Vik Hotel Cayena Beach: Superb resort

This resort offered everything: very comfortable room with an ocean view from the balcony; excellent food at the restaurant for Cayena Beach guests only; separate beach area for Cayena Beach guests; lots of comfortable seats around the private pool, and bar. The resort was also very close to the beautiful sandy beach, with lots of trees at the edge of the property line. The staff was very friendly and accommodating.

Hyatt Vivid Punta Cana: Amazing stay with family

We had a wonderful stay. The beach is beautiful, the pools were refreshing and always plenty of chairs and umbrellas. The kids pool was nice and shallow for the kids. The buffet was fabulous so much variety. Coco cafe was nice spent each evening there after dinner. The Italian restaurant was good but service was very slow. The japanese restaurant was delicious and entertaining. The french restaurant was extremely slow, we left after 1.5 hrs as we still hadn't had our full meal yet. The r [... read more]ooms are very dated and there is no storage to put away your clothes, not a big fan of living out of suitcases. The washroom layout very poor, and floor was always soaked after shower as there is no closing door on the shower. Do not fall for the Ultimate vacation club, waste of 3.5 hrs was disappointed to have wasted that time. Overall amazing experience and would definitely return. But next time we would upgrade to Diamond club, we stayed in regular room but for the extra I think it would be worth the upgrade. High recommend this hotel.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Awesome resort

Everything was great at this resort..beautiful beaches and the grounds are well maintained. There are plenty of restaurants and the buffets ...well there is everything ...including fruit loops . No one can say they can't find something to eat. They have assorted dishes and meats, fruit, breads.ect.. The staff at the resort are the most friendly that I've ever met at a resort.They sing and dance almost always which gives you this welcome happy feeling. Rooms are spacious, cleaned daily. Cement  [... read more]around pools and walkways are cleaned daily with bleach and water. There are 3 large pools, one has a pirates ship, slides for the kids, they also have a huge castle which is a daycare centre. There is also a casino, meringue hall Different shows nightly and another hall that has a Micheal Jackson performance. I definitely would go back to this resort. This resort is super clean and friendly.

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: peaceful elegance

This is a beautiful property. The grounds are extremely well kept. Food is good but not exceptional. All specialty restaurants do not need reservations. Some bartenders are not great but the good ones are around. We really enjoyed this vacation and would return.

Vista Sol Punta Cana: Dominican Vista Sol Review from a Cuba Fan: A Honest Review & Comparison

