We opted for the swim up section which seemed to be the quieter area and just what we wanted. The A/C worked fantastic and the rooms were spacious. It was such a treat to have a pool outside the patio doors. Each section of the resort has thier own bar section with a variety of drinks to choose from although there was a charge for premium alcohol. The grounds were always immaculate and beautiful, lush and very well maintained. Food was plenty full with many different options to choose from and u[... read more]nlimited a la Cartes. The staff were always willing to help whenever asked although the female staff really needed to smile more. All in all it was a great trip excluding the abundance of vendors on the beach, on a tour and basically everywhere including at the resort one night. It got tiresome and I found it hard to ignore them after a simple hello gesture. Once you say hello, they want you to look at thier stuff. I didn't appreciate them on the beach as well it got so annoying we had to leave. It's a beautiful place despite the vendors.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Lina -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Republica: Love this resort!
The hotel was always clean. The staff was amazing! We always ate at the buffet because there was such a variety of food. The animation team was excellent very friendly. This was our 2nd time there and I would definitely go back.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Debbie -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Republica: Fantastic Resort
From the Front desk to the rooms...excellent service. Very helpful and nice. The food, waiters and bar tenders were very friendly. The entertainment at the hotel amazing and the hotel entertainers at the pool full of energy, friendly and fun. Especially Chanty and mostly Bernice. Always a pleasure to visit.
Thank you
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Punta Cana Princess: Great small, adults only resort!
Resort is small and easily to get around. Grounds are perfectly manicured and well cared for. Staff are friendly and eager to assist. For the most part the guests don't get out of hand other than later in the day at the pool bar. That happens at any resort. Food is good with a varied assortment at the buffet. The a la cartes are very good and don't require a reservation which is nice. We have been there 5 times and enjoy this normally quiet intimate adults only resort.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Ashley -
Verified Purchaser
Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: The nicest place I've ever stayed - we also had a butler!
I was worried going here because it was just after Hurricane Maria. But besides a couple toppled trees around town everything was amazing. The room was huge and had: a king bed, ensuite with a tub, two washrooms, a backyard with a bali bed, Jacuzzi and secluded pool area. We had a private butler (Reynaldo Dominsuez) who restocked the room with pink champagne for us.
The beach was lovely. The food and drinks were above average quality. I have lots of allergies (nuts) and was able to eat here w[... read more]ithout a problem. I also discovered I love Pina Coladas.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Bahia Principe Grand Bavaro: Don't get what you pay for
Over all the weather, pool and ocean was beautiful. Food service was poor. Not only my group but other guests weren't offered water, tea and coffee during meal times at the Buffett no matter how many times you asked to get some you wouldn't get served. Maintenance was horrible my room smelled like something died up there. Our housekeeper every called for someone to come and no one came. And couldn't get a new room. My son sat for a picture and his brand new Bluejay jersey got full of paint as th[... read more]ere were no signs indicating wet paint in the area. The pool bars weren't nice, missing tile left sharp edges and the oool lights weren't in place in the pool. Food was always the same. Never changed even though they had the Theames at the buffet. Entertainment wasn't the best.. very outdated and seems very awkward. The shops at the village were great. I sdont think I'd return back to this hotel.. for the amount I paid I would expect a lot better. I wouldn't recommend this resort.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Maria -
Verified Purchaser
Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Terrific!
This was our second visit to CHIC and it's definitely one of the best all inclusive resorts we've stayed at. Despite being in the midst of Hurricane Maria, we still got a couple of days to enjoy the hotel. The staff are wonderful, attentive and tremendously warm. The rooms are big, really clean and well looked after. Plenty of options for food with all the great restaurants and not to mention 24 hr room service. The Diamond Club staff are supremely helpful - they'll help with whatever you need. [... read more]And it must be said that the resort did an incredible job evacuating us during the hurricane and ensuring our safety. The pool is well maintained, not overly crowded and the resort is very peaceful so the perfect place to go for some R&R.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Bajamlove -
Verified Purchaser
Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Truly Amazing Resort
I love my all inclusive vacations and over the years, have stayed at resorts in Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica and the DR. Even though I'm Jamaican, the DR is my favourite vacation destination.
