Ocean Blue and Sand: Bueatiful Resort scenic and lovely structure accommodations Feb 22 - Mar 4

The resort itself is beautiful as is the ocean view as well as the courtyard area where all the buildings are where guest stay. Buffet area on man side was poorly serviced. Once tables were used for breakfast or dinner cleaning them was non existent. Plates removed but glasses and surfaces were not cleared for others arriving after the first people. The Tortuga side was well managed and serviced cleaning used tables. We focused using that side as it connects to the same buffet area!! The deck [... read more] overlooking the shoreline is an exquisite place to relax under a roof as well. However, it does not get table cleaning service at all even though it should. Staff merely clear plates from lunch but leave glasses from water/drinks etc and no cleaning done. I was there 10 days and shocked at this. It totally ruins a beautiful spot. Most attendees are seen moving these glasses etc aside or to another table to sit with the plate of food to eat they get from the connect shoreline buffet. Food was fine but many dishes the food was not hot as it should for health reasons. I avoided those items most were cold. I have stayed many times at RUI at other countries not DR. The difference is glaring on all front but the view here with was beyond words. Bar's and drinks, it should be noted that drinks such as screwdriver don't get orange juice. The use a orange drink or Tange like product but its definitely not orange juice. Hence lacking combination, the buffet seemed a tad better but doubt it was orange juice as we know it. Staff command of the english is certainly lacking even at basic level. More so than other places I have been even though the majority are Canadian, UK or some USA guest where english is their language. The bar tender had no idea what a Screwdriver was not when I said vodka and orange juice, deer in the headlight look. He consulted with a senior person. Its not an uncommon or complex drink. LOL

Ocean Blue and Sand: Amazing family resort Ocean Blue and Sand

We visited the Dominican Republic for the first time Feb 22 - March 4. Our family consisted of two adults in their 70's and two adult children in their 30's. The resort suited the 4 of us as a family very well. I would say the Riu chain suited the seniors better for quality of food as well entering the pools. There was no rail at Ocean Blue and Sand. . The resort is flat and the buggies that drive guests around the resort all day was much appreciated. I would certainly go again as a family. Ther [... read more]e was a good mix of ages at this resort. Thank you Cindy for the suggestion of this hotel.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Not my favourite

I have been to at least ten resorts in Punta Cana. This was my least favourite. It was large and confusing to get your bearings. The beach was narrowing than other resort, a long walk from our room and it was hard to get chairs. The food was good. The white wine was awful. The mixed drinks were alcohol mixed with slush as opposed to a blender drink. Staff mostly couldn’t speak any English. I did not like the deep jetted tub. It would be very difficult for an older person to climb into, [... read more] even with the box set beside it. Also wasn’t thrilled that the wall between the bathroom and bedroom was frosted glass. Two girls sharing room Could see sillouite through glass and made room bright with light through glass. Now what really upset us. We returned to our room one evening to find a roach on our wall. We had very high ceilings and the roach was about 15 feet up. We called the front desk, which took many tries, and they said someone would be right there. As they didn’t show up, we wanted to go to bed and the bug was now over one of our beds, we called again and we promised they would be right there. No one ever showed up. We finally threw shoes and face clothes at it, while standing on our bed. After numerous tries we managed to knock it down and kill it. We reported it to the front desk in person the next morning and got. Feeble sorry. One our last night, Shelley got very I’ll. She had chills, nausea, diarrhea, muscle twitching and a swollen tongue. She is 60 years old with a history of a heart attack and kidney issues. The girls walked to the main desk and asked for medical help. They were told somebody would we right there. In the interim we tried to cool her down and I contacted my nurse practitioner daughter who suggested we get medical assistance. We waited up for a couple of hours and no one ever showed up!!!!!!!!! This was unacceptable!!

