Secrets Tides Punta Cana: Excellent vacation

Such a beautiful, clean resort! Nice lay-out too so there isn't a ton of walking.We had a swim out, non-preferred room, which was located conveniently close to the swim up bar! Great lobby and theatre area for entertainment and overall, good service! In terms of the food, there's lots of options and variety! Our facorite ended up being Portifino.

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Amazing Resort!

Second time I've been to this resort "solo". It has everything I was looking for. Smaller resort, very clean, great selection of food, close to the beach. Close to airport. It has security on the resort and at the beach. They are so accommodating and provide excellent service!

Dreams Cap Cana Resort and Spa: Great customer service, nice resort

My recent stay at Dreams Cap Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic was a truly exceptional experience, and I am excited to share the details of my visit. From the moment we landed to our farewell, every aspect of our stay was designed with care and attention to detail. Arrival and Check-In Experience Upon landing, we were warmly greeted by our resort representative, who promptly escorted us to our transfer. The ride to the resort took only about 10 minutes, which was a pleasant surprise after  [... read more]a long journey. Upon arrival, we were welcomed in the lobby by the friendly bellman, who offered us refreshing drinks and cold towels a thoughtful touch that set a positive tone for our stay. Although we arrived a bit early and our room wasn’t ready, we were able to explore the full resort facilities while our luggage was safely taken to our room for later. Staff and Customer Service The staff at Dreams Cap Cana were one of the highlights of our experience. They were consistently friendly, helpful, and fluent in English, which made communication seamless. The customer service was top-notch. An app was available to make requests and manage accommodations which I found to be exceptionally user friendly. Room service was delivered within an hour every time, and requests for toiletries were fulfilled quickly. Personal inquiries made to the front desk were handled promptly, earning the customer service a solid 10/10 from me. Dining Options The food selection at the resort was impressive and varied. The buffet offered a vast array of options, ensuring there was something for everyone. One of the perks was that the à la carte restaurants did not require reservations, allowing for more spontaneity during our dining experiences. Although there were occasional short waits for the à la carte options, I highly recommend trying the Italian restaurant and the steakhouse both provided outstanding meals that complemented our stay. Room Quality Our accommodations were noteworthy. The room was clean, modern, and well maintained, with virtually no issues to report. The attention to cleanliness and upkeep matched the high standards expected at a resort of this caliber. Resort Amenities and Layout The resort itself is quite expansive, with amenities and features spread out over a large area. While this layout provides plenty of exploration opportunities, it may not be ideal for guests who prefer shorter walks. Reaching the beach requires a bit of a trek, but it is undoubtedly worthwhile. We experienced the challenge of seagrass season, however we discovered that walking just a short distance from the resort revealed much cleaner beach areas. We were impressed to see city workers actively maintaining the beach, cleaning the shores daily. Additional Features and Activities Another highlight of our stay was the lack of wristbands, which I found to be a refreshing change. We were able to book excursions directly at the front desk, including Monkey Land and an adventure park, both highly recommended for any visitors. Although we didn’t manage to fit Cocobongo into our plans, we heard great things about it and would love to try it on a future visit. Final Thoughts While there might be moments requiring a bit of patience such as occasional waits at restaurants or navigating the larger resort my overall impression of Dreams Cap Cana Resort is overwhelmingly positive. This resort excels in numerous areas, from its attentive staff to the quality of accommodations and dining. I would without a doubt recommend this resort to others, and I am happy to rate it a full 5 stars for a wonderful vacation experience.

Grand Bavaro Princess: Repeat visit to this resort

I personally love the layout of this resort and where our room was in relation to the beach as well as buffet. We stayed in building 11 and because I love to walk I was able to get around everywhere without using the tram. For those in my group who found it hard to walk any distance they would just jump on and off the tram and there were no complaints from them . The beach was well maintained with the seaweed being removed early each morning. I walked 1 hour each way from this resort on the bea [... read more]ch and still could not see the end of the beach. Love the fact that they never ran out of towels and you could just exchange at end of each day. You did have to set yourself up at beach early otherwise you may not get the spot that you wanted with some shade. This is typical of most resorts so not a big deal. Food was good however fruit choices were limited to mostly the melon family which I don’t like but the bananas and pineapple were very good. The steak house was our favourite and the food there was so good. I would definitely go back to this resort.

