Nov 24/16 to Dec 1/16 Paradisus Punta Cana

This resort is on Bavaro Beach, approximately 30 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. While this resort is beautiful there were several negative factors that made our vacation less than memorable. I will start with the positive aspects. - stunningly beautiful,wide beach - the hotel itself is lovely, maintained very well, set on lush 40 hectare property -food is of very good quality, with a large variety -given the time of year the hotel was at 50% capacity, which is a definite plus for u [... read more]s (900 room resort) - bar service was friendly and efficient, we never had to wait -our room was cleaned early each day, lots of towels and shampoo etc., and mini bar was well stocked each day Negatives: -there was a problem with our booking and when we arrived at the resort there was not a room for us. After 3 hours and many phone calls, our Sunwing rep. Richard sorted it out for us. At this point we were very tired, hot and hungry . -the air conditioner in our room was not working, it was 26 degrees in our room when we arrived, we called the front desk, and they said they would sent someone, but no one came that night -we left the patio door open the first night since it was so hot in our room, but neither my husband or myself slept very well worrying about an open door on the ground floor. The air conditioner did eventually cool the room down to 21 degrees overnight , and worked well from that point on -the people in the room directly above us woke us up 5 nights out of 7 when they came home from the disco. There was loud music, shouting, slamming of doors, but the worst part was the fighting. Yelling, arguing, and physical abuse, in fact we found the young lady sleeping on our deck bed one morning. We reported this several times to the front desk and they assured us that the security people would take care of it, they had several complaints from other guests in our building. It was not resolved at all. -on our last day our bus was picking us up at the resort at 12:00 pm and we had to make 3 calls to the front desk to have someone help us with our luggage and give us a ride to the lobby. Given the size of the resort walking was not an option. Someone finally picked us up a 11:50 am, we were quite worried we would miss our bus. Each of these concerns on their own would probably not make or break a holiday, but all things combined, there were too many negative issues.

Wonderful family holiday

we traveled with our daughter, husband and 2 granddaughters ages 2 and 4 and enjoyed the resort very much. Food was great and there was lots for them to do. The pool near the buffet had lots of shallow and shaded areas and the kids pool was great too. Staff were very kind and good with the children. we would not hesitate to go back to that resort and do recommend it

Beautiful Resort

The grounds were beautiful, landscaping staff were there daily, cutting down any palm branches or coconuts that may fall during the day. Lobby was also beautiful with its ponds, flamingos, ducks, turtles... The bars would make any concoction you wanted and all the bartenders were very friendly. A bit of a language barrier when it came to Crown & Ginger (I received Crown & Tonic, but couldn't let Crown go to waste:). Our room, which was huge and beautifully decorated was well cleaned daily  [... read more]and mini bar was replenished, always lots of bottled water supplied. Really appreciated that water and the wonderful air conditioning every time I returned to the room and that was the only decent a/c you will find. Beach was amazing and clean. Always towels available and had no trouble finding an empty palapa to spend time under. Had heard so many stories about mosquitoes but was only bitten twice during a week at the resort, I was bitten 8 more times at the airport waiting for the flight home. The wait staff at Gabi Beach were a little unfriendly perhaps because of the language barrier. They seemed to spend more time visiting amongst themselves than taking care of the guests. If you aren't a fan of salt, you will have a tough time finding anything that isn't already salted for you. I usually add salt without tasting but only did that once before learning extra wasn't needed (ever). Our room (on the ground floor) smelled very musty and all my clothes and luggage smelled when I returned home. Washing all the clothes fixed that but the luggage has retained the smell. Maybe rooms on the higher floor wouldn't have this problem?

Amazing resort

The best service ever The best food ever You just feel a second home Just to let you know I'll be going back again and again and I'll bring some friends too! I enjoyed very much and I recommend it to every body the restaurant aqua and the restaurant Fuego Those are top The other a la cart restaurants are ok too but those which I mentioned are top Thanks Paradisus

Decent Resort

`We were in Paradisus Resort in September 2016 for 7 days and had really good time . Overall resort is really good with that price. Food was good , rooms are cleaned and service is satisfactory as well . they had bars everywhere close to beach and pool so we didn't had to walk and every evening they had music shows or circus for entertainment . Some time it was hard to explain things to their staff for room service but they were able to help us eventually . Resort was clean , security and  [... read more]saftey wise it was good as well. --- Sunny

Disappointed

Love Punta Cana. Beaches are beautiful. People very friendly. This resort was very nice. Rooms were great. Disappointed with the buffet. Only one open with limited selection. We were given the run around every time we reserved for a restaurant. 3 times they said they had no record of our reservation. Hotel front lobby staff were very unprofessional. Didn't seem to care when we had a problem. I have never complained about a resort but this one was not very professional at all at the front desk. [... read more] Could not find a manager. Could not find any activities on the beach . Very very quiet. The waiters were great. The grounds people and towel guys were awesome. Bartenders at the bar very helpful. It was great having unlimited towels. I would not stay here again or recommend it.

