The Sens Riviera: Nice resort!

Food: buffet is very good, even though as with most buffets, there are similar items served daily; men are not allowed in wearing a sleeveless shirt, swim suits are allowed as long as a cover up is worn. We were at 3 of the 4 a la Carter’s, where the food is delicious...(be prepared for a 2 hour dinner in the Greek or Italian). Men must wear long pants, even if it’s blue jeans or sweat pants, but women can wear pretty much anything (very short shorts observed on 1 occasion), Men are allowed  [... read more]entrance to the outdoor portion of the restaurant wearing shorts, but we did see the occasional man allowed in the indoor portion wearing shorts pants, but we were turned away for my husband wearing knee length shorts...Inconsistent dress code. Room. Our room in building D was clean, close to the beach, buffet, lobby. Partial ocean view description is a stretch. Beds & pillows were comfy, good shower. Staff: very friendly & helpful. BEWARE...You’re greeted at checkin with champagne by a nice helpful staff member who will take you aside for a few minutes & offer you spa coupons, etc & invite you to a “delicious breakfast” at Secrets Akumal, just down the road. When asked if he was selling time shares we were told a definite NO, that they do not believe in them that they are promoting the hotel brand, We declined the offer, much to his chagrin, only to learn from other guests that they are indeed selling shares in the Sunscape chain. Our host barely made eye contact with us after we again refused his offer on our second day. Beach: beach is good, lots of chairs. Certain spots are reserved for SunClub guests. The water has lots of rocks, so SWIM SHOES ARE A MUST if you plan on going in the ocean. Pool: we didn’t spend any time is the family pools, but they are spacious with lots of play areas for toddlers & young children. The beach buffet serves decent food & drinks. Gym: well equipped but way too hot for a gym in spite of a/c & fans which are. It always turned on; 6 treadmills, bike, weights, etc. Coca Cafe: open 24/7, good lattes, pastries, sandwiches, ice cream, popcorn.. Entertainment: in the theatre (seating is not tiered) is pretty much non-existent & starts at 8:30pm, a bit early if having a late dinner. Most entertainment is karaoke in the Starlight lounge; the lobby often has a pianist or saxophonist playing for an hour or so. Shops: the gift shop is small, barely supplying necessities, but decent souvenirs. There is a jewelry store on the premises. Outside vendors (jewellery, clothing, hats, souvenirs, etc) set up 2-3 times per week in the hallway between the buffet & Coco Cafe. There are no beach vendors.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Great vacation!

The resort was clean. Staff very friendly and great service. It wasn’t a busy week which was fine so we had no problem getting a chair by the pool or the beach. Much busier on the weekend with the local people and much noisier. Pool music got way too loud and a lot of drunk noisy people at 3am. Food was very plentiful and tasted wonderful. No complaints there. Enjoyed the popcorn at the theatre bar each night. The a la carte restaurants served very delicious meals. The wait staff were all so [... read more] friendly and gave us good service. The pool snack area served good good for lunch. Service a bit to be desired until the bosses were around and then top notch. Our room was a lovely size and kept clean. We lacked towels every day and had to call for more. Overall we enjoyed the resort!

Sunscape Curacao Resort: Simply "PARADISE".....Wow!!!!

They bend over backwards to please & make sure your stay is what you may possibly have imagined ! Spacious , well appointed rooms, no shortage of hot water or towels. Fabulous restaurants to please the fussiest of eaters.Most important, the ENTIRE staff, Best we've encountered anywhere & we travel a lot! Defintely on top of our list of of places to go, we highly recommend Sunscape Curacao Resort & Casino & are definitely planning returning to this " piece of heaven" soon.

