Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana: Amazing Resort!

We love the Now Larimar! This was our second stay at this hotel (Mar 4-11). The staff were so friendly and very helpful. We were upgraded to preferred as it was our second time and they had a fruit platter and bottle of champagne for us. A banner on the door "Welcome back" and since my birthday was during our stay they added another banner "Happy Birthday" with balloons on the door and in our room with an amazing chocolate cake!!! The food at this resort is excellent as was all the restaura [... read more]nts. There is very little to find fault with this hotel. The entertainment staff do a great job! Especially Sexy Chocolate!! (hee hee!!) he was our favorite. The one thing that we did not care for was the Unlimited Vacations presentation. They say it's only 90 mins and then if you are not interested no problem. The entice you to attend with a free massage and gifts. However it lasts 3hrs!! They don't tell you at the start how much the unlimited vacations will cost you. They save that til the end...and it's expensive. They ask for a $5000 downpayment and want you to put it on your visa cause it gives you more priviliges. It's not worth it!!!! My husband was so annoyed that we got sucked in. The hotel should step in and limit this. This was the only fault we found with the hotel. The free gifts are not worth the trouble and you still have to pay something!!

Riu Republica: Ok, but won't return!

OK resort, don't ask for a garden view room, ours looked out to an industrial park with a generator always humming, very noisy. Couldn't sit on the balcony. Changed our room to have a slight view of the ocean. Noisy at night with the sound of the shows. Food was average. Themed restaurants were horrible. Entertainment crew was great though, but still wouldn't return to this resort.

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Relaxing time at CHIC

Just got back from a 4 day getaway at CHIC and had an amazing time (2 couples in our mid 40s). Loved the smaller resorts, rooms were great, and restaurants were all good. The service was the best part the resort. I was constantly asked if I need anything. Great time

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Very nice resort

Everything was perfect The oly think I brought might golf clubs for nothing there it's no public golf course close to the resort. The one I was planning to play turn private and no body mentioned When I book the trip I was specifically ask for that. But besides that all good Tks.

Occidental Punta Cana: Beautiful!

The area was really nice, staff made sure the resort was clean day in and out. Huge communication barrier with staff. If you wanted anything fast you were not getting it (front desk, drinks, food at al la cartes). Rooms were absolutely beautiful, the best i have seen on a down south resort. Good mixture of people (babies to the elderly). Small enough to walk around! I would go back to this resort!!

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: Fantastic resort and service!

Majestic Elegance, Elegance Club (adults only side) was one of the best resorts we've stayed at in Punta Cana! We've been vacationing in the DR for many years and loved this resort! The Elegance Service check in was quick and easy, we got into our room right away and our building was closest to the beach. There was no shortage of things to do and the staff and service was impeccable. The room was large, the cleaning staff superb and the resort grounds were beautifully manicured. The Sea and See [... read more] breakfast and lunch buffet was all you need and the a la carte restaurants provided nice alternatives to main buffet with wonderful friendly servers. Highly recommend this resort! We loved the lobby bar and the servers were both entertaining and very nice. Top shelf!

Grand Palladium Palace: Great Resort !

We were very pleased from the moment we arrived to the Grand Pladium Palace .The staff was extremely warm and friendly . Although our room was not ready when we arrived we were advised of which restaurants we could go to and our luggage was well taken of . Very shortly after our room was ready and we were very pleased .The room was as exactly shown online and very clean . The resort accommodated our requests to be close to the pool and beach . The food was great , lots of choices and entertainm [... read more]ent each night . I would definitely visit this resort again !

Riu Republica: Vacation Oasis!

I recently stayed at Riu Republica for 5 nights. This was my very first ever vacation out of my country, very first all inclusive resort. Best time ever, great food, great service, will certainly return!!

