Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Really worth it!

I'd like to start by saying that even though I did a tonne of research and read a lot of reviews, this resort truly exceeded my initial expectations. There seems to be an unending amount of staff everywhere, and all of them seemed truly happy to be doing their jobs. There's a bit of a language barrier, but considering the amount of people that were there from various countries speaking a multitude of languages, it makes sense that the staff would not be able to learn every language, especially n [... read more]ot fluently. They do their very best and I was given very good service. The food was delicious, and of fantastic quality and variety. I could have eaten at the buffet every night, but I did venture out to the a la cartes. If you love meat, their Brazilian style steakhouse, Rodizio, is amazing, and all the meat was incredibly well flavoured. The Mediterranean restaurant, El Pescador, offered some of the best seafood. And their Italian restaurant (I don't remember the name) had an amazing appetizer buffet and delicious pasta menu choices. You never go hungry either. The pool side buffet had lots of choice for midday snacks. The grounds are stunning, constantly being groomed by an army of grounds keepers. The trolley car that is available to take you to the other parts of the resort (the entire property is actually 6 different resorts, though only the Ambar is adults only) and comes quite frequently, so you never wait long. The beach is beautiful, and once again there are groomers raking up the seaweed all day. They do their best to keep it clean as possible. There are always chairs available, but if you want one close to the water, you need to get up very early (6:30ish) but they have paths to walk down easily. Best part about adults only is they mean it. There are signs everywhere along the border of the Ambar portion and the lifeguard will actually blow his whistle and redirect parents who walk their children onto the adults only portion of the beach. You truly get an adults only experience. There are plenty of women who go topless on the beach and no one bothers you for it, but that's as crazy as it gets. It's really a relaxing atmosphere for couples who want to enjoy each others company and not worry about a thing. My biggest suggestion for a relaxing half day trip is to take the Ocean Spa tour. They pick you up at the hotel, take you out to the docks, and before you get on the boat, you sit and have little fish suck the dead skin off your feet with their lips. It leaves your feet smooth and soft. Then you board the boat to do multiple relaxing activities including simple yoga, ionizing detox, nap on a floating mattress in the ocean, full body massage, full body exfoliation, mechanical table that stretches out your spine, then chill time on the deck on bean bag mattresses and chairs before they serve you lunch at an ocean restaurant over the water. Absolutely best half day trip I have ever had. You never feel rushed, every activity just flows into the next, and by the time you get back to shore, you are ready for a nice long sleep on the beach.

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Excellent Resort.

What a great resort, stayed on Club side at the Majestic Colonial. Hard working staff and all so friendly to make your holiday the best. Grounds kept very clean. Great food options. And good drinks. Beach was awesome, clean.

Catalonia Bavaro Resort: Surprised

We were not told that the pool and gym were under construction before we booked at this hotel. Was a shame. We were also not told that the air conditioning units were broken, and it was days before they fixed anything. The pool…. More than half of it is under construction until December, then they will shut down the other part of the pool in 2017). Would have been good information to know. The piece of the pool that was opened was full of a cloudy film and had a lot of dirt in it each day. [... read more] The issue was that the skimmer was not working, the water level was low and stuff gathered every day in the pool - garbage, film, dirt, wrappers, etc. It was so disgusting…. You’d have to see it to believe it. Really ruined the fun of going to the swim up bar to get a drink at 4pm each day. Entertainment with the staff all day/early evening was amazing. The best I've seen. Thanks to Julio, Teddy Bear (Henrike), Dennis, and Simon the pool bartender who really gets into the music and dance. They made the trip worthwhile but I'd never go back to this resort knowing they can't keep things running smoothly.

Excellence Punta Cana: Wonderful resort

This resort was amazing, and would definitely return to it. We had never been to Dominican Republic. We were very impressed as soon as we walked off the plane. The airport was one of the nicest we have been in, and we had no line ups. We had stopped at a few resorts on our way to Excellence and when we drove in, we were in awe. The greeting, the excellence club concierge, our accommodations, and the entire resort was more than we expected. We have been to Sandals and they gave us more persona [... read more]ble treatment. At our anniversary dinner, we were given the Royal treatment, which we hadn't received before. They even exchanged a bottle of whiskey that I like, rather than scotch. Sandals never did that.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Fantastic service, fantastic employees...again!

