Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Chic Punta Cana

Was away over the Christmas holidays and the resort went above and beyond for New Years. I loved that it never felt crowded could always get chairs by pool or beach. Food was also good, my only complaint was the rooms are a little run down, the furniture needs replacing other then that our time was amazing!!!! I highly recommend if you get the butler service to use Ronald he goes above and beyond for you. This vacation spot will not disappoint you. Cheers

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Once upon a time a 4 star...

I did this trip solo, and the price was decent. Trip advisor gave it a 4.7 star with over 7000 reviews... it raves about its “recent Reno’s”...in 2006.... all the pics were dated that were resort pics, like 2009, 2010... nothing recent except for some traveler ones. This resort was probably once a solid four star but the lack of upkeep is showing. The tiles are breaking all over the pool to the point of where it could be hazardous, the rooms are stained and out dated with cheap painted fur [... read more]niture. But with all that being said, I still had an amazing time. The staff were tremendous, the housekeepers were wonderful, the location on the beach was spectacular. The walkway to the beach is over a bridge in a bird and fish lagoon type thing. Beautiful. The food was decent, the alcohol wasn’t horrible, and the beach vendors were polite enough to walk away when you said no thank you (though they did come back to you at least 3-4 times a day... they see a lot of ppl. I’m sure they forget) I just want to be honest so that people aren’t expecting close to perfection, because this resort is not. But it has potential and they make up for in other ways. Some of my favourite staff, were Elvin in the buffet area, Rio and Frank at the beach bar, Waldo and Julio in the animation area. Wonderful people. Very accommodating. Personally I was fine with my room but I could see others not being impressed. The shower area wouldn’t drain while showering, hard water stains under the sink, cheap painted side tables and awkward decor. But it was perfect for a lone traveller. I met amazing people and noticed there was a great balance of young and older. I’m sure there were times where the older didn’t appreciate the younger but it all seemed to blend just fine. I highly recommend checking out, just have reasonable expectations.

Paradisus Punta Cana: 8/10

Would recommend this resort to anyone over 30 years old. What I would have liked more of is a better disco/entertainment. The resort wasn’t very busy but it was very relaxing. The reserve pool was empty which was where we stayed so we felt like we had it all to ourselves. The service was outstanding (food/drink/room service). Ate at bana (Japanese) two times and love it. Also really enjoyed Fuego. Wouldn’t recommend the steak house as it wasn’t anything too special. The beach is beautiful  [... read more]and not too busy to grab a bed or a chair. I’d go back again for sure.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Self Serve

This resort was extremely clean and groomed. The rooms were small but adequate. The food was mediocre, lukewarm at best. Steak restaurant was amazing. Service in the buffet and around the pool was almost non existent. Sure saved on tips! Air Transat rep was more interested in selling the excursions than telling us about the resort.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Great resort

Everything here was top notch, food, service, room, beach. Nice compact resort without long distances to get to food beach etc. Will come again.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort: Excellent resort

Very clean grounds and all public areas. Staff and waiters all very accommodating, pleasant and helpful! Our room was a superior room and very private corner unit away from the noise of the pool area which is what we wanted. Great room! loved our balcony overlooking the gardens with no other building opposite us!! Food was mediocre at the buffet and perhaps a bit more variety could be offered. All very nicely displayed however and fresh. There was no concern about the drinking water or the veget [... read more]ables being washed in purified water, all was good here. The specialty restaurants were excellent! Our room service was also great! Coffee and bottled water brought daily to our rooms. The evening entertainment lacked however . Enjoyed the bingo and piano nights though. Can't express enough how wonderfully clean the entire resort was!! Excellent. Beach was also very clean and free from people trying to sell things. loved the tanning beds.

Excellence El Carmen: Very nice resort!

This was our second time to this resort. Last time was two years ago. We have to come to enjoy the Excellence brand. The resort layout, room and venues are quite modern. We stayed in building 6 and it was kind of in the middle of things. About a few minute walk to the main restaurants, pool and beach. The beach is a beautifle sugary light brown colour and you can walk a long ways both directions. The service level all over was excellent. We'll definitely be back.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Amazing resort

Great resort great stay great staff beach was outstanding weather was nice and hot day trips were perfect I have no complaints. One thing is for sure you will have a great time at this resort it has everything never had a problem finding something to eat as there is so many choices. As for the travel agent she was outstanding and very helpful with emailing us with everything we would need if we had any problems one of the best agents I've ever had she was perfect and would try to book all my fut [... read more]ure trips with her as it was so smooth thank you sir transit trip central I've been to several places for holidays and makes for a better trip when everything is done right by the agent she is outstanding and a pleasure to deal with. Chow chow chow by by by lol Punta cana phrase.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Nice stay but for a luxury resort it fell short