Emotions by Hodelpa Puerto Plata: Disappointing Break

After taking care of loved ones here and now gone we felt we deserved a break but this is not what we were counting on. On arrival they put our luggage in an open area where anyone could have access to them so this was quite uncomfortable. We had to watch them for 5 hours while waiting to obtain a room. Knowing that a large group was coming in at 11am it would have made sense for someone from Sunwing to be there and they were not. The customer service staff at Playa Dorada Beach House did not a [... read more]nd could not answer any questions. I would love to speak with the owner Faranda because there were several things that did not go well. We did not have A/C and asked them to fix it often and did not have hot water at all and did not have power 50% of the time and did not have useable toilets in any of the main areas as they were plugged, many times did not have towels unless begging for them. We gave a generous tip on the first day and the room was not cleaned. They had 3 cleaning ladies for our building of 11 rooms and these people were there 12 hours doing next to nothing. Here in Canada one person would have done the job and it would have been done well in 8 hours. Many people I know have been to the Dominican and loved it. This was my first experience to the Dominican Republic and we had a disappointing break.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Great vacation

My boyfriend and I stayed at Be Live March 2nd-9th. Great trip! Food was great - especially the Mexican restaurant! Their drink menu was awesome - lots to choose from! The bartenders were always friendly and making sure everyone is having a good time! I found the resort clean and the staff extremely friendly. The service was great in all the A La Cartes but the buffet service wasn't always good - hard to get coffee and water some meals and tables were sometimes dirty. The entertainment was a hit [... read more] and miss - not bad but I've seen the entertainment done a lot better at other resorts. My biggest complaint is that we paid the $50 for the ocean view upgrade and I think we would have been better off without. They put us in building #1 on the ground floor in a room with a broken lock on the patio door, which was fixed the night we arrived after calling maintenance. On our 3rd night after we show up to our room at the end of the evening, we find our patio door open part way with the lock broken again - we are guessing someone tried to break in. After calling reception and demanding we be moved, they were helpful after some push and upgraded us to a better room for the rest of the vacation. We didn't feel safe on the ground floor in this building - I recommend getting a pool view or a room towards the lobby. Also, to the left of the resort where they tell you not to go, is full of garbage! And when they clean the beaches in front of the resort, they dump it towards the left on the beach and it all piles up! Not safe to walk very far to the left. Recommendation: Do not talk to the solicitors on the beach front - they charge high prices for everything and won't leave you alone if you make conversation with them. And the 'shopping mall' they try to bring you to is more expensive that anywhere else I seen - American prices and they are very pushy.

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: The perfect holiday

Beautiful resort with friendly, attentive staff. The rooms were spacious with very comfortable beds. There were an abundance of dining and beverage options each with service that went above and beyond. The best a la care dining I've had at any resort. The Club upgrade is worth every cent, from the VIP lounge, private swmiming pools to the Butler and Room Service it was nothing but first class service. Outstanding property in every way.

Occidental Punta Cana: Occidental Grand,Punta Cana D.R.

Dissapointed that room requested...Ground Floor, Ocean Front,2 beds,turned in to3rd floor room with 1 king bed.We were promised that we would be moved the next day.An appointment was made for2:00 p.m.Some time later we were contacted and told they would be there at 4:00 o'clock.That time came and went and no one came.We decided we we're' the going to spend our holiday waiting for someone to come .We found out we were far from the only people promised rooms we didn't get. Our Nexus rep did a p [... read more]oor job of informing us about the amenities avalaible to us as first club members.Told us we needed to talk to front desk,about accommodation....no help at all

Riu Merengue: The Good, Bad and Ungle

My husband and I arrived at Riu Merengue in Puerto Plata, Dominican on Feb 24th for a 2 week vacation and I wanted to fly home on Feb 26. The hotel was advertised as a 4.5 star but I would give it a 3 or under. The Good - My husband had a birthday and they went out of their way to help with the celebrations. Our room was decorated, received a bottle of wine with dinner, received a bottle of mamawana and some coffee and had a special birthday cake. No time share hassles. I`m not sure if the h [... read more]otel was just not up to par for time shares or if the Riu chain doesn`t allow them to hassle customers. Every evening after dinner they had a band that played dancing music, very nice to enjoy with a special coffee. Our Nexus rep, Stanley, mentioned that we should move up an excursion we booked because the weather was going to change. We did move it up and had a great trip snorkeling. Also did the city tour which was very nice. The Bad - Buffet restaurant was very busy and several times we could not find a clean table to sit down and eat. They have 500 rooms and they don`t have the facilities to accommodate the numbers in their dining room. They had 2 al a carte restaurants which only served 100 guests per night so you had to line up early to get in. No reservations. Italian was awful and the steakhouse was just OK. Ran out of keg beer on February 27th which was a holiday so the staff was scrambling to get canned beer from everywhere. In the buffet restaurant they had bread that you could cut which was great, however, many people didn`t use the napkin to hold the bread when they were cutting it and of course the germs on their hands were spread across the entire loaf of bread. They did have butter, some places have switched to margarine so I was glad that they offered butter. The Ugly - our first room 1611 had cockroaches. I have been travelling to warm climates for 20 years and have never had any roaches in my rooms. The hotel sprayed the room (which we didn`t like due to the impact on the spray for humans.) We meet with the NeXus rep and wanted to know what it would cost to move resorts or to fly home. The sales office was closed because it was a Sunday and Monday was a holiday so the earliest we could talk to a sales rep was Tuesday. My husband demanded to talk to the hotel manager and we did get another room on the 2nd floor and did not see any roaches in our room after that. They advertise that they have internet in the lobby - they don`t. We had to go to one of their other hotels to get internet - the lobby was so busy with people trying to communicate with others that it was insane to find a place to sit and most people had to stand. If you have any reaction to smokers, don`t go to this hotel. There was smoking everywhere except the dining room. Lots and lots of smokers. The dining room had a lot of flies. I believe this was because they had place mats that were never wiped off. I watched how they cleaned the tables and they would wipe around the place mat. It was kind of sickening that we had to swat flies as we tried to eat.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Not amazed

