JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar: Beautiful All-Inclusive

We just returned March 24th, 2023 from a two week stay. We were there last year and loved it so much we decided to go back again this year.The resort is absolutely beautiful in every way. It is immaculately kept inside and out. The pools are wonderful and the beach second to none. The grounds are beautiful. The rooms are on the older side but wonderfully kept. The staff for the most part are great, so friendly. This is a 5 Star all-inclusive in every way. Now, the small negatives. This is  [... read more]an all-inclusive and they advertise 'no tipping'. However, we felt pressured and stressed over tipping everybody. When we go to an all-inclusive we seldom take much money. Now, you don't have to tip but you feel the pressure. In one instance a bar server came and put coasters in front of us and asked for a tip! We hadn't even ordered drinks.Iberostar needs to clean this up. Charge a little more but prohibit tipping, similar to Sandals. Everyone gets a butler, like it or not. How much do you tip these guys? They typically just make your dinner reservations and ensure the fridge is loaded with your preferences but you're in for $100 a week. The second issue is the food. We found the night buffet and the lunch buffet place had little to our particular tastes. Lots of weird choices. Their fries and pizza are great but you can't live on that. We were very disappointed in the dinner selections at the night buffet. No roast beef, no turkey, no homemade burgers, no Mac n cheese. The service in the buffets has gone down since last year. It would take 20 minutes to get a coffee in the morning. The reservation restaurants are great with excellent service but alternate choices to beef were not to our liking. The beef is fantastic. They need to expand their menu choices! Lastly, the place lacks a coffee, sweets, ice cream snack place. I suggest getting rid of the wine store which no one goes in and get a fun coffee & sweets place. Most all-inclusive have these. Finally, the Punta Cana airport is your worst nightmare and for that reason alone we doubt we'll go back to DR. Two hours in a row it has taken us to check-in to leave. You stand in line with seemingly thousands of people and barely move and we pay extra for Elite level. Just horrible. On top of that Sunwing was 1 1/2 hours late departing for no known reason.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Awesome!

The Ocean Blue & Sand was more than we ever expected. I'll note the one negative thing but please recognize that is no fault of the resort or staff. The beach as been badly damaged from the hurricanes of 2021/22, however there is work happening daily to restore it. Thank you for trying to restore it's beauty. The entire resort experience was amazing. The grounds are pristine with work happening all day to maintain it's beauty. The pools and Mike's Coffee were the favorite gathering spots. The  [... read more]food was excellent with many many choices everywhere. Really appreciated the fact there were no reservations needed, except for the Sensai (Japanese cooking show). The wait for any of the others was not unacceptable, but worth it. Check- in and out went smoothly and very accommodating. All the staff we interacted with were gracious, pleasant and grateful. Tipping is highly encouraged (from us) as 1 US dollar and a 'thank you' can make a huge difference in someone's life. It's sad to see the "attitude of entitlement" in these environments, some vacationers could use a huge attitude adjustment. The staff we met, at all of the amenities, were such a pleasure to interact with (English wasn't always strong but 'thank you" is a global understanding). We will definitely return and will tell all our family and friends to consider OBS for another vacation destination. Thank you for an awesome vacation.

Catalonia Bavaro Resort: Great Resort

The people at this resort are wonderful! The pool, washrooms and grounds are very clean and really lovely. Beach is gorgeous and lots of chairs. Open air eating at beach buffet for breakfast and lunch. Main buffet is edged with water and very nice. Food at buffet could have been hotter as with a lot of places, but we stuck with the chicken/beef stir fry and pasta and grilled meats so they would be hot and were very good. We didn't do the other restaurants so don't know about that. The sta [... read more]ff were all amazing and I had a wonderful time tipping everyone, including the landscape, sweepers and kitchen staff. Don't forget about them folks. Wish I could remember some names. We will definitely return. Muchas Gracias everyone!

Grand Bavaro Princess: not bad

platinum buffet is always cold unless you get something cooked on the grill while you wait, the supposedly hot plates have the food uncovered on them with air conditioner blowing cold air down in the food & i asked for a fresh hot dish of potatoes and the guy carried them out with his bare hands so i said it was supposed to be hot and it felt like he had just got them and the veg out of the fridge. also if you are platinum & go to the main area to watch entertainment there is no area to get your [... read more] international drinks they should have a little platinum bar in that area to accomodate the platinum guests who go to the entertainment the regular buffets are all hot & good so the chef at the platinum buffet should take a tip from the regular section buffet chefs

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: Wonderful resort

Great resort for the price point. The staff at Majestic Elegange is a significant factor for our continued return. Our butler Juan is outstanding and always attentive to our needs. Shout out to the great service from Maxima, Santa and Angelina...not to mention the club attendants Ernesto, Walliam and Miguel. The piano bar and lounge bar were our favorite with Manolo, Roberto, Manuel and Gary serving up the greatest and most unique cocktails. The grounds were exceptional and cleaning service was  [... read more]more than satisfactory. Will certainly visit again.

