We had a great time! The resort was beautiful and well-groomed. The staffing was a bit off, I believe that this section had recently been completely renovated, and so we put it down to the fact, the kinks hadn’t been worked out completely with staff, training, etc. however, everyone had a smile, a hello, and was willing to help in anyway if you just asked. We also tip, which we KNOW helps get thier attention. 🙂 Since we travel frequently to the Dominican, we know what to expect. This is a third world country afterall. There are language barriers, but that is our fault, if you spend anytime talking to anyone whether guests or staff, most speak several languages, while most american’s barely speak english properly. You are in another country and immersed in another culture, ENJOY it!
Shade is an issue here, there are no cabana’s on the beach, and it is one big general pergola at the main pool, and only a few cabana’s at the adult pool, which fill up fast and early.
Room Number:
6221
Arrival: Check-in was standard. It takes awhile to settle all the paperwork, no longer than other places, no shorter than other places. They did call the bar and we ordered drinks, of our choice, that was nice.
We arrived around 3pm, after check-in, we were taken on a quick tour as we walked to our room.
Rooms: Rm# 6221
The room was beautiful. King size bed, double sinks, separate toilet and shower. desk, closet, iron and board, phone, clock, minibar, and a few snacks. 2 couches, Balcony had a jacuzzi tub (standard for all rooms)with a drop down shade for privacy.
Restaurants and Bars: At check-in we were told that you did not need reservations for any of the restaurants…..BUT…. (and they didn’t tell us this part) Between 530 and 6pm the restaurants open, at that time a long line forms, if you are ready for dinner, meaning you have met dress code (which is enforced) and are ready to eat now, you probably can get right in and be seated for dinner. If the restaurant is full by the time you reach the front of the line you are able to make a reservation, depending on how many are in front of you, the times get later and later, so your option maybe something like 9-10pm. That is IF you are dressed for dinner, they will NOT seat you OR give you a reservation if you are not dressed for dinner. In order to get a reservation for dinner, you MUST be dressed for dinner. (men:pants/collared shirt-women dresses slacks) and no flipflop footwear. You must go to the restaurant of your choice, stand in line, and then you can probably get a reservation. You can not show up in beachwear, saying you just want a reservation for a later time and you will go change before showing up at the designated time…you will NOT get one! Nor are you able to get a reservation for any other night. There is NO cheating on this one believe me we tried. There are 3 buffet restaurants, opening and closing at different times. Breakfast,lunch, and dinner.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: The beach was great, the reef is far away from shore, so the water was very calm, there were grasses growing, so the bottom wasn’t all sand.
There are no huts on the beach, making shade a great commodity, you had to move your chair every half hour of so to stay in the shade, or to get out of the sun. We did ride the train down to the villa’s, and they had much more shade on the beach, but still no huts.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: There is a train that will take you all around the resort. You can get off, wander around and get back on. While riding it, we saw basketball courts, tennis courts, the golf course, we got off a few times, wandered around, had a drink, and got back on. There is also a church, something we have not seen at other resorts. The schedule for service is clearly posted on the front.
There is a larger and a smaller waterpark.
Other Comments: We would recommend this resort and would probably even go back there. The fact that there were so many things to do for the kids, make us think about taking the kids there…someday. The biggest warning I would want to give is about the restaurant reservation system they have. it clearly doesn’t work well, it was a hassel. The resort was probably around 80% occupied during our trip and mostly english speaking visitors. It’s always handy to have a few basic phrases of spanish, but thats anywhere you go in the Dominican, not just here.