Typically my husband and myself with a medium to large group hale the island of Cuba for our winter getaway and pick a different resort every year. We have visited various resorts in Cayo Coco, Holguin and one in Santa Clara. For the 2017 holiday, six of us (three couples) decided to try the Dominican, more specifically, the Vista Sol Punta Cana as this resort was very reasonably priced as compared to other ones in Punta Cana. We flew out of Waterloo Regional Airport (the name is larger than  [... read more]the airport-lol) as we live locally. Sunwing flys to Punta Cana on Thursdays from this airport - a tad inconvenient choice of day but SO close and wonderful to bypass Toronto airport hassles. Big Bonus especially when you arrive back home. After at two hour delay (it was a connector from Sudbury) we were finally boarded on our plane and off we went. Smooth flight and arrival to a very beautiful thatched roof Punta Cana airport. A tad disorganized flight as Sunwing was without the proper papers aboard to go through Punta Cana arrival so it was a scramble once we got inside to get a form, a pen and either table of floor space to sit and fill them out. Typical cattle line to get through, pay arrival tax ($10US) and out the other end.(Quick note: It is a $20US departure tax when you leave for home).1st cold beer and shuttle to resort within 20 minutes - awesome. To continue re the airport (jumping ahead to our return home), we were in a 2 hour line just to check our luggage, by the time we got through everything else we were boarding our plane for home. Beautiful airport but Sunwing very non-efficient and disorganised to have three flights trying to leave at the same time. Give me Cuba - funny little airports, but far more efficient. Arrival rather unshattering (no greet drink or "welcome" - this is the 1st thing we noticed not the same as Cuba arrivals). Went through reception quickly, no smiles or greetings at all. Don't get me wrong, I am not needy or a critical person, it just felt kinda "blah". Three swim-up rooms booked for each of our party (3 couples), one room not available for our friends so they were to come back next day to change. This can happen, but no apology for any inconvenience given. Rooms were great, love the pool right by our stone patio. Each side of the patio space had somewhat spanish inspired stucco divider wall with large planted green palm. Very nice.Were they any better than Cuban rooms? - I would say they were same caliber as 4 star Cuban but the pool proximity put it over the top. (By the way, its $10US for the safe key). Dont know about you, but we go south in the winter for the beach as the number one priority. This did not disappoint. A walk down really lovely maintained grounds landed you right onto the sand. Continue walking by the activity areas (volleyball, darts, bocchi ball etc) placed in and around 40ft tall palms for the next 100 ft when finally, 'cleared' to waters edge. Very tropical feel however, when seeking full sun took a few moves in the afternoon as these palms cast dappled shadows everywhere. My preference? - palapas, then sun and shade seekers can still sit together. My best reference in Cuban experience would be the lovely super wide beach with palapas and the odd beach tree at the Rio de Lunas Y Mares in Holguin. One of the best beaches on the island. Also (back to the Vista Sol), only a short walk at the oceans edge in to a ridge of sand and then it went deeply down to mid chest. We are used to Cuban shallow entry with clear view of the bottom so you can sit on a dune or in shallow waters. My preference is a typical Cuban entry. Ok, now for the vendors. NOT used to this - the hotel commissions staff to wander among the beach bathers to sell excursions (this is fine) BUT the locals do it too although they have to adhere to closer to the waters edge but it is constant. As expected then, when you wander to the left of this resort (facing the ocean) you are harranged by locals every minute as we walked to buy from their beach shops which are pretty much on the waters edge and they look it as they are eroded and crumbled for the most part. This would actually make a neat painting for colours, shapes and cultural visual purposes, but not what I want on a vacay beach stroll. None of this happens anywhere in Cuba. Bottom line - prefer Cuban beach over Dominican beach. We went to the main pool to check out the Animacion games, always fun at the end of a beach day. Lots of sun there as the palm shadows were long at beach (sun sets behind the resort, not on the ocean horizon)They had one activity that took almost an hour so we were not impressed even though one of our friends was in it (he always does this everywhere - a really good sport) Even he decided just to get up and leave. So we did not return to this pool again, after all we had our own back at the rooms with a lovely bar!The pool bars close at 6:00 including the bar where the swim up rooms are but the bartender would not serve my husband at 5:45 as she had closed everything. She told us to go elsewhere and even rolled her eyes. There's a word for her and it starts with a "b". We actually witnessed her pouring jugs of beer for the workers who stopped by her bar and discreetly put in their wheelbarrows only to return again. Nice job if you can get it but treat your patrons with respect please.Again I refer to the attitude and level of service from the staff as being below par. We encountered this also with our room service. We tipped our maid $20 US the 1st morning to ensure good service with a good tip for the week? Well, that day, this worked well as we got plenty of bottled water, pouches of coffee for the coffee maker and 6 beers in the fridge. "Awesome", we said, but the room was not cleaned for the next two days. Honestly, we felt ripped off and a little silly for tipping at all. Again - NOT an experience in Cuba. Our friends did not get a swim up room (remember them, no room as booked the 1st day so they had to come back the next morning) so they were placed in an oceanview room at no extra charge so that was actually really great for them. Our other friends (in the swim up rooms) had a large leak from their bathroom ceiling for three days in a row, maintenance came to fix it quickly each day, but it was not fixed properly so they went to the reception on the third night and had management come out to their room and all agreed that this was not good and promised a new room in the morning. Next day, you know it, no room available BUT they too were reassigned to an oceanview room with our other friends. On we go. Our toilet stopped working and finally got a maintenance guy with a plunger 6 hours later. Actually it was pretty funny trying to get someone to understand the issue. I had a Spanish-English pocket dictionary, finally found the word and went running in my PJs along the pool edge at 8:00 am chasing the senorita with the clipboard. A few hand gestures later, everyone understood and had a good laugh. Food - FABULOUS! I have a few food allergy issues and ate extremely well as did everyone else. The buffet wasn't huge but the open layout was very nice and the food choices were great. The food is far better than Cuban fare for sure. It is pretty much self serve for drinks (coffee/expresso automated machines that also gave you choices of tea) but I gotta say, their house wines were pretty nasty. So what our friends did was buy a few inexpensive bottles from one of the resort stores and drank that instead.) There is also a cigar and gift shop on premisis with typical fare. We also went to the Italian a la Carte. This was delicious! Our four friends also went to the Mexican and thoroughtly enjoyed it too. A Plus. Entertainment was lacking. No lobby entertainment and I really like that in Cuba. A typical one of our days is a little breakfast, into suits, hit the beach all day, a little poolside at 4:00, back to the room, shower and then go to Lobby for drinks and entertainment before the buffet. Sadly missing. The whole "festive island" feel was missing for us. Excursions? Normally we don't bother but four of us bought the doon buggy excursion from one of the hotel reps on the beach and bargained it down $20US. If you don't ask, you don't get and always worth a try. We did this on pretty much a monsoon rain day and it was hilarious!! Covered in splattered mud, I mean, what can you do but just give into it and enjoy? Visited a beautiful ocean beach (couldn't swim as bad undertoe in storm) and a 30ft deep swimming hole 30ft down in a cave - very cool. We returned to the resort and walked through the lobby with lots of questioning looks like, "what the heck happened to you?" Actually a phenominal day. It rained for the next two days which was unfortunate but what can you do? Last day and the sun came out which was so beautiful. Attended a foam party in the pool (Wednesday late afternoons) which was really fun, we had a blast. Im done, hope this helps a bit. Our consensus as a group of six (three couples) was back to Cuba. Maybe spend the same money ($1500US each) and go to a higher end Cuban resort for next round. The people and beaches far outweigh the amenities and the food for me. As far as the Domincan goes, this was just our first trip there, I do understand that spending more money would likely make a difference. Was this resort good value, yeah, I think so for this island but as a comparison to most Canadians other island destination, I prefer Cuba. I hope it remains as it is even with the current allowable entrance of our neighbours south of the 49th parallel. Have a great holiday wherever you go!!!

