Occidental Punta Cana: Lovely resort

The resort was lovely however did not appreciate the harrasing “time share” salespeople especially after derogatory name calling. Food was great and the hotel is beautifully well kept. The beach wasn’t always clean as lots of seaweed however the pool made up for that. Excursions offered were really good especially La Hacienda which I recommend.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: was fun but can improve a tad bit.

we thought the place was great, but had a few issues that can be improved on. Between 7 resorts there was only one theatre and it was all in Spanish, which is a little hard to communicate, with service and staff. There was no program or any guides or anything letting us know of any events of anything thats going on, rather a little disorganized. They attempted to clean up the seaweed on the beach front but sadly didnt do that great a job so that got a little annoying. only other thin [... read more]g is the lack of bathrooms available at the pool and beach which is a little worrying. Otherwise, i think the staff still attempted to provide good service, we really enjoyed the beach front on the lawn chairs/beach chairs, the beach was still amazing and was nice to relax out in the sun.

Bahia Principe Escape Bouganville: Wonderful resort

This resort was exceptionally beautiful. Grounds well kept. Rooms, lobbies, restaurants, pools, beach where very clean and well maintained. Food was great, staff where attentive and personable. The beach was beautiful, water was very nice. The quiet pool was our favorite, next to the beach. No issues with this resort at all. Definitely plan to go back.

Sunscape Bavaro Beach: Great resort

The resort overall was great. A few things that I wasnt happy. The music from the theater played too late as we usually had busy tiring days. The waiters at the buffet sometimes didn't ask us if we wanted a drink and took a very long time. The conceirage was not very knowledgable.

Paradisus Palma Real Golf and Spa Resort: Fabulous!

Excellent Resort. The rooms are beautiful. The grounds are clean and well maintained. The water pressure is good. The staff is friendly and helpful. Gardens are well manicured. We would go back. Variety and taste of food is great. Entertainment is good. No misquitous and flies to bother us at any time.

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Big beautiful resort

The resort itself was beautiful. We were a group of 12 (3 families... each 2 adults and 2 children). Check in was very quick. The rooms needed some refreshing (looked a little old) but were clean. The water had some difficulty draining in the tub. Bottled water was replenished but we left a note and tip asking for more Pepsi in the mini fridge and never got any. The views were beautiful, the grounds were green and lush. You had to take a shuttle just about everywhere. Food (both buffet and a le  [... read more]carte restaurants) was plentiful and a good variety... even for a couple of our very picky eaters. They were able to seat 12 of us together every time we walked in with no wait. Oscar was he best server at the buffet restaurant!!! The beach had no lounge chairs because the tide came up to high in the evening. Vendors set up on the beach. The resort has signs saying if you value your life don’t purchase any water sports from vendors on the beach. Pools were awesome. Bars, music and washrooms close by. We had to walk through the VIP section to get to and from the restaurant for lunch and security kind of made you feel uncomfortable about go through there. Stopped and questioned us every day... we would just say “going to the beach”. Nightly shows were just ok. They were held in an outdoor auditorium. Was expecting better. Disappointed that there were no Spanish coffees or mimosa. We like to splurge while on vacation. We are used to the lobby being a fun, busy place in the evenings... but not here, nothing going on. A lot of security around, so always felt safe. There were time share condos as part of the resort and a lot of golf carts driving around. People trying to sell you vacation time share outside of the buffet restaurant but we told them we weren’t interested and they left us alone.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great vacation

We had an excellent time at The Barcelo Bavaro Palace resort. My expectations were more than met. The resort was very clean and well maintained. Rooms were very spacious, clean and comfortable (we were in a "family room"). Buffets and a la carte restaurants were all very good, lots of choices for everyone. The service was also very good. We had no problems at all and have no complaints. Pool was great, Beach was clean and beautiful! Hope to go back sometime soon. Thank you Krista for suggest [... read more]ing this resort. :)

Wyndham Alltra Punta Cana: Dreams Punta Cana May 22-May 29

Pros: Affordable, nice weather, awesome pool, good activities, great entertainment, pevonia spa Cons: Loud resort- hard to sleep, terrible beach area (unusable), no hot tubs or adult-only area, limited food options between 4pm-6pm and 11am-12:30pm. Verdict: We wouldn't go back. We learned alot about what we want out of our vacations! Next time, we'll pay more!

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Amazing beach

Amazing beach, overall clean resort, great buffet food, amazing cocktails, great service, wheelchair accessible rooms and grounds. On the downside, the sand unfortunately was full of plastic straws and caps and they allow photos with exotic animals that are obviously abused (the handlers were hitting the money on the nose to stay put and the parrots had their wings clipped).

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Nice place to stay

Proximity to the beach, good food at restaurant and buffet, alcohol drinks for any taste, lots of entertaiment for kids and adults ( pool and theatre), acces to a lots of resto a la carte on site, inside ground transportatin very easy and convinient,

Riu Republica: Awesome time!

