Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Not a Resort for English Canadians

This is by far a 5* resort. A 5* food resort however the service and English staff would rate this a 1*. We spoke with our Air Transat rep who let us know La Romana because it's in the middle of nowhere has the lowest paying staff wages on Dominican Republic. All staff are trainees and do not speak any English. Service was awful. Plates would stack up on your table at buffet and had to ask manager to have someone remove them. Ordering a drink at a bar would take 15-20 mins every time. If they co [... read more]uld up the service this would be a 5 star all the way around.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Beautiful beach, great resort

Very family-friendly resort -- compact, not too spread out for short little legs. Everything well-designed, pretty, convenient, and well-maintained. Wide variety of foods at the buffet, fresh and good quality. Professional and helpful staff. We visited the first week of January and found a diverse and pleasant clientele (Europe, Canada, locals, etc, mix of ages, no problems with people partying *too* hard and getting disruptive). The beach is truly beautiful, a wide expanse of soft sand, with  [... read more]gentle waves hitting the shore in a bay sheltered by coral reefs. We found the beach vendors agreeable (I have seen other reviews that implied they were a nuisance, but that was not our experience at all -- if you speak a bit of spanish you can also learn something from them about life in DR). If you like watching dance, some of the evening shows are worth checking out (I especially liked, of all things, the MIchael Jackson tribute). Pro tips: (1) Suites ("Beata" building, by the quiet pool) are lovely, rooms in the other two buildings are smaller and can be very loud depending on proximity to the daytime and evening entertainments, and have very little by way of hooks, drawers etc to unpack into. Our kids couldn't get to sleep in a room near the theatre, and the hotel kindly upgraded our party (two adjacent rooms, six people total) to suites in the other building. (2) the sea life by the beach is wonderful, but do not go snorkelling without fins. My partner made that mistake and got two feet full of sea urchin! The resort may try to give you a snorkel without fins, but hold out for a pair of fins too, and don't go too shallow while exploring the reefs. (3) not many mosquitoes in January, but the sand fleas were out in full force on the beach at night and dawn, so bring repellant. We hired a taxi and did a wonderful morning trip with our young kids to "Monkey Jungle" for an amazing up-close encounter with adorable rescued monkeys. The little squirrel monkeys climbed all over us, curious and gentle and oh so cute, and we got to feed them. Proceeds from the monkey encounters and zipline go to support a charity, at the same location, that provides locals in need with free medical, pharmacy and dental (and even basic nutrition kits for malnourished kids). It's a long trip (the road is slow and rocky, so it took us 60 minutes not 30 to get there) but well worth it. Much better than doing the standard kid-friendly excursion your tour guide will push, an expensive encounter with captive dolphins (an animal that truly doesn't belong in captivity)!

Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Welcome "Home "

From day 1, minute 1 through to day 10 last minute the GBP Esmeralda exceeded my expectations in every way possible. Timely and efficient internal transportation, easy/peasy check in and out with efficient and friendly staff, exceptionally manicured and beautiful grounds, beautiful beach, spacious and well serviced room, clean and sanitary pools with awesome bar service, great entertainment, and scrumptious meals, all of which was only exceeded by friendly, personable a la carte and buffet [... read more] staff who treat every guest like he /she was the only guest in the resort. Kudos and high fives to the Esmeralda staff for making my stay so memorable and enjoyable. I was restricted to a wheelchair for most of my stay and everything was fully accessible, including my internal transportation!

Iberostar Waves Punta Cana: Wonderful Resort

Our rooms were 5052 and 5053 -- awesome room location near the pool -- very happy that the resort placed our family side by side (often those requests are made and not honored by resorts) -- The restaurants and buffets were excellent and we had wonderful service The flight was great as well -- no complaints about this trip!

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: Great Resort for kids

Very clean resort ! Lots to do, Michael Jackson show was amazing, food was good, no one got sick. Lots of variety. Always seats by the pool or on the beach .. lots of seaweed on the shore . Reservations weren't always available

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Nice Beach, Bad Food

We arrived on Dec.30, check in took 2 hours despite being "priority". The front desk also charged me double during arrival (in US funds) for VIP on my credit card which took hours to have corrected. We got block 5 and our room was 3rd floor and clean/nice. It's loud at night as they play music outside until 11:30pm+ daily - if you want quiet get a block/room FAR from the main pool area or you better bring earplugs. Service is OK, drinks at bars are strong! The food is terrible and the only good  [... read more]experience was at Rodizio (Brazilian restaurant) if you have dietary restrictions there's very few options. VIP is worth it, its adults only; access to the best maintained pool, private lounge with free wifi, private beach/bar with larger alcohol selection and a second restaurant option for breakfast + lunch. Get ready to be harassed and hasseled daily both by resort workers selling excursions/time share and street vendors - its very irritating (be aware of rip offs if you buy in...). We were so tired of being haggled we never went to the disco as we were warmed it was filled with prostitutes... also there was an overwhelming amount of rude/obnoxious Russians staying there which was worrisome at times. The beach is well maintained and was the highlight of a disappointing resort. Rated 5 star but closer to a 3.

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Fantastic

The resort was amazing. Lots of great food, drinks and activities. We loved every minute of it. We ended up buying into the membership at Lifestyles. Worth every penny. We are already booking our next vacation for May of 2017.

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Awesome resort

Hotel was spectacular. Great amenities. Rooms very nice and great variety of foods at buffet. A la carte restaurants were excellent also. Nightly Entertainment was good and daytime pool entertainment was a lot of fun. The beach was beautiful. The only drawback was the water at the beach was murky so you couldn't see the bottom which was too bad. We had a blast here!!

