Occidental Punta Cana: Beautiful Beach, Delicious Food, No Smiles at the Front Desk

We stayed at this same resort 16 years ago when it was called Occidental Flamenco. Our daughter had her wedding here. It was absolutely heavenly and we always wanted to come back. I know things change over the years but our travel agent told us that renovations had taken place and Air Transat only books the newly renovated buildings. When we arrived, it look a very long time to check in, other people who were behind us in line seemed to get their rooms before us. Finally we were told we would [... read more] be in Building 12. I knew this was not a renovated building and said we were promised an updated building. After much conversation we were told we could be moved in 2 days. After speaking with other people, we found most of us were put in older buildings even though we were told we were Preference Club. The room we were in had problems with the water. If you flushed the toilet once it would not flush again for another hour. The water from the shower from the next room flowed out into the hallway. There was a TV but no remote and it would not even turn on. I called the desk and reported these things and was told they would be looked after but nothing happened. The next morning we went to the desk to see if we could be moved. I said we paid for the Preference Club Package with beach towels, robes, slippers and updated room. I was told very rudely by a desk clerk, Mercedes, that everyone pays the same to be here and they place you where ever they have room. I was not happy with that comment. She finally she said we could change rooms if we moved out of our current room immediately, bring all our things to the baggage storage area now and come back at 2 o'lock to be placed in a different building. We did this, came back at 2 and were then told to wait another 45 minutes. This took up most of the afternoon. The room was much nicer, but the phone did not work, we still did not have a remote for the TV and didn't get beach towels in our room or robes or slippers. We reported these things several times. Someone came to fix the phone but it still didn't work. The Transat Rep also said he would report our phone problem but nobody came. We did not have a working phone in our room our whole stay, we had a nine day trip. We did not have a cell phone with us, I felt a little uncomfortable knowing we would have no contact with the desk if we had an emergency in the middle of the night. We were given a remote for the TV but never did get the beach towels, robes or slippers. I was really disappointed in the way we were treated by desk staff. We were not treated as guests but as inconveniences. Of all the times we spoke to them, we never saw a smile. The other staff in other areas were friendly and made us feel welcome and always had a smile. The Buffet staff were wonderful and helpful even though sometimes they had a language barrier. You can smile in any language.

Ocean Blue and Sand: SPECTACULAR

This resort won't disappoint. Absolutely beautiful! The grounds are stunning, the beach and pool were right there next to our building. The rooms were impeccably clean, the floors gleamed and were cleaned everyday. The Buffet was great. The only restaurant you have to book is the Japanese. It took several days of waiting in line only to find out you couldn't get in. However, once you get in you won't be disappointed. The best meal by far!!!! A must do!!! There is a quaint coffee shop called M [... read more]IKE'S it has the best iced coffee ever!!! I have travelled south several times to many different destinations. This resort was by far the best. I would definitely recommend it!! The entertainment was also great. :)

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Awesome

The beach was beautiful and the staff was super friendly. The excursion with "Sammy" of Bavaria Runners for the day was worth every penny. The a le carte restaurants were superb. Definitely planning to go here again.

Riu Republica: Awesome Beach

We stayed at the Riu Republican from March 23 to March 30. We arrived at approximately 3:20 to find our room wasn't ready. We were directed to the buffet to have something to eat and our room was ready by 4:00. Our room was bright and I loved the turquoise accents. It was a Courtyard view (2151) in a quiet building. The king bed was fairly comfortable. Although we didn't meet our housekeeper, housekeeping services were excellent. For evening dining we decided to try the a la cartes we never [... read more] had to wait to be seated. Our preference was the Asian restaurant which we went to twice. The buffet was also great with a wide selection of food. Service was very good in all the dining areas. The dress code for dining was very lax. Bathing suits were allowed in the buffet for breakfast and lunch but most people dressed up a bit for dinner. Long pants were not required for the men in the a la cart in the evening. There were three pools at the resort, one was private, one was quiet and the bar pool was very active. We preferred the quiet pool and never had difficulty getting a lounge chair. The beach on the other hand, if you wanted a lounge in the shade you needed to go down at about eight o'clock to reserve a chair. The beach was amazing for walking. The ocean was fairly rough. We had three days of red flags which really didn't deter some people. The rest of the time it was yellow flags. Overall we enjoyed our stay, great service, good food, good drinks, comfortable rooms and an amazing beach.