Sunscape Curacao Resort: mixed review

Hello there, Maria,,, Thanks for booking our trip, and taking good care of us with the wheelchair boarding. We spent an interesting week at Sunscape, Curacao. Nice hotel, and grounds...swimming pools were not what I would have expected...no lap swimming available, and not very deep. I must say that they are in the midst of renovating their facilities, ...because the restaurant areas left something to be desired. Meals were adequate, service passable at best. Room had flaws...shower door  [... read more]didn't work...from the first day, ceiling in bathroom leaked. Neighbours upstairs told us their toilet had overflowed....left us wondering why the ceiling continued to leak until the day they left..which was the day before we left. The hotel staff did not offer to move us to another room. Maid service was adequate, although we had to always chase them for towels, bottled water, and toilet paper. The smoke detector went off once and staff had to quiet it. We were situated by the Oceanic Restaurant where I believe there may have been a problem or two. On the first occasion, we realized the floor was the beach sand only. There I may have sustained many bites of some sort. All of the restaurants, except the Italian one had basically beach sand as a base with perhaps wood floors over. I am suffering quite a bit now that I am home, with extraordinarily itchy, burning bites all over my limbs...No see ums or mosquitoes, I don't know which...may have to take a trip to the doctors office for this...they are seemingly becoming infected. My travel partner became violently ill the first night with a stomach problem,,,we trace it back to a dish at the Oceania,,,civache, I believe it was called. No other plausible explanation for it. I had heat stroke I believe one night....heat was truly unbearable for me at times. It did seem as though families would have appreciated the facility though as it seemed to be child oriented and family friendly. I liked the all inclusive part....we didn't have to pay for any amenities or extras. Aquarium was a nice trip,,,and close to hotel. That was a positive thumbs up. And Willemstad was nice, although the heat prevented us from exploring it further. It was a good souvenir hunting excursion though. And the tour operators were very good. We even got a ride from another hotel's tour bus driver when the city bus was not available to us,,,for no charge! Very nice staff and people there on the island. Perhaps you should warn people about the bugs, and to bring bug spray, ...had I known about this problem, I would have packed some, and used it prior to. The beach was lovely though, as well as the ocean waters, and availability of kayaking, diving equipment, etc was good, although I did not make use of this.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Nice resort

Just got back from sunscape puerto plata beautiful resort variety of good food entertainment was excellent. The staff at this resort was awesome except for the staff that there uniforms were navy and light blue they try every way to con people that are on vacation into time share which I think is wrong. I was also disappointed in some activities that they advertise and didn’t do them cause that didn’t have enough people and at the same time I recommend it cause other people also recommend w [... read more]hich was the foam pool party

The Sens Riviera: Great young family resort

When we booked we were looking for a small resort, with a nice beach. We have stayed in large resorts in the past and disliked the excessive noise, having to take shuttles to the beach so this time we wanted smaller, close to beach and pool. The first thing are the grounds. Lush and tropical, well maintained. Next the staff were incredibly nice. Next, every irritation about the big resorts were gone. No wristbands, no pool cards. Always fresh towels rolled in the towel caddy, you took what y [... read more]ou needed and returned whenever. With kids this is a plus. There were ample chairs in the shade, anytime of day pool or beach. If you wanted a specific spot, you’d need to stake it out early but otherwise there was always a chair. It was quiet. No obnoxious music and people trying to get you to participate when you were trying to relax and rest. Naps on the beach were the best. They sold fish food to feed the many schools of tropical fish that frequented the beach waist deep. Around noon on calm days a stingray would come for a visit. Many people ventured out where the waves were breaking on the reef and saw brain and fan corals and many more fish. Sea turtles hatched on the beach at night and made their way to the water, you could see the tracks in the morning. The food was good at the buffet, the restaurants were great. You didn’t need a reservation, just showed up and they seated you. My only thing was the kids club (which we didn’t use as we wanted to maximize our family time) would have activities like face painting only inside the club walls. You had to sign a waiver which meant if you weren’t comfortable with your young children near the pool, they couldn’t participate in the activities. Overall experience was great. I would recommend to families with young children looking for a quiet and relaxing time without too much fanfare.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Second time around and still great

The staff at this resort is stellar! They are so genuinely happy and a pleasure to be around. The facilities are very clean and comfortable and the beach and ocean are spectacular. The beach vendors are kind very respectful but the on site vendors were sometimes a little aggressive. It was a slow time so I am sure that they were really hoping for more sales. We are thinking of returning next year and trying the sunclub. Many thanks to all!

The Sens Riviera: Sunscape Akumal Beach Resort and Spa

Was advertised as a newly renovated hotel and it was still under renovations. Very disappointing. Beach lounge chairs were so uncomfortable, never went back to the beach. Food was fair. Employees were friendly and most willing to help.

The Sens Riviera: Nice Beach, and Very Friendly Staff, BUT the Resort is Very dated.

The resort is advertised as New, but in reality it is one of the oldest resorts in the Mayan Rivera (over 30 years old). It has changed hands recently, and they are calling it new. We had a fair amount of rain, and many of the main rooms were leaking badly. ie: plastic buckets in the lobby, and some of the restaurants. The whole experience was OK, but definitely not 5 STARS. Nice Beach, and Very Friendly Staff. Would we go back to this resort?..... definitely not

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Sunscape Puerto Plata

We've just returned from 2 weeks here. It's a pretty resort with a small beach. No problems finding chairs or shade. The menu was repetitious but always good. I was impressed with its cleanliness and wonderful staff who were willing to make your stay as pleasant as possible. The pools were always clean and inviting. We would return in the future.

