Grand Palladium Punta Cana: GREAT RESORT

This place is well kept, only 30 minutes from airport. Lush grounds, again well maintained. Food is great, and restaurants are very good. Great steakhouse. Service from all staff wonderful and try to meet all your requests. Hope to go back again to this place.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Amazing resort!

The food was fantastic. The shrimp bisque from Blue Moon was out of this world! The beaches were breathtaking, clean, white sand, clear warm water. The pools looked nice but we didn’t use them once because the beach was so nice. The system on getting beach loungers needs to be better, but this happens at every resort.

Catalonia Bavaro Resort: Awesome food, short staffed.

I’m not sure where to begin. I guess with a message to the reader. The following is an accurate account of my experiences and situations that happened at this resort including both positive and negative. On arrival, the check in process took over 1 hour and 20 minutes. There were about 10 people in front of us. On average, check in was taking about 20 minutes per person/group. We were privileged, in room 0412. The safe didn’t lock (dead battery), the fridge didn’t work, air conditioning was no [... read more]t working. We called the front desk immediately. Priority was getting the safe working. We had to wait in our room for about an hour for the security technician. He changed the battery and left – the battery was changed with another dead battery. I immediately called the front desk again and they were understanding. The next day at 5pm we were switched to a different room (#1624). In the new privileged room, the fridge door was broken, the AC did not work properly in my experienced opinion the refrigerant needed to be recharged and the “#” button on the safe had to be pressed extremely hard to lock. Staff quickly replaced the fridge, and we “lived” with the other small issues. It took four days for the AC unit to bring the room down from 28 degrees and maintained 23 degrees. These are all fixable issues and in my opinion the hotel staff acted quickly to resolve – it was just annoying to deal with. I felt the entire first 36 hours at the resort was delegating things to be fixed for the rest of our stay. Food: Food was 10/10. Every restaurant food was awesome. Zero complaints on any of the food. Even the buffet was awesome everyday. The food availability to me fell short a bit. Outside of the Al-la-carts and buffet (buffet is closed between 1030AM-1230PM and closed 330PM-630PM for the dinner change overs), the only other option was pizza until 2AM. We loved the pizza, but I really wished there was another late-night option such has burgers and fries or a BBQ style setup. Past vacations had this in other places, and I missed not having it here. Room service is horrible. It took almost two hours to receive our order. The options are quite limited (burger/fries, chicken and BLT sandwiches, brownie, salad) drink options are not available on the online ordering tool. Overall, the resort is short staffed. The entire week we were there, there was only one bar tender working the pool bar, one or two at the beach bar and one to three working the lobby bar. While sitting pool or beach side, there are either zero or one person taking drink orders. In our entire seven days not one person offered to get us a drink. We had to wait in line at either the pool bar or beach bar. Lines were long because of the lack of bartenders. To add on that, the pool bar and beach bartenders were in a horrible mood. I speak Spanish so it wasn’t a language barrier. They were really in a bad mood, not helpful and in a couple cases confrontational. Juan who worked at the towel stand, he would stand at the towel stand for 25 seconds and then wonder off. Often leaving until he noticed someone waiting for a towel from across the beach. There were staff cleaning up the drink cups around the beach and they would drink the leftovers right there Infront of anyone. I’ve never seen anything like it. Situation: One early morning around 9am, two younger hotel employees knocked on our door hard, loud and fast. I answered immediately because I thought something was wrong. They were holding a bottle of rum and gave it to me. I told them I did not ask for this. They replied, “Do you have something for me”. I went to the front desk, and they were quite concerned, asking me questions like what color were their uniforms ext... Long story short this was not normal, and they would be investigating. Bottom line, I won’t be back to this resort. I’ve been to resorts very close to this one and had very different experiences.

Melia Punta Cana Beach Wellness Resort Adults: Mélia Wellness Punta Cana

Amazing resort! 10/10 Clean, delicious food, comfortable beds, friendly staff. The setting is pristine, and zen. Many areas to meditate and reflect A must!! ??????????????????????????

Occidental Punta Cana: punta cana

beautiful grounds. Easy booking for a la carte restaurants.Lots of choice at buffet but a shortage of wait staff. Stocked frig good size room with lots of storage space.Overall good value for the price.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great Holiday at a Beautiful Resort

The Barcelo Bavaro Palace is a beautiful resort with lovely beaches and pools and lots and lots to do. The food is just ok. And there is not a midday poolside or beach snack bar to get food. you have to go to buffet and that's kinda the only thing I didnt like. Would defo recommend though. Wonderful vacation.

