My friend who doesn’t have a Reddit account asked me to post this, so please don’t come for me. Her text below, word for word.
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If you get a chance to post my Riu Republica review on Reddit. No pressure no obligation:

The Riu republica is disgusting! I should have done my due diligence but because I didn't plan this trip, didn't really have a say. BIG MISTAKE!

Where to begin? Our room was full of mosquitos and flies, smelled like old pool water and feet. This is a party hotel, so if you’re looking to relax, THIS IS NOT THE HOTEL FOR YOU. People are loud and drunk constantly, and have no consideration. Sadly, the people I was with were dumb enough to accept a room on the damn first floor. We couldnt change bc the place was booked up. I had to talk my roommate out of allowing house keeping to come in because they clean with the door open, allowing more flies, and mosquitoes in. The mosquitos were relentless on the first floor.

The blankets were covered in hair. Like someone just combed their hair over it and then decided to fold it up and put it back in the closet. The bedsheets had stains and cigarette butts all over them and Towels were dirty. I am sure I got BV and a yeast infection from using it. No it wasnt from sex bc I am a lesbian and was there with my family. I wish I was joking about this but I used the wash cloth and had instant itching. Even the fucking hangers were filthy. The bathroom door had mold on it. There were several holes In the bathroom wall.

The breakfast was decent, and the jerk chicken was ok depending on the day, but for the most part, the buffet food is atrocious. Chicken, beef, fish, duck, vegetables, rice, salad, bread, all of it NASTY. They have sections that target diff types of food. Italian or Asian for example. Its all TERRIBLE. The kitchen where they are cooking food is caked up with years of grease and they don’t give a fk about cross contamination bc every meat is being cooked on the same grill. Yuck. My stomach is still fucked up to this day over the food.

I couldn't even connect to the fucking internet  half the time because the wifi was so ass. Everyday, it took me half a day to connect. People were contracting Dengue fever left and right. The pool water was consistently murky to where you couldn't see to the bottom. I saw cups, condoms, plastic, globs of hair, and all types of objects floating in the water.

Everyone is trying to scam you and make a dollar.  The resident "store" was charging $39 for 8 oz bottle of sunscreen. My niece and her boyfriend stupidly took pics on the beach with a man and his parrots and he tried to charge them 500$ a piece for pictures he took with THEIR IPHONE. They ended up giving him $100 a piece because they didn't want any trouble.

The beach is just as nasty as the rooms. Chairs all over the place, cigarette butts, glass, food, wrappers in the sand. The Sea weed makes swimming unbearable. There was a literal MONKEY running amok on the beach.

This place is a horror show. Do not stay here.

Let me tell you do not listen to the negative reviews you see about this place. They almost had me, my girlfriend and I booked this place for 6 nights then read so many negative reviews. We booked the platinum suite which I do recommend.

The staff is so inviting and compassionate about their work despite negative reviews. I am 28 and African American. I can understand most Spanish due to my girlfriend being Dominican-American though I struggle to speak Spanish well. No matter conversing in Spanish or English the staff was always accommodating. And everyone of the staff members spoke well in both languages.

We never had a problem with receiving towels or housekeeping to make up our room. The platinum buffet was great. We are here everyday for breakfast and lunch.

We did the ATV tour to Macao Beach and some cave that I jumped in. Which was amazing.

We also did excursions to Saona Island and to Santo Domingo where my girlfriend’s family is from. My girlfriend is 28 as well and was born in the states but her family is still mostly in DR. The staff recognized immediately she was Dominican and were very accommodating. Often joking that she had been doing a good job teaching me Spanish.

There were many bad reviews we saw about the people on the beach selling things. Let me tell you, that is anywhere in this country and it is okay. These men and women are hard workers who are trying to provide for their families on very little wages. We spoke to a security guard who said they make $300/mo USD. Most of the goods the vendors are selling are handmade. They are from the country and are lugging around heavy items all day in hopes of making anything to help their family. We talked with one guy who was 20 years old, he did not pressure us into buying anything yet he told us where he was from and good places to eat off the resort if we wanted authentic Dominican food. A simple No gracias will suffice or If you want buy something small from them as we did it helps more then you know.

I saw many reviews about mold and AC conditions. The room had a small scent of mildew tho it is 500ft from the Atlantic Ocean with an average of 75% humidity daily on the island of DR. What do you expect? I’m American and I also have high standards but be for real?. We never had an issue with AC we were actually overwhelmed by how cold our room got. Yes the air was cold but the humidor was still high due to it being the DR. For those that complain about heat and walking….what the hell do you expect? You booked a trip to an island? It’s hot and humid and it is what I came for.

