Viva Heavens by Wyndham: A nice resort that needs a little more upkeep.

This resort is not a 4-5 star resort. It needs to have some upkeep to repair things like leaking showers, air conditioners that do not work, and better lighting. The food was okay not wow. The variety was adequate. The staff were great. Entertainment people were great.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Great Resort!

-grounds were well kept -food was delicious with a variety to choose from -ate at main buffet every breakfast and dinner... did not try any a la carte restaurants, which do not require reservations (first come, first served) -beach was nice (free paddle boarding, wind surfing, kayaking available) -service was good -rooms could be cleaned a bit more thoroughly

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Average

Definitely not a 4 star resort. This is a large resort made up of many different sections. You’ll have to take a shuddle to move between the different resorts. Cofresi itself is old and in need of updating. Also, there’s a lot of walking involved so if there any physical related concern, this won’t be the best option. The beach was also very small. On the up side, the food was generally very good...I’d give the food a 4star rating. The New Years party was awesome and the staff in gen [... read more]eral was also very friendly and helpful.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Best Choice For What We Wanted

Having been to DR several times, Cheryl and I were looking for a great resort in a different location with an awesome walking beach and great snorkelling. Our agent, O'Neil Graham made suggestions that exactly fit our bill. The hotel, food and especially the beach was amazing and we would definitely return. The resort is only missing two things: music of a latin flavour i.e. guitarists and a smoothie bar for breakfast meals.

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: The best way to ring in the new year!

My fiance and I travelled here for a week over the new year. Overall we were very impressed by this hotel and only had a few minor issues. Check In: Quick and easy. Received a welcome drink on arrival. Our room wasn't ready so we were shown where the buffets were and told to come back after lunch. When we returned we found our room was upgraded to a deluxe room in building 9 (farthest but quietest - only took us 5 min to walk anywhere on the resort so this building is recommended!). Staff is  [... read more]great overall. We didn't find tipping changed the service which is nice. Room: Deluxe rooms are large. Air conditioned well and shower & toilet are in separate rooms so good for families. Shower pressure was good as was temperature. Mini fridge stocked daily with pop, water, & coors light. Tons of pillows! Food: Buffets & snack bar are great. We are vegetarian and were impressed with the number of options available. Always accommodating - the pizza chef at the snack bar was happy to make us cheese pizza when there weren't any veggie options available. Loved the coffee shop (free) - always a busy place but the baristas are quick and make delicious drinks (highly recommend cappuccino with Bailey's). New years gala was very impressive (TONS of options - sushi, fried ice cream, cheese, lobster, etc. ... many of these things found at the buffet throughout the week!) very over the top! Always tons of fruit available which is nice. Bread was delicious too. Drinks: Lots of options - no top shelf liquor but everything was good. Blended drinks and mojitos always available. You can buy nicer wines (expensive but nice to have available) and bottles of beer if you like. Pool & Beach: The hotel was PACKED while we were there. There were not enough pool or beach chairs for everyone (probably 50 or so people forced to lay on the sand), which is the one thing I found ridiculous (after going to many all inclusive resorts I have never experienced this until now). Likely this is not usually the case but would be nice for the resort to buy more chairs for future! Pool is tiny (not tons of chairs/space around it) but nice. The beach is huge with lots of spots in the shade. Soft sand and ocean is nice once you pass a bit of seaweed. Entertainment: Lots of daily activities, shows at night are the same as you typically see. Lots for kids to do! Overall would recommend and we would return!

Wyndham Alltra Samana: Good choice!

Very relaxing resort. The rooms were well kept (ours I believe was a little older - not the Select Package). Food was great, with a great variety. The rooms are close to the pool and beach with plenty of space to find a cozy spot. Be warned though that this resort is out of tge way - about an half and half ride from the airport, and not much to do around the resort. That being said, great location to relax. Props to the staff for putting together a great New Years Eve dinner and party.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Substandard Resort

Check in - Rooms were to be ready at 3pm and they were not. Resort - is massive with a ton of people Staff barely speak English Wait was very long for water, food at any restaurant Sante Fe Steakhouse was a horrible meal, quality of food was very poor Rest of the a la carte restaurants are good to better Drink selection is adequate not great. Although they say 3 rounds of golf are included; you still had to pay $75 US per person per golf round for the golf cart. Ants in room; after getti [... read more]ng them to spray still took a few days to go away You could only exchange beach towels from your room; you couldn't get any additional beach towels and the towel staff was very rude about it. Pool and beach were extremely overcrowded with no available loungers at anytime of day The golf course and the staff at the golf course were the only highlights of the trip. Although the landscape staff is constantly trying to sell you balls in secret from Hole #1.