Ocean Blue and Sand: beautiful and clean site

great food, cleanliness, service is ok but not 5 star like they claim, restaurant service is ok... if you arr not privilege member you only get to dine before 6 or after 8:30 and it is hard to find a good chair on the beach you have to get up at 6 and reserve one. Also got eaten alive by bugs, both my legs are covered in bug bites

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Excellent Food

I guess it’s real 5 star. Excellent food and service. All I can point out is responsibility on the part of the service staff. A few things as under:- 1. The used drink glasses/ tumblers kept lying on the poolside and in the centre where we see a tree. 2. Towels and plates left at the beach, not picked up and returned by guests by evening continued lying there. This limits availability of beach chairs for the next day morning.3. Pools not cleaned every day

Grand Bavaro Princess: wonderful resort

I have stayed here numerous times... the beach is excellent, the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, the food was fine, the pools are nice....I don't really have anything negative to say except the fridge in the room did not work well and noise can be an issue if your room is close to the main lobby entertainment area. These resorts are generally all pretty nice so I think a lot depends on what factors are most important to you.

Royalton Hideaway Punta Cana: Nice Hotel and grounds

Rooms were ok, did not refill room fridge, had to ask for water each day. room food service was ok at best. Getting a drink at most bars took way too long even though we tipped every time. Not enough bar tenders and they were not interested in serving people. Damn lazy in my opinion.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Goods and bads about Grand Palladium

Great food, beautiful weather, friendly staff..these were the good things Phone didn’t work, every shower we had flooded the bathroom floor Too dark, lamp didn’t work, setup of room didn’t provide enough light to even get dressed. We had to open the drapes while passerbys could see right in. Maid didn’t show up a few days, no water and coffee until we got it ourselves. Our first room had such a musty foul smell we had to change rooms. Sister got food poisoning, tried to get a Doctor, no one  [... read more]ever showed up. Some rooms lacked air until it was rendered. All in all rooms were disappointing and front desk didn’t come through in many areas.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Very disappointing

The hotel was fine, except for a large bug in our room which no one came to help us with, even though we requested help. The beach was disappointing as it had quite a decline to get down to the beach. Also, my sister Shelley got very sick with either food poisoning or heatstroke. We called the air canada rep for help to get a doctor as it was 10:30 at night and she didn't answer. We went to the front desk and requested a doctor and even though he said someone would come, no one came the entire n [... read more]ight. We were very afraid for her health. I will not return to that resort again. The food was okay.

Grand Bavaro Princess: Beautiful resort

Larger resort split by a mangrove into platinum and regular suites (3 floors of 4 suites). Platinum section is close to beach. Must use a golf cart train to move around from beach to main lobby areas. Many top notch restaurants but best for us was Italian and East Indian. Many peacocks wandering around, who can be loud. Platinum plan is worth it!

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Too many problems

I can live with a few issues which you can get anywhere you go. This time I got food poisoning the day before we left. I was travelling with my sisters and they called the front desk to ask for a doctor. No doctor ever came and no one even bothered to follow up, not even a phone call. I had to spend the day in airports extremely sick, laying down on the floor in the Punta Cana airport. The front desk was nonresponsive on any call, from getting bugs from the vaulted ceiling to needing bottle [... read more]s of water, which neither ever came.

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Sun, beach and family time!

This resort is located not far from the airport. I would recommend this resort but the issue with the smell in the rooms need to be addressed. We first had a stale smell which was overpowered by a sewer smell. Once we turned off the AC it wasn’t as prominent (or we became use to it). Overall it’s a nice resort with lots of options for children— water slides, playground and water park area. Lots of pools to swim in and hardly any seaweed on the beach. The beach was cleaned by staff every morn [... read more]ing. The loungers with shade was an issue if you aren’t a morning person. For those of us who are, obtaining loungers and shade wasn’t an issue unless you had someone who felt they were more entitled and took your lounger. To those who reserve the loungers but decided not to use them, shame on you! There were too many people sitting out in the full sun, sometimes on towels. Come remove your towel! Let someone else use it. Food was good. No shortage of food or drink. Didn’t have long waits for restaurants. Staff were friendly and helpful. Grounds were kept clean and well groomed. Entertainment every night Lots of vendors on the beach. They are trying to make a living. If you’re not interested politely let them know. We were nervous about going because of the bad reviews. It wasn’t as bad as we thought. We enjoyed the beach, sun and family time. Exactly what we went to do!

