Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Wonderful vacation

The hotel met our expectations. Check-in was quick and seamless as we had checked in online prior to our trip. Our room was lovely in a great location. The property is huge but we enjoyed our walks and when we were tired the shuttle was convenient and came by every few minutes. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. Food and service was great with one exception. The system in place at The Truck or La Isla with ordering online and then waiting for food was disorganized and does not  [... read more]work. There were people lined up 5 deep with up to 20 orders ready to go on the counter but they were serving directly from the kitchen instead. It’s a disaster. That is my only complaint about this resort. Otherwise I highly recommend it, the beach and many pools are great, food was excellent. We enjoyed our choices of a la cartes, also booked in advance online. Only one day we walked around for almost an hour looking for lounge chairs at every pool and the beach. We resorted to what is not recommended reserving chairs in the early hours as everyone else does. Great resort, good service, good location.

Serenade Punta Cana Beach and Spa Resort: Not great, especially for the cost.

The beach is very nice and good for swimming. The pools are also nice with good swim-up bars. The rooms are great too, good size, clean and just like the photos. The big problem with this resort is the restaurants and the restaurant service. You absolutely must have a reseration or you will be refused, but the problem is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get a reservation. We had to complain bitterly to upper mangement and make a big fuss in order to for them to give us a reservation. But that's [... read more] not the worst of it: we noticed that the restaurants are literally only about half full! So they are only booking about half the capacity of each restaurant! And then since they don't take walk-ins, if someone does not show up for their reservation, that table remains empty! So if you don't mind eating at the buffet 3 times a day, every day, then you're fine (this is probably cheaper for the resort, so that's why they are doing it). But don't count on being able to eat at the restaurants every night, it won't happen unless you are prepared to kick up a HUGE fuss like we did. Also, you will be aggressively harassed to attend a timeshare presentation, which is super annoying (I have been to many resorts that do not do this). They try to get you to go in the usual timeshare style whereby they don't tell you what you are getting into. Since they don't give up (as is always the case with timeshare salespeople) you will be fighting them off daily.

Royalton Hideaway Punta Cana: Beautiful beach and nice resort

The hotel itself was lovely. We did however pay for the "Diamond Club" option and wasn't overly impressed with it's services. We were on the third floor with no elevator so lots of exercise going up and down which wasn't too bad but something to consider. A room with the swim out option would be ideal if and when we visit next. Our "room attendant" Victor was wonderful and did an excellent job each day of our stay at the resort, thank you Victor! Even though with the Diamond Club we did have [... read more] trouble getting a beach/lounge chair on a few days. Unless you get up extra early and put your towel and book on a chair you may not get one :( No complaints about the food, lots of options for everyone at the buffet and room service was great! Yurico who provided beach service was wonderful, big shout out to him! Don't forget to bring EXTRA sunscreen and snacks for your room as paying for these items at the hotel shops costs 4 times the price back home. Don't wear any jewelry or sunglasses in the ocean, it can be rough and take those items from you quickly ;) All and all a very nice stay and yes, we would return. We paid an AWFUL lot for the week of December 27th so maybe another time of the year when it is less costly. One more thing I will add is that the waterpark with fun slides for the kids is located across the street at the Royalton Splash. You can easily walk there, no need to take the tram, very fast and you can check out the iguanas and neat birds on the walk over. Thanks to Omar our butler for recommending that. The Punta Cana airport was a gong show departing. Might be worth an upgrade Elite or Club whatever it is to avoid standing in line for what felt like forever checking your bags. Then another line up and another one after that before you get to your gate. The departure experience at the airport really took away from the lovely holiday.

Lopesan Costa Bavaro Resort Spa and Casino: Amazing but needs better maintenance

We stay 7 days and it was mostly amazing, the hotel is beautiful, food is great, general service is okay, beautiful people… but the fridge in our bedroom was not cooling, the drain in the shower was partially clogged, the tv remote was not working. We complained on our first day and they never fixed. We followed up and nothing happened. The replaced the tv remote 2 times but gave us broken remotes again. Also we found roaches in our bedroom. Also, we forgot the bad for my baby stroller in the be [... read more]droom and 30 min after we went back and the was not there anymore and the hotel could not find even knowing that the cleaner was the only person who entered there

