apon arrival i ask for superior they gave me standard i paid for superior next day they corrected error, front desk needs empathy, food was very good resort laid out as small but everything close, noise level load at night but stops 10pm or so buffet a lot of choice al la cart good, beach is good long walk for hours, security is good i left items on chairs nobody touch your stuff.. if you tip you there friend Ocean water clear on calm days, fridge stock with water coke sprite room 2 queen beds rooms p330 and up is good close 2 everything they have another section building away from action ocean view room pool beach close , beach lacks kayaks should be added there resort has been opened since 2023 closed 3 years, resort moderaten in good condition is not for single person most families groups go there is worth the money, relaxing vacation i hope is good review , the tour guide Jose is very good go on the cruse to the Catalinia Island boat ride is worth it ...

This place is very good for vacation. We went there as family about 18 people including kids. Clean grounds, rooms, beach areas. Food also very good, meeting all ages expectations. Little inconvenience was about water flow. It was very slow for some reason. Also washroom water comes to the room since both washroom and room are on same ground level. Other than that our stay was very pleasant

The hotel is advertised as a 4 stars but is really 3 stars. The beach in the water as on the sand is full of seaweed. The pool water is often cloudy and half the pools are dirty. The staff members are kind and helpful, the room were clean. The food in most restaurants is ok but the Asian restaurant is really bad.

The buffet food was always room temperature or slightly warm. The buffet items are over filled so they get cold before they are taken. A microwave for customers would help or just put less in the containers. The actual food was a 5/10. They need better cooks. The resort was clean and nice looking. The coffee shop was very nice. The pools need more shaded areas as they were the first to go. The ala carte restaurants were good when you could get a reservation. You have to book each day at 9am but by 9:01am they are all booked most of the time, even though the resort was only half full. The air conditioning in the room didn’t work very well but they couldn’t fix it. We won’t be back because of the buffet was served cold.

I have no regrets rebooking for another vacation, never thought of a bad experience will hinder my planned vacation. The hotel was exemplary! Starting from staff, the place and the food of course. I will not hesitate to go back!

Everything was awesome. I was just curious what the Coraila Club is? We were told we couldn't play bingo because it was for the French. Everything else was amazing. The food, drinks, staff, entertainment, pools, beach, and rooms.

The Coral costa Caribe was an esthetically lovely resort with a lot of central located amenities. The food was good with an excellent variety to choose from. The coffee bar with specialty coffee was an added bonus. The A La Carts were hard to navigate as there was minimal signage and they rotated sites. I found the pool bar staff to be less than excited to be there with barely a smile or even a conversation at the top part and would infrequently serve down at the pool area. I had a hard time with the rudeness of our Westjet/Sunwing representative. Initially when we were interested in an excursion he was wonderful but once we paid and then had a couple of questions and concerns he totally ignored me and was on his phone. Then he lied to my daughter in law when she stopped by, He told her our concerns were taken care of as he had talked to me already but when I went back to talk to him he had left before 1100 when he was to be there until 1200.

Excellent food, great service (although very little knowledge of English). Wonderful beaches!! Spectacular Al A Carts. The night shows were disappointing but I didn’t go there for that so didn’t care. Would go again

The resort grounds were lovely and well kept, many cute kitties around so do not forget to bring treats. Yellow canaries gather in a tree close to the main pool every dusk and sing all together an amazing sound. The room are cleaned very well but we did have to check our patios sliding door to ensure the cleaners had locked it properly. The food was extremely good. Our favourite restaurants were the Tex Mex and the Mediterranean. The buffet has various choices so you will not go hungry. The beach was amazing and the water mostly calm. Great snorkeling near the rocks in the Sea. The only down side was our flight landed and departed in Punta Cana which is an hour and a half drive to or from the resort and the airline WestJet had approximately 6 flights departing close to one another so we were in a baggage line up leaving for 3 hours and all these flights were delayed.because of over 1,000 people trying to check their bags. We will be back but not with that airline.

First shout out to Kevin who is very responsive and help me find a good deal, and before trip keep connected by emails, keep doing that! For the Hotel itself, overall is ok, very far away from Punta Cana Airport, they should reschedule the time and airport to saving some time on road. The front desk staff is lack of training, first night receptionist deliver the wrong information and the next day the lady who been introduced to me also give wrong info and changed her attitude immediately once I said I won't upgrade my room, so rude and unprofessional. Other than that is ok, other staff are quite friendly and welcoming, recommend to book tour directly with them, good value.

Hotel very cleaned, food very good. Needs more staff in the buffet area. One evening clients had to set there own tables by getting ustensiles, napkins erc a couple of clients pick up the red wine bottle from the counter, pour themself a drink and return the bottle On the counter... 98% of the staff do not speak english or french. They do not understand even little sentences. Very hard to communicate with the restaurant, buffet and cleaning staff. The bar pool, my comments and many tourists also usually the pool has about 3 1/2:feet of water before reaching the bar then to a certain part of the pool the water goes up to 4 feet. Fron the pool stairs the depth of the water starts at 41/2 feet or is only 5 feet Not very practical for clients who do not know how to swim and also anyone who would like to walk with a drink in there hand. Some kids had to stay in there parents arm. This is the first hotel that I see that has so much water in the bar pool.

The rooms were very clean. My air conditioner wasn't working very well and I told the front desk and they said they would send someone to fix it, but later that day it was just the same. The beach was okay, a lot of seaweed and not much shade to sit under unless you were a member. Constantly hounded by staff to sign up for a very expensive membership that wasted 2 hours of my trip. It was an okay resort, kept very clean but would not go back.

Really liked the resort our room was in the perfect place it was clean and spacious only didn't have a chest of drawers and the patio door was hard to use the food was good and we enjoyed the activities the staff were friendly and welcoming

We purchase the essentia swim out pool room. I wouldn't recommend that upgrade. When you walk out of your room to the pool, on the other side of the pool is a wall that is right next to the road. There were water bottles and other garbage thrown over the wall. One of the other guests actually went over and cleaned it all up, you would think the staff would do that. We were thought that we were getting an adult's only area but were told that the room is adults only bit the building is not and the rooms that face the ocean are not adults only. We were supposed to have a private access pool but that wasn't the case. One guest had locals over and were in that area. When we checked in we were told basically nothing about our package we purchased other then to download the app. We were told we could make reservations etc from this app. That night we went to order room service bit on the app it said unavailable. Tried to make reservations at a restaurant but couldn't. Next day went up again and was told that room service cost extra bit we found out from another guest that this was not true, you just had to order from WhatsApp. I was also told that you can't make reservations until midnight. So the last showed me in my phone how to do this and made reservations only to find out that when we went to eat, there wasn't a reservation for us but luckily after waiting for a bit we got a seat. The day we met the Sunwing tours rep, he didn't talk much about the resort or amenities, he was more focused on selling us a tour. We said that we would think about it and lucky for us we did because when I went to book a message I was told the one of the excursions that the rep tried to sell us was included in our up grade. So now we had no faith with this Sunwing/nextours rep. Even we booked the tour we asked for a specific day and we told not available on that day. However after talking with another guest we found out that she was going that day, so back up we went and at first they said no then when I questioned why not, they changed it and we went. Then on day four I tried to reserve a restaurant but again could not get on, only later did I find out that they changed access from midnight to 9 am. Then 2 days later they changed it back to midnight, again no communication about it. Twice I couldn't reserve a table and package said priority revelations! So I would not recommend an upgrade at this resort. The room was ok because we don't spend alot of time in it, bit of first night only had two bath towels, no face clothes or had towels, we had to ask the next day for then because we got to the resort at 1030 ish and by the time we got to our room the check in was closed. The room is outdated but that's ok, why to hang up towel on turn to and it almost completely fell off the wall. Other then what I mentioned, if I would have just went with the standard room which I was able to see a friend of mines, this trip would have been good. The food was good, the beach was good, the grounds where kept really clean. If I hadn't paid the extra for the upgrades I wouldn't have been disappointed in posting for something that we didn't get!

You will not find exactly what is advertised. The WHALA Hotel advertisement (hard copy pamphlet) is still showing WhalaBocaCica as a 4* hotel while it is barely a 3* hotel. The pictures on the website do not show the real and actual situation, they are old, stock pictures. The resort get split in the middle by the presence of a private restaurant, which is off limit for the hotel's guests (only if you pay at the restaurant), thus reducing the access to the beach. The sandy beach got shrunk compared to what is shown on the website and pamphlet, the beach beds were not in enough number, you had to reserve them early in the morning and there are no palm trees on the beach for shades. Quite noisy hotel with loud music all along the day and loud commotion during the night as a restaurant is open late in the night, just right beside the hotel.