Iberostar Waves Punta Cana: Very relaxing

The resort was very quiet and comfortable. The guests seemed to be more in the senior age group which suited us just fine. The rooms were very clean and comfortable and the staff was very pleasant and helpful.

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: The beautiful rooms didn't make up for it

The rooms were clean and appeared exactly like the pictures shown. My issues are only with the staff of the resort. We were visiting for a festival that went on for 3 days out of our stay. Due to this, we were in and out of the resort. Each time that we tried to leave the resort, it was a hassle. My friends and I felt as if we were in jail. In addition, after 4 days of our stay, we were asked to show our wrist bands during dinner which made us feel extremely uncomfortable. Furthermore, I did not [... read more] enjoy the food from the buffet. I felt nauseated after the times that I've eaten there. The steakhouse was very good, however, when I called to book a reservation, the staff told me that they don't book reservations, and to walk-in when we were ready. We went down and the hostess told us that there is about an hour wait which at that time the restaurant would be closed.

Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Great Resort

We ( myself, my husband, my son age 12 and my daughter age 6) had a great time here. We spent our full week on the resort. While the resort was not large there was lots to do. My family loves the water and spent a great deal of time in the pools and at the beach. My son played basketball, tennis, played pool and joined in events on the beach (egg toss Olympics). My daughter discovered the Explorers Club and spent a little time there doing bottle panting, treasure hunts, ping pong, and the kids  [... read more]disco. One place we couldn't keep them away from was the ice cream parlour. They also loved climbing the floating wall in the pool. We ate well the staff were great especially the ladies in the Explorers club . We had a swim out room, our own little pool. and it was nice to relax around either before we went to the main pool or after our day at the main pool. My husband and I loved spending time as a family and playing and watching our kids enjoy themselves. We also relaxed while laying by the pool. There is a great adult only preferred pool/ area which looks amazing and i would love to try. Would I go there again? Absolutely!

Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites: Great Vacation at Iberostar Bavaro!

Stayed the week of March 27 to April 3/17. There were six in our group. The hotel is very clean and the grounds are beautiful. The beach is one of the best I have been to. The rooms are a good size and fairly updated. The bathrooms are on the small side. Shower leaked due to the door not fitting properly and didn't stay closed. Our maid, Juanita did a suburb job with cleaning our room. She is a wonderful lady. She works hard and deserves to be tipped. The bartenders at the beach bar we [... read more]re great, Michael, Francis, Santos and Ernestine. Michael makes a great "dirty monkey". Again, tip all the staff, they are great. We enjoyed all of the restaurants for the most part. The Italian was good the first time, not so much the second time. Japanese restaurant chefs put on a good show and the food was good. Buffet was really good except for "Dominican night". All of the meat was really dry. Breakfast and lunch were great. Lots of selections. Didn't spend much time at the pool. It was smaller than most Iberostar I have been to. Entertainment team are fun. All of us really enjoyed ourselves and it was a great trip. Would return in a heartbeat. Solid 4 & 1/2 star.

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Amazing resort!!

The Luxury Bahia Principe Fantasia is a beautiful resort, and definitely caters to families. The buffet provided many great options for both adults and children. There are several a la cartes (would recommend contacting the hotel 2 weeks prior if you want to ensure a particular a la carte). There are many activities for the kids at the main pool, water park, kids club, and great entertainment in the evening. There is a nightly "castle show" at 1000pm that is definitely worth watching! The servic [... read more]e from the staff exceeded my expectations. I did find that sometimes you would have to wait a bit to get water/drink refills at the buffet (particularly at peak times, which I found very understandable). Our family of four had an amazing trip, and we look forward to our next trip there.

Grand Bavaro Princess: No frills resort!

