Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Great resort

We stayed in a Junior Suite which was large and roomy even for two girlfriends to share the one big bed. The rooms and resort was very clean, even the common bathrooms had attendance checking up on them. The buffet was ok, normally had the same items every time. To be able to utilize the other restaurants from the next door resorts was very nice. Would recommend to do that for supper, BUT was hard to get booked in at times. The entertainment at this resort was ok, but again u can wonder over to  [... read more]the other resorts to see bigger better shows. They do offer shuttle service to get around which is super great. The foam pool party during the day is a blast. The bartenders need to be trained more, none of the mixed cocktails were ever the same. There was 4 of us and we all ordered the same cocktail and was made by the same bartender and all 4 drinks were different

Excellence El Carmen: Amazing Resort

This resort is absolutely stunning! This was my second trip to the Excellence El Carmen and I wasn't disappointed. Very Clean, great food, beautiful beach and excellent service. The staff are so friendly and welcoming and make your stay extra special.

Occidental Punta Cana: Great to be back on vacation

The Hotel is nice and clean, the grounds are well kept , staff is friendly , they even helped me learn a few words in Spanish just for fun. It’s our 10th time in Punta Cana over many years , so we have a reasonable idea of what’s available in the area . Rooms were nice , room was cleaned well each day . We are not picky eaters but we found the food to be “just ok”. I think it’s as much to do with ramping back up after a long haul during COVID , so we are happy to give them a break whil [... read more]e they get back up to full speed and staff. We love the beach, and the long daily walks we were able to do, over 3km each way and each direction on the beach each morning . We enjoyed going in the Ocean , and about 50’ in being able to just float with waves while able to still touch the bottom. On Good Friday the local residents are able to come and use a day pass, that day was very busy , and loud , but still family oriented, just be aware it changes the feel of the resort for that day greatly. The worst part for us was the amount of vendors persistently pushing what they had to sell, from sunglasses , to clothing, parasailing, etc etc etc . Also the constant attempt on the grounds to upgrade to a higher level area , that was more than we were willing to accept , and might be a deciding factor whether to even return or not . Some people seemed to enjoy the bantering with the vendors, I’m in sales myself , but on vacation I just want to not have to deal with that .

Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana: Fabulous Resort

From the beaches, to the pools, to the food, the rooms and all the staff that work at Hyatt Zilara; it’s one fabulous resort. From the minute we arrived we felt very welcomed. It’s also one of the best resorts we’ve ever vacationed at. I highly recommend it.

Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Another wonderful stay at the Mirage.

This was my second trip to the Mirage, last one in November 2021. This time I stayed 7 days with a friend. Check In: Check in was quick, they have a wonderful check in lounge where you can relax and have a drink and a snack while they do the heavy lifting. Butler: We were met promptly by our butler Jeffry who was spectacular. He offered to take us directly to the room since I had been there but I wanted my friend to get the full experience so he did the full tour. Download WhatsApp befor [... read more]e arriving and connect this way with your butler. Jeffry checked in on us daily, either in person or through whatsapp. Room: We booked a mirage club 1 bedroom suite however we were offered an upgrade for a mirage club swim up suite in building 4 and I definitely took it. It was the last room before the lounge, couldn't be any closer to the beach. The room had some details that needed updating but overall was clean. Tipped housekeeping and mini bar stocker well the first day and got more than enough snacks and drinks. I highly recommend the swim up suites! Beach: Okay, I love the beach. I do resorts for the beach. I understand as much as they say not to reserve chairs, everyone does it. The resort was full capacity and it was hard to get beach chairs after 9am. I made friends with a number of the animation staff and they would help me find chairs and bring them to the shade. It's frustrating when people reserve the bali beds in the morning and also take chairs. Service: Servers are all over the beach, at the different pools, at the plaza and the theatre in the evening. They work hard, remember your drinks, and are all super friendly! I would often ask for a drink with tequila or rum and some thing fruity and would get a great drink! Try the Majestic with rum...their signature! I can not state this enough, the service here is fantastic! I will note, if you don't put in an effort to be kind and get to know them, you may not get the same service. Food: Seaside buffet for lunch and dinner is a must. The view is spectacular. Note: I am a picky eater when it comes to meat, I could always find more than enough. It's a resort buffet, the food in the buffet is warm rather than hot. I have no issue personally. There's not a huge amount of variety day to day, which again doesn't bother me. The quality and availability is good, so no complaints. Italian, Steakhouse, Seaside and Japanese (reservation for tepanyaki but not sushi) are all well worth it. I have not tried French as that is not my type of food. This is the other restaurant that needs reservations. Didn't have to wait at either Italian or Steakhouse to get a table. Room service is slow, and definitely not hot. The snacks in the lounges are good to tide you over and you can order meals there as well if you prefer. Pools: Honestly, didn't spend too much time in the pool however the one day I did we noticed broken lighting. It was brought up to management and addressed. If you like the pool, you're in luck...chairs at the pool are easily available. Spa: I booked a package at the spa called "Day to Relax" which included the sauna and bath circuit, a massage, a facial and a pedicure. Even if you don't want spa treatments I highly recommend the hydrotherapy circuit! Beautiful spa and services.