We stayed her the last week of January. Over all it was a really nice place. Food was good, staff were professional and happy for the most part. No complaints with the room. Ala cartes were great ,as were the buffet’s . We'd go back in a heartbeat

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: I loved it

I don’t have any thing bad to say about this resort everything was great I would definitely go back.The pools are amazing and they are mini pools to enjoy food was very good,The sports bar was very nice had a casino great drinks in there and free Wi-Fi I read a lot of reviews were people say to upgrade to the VIP we did not upgrade to the VIP and it was great we didn’t feel any different than others

Paradise Playa Dorada: Beautiful, friendly resort

Resort is beautiful, very clean, they are always cleaning. Rooms are spacious and bright. Super saver rooms are on the fourth floor, no elevator so it helps you work off the wonderful food. The beach is spectacular....no garbage, you are safe walking barefoot as again, they are always cleaning the beach. Safe to swim in the ocean...so much fun The food was very good, the buffet has lots of selection so you don't need to eat the same things every day. Spaghetti bar was fantastic! Staff are ver [... read more]y friendly, they talk and interact with every one....no one is left out. They go out o their way to make you happy. The only complaint I have is the cigarette smoke.....you can't escape it. People smoke where ever they want. We were chased out of the bars on many occasions due to the cigarette smoke. Theyreallyneed an area where smoking is allowed, and only there. It's very hard on the non smokers......I took a star off because of the cigarette smoke

Lopesan Costa Bavaro Resort Spa and Casino: Average Resort

This resort is new and still experiencing some growing pains. We had a swim up room which was really nice. Clean and very spacious. Beach was beautiful, but very, very crowded. If you didn’t get a chair by 8, it was hard to get a spot. Witnessed several near fights over chairs. No Palapas only umbrellas and not nearly enough if you want shade during the day. Buffet is pretty good, but set up is poor resulting in long lines in the morning for omelets and at night for fresh pasta. Ala [... read more] Cartes are good. Beach bar setup is terrible. Long lines and long waits to get beach cocktails. We have been to 12 different resorts in PC over the years. While we enjoyed our time here as we love Bavaro beach we would not go to this resort again.

Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana: Awesome family resort!

Very clean,food was really good, beach and pool were excellent! Good choice of food close to beach and the amazing pool! Entertainment staff were very good, during the day and in the evening. They sure did it up right for the Super Bowl!

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Perfect Family Vacation!

The staff is extremely hard working and each and every member of the team goes the extra mile to ensure your stay is a happy one. The grounds are clean and immaculate; trees and gardens are perfectly maintained. It feels very lush and tropical and the beach is stunning. There is a long coral reef that protects the beach which results in calm, crystal clear water. Beautiful view of the beach from the restaurants. Food is very tasty with plenty of choices for everyone and delicious fresh fruit. [... read more] Menu varies from day to day with different theme each day. Entertainment team made our stay fun and busy with activities! At first I was afraid that my kids will be bored but my 2 girls had fun all week long. Between volleyball, ping pong, darts and many other games the entertainers always kept them busy. The beach party was a nice ending to a week in paradise.

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Excellent amazing resort

We love Bahia principe fantasy top to bottom! Everything is amazing from staff to food amazing areas beautiful gardens is a 5 stars plus I’ll highly recommend this place to everyone is well though for kids as well as for adults

