Catalonia Bavaro Resort: Nice resort, safety concern: careful what you buy there

The resort looked well maintained and the staff is really friendly. Not everyone speaks English or French, but this is a minus for the hotel chain, which does not offer courses anymore (information got from the staff). The check in/out was quick and the reception staff friendly and helpful. Food is very good, the deserts are exquisite. Excellent coffee. They have pork, chicken, sea food, pasta, pad thai stations where they cook, then a variety of kitchen prepared dishes for everyone's taste [... read more]. There are multiple pathways from the lobby to the beach, some taking you through a maze of ponds, bridges, resting places, where you can see fish and birds. Really nice touch. Too bad that guests were leaving drinking glasses around, which were rarely removed in the same day (we saw some in the same place for few days). There are multiple bars around, but what was a bit odd was that they were not familiar with any of the most popular non alcoholic drinks in the Dominican Republic:Morir Soñando, Chocolate de Mani, Jugo de Avena. The drinks they were offering were nicely done, and I have even seen somebody ordering a custom cocktail, which the barman was happy to make it for them. We only asked for the room to be cleaned once during our 8 days stay, but they got to it around 5 pm, even though we had the "clean the room" tag hanged at 8 am. At that time I needed to use the shower and I had to interrupt them so we got only the bed done (sort of, so I can't say what the final version should look like). The hallways seemed like they were cleaned briefly and rarely. The hotel markets itself as "echo" on the premise, but I think they only refer to the fact that they do not offer straws anymore. There is a loooong way for it to be considered "green". The utility vehicles run on gas, including a big tractor that comes on the beach every morning to collect the algae raked by few guys every morning (you feel the exhaust gases for half an hour while it's there). They water the lawn in the middle of the day, where the water evaporates faster, wasting it, and the balcony doors are single pane glass, allowing the heat in, even with the drapes closed. For the whole week, the AC could not cope with the heat and was running continuously. Even with very few times a day opening the entry and balcony doors and drapes closed at all times, we could barely get the room to 23 Celsius. Unfortunately we had a bitter experience buying gifts from the hotel allowed merchants in the main plaza. We bought a silver chain and pendant, two bottles (one 750ml and one smaller) of Mama Juana, vanilla extract, and some cigarettes. It turned out that the chain was not silver (even though the seller said they were, and the ones on his table show as marked). What they put in the envelope they gave us had only the pendant made of silver. The bottles of Mama Juana were not sealed, one of them even had a cap with some other name on it. The vanilla extract bottle was not sealed either. We were afraid to even taste what's in them and the vanilla extract was smelling like glue/paint/something weird that you do NOT want in your food. So we had to toss them. When I asked the merchant after the purchase of the "silver" gift how come that wasn't silver, he pretended he doesn't understand and that was not possible. I though of bringing this up with the manager, but after I saw in their own store some of the Mama Juana bottles that seemed to not have the original caps (which are yellow plastic, sealed, with an additional easy to peel seal on top), I figure that he might already be aware they sell refilled bottles, if you understand where I am going with this. I do have pictures to back up everything I wrote in this paragraph. Bottom line: we got stung with 3 out of 4 items we bought on the hotel premises (NOT on the beach). The beach area is nice and wide, with chairs and beds, but you need to be there before 9 am to find some unoccupied ones. the water is shallow long way into the see, but almost right from the shore there are algae growing on the bottom, which turns into a mushy-muddy one, kind of unpleasant to walk on. There is a sandy channel, about 5 feet wide, that takes you towards where the waves break, about 500 meters from the shore. Some groups of guests were loud in the middle of the night (twice around 1 am) or on the beach, with their boom box. Even though there are security personnel planted or walking around, it didn't seem they intervened. The staff seems like either they are overworked or the management is not able to organize them properly. Overall, we would give the hotel 4 stars, except for safety, considering the fake and dangerous product we bought. If you want a relaxing vacation, this is not the place for it. Below is not related with the hotel, but rather to the experience outside of it. Be careful at the exchange rate the tour operator uses. Sunwing asked for 1.47 CAD/USD. Pay by credit card, or bring USD. At the airport when leaving, the security check personnel made people with flip-flops taking them off, which left them walking bare foot in the area. After I was waved in through the metal detector, I was face to face with the security officer who was not wearing a mask. Literally, two feet in front of me, talking to me. When shuttling from the airport to the hotel, the driver roughly handled one of our carry on baggage and damaged the extensible handle. I saw them how they handled every other luggage and it seems like they really hate their jobs.