Riu Republica: Stunning!

Riu Republica was hands down the cleanest, most accommodating and fun resort we’ve ever been to! The resort was spotless, even the communal toilet facilities were sparkling clean. The staff was incredibly friendly and always wearing masks. Lots of activities available with the smiling staff leading the way. Food was great and not a single person in our group got the tropical food sickness! The room was clean and comfortable, and the cleaning staff was prompt and did an amazing job! The pools w [... read more]ere clean and warm. No negative things to say about this resort!

Playabachata Hotel: Disappointed

The beach was fantastic. The rest is a bit disappointing. This more a 3 star rather than a 4 star. The beds were comfortable but the rooms need renovations. The restaurant food was ok, but no wow factor. Disappointed that we had to stand in line to book a specialty restaurant the day of and there was nothing special about it. Also, due to the Sunwing problem upon checkout, there was no rep. to talk to. The front desk called him but he never answered. Tried to check with Sunwing app but could not [... read more] get through.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Fabulous place!

We had the time of our lives, highly recommend and will go back again for sure!Every thing was fantastic and we were impressed by the quality of service, beach was amazing, hotel and staff also perfect, thank you so much for all your hard work for making us enjoy our vacation!

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Great vacation

Nice place to go to. Great staff, clean and good food. Very relaxed atmosphere . Could use some upgrade to entertainment, but I’m sure Covid has affected that. Happy , hardworking, pleasant staff, especially Roberto at pool bar.My only complaint was the stairs in main areas, I saw 3 people fall in a week on the marble, you can’t see them, they blend into floor.

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Ok resort but not 4 1/2 stars imo

The resort is a mixed bag: Food is good, but lacks variety I expected for the rating Very Clean Booze was disappointing both in terms of quality and selection. Entertainment was not as good as I expected. There was no “viva” vibe People nice and courteous.

Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort: Nice Resort

The grounds are beautiful & well kept. Resort is laid out very well. Was disappointed to find that the Resort has stopped offering disposable gloves at the buffet restaurants. In my opinion this is not good as Covid is still very much with us. Cleaning of tables has also diminished. Overall, cleanliness of the buffet restaurants has become less of a priority. Washrooms in the lobby areas however are kept very clean. Room was okay. A basic room. Was cleaned to my liking each day. Had a couple if [... read more] problems but they were attended to quite quickly. The pool was very crowded. This Resort is lacking a quiet/adults only pool. The pool is too small for all the kids that use it. I think they felt that a quiet pool was not necessary due to the Aquagames section of the resort. I will not visit this resort again as I love the pool scene but this resort does not give me a pool scene that I can enjoy. Too many unsupervised children crawling all over you. The beach is beautiful but needs more chairs. Snack bar at the beach was awesome & the Sports Bar/Coffee Shop was great. However, we were ignored at the lobby bar on more than one occasion which was frustrating. Bartenders seem to have favorites.

Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort: Great family resort

My bestfriend and I (mid 20s) decided to take our first all inclusive trip together. The resort was great, an extra shout out to a few front staff Brelin, Wahgner, Andry, Edward, Carlos, Breilly and ismrel! Also a shout out to our favourite bartender Victor as the resort lounge bar! The beach and pool is about a 5-10 min walk from main resort area. We stayed in building 13, our room, wasnt so great. It was extremely humid, to the point where all of our belongings were damp and musty by the time  [... read more]we left. Also if we left a key card, or anything plastic in the same spot for two long it would actually be WET under it. We discussed with a few other stayers and they said they didnt have that issue, everyone we spoke to was not on the first floor, we stayed in room 1305 so I would suggest staying clear of that building on the first floor. All the staff was great help all the time, no long drink wait times, food was decent, lots of options. If you are going to an all inclusive BOOK YOUR DINNERS IN ADVANCE(before your trip or the morning of your first day, you can book up to 4 at a time) we did not and never got an earlier time than 930pm. Lastly, it was a great place for kids and families, if you are in your 20s looking for excitement and friends, I would suggest an alternative resort. Lots of children, families, and older couples. Did not make it to the water park but we also didnt hear great reviews from anyone older, also sounds like it is mainly for children! Pools were always busy, if you want to get a chair at the pool id suggest getting there early, or set out a towel in the early morning. A lot of people were very rude about pool chairs and will claim them for the whole day but never actually sit at them or use them. Over all the experience was probably about a 7/7.5! Also it is quite far from Punta Cana and the airport so be prepared for 30-60min drives if you leave the resort!

