Ocean Blue and Sand: First time to Dominican and never going back!

I thought the hotel and everything was great until I discovered I was robbed by my maid (male) I stayed November 4 through to the 11th. I and my husband have travelled over 20 times and have never ever had this issue. I know there’s nothing I can do except not refer this resort to anybody, or never ever return myself. I am completely heartbroken as my charm bracelet will never be replaceable in total about $3000 was taken from my room between my FULL Pandora bracelet my four rings and my Lu [... read more]lulemon vest. Not sure if anybody could contact me as it’s not easy to get a hold of you guys. I stayed in room 8106 I had two toddlers. Just a heads up might want to find out who’s doing that I would hate for somebody else to go through what I just did. 😭💔

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Great staff amazing resort

This was our second time at this resort and will return again. The staff and entertainment team especially peek a chu we’re amazing. We felt very safe and everyone wearing masks, they sanitize everyone’s hands before you can enter Buffett. They also have hand sanitizers around the resort. The sports bar is great. Nothing but positive vibes from all staff from the moment you arrive. Cheers till we see you again

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Great resort

We had an amazing time at the Chic Royalton in Punta Cana. The service and food were great, best part is real Clamato for us Canadians. Our butler Juan was amazing and went above and beyond for us. We had an amazing server at the Hunter steak house named Nester. My favourite bartender was Marisol. She too was amazing. I highly recommend this resort. When you go search out these wonderful people to say hi.

Melia Punta Cana Beach Wellness Resort Adults: FANTASTIC TIME!!

The Melia Punta Cana was amazing. Grounds were meticulous, rooms were cleaned daily with fresh towels and rose petals. The staff went beyond our expectations. The food and drinks were top notch!! Loved it and I can't wait to return.

Catalonia Royal La Romana: Amazing resort - for smokers.

This hotel was so fantastic in almost every way. Very well kept, excellent friendly staff, decent food, amazing beach and some fun nightly entertainment. My only complaint (outside of smoking issues) is that they did not hold their guests to their own rules such as use of personal speakers and not holding beach chairs... which everyone did first thing in the morning and so it could be hard to find a spot if you didn't hold a spot... like you weren't supposed to. If you're a smoker, I 100% rec [... read more]ommend this spot. If you're not a smoker and hate cigarette smoke, such as myself and my partner, it's best to avoid this place. We were the minority as non-smokers and guests were allowed to smoke anywhere and everywhere making enjoyment of any space, including the beach, difficult. We were constantly surrounded by people smoking, even in the covered (but not enclosed) restaurants, it was awful. Such a shame that a 5-star resort with an excellent location and better beach than Punta Cana, can't put in some smoking areas to keep the 2nd hand smoke away from non-smoking guests and their poor employees who have to inhale it everyday.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Very beautiful and nice place

This resort was really good and very clean. All tables and chairs were cleaning after any use. Specially I would like to thank my agent from tripcenteral.ca ( Susan Snider) that sent me lots of information from beginning till end of my vacation. DG.

