Our first holiday since becoming parents, we decided to book to take Amelia to start seeing the world with us and got a great deal to fly to Punta Cana for 11 nights.
After a 9 hour flight with our little angel, we arrived at the Riu Bambu on 26th May. After being given our room keys we found out we was placed in room 509 which was not easily accessible with a pram as we had to carry her up a flight of stairs which in the rain became slippery (despite booking the hotel for 2 adults and a child which we specifically stated was under 1 (4 months old)) and when we opened the door the room stunk of cigarette smoke and there was no crib set up for us - not suitable for a baby.
We spoke to reception and they moved us to a ground floor room 7021, which we only accepted as it was the only room available that was accessible for our baby but the room smelt badly of damp, there was not good extraction and you can see where it was damp with mould all around the room, blown wood etc. The safe didnt work and was covered in rust which must be from where the room was damp and we was concerned about a young baby sleeping in here for 11 nights as damp can be really dangerous for babies. Even the mattress felt damp to lay on! Once we were moved to this room there was still no crib and it took us calling 7 times to get the crib with us being exhausted from travelling and having to wait up with a sleeping baby because she could not sleep anywhere. The crib finally came at 10pm and my husband and the baby was asleep so the housekeeper quietly set the crib up for us in low lighting and baby was put into the crib. Upon waking up in the morning we discovered a large screw sticking out inwards into the cot which was very concerning and potentially extremely dangerous. If I had picked my baby up at a different angle for her night feed the screw would have ripped open her skin. After this we lost trust in the hotel and did not feel safe staying here. The pool here was open 24/7 too with people still swimming at 10pm so god knows when the pool actually got cleaned! There were all empty alcohol cups around the pool when we got up in the morning from the night before. Our first morning in Punta Cana was spent speaking to the Tui rep and Riu Bambu hotel manager to request to move hotels to the sister hotel at our expense.
After a ruined first 2 days of the holiday trying to get it all sorted and a very stressful experience we finally got switched to the Riu Palace Punta Cana and WOW what a difference!! The hotel was stunning with beautiful grounds, lobby and the rooms were 1000x better! The only thing I would say with both hotels is that the beds were very hard and not a bed I find comfortable so I did wake up with a back/neck ache most days.
They made an effort to make sure our room was perfect after the bad experience we started with and when we arrived we had balloon flowers decorating the room and a mug and ornament gift on the bed for us, and the crib set up for us! We were in room 1014 which was level with the reception and lifts available to get down to the pool/restaurant level.
We spent the afternoon sat around the family pool, which had plenty of shade under the canopies, a nice big pool with sun loungers built into the shallow edge of the water, waiters coming round bringing you drinks and plenty of beds available. This hotel actually had 3 pools, the family pool where aqua fit would take place, the party pool with the swim up bar and then a games pool with a net going across for water volleyball. We were right on the beach too which was beautiful white sands and warm blue seas.
It was a bit of a different holiday to what we are used to with a baby, as it was her first holiday and we were getting used to navigating the heat with her, we didn’t leave the hotel complex whereas we would usually get involved with all of the excursions so it was very chill and not too much to report on regarding the actual country as we only saw the hotel and the beach but the weather was a lovely 30 degrees with a nice sea breeze, occasional cloud and rain spells but they didn’t last too long and helped cool the air down.
The Riu Palace Punta Cana was on a complex with a few other Riu hotels and a Riu party (pool party) facility, which had we not have come with the baby we’d have definitely checked out. Our hotel had the main buffet resturant which always had loads of choice and lovely food, aswell as a steakhouse, fusion resturant, Japanese, Italian and Spanish restaurants, so there was always plenty of choice! Krystal the fusion restaurant was my favourite.
As a treat one evening, I left Lee with Amelia and I took a trip over to the Riu Macao hotel to use their wellness area and have a massage. The spa area was stunning with a hydrotherapy pool, jacuzzi, cold plunge pool, ice room, ice bucket, various showers and stones to walk on with hot water spraying your feet as you walk with really comfy loungers to chill on around the pool. I could have spent all day in here! I went for the aromatherapy massage which was $140 for 60 minutes and a really good massage!
Overall after the rocky start, I really enjoyed our trip to Punta Cana, and it was lovely for us to have some time bonding as a family of three. We met some great people whilst away and will treasure the memories made during our baby’s first holiday.
The flight home was a night flight and Amelia was a dream sleeping the majority of the way home! We had the premium economy front row seats which was great for the leg room. We had a backpack that folded out into a cot and managed to have that on the floor in front of us for Amelia to sleep in which meant I could also get a bit of sleep.
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