Grand Palladium Palace: Great Family Vacation

This was my fourth stay at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana, both with and without children, and I’ve consistently had great experiences on both adults-only and family vacations. This was our second visit with our children (ages 11 and 13), and both times we stayed in the Junior Suite Swim-Up Beachside. We love being able to relax at our room, swim directly from the suite, or easily access nearby pools. The building is also extremely close to the beach—it’s less than a 30-second walk. The staff [... read more] were friendly, and most spoke English, which made communication easy. The resort is well maintained, and our room was clean. There are many pools and restaurants throughout the property, most of which are conveniently located. We’ve stayed at similarly sized resorts with larger footprints, where getting around was more difficult. While this resort offers trolleys and golf carts, everything we needed in our area was within easy walking distance, even for kids. The resort is divided into four areas: Punta Cana, Palace, Bávaro, and Royal Suites. Royal Suites is adults-only, and guests there can access all areas. The Bávaro section has recently been renovated and is now restricted to Bávaro guests only. While this limited access compared to previous visits, it wasn’t an issue, as the Punta Cana and Palace areas had everything we needed. There is no limit on à la carte restaurant visits, though securing preferred times can be challenging for larger groups. Walk-ins are possible, but we successfully booked through the Palladium app. Our group of 13 was able to secure three à la carte reservations at our preferred times by booking simultaneously, since the app only allows reservations for guests within the same room. The resort offers high-speed Wi Fi throughout most of the property, including much of the beach. This made it easy to stay connected and locate family members when spread out. The grounds are beautifully manicured, and I don’t recall seeing any flies or bugs during our stay. Staff were constantly maintaining the landscaping from morning until evening. The resort also has several gift shops and a pharmacy. We enjoyed the mini golf course and basketball court. There’s also a soccer pitch, tennis and pickleball courts. One evening, we even saw people playing pickleball under the lights around 9 p.m. Since our last visit in 2022, the resort has eliminated room keys and towel cards. Bracelets now unlock rooms and are scanned at buffets and à la carte restaurants, making everything more convenient. We didn’t experience much of the nightlife, as we usually called it a night around 9 p.m. After long days in the sun with kids, we often ended the evening with a quiet swim in our shared swim-up pool. We requested adjacent rooms for our family, which was accommodated, allowing us to share the same pool with minimal outside traffic. Despite the resort being busy, our pool area remained very quiet throughout our seven-night stay. We did notice that many guests reserved pool and beach chairs early in the morning with towels, often leaving them unused for hours. While frustrating, this was a guest behavior issue rather than a resort problem. Food quality was excellent across the resort, with plenty of options for everyone, and no one in our group became ill. Despite some online complaints about food quality, we had no such issues. While there may be higher-end resorts available, the Grand Palladium checks all the boxes for us at a reasonable price. Having stayed at all-inclusive resorts in Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, and across various brands, the Palladium Group remains our preferred choice. We flew direct with Sunwing, operated by WestJet. WestJet’s Starlink Wi Fi was a great feature and worked well throughout the flight. Although there were no power outlets on the outbound flight, we were prepared with power banks. The return flight offered USB C outlets and slightly more legroom. We used the included airport transfers for this trip, though we’ve opted for private transfers in the past. In hindsight, a private transfer would have been preferable. Arrival was quick with a dedicated shuttle, but the return transfer involved multiple stops and took over an hour, compared to the usual 25 minute drive.

Melia Caribe Beach Resort: The LEVEL not worth the extra money!

Beautiful grounds, service for the LEVEL customers not worth the extra money! The LEVEL concierge weren't helpful at all! Went to their desk three times the first three days to ask for simple things and nothing was never accomplished! The rooms were not as pictured, not clean dirt on your floor smelled very musty! Had to ask to refill fridges, washcloths, and when we arrived, we were put in double beds and one of the beds were dirty!

HM Alma De Bayahibe Hotel: A very pleasant surprise!!

We booked this resort after scanning through dozens of reviews on various places in DR. We were intrigued by the saltwater infinity pools and the fact that you could jump directly into the ocean a mere few steps from the pools. The resort is small and compact. Everything is a few minutes walk from your room. Rooms were nice, beds comfy. No hassles to find spots in the shade when the hot April sun was a bit too intense. Buffets were well stocked with fresh fruit, hot and cold choices of various [... read more] meats, fish, salads and desserts. The America Food truck was open daily with typical food truck snacks and fries. The reception staff go out of their way to make your stay as pleasant as possible. I would recommend this resort to anyone wanting a quiet adult only vacation this is the place! Our first time to Dominican Republic. Loved this place!!

Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa: Not worth the money

I was very disappointed in the cleanliness of the room. Service was very slow and the staff weren’t very friendly or helpful. We had to ask numerous times for towels, robes and never got everything we asked for. The foam machine broke down and never happened at all. Wave runner was broke and despite being told it was being fixed we never saw anyone fixing it. The Italian restaurant served us raw food and ran out of dessert twice. The food at the buffet was horrible and the selection for the kid [... read more]s menu was limited. We booked this resort because we were happy with the Royalton in St.Lucia but we were very disappointed with this one. We would not book again.

