Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Enjoyment plus!

We enjoyed everything about this fabulous resort, and particularly our devoted and dedicated concierge Jose "Jacobs". Our room was changed from a very poor view to a fabulous one overlooking the main pool areas. The food was good in the Italian restaurant. A brief comment: We felt some of the wait staff might improve their ability to serve patrons with more command of the language and not to shout across the room to each other. The shops held basically tourist goods, and the beach peddlers  [... read more]are often a pest. The pools and beach staff were wonderful.

IFA Bavaro Village: Ups and Downs

For the week of March 15th to March 22, 2018, myself and 9 friends stayed at the IFA Bavaro Villages Resort. We occupied 5 rooms total. This hotel definitely had many positives, however, there were also negatives. Lets start with the positives: - The rooms were beautiful and very clean - The resort was kept very clean - The beach was beautiful and well kept - One waitress in particular at the Pizzaria (Snack bar) made our trip extra enjoyable...shout out to Estephanie! - This pizza at t [... read more]he snack bar is OUT of this world good! - The lunch buffet by the beach was also AMAZING! Some of the negatives included: - On several occasions, the maid only came to clean our room after 5pm (at which time we were usually in our room for a nap) and didnt come back... - A decent amount of the staff were unpleasent and seemed to expect a tip for doing the bare minimum (often not saying thank you or even acknowledging you left them anything) - One of the 5 rooms we occupied had their water shut off for 3 of the 7 days we were there and were not given another room - Another of the 5 rooms had a strong smell of mold and mold in the sink - The main buffet is only mediocre and i would suggest sticking to the pasta bar - Though the resort claims to be all-inclusive... there are some loopholes... ie. you must pay 3$ a day for a lock for the safe.... the lobster at the a la carte is an additional 30$ - I don't like that you had to wake up early to make reservations for the a-la-cartes instead of being able to book one shot upon arrival and no longer having to worry about it - There is a lot of renovations going on that are visible All in all, I did have an amazing trip and I loved the resort itself, however, there are of course some aspects I think they should work on.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Beautiful

Very nice, good food ,friendly staff..disappointed the 3rd bed wasn't ready when we checked in...they only had stuff for 2 people and we were 3 in the room and we never saw our butler that was assigned to room

Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Great vacation with friends

It was my second visit at Ambar Green. We went with a group of friends. Had made request for second or third floor facing pool, we were very pleased with our room and the special attention and details as we were celebrating an anniversary. We were pleased with our À la carte reservations and dining. All staff were pleasant and accommodating, lots of fun at pool side with animation team. Planning on returning.

IFA Bavaro Village: Pro’s and cons

The resort was beautiful. The food was great. The service was amazing, except some of the staff were rude. Some barely acknowledged us, and other staff members would look at myself and my friends as if they didn’t want to serve us. What was unacceptable- was the maid service and how they either did not clean our rooms at all, or they were cleaned late in the afternoon/evening. Other than that, the room was gorgeous. Another thing that was a con was there was some mold in my sink fosset. As sai [... read more]d previously the resort was beautiful and everything included as well. What I didn’t understand was how the wifi was not included and had to be paid by device. Once again, I would come back to this resort, except I’m hoping some things can be changed to make it a more enjoyable stay

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Another Fantastic Vacation at Bahia Principe Club Ambar

This is the fourth time we have vacationed at this resort. We keep coming back here because the service is beyond excellent. The resort is beautiful and the staff is wonderful. The beach is very nice and yes if you want to have a sun shade either on the pool or the beach you will have to get up early to get those ones but you will always have a seat/chair somewhere. Over all this is a very lovely resort and will definitely go back again.

Vista Sol Punta Cana: We loved it!

On our way to this resort I started reading reviews again and was actually terrified by our arrival! But we were pleasantly surprised. For the money spent this hotel had everything we need. The only difference to us between this and a 5 star is no service on the beach or for drinks at dinner etc and the food was just a bit less spectacular. Once we figured out how to eat at the buffet it was quite delicious... they had a lot of seafood, the pasta station, etc. Breakfasts were great with the [... read more] omelette station, yogurts and fresh fruit. I enjoyed the cappuccino machine. (But you have to serve yourself). We liked where our building was located in the middle of everything, we were in building 1, room 1106. Ocean view was worth it in my opinion. The best restaurants were the Mexican and Gourmet. I got a bit of an allergy at the Italian. The beach is the most beautiful we’d seen... we didn’t see any shows as we were in bed early. I got badly sunburned so make sure to take care the rays are very strong. I did have to use the medical centre and it was great. Got cream and medications for my sunburn. We enjoyed the quieter pool, but swam at both. The grounds are beautiful. The room was basic but we did have good air conditioning. I tipped our housekeeper in person and she made sure we had lots of water and towels and even brought us air freshener :) which I appreciated! If you are on a budget but want to see Punta Cana and aren’t that fussy this hotel would be right for you. We travelled as a family, 2 boys age 11 and 14.