In the DR, I've previously enjoyed the Majestic Elegance and various Bahia Principe resorts, which were also really good. My boyfriend has never been to the DR so I selected this resort in spite of some of the negative reviews. I believe that if you go on vacation looking for things to pick at, you will de[... read more]finitely find it. Change your attitude and plan to enjoy your vacation.
I will intentionally leave out the names of those that specifically served us with excellence because I want those reading my review to know that there is no ulterior motive for writing this review. The resort simply employs excellent staff members who love their job and it filters through their service.
Prior to our trip, I emailed the resort asking them kindly to provide us with an upper floor room with a nice view, I was floored to find out that they had upgraded us to the Preferred Club. Our room was gorgeous with a pool and ocean view!
This resort greatly exceeded our expectations. Because we are foodies, I was most concerned about the food because we enjoy our flavours and spices. However, the food was excellent! My boyfriend loves his steak and he got to enjoy some.
The staff was very friendly and helpful with outstanding service. There wasn't anything they weren't willing to do for you. The grounds were immaculately kept, the beach was warm and welcoming. The grounds and pools were gorgeous. Unfortunately, because of Hurricane Maria, we were evacuated and could only enjoy 2 days of paradise. My boyfriend didn't want to come home. We both can't wait to return to this resort as soon as things get cleaned up.
We will definitely be back.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Beautiful resort
Spent 3 night luxury Bahia prencipay Amber blue . Food was good. The staff was great.Beautiful resort. Really enjoyed the entertainment at the lobby in the evening.Ground very well maintained, clean, beautiful. Customer Service very poor .
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Kero -
Verified Purchaser
TRS Cap Cana Hotel: Outstanding
I've been to a lot of all-inclusive resorts and believe me when i tell you this resort truly cares about guest satisfaction. Everyone goes out of their way to help you out and enhance your experience. We were scheduled to stay a full week at Tiara Cap Cana, due to the incoming Hurricane Maria, we were forced by our airlines to evacuate the island after 3 days of staying. However, those 3 days were quite sufficient to make up for an amazing trip. Let me also note that everyone in this resort work[... read more]s HARD. We often see servers, waitress, cleaners, bartenders in the morning and then again at night, everyone is seriously dedicated and driven. On behalf of the 7 other travellers in our group, we want to give a massive special shout out to the restaurants manager; Raul. Raul made sure we're well taken care of, always smiling and constantly checking on us, our experience wouldn't be the same without his warm hospitality. We're extremely thankful for all he has done. Shout out to Cesarina and Maria in the front desk for being extremely polite, professional and patient with all our questions, alba and jairro at the pool bar for being hilarious and mixing the best drinks (ask for the Jairro special). Cesar the bellboy for always joking around with us and showing us the resort and taking the time to help us with transportation and luggage. Special shout to Amanda from guest satisfaction for checking on us and improving service with guest feedback. The food was great and you have a lot of options, beach is not the best but it's nice and you'll have a chance to go to other beaches around in the area. The hotel is always spotless, same for the rooms. True luxury. This hotel is a 4 diamonds establishment and they're making every effort to get to 5 and I’m sure if they keep the same level of service they will be there in no time. If you want to relax, unwind and disconnect from hecticness, this is the resort for you. We had an amazing 3 days and we will be sure to return soon to continue the whole experience.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Clane1979 -
Verified Purchaser
Royalton Splash Punta Cana: Nice resort
The resort was beautiful, we were in building 9. We arrived on September 15, checking in was quick and efficient considering we were a party of 9. We were directly across from the splash pad which was great. The restaurants were great, but we were quite disappointed with the number of times Selections - the buffet posted a note stating they would be closed, but when it was opened, the service was amazing. We were also disappointed that the Under the Sea restaurant wasn't opened. Our room was med[... read more]iocre...when we arrived our safe wasn't working, our tv wasn't working and once the tv was fixed the remote wasn't working. It took several calls to the front desk to have them replaced/repaired. Our second day there, our fridge died and had to be replaced and we didn't have any hot water in the bathroom. The only complaint about the grounds themselves was the tiles they used outside and in the buildings - beautiful marble, but very slippery. I was also disappointed that the pools only stayed open until 6pm.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Leanne -
Verified Purchaser
Breathless Punta Cana Resort: Simply perfect
We stayed from Sept 14-21 and chose Los Cabos because we had to cancel out trip 1 week earlier to Punta Cana and it's true what they say about how everything happens for a reason....we LOVED our week at Breathless cabo san lucas.
