Amazing Vacation

This resort was excellent. We enjoyed how close we were to the beach, Reception area and eating options. Although not an "adults only" resort, we had access to this new pool that is for "adults only", which gave us the quiet and relaxing time all adults enjoy every once in a while.

Third visit and still loving it! :)

This was my third to Grand Palladium in Punta Cana, it was five years since my last visit. I have noticed a lot of changes, mostly good ones but some not as good. I found there was less choices of food at the buffet, and not because I now have a lot of food allergies and sensitivities that I didn't have before , but also from my husband's point of view. We do want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Jose Miguel and also Frankelly both managers at the Bavaro buffet and also so them and they saved me at s [... read more]ome of the a la cartes as well. As I said I have ALOT of food allergies and so took a letter along translated into Spanish to help me out on things I could and could not eat. These two amazing men along with a third man whom I didn't get his name saved my soul as they were the few individuals that only spoke English and related to the chefs, omelette guys, the amazing girl blending fresh fruit shakes and juices in the morning at the Bavaro buffet, for me. Also Frankelly went to the Mexican and also the Gourmet Steak house and explained things for me, and also I had one of my BEST meals at the Japanese restaurant in Palace. Thank you all for finding some items that were not only safe but tasty for me to eat. I do have to say I was totally disappointed with the help we received at the Palace PR girl . Very young and I don't know if she was new at her job, but not understanding and upset both myself and my husband. Lastly I am soooo glad to say we found our great old friend William , who this time worked at the Palace Pool bar, but the last two times were at the Punta Cana Pool bar. This was even better as this time we actually stayed in the Palace area. Also Clara at the Palace Swim up , it was a pleasure to meet you for the first time and spend time with you. We loved our room which was on the side of the first block on the beach . Block 8100 it was on the side so the cool breeze we experienced the first few days were blocked but we still had oceanview as well as gardenview and that breeze in the coconut limbs that hung over our balcony giving you that soothing sound. I believe I will return again, if I have the funds to go back. I think you definitely need at least 10 days to 2 weeks to experience all the great areas and restaraunts at the is resort as well as the 6 pools and the awesome beach.

Clean Resort

Overall, the resort and holiday was nice. We had upgraded to a loft suite for the purpose of getting adjoining rooms, and they were unable to accommodate. My son had things stolen from his room (cell phone and $) and the front desk was very indifferent and unaccommodating. Aside from these two issues, the service, food, and resort were all quite nice.

Took awhile to appreciate

the hotel was very lovely and clean, however when we first got to our room the tv didn't work and the Jacuzzi tub didn't work. It took 3 days and 5 complaints to get them to finally move us to a different room. That being said the room they gave us was wonderful ocean view and everything worked.

Not a very great experience

Resort was beautiful when we checked in and our room was fine on the first night. We had no idea where we were and thought that we were supposed to have a room with a loft. When we called the front desk we were told very rudely that we were given an upgrade and if we didn`t like it to call the concierge and then the phone was hung up. Our room was beautiful so we thought it would be ok. Questions regarding wifi were given 2 different answers - computers in the lobby, purchasing for access in our [... read more] room, which I did for $50, only to find out 3 days later that we could use the wifi in the lobby at no charge. During the middle of our second night we were woken by loud noises coming from the bathroom and the next morning our toilet was plugged. Cleaning staff came in and flushed and then it overflowed. Maintenance was called and we thought that the problem was solved. In the meantime, we tried to book our a la cartes with great difficulty. We were told that we could not book into the steak house at all during our week. After 3 attempts we were finally given reservations to the bbq, the steak house and the Japanese restaurant. Food at the buffets was not great, but the staff were so nice that we were ok with it. On our last evening we had a great time at the Japanese restaurant but when we got back to our room it was completely flooded. Maintenance was called and came at about 9 pm, worked until midnight to clean and disinfect. We were woken several times during the night with the loud noises coming from the washroom. At 6 am I got up and saw that the toilet was plugged again. I went to the lobby to use the washroom. I told staff at the front desk twice that we were not happy about what had happened and they told me that they would make a report. By this point we just wanted to get home! We got on our bus that afternoon and arrived at the airport. Going through customs was a nightmare. The computers went down, the fans were not on, children were screaming and after approximately 90 mins we made it through. Hurried to get to the duty free shop, but the power went off before we could pay for our purchase and were told to leave the store. We rushed to get to our gate and managed to grab something quickly at the next duty free, but had no time to eat before we boarded. We did not eat before leaving the resort because we thought that we would have a lot of time at the airport and with no sleep the night before, we were exhausted. Upon our return, our daughter Stephanie left 2 voice mail messages with Trip Central to talk about our trip, but her calls were not returned. She felt terrible because she researched and helped us book our first trip to an all inclusive resort. The food, beverage, cleaning and maintenance staff are very nice, but we would never go back to this resort.