Secrets Tides Punta Cana: Amazing Vacation and Resort

This was our first time trying the "Secrets" brand of all-inclusive resorts and we were not disappointed. This is a new resort, only a year old and was by far one of the best laid out resorts we have ever been to. Everything was kept clean and the staff took the extra effort to show the pride in their work for this resort. When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised when we were informed that we were given a free upgrade in our room. The resort has their programs well organized with daytime ac [... read more]tivities to suit everyone and the evening entertainment was phenomenal. The food was the standard for resorts but the hibachi grill stole the show (was our favourite but it is the only place you need a reservation so book it early upon your arrival). We opted for the "Preferred" section and to us it was worth it. We would definitely go back again. 5 Stars.

Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Great resort

The use of all of the resorts was nice. A little overwhelming as there are 6 resorts that for the most part were all accessible. The staff was amazing. The food was incredible and the rooms were big and comfortable. The only down fall was there was not enough loungers at the pool or beach for the amount of guests at the resort.

Catalonia Royal Bavaro: CATALONIA ROYAL BAVARO needs Management Review

Food: Al la Cartes were fair , but buffets contained a lot of recycled food from previous sittings. Restaurants on site were understaffed Hotel grounds and rooms clean, beach cleaned regularly. Multiple Beach Vendors bothersome Doing on site construction during high season was not well planned for its customers. First day no running water all afternoon and then no hot water. Water turned on later but shower would not drain out. Power outage for several hours 3rd day of our stay Wait  [... read more]staff Yohan on the beach efficient and friendly. Front Desk Staff - Ana was very helpful, polite and easy to deal with.

Grand Palladium Select Bavaro: Just Average

Compared to the 2 other resorts we have stayed at in the Caribbean, Grand Palladium Punta Cana was just ok. The grounds and pools were very nice, and the beach was beautiful. The rooms were clean and housekeeping replenished everything daily, but the were quite dated, with a very awkward tub/shower combo. It was hard to get good service at the buffets - we were always waiting for place settings, water, coffee, drinks... Food was generally lukewarm, but tasted fine. The a la cartes were hit and m [... read more]iss. We had 3 good experiences, and 3 not so good. I would probably try another resort over returning to this one.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Bahia Principe Luxury Ambar

Once again everything was wonderful, rooms are getting run down but always clean The people are amazing! Though if one staff member doesn’t support a request another will, 95% of staff are fantastic! Still a race for lounges around pool and beach and lack of umbrellas oh ya!! But we’re happiest there and will come back 8th time !! Cheers

Bahia Principe Explore Legend: Beautiful Beaches

Stayed at Esmeralda and rooms were beautiful with swim up pools. Beach was fabulous and pools were amazing but had to get up early to get a chair. We were originally booked into punta cana grande but rooms had not been renovated and were pretty bad with broken tiles in bathroom and weird smell in rooms. Very dated and filled with mosquitoes! We paid for upgrade to Esmeralda and we loved it! Food was good and staff were excellent but remember they are on island time so be patient with them. Huge  [... read more]resort and we had access to everything!

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: It was ok

The resort is really too big. I hate it when you have to save chairs — but if you didn’t there was no way you would get chairs at the pool, and forget getting something by the beach Buffet food was never hot. Rooms are dated but service staff are excellent. Would I go back - unlikely. Would prefer a smaller resort with perhaps adults only.

Tropical Deluxe Princess: Awesome resort, fun for the whole family

The resort was amazing. The room was clean and well stocked with towels. Only issue was we had no hot water for a shower at first. It was a quick fix. Staff were friendly and helpful. The grounds were well maintained and very clean. Buffet meals had a range of foods that everyone could enjoy. We had 3 nights of dining in the reservation only dining rooms. The best was the Japanese restaurant, Bavarian an Italian were also good. Beach was amazing with lots of seating. There were 3 pools a [... read more]t this resort and they were all great. Kids would really enjoy the kids pool and play zone. If I had one thing I would change it would be to add another coffee maker to the room as I drink tea and hubby drinks coffee. We will definitely be back in the future.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Overall a great resort