Simply amazing!!!!!

Everything was perfect, unbelievable! Was even more magic than i could imagine. Resort was nice, beach very pleasant and great pool. Staff was very kind, helpful and always smiling. Food was also very great. Nothing négative to say!! :):) I spent 7 incredible days there!!

Paradisus = Paradise

Our one week stay at the Paradisus Resort was great. Front desk was great regarding service and their means to help. Check in was as expected a little rough, but they offered my family of four a free upgrade of one night at the Reserve which is definitely more for families with smaller children. The Reserve is very quiet, beautiful rooms and pool but remote from the rest of the resort. The grounds are exceptionally well kept by the workers that definitely work hard every day...beautiful job!! [... read more] Kelvi was our favourite at the lobby bar. We would end our nights there with a late night cap before taking the Golf cart back to our rooms. The guys at the main pool bar were also very friendly and entertaining. The staffs all around were very friendly and most understood English enough to make conversation. Need I say there was prevalent Time Share solicitation, employees who seemed to hustle by striking up conversations and if you weren't interested would walk off leaving you hanging in mid-sentence. Lacked a bit of day time entertainment, we would've enjoyed inclusive activities on the beach or at the pool although we did enjoy the themed nights held at different locations on the resort. The food was of exceptional quality, there was variety in the buffets plus many beautiful a al carte restaurants to choose from. BBQ night Wednesday was by far the best night. Tables and lights set up directly on the beach with live music and wait staff that kept the drinks flowing. Chef at Agua came out to address my daughter’s peanut allergy and then again which was very much appreciated and nice. The Gabi Buffet, Bar (Francisco) and parties there were our favourite. It was hard to find cabanas / shade at the pool area from people who would just leave towels to save spots for the day. The beach had better control on removing unused towels after certain time. The beach did have weeds along the edge of the sand which the workers tried their best every morning to rake up. Golf cart travel was necessary as the resort is pretty big, and the main lobby is a little ways off. The whole resort lay out is beautiful, we didn't mind exploring each path finding pretty Eco gardens. The Paradisus Punta Cana was like Paradise, overall a very clean, five-star deserving resort.

“First time in Dominican Republic... Good vacation but not †perfect‡!”

Our first time in Dominican Republic just ended! Me and my girlfriend have spent one week in Paradisus Punta Cana. In brief: The hotel is amazingly beautiful, there is a big management problem: "The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing", for some reason we found that the male staff are much friendlier than the femake staff, the fruits and vegetables are delicious, the beverages are tasty, the pools and beaches are beautiful, the casino is small, the outside of the resort is depres [... read more]sing: poor people and taxi drivers who charge you a lot for short distance driving. The first two days were annoying: The hotel was probably over booked so the front desk management put us in a luxury Reserve room for only one day. Seemed suspicious but we took it... The room was not clean!!! So annoying... after waiting the whole long day of flying and waiting in the July heat. The next day they moved us around to our original room but there was a huge problem with the front door. Apparently it was painted badly and couldn't be closed properly. At that point we were so mad and we demanded to speak to the manager. We got champagne to cool us down and only after two hours got a different room. There are many activities that you think that are included but you have to pay much more extra. We heard complaints that a couple booked a babysitter but the hotel screwed it up and charged them more. Finally, after losing two days, we started our vacation.

Nice resort.

The grounds are beautiful and vast with flowers, trees, lights and music at night. The room are comfortable and big. The cleaning services are a bit inconsistant: no face and hand cloths after the first day, 4 towels one day, 1 the next. Shampoo and soap were replenish only once. The beach is amazing:nice sand,no shell or rock. The pool is nice but not very big compared with other resorts. We weren't Royal so we didn't have access to the other pool. The big disappointment was the restaurant rese [... read more]rvations. Although it was saying unlimited a la carte dinners on the Trip Central website, they were giving us only 4 out of 7. That is something that I always check before choosing the resort. The rest of the time,we were supposed to go to the buffet which was not very good. My husband complained and they gave us another reservation to the Buffet in the Royal part which was better. The a la carte restaurants were mostly good, depending on what you order. There is no sport bar with pool tables which we really like to spend time usually. The ping pong tables are outside and damaged. There are bicycles everywhere which is nice and shuttle trains to go around the resort. 30 minutes from the airport with direct transfer. No snorkeling (no reefs) in front of the resort.