Margaritaville Island Reserve Cap Cana Hammock: Transition to Dreams Cap cana

We were promised a seamless transition from Margaritaville to Dreams and did not get it. We did not get Preferred service such as, Butler, pool, restaurant, and late check out. We had a print out of agreement and the service staff spent over an hour trying to convince us that we got what was promised.

Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa: Amazing Resort

Overall in general from all the bad reviews I have read, I would definitely do this resort again. Never believe what you read till you experience them yourself. This resort was actually amazing. The beach and pools were amazing, food was delicious

Grand Bavaro Princess: Lovely Resort But Very Big!

With more than a thousand rooms/suites this is a very larger resort, however it's not a cause for concern as we were well-served by everyone. Our deluxe king bungalow suite was clean, pleasant and spacious; not very far from the large pool and the beach. (unit 0923) The nicest room we have ever had!! The beach was large and was well situated but could use more lounge chairs as they were hard to come by. The pool could be a little cleaner as it was packed with children and babies (some with  [... read more]no diapers). Lounge chairs were available if you got there early. The buffet near the beach (breakfast and lunch) was quite good and plentiful. It became an a la cart steakhouse at dinner (ate there twice and it wasn't very good). We tried the Mexican one night and it was fair so we stuck with the buffet. The beer served was Presidente on tap and isn't the best but was drinkable. The cleaning staff attended to our room and the mini bar was stocked with water, Coke and a couple cans of Presidente beer. The bar/lounge in the main building was a great place to have a drink and listen to some live music and to play cards in. The grounds are immaculate and the shuttle train made the large grounds less of an issue. There's some evening entertainment in the theatre and we took in a Michael Jackson tribute show which was quite good. The wait staff everywhere was excellent as was the bell staff. There was always plenty of hot water to take a shower and lots of clean towels in our suite. All in all we were very pleased with the resort, but wouldn't return as we prefer adult only resorts. If you have kids give this one some thought.

Melia Caribe Beach Resort: Relaxing

It was good, not great, but good. Pros: The staff were excellent and courteous. The rooms were comfortable. Scenery was beautiful. Food was great. Cons: Too much exclusive items that required membership or executive suite package (exclusive pool, seating areas, bar, services) made me felt like titanic lower class citizen. Various stagnant water creeks that gave off a bad smell around our hotel room. Constant harassment from locals at beach with hustling (put bird on wife’s head without  [... read more]asking, grabbed her phone and took pictures of us, then proceeded to demand $40 USD, not a chance). Overall, would still recommend. Good for family. Bringing the kids next time as they have a park and water park.

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Very good resort

We really enjoyed this resort. I would definitely recommend upgrade to Sun Club, worth the benefits of updated room, check in and Sun club buffet. We ate at at resturants for dinner. If you go at 5:30 to get in line you get first seating at 6 pm and no longer waits. The beach was nice but did lack lounge chairs. All of the staff were wonderful and very helpful. Don't worry about bad reviews this hotel exceeded our expectations. The food was really good and so was room service. We did no [... read more]t get sick and ate everything. This is a solid 4 star resort. The shows at night were done very well.

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Amazing resort

We really enjoyed the food. It was always very fresh and tasty. The resort staff were very friendly and helpful. They kept the ground very clean all the time. The entertainment crew were fabulous. They did an amazing job entertaining everyone

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Great trip

We had a great trip and happy that we did not listen to all the negative comments. The Pros: Nice beach and great food. Golf cart were handy to get from lobby to beach. Nice room close to 2 pools with swim up bars. Our Catamaran and Dune Buggy excursion were awesome. The A la cartes were great. The Japanese was the best. The Cons: Too many people on the beach. Could not get a lounge chair unless you went early to reserve one. Mosquitos in the lobby and one of the restaurants smelled like  [... read more]sewage. All in all if you stayed away from lobby and that one smelly restaurant, then you would have a great experience. Unfortunately if you did not put a towel on a lounge chair like everyone else, you would never get to sit in one.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Great resort

Great resort. Beautiful beach. Huge lobby. Amazing service. Great buffet. Clean resort, pools and rooms. AC didn't work. They offered to change our rooms. Hate the chair reservation using towels despite signs everywhere.Not enough umbrellas at the pool or beach.