Occidental Punta Cana: Had a good time but would not return or recommend

The hotel is nice enough , pools great, beach beautiful. How ever it lacks decent staff. There were a few who were really good but not many. Our maid service was terrible, from not cleaning room one day , we had no towels or water one day. Had two beer in fridge day we arrived and never had more. Minor i know but little things like this is reasons we would not recommend . Bar at beach was always lined right up , took forever to get a drink. Buffet was typical , wouldnt go hungrey.

Grand Sirenis Tropical Suites: Nice Resort

I found the hotel management very poor Their like of interested in providing people with all the information when registering (IE beach towels internet access) was non existent. We were three days in before we saw any beer in our fridge and only got that after we went asking. We were also suppose to get 3 ala cart meals we didn't any. We were told upon arrival that all ala cart restaurants were booked. I believe that unless you sat through their sales pitches you were not getting them. These we [... read more]re common complaints from most people we talked to. We heard of a case of food poisoning that cost the patient over $1000.00. Another couple that were on the same flight the women twisted her ankle getting off the bus and they received little or not assistance from management. When they asked one of the cart drivers if they would give her ride back to their room they were told members only. We found restaurant and bar staff excellent and very friendly

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Rated properly at 4 1/2 stars

Grounds are beautiful as is most of the hotel, grounds and beach. Rooms are showing a bit of wear and tear. We had booked the Majestic Colonial Junior Suite with Jacuzzi. When we arrived we were told we were being upgraded because the resort thought we would like another room more than the one they had assigned us but we would not be in the Colonial section but would have use of all the benefits. We were also given a $200 credit. Actually the resort had over booked the Colonial Section we f [... read more]ound out later. The room we got was very noisy and not very nice. When we complained we were moved to a better room. Not at all impressed with the Le Gourmet restaurant. Buffet was the best we have seen and the Seafood and Steak restaurants were good. The Japanese restaurant requires you to scream and yell under the direction of the shelf. Patrons should be advised of this before they book. Activities on the beach and at the pool are very loud ..not sure why...people running them blast the sound beyond requirements even for us that like loud music. It was very difficult to find quiet. The Colonial pool were very noisy because of wedding parties. Staff were amazing and extremely helpful. Not sure I would return for the money paid.