This hotel is really more for a quiet getaway! Exactly what I was looking for. Despite the fact that there is a kids' club on site, I saw a couple with small children there only once during the week. The hotel has 10 buildings. The first VIP building is located right a meter from the beach, next to it is a beach bar and a building with a la carte restaurants. The other buildings, including the reception, are located across a small road. Crossing the road is always monitored by a hotel employee. If you cross the road carefully, there will be no problems; it is not a busy highway. Building 10, the farthest from the reception, has two swimming pools and a jacuzzi and is located in the far part of the hotel. I stayed in building 5, in room 5201. Some guests said that something in the rooms was not working: a hairdryer, safe, air conditioning, or something else, and they changed rooms. My room turned out to be quite decent and cozy. On the first floor, there was a transformer box that was noisy the entire first night. After reporting the problem to reception, they fixed it by turning off the equipment while we slept. I'm very grateful for that! All rooms had a balcony, perfect for relaxing in the evening if you don't want to spend time by the pools. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served in the same buffet restaurant. The food is fairly the same, but they rotate the selection daily. There was chicken, pork, beef, seafood (shrimp and clams), sausages, potatoes prepared in various ways, eggs, various salads, local dishes, two soups to choose from, and a selection of cheese and ham. There was a small selection of fruit: watermelon, pineapple, papaya. There was also a huge selection of baked goods and sweets. I can guarantee that even the pickiest of eaters will find something to eat and definitely won't go hungry. I was delighted with the stewed pineapple in sweet sauce! Every evening at 8:00, you can book dinner for the following evening at the à la carte restaurant without any problems. There are four to choose from: Italian, Dominican, Asian, and Mexican. I personally tried the Italian and Mexican restaurants, and the food was very tasty! At the mornings, I saw that the pools were being cleaned, although they didn't look very clean. But personally, I don't understand people who come to the Dominican Republic to soak in the pool when the beautiful sea is nearby! During my week-long stay from December 3rd to 10th, I didn't see a single mosquito and wasn't bitten once, even though I sat by the sea in the evenings and went out to watch the sunrise twice. As I said, this is a family hotel, and there isn't much entertainment there. On Saturday, there was a Michael Jackson show, and I liked it. Every evening, there was music by the pool. At the morning, there was aqua aerobics or Pilates on the shore. As I was passing by, I saw a drawing and Spanish lesson. On the downside, the staff doesn't always speak English, but they always try to understand and help. I even used the Spanish translator on my phone, and it helped. In the main restaurant, the waiters sometimes ignore you; you have to ask several times. This didn't bother me; I can understand; they get tired, but it's hard work. The only thing I really didn't like was the "Do Not Disturb" sign on my room handle; it was removed on the third day. I was staying alone and didn't want someone coming in to clean my room every day. I was happy to leave a tip when I asked for a service. On the day the "Do Not Disturb" sign was removed, they cleaned my room, and when I returned from the beach and wanted to rest a bit, the maid knocked on the door and asked if everything was okay, probably because I hadn't left a tip that day. I don't leave tips unless I specifically ask for something to be done for me!!! And finally, I went on several excursions: I can assure you, Sanoa Island and Catalina are a must-see! It's a bit tiring to travel over an hour by bus and then another hour on a catamaran with lots of people, but I had a blast: music, dancing, and rum did the trick. But if there's heaven on earth, that's where it is! There's always something negative to be found, so stay positive and keep things simple, and your trip will be wonderful!

I really enjoy this hotel. The entertainment team do an amazing job at encouraging you to participate. Shout out to Youladi and Junior. The food in the buffet is fabulous. So much choice and healthy options. I think its great value and hope to visit again soon

It was our first visit to the Dominican Republic. We had a great vacation at the Coral Costa Caribe Hotel. The staff was nice, helpful and accommodating. The rooms were clean as well as every other areas of the hotel, nice clean pools, clean beach. The food was very good, they had a variety of food everyday at the buffet. We visited all the a la carte restaurants and they were good. Air condition worked well all week and the hot water and pressure in the shower was excellent. Internet works well. They have good security presence in all areas of the hotel. Overall we feel like we got good value for the money we paid. We will come back for sure to the DR.

With my limited walking I like to thank the front desk for giving us a room close to all the activity. I have a good memory but very short so please forgive me if I don't mention any names. Gracias to our son and his friends at the pool bar and all our grand children in the restaurants, you have been very helpful. There was always something different to eat at the buffet. We frequent the snack bar for the peace and quiet and the chicken was tasty. We went to four al cart restaurants, the Mediterranean twice. It was great. Our room was good and always well kept and many thanks to our maid who in a pinch helped with a bit of birthday surprise. Stayed most of the time under the umbrela or looking for shade. .

A smaller hidden gem. Food was good, quiet resort. Our room was clean and spacious. Beach was beautiful! We enjoyed the quiet atmosphere, and the staff were great. Very relaxing vacation. Would recommend to others, and I would return.

We love this resort!~ We were there 8 years ago and decided to go again due to its small size and the peacefulness you feel as you enter. The excellent and friendly staff will work hard to provide you with all you need. Service is exceptional, as is the cleanliness of the entire resort. This is not a luxury resort, however, there is always lots of great food for every palette, and management and staff worked hard to make Christmas Eve wonderful! Lobster, shrimp, oysters and every kind of dish you could imagine were served as well as great entertainment although the weather was a bit unstable due to rain. We are going back for 2 weeks next time as one week wasn't quite enough. Thank you to Juan at the bar for taking such good care of us! Till next time!

Need garbage cans in the room areas, not just the bathroom & need ashtrays on the room balconys Good entertainment , Michael Jackson & the beach party were very good,,,,,,,,,,,probably would not return, but the staff was amazing, casino would be nice & a better mixture of music at the disco. Beach is wonderful

This resort was okay but I don’t think I would ever go back. It is really far from the airport that the packages usually use, the Punta Cana one. Overall, it was neither good nor horrible but it was mostly bad for me. The buffet is repetitive and the a la carte is bad. We also had to change rooms because ours was musty. The air conditioner was not working and I truly believe this resort is only for locals. This is why most people speak Spanish and most of the activities cater to Dominicans. There were stray dogs and cats all over the beach and the resort including in the restaurants which is actually disgusting to say the least. I was so uncomfortable the whole time I went to eat because the first day a cat crawled beside my leg and went under the table as we were eating. For the good parts most of the staff was really nice except I noticed on the weekends, some of the staff only really cater to locals so there’s not as much care during the weekend but it was still okay. The drinks to me were also really good for the most part. The older man who makes most of the drinks in the main area and the young girl were phenomenal but there was someone who came in once on the weekend who couldn’t even get basic drinks right.

