Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Please don't go here..very bad experience!

Please do not go to this resort!!: -room wasn't ready until 6pm that night..wasted our whole first day -very poor speaking English, to the point of you having to do actions to try to describe something -main pool never cleaned until our last day -beach was dirty and only cleaned halfway through the day - service was terrible to say the least; at times had to get up and get our own cutlery -many people got up complained and then left restaurants because of the service...waited 2 hours mos [... read more]t nights to even get out appetizer -managers didn't seem to care or didn't understand you - had to pay $20USD for lobster at the "lobster restaurant"...which we didn't know until we got there (usually "all inclusive" means free)..lobster was rotten and they wouldn't reimburse us -room only cleaned 3 times all week; the vents leaked water all over our floor and we paid extra for a "VIP room" - had to ASK for clean towels to our room I've been to over 15 resorts over the years ranging from 3.5-5 star, and this was by far the worst experience I've ever had...please listen to the reviews and do not book this resort!!!

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Poor Service. Go Somewhere Else.

Overall, my stay at the Grand Bahia Principe was less than I expected. Unfortunately due to heavy rainfall, my room had a leak coming from the hallway panels. I called the front desk for assistance. When someone came to my room to check the leak, the employee told me to call another service/facility. This did not solve the problem, nor the leak. I asked her if she could call the specific service/facility that would solve the leak as she knows the facilities best here. She then asked me to call t [... read more]he ice/mini bar service phone line. I did not understand how they could help to solve the leak. Asking her once again for her assistance, she called the specific service/facility and within thirty minutes, an employee arrived to my room and stopped the leak. With this, throughout my stay, the phone in the room (20210) would work on and off as it would not have a dial tone or be able to connect any call to the front desk or to another room properly. I went to the front desk and explained this problem about the phone however no one came by to check the phone. The phone continued to not work properly throughout the week. The day before my departure, I went to the front desk and explained that the phone was not working properly. Due to this, I asked the front desk employee to schedule a time when the bell boy can pick up my luggage from my room. I explained that I notified the front desk about the phone a couple of days ago. I asked the employee to schedule the bell boy to come to my room for the following day at 9am as I was leaving at 10am. He wrote down my request and said that he would call/schedule the bell boy. The following day, I had my luggage packed and ready. At 9:30am, no one had come to pick up my luggage. I was disappointed as I took time in advance to ask for assistance but, I did not receive it. I rolled my luggage down the stairs and all the way to the front desk from villa 20. A shuttle driver told me that I could not bring my luggage on to the shuttle car. I asked him if he can tell me where I can call for a bell boy or if he can use his walkie talkie to call a car for me but he did not. So, I went by myself. I gave in my room keys and told the front desk employee, she then re-directed me to guest services. I then had to explain what happened again to the guest services' employee and asked to speak to the general manager about this matter. The general manager met me at guest services. I had to explain for the third time that the phone did not work, thus I asked for front desk to call a bell boy for me in advance and that I waited thirty minutes for someone to help collect my luggage however, no one came by and I was late for my departure day. She re-instated that she would find out which employee made that "scheduled" appointment for me, however I was leaving the resort in less than one hour. I was very disappointed and with the general manager as she did not contact me about this problem or how she tried to solve the problem. Thank you, however due to this, I will not be returning to the Grand Bahia Principe and to its' other resort chains and I have told others about the disservice that I have experienced.

Melia Caribe Beach Resort: Great Christmas vacation with my amazing fiancee and wonderful friends

We had an amazing Christmas vacation at Melia caribe tropical, Punta Cana The Christmas Eve dinner was outstanding. The workers blew my mind with all the beautiful work they put into our evening. Perfect r&r week.

Grand Sirenis Tropical Suites: 4* Great resort for families. Water park was excellent.