First, I will qualify by saying this was my 16th all-inclusive in the last 13 years in either DR, Mexico, Jamaica, St. Lucia, or Bahamas. We usually alternate our travel from all-inclusive to exploring-type (Europe, Asia, Hawaii, etc.), so when we decide to go on a week long AI we generally know what to expect - we don't go there expecting gourmet cuisine or to be waited on hand and foot. This is actually to first time that I've ever given a negative review because I don't go with crazy expectat [... read more]ions whenever I travel - I always make the best of it. I will give my very fair thoughts on positives and negatives of this resort. Positives: It is a short drive from the airport. The grounds around the bungalows are lovely and well taken care of. The beach is beautiful. The suites are very nice - not fancy, but large functional and were promptly cleaned every morning; something I've learned is often rare as in the past we return to our room at 4pm to an uncleaned room. A few staff really stood out as desiring to give great service and to (at least pretend) to like their job. Negatives: Extremely poor service save for the few people who tried hard (Jhonny at the front desk, the whistling gentleman at the beach buffet, the bell boys, and the omelet chef were excellent). If you sit in a buffet there is a 20% chance that someone will serve you and if they do there is only a 40% that they will get what you requested or that they will come back a second time. There is no wait service at the pool or beach and some spotty service in the lobby. Generally, there was a different clientele here. The resort was full of about 100 partying 20 year olds (which is fine, I guess, if was spring break) though there were small children and families in the pool (there is only one main) the animation team were playing really loud music with explicit lyrics at 3pm. Then I witnessed a couple of them barfing in the middle of the beach restaurant's courtyard while people were eating breakfast. The food was mediocre at best. If you wanted a snack at 4pm, your only option was a sandwich and fries. A member of our family was a vegetarian (a very low maintenance one) and had a very difficult time finding things to eat other than salads. As I said above, I do not expect to be waited

Paradisus Palma Real Golf and Spa Resort: Awesome resort

The hotel was perfect! It was very clean, the food on the buffet was amazing, the staff truly made this resort the awesome place it is. From the beautiful beach, the pool, the bars, the food, the people, the accommodations it was very difficult to say goodbye!

Bahia Principe Explore Turquesa: Large & Loud

Very Very Large resort, loud loud music all day long, if you want to be on the go all the time with loud music and kids, this is the resort for you. If you want to rest and have some peace go elsewhere. The resort is beautiful and very clean, but the pools are full of kids, they have no respect for other people in the pool. Its very hard to find any shade both at the pool and at the beach. Way to many people in one place, its like 5 resorts under one umbrella. If we had kids it might have b [... read more]een alright but as a couple who just wanted to relax and have some fun under the sun it was not the resort for us. The staff were all very kind and pleasant and the food was good.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Wonderful holiday

I have been to this resort 4 times now. The grounds are beautifully maintained with a gorgeous selection of palm trees and flowering shrubs. My friend and I were staying at Ambar Blue and the pool area, beach and surrounds were lovely. The beaches were clean and on the 2 days when seaweed was washed ashore (in 11 days), the staff was quick to rake and remove it from the area. The restaurants were fine to excellent. Kudos to El Olivo and Don Pablo, gourmet dining at its finest. A special note t [... read more]o the Japanese restaurant which served a fun experience while grilling the food in front of you and 6 others. Our room was clean, maintenence was excellent and the beds comfortable. The staff was excellent overall. Although we were disappointed in the initial greeting when checking in. The gentleman on the front desk lacked customer service skills and made the process very frustating. After travelling for more than 5 hours, a more welcome process was expected. Our only unfortunate experience occured on the last night of our trip. We had retired to bed when we were awoken an hour later by the door opening, the lights turning on and two men walking in with their suitcases. The only reason that we didn't panic was that they were so obviously shocked. They left immediately and we reported the incident the next morning at the front desk. The reaction was rather blase and so we reported again to a gentleman at the front of the lobby. I believe his name was Edgar. He apologized and took all the particulars and promised to look into this breach of security. We will however, always put the chain on the door in future trips. Overall though a wonderful holiday at a lovely resort.

Occidental Caribe: Great vacation

We had a wonderful vacation at this resort. Beach and grounds were perfect. No long walks or trolleys to the beach. Food was great. Rooms were great except the mattresses and pillows need to be replaced. The best of all is the staff, very friendly and helpful. The resort has a great layout that,s why we have booked it over and over again. We will return.

Sunscape Bavaro Beach: Great escape!

Sunscape Bavaro offered us a great escape with our boys. Overall, the experience was great. Of course, there were a few hitches and snags but all the travelers there seemed to have the same issues. There needs to be more efforts so that we get the room we booked!! And shouldn't double beds be standard size, not this large twin bed! Unfortunately, this made our nights a little bit sleepless. People are very smiley, courteous, and nice but they also don't hesitate to make up stuff (we called it  [... read more]the Dominican truth!). The concierge's nasty trick to get us to tour other resorts and the 90 minute presentation to enroll in some travelling program was NOT a fun experience and a total waste of time. It did, however, give us a 100$ voucher towards the amazing zip-line/monkey expedition. Wonderful time that was! All these small issues aside, we had a great vacation!

Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Great Resort Experience

We are just back from a Feb 27 - April 3 stay. Like most people I did a bit of research before deciding on the resort we would go to. Although not all reviews on TA for Ambar Green were super positive, most were and I have to support those reviewers who had a good experience - we certainly did. Without hesitation I would recommend a stay at Ambar Green. Construction alert though.....we were lucky to have a room poolside in Ambar Green. Rooms that faced the construction next door (very noisy  [... read more]and dusty) in Ambar Green or Ambar Blue likely did not enjoy their experience as much. Make sure you request a poolside room or one not facing the construction through your agent and/or directly with the resort. They give no guarantees, but it might up your chances. We had perfect weather, the beach was wonderful, the accommodations were great, the pools were plentiful and fun to be at, and overall the food was very good - so what's not to like! We found the service to be very good everywhere on the resort - offer up a friendly face and you got lots of smiles and great service in return. We spent our time between the beach and the pools - we preferred the pool at Ambar Blue - a bit more shade and more fun. And get over it - yes you have to get up early to reserve a spot at the beach or the pool if you want a prime shady location. Heck you are in paradise - get out of bed and enjoy it:))! The beach and water are amazing - great swimming. The buffets and A la carte restaurants were all good. Our only bad experience was at the French restaurant Don Pablo on our first night - we had no food after 1.5 hrs, so we left and went to the buffet. I assume they had some issue in the kitchen - we complained, but never got a response. Our last night was at El Olivo - which was awesome. The others were in between - awesome to okay. Tipping - there are lots of thoughts on how much and when - suit yourself. We appreciate good service and tip accordingly. Getting around - this is a very large resort complex - 7 resorts. The journey from Ambar Green to the beach is about 10 minutes walking at a good pace. We are active people, so we opted for this. There are lots of trains/carts to take you wherever you want to go if walking is not your thing. Staying active - the gyms are very poorly equipped, so be aware if you are planning that as your main exercise activity. But if you are a runner/walker - lots of paths to run on/walk on to get in a 5/6K loop within the resort.

Riu Republica: Nice Resort

We just got back from a weeks vacation and had a great time. Given it's a big hotel it's laid out well and everything is in close walking distance. The only downfall is that there is no bar on the beach. You have to leave the beach and walk back up to the pool bar to get a drink. In the sports bar I was surprised to see that you had to pay to play a game of pool. The gym was very clean with nice equipment. Did go to the spa and had a couples deep tissue massage and it was the best massag [... read more]e I've ever had. The hotel and rooms are very clean!! Hotel staff are very accommodating. No issues with bugs on the resort which was a bonus.

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana: A great experience

We have been going to Punta Cana for many years and the hard rock hotel was by far the best. There was cleaners everywhere if something was dropped on floor someone was cleaning it up. The food was the best I've ever had, and we tried everyone of the restaurant not needing reservation was a plus the servers were on top of everything really classy. We meet people from all over the world and everyone's option was the same. The grounds were nice being a newer resort maybe not as nice as the older r [... read more]esort but it's a work in progress what is done is beautiful and in a few more years it'll be perfect the gardeners worked everyday planting more shrubs and flowers. The rooms were very nice and modern clean and everyday there was a treat on the bed just a little treat but always nice.

Bahia Principe Grand Bavaro: Clean and fun!

My family and I just returned from 5 days at the Grand Bahia Principe Bavaria resort. It was lovely! Clean and fun, with a great friendly staff. It's a monster of a resort though, not that it bothered us. My two kids can't wait to go back!

Occidental Caribe: Beautiful property not overly friendly staff

The hotel property and beach is beautiful. It's a nicely laid out property with great views of he pools and ocean. The food was fantastic with a large variety to chose from. The staff at this hotel didn't go out of there way by any means even when it comes to providing utensils or searching water and coffee. It seemed it was understaffed in the buffet or that the stay was just mainly there to clear tables that was the only major downfall of the resort. If you are okay wih fending for yourself in [... read more] many ways that it won't be a problem. One other slight problem is towels in the rooms for eveninf showers they don't tend to bring you towels until quite late into eh evening(again probably understaffed in he housekeeping department. All in all we had a great stay and managed to fend for ourself all while enjoying the beautiful property, beach and delicious food