Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: 6 out of 10

The hotel is not truly a 5-star property. The main issue was the food—it was often not fresh, sometimes overly salty, and frequently served cold. It felt as though some of the meals had been prepared the day before. The bathroom and shower were also quite old and had a damp smell. The entertainment was okay, and the hotel itself was calm and quiet, which made it good for relaxation. The pool was definitely the best part of the stay. Overall, it was a decent experience, but it did not feel lik [... read more]e a true 5-star hotel.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: GREAT RESORT

ROOMS WERE GREAT. SERVICE WAS PERFECT. ENJOYED BEACH AND POOL. GOLF WAS FUN AND CHALLENGING WITH THE WIND. ATE WELL AND WILL DEFINATELY GO BACK. STAFF WAS ATTENTIVE AND WILLING TO HELP IN ALL WAYS. VERY EASY GETTING AROUND THE RESORT AND MANY DIFFERENT PLACES TO EAT.

Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: Needs overhaul

Toilet seldom working, had to pour water down it to make it flush,phone in room was so full of static could barely hear the person at front desk, had to call 3 times to get someone to come and fix it as well as going to front counter ourselves however Veronica our cleaning lady was amazing and tried to assist us several times to get it fixed, it was an ongoing issue for 2 weeks. The bathtub had a crack in it and was very soft , room was in dire need of an overhaul/renovation. The food in the buf [... read more]fet was good but if you wanted to make a reservation for an alacarte restaurant you had to stand in a line up for a hour in order to do so and could only make 1 reservation for that day. I’m not one to complain but these are necessities.

Playabachata Hotel: Had a wonderful time!

While the rooms are dated, they were very clean- that's more important to me. The buffet had a variety of options but not so much so if you're vegetarian. I never went hungry tho! I loved that the resort is small- buffet, bar and beach were close by. Each building has 4 rooms on the main level and 4 upstairs. Bathroom outlets are like those in Canada but all other outlets are recessed. Take a small square charge and/or extension cord/power bar that has 2 prongs of the same size. I would defi [... read more]nitely go back to Playabachata! Loved the beach. Never had trouble getting lounge chairs either

Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana: Exceptional Service, and Horel

Hyatt Zilara is exceptionally clean and well kept. The staff go out of their way to make your stay as pleasurable as possible. The food at the buffet and restaurants is above average for an all inclusive. The beach is white sand and their are tons of beach chairs available. This hotel is definitely the best of the best.

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Horrendous Resort!!!

The bad: This is the worst resort I have ever stayed at!! The front desk customer service is awful to non-existent. The public washrooms at the lobby were so bad they had to place pilons in front of the doors to stop people from going in to use them. During our 7 day stay, we had 3 hot showers, 3 cold showers and one day with no shower because there was no water!! Our family members had no a/c, no television, no telephone, and no coffee pot. In their room, they had 2 lukewarm showers, 3 days [... read more] with cold showers and 2 days with no water to shower with. One day my sister had to go find a mop bucket of water and carry it up 3 sets of stairs just to flush her toilet!! Although we were promised beer and bottled water in our rooms, we had to buy bottled water because they weren't supplying it, even though it was requested multiple times per day. In our room, our toilet broke and when we called the front desk to ask for maintenance they hung up on us 3 or 4 times. When I finally walked over to the front desk to speak with someone, I got eye rolls and name called (I do understand some Spanish). They tried to get me to go in a van with an unknown man "to find maintenance". I refused because I had read the stories from others who were driven to remote spots on the resorts and abandoned to walk back. Mark heard maintenance men working upstairs from our room and blocked their exit until they looked at our toilet, which they then fixed, although they had not been informed of the issue. The smell of raw sewage was overwhelming multiple times per day - really bad!! For a handicapped person or someone with a disability, the number of stairs was overwhelming to get from one spot to another. The main lobby/courtyard area has 1 bar to serve everyone!! Although there are 3 other bars on the Cofresi resort, 1 was at the beach (multiple levels of steps), and 2 were shut down and left moulding. The good : the pool was great, the scenery was nice and the food was adequate. We were told that Air Canada and Air Transat vacations have stopped selling packages to the Cofresi resort because it is in such bad condition!! I would not recommend this resort to my worst enemy!!

Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: Casa Marina Reef

This was the most disgraceful resort I’ve ever been to. When we arrived our room was trashed, the exterior door wasn’t even on the track and couldn’t close, there was blood stains on the bed and the lights and phone didn’t work. After begging for hours for a new room we finally got one. Since it was pouring rain we asked for more towels as we had used ours to go for dinner and to the front desk because again the phone didn’t work so we couldn’t call the front desk we had to walk in the rain. The [... read more]y told us no, only 2 towels per day. Thank goodness we brought our own. When we tried to shower there was no hot water. During the daily cleaning they never changed the sheets our entire stay. Never filled the fridge up with water and when we asked for water got told no we had to buy it from the store. The beach is a public beach in which you have to pay for chairs. This is rated a 5 star resort and I wouldn’t even give it one star. The food is disgusting and the same thing everyday. The staff at the front desk are rude and arrogant and do not care about you at all. We received a threatening note under our door one night and we went to tell them and they said “not our problem”. We did not feel safe there and will never return or recommend this resort to anyone.

Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana: Excellent!

This was a beautiful resort. Gardens and greenery everywhere. Because the pool stretched throughout the resort, there were no big crowds around a central pool. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Good variety of food at the cental buffet. Rooms clean and well looked after.

Lifestyle Residence Suites: Beautiful weather

The room was good and cleaning service was awesome. The beach was very disappointing, full of garbage and hardly any chairs. Staff was very friendly and helpful. The internet service was terrible. Our pool was really nice and was designated as an adult only.

Secrets Tides Punta Cana: Excellent resort!

Really enjoyed Secrets Tides. It’s a beautiful, upscale resort with a huge beach. Breakfasts and lunches were pretty good (though not outstanding), while dinners were phenomenal. Loved the Coco cafe. All the servers there were fantastic: Jenifer, Estrella, Romery, Rosanna, and especially Josefa who went out of her way to make our trip special. Would definitely go back to this resort if we visit the DR again.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Gran Vantana DR

Overall a OK hotel. Rooms in need of a refresh, however cleaning staff keeps them as clean as possible. The bath/shower area needs the most attention. Pools and beach were very clean and there always appeared to be a few chairs available. Tried two à la carte restaurants, The Italian and the steakhouse both were very good. The buffet was ordinary, and a little more variety would have been better. My spouse did get some food poisoning on the last day. The wine appears to be watered down which May [... read more] or may not contributed to the sickness. The resort was 80% attended by Canadians and many were repeat guest. A mainly 60+ age group which made for a quiet and relaxing time.

Playabachata Hotel: Playabachata offers a great time despite some shortcomings.

We're just back from a week at Playabachata. Here's a quick summary. There was a lot to like. The beach is very large and covered in beautiful palm trees with plenty of loungers. There was always a great ocean breeze to enjoy. The hotel grounds are really beautiful and well kept. The rooms are a bit dated but very clean and functional with huge balconies to enjoy. The buffet offered a good variety of food choices including lots of fresh fruit and good salad bar options. We found the buffet serv [... read more]ice to be a bit hit and miss. It seemed like there weren't enough servers to keep up with cutlery, water and drink service. The buffet restaurant did tend to get hot at times and they frequently didn’t open enough windows to take advantage of the ocean breeze. The a la carte restaurants were great, as was the lunch at the beach restaurant. You should know that WiFi is only available in the lobby and it's pretty spotty. The pool is not large enough and half of the resort is closed, meaning there's only one pool. There aren't irons in the rooms so maybe pack a travel iron if you need one and also a small umbrella. Be sure to take advantage of "Caribbean Street" pizza, shops and coffee house. Very quaint location for your morning coffee. Beautiful hotel, worth what we paid, great vibe and fun was had by all.

