We were lucky enough to book a 10 night break arriving on 26th April 2008, allocated on arrival, either the Riu Merengue or the Riu Mambo, we were lucky enough to be staying at the Riu Mambo!!

Check in - was not the quickest or best (which I think is the only minor niggle we can think of for the whole holiday), everyone was gathered together from the bus and had to wait whilst we were given a little welcome speech and one by one our envelopes with our room keys etc., however, within 10 minutes we were being escorted to our room. First impression - what a pretty place, lovely colonial style room blocks, all different pastel colours, gardens gorgeous with plenty of trees and all well spaced out, not on top of each other.

We were staying in room 2018, on the ground floor, which was wonderful, it was right at the end of the street with such a lovely view. The room itself was great, usual high Riu standard, 2 double beds, table and 2 chairs, television, great bathroom, lots of drawer space, double wardrobe (with lots of hangers), complimentary safe and then our favourite cupboard - housing 4 optics with fridge below with mixers and beers!! lol Balcony with table and 2 chairs (now we know that we're on holiday!!) We set about unpacking and had a telephone call from reception welcoming us to the Mambo and asking if everything was okay. I told them that everything was fine thanks but any chance of having some Vodka ('him indoors' favourite tipple) and I was told no problem they would make sure we had some the following day - less than 15 minutes later the little booze van turned up with Vodka, service or what!! Only half an hour into our holiday and we knew that everything was going to be wonderful!! Tip for the Brits - we knew from being on TripAdviser which travel adaptors we needed but hadn't thought about the voltage - it's only 110, thankfully my hairdryer is a duel voltage so it worked well but I had a battery charger for my camera and that took 2 days to get enough charge into my spare batteries.

For evening meals you are asked to eat in your own hotels restaurant, have to say that after our first evening it was so enjoyable that we didn't try out the other restaurants for either breakfast or lunch. The staff are wonderful, nothing is too much trouble and they are always smiling. Tables were cleared away quickly and re-laid, never a problem getting a table, even when they were busy. The food was wonderful both at breakfast and dinner, we only ate at the poolside restaurant during the day so can't comment on lunch. So much choice, far too much to list (even for us picky eaters) and all well prepared. Ashamed to admit that I am a smoker but there were clearly defined areas for smokers and non-smokers (usually there were fewer children in the smokers area too, a bonus when you're our age and childless!!) Another tip for the Brits, the salt and pepper work the other way around to here, the salt is the one with lots of holes and the pepper is the one with only one hole, good job we like both, lol.

Day 2 - not sure how or why, especially after such a long travelling day but we woke early and had a walk around the complex and were really pleased that we had been allocated the Mambo!! I understand that the rooms differ between the 3 hotels but the lay out of the Mambo is, in my opinion much better. The Merengue is the biggest of the 3 and the blocks of rooms seemed to be very much on top of each other, the Bachata was spread out a little bit more but were in 3 storey blocks and much bigger, the Mambo is definitely the 'quaintest'. The beach is definitely better the Mambo end, very little coral and more room back from the beach. Breakfast was very welcome and then decisions, decisions, pool or beach?? The pool at the Mambo looked very nice, available sunbeds but at this stage we weren't sure which way the sun was going and we didn't want to burn on our first 'real' day - so beach it was. What a joy - no trouble at all getting a sunbed - I can't tell you how happy that made us!! We opted to stay on the bit of beach back from the sea - lots of palm trees and therefore lots of shade should it get too hot for us - oh and the most important thing of all - not too far from the beach bar (which we still aren't sure if the Merengue and Bachata have - we couldn't find them) - bargain - settled for the day, or as it turned out for our whole holiday!! lol (They only serve beer or soft drinks at the beach bar - if you want anything stronger you have to go to the bar by the pool - which is also where the toilets are). Afternoons at the pool can become quite noisy, water aerobics and water polo going on and then the 'dreaded' bingo around 4 o'clock.

Entertainment - I'm sure you all know by now that you can join in as much or as little as you want. At our end of the beach there was quite a bit going on, beach volley ball, darts, dancing, yoga, boules, horsey horsey ?? (still a bit confused about that one), step aerobics and water aerobics in the sea - ohh it was so lovely just to lie there and watch all those busy people!! lol Evening entertainment was the usual Riu stuff - entertainment staff miming to songs and dancing but on our last night there was a decent duo on, actually singing and playing (albeit to backing tracks). We used to wander over to the Merengue of an evening where they have a lovely bar, set back from the hustle and bustle and have a few drinks there, quite entertaining watching the bar staff, who deserve a big round of applause for all their hard work and knowledge of cocktails!!

Outside activities - can't help you there I'm sorry, we really went for a really relaxing holiday in the sun, didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. I was off work and we just wanted to spend quality time together, relaxing in the sun with a few beers and lots of books. Oh, on that note, I didn't take enough books with us - don't panic, just down from the pool at the Mambo is a hut (which I think is used for the children's daytime activities) which as a few shelves with books on, most of them were foreign but there were enough English books to keep us going and funnily enough from authors we probably wouldn't have read back home but probably will from now on - see it is true, you do learn something new everyday.

Our thoughts - Riu's have got it right yet again, excellent service, fantastic food and selection of food, really lovely surroundings and all spotless, great rooms and balconies, wonderful staff (special mention to the room maids who made going back to our room after a hard day on the beach so enjoyable with their towel art) just exactly what we wanted, a really relaxing holiday!! Only thing I would ask is that everyone makes use of the ladies who stand outside the restaurants and toilets with the antibacterial hand gel - it doesn't hurt or sting and it dries very quickly - is it really worth risking spoiling your holiday for the sake of it?? Bless them they have the most boring jobs at the hotels but always have a 'hola' for everyone.


