El Beso Adults Only at Ocean El Faro: Good resort, could be better, beach needs cleaning

The resort is big and is good for families. The food is mediocre and the resort itself offers a variety of a la carte restaurants, my favourite is Blue Moon. Sakura is overhyped and they don't offer dessert. The cafe is the best, great place to hang out and grab coffee or small snack. Lots of pools and a really fun lazy river for kids and adults. The biggest improvement they should work on is cleaning their beach! It's littered with garbage, cigarettes, bottle caps, etc. And the seaweed!  [... read more] They need to invest in equipment to do a regular daily major clean up. I saw a vehicle mince and chop up the seaweed and spits it back out. No no.. It has so much potential if they clean up the seaweed properly and clear it. Hardly anyone was hanging out at the beach or let alone swimming it in. The staff is friendly and everyone seems to like their job. Rooms are decent, clean and spacious. Until they start cleaning up their beaches and improving their food quality and taste, I will not be returning.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Wonderful resort!

The experience from booking to arriving at the resort was all wonderful. Everything was explained and straightforward from the moment we booked the vacation. I have recommended trip central to everyone.

Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Not worth it

The rooms are nice. The service is all right nothing to really remember by the beaches is dirty smelly. The food is also not great entertainment really really lacking. Also, it’s ridiculous that they don’t have a straw to drink with all their slushy drink. It’s almost impossible to drink it and when was asked, they said because they care about the environment. I think it’s a cheap move because if they do care about the environment look at all the water bottle that is being used daily. Yet the st [... read more]raw is made out of paper only supply secretly when asked. The views, the surrounding of the resort it’s not that impressive either so for the price of it, I would not recommend. Also, why would you not have dinner reservation instead of making people wait first come first serve it is a waste of time just to be waiting lining up for dinner and to be disappointed because it didn’t even taste good everything was so salty

Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites: Best family vacation

Stayed for 11 days and 10 nights with kids aged 4 and 7. We travel to the Dominican every year and try different resorts. THIS WAS OUR BEST FAMILY TRIP. The resort is very, very clean, food is consistently good, everything is in walking distance, pool has gradual entry which is great for the kids, splash area was fun for big kids- the toddler area one didnt ever turn on though, beach is clean but a little rocky to walk into the water(coral). The main reason we loved it so much was the ama [... read more]zing focus on the kids, the kids club is not just a room or a small building like other places. First off its very well organized with secure processes to check in and out your children via the app and QR codes, SOOO many activities for the kids across the resort, with option to live track location via whatsapp . Staff are wonderful with the kids. Inside the actual star camp building there is a full play place structure, trampoline park, cooking station and movie station. At night the staff make sure all the kids are part of the show- putting them into costumes and including them.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Bahia Principe Grand Punta Cana May 2025

I was thankful to be at the Grand as this resort has many other vacation packages to chose from - i liked that the pool and beach were close to each other.The Truck has good takeout food! Was difficult to reserve earlier times for the specialty dinners as we had children 6 and under.Greek dinner the best! I liked that there were only 3 levels. The fridge was stocked daily with enough bottled water, pop, 2 beers.Daily housekeeping for 1 person was good. Shower water always hot. If you didn’t retu [... read more]rn your towel + check it out, you’d be charged $10 USD. Electric transportation Always available.Some difficult to use with stroller. Kids water park nice with lifeguard. Alcohol has a low %. No drunk people seen??.Food very good- fresh and a lot. Going home It was a rush catching bus transportation back to airport. Ask at front lobby for bracelet to be cut off. I do have to say -there were 2 cockroaches in my room.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Loved this resort

Loved this resort and I’ll go there again but there are a few things that bothered me there. 1.Our room was on the main floor and had a strong mold smell but the good thing is they offered to move me to a different room. 2. The people that have stands in the evening to sell jewelry and stuff were extremely pushy and rude when u don’t buy anything from them. 3. Towel services were only by the beach and there isn’t any close to the pool. Other than that I loved the place and had an amazing [... read more] time and felt very safe. And the people that work there were very friendly and fun and helpful. The food was good too and the drinks were amazing.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Great resort

We spent a week at the Bahia Principe Grand Punta Cana last week for our 2nd time in a row with a large group. The staff are all fantastic and are always accommodating for anything you need. The casino, Disco & Sports bar is a huge bonus for something to do during the nights. The pools are always clean and warm and there are lots of activities around the pool especially the beach pool. The newly renovated rooms are amazing. The shower, the beds are really good. The food at all the restau [... read more]rants we ate at was very good overall. The service at these restaurants is very good considering the a la carte restaurants are all included in the price of these trips. I would highly recommend this resort. If you are looking for a more relaxing, quiet vacation, I would also highly recommend the Bahia Principe Ambar resort! very nice resort as well.

Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Wonderful resort!