Sunscape Bavaro Beach: A really nice resort

We travelled here on Feb.11-21st, 2017. There were some mixed reviews but you can't please everyone. This is a lovely resort that was re-opened by Sunscape in December 2016. Apparently this area was hit be a hurricane in October and the beach has definitely suffered. They have these huge geotobes, which are eyesores, to prevent further erosion but it is fine to swim just not pretty for pictures. However, if you walk either way 2 minutes and the beaches are stunning. They don't allow you t [... read more]o reserve chairs before 8:00 a.m. and if you do they take your things to lost and found - gotta love that. You really don't have to reserve chairs as there are plenty. The Sunscape Bavaro Beach and The Sunscape Dominican Beach are on the same property so there are chairs are all over the place. Rooms: We loved our room - king bed Housekeeping: Excellent Food: My husband really enjoyed the food but I actually became very ill 3 days in. I had some caesar salad at the steakhouse and I think that was the culprit. I never eat lettuce or uncooked veggies when in any of these countries but I made a mistake. So, most of my time was spent on the balcony. I had to make a trip to the medical clinic and unfortunately had to go to the hospital to get IV fluids and blood work and turned out to have a bacterial infection/travellers diarrhea. The hotel actually sent someone from the hotel with us and she waited till we were done and went back with us. Her name was Patricia and I have to give a shout out to her. So it was a very expensive day for us and made me sick to think we had spent good money and I couldn't enjoy anything but the last day. A word to anyone booking in these countries - brush your teeth with the bottled water even though they tell you it is okay to brush your teeth with the tap water. I was told by the physician at the hospital that you should always brush your teeth with the bottled water. I would also suggest that people come with antibiotics packed in there luggage as a preventative measure. I had a co-worker that also just came back from another spot in the Dominican and she took Dukarol and she still got sick on her last day but she started the antibiotics right away. I have to say the people at this resort really do care that there guests enjoy. i was even offered room service at no charge because I was so unwell. However, I was feeling 99.9 percent better so that I could enjoy my last day on the beach. Thank God it didn't rain that day as out of the 10 days we had four days of rain. We purchased the wifi for the week and then had to renew another three days. The prices change with whomever you speak with which I thought was kind of odd. My husband spoke to one guy and he gave a price so we waited till our regular guy was back on the desk and he gave us a better deal. I believe it was 80.00 for the week and it was really good. It even worked on the beach. Face Time was not that great but that takes up more bandwidth but speed wise for email it was great. Building 11 is the best. Anything for rooms 11211 and higher are the best as you are close enough to the lobby but not too close. If we went back there we would request this area for sure. They have a 24 hour coffee bar and that was a godsend for me. You can get get all kinds of specialty coffees, Twinning tea and some chocolates and sweet and the staff are super sweet. The only bad thing about this hotel was that in the lobby, they had these ridiculous bean bag chairs. Anyone 50 plus who got in one of those, never got out without making a total fool of themselves. They definitely need to get rid of those. Maybe they had them when it was another hotel. The beach towel service was fabulous. They were open at 8:00 and you didn't need a ticket. Before I forget, you also didn't need armbands - wonderful. A la carte restaurants - You didn't need reservations. However if you were not there by 6:15 p.m. you would have a two hour wait. Buffets - The Sunnyside Grill was by the beach and they would have a big paella going. It was smaller than the main buffet but outside they were grilling burgers and sausage. My husband had a burger almost every day and enjoyed it. They also had a pizza bar by the main pools and it was constantly busy. It looked good. I think this is it. I would go back here but a little scared at the moment to do that. Maybe next year.

Grand Sirenis Tropical Suites: Such Great Service!

First time at this resort but it won't be the last. Every single employee at this resort was all about customer satisfaction and did it with a smile. The grounds were kept immaculately and were absolutely stunning. Our room was a little outdated but still it was clean, comfortable and spacious. The layout of the resort was great, it was a five minute walk to the beach/pools or a five minute walk to the main lobby/buffets. Speaking of food, I gained ten pounds that week and as a very picky ea [... read more]ter that is hard to do! There was was always something to eat and the quality was much better than most places I have been. Fresh fruits, meats, bread, and lots of delicious desserts made it hard to go hungry. I can't wait to go back soon! I almost stayed another week. Still dreaming of my return!