Nickelodeon Hotel Punta Cana: Excellent resort

hotel facilities were clean at all times, the staff was great and friendly, the entertainment was good the variety was excellent, service was good for the most part but they need a little more organization

El Beso Adults Only at Ocean El Faro: 3 star wishing for more

Amazing interior and exterior design of grounds , buildings and rooms.The white Birds nesting on the edge of the grounds is a huge highlight. Must experience the beautiful birds. Beach sand was always littered with Garbage and cigarette butts. Hot tub on the adult side wasn't working which was a huge disapointment. No where near enough shade or sheltar so sunburn and rain soak is inevitable unless you stay indoors. Don't pay extra for the Adults Only because children are still everywhere do [... read more]ing whatever they want. Perfect size resort to get around. Kid's swim amenities looked amazing. Food is served cold which for some dishes, borders on revolting. Restaurants proved to be a complicated 2 to 3 hour wait for equally unappetizing food. We were hungry most of the time. Staff range from cool and removed to completely irritated to have guests. Never heard so many blunt " No"s .The party staff at the adult pool were aggressive past the line of appropriate. They were actually physically pulling, pushing and shoving drinking people into things they don't want to do.. that looks like a disaster waiting to happen. The drinks were mysterious recipies of what seemed like left over cheap liqour. Never had a margarita, martini etc made out of whatever odd ingredients were laying around and never tasted the same twice. Beds were very comfy and the huge showers are very luxurious at the end of the day. Check in and out were smooth and orderly. There are no extras, no welcome drinks or greetings, no smiling service, nothing friendly and nothing to add any special feel or interest.

Excellence Punta Cana: Excellence at its best!!!

This resort lives up to its name, everything from our room, restaurants, beach and entertainment were Excellent. We celebrated our 25th anniversary and my birthday while there, staff went above and beyond. Special shout out to Victor at the Excellence club beach area and Lizbeth in the club excellence office, the special decorations in our room to celebrate my birthday were beautiful. A big thank you to the Excellence Punta Cana for helping make our trip one to remember!!!! We would also like  [... read more]to thank out travel agent Carol Webber for helping us book our special vacation.

Riu Palace Bavaro: Should be 3 star

I would not recommend this resort. It should be 3 star at best. Very outdated. Beds are terrible. I didn't sleep for a week. Needs an entire update. If you can book the Riu Punta Cana would be a better resort for the same price. We were supposed to be in the Riu Punta Cana but our terrible agents at Tripcentral stuck us in the Bavaro and then would not answer or return phone calls!!!!!! Never deal with trip central again. I travel every year and they were the worst customer service I have ev [... read more]er experienced!! Good thing I didn't have to get ahold of them for anything really important. They only take your money then never take your calls. Although the hotel is dated and the booking company sucks there were lots of good things. Staff at hotel was amazing. Food was amazing. Beach was amazing. Very clean.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Not a 4+ star resort. Not even close