Everything at this resort was amazing! The rooms, staff, pools, restaurants, bars, the beach! I can’t really think of any negatives I experienced. The nightly shows were also very well done and interactive! I would definitely return.

Bahia Principe Grand Bavaro: Exceptional Stay!

A beautiful place to stay. The grounds, food, and beach were perfect. I will highly recommend this resort to my family & friends. The price we paid for this vacation would equate to a 3 1/2 star resort which made our stay even better. This is our 2nd visit to this resort in the past 2 years.

Riu Republica: Good resort

Nice beach, good setup, more shade needed, ok food, better at buffets, slow service. Good facility. Good entertainment. Everything within short distance. Good water slides, nice foam parties and beach parties.

Grand Bavaro Princess: Best part on Barvaro Beach

The whole resort was beautiful and well maintained. Gardens were beautiful food was good, drinks were on the sweet side, wine was OK but not great. Main Pool and beach was awesome. Kept warm and clean and the ocean was pristine and also warm. there was alot of seaweed washing up. but they were constantly bagging it up and removing it. The food was good and we had no gastro upset. A la cartes were good and alot of fun. Great mariachi band, funny guys! Met some great people and really enjoyed our  [... read more]trip. Rooms were well maintained and beautiful, even if you stay in the basic ones. The resort is big so you are forces to use the shuttle, but they run frequently. You are in the middle of Bavaro beach so you can walk both ways for at least an hour and a half each way. Loved it! Vendors were extremely pushy even on the night that the let them into the resort for market night. Rain forest is pretty in the day and at night and they have well lit trials to walk on thru them.I would definitely recommend and of the Princess resorts on Bavaro beach. We checked them all out on our walks, and I would stay in any one, whatever is cheapest!

Whala Bavaro: Was far from amazing.

The picture here are the upgraded rooms and not where we stayed. False advertising right there. The room was a 2 and the water ran out in the middle of a shower. Just sheets on the bed, never got a blanket until the 3rd night in. Air conditioner leaks in room, fridge not working. View from the balcony was an apartment building and can see inside the apartment build as it was really close.The balcony door did not lock and screen door always fell off. Some of the people were friendly and helpful  [... read more]but most where rude and would not helpful. Did not know what time we would be picked up to be taken back to hotel. Front desk was not helpful in that at all. had to ask the excursion rep to find out. The road to the hotel had big pot holes and felt like you where going into the ghetto of town.Climbing 3 flights of stairs all the time was hard as my husband had 3 back surgeries.The beach was not cleaned up from seaweed. It was not a nice beach at all. Not enough umbrellas for shade. Had to use the same bottle of water to fill up water to drink. Not enough water is available or more bottled water available. Limit is 2 bottles put in the room. That was a hit and miss. One pool was green the second one was off colour. Took a whole week for one pool to be cleaned and 2 days for the second one. While the one in the picture above was always good as it was in the upgraded area. Really felt separated from that area.

Bahia Principe Escape Samana: Definitely better than 5 star!!!

This is a true beauty spot, the hotel is beautiful, small enough to be charming and large enough to have all the amenities. The hotel and grounds are perfectly kept, not a branch left lying around. I have never stayed anywhere where the staff are so meticulous, everything is sparkling clean, well groomed and yet you feel comfortable all the time. There are three restaurants and the buffet, and all of them are great. Never had one poor meal. The chef's are great, creative, with perfect prese [... read more]ntation and taste. We had a superior balcony room facing the ocean. The room was extremely large, maid service was twice a day, once in the late morning and again in the early evening. Never run out of towels, mini bar is stocked daily and the bed is fresh every day. The butler service was great, even arranged for a rental car for us. One thing that impressed me and made our stay more comfortable was the pillow menu. We chose the type of pillow and it was on the bed when we returned from dinner. The staff was very good, they took care of everything for us from dinner reservations to returning the car rental. The staff was always pleasant, personable and extremely polite, always genuinely happy. You were always treated very good. There was entertainment supplied every night that was fun and gave you a time to socialize with the other guests. This certainly went beyond our expectations. There was only one small problem, when you book you are told there are three restaurants and that you can book as many dinners as you want, unfortunately they do not tell you that if you book a time that is not the height of the season then all three restaurants are not open every night, and on some nights there is only the buffet. The shuttles over to the island beach is also limited in the off season. I would recommend that this information on the change in availability during the off season should be explained to anyone considering this holiday. Luckily, the food is great no matter where you eat and if you want to go to the island, there is still a limited shuttle every day. The trip central agent, Amanda Garlough, was perfect, she found us the perfect spot for this vacation, was always there with help or to answer questions promptly. All around, it has been a very good experience!