On the Friday the weather took a turn for the worse, (so that's why we had an umberella in our wardrobe!!) We just took it on the chin and found somewhere comfortable to sit and read. By the afternoon we were back on the beach, bargain. That evening the rain and I mean rain (and I thought that Welsh rain was heavy!!) set in. We decided that we had had enough to eat that day and just sat on our balcony, lovely and warm and dry, still in our beach clothes and watched the world going by!! Oh the joys of being in the Caribbean where they put a bar in your room!!

My husband and I stayed at the Riu Mambo 05/07/08 -05/12/08 and had a wonderful time. Of course reviews vary and I kind of saw it for what it was with the 'complainers' before we left.

First off, we are in our late 30's and not party animals, so the Mambo suited us best because it is more calm and not as crowded. The food was amazing, obviously you are not going to get everything under the sun, but there was always something excellent and after the other reviews, we didn't even bother with the 'restaurants' and stuck with the buffet and snack bar which left us about ready to roll on our sides....good thing we did alot of swimming. Our first room had a problem with A/C ..as I think this is the case with alot of the 'basic' rooms...and we would have been happy to stay in our first room had the air conditioning been fixable. On day 2 we politely asked if we could switch rooms and Susy at the front desk gave us a beautiful upgrade to a suite with ice cold air...excellent customer service. Our housekeepers in both rooms were stellar, Isabel from our first villa actually found my watch ( an expensive one) that we accidentally left in the room safe and returned it to us in our second room just as I realized I had forgotten it. Thank you Isabel!! And thank you for my awesome towel swan! After the room switch, Belkis did a fantastic job as well. The staff are all incredible and the animation staff...as we all know...work many hours for little pay and keep a smile on their face ( even when being slobbered on by half intoxicated foreigners....unfortunate...and very disgusting to see...these people work hard and shouldn't be subjected to grown men trying to kiss them full on the mouth as they politely try to squirm away)

Now for the complaints that have nothing to do with the hotel itself , First of all, I would never use Prieto Tours for any transfers again. They make you go to a basic 'excursion selling' meeting with their rep on the day after you arrive supposedly to arrange your return transfer to the airport when you leave. All the rep did was try to sell us tours and didn't confirm ANY actual pick up time for our departure day. We were told we would be called the day before we left with the time. This never happened and left us unable to reach the rep and the office not being open as we were leaving on Monday, so nothing is open on Sunday so we could reach anyone. Basically the front desk at the Mambo called Prieto the morning of to get our time for pick up, but it left us feeling worried on the day we were leaving.

Secondly, I do not reccomend doing tours with Scuba Caribe, the company that you get your free kayaks and paddle boats from on the beach in front of the RIU's. We did the deep sea fishing excursion, and aside from the napkin wrapped sandwiches, bananas, and beer,....pretty much it's a 4 hour boat ride and no one actually catches anything. You don't touch your fishing rod unless there is some activity on the prestrung lines. All that would have been acceptable until the 2 guys that were passing out beer and one slice meat sandwiches actually took off their hat and passed it around to get tips. After $70 bucks pp....I found it a little insulting. Granted, I know these guys aren't getting $70 a head, but they crammed 9 of us onto the boat and I just couldn't see it. In the next paragraph I will tell you that I believe in tipping and we did tip the fishing boat staff...but in this case we felt very pressured and to be honest, uncomfortable in how it was done.

On a final note....TIP!!!! bring $30 in singles and tip your wait staff who are working very hard, tip your bartender, tip your housekeeper.....like you would anywhere else!! $30 bucks isn't alot....but to the people you are tipping, those dollars here and there add up and mean something. I don't mean tip to try to get something 'extra' either, I mean tip because you are getting excellent service.

I would reccomend the Riu Mambo to ANYONE, this is a great place. Aside from the lovely beach and clean pools....it's staff and attention to detail are what makes it even better.

We are just back from a four night stay at the Riu Mambo (we also stayed for four nights in Feb. '08) and it was extremely relaxing and refreshing and everything we had hoped for. I had contacted reception prior to our arrival w/ several special requests (for a particular location, extra water stocked in fridge due to medical condition etc.) All of these requests were honored and we were warmly received as returning guests. The food was amazing and the weather a bit hotter than we'd have liked, but an exceptional value and great service. We have learned to bring $50. in singles and tipping just a dollar or two in the dining rm, bars, your room etc. makes a world of difference! Stick w/ the buffet especially for dinner. We plan another trip in the fall!

Ann
NY

First I would like to note that some of the reviews you read here are absolutely terrifying. I didn't know what to expect when we got there but very soon after arrival, all worries were put to rest.

I CAN NOT WAIT TO GO BACK!!!!

My boyfriend and I went away for the sole reason to relax so I can not comment on any of the excursions. What I can comment about is that the grounds, people, weather and food are excellent. The only problems we encountered was that we ate way too much, and relaxed so much that we were a tad lazy when we got back to Halifax, only wishing we were back on the chair beside the pool. The biggest decision we had to make was "what time should we go eat".

I can only make comments, like I said, on the surface. If you are looking for a clean, relaxing enviroment with beautiful scenery, beautiful weather and good food, this is your resort.

Hope this helps at least one person!!! Happy travelling!!!