Riu Merengue Trip Report

February 13-21st 2004

I will attempt to make direct comparisons between the Riu’s in Puerto Plata and the Riu’s in Punta Cana. I will also give our order of preference including Secrets Excellence. It is important to note that the Riu’s in POP are the least expensive, with Secrets Excellence being nearly double the cost. Therefore, although I will attempt to do this, it is not fair to directly compare either Riu experience with Secrets Excellence.  This review is long so get comfy, buckle up, and consider yourself warned :).

Background: We are still a mid-thirties couple (although I’m close to breaking through to the other side lol). I’ve traveled quite extensively throughout the Caribbean. This was Chris’s second trip. Travel dates were February 13^th-21^st, 2004. Stayed at Riu Merengue. We used Funjet out of Detroit. Paid $759.00 pp plus tax for ‘winter break’ week. A very fair price indeed.

Funjet and Ryan International: Unfortunately I can not report a smooth uneventful flight. Approximately 30 minutes into the flight we heard a loud explosion/popping sound. Shortly afterward, GPS indicated we were turning around and heading back to Detroit. Captain explained that we had blown the compressor rendering the right engine useless and would be making an emergency landing. The captain did a wonderful job reassuring us that they ‘train for this type of thing’ and that the emergency and rescue vehicles which would be escorting our landing were merely a precautionary measure (rofl). I am very pleased to announce that we did in fact land safely. Funjet and Ryan International crew did an excellent job getting a new plane loaded and we were back in the air in approximately 1 hour (so amazingly, the whole episode only put us 2 hours behind schedule). Good thing, because most of the passengers were still in ‘shock’ and with a long delay I’m not sure how many would have boarded the new plane.

On the return trip, as we were boarding the buses our VIP representative Amanda informed us that our plane had yet to leave Detroit and we would be delayed approximately 4 hours. We stayed at the resort and enjoyed dinner and a show. Things could have been worse (getting stuck at the airport.) We finally left Puerto Plata at 4:00 a.m. Apparently, the plane in Detroit had “mechanical troubles” and a new plane had to be flown in from St. Louis. I must admit, that I have never experienced any fear of flying, but the return trip had me sitting on pins and needles. Considering everything, Funjet and Ryan did an excellent job accommodating us in spite of the difficulties, but I will think long and hard before booking a Ryan International flight in the future.

VIP Representative: I can not say enough good things about our VIP representative Amanda. Not only was she professional and courteous but she went far above the normal call of duty in arranging a local artist to come into the resort and paint a very special oil canvas painting of the Riu Bachata Gazebo (more on this in the proposal section of my web page). The painting is exquisite to say the very least. Amanda even stopped at a local supermarket on her way home from work to pick up two bottles of rum for us because we didn’t want to go on the rum tour. In all of my trips, Amanda was by far the best travel representative I have encountered. VIP is certainly lucky to have Amanda on their staff. Amanda, if you are reading this, THANK YOU! You will forever be a part of our engagement memories.

Arrival: We arrived after midnight. No welcome drink was supplied. In fact, all bars were closed except the disco. Check in was quick and painless. We were off to our room in less than 15 minutes.

Room: We were assigned building 1, room 1015. Second story room with a very nice location to the main hub of the resort. Beautiful view of the pool from the room. I had e-mailed the resort prior requesting a room in the stretch of buildings overlooking the ocean (2, 4, 6, ect..). We even offered to use our Riu Class points to offset the charges of a suite. Although our request was not accommodated, we were happy with our room location and things certainly could have been worse. We did have a view of the ocean (if you leaned over the balcony just right lol). The room was comfortable and clean. Nothing fancy. Very similar to our room at the Riu Melao. An adopter was required to operate our battery charger and blow drier. Rank: Secrets, Melao, Merengue.

Maid Service: Maid service was acceptable. Our room was clean, towels restocked, and beds made; although we didn’t get any fancy flowers and we had a towel sculpture on only one evening. The maid service was also very late. Sometimes arriving at 7:00 p.m. just as we were getting ready for dinner. But all in all, if my room is cleaned once daily I’m happy. Rank: Melao, Secrets, Merengue.

Mini-bar: The bar is stocked with 4 liters of alcohol. The refrigerator is stocked with coke, diet coke, gallon of water, 4 Quesequala beer (spelling still throws me on this one), tonic and soda water. Our mini-bar was restocked once in our seven day stay. Not a big deal as we went to the reception to get water and called for diet coke which was delivered reasonably quickly. Again, the Riu’s in PC did a superior job. Rank: Secrets, Melao, Merengue.

