i thought the RIU MAMBO was a brilliant hotel and holiday and would reccomend it to anyone who is looking for a sunny holiday were you can relax or do activities.
i am 18 and went on holiday with my family , my dad mam and 5 yr old brother and i had never been on a all inclusive holiday so wasnt really sure what to expect but i was pleasantly suprised.
i was never bored even before i made friends, the animation team (entertainers) work extremely hard all day long and make u feel very welcome and try to include you in all the games they provide throught out the day.
the nightlife here is also very good with a different show everynight for 2 weeks you are very unlikely to see the same show twice unless you visit an other hotel one evening and they are showing it that night. the nightclub in the resort was very good with a variety of music but discotours were done twice a week to the local club cocobongo in the neighbouring resort and is just for a small cost but is highly recommended.
the rooms were very good, they had everything you need for the time you spend in them, beds tv shower bath n a balcony, the maids keep them exceptionally clean and always leave a towel design for you to return to e,g, a swan
the food was gorgeous and ther was something to pick from for everyone with different things on offer everynight and day. i dont eat alot of different food bt i always found something to eat!
the drinks also wer lovely da waiters were more than happy to make anything you wanted and ther was a different special for you to try everyday, they only thing to be carfeul of is it you have spirits in your drink they put alot in so it doesnt take much to feel tipsy so jus watch how much they put in n ask if you would like less!!
my little brother also throughtly enjoyed the holiday and i would recommend it to familys with all age children ther was a kids club on twice a day with childrens disco's most nights in the mambo, also we noticed that most children wer at the mambo and not many at the other to hotels, the kids club offered different trips, including the zoo and a beach walk and did different themed days to keep the children occupied!
I am returning at the end of the year with people i met on the holiday so obv would highly recommend it to anyone!!!

A quick review but feel free to ask me questions.

Rooms - not so great but you are only there to sleep. Maids did a wonderful job. Beds are uncomfortable as mentioned but after the bar you don't notice!

Food- I though the buffets was better than the ala cartes. I liked breakfast the best but hubby liked dinner the best. Never went hunger. Food was good and no tummy problems. Did get a bit old after a few days

Drinks - Watered down, some are not with alcohol unless you ask. I'm not a big drinker so I didn't mind.

Pool- very nice until the animaction team comes and plays music. I never want to hear those two songs again! Or trademark catchphrases of the head guy. This was great for families just wasn't our scene.

Beach- Great. Not the white sand on the Caribbean sea but still beauttiful. Small rocks didn't need water shoes. Paddleboats and kayaks were fun. Hubby loved the topless women.

Excursions - Parasailing boat was broken so I didnt get to do that. Did horseback riding through Scuba Caribe $30 pp for 3 hours. Not bad for the price but the beach was dirty and the guide kind of creepy. Outback Safari , $79 pp was the best one we did! Jesse, Scooby and Julian were all great. The boogie boarding was awesome. Also did the Banana Republic Catamaran $60 pp, was okay expecting more snorkling time. Took 2 hours to get to reef. I was also expecting the boat with a water slide as hubby isnt a snorkeler but was laughed at when I asked. The boat had been broken for 2 months. Rum and beer was free flowing. Our last trip was hiring a taxi and guide for $30 total to take us on a city tour. Pedro took us the Brugal, cigar and all other places we asked such as stores, lunch etc.

I also get a massage from Elizabeth on the last hut on the Mambo side beach huts. It was $30 for an hour and by far the best massage I have had even compared to the high class spas here in NYC.

Staff- Most of the staff was very nice but there a front desk guy hassling us for tips. Wilton at the front desk was great and made sure I had a oceanview building as I requested. Maids were great as were bartenders. Chefs and waitstaff were also very nice. Scuba Caribe staff was a bit aloof.


Overall it was a good vacation for under $3000! I wont be back but I would recommend it for families on a budget or a girls/guys weekend.

After spending a year alone with my husband in Iraq, all I wanted to do was sit by the pool or crystal clear, blue water on a lounge chair and veg out. This trip was nothing like that. The price of the trip was amazing. That was the deciding factor for us, $1400 for 7 nights including plane tickets.

Check in and first day:
We paid $50 each for a hotel transfer in an airconditioned bus. We were greeted by many people out of customs offering us rides but we just said "no" and looked for the sign for our guy. The bus was very nice. I figured out why they include curtains on the bus windows because if you are afraid of dying in a car.... don't look. People drive all over the roads... it can give you a heart attack to see a huge truck coming right at you only to get back over at the last second.
We checked in and ended up in a room all the way on the other side of the complex.... next to the staff wash room and dorms. It stunk as well as it was next to a farm. If you get building 26 ask for a room change. We requested a change and while they could not provide that day, they did give us a new room later the following day. It was right next to the main building, pool, and other places so it was great. We were definitely happy.

As other's stated, the air conditioning in the rooms sucked. I don't know what it was but it was ok during the day (some days) and then at night got very hot and humid. I am a huge air conditioning person so it bothered me. Other people not so much.

The beds were horrid. I do mean horrid. They were two full size beds on casters shoved together so don't plan on cuddling too much unless you want to end up on the floor during the middle of the night.