Iberostar Waves Dominicana: SPANISH ONLY PLEASE

As the name of the resort says: WAVES, it is extremely wavy, windy, and some days rainy. It is not more than a 3-star resort with management that changes things without communicating with guests, with staff that barely speaks English or other languages than Spanish. POSITIVES: well-kept grounds and hardworking maids, bellboys, waiters. There is very good food in the buffets, with a variety of choices.Very flexible with check-in and out. NEGATIVES: no access to A la carte restaurants UNLESS YOU [... read more] MAKE A RESERVATION, even if all over the resort they have huge panels advertising first come first serve protocol. Lines are hours long even if resto operates on a 50 percent basis each day. Resort has an app but no useful info is ever posted for anyone. Room cards need recharged daily because they don't work, so you need daily visits to the reception and wait until someone speaks English. There is no beach service unless you are a club member and most South American guests(far from being biased) smoke weed on the beach beside their newborn kids. Sad situation. If you are a beach person this is not the place to be, because is very busy, and overpopulated and a lot of screaming kids running around and you can smell the weed all the time. Almost impossible to swim due to the rough winds and waves.The rooms are dated and need a redo. Very small wash/bathrooms with a toilet behind the door, no fans. AC Rep connected with us when we arrived to get our departure info and told us that pick up would be on January 6, at 7.30. Although I exchanged phone numbers with Fritz and he called us during the week to ask if we would do any trips, when OUR PICK UP DID NOT HAPPEN on JANUARY 6, I CALLED SEVERAL TIMES AND TEXTED AC REP FRITZ, but MY CALLS, AND TEXTS WERE NOT RESPONDED. He was much more interested in making some cash on the side for trips rather than doing his job ensuring transfers to the airport as we paid for. We used a taxi to get to the airport and used our cash to pay for it. Communicating anywhere in the resort is difficult as an understanding English is not happening and speaking is even more problematic unless you are in the Club section where rudeness has its powers.My husband entered the Club coffee shop there and politely asked if he is allowed to be there.The response was: GET THE F. OUT OF HERE. Welcome to IBEROSTAR, only no stars can be added to their service.We travel a lot and we have seen many resorts but this was our first and last booking with IBEROSTAR.

Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana: Excellent Resort

Took our family of 6 (including grandsons 16 and 12) on a family vacation. Resort is very clean, friendly staff, great food and lots to do. Did not take "Preferred Guest" package and had a great time. Tipped staff a little and received great service even without tipping. The only negative was New Year's Eve. Resort was decorated beautifully but Entertainment was not good. Also, not impressed with entertainment on other nights and would only rate a 3 out if 5.

JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar: Better than last year

We stayed last year at the same time and loved this resort. Unfortunatly we could only book 2 weeks last year because of availability. We moved to TRS Turquesia for our last week and were dissapointed. This year we stayed for weeks (Dec. 14 to Jan 4) and enjoyed it very much. We stayed in room 7379 Oceanview Butler suite which, in my opinion is the best room in the resort. We toured the oceanfront rooms and the price difference was not worth it. We loved the beach as well as the pool areas. The [... read more] food was great in all the resteraunts as well as the buffets. My favourite place for lunch was the grill by the pool, best burgers ever. Our butlers Cofe, Renaldo and Juniour were very attentive and made things very easy to handle. I am mobility challenged so the elevators and the size of the resort were perfect. The bars are well stocked with high end choices as well as freindly bar tenders. We did not do any excurtions but heard Samona was nice. The staff were very accomodating like yelly who was very good. We will be going again next year at the same time.

VIK Hotel Arena Blanca: Solid middle of the Road

This a tired, lack luster resort. Food is plentiful but not a great variety or flavours. Airconditioning is hit or miss, beds and pillows are hard, old. Staff are also hit and miss..so nice some dismissive..beach narrow and not enough lounge chairs for pool or beach. People were reserving chairs for hours without using them...

JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar: Fabulous Resort

Well manicured grounds and stately architecture. Love the lagoon and boat replica. Suites comfortable and nice decor with balcony & jacuzzi tubs in bathroom. Small property so everything quite accessible and within walking distance to lobby, beach, restaurants. Great accommodating staff, esprvially fun Animation team. Lovely beach- white sand, not rocky with palapas for shade. Pool nice and weekly foam party. Bingo, archery, darts, dance lessons, disco, yoga and more with nightly entertainment. [... read more] Light music, DJ, singers, tribute shows, lots of dancing shows. Gourmet style food in restaurants, lots of sushi. Theme night buffets. Wonderful buffets for Xmas & New Years celebrations.

Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort: entertaining resort

This hotel was really nice. Our first room had a strong smell of humidity, we ask for a new room the next day and we received one but with smaller beds. Lots of activities happening and the a la carte restaurant were really good. The buffet was o.k, lots of choices but mostly the same every day. I would recommend this hotel for family, because my kids had an awesome time!

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Ok

It's ok lots problems it was a lot of money we were in sun club adults only part it was beautiful but kids running around all day every where you went kids were in are special restaurant. They need wrist band .you couldn't get a chair on beach or pool unless you got up at 6am all full with people who never paid.it sucked. not much choice for alcohol and new year eve ran out of all alcohol never herd of that at all inclusive ?...our first 4 day our pool was closed so green.the food was a pretty  [... read more]good spread but i have a egg allergies so food was very limited i was lucky to eat most days .the entertainment was ok nonthing outstanding the staff were amazing very beautiful people they cant do enoughfor you .overall 7out of 10

Serenade All Suites Adults Only Resort: Not great!

I visited Serenade Punta Cana with my boyfriend and my sister and her boyfriend - a couples trip. I've been to the Dominican 3 times prior and never had a bad experience however this trip was the worst. Because of our airline cancelling our original flight we arrived around 4am, politely asked if there were any food options open as we had been travelling all day and reception laughed and said we had to wait until 7am everything was closed. The other resorts I've been to have had 24 hr room servi [... read more]ce or some options so I was surprised. The entertainment was lacking, nothing really to do and there was hardly anything going on. The resort was dead by 10pm most nights. One night they had karaoke and half way through just stopped for no reason, it was very strange. The rooms are very nice as well as the resort itself, the asthetics were the best part. However, upon entering the room we noticed our pillowcases were dirty and the towels (I found hair on the face towels). Accessibility to food was terrible. Room service was limited, everything was closed at lunch there was 1 caribbean restaurant and 1 buffet serving lunch. The caribbean restaurant was basic, not great and portions extremely small. Dinner you have to book through an app we tried to go to guest services they did not want to help just referred us to the app and when we tried most of the time it would tell us unavailable. Beach was very nice, pools were very clean. We booked a swim up facing the garden and could not enjoy 1. No privacy, there was constant traffic of people walking and 2. Too much noise, these birds were constantly squwaking day and night so needless to say we did not make use of the swim up. Snacks in the room were stale. Now the people.... Like I said I've visited before and never had any issues I've worked in the travel industry for over 10 yrs and have been everywhere - I have to say I was extremely disappointed in the attitude of a lot of the staff. There were a select few that were very friendly (the younger guys working at the buffets). Otherwise, we had eyes rolling at us, we were laughed at for ordering mocktails that were on their menu, we were ignored at times waiting long periods of time to be acknowledged for even just a drink I did not feel welcomed like I have in other countries they made us feel like we were a bother, very rude and not how you expect to be treated when spending a lot of money and being away from your family during the holidays. Christmas eve was the worst. They had only 1 option for dinner it was $450 USD per person and if you did not purchase this dinner there were no options to eat because all of the other restaurants were closed. So we went to the family side. They wouldn't let us in anywhere! And most of the time these restaurants had many empty tables so I'm not sure why they were so difficult with the seating. At the family buffet we asked some of the staff where we could eat without a reservation and they said no where. So as I was speaking to this man another man walks up, the manager his name was Lionel. He goes to seat us and asked how many we said 4 because my sister and her boyfriend were joining us and when we told him he rolled his eyes and got frustrated and proceeded to swear at my boyfriend in spanish (we speak some spanish so we understood). Then the staff ignored us I can say it ruined our Christmas for sure! We also spoke to several other people during our stay who were also not very impressed. Overall we did not enjoy our time here and will not be returning, we could've spent our money anywhere else in the caribbean. Very disappointing! If you do decided to stay in Punta Cana there are much better resorts especially for adults. This was not it.

Royalton Splash Punta Cana: Perfect family resort

The Royalton splash Punta Cana was the perfect family getaway. The waterpark is great for kids of all ages, the food had a great variety and tasted great and they are very accommodating to allergies. The rooms are nice and well maintained, and all the staff is super hospitable.