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Exactly what we expected

The resort was clean wth friendly staff and entertainment crew Being a smaller resort a smaller selection at the buffet was to be expected but the food was fine. The beach was beautiful nice sand with no rocks. Having an on-site disco every night meant there was something to do late when we chose too. If you are looking for posh you will be disappointed but for a nice relaxing vacation it was just what we needed

Secrets Royal Beach: Wonderful vacation!

We just returned from a week at Secrets Royal Beach, Punta Cana. It was an amazing resort! Our room was beautiful, the food was great and the beach was beautiful. We definitely recommend going with the Preferred Club accommodations. Having a separate beach area was a definite plus.

Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Beautiful Resort

We stayed at the Majestic Mirage from Dec 28-Jan 4. The resort is beautiful! Modern rooms, stunning lobby, restaurants and the grounds are meticulous. The beach has gorgeous white sand, and the water was clear. The rooms were immaculate and within close proximity to the beach and lobby. The Colonial and Elegance (sister hotels) are also close by, along with a casino. The service was excellent. I don’t remember getting attitude or dirty looks from any staff members ever. They all worked hard es [... read more]pecially the Buffet staff, and sincerely give the impression that they enjoy being there. Very deserving of tips. There are numerous beach chairs and cushioned cabanas which were super comfortable but it was quite busy so you had to play the towel game early. The food was the only thing that was questionable at times. You must RSVP the French and Japanese restaurants through your butler or using the Esteysi App. Our butler Maiky stayed in touch throughout but we really didn’t need him. Our experience with the restaurant food- Hibachi- excellent (RSVP) or sushi. L’Essence- poor (RSVP) Italian- good Main buffet - good Seaside Grill- buffet during the day was good, restaurant at night excellent. Sports pub- fair Lounges by the beach- great for breakfast & snacks. The glasses at the beach bar were not clean - bottled water only! Plenty of premium liquor at the bars! Many had mixed reviews of the food which was understandable. Always wipe down your glasses/utensils, use a straw whenever possible and don’t drink the tap water and you should be fine. Many people bringing their cold & flu to the resort but some were complaining of food poisoning. There is a pharmacy but it’s expensive $$$! The entertainment crew were quite good and try to get everyone to participate. The evening theatre entertainment was better than expected for the DR. $US cash is available at the casino. ATM’s in all lobby’s dispense Dominican pesos and they charge a 10% fee. We had beautiful sunny weather all week and celebrated New Years there as well. All in all the resort is beautiful, the service is excellent and I would recommend this resort for couples or families.

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: Great resort, exceeded expectations

First class hotel, with excellent service. Well kept and clean. Superior buffet and Italian restaurant. Special advance room request was handled without s hitch. Best for adults or families with older kids. Would return any time.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary in Grande Bahia Principe El Portillo Dec 23-30, 2017

I send our two page review to our excellent agent TERESA. The review points out the positive and negative points. Please ask her for the information. There were issues with the groupings of our three families for flight , seat assignments to and from Samana; confusion due to bookings for William the Sunquest rep with transfer to the Resort as well as problems with room location at the Resort. Upon her return from holidays, Teresa did call the Resort to confirm our requests. We still do not u [... read more]nderstand the confusion was it due to the agent replacing Teresa, Sunquest agent or the people at the Resort. In spite of the challenges faced, we did enjoy the holiday at this Resort celebrating our 50th, our daughter's 20 and our son's 15th wedding anniversaries. El Portillo is a good family type resort.

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: The rooms are a little tired and need some updating.

We found that the resort was too far from the airport and took about two hours by bus to reach. Because of this, we lost the first day. When we arrived we were disappointed to find several things in the room that needed to be addressed: the safe did not work and they had replace it; the bar fridge did not work and had to be replaced, the handle was missing on one of the two drawers of the dresser and there was no hair dryer in the room. We spoke to the Transat representative the next morningt [... read more] and he had the issues addressed. Unfortunately we lost 1/2 day waiting for all of the items to be corrected. On the other hand, the food was very good and the staff were friendly and helpful.

Be Live Experience Hamaca Beach: Untrustworthy-sneaky business practices!

