Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Wonderful stay

We stayed at this resort with a group of people. I was nervous as I had heard the beach wasn't as nice as Punta Cana. We found the beach was absolutely beautiful and hardly saw any seaweed. The only down side is being constantly harassed to visit their market or to pay for excursions. Other than that we loved our room as we had a view of the mountain and the ocean and the pool. Rooms were clean and large and met our needs and we're always cleaned on time everyday. We found the food at this resor [... read more]t was excellent. Having an egg white omelette every morning was the best and Robert always made sure our glasses were filled with water. At lunch we would pick the fish and they would cook it. Always delicious and plenty of vegetables and salads to choose from as well. We always had lunch out by the pool bar so it was convenient and delicious. Can't say enough about the service and the way the animation team gets everyone playing games such as bocce ball and horseshoes and volleyball. Tons to do if you like that kind of thing. They sure work hard to keep you happy. Only thing I found that could be improved is for them to come out to the beach in the morning as well to ask if people are interested in these games. We found they mostly asked people that were at the pool. A la cartes were awesome and food delicious. They worked tirelessly to ensure everyone got their food on time and always service with a smile. This was the first time that I ever looked forward to the nightly shows. They always did a great job. Mr iberostar was hilarious and their dance shows spectacular. We did the cable car ride excursion, would highly recommend that. We wanted to do others but were only there five nights. On Halloween night they decorated the disco and had a haunted hallway. We were so impressed at how well this was done. They did a rendition of thriller for everyone which was really good. We dressed up as well as did lots of people. Was a great night for kids and adults alike. All in all we loved this place, met a ton of people from England and the states and made some great friendships with them. The people at the hotel always made us feel welcome. I was shocked to read some of the latest reviews as this was not our experience at all. Our group had a great time and would recommend to come here anytime.

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana Beach Resort: Wonderful Resort

The resort was wonderful, staff such as Santos and Catherine were friendly, fun and entertaining. It was great having them around. The activities on the beach and in the pool were amazing (i.e. beach party, the fire show, foam pool party, etc....). The rooms were clean, spacious and close to the pool and the beach. My family and I would highly recommend the Majestic Colonial and would definitely return.

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana: Great Service

The grounds and public areas were well kept. The room was a very good size and modern with a comfortable bed. Great weather the week of November 16th. Excellent service in the VIP/Adult areas. Worth the upgrade. The staff were all very nice and helpful. A lot of variety for dining, but many people became ill by the second day. I was sick for 6 of the 7 days. A lot of seaweed on the beach and in the water, not at all what I expected for this area. The vendors on the beach were very loud and persi [... read more]stent. They made it very hard to relax. This was my first trip to PC, so I cannot compare to other resorts in the area.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: Very Nice Resort

We arrived at this hotel late on Friday, Nov. 14th. The reception desk was not prepared to receive us as they only had 2 staff members working that evening and our group numbered 35+. It took about an hour to process everyone. In the past, we have received our keys and info on the hotel either on the bus coming to the resort or at a large table, and then are expected to Our room was fine-we had requested building #60 or #61. We were in #61 and it was a great location-close to the pool, beach, b [... read more]uffet, shuttle bus. There are some new Ambar buildings and they are supposed to be spectacular. We didn't get into those, probably because we had requested #60 or 61. People we met said that their rooms in the new buildings were out-of-this-world. Those buildings would be further from the beach, but a shuttle bus runs every 5 minutes. Since we were at the Ambar, we could eat out at the a la carte restaurants every night. We had prebooked these restaurants via email and were pleasantly surprised when all of our requests were met. Service at all the restaurants was excellent-almost too quick at times because we didn't have that much time between courses. The food was excellent at all restaurants!!! The resort was very busy, even though we thought that we were there very early in the season. One member of our party always got up at 6am to place towels on beach loungers and watch the sun come up. I did this once and it was wonderful. Many people were up very early to claim their favourite spot on the beach. A minor inconvenience. We really enjoyed the all adult atmosphere at this resort. I would come back if given the opportunity.