Royalton Splash Punta Cana: Very nice property

We loved our stay at the Royalton Splash. Rooms were spacious and clean and the suite with bunk beds for the kids was great. The food was an 8 /10. We upgraded to the diamond club on arrival and I’m glad we did or we would have been stuck with one buffet and two a la carte restaurants the entire week. The only frustrating part was that certain ones could make reservations and others could not which led to lengthy delays. I think this booking system is a bit flawed and many families were frustr [... read more]ated in trying to get seated. Pools were fantastic, water park was great fun and the beach was clean and gorgeous. Overall a great vacation.

Excellence El Carmen: Excellence El Carmen

The Excellence Staff were amazing. Restaurants were so inviting and personal. Special mention to Emilio and Franchiely at the Lobster House. Another Special mention to Frialyn who stood out above all others. Frailyn represented the resort with such a dynamic and professional service at the Excellence Beach Club. This was our second time at this resort but it won't be our last.

Excellence El Carmen: Great COVID Christmas Trip

First time visiting an Excellence Hotel, and we will be back. Beautiful spacious property with lots of greenery, palm trees, and places to sit and relax. The staff attentiveness and overall service level was top notch. Bars & washrooms are plenty and conveniently located. A very large beachfront, but it had some erosion that staff were actively working on repairing. Minimal seaweed which was cleaned up daily. Most days the ocean had just the right amount of waves to swim/play. We stayed  [... read more]over Christmas and they were fully booked but it never felt crowded, most days we could still get a front row palapa on the beach at 9am. Restaurants were all spacious, and most had options to eat outside. No dinner buffet, and no dinner reservations, but only a short wait for the restaurants. Food was hit or miss and I did get food poisoning one night. The menu's can only be accessed via the Excellence App (covid protocol) which is a nuisance if you're trying to "unplug" on vacation. Men need to have pants, shoes, and collar shirt for dinner. Due to COVID we mostly kept to ourselves, which was easy to do at this resort. All staff are vaccinated and wear clear mouth shields, but shields were often sitting low on their chin and not really doing much. Its up to the guests discretion if they want to wear a mask once on the property and most did not. For the pre-departure COVID test ($80USD) Reception did not provide clear instructions. They do not make appointments and you have to wait in line. Prepay for test at main desk, bring receipt to concierge desk to pickup test paperwork, then go to test building where you'll need your phone to fill out the same information again online. Results took about 36 hours and go to your email (junk box). We had a swim up room on the A side of building, but request B side for better sun exposure. We did not do the Excellence Club upgrade and did not feel like we were missing anything. Previously staying with Royalton, the base level at Excellence El Carmen was on par with Royalton Chic Diamond Club. If our visit had not been during a pandemic we might have rated this resort lower, many returning guests commented things were not up to pre-covid standards, but the staff were working hard to get through shortcomings. Overall we loved this resort and had an amazing vacation!

Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa: Didn't meet Expectations

Although this resort was beautiful to look at there were more negatives than there were positives. Upon arrival we were told that pools close at 630pm and that we should upgrade to a swim out suite. The price went from 600- dollars to 430 US dollars. We upgraded however later we learned the pools were open but they weren't monitored by a lifeguard. We would've been okay with this decision regardless however the swimout and every other pool at the hotel were ice cold including the hot tubs. They  [... read more]were not heated. We were then told to rent a cabana buy purchasing an expensive bottle of champagne. We decided why not make our stay better. The cabana came with a server, a private pool and lounge chairs located in the pool area. To our surprise these pools were also ice cold and we were unable to use them and the server was never around. This cost over 250 US dollars. This place seemed like a complete money grab. The food was okay but not enough variety for 7 days. Only one restaurant (Teppanyaki) was by reservation and the others were walk-in however upon walk-in you would then be told to wait up to an hour to eat. Rio, the brazilian was probably the best. The steakhouse was always out of menu choices which makes no sense when you are dining at 7pm. Stay away from the italian restaurant. The buffet has several options, breakfast here was good. Location wise this hotel is approximately 20 minutes from downtown Punta Cana, although there isn't much to see. We did happen to take the 45 minute trek to Juanillo which is a gorgeous area-would rather stay here if I ever do decide to come back to the Dominican Republic. The rooms are very clean and up to date, and the spa was really good with heated pool/ jacuzzi if you choose to spend more money. I would not recommend this hotel, many people we spoke to were disappointed and repeat guests told us it was much better a couple of years ago. For the amount of money we spent and the long flight from YVR it was a very unrelaxing time and a complete waste of money. If you prefer places like Los Cabos- This is not the place for you. The resorts are all located on a long beautiful beach, seaweed included, but that's about it! No culture, just upscale hotels on a beach. No bars/restaurants on the beach- only resorts. If you like to stay situated on resorts with ice cold pools- this is the place for you!