We stayed at this hotel in March 2024. We were a group of 4 and had booked 2 swim-out rooms ("essentia"/privileged). First, why Tripcentral/Air Transat sends you to Punta Cana's airport is mind-boggling. The hotel is a 2-hour drive away, when Santo Domingo is 45-minutes from the resort. It is 2 days of your 7 day trip wasted. Not to mention that the bus driver barely stays on the road, is swerving in and out of lanes. I'm not referring to passing vehicles, legitmately swerving as if he was drunk or falling asleep. This was also the first trip where there was no representative to greet you on the bus to inform you of where you're going, when to meet your rep at the hotel, etc. BASIC INFORMATION ONE NEEDS. Lets start with the website/app that you use to navigate the resort, for a map or booking a la carts... The map is so outdated that it isn't even accurate. Considering it tells you almost nothing, it's disappointing to say the least. It advertises that it's 7 restaurants are open, these are the locations and times, etc... Nope. That is not the case. For 1, the main buffet is located elsewhere, under a different name, because the other is closed for renovations - but still advertised as open. As essentia guests, you are entitled to a free 30 minute massage. As someone who is pregnant, I could not get this... so keep that in mind, if you're planning to babymoon here! I did transfer it to my friend, so it didn't fully go to waste. There is also a city tour to Santo Domingo - don't ask the hotel or Air Transat representative (should you ever find him) because no one knows anything about it. However, the invitations are sent out Monday mornings and the tours are on Wednesdays. It starts at 9AM and you return to the resort by 1:30 PM (Unless the ghetto bus gets 2 flat tires... but don't worry, they'll only change one and drive the rest of the way with one waiting to explode!). On the tour you'll go to a cave, inside the cathedral (know this because it's important you're legs and arms are covered), a gift shop, and the oldest street in Santo Domingo (that is now just filled with gift shops and nothing else). 2 people of our group did snorkeling for the day, it was $100 US per person. If you want to book excursions, don't bother hunting down the Air Transat guy because we didn't see him until our 2nd last day. He doesn't have an office, and was around the timeshare guys. He doesn't have a sign or anything, you'll likely never know he's who he is. There is a guy with a small little "store" on the beach, attached to the snack bar. He sells excursions for snorkeling, horseback riding, etc. Nothing too exciting. I bet if you had the Air Transat rep be readily available, there would be more options. Anyways, the rooms were basic. Housekeeping was minimal. This is the first resort where the housekeepers don't make the towels fancy, place flowers on the bed, or give a bottle of wine/rum. The showers barely drain, and there is absolutely no hot water - barely even warm water. So make sure you take really quick showers! The swim-out on the essentia side, we booked because the pictures made it looked private, rather than open. However, your side gets no sun and the pool is freezing cold! I think we only saw 1 person in the pool, and it was very brief. The pool is also dirty from the tree's and hardly maintained (only once in the mornings). Very disappointed, as the swim-out was a main factor for booking this resort. Another reason we booked this resort is because it says there are 7 restaurants. I'm pregnant, so this was a major deciding factor when choosing this resort. There are not 7 restaurants. Let's me be clear: there are 3 locations for restaurants, your main buffet (breakfast/lunch/dinner, decent hours, closes at 10:30PM), and 2 spots for A la carts (side by side, next to the essentia rooms). The "6" restaurants (excluding the main buffet) rotate. There is no schedule. You will never know what day the italian, mexican, or asian restaurant is open. So, when booking, choose wisely, because from our experience each is only open approximately 2 days a week. In "7" days, I never get to try the Asian restaurant. The buffet itself was very small. They did do their best to rotate menus so that it's not 100% the same thing every day, but it was still pretty awful. I never had bad food in the DR until this place. The snack bar.... DON'T EAT THERE! We all got sick for days from the food. The hot dogs sit in water, collecting bacteria, something is seriously wrong with the burgers... just looking at them you know it's not right, but then to try to taste it... I spit it out IMMEDIATELY. The hot dogs were described as tasting like "mush" --- I don't even know what that means, but it's not good. A good thing about the resort, is that it is not busy - but that's probably because it's 2 hours from the damn airport. The general pools were kept clean, for the most part. They are definitely peeling and in need of repair. It's advertised that there's a jacuzzi however this is in the adults only section - being an adult, or essentia, does not give you access to this. So that was disappointing. The beach/essentia is across the street from the main areas, which was kind of nice because it was keeping the essentia areas separate from everyone else. I wouldn't recommend ocean view rooms, because the buildings are so low, your view is likely obstructed by trees/beach chairs. The ocean is FILTHY. I have never been to a resort and not spent a day or more in the ocean. It is filled with seaweed. The beach is public, so it is not maintained. There are a few shops, and a lady who sells massages, on the beach. I only inquired about the paintings and walked away when he was $90 US for a small 5x7. We did the romantic dinner on the beach our last night there. It was $150 US. You definitely pay for the experience. The dinner was basic, and not very good. But I did get to take a bottle of wine home (since I was obviously not drinking it there). So that was nice. The staff definitely expect to be tipped CONSTANTLY. Do not expect service if you are not tipping every single time. We are the type to give a $10-$20 at the end of the day, not $1 every single time... Louis on the beach/essentia side refused to even acknowledge us. Absolutely horrible service. Also, the hotel will not give you smaller bills ($1's) so be prepared... which is another reason we were being forced to tip $10 and up. The entertainment was disappointment. The staff will dance to the same song every single night... and twerk. Because as a family-friendly resort, that's what everyone wants to see. We all desire to see girls lift up their dresses, flash their asses at the audience, and twerk. When there's a competition on the "beach party" night, the guys will do a race, the girls --- well, who can twerk the best. It was disturbing to watch. The Michael Jackson show is 10x better in Cuba. I couldn't really tell if his eyes were even open, but he looked high AF. It was awkward to watch. The resort is also open to locals... so be prepared for that. They didn't cause any issues, but it is something to take note of because I'd say majority of the guests for the late night entertainment/disco, is locals. I do not recommend this resort. It is no where near a 3-4-5 star. Spend your money and go elsewhere.

I stayed at the coral costa caribe 14 yrs ago and decided to go there again in Mar.24. Upgrades are great. Rooms are always clean showers amazing never ran out of hot water. Grounds are kept clean as are food areas and the sports bar. Only thing I would suggest is a new way to book al a cartes. 6 am line up everyday while on vacation is not acceptable. Maybe be able to book online before the trip or even during the trip for any day not just the day of.

We were in the Adult Only Area ! Loved the adult pool area calmer and very central. We loved the room 4314, no elevators but the resort is accessible friendly. Only 1 buffet restaurant and food is on repeat ! Drinks are well done small glasses so I was happy I brought my own. As for TOWELS ! Terrible and very disorganized. Wasn’t able to gain access to a new towel daily and almost needed to be a bully for them to give me one after day 2. So consider bringing your own. Over all it is not a 4* resort but a high 3.

Entrance to hotel and lobby not great but OK. Our main take away was inconsistency! Beach was great due to breakwater which made it very calm and warm. Great for families & non swimmers & just relaxing in the water. The 2 pools were good. The one a la carte restaurant was only open 2-3 days a week & was definitely sub par. Buffet was adequate, inconsistent, but we never went hungry. Wait staff poorly trained & didn't seem to know what to do. Most never smiled & were not friendly Activities were held on an inconsistent basis & not as per posted schedule. Evening entertainment very unprofessional & mostly not worth watching. Service was lacking & we were often blatantly ignored. There is a definite language barrier here. Speaking Spanish would be very helpful. It was nice to be able to walk in the small town that surrounded the resort. There were numerous vendors on the beach selling products & massage. Most did not force themselves on us. The massage was very professional. There was no representative from the airline but there was a representative from a local company in the hotel at all times. Very good to deal with but you needed USD or pesos, no credit card. But you could get cash on your credit card from the local bank with an extra charge. We would consider going back here for a strictly beach vacation provided the price was really good as we now know what to expect. Go there with low expectations.

This is a solid 3.5 star hotel; the rooms are basic with all you need but nothing else, no hooks for towels, limited drawers, very loud in building 3. The food was ok, enough to find something to eat but I wouldn't call it good food. The beach is amazing and you can walk very far safely. We always found chairs no problem. The staff are excellent. The bus ride to get there from Punta Cana was 1 hour and 45 minutes.

The food was super great.....it was very clean, staff was so nice....the only thing that we had not checked was the drive from the Punta Cana was 2 hrs from the Resort....a bit too long for me....... Besides the fact that it was a small resort compare to others it was divine for resting and sunbathing.

Terrible resort from food too the empty water coolers rooms were decent so was the service pool towels were hard too get and pool was dirty the beach was good but the resturants around were top dollar when the seen u was from gringo land

Hotel accomodation great but needs upgrades with appliances such as fridge had to replace room fridge 3 times. Room service needed more towels exchange had to ask everyday to supply us with fresh towels. Dining room buffet in this case was great lots of variety of different foods and choices. bonus was omellette and pasta bars always available.Staff were great always giving us excellent service. Booking "a la carte" restaurants was a our biggest challenge trying to book reservations for a large group was difficult. We could not book online because having three diffferent rooms the reservation could not be processed for our group. Pools and Bars on site were great. Staff were amazing! Beach areas clean and safe not to many venders trying to push buying their products Location Location on this small resort was perfect for a large family group Evening entertainment for adults and kids was amazing

Resort was good value considering what we paid. The food seemed to be a common complaint in other reviews. It was mediocre and repetitive, but it had taste and we never went hungry. Management of food service could be improved for greater consistency. There were vegetarian and vegan options at each meal, but the options became repetitive. The resort it's self was very nice. We were there at the peek in the last 1.5 weeks of December. It was busy but never felt overly crowded. The location is a ~1.75 hour drive from PUJ, so be ready for the long drive if you are flying into that airport. On the plus side the somewhat remote location meant there was only one resort in the area and the streets around this resort felt more local and authentic. The beach was also pretty quiet. The gym was very well equipped with treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, dumbbells, and various weight stations. Drinks at the bars were somewhat limited. We aren't big drinkers and were ok with the selection. Staff were very friendly and present. Many of them didn't speak English but customer service did, and they all seemed to know enough English words that we never had issues communicating. The resort had excellent WiFi throughout. We stayed in the Deluxe room. It was large and comfortably housed 4 people, however it was one room with no dividers. Overall, we would book again given the opportunity.