Grounds were well maintained. Mid size hotel with good amenities. Waterpark is great for everyone of all ages. Food at the A la carte restauransts were excellent. ie: steak house, Jade restaurant, Route 66 . Buffet restaurants were OK. Always found food that was to our taste. Eddie and Alexandra from the buffet restaurant (Tropicale side) offered amazing service. Julia from the spa at the beach gave fantastic relaxing massages. Thanks to Lucas from the hotel for organizing. Great service fr [... read more]om the spa staff. A couple of pet peeves, got sick of the concierges tried to book us into their timeshare appointments. Booking the A la carte restaurants are a challenge. Annoying. A lot of Russians at this hotel. I love meeting people from other countries but I didn't find the Russians to be overly friendly. Also annoying when they consistently cut the lines at the restaurants. Not at all the hotel's fault but travellers need to be aware of the environment this creates and types of guests that most likely will be at the hotel. Other guests were definitely not appreciating it and getting frustrated. Internet was solid and accessible everywhere for us.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Christmas at Bahia

Had a wonderful stay at Bahia Punta Cana over Christmas. My husband and I stayed there 10 years ago and we brought our 7 year old daughter on this trip. It has changed a lot in terms of more hotels, more restaurants, more pools, etc. However, we still found the same quality of service from wait staff, housekeeping, bartenders. My daughter loved the Scouts Club activities and the kids shows at night. This was our first time away for Christmas and we would definitely do it again. The Bahia d [... read more]ressed things up nicely on Christmas Eve and although it was a little busy, the gala dinner on Christmas Eve was amazing!

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Decent

Resort staff is great. Entertainers were very nice. Rooms were ok. A little dated. But you're not in your room a lot so not a big deal. The food was really good although the service could have been better. The windows buffet was a place where they could have used more staff to clear and set tables for the next group. Many times I sat there at empty tables waiting for cutlery and china. Reservations are required at the Japanese rest. We were there a week and did not get one. Book early. Our patio [... read more] doors in our room would not lock. They said they would send someone, no one ever showed. I am telling you the small things so as not to get your hopes up for perfection like we may get in North America. Set expectations a little lower and you will still have a great time as we did. Saying that, if I were to go back, I would try another location just to experience.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: AMAZING RESORT

Exquisite grounds, beautiful room, stunning view, amazing pool and beach areas, great food and venues, total paradise, very hospital staff all willing to help and accommodate you. Ambar Green very quite in the evening could use a wee bit more entertainment, life, action something to get their guests involved. Great daytime activities in pool area. If you are looking for a very relaxing vacation....this is your place. Stayed here over Christmas.....cannot say enough about it. BTW never saw or hea [... read more]rd from our butler the entire time we were there, guess this service was discontinued.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Great Beach

We stayed in recently renovated rooms , which were quite nice, had to pay $50 per night for the upgrade which was worth it for a family of four. Grounds were well kept, beach was awesome. Service at the bars were great, however you had to ask for the top shelf drinks such as vodka and rums, but they did have it. Biggest downfall was eating at the a la carte restaurants. You couldn't make reservations without showing up at 5:30...even then at the most popular restaurants you might wait in lin [... read more]e for 45 minutes to make a reservation and then they would inform you that it was full for the night. If you were a member of Palladium travel clubs or if you were in the Adults only section of the resort you could make a reservation. The result of this policy, with kids, we ended up going to the buffet 3 of the six nights...which was ....buffet. I didn't pay this kind of money to eat at buffet restaurants for dinner and for that reason, I wouldn't recommend this resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: BEAUTIFUL RESORT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My wife and I arrived Christmas day to join my brother and his family. The trip was really to celebrate my brothers 50th birthday on the 28th of December. This was the most beautiful resort in every way. Unfortunately, I didn't get to experience any of it. Our first night there I had a severe reaction to multiple mosquito bites all over my legs. I was prescribed antibiotics which helped. I spent most of our vacation in the room. I was feverish and had to avoid sun because it would only induce gr [... read more]eater swelling. I would leave the room to eat, that was it. Didn't get to walk the beach with my wife or make use of any of the beautiful pools. The people, the food, the resort were all great. I just wish we could have a do over. The last time We went to an all inclusive was ten years ago. I will definitely be recommending this amazing resort to everyone.👍🏻

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: 10 out of 10 can not reccomend!