This was our 1st time to Dreams Onyx and it did not disappoint! We decided to upgrade to the preferred package on arrival and were so happy we did! This gave us access to a concierge (our concierge was amazing and always took us to the a la carte restaurants nightly and got us in right away), adults only pool, preferred a la carte restaurant for breakfast and lunch, upgraded room amenities and snacks as well as access to multiple preferred lounges. The staff at this resort definitely go above an [... read more]d beyond, are extremely hard working and very very friendly. We were always met with smiles and kind words. The beach this time was so full of sargasm and even with the constant cleaning, it was a force to be reckoned with. This is mother nature and absolutely nothing one can do about it. So we just made sure to enjoy the pools instead. The rooms are large and well laid out and the resort is meticulously kept. We would 100% recommend this resort!

Impressive Premium Punta Cana: A bit disappointed

I recently travelled to Dominican and we stated impressive premium Punta Cana. I give this place a three star because our AC in our room did not work. Neither did our family friends room AC work. The pool had damage on the floor with ropes around it in the premium section. There were no snacks in the room. The buffets had no bacon for breakfast and their salads and food had flies on it especially at the snack bar. The people that work there were truly amazing. The entertainment was OK after thre [... read more]e days me and my family were bored. There were no elevators in my resort area. There were no bananas at the bar to mix drinks and they were always running out of things ketchup was a Luxury. This is one of the resorts that I will not be returning to.

El Beso Adults Only at Ocean El Faro: Not an adult only resort

We chose El Beso Adults Only at Ocean El Faro based on the reviews we read—we wanted an adults-only hotel and, in general, we’ve had positive experiences in the Dominican Republic. To start with, El Beso is not a separate hotel; it is part of Ocean El Faro, and everything except the pool and one restaurant is shared between the two. So if you're looking to escape from the noise of children, you won’t! The only evening entertainment is located in the "main hotel," which is important for guests to [... read more] know. The food is okay, typical for most all-inclusive resorts—it gets repetitive. To get a piece of grilled meat or fish, you have to wait in line and endure the smoke. The biggest disappointment was the beach—getting into the sea is nearly impossible due to rocks and waves. During our 11-day stay, the red flag was up the entire time, and there was no option for a walk along the shore, which we were used to in Punta Cana. We ended up swimming in a nearby small lagoon that doesn’t belong to any hotel. The seaweed is never cleared, and no one maintains it, but it was the only place where you could get into the water and enjoy yourself. After coming back from the beach, another surprise for a five-star hotel—out of two showers, neither was working, so you’re stuck with sand on your feet. One night, water started leaking from the ceiling in our room. Of course, we immediately called to report it, but no one ever showed up. Fortunately, the leak stopped on its own during the night. Overall impression: This is nowhere near a five-star hotel. The service is poor—while you're tipping, everyone is friendly and helpful, but without tips, everything suddenly becomes slow and clumsy. We will not be coming back to this hotel.

Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa: Amazing Family Resort!

This resort was awesome for families! 4 kids between ages 13-8 and always fun activities going on at all times. Multiple pools and a couple lazy rivers to keep you relaxed, great service. Super clean resort, friendly staff. Unfortunately, sarrgasm (seaweed like) showed up a couple days before we got there but not the resorts fault. They worked hours and hours on tractors trying to clear it so we could enjoy the beach. 5 stars!!

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Great resort for families!

Great value for families, spacious rooms, friendly and responsive staff. Food options were great too and the Bahia app made reservations very easy. Beach had lost of chairs and umbrellas. There were a lot of sargassum this year which is not usual for Punta Cana.

HM Bavaro Beach: Little fine hotel

It's a clean petite hotel directly on the beach, so it's super convenient, however if you want to go outside shopping or to have some meals it's not really safe community. Someone, we believe, was robbed on our way home the other night. The beach was cleaned daily from the seaweed, but in mid May there were lots of sargassum already in the ocean, we barely went in. Not pleasant to swim. Although, the sand is nice, there are tons of small pieces of dry sargassum and moreover sharp objects like [... read more] broken glass, so we had to be very careful to walk on. Two pools are small and clean and not usually busy, so sometimes we used pools exclusively. We especially enjoyed infinity pool on the roof. Great view. Not enough shade though during the day near pools and especially beach area. The hotel itself is pretty matured, but still clean. Our room, supposedly pool view, ended up restaurant view - meaning no view. Not comfy when stuff going rounds right in front of your nose. so it felt like downgrade. Overall, I'd probably recommend it in winter when there's no seaweed and go outside for having some nice meal but exclusively with men.