This was our first time in DR , when we first walked in to the resort we were very impressed by the set up , even though it lacks a lobby area where people can gather and meet away from the rain ., We have encountered few situations that we were hoping that we could avoid , such as the lack of English speaking staff and the persistent of the guys who are trying to sell a package and won’t leave alone all day , so you literally try to avoid them all day and force to take a different path so you don’t talk with them , Even one of them came and knocked on our door while we were relaxing in the room !!! Beside all that you runaway to the beach and the other people try to sell you something while your laying down in the sun ,, The rooms were ok but the finding of cockroach's few time was gross !! We encounter rains a lot and we asked for an umbrella but they wouldn't provide one you have to buy it from the store for almost $20 usd .. The food was great at the snack bar and available but some of the staff over there were very cranky almost all the time and you asked them for anything and they wouldn’t even look at you !! They prefer to serve the local that they were there all weekend long … I heat not to give a good review about it but that was what we encountered beside few things that I don’t want to mention here !

This was my 15th time to the Coral Costa Caribe. It is the best Caribbean resort and I have traveled extensively to 6 Caribbean countries over the years. The resort caters to their clients and treat me like royalty. I have now gotten to know a lot of the staff personally and the greeting I receive when I show up is unbelievable. The accommodations, beach, food and customer service are all top-notch. I will continue to make the Coral Costa Caribe my holiday destination as I know what I am getting every time! The location is close to numerous interesting places to visit off-resort and places you will want to visit every time you visit. It may not "present" as a 5-star online but this resort offers like a 5-dtar in my opinion.

We had a great time at Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio! The weather was perfect, rooms were clean, beds were comfy and the beach and pools were fabulous! The only thing that could be improved on was the beach and pool loungers were quite worn, other than that, no complaints!

I was put off by some reviews, you do have to cross a road to get to the beach and main buffet- it’s not a busy road and I felt very safe. All the workers were so accommodating and extremely friendly. If you are looking for a party- this is not the resort for you. It’s quaint, personable and quiet quiet. The tour people were quite annoying but when you tell them no for the 100th time they do stop asking by day 6- the beach vendors are respectful as well. We had room 5125- the swimup was phenomenal, temperature was great and it was clean with close proximity to the pool bar! The room and resort were very clean. The restaurants were great, buffets were not great as the selection was extremely limited but we didn’t starve.

The staff will only pay attention to you if you show that you are going to tip them, I got food poisoning from the food, the pools are not cleaned, entertainment is lacking, the beach has lots of seaweed, snack bar never seems to have snacks available, the adults-only section is right by the entertainment section of the resort - very loud and not relaxing. We could hear the disco music from our room - kept us up at night.

Very well designed resort. Clean and well maintained Nice beach, plenty of room well maintained and cleaned daily. Personnel ready to make extra steps to satisfaction of customers. Good coffee. Room cleaned with replacing towels and bedding daily.

Pros: The Safari excursion (offered by Sunwing?) was VERY nice! highly recommended! The rooms had powerful AC units that cooled the rooms down within minutes (they are off when no one is in the room). The buffet was surprisingly very good! All water that was served to us was bottled water. There and many bars in the resort and the service and decent and fast. Most staff were polite, friendly, and helpful. Minor issues: Beach vendors often come by to harass you to buy something. They are very insistent and use high pressure sales tactics. For example, my girlfriend had a vendor start making an ankle bracelet around her foot without consent. They are very pushy and only leave you alone if you totally ignore them or if you say "no thank you" a few times in a row. ATM machine is hard to locate. Asking front desk employees can help guide you to the right location (outside main entrance) Major issues: Were were told not to drink the tap water 24 hours after arrival. I drank the water(1 small sip) to take my pills in the morning without knowing it was unsafe. I had digestive issues for a week after/during the vacation. When booking, we wanted 1 king bed but upon arrival we were given 2 queens. We asked to change rooms and they we kind enough to changed us the following day. However, in the new room, there was a cockroach under our mattress. After a complaint, they changed us immediately to another room. They handled things nicely, but it was 2 days of changing rooms instead of enjoying the resort. You need 20$ USD as part of a leaving/exit tax. This was not explained to us before arriving. When leaving, we were told that they accepted Dominican Pesos equal to 20$USD. Our Sunwing representative told us that 1000 Dominican Pesos = 20$ USD. At the airport we were told it was 1200 Dominican Pesos and they don't have change. I had to take out money from an ATM twice and overpaid (2500 dom. pesos) just to leave the country. I understand this is not the Hotel's fault, but I'm putting this here for general information and precaution. It would be nice for this information to be accurate and available from the hotel and not to have to stress and overpay throughout the leaving process.

Nice hotel with all services: pool, restaurant, business center, etc. Good service, good location in the colonial district. The pool area is a nice place to relax and have a drink and a view on the City. There are many interior courts. Close to many restaurants, cigar shops and markets. Very central with a view on the river.

Hotel has a very nice and clean beach to stay with kids and enjoy the weather. There are few restaurants and bars in the resort, and the food is fine with different menus every day. The rooms are old but very clean.

Great vacation, great personel, great vacation. It is to do again. The beach is beautiful, I had a great vue of the ocean in my room and was able to watch the sunset and sunrise everyday. I was able to visit the surroundings of the hotel but 7 days wasnt enough.

Definitely a three- star. The rooms are a bit beat up but fairly well maintained. Food service was good, although some areas understaffed (snack bar) on the weekend when the resort fills with locals. Poor signage made it hard to navigate what was where, and I received NO information about hotel amenities. If you don’t speak fluent Spanish you do not get the same service (ie: being ignored when a native speaker starts a conversation with the staff)

We have been travelling to Dominican Republic since 2015 (once or twice a year) mostly to Puntacana. It was our first trip to Boca Chica Santo Domingo and it was horrible. The resort we went in Feb. 23rd 2022 for 10 days is called “Be Live Hamaca Beach”. It is a very old resort, with all the issues we experienced are as follow: Lobby: The first day we entered the resort, we noticed that the water was pouring down (not leaking) from the ceiling of the main lobby… the lobby was mostly full of water. The second day the pouring the water happened again from a different side of the ceiling in the lobby… same issue, the lobby was full of water until it was fixed few hours later. The staff weren’t friendly, and they hardly speak English except for one of them who was always on the tiktok. Room: There was no hot water for couple days, so we had to take cold shower. The toilet wasn’t flashing properly, and the bed had a broken leg. When I brought this up, the guy in the reception heard my complain but without doing anything, he continued watching tiktok on his cell phone. When I told him it is urgent, he pointed to a service desk which was at the other corner of the lobby, but no one was there. The guy told me to wait for him to report the issue. When the service desk person should up, there were lots of other people waiting for him and the line up grow long. The service desk person recorded my issues; however, no action was taken except the hot water was resolved. The 3rd day the doorknob came off, so I took it to the service desk, and it took them 2 hours to fix it. Restaurant: There is only one buffet restaurant which the food is almost the same every day. Not too many varieties or options to choose from. When you walk in, no one will set you up to the table, so you pick a table and wait for the waitresses to bring you the cutleries and drinks. Some time the wait is too long so we went to grab our own drinks. We booked those speciality restaurants, however there is only one restaurant that changes the name and menu every day. There is about 12 items on the menu and most of them are not available. The food is not good, and services were not in our satisfactory. Overall, the “Be Live Hamaca” resort is not a place we will visit again. And as per our experience it won’t even qualify for 3 start standard rating.

This was without a doubt the worst vacation I’ve ever had . The room was not as appeared in the pictures. It was literally falling apart. The toilet seat fell off, the shower holder was held on by one screw and rolled sideways spraying water all over the bathroom when you turned it on. Oh,…did I mention there was absolutely NO hot water !! Completely unsatisfactory

3 hours from airport no tub no balcony no stocked mini bar shower was broken Sunwing doesn’t even go to that hotel tried calling tried emailing had to call brother in Canada get him to call took 3 days finally got moved room smelt like mould still no hot water we were there 2 weeks we’re only allowed 2 alacartes cockroaches in rooms pools were green grey water came out of a pipe and ran right into the ocean from hotel no one spoke English food was awful they told me that I could pay for Covid test in peso’s and to leave country in pesos spent hours both times trying to get money switched over got ripped off both times people made me pay double it was like we were at a hotel not a resort then our plane broke down spent 12.5 hours at airport they bused us to a resort at 1:30 in the morning the bus left with out us had to take a taxi got woke up early for ride to airport checked out then flight changed again then sat in lobby for hours waiting for ride to airport had to spend extra money at airport because of 12.5 hour wait it sounds like they sent us to the wrong place

The hotel was nothing like the photos, those photos must be 20 years old. It was very run down. The customer service was some of the worst I've ever experienced they went out of their way to not help. The restaurants advertised for a la carte only one was open and rotated between the same styles italian and mexican and you had to sign up for the day of and be there by 7am to get a reservation so no sleeping in. The service was better at the a la carte restaurants. The beach was crowded so we could never get beach chairs. The guys selling excursions would bother you and not leave you alone. There were escorts all over. The hotel staff were all trying to sell us drugs or "whatever you need" as they would say. The staff was very sexually forward towards me and I felt unsafe unless I was with my boyfriend. I even got followed back to my room by one of the staff and had to run inside. We could never get fresh towels even though we paid for the card. We had a fun trip because we made our own fun but it was more like camping then the resort and luxury vacation we were promised. If you don't care about the accommodations and just want to go enjoy the beach then it's ok but don't expect what's promised on the website at all.

