Beautiful Resort, disappointing food

Just came back from 2 weeks at the senator. We absolutely loved the resort, the layout was perfect, our room was really nice and overlooked the pools and the ocean. The bed was super comfortable.The pools were great, the beach was ok but we discovered the other beach on the cove where the cruise ships come in and spent a few great days down there, swimming and laying on the beach. The staff we awesome , all of them. The entertainment crew make the days so fun and we enjoyed the entertainment.  [... read more]Now the downfall, the food you are only allowed 2 ala carts a week and it's difficult to get reservations, we managed to try all 3. The Japanese was pretty good and we enjoyed the steak house. Unfortunately the only one we could go to twice was the Italian which was mediocre the first time and terrible the second. The sports bar served good snack foods , burgers, chicken burgers , nachos , fries etc. That left us a lot of breakfast/lunch and dinners at the buffet which was very repetitive, and really disappointing, and never hot. We ended up eating off resort a few times just because we couldn't face another nite at the buffet. If they improved the food I would highly recommend this resort but because foood is very important to us I just can't

Nice Resort

This is my second time at the Senator resort. The good points of the visit were, Michelle, Junior, Walkerlin, and Alexander. Those four people made the stay much better so thank you very much guys.! As I said, this was my second time here and when I was here two years ago, they had no hot water for the whole week, but this time they had lots of hot water. The food was delicious. The entertainment was good. The weather was not so good, but the resort doesn’t control that we had hurricane Meliss [... read more]a going by. The food at the Ember steakhouse and at Zao Japanese food was extremely good. There were a couple of small things that I think should’ve been taken care of . 1. The one large pool was under construction and was empty and we were never informed about this before booking our trip. 2. No one had told us that on the weekend. The locals get to come there on Friday evening until Sunday evening and have an all inclusive deal for the weekend, I found that the 500 to 700 locals that showed up took over pretty well everything, when it came to the buffet, it was like Locust Landing. I really liked the senator resort but in all honesty I don’t think that I’ll return there. Just a note - I only gave the beach and pool two stars because of the empty pool. The beach was very nice and very well kept.

Nice resort

The hotel is nice but rooms are outdated! rusty and holes in tubs, low water pressure. Cabinets ( closets) and dresser drawers got stuck. Cleaning staff does a good job cleaning the rooms just old. Air conditioner not great woke up some nights sweating. Buffet was good somedays we had to wait to get in too over capacity. Food quality and service in Buffet and A la Carte were great! Steak house was phenomenal. The Sports bar service was not great especially when ordering drinks, bartenders woul [... read more]d overlook you and serve a local even though you were waiting 1st. Beach is beautiful well kept lots of chairs and shade. Pool was ok, some worn out areas, cracks in the concrete my son cut his toe. Not enough umbrellas in the pool area to protect from sun some shaded areas were available. Games and activities by the pool were good, entertainment staff were all great. Overall a good holiday but for the price the resort should update rooms.

Very nice Resort

This resort is very clean, friendly, professional I would recommend this resort to anyone and would even go again to this resort but I would upgrade to a swim up room with ocean view. Only thing I wish It has was beer in my fridge in my room stocked daily.

Not the best place

We stayed July 8 to 15, 2025. First this resort caters to local clients so be aware of that. Weekend was full capacity, 90% local folks with a very crowded pool and long lines at buffet. Room: Oceanview luxury swimup. Room is on smaller size(not a junior suite). Not luxury by any means. First Room the swim up was filled with green algae. 2nd room was better but bad stink from shower drain. Covered with wet cloth when not in use. Maid service was good. They do rent rooms out on a nightl [... read more]y basis and had a local couple who had a pot party in the room next to us. They were smoking it in their room which filtered into ours. Yes, I complained but nothing done but took the maid 4 hours to clean the room the next day. that was a rough night for us. Pool and beach: After the weekend pool was very cloudy. Pool needs repairs. Bottom has broken floor in spots so watch your feet. Beach is ok for walking. No sargassum but some sea grass. Not safe to swim there with the current and waves. Food: buffet not good. Food was geared to local cuisine. With the crowd on the weekend stuff ran out fast. Service was slow but eventually they came to your table. Snack and sports bar food was OK. Steak, Italian, and Asian was so so. Coffee, ice cream and pizza shops were good. Entertainment: they try hard. Been to other resorts with much better. No English spoken while I was there. Bars: I had a few occurrences of waiting for some time for a drink and a local came up and they were served first so gave up. Drinks were not the best anyway. We mostly stuck with pepsi from the room. I would not recommend this place.