Melia Caribe Beach Resort: Resort was nice

Large resort, pools were nice and very large. Beach was beautiful. Rooms can use some updating. Buffets where average and booking alacart restaurants was not easy. We had a large party for a wedding and most couples received rooms with 2 double beds. My nephew who is handicapped was located on a second floor when a ground room was requested. Service at bars for drinks was slow and under staffed.

Melia Caribe Beach Resort: Great Resort

The resort was large with many amenities. Large clean rooms, several pools and bars as well. We loved the great choices of restaurants from buffet to fancy a la cartes! Yoga classes, games by the pool, dance classes and a water park for entertainment. In the evening there were theme nights, a white party, Dominican night, etc

Melia Caribe Beach Resort: Disappointing Experience for a Large Group Stay

Our stay at Meliá Caribe Beach Resort had some highlights, but unfortunately, the overall experience was disappointing, especially given that we were part of a large group booking of around 65 people. On a positive note, our room was clean and met our expectations. However, it quickly became clear that we were among the very few who had that experience. The majority of our groups rooms were not as described or suitable for the families staying in them. A particularly concerning situation i [... read more]nvolved my sister, who was traveling with a family of five. She was given a room with one king bed and a broken pull-out couch. When she initially raised the issue, she was told there was nothing that could be done. It wasn’t until the air conditioning in her room stopped working and her toddler became sick from the heat that the resort finally moved her to another room, and only upgraded her near the very end of the trip. That level of response was frustrating and unacceptable. Cleanliness across the resort also left much to be desired. The Level pool, in particular, frequently had visible scum, which made it unappealing to use. The food itself was delicious, but the experience was inconsistent. If you didn’t arrive right when meals began, options became very limited and the food was often cold. We were attending a wedding, and unfortunately, several commitments made to the bride were not honored. The wedding dinner was supposed to be held in a reserved area, but when the group arrived, it was occupied by another party celebrating a birthday. As a result, our group was split up and seated in multiple areas, which took away from what should have been a special, shared experience. Additionally, the bride and groom did not receive the honeymoon suite they were promised. The evening shows were also difficult to enjoy, as they were held in a small corner of the lobby with limited visibility and space. Overall, if it weren’t for the time spent with family, this would have been a very disappointing vacation. There is definitely potential here, but the resort needs significant improvements in organization, communication, cleanliness, and customer service, especially when handling large group bookings.

Melia Caribe Beach Resort: Nice

There was nice aspects of this resort but our room was a bit dated and couch uncomfortable. We did get good service for the most part. Our mini bar person was great and attentive. Enjoyed seeing the peacock on site. The shows were good

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Amazing resort.

Third time visiting this resort in the past 8 years. First visit (2018)as a couple. Second visit (2023)as a family of 20. Third visit (2026) with a group of friend (15). Pool area is excellent and located adjacent to the beach, resort grounds are well kept along with the common areas. Buffet and restaurants are very good. Rooms were kept clean by the maids and never short of room amenities. The beach is amazing and so scenic with very little visitor traffic if you choose to walk the beach. If  [... read more]you are energetic and have a 1-1/2 half , you can walk to the town of Las Terrenas for lunch or shopping , Done this a few times during our stays. Don’t know of any other place that can offer this. Love the resort layout. Everything is so central or just a couple minute of walking. This visit was the first time we experienced room issues. Friends on ground floor had their room flooded and a second couple water also leaked down the walls in villa 23. Both were relocated after a persistence request. Rooms could sure use some renovations or à face lift.This seems to be a common complaint by many visitors that would make the stay even a better experience.

Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Is there a negative star option?!