The hotel was a 3 star No hot water Food was basic And the liquor was bottom of the barrel pretty sure I got alcohol poisoning The service was excellent and the staff were friendly but at sometimes can be needy and that doesn’t make me want to go back

My boyfriend and I stayed here January 2022, and will never return. The hotel room smelled terrible, the floor was gross, the bath tub paint was awful, the sink and toilet were broken. When we asked for a room switch they told us we would have to down grade. The staff either doesn’t speak English at all or only knows a bit. Mask rules are not followed, and the other people staying on the resort were rude, ignorant and arrogant. This was suppose to be a relaxing week away but was stressful and aggravating. Total waste of money. Everything costs extra. The only alcohol drinks included are ones that only have rum. Otherwise you are paying cash for everything. The staff always expect a tip, and will not treat you well if you do not tip for simple things like getting a drink. The pool was full of garbage, leaves, dirt, and bugs. The resort is in the middle of a busy area and there are constantly cars racing by, honking and causing disruption. Beggars everywhere who get too close to you. Do not stay at this resort. It is not a 4 star. The pictures are not realistic and it’s not worth spending your money on. I need a vacation from that vacation.

Where should I start... Day 1.. arrived at the resort... no welcome drink or hot towel to show us we are welcome here We had a private check in.. again .. nothing to make us feel welcome Went to our ocean view room... I had booked a king.. got 2 double beds, toilet flush was not working, telephone was not working, air conditioning was leaking... and to add to that was given no wifi password! Had to trek to reception to have them change our room.... Ok new room... better... but not a 4.5 star rating.. more like a 3 star Food is blah... the a la cartes can be better Buffet is very small... there is no variety at all!.. whether it's breakfast lunch or dinner... there is no variety whatsoever!! And the meats in the buffet are very undercooked! The snack bar with burgers wings and fries is ok... burgers are undercooked.. have to get them to redo them Mini bar is not restocked at all!!! I had to ask... and all I got was 2 beers!!! Cleanliness of the room is not too good either The staff is very nice, but there is probably only 1% of them that understand English!!... but still very nice !! And quite honestly the beach is the best part of this resort... nothing else!! This is not a 4plus star resort... this is less than a 3 star! And definitely not worth the money I spent!!

Considering our present pandemic state, everything was great, quite enjoyable. Would definitely love to do it again, under better global circumstances, to see the real fullness of the resort. Would have loved to take a trip off the property itself and see the locals, maybe visit some of the restaurants and sites. Don't get me wrong there was enjoyment on the resort itself but the variety and the options would have made things that much better. The Corona virus has put a strangle hold on many things, people, places.....but I'm happy to see how great the resort handled the situation, hats off to them, wonderful work.

This was my 7th time in the Dominican Republic and my first time at an Emotions resort. The hotel experience with awful overall. Customer service was very disappointing. They seemed annoyed everytime I approached them. Information they gave me was inconsistent. It seemed impossible to receive service at the restaurants other than a la cartes. Communication was inconsistent and incorrect most of the time. Room wasn’t great. We had to change rooms after two days because our bathroom flooded into the bedroom after every shower. No one helped us move our luggage to the new room. We had to call for towels 6 of the 14 days and even then they only brought a full towel set twice out of the 14 days. When we complained about the service they sent us a bottle of champagne. We decided to save it for our last night and two days later our house keeper took the bottle for a friend of her because she said she thought we didn’t want it. Our “mini bar” we stocked with a beer pop and water - we had to request that it was refilled every day. Food was okay nothing special. Bar only insisted on giving white rum with drinks even when I specifically asked for dark. When I needed to find out what time my bus was coming to take me to the airport it took 4 days to get ahold of my travel rep. In the end they gave me the phone number and told me to call them on my own. The phone in my room did not work and wifi was non existent. We met a few other couples throughout our stay and the awful experience was mutual. Some of them paid for excursions but the bus never came to pick them up. Some had kids in their private adult pools. I was truly disappointed that when I addressed a concern the service seemed to get worse. They didn’t seem interested in pleasing their guests. This was an engagement trip for me and my fiancé. We made the best of the beach - which was great and the coffee bar - which was also great! We made the best of it but I would never go back to that resort.

I found the front lobby and eating areas to be well kept and clean. Pools were great and around them were kept clean. I loved the trees on the beach for shade but still a good amount of beach not shaded. Food was good in both the special restaurants and buffet. The staff were very pleasant and friendly. The room needed some renovations. Patio door very sticky and the dresser drawers also sticky. Lost hot water once but cold water is not that cold for having a shower. My son very much liked the disco for dancing.

I would not recommend this resort .. it need major repairs.. front desk staff are very rude and no help with problem.. due that many local residents go to the resort on the weekend we could not find other room.. local residents get better service that visitors

Overall the resort is nice, but not as nice as expected. The food was wonderful, hotel was clean, but needs a good update. There was also not much entertainment available compared to many resorts. 3/5

Dirty hotel rooms, unprofessional staff, food was alright, service was horrible no towels were provided and ran out of beach towels, this hotel is falsely advertised as a 4-star but it’s actually a one star.

Check in was very slow. We had a room in the building 16 on the 3d floor. Very nice pool view room, fresh renovated, painted, clean. Everything was working. Food was good. Brazilian restaurant is the best. Animation team is amazing. Beach is small but clean,not enough shadow. The water is warm, no waves if it is windy.

We were beginning to second guess our choice of vacation after reading such negative reviews, what hogwash. The staff from check-in and throughout the resort are great, always smiling and very helpful They are constantly cleaning and grooming the place. We were here for two weeks and didn’t attempt the Ala carte restaurants as the buffet was terrific Always a great variety from the meat, vegetables and potatoes. Some people are just too demanding while on holiday. Would return again.

We loved this resort. We had a few reservations from some reviews we had read, but we were pleasantly surprised. The beach is beautiful, the accommodations great, comfortable beds. We stayed on the Essentia side and would definitely book this again. We did not have an ocean view room, but we didn’t mind. Private pools, walkways, massages....it was all great.

We traveled as a couple along with 3 other couples and 3 single males. Like any resorts it has its pros and cons. We were in a swim up room which included the use of another pool. One thing about this resort is there are too many different groups/levels which results in many areas being restricted. VIP group, Bravo group and the adults only pool. It becomes confusing that there are so many levels and many areas you can't access if you have a regular room. An example is if you have a regular room you can only access one of the four pools. Seems a little over kill on the up graded packages. Services was average. More of a language barrier than you will see in Cuba. Bar was only stocked with the basics so no fun shots, just rum, vodka etc. Male members of the staff will hit on females, calling them beautiful, hot, sexy etc. Venders on the beach and set up on the resorts are very aggressive and relentless. You truly just have to ignore them or say no thank you and they will move on. They had an odd rule of not allowing drinks in the pool, you weren't even allowed to sit on the side with your legs. We found this really odd, as we had never experienced this down south before. Rooms were nice, in good condition and clean. Wifi worked but was slow, enough to check in on things back home. The resort is very small, short walk to the beaches, pools, bars, buffet. Beach and pool were both not crowded which is very important for us. Most days we weren't up until 8:30-9am and had no issues getting a chair in the shade. Food was good, always able to find something to eat. The animation team was a lot of fun and definitely made our trip more fun/memorable. The MJ show was great. Overall, we enjoyed out stay and would come back again.

Although the staff is friendly and the room was nice the hotel is literally falling apart.I was nearly hit by a huge chunk of the facade that came tumbling down.Had someone been hit they would have surely been killed! I took pictures.The food was sub par always luke warm or almost cold.Lounge chairs always all taken and many were broken. No latin music and no live music .No good fresh friut or fruit juice.Beach was very nice and great swimming.Pools were also very nice.