Hyatt Vivid Punta Cana: Definitely worth revisiting

So many great things to say about this resort, but a few not so great. Great: - The food. High quality and freshness. The baked goods could be sold at any big city bakery. There was a great selection of wines at the a la carte restaurants, but honestly, the house wines were tastier than any restaurant I'd been to. A great choice for us non experts! - The service. Everyone was friendly, helpful and patient. Any questions or concerns were addressed, whether it was simply keeping our glasses fi [... read more]lled, confirming excursion details or arranging our PCR tests. - The rooms. Beds were super comfy with all the necessary supplies. We saw that some rooms were even set up with an available hammock on the balcony. Will be aiming for one of those if we go back. - Safety. Protocols were clear, hand sanitizer was readily available and masks were made available if needed. Every area looked and smelled clean. While not brand new, the resort was obviously well cared for. Not so great: - The company that runs the resort tries to sell a membership to its family of resorts, but they're not upfront about it. For those who book rooms under the Preferred Club, you're greeted upon arrival by a company rep, who books you for a breakfast that appears to just be an information session. You're told it's just 90 mins. What we weren't told was it would be off site, 30 mins away, be an aggressive sales pitch and would end up taking 3+ hours of our day. Thankfully, it didn't cut into our 7 days of relaxation too much, but others we spoke to felt robbed of quality vacation time. We told our tale to other couples who decided to cancel the "breakfast." It was the only unpleasant experience we had. - Evening entertainment could be LOUD, but stops right at 11pm. Just something to keep in mind if travelling with young kids, nursing a "headache" or have an early departure. Tips: - The Preferred Club guests have access to two smaller, quieter pools, but it's not monitored. They take your room# for restaurants so they can tell if you're preferred or not, but the pool areas aren't monitored. So while the Seaside Grill is open for breakfast & lunch for Preferred guests only, if you're sitting around the pool, you can order from the waiter and eat at your pool chair. - If you want to save a lounge chair, the bath towels disappear quick & EARLY. Take a towel back to your room the night before so you don't have to wait for a fresh supply the next day. - Do not choose the row of chairs closest to the ocean, as you'll be a target for all the vendors. ALL the vendors. Every 30 seconds. There seems to be an unspoken rule that they don't go past this row, so sit a little further back. They work hard, but the trinkets are worthless. I did witness some amazing braid work, though, so those services may be more worth it.

Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Didn't stay at Aquamarine, it was Esmeralda

Hotel was okay, seaweed seems to be an issue people complain about, but they were out every morning to cleanup. Ala Carts were great!! Favorite was Indian!! Our only big issue is people do not like to wear masks and no enforcement.😷😔

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Great resort and wonderful beach

Fortunate to have been at this resort two times before when staying at Bahia Ambar adult only resort next door. We were located in building 21 on the main floor which is one of the best locations at the resort near the beach and pool. This is one of the best beaches in Dominican Republic. Beautiful grounds and lobbies. Great food especially at the Indian and Italian restaurants. They hand out gloves for the buffet which are somewhat useless as they are difficult to use and stop the spread of p [... read more]otential surface contamination. Excellent maid service and friendly staff throughout the resort. Some of the negatives would be poor room service and other tourists at the resort. It is full of Russians as it is one of the few places they can go with their Russian vaccine. Many tourists around the bars outside were not distancing or wearing masks properly when required. This made us very uncomfortable with people being in our personal space many times a day. The other issue is terrible bar service. Because of Covid bar service is limited and you need to line up to get a drink. Beach and pool bars at pool level and many restaurants were closed. This is a 4 star resort and very large with hundreds if not thousands of rooms. The resort requires upgrading and maintenance in certain areas. Three train services run regularly. Like I mentioned earlier we got lucky with our room location. I would never book this resort but I won the trip paying for taxes(half the cost). It was only 50 percent full while we were there due to Covid and being off season. That is changing and at the end of our week it was getting busier. PCR tests went okay and cost $82 US each. There is a lot of red tape travelling, QR codes and APPS etc. so you need to be very organized. We were searched by narcotics officers and drug sniffing dogs at the airport. If you are booking this resort you should have a wonderful vacation, just be prepared for red tape and other potential safety issues. Bahia does what they can to make the trip enjoyable and safe. We had a great vacation as we are experienced travellers and were familiar with the location and knew what to expect. 31 and sunny every day😎

Occidental Caribe: Nice grounds!

The hotel hounds are beautiful but the rooms are mediocre. Ocean view rooms are worth the upgrade becaue the view is amazing! Food was not that great and breakfast was not replenished which was annoying. Took 10 min for each egg to be cooked. Our kids kept cutting their self on something that was in the pool and the first aid closes early. Besides all that staff was nice and we had a great time. If you get a cheap deal to this hotel I would recommend otherwise I would not. It's more like a 3* an [... read more]d don't expect too much other than great grounds.

Riu Republica: Very good resort!