Let me preface this by saying I have stayed at multiple 2-star resorts in Cuba. Which is a -10-star resort everywhere else. I have had zero complaints. And would return in a heartbeat and I sure hope to some day. I am not bougie, my expectations are low, I have an open mind. With that being said...... We arrived at 10:00am Sunday morning, not one lounger anywhere. Not enough loungers at the beach or pool. No umbrellas or palapas. When I asked about umbrellas they said they don’t like to [... read more] use plastic, as I am sitting in a plastic chair at a plastic table. I have seen pictures since of other Viva resorts that ALL have umbrellas made of plastic. So along with 60% of all the other people - you are constantly trying to move your highly sought after lounger into the shade. The beach is a lounger maze, as well as pool side. Not enough chairs at the one and only bar/sitting (1) area. This is very loud since it is where everyone congregates. The line ups can go from 5 to 20 minutes. The lay out is awful. All very enclosed. At the bar there are tables and chairs but going around the corner there are maybe 10 comfortable chairs in a C format behind the main bar area. Then back outside where there is no seating. There is a very small bar by the pool, beach side. There beer is run through a cooler with ice (warm still), if they have a keg at all and honestly it hits your nose long before you take a drink, not good. They run out of coke first thing. Everything is kept in the sun. Cappuccino is available at the same bar (1) area at 8:00am, not a minute before which is wonderfully inconvenient since you must be up at the crack of dawn to be able to scoop a lounger. The coffee is generally not good. Very watered down, with sludge in the bottom which doesn’t make much sense, but the resort workers have nailed it. I had a mouth full of glass in one cappuccino – no one seemed to care. In the mornings, it started off you could self serve coffee to the left of the bar area, then on the counter at the bar, then poof no self period option period. So, you had to go into the buffet and chase someone down to get coffee because there is also no self serve option in there either. We were traveling for my birthday as well as my boyfriend’s (boyfriend is 6’2”), while on vacation, not before, not after, both of us were celebrating birthdays on this trip. Upon checking in I requested an upgrade, a bigger room, ocean front, second floor, any of the above. I also emailed requesting an upgrade (and how much it would cost) twice before we arrived. On a side note, my mother has worked at Wyndham Hotels for 25+ years, my father also works at Wyndham, for 20+ years. They have never traveled to a resort, received a resort perk of any sort, ever. She also reached out to the resort group asking for a perk/upgrade for our birthdays, something, anything. We received nothing. Our first room was postage stamp size; you had to do the trailer shimmy to the other side of the bed. No where to put luggage, we both traveled with full sized luggage as well as carry on luggage and back packs, we stayed 2 weeks. No dressers. The had a 2-door built in closet. One side was shelving, one side was hangers, under the hangers was a shelf with the safe on it. Oh, you have full length dresses? They shall be bunched up on top of the safe. We didn't even have a chair in our first room. Our room(s) were in the septic field. The smell was horrific. Our room was on the first floor, you couldn’t go on the patio because the bugs, oh the bugs everywhere and if you did manage to get out there to put your damp clothes to dry well then, the feral cats slept on them, and you couldn’t wear them anyways. We had no hot water, which Caribbean I get it, just take note. House keeping would come in the morning take all your towels and bring you towels again between 3-4:00pm. So many times, we would be ready to wash the beach off and you would have to call or go hunt down some towels. I was down at the front desk the same day we checked in requesting an upgrade, to be moved, somewhere. I was told to come back tomorrow at noon, and they would show me a different room at $20 per night/per person. The new room was bigger, partial ocean view (if we can call it that). Talk to front desk again to negotiate. Back and forth, back and forth, was told cash only so he wouldn’t have to ring it in (I know where this is going) finally agree on a price. It started at $480 ($20 per person/per night = 12 nights) we got him down to $300 total, fine, let’s do it. I ask how much in DOP, he gives me a number that is higher than I expected (I changed money in Canada before leaving). Turns out he we are negotiating in USD, I am Canadian, my passport that is in front of him is Canadian, I said I was paying in DOP, why would I even have American? So that was the end of that. We did not request anything else from Alfredo at the front desk. On day 8 when I learned nothing would come of requesting a room change, I reached out to Nexus/WestJet and asked to be moved from Viva Tangerine to anywhere else. And let me tell you how quickly things moved from that point on was wild. We were moved into a room with a separate bedroom, still tiny closet that would not accommodate dresses. Second floor so we could use the patio which was nice. And enter stage right = Cockroaches. Big ones, little ones, All the cockroaches. We had none in the first room. The AC would not shut off, you could turn it down, but it just kept going. The beach wasn't swimmable 92% of the time. The wind at the beach is a solid 40-60km/h every single day. You are being sandblasted at all times. The peddlers on the beach are terrible, same one’s day in and day out. They take loungers, put their wares on them and then when pretty girls are down at 11:00am looking for loungers they receive the ones being held by peddlers. At any given time, you have one or more within 10 feet of you, all day, every day. And wildly expensive, $25USD for a bracelet from China, $50USD for 2 French braids. Wild. They have “showers” at the entrances back up to the resort, but it’s a dribble and not accomplishing getting the sand off you. The pool was cleanish – until about 10:00am and then it got cloudy, every day. Not a pool I am getting into. One day someone put a dirty diaper 2 feet from the pool, in a busy walking area, that sat there for more than 5 hours. People walked around it, including staff, now I know it is not their job to pick up after ignorant guests BUT it does need to be picked up. Public washrooms in the “main” area are not well maintained. As these are the only washrooms that anyone knows how to find. In the ladies you will never find paper product what you will find is a very potent candle, only 2 stalls and toilets that are clogged daily. Outside of the washroom 10 feet is customer service, she has a radio and will have someone restock it, if you let her know. If you don’t like smoking this one isn’t for you. I had someone vaping next to me in the buffet, at her table. As someone that smoked/vaped for 20+ years I can tell you that is a big no-no. Do better lady. People smoke next to the signs that say no smoking, no one enforces it, anywhere on the resort.

