Let me start off by saying that everyone has different experiences and different opinions. I have read many reviews and agree with a lot, and disagree with others. Therefore, only you can really make an informative decision on what is important to you on vacation. I will try to cover as much as I can, and feel free to message me any questions. I am also attaching my YouTube video review so you can visually see what I am talking about.
We went on December 10-20th, 2021. Although, this was not our first choice, the deal was just too good. For three of us, 10 day stay, it totalled $2985 (not including insurance). Having been to Fantasia and other sections before, we were excited for such a good deal. Also, I knew that we would or at least should get recognition as VIP because it would be about our 12th time to this resort.
Our flight was through Air Transat. Very happy with the experience. Granted, we were a little spoiled because my mom had a leg problem so we were considered special assistance, so it was nice to get infront of everyone. Each seat had its own tv and you can watch movies, shows and even play games. I enjoyed challenging others on the plane to a game of tic tac toe. The drinks were included and you can order off the menu for food if needed. We got cheese pizza which was okay. Not out of this world, but also not bad.
Once we arrived, we got out of the plane and we were greeted by employees who help with special assistance. My mom was whisked away in her wheelchair and we got through the immigration part fairly quickly. They checked to see we had the arrival into Punta Cana papers. I did both entry and disembarkment papers before I left and never had any issues. I do recommend printing everything ahead of time just in case to speed along the process.
Once we got our luggage, we boarded the bus, but there was some kind of passenger delay. We waited for about 45 minutes before finally leaving. Took about 30 minutes to get to hotel and once there, we sort of separated ourselves to talk to Lady who helped us with our VIP request. I don't know if they got my email or not, but they also decorated the door and left chocolates with some fruit and champagne in the room to honour my daughter's birthday.
Our bracelets were gray and it allowed us to go to any section we wanted. We could eat everywhere and use all facilities. Typically, you would only be able to use some facilities of the other sections, completely forbidden to go to Fantasia or the adult section, Ambar.
We got to the room, first floor, 1112 right near the beach. I think since there is a trolly coming around so often, the distance didn't really bother me, but to walk from our room to Punta Cana lobby would be a workout - 10-15 min walk for sure.
The room didn't have any smells, but it was outdated. I mean it did have everything you needed, but nothing extra. The fridge was hot a lot of the time and inside wasn't keeping the drinks very cold. The safe was free to use. The TV was small (just pointing out) and had very minimal English channels. Two beds, pretty firm. Pillows not the most comfortable I have had. The thing I was worried about was the fan. Someone else reviewed the same thing and I agree. Looked like it was going to come off the ceiling how it wobbled oh my. Luckily we barely used it. I will say that I was bitten by a ton of mosquitos. One of the nights, we screamed because each of us heard a mosquito zoom by us right in our ears. We used OFF spray from home and even bought the one from the store. Still had over 40 bites. It could be that we were near the beach, or just time of year...but think of something strong you can take with you just in case.
The room also had a bathroom with the weirdest shower design in my opinion. The Jacuzzi button didn't work, but the shower didn't have a full door. It had a small part near the front of it blocked off by kind of glass ..but made it so hard to turn on the water unless you climbed it...and exposed area that you need to put a towel on the floor or it would be way to wet.
I am a big foodie person so the most important part for me is the food. It's like, why are you complaining? There is lots of food....but just because there is a lot of food, if it's not tasty, you feel there is barely anything to eat. The Punta Cana buffet was disappointing to me. They have your typical omelette, pasta, grill stations, but the main food was either cold by the time I sat down or just lacked flavour. Their salad selection was disappointing as well. Didn't always look fresh. Last time I was there they had pico de Gallo and it was so good...now they had just mixed salads...but always something in it that we didn't like. For example, corn salad, but had squid in it. Just a plain salad with corn and tomato or something couldn't happen....had to have tuna or fish or something. So again, this is me who doesn't eat fish complaining.. maybe you would like it. I just felt there weren't a lot of things I enjoyed even though I am not a picky person at all (other than fish). I was so surprised that the restaurants were a lot better. Usually in my experience, it was the other way around. I also think there wasn't a lot of options for kids. We ate most of the time at Fantasia and when we were there three years ago, much better selection for kids. They took out the kids buffet section and left a little one. Could have extended to be a lot bigger for them. They don't only eat chicken nuggets and fries haha.