Beautiful Vacation

We went in May as a family of 4 and booked 2 rooms. We had asked for rooms near eachother and there were no issues. Our kids room was across the hall. The rooms were nice, no complaints. We were in building 4 and that is the 3 story building near the pool but everything is quite close. Beach was lovely and well maintained. The pools could use some TLC as there was pats of the bottom of the pool chipping and broken grates. All in all a great experience. My only flags are that on the weekends  [... read more]some of the locals book in. During our time there that meant the pools were very busy with lots of kids. We saw many situations were items were taken from people's chairs, and even kids stealing other kids items and the parents claim they were their kids. I spoke to some staff and that's a common occurrence. Just something to be mindful of. Also make sure you bring enough sunscreen as the shop charges 38$USD.

Another wonderful stay at the Senator

Thank you to All the staff at the Senator for another wonderful stay. Our third extended stay was all we expected from the incredible welcoming staff. The pool , beaches, food, our room and entertainment were all great.

Updated resort, but!

Nice resort. A resort that has been updated in many ways. They are still working on updating some things. The rooms in some buildings are musty and don't have AC working Lots of DR music and cultural parts on the theatre (that's outdoors) but no other entertainment in the evenings. No Libby bar but a sports bar (noisy) in area close to lobby. No English channels on TV in room except for CNN.

Lovely setting

The grounds were amazing! People were always taking care of it. The room/accommodations were comfortable, though I thought a "Junior Suite" would be a bit larger. It was basically a "room". Because of mobility issues, we requested a ground level room, which we had. The beds were comfortable, but the mattresses needed to be turned/flipped. You could tell that guests sat on one edge of each bed as they sagged on that side. The bathroom was dangerous. Really, room for only one person at a time a [... read more]s the open door hit the toilet. The tub was a shocker! It was difficult to step into and it was very narrow, making it too difficult to get down into and then up out of. I tried it only once. After our first slippery use we realized that we had to wear our crocs in order to get in and out for the shower. The fridge was refreshed with water and pop daily. The A.C. barely worked in room 709. Thank heavens for the fan. The food was plentiful, but by day 5 I was starting to feel it to be a bit repetitious. Lots to eat though. The staff were friendly and always desiring to be of assistance. It was a LONG DRIVE to/from the airport.

Could be so much more

Needs upgrades, no beach service ,rooms clean ,front staff very rude ,keep passing you of to other staff.close to beach buildings also close.handcap room is in no way up to standards .shower is no where big enough only if you are a standing person with a cane. mirror to high.phone in room didn't work.,was told there was no late check out even for a handicap person.was old you could shower before flight ,was told no rooms to shower.Will not be returning.

Beautiful resort!

We booked this hotel fairly last minute based on some friends that had booked first. We have been to Punta Cana numerous times with mostly just “ok” experiences. We didn’t have high expectations going here but we were pleasantly surprised with this resort! Grounds- beautiful! The scenery is amazing, beach and mountains surround this resort. Rooms- only 3 buildings have been renovated. We started in a room that wasn’t reno’d and it was ok. No real issues except musty smell and the shower wa [... read more]s very dark and dingey. We upgraded to a newer room- still musty smelling but nothing Damp Away can’t help with. Shower was much nicer and open. however it did leak into the bedroom one time. Large room with big floor balcony. Beach- mostly sandy but does get a bit rocky going into the water. Was very clean, barely any seaweed. Much wavier than our previous Punta Cana beaches so can’t go out too far. Staff- can’t say enough good things about the staff at the resort from the cleaning personnel to the chefs, bartenders and housekeepers. Everyone was so friendly! Food- no complaints which we were shocked about. Something could be found at every buffet night for dinner. Lots of breakfast selections. Only 2 a la carts between our 2 rooms which we wished we could have gotten more. Only downside we could really comment on is that it is a hub spot for the cruise ships to dock and they block off a section of the beach along with many lounge chairs for the cruise visitors which kind of sucked for us trying to get a beach chair. They also made the pool and bars super busy when they were all there, so difficult to get drinks. Otherwise we loved the Senator and would 100% come back.

Great spot for a vacation

The grounds were beautifully done. Food was plentiful and varied and was tasty. Pools and beaches were excellent. The only negative I have is we didn’t receive the room requested and the shower was not an accessible one as we had requested, but we managed. I would go back to this resort.

Great resort

The hotel was clean,the maid service was great.The buffet had good food,clean ,good service.The beach was clean.The entertainment was good. I would recommend buying your liquor at the duty free store at the airport better prices.

Very Nice !

Grounds and public areas were kept clean , lots of employees always busy ! Friendly servers on the most part . Food was great , huge variety. Rooms were fine but could use updates. I will mention if you are a solo female traveller, the front lobby male employees were very suggestive and forward in offering services. Just a warning , May make some very nervous .

Wonderful trip!