Riu Republica: Overall this hotel was just, Meh

Flying directly out of Kitchener was a real treat. So much better than Toronto. When we got to Riu we were initially impressed. Unfortunately that didn't last. We were not given a welcome package for the resort, nor did we get assistance finding our room resulting in us carrying our luggage up 3 flights of stairs as we couldn't find the elevator. We had to get information from other guests on how the restaurants worked. The room was fine and appeared clean. with exception of a couple ballo [... read more]ons on the first day, there was no towel art as we have come to expect in good resorts. The food was just ok, with the steak house being the saving grace. Most of the staff were nice but standoffish with exception of a few very friendly staff from the entertainment team. The "shopping" excursion was a complete joke. The bus dropped us off at a warehouse filled with either the same junk souvenirs u can get at the airport or expensive clothing stores that I could visit in Canada. The best part about this place was the short tour showing how cigars are made and the little bits of history provided on the walls. The beach was lovely however, as long as you don't get suckered in to the 4 hr long hard sell timeshare presentation at the Royalton. The pools were good, could use a little more shade in the earlier hours. The entertainment was good. Although the hotel advertised "no spring-breakers" there was quite a bit of howling in the early hours of the morning. Definitely tones of spring-breakers...won't make that mistake again. The other suggestion for this hotel would be to have some sort of concierge desk set up to help coordinate excursions. I know the hotel isn't responsible for those however there was so many customers and drivers wandering around trying to find each other, this could be a great way to help keep customers happy and alleviate frustrations.

Riu Republica: Spring Breakers Invade Riu

Invaded by spring breakers for 7 of 14 days. Sunwing website policy clearly states no spring breakers groups or individuals any time during to year are not permitted. Policy also indicates unruly disruptive behaviour and guests causing damage to property would to removed from property at own expense. these are false statements. We experience unruly, disrupted sexual behaviors with profanity. Riu staff seemed to cater to this majority group of guests. There was very minimal security. unacceptable [... read more] behaviours were not addressed by the Riu. it was pretty much a free for all with no rules enforced or complied to. There was noticeable damage to resort property and rooms. Mattresses seen removed from rooms, broken patio door, garbage (cups cans plates etc) thrown from balconies to courtyard and other rooftops. buffet a la carte bars pools were all completely overtaken by young spring breakers. On the positive side there were always lounge chairs available and our room was comfortable with all amenities needed. that was a good thing as we pretty much spent 7 evenings in our room to escape loud unruly behaviour in all common resort areas.

Grand Sirenis Tropical Suites: Good Resort

We travelled to this resort during our March Break. We travelled with our 3 kids. Lots of other kids at the resort for them to hang out with ( because of the break)? Good thing because there wasn’t much of a kids club. They had entertainment, games at the beach and pool daily. That was good, although they catered them more towards the adults. So many kids wanted to take part but wernt able too for some. The beach and pools were beautiful. Clean, lots of space. Never a problem getting a ch [... read more]air. Easy to get a drink and food at the pool and beach. The water park was a bonus!! Fun for the whole family no matter how old the kids were. Lots of seating at the pool there too. Food and drinks, towels too. It was a nice change from pool and beach. Easy to get dinner reservations. Restaurants were good. Buffet was also excellent! Lots to choose from, even picky eaters. Our room was on the renovated side. If you go to this resort, make sure you are on the Tropical Suites side. We heard lots of bad things about the other side of the resort. Our room was great, nice to have a little more space. Kids liked having their our space too with a large flat screen T.V. This resort is a “ mid range” resort I’d say, and for the money it was totally worth it.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Beautiful place

Our stay last year at Ambar Green went more smoothly than at this year Ambar Blue. The first three days our main door for our room did not automatically lock. Each time we had someone come, they would fix it , it would only work temporarily. After 3 days it was working properly. Even the safe malfunctioned on the second day, but got fixed after that. The food was really good, but A La Cartes were tough to get in from the every first night. Luckily our main restaurant always had good food anyway. [... read more] The resort was very clean and the staff was always so gracious to help when they needed. Staff were good, and for the most part had smiles on their faces which made the trip pleasing, We had a fun memorable trip.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: My Favorite Place to Be!!!