Loved it!!!

Absolutely loved this resort and can't wait to go back! We had a basic room (emerald club luxury junior suite) and it had everything we needed and close to the beach. From the food to the beach, everything was perfect!

Paradisus at its best!

Perfect holiday at a perfect resort! Best beachfront on Bavaro Beach. Emerald Class (Air Transat) included outdoor jacuzzi tub! Gabi Beach bar, day and night was awesome - especially at night with the lit up tub chairs and tables - "Toes in the Sand"!!!

Beautiful Resort

This was our second visit to Paradisus Punta Cana. Last year (2015) we visited at the same time of year. It was excellent, and so we decided to return. This year however, we ran into some disappointments. There have been some changes, some of which are puzzling. For example, there are some cabanas directly in front of the Gabi Beach Bar and buffet restaurant. Last year, they were free to use. This year however, my husband and I rested on one on our first day, and before too long, a woman approa [... read more]ched us and informed us that they were now being rented to the tune of $50 U.S, per day!!! We were first of all embarrassed, as there were no signs on them indicating such a thing; and then angry at the gall of the management to charge their patrons for the use of a cabana, when the cost of a week at their resort is already at the high end of the scale. Secondly, last year, we were able to call anytime to get a dinner reservation at a reasonable time at any of the A La Carte's, even on the same day. This year, we spent 20 minutes on the phone trying to get dinner at a reasonable time, and for the entire week of our stay, we could only get 6 or 6:30, or 9-9:30 reservations and some of the restaurants we could not get into at all. This was frustrating, but what was even more frustrating was the fact that when we looked into these same restaurants at the dinner hour that we would have preferred, in every case, they were less than half filled with patrons. This same thing happened to friends that we met during our stay and they even approached the restaurants in some instance to try and get in, but they were denied. Also missing was any sort of live entertainment inside the restaurants. At least that was our experience, however, we also had less than prime time reservations. Thirdly, last year, every afternoon at 4 p.m., at the Gabi Beach Bar, there was a D.J. there playing some great music while waiters took around trays of champagne, cool wet towels and bowls of hot nuts to snack on. At the same time, women from YHI Spa were there offering free five minute neck massages with their potable massage chairs, or free hand massages. This year, there was none of that that we saw, and we were often in that area at that same time of day. All of these complaints would be things that, had we not gone there last year, we would not have noticed as being different, However, when you return to a resort based on many of these perks that were offered and those things have changed in a negative way, it taints your opinion and affects your experience making it more disappointing than exhilarating. On a positive note, we were given a beautiful room and the resort itself is breathtaking. It is very large and the lighting is romantic and gives an intimate feel. In addition, there is always beautiful music everywhere along the walkways through hidden outdoor speakers. The grounds are kept immaculate and are always being tended. The lobby is stunning and at night it is lit with hundreds of tea lights and pillar candles which is impressive, as anyone who burns candles would know that they are labour intensive. There are many gorgeous places all over the vast lobby to sit and relax with a cocktail and every night there is live music offered and a great place to dance. The staff for the most part are very friendly and polite, and will do their best to accommodate your needs. The beach is perfect with powdery white sand and always a fresh breeze and the swimming is safe and fun with big surf and shallow waters. There are abundant beach chairs available and always lots of fresh dry towels for which they have drop containers available on the beach when you are finished with them for the day. This is refreshing for any of you who have endured the towel obsession in Cuba. Those who have, know what I am talking about. For those looking for a more active vacation, there did not seem to be many fun activities going on during the day, but I would definitely recommend this resort for couples who are looking for romance and rest, or to anyone looking for a gorgeous place to enjoy a tropical break.