Bahia Principe Explore Turquesa: Huge resort but very clean

Great resort, very clean and tidy. No large crowds and we always managed to find pool/beach chairs. The Japanese ala carte is the best by far, make sure you don't miss that one. I would recommend!

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Wouild go back!!!

Starting with Melanie from trip central she did everything she could to accommodate all 8 of us. This trip was the best ever. The hotel was absolutely beautiful and very clean The Food was amazing everything including steak! There was nothing missing even ketchup. All the staff were friendly and the beach was wonderful and warm, pool area was well looked after and they even had free sushi a the pool bar some days.

Sunscape Dominican Beach: Amazing Resort! Don't listen to the negative reviews ;)

We just returned from the Sunscape Dominican Beach Resort, Punta Cana. We stayed from February 14, 2017 to February 21, 2017. We have NO complaints about the resort. Check-in was a little slow, but other than that, the week was wonderful. The grounds are beautiful and kept immaculate. The rooms were spacious, modern and clean. The bathrooms were modern with big walk-in showers with rain shower faucets. We never seen one bug the entire week - no ants, no cockroaches, nothing. There were a [... read more] few mosquitos, but that's normal and bug spray kept them at bay. There was always a big variety at the buffet restaurant(s) and easy to get snacks or a quick lunch - the pizza shop and burgers and hotdogs on the beach were great. We also ate at the grill by the pool some days for lunch. The beach has eroded some from the storms. but nothing major to stop you from enjoying the water. The ocean was warm and if you walked a little to the left or to the right of the main area of the beach, the beach was flat and beautiful. The staff were friendly and service was great. We always enjoyed our cappuccino in the Coco Café after dinner that also offered some very yummy deserts. Our rooms were kept very clean and the bar fridge stocked daily. Would definitely recommend this resort and will definitely going back. No one had stomach issues. The hotel supplied plenty of bottled water for you to drink in your room and to brush your teeth. The restaurants and beach bars made drinks, ice, etc. from bottled water.

Grand Sirenis Tropical Suites: Sirenis Tropical Suites

Overall good hotel, dated a little,very spread out so lots of walking! Very large pool that mostly is 6.5' deep, in need of some repair came across multiple places that were missing tiles, lots of entertainment from the staff everyday,beach was good, no shells, good selection of a la carte, main buffet never let us down,

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Good Resort for Families

New resort with good rooms. Friendly staff. Good food and services. The only inconvenience is that is around of 5 to 10 min walk from the beach. Esmeralda should be opened back to families considering that on the site are other adults only resorts to provide an option for the families with kids to be closer to the beach.

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Just a nice looking resort, not much else.

Well, we just got back from the Chic Punta Cana........ The review we read before booking the trip is way over the top of what we actually experienced. First disappointment was where were the waterslides I saw on the website! You need to be a Diamond Club member and the shuttle takes you there. That "perk" should never have been displayed. The same goes for the Mermaid pool! Need to be a DIAMOND CLUB MEMBER! Where are the fancy looking desserts? Probably at the other restaurant you need to pay [... read more] to get in. So much for ALL INCLUSIVE! Was there anything good? Not crowded, no KIDS, lots of loungers, activities put on by staff to engage vacationers. All staff members were super in looking after our needs. Noticed, I did not mention the food, I really don't want to talk about it, had way better for a lot less. The Luxury room is as pictured, very clean, bright and the bed was very comfortable for a good night sleep. Just a day before leaving, our butler told us we can get the Diamond Club next time we come for free. All we need to do is listen to the presentation. So, Ok we start walking towards the Travel Smart office, I said to the butler (suddenly he's a salesman) I've already been there, its a TIME SHARE. We sit down and the "Pit Bull" tries to get us to buy. He lost. Be careful, these type of people can cost you your life's savings. I'm surprised the Royalton name was associated with this "scam" Weather was good for most part, rain in the morning then HOT! The beach was clean, but the surf's to big for safe swimming. The pools were cleaned daily, but a bit chilly in the morning, until later the afternoon when the sun warmed the water then people ventured into the pool.