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Amazing resort

Great grounds. Went with another couple and our kids. it was awesome. Enderson and Jose at main restaurant are awesome. Butler aritof was great. Didn’t like the Chinese food night. Floors around the pool could be less slippery.

Tropical Deluxe Princess: Lovely grounds, not great rooms

We enjoyed our vacation but we had some issues which made this holiday (out of the three we've had in four years with our children) the least impressive one so far. We needed to be moved out of our first room (Lirio Bldg. Room 3309) as it was infested with insects. We killed between 30-40 the 2nd night we were there; mostly around the faucets and walls of the bathroom but we drew the line at 7-9 cockroaches. Very stressful as we found one in our luggage, my toiletry bag, and another on the hea [... read more]dboard, for example. The manager was more than accommodating and was super apologetic. She did not seem surprised and said they'd have to fumigate the room. They moved us to a different room in the same building (Room 3223) and it had zero insects. Thank goodness! The A/C worked great and the water was hot, however the beds were super hard and the pillows were lumpy (they must wash them as the stuffing is distorted and hard in places). The rest of the resort was lovely. Palm trees everywhere!! No flowers like hibiscus as we've seen at other resorts in Mexico and Cuba, but the grass was well maintained, as well as the other foliage throughout the resort. We loved the Mangrove area with it's natural vegetation and wildlife like ducks, iguanas, turtles, cranes, etc. Very fun for the kids. The pools were amazing, especially the one with the bridge. Plenty of shade and it was shallow enough for my 8 year old daughter to play in. The buffet was great. The food was diverse, fresh, plentiful, and nicely displayed. The staff are very kind in the buffet and truly make you feel welcome. Some other staff members around the resort, like at La Creperie, are a little surly but I imagine they get a lot of disrespect and demands from tourists and they're exhausted from their exceptionally long days. It didn't bother me too much but it's worth mentioning. It does affect the memory of the trip. The beach is stunning. Sand is soft, warm, and clean. There is line of sea vegetation (not really seaweed) that lines the surf. It's not slimy seaweed and soft enough to walk on. It didn't really bother us. It's just to be expected as the surf brings it in all the time. The water itself is cloudy for the first 5 meters but then clears up past the surf. The waves are 2-3 feet so be wary. However, jumping in them was very fun. My 12 and 8 year old loved it although I always held on to my 8 year old's hand. The undertow is strong. We went at the end of May (20-27) so it wasn't super busy. We always found palapas to cool under, whether around the pool or at the beach. And there were plenty of loungers to relax on as well. Just another warning: smoking is allowed everywhere but the restaurants and buffet which meant that we were constantly breathing in a lot of 2nd hand smoke from a lot of European travelers. I mean a lot. At 4am we woke to the smell of horrid smoke in our hotel room as people were smoking in the lounge area in the common open-air hallway. Even though it's a "non-smoking' room, it's not a non-smoking resort. It was thick. The lobby is full of people looking for the wifi signal and smokers. We never ever found a table or bench to sit at to enjoy the lobby bar. Smoking is allowed around all areas of the pool. I wouldn't mind the smoke so much if there were sections for smokers and non-smokers. It sucks for the kids too. Lastly, and this is not really related to the hotel but it's definitely worth mentioning since our hotel rep sold it to us....please do not go on the catamaran excursion with Tours Point (Sunwing tour provider in DR). It was nothing but an ear-splitting, party boat and pick up place for the 5 male staff members to get some numbers from the girls. It was really offensive and totally inappropriate for kids. We were told by our Sunwing Rep that the morning tour is family friendly and not a party boat. We were so mislead. The music was so loud (and I'm not a prude) and I couldn't handle the distortion of sound or the fact that it was offensively and painfully loud and crass. Imagine how this affected my son and daughter. We wanted to give them an open seas experience on their first catamaran and it was a disaster. What a waste of A LOT of money. The snorkeling lasted 15 minutes and the rest of the time was an open bar. They advertise it as a 'sailing' catamaran and it's not. There is no sail whatsoever. Please do your research and make sure to avoid Tours Point Catamaran tours. Fair warning. I read alot of reviews about Tropical Princess Beach Resort and even though some of what I'm saying was read before we booked, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. But in the end, I wouldn't have booked here had I known we would have had bug issues or smoking throughout the resort. It's a beautiful resort but it needs to be updated. I hope this helps.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Nice vacation

Needs some attention some parts look a little tired otherwise nice hotel Staff very friendly food was good most of the time Butler service excelent Horam was the best very polite and he could not do enough for you he is 5 star *****

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Great Resort

The grounds and Public area at Gran Ventana were well kept on a daily basic. We enjoyed the room, which was cleaned daily and the fridge stocked daily, yes daily. Drinking water was always available when needed. The Dining was well laid out and the food was good and always had choices. Well enjoyed by us both, we will return. PS the Nightly shows was so much fun as well.