Ocean El Faro: aesthetically pleasing up and coming resort

We made an effort to read the reviews in order to have a clear understanding of what to expect throughout our stay. The first thing you notice when you arrive at Ocean El Faro, is the well designed lobby. After checking in and beginning shown where our room was on a map and having said no to the H10 people instantly on approach. We had quickly realized that more then a hand full of intricacies had been left out of our introduction to the hotel such as; the restaurants we could attend, hours of o [... read more]peration for the pool attached to our swim up suite, bowling hours, showtime hours and days of Operation, where to hand in our towel cards to get towels and so on. The room was nicely designed expect for the showers that flood and the faulty air condition unit that was changed 3 times throughout the week. cleaning service was a hit or miss depending on the day, in my opinion could have been the hotel is fairly new and theirs an adjusting period. regardless make sure specific with what you want them to do because they don't always change the sheets. They usually got to building 12 around 3pm so if you want to take a nap please try and plan around that. The water temperature in the pool portion of the swim up suit was perfect and if you find the right bartenders they come up to you and deliver your drinks so you get the best of both worlds there. There is a variety of food most of it bland at the buffet, if you go to the margarita or the Sakura food quality depends on the cook. The ocean was great, just be careful because of the coral on the ground in some spots. All in all we made a lot a great memories there. Some of the staff is amazing and I can see this hotel eventually becoming hard to bet in the future.

Occidental Caribe: Trip Central

ThankS ThankS ThankS BOOM Appreciate Trip central service and recommendations Plane was a good time Food was average SWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT We need a vacation from our vacation ;)

Riu Republica: Loved It

The grounds were beautiful,park like especially at night.The whole resort was constantly maintained-gardening,painting,cleaning.The food was delicious with a constantly changing menu.We even drank the water and ate the ice cubes with no negative results.Our room was spacious and cleaned daily. Our shower drain was rather sluggish and was fixed the same day as complaint was made.The only improvement could be with the entertainment which was similar most nights with different themes. Staff was fri [... read more]endly and courteous.We would highlyrecommend this resort .

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Very clean and organized

Very clean and good service. Awesome staff.very nice 6 restaurant s to choose from. Got unlimited lobster one day. Very nice entertainment Every night .more entertainment after 10.30 at Punta cana.only 5 minutes ride.ride available every 5 minutes.

Riu Republica: Riu Republica - A sure bet

This was the first Riu I had ever been to. I was drawn tot he Riu name as they are a chain and they also have 5 star resorts. We were impressed by many things at the Riu. The food was fantastic - the amount of food choice, the quality and variety were outstanding. It was comparable to being on a cruise ship. It is a large resort and the grounds were immaculately maintained. Staff were friendly and the service was good. At one point our shower drain became clogged, but once reported to the fr [... read more]ont desk, it was quickly and efficiently dealt with by staff. The one recommendation I would make to anyone thinking of going to this resort - take an adapter for the wall outlets. We didn’t realize that one was required so my electric toothbrush could not be plugged in for the week. Luckily the rooms did have USB ports in the room so charging phones tablets was not a problem.

Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Had an amazing week at the Majestic Mirage in Punta Cana!