We had a great time at this resort. I will try to touch on everything I can.... Food: I am a picky eater....and I left the buffet each night with my belly full! Were things repeated each night...yes. Were they good each...yes! But there were also new items each night too. I dont eat seafood at all and it was abundant here. My husband tried every kind of fish offered and never had a complaint. Legends is a great place to eat also. Small made to order menu. Highly recommend the brownie! [... read more] it was delicious. There is also a snack bar open across the pool during the afternoon...has small but slightly different menu than legends. We went to 2 a la cartes. Japanese was ok. I wasn't a fan but my group thought it was fantastic. The steakhouse was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! The steak was cooked to perfection. The mash potatoes were delicious. Everyone in our group ordered slight different things and no one was disappointed! Beach: beach at Senator is a bit smaller and has some rocks. I do recommend shoes but i didnt wear any and i made out just fine. As a very pale person I enjoyed alot of shade....this was no an issue at the beach. Lots of trees to park my chair under. It is pretty quiet except for the waves crashing....very peaceful. Many a naps were had! LOL Pool: the pool is great. pool bar was well stocked. lots of brand new chairs and umbrellas arnd the pool. Only spent 1 day there myself but my group spent all their time there. No complaints. Staff: ALL staff here were super friendly and helpful. I dont ask too many questions but when I did they were always helpful and courteous. Cleanliness: Public bathrooms here were the best ive ever seen!! always clean and tp was fully stocked. Grounds arnd pool and beach were also top notch. They people here work very hard and one of the cleanest resorts ive been to. We spent some time at Playabachata also. Their pool was a bit more lively. But also very hot in late afternoon. Not many umbrellas and chairs are older. You have full access to the resort when staying at Senator. Their beach is much bigger and also has lots of shade if needed. All in all I give this resort 5*s. Might not be the fanciest but it was very clean and we had a great time.

Great Resort

This was our first time at this resort. The grounds are immaculate. The location is perfect, very private. It is a nice walk to Amber cove where you can watch the cruise ships coming and going. It's not a big resort which is what we like. The amenities at Playa Bachata resort are also nice. We were in a luxury Jr suite ocean view room. A couple of times we had no hot water, but it wasn't a big deal. Housekeeping does a great job at cleaning the rooms. We left a note in the mini bar for extra wat [... read more]er and coffee pods each day and this was fulfilled. The buffet was good, but very repetitive with the food choices. They put the food out early so it's not very warm and things like pancakes are premade and cold. The buffet opens at 7am but the bacon doesn't come out until between 7:30am and 8:00am and it goes quickly. They also didn't have bacon every day. The Italian restaurant was good. The salmon at the steakhouse was amazing, but the steak wasn't very good. There isn't much of a show at the hibachi table at the Japanese restaurant, but the food was good. The service was really slow at the Sports bar if you sit in the lobby. We ordered onion rings and they came overcooked and there were only 4 small onion rings on the plate. I don't recommend the food there. They have an abundance of loungers now but could still use a few more umbrellas. The staff are great, especially Guillermo at the buffet. He got to know what we liked to drink and would bring it without us even asking when he saw us coming and kept our coffee filled in the morning. Tropicana Avenue is a great place to get ice cream and a coffee after dinner where you can sit and enjoy it close to the beach. Overall, this is a very nice resort that we would return to.

Disappointed

Had a good time but to many cons Pool was dirty and the pool deck Service No alcohol in rooms Entertainment not great Husband lost his phone and nobody seemed to be concerned Overall we had a pleasant stay. Japanese and steakhouse restaurants were very good but didn't like the fact that we had to eat at 6pm, we felt very rushed Housekeeping was great they always did something special in our room!

Great resort

This was are 9th visit to the Senator. The staff is great from the dining areas to the cleaning staff to the animation team. The food is great. Nice to see the new umbrellas and chairs come out. The only complaint would be the two guys operating the bus back to the airport. Didn't speak with us and were somewhat demanding of a tip at the airport.

Not a 4.5 star resort

Traveled the last week of January 2025. Beach: stong current, if you are not a strong swimmer, it could take you down the beach. Wear beach shoes, a bit rocky in spots. Rooms: we had a ground floor room with no air conditioning, the bathroom tub wouldn't drain. We to the front desk 3 times, they send someone to look at it but never fixed it. Beds are very comfortable. Food: lots of variety but cold unless you stood in the lineup to have it cooked while you wait. Drinks: absolutely no alcohol in  [... read more]the drinks. They mix the drinks well for taste but for mucho mucho rum added it didn't give a kick at all. The beer was the same. Tastes like beer but no kick to it. The grounds: very nice, clean and easy to get around. Staff: friendly for the most part, all work extremely hard. Pools: no issues, all good.

Another wonderful stay

The Senator is our resort choice once again. This was a 28 day stay that didn’t disappoint. Good food, comfortable beds, and lots to do thanks to the animation crew. Beautiful beaches and pools.The sports bar a necessity for the sports fan