I have stayed here over 3 times and I love it here. The selection of food and cleanliness is wonderful. The scenery and pool area is lovely. The rooms are very modern. I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

The Level at Melia Caribe: Great resort

Great service, beautifully landscaped with spacious pools. Food was good and a nice choice of dining options Rooms were nicely decorated but showing a little wear Staff was very friendly and accommodating

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: did not disappoint us

This was the second time on this complex, before we had been to the Esmeralda, but this time we chose the Fantasia mostly because it was designed for kids, including its own water park and theater, and because it is new. We found almost everything in the hotel was great, staff was wonderful, food was good, almost no complaints. A few thoughts that could be useful to others: - the new gym between the Esmeralda and the Fantasia is great, with new good quality machines (treadmill, elliptical, s [... read more]pin bikes), weights area and lots of space for floor exercises. There is also a beach volleyball besides the gym. - the beach is good, with an exclusive area for the Fantasia and an exclusive buffet restaurant also for the Fantasia besides it. - access to all restaurants in the 7 hotels in the complex is also great, but be careful not to get reservations on the adult only restaurants at the Ambar hotels if you are travelling with kids. Also I recommend you give preference to the restaurants at the Fantasia, Esmeralda and Ambar, as they are somewhat better than the other ones. Finally, try to send your reservations for the restaurants before you get to the hotel, they will try to accommodate them and have them ready for you when you check in. - bed was harder than we are used to, but they do have a pillow menu to choose from - there is a large window between the bathroom and the room, it does have a curtain, but may be an issue for people sharing the room with their kids. - there is a great teen club (for 13 and over), with pool table, foosball table, video games (xbox, ps4), a gym for teens, etc. Our son loved it. - there is also a kids club (for under 12) with lots of organized activities.

Catalonia Royal Bavaro: Great getaway

We were looking for a quiet getaway. This resort delivered. Sure there were the usual things to do; fitness classes in the pool, games on the beach and different evening activities and shows. We never got bored. We enjoyed walking the property both the adult and family sides and the beach was nice to walk on. If you are looking to slow down from a hectic life, this is a great place. If you want to party hardy, perhaps this may not be the place for you. There are many restaurants to chose [... read more] from and the food is very good. The buffets offer a good variety of food. The staff is very friendly and polite. We stayed in the privilege suites and found our room spacious, clean and comfortable. There are plenty of drinks to try at one of the many bars. We also enjoyed the Juice bar. I would definitely consider going back.

Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana: Family Vacation 2018

My family of 4 stayed in a preferred unit with a Tropical view for a week. Unfortunately we had to call about problems with the suite 5 out of the 7 days. Problems with the bathroom glass door, lights not working, refrigerator not working. The room was not well lit. I think they must use 40-Watt bulbs. The maid service was irregular. She would arrive between 5-6 pm. Right when everyone was getting ready for dinner. Some nights we had turn down service, some nights not. Towels were scarce. On [... read more] a positive note, the room was nice and quiet. There was never any hallway or adjoining room noise. The balcony with plunge pool was great. It was relaxing. The food was disappointing. We are a vegetarian family and the options for us were minimal at the restaurants. Restaurants only offered 1 veg appetizer and 1 veg entree. For example, at the Mexican restaurant, we ordered the veggie fajitas. This consisted of grilled sliced carrots and zucchini with 2 small tortillas. Needless to say we were all still starving when we left. We ate most at the Carnival buffet as it had to the most vegetarian options, and thankfully they had different themes each night. The new Italian restaurant at Now Garden was also very good. Fruit and salad options were limited, and often flies were hanging around the salad bars. The concierge services were very nice. Miguel was fantastic. He took very good care of us all week. He frequently checked in with us while on the beach or at the pool. Helped us make reservations and accommodated a late checkout for us. The preferred benefits of the extra 2 pools, beach area and lounge were all quite nice. The beach at Now Larimar was very nice. The sand was great and you could walk as far as you like. Kayaking was enjoyed by the kids. It was too rough to snorkel. If you wanted a place on the beach you needed to get up early to reserve a spot. The excursion vendors and the shopping mall salesman could be a bit harassing. They visit you every 10 minutes, fortunately by the end of the week they stopped bothering us. There was not a lot of entertainment options for my 12 year old; but my 8 year old met some same age peers and enjoyed the kids club area a couple of times. Elise at the spa provided a fantastic massage. Highly recommend the massage!

Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana: Just Dreaming Vacay 2018

Resort grounds were excellently maintained. Really liked the pool setup, lots of areas with pool chairs and somewhat of a feeling of privacy. Beach was nice but could have used more umbrellas. Room was well maintained. Bathroom could use an upgrade. Mattress needs to be improved. Food was far below par. Many of the buffet foods which should be hot were served cold. Japanese hibachi was excellent except for the tough beef. Our initial 24 hours on the island was filled with agressive sales  [... read more]agents looking for us to upgrade or purchase additional packages. We came for a vacation and rest and were ready to leave within the first 24 hours, due to the constant harassment and what seemed like trickery. Most of the staff on the grounds were friendly and accomodating. When we booked our holiday our travel agent assured us that we would not encounter Spring Break partiers (College crowd), they landed enmass the day before we left. Taking over the beach, the bar, the pool and making excessive noise all night.

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: At best average lacking quality

Just back from our trip and thought I would let you know a few facts so other customers hopefully do not have the save experience we did. We had a great flight down arriving at 1215 but then things changed as we sat in the parking lot on our transfer bus for over 2 hours before starting to head to the resort. We arrived at 3:00 pm so that is check in no big deal except we did not get our room until 7:00 pm! When I asked what was going on the idiots could no longer speak English, go figure. [... read more] One small drink was offered. Then there was an issue with my oldest son as he was listed as a adult but they didn’t have the right bracelet. I found our air Transat rep who tried to help but apparently his hands were tied. So day 1 was a right off. The water park is great if your kids are eight and under. Water is only a couple feet deep so bigger kids hit the bottom of the pool The big pool was okay but my boys and I didn’t enjoy trying to swim and play only to watch young mothers breast feeding in the pool or changing diapers poolside or showering dirty bums in pool showers. They wonder why diseases are spreading at this resort, I wonder. Housekeeping or lack thereof. Maids would come around at 9:30 pm (at night) to ask if you needed bathroom towels. One day beds were made but no blankets. One day beds made with only bottom sheet, no top sheet. Food - was just okay. I say this because my spouse is really sick so weak she almost wasn’t allowed on plane. Beach. Very nice. However the Fantasia section was always filled with guests from other resorts who were allowed stay. Which really bothered us considering security asked us to leave our chairs at the beach section for the next Bahia resort which was not adult only The comments made on tripadvisor re hand foot mouth disease are true it’s there and now we are dealing with it despite taking steps to avoid it. Not impressed. I am an early riser but was very disappointed that every morning I woke up to go for a walk only to have walk through smoke everyday as a result of the resort burning their garbage, again ridiculous. Return trip. Left resort at 1000 hrs, Fairly decent except having to sit on the plane on the tarmac from 1:20 pm until 4:00 pm because the plane was missing 20 people. I realize things happen but wow. It didn’t help that my wife and son were very ill as well. All in all I would rate this resort at best 3.5 and we will not go back. There were a few good parts but the bad certainly overshadowed. Sincerely Paul Mayhew.

VIK Hotel Arena Blanca: amazing resort, great place for relaxing

the VIK hotel arena Blanca - second time going and found improvements in all aspects. Updated bathrooms and more eating establishments . Already planning on going again next year. the staff are very friendly and rooms kept very clean

Paradisus Punta Cana: Paradisus Punta Cana Was Great!

The resort grounds and facilities are huge with more restaurants than you can possibly eat in and two great buffet restaurants every day. The quality and selection of the food was wonderful. The grounds were exceptionally well kept and the landscaping is really beautiful with lots of great opportunities for pictures. The beach was clean and the sands are groomed every morning. The main pool is huge and varies from a depth of three feet to five feet all around which makes it very safe for the k [... read more]ids and nice to walk around and lounge in. The staff provide all kinds of pool toys and floatation devices to use and there was even a foam party. The biggest surprise was every Monday is paintball in the natural Mangrove on the grounds and my son played non stop for three hours. Staff are very friendly and accommodating. We didn't want for anything during our stay.