First I'll just say I've reviewed a lot of places I have stayed and this is the FIRST time I've ever written a bad review. Previous to going to BE LIVE I read the reviews which were mostly bad but I thought ok take them with a grain of salt....but we experienced every bad thing that had been previously mentioned by other travelers. PLEASE do not book here to BE LIVE COLLECTIONS and if you already have try your best to change resorts it is not worth the money or the headache. SERVICE: The  [... read more]service at BE LIVE is terrible...and I feel badly saying that because we did have a few servers in VIP who really worked hard for us but for the most part absolute garbage from start to finish. First off no one speaks any English and I'm not expecting English majors here or anything but that was the biggest issue if you had a problem or concern you weren't even able to convey it properly as no one understood each other. We found our selves having meals without cutlery, cups, water... anything really lol Because service at BE LIVE just was non existent we found ourselves getting up and getting what we needed or serving ourselves, which we did on numerous occasions. The bar's favourite word was "no" can I get a beer? "no" can I get a mojito? "no" ok then what CAN I have? I could get a certain drink and 10 minutes later when I go up for another they wouldn't be able to make it for me? very confusing. Some staff were straight up rude and gave you dirty looks or just neglected you. I'm not sure if it was because it was Christmas break and was a busy time that they were understaffed? My thought was that this resort is very dead every other time of year so when it cames to high season they just couldn't keep up.....orrr not and they just suck year round. The president of BE LIVE and his entire family was at the resort this week and we found we were always coming second to them which makes sense...but we'd be sitting at an a la cart being our typical ignored and then the owner and family would walk in and the waiters would be running them drinks and food, we didn't even know the staff could move that quickly! they certainly didn't for us...but on their way by with that water...could we maybe get some? I know I'm going on and on about service I'm almost done, This is my MAIN ISSUE right here: Second last day I ordered lobster at an a la cart, which isn't included so I had to pay for it and it was rotten...I know we've read this in other reviews but I was hoping for the best, but nope unfortunately rotten! Absolutely disgusting! however I didn't notice until half a tail was devoured because it was smothered in cheese and tomato chunks to cover it up, needless to say I was very ill. My boyfriend reported it to the reception desk to have it waved from our bill, clearly we aren't going to pay for lobster that gave me food poisioning. They didn't seem too care almost as if this was a regular thing for them to hear complaints about and told us to come back in the morning when the manager was in. We did go back and were told they'd look into it and when we checked out they'd take care of it. Flash forward to check out day, surprise, surprise we have a lobster charge and they wont wave it! They sent us to speak to someone in customer service where we had already visited to talk to: CHRISTINA who provided the most terrible customer service I have ever experienced in my life! she hardly spoke English, didn't listen to our issue or was ever willing to help she fought with us over if we even had a reservation and how many people that reservation was for that night(like that has anything to do with anything) and asked if I went to the doctors and wanted to see papers from the doctors and the reservation chit. Christina told us we waited 2 days to come in and tell them about this (which is incorrect) if I didn't have paper from the doctors then I made it up she proceeded to yelled at us stormed out of her office walked to the front reception slammed her hand down and said "they pay!" and then locked us out of her office....please fire her. FOOD: From the previous story you'll understand it was inedible. The 24 hour burger place is great if you're drunk other then that you'll know it's day old with soggy lettuce, veins in burger parry, Cold and all in all garbage. Service is slow as anything, can't have a conversation and hand you a container of fries all at the same time making the line up go out the door for food. Main buffet has varity sure it changes slightly every night but it's all gross. You feel awful after eating it everything is cold and has flies on it, we even saw a coach roach scurry across the floor under a counter and that was it for us for the buffet. Another HUGE pet peeve at BE LIVE is there are points in the day where there is no where to eat! for a half an hour across the entire resort...no food! main buffet is closed, 24 hour burger place is closed and so are the a la carts. You think they would over lap these time so either the buffet or the 24 hour burger place would be open but no...starvation lol A La Carts: Brazilian was so good! Japanese was pretty decent Mexican was good if you could get service and everything else terrible. Another disappointing thins is they have menus at all A La Carts with lost of selection but then when you get service they come over and ask if