Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: Not going back

Positive points : location - food not bad Negative points : rooms not cleaned properly, to many Europians (very impolite and rude), food at snack bar discusting, grounds full of plastic glasses, straws and cigarettes butts (not the hotel's fault but the tourists), entertainment nul, no beer in fridge, hait drying not wworking, telephone in room not working, had to pay for poor WIFI.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Great!

The hotel was very clean and well maintained. We did have a couple of hiccups with the room and they were rectified. There was no hot water the day we arrived, but they had technicians working on the issue and it was solved by the evening. The staff went above and beyond. They were friendly and helpful.

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: Star rating needs to be changed

Where should I start... Day 1.. arrived at the resort... no welcome drink or hot towel to show us we are welcome here We had a private check in.. again .. nothing to make us feel welcome Went to our ocean view room... I had booked a king.. got 2 double beds, toilet flush was not working, telephone was not working, air conditioning was leaking... and to add to that was given no wifi password! Had to trek to reception to have them change our room.... Ok new room... better... but not a 4.5 sta [... read more]r rating.. more like a 3 star Food is blah... the a la cartes can be better Buffet is very small... there is no variety at all!.. whether it's breakfast lunch or dinner... there is no variety whatsoever!! And the meats in the buffet are very undercooked! The snack bar with burgers wings and fries is ok... burgers are undercooked.. have to get them to redo them Mini bar is not restocked at all!!! I had to ask... and all I got was 2 beers!!! Cleanliness of the room is not too good either The staff is very nice, but there is probably only 1% of them that understand English!!... but still very nice !! And quite honestly the beach is the best part of this resort... nothing else!! This is not a 4plus star resort... this is less than a 3 star! And definitely not worth the money I spent!!

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Portillo resort

Very clean, staff was excellent. They followed Covid 19 protocols: checking temperature before entering to the buffet, distancing tables, cleaning right after you. You have to wear a mask on the common areas, and when getting the food at the buffet. There's plenty of open space in the swimming pool and beach, so you don't feel that people are all over you.

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana: Family froendly

Recently came back spending our Christmas holidays at the Hard Rock with my 4 teenage children. We had a great time enjoyed the beach,pool areas, food, shops and activities. All the staff were pleasant and accommodating. Covid protocols were in place and testing was easily done at the hotel for an extra fee.

Excellence El Carmen: Info For Those Wondering About Covid

As I’m sure that there are many people wondering if they should travel because of Covid. Here is some info. For insurance purposes, we got the Manulife Covid-19 Pandemic Travel Plan - medical and trip interruption coverage. I purchased it online a couple of days before we left. It was $65 total for both of us. It covers you if you get Covid while on vacation and if the government changes to a level 4 travel restriction. If you go to the Excellence website- there is a long explanation o [... read more]f their Covid safety protocols and there is a Frequently Asked Questions page that explains their complementary stay if you test positive on your Covid test. We left from Toronto in the early afternoon. We found that the airport was not too busy. We wore N95 masks and didn’t eat or drink on the plane (you can if you choose to but are encouraged to not keep your mask off for very long). At the resort, most staff wear the clear masks that go up from their chin. Some staff wear the blue surgical masks. Most guests do not wear masks inside or outside. Some guests do - so it is up to your comfort. For the Covid tests, you can go to the Concierge Desk at 8:00 am two days before your departure. You pay for your PCR test at the front desk and fill out a form for each person at the Concierge Desk. You will need to have your passport numbers, flight date and flight time. You then go to the concierge room of building 10 for the PCR test (building 8 for rapid test). There is usually a short wait for PCR tests and sometimes a longer wait for rapid tests. Make sure to bring a phone or tablet for each person (they don’t tell you this). When you enter the room, you need to scan a QR code and basically fill out the same info that you fill out on the paper form - including passport number and email address. They emailed the results to us in about 36 hours. They have hand sanitizer at all bars, entrances to all restaurants, and at the front desks and elevators. The buffet is like it used to be - you serve yourself. The tables at some restaurants are well spaced out. At some restaurants the tables are quite close together. Many restaurants have an option to sit outside or inside. You can also get room service 24 hours a day for any meal if you prefer to eat in your room. We chose to get a room with a private pool and we used private transfers to be extra safe. The two pools near buildings 12 to 16 are quiet if you are not comfortable at the busy main pool. When we arrived in Toronto, after doing the usual declaration and customs, we got our luggage and then we were directed to the area for our PCR test. I had registered on the Switch Health website ahead of time so I didn’t have to frantically do it at the airport. I would say it took about 30 minutes to go through the line. They email the results within 72 hours. We felt safe at Excellence El Carmen. We were outside most of the time and were able to be socially distant from others. We are happy that we didn’t cancel. It was much needed break from the Covid world in Ontario right now. Here is a list of things to remember to do: The day before you leave for your vacation: *Do the Dominican Republic online form to get a QR code to show at the airport - I took a screen shot of it. *Download the Excellence El Carmen app and do the online check-in *Do your online check-in for your flight *Download the ArriveCAN app and fill out traveller info and get started on your ArriveCAN form. *Download the Canada eDeclaration app *Download or print your proof of vaccination QR code *Search “Arriving into Canada - Toronto Pearson Airport” for the link to Switch Health Arrival Tests and info about your arrival test *Register on the Switch Health website - this will be so you will be ready for your PCR test at the Canada Airport 12 to 24 hours before your flight home: *Take a screen shot of your proof of negative PCR test to show at the airport * Do the Dominican Republic online form to get a QR code to show at the airport - I took a screen shot of it *Do your online check-in for your flight *On the ArriveCAN app complete your ArriveCAN form - I took a screen shot of the QR code *Complete the Canada eDeclaration app form - I took a screen shot of the QR code *Have $20 US cash for each person to give when you go through security. Don’t cancel your vacation. You will be so happy that you went

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.