I planned to go to this resort back in March 2020. As travel restrictions have reduced for April 2022, I decided to go and stay at this resort. A big mistake as I didn't read the recent reviews since Covid caused some issues at this place. I have been to the Dominican 7 times now. Quite the experience. BEACH- there is no beach. It is a shoreline. There is water and there is sand. I did read that the shoreline was washed away but the resort has done nothing to attempt to improve this ot [... read more]her than the large sand bags to break the waves in various places. Many people give the beach a 5 star rating which is a joke. I don't spend much time on the beach but on this trip, I walked both north and south of the resort and didn't see anything near as disappointing as the Ocean Sands. POOL-large and beautiful as described. Unfortunately no where near what is needed for the umbrellas and pool chairs for both the pool size and number of people. Reserving an umbrella required you to put out towels at 4-5am. I caught on to this on day 3 and did it for the remaining of the week. In speaking with many people and families, they to never experienced anything like this. The pool bars were understaffed based on the number of people in the pool area. I did ask for Canadian Club at all the bars and only one had half a bottle. When i completed the bottle after mid week, there was no more available. When I asked when they would have more, they didn't know or even check. Service was only good if you tip them. Also very poor communication skills. I also went to the lobby bar and it as well did not have Canadian Rye Whisky. When I laughed at the bartender, he became a little annoyed. However, not as much as I was. STAFF-Most were not friendly but I do make a point of saying hello to everyone when I walk by or they come to my table for service. Many of them did respond with a hello. I don't blame them as I think they have not been trained properly and don't speak the language very well. I do think they were understaffed in most areas based on the number of people staying at the resort. WELCOME GIFT-These Time Share people try to get you to commit to the H10 resorts (cash for life program) on your 2nd day on site. This is a waste of time as I would only consider listening to someone at the end of my stay to see what they have to offer. They did mention that I should consider switching to premium to get an upgrade which I did see on a review that it is not worth the offering. I did get a chance to speak to someone from Ontario that had the upgrade and felt it was a waste of money and didn't see the benefit. I did notice that the people involved in this "scheme" speak English very well. Too bad the rest of the staff didn't have the same communication skills as that would help improve this resort. FOOD-spent most of the time eating at the buffet in morning and night. Large variety of food but most of it was never hot, either warm or cold from a previous meal. Always very busy, good but not great. I did manage to get to the Steakhouse one night and waited 90 minutes for a table. A very rushed meal and not a relaxing dinner. This was only open 2 days during the week as some of the others. When I spoke to a few others from Canada at the pool, they suggested to stay away from these specialty ones as they were also only open a few days. Not enough staff to manage all the Customers that were on the resort. RESORT-beautiful grounds, layout and pool as indicated on websites. Looks like very little maintenance and money was spent during Covid over the past 2 years but I did notice that they were working on fixing a few things during my week. MANAGEMENT-I do sum up that the issue with the resort is due to poor management. No consistent communication to the Customers. I do see that this resort wants your money and really doesn't want to deliver the service and attention it needs to in order to be a 4+ star. I have only been to a 4 star resort once in my years of travel and this is definitely below that. In summary, it must be a 3 star. I would suggest staying away until such time some travel agents visit and confirm if improvements are made. I know I wont experiment with any H10 resorts in the future.

Dreams Cap Cana Resort and Spa: Beautiful brand new resort

The hotel itself was amazing. The location was beautiful and a short drive from import. What really stood out at this resort was the service. You always felt like you were receiving VIP service from all staff members. They were friendly and quick to attend to your every need. The food was outstanding and we especially enjoyed the Italian restaurant Frank and Lola’s.

Impressive Premium Punta Cana: Could be Great

I'm gonna break it down for you all: Check-In: Check-in was a bit disorganized - they didn't have our reservation at first, but they eventually found it. Our booking agent had requested one big bed and I had emailed 3 times requesting it over 2 months before, but they could only put us in 2 separate beds which we pushed together. That was ok, considering the hotel was 100% capacity. The issue was that I had to beg to get into the room an hour after check-in time (5 pm). Luckily we were keepi [... read more]ng busy drinking mojitos in the pool while waiting so it wasn't that bad! The Room: We had a pool view room and it is very large. Two showers and two sinks and inside has two queen beds and a big sofa bed, and a table with two chairs—lots of space for clothes and stuff. The room stinks, though, like mould and mildew. You get used to it after a while, but it shouldn't smell like that. The balcony is large and had a view over the pool where we sat and enjoyed most nights! The Food and Drinks: The food in the buffet is almost un-eatable. We got very sick the second night and had our fantastic butler Wilnier book the ala carte restaurants for us the remaining nights, or we just ate at the premium lounge. On the Grill is the best ala carte restaurant! Book your breakfast at Villa Magna for a beautiful view and a nice ala carte selection. The drinks were pretty good; you could get sky vodka and Tanqueray gin. The premium lounge had a bloody mary, and a mimosa serve yourself corner! That was fun and convenient. Premium guests also have access to room service which includes a short menu of chicken fingers, fries, sandwiches, quesadillas, and some other minor things. That's a nice touch! There is also a pizza bar near the pool and beach which is open until 3 AM and the pizza is actually quite good! The service: The service is absolutely 0 out of 5 stars EXCEPT for our butler, Wilnier. In the premium side, you are supposed to be assigned a butler and ours was named Wilnier. When we checked in he found us and gave us his what's app number and was always available to help us out, very friendly, and always took care of us. He said good morning every day and came and had a chat with us each morning while he was doing his rounds. Without Wilnier I don't think we saw a single staff member smile once. We had to flash money to even get service to look at us. Most times if you wanted a drink or anything it felt like you were disturbing the staff and they were going to kill you if you asked for anything! Although the bartender at the Tiki bar made great drinks and was friendly after a couple of days of tips $$$. The server Victor in the On the Grill restaurant and Julio were both fun as well. The staff definitely need some training on service standards and needs to be held accountable because it was atrocious. The grounds: The resort is absolutely stunning, you can walk around and be in awe at the beautiful gardens and minor pathways throughout the resort. Definitely breathtaking. The beach is well kept and has lots of space and different areas to lounge! Towels were always available and ready to go for the pool or beach, which is excellent! This resort could be a 5 star but falls VERY short on service and food in some areas. If the staff attitudes were better, I believe everything else would fall into place. Oh yeah, someone should maybe clean the air conditioning vents in building 23 as well :) It might be mouldy or dirty inside! Thanks to Wilnier again for saving our vacation. Someone promote this man so he can teach everyone how to behave in the service industry!