Restaurant Service: Our waiter was excellent at both Riu’s. One nice thing about the assigned dinner seating and table is that you are served by the same person all week. Like PC, our waiter learned that we liked white wine with dinner and coffee with cream and sugar afterward and it was always promptly delivered. I must note that service at lunch and breakfast was spotty. More often than not, our dirty dishes would remain on the table after finishing breakfast or lunch, something we did not experience in PC. Again, not enough to ruin a vacation, just another example of the lack of ‘polished’ service we experienced at the Merengue. Rank: Melao, Secrets, Merengue.

Reception Service: We could not get late check-out in spite of our Riu Class membership, which would be completely understandable since the hotel was booked. However, we did receive late check-out at the booked Riu’s in PC and ironically we sat by the pool (since we had no room) and watched our room being cleaned at 7:00 p.m. for the new arrivals (we were forced to check out at noon and the room sat empty the entire day). Certainly the Riu staff must have known that some of the days arrivals would come from the Detroit plane we were returning in which wasn’t scheduled to arrive until 9:45 p.m. I do feel compelled to mention Eric, our “reception professional”. He acted as a wonderful translator between the artist and ourselves as we attempted to get a painting of the Bachata Gazebo. He even got Chris a special resort worker hat (since for some reason Chris liked them better than the hats sold at the gift shop, and he says I’m finicky lol). Excluding Eric, the reception desk personal; while pleasant and courteous, was not overly accommodating. Rank: Secrets, Melao, Merengue 

Beach: We did not expect much in the area of a beach and I was pleasantly surprised. Yes the beach is rocky enough to warrant aqua shoes, but the color of the water wasn’t terribly different than the color of water found in PC, as both the Riu’s lay on the Atlantic Ocean. If you’re looking for beautifully colored waters I would suggest another Caribbean destination entirely, as I’ve found the water surrounding the Dominican Republic to be just ‘fair’ comparatively. Yes the beach itself is superior in Punta Cana, but I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the mix of plants and trees surrounding the beach in Puerto Plata. Unlike many Caribbean destinations, this beach has a large variety of trees similar to coniferous trees and the mix of native foliage was certainly ascetically pleasing. Rank: Melao, Secrets, Merengue.

Sports Beach: The equipment and overall procedure of the sports beach area in POP is a cut above PC, although the beach itself is not as nice (slightly murky and positively required aqua shoes). The fact that this beach is on a protected cove means that you should always have good conditions for sailing. Identical to the Riu in PC, this Riu had sun sail boats, wind-surfing, sea kayaks, and paddle boats. Unlike the Riu’s in PC, jet skis were offered for the hefty price of $30.00 for 15 minutes. Not many people used the jet skis so the noise they produce was not a factor. In fact, all of the beaches at the Riu’s in POP were far quieter than the beaches in PC. I should mention that the wind surfing instructor Alex was wonderful! He spoke excellent English and was very patient and knowledgeable. The charge was $15.00 per hour and I would highly recommend taking a lesson. Unlike the Riu’s in PC, we did not need to reserve the use of a windsurfer (although we still needed a reservation for the sun sail boats). This was a welcome change, as my Chris is a windsurfing professional lol. Rank: Merengue, Melao, Secrets

General Food: We ate breakfast and lunch at all three Riu’s and dinner at the late seating of the Merengue. Food was decent, no major complaints. Cold dishes were normally cold, and hot dishes were hot, but not always so use caution and common sense. They actually had an omelet station at the Bachata (something missing in PC). The desserts here were very poor. The ice cream selection was half of those offered in PC, and I never once found a dessert worth consuming the extra calories for. But, with that being said, we never went hungry and were always able to find something we honestly enjoyed eating.  Rank: Secrets, Melao, Merengue. 

Steak House: Neither of us are picky eaters, but the steak we received at the steak house was awful. I could not cut mine with the knife supplied. Not a big deal, as the soup was wonderful and the baked potato was a welcome change. There was a wedding group eating here at the same time as us. They too found the steak inedible. We simply ate later at the snack bar and didn’t bother to make future reservations. Of course, we could have just hit an off night, as others have reported excellent steak here. Overall, we enjoyed the food in PC better than POP. Rank: Secrets, Melao, Merengue.

Bars: If I had one major complaint of the Riu’s in POP it is the bar hours. Many of you will not be affected, but for those of us who like to enjoy a cocktail in a lovely outdoor bar after midnight, the option is unavailable. At midnight, all bars except the disco promptly close shop regardless of how many customers are present. The disco is not a bar I would consider lovely by any standard. It is dark, loud, crowded, and sported broken glass on the dance floor every time we entered. There is a nice patio outside the disco so you can enter the disco, grab a drink, and sit outside; but the constant flow of intoxicated youngsters put a damper on the environment. The disco closes promptly at 2:00 a.m. (we found this out on the first evening when we attempted to get a drink after checking in and unpacking). We were told politely that alcohol was available in the mini-fridge. Although good, it wasn’t the margarita I was looking for after the long haul. Again, nothing to ruin a vacation, but certainly not the accommodating service I had grown to expect from the Riu chain. Rank: Secrets (top shelf), Melao, Merengue.