This was my first time, and my girlfriend's fifth time at the Bahia Principe Ambar. We had an incredibly relaxing week. The food and restaurants were better than I had expected and the pool and beach were very well kept and groomed, along with the rest of the resort's grounds. The games and fitness activities pool side were a lot of fun, especially with a drink or two! I will definitely be returning in the future!

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Amazing Resort

My husband and I just got back from a 2 week stay at this resort and loved every minute of it. The grounds are impeccable and we were impressed by how clean this resort is. This is our first time staying at an adult resort and it was wonderful. The beach was raked daily and very clean. The many pools were beautiful and the entertainment staff were a lot of fun. There's always lots to do or you can do nothing at all. The food is amazing at this resort. This resort is huge! By staying at t [... read more]he Ambar you have the option to use all of the Bahia Principes facility's connected to it. They have little trolley trains to get around. You never have to walk if you don't want to.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Awesome Resort!!!

This Resort is too clean, We love the way the staff are cleaning each & every night the pool surrounding OMG awesome!!! rooms & hospitality were so nice !!! Lobby is always ready to help with very friendly staff & too many kinds of foods & drinks. Well organized event for every night.Me & my hubby went there for 19 wedding anniversary ,it was awesome!!we are planing to go back with kids & relatives next year!

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Dominican Republic

There is not one thing that I would change about this resort. The food was to die for the rooms where beautiful and well looked after the pool and grounds were impeccable. The waitresses Milsolida and Marisol made every meal so enjoyable and dressed the table and reserved it for us for the whole time we were there, the coffee boy was fantastic and Michol in the bar was great also. My friends were celebrating their 23rd Anniversary while we were there and your Team made the celebration very memo [... read more]rable. I only had one bad thing happen that I did not have wifi in my room for 3 days and was very distraught about not being able to get in touch with my children because of Hurricane Matthew, but after complaining numerous times got a new room with wifi and got in touch with them. Everything else was superb. And yes this trip was one in a million for me. Yes will be back again. Love this place. FANTABULOUS RESORT

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Majestic Indeed

We had a marvelous stay and would highly recommend this resort to anyone. The room was more than adequate. The grounds, pool and beach incredible. The food was delicious and bountiful. Best of all was at amazing staff. We will definitely be returning. Thank you Majestica for a wonderful vacation.

Grand Sirenis Tropical Suites: Not going back to Sirenis

Hotel staff amazing, the entertainment team was really good. Check In: I had to go to ask for extra key and asked for bellboy front desk did not have a clue what is Costumer services. Room should be close for Reno (1*room)AC, TV, plug socket not working, bathroom condition, discusting. Talking with other guest, they had same situation. Will not go back to sirenis, until hotel have a full renovation. Kids activities was really good

Royalton Splash Punta Cana: Good Resort

Great Rooms and room service. Water Park all that we hoped Food average for Dominican but clean facility and dishes regularly replenished Unfortunately kids club was closed the week that we re there. Offered alternative but not full program that was expected. Some bars took short cuts in mixing drinks versus the mixed drinks as they stated on their bar menu. Lot of tiled surfaces at this resort looks great but wear good footware

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Great vacation

My fiance and myself just returned from the Grand Palladium Punta Cana Oct 10 and we had a great time. Got there and was upgraded to the Love Suite, what a room, it had a jacuzzi and upstairs loft with a king size bed. The maid did a great job as well. This being my first time to the Palladium chain and her 4th and we weren't dissappointed, The food was great and the service was pretty good. The beaches and grounds were beautiful. The weather was nice and hot even when Hurricane Matthew missed t [... read more]he DR to the west. The 24hr sports bar was great with good service but the food was a bit on the cold side. Went to 3 A La Cartes with no issues at all. The Japanese and steakhouse food and service was very good. We decided to go to CoCo Bongos, that was a great decision on our behalf. The shows, crowd and atomsphere was so full of energy. Had a great time there. I would recomment this place to anyone. We will be back for sure

Now Garden Punta Cana: Lots of fun!