Very beautiful modern resort with many pools, restaurants and nice beach. We had very pleasant vacation during our stay. Amazing service in the bars, very good room cleaning and prompt reception service. Professional shows. Plenty sitting areas and loungers near pools and on the beach. Beach towels available for change all day. Free WI-FI available even on the bus from airport to resort:) Everything was perfect. I would like just a bit more seafood in the menu. And the ocean wasn't calm during o [... read more]ur stay, but this is not up to resort:). Food in the buffet and restaurants was pretty good. Japanese restaurant is the best. I would come back to this resort for sure.

TRS Turquesa: Great Vacation

TRS Turquesa is a great resort. I never wanted for anything. My Wife & I with our 4 friends that all travelled together had a great trip. The staff was attentive and met every need. The only caveat about this trip was that I emailed our travel agent twice and got no response. I also know I left at least one voice mail and also got no response. This was disappointing to say the least. I will likely go back to my regular travel agent and not use Trip Central for my next booking in the s [... read more]pring.

Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana: Relaxing Family Vacation

Travelled as a family of 5. Stayed from Oct 23 to 30th. If you’re reading this review and you’ve already booked; relax, you will have a great time! If you are reading this review, trying to decide whether to book, then please continue to read! Pros – We upgraded to Preferred Club upon arrival. Travelling as a family, this was a PRO! We were assigned Roberto as our personal concierge and he was amazing. We used WhatsApp to communicate which alleviated the need for us to having to contact [... read more] the 'front desk' with any questions/concerns. We were able to navigate the resort and access a variety of amenities easily by sending Roberto a message! He responded immediately and was always available to help! Another huge Pro of Preferred Club was the Seaside Grill restaurant. Available to preferred members only for breakfast and lunch it was a lovely spot! We had breakfast there every day! All staff at the Seaside are awesome but a special shout out to Luis who went above and beyond. Preferred club room placement was nice, we were in the center facing the pool, rooms 5249 and 5253. The resort was spotless, staff was friendly. They take Covid measurements very seriously and we felt safe! There were some exceptional staff we’d like to mention: Louisa in the Sports Bar, Jose at the Cabana, Cristian – bartender and Raul at Fusion. Room was super clean. Housekeeping was fantastic. Turndown service a nice touch! All restaurants have QR codes that you scan as you enter (usually on the tables as well). There are no paper menus. The lazy river pool concept was great! We brought floaties with us. There is a pump, free of charge to use at the beach hut (they also sell floaties there but bring your own if you can). Beach was clean, resort staff friendly, engaging and kind! The activities team tried to get people to participate but they weren’t pushy! The vendors walking the beach were pushy but a ‘no thanks’ seemed to do the trick for most of them. Beach Cabana – Amazing!! What a way to spend the day😊 Cons – Food. I hate to say but the food was quite disappointing. There is always something to eat; you will never go hungry but if you’re a foodie and/or food is an important part of your trip, I wouldn’t recommend Dreams Royal Beach for this reason. Specifically, the buffet was not a good experience and we tried to avoid it. Possibly it was expectations? I thought Dreams would be comparable to Moon Palace or Bahia Principe resorts in terms of choices/quality of the buffet. Even though I read reviews claiming the buffet to be small, I thought people were just nitpicking. I realize now, they weren't. Options in buffet were limited and for all the amazing organization in other aspects of this resort, the buffet is seriously lacking. The couple times we went, lineups were long and disorganized as there were only one or two staff trying their best to serve everyone. Once Covid protocols are lifted, the staff being required to serve at the buffet won’t be an issue, but until that happens, management needs to address this. Food in the restaurants was good in comparison to the buffet. Some items at some restaurants were fantastic but unfortunately, it wasn’t consistent. Drink service at both the pool and beach were spotty at best. This was not an issue for us; we don’t mind walking up and grabbing a drink and there were bars everywhere, you never had far to go but if you are expecting to be waited on for drink service, you will be disappointed. Entertainment – Shows were decent, not fabulous, but good! They have both an 'Explorer's Club' for smaller children and a ‘Core Zone’ teens club for tweens/teens. They seem to do a lot with smaller kids, but not so much with the tween/teen age group. This was a huge disappointment as one of the main reasons I booked with Dreams was the Teen Club and activities. Possibly there just wasn’t a lot of teens while we were there, but there were no activities scheduled for teens. The staff at the Core Zone did not engage at all and it was more of a ‘babysitting’ vibe as they didn't interact. There were these fun little pop-up things daily (a dessert bar on the lawn, chess/dominos in the theatre) but I have no idea how you’d find out about them. We seemed to stumble onto them. It would have been nice to know about them. We scanned the QR code and had the daily activities on our devices, but clearly, we were missing something. In room Showers – there are no doors or fans. Every time someone had a shower the entire room was steamed up for quite some time and the floor was soaked. The bathroom was esthetically pleasing but not functional. We had a very nice time. This resort is spotless, the staff is friendly and engaging. The beach is beautiful, and the activities are fun! It was an enjoyable family vacation during a global pandemic.