Bahia Principe Escape Ambar: So disappointed

Wow, where do I begin!!! My wife and I just came back Nov 6-13/14, staying at the Bahai Principe Ambar, which just opened 3 days prior to our arrival. We have gone to Punta Cana for vacations probably for the last 10-15 yrs and have always stayed at the Riu Palace right next door to this resort, however, we thought we would try this resort as it came highly recommended !! What a mistake - I kept wishing we had gone to Riu the whole time we were there!! Our bad experience started right from the s [... read more]tart when staff tried to take us to our room and COULDN'T FIND OUR ROOM!!!! He finally found it after probably 1/2 hr looking. We were in room # 82401, on the 4th floor. Our first reaction was that the room was very nice, however, after getting settled into our room we realized that we were going to have a lot of issues. First of all, only half the lights were working in our room, the toilet was broken not flushing, phone did not work, bathrobes and room safe were both stuck to wet paint in the closet, cement trowel and garbage left everywhere in the room, no shower stall, just a bathtub with a shower attachment laying in the tub - had not been attached as yet to the wall and nothing to stop the water from going everywhere when we showered. We were on the 4th floor and there was no elevator in the building at all!! So beware - you better be healthy if you stay here cause you will be walking a lot of stairs!!!! We went to reception to advise of all our room issues and were told by Melissa that she would take care of it.........NOT!!!!!!! We went everyday to try to resolve our issues, but no one did anything. We were wanting to use the safe in the room but instructions on how to use it were incorrect, so Melissa said if we went to our room she would send someone up to show us how to use it. We waited 45 minutes and no one ever showed up to help us!!!!! We arrived on Thursday afternoon and after going everyday to try to get the safe fixed, finally by Monday after talking to our Transat representative, Hugo, they sent up, I guess he was a manager, Hector, who helped us with the safe. We discussed with Hector all the other issues we were having, He said he would take care of it. Once again we were lied to and no one did anything!!!! Customer service at this resort is non-existent.......bottom line no one cares if you have issues or not. We had to shower for the whole week with a hand held shower head with water going everywhere as it was not attached to the wall. We had to flush the toilet with water in the ice bucket as it broke and would not flush.......so much for luxury hotel.......... Someone finally showed up to look at toilet and sort of fixed it........it would run constantly but at least did finally flush. We had no phone for 5 days which is not only a safety issue but so much for 24hr room service!!!! We never got the lights fixed.........had to take a floor lamp into the bathroom so we could see!!!! Pretty sad!!! We also spoke to a manager at reception by the name of Aldo - who of course did nothing as well!!!!! We had no one clean our room and bring us clean towels to shower for 2 days!!!! When the maid finally found where we were, she made up the bed but left the pillows with nothing on them!!!! Had to find someone and try to tell them that we needed pillow cases for our pillows!!! The next time she came she put pillow protectors on pillows but no pillow cases!!! At this point we gave up and just left them the way they were!!!!! This resort is huge!!! It was a 5 minute ride on a shuttle just to get to the beach!!! Had to pay someone everyday just to find a chair to sit on the beach!!!! The buffets were so busy and congested and most items in buffet were empty - not enough staff to keep items filled up. We will never go back to this resort!!! We will be going back the Riu Hotel chain where staff really does care about their clients and will actually follow-up and will try to make your vacation the best possible.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Best Staff Ever

The grounds are kept immaculate and the hotel staff from lobby to restaurants to maid service were very friendly and accommodating. The a la carte's had a variety of options to choose from. The beach was kept clean and the Orange Market down the beach was a great place to get gifts.

Catalonia Royal Bavaro: Very disappointed!!!

Very disappointed in this resort !!! Had to change rooms twice. Still very smelly and toilet leaked the whole stay! The beach was the biggest disappointment full of seaweed and smelled from this. The food average. I have been to several resorts in Punta Cana and never had a issue with food. Not the variety I was used too! The staff great as all folks from the DR are!!!! But they can only do so much with what they are given. Would not recommend this resort to family frien or even co workers

Punta Cana Princess: Great resort and accomodation

The resort was great and the staff made it exceptionnal, I am rating it a 4 for the simple reason that the food was just OK. Nothing exceptionnal, otherwise I would recommand thos resort for anyone lookong to be pampered and enjoy a quiet time

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Amazing vacation!!