you want this or that....so they don't ever have the things they say on the menu it was always just 2 options out of the entire menu. The last night we had resos at the stake house for New Years and they had set up a stage on the beach which is very close to the restaurant and for our entire meal (which was gross) they BLARED Auqa- Barbie Girl over and over and over at least 7 times in a row. Now I'm a huge Aqua fan but everyone else who was trying to have a romantic meal or time with their family did NOT look pleased to be yelling over the obnoxious music. BEACHES/POOLS: Beach is ok it's what you see in pictures it's busy and little sea weedy but hey that's the ocean for ya. It does have beautiful white powdery sand, lots of loud smelly boats because you're in the marina and a ton of locals trying to tell you literally anything you can imagine. (watches, sunglasses, paintings, hair braiding, massages, cigars, weed, cocaine, sex and one lady even tried to sell me the socks off her feet lol) it's not very relaxing and gets pretty old quickly and the security on the beach is buddies with all of them so their not getting ask to leave any time soon Main pool is pretty dirty the water is murky with things floating in it, lots of kids and activates, it's loud with announcements every 5 minutes in Spanish and not my scene but it might be yours whatever, it had a swim up bar that sometimes didn't have beer (the "no" thing again) The lazy river type pools in between each building are nicer, quite and relaxing. We eventually upgraded to VIP and that drastically improved things the VIP pool/ beach area is small but beautiful and bar never tells you "no". The service is so much better we had very hard working bar tenders and servers there. We did a day excursion to Saona Island and it was stunning everything you want and picture our of a tropical beach and the ocean so clear and aqua. So if you hate your resort beach go check that one out! stunning ROOMS: Oh the rooms, over all it was nice however our sliding door was jammed and you couldn't open it all the way or close it all the way so it just kind of remained open...we went to reception and complained twice and they did eventually send someone up to look at it but couldn't fix it so we went back to reception thinking ok they'll have to help us out somehow! But no, no other rooms available and wouldn't up grade us to a VIP room. We could however pay to upgrade for $700....they give people different prices depending on who your talking to, a previous review just said they upgraded for $100....so that's annoying. On top of that our toilet didn't refill with water when you flushed we had to fix it our selves. The shower was either freezing or scalding hot and the maid didn't get to our room to clean it everyday we had to go get our own fresh towels off a cleaning cart in the hallway and when the maid did come it was at 6:30pm so right when we were getting back from the beach and trying to get ready for dinner. We also had what looked like blood on our comforter one day. ENTERTAINMENT: The night shows I saw were god awful. I think the only night that was good which I only caught the last 5 mins of was the Michael Jackson show but the rest was like watching your kids dance recital. Usually at resorts the shows they put on have a lot of talent as they hire talented locals and bring people in from other please to perform. Not at BE LIVE the only talented dancer was a blonde girl and everyone else didn't know what they were doing or have zero musicality it was uncomfortable to watch. Casino/Disco: The casino is small and full of cigarette and cigar smoke and it's open to the public so it's not all inclusive in there you have to pay for your drinks. Same thing with the disco it looked like a great club but it was open to the public so again you had to pay for your drinks and it was only free to get into before a certain time. New Years Eve: So much potential to be good! but in general BE LIVE style it fell short. They had a beach party where they had set up a stage and let off fireworks which was the best part of the night. The MC was brutal yelling into the mic 30 second - 1 minute how much time was left until the New Year which cutting off the music making it hard to dance to. And then 5 minutes before 12 the sound went out killing everyone buzz and they told us to go get a drinks and just hangout until they fixed it. anyways New years arrives they have great fireworks yay! And then they switched DJ's...The President and his family were there in a huge VIP tent and it must have been his son that got up there carrying with his Mac lap top and tried to DJ for the rest of the evening...garbage everyone stopped dancing. FINAL THOUGHTS: Everything at be LIVE is extra for an all inclusive resort there is extra costs for everything! If you want a bed on the main beach...$10! if you want a lock on your safe in your room $7 a day/! If you want lobster at the lobster house...that's extra too! it's just frustrating. We paid a lot of money to come to BE LIVE and it just wasn't worth it! We made the best of it and over looked a lot of things but for the money we paid there shouldn't have been so many headaches honestly everything was a struggle. So please just book else where it's not worth it, you will have a better time somewhere else I promise you.