Grounds and public areas were clean and well-maintained. Some washrooms needed soap refills which were not done for a few days, which concerned me as Caney restaurant staff were using these facilities. Women's washroom at the "quiet pool" had flushing problems occasionally. Room was spacious and up-to-date with walk in shower and separate toilet cubicle. Our first room, 96201, overlooked the entertainment area and was not suitable for our quiet-seeking needs. We were well taken care of by Jea [... read more]n, a client experience rep, who quickly found us a new room far from the noise. However, it is difficult to get away from all noise on this property. There are just rooms that are farther from the loudest areas. Our "house concierge", Alfredo, was incredibly helpful in all respects - speaking 3 languages, keeping a small library of books (left behind by tourists) and helping with dinner reservations. The breakfast buffet was amazing - egg/omelet station and a great selection of breads, pastries, yogurt, fruit (even a salad bar), sausage and bacon, ham and cured meats, pancakes/waffles/crepes, etc. It would have been nice to have oatmeal, granola and whole grain breads offered regularly. A shout out to Jose at the omelet station whose custom made creations made breakfast special, and to Jesus who kept our water and coffee filled promptly! The lunch buffet did try to provide variety, with salad fixings, pastas and sauces, rice, cold and grilled fish and seafood, pizza, burgers, and grilled meats. Desserts included cakes and pastries, jello, ice cream and fruits. A shout out to Williams who made sure that there was a fresh glass of cerveza offered throughout our lunch time. The gentle pop music at the Caney buffet was a welcome change from the Latin beats that we encountered throughout the property. We were often able to get our preferred table with a view of the pool. Our favourite dining options were El Olivo (Mediterranean) and Tanaka (Asian fusion). We did not particularly enjoy Casa Bella and Mikado. We found the house wine quite acceptable as many of the wine list offerings were overpriced and made no sense given the house wine's value. In each of the dining room's overviews, the dress code is highlighted. Unfortunately, this was not strictly enforced. There are signs all over indicating that guests were not permitted to reserve beach/pool chairs but this was not enforced. After the first week, we regretfully decided "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and started to put towels and personal belongings on chairs as we were on our way to breakfast. We did try to communicate our displeasure to the resort through their app, which proved quite useless in this regard. Technology: need your phone to read QR codes at every restaurant. Need to download the Bahia app to access information regarding resort activities and dining reservations. This is done at check-in with assistance from the desk staff (entering the password) which, for us, did not work. Note - if you bring an e-reader, download all your books before you leave as these devices cannot connect with the resort wifi. Tipping: Too many "touches" throughout the day and the added stress of the front desk cashier not being able to make change when needed. Serving staff presumably receives many $1 bills throughout the day yet needs to take your $10 or $20 away to come back 10 minutes later with your change. Perhaps the resort could add a small service charge or build in a service charge so that guests don't have to think about this. Note: bring $100 - $200 (depending on length of stay) in US$1 bills. There are shows every evening ranging from karaoke to island historical theatre and dance programs. Most of these are in the open air bar area in which smoking is permitted. This, effectively, kept us away from most of these activities as we react badly to cigarette smoke. The wind on the beach also meant that we did not spend much time there, apart from walking, due to being unable to avoid smoke. People also smoke around the pool without regard for the comfort of others. It would be better if the resort provided designated smoking areas away from poolside. There are two pools at Esmerelda. One is a "party pool" with live DJ and fun games throughout the day. We spent most of our time at the quiet pool and were well served by Yannick who makes an amazing pina colada! The beach is amazing - soft, golden sand for miles in each direction. We got in a good 5 kilometers almost every day. This is a busy stretch, with back to back resorts and "people watching" provided much entertainment. Overall, we would recommend this resort for its great staff, good food, amazing beach and comfortable accommodations.

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Amazing Resort

Among the top 3 resorts I’ve been in my 35 yrs of travelling. The grounds were beautiful and continuously maintained. The buffet and specialty were very good with a variety of food there was always something to eat. Pools were beautiful, ocean seating was excellent as well, especially the Bali beds! We had Butler service (Juan) and we seen him at least twice daily to ensure all our needs were met.

Secrets Tides Punta Cana: Very nice resort

The resort was very nice, the beaches were terrific! The food was not good! Having stayed at other Secrets Resorts where the cuisine was amazing, this was very much a let down. Most of the restaurant staff were not very friendly.

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Top notch resort!

Would have no hesitation booking at the Esmeralda again! Great beach, comfortable room, lots of attention to detail, good food & amenities and fantastic wifi. Bring earplugs though... the nightly entertainment is loud.

Riu Bambu: Don’t book

This resort is old. Couldn’t charge our phones unless the lights were on. Food was ok. The Sunwing rep was horrible. The shows were sometimes in appropriate for a younger crowd. Not enough loungers for people by the pools. And not enough pools.

Royalton Hideaway Punta Cana: Amazing Resort

We had a great time at the Hideaway. Rooms were great, clean and in good order. The food and staff ere also excellent. Shout out to Chris,Salomon and TJ in entertainment. Teo and Kelly great in guest services. We will be back!