Allergic persons, beware!

Neat resort, very clean except on the day when it ran out of water. Then, all public toilets were full to the rim with human waste, some overflowing on the floor. One client of the hotel, a plumber by trade, helped fix one toilet. Not the kind of activities you expect while on vacations, I bet. My fellow traveler, allergic to peanuts and nuts in general, had a bad experience at the tapas restaurant. Even though she asked if her dessert contained nuts and was assured by the waiter, a young man,  [... read more]that it did not, it did in fact contain nuts. She was very sick that night (cramps and vomiting). We did return to the tapas restaurant on our last night. We did not expect the steak tapa to contain nuts! Again, she had an allergic reaction, but this time she came prepared with Benadryl. The reaction was mild. She did speak to the manager, who explained to her that she should have got some "Allergy card" at the front desk the night we arrived (we arrived @ 11:30pm) to ensure proper service at restaurants. That experience left us a bit weary. We both got hit with Matuzema's revenge, my friend on our last day at the resort and I back home. Avoid any food not cooked, said the nurse back home. The room was lovely, with 2 double beds, shower, toilet, sink and tub, though we would have preferred not to have the bath tub in the sleeping room, but in the bathroom, as we are not a couple. Our balcony faced the ocean. This place is actually 4 resorts on one gigantic property. A mini train of sort travels between the different hotels. The property is very well maintened (except for the overflowing toilets when the water is cut off). Clients have access to all restaurants, except the one reserved for the clients of the adult-only resort. No sign warns you of this so we waited 30 minutes for a restaurant just to be told that we could not go in. No reservations at the restaurants. The steak house and the Italian restaurants have long queues that form 45 minutes before the doors open. Before queueing, always check that the restaurant is actually open that night (information that is not given at restaurants, but on a card display in the lobby). We had no clue how the Brasilian restaurant operates. The waitress kept coming by with more meat until we told her we had enough. She then turned a green card on our table to the red side. This meant we didn't want any more food. If someone had told us that, we would have turned it ourselves way before, instead of wasting food. Overall, the best restaurant was the steak house. Perfectly grilled meat (I like mine medium-rare), but all plates had these funny decorations that looked like alien antennas. Make sure to bring enough medications and sunscreen, as the products sold at the resort store are 20 times more expensive than in Canada. US$40 for a bottle of sunscreen? No thank you. Staff is friendly, but a part from the personnel at the front desk, most speak limited English. About the beach. Lovely beach, with white sand, but the clients go out at 4:00-5:00 am to put out their beach towels and reserve umbrellas! This meant we either had to find shelter under some bushes or try to fit our chairs under the limited shade of the coconut trees that line the beach. Either the clients are crazy or there is really not enough sun umbrellas.

