RIU Bachata

Clients recently returned from the RIU Bachata in Puerto Plata. Here's what they had to say:

You couldn't have directed us to a nicer place. When we registered, we were given wrist bands to wear all week. We were the only resort of the three to have them. The days were sunny 23 - 25C everyday, with constant warm trade winds blowing which made the temperature very comfortable. 5 minutes of rain each of the first two days and rain overnight for two nights. The nights went down to 22 - 23C and were perfectly comfortable no matter what you wore.

The room: was clean, with two 3/4 beds pushed together, T.V. with 100 channels (about 6 were English speaking, the rest Spanish), sliding glass doors to a balcony with 2 chairs and a table and a drying rack for bathing suits and towels. Lots of closet space, a safe and a mini bar with four huge bottles of alcohol (rum, vodka, etc.) They provided pop; diet and regular, club soda and 2 - 4 litre jugs of drinkable water in the fridge; those were changed every two days. The water was not drinkable in the rooms but you could shower and wash your hands with it. The bathroom consisted of a toilet, sink and tub/shower all in one room, all finished in tile. The floor in the rest of the room was all tile as well.

The beach: was kept clean by the staff, there were lots of lounge chairs, LOTS of SHADE (mango and palm trees mostly). The washroom at the beach had an attendant who kept the toilets clean and the floors mopped of excess water and sand. When you left the washroom she was there to give you some hand sanitizer. There was a chicken and pig roast buffet style on the beach with lots of entertainment to keep people participating. Also on the beach, there was soccer, bocce ball, horseshoes and volleyball on the go constantly. There was a "mini club" for kids with their own club house and lots of activities to keep them busy. According to one of the Recreation staff who put on the activities, the part of the beach where we always sat, which was closest to the gazebo, is for people who like to be quiet and undisturbed by the activities going on further down the beach. We figured the beach to be about a mile long one way which took you from our resort to the end of the Mambo resort at the other end. We walked it up and back 3 times a day either on the beach or the walkway which meandered all long the three resorts.

The restaurants: were fabulous. The one by the pool was open for a buffet style lunch made up of sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, pork chops, steaks, potatoes, veggies, salads, ice cream, deserts, soups and buns/bread, wine, juice/pop and beer etc. Dinner was a la carte with a set menu and reservations were required. There were no walls, so no matter where you sat, you were eating outside, which we loved. There was a staff member standing at each entrance to give each guest some hand sanitizer.

The main dinning hall was huge, sat around 800 people plus, well decorated, bright and clean with white linen table cloths and napkins and fake red roses in a white vase on each table. There was always fruit carved and made into big birds or other animals as decorations placed around the room. The walls and ceiling were decorated with stencils of flowers and birds and very colourful. The floors were tile and there was always serving staff keeping the tables clean and maintenance staff picking up anything that hit the floor. The majority of the seating was inside, but there were sliding glass doors around the walls that were kept open so the breeze could come in. There was seating for 150 plus outside and we were able to sit out there the majority of the time. You could sit where you wanted when you wanted. The food was presented buffet style and there was an outstanding selection for all tastes, all cooked just right. They did a good job at making a huge room into a very intimate setting. Again, there was always a staff member standing outside the washroom on the way to the dinning room to give each person hand sanitizer.

We didn't spend much time at the pool but we did walk through and stopped to watch whatever happened to be going on at the moment. The rec staff always had some competition or games going on the whole time. There was always music playing in the background. Clean beach/swim towels were available everyday at the pool.

The staff always said hi in Spanish no matter where we went. If they asked how we were, in Spanish, we asked them how they were, in Spanish. They were very surprised that we tried and they laughed at our bad Spanish accents but went out of their way to help us learn their language or with anything else they could do for us. That was fun.

There is "Caribbean Street" which is a city block of little shops to purchase souvenirs. The prices were quite high but we were able to barter for lower prices in some cases and in most shops we could buy our goods with Canadian money because it was pretty well on par with the U.S. dollar.