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Dominican Republic Hotel, Resort & Villa Reviews
RIU Taino 02/03/2004
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
My husband and I (late 40's) just returned from two weeks at the RIU Taino. We traveled with Apple Vacations and flew out of Detroit, MI. We were there from January 17 until the 31st. This is our third trip to a Dominican Republic RIU resort, but our first trip to Punta Cana. We will definitely return.
The flight down was uneventful, with the small added treat of mimosas served with breakfast. Arrival and clearance through customs was very easy and we were on our way to the resort in no time. This was our first time arriving at a resort in daylight, and although leaving home at 2 a.m. is painful, we much preferred a daytime arrival.
The resort is paradise - truly the most beautiful beach we have ever seen. Once again, I arrived home with photos of a fabulous pool that we never set one foot into - we loved the beach so much. We have been in Puerto Plata the last two years, and found this beach to be much more user friendly. The water was clear and mostly calm, and the sandy bottom made it wonderful to swim in. We were happy to be able to leave our water shoes in the room. We brought some bread every day (which we pilfered from the leftovers from breakfast tables near to ours), and fed the fish in the shallows. That was such fun.
We brought our own mask and snorkel, and swam out to the reef area just off shore every day. We saw so many fish, and even an octopus!
The service was perfect - lots to do if you were interested, but no-one made you crazy if you just wanted to relax and enjoy the sun. Our Apple rep - Modesto - did a great job with our orientation, and he was very helpful when our home-bound flight was slightly delayed. Thanks to our maid - Dania - our room (#513) was spotless every day - with beautiful towel sculptures and fresh flowers. Also, Willy - who brought us our after dinner drinks at the bar - he was so nice. Thank you especially to Cesar, who took such wonderful care of us at dinner every night - he remembered what we liked to drink, and was always so cheerful and friendly. This is the hallmark of this island - beautiful, friendly people. We appreciate the care, and concern - and it's so nice to have management stop by several times at dinner during our trip, just to see how things are going.
The food was incredible - loved Mexican night - great guacamole, Dominican night was great - Cafe Diablo! Oh, and those fabulous shrimp! Breakfast every day was such a treat - papaya smoothies and freshly made omelettes.
We did go off the resort to Capitan Cook's for dinner. That was really fun, and quite an adventure. The food was great - so fresh and really excellent seafood.
Neither my husband or I were sick - we were obsessively careful about the water, making sure to NEVER drink any from the taps, and even to make sure not to get any in our mouth in the shower. I had one day of feeling really dizzy and nauseated - but frankly, think I over did the sun. As soon as I returned to our room and laid down for a while, I was fine. It's easy to forget how hot it is, as there's always a nice breeze on the beach.
I went parasailing - that was incredible - we saw a whale from the boat - we were quite far out on the ocean, and even our boat drivers were quite excited to have seen him.
Overall, this resort is just perfect, not too big, so friendly, the grounds are lush and beautiful.
Lots of Europeans, which I think is just fascinating. It's great to just lay on the beach and listen to this swirl of different languages all around you. There is a lot of toplessness, but our feeling on that is - it's your vacation, do what you want. To the extremely rude woman who was walking around pointing a camera at the topless women - GROW UP! I hope you got a good shot, and realized that I was flipping you the bird! I guess it's nice to make someone's highlight reel!
A couple of tips:
Bring insulated mugs, preferably with a lid that you can slide closed. We do this every year, and not because we are huge drinkers - we just hate warm beer. This saved us so many trips to the bar, and reduces so much waste - we saw so many drinks poured out onto the sand because they had become warm. We would put some ice in the bottom of the mugs and have the bartenders fill it up with draft, and it would stay cold for hours - no beer poured out in the sand! And, we were careful to rinse the mugs in the bottled water everyday.
Bring LOTS of sunscreen - it was 85 F every day, and with the exception of 10 minutes of sprinkling rain one day, we had sun every single day.
Brink lots of U.S. singles for tipping. I left a gift bag (hair clips, school supplies, razors, Band-Aids, etc.) for the maid every day, along with a dollar. We tipped our waiter at dinner, and our breakfast waiter and some of the bartenders. When you think about how much you tipped, it's really a very small amount for the incredible service.
Nancy & Rob - Ontario, Canada
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