This hotel was beautiful. It is a family resort which I was worried about since this was out first getaway without our girls. I was worried it wouldn't feel like a honeymoon, which simply wasn't true. We didn't even notice that it was a family resort so I'm glad we didn't pay the extra money for Now Larimar as both were very the same. The rooms were clean and beautiful. The staff was very friendly and we only had one issue when several staff were standing around for 15-20 minutes instead of  [... read more]driving the golf cart to transport people to Now Larimar, which is where everything (resturant, entertainment and the beach) is located. My husband had words with them and off we went. Our eating experience was not the best. We struggled with Carnival (buffet food) but enjoyed a la carte at the grill, Tamarindo (my personal favorite) and the beach grill. I think this is because we are used to Canadian foods. The grounds are beautiful and clean. Well taken care of. No garbage. There is a smell that's blown in from the stagnant lake nearby. It's not that bad, and it's just natural. Not the hotels fault. My husband was put off by the fact that we had to wait and take a golf cart to get to anything, but I didn't find this to be too much of a bother. My biggest warning: Do not use the hot tubs. I came home with Hot Tub Rash from the tub on the balcony (which was what I was most excited for!)

Riu Republica: New Resort and Worth the Trip!

6 adult travelers; aged 27-38. We booked our trip to the Riu Republica before the resort construction had been completed. The hotel was being billed as a 5-Star resort, and at a cost of $1100 CAD per person, we thought that was a great deal. We read LOTS of reviews -- a lot negative -- before we left, and were a little hesitant as the days passed on toward our departure date. If you don't read any further, just take this away --- DO NOT LET THE BAD REVIEWS DETER YOU FROM TRAVELING TO THE R [... read more]IU REPUBLICA!!! We found a lot of them were unwarranted. CHECK IN went smoothly. Two couples in our party were roomed near each other, but one was placed on the other side of the hotel ... and was given two single beds. We arrived around 12:30pm and our rooms weren't to be ready until 3pm; we left our luggage and had lunch before returning to get our room keys. The ROOMS are modern, spacious and clean. There are showers only (no bathtubs) in the washrooms. Everyone we traveled with found the beds to be quite hard. The water pressure is fantastic. The TURN DOWN SERVICE in the rooms was great -- always done when requested, floors mopped, flowers left and adorable towel or blanket designs on the bed. There is a ROOM BAR on the wall, four locked bottles inclusive of rum, gin, vodka and rye. It was advertised that the BAR FRIDGE would be replenished every other day (water, soda, beer) -- we arrived on a Friday; our fridge was stocked Saturday and then again on Monday, but never again after that. That would be my only real complaint of our whole week -- not that you can't get soda or beer elsewhere, but the tap water is not potable, so in the heat it is important to always have fresh bottled water at the ready. I was able to get more from the front desk any time I asked, but I feel the hotel can improve in this area. RESTAURANTS are easily accessible and always have plenty of food. The main buffet always seemed to have a strong odor of seafood. We also ate at the Italian, Asian and Steakhouse restaurants. Reservations cannot be made days in advance to any of the specialty restaurants -- you have to go at 6 or 6:30pm the evening of and make a reservation for that day. They are all buffet-style, except for the Steakhouse. They do, however, serve different foods than at the buffet ... so it's worth the reservation if you're looking to switch things up! There were always ACTIVITIES available to participate in. Yoga, aqua fit, dancing, bar games (golf, discs, etc.) were always being initiated by the Riu FUN staff. These were inclusive of anyone who wanted to participate. There are two POOLS available to the Republica resort guests. A quiet pool, without swim up bar; and a more active pool, with activities and a swim up bar. We spent all of our time at the more active pool. We were still able to read and relax quite comfortably. There is a separate third pool, but that is only available to the European Sensimar guests. The glasses are sturdier and larger than any other resort we have been to. My only improvement for the pool bar would be a better clean up of the soiled drinking glasses, as they attract LOTS of bees ... half of our party was stung at one point or another. The BEACH is gorgeous. We were vacationing over the touch down of Hurricane Matthew and, still, everything was wonderful. With the exception of a day of rain and two days of a red/yellow flagged beach, you wouldn't have known what was happening on the other side of the island. We read lots of complaints in other reviews before we left about the "massive sand dune" blocking the beach --- to put this to rest, it is a mound of sand, yes. It obstructs the view of the ocean from the pool, yes. But is it something you have to climb to get to the beach? No. There is a completely manageable sand walkway from the resort to the beach. This is not unique -- we have been many places where this is the case. It also blocked some of the wind from the ocean during hurricane season. Zero complaints about the beach, or the "sand dune." There are lots of events thrown -- beach party and foam party were two of our favourites. The number of rooms at the resort seems like it has the potential to overwhelm the size of the actual resort -- that is, if it were filled to capacity, the amenities may seem overwhelmed. I utilized the SPA one day for a massage. There are credits available at the front desk for the Spa, so be sure to ask for them if you are going to use any of the facilities! This is an adults only resort. Again, we read reviews either citing this was a "young 20s party resort" or a "50+ relaxation resort" -- honestly, neither are true. Or, perhaps both are true ... we traveled during the first week of October and met people from their mid 20s all the way through to their 60s/70s. There was no-one group catered to -- and, those that seemed to be "partying like it was spring break" were in their mid 40s; not 19-year old kids on their first trip away from home. This is a resort you can let a little loose at as well as one you can relax at. YOU determine the vacation you will have ... Riu Republica lets you do that! STAFF were friendly, fun and accommodating. The reviews that said staff were unfriendly and miserable ... I'm not sure where they stayed, but it couldn't have been here! Most staff did speak reasonable-enough English. We always had a table waiting for us in the buffet thanks to Remy, and always received quick service at any bar or restaurant we attended. Overall, we had a great, relaxing, FUN vacation here. We'd recommend it to others wishing to travel to a modern, adults-only resort. I would NOT advertise this as a true, 5-Star resort, and only because of the lack of true a la carte restaurants, and some of the service that needs to be brought up to a 5-Star level. 4 to 4.5 Stars, sure. The only other disappointment was the lack of infinity pool that was advertised to us when booking, before construction had been completed.