Iberostar Waves Punta Cana: Perfect Escape!

The hotel exceeded our expectations. The grounds were impeccable. Everything was exceptionally clean and well kept. The food at the buffets was fresh, abundant, and there was a large variety. The staff were always friendly and smiling. The entertainment staff were fun and energetic and great at encouraging us to participate in everything from pool fitness to dance lessons. We ate at the Asian and Mediterranean restaurants and the food was very good. The fitness centre was wonderful and the yoga  [... read more]teachers were skilled! All around a fabulous vacation!

Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Good Time Stay

We visited with the family including children for one week during March Break 2023 and we all really had a comfortable good time stay. The Dreams Onyx Resort & Spa is very good value for a superior hotel resort in Punta Cana. The Onyx has 3 main pool areas being the waterpark, adult pool (Preferred Club) and general main pool. All were nice, modern and clean. The grounds were also clean, well kept and maintained. The beach was nice, and the waves were constant and great for boogie boar [... read more]ding. The boards are provided at the beach hut. We had no washed-up seaweed issues during our stay. The food was good enough to gain weight over our stay. Our kids are very fussy eaters, and they had no problem finding food they liked. There are 6 à la carte dining restaurants and all are 1st come 1st serve except for the Spice Pan – Asian restaurant. At the Spice you will need to make a reservation and time slots fill up fast. Our favourite was the Bluewater Grill and the Spice. At the bottom of the list was the Tamarindo Mexican Restaurant. If you have a gourmet palate, then try a different country. We had no stomach issues during our stay and after returning home. Don't drink the tap water anywhere in Punta Cana. The drinks were good especially at the main bars with a good assortment of top shelf liquors. We had joining rooms overlooking the waterpark pool and they were modern, clean and very comfortable. The room even had a sitting area and a balcony jacuzzi. The view was nothing special. The many palm trees obstructed our pool view. I believe the views at the main pool area appear to be marginally better. As usual we spent minimal time in the rooms, just enough to sleep, groom and dress. Entertainment was typically resort style and was fun and OK. The kids enjoyed it. The staff was amazing and excellent. They were genuinely courteous, helpful, engaging and very happy. That alone is a difference maker. Dreams Breathless resort next door is generally the same as the Onyx but is an adult only resort. Restaurants, bars and services are open to Onyx guests over 18 years of age. The only single issue we had was the noise from the room above us for a few nights. The ruckus was from large groups of chaperoned graduating high school students staying during March Break. Once we complained, the hotel managers, concierge services (Miguel) and security resolved the issue promptly and effectively. I would suggest to the resort that for future occasions student rooms should be located directly above or beside the parent’s or chaperon’s rooms. The matter it was nuisance, especially since we had young impressionable kids with us but we are understanding and tolerant people and we didn’t let the incident ruin our vacation. The Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa is excellent, well located and has everything you would want in a superior resort. Without a doubt we would recommend the resort to friends and family.

Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana: Amazon resort

Excellent hotel, very good room(could’ve improved the bathroom), excellent people, all employees very nice and courteous, activities and vibes team were just top. We enjoyed all shows and entertainment. Every single employee was making sure that our stay was pleasant and enjoyable. Amazing beach and the swimming pool area. Would definitely go there again. Ty

Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Fantastic Family Fun

So much to do…for all 10 of us ranging in age from 6-80 years old! The hotel was spotless and the gardens were continually being maintained.The pools were amazing as was the water park. For the most part the restaurants were great. The only disappointment was the Mexican Restaurant where the food was slow to come, two meals never came and one family had to leave as the kids were tired and needed feeding. The bonus was that the buffet was right next door and they managed to get their dinner qu [... read more]ickly. The rooms were excellent with beyond comfortable mattresses. They were well maintained with an excellent supply of towels.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: best deal for your buck

that hotel is simply amazing....no other words describeit....everything you need is there...the food is ok,so much to choose from,nobody goes hungry....the stretch of beach is one of the nicest in the caribbean,my brother and i have been up and down that coast for 20 years...i would highly recommend this hotel to anybody...

