We stayed at the Caribe Club Princess August 23-30, 2011. The last few times I’ve been to Punta Cana, I’ve stayed at resorts with higher star ratings. However, this was a budget trip which required us to select a budget resort. I chose this one based on the reviews I’d read regarding the high level of customer service. Those reviews were spot-on, as the customer service is what sets this resort apart from others of a similar star rating. We booked through Apple Vacations and purchased the VIP Upgrade which was more than worth the cost of $42 per person. With the upgrade, we received bathrobes and slippers, beach towels, a welcome bottle of Brugal, and Cigars in our room which was located in the Coralillo Building. We had a partial oceanview in room 2302 which mostly overlooked the pool. If you’re looking for peace and quiet, this may not be the room for you, as the folks at the pool bar often kept up lots of noise. We were unaffected by this. With our VIP package, we also received a free dinner at one of the premium a la carte restaurants–we chose La Cava, which I will discuss in a bit. Along with the free dinners, we received tickets for a 20 minute massage. There was also free room service–you may have to request a menu, as we did. Just don’t order any drinks because those are NOT included free with room service (they will try to bring you a beer everytime you order…just tell them “no cerveza”).
Room Number:
2302
Room Block:
Coralillo
Arrival:
We arrived on the heels of Hurricane Irene. Therefore it rained the first three days of our vacation. Our connection in Charlotte, NC was only delayed an hour, so our travel wasn’t really affected. What DID affect our travel was the fact that not one, but two people got sick on our flight to Punta Cana (Yes, the flight attendant actually asked if there was a doctor onboard). We had to wait until ambulances arrived at PC International for both parties before we could leave the plane and enter the airport terminal. Our bags were already off the belt in no apparent order. After finally finding our bags, we got our Presidentes from the bar outside and toasted to making it safely. Since we were delayed after landing, when we arrived at the resort (only a 20 minute ride from the airport), our rooms were ready. We were greeted with welcome drink at check-in and the directed to Guest Services who explained how to use the VIP Vouchers.
Rooms:
Since our room was on the 3rd floor, we had a wonderful vaulted ceiling. I had been concerned about the reviews that said that the rooms were dated. I’m not sure I would call it dated. I would say that they are not decorated in contempory decor like many of the newer resorts. The decor is "Caribbean"…bright colors and wicker furniture. I just had to check the mattress (although I was terrified to do so, as a germophobe), and it actually looked brand new. There was actually a mattress cover on there. The bed frame was a bit worn, but nothing to actually complain about. The water pressure on our shower was very low. I called to let them know and they sent someone to fix it within the hour. The hot water was kind of hit or miss. However, the worst it ever got was luke warm. And then there were times when it was steaming hot. The mini-fridge was always stocked and re-stocked each day with Coke, Diet, Sprite, Presidente, and water. As I mentioned before, the customer service here was EXCELLENT. Any request that we had was answered (keep in mind that none of our requests were unreasonable). Our room was cleaned nicely each day. The time of service varied, but was usually late afternoon, early evening. We always received fresh towels. And there were actually small wash clothes in the bathroom. I truly believe that the folks at Caribe Club Princess read these reviews and take heed to the things that are written here by guests. Most of the complaints that I’ve seen in prior reviews had been resolved.
