Wonderful resort

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

3 stars resort

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.

Not Impressed

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 ea [... read more]ch 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.

Amazing Resort

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.

Worth the price

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  [... read more]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.

Okay resort

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.

A little disappointed

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 [... read more] 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!

Wonderful vacation!!!

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.  [... read more]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!

2nd visit

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 fun, but food was ?

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

Just okay resort

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. Ther [... read more]e 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.

False Advertising & Food Poisoning

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 d [... read more]runk 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.

Emotions - by Hodelpa Juan Dolio Feb 2024

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* r [... read more]esort but a high 3.

Decent Trip for the price

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.

Very Good Value with a family

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 la [... read more]rge 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

Good value for money

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  [... read more]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.

Great place to stay

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  [... read more]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 !

Awesome vacation!

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!

Small but pleasantly surprised

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 phen [... read more]omenal, 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.

DO NOT RECCOMEND

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.