Riu Republica: Riu Republica, what a gem!

This is by far the best hotel we've ever stayed at! We really enjoyed our stay at Riu Republica resort in Punta Cana! The food was excellent, the staff were very friendly and the grounds were very well kept. The rooms were gorgeous and we enjoyed the fantastic view of the ocean. They had a lot of entertainment for our whole family, including our granddaughters who enjoyed the dancing lessons! We would not hesitate to go again, as we absolutely enjoyed our holiday and felt safe and relaxed the wh [... read more]ole time. Thank you for a great family holiday in the sun, we are very grateful! Remi and Monique

Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort: Great Resort

This hotel resort was very inviting , staff were very nice, but tipping to bartenders and serving staff is highly recommended in order to get the best service. The drinks at the bar are watered down so it is a good practice to ask for your drinks not mixed . Beer and wine is you best bet. IF booking get the upgrade to elite.

Riu Republica: Excellent Resort!

We arrived on December 16, 2016. Our two daughters had already been there for three days. Our check-in was flawless, the person checking us in even changed our rooms so we could be close to our daughters ( we didn't even have to ask). The resort is absolutely beautiful, extremely modern. The grounds are immaculate. The food is among the best we've ever had. The buffet had a great variety, and the quality of the food was second to none! The beach is absolutely amazing. All in all, there is no [... read more]t one negative comment I can make about this resort, from the staff, to the food, and the overall property! I highly recommend it and would go back any time!!

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Terrific time!

We just spent a Xmas week Dec. 23-30, 2016 at this resort. Before we went, I read many reviews so when we got there we upgraded our room to VIP room in block 7 and it's so worth it. Entertainment team at this resort is amazing. They work hard everyday to involve guests doing different activities. It was also fun to watch people participating at the main pool. They deserve a 5* rating. Food: Since we upgraded to VIP, we got to walk in any restaurant without making any reservation for dinner [... read more]s. The only exception is the Japanese restaurant. The only time we didn't like our dinner was on Xmas Eve, the menu wasn't good that night. Overall, we love all the food at all restaurants. For VIP, we were eating at separate buffet breakfast and lunch at the Aqua and they were really good. Room: our room was nice but the cleaning service was super slow so we only let them in once. The room is dated and we have a pool view room with a jacuzzi tub. It is very spacious. Beach: this strip has a lot of algae, although the beach cleaning crew work really hard cleaning it everyday. To the left of the hotel, there is a stretch of beautiful beach. We walked there twice during our stay, it took about 15 minutes one way. Services: I find the staff at this resort is so slow. They took so long to clear the tables at the main buffet. The workers talked so much among themselves. Security: We mainly stayed at the Adults VIP section and I can tell you that the security guy was good at keeping the vendors away from us sun bathers. Our overall experience is very good. We will definitely go back because of the entertainment and the food. I will give this resort a 3.5*