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Awesome Vacation & Resort

The VH Gran Ventana is a beautiful resort. We stayed there from Jan 27 to Feb 2 and have not one negative thing to say about our stay. From the moment we arrived and checked in to the moment we left our stay was filled with delicious food, friendly staff and lively entertainment. The hotel lobby is fresh, airy and elegantly decorated. Our room was on the 2nd floor of the Soana building. Ours was an inner room facing the wedding gazebo and a small ocean view. The palm trees and dune obscure  [... read more]the ocean view somewhat but you can hear it and we were treated to a couple of wedding events so that was cool. The room was quiet - far enough away from the entertainment area but close to the pool and a short walk to the beach. The room was well appointed with a king bed, a flat screen, chair and private balcony facing the wedding gazebo. The bathroom was quite big and had a full tub/shower - a nice size sink to put your stuff on and plenty of room to move around. The AC was cold and everything was clean and tidy. There was a small water line break that happened while we were there but the staff managed it well I thought. I heard lots of moaning and groaning over it but that sort of thing could happen anywhere and the staff got things sorted and up and running as quickly as they could. That did not at all damper my experience at the VH and I am only adding it here because undoubtedly someone will base their review on that one thing - and a person needs to get the whole picture...so read on.... 😉 The food was DELICIOUS! I honestly was worried because I had read reviews of other places in the DR where the food was not so great, but I am happy to say that is not the case at the VH! We ate mostly at the Buffet for our meals simply out of convenience, but the food was always really good and there was lots of variety. We ate at 2 a la carts: the Italian and the ocean grill - both were fantastic! The beach and pool are really nice. There are 2 pools - one is the quiet pool and if you go there, the bar is great - Juan will hook you up with something yummy! We mostly stayed at the main pool though because it was close to our room. It’s big and with a swim up bar, why leave? LOL The staff at all the bars were excellent and I have to say they have fantastic memories because they just knew what we wanted. The beach is so nice and so clean. There are many coral reefs on the Playa Dorada stretch and snorkelling is a must. The fish are a delight to see and the swimming is spectacular! There was something to do EVERYDAY! From the fun stuff the staff did at the pool to Zumba at the pool and at the beach, to the evening entertainment of dancers and the human dragon (peaked your interest there didn’t I?) I feel like I have left something out but this review is probably long enough already, so I will sum it up by simply saying that I absolutely LOVED my experience at the VH Gran Ventana and I cannot wait to go again next year!

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Really great resort

Could not say enough nice things about staff. Friendly, obliging and always courteous. Very clean, washrooms, restaurant and especially rooms. Resort was just lovely, pool areas and beaches. Only 2 things a bit of a nuisance, towels were unavailable by 10.30 in am, and has to wait a few hours to get any, also areas surrounding accommodations were very dimly lit and you had to be cautious when following the lanes. However I would certainly recommend this resort to friends etc. And would consid [... read more]er returning in the future.

Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: Beautiful resort, but needs tweaking

This isn a beautiful resort with all of the cool pools overlook the water,all the mature plants etc. The food was good, nothing great, but you always find something to eat. Loved to go to Eddy ‘s section in buffet, he was always smiling and ready to serve us. Actually all the people who work there were always smiling. They were overbooked, so we were put in the “Select” section, which is newly opened. We were not allowed to use any of the services in this section, like the pool( just o [... read more]utside our room along with the hot up). Thrift bar or restaurant, or coffee shop. Up until the last day we were at least allowed to walk through the section, until a security guard, who didn’t know the rules. Stopped us from passing through. Said that we had to walk around and up the stairs and down again to get to buffet. They need to figure out exactly what it means to have the yellow wrist band and what it i titles you to. Of course we could have paid $700 USD to use these facilities and walk through the area to get to our room. Apparently the Russians have bought out part of the resort, therefore they were arriving by the bus,aid. By the time we left I’d say that over half of the people on resort were Russians. It was our experience plus from talking to others on the resort, that most of these people were very pushy and arrogant people. Certainly changed the atmosphere. The location of the resort is great 15 minutes from airport, and right I. The town of Sosua, which is a safe little town with lots of shops and bars and grocery stores. Even though it was a beautiful resort, I would never go back there. But I would return to the area.

Playabachata Hotel: Outstanding Location and hotel infrastructure.

We had a great holiday. In fact we discussed the resort with one of the managers while sipping our 'presidentes'. I guess 'Rio' sold it two years ago and the new management kept the same staff. There were teething problems but the new owners must be reluctant to invest and maybe feel stuck with the old staff. Nothing that a good overall staff manager couldn't fix. We had a great holiday - I do not want to focus on minor hotel management issues - but It was a major omission that the front  [... read more]desk staff did not always have change for 100 usd. (it had change once) I arrived with 6 100 usd bills and not even the 'adjacent' playabachata could change 100. A front desk at a hotel should always be able to do this. Some of the broken up money goes to staff tips! Some of it on the hotel gift shop! not even the gift shop could oblige. The #1 outstanding item I discovered while at the hotel? The quality of the ground beef! All the restaurant food I believe is grown on the island. Here the beef is even grazing in an adjacent field. You can see the grass probably grows all year round so feeding a beef calf is easy. They probably do not use much fertilizer so the beef would be 'orgainc'. Organic grass fed beef from single suckler herds! - my what a great taste. The animals spend their whole life in a field under the sun. Much better than the barley fed feedlot beef we probably eat at home. There are 13 million Dominicans, so probably no excess production for export - but they should think about export! #1 outstanding staff member - the beach guy who handed out the canoes.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo – Excellent Vacation