Our Second Home

2014 was our tenth consecutive yearly visit to the Palladium in Punta Cana. The resort is massive however the staff makes it seem small. We love everything about it. We are beach people and we don’t think you will find a better beach than Bavaro anywhere. I have no idea how many pools there are but I’m sure we have tried all of them. The fifteen plus restaurants are great and the staff treats you like family. I can’t say enough good about the place. In our mind it is perfect

Needs upgrades, definitly not a 5star resort

This resort needs upgrades bad. It is not a 5star resort, at this time. The grounds smell of sewer, the rooms need to be upgraded. A loft suite is not for 4 adults, it should be listed for two only> We went as 4 adults because our girls are older, they did not have the accomodations that they should of had. The so called pull out coach is old and smelly. And the resort never even made it up for the girls. They brought in a cot for our youngest with sheets and a pillow only. And the oldest had a  [... read more]blanket and a pillow we found in the closet. In my mind this is very poor service.Our girls froze. It took 4 day, 4times asking before i got 2 blankets. We were not impressed at all. And when we arrived late at night we weren"t even put in our right room. I had to go to our Nolitour guide the next morning and he spoke with the manager and then we didn't get our right room until 2pm! When we spend a lot a money on a vacation, we expect to have better service than that. It was our girls first trip South. We will not be going back to Dominican Republic. We found that on the resort they couldn't speak English and they were rude. The best person we had was the bartender at the pool. She spoke good english and treated us like people.

Needs work

hotel has been let to run down.have stayed at all the hotels on this resort in the past.A/Cdidn't work.were told by front desk supervisor the intl. stardard was 25C and this was what the hotel was set at.Took three days of moving to get the room we had booked.In room safe had to get new batteries four times,and you had to go to the room and wait each time.not a great way to spent a vacation.Bar ran out of wine, every night we were there.The only things still great about this resort are the staff [... read more] and the great beach.Will not return until this hotel has been greatly upgraded.

Nice but too big

a lot of variety,but too big especially when u have young kids.u need to take the train regularly to get to your points of interest. the kids club is amazing u never know where u will end-up staying .our reservation was for the palace but we ended in another part ,they didn't even bother to tell us it wasn't the palace. nice staff,but very anonymous and regularly pushing for tips.

Beyond my Expectations

This trip was a present to my daughter just finishing her Master's Degree. We both needed a place where we could relax, unwind, and enjoy the landscape and setting. We felt safe and taken care of the minute we walked through the airport and were brought by shuttle to the Hotel. The rooms were clean, spacious, and quiet. The staff were helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable of the area and culture. They made the extra effort to make sure we were satisfied. They suggested excellent day excursions, w [... read more]hich we enjoyed. I am a vegetarian and had ample choices of restaurants, meals and healthy selections of fruits and vegetables as well as protein. The waiters and waitresses recognized me and brought me special treats as I also did not drink alcohol. My daughter on the other hand enjoyed the variety of tasty meat dishes enhanced by the right wine or refreshing beverage. This was the first time I went to an all inclusive and I will definitely do again.

Fabulous

It was excellent good food great pool comfortable bed quiet great bath and whirlpool tub room service was super alcohol was free and abundant breakfast lunch and dinner was easy fast and great tasting and plenty food at all servings

Overall Great Resort

Ocean view room was good, fairly clean, beautiful grounds, great food. Thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Staff was accommodating and wonderful to deal with. Special mention to Ginette and Alex in the buffet dining room. Had a superb time and would recommend to anyone. Only thing negative I can mention is certain upkeep needs to be done (i.e. peeling paint, chipped tiles in bathroom and certain tile areas of pool and pool bar.

Awesome resort

We had great accommodations with extremely friendly staff willing to go the extra mile for us. This was our fourth visit here so you can see we were pleased to return. The grounds were immaculate. The food was excellent and there was lots of variety. The beach was clean and one could walk for miles. This place was a paradise in the Caribbean! If you consider going here, you will not be disappointed.

Wonderful resort

This was our second time at the Grand Palladium Palace and we are making plans to go back next year. It was a perfect two weeks of heaven. The resort is stunning with so much vegetation. It is a very large resort and we enjoy walking the grounds.There are so many restaurants to choose from that even the fussiest eater can find something they like. We went to different bars nightly and the live entertainment was great. There is never a dull moment there. The entire staff are happy and attentive t [... read more]o your needs. The rooms are a little dated but very clean and restocked daily with cold beverages. Can't wait to go back next year!

I would go back

Overall an enjoyable stay. Food was excellent, especially the japanese restaurant. Buffets were very good. Shows in the evening were entertaining and activity staff were great. Pools and rooms need some work, looking a little worn.