Grand Sirenis Tropical Suites: Pleasantly Surprised

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We just got back after being at the resort from Dec 24-31 and I was pleasantly surprised with the trip. The first thing to understand is that we were staying on the tropical suites side, and NOT the cocotal side. The cocotal side has not been updated at all, and does have issues. Secondly, the christmas weeks of holidays are the most expensive time of the year to travel and we paid $1700 canadian per person for the trip including air fare, land transfer and [... read more] a week at the hotel. I have stayed at 4-4.5 star resorts these same weeks and have spent over 2400$ canadian a person. So by saving 700 dollars a person, I know what I am going to get and what I'm not going to get. If you are staying at this resort, you are saving money, but giving up some perks. ok... the review. We've stayed at this resort 3 years ago and on paper it has everything. Great Beach, Great large pool, 2 swim up bars, lots of dining options, a water park, lots of bars, lots of activities to keep you as busy as you want. My biggest beef with the resort 2 years ago was that with the exception of the bartenders, no one seemed to care about making you happy and the front desk was useless. This trip I was happy to see that people on the whole seemed to care more. The Front desk: The check in process is unbelievably slow. We were only 9 people getting off our bus and the check in process still took 30 minutes. They need to scan your passports, triple check things, sign papers, do a number of other things with each family. Oh My Gosh they need to fix this process. There are so many more ways to do this quickly, why they do it this way I do not understand. I did see a bus load of people arrive one time as I was going into dinner, when leaving an hour later I saw the same people standing in line at almost the same place. The resort people need to realize that this first interaction with people is the most important. ok. so if you want a tip and are reading this review, have 1 person of your group go immediately to the desk and be first in line. Let the others in your group get the luggage and such, but being the first in line could mean the difference of a 1 or 2 hour wait. Rooms: The rooms even on the Tropical side are dated, The AC might work, it might not, it might leak water onto the floor, the fridge might work, it might not, it as well might leak water onto the floor. The beds are doubles, not queens and not a single queen. They are in the process of replacing the mattresses (only the mattresses) in some rooms. The pillows do suck and feel like they are just cotton balls inside the pillow. But all the rooms have a sitting area, 2 tv's, lots of storage space and a place with 2 uncomfortable chairs and a table outside. You will not get and ocean view. I don't think any room has an ocean view. Here is the thing though, are you travelling to the resort to stay in the room or outside. I am only in the room for the 3 S's, (sleep shower and _). The rooms do have new safe's. They are electronic and are now free. The beach: beautiful and you can walk for miles. The swimming area is clear of rocks but there are rocks outside of the designated swimming area. Really the beach is beautiful. The pools: Really nice. they go from zero entry to 7 feet deep. They are a good temperature and cleaned each morning. yes there was a light hanging in the pool at one point but that didn't stop anyone from going in the water. Buffets: They are typical AI type buffets. You know that there will be something that you can eat but if you go at the wrong time you might get cold food. A la cartes: ok.. here is a tip.. if your reservation is at 7, be there by 7 and have your full dining party there at 7. The a la cartes have 1 person that takes the orders for ALL TABLES so if you or someone in your party isn't there when he comes to your table, you have to wait until he finishes taking everyone elses orders before he comes back to yours. That is your fault, not theirs. We were at the Steak house when we realized this, a group of 12 sat down 15 minutes after we did but they had 2 people come late. They did not get their order taken for almost 1 hour after. We were done our full dinner and they had not placed their orders. We ate at the steak house, american and italian and were happy each time. The internet is now free for 1 hour a day. Yes, only 1. They have to set your device up. Yes you bring your device to the front desk and they enter the info. Here is a tip, don't try to do it when you arrive, it takes them about 15 minutes to set it all up after they check everything, so do it at a quiet time. Animation team: They are a lot of fun. I got engaged and had a balst as did the rest of my family. I believe that a vacation is what you make of it. If you are the type to look at everything in the negative and complain, then you won't have a good time. If you sleep in until 10, then don't be upset when you get to the beach or pool and see all the chairs are already taken. Other guests. This is really the hard part to talk about. It always amazes me the know of people that leave a stall in the washroom and go directly to the buffet. No washing their hands. No drying their hands. They just head right to the food. If you get a tummy problem, its more likely from a guest than anything else. Or other guests that butt in line or smoke in the non-smoking lines, The resort can't do anything about those people. Oh another tip. There always kids of every age at the resort. If your kid is sitting there complaining about how there is nothing to do, then tell them to put their phone down and go up to talk to someone. So in all, would I go back to the resort again or recommend it, yes, likely if was taking my kids again and didn't want to spend the crazy money that was needed to go to a higher end resort. Remember, you get what you pay for, you are saving money coming to this resort over other places. You make your own vacation. If you have questions, feel free to ask https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g147293-d266625-r448522003-Sirenis_Punta_Cana_Resort_Casino_Aquagames-Punta_Cana_La_Altagracia_Province_Domi.html#

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: A tad disapointing

We enjoyed the beach and the awesome weather. The resort was very clean and the staff was amazing. Really disappointed in the Christmas decorations or should I say lack there of. Not even a tree in the lobby. The food was good was lots of it. Would go back but not at Christmas.

Bahia Principe Explore Turquesa: Worst Resort Ever!