Lopesan Costa Bavaro Resort: Amazing resort

The hotel had the best staff and the food was amazinging. My cousin was getting married and wedding was perfect. The room were huge and room service was great. My friend had a swim up, which perfect for people who want their own private pool.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Great Resort for Families

My husband and I had a great time at this resort. Here are my thoughts on the various aspects of the place, as someone who has stayed at many all inclusive resorts and with relatively high expectations. Lobby/common areas/hotel grounds: Excellent, recently updated, lovely to stroll around in. Beach: Wonderful - why we keep returning to Punta Cana. The great thing about this resort is they remove the seaweed several times a day. The Esmerelda is also close to the beach (as opposed to Fantasia [... read more], Aquamarine, Turquesa which you'd have to take a cart to get to the beach). Lots of kids at this time of year and with the complex catering heavily to families (water parks throughout the complex). Main pool: Too warm in May. We spent most of our time at the beach. Rooms with swim up pool: we were fortunate to be upgraded to a room with a swim up pool, which was fantastic. We'd come back to our room around 3-4pm once we got too hot on the beach to cool down in the swim up which had cooler water than the main pools. Rooms: Adequate, relatively clean but could use a deep clean. You don't spend much time in your room so not a deal breaker. A la carte restaurants: Well worth the hassle to book ahead of time on the BP app. Food generally excellent. Our favs: Yurta, Maiko, and Limbo (at the Ambar). Good: Rodizio and Taino. Not good: El Olivo (at Aquamarine). Great to be able to try the a la carte restaurants at the other BP resorts in the complex! Buffets: Breakfast buffet was good - made to order omelets, crispy bacon, lots of fruit. Lunch and dinner buffets were not very good. We got by with the taco station at lunch and booking as many a la carte restos for dinner as we could! Service: Generally slow. Bartenders don't acknowledge you until you tip. Service in buffets very slow. Many of the staff don't speak much English, which is fine but unusual. A la carte service is better. Carts: For getting around the complex - slow. Give yourself an extra 20 mins to get to a dinner reservation at another BP resort, for example. Bugs: There were a few mosquitos and sand fleas; you'll get bitten more in a Canadian forest than you will down in Punta Cana. Bring some bug spray and after bite if you're worried; you'll be fine. Weather: generally sunny and HOT. Bring waterproof sunscreen. Rain showers sometimes later in the day/evening but not a big deal. An umbrella is provided in the room. Noise level: We heard from several people that the rooms more centrally located in the resort were pretty noisy and the hallways were echo-y. We were after quiet so I requested a room in building 97 at check in, furthest building from the theatre, etc. Bring earplugs/sound machine if you're sensitive (I am) - with these I couldn't hear anything :) Overall we enjoyed our stay and would return to the complex, probably to the Luxury Ambar (adults only).

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: 7th time at Esmeralda :)

We were pleased that the service levels and general "organization" at the resort has settled back to what we had grown to expect and enjoy, vs our trip last year when service was overall not as good. The hotel is beautiful, clean and staff were friendly and attentive. The room and bed were very comfortable; housekeeping was satisfactory. We are not late night folks and having been here before, we opted to skip the evening entertainment and instead hung out at the Snack Bar for a drink or two  [... read more]after dinner to watch some hockey - great service!. This year we did 3 a la cartes - Yurta, Naan and Rodizio. Yurta and Naan were so great, Rodizio was ok. We find the buffet is full of options and we loved their fresh fish, scallops, calamari (so tender!) and grilled meats. The snack area beside the kids waterpark was not open so we missed afternoon nachos and ice creams/popsicles but that wasn't the end of the world. We didn't go off the Emseralda area this year and enjoyed what they had to offer. We stayed primarily at the quiet pool - Brenda around the pool was fantastic. For some reason the jets in the two "bubble pools" that attach to the quiet pool was not working and no one could explain why or get them working again which was too bad. They are a nice feature that we missed. We did a couples massage again this year and it was good. The worst part was the time from checkout to flight. It was two hours from the time we checked out to be ready for our transfer, to getting to the airport. It's only a 35 min drive, but there were delays in the transfer arrival and having to pickup at two other areas of the Bahia property. Overall, we recommend the resort for couples or families.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Had A Great Time

We picked this resort because of the village vibe and lush grounds. We weren't disappointed. Staff were amazing, rooms comfortable, grounds immaculate. Would have been put off by the Premium membership push, but we knew enough to shut them down and not get pulled in. Focused on all the pluses of the resort instead. Too many to list!

Catalonia Royal Bavaro: Favourite Resort!

We had a relaxing time at this resort, great food especially seafood options and the quiet beach areas, also very good service. The water in the beach area is shallow but it is beautiful to walk out and can swim still. The hotel experience is great, small intimate atmosphere with care taken when ordering special drinks. Upgraded to premium and liked the more modern room decor, new lamp, grey laminate flooring, white patio chairs. high standards for cleanliness and food prep no issues

Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites: Amazing resort, I must say the best resort we have been to in the last 38 years of traveling

Very clean resort, very family oriented, an amazing kids club. The food was absolutely amazing, not only at the buffet, but also at all the ala cartes. All the staff were very friendly and very accommodating

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Wonderful resort

This resort was 5 stars all round, the food, beach, pool, the staff were amazing. This resort was very clean, staff worked all day keeping it clean. The food was excellent, la carte or buffet always fresh and good.