Paulina at check in was beyond amazing and always smiling. The entire staff couldn't do enough for us. Food was great. We loved that our room overlooked the marina and was a mere steps away from the hub of everything.
Weekends were crazy fun that by Monday you welcom[... read more]ed the down time. We highly recommend this adults only resort geared more for 20-55 year olds.
So so so HOT!!!!!!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Decent resort
Foodwise not the best but some ok la carte restuarants with the best one being Maika the japanese restaurant
Pool was warm and ok but i got ear infection the last day so dont go too deep in water just float around if you ask me. Overall I recommend this place if you dont want to spend too much money for vacation
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Vista Sol Punta Cana: Never Again!!!
I have travelled to Punta Cana many times and stayed in various hotels. But I think this is one of the worst hotels I've ever been to.The staff we rude and had no customer service and the food was horrible!!! I would not recommend this resort to even my worst enemy. My room was dirty when I first arrived and when I advised the sunwing representative about our issues with the room, he said he will get back to us and never did. The security allowed all the locals to come on the beach all day an[... read more]d basically harass everyone to buy things or to get your hair braided, when all I wanted to do was relax. Will not be returning to this hotel again. My favorite hotel in Punta cana is Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe... nothing has topped that one yet.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Crazycathy7 -
Verified Purchaser
Royalton Punta Cana Resort: Great Hotel
We loved the Royalton everything was great the food, entertainment, beach and pools and the people so friendly! Foam party was a blast! The restaurants were very good, lots to do! Comfy hotel rooms! Would go there again loved it!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Sensatori Resort Punta Cana: Sensatori Punta Cana Makes the Grade
Visited Sept 3-10/2017. Yes, more to follow about Hurricane Irma.
This is the fourth time to a Karisma/Sensatori resort, most recently Sensatori in Mexico in 2015, and fourth time to Punta Cana. Thus, I think that is recent enough, and frequently enough, to provide a fair comparison of this resort to others in the Karisma family, and to its competition.
The resort is just over a year old. It is clean and fresh and the grounds crew do an amazing job keeping it so. Nothing is amiss. Modern a[... read more]nd pristine comes to mind. It is easy to walk everywhere, and the centre piazza and restaurants is an interesting concept. Location is about a 35 minute drive from the airport.
The beach has plenty of room and lots of chairs. Finding shade during the busy season may be a challenge. Due to weather conditions, the water was rough and pretty much red flag during our stay. Did play a bit in the waves, though pretty rough. The water this time of year is amazingly warm.Suffice to say that the location results in very few beach vendors bothering you (security staff also ensured that no one lingered). The beach is public space, however, any vendor didn't really move up to where the loungers/chairs and guests were. No doubt because security keeps a close eye. There is also not a lot of beach traffic, so if you like to people watch, well, bring a mirror. lol A plus to this location is the fact that vendors don't have boats tied up along the shore. Thus no boat noise and no boat fumes. Not like Bavaro beach that has lots of boat traffic and related fumes that go with it (yes, location dependent along Bavaro).
The pools were pristine, with an infinity pool overlooking the beach. Very nice. The composite decking does get very hot.
The staff are typical of a Karisma/Sensatori resort; amazing. Special shout out to Angel !