Melia Punta Cana Beach Wellness Resort Adults: Nice resort!

The grounds were absolutely beautiful. The service was excellent! The train didn’t come often enough to take you to the pool and the beach when you were in the far villas. The food wasn’t to our satisfaction.

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: great staff and hotel but bad food

Hotel rooms and amenities are great Staff especially our butler Santiago were exceptional But the food was cold undercooked veggies and tasteless . Steak was tough for filet .One bad experience (not the hotels fault) was the catamaran company on the beach we used called marinana group .It was old ,had no flush toilets,running water and music so loud my ears rang for day ! The staff on board were good but poorly maintained boat

Dreams Flora Resort and Spa: Everything was amazing, except one thing:

We were totally happy and impressed whether all aspects of the resort! Food, rooms, pools, grounds, staff were all great. Our only complaint was that the buffet and a-la-cartes all opened at 6 or 6:30, which was way too late for our young children to be having dinner after a fun day in the sun. There was a snack bar open at the beach, but usually we ate lunch there and it was further away.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Decent

The major problem is communication. We specified on many occasions we needed a specific area / room / floor for our father, the entire family (9 people) had to move twice, except my family who had to move 3 times from Friday to Monday. This was disappointing. The Italian restaurant service was slow, and I mean, we were there for 90 minutes and that was because we started to ask for things, the food, coming from an Italian backround, wasn't the greatest either. Depending on what they offer after  [... read more]their renovations, not sure we will go back there.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Not what we’ve expected.

Our goal was to have a pre-pandemic vacation experience. We haven’t had it for 2 years and decided to buy a privilege level of service. Unfortunately, privilege level is this hotel doesn’t mean much. Privilege pros: - ability to book restaurants - free room service - separate beach with canopies (only in theory) - beach towels by request without cards (only in theory) - dinner from chef (again, only theoretical) - maybe I forgot something else In reality, they have a very tiny pie [... read more]ce of privilege beach with 8 canopies that are always busy as well as all sun beds. We tried to come at 9, 8, and then 7 am - everything is busy. Beach towels - we have always been asked for cards, despite we haven’t been given any. Dinner - just a regular dinner in Italian restaurant, nothing else. Overall, I see that this is probably a result of pandemic layoffs. But stuff do es their job only if you give them money. Disappointed. But there is a bright side. This hotel is a really a thing for people with Celiac. It has a good gluten free menu and stuff knows about cross contamination. Milk products are of a good quality, no wheat, and can be consumed with an issue.

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Great family resort

Great food, safe water great time in the pool and lunch beside the pool. Beach was lots of fun and nice to have our own restaurant at the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Awesome hotel

The Royalton CHIC was very clean and the staff were great. Every night the buffet had lots of options.Room service was also very good and prompt. The waves were too high to go in the water but the pools were great.

Punta Cana Princess: Paradise!

Everything was topknotch! Loved the room, the food, the beach! This is a smaller resort so it wasn't a long walk anywhere. There were always plenty of spots on the beach. The restaurants were amazing and the buffet had so many options and was delicious. Outside of my room was a conversation set I would read at each afternoon, it was lovely. The mornings on the beach were breathtaking and there was stretching on the beach and aquafit in the pool everyday. I didn't do aquafit as I didn't go [... read more] in the pool but it was a gorgeous pool. All the grounds were kept beautifully and the staff were cheerful and helpful. Wonderful vibe to recharge.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great time

Went here on my honeymoon, I asked at the front desk about the honeymoon package and the worker was kinda rude about it, never ended up given the information about the honeymoon package. But overall it was a good week. But i was also surprised by some of the workers not friendly or seemed to want to be there, entertainment wasn’t the greatest, food was good, but service wasn’t the greatest it took forever to get food at the restaurants, was ignored a few times. Wifi was great you could get i [... read more]t pretty much anywhere! They had a train to get you around, I do wish they had it labeled because it went to the adult only side too and you never knew where you would end up.

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Fantastic quality service Hotel

The hotel location beach view section Diamond club is absolutely stunning! The professional service provided by employees is so ! Appreciated it makes you want to return only to this hotel. We were treated with respect and top notch! Quality service. The grounds are lovely and clean! And the rooms for the Diamond Club are fresh ans spacious with fabulous view! Overall it was one of the best ever hotel stay!