Paradisus Punta Cana: Paradisus is Paradise!

The grounds are absolutely breath taking with the palm trees, tropical plants, throughout and the flamingos in the lobby. The junior suite was very clean, big and the maids always provided fresh towels. At the buffets the food was tasteful but was just warm. Needs improvement for hot foods. Booking ala carte dinner reservations needs also improvement as to when selecting restaurants letting u know right then if available and not 2 days later also being booked for restaurants that weren't se [... read more]lected. Otherwise the Paradisus, Punta Cana is a beautiful resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Big resort

We have been to other Bahia resorts and they are big but this one is much larger. We were disappointed by staffs lack of interaction or sense of urgency in some situations. Overall it was clean considering how busy the resort was. It could use an update in the Amber green resort where we stayed. There are a lot of amenities but getting to and from them to the beach was arrugas.Only certain trams ran on one side which meant you had to walk or wait for a different tram. It was very crowded wi [... read more]th loungers making it difficult to navigate the beach area. Food was good,but service could be better.

Grand Sirenis Tropical Suites: Nice resort, quite large

Quite a nice resort. Main lobby was quite large, open concept, with two large bars. Two large buffet dining rooms and several a la carte restaurants. While we were there a few of the a la cartes were being repaired/re-roofed, others just were closed. The two we went to were quite good though. The buffets' food was fairly good, nothing to rave about but everything was edible. Some of the dishes were a little salty for my tastes but there was nothing that turned me right off. Every night wa [... read more]s a different theme night like "Americana", "Asian", or "Spanish" which led to some nice variety. Rooms were decent and cleaned well. We had a problem with our sink leaking but they fixed it right away. Water pressure and temperature were good. Beds were comfortable, air conditioned, had a little 'living room' and a balcony. Theres only one pool but it's quite large and long, sub divided into 4 areas with two swim up bars, leaving quite a bit of space for lots of people. The beach was nice, however on both sides of the resort there is no neighbors, so basically once you leave the property you are on your own security wise. Was never an issue other than locals trying to sell you stuff, though. The staff was very good about cleaning and clearing the beach, plenty of loungers and hutches to relax under. There is a long walkway leading from the main building down to the beach, on both sides of this walkway are where the guest buildings are. Very well manicured and maintained, lots of interesting features. Very pretty walk. Twice while we were there vendor stalls were setup along the first part of this walkway selling various things from rum and tobacco to jewlery and clothing. Would have been fine except the vendors can be quite pushy and aggressive in their sales technique, but that's just the Dominican apparently. You just have to be firm in your "no thanks, not interested" and not get sucked in. Plenty of off site excursions being sold, though I didn't go on any of them. Staff was friendly and helpful. All in all a fairly nice resort, no major complaints.

Occidental Punta Cana: so so...

We arrived at 1pm and as check in time was not until 3pm, we were advised to come back at that time and our room would be ready. We went back to reception about 3:30pm and our room was not ready at that time. We went back again at 4pm at 4:30pm at 5:00pm, etc.- many people were arriving and being checked in as the afternoon progressed. At 5:30pm we still DID NOT have our room. Finally we were told it was ready. The bellhop loaded our luggage and we went to our "readied" room. When we arrive [... read more]d the room had not even been touched. We left our luggage there and went back to reception where we were informed that our room had been given to someone else in error and they had another room for us. Our luggage was still in that room. So, they finally cleaned it. Sometime after 6pm we were in our room. It wasn't long before we discovered that the air conditioning was not working. We informed our Transat Agent who guaranteed us that it was be fixed ASAP. Nothing happened at all. For 3 days we informed our agent and the staff at reception. There was a huge communication problem as to who was responsible for informing the maintenance staff regarding the air conditioning. Finally, after 3 days of no air conditioning and no possibility of it being repaired, we were moved to another room in a different building. Other travellers experienced far worse problems, including sewage backups and water leaking into closets from the rooms above them. This would be an awesome resort if our transat agent would have actually taken the problems seriously and communicated with the hotel that there were issues to be addressed.