Starting with getting off the bus the hotel looks great. The walls are freshly painted, landscape was nicely trimmed. The lobby is very small. There were 2 bus loads of people to check in. 4 staff working the check in counter. The staff were pretty decent at English. There were no rooms available at that time, we all had to come back a couple hours later to get our rooms. They did give us our bracelets so that we could go get food. On our way to go get food a timeshare guy was hounding us pretending he wasn’t timeshare. When they did give us our room we had no towels and only got one room key. Internet was very poor. Hardly ever worked. Internet connection with no access. The back pool was vacuumed every day. Adult pool had a dead gecko in it for 2 days, and was only cleaned once in the whole week. Jacuzzi was full of sand. All pools and jacuzzis were super cold. Ocean was warmer. Music was way too loud at the main pool. Not as many restaurants as advertised. Easy to book dinner reservations. Buffet had a limited selection. A la carte restaurant food was always over cooked. Service was painfully slow.... 3 hours for a meal at the Mexican. Lunch and dinner buffets were pretty much the same foods. No variety day to day either. Bar had not much of a selection for drinks. Bartenders were not very good with English. Bar menu had 12 drinks. Each bartender made the drinks differently. Disposable cups were great, meant no lipstick on “washed” glasses. Beach was well kept. Local sales people hounded you at the beach all day. Always hustling. Wouldn’t take no for an answer. Hotel allowed local sales guys to set up markets strategically at spots you had to walk through in order to get to the beach or main pool or restaurants.... no other way around. The rooms were a good size, clean, updated. Some people had clothing go missing from their bags. Safe was too small. No towel rack on the balcony. Deadbolt didn’t work on the door. Archery and the bicycle tour was great. Evening entertainment was hardly ever in English. Resort is very French driven. English were excluded from activities. 90% of the staff were professional and courteous. Some staff mocked us when we couldn’t speak their language, being pretty rude about it.

The layout of this resort is great. We loved the side we were on we were in room 1120 on the adults only side. The food was just good nothing to rave about. The burgers at the 24hour snack bar were always delicious tho and hand made! Buffet by the Mexican restaurant is better then the ocean front one, there is more variety. Service was great for the most part. At the a la cartes the service was understaffed and if you were younger you could tell service was different then if you were a family or an older couple. We enjoyed the beach the water and white sand was great. The swim up room was great we used our pool everyday! We definitely enjoyed ourselves but definitely would rate this more of a 4 star.

Les chambres sont propres d'une valeur 3 étoiles, les personnels comme Maiki au restaurant très sympa gentil. L'hôtel doit avoir d'autre équipe d'animation les show sont désastreux. La plage n'est pas

The resort is so horribly laid out, only food is across a road???? Beach is small but cute. arrived there 2 hours late and was not registered, then no bellhop to room, arrived at room and had requested 2 beds (as I was travelling with adult son) and got 1 king bed. The received another bed in room (so 2 king beds in one room)??? and no pillows or blankets...for the whole night, when we got a pillow the next night it was a case stuffed with towels? Phone did not work (so had to run to reception every time we needed pillow....blanket..bed). The BEST thing about this resort was ADA, ELVIS (THE BARTENDERS)...total hates off to them

Accommodations and service were all excellent. Food was acceptable albeit plain without much change on a daily basis. All of the staff were exceptionally friendly and went out of their way to make you feel special.

I personally love this resort and would return. However, the opinions of the other six people in my party vary greatly. If you’re looking to be pampered in luxury this is not the resort for you. If you’re looking for a beautiful beach and to be immersed in the local Dominican culture this resort could be what you are looking for. We went on an excursion that promised two exquisite beaches but they didn’t compare to the one at the hotel. The beach is beautiful, one of the best in the DR. The local population comes to this resort on their vacations. It’s a small cove with a natural barrier, very calm and peaceful. Sand was nice to walk in, and the water was warm and clear. The local shops are plentiful. I loved being able to walk off hotel and go to shops, though I would recommend going down the road as the two immediately outside were both expensive and pushy. We brought a little USD but changed our Canadian at a Western Union beside the hotel at a fair rate. I would recommend bringing enough USD to tip on our way down and pay your $20 to leave. The rest we paid in pesos. The food was adequate, not great not terrible. The accommodations are the same — adequate. The staff was friendly and helpful. Practice common sense, don’t go off on our own. You are not on a secluded resort! We did two off-resort excursions: Blue Lagoon and a trip to Santo Domingo. The Blue Lagoon was sold as a family friendly, handicap accessible adventure and I wouldn’t consider it either. The boat ride was loud and the liquor flowed freely.. culminating with a half mile walk up a rough beach. The staff was helpful when they were informed of our limitations but it never should have been sold to us given the difficulty for all involved (staff included). The Santo Domingo tour required a decent amount of walking but was sold as such. We opted for a private tour in which we could pick and choose where to visit. The driver didn’t speak English but we picked up a tour guide in SD who did. The guide was very knowledgeable and It was an enjoyable experience. Overall, while we all enjoyed the hotel and experience, some will prefer a more traditional resort experience and should avoid this hotel. However if you want to immerse yourself in the culture and see some of the most beautiful beach in the country, I would highly recommend this property.

Even though the resort was half closed, I still had a great time. Staff were friendly and food was great at times and so so other times. There was always something that I liked. The alacarts were exceptional. The extracuriculum staff ie; pool games and dancing in the evenings were great. Would love to come back when it was fully functional.

Fairly good for the price. Food repetitive but always something to eat. Beach ok , 5 minutes walking distance , hotel not on the beach. Rooms quite old but ok to be there for a week. Staff quite friendly ...

The resort was nice, the people were polite. Great activities for kids. The room was good the only issue was getting beach towels and having the room towels changed. Otherwise, overall, we had a good time.

At first we were a little bit worried because of all of the negative reviews that we read before going on our trip, but once we got there, we were wondering what all of those people were talking about because we think it’s a great place to spend a vacation. We need to keep in mind that it’s a 3.5-4 star resort in the Dominican so that being said, it is a really beautiful place with a great beach and great entertainment/fun!

resort is clean and comfortable but there is sand fly my wife got bumps and sore the food is good as resort food goes some people complaining that the hotel too far (punta cana to juan dolio) but I enjoin the ride but do not ( I said do not) a book a trip from reunners if don't speak in spanish

We’ve been at the emotions mid June before vacation got a good deal and want it to try something else . The hotel by itself is small compare to Bahia or iberostar ... for us it was a plus ... the service is good ... we were with my 3 year old daughter ... had some entertainment. Lot of local go there from Thursday- Sunday ... expect to meet a lot of them because this hotel is not far from the capital ... Pool was not maintain properly ( only 2 pools ) ... local eat and drink in the pool but I guess is normal . Try to do the Catalina excursion . This hotel is average compare to Similar hotel . You have to try all the restaurent à la carte ( but the Asian) . Good luck !

First off, the food was very good! Lots of variety and seldom repetitious. The staff were very friendly and looked after any concerns or questions immediately. The toilet wouldn't flush one day and the maid informed maintenance and he was there and had it fixed in 15 mins. They seemed to genuinely care about the clientele. The grounds were well looked after and the beach was cleaned up every morning. The only negative I had was the speil by elite for travel deals with Hodelpa in other parts of the world. The original concierge and another both stated it was a 90 minute presentation but could leave after 20 mins and still get a free massage. Why not, so the main guy ( name escapes me) was very insistent we sign and stay for 90 minutes or don't waste their time. I said I am on vacation, I am relaxing not being forced to sit for 90 mins if I am not interested. I said the guys said I could leave in 20 minutes. No, that's not how it works! Well I said they need to get on the same page then. His assistant gave us massage vouchers for the trouble regardless. However, here is the catch...the "free" 15 minute massage you receive is AFTER you have a 1 hour massage which is $85 USD. All in all though, I was extremely happy with my stay there.

Resort was ok..... paid for an upgrade didn't feel like I got my money's worth. Was suppose to have private check in. The VIP concierge was closed when I got there. Asked for beer for my room twice and didn't receive any!!! Food was good but not great......

GROUNDS WERE WELL KEPT. BEACH IS NICE BUT SMALL. NOT ENOUGH SHADED AREAS TO SIT. VERY CRAMPED BEACH SITTING AREA. TOO MANY PRIVATE, EXTRA COST OR MEMBERS ONLY AREAS, INCLUDING ONE BEACH POOL AND THE COVERED RESTAURANT AT ONE END OF THE BEACH. DINING IN THE BUFFET WAS EQUIVALENT TO EATING IN CUBA - MEH. (NO BACON). SITUATED IN VERY BUSY AREA WITH CONSTANT BOMBARDMENT FROM LOCALS SELLING YOU THINGS OR ASKING FOR MONEY EVERYWHERE YOU GO. ROOMS WERE VERY NICE AND SPACIOUS WITH LOTS OF HOT WATER. NIGHTLY ENTERTAINMENT WAS GOOD. MOSTLY RUSSIAN, SPANISH AND FRANCO GUESTS, FEW NORTH AMERICANS, IF THATS WHAT YOU WANT.

