Riu Republica

This was our 3rd vacation at this resort. We stayed in room 3089 and had a lovely view of courtyard , the ocean and beautiful sunsets.The room was always clean and well kept with good sup ply of cold curves. The steak house and buffet offered a wonderful selection of food and drinks. The grounds were groomed and in beautiful condition. There was lots of room at any pools and lots of chairs. The jerk chicken shop was a big hit with good barbecue food. Special mention to Wandy and Gregorie at Coco,s beach bar. Great friendship from great guys. The beach is beautiful although wind and surf. A special mention to our policeman amigo Henry. The staff were all very friendly and helpful from Omayra , Fausto, Isaura and Catherine. Thanks to Junior , Jorge and Persiauo in the buffet. Wonderful vacation.

We have been to other RIU hotels in Punta Cana numerous times. This year we decided to give a RIU Republica a try. The resort is large and gives a feeling of two resorts joined in one. The newer part is farther away from the beach but not a problem. Maximum 5-10 minute walk from the farthest part, and there is a golf cart taking people to the beach if they don't feel like walking. Overall we enjoyed our vacation. There was always enough space in the restaurants and on the beach, no towel shortage. All the staff was courteous helpful and smiling. The food in the main buffet restaurant was excellent and had a lot of choices. We did not go to any of the specialty restaurants even that there was not a problem to get in, and without reservations. Most were buffet anyway. There was also a jerk chicken shack for lunches at the entrance to the beach with very good food. The entertainment during the day was just OK. Evenings were good and bad depending on the night. It was hard to find out what is on, and there were two theatres to choose from. After few days, we discovered the there is a program inside the elevator but we walked up and down the stairs. Not a good place to post it. The best part of this resort is the variety of everything, and many choices how to spend your day. Three pools (2 with swim up bars) in older section and another three in the newer ones. All with different atmosphere: rowdy, quiet, Latin etc. For each its own. Latin pool was our favorite. There were also huge waterslides in the newer section. Trips to other RIU resorts were offered twice a week to join pool parties there, and some people enjoyed this. We have seen it in the past so we did not go. The average age of guests was younger than in other resorts. But there were also people in their 60s and 70s also enjoying themselves including "body sliding" on the swim up bar counter! The theatre has very good sound system, but the stage is far back and has a low ceiling. The layout is poorly designed so theatre becomes crowded quite fast. The second theatre is much smaller and only good for some live music performances. The beach is great as everywhere on this 20 km strip. However the beach was crowded over with palapas so a bit squashy. Seems the resort planted some palm trees there so in future it can open up and still provide shade, but this may take another 10 years to happen. The waves were very strong and there was some undercurrent - not for weak swimmers. The beach was actually the weakest point of the resort due to its separation by dunes and crowdedness. We will definitely return to this resort if the price is "right".