Riu Bambu: Nice place

Clean rooms and facilities, food was not bad, show and entertainment and enough things to do. Place is big and connect to two other hotels that you get access too. Lots of tourist from all over to mingle with and lots of quite places if that's your choice.

Be Live Collection Punta Cana Adults Only: Not a 5 star

I paid extra for vip not worth it the vip dinner was closed most of the time so had to go to the mosh pit of eating where people jump in front of you but have to say the service there was better than the vip and more selection of food which was basic which makes me say not a 5 star i also had premium internet which was spotty and cut out constantly i also had them check me out midnight before i checked out so had to reset my key and had no internet on my last day and a big option is buying a tim [... read more]e share and being harrased daily now the beach once you run through the local trying to make a living you get to jump into a beef soup colored ocean so if this is your dream vacation good for you on a last note i had to book 2 weeks and pay single supplement my partner had to book her week separate and pay single supplement so was an extra 600 bucks because they dont answer their phones i will never go there again

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Wasted trip

My son got hand foot mouth disease and now my husband and I do too. I think that speaks for the “cleanliness” of the property which falls hand in hand with Covid safety measures that were concerning. Our room had a couple of items in the back of the drawers left by previous tenants. Cutlery in buffet was dirty on 2 occasions. Guests were getting up and serving themselves coffee with bare hands with the pitchers used by staff, if staff was delayed in serving coffee. Some drivers were assuring [... read more] each rider that got on had a mask but it was not consistent among drivers nor consistent on their own routes for each stop. The kicker: USED MASKS were floating in the pool. I appreciated the paperless Covid precautions but then for a day and a half I walked by a soiled diaper laying on the railing of the wheelchair ramp I used to bring my son on his stroller. Staff were always in masks and didn’t enter our rooms unless absolutely necessary. The actual process of the Covid testing was easy and convenient. Would not go back again. I’ve been going to punta Cana for over 10 years and this trip left a very bad taste in my mouth and I don’t know if I’ll ever be returning.

Riu Naiboa: Nice

Hotel was nice, but there is no snack or options outside of meal hours, also you can not get a coffee or cappachino before 11am, entertainment was lacking claiming due to Covid they were not running the usual, but the hotel Ocean Blue down the road had their casino open and had a variety of not only pool side entertainment but nightly different entertainment. Our hotel had good covid protocol's mandatory masks for restaurants and buffet's till you were seated, temperature checks at meals and whe [... read more]n you arrive. PCR test was $80 USD day we were leaving dropped it to $65 not impressed with that. Meat or eggs were not freshly prepared in front of you it was cold. I was not impressed with the travel agent I was never given a hotel option, I do not like sunwing and wish I was provided a different option or hotel, she said there was a swim up bar there was not. and she never returned emails or calls regarding important information, she told me she let the hotel know it was our wedding anniversary and the hotel was unaware. VERY DISAPPOINTED with her and will not book with tripcentral in the future.

Royalton Splash Punta Cana: Great week at Royalton Splash!