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: 2 Stars- Would not recommend!

Overall, my husband and I would give the Majestic Elegance a rating of 2 stars, and we would not recommend it to family or friends. The first 4 days of our vacation was quite lovely; however multiple things went awry during the last 3 days. Room: We decided to go with the elegance club package. Our room was upgraded for free upon arrival since we were celebrating our honeymoon and my birthday. We were upgraded from the junior jacuzzi suite to a room with an extra large private balcony with [... read more] an outdoor jacuzzi. The room was very spacious, and gorgeous. They even had a champagne bottle waiting for us, and they decorated the room was balloons. We were impressed! Service: The maids did a great job with cleaning our room; however there was one day where they did not clean it. We put the green card on the door all day indicating that we needed it cleaned but no one came around. We were quite unimpressed. Beach: Absolutely stunning! It is covered with white sand (no rocks or pebbles whatsoever). The staff keep the beach very clean. I got terrible bites from the sand fleas, which were quite itchy and painful. I would recommend bringing some disinfectant and ointment (they also have a pharmacy at the resort). There are a few private sections for elegance club members, which is nice. Entertainment: We went to watch a show on our second night: the Mister Majestic show. We found it very cheesy. All shows are at 9:30pm, which we found to be a bit late. We didn't end up going to any other shows during our trip, so I am not sure if the other nights were any better. I know that they had Elvis, Circus, and Salsa shows. The elegance club theatre was closed down, and so we had to walk all the way over to the Colonial side for the show. There was lots of entertainment and activities during the day at the beach. People seemed to be having a great time when we walked by. My husband and I are pretty passive, and so we spent most of our time away from that. Butler: All elegance club members get paired with a butler. The butler is your go to person if you have any questions, have issues with your room, need reservations booked, etc. Our butler was Pablo and he was quite friendly and personable. We tipped him extremely well right at the beginning hoping that this would prompt excellent service, and we tipped almost every time we bumped into him throughout the course of the trip. We eventually stopped because he seemed to be offsite during the times we needed him and he was very forgetful. For example, we wanted more bubble bath gel for the jacuzzi, and a lightbulb replaced outside, and it got done after two days of reminders. Also, another slight disappointment was the day of my birthday. Our butler said to connect with him if we wanted additional alcohol (room comes with three mickeys), and so we wanted wine or champagne brought to the room; however since our butler was not there the staff at the elegance club said it wasn't possible to have this need met. Keep in mind there are multiple other butlers on the resort. Additionally, when vacationers are celebrating a birthday, anniversary, honeymoon, or returning to the resort, the butler puts a banner up on the outside of the door (with balloons depending on the occasion). We didn't get a banner put up until our second last day. This isn't the biggest deal, but worth mentioning given the the topic. Also, Pablo insinuated to my husband, that he was going to make my birthday extra special by making the room look special, and that he had a gift. These things didn't happen. Our experience with our butler lowered the overall star rating for service. Staff: The staff are very friendly and outgoing here. The bartenders, cooks, and waiters/waitresses work very hard. The staff working at the beach, and pool areas are quick to serve. We were quite generous with our tips. My husband had an issue with a staff member at the front desk. He went to break a $20USD into smaller bills, and the staff took it upon himself to tip himself a dollar (after my husband tipped him a dollar!). There