This resort was sooooo clean and beautiful. The staff was so friendly and generous. We were gold members so we received fruit platters on occasion in our room and turn down service every night. Building 14 was my favourite for sure. Would recommend anyone to go here!!

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: wonderful time

Nicely laid out resort with comfortable rooms. Great friendly staff with lots of entertainment. Plenty of lounge chairs and large beach and pool area. Food was not five star but we did not go hungry. Lots of seafood options. I really liked the tourist mix here. There were people from Canada USA South America and Europe.

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: needs improvement

The resort is quite nice esthetically,. Rooms are comfortable and clean. The resort is well maintained. So on the surface, it is a beautiful place. However, there does not seem to be a regular cleaning schedule for the maids to make up your room. On one evening, We were in our room, getting ready to go out for dinner in one of the restaurants. It was 6:30 when the maids showed up to clean the room. They basically barged in while we were partially dressed and cleaned around us as if we were not t [... read more]here. There is a definite communication issue with the staff. They are all quite friendly and genuinely nice but their lack of English communication skills causes for some difficulties. The three a la carte restaurants are substandard to okay with the seafood restaurant at the bottom of the list. I would have to rate it at zero stars due to inconsistent service, substandard food and poorly trained staff. The Italian restaurant would receive 2 stars because the food and service is a bit better and the French restaurant (that everyone says is the best one) would be 3.5 stars because they provide a higher level of service and moderately better food. The French restaurant is the only one that does not incorporate a buffet as a portion of the meal. At both the seafood restaurant and Italian restaurant, you leave your table to visit a small buffet (salad / soup / appetizer bar) and then also visit a dessert bar for dessert. Both of those restaurants are missing some of the basic service skills such as offering coffee with dessert, having the proper cutlery available on the table and ensuring that the plates and cutlery on the table is clean. The buffet restaurant onsite is average buffet food with some cold items that are at an unsafe holding temperature to long to be safe to eat. The staff in the buffet restaurant is poorly trained and miss the basics to good customer service such as have the tables set properly, attend the guests' needs, inadequate supply of serving utensils on the buffet, mislabeled food items on the buffet, etc. Based on my experience with the shoddy customer service and sub par food quality and preparation, I would not go back to this resort an would not recommend it to friends. Other than these issues, the rest of the stay was very pleasant. The pool was nice. the view to a west facing beach was wonderful (although the water was basically unswimmable due to the presence of swarms of jellyfish). The water is brackish (which happens when a fresh water source comes in contact with a salt water source (it makes the water look murky and dirty but it is not, it's just a natural chemical reaction)

Catalonia Royal Bavaro: Is not a 5* as advertised 4* at best

This resort is not 5*. You pay 5* price but 4* at best. The all adult resort is very dated and needs a major overall. We were at the Excellence a few years ago and it was a 5* this resort should take note how it is done. The sister resort beside with children is where everything is casinio, theatre, restaurants etc. You have to walk over there all the time to do anything. And there is no map or anything telling where everything is at both resorts. Other resorts give you a newsletter everyday to  [... read more]tell you what is going on that day not this place. All adult is like a seniors retirement home. You just lay on loungers around the pool. No water sports, music or even floats to lay on in pool. Food was just o.k. nothing special. You could tell maids, bar tenders etc. worked very hard but the front desk didn't go out of there way to help, passed you on to someone else.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Great time in DR!