We arrived at our hotel and the Lobby looked like a 2 star in the movies in the bad part of town. Very unwelcome, unfriendly staff and not very clean. We then were put in the wrong section of hotel and had no towels or facecloths , no remote for the tv, the room had no phone and smelled like a kitchen. Very stained and unacceptable. We also had no hot water We got moved to another room after complaining over and over. The next room was much better but the balcony was covered in pigeon feces daily. Still no hot water until our last day when there was only hot water and no cold water. The food was ok on the last day but was attrocios the other days. We liked that we could go to town by foot and see the real Dominican, but the resort was the worst I’ve ever stayed in. The trip was not worth the price and we made the best of it.

Its a nice resort, nice pool, nice restaurants!! The vagetation was beautiful. The weather was perfect...the sea wow if you like it calm and turquoise!! The staff was 👍 The animation 3/5 The room was a 2-3/5 could be renovate I give a 3/5 stars

After deciding on a Last Minute vacation, our friends encouraged us to visit. I would recommend this resort to others. Most impressed with the overall staff which kept a high standard for us guests. Thanks especially to Rosa who changed our room for us. My only setback was the distance to the beach. I would like to recommend maybe a golf card, which would take especially seniors a part of the way. Hope to visit again.

We just came back from a 12 day stay at this resort. We stayed in building 5 on the ground floor. It was very quiet and the room was clean. Wifi was not that strong, however came in clear in other areas. The food was great especially at the three al a carts which we took advantage of. The Mexican and the Dominican were our favs. The staff was friendly and the grounds were always being cleaned. It was seaweed season there but that did not deter us from swimming in the ocean. The beach was constantly being raked. No trouble getting chairs on the beach. There were vendors but very polite. What impressed me the most was that the booze was not forced on anyone but available on request. Only complaint was the music could have been a few decimals lower for us older folks.

The resort was nice , clean, the pools very nice and the a la carte restaurants were great, but I didn't like the beach area at all, dogs everywhere, pedlars bugging you. I didn't feel safe off the resort.

The people were amazing. I enjoyed the shows. The resort was nice. I did not like the rooms. The rooms need a lot of renovations. We had no fridge and the TV was old with no colors. Beds and pillows were not comfortable.

Worst resort. To start the resort is 3 hours drive from the airport. The entire place is dirty and old. Lacks upkeep. We booked the garden view and were given a room overlooking an alley way. OUR ROOM WAS BROKEN INTO THE FIRST NIGHT AND 300$ WAS STOLEN OUT OF OUR SAFE. We spent 3 days trying to get the hotel to help us and they did nothing for us. The food was mostly horrible, we actually lost weight from not eating on our trip. Buffets are not restocked, so if you don't go once it opens, you don't eat. Towels never replaced. The list goes on. Do yourself a favour and look elsewhere. Be careful booking with tripcentral.ca we searched 4 star plus resorts and this place came up. If you search reviews elsewhere it's a 2.5 star resort. We didn't know until after we booked.

Beach was great with incredible beach bar. Lounge chairs available. Recommend beach side. Garden pool lots of fun too. Rooms should have been cleaner and it was difficult to get enough towels and supplies. Furniture was missing from room and we waited all week for a light bulb to be replaced. (It never was)

Service was poor, food quality was poor, cleanliness of room poor. Staff was rude and 99% of them knew absolutely no English, the entire week stayed at the hotel we would have to ask daily for basic things such as towels, tissue and toilet paper.

Main concern about this hotel is that Airtransat flies to Punta Cana which is about 2 and 1/2 hours away from airport. Why can't Airtransat land closer airport - SantoDomingo? I stayed at the Gardenview location which they are the buildings behind the main hotel. Rooms very simple king bed, TV and view of pool, walk-in shower hot water, air conditioning. Value for your money, great food. Beach is spectacular for swimming.

We stayed at the Essentia Club on the Beach. Never a line-up at the Buffet's (usual resort food). A la Carte's a little weak, no different than the Chic Resort, but not as good as Majestic Resort. Building was a little tired but clean and air conditioning worked, ample towels. Would like to have had a bottle of Rum in the room but fridge stocked daily with water, beer and soft drinks. Do not bother booking the Swim out rooms they are not like the pictures you see from Emotions in Puerto Plata. The swim pool gets NO sunlight and the view is of a vine covered wall with noisy traffic on other side. We switched rooms to across the hall (no problems with this request) and were much happier with the less expensive room overlooking the private pool and the Ocean. From this room we were steps away from the pool, ocean, buffet and bar. The highlight of the resort is the amazing service and friendly staff. If other people are having problems with service and staff its a surprise to me. If you have a problem with sales people simply say no the 1st time they ask and they will be respectful. Keep in mind they are just trying to make a living but if you have no intention of buying tell them that so you don't waste their time. The free trip to Santo Domingo was worthwhile. The free Resort Spa massage was a bonus. The reports of dogs on the beach made my spouse and I a little apprehensive, but turns out the dogs were good and did not bother the guests. The beach is sandy but the shoreline has pockets of coral so beach/water shoes are recommended for comfort when in the ocean. God activation team if you like that kind of thing, we did not participate and were not pressured to do so. Always lots of available chairs on the beach and poolside. We would recommend the Lobster or Steak dinner ($40. us) on the beach as it was well worth it. Staff are happy to receive tips but do not pressure or ask for them.

The coffee cafe and pool area a nice touch. Room was fine (toilet out of commission one day), though a comfortable chair would have been appreciated. Buffets great, specialty restaurants pretty good (Italian the best). Beach and swimming above average, though lounge availability in the shade could be better. Plenty of activity, staff very friendly and helpful in every part of the resort. Multi generational family had a great time.

food is ok you wont go hungry but room is very basic. The beach is nice no seaweed but beach is not private and locals leave garbage all over the beach. overall for price paid not bad but 2.30 hour bus ride not acceptable considering santo domingo airport is 45 minutes away.

We came with a large group of people and our room keys often didn’t work. Staff were persistent on getting tips as well. The beach was beautiful and food was nothing special. The al a carte restaurants were pretty good.

The hotel grounds were beautiful. Workers were friendly and tried their best to as helpful as possible. Really nice amenities and great selection of entertainment and dining experiences. Would definitely go back again.

Really enjoyed my stay there. Was not sure at my first night, but I will recommand it for the staff, the food and discotheque. Little problem, not enough place at the buffet, lot of table I reserved for VIP. It s close to a 4 stars, VIP are going to 5 stars or diamond club. Long beaches but you should not swim far, coral and sand banks drop quick. But there is boue. Small safe resort.

Food is great. Staff are friendly. Well maintained .lots of entertainment day and night Rooms are clean but bed was a little hard . overall a beautiful resort to vacation well definitely be coming back again.

Very well maintained Resort. friendly staff. Awesome entertainment day and night. Food was really good also the drinks. Beautiful scenery all around the resort, the rooms are clean and well maintained. The beds are hard but was managable. We did 2 tours was amazing and worth it. The beach and bar and buffet on the beach was amazing . Weather was Beautiful for the time we were there. Over all its a good bang for the buck. Would definitely go back again. I love the resort.

Just spent a week here from Feb 2-Feb 9, 2019. We were nervous after reading online reviews because there seemed to be so many people complaining. When we arrived, we met a couple who said they had a terrible time and would never come back. Great. We had a Superior Deluxe Oceanview room, Room 405. The view was incredible. The room was beautiful. The a/c was not perfect, but we slept comfortably every night - and I'm always hot. The breeze was very nice, so we opened our windows at night. Our goal was to sit and enjoy our vacation. We did. We stayed by the pool every day. We did one excursion on the Party Boat. We had a few hiccups there, but everything was resolved and we were well taken care of. The staff were incredible. More than willing to help in any way and always pleasant. Our favourite staff member was Tommy in Mr Rogers who went out of his way to please us. He is such a sweet, lovable guy. We absolutely adored him. I found that many of the guests were quite rude but that has nothing to do with the hotel. The buffet is a bit small for the size of the resort. The coffee cups were always in demand as was the cutlery. The poor girls trying to keep up setting the tables must be given strict instructions to not hand the cutlery to people who ask for it - they seemed to guard it with their life. If there were 3 tables in her path to you that needed to be set up, they were set up before she would get to you and give you the cutlery. This was annoying because your food gets cold waiting for the cutlery. Unlike other guests, it did not ruin my vacation. The Lifestyle reps (in beige shirts) did come by often and ask you to go for a special drink. We were told that they get a $20 commission if they can lure you there. I told one rep that no, I wasn't interested, I am on vacation and did not come for a sales pitch. He said "I understand". I said I'm just like you - I work hard to save my money to come to a place like this and I don't have the extra money to buy a timeshare. He told my that's why they love the Canadians - because we don't try to be something we aren't and we actually take the time to talk to them. The resort isn't too big. I didn't find the walking too much at all. I have problems with my ankles and they were not an issue. However, I think someone with mobility issues should request a room on Level 0 or 1 or 2. Level 2 is ground level at the front and Level 0 is ground level at the beach. I read one review that complained about the "busy" street you have to walk across to get to the buffet. It was absolutely not an issue. The street is not that busy and a security guard stands there all day stopping traffic for pedestrians to cross. People also complain about the travel distance to the resort. Do your research before you book. I did - and my distance from the airport to the resort was 15 minutes through Air Transat who flew directly into Santo Domingo. Other airlines flew into Punta Cana and La Romana. Again, this is not the fault of the hotel. Check in was slow and could definitely use some improvement. Stood in line (we were near the back) for quite some time and then were told to come back at 3 (an hour later) to finish the check in (room assignment) which took another hour. The first part of the check in they gave us our bracelets so we could go and eat, but it's a long travel day and tired, cranky people don't like long, slow lineups. In the week we were there, I could see they were trying to make improvements. This also impressed me. If you go in looking for problems, you will find them - just as you would anywhere. If you go in with a positive attitude and remember why you are there, you will be thankful for a beautiful view, a very nice room, beautiful gardens/pools/ocean, and friendly, helpful staff.