was one staff member that came to talk to us when we were laying at the beach, and he was describing how he wants to immigrate to Canada. He said that it's extremely important that we rate the resort as 5 stars on Trip Advisor, as it would give him a more promising reference. On two other occasions, staff briefly encouraged us to go online and give the resort a good rating. Maintenance: The main pool was closed down for renovations. We got an email about this a month prior to departure. The plus side to this was that the traffic was dispersed across the resort, and so it was quiet. On our sixth night, we received a note under our door saying that the AC, electricity, hydro, and water would be turned off for a number of hours the following day. Also, room service would not be available in the morning, and certain restaurants would be closed at lunchtime. They advertised that a "special" lunch would be served at the See and Sea restaurant during the outage, which consisted of 5 hot trays of various steamed vegetables, and precooked burgers and hotdogs. The whole outage interfered with our schedule as we were checking out the morning, and it was a rush to eat and shower (by the time the water started working again). We requested a later checkout time the night prior, which the elegance club granted (our butler was supposed to do this for us, but he forgot). When we went back up to the room after our lunch we were locked out of the room. The elegance club did not inform the front desk of our later check out time. After a half an hour, we were finally let into our room. The elegance club staff told us to have any of the maids let us back into our room if we needed to leave again. This is quite alarming that they would let random people in and out of rooms... Also, after confirming with the elegance club that we had a later check out, the front desk still wasn't informed. They called 3 times in our last hour to inquire why we haven't left the room yet. Restaurants: Nine Doors Restaurant- this is Japanese, and it is absolutely amazing. It was so good that we went twice. We highly recommend this. Sea and See- this is a buffet restaurant (during the daytime) with a great view of the ocean. They make fresh burgers and hotdogs there, which are delicious. We ate here most of the time for lunch, as we liked the staff and atmosphere. There is less to choose from at this restaurant compared to the Flavours Buffet. Flavours- This is a buffet restaurant, and they have a different meal theme every night, such as Dominican, Mexican, and Chinese. We didn't eat here often because it was very busy. The French restaurant is fine dining. The portions were on the small size, but quite tasty. The atmosphere is very elegant. There was a staff member playing the piano throughout the night (very beautiful!). Also, the staff surprised me with song, cake, and a special cocktail that they lit on fire. It was awesome. We would recommend this! -The steakhouse- There is a lot of food to choose from off the menu, and would appease any picky eater. Make sure to ask for you meat extra well done here! -Romantic dinner on the beach- This was offered to us because we were celebrating our honeymoon. The service was very poor here, and it took forever to get our food (our reservation was for 7:15 and we got back to the room at 8:40... that was only 2/4 plates!). There was no menu at the table, and so it was a guessing game as to what we would be eating. Our waiter also was not knowledgable on the food being served. We asked for water multiple times, and did not get any (the kept serving us champagne though). The photographer left halfway through the dinner, and so couples arriving for a later reservation were not able to get their picture taken. The food was seafood and French style, and not good at all (stuffed ravioli covered in Dijon mustard sauce, needed shrimp placed onto of syrupy peaches). We left half way through the meal. Italian restaurant- This was a nice restaurant, with different pastas and meats to choose from. We would have went again, but did not have the time.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Confused