Sunscape Sabor Cozumel: Sunscape Sabor

This is our third time at the hotel. The first time I was not too impressed. It is a 3 star hotel. During our second visit, things were improving. But this time, not as good. Our room needs a lot of work. Everything is old and run down. Very simple. We were travelling with a f group and both of them had leaks in their rooms. It rained a lot while we were there and water came in and soaked beds, floors. One couple was offered another room, the other person was offered a room, but it was in worse  [... read more]condition than the first. Even the lobby roof leaked! Beach is okay, pool fine. Restaurants were fine, nothing fancy. Not much entertainment at night. Staff is ok, but not extraordinary! Don't think we will ever go back.

Sunscape Puerto Vallarta: Great location

Hotel is very old, and is showing its age. That being said the staff and location are amazing. Food was just okay, lack of air conditioning in the food areas, even indoor venues made dining a bit uncomfortable. Rooms were also showing their age and again air conditioning was not great.

Sunscape Sabor Cozumel: Disappointed

The rooms were not in good shape, the food was good, service mediocre at best. Not much more to say, there are a few good people at the resort. Two members of our party had to move rooms because it rained and the rain came in their rooms.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Not the one expected according to the reviews!

Pros: 1-Service in the buffet was generally good, very good memories for the service and the food in the restaurants in the second floor both sides before going to Coco Caffee. 2-Grounds were well maintained. 3-Quiet resort during the week days, it was a low season. 4-Rooms were clean and spacious. 5-Fair distance form the rooms to the beach. Cons: 1-Beach not as expected, water not crystal clear and a bad smell through out the beach. 2-Uncovered sewing stream crossing the resort, [... read more] very close to the beach, one restaurant and the buildings. Not acceptable for a touristic resort. 3-Anoying and load vendors all day long in the beach, smth. should be done to stop them. 4-Air conditioning service was interrupted during the day, even when the temperatures were over 30C. 5-Lack of food in the buffet, we haven't tried fish almost at all, even though sea was so close. 6-Noisy vendors that came inside the resort during the weekend.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: A Budget Friendly Vacation

Disclaimer: Staying during a “low” season, my experience might be different from when the “high” season kicks in. ----- Sunscape Puerto Plata is a solid 3.5-star hotel, on its way to becoming a 4-star resource. Overall, I had a pleasant stay; though there were some opportunities for improvement. THE GOOD 1) The beach is a selling point for this resort. The coast line is long, providing a good walking/jogging distance. The sandy beach is regularly cleaned and well-maintained. Ve [... read more]ry few seaweeds during my stay. The sunbeds are plenty, but no parasols, so seek shade under the trees (which is also plenty of). The water is crystal-clear. The entrance to the ocean is shallow with gradually deepening. There are several places for snorkeling (both pros and amateurs will find something suitable), with plenty of common fishes to spot on. Beware of sea urchins though, and please avoid stepping/walking on the coral/reef. 2) The room was spacious, with a modern touch. Cleaned well, not a single bug/insect spotted even once. Accommodations included in-room deposit box/safe, TV, an iron and ironing desk, hair dryer, and a mini-bar. 3) Most of the personnel is friendly enough, but I wanted to give special kudos to the bartender Dennis for going above and beyond to make sure our group had a pleasant stay. In all honesty, he deserves a bonus. THE NEUTRAL 1) The food was OK; though little variety. Often the main buffet was closed due to insufficient number of guests, so the breakfast and dinner would be relocated to another places (i.e. the theater). The à la carte restaurants did not require a reservation. Have been to jut one (the Argentina cuisine place), and it wasn’t anything more than a typical grill bar. Also, worth mentioning that all alcohol comes from the local producers. 2) Very little to do with the hotel itself, the weather was a mix. In the morning it was hot and calm, but approaching 2-3pm a wind would pick up, dropping the temperature down significantly. Since Puerto Plata is known to be the windiest side, there was no big surprise here. 3) When arriving at the hotel and during the stay, I have mentioned (casually) a few times it was my Birthday coming up. The lady at the registration desk made a note, but nothing came out of it. Yet, the next few days after my own Birthday passed, at least two other people’s Birthdays were celebrated with a cake and a song at the buffet. Perhaps, special accommodations had to be made upfront, but I found it inconsistent. THE BAD 1) While the hotel staff is friendly, they need training, especially the waiters. When ordering the drink, half of the time you will receive not what you have ordered, and another half of the time the order will never arrive. There was also an instance when a soup was spilled on the floor (I hope it was soup) and a few people slipped on it. The waiters, clearly seeing this, did not make any effort clean up the mess, nor to put up a “Wet Floor” sign. They just waited for the puddle to dry out naturally instead. 2) Being to many other places in Dominican Republic, including a hot-spot Punta Cana, I can honestly say that the vendors on the beach are the pushiest in Puerto Plana. They just don’t take “No” for an answer, and will continue bugging you over and over you several times a day every day. One guy went so far as asking for my Adidas slippers as a “free gift to his little son who has always dreamed of exact such slippers” (spoil alert: those were lady’s slippers :) ). He got rather aggressive when I declined, but staying firm is my best advice. ----- Lastly, a side note: dear parents of infants, if your child has crapped itself, it is NOT enough to take off the dirty diaper and set it on a dining table. Trying to enjoy a meal nearby while smelling child’s poop is DISGUSTING! Please, show some respect to other guests and take your kid away to clean him/her up properly. (Yes, those were Canadian parents).

