Punta Cana Princess: Very dissatisfied and disappointed

We booked an oceanview deluxe suite at this resort having been to Dominican back in February. We were shown to our room and instead of oceanview received a pool view with trees front and center. After complaining to reception we were given another room which was closer to the ocean but exactly the same view as before. When I complained again, I was told the only oceanview are the honeymoon suites, which were not available to me as they were all booked. What kind of resort offers oceanview wh [... read more]en they don't have these rooms available? We were told to speak to our sunwing Rep, who made inquiries and also concluded that no oceanview rooms were available, he recommended we speak to our travel agent who should help make things right. I paid for an oceanview room, I could have paid less and got the same view I'm not happy. After that, we had no choice but to stay in this room. The maid service was good for two days, after which the service went dramatically bad, even by tipping every day. Bed was just casually made no extra welcome was offered. The fridge in the room was only serviced after asking for water and beer, no snacks made available. The ala carte restaurant were a hit and miss, only four on the resort and not all of them open at the same time. Buffet was mediocre at best. Both myself and my girlfriend became sick as did a lot of fellow guests that we spoke with. Water in the room was not suitable for brushing your teeth, Overall this resort claims to be 5 star, I would compare it to a Cuba style 3.5 star. Very disappointed for the money that I spent.

Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Resort was well maintained and clean.

The resort overall was clean and nicely laid out. The butler we had was hardly seen or heard from. The staff seemed a bit unorganized. The rooms where very nice and the roof top was great. The restaurants where nice and overall service by staff was good.

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Fantasic Resort

This resort was amazing!!! The food and the hotel staff and service was great Perfect for my whole family, the children had a blast at the pool and the beach. Couldn't have asked for a better choice of vacation :) I truly enjoyed the 7 days we were there, will return in the near future

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Great Vacation all-around!

We just returned from a one-week stay at the Iberostar Costa Dora resort in Puerto Plata. The resort has a fabulous setting both the outdoors (landscaping and the beach) and indoors (rooms, bars, restaurants, disco, etc.), as well as friendly, courteous, professional and attentive staff. We were especially impressed with our main restaurant waiter, JOEL, tennis pro, PABLO, and our room housekeeper, KENIA.

Riu Merengue: Awesome hotel

Fun and friendly hope to get back soon entertainment out of this world Bar staff are great room amazing great value for money would go back tomorrow food was amazing lots variety very safe resort I went alon

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Horrible Resort

Very noisy, no ar conditioning in public areas, they don't care about the guests. Very expensive tours and trips compared with exactly the same trips offered in other places around. The food, OMG!! Couldn't be worse! no varieties, badly prepared, no taste at all. In addition, food poisoning. The rooms are ok and the service is ok too. The resort is small and it doesn't offer quality for the guests. The gym is really rough and the drinks are as horrible as the food. Definitely I would'n return th [... read more]ere and I don't recommend it to anyone. At least 2 stars should be dropped from this shit hotel.

Majestic Mirage Punta Cana All Suite Resort: Mixed review

The Majestic part of the Mirage is new. 7 months old when we went (July 2017). And is still going through growing pains. The client experience is uneven. Some parts unbelievable (rooms and beach) others you see will shortly get to the exquisite level of the Elegance and some need more work. Take the gamble and you will not be disappointed if you can manage your expectations on an even keel. In case you feel out of sorts speak to Javier he will sort it all out. All and all good place that has t [... read more]he potential to be amazing.

Riu Naiboa: Poor Resort

Rooms are not cleaned properly, refill of fridge not done regularly. Pool is small and not properly cleaned. Almost same food everyday, not enough choice of food for vegetarian. Too much mosquito in room. Coupons are not given at time of check-in as part of our packages from Hotel and sunwings. I don't like this resort as per money I spent.

Wyndham Alltra Samana: For People Who Are There For The Weather

Don't look too closely and don't sweat the little things. There were minor imperfections such as a clogged drain, smoke detector that needed a battery, and the fridge that didn't work, but the service was great and the staff was polite. I enjoyed the food and had a lot to choose from.