I really enjoyed my week here and the hotel was good. The hotel room was very nice, air conditioned and clean. The only complaint I had was that I was cold the first night; however as soon as I called, the staff immediately brought more blankets. The customer service was excellent, specifically Darleny who made our experience so much better! The pool was a bit dirty on the weekend as there was a lot of people but we enjoy the beach much more so it wasn't a problem. I will say there are a few peo [... read more]ple on the beach, who were not resort staff selling things and for the most part it was completely fine but a few were very pushy which was not pleasant. The water park was a lot of fun and it is not crowded during the week. The food was good as well especially Zen, the Japanese restaurant. The buffets were okay. The only problem with the food was that on the weekends the resort is extremely busy so the wait time for the restaurants on the Royalton splash side were extremely busy and both the a la carts had a two hour wait. I cannot complain though because as soon as we contacted the customer service lady, Darleny, she arranged for us to eat at dorado which was excellent. There is a bit of a weird class system with different coloured wristbands though which is frustrating because had we not contacted customer service the other staff would not allow us to eat at the Royalton Punta Cana. Overall, I got to relax and the experience was good. I would come back!

Breathless Punta Cana Resort: Great Resort!

Happy we booked here! We had access to the 2 joining resorts, food was good, service was EXCELLENT. The rooms could be cleaner and more bright. The beaches and pools were amazing. The shows at night were good, but they played too much rock music for my liking. A great place to go with a group of friends or your partner.. there was always a party happening at one of the pools.

Excellence El Carmen: Not up to the Excellence Standards

We love the Excellence hotel chain and have stayed at EPM, EPC and are booked at EOB in December. The service is always amazing. Our recent stay at EEC was a bit disappointing. There was nothing major that would ruin our trip and most of the issues were minor and were fairly easily resolved. However, it wasn't the level of service that we have come to expect from the Excellence hotels. When we arrived, there was no glasses of champagne waiting or cool towels. We checked in and found the f [... read more]ront desk staff not overly friendly. Usually they cant wait to welcome previous guests "home". They didn't give our bellboy our room key which was easily resolved. Getting ready for dinner on day one we realized that none of the plugs in the room were working. They did send someone fairly quickly to rectify the situation. We ordered a bottle of wine which took over 2 hours to arrive and repeated phone callsrequired but when it arrived we were not given an opener or wine glasses. We requested early maid service for our stay and would leave the please make up the room sign on the door (we were the only ones in our hallway that put the sign out) but unfortunately one day it was 5 pm before the room was made up and 630 when they came for turndown. We requested wine in the room daily which we have done at other Excellence resorts with no issue. We only received wine in the room on one occasion and that day we came back to the room and found a bottle of wine, again no glasses, but the other alcohol from the room had all been removed. This was the only day we received wine in the room without following up. My husband drank the beer in the fridge on day one and it was never replenished. The clothing steamer in the room was broken as well. The food in the restaurants was good. We did note that one night there was no lobster at the lobster house and one evening very limited cuts of meat at the steak house. They didn't have syrup on a few occasions at the buffet. Again, we just didn't find the same level of service we have experienced in the past. At lunch they have nacho's on the menu. We requested just the chips and guacamole but they wouldn't do that even though it was the same as the nacho's without the cheese. I assume that finding staff and getting supplies may be impacted by covid as all hotel staff at this resort have been doubly vaccinated (which is amazing). It was the little things like going for a nice dinner and them running out of glass ware so you were given plastic cups for the wine. There was never any toilet paper etc. I know these things sound knit-picky but we have come to expect better from this chain. Complaints to the front desk were disregarded until the second to last day when a young woman finally listened to our concerns. There were also some issues with noise as we were very close to the theatre and one night the karaoke went on till after midnight only to be woken at 7 for a tree being cut down. That being said, there were some standouts - Mac Donald in the coffee house, Raphael in the breakfast buffet and at the French and Jasmine by the pool - great job and great service!!!. All in all it was not the level of service expected but the resort is lovely and we had a good time.