Breathless Punta Cana Resort: resort was great

Great atmosphere Beautiful beach amazing food The room was very nice Service at both the restaurants and the beach was wonderful the entertainment in the evening was about the best i have seen at an all inclusive

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Pretty good hotel

The hotel is beautiful very clean and well maintained .Staff were friendly When we arrived a group of 6 of us they had 2 in building 3 2 in building 10 and 2 in building 11 after some complaining the desk guy got all 6 of us in building 3 so that made us happy .The 2 buffets were great quite a variety everyday found kalidascope a lot quieter than windows but overall both were good .The only restaurant all of us went to was chopsticks the food and chef were wonderful .The pool was clean and very [... read more] lively daily .Activities going on music playing was pretty good but busy.The beach had lots of seaweed every morning but they had it all cleaned up by 10 it is very close to a marina so lots of boats to see getting loaded to go on excursions again lots of daily music and activities going on .White soft sand and pretty good views .overall our group had fun and not to much to complain about but there is a few and they are as follows no Spanish coffees at all .yes you can get coffees and capachinos but all in paper throw away cups .The resort is huge and very very busy so long lines to get coffees not alot of seating in shade to enjoy said coffees .Long lines at most restaurants except the buffets .Alot of vendors bugging you everyday at beach and pool.Pool chairs and beach chairs need to be saved early and when you get them everybody is so close you can't really move them around to stay in shade of umbrella so you fry .Hard to get a spot in the pool without getting volley balls flying around or kids jumping in almost on top of you so keep that in mind .The rooms were very nice beds were comfortable pillows were also comfy .One maid wouldn't give me bottled water in the evening but the day maid gave me 6 bottles the next day so that was good. We really enjoyed hanging out in the evening at the sports bar it had a nice patio to dance on so we brought our own speaker and did that most nights and Richard is an absolute gem of a bartender he took great care of us all week and makes the best chocolate martinis we loved him and his sense of humor he was great ❤️ So if you like alot of people and vendors and line ups this is a great resort .

Breathless Punta Cana Resort: Wonderful place!

Staff were very friendly, food was amazing rooms were clean and grounds were well kept. The adults only is also a bonus! Top shelf alcohol was a bonus as well. No reservations for al la cartes was nice also

Royalton Splash Punta Cana: Good enough for the price

I write this at home horrendously ill with travellers diarrhea which started 24 hours after returning, I thought I dodged a bullet but no such luck. The resort is a 6/10 but for what we paid I’m ok with that. I had very low expectations going in after reading reviews so I was actually pleasantly surprised. If food is a high priority for you, do not stay here. If you just want to chill and drink a lot it’s perfect. Overall the staff is phenomenal, the Mexican, Italian (Grazie) and hibachi re [... read more]staurants were great food, but I would avoid the buffet. rooms were big but dated. Needs a refresh and better food and it could be a hidden gem

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana: Large Hotel

Hotel is large with beautiful grounds and beach. Food overall was good, breakfast at Ipanema was excellent including the service. Rooms are large. Check in service/experience was horrible and ruined the first 2 days of our trip. Took over 1.5 hours to check in to find out rooms were not ready but there was 30 concierge standing around with tablets trying to sell you a Vacation Club membership. When brought to the room the door handle on shower was hanging down, toilet seat loose and the tile was [... read more] broken by the sofa bed. Room was noisy and when asked to get moved the experience was horrible and took the entrie next day and a waste of time as nobody knew what we were talking about even though apparently notes were made in the system and they took our cell numbers down. It is unfortunate because this was our second stay at the hotel and even though the hotel was new the first time we went the overall experience was significantly better and a postivie experience. Unfortunatley this time we were travelling with some family that we recommended the hotel to and they were disappointed and commented on how they felt that the first interaction upon arrival left them with a negative overall experience.

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana: A little overpriced for the product

cocktails and drinks overall were disappointing mostly syrups and very little quality. Buffet breakfast and dinner were disappointing, although lunch was great. Dinner a la carte at the steak house and the Zen were great the rest were average at best.