We stayed at the resort from Jan 27th to Feb 2nd 2020. Overall, it was a great experience and one of the most enjoyable Caribbean all-inclusive vacations I have had. Resort: The entire resort is a good size and very walkable. The layout is well planned and the main buffet/pool/lobby bar is all in close proximity. Everything is walkable. The nighttime shows are held in one of two areas depending upon the activity: either near the nightclub/disco (#46 on Map – Publeo Principe near main en [... read more]trance) or in the area west of the lobby (#24) and lobby bar (#25). We had standard rooms and stayed in buildings #13 and #14. These are excellent locations to stay in as they are in close proximity to the beach/buffet/pool/lobby and are quiet at night. Rooms In building #13 and #14 the rooms are of average size and are in stacked townhouse-type 2-story configuration. Two units are on the 2nd floor and require a short climb of stairs and 2 are on the ground floor. The rooms are a little dated and nothing great but nothing to complain about either. There are very few available wall outlets in the rooms, so if you have many devices to plug in to charge, you are advised to bring a multi-outlet splitter or power bar. The rooms require that you insert your room key into a slot before power and A/C is enabled, so sometimes the room gets warm when unoccupied. Each room has an ironing board and room safe in the closet to store your valuables. The room was also provisioned with a robe and slippers. Service to clean the room was good. The only issue for us was that the rooms were not serviced until late afternoon (4PM or later). We would have preferred the rooms were cleaned mid-morning. Beach The orientation of the resort means that the beach is facing north. In January, this means that the sun rises in the South-east and sets in the South-west. If you are facing the water, the sun will be pretty much at your back the entire day. The beach is not hugely wide and is densely packed with multiple rows of beach loungers. I always got to the beach early and so never had a problem getting a lounger. There are palapas available but they get reserved early. Slightly away from the beach, there are shady areas where palapas are not necessary. When the resort is crowded, if you show up after 9:30am you will need to hunt to find a free lounger. The sand is soft, powdery, and pleasant on the feet. The water is shallow gradually gets deeper. It is warm enough to be pleasant and yet cool enough to be refreshing after a hot day in the sun. There are many corral formations close to the beach and further out toward the ocean. There are few waves as the corral formations and the shallow water disperse the waves before reaching shore. Snorkeling was not great immediately in front of the resort but was much better if you walked west along the beach outside the resort. Outside the resort, the beach extends for miles and miles. We did an hour walk along the beach toward Las Terranas. It is a very pleasant walk and is sparsely populated. It is a recommended activity for those who like beach walks. Buffet The main buffet (#27) is close to the lobby. A smaller buffet (#38) is also available. In front of each buffet is also an area for near beach dining. The buffet is well stocked and the food was delicious. The staff service in the buffets was good. Servers are quick to offer you coffee at breakfast time or to fill your water glass in the afternoon. The buffet selection and food quality was as good as or better than any other resort that I have been to. A-la-carte Restaurants We had opportunity to try all four a-la-carte restaurants. They were all excellent. We were a group of 9 and could not agree on which was the best. Service was excellent. I had red wine with dinner each night. While the wine was somewhere between terrible and not great, I kept drinking more anyway. Tip: At the seafood restaurant, the seafood stew was excellent and included some large pieces of lobster. Overall, even though the buffet was good, I very much preferred the restaurant-type experience and excellent food at the a-la-carte restaurants. Activities The Animation staff coordinates a variety of activities during the day. They encourage visitors to participate and are very upbeat. If you like activities, there is no shortage of activities (e.g. ring toss, horse shoes, bean-bag toss, volleyball, dance lessons, yoga, etc.). My only disappointment was there was no archery activity during the week I was there even though there was a range on the resort. Cons: Lighting – the overhead lobby lights are turned off later in the evening so the lobby is pretty much in the dark. I you like playing cards at night or sitting around with friends in the lobby expect it to be dimply lit. Bar Closings – the lobby bar closes at 11PM. After that, the only drinks available are in the mini bar in your room or at the nightclub near the main entrance. Wi-fi – the free wi-fi is a pain to register. It is very slow and the signal strength is intermittent. 15 min of internet access are provided after registration until the email address entered at registration is validated, however some devices are unable to access email during those 15 min. In this day and age, easy and fast email access should be a given.