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Nice grounds

We stayed at the Majestic Colonial where the grounds are beautiful and well kept. Staff is very friendly. The area where the most improvement is needed is the rooms and housekeeping. Rooms are run down and not kept as clean as we like. Had to ask for more towels quite frequently. I understand they will be doing a renovation in 2 months. Buffet could use some changes as well, everyday seemed like the day before. Would be good if they changed it up a bit more. Weather and beach was beautiful.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Satisfying to disappointed due to MOLDS

This is our first time in DR and we feel everything was excellent value for money from the food, staff and the amenities including the rooms. We were assigned adjoining room at the ground floor and the rooms look clean but the beddings smells moldy. Something that we ignored. Coming back home, we noted that all our bags and clothing smelled intensely moldy. To our further disappointment, the smell did not go even after washing and drying the clothes. We have to soak our things in vinegar and [... read more] baking soda and re-wash them to get rid of the smell. Concerned that this could cause sickness if not addressed by the hotel management. I am not sure if the same problem is widespread or it only happens on the ground floor of building 5 and in our assigned adjoining rooms. So what an otherwise wonderful experience was negated by the moldy smell. Because of this, I am reluctant to recommend this hotel at this point.

Cayo Levantado Resort: Great relaxing week!

My husband and I just came back from a week long vacation here. We had concern with it being a "low season" which would often mean rain and mosquitoes but there were absolutely NO mosquitoes on the island and it only rained briefly a couple of times! We kept seeing storm clouds over the main land but no clouds above. It felt like the mountains on the main land were attracting all the bad weather and we got all the sunshine :))) It's a laid back, relaxing kind of resort. Not so much for pe [... read more]r thing or gambling. But there's still activities, music, sports to enjoy. Animation team is hilarious )as are a lot of the waiters in the restaurants), Amarillos and Kendrick in particular. They made it fun. My husband and I won a handful of prizes in the silly funny games they made us play at the beach and pool. I enjoyed water aerobics every day and my husband played beach volleyball. alrhough he said the volleyball is not the best because it's so close to sidewalk. 24 hour room service is a great perk! If it's raining or if you're too lazy to get out of bed, or if you need a midnight snack! Food was great in all buffets and restaurants. In restaurants, they will offer you a wine list for extra charge. If you don't want to pay, just ask them for house wine which is free. Also, every restaurant makes their own complimentary cocktail. We like that no one is expecting tips from you. We tipped anyway where we felt appropriate but there was no pressure to tip that you usually feel in Cuba. Wifi in the room was very good. We watched Netflix and used FaceTime no problem. Wifi at the beach is spotty. Drinks - you got to try the national liquor called MamaJuana :P :P Cleaning was great! They will clean your room twice a day sometimes! We also liked that the main beach and the main pool are right next to each other, so you don't have to walk far and you don't have to think where to go - it's all right there in one place. The "snack bar" is a full buffet right next to the pool (As opposed to just mediocre burgers and fries on the beach) All in all, we had the best time!