Serenade Punta Cana Beach and Spa Resort: Great place, some needed tweaks.

Great spot. Very clean, perfect size for a family, comfortable beds and rooms, great cocktails, buffets were great. Food for all dietary requirements. It’s very difficult to get reservations at the a la carte restaurants unless you can eat at 930pm. And they were never ever busy when we went by to see if the could squeeze us in and it was Xmas week. They aren’t properly staffed so they don’t allow many bookings. Funny enough the one you have to pay $15 pp is always available. more activities  [... read more]are needed for kids that are 6 or 7 +. We were with a group of five active kids and they only had a couple things on that appealed to them. Soccer games, kids volleyball, competitions etc would have been easy to offer. beach is nice but very shallow so great for tiny kids but not for bigger kids. we had a fantastic holiday and most of the staff were helpful and nice. Coca Cola and sexy Boy and all the staff of the restaurant by the pool - itzen where we went every morn and lunch for buffet. They were awesome. Also - very very weird that the shower has a window / glass wall so zero privacy from others in your room. I would send kids to balcony

Riu Republica: Excellent Resort, Amazing Beach.

The hotel was great, it is known as a party hotel but there were plenty of quiet areas/pools. The beach was beautiful but the ocean is quite rough there so if you prefer calmer seas, I would recommend staying on the Caribbean side. The buffets were good, the a la carte we tried, The Steakhouse, was not that great, a few of the restaurants are closed so this was the only one we ate at. The room was spacious and clean. Requests for more blankets, towels, water, etc. were handled quickly.

Bahia Principe Escape Aquamarine: Nice resort !!

Grounds were well kept. Pools clean and great entertainment staff. Food at Buffet was always good. Rooms very nice and spacious. Very big resort, so a fair bit of walking especially to get to ocean. Only issue I know of was a few people got sick out both ends. No top shelf liquor unless you pay way more

Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana: Family Friendly Resort with lots to do

A family friendly resort that was perfect for my crew of 5. We stayed in a 2BR Family suite that was large enough to accommodate my 3 teenagers without feeling like we were on top of each other. King bed and 2 sofa beds were comfortable and 2 large bathrooms was gave each family member there own space to get ready. Beautiful clean pools that provided a great place to relax or go to the beach pool where the atmosphere was energetic. The beach is beautiful, albeit busy and narrow, we always fou [... read more]nd a place to chill out. The a la carte restaurants were delicious (especially the Garden Grill) with the buffets having a good variety of items. The grounds are large but very manageable to walk. The trolley system is quite efficient and comes around frequently. A wonderful and economical vacation for a family looking to relax and enjoy the sun and friendly people.

Iberostar Waves Dominicana: Iberostar Dominicana

It was second time staying there. The hotel was good location not to far from airport, very clean, cute little casino and golfing close by. The staff was amazing great food. Pools and beach are really over and above.

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Understaffed during peak period

Stayed over Christmas in a sunclub swimup family... Upgraded to a swimup adult. Much better room, and a bit more private swim out. Sunclub comes with some special access, but no wristbands or monitoring of any kind, so a regular room would be fine. Food at buffets were abysmal. 90% of food would be cold. Even when a fresh tray would be inserted... Cold. A la cartes were good. Chopsticks and Bluewater Grill tried. You need to book on an app for those..48 hours out to get decent time. Beach  [... read more]was beautiful white sand and ocean gently sloped. No rocks/pebbles at all on ocean floor, gentle tide too. Sunclub lounge had great servers, lobby bar not so much, pizza shop awful, coffee bar good, but long lines always present. The "sports" bar was laughable. Booked as have had good experience w Sunscape, however this property is new to them, a former Be Live property I believe. Also mosquitoes were present by pools with shrubbery, so bring you own Off. $35 USD at onsite shop. Was happy for sun and beach, but was glad to head home.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Paradise on earth

Luxury Amber is really all inclusive what ever your hart desires. Rooms are spacious, clean and very comfortable. Hotel grounds is well maintained, lush, close to the ocean, all around ambient feeling. Daily a 'la dinners with a choice of abondance of buffet service would satisfy all the needs of taste buds and cocktails, drinks and cappuccinos all day long - excellent design and executions. Nothing more to add. Hotel staff was friendly and very helpful.