I have been travelling to the DR since 1985 and have never had such a bad experience. I arrived on the evening of December 19, 2016 and was there on my own for 10 days. I frequently travel alone so this was not an issue. I checked in and paid the $4 per day safe fee and was then driven to my room. Upon entering, I will say that the room was adequate. The lights operate by inserting your room key into a mechanism by the entrance door, but the safe operates the same way. First problem, I was give [... read more]n 1 room key and it is pitch black so I can not operate both at once. I return to the front desk to ask for a second room key and have to argue with the clerk in order to obtain a second key. He finally gives me a second key. In the morning I head to the beach only to find out that it is a 20 minute walk! The beach is overcrowded, you have about 6 inches on either side of your chair to move. All is fine for the first few days, then on Christmas eve morning I wake up to a note under my door stating that since I did not make a dinner reservation I would not be able to have dinner at any of the restaurants that evening because it was a special menu! I head to the front desk and they confirm this. So, I decide to have a late lunch of sea bass at the pool side restaurant. The fish tasted very garlicy but I ate it because I knew I wouldn't eat again until the morning. Within 3 hours I was riddled with stomach cramps and severe diarrhea. I have never been so sick and by day 4 of this decided that I needed to speak to the Air Transat rep so they were aware of the situation. The rep, Gabrielle, said that I could not prove it was the food and I was probably hung over and that I needed medical proof! I was disgusted but went to the emergency clinic because I was very sick. I was immediately treated with intravenous drugs for severe dehydration and fever and was given 2 prescriptions for antibiotics to continue taking. That night was the worst night, now everything coming out of me was green! The next morning I returned to speak to Gabrielle, I wanted a flight home that day, I felt I needed medical attention in Canada. He refused to speak to me, said that he was busy and that I should return at 11. I returned at 11 only to find out that it was now too late to catch the 1 pm flight. So, back to the medical clinic and another round of intravenous and more drugs. Now, the food poisoning was not the only issue. I was confined to the pool area due to the close proximity to my room which I needed on a moments notice. I was on a diet of water and Gatorade to try and keep hydrated and the pool bar had a cold water dispenser. This dispenser had a short in it and when I went to get water was also treated with 120 volt shock! I guess it was better me than a child. The final complaint of this resort...on one of my mad dashes to my room I found a maid using my bathroom! I would not recommend this resort to anyone. The food, the service, the staff were all rude and unprofessional. This resort says they are a 5 star resort and I would be hesitant to give them 3 stars.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Beautiful Place

Beautiful Property with many amenities. Staff kept busy keeping the property very clean. The property and shared properties are all very nice. Only negative was the hard beds which were only doubles and the room (ours anyway) while spotless (clean) was showing signs of wear. Food was very good. We were not advised that Punta Cana was one hour difference in time (they are ahead) so we missed the welcome briefing and the representatives for Air Transat Vacations seem never to be found on  [... read more]location during the hours stated. Not even a sign on departure date in the lobby, you have to look in a binder sitting on the counter in the basement of lobby. Took us most of the week to figure out where many things were. Very disappointed in Air Transat Vacations for this reason (they should have some type of welcome brochure with tips in it) but only with respect to local representatives not airline itself, we actually got home early on Christmas Day! Very memorable vacation. Certainly would travel there again if the opportunity arises.

Excellence El Carmen: Excellence El Carmen is Excellente'

Everything at this hotel is new and is well worth the stay! Staff are amazing and more than willing to please! Grounds, beaches, pools, hot tubs, restaurants are all top notch! French Cuisine was my favorite, the food and Staff were out of this world .

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Gorgeous resort, staff just okay

The resort grounds are beautiful and our room was nice and tidy. There are many pools and the different kids pools are awesome and great fun for everyone. Don't let the all inclusive fool you though. The internet isn't included and the pirate ship with wave pool is additonal. It's not expensive per day, just not included. The a la carts aren't the greatest. The Japanese place was good though! We had the best luck in the buffets. For lunch the steakhouse buffet on the second floor is the best [... read more]. The beach is gorgeous!! We spent a lot of time there. Since the resort is so big the service lacks for sure. They don't remember you because of so many people so they don't rush to serve you. Smaller resorts are better if service is you must have. The daycare was great. Our kids had a great time there. The night entertainment is pretty good. They put on big productions nightly. The start off early with a kids dance where they end with balloon animals.