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: A bit disappointed

Sorry for taking so long to send this review on Blue Bay Villas Doradas Resort I stayed between June 2-9 (for 7 days)..I have a mix feelings as I would not have a good thing to say if I would have done this review right after my arrival in Canada...but here we go.. First walk-in into the hotel, I was surprised that our files to check-in was outside Front Desk and we need to find our files and check-in, this is out of the ordinary for me, due to my experiences travelling (Cuba, Mexico, St Luci [... read more]a just to name others) this kind of checking in is a bit odd to me..I travel alone and to mingle & mingle after a flight delayed arriving very late at night and was accommodated in a "chaotic" checked in situations, was not a good impressions at all. I finally found my check-in files and handed in to one of the personnel and literally I have to do all the check-in papers filling in and put my wrist band. I said am alone and tired and want to see my room pls..they called their porter but cannot assist me as he is very busy cutting all wrist band of other visitors, before taking us to our room, I waited until his done and finally he took me to my room which just few feet away from the swimming pool :( He showed me how to use my keys in a hurry, I was very hungry and need something to eat..this is around 12:am I saw a tray of cold-cuts, fruits and crackers, that's now stale and look not edible...I tried to eat the soggy/soft crackers due to fruits juice contamination and went to sleep...I woke up and have to program myself to a good start. I don't want to ruin my vacation just because of my first impression that check-in night...so here are my overall resorts impression: Food: almost the same dish everyday - all hot/cooked dish are very salty (they must really love to salt their food) Pool: are very clean and since I am just 10 feet away room from the pool I cannot rest in my room as I hear everything going on around the pool. Beach: clean/clear beach, I cannot say anything more about the beach, I love it..so this is a plus, and I stayed at the beach mostly, and went on excursions away from the resort the best as I was not happy with my room surroundings Entertainment: they are mediocre shows...I guess because maybe Iam use to Cuba/Mexico, etc entertainment, they showcase their cultures and has Pool shows as well...Blue Bay just sticks to their own and no variation...I find a contest for Ms Blue Bay esp very boring. Entertainment team only sticks to returners (I guess cause they've known them already) they have no interest in adding new comers? that's how I see it..they are not very friendly to newcomers at all. Front Desk: I have a lot to say here...they are NOT very friendly at all, but somehow they seems to NOT know anything when you ask for help, they keep on pointing to their next person beside them and that person also seem to NOT know how to assist with your inquiries...they will tell you to come back and see another person who could assist my need and or request...names I remember cause they are first person you see and greet when you come in and out of the resorts..and their gestures and expertise on customers and visitors can affect how you view and evaluate how good the resorts/hotel are...they failed to do that for me...Jonathan Guerrero, I requested to help me in extending my stay in my room as my flight not till 9:45pm and bus to airport will not pick me till 6:30pm...he said he does not know how to extend my time and have to come back, several times I came to before I finally found Yudi Liz Gomez, who finally knows how to extend times for $35.00 US and gave her $40.00 she has no change, so I said find a change for my 40..I realized ok then keep the change..she was very happy and I got my extended times..It made me feel like maybe if I would have given Jonathan a tip I would have not wasted my time to come back and forth and wait for someone to assist with my request. I will never ever forget Manolo Hernandez, a smile less person, he was the first person I went to ask when we're checking why our files were outside Front Desk, he looked at me and said, "its not our fault" we don't have enough personnel cause your flight was delayed and it's almost midnight, so find your files and check yourself in!...huh!! I did not argue, am far from arguing, I am documenting that's what I am...so here I am..I saw him again the next morning and was requesting for a help me find a local phone so I could call my friend from Tubagua..he looked at me and says..he'll help pointing his pout lips to the front desk person next to him it was Johnny Garcia, Johnny Garcia smiled at me and we share the same last name, so I was very happy with him, very professional and accommodating, we joked about being related maybe? and when he asked me "how was your stay so far at our resort"...I guess I was waiting for this question and I blurted out everything of my experience to him with this resorts, he said I will inform our Supervisor and will let him know how you felt..this is not right...so I was called to the Superhead of FrontDesk..he talked to me, and gave a complementary dining at one to of the A la carte restaurant, of which I went but there again..it was very cold treatment dining but thanks anyway. Overall...I think, there's room for improvement, my expectations was not meet, but I am not crossing this resorts out yet...I like Puerto Plata, my first time but with my experience in Blue Bay will not stop me from going back and visit again. They are not the only resorts around and might try again as returner..I'll see. Overall, I will give the resorts a score from 1-10 a 3 cause at least there's one Johnny Garcia who can make the difference...Johnny also found my iPhone 6plus, I accidentally left behind on the sofa of the FrontDesk..this a long story, so I'll cut it now by saying Johnny you're the best and keep up the good work..Thank you and hope to see you again! Cheers!

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Great Resort

I loved that the resort was small. Family rooms were great. The entertainment and activities were awesome. Clean and well kept grounds. Food was good, but the Japanese was excellent!! The beach was nice, a little seaweed but nothing to keep people out of the water. We would go back.

Grand Bavaro Princess: Bavaro Princess is The Best in Punta Cana

EXCELLENT RESORT! I loved it! My mom and my daughter loved it as well! Even though it was a 3/4 days trip but everything was excellent. No complaints...Can't wait to come back!!!! Thanks to Tracy Weldon (from TripCentral) for suggesting this Hotel.

Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Customer service needs lots of work

Viva Wyndham Tangerine is a small, cozy resort with outside buildings and grounds that were always well kept. Renovations to the rooms were poorly done and made them look dirty, especially the bathroom. Food was good, though nothing to write home about. Selection was very repetitive despite apparently having daily themes at the buffet. Italian a la carte was not great, but the Mexican a la carte was really good. We did not try the 3rd a la carte as the menu did not appeal to anyone in our fa [... read more]mily. Above all, the biggest drawback of this resort, in my opinion, is the customer service, or lack thereof. An important part of our vacation experience is the connections we normally make with the people that work at the hotel and at this location we did not connect with anyone because no one even made an effort to talk with us despite me speaking Spanish.

Tropical Deluxe Princess: Wonderful family vacation!

We spent the week at Tropical Princess resort. Had a family suite. 2 adults, 3 children. Overall great vacation! 5/5: food 5/5: service 5/5: beach and pools 3/5: rooms Rooms need a deep cleaning especially bathrooms. Very dusty furniture even though cleaning lady passed everyday. Royalton sellers were too demanding, harassing us every morning at the buffet to come to a 20 mins meeting for them to get their commision. It got really annoying during 6 days to have to say no 5-6 times  [... read more]a day. Wish the hotel would forbid this company. It's not helpful to anyone and i question if they actually earn a living from this. Was our first visit to punta cana and loved the animation in pool, the servers at the buffet were very efficient and the creperie was delicious!!! Would recommend and come again!

Riu Merengue: Very disappointed

I need to first premise my review. I have lived in the D.R. for extended periods. I have been on vacation there maybe 30 times at 10 or more different resorts.My wife is Dominican. About the only good thing about this was the amazing people that worked there in reception, the bars and the restaurants. In saying that, this was the most disappointing resort experience I have ever had. The room was decent and we had a good location.The problem was that if you did not leave a tip it did not ge [... read more]t cleaned very well. The fridge was never stocked like they said it would be. The last day we were there it was not cleaned at all. Food. from 1 to 10, a 2. It was the same thing every day with maybe 2 or three items that were changed. 3 days we had to wait over an hour to have dinner because there was no seating left. The food was quite tasteless and there were little flies always invading the fruit bar. Here is what made this resort miserable. They overbooked their day passes with 100's of Dominicans. This is where some people are going to think I am horrible. I love Dominican people but when get them in a resort they want to take over the place. They crowd in front of you at the restaurants and bars. They make the pool unusable, drinking in the pool and leaving the glasses (paper or plastic) in the pool. They were loud and obnoxious. Several times I would leave our loungers for a couple of minutes and found people trying take them over when I got back! One day I was sitting in a place where I could see the bathrooms. I did not see 1 person in a bathing suit go there! That is not conducive to me to want to go into the pool. I wish I had something better to say but quite frankly, I have more positive in my review than how I actually feel. I in no way have any animosity towards trip central. This may have even been a very rare event. Phil Dunn

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Luxury Bahia Principe Amber Blue

Friendly environment with very good service. Beach needs more management to prevent customers from preserving beach seats by their towels. Excellent foods and drinks where ever you go. Overall is a very good vacation at Bahia Principe.

Sensatori Resort Punta Cana: Amazing property...