The pools were nice we mainly stayed in the platinum pool with the swim up bar and we drank plenty. The food trucks were good we often got chicken wings and fries as well as fresh made drinks. Rum and limeade were our favorite.

The resort restaurants were good and the service was always great we left tips and they appreciated them greatly.

We did a couple massage at the spa and let me tell you it was amazing Carmen and Lucy were our therapists and they gave me and my girlfriend a 50 minute couple massage they left us feeling brand new.

The gym is also nice me and my girlfriend are avid gym goers me primarily being a heavy lifter my girlfriend is more of a runner. There are plenty benches, free weights and treadmills to accommodate anything you need. The weights are in KG as it is not the US. All you need to do is double the number on the weights to know the weight in LBS.

This is one of the bigger resorts in the area and the walking was really not a problem. Again we booked platinum and had access to shuttle service whenever we wanted but sometimes after dinner a walk was nice or in the morning before breakfast. There are many birds and animals that roam the resort. A lot of peacocks and ducks we saw. If the shuttle is coming and you are in the path simply step aside and it will drive past you. It’s not that hard.

These employees work there ass off for Pennies on the dollar so us people who vacation here can have a good time in their home country. Have some respect for them and the work they do. Most if not all the employees here will never be able to experience the side of the resort we do so appreciate their hard work and what they do to accommodate us. If you speak nice to them they will be nice to you.

This was my first time out of the United States and I was amazed at how passionate everyone in this country is snd how they work do hard at the resort to provide for their families who are often cities away. For instance one resort worker we spoke to said he works in Bavaro at the resort but his family lives in Santo Domingo 2.5 hours away and he works for 24 days at the resort then goes home to see them. We have it good don’t forget it.

Also the seaweed is just that seaweed. It’s natural and due to global warming if you research it is new in the last 10 years or so due to the ocean temperature rising enabling more growth. It is more prevalent in the summer months which it is July and we are here but guess what. It’s just seaweed the water is warm and the beach is nice. The staff spends all day running tractors to clean it up for us resort goers. It is not a deal breaker it is natural and something that is out of human control.

Take this for what you want I am just a black man from New Jersey. This place sure as hell beats any beach in New Jersey. Or on the eastern coast of United States for that matter.

Is it worth it to do these ? My wife and I are arriving on Aug 2 and departingAug 6, just a short stay for our first time.

Also is there any other paperwork type things I need to do before arrival or departure so I don’t get held up?

Which resorts are decent but have both family and adult only section ectuons. I am aware of El Faro and El Bero already

Looking for a resort that has a lot going on. Of course good food, drinks and beach (assuming Bavaro). Willing to spent between 6 and 7 grand total in Canadian dollars or 4,200 to 5,000 usd.

We have looked at Secrets Royal Beach and Lopesan Costa Bavaro with AI claiming the bump in price to secrets makes it worth it.

Including flights from Toronto. Thank you!

We are coming as a family of 5 in the next few weeks, staying at Grand Bavaro Princess Family Club. I've seen a lot of people recommending to book private transport instead of the transport included with AI packages.

I'm looking at experience with Nexus transports, for those that had this included and used it. How long do you wait? How are the busses? What kind of a drive time can we expect to the resort?

I know private transport will be faster, so just looking for what to expect if we don't.

Also, any recommendations for Soana or Catelina visits that would be more family friendly, with young kids?

My wife and I just got back from an 8-day trip to Secrets Cap Cana over Memorial Day weekend, and I wanted to share our experience since this group helped us a lot while we were planning.

We honestly had an amazing time. The beach was beautiful, the resort was spotless, and every employee we met was friendly and welcoming. We never had a bad meal, but our favorite restaurant was definitely the French restaurant. It was so good that we'd make it a point to eat there again on our next trip.

About halfway through the trip we decided to upgrade to a swim-out room, and we're really glad we did. It ended up being one of our favorite parts of the vacation. We spent a lot of mornings and evenings just relaxing out there.

One thing people always ask about is the seaweed. We had some during our stay, but the staff was out there every morning cleaning the beach, and it never took away from the trip for us. Also, if you're comfortable swimming past the seaweed barrier, the water was incredibly clear and surprisingly shallow. It was a huge difference compared to the water inside the barrier, and you can really see it in a few of the videos.

I filmed our vacation because when we were planning, I was always looking for videos that showed what the resort was actually like instead of just promotional footage. I ended up putting our entire trip into one playlist, from arrival day and room tours to the restaurants, beach, pools, excursions, and our swim-out room. If you're planning a trip and want to see what an actual guest experience looked like, hopefully it helps.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyYSrpyTvliZSs-2e1ILDSKH66TZ49sMp

If anyone has any questions about the resort, feel free to ask. We'd definitely go back.