My husband and another couple just returned from the Riu Bachata on June 27..what a gorgeous place. This was our first trip to DR and we will be back here for sure. The hotel was clean and the staff was very friendly. The casino is rather small. Just remember the house always wins. The amount of variety that they offered for food was out of this world. The breakfasts were the best. We liked the steakhouse on site but stuck with the buffet main dining area most of the trip. The beach was nice and peaceful. It was a bit rocky on the bottom. We weren't able to snorkle too much due to the current and the conditions from a storm that came in the day we arrived. My husband did not mind the topless women that were here and there along the beach and pool area. The drinks and food were plenty. The room we had was beautiful too. The rooms are very quiet and comforting. The in room bar and fridge was a nice feature. There was always an activity going on and the swim up pool was really fun. I had a massage on the beach in a little hut and it was so relaxing. Def. recommend that. We highly recommend the Riu Bachata. Nothing beats an all inclusive resort.

My husband and I stayed at the Rui Bachata May 17 - 23, 2008. I highly recommend the hotel, with one cautionary note: the ONLY place we used our credit card (in the DR or at home) was at the Renova spa at the Bachata. We just received our statement, and we have hundreds of dollars of fraudulent charges on the card. I read that someone else had the same experience. The massage was excellent, however.

Otherwise, we enjoyed the trip immensely. The food was, as others have mentioned, somewhat average, but certainly plentiful. My husband, who is a picky eater, found the options repetitive, but there was usually something interesting for me to try. By the end of the week I was inventing my own dishes from the food provided.

The rooms are fine and no, the bedding wasn't exactly luxurious, but the rooms were always well-cleaned and we got fun towel animals daily!

The service was uniformly excellent from every single person on the property, including bartenders, maintenance, housekeeping, restaurants, etc. Everyone was always welcoming and happy. I didn't feel any anti-American sentiment at all, as was mentioned in some other reviews. It helps to speak a little Spanish, or even try.

One suggestion: do try to go to the Italian restaurant and the Steakhouse, preferably toward the end of the week. It was a nice change to sit down and be served, and the food was a little better than at the buffet.

The entertainment, well....the Animacion team works superhard, but it's sort of a mixed bag of okay and not so good. We most enjoyed the International Dance night, but that was mostly because of the participants. Hilarious! It's worth checking out the other hotels for entertainment. We found evenings at the Merengue to be the most fun.

One other suggestion: on the weekends the pools got VERY crowded with young children. We like children, but they were mostly unsupervised and very rambunctious and loud. If you can avoid the weekends, do so.

This was our first experience with an all-inclusive resort, and we did enjoy it and find it to be a good value.

Having stayed in multiple all-inclusive in the Carribean region I was familiar with the standard set-up, activities, etc. offered at such resorts. I traveled with children (11, 15) and parent (69 years old).

Eating - though the speciality restaurants did not meet the "best" that i have experienced in the past, the routine menu at the buffets certainly provided enough variety and American food to satisfy my children and parent (used to American food). The Mexican theme night at the buffet was by far the best meal, providing all that could be expected for such, even a Mariachi band - thumbs up.

Beaches - given the extensive European clientle, there was some topless sunbathing on the beaches. However, we found the direct access to the entire beach for all three connected resorts excellent. Though others pointed out the "rocky" terrain of the beach at the Bachata, my kids and myself never had to wear water shoes to wade into the waters. We thoroughly enjoyed that we could put on a pair of swim goggles and snorkel 10 feet after entering the water. We always saw multiple tropical fish in front of our faces, which was a great experience for all. There was also always plenty of chaise lounges available at the beach for suntanning.

Rooms - we found the rooms to be medium size, so they were acceptable. The air conditioning worked perfect during our stay also. They do provide a 2-gallon jug of purified water for teeth-brushing, etc. as the sink water is not potable for drinking. They do offer potable drinking water at all the soda dispensers throughout the resort.

Pools - Staying at the Bachata, the multiple pools were excellent. We did have to find chaise lounges around the pool area, but this was to expected during prime time in the afternoon.

Entertainment - nightime shows were average compared to the other resorts I have stayed, but certainly watchable. The open-air theater was nice, with plenty of seating (tables/chairs).

Grounds - well maintained as in other Domican Republic resorts I have stayed

Staff/Front Desk - We had no problem with check-in and check-out as this was a fairly swift process.

Overall, especially for the price of the trip, I would certainly recommend the Riu Bachata (I have previously traveled to 10 other all-inclusive resorts throughout the Carribean region).

We just got back from the resort and had a wonderful time! My experience was almost exactly as the last review. Food was so-so but plentiful, drinks were great and easily accessible and the grounds were kept amazingly beautiful. The staff was helpful, but definately hard to find. They need much more front staff help. It was always packed and slow. The other problem was their was no air conditioning in the room and no iron! We did not know we could rent one. But on the plus side it was really a great resort for the price! We would definately go back and had a great time while we were there. Would highly recomend if you have kids and are going for an extended weekend visit!