HM Alma De Bayahibe Hotel: Ok resort

Beautiful Grounds, Small room, we had partial ocean view room. Front desk staff was nice and activation team was great! All other staff need to up the game! The most unfriendly ive met in the DR, No service in the buffet, its more like a cafeteria help yourself to get drinks of any sort. I guess the good thing is you save on tips! No bottled drinks in your room at all accept water. The cleaning staff were great and attentive. The two ala cartes were ok, For me it was tricky as I have a  [... read more]shell fish allergy. The pools were clean! It looked like a full house last week when we arrived, however there is not enough seating at all for everyone! Have to set an alarm for 530 am to get a lounger anywhere. The seatinng in the lobby bar maybe holds 20 people of a couple hundred there, the pool bar doesnt hold that much more. The music at sunset was great! The sunsets are stunning.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Great resort

Staff were all pleasant. They need to monitor the loungers at the pool and the beach area for reserved spots that are not used. We observed people reserving loungers at the pool and the beach area for a number of hours and not use them leaving people not being able to take advantage of relaxing at the pool or the beach.

Riu Republica: Great Vacation

We were over the moon about our vacation. Had a great time. The resort has something going on at all hours of the days. Room was always cleaned, food was great, beach was amazing! We had zero complaints the entire trip and were satisfied with our decision to choose this resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: We would never book here again.

****PLEASE NOTE: We stayed at the Bahia Principe Grand Punta Cana, not the Fantasia as is listed here.**** This was my 3rd trip to Punta Cana in less than 2 years, and the 2 previous trips had been absolutely wonderful. This time was a completely different experience. I have been through breast cancer in the last year, and this was to be our "celebration of good health" trip. Our check in, which was well after midnight, took over an hour. The room was small, dated and uncomfortable. The beds wer [... read more]e hard as rocks. Our room flooded on the 3rd day while we were at the beach, with dark, brackish water. We came into our room to see 5 people with mops frantically trying to clear out the water, with our door wide open allowing free access to anyone going by. We went to the front desk to request a new room and were outright refused. I explained that I cannot risk infection due to potential health complications, but this was not considered and we were brought back to the room that had flooded. My partner and I then had severe food poisoning from the buffet, which was most unpleasant. We were sick flying back home and have not felt well since. What was supposed to be a relaxing, rejuvenating experience to celebrate health and healing was actually harmful to us both.

Punta Cana Princess: Beautiful beach!

Staff were lovely and went out of their way to help you. The room was clean upon arrival and cleaned daily. Most things worked (air conditioner was very loud , overhead shower worked , hand held did not). The food and service were both quite good. A issue that definitely needs to be addressed is that there were insufficient lounge chairs for guests (or some guests”saved ‘ more than they needed ?? ie two at beach, two at pool) , this was exceptionally frustrating (& not an issue I have run in [... read more]to for a very long time) ! Also they require additional shade structures (both at beach and by the pool).

Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Amazing trip!

We had a lovely family vacation to Viva Tangerine. We chose Caberete as our destination because of the awesome kite surfing and beautiful beach. The resort was well maintained. We always had hot water and the air conditioning worked great. We had awesome ocean and pool views from our balcony. The food was good (not great) and none of our family members got sick during our week stay. The front staff were friendly and helpful. We would have loved pickleball as an option but they did have a tennis  [... read more]court. The pool table required $50 deposit and was often being used. We enjoyed the evening shows and that they were not too pushy with their activities around the pool during the day. We spent most of our time on the beach. We would come back.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Amazing Resort

People were amazing, grounds were well maintained, buffet was very clean, workers were very friendly and helpful. Vintage bar and Ala cartes were great. Great place to relax. Would definitely return again.

Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Peaceful

The campus was small but peaceful if that is what you seek. Not a busy or eventful place. If you seek solitude over a busy resort, this is a great spot. Small beach but decent. Limited to one bar open at a time regardless of time of day. Super friendly staff. Clean and spacious rooms. Beware when booking excursions. The Transat rep let us down more than once.