Amazing Time

Had a fabulous time and would definitely go back. Upon our arrival we were welcomed with a cold drink and towel. Check-in was fast and we were off to our room in no time. Since we arrived late in the afternoon we didn’t have time to enjoy the pool, but we made up for it for the rest of our 1 week stay. The rooms are broken down into 2 level buildings with 4 rooms per floor. We stayed on the first floor near the pool. The bathroom has a large double shower. We did have a problem with the water  [... read more]temperature in the shower…it was either hot or cold. The room has a 2 step walk down to an area with couch, chair, coffee table, bar fridge and desk. The beds were very comfortable. Very few English channels on the TV but then we didn’t spend very much time in our room. This property is huge and great for people who like to walk and explore. The grounds are impeccable and well maintained with very lush palm trees and other plants. Workers are constantly working on the grounds. The beach is breathtaking, you can walk for miles in white sand. We took advantage of the gym and used the facilities most mornings. The yoga room wasn’t very good as the air was damp so the floor and mats were very slippery. They need to invest in better mats. Big shout out to Argenis and Pedro for making the best Hummingbirds drinks at the swim up pool bar. The pool is huge but separated into different sections so adults can hang out by the swim up and children can swim in a separate area. The poolside grill was not very good. They served hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets and fries. The food sat under heaters but it was usually cold. I like the idea where you didn’t have to carry a towel card. Bins were all over the place where you discarded your used towel and picked up a clean one at the towel station. I want to thank the entertainment team Noel and Jordan for getting us involved with activities in the pool. We participated in yoga, aerobics, paddling and the eco bikes. They also made our last night enjoyable dancing at the Gabi beach party. They have a large variety of food with 2 buffets and 9 a la carte restaurants. The food was very good. The watermelon and pineapple was the best I’ve had in a long time. We’re counting the days for returning next year. I recommend this resort to anyone that wants to have a really great vacation.

Good resort

Restaurants were below par for breakfast and lunch. Buffet style. However omlettes were made to order in the morning. No fresh sandwiches offered for lunch or late afternoon. Hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries at pool area bar under heaters in late afternoon. The restaurants for evening dining were average to slightly above average. Entertainment was very good in main lobby offering local talent. Entertainment near the beach in the evening I felt was more for the staff's enjoyment as I looked [... read more] around and saw families and mature couples gather and look somewhat perplexed. The Spa was excellent. Great service. The layout of the resort was conducive to relaxation, spacious and inviting. The front desk staff as well as the concierge professional and extremely helpful. Location on the beach wonderful with security in sight but not obtrusive. Shopping in the resort was minimal but the boutique was excellent serving typical tourist T-shirts but a few higher end products. The golf course was a great and welcome change from the typical resort style, perfectly manicured, overly expensive and non-challenging round. Loved all the three 9's offered. Staff professional. I've saved the best for last....the Passion restaurant was beyond exceptional. The dining experience here was the hightlight of the trip.

Great vacation!

Spotless grounds, friendly staff, beautiful rooms, excellent food, WiFi throughout the resort! Sitting areas in bar, lounge and lobby very uncomfortable. No tables in pool and beach areas for drinks. Walkways very slippery when wet. No jacuzzi in pool area only tub on balcony

Very nice resort!

The resort was really nice and the food was pretty good. Recommend you reserve the restaurants as soon a you arrive. We did have an issue with he air conditioner leaking water on the floor. The beach was much nicer than some resorts in that location.

Amazing report + staff = amazing vacation for us!

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to all staff at Paradisus Punta Cana that made our trip unforgettable! Our stay was definitely a "paradise" as the name of the report is and for good reason. We were impressed with the friendliness, attentiveness of the staff as well as the amenities offered. We really cannot find one thing that we did not like. Everything and everyone contributed to us having an amazing time and wedding anniversary. We will definitely come back! Already some of our friends ar [... read more]e looking to vacation there based on our experience. In particular, we would like to recognize the following staff for their impressive service that really made a great contribution to our stay there: Animacion team: Francis Medina (Happy Face), Josiah Inirio, Jhordan Rosario, Luis Florian, Raynold Tamayo, Noel Vasquez, Anthony Contrera, Favio Mena, and Julito Beriguete. Gabi Beach Hostess: Jenrry Mateo, Mallelin Escasuller, Anyelina Gomez.

Great Resort

Resort is very clean and most of the staff extremely friendly. Rooms are somewhat dated but very clean and functional. If you're going on a trip to stay in your room you're wasting your time. Only place on the strip that used bulldozers to clean up the beach of the unusually high level of seaweed. Most other places used manual labour and took 3 days to get it done. All the restaurants we visited had great food but some of the reservation restaurants could offer a little more variety and bigger p [... read more]lates. Some of the staff at the NAOS restaurant were more than willing to make you food even at 3 am and one time prepared 5 pizzas for my son and his friends. A big shout out to Anthony Contraras who made things lively and fun even after 13 straight hours of work.

Peel me a grape resort!

Every inch of this resort is spectacular. The people are wonderful, service over the top, and food truly wonderful. The beach is like something out of a movie and Royal Service Ocean View is the ONLY way to go!