This was our first trip to Majestic Mirage, and our first trip back to the Dominican Republic in 10 years. We traveled Aug 16, 2019 to Aug 23, 2019. We went Air Transat, paid for Options Plus and seat upgrades. The trip down was amazing, no issues at all. Customs and baggage went smoothly in Punta Cana. Then we found the Transat rep and attempted to find our transportation and that took a while. We did not get private and opted to go with the provided ground transportation from Air Tran [... read more]sat. This should have been a much easier process but eventually we found our van and after everyone was on board we went to the resort. Pros: Check-in: There were only the 2 of us and we were quickly escorted to Mirage Club lounge to await check in. Luggage was tagged for transport to our suite and we enjoyed the comforts while we waited. Eventually a butler led us away for our tour of the resort as our butler was already busy. Pablo was very helpful and handed us off to our butler, Junior, who told us our room was not ready but locked our carryons in a closet, gave us our key for it, and we went off for lunch. Later he found us and escorted us to our room and showed us around. Our bags came not too long afterwards. They also will send your luggage from your room to the lobby upon your departure. At the resort I did visit the Air Transat rep and got our customs declaration form in advance to save time at the airport, just an FYI as that is a nice touch. Room: Majestic Mirage is all suite resort and it was a welcome change for us. The suite was gorgeous; everything shown online already is true. Everything was immaculate from the bathrooms to the bed to the free bar everything. Tons of pillows, towels, storage space, the bed was awesome too. We had a swimup suite in Building 4 which was close to the swimup bar too. One of my most loved features is the beach towels...you don't have to check one out and guard it as you just toss them into hampers and get a new one at the many tables/shelves around the resort, what a fantastic idea and I wish more resorts did this instead of treating towels like a library card. Buildings: 1 and 2 are supposed to be families, 3/4 and 5/6/7 adults only (Mirage Club) but things happened this trip that messed that up a bit, more on that later. The only things that I would recommend for management is handles on the outside of the patio doors (not to lock, just to slide) and screens! We got locked out only once LOL, we were in the pool and the maid locked it from the inside. Bars: This resort had a great number of bars and they were all fantastic and usually staffed perfectly. Our bar (building 4) had one of the best bartenders I've ever seen, Fania! She kept us well lubricated and engaged! Rafael at the large lobby bar (downstairs) was a treat as well and quickly realized what my drinks of choice were :) We were so happy that all of the liquor was premium which did make a difference to us. To many it may not, but to us it did, we could usually taste the difference. The Sports bar also became a favourite location due to being air conditioned, pub style food, and sports LOL. The wait staff were also top notch and I feel bad I didn't get their names to mention :( Coffee Bar - we only went once as we felt like we were almost "intruding" on the women working there and didn't feel as welcome as we did at most areas of the resort. Maybe it was just an off day for them but we never went back. Restaurants: Buffet - the main one was all appointed but the A/C, if there was any, was not always cool enough for us. We ended up at the Seaside restaurant for its buffet for most breakfasts and lunch. The times were great (breakfast after 9am) and the service and view were spectacular. There are 5 ala carte restaurants, French, Italian, Japanese, Steakhouse, and Seafood (at Seaside restaurant). We partook of each one (Italian twice). The food and service at these restaurants was unbelievable! The first time we tried the Italian it wasn't the best food, but the 2nd time easily made up for it. We didn't like the lobster at the French but the atmosphere and service were so good we didn't care :) We had Junior book our French and Japanese for us, even though we downloaded the app for the Majestic resorts we still preferred him doing the booking for us. This app was great as it kept us up to date and we used it to book room service and check the daily schedules etc. Pool: heated by the sun, so if the weather is cool the pool will be also. Love the swimup bar aspect of course and it is shaded too. They do clean the pools and the pool decks every morning. The Majestic Mirage doesn't have a central pool (the largest being the family one in blocks 1/2 with the larger bar) as there are 13 pools altogether...we primarily used the one in front of our building but did use the one in front of 5 and 6 a couple of times (once for the Friday foam party). I did question the murkiness once and the next morning our pool was being cleaned. I also noticed that our pool was missing a lot of tiles and that should be addressed. Beach: Amazing white sand...yes there is seaweed...IT'S THE OCEAN PEOPLE! In the water itself there are patches of nice soft sand to walk in, but there is a large amount of seaweed. There are lots of palapas and Bali bed too, but there are supposed to be 2 adult sections and one family, but as per the issue of the adult only buildings having families we had families in our sections of the beach too. I prefer water shoes in the ocean due to the potential for coral but they weren't really needed. We did go for a walk north up to Occidental Caribe as it was the resort we last went to in Punta Cana 10 years ago (it was Barcelo Punta Cana then) just to see it and take a pic :) We saw how full the Colonial was and how quiet the beach in front of the Elegance was. But they did have loungers there so some people that wanted the peace and quiet were there. Vendors et al: Only on the beach which can be a bit of a nuisance but they were very respectful if you just said no and we were very happy there were no outside vendors in the resort (other than for excursions, picture taking, etc). Wi-Fi: was pretty much everywhere, sometimes it would fade out but always came back lol Room Service: Only used once, and did it thru the app...Just note that you need to be very specific in the comments as to what you want/don't want but they did honour our requests perfectly. Public resort bathrooms: Amazingly clean and functional...we've been to Cuba many times so this was a welcome treat. I also noted that if you had a late checkout that, in the Mirage Club lounge in the lobby area, they had locked closets you can use for carryons and showers! Entertainment: We saw at least 4 shows and heartily enjoyed them all!! The disco one and Michael Jackson were my favourites. The theater is large and very well set up for a lot of people and for them to be comfortable with nice cushy chairs and tables. The theatre bar got overwhelmed sometimes so you had to wait a while quite frequently; we just got there early and got some drinks right away. The dancers at Mirage were utterly amazing! They were very talented and athletic beyond belief. Animation: We didn't partake of too many activities as they were usually at the family sections of the resort, but we did get to know two of the gentlemen very well, Alfredo and "Salami" and they really made the trip even more enjoyable with the way they treated us and engaged us...especially making me, the husband, go on stage for the Michael Jackson "dance-off"...I ended up winning...old white guy on stage who thinks he can dance made the audience howl and I had a blast! These 2 guys were a hoot and I hope they are still there when we go back. Casino: We did go there during the day, it was very quiet, only 1 cards table open (not being used) and many of the machines seemed not to be working (would not accept the tickets once you cashed out at another machine). Service/Staff: The people at Mirage are amazing. Plain and simple...they are easy to talk to, to get to know, and very funny and kind. Treat them as you want to be treated and you will have a fantastic time. This is one of the main reasons we would return...the people! We didn't do any excursions this time as we just wanted to relax all week. Cons: One of our pet peeves though was not knowing the exact hours of the facilities (yes if you went to the gym you could see the hours) but if you have the app for Majestic Resorts should it not be there somewhere? For example the buffet, we never knew the hours for it. The map they gave us also did not have the hours on it anywhere. Just a small thing but would have been nice to know the hours of all of the facilities. The main issue was the families forced into the Adult Only building 3. We felt this was not handled very well by management as we, Mirage booked people, didn't know until a week before going (and didn't even find out from management, found out on a Facebook group), the staff were also unaware and this caused friction a few times which could have been alleviated. We did talk to the customer service but they were not that helpful and I tried to find someone onsite to talk to but didn't (but I will be emailing them). Thus we paid hundreds of dollars more than the Elegance people for the same facility (not a huge issue, stuff happens) but we booked Adults Only and did not get that at the pool nor at the beach and that was a bit of a disappointment with no apology nor compensation. But as I've said before, we would (and will) go back. The one thing about the airport at Punta Cana on the return home was that we were forced thru 2 duty free shops...and was so pressured (followed around) in the first one that we only bought one item (wanted more) but to get away from the employee we hurried thru. This is plain silly. And my wife had an issue with her passport photo as it is about 5 years old and she went thru breast cancer 4 years ago and that changes a person, they pretty much humiliated her with making her go back and forth thru the facial recognition process until I started to make a scene about the fact she was a cancer survivor...they could have asked her after the first time instead of embarrassing her like that. One last point about the airport is that apparently it is a "quiet" airport so they don't make any announcements...thus even though we paid for Options Plus we did not get to board any earlier than the others, they also changed the plane and thus our seats and never told us at checkin which caused some degree of stress until we were assured they were still "extra leg room" (and they were) but again, no notification. We will be sending an email to Air Transat about that as it seemed very little reason to book Options Plus anymore. Please feel free to contact us with any questions!

Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Fantastic time!

This hotel and the surrounding hotels are amazing. The service was great and there was lots to see and do. You can go to other hotel resorts as their buffets were fantastic! Book your dinner reservations ahead of time as it’s difficult to get.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Excellent Resort

It was an amazing place to stay.Worth to visit again.I love the pools and the beach.Nice ambiance for relaxing.Food was excellent.Waiters are nice some are funny and jokers.Night entertainment was amazing too.

Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Exemplary Resort and Personnel

The Majestic Mirage was a fantastic hotel when you are talking about staff and grounds. They are well maintained and the staff especially our butler Carlos, were extremely pleasant and helpful with all our questions and concerns. I would recommend the location to everyone looking for a relaxing vacation. I would also like to thank our tripcentral advisor for the trip...Wendy Van Zandwyk for all her help.

Catalonia Royal Bavaro: Would visit again!

Great service in general. Food was great! The beach was a disappointment as it was always full of weeds and therefore people were opting the pools to the beach. Pools were well maintained. Had to call room service multiple times for various issues. The response was quick. Resort could organize more excursions at better rates. Too many outside agencies selling packages @ exorbitant rates. Did not like the manner in which the resort tried selling us their multi year multi location vacati [... read more]on packages. Wasted half a day of our vacation on this.

Riu Republica: Fun resort with lots to do!

Hotel was very well maintained, very clean. The food is amazing, service is great, all the employees are happy, willing to help and make your stay more enjoyable. The beach was very clean, no seaweed/ rocks. Would recommend the pool/ jungle party! Overall great resort and vacation!