The food at Sensatori Punta Cana is not up to par with the Sensatori in Mexico that I visited in 2015 (second time there). Having been to other resorts in Punta Cana three other times, most recently 2016, I would say the resort has a challenge ahead of it. Not for lack of trying though.
Due to the approaching hurricane, I was only able to dine at the Verdello twice, brgrs once, Lighthouse for breakfast, and buffet the balance. Each time I ordered the ossobuco at Verdello I was told they didn't have any, with no further explanation given. If you don't plan on ever having it, take it off the menu, or at least advise that it isn't available. The ossobuco served at the Sensatori in Mexico was one of our favourite meals. BRGRS was good with many choices. The Lighthouse restaurant is near the beach and provided decent breakfast and was adults only. Sugarcane was good.
The room is plenty big. Mine was on the third floor and provided a nice view towards the water. Lots of space, high ceilings, large balcony with enough furniture to suit your desires. Along with a collapsible hanger to dry clothes on (not sure why guests ignore that and ignore the posted note that asks guests not to hang stuff from the glass railings). The mini bar was well maintained and stocked daily.
Hurricane Irma
Wow, what an event. This is where the Sensatori staff, management and TUI Team really stood out. On the Wednesday about 700 guests were evacuated to Santo Domingo for safety sake. Everything the team did was for the safety of their guests. While other resorts put guests in large rooms (think of 300 people sleeping on the floor and waiting out a storm of epic proportions and not knowing what to expect) Sensatori relocated their guests to a safer area. We all returned on the Friday and were greeted by a band, refreshing drinks, snacks, and staff singing a welcome back song. It was like returning home. While the resort and Punta Cana area were fortunate to miss the brunt of it, I can't imagine how a resort would take care of guests if restaurants and grounds were out of commission.
In summary, I selected this resort because of what I like about the Karisma/Sensatori standard and level of excellence. From that perspective, I was not disappointed and say 5 Star. The only downfall was the food which I hope is something that can be addressed. The food would be a 3 Star.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Blissful Week at the Majestic Mirage
Royalton Punta Cana Resort: Amazing Resort, Outstanding Customer Service
My daughter and I stayed at the Royalton Punta Cana last week (September) and loved it. The grounds are kept immaculate, customer service was exceptional, rooms are spacious, food was delicious, layout of the resort is well thought out keeping all amenities convenient. The only thing I was not impressed with was the spa reception... there could be some training done here to ensure guest satisfaction.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Sandiecan -
Verified Purchaser
Riu Bambu: Nice renovations
The hotel renovations were nice. They did not nor were they willing to accomodate our request for our 3 reservations to be in the same building even though it was requested in our reservation months prior.
The hotel staff were decent for the most part. We tipped so that always helps.
Unfortunately, the three of us ended up with food poisoning so it's now difficult to be objective or give a raving review.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Coleenwt -
Verified Purchaser
Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Awesome resort!!
We went there as a family with three kids 10 months old, 2 and 10 years to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday and it be was an off the chain experience. They catered to our needs entirely by providing an additional bed plus a crib for the baby before we got there. We were placed in a room close to the main buffet restaurant and pool which was ideal since we had the kids and strollers to manoeuvre with. The room was cleaned twice with fresh towels daily. The waiters were exceptional especially [... read more]Pablo who made sure my husband celebrated his birthday in style with decorated table, champagne, cake as well as bringing out the entire waiting staff on duty to come and join him in singing Cumpleanos Feliz for him. That was just spectacular!! The grounds were very clean and the nightly entertainment was superb. After the nightly entertainment they had a film that was shown from a projector reflecting on the towers which the kids really enjoyed. The waterpark was great for the younger kids but not so much for the older but she enjoyed the pool more anyways. Didn't do much at the beach except for a photo shoot since there was so much seaweed which is only natural for which they tried to clean as much as possible.
Overall it was a great stay and I would definitely go back and as the name implies Fantasia which is Fantasy in Spanish and it was just that... FANTASTIC experience