We had a great vacation overall, I will break down the review in sections: Property: Was absolutely stunning. Was a very new property and was just beautiful and amazing. We booked a family swim up suite, and we couldn't have asked for more. The room was so clean, and modern. Everything was great. The pools and everything was clean. The resort, even though very busy, and (they said) completely full, the beach was never packed, there were so many moments I was on the property looking out at th [... read more]e ocean with no one in front of me. There was no trouble booking cabanas or getting chairs at either the beach or the pool, mostly a little hard to find one with an umbrella mid-day. Most of the pool bars are closer to the beach area so we had to walk quite far to get a drink during the day, but still, amazing property overall. Food/Restaurants: Unfortunately, I'd say this was the lowest point for me... the meat at the buffets were too dry most of the time, and my 2 year old son who usually loves to eat, would barely eat anything at all except the fruit pouches they provided. He for some reason didn't even find the fish and chips/chicken fingers or fries appealing... I didn't enjoy the food much. The fruit was good, and fresh, however, nothing else was super impressive. The white beach party was great, the food was amazing that day, nothing was overcooked and was very good. We really liked the food in Mexico better at Azul Fives. The Space restaurant was really cool and neat. The buffets offered during lunch were very unimpressive, and nothing I looked forward to eating. We asked to book restaurants the 2nd day we arrived (we arrived at 3pm in the afternoon so unpacked and settled in first) and by that time, we couldn't get any restaurant reservations until the last 2 days of vacation, which actually might be a blessing in disguise... We had the Italian Restaurant the day before we left and I had a terrible case of food poisoning as soon as I got to the airport. I'm not sure if it's from the restaurant, or something else I ate at the resort... but it was absolutely the worst thing ever, considering the heat and being dehydrated from not being able to keep down water with two toddlers in tow. I also asked for avocado (just plain b/c my toddler wasn't eating) and apparently the searched the resort for 4 days straight (b/c I tried to get some every day) and they don't have any avocados there which I find a little weird... As for drinks, I'd say this place was very lacking on the drinks offered, and the knowledge of some of the staff on how to make drinks. I ordered a Strawberry Daiquiri twice, and ended up with a Margarita. My husband ordered a Caesar and somehow ended up with beer in it once, and then the second time it was made from Gin... The bar on the beach and at the beaches or pool bars were fine, it was moreso if you ordered anything at the main buffet... They also only had (very) bottom shelf selection of alcohol. They didn't even have Stolicnaya Vodka or Disaronno. They had some Margaritaville brand and Absolute. Again, we much preferred the drinks in the Mexico Property. At the coffee shop, I'd order the same thing everyday and it came out tasting different every time. It was great the first time, and then never again. They had several things on the menu which they couldn't make bc they didn't have ingredients for it, ie. Matcha green tea, soy, and some juices. They 'ran out' of soy for 5 days... and mid-day they had no apples for juice... someone ordered the wrong thing in front of me and they said it was what I wanted... I asked if it was a Caramel Machiatto and they said yes... no, then added about 1/3 a cup of syrup and said it was what I wanted and to try it... it tasted like water for some reason and she said it shouldnt, and and after a bit of back and forth she made a new one. Child-friendliness: was amazing. The playhouse was great, we dropped our 4 year old here once a day for 2 hours, and this was the favourite part of her trip!! They also had a play (theatre) show at 7:30pm each night where families go and watch a show, there's a bar in the back (of course) for the parents, and they did a bedtime story there too. Kids of all ages enjoyed the show (1-15), it was great. They also showed a movie in the courtyard and served either popcorn/cotton candy every night, which was amazing b/c the kids loved it as well. Great resort for kids. Service: I'd have to say service is very mediocre here. There were a few people who were great, and we liked their service a lot, but I'd say 70-75% of the people didn't really make you feel as welcome as you would at a lot of the other all-inclusive resorts we've been to in Dominican or Mexico. I will specifically mention the bar server at the beach Jose Luis was really amazing. He went above and beyond any expectations I had in any resort. B/c our room was far from bars, and I was returning back to the room, I wanted to get drinks for myself and husband to bring back to the room - I was going to try to carry 4 drinks back myself (which i have done before), but he insisted on helping me out b/c he loved to be helpful. I know a lot of people will ask for you to write a good review of them on their site, but he never asked at all. He just went above my expectations for amazing service and I wanted to (hopefully) give him recognition for it. Cleanliness: The rooms were great, the outside property was maintained amazing, however, the high chairs weren't very clean, as well, we found a lot of the dishes were actually quite dirty. You could go to the buffet and ask for a bowl, and someone would bring you one and then wipe it down randomly with a cloth on the counter... and if you looked at it, it would be dirty with fresh food on it...The tables a lot of times at the main buffet were sticky - the first night we got there and sat down, my hand felt like it touched syrup... I really wasn't impressed with the cleanliness at the buffet. For the price we paid for this resort I'd expected more. I still have to say that overall we did have a great vacation... of course minus the food poisoning part but wanted to be very thorough with the review....