Recently spent 7 days at Be Live with a 4 year old and a senior. Overall, good features for kids and people with disabilities (pool, kids food...)but nothing amazing. Food was average, service average, rooms average....seems like a great resort once but time has made it worn in a unimpressive. Close to the airport, about 40min total. Our bus dropped off at about 6 hotels and ours was last. Check-in takes forever. Make sure you run to the front desk first!! They were overbooked when we went.  [... read more]Common issue apparently. After check-in they give you a ride in a golf cart to your room. When we got to ours, after taking 15-20min to check in we had no room keys and only 1 towel card. Luckily the guys who brought us to our room went back to get them because it was 11pm, it's a huge property and we had no idea where to go. Love the layout of the property. It's like a giant circle and the pool's in the middle. There are 3 bridges over the pool so you can take shortcuts depending on where you have to go. there are 9 buildings with rooms. I read reviews that said one was better than the other but they're each close to something. You'll have to walk a lot no matter where you stay. The rooms were average. Nothing special to them. There was a leak in the ceiling that started our 2nd day. We told the front desk but no one ever came. Then it became 3 leaks...and we just learned to adapt. Our phone was buzzing for no reason. Had to unplug it for the week. Cleaning staff were great. No issues. Super friendly to us. Especially my son. Buffet food was average. The best part was the options. They have a lot of stations for different foods. Fresh omelettes, pancakes, churro, grilled fish and chicken, pasta... On different nights there was someone carving legs of lamb or roast beef. There was a theme each night but the food rarely matched the theme. But we never left hungry. There's something for everyone. There's even a kids-only area where they Serve all kid friendly food...that ended up saving me for a lot of meals. Ths servers in the buffet wouldn't give you the time of day until you tip. The first day no one would bring us drinks, you couldn't get anyone's attention. As soon as we left a tip we had smiling service, drinks right away, the server knew our order. HUGE difference. And you could see it at other tables. One table would get their own jug of coffee and the next table couldn't even get a coffee. Tried the Mexican a la carte. Big disappointment. Brazilian I heard was great but we dicidely not to try it after being disappointed already. The pool was great. It's one big pool that goes off into 3 different areas. One has all the entertainment going on, one is quieter, and the other is has a volleyball net. You can swim under the bridge to go into each area. They all start level and gradually get deeper. Great for kids and people with disabilities. Lots of shallow area for the little ones. Pool entertainment was good. But they'd play a game or two then that was it for the day. Pretty quiet the rest of the day. Nighttime they always had some sort of show. All pretty decent. I saw a movie playing in the theatre once in my whole stay...wish they had move of that. Even if it's just for the kids. There are plenty of stores onsite to shop at. There's a flea market about a 15min walk down the beach that the hotel pretends not to know about. You'll see guys with blue shirts on walking up and down the beach. They'll take you to the market to the booths they work for. First, you have to be good at negotiations if you want to shop there. Second, they work for one of 10 booths. They'll try to pressure you into buying from one spot. But they can do negotiations for any of them so don't feel like you can't shop around. I had no safety issues going there. If you spend a lot of time on the beach you'll know all the guys working there pretty quick. Worth the walk for something to do for the day.