My wife and I just spent the last week Sept 30 – Oct 7 at Luxury Bahia Principe Ambar and after reading some of the negative reviews before coming we were wondering if we were even at the same place !!!! Our week was amazing, the staff wonderful, food out of this world, room clean and spacious. Not once did we sit down for a meal either at the buffet or la a cart, or walk up to a bar and were not served within a couple of minutes. Stories of staff members standing around talking to each ot [... read more]her and ignoring the tourists, well we just never ever saw this. The staff was very attentive, they loved to joke around with you and if you tried to speak Spanish, well they loved the fact you tried. They were always asking how you were and if everything was ok. Now with all this said there were a few problems issues here and there but nothing that was a game changer and if you consider the price you paid and the service and amenities you received Luxury Bahia Ambar is more than worth it. After all we have had friends come back from Breezes and Sandals with complaints, just showing that no place is perfect. Food good, we went to 3 la a carts (Don Pablo, Mediterranean and Brazilian steak house) and for the most part found them ok, the buffet though was just as good if not better, seafood night on Tuesday is NOT to be missed. If you’re not into seafood, don’t worry they had lots of other items you could have. BTW – we found it didn’t matter if you tipped or not the service was all good no matter. We did have a few of our favorites, for instance the lobby bar bartender Murphy was totally awesome and would see you coming and either start your drink or look at you and say “your usual” ? Guy is supper good and knows customer service. We were in building 62000 on the top floor, nice and close to everything, pool was nice but we are beach people and really enjoyed being down on the beach every day. Due to the residue of hurricane Mathew we had a day and half of rain, not bad, other than that hot and sunny. There are vendors on the beach but a quick “no thank you” and a smile and they are off somewhere else. Also in the lobby is the time share or VIP people, they can be a bit pushy. But stick to your guns and say no thanks, after all we came for the beach not 4 hours of someone spouting on about stuff I don’t care about. I guess the only thing we really found annoying was the arrival from the airport to the hotel and departure from the hotel to the airport. Very confusing staff didn’t really seem to know what was what, took forever to get on our bus to go to the hotel and when we went to leave they didn’t seem to know which group we were in, very annoying, just hope that management will correct this. All in all this was a wonderful vacation and would go back in a heartbeat, we also highly recommend this hotel/resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: 5star all the way

This is a great hotel. The service was great, the food very good and most importantly the beach to die for. You won't regret choosing this hotel. The grounds are well manicured. A choice of two large pools, one having a swim up bar and the other on the quiet side. Enjoy!

Riu Republica: Fantastic hotel!

Just came from the resort, we loved it! Beautiful beach, great food, tons of entertainment options. The place is new, so everything is still in good shape. The rooms are lovely, big and bed is huge. Air conditioner works perfectly. Overall had a great time, value for the money.

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: great resort

the grounds were kept nice rooms very clean food was good only problem most of the people working there do not speak English but was ok. Beach was beautiful but could of used more chairs at beach. The swim up pool bar was not clean at all did not swim in it after first 2 days was really dirty but many other pools to swim in.

Riu Republica: Great Hotel, Beach and Food!!

The beach was amazing, I could walk for a long time along the shore. The water was the most beautiful colour and clear. The selection and quality of the food was wonderful and the hotel was clean and beautiful. The staff are hardworking and friendly. Unfortunately I became very ill on vacation, possibly a parasite due to the symptoms. But these things can happen in a foreign country, a chance we take when vacationing in the caribbean.