We were so excited about our vacation only to have our excitement quickly squashed. Upon arrival, it took 2 1/2 hours to receive attention at the front desk as there were a multitude of unsatisfied vacationers complaining in front of us. The problem? They overbooked their beach side (the 4 star) and were placing guests in their garden side (3 star cough cough) We too were told they would have to place us there. It was horrendous! The room was disgusting! Broken front door, no light bulbs in th [... read more]e light fixtures, broken toilet, crickets under our bed, the mini fridge was corroded and you could see through it to the inside. Cobwebs everywhere. The beds were broken and extremely outdated and uncomfortable. The pillows were shredded sheets shoved inside a pillow case. Dark, dingy, uninviting and just gross! Front desk personnel and "guest services were rude, unhelpful and simply chose to ignore the customers. Every person we met had the same problem. On a plus side for us, we did finally receive service (only after literally hunting down a manager) We were ready to return to airport and figure out a way home. Many people were forced to stay in the sub standard accommodations. The food was Good, however service was not. We were constantly being pushed to buy things, they don't take no for an answer. Snack bar was fries, burgers and hot dogs...everyday. Housekeeping was minimal, basic half assed. The same dirty drink glasses were put back on our bathroom counters. The lobby is uninviting and drab. You had to pay daily for use of your room safe and $20 deposit per person for use of towels! The resort is right beside the town and did not feel safe. You have to cross a road to get to the buffet. It was busy and scary. Constant road of motorcycles, cars beeping their horns and a bar adjacent to the resort that blasts music all day and into the night until 430 am. We were approached by security personnel for cigarettes. They did put on a nice new years eve. Because of their sketchy booking practices (read other reviews, it appears to happen consistently) I would not return to this property. I am grateful for the service received by the room manager but also believe it was only because of my persistence. Think twice before booking this resort.

Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: Lovely resort !

This was our second stay at Christmas at this picturesque little resort. Beach is beautiful, seating areas are the nicest I’ve ever been to in over 30+ years of travel. Highly recommend to families. Staff was wonderful and always willing to take extra care !

Cayo Levantado Resort: Simply wonderfull

This exotic Island has a feeling of euphoria . The vegetation and beautiful beach was tranquil and very relaxing. I would return anytime. It is unfortunate that they are going back to a family resort. The entire place screams ADULTS and I see no way they can profit from this decision. We booked through Trip Central and were very happy with the experience. Like I said , I will return ...but only if Adult Only.

VIK Hotel Arena Blanca: Enjoyed the resort

We booked an oceanfront suite and were so glad we did. View was amazing in building 5. The resort is well laid out. We never felt like we had long walks to get anywhere. All the hurricane damage has been repaired. The beach is cleaned daily for seaweed. Food was good, even at the buffet which had a different variety every night. I loved that we did not have to make reservations for the a la carte restaurants. Also they break up the smoking and non-smoking sections. Rooms were cl [... read more]ean although dated but we appreciated the cleanliness. The only complaint we had in our room was the air conditioning and safe. It never got colder than 24.5c even though maintenance looked at it twice. The bathroom was especially hot. The safe was a charge of $14US and you have to carry a key for the whole week as safe is not digital. Wifi is only free in the lobby and a lot of people swarm to it to use it so it's really slow. You can buy wifi for $70US for the week. This is very antiquated! The staff work hard and most are very friendly even if there is a language barrier, but we are in their country. Overall we would go back again.

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Great resort

Just reopened the day we arrived. So things still needed to be done. Main ones phones in rooms were not working no working toilet in the buffet restaurant the food needs to be upgraded and sure it will in time. Amazing friendly staff our butler Emmanuel was the best awesome went beyond and above. Saw us everyday great positive lively greeting. Also hector and Habas. They are excellent. Why don’t you give them a small tip a dat. Every dollar add a up. Overall I would recommend this hotel in a [... read more] few months so they fix the things needed to be fixed. Should have opened in January not December. To much to do and not done this

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Nice resort with a good prize-to-value ratio

The beach was amazing and the rooms were clean and nice. Overall, this adults only resort is very nice and a good place for some relaxed days (no loud music etc.) as a couple or as a group witth a good prize-to value ratio. Also the staff is very friendly. However, the food quality varied across different restaurants/places and days.

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Amazing resort

Majestic colonial is a wonderful resort when considering beach, pools and bars. But its rooms are not as good. Tho rooms are not very clean, they are old and the room service is very slow and not efficient. Check-in process was also very slow.