Now Garden Punta Cana: Love this resort❤️

We stayed at Now Garden. Very small and quiet but great food and staff all were very nice. Took 1 minute shuttle over to Larimar for beach and restaurants. Food was amazing at these restaurants and like that you don't have to have reservations. Only thing we didn't like were the exclusive members approach. Didn't know anything about it and were kicked off beach the first day we were there as you have to be a member. We moved 10 feet down the beach. This was a joke. All the staff everywhere we [... read more]nt above and beyond to help you. Love this place and would definetely return❤️

Royalton CHIC Punta Cana: Super Amazing Trip!!!!

what a WOW place!!! the grounds are beautiful, the rooms are very comfortable, the food was fantastic, and the best part of the trip....... the staff!!! So many amazing smiles!!!! I would definitely recommend the Royalton Chic to anyone interested in traveling!!!!!

Casa Marina Reef Resort: Great vacation regardless

The famous line "you get what you pay for" comes to mind when reviewing Casa Marina. We loved the property, the views especially as well as the overall cleanliness. The food is fairly good with a good variety. Wine with dinner is hard to find and has to be completely watered down! The staff can't compete with the genuine friendliness of Cuba and really should smile abit, not sure they like their tourists in Sosua. Unfortunately, they have a very small reception area so their are always lineups a [... read more]nd checking in is a long wait before you get to your rooms(in our case, 3 hours) The rooms are tired and many have broken tiles, tubs, locks and A/C. It really needs a complete overhaul and with such a gorgeous property overlooking the ocean, it would be worth it. We are so over the whole issue of people saving beach chairs in the early morning and even stacking them on the decks of their rooms and holding chairs all day with their beach towels even when they leave for most of the day...Frustrating!!!! Also very noisy all night long!! but it was spring break so our mistake!

Ocean Blue and Sand: Fantastic Resort

Beautiful resort and amazing staff, beach,pools and food were incredible and loved the idea of no reservations required for a`la carte restaurants. Our room was spotless everyday thanks to our maid Francesca who was very friendly and lovely to talk with .Theatre shows could use some work . Definitely a 4.5 star resort .

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Everything we expected and more!

This was our first trip to the Dominican, and it will not be our last. Upon arrival while waiting to check in, we were treated to a tropical drink. Check in was quick and we were brought to our room in no time. The room was beautiful. Large, clean and fresh. The resort was easy to get around and well maintained, the beach was clean (many reviews complained about the state of the beach). What people need to realize is that beyond this resort is an old resort that is no longer open. If you walk to [... read more] that area, the beach is not maintained. The Buffet had a great selection of food each day. Jeanette was our main waitress. She was fantastic. Friendly, cheerful and always ready to help. Franko (the pasta man) made perfect pasta to order. By the third day, he would take our plates and make it exactly as we liked it without needing to ask. We didn't partake in any of the al a cartes (Mexican, Mediterranean, and Brazilian) as we were happy with the buffet. The staff was friendly. Patelina was our housekeeper. So sweet! She kept our room spotless and our towels and mini fridge well stocked each day. There were many excursions on offer that would fit any budget and interest. Melvin set us up with the waterfalls trip. What an experience!! I suggest this to anyone who enjoys water slides. (Natural water slides that you go down as you descend from the falls). There was always security on the beach which kept the vendors from disturbing us. Even when we spoke with the vendors, they were respectful and not pushy. They took no for an answer while remaining friendly. The pool is huge and super clean. The bars were well placed and the bartenders were funny and generous with the drinks. Although the weather didn't fully cooperate (rainy the last three days), it was a fantastic trip. This resort was perfect. Great value. It was much better than we expected for what we paid. We are already planning our next trip!!! Thanks to Lisa Selig for all she did to make this such a refreshing trip!

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Awesome resort

Two sisters went and we felt very safe The food was really good and lots of selection Really enjoyed the weekend Beach BBQ Our room overlooked the pool Best view ever ...even could see and hear the ocean The Staff were lovely ... went out of there way to help you Nelson the server was tops ...always made sure we had a great spot to sit for our Breakfast and Dinners Japanese dinner was so entertaining and delicious Entertainment at night ... you wouldn't want to miss.. live band e [... read more]ach night Great spot for walking the beach everyday Also liked the short trip to the Airport