TRS Cap Cana Hotel: Fabulous.

If you are looking for a quiet hotel with excellent amenities this is an excellent choice. No rowdie guest, no line ups, plenty of chairs at pool. Quality of food and service excellent. It really is a 5 star hotel. It's also only 20 minutes from the airport!

Catalonia Bavaro Resort: Was a nice trip

The hotel was very nice. The showers in the rooms were super small and difficult to maneuver in. The food at the buffet was nothing special. Seemed like the exact same stuff everyday. The Italian and Japanese restaurants were good though. Seemed like it took forever to get your room cleaned unless you were out of the room my 8am. The beach was really nice as well as the pool area. All being said this resort was nice.

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: Magestic Elegance review

Overall we had a good experience at this resort. The rooms were great size and clean. The bed sheets could have been more comfortable. The overall appearance of the resort was about 3.5/5, compared to others in the area. The a la carte dinners we mediocre, and the service was often very slow. The large buffet called flavours had a good variety. The buffet that is open during the day needs way more selection. Overall good time but needs improvement.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Dated Resort

Rooms were clean bathrooms were updated. Resort just s need a minor makeover, the sand fleas and mosquitoes terrible take lots of bug spray and the food tends to repeat every second day the staff could not be more friendlier or helpful and I know we were there for New Years they made it spectacular from the food to the whole evening.

Melia Tropical: Second time visiting the Melia Caribe

We had a fantastic time at this resort! Food was amazing and the beach is beautiful. The only complaint would be the service at the front desk. We traveled with a large group and the room selection was not up to par. We were given a room for three young adults with only a king size bed... maybe a bit too cozy for three 20year olds.

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana: An Exceptional Getaway

We really enjoyed our stay at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. We were looking for a vacation that was going to entertain every one of our family members (parents and young adults) from day one to check out. This location did exactly that and we truly have very little to criticize about this location. Everyone was very friendly, there were plenty of things for us to do on and off the resort, we were always able to find loungers by the pool and on the beach, and there's a good possibility that  [... read more]we would go back so that we could enjoy the many things we didn't get to take advantage of while we were there. If there was one thing that disappointed us, it would be the adjoining room (which was occupied by another young family) next to us felt and sounded like they were a paper's width away. We could hear every word they said even at normal talking decibel. However, once we were able to move our own kids into it, it felt much more like home away from home. Restaurants were fantastic, staff were all friendly and interactive, rooms were clean, and the resort was huge which we enjoyed the walking exercise during our stay, but plenty of shuttles or rentable golf carts if that's what you preferred. Lastly, the only minor let down was the lack of music talent or bands to enjoy during the evenings. There were plenty of thematic dinners and DJ shows taking place all week, but we felt that there could have been plenty of opportunity for more live bands or musicians spread throughout the many locations in the evenings around the resort. After all, it's a Hard Rock, thought that would've been a no-brainer.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: This resort would be heard to beat!!

Beautiful resort! Well maintained and kept very clean at all times. Staff is always working hard and they are all so friendly. Beaches are AMAZING and so is the food. Rooms are fantastic and beds are cozy. Will not regret booking a vacation here and I will be returning to this resort for sure!!!

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Great family getaway

Only 15 minutes from airport. Staff very friendly and attentive. Food fantastic. Easily accommodated glutenfree. We're able to talk with head chef. Great atmosphere during day and evening for entire family. Would return again.

Paradise Playa Dorada: Good place mostly

We really enjoyed the resort, overall. The beach was nice, food was good, staff were attentive and friendly. However, our room had some issues. The door to the washroom didn't close, there is nowhere to put clothes away and our thermostat didn't work. Our room was either freezing or really hot. We had to get up multiple times in the night and manually turn the air conditioning on or off. We asked them to look at it and we were told it would be fixed tomorrow. Unfortunately [... read more], tomorrow never came.

Paradise Playa Dorada: Nice resort

Very disappointed with our suite. It was up on the fourth floor. I would call it attic not a suite. It had windows, but all you see out of windows was rusty roofs. When we went into the suite, toilet didn't flush, there was poop in it. No water in the washroom at all. They finally fixed it about 10:30pm. Water pressure was so bad that we only had sponge baths for seven days. No fridge in the room. We asked for one three days in the row, and each day they said "we will get you one", we finally [... read more] gave up. There was a lot more, but what is the point, they didn't do anything about it. The resort was misrepresented, no mini golf, no bicycles, no workout room, etc. We booked three rooms, they all had problems, no air conditioner, no dressers. There is a lot more. We will not go back there. My husband and had room 1940, our sons with their families had room 2040 and 1145. This was suppose to be our family "happy"vacation, it turned out to be very disappointing.

Wyndham Alltra Samana: New Years

New Years 2016-2017 Filmed and edited by me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJEdx-30oSE I had a good time tho internet was paid for ac worked but couldn't get below 23.c TV antenna broke a couple times from the rain and image was grey

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Amazing Resort

Spent 10 days over Christmas and New Years at the Bahai Principe Ambar Blue. The room was clean, and everything worked. No issues at all. The beach was beautiful and well maintained. The food was great in the buffet. Especially the fresh eggs station and the pasta station.The staff were friendly and helpful especially Julio, Roberto, Franklin, Sarah and Angie Thanks to them for helping to make our stay so memorable.We would recommend this hotel to anyone and hope to return some day