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Great Resort, bad environment

The resort was beautiful with great spacious rooms. The food was great everywhere we went. The one thing is that the resort staff differentiate between guest that have diamond status and others. For me, a resort that want to be classified as luxury should be providing all their guest with top service not making some of the guest feel like a second class citizen. i went with my wife to celebrate a great milestone in our marriage. the first couple of days the resort was quite and we enjoyed  [... read more]it tremendously. then the resort got busy with loud, drunken people. one of afternoons a guy decided that he will take his shorts off and show himself off, and his wife joined him and took her top off. they danced for a good 10 min before they stopped. the staff was lined up looking at them and calling around but no one stopped it. I was very offended, this is not the type of place i would like to be at. the following days there was a problem every day at the people with someone who is drunk screaming at everyone. I have been traveling every single year to the Caribbean for the past 10 years and have never seen guest with this behavior and worse, have not seen a hotel staff accepting such behavior.

Excellence Punta Cana: Ultimate Adults Only Vacation Spot

My husband and I chose this resort for our honeymoon. Upon arrival, we were greeted with champagne and a cold towel. Very refreshing! Our room was even upgraded upon arrival. The room was very spacious, and the resort was very well maintained. Each day there were activities that you could participate in and nightly entertainment. There was also no shortage of food selections- French, Spanish, Asian, Mexican, American Grill, and Mediterranean. All of the dishes were very well presented. A big sho [... read more]ut out goes to all of the staff working at the resort. The staff were always ready to cater to your needs. They were very personable and greeted you by name each day. The staff members also did a great job of engaging the hotel guests throughout the day. They were very enthusiastic! We highly recommend this adult only luxury resort. We will certainly return to this resort in years to come!

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Amazing Trip

Resort was amazing good food, good entertainment amazing pool and beach. Village market and stores were convenient for shopping. I would love to go back. Recommendation is more English speaking staff.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Beautiful resort

I stay at Luxury Bahia Prinicipe Esmerdale resort in Punta Cana.. Food is good ,clean and amazing taste with nice service by its employee at the resort restaurant. Room are clean and well kept. I will give A plus.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Very Nice Resort. But Not Without Some Flaws

My husband and I stayed at the Ambar on August 5th-15 in a swim - up room. Here is an overview of a bit of everything : Room: We loved the swim up room. It was clean and comfortable and well the interior design was beautiful Con: The bathroom had only one sink with limited counter space. There was also nowhere to hang anything in the bathroom so trying to hang up make up cases or wet bathing suits had to be put over the shower walls. The pool for the swim up was cleaned constantly a [... read more]nd spacious. We enjoyed it every day. Ice Machine: This we found odd. There was no ice machine for guests to use. In order to get ice we had to call room service. They did bring it but in such hot climates guests tend to use a lot of ice and waiting each time was a bit silly. Con: The room service menu is very limited especially for anyone who's vegetarian. Con: There were only about 3 English speaking tv channels and they played marathons of the same shows most of the time. This may seem like not a big deal but it's something to consider if you're stuck indoors due to illness or if the weather is inclement and you're indoors. Butler Service : Our butlers were Jean and Greydin. There were excellent. If you can request them we highly recommend it. There were knowledgeable, thoughtful and wonderful. They added a quality to our vacation that was fantastic. The Grounds: The landscaping and grounds were immaculate. Restaurants : We went to Portfino's Italian restaurant and loved it. The service and food were excellent. We went twice while we were there. The Buffet : It had many options and themed nights which was nice. A big issue for myself was the labelling of the food. I do not eat meat except fish and many food items were not labelled to explain what was in it. For example there would be a dish that appeared as it could be fish or another meat without saying what meat was in it. When I inquired the staff didn't understand which was frustrating. We even found out how to ask if there was meat in Spanish and they were still confused or told us there was no meat when there was. Other foods were labelled as if they were vegetarian but weren't. Example "Chickpea vegetable soup" Which after I took a bowl of, I discovered that there was ham in it. I'm glad I noticed before eating it. This happened frequently. It is a simple fix that on the label it could simply say words like " Beef" or "Pork" because people could get ill. We also found that many of the food items were extremely salty. Also a bit of frustration occurred if we wanted to take our food and eat outside of the restaurant on the patio portion. Some staff said yes and others said no. At one point I wasn't very mobile and had to stay in my room and my husband was not permitted to bring me some food from the Buffet to our room. And yet if I were to order room service there was nothing I could eat. The Coffee Shop : It was clean and had a lot of options for coffee and dessert lovers. We enjoyed sitting outside and having a coffee or tea every day. And the desserts were beautiful and delicious. The Lobby : The Lobby was clean and immaculate. In the Lobby there is a desk where there are people trying to sign you up for their rewards program is. We received an invite in our room to learn about it and ignored it. It is a waste of time and money and we've seen it in other resorts. One staff member at that desk was pushy to the point he basically told us " This is how I make a living. I just need you to go to the meeting and I'll get paid." We did not go on our vacation to help him earn his paycheck. And no one wants to go on their vacation only to have on day two people trying to sign you up for something you've already declined. If you see this desk or they approach you, we suggest you politely decline and keep moving. The Lobby Store: If you like munchies like sweet or salty snacks we suggest you stock up at Duty Free. The Lobby store has items for purchase and they are very expensive. E.g one very small snack size package of M&Ms was $3.00 USD The Beach: Beautiful and well maintained. There were many chairs and tables available. Entertainment : There was a variety of entertainment . It was really enjoyable. The bands were fantastic. The dance shows were also beautifully choreographed. A few guests on the resort had mentioned to us a confusion about alcohol. Apparently there were alcoholic beverages that you actually had to pay for. We never ran into that problem but they told us upon trying to order a Corona at the Sports bar the server told them it would be $5.00 USD yet it's supposed to be an all inclusive and on the website it states that all alcohol including premium is included. The Sports Bar also boasts pool tables and yet you have to buy tokens to play which is ridiculous. Overall it was a pleasant trip. I think if the above mentioned issues were resolved it would be more likely that we would return.