Finest Punta Cana: Amazing experience

Our agent was very helpful and did everything we asked for. The resort was so nice and clean. It was amazing. Food was great. They followed the covid Protocols very well. Beach was clean and the service was awesome. I will definitely go back

Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Amazing employees

First of all, the resort has a mask wearing mandate and good measures in place to ensure safety. For example in the buffet restaurant - the food was mostly handed to you instead of self serve with a lot of plexiglass around the food stations. We saw some people not wearing masks outside the rooms but there is nothing to do for ignorance, right? My husband and I stayed at this resort in a family side swim up suite for a week. The resort is nice and we were well greeted and the food in good and ha [... read more]d a good variety. We especially appreciated the Japanese restaurant where service was friendly and efficient and the experience was very enjoyable. Our suite was nice and clean but unfortunately the air conditioning was always blasting cold. A complaint didn't resolve the issue. We go to Punta Cana for the sun and warm weather, so... The pool was nice but needed many tile replacements. We saw one lady that cut her foot. The bars were nice with good drinks and friendly employees there too.We had requested a quiet room but got one close to the pool entertainment where every day was very loud for 2, 3 hours. I appreciate music but yelling in a mike, not so much. We also had very noisy neighbours who took over with their loud speakers. So, only 2 days were relatively quiet. Would not have expected a spring break like atmosphere for a family pool with drunk people and smoking near the kid pool area.Even saw someone vomiting in the bushes. This was our second time at Majestic resorts but would not go back because we expected more noise control in front of our room in a five star resort.

Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Love this resort

It was our second time there. We booked a preferred swim up room both times. Our butler was Nelson and couldn’t ask for better service. The grounds are beautiful. The pool is amazing and the ocean was always cleaned every morning.. We did all the a la carte and liked them all. Workers are very friendly. All workers wear masks all the time. There is hand sanitizer everywhere. At the buffet you get serve at all the different stations. Great resort, my husbands favorite.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Good other than the food

Went with a group of 5 friends and all 5 of us got food poisoning. The food was disgusting and at times not edible. Other than the food the resort was pretty good nothing spectacular. It was clean plenty of pools, bars and things to do. Service was pretty good but hard to come by someone who could speak English.

Occidental Caribe: Resort is alright

The hotel is nice, grounds are beautiful, food was good. Rooms are good, beds are really comfortable. Clean for the most part. Staff tries their best, but if they don't understand you, they just say no English, they need more staff that speaks better English or understands. Beach is beautiful, but very windy, waves are really strong. Good trip. But wouldn't chose this chain at this moment.

Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana: Shows it’s age

The resort looks nice in photos but overall not the best experience. The food was mediocre and the buffet had a small selection which the tried to hide with repeats of bread and salad bar items. The entertainment was also boring. Everyday it repeated the exact same activities as the day before. The rooms also showed there age. The lights in our building hallway weren’t on all night and my wife fell down the stairs one night maneuvering through the dark. Only bright spot was the staff was very  [... read more]friendly. Overall not a great experience and would not return.

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: Awesome place!

Our recent stay at Majestic Elegance Punta Cana was amazing Beach is great, food good and people friendly. We stayed in the Elegance Club which is worth the upgrade. Our butler was extremely helpful Will return for sure

Secrets Cap Cana: Good and Bad

The good part of the resort was the service, exceptional and very attentive staff in their area of employment. The rooms are very nice and a good size. The resort was very clean ! The dinning was the good and bad of our experience , the appetizer's at all the restaurants were excellent but the main courses fell very short. We were among 4 people that got food poisoning at the Japanese restaurant. Which made our last day almost unbearable.

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Bad Ressort

We had a lot of problems in the room and management of the resort did not fix it. 1. Loud noise (metal grinding and knocking) from the room Air Conditioner. Was never fixed. 2. TV did not work four days. After that works only three days and dead again. From two weeks it works only five days. 3. Shower did not work four days. 4. The room phone did not work four days. 5. The room minifridge is empty. Nothing delivered. Not even water. We had to go to the concierge (phone is not workin [... read more]g) to ask for water. Even after that we were getting only thee 350 ml bottles for two for a day! How chip Royalton management! 6. There is no coffee-machine in the room. 7. There is no mini bar in the room.