We recently took my wife's parents to this resort. However, the resort (I was told) has a special deal for Russians....and there were 800 of them staying there. They make Americans look like well mannered people! Rude, pushy, obnoxious and selfish, they would wait foe new trays of fruit at the buffet.....then take it all....and leave most of it at their tables. There weren't enough towels in the rooms, especially hand towels....again, because of the boorish Russians taking extras from the housekeeping carts. They would go in groups to the beach.....and remove items from the chairs that others were using and take over the space....then lie about it. One cowardly Russian even went so far as to threaten my wife with the universal thumb draw across the throat......but was too gutless to repeat it when I was there. Fortunately, the hotel took our problems seriously and took acceptable action.....for this, the Guest Services manager, Tomas S. deserves our thanks and repect. However.......this resort should be left to those unmannerly and crude persons that share the same lack of respect for others.

We had the Essentia It's not a real exclusive thing You dont have a real the private access to the beach , only few chairs in front of the beach with a little fenced with a little sign. No supervision on who has the access or not. As for the restaurant , the only advantage is that you need to go see the concierge at the Essenta lounge instead on the main lobby but you don't have exclusivity on the hours and you can only reserve 2 days at the time. Food was good service too , but you don't feel that you are Essentia except for the pool access.

Pros: Beach is amazing - clean, warm water with sandy bottom and little fish, white sand, plenty of lounge chairs and beach is close to snack bar and washrooms. Public washrooms were well maintained. Mangoes Snack Bar had the most amazing pizza that was always prepared and ready to grab. A la carte restaurants were available every night with a reservation. Hot chocolate served at breakfast was yummy. Bar service was fast. Many options for refilling water bottles with clean drinking water. Staff were consistently pleasant and approachable. Resort is on the smaller side (400+ rooms) making the experience very low key. No large resorts within a 3 km walk along the beach in either direction - only a handful of smaller resorts. Two pool areas, which appeared nice although we spent all of our time at the beach. Excellent air conditioning in the rooms. Beds comfy. Room and floors cleaned every morning. Nice balcony with view of courtyard. Six stories, with a modern elevator. Absolutely dead silence every night that we slept and into the morning. Very happy with the sleeping environment. Good hot shower with excellent water pressure (except for one random evening when we had no hot water whatsoever). Mini fridge in room. Two small bottles of water provided by maid each day. Free wifi in rooms and lobby. Cons: No premium alcohol, however a very good red house wine and DR draft beer. Room bathrooms were quite outdated - grout is falling apart in tile floors. Toilet worked well, but difficult to get seat to stay up due to sink (made for tricky drunken trips to the toilet for my partner). No coffee maker in room. We could not get the television to work, although we were not too fussed about it. Pillows a little lumpy - but there were four for the two of us, which was great. Sports Bar had a weird musty, damp smell - however the most frozen drinks could be found here. Lots of soliciting on the beach for various goods - however, all sales people were very kind and did not push past a “no thank you, not today.” All in all this resort is very good value if you are willing to overlook its aging facade. We would definitely return.

Booking in was good The room was clean , no plugs in sink or bath and balcony light was not working , reported to Sunwing Rep but nothing was done. Every day we had to request something like water, replenishing room fridge etc. ONE GOES TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FOR BEACH AND SUNSHINE. IN THIS RESPECT WE WERE SATISFIED. Command of English or getting to be understood was a major problem. The Hotel advertised as having 2 pools with pool bars , 1pool actually had a REAL pool bar where one could sit in the pool and have a drink but it is NOT situated on the Beach Hotel side . Four Specialist restaurant . No mention that two are situated in Hamaca Garden Hotel 2 in Hamaca Beach . This required a lot of walking, Steps and very little wheelchair friendly areas , Easy access was not to be found. The restaurants did not have too much in their decor to show you were in Italian, Greek , or Mexican, except for Brazilian which had their flag. But don’t be fooled only one of them managed to supply food you could actually chew and swallow that was the GREEK. THE BUFFET Was not too bad trying to cater for so many different cultures BUT if it’s chunks of meat it’s more than likely to be tough. The MAIN Buffet, Italian and Brazilian in the Gardens Hotel. Mexican and Greek in Beach Hotel. So to get to these various areas one has to try to find easiest access for either people with walking disabilities to get to meals or the. beach. The snack bar on the beach was a laugh, the only food supplied Hot Dogs or Burgers (not impressed) I feel that Pelican Bay attached to theBeach Hotel, one would have to pay extra or become a member from what we were lead to believe, they even closed it for a private function with loud music on the Sunday Night , which was most inconsiderate to NORMAL GUESTS. On the other side one had a V.I.P. area where again it was only for people who would sign a contract for that Experience. In conclusion the only GOOD THING was not controlled by the Hotel , the beach and weather Was excellent

Understanding that resort ratings can vary from country to country please understand that my review will be as objective as possible. Also note that my back ground is in facilities management as I currently manage 185 facilities of various sizes or 11 000 000 square feet of occupied space for over 1200 people. Rating scale out of 5, with 5 being the highest. Legitimate Hotel Rating: 3 as compared to the Sandals Brand Transfer to the hotel from the airport: 3 - About a 2 hour trip, no stops, no bathrooms. Road conditions are very good and well policed so I felt safe the entire way there and back. Condition of Hotel: 3 - based on the over all condition of the rooms and the resort. The grounds are well kept, including pools and common areas. The rooms are in varying states of disrepair and the original build quality is not great. Our rooms had mold around the air conditioning supply line, could be corrected with a little insulation, the doors on our closet were broken, or taken off, the bathroom fan did not work, the caulking around the sing was pulled away from the wall the in room safe did not work. Gym: 5 - The gym is excellent, free weights, modern equipment, lots of space, heavy bag. Spa: 4.5 - The spa is excellent, steam sauna etc. I had a massage, it wasn't the best but not going to complain as it was included in my package. Beach & Grounds: 4.5 - excellent, safe, well maintained, no life guards and the pools are cold, there are no non motorized water sports ie. sail boats etc. There is a dive shop, extra cost, and the animation staff are always offering beach front activities, yoga, volleyball, other games, etc. Night Club: 2.5 - small, poor drink quality, not the greatest music Hotel Security: 3 - The hotel is not gated and there is no front line from road security in place. I was a little uncomfortable with this at the beginning but realized later that the hotel is in a safer area of the Dominican (walked the beach freely) and that there were security roaming the various access areas, beach etc. There were vendors on the beach but they were respectful and did not harass, I would simply say No mas and they would go away. Hotel Staff: 4 - Make sure you book as a VIP, this is a time share resort and you will receive preferred treatment as a VIP. Front desk staff do not make customer service a priority regardless of your guest status. VIP rooms are near the beach, our house keeper, Pool/beach waitress Adileni, bartender (Toni night bartender), dinning and kitchen staff went out of their way to make our stay special. Maintenance staff were always working on the grounds, our room deficiencies were never addressed but that's probably more of a management thing. Food: 3.5 - I would have rated this a 3 but the New Years celebration was over the top with amazing food selection and quality. The reservations for dinning were very hard to get, the buffet was the same selection day after day, the food was Ok and as they say, "we could always find something" (at a real 4+star this isn't something you say). breakfast was the best meal of the day. My go too's were the egg station, pasta bar, soup & bread (both amazing). Fresh fruit at breakfast was great too. There were restaurants that you could pay to eat and drink that I did not go to. Beverage quality and options: 2 - The coffee bar was excellent though regular coffee at the buffet was terrible, juices were chemical tasting or may some kind of concentrate, fountain pop was typically flat, not fresh, alcohol was sub standard and I think the draft beer was non alcohol "near bear". Al in all, not even close to 4+ star quality