Restaurants and Bars: We usually had breakfast and lunch at the Higuero Buffet. My only complaint about breakfast is that they didn’t have bacon everyday…no biggie though. The buffet wasn’t as horrible as past reviews had mentioned. It was hit or miss. And when it hit, it was great! When it missed, it was mostly because there was nothing there to suit my tastes. I’m not a big desert eater, but I loved the flan. I’m a very picky eater and I didn’t really go hungry at the CCP. We chose La Cava as our free premium al la carte. The lobster was AMAZING! So much so that we paid the $35 per person to go back a 2nd time while we were there. We also tried the Shangay Asian which was pretty good. I enjoyed the fried shrimp skewers. The Miso soup was a definite miss. However, my boyfriend who is a Chinese food lover was not disappointed. We ate at the El Pilon Dominican restaurant and had the great fortune of having my friend there with us who is Dominican. She showed us all of the great dishes to try and educated us on Dominican tradition—Cibao soup is served at most family gatherings, and rightfully so because it was delicious! At the lobby bar, we met the infamous Jose Obama. He is truly great fun and on a mission to get you drunk and help you have a good time. They made the best Margaritas and Pina Coladas at the Lobby Bar! The pool bar was also great fun. We didn’t frequent the snack bar, but I will tell you that it is NOT 24 hours. It doubles as the premium a la carte La Pescadora, so if you’re looking for a snack during the dinner hour when La Pescadora is open, you’ll have to look elsewhere. It was also closed during the morning hours on the day we left. The food there is good also—pizza, fries, burgers, nachos. My only complaint there is that they don’t have anything sweet there in terms of desert. Some flan served there would have been great.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: We only used the main pool (the one near our room with the pool bar), as this one has the most activity going on. The others were kind of quiet, but we saw many families with small children using the one on the Tropical side. The grounds were immaculate—absolutely beautiful. I like the way the rooms and the pool were right near the beach. So much so that it made the lobby bar, theatre and disco seem too far away. There are trams available to take you up front that supposedly run ever 15-20 minutes. My experience is that they run less frequently late at night (like when your feet are killing you and you just returned from the disco) and more frequently during the day (seemingly every 5 minutes at one point). The pools were as clean as could have been expected—we were there on the heels of Irene and she blew some things around. However, I constantly saw someone cleaning the pools which were sparkling and beautiful. The beach was amazing—Powdery white sands and clear turquoise waters! The water was a little cool and a bit choppy thanks to Irene being in the area. I actually got flipped out of my inner tube and bumped my head on the ocean floor when a wave crashed. Solution—stay out toward the deepest part of the swimming area with the inner tube. The resort should really discontinue the use of clear plastic straws with their drinks. They end up all over the beach in the sand (along with the cigarette butts of the smokers who are too inconsiderate to put their butts in an ashtray or trashcan). It would probably be more cost effective for the resort as well. It just burns me up when people don’t try to leave the area just as beautiful for others to enjoy as it was when they arrived.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: We didn’t participate at all in any of the activities the Animacion team put on. We only made it to the theatre show one night. I didn’t see any of the bullying of the crowd to participate that others had complained about. The kids performing in the show danced their behinds off! We only went to Arieto Disco on the resort one night. It was ok. We went to Mangu Disco on the Occidental Grand resort one night also. We booked a banana boat ride at the Watersports Center. It was lots of fun. We kept falling off the banana boat, but I blame the guy driving the speed boat too fast while taking sharp turns and the banana boat that wouldn’t stay inflated. We had a great time and what was supposed to be a 15 minute ride actually turned into a 45 minute experience. I’d do it again. We spent a lot of time lounging under palapas, or floating in our inner tubes that we brought with us and left with some kids on our way out. We didn’t have to play the ‘save a chair’ game. There was no need. One morning we woke up at 5:45 and went out to watch the sunrise and left our things in our chairs until we came back after breakfast and spent the rest of the day there. The next day, we didn’t get out to the beach until after 10am. There were plenty of palapas under which to lounge without playing the towel game. Off the resort, we booked a VIP Catamaran Cruise through Apple Vacations to Cap Cana. I’ll review it in the ‘Things to Do” Section of TA.
Other Comments:
Vacation is what you make of it and we were determined to have a good time. Punta Cana was absolutely beautiful, even during 3 days of rain. Would I return to this resort? Probably not, as I try to stay some place different each time I travel to Punta Cana. However, I would highly recommend it to my friends and family. But if I had to take another budget vacay, this would be the first place whose prices I would check.