Be Live Collection Punta Cana Adults Only: Decent 4 star resort, but no where near 5 stars

This is my 7th time in the DR, this resort was probably the oldest one I've ever been to. The wooden beams holding up the roofs and structures sure the age of the resort. The junior suite is something you would expect in a 4 star in Cuba. The beach of you can call it that was next to a Marina so the water was dirty from oil and seaweed dredged up from the boats nearby. The beach is littered with vendors trying to sell their goods, your are in a roped off area but they still tell at you from a di [... read more]stance asking you to come look at their stuff. It was very hard to relax and hear the ocean. Of you try to escape it by going to the pool, the pool is narrow and situated in such a way that the sun only hits it for 5hrs of sunlight which is a problem when they aren't heated. The wifi was extremely slow when it worked which was intermittent. The workers and the staff were hit and miss, some were very friendly and some were extremely rude. Example, asking for a fresh beach towel because the one you have is from the day before was an issue since the towel was dry, tells me that they will only exchange it if it's wet (makes no sense since they close the towel hut hours before the sun goes down). The food was good most days, the alcohol selection was good in the VIP bars but bring your own mugs, the cups they use are the cheapest possible disposable plastic cups imaginable. I was lured by the price but even at a low price point this resort has very little value. If you enjoy swimming in the ocean or like a quiet beach this is not the resort to go to.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Had a good time not great

We loved the pool and all the extras for our grandson.The rooms were also nice and the grounds well kept and beautiful. Although the a la cartes were tasty ,the two main buffets were lacking.Too many of the same dishes every night and the food was never warm.I would go back if they improved these buffets

Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa: Food Poisoning

We had stayed at the Hideaway at the Royalton in Mexico a few years back and loved it. So we hoped for the same experience here. It started out pretty good, we opted for a diamond club junior suite with a swim out. Our little guy loved the swim out. Unfortunately on the third day things started to go pretty bad. Me and my wife got extremely bad food poisoning and they were not helpful at all. They almost make you feel like it was your fault they fed you bad food. They made zero effort to try  [... read more]and resolve the issue, they just kept trying to get us to book again and they would offer a discount on an upgrade. Or they offered medical assistance at an extremely high price. If you do choose this resort, please bring medication for food poisoning.. It was honest awful. Service is extremely slow and you have to ask for things multiple times if you ever want them to bring anything. Definitely the worst resort experience I've ever had.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Severe food poisoning

We stayed for a week at Barcelo Bavaro Palace...there was four of us in total. Two of us were food poisoned from the buffet and it was so bad that one of has to go to the hospital. We are certain it wasn't from water because we were careful to only drink bottled water. The beach here is beautiful and the rooms were clean but the food isn't great and clearly there are issues with cleanliness and food storage/preparation. In general, the service isn't good anywhere at the hotel.

Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Awesome resort

We had great expectations before leaving and we were not deceived. Room, grounds, pools and hotel was 5 star. It was just the right size where all amenities were short distance away. Service was top notch and met great people along the way. They were there to please. Beach was excellent but a bit too much waves for our liking. But calmer waters was not too far away. The resort offers adult only sections but due to close proximity to family areas it did not always feel like it. But the private [... read more] island area offered the best area for full relaxation. We enjoyed the lazy river and slides as it offered a diversion. We highly recommend the resort for families and adults only alike.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Safe and awesome Resort!

This is one of the most beautiful resorts in Punta Cana. The grounds and landscaping are absolutely gorgeous and well maintained. Due to covid only 3 out of the six restaurants were open per night, however this resort has an excellent large buffet dining room open until 10:30. One night we were hungry and they let us in late past 10:30 with a big welcome and no rush to leave. The staff is amazing especially Kelvin at the reception desk was helpful at all times and very kind. The Restaurant Manag [... read more]er Esmali was very attentive to his staff and the guests. He always made sure everyone was taken care of was always seen around all the restaurants making sure things ran smoothly. The Animation team was excellent too and always encouraging guests to get involved during the day as well as in the evening during showtime. Chocolate, Spaghetti, and Little Cooper as well as one Animation worker who always dresses in costume so friendly but I can't remember his name. The night he dressed as Spiderman was a big hit among the kids! The swim up bartender Manuel always took care of us too, sweet man. Alexander the singing Bartender was excellent too and always kept us entertained! The wait staff was awesome too. We were always greeted every morning at the buffet for breakfast by Pedro, and Christy, Argentina, and Moses and many other wonderful employees, One of the friendliest staffs we have met and we travel quite often. Punta Cana is one of our favourite destinations, gorgeous weather beautiful people. We decided to travel to this gorgeous resort because we had been there before. We knew we would feel safe with all their Covid protocols and we are so glad we chose Ocean Blue and Sand.