a resort of this size: small operational decisions add up when hundreds of rooms, pools, restaurants and landscaped areas are running every day.