I had never been to DR, my wife had been there apx 20 years ago, and at different done. Overall, this was a lovely week in the sun, and yes it was sunny, and hot as well. I had heard that going off the resort was not a good idea for safety reasons, but being a runner I did so every day and found nothing but friendly locals and I got to see the wonderful countryside. As for the resort itself, it was wonderful and the staff helpful in every way. I spent each day as well using the resort gym/spa. A [... read more]s it was partly open air, it was like working out in a steam room!, but it was enjoyable all the same, with good equipment. The beach and pool areas were excellent, with staff always on hand to help and/or set up fun games in which the winners were given a medal etc every night before the evening shows, which were also first class and well everyday! One day before we left, a large group came in for what appeared to be a wedding party, they were young and set up a boombox pool side and blasted hip hop music for "all to enjoy", I thought the staff could have made an effort to tone them down as it was very loud and took away from the nice island music playing on the hotel system, but that aside, it was a small issue and otherwise a great resort we would go back to any time with friends!

Bahia Principe Grand Bavaro: Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana

For the cost of this vacation, I was not happy with any of the services. Housekeeping missed filling our amenities and didn't take any extra time to dress up the room at all. I stopped tipping after 2 days. Several times we had to take our drinks back to have them remade. Food although very edible, was hit or miss. One night it was great at the BBQ al a carte, the next it was blah. The Garden restaurant, was a laugh. Asked for the thickest steak, they cooked a thin one and folded it over. Don't  [... read more]order internet in your room with your Visa, its a scam, and reception will not help you. The sun quest rep was misleading, gave us useless advice and was no where to be found to help us with our shuttle and departure times. This is supposed to be a 5 star resort. They need to step up their game.

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana: Excellent resort

Beautiful clean property with a lot of trees and plants, wonderful beach and enough umbrellas for everyone. Food was fine. Entertainment was ok. People are friendly, happy and helpful. Price was a bit higher.

Bahia Principe Explore La Romana: Beautiful garden resort

Although this resort was beautifully landscaped and well kept care of, there is no ocean water there fit to swim in as it is brown and full of jelly fish, so if you are going there for the ocean swimming, this is not the place but if the pool is water enough then it is good. There are a few water excursions that take you to the beautiful ocean water to swim in and they were very good, especially the Catalina Island one. The people that worked here were awesome and very helpful. Could have been a [... read more] few more excursions available also.

Hyatt Vivid Punta Cana: Awesome resort

From the gardeners to the chef it was the best bang for your dollar. Food was outstanding and it was nice to see the manager walking around to make sure everyone was being treated to the best service.

Occidental Punta Cana: Very Disappointing.

We travelled to Occidental Grand Punta Cana from November 16-23, 2014, as a couple. Our initial impression as we checked in the lobby was that the resort was run down. When we got to the room, this confirmed that the resort was outdated and hardly felt anything like a 4 star. The bathroom was terrible, the bathtub was yellow and stained and the corking was gone. The pools are shallow and not very clean. It was impossible to get good spots at the beach, even if we put our towels at 6am, people j [... read more]ust take them off ( the transat reserved area of the beach is Quebers who stay for weeks and do whatever)!! The buffet is okay, always the same and if you enjoy Kenny G, that's the only cd they play!! We also had to fight to get restaurant bookings, at first we were told there was no reservations available, so we found an Air Transat rep who came with us and somehow spots became available!! The restaurants were good, but we skipped on the Steak house as everyone seems to get sick from eating there. The pizza up on the terrace above the theatre is over rated, but it's still better than the buffet. The Michael Jackson tribute show on Monday night is good!! Overall, this resort is lacking in many areas, we made the best of our trip but we can't lie and recommend even at the rate we got, there are other better options!!

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Fantastic resort

The beach was great - great selection in the dining room - the property was very clean as well as the rooms. The staff was always helpful and ready to listen if we had any problems. They were attentive to our needs.

Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites: Iberostar Bavaro is great

Iberostar Bavaro is a wonderful resort. The rooms are large and very clean. The staff are amazing especially Francia in the dinning room. It is close to the airport so you can be by the pool or beach in a short time. The beach is endless and clean. The pool area doesn't feel crowded at all with a wonderful area for children. We have been to several resorts in the DR and this is by far the best!!!!! We flew with WestJet. The Sunwing check-in area in the DR looked like a big mess.