The Sens Riviera: New Resort - still needs to do some work

This resort is under new management and it's obvious. Service was slow, the resort was under-staffed, and a number of things that would be relatively minor on their own added up to make for a less than perfect stay. I will say that the beach is lovely and the pools are amazing. Those get 5 stars. Most of the staff were excellent: a shout out to Fabian, Mario, Paola and Dulce in the front desk, as well as Cesar at the pool bar and the guys from the lobby bar and the sun club lounge (sorry I fo [... read more]rgot your names but you were always smiling and friendly). We were one of the suckers who paid extra for an ocean front room that had no balcony or window that opened. The view was gorgeous but otherwise it was like staying in a regular hotel with no fresh air, no sound of the ocean,no balcony, etc. That was disappointing but i understand they've clearly identified that on the website now so others will know what they are booking. I'd recommend booking an ocean view room instead - nicer, larger, better location and outdoor loungers and hot tub on your private balcony. The view of the ocean is slightly obstructed but still a better option overall. The issues: extremely slow service in restaurants, extremely slow housekeeping, in-room safe didn't work, no drink service on the beach, mini bar wasn't always re-stocked, but the tip money was always gone. One day they took the tip but didn't clean our room! A friend twisted her ankle while we were there and we asked to borrow a wheelchair. We were told by the front desk (after they spoke with the chief concierge, Luis) that we would have to pay for one and have it shipped from Playa del Carmen. After reminding them that she was injured on their property, they magically (and instantly) found one that she was able to use at no charge. I think it's been a rough opening for Sunscape Akumal and the team is overwhelmed, and therefore the resort is lacking the usual amazing service that you get from a resort in the Mayan Riviera. We expected that things would not be perfect - it's a newly refurbished resort under new management and just opened last month - but the place itself was disappointing. I heard a lot of people complaining so I don't think we were alone in our experience. Also, there are very limited options for vegetarians and items marked vegetarian on the menu (lime soup at tikki taco) came with chicken!!! Sunscape has some work to do to get this resort where it needs to be. Right now we wouldn't recommend this resort, but if they can get their act together i think in 6 months to a year it will be a fine vacation destination.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Not bad for the price

Hotel was outdated however it was clean. Air conditioning kept shutting off in our room. It was slow season and I understand that . What I don’t understand is opening the doors to the locals and they just move in and it’s now crazy land . No longer a relaxing holiday. As for the nice roped in area on the beach that the sun club up grade provides. We couldn’t sit or even stay to enjoy the beach. We were constantly approached to buy from locals on the beach we had to leave . Nice beach but  [... read more]couldn’t stay . Oh yes one more the food .., lack of or not eatable ...

Sunscape Splash: Great space, wonderful stay.

Lovely grounds equipped with everything you might need. Friendly and accommodating staff. Great amenities and lots of choices when it comes to food and drinks. Rooms were nice and the view was great. Would visit again!

The Sens Riviera: Good hotel with number of the problems

Nice beach, not crowded, people are nice, nice pools Rooms were not so good: - no balcony - drawers could not be open or closed (because of the moisture) - lights are not not positions and useless for shaving in the morning - glass door on the bathroom is not good idea Hotel has problem with water leaking in the halls and rooms when raining Last day nobody woke us up to catch the bus for the airport; it happened to few other rooms; explanation was that there was no paper, never mind tha [... read more]t paper was written on when I booked alarm

Sunscape Curacao Resort: Exceeded our expectations

We chose this resort for the snorkeling. It’s our fourth time there. The beach with the offshore breakwater/reef is the perfect habitat for a huge variety of fish. You name it we saw it including a green moray and a spotted eel. It’s always calm on the inside of the reef and the outside is calm enough some days with all kinds of healthy coral and great visibility. We had no complaints about food or drink. We went to all restaurants and found the Italian to be our favourite. Our room was i [... read more]n the Royal Tour on main floor looking out to the ocean. Quite satisfactory and well maintained by daily maid service. What struck me most was how helpful all the staff were and it was a pleasure to watch them Interact - they all gave the impression that they enjoy working there and are treated well. We will be going back.