Bar Service: Bar service was excellent. No complaints what-so-ever. Other than waiting for drinks in the disco (which was to be expected since the entire population of people up past midnight was crammed into the place) all drinks were served promptly and with a smile. I can’t rank the differences here because quite honestly I have no complaints at any of the said resorts.

Entertainment: The entertainment was comparable between the Riu’s, although the animation team had a much stronger presence in PC. Shows are amateurish in nature, but they do try hard and one must appreciate the effort. Rank: Secrets, Melao, Merengue.

Spa: I used both the spa on Caribbean street and beach. Both were lovely and very reasonably priced. Cost for one hour massage in the spa was $33.00. Cost for beach massage was $19.00 for a half-hour. You can negotiate “buy 4 receive one free” with the ladies on the beach. Although the spa is not fancy, it is certainly adequate and more importantly the massage therapists were wonderful at both places. Rank: Merengue, Secrets, Melao.

Internet: The internet café in POP is considerably smaller than PC. We had trouble using the internet one evening (internet was also down one day while we were in PC also). I suggest buying an hour at $10.00. If you don’t use your time, the lady who works at the café will write you a ticket for your remaining minutes. Internet Café was considerably slower than PC. Rank: Melao, Merengue, Secrets (while Secrets internet was faster and free, it was simply too hot).

Shopping: Caribbean Street and Beach Vendors: We enjoyed bartering with the vendors in PC much more than the venders in POP (they seemed much more aggressive and generally less friendly, but it could just be us). Caribbean street was half the size in POP, and the Caribbean street party simply does not compare. Prices and items available were nearly identical. As mentioned earlier, you don’t need to take a trip into Puerto Plata to go to the supermarket for rum, just ask your tour rep and see what they can do. Ours even offered to get the bus driver going on the rum tour to pick some up. If you want to buy cigars you should do research and come prepared. Some of the vendors were selling very low quality cigars for a premium. Rank: Melao, Merengue, Secrets.

Language Barrier: The Riu’s in POP had the least language barrier of any Dominican Republic resort I have visited. During our trip, I would estimate that 60-70% of the cliental was from North America (unlike the Riu’s in PC where the cliental was 85% European). It was surprising to find people in all areas who spoke excellent English. In fact, when we tried to order dose-blanco-vino, our waiter replied, with a smile and a make-shift New York accent; “You mean 2 white wine?” lol. Rank: Merengue, Secrets, Melao.

Excursions: We booked the freestyle catamaran but it was cancelled due to high seas. Without a doubt there are more opportunities to get off the resort and explore in POP. We chose to spend our time enjoying the resort amenities largely due to the political situation of the recent strike in Puerto Plata and the government collapse in Haiti (stupid I know, but it did concern us somewhat). But, in all fairness our lack of motivation was what kept us on the complex. We found plenty to keep us occupied. If you’re the type who likes to get out and explore on your own, then positively the Riu’s in POP are a better choice. Rank based upon variety: Merengue, Melao, Secrets.

You may prefer the Riu’s in POP if:

1) A language barrier is a concern (it was nearly non-existent here)

2) You are looking for a smaller more intimate resort complex

3) You are on a strict budget (this is the least expensive alternative)

4) You plan to get out on your own and explore the city.

You may prefer the Riu’s in PC if:

1) The beach is your number one priority.

2) You are looking for a resort which ‘goes the extra mile’.

3) You don’t mind a lot of walking.

4) You don’t mind being semi-restricted to organized tours.

Overall: The Riu’s in POP are very solid 4 star resorts. I would not hesitate to recommend this hotel taking into account that it is very reasonably priced. Unfortunately, I can not give it rave reviews based upon a general lack of service consistency and an overall ‘unpolished’ environment. It was not that there was anything at the Riu’s in POP which would prevent one from having a wonderful vacation, it’s just that other more polished choices exist. I read a recent review which referred to the Riu’s in POP as, “a great starter all-inclusive” and I couldn’t agree more.

Conclusion: Some of you have already heard about the wonderfully romantic wedding proposal I received from Chris in the gazebo at the Bachata. Because of this, and the simply marvelous friends we met while vacationing, our Riu Merengue memories will always be held near and dear. For more information on my ‘fairy tale’ proposal or to see our vacation pictures please visit: www.spctechnology.net/secrets or e-mail me at brushmyhairpleas@comcast.net

And now…… on with the wedding! Anyone want to place a bet that it will take place somewhere on a Caribbean beach? lol