We had a good time, relaxed and had fun, weather was mid-80’s and VERY humid, short thunderstorms almost daily, which is to be expected in July, but was pretty uncomfortable at night when you were dressed up. Beautiful hotel, no wristbands needed. The resort is much larger than you first think, every time you walk around you discover something new, their map was a little hard to follow. Good service, nice people, great public bathrooms.
The orientation was useful, although they waited too long for no-shows.
Arrival:
Fine, nice people, lobby is beautiful, a nice place to hang out, bellman are great, they give youa warm welcome, champagne and an ice cold washcloth, we checked in and out quickly, although had to wait 2 hours until our room was ready because we arrived early (had a nice lunch and walked around). They provide change, but bring lots of small change for tips (USD, 1’s and 5’s) because sometimes it takes them a while to find some. Concerge was very helpful.
Rooms:
Great, very clean, garden view King, my husband is 6’5" and was very comfortable, layout and closet space was fine, plenty of room for your stuff, view was OK, giant palm trees, very private porch. Request the 3rd floor! Better view, quieter, high ceilings! Nice Jacuzzi, huge bed. 24×7 room service (limited menu), well stocked beverage bar, coffee maker, snacks were disappointing, TV was fine. Maid service 2x a day (use your Do Not Disturb sign!) Nice maids. They have elevators, but we didn’t use them.
Restaurants and Bars:
Beautiful restaurants, great service, no AC – wear loose, cotton clothes! They escort woman to their tables, we didn’t get a chance to hit every restaurant, but all were fine, except the Lobster House was full of gnats. Food was good, but we both experienced major diarrhea, do not touch tap water, bring Immodium!!!; do not not ignore warning signs (stomach pains) and stay away from coconuts. Grill on the beach was fun, great ribs. Sports bar was fun, ice cream and snacks. Drinks are good, top shelf.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: Pools were nice, but shallow. Swim up bar was fun, and large. People are bad with reserving lounge chairs, and not picking up their wet towels when done. The hotel could have more baskets for garbage and wet towels to encourage clean up, and could do a beter job of cleaning up cups, garbage, etc. on the beach and pools. They often ran out of towels mid-afternoon (and after surprise rain) but would bring them to you when ready. They have nice lounge chairs with cushions, nice towels, and side tables. If you see chairs with rolled up towels, they ARE available! Beach was fun, nice view, quiet, NO boats (too rough?), a little windy, but that means no bugs and a cool breeze. We received no bug bites (sand fleas) but used bug spray on our feet. Beach and ocean were clean and nice for walking, but undertow / surf was very rough, they recommended NO swimming the 7 out of 8 days we were there (people went in anyway); we walked the beach in the daylight away from the resort and felt safe. The drink service was OK, could be a little better. Public bathrooms were very nice.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: We ziplined, which was fun but quite the workout (if you’re over 55, overweight or a smoker, or afraid of heights, watch out), you walk through the hot, humid jungle climbing tall platforms. Everyone was dripping with sweat. We bought the CD for $20, it was OK, but 90% is pictures of other people (you can’t bring a camera on the rides, you lock up all personnel belongings in a locker, bring Deep Woods off). Guides are excellent (the lead guy is hot!), very experienced, safe and nice. Wear sneakers! The open air bus trip was interesting, dirt roads in the jungles, don’t bring a lot of stuff with you. Ladies – this is a glamorous sport (go easy on the makeup). Go in the AM!! We were gone 8:15 to 1 PM, it’s not a 2 hour event like they tell some people. We also did the Somoa Island booze cruise, it was OK but I recommend 1 or the other, and not back to back like we did, the AC bus ride was LONG, and the same roads as zip lining so it was boring to me, bring a change of clothes and leave them in the locked bus, it rained when we got to the island and the entire way back so we were wet and chilly, many people on our boat got very sick from too much rum. The vendors attack you from the bus to boat, very annoying. One way is nice large Catamaran boat, one way is open air, small speed boat. Again, beware if you’re older or overwight, you have to climb up swim ladders and hop over seats. Beach barbecue was just OK, swimming was OK. The water at the resort was so rough, we did no included water sports. We went horseback riding along the beach, which was fun, go the day after their day off when they’re fresh, go in the AM! (cooler), they let you gallop (if you want) and take your pix, horses were surpringly responsive. Don’t pay for the extra horse riding.
No golf, but we didn’t care.
Other Comments: We had a good time. A variety of people and ages, most seemed to be from the tri-state area (US) so we had a lot on common. Many honeymooners, some families, some couples in their 40’s and 50’s, a few older. It was romantic and relaxing. Played a lot of pool volleyball. The hotel (as they all can) could make a few small improvements, but overall it’s a nice place and I would recommend it. Our only real complaint was the rough ocean. We’ve been to Jamaica and on the other side of the DR island and loved the water.
Thank you for giving us your opinion.