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Dream trip

We had a booking with trip central.ca Katie Sauve She was expert in helping us plan the perfect trip she really put hard work in to perfect trip we went to Fantasia Bahia Principe Punta Cana what a amazing trip five star for everything what a beautiful resort or I should say a dream resort for the kids and parents I cannot say enough what a beautiful experience it was amazing service they thought every activity for the kids although you must book for the restaurants soon as you get there  [... read more] good selection of nightly shows lotta stuff to do there day and night Aldo stuff is expensive at the stores in the resort please take your items what you need when leaving for vacation People are focussed on customer service over there no security issues they help with your needs room service is great with cleaning and they deliver the food in your room if you need it they make sure the Families are well taken care of and enjoy Vacation At most every penny is worthwhile over there on your vacation

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: An awsome Resort

I had an amazing time at Fantasia. My daughter and family love the resort.Beach was beautiful especially sanoa island...most beautiful island. Al cart restuarant were great especially Japanese restaurant. Servic was good but Pool needs to be more cleaner and should be cleaned more often.Everything was amazing !!

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Dream resort for kids

Hi This was our first family vacation and I was hesitant to choose a place we are so glad that we went to this resort We went to this resort with three children total of five we had a amazing experience They really put every little detail for entertaining the kids the parents and thought of everything there’s so much to do for the kids services is great resort is magical I would definitely recommend to everyone you must visit this To believe it five stars all the way by the way for a rest [... read more]aurant bookings do it ahead of time what a magical place

Nickelodeon Hotel Punta Cana: Amazing Food and Resort

Travel dates July 24-31 2019- 2 Adults and 3 children aged 2, 8, 10. Beach was nice did have seaweed but kids don't care, they loved playing in the sand. We really enjoyed ourselves at this resort. Lots of food to choose from and delicious and my picky boys were able to find something to eat. We were able to book in at Spacewalk, food was very good here, kids had a blast. Next we went to BRGRSPH- this was ok, I don't like my burgers undercooked it was still pink inside and that's not for me. [... read more]..even when I asked for it well done,very cool décor. We also visited Verdello- great pasta next we tried Wok Wok it was ok not great. Fresco best taco's ever, Mac and Cheese was good. Aqua Bite in the waterpark was good really enjoyed my flatbread, hubby loved the wings. Waterpark was great for the kids, loved it. They did get bored of the slides but loved the pool and went around in the lazy river. It is a 10 min walk from hotel to waterpark but there is a shuttle that runs every 15 mins. Staff at the waterpark are great with the kids. We did miss out on the "ORANGE CARPET" it looked fun, lots of food - buffet style, would totally recommend going to it. Go early to get a sit for this event. Hotel was nice and clean found the staff to be friendly.We fit fine in the "standard" room it was large enough with large balcony. One down fall was the time share they were trying to sell us. If we told the first person we weren't interested what makes you think the 5th person you bring to us that we will change our minds?? Doppio the coffee bar, only spot I didn't like, went one morning and no one was there, so left empty handed. Items on the resort are pricy especially the Sponge Bob gear/items. Do recommend kids have swim shirts, its hot and saved us from dealing with sunburned kids. Did enjoy our stay with the kids looking forward to the new one opening in Mexico.