The water in the showers left a film in my hair so even when I tried to do it it felt like it was still dirty. Make sure you use the plugs in the tub at night. My husband woke up to a 3 inch cock roach in the tub he figured it climbed up the drain... once we pluged the drains when they weren't in use there weren't anymore. This is not a big thing.. no one else reported this nor did we see any walking around the resort.

The beach was very dissapointing. It was rocky and the water was no where near blue or clear. A lot of seaweed even on the Mambo side. There were a lot of ants on the beach so be careful. And locals do come up and bug you about getting your hair braided, etc. We only spent one day on the beach.

The pools were awesome. They were never crowded, even when they were doing water aerobics or snorkling lessons you had so much room to do whatever you wanted. Lots of lounge chairs everywhere.

Drinks were tasty although not strong at all, I do suspect them of watering down the bottles of alcohol. I drank a lot and only got a small buzz by the end of the night. Even after 3 "shooters" I felt nothing.

The food was great. If you are a foodie, then you would not like it but I am very picky and found so much I could eat. It was repeatative but not terribly. You'll want to try the Italian and Steakhouse "restaurants" once but it'll get old after that. The food there was good too. The snack bar was a joke it had burgers and fries. Again I am very picky and hated both because they were very grissly (spell). I hate biting into bone while eating something soft. yuck.
If you are a seafood lover, you will be dissapointed, they had some fish and calamarie but that was it. No crab, lobster, shrimp, etc... not even at the special restaurants.

We did an excursion on the Tip Top catermaran for $79 each. It was so great!! They said the boat can fit 75 people on it. If there were more than 30 people I would have not liked it at all. We had about 20 and it was perfect. While driving out of the shore, you can lounge on the nets or just chill out. No drinking until after the snorkling of course. The crew played music and was very entertaining. The snorkling wasn't the best. It was just about 50 foot deep water and only had one thing of coral. you could see about 100 yards away, very blue water, which is a sign of awesome coral reefs... I don't know why they didn't take us there. You could not travel very far... they had us roped off haha.

Back on the boat they took us to a very small village of about 50 locals. It was very primative there and they offered you cocolocos which were so refreshing... nothing like a freezing cold fresh coconut with a straw in it and a splash of Brugal rum.

We treked through the village and ate a dominican lunch of rice and beans and grilled chicken... there was also some potato salad stuff but I did not eat that. It was awesome! So good!

You could either swim to and from shore to the boat or you could take the dingy... I am not in the best of shape and I chose to swim. It was a nice swim. Take your time and you'll be fine. It felt good that I could accomplish that.

The other excursion we did was the ATVs... we went through our travel rep and it was through the local town. It took us to a very very dirty beach where people were harrassing me to buy stuff from him. He didnt realize I could understand him when he was talking about me after I said "no" to him.
They then took us to a very dirty river where the locals were eating lunch. You have to realize that these people don't believe in trash cans. The whole country is full of litter so don't be surprised.
After talking with other people, the other ATV trip which was through the Scuba Shop (located on the meringue beach) was much nicer. I had a very very fun time as it was my first time on an ATV, but I would try the Scuba Shops as they take you through the forrest (which was the site of the film Jurrasic Park's scene where they are flying over the island).

Now for the animation team... pleave give these people the credit they deserve. I was never once approached to come up and do whatever with them... if you didn't wanna go they left you alone... they could tell who was going to be annoyed and who wasn't. They get there about 9am and are there until 1am most days. And never have I seen them without energy and smiles.
The shows were very corny and often annoying but whatever.

If you like it the nightclub was nice... there wre a lot of people on the dance floor and you didn't have to wait a long time for drinks.

I would think this would be a great vacation for families esspecially teen agers. Although they do have what looks like a great kids program, I am pretty sure you have to pay extra for it. I could be wrong.

I wanted a quiet vacation where we would be pampered every second of the day and this was not it. There were no waiters getting drinks, no 24 hour food, no room service, and no crystal blue water. I did not like the city of Puerto Plata and the people were very pushy... if I met one more person who said their name was "Mr. Cheapy Cheapy" I would have screamed.

Again, this place would be great for a family with teens or younger kids. I would not recommend this for older people, young couples, and I did not see may singles at all.

My sister and I just returned from a 5 night stay at the Riu Mambo. Nothing but good things to say. We enjoyed our stay. The food was fantastic. The pool and beach and scenery were great. The staff was friendly. Only negatives were that the bed was not that comfortable and our request for a closer building wasnt given to the hotel prior to our checkin. The bathroom and shower were great--the shower was great. The manager, Susy is fantastic. She gave us a new room which we loved and vouchers for massages at the spa! We booked a city tour through Mel Tours at the end of the beach which was HORRIBLE. Upon our return home, we realized we were not taken to see the lighthouse or the real amber museum. Our tour guide didnt show us any of the architecture and the fort was supposedly closed on the day of our tour. DONT USE MEL TOURS. I feel cheated. Otherwise, the trip was great and the DR is beautiful as are the people. We will be returning, perhaps to Punta Cana or Santo Domingo (to view the architecture).