Breathless Punta Cana Resort: Great Week at Breathless!

This was a great resort. Would we return? Probably not, but only because there are other resort chains that we love more. We read a ton of reviews before we went and to be honest, we disagree with a lot of what's been recently said. The towel game is definitely in play but by 9am, there were still plenty of options. The shaded options were few and far between at that point, but other reviews stated there just weren't enough chairs for everyone. This is not true. There were plenty.  [... read more] Others also commented on the wifi. It wasn't great, but it was manageable. The connections frequently dropped but it was only a minute or so before you could connect again. We never had a problem in the room, it was just when you were around the pool that sometimes it would drop. Is it a party resort? Maybe. But if you weren't into that scene, it was easy to avoid it. We asked for a quiet room and that's what we got! We were completely unaware of the loud music, doors slamming, etc that others complained about. We never heard a thing! No one ever approached us for time-share meetings. Not once. Which was great. Covid protocols - masks were required at the buffets and enforced *most* of the time. If you didn't have a mask, they would give you one at the entrance, but when they ran out, they just let you in. Masks were not enforced anywhere else even though they had signs posted at all entrances that you needed one. All staff wore masks at all times. Our butler was great. His name was Gliny. We didn't need a lot of help during our stay but anything we did need was right there to help us! He also set up a nice birthday surprise of a door banner, rose pedals, champagne and a cake for the hubby's birthday. This was a nice touch! Housekeeping was great. Our room was *usually* done by about 12pm. Once it wasn't done until late in the evening (7-ish) but it wasn't a big deal. Turn-down service was hit and miss. We seemed to only get it twice during our week stay, but again, not a big deal. I can turn down my own sheets... The Xhale upgrade was 100% worth the extra money. With this upgrade, we were allowed to have breakfast in the open-air Strip Grill restaurant instead of the main buffet. THIS ALONE MADE IT WORTH IT. I could not imagine eating any more meals in the main buffet. It was closed-in, crowded, and just not a nice atmosphere. Speaking of which, none of the restaurants had a nice atmosphere. We didn't overly enjoy the experiences in any of them. The dinner service was just ok. No one was overly friendly and they often got the orders wrong. Not a big deal to us, as all of the food was pretty good. Nothing that stands out as being excellent, but no poor meals either. If I gave feedback to the resort, it would be to liven up the restaurants so that you didn't feel that you were sitting at a random table in an open-space room. It always felt awkward. The Mexican restaurant (Picante) was advertised as part of Breathless, but it was in fact part of Dreams. A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE when you think you're at an adults-only resort and you are suddenly surrounded by more kids in one room than you've seen in your life!! (I'm not a parent if that's not obvious). My advice is to skip Picante all together, and stay at Breathless. The gym was also part of Dreams. As avid CrossFitters, we were naturally at the gym at 6am daily... the gym was pretty well equipped but SO HOT!!!! No air conditionning? And kids were allowed there too...climbing all over everything. Had we have known this in advance, we may not have chosen this particular resort...but that's just our preference and no fault of the resort. The beach was nice, and well maintained. We took a daily walk in each direction but other than that, we spent no time there. Lastly, this is not a comment about the resort but about our private transfer to get there. This was the first time we paid for a private transfer from the airport, and this will become the norm for us. It was awesome! As soon as we got our luggage and got out of the airport, we were immediately swept away into a private van and hurried to the resort without stops along the way. It wasn't cheap but the experience was well worth the money. All in all it was a great week and nice weather.