We tried the buffet near the Esmeralda water park, not bad for lunch. I didn't leave hungry. We also tried buffet for breakfast near the Esmeralda Pool infront of beach. I found limited breakfast options as well as lack of cereal.
We were able to reserve as many restaurants as we wanted. We did 3 as the Brazilian was closed. We had mexican which was pretty good. Steakhouse was my favourite. Such tasty steak and veggies. The Ceasar salad was soo interesting. A big piece of bread, with a hole cut inside and the salad. Of course it had to have sardines....:( The Japanese I was excited for because my daughter wanted to see the first and everything. We saw other tables and the chef's going all out, and ours was very quiet. He lit up fire only at the end. So big disappointment....however the fried icecream was amazing!
Now on to the water parks. We got to visit all 3 locations. Esmeralda, Fantasia and main one near the entrance. I thought they were all great! The one in Fantasia had a little pizzeria and I enjoyed that for one of the lunches. Esmeralda was small, but still fun. The one near the front requires a Shuttle to get there. You can take the shuttle to Punta Cana lobby and wait for the water park trolly or you can walk. It's not that far. It had a small shack with drinks, nachos and hot dog. Some desserts as well. I was told that as an adult my time of having fun was over and I was not allowed to go down any slides due to my height. Although...shhhh...when life guard wasn't looking, I went down this one slide which was this big wide one hahaha. So fun!
Near the entrance of hot, there is a mini golf area, tree climbing course and bumper cars. All was for extra fee so didn't participate. The spa in this area is where we had a massage. I had the hot stone massage for 50 min and a relaxing massage. Anita, the masseuse was really good. It was about $100 US each with discount.
We did have an incident which I was disappointed with. Near the arcade in the Fantasia section, it was really wet after the rain. My mom slipped and fell, hurting herself real bad. With an already bad leg, it was upsetting. The floors can get really slippery, especially after rain. They should either do a faster job in cleaning up, as we actually saw servers dropping their drinks as they themselves slipped and fell. A manager came to talk to my mom, and offered to go to hospital. Maybe my mom should have, maybe we would have been able to sue...but honestly during Covid, my mom was not interested in leaving us and going outside of resort. He only offered to look into getting some kind of massage. After so many back and forth a over the next three days, signing forms and waiting at lobby - they gave her 20 minute free massage. So disheartening after everything. I'm not saying we should have millions of dollars, but one free 60 min massage too hard?
The entertainment team was nice. I didn't really see much of them throughout our stay. Only the last 3 days I saw more active daily activities. We did darts, and crafts for children. Honestly, my daughter kept me busy so can't complain.
There is an arcade in Fantasia section which you pay for and a teen club. We left her at the Fantasia kids club 3 times. Each time for an hour and it was really nice for her. She had an icecream party, watermelon decorating, etc.
The nightly shows were everywhere. Many of which rotated and you can catch at different sections. We opted to stay at Fantasia most nights. They usually had something for kids beforehand. We were surprised to see the same magician from many years before. We were sad that Michael Jackson wasn't there during our stay. Lion King was the best. I know they tried their best, but seriously other than Lion King, no other show stood out as for kids. So many dancers wearing barely anything with their butts shaking and all that. Many shows were just boring. They should have kept those shows for the other sections and bring back cool ones for kids like they had before.
The castle every night when working had a light show for about 8 minutes starting at 10pm..very fun and reminds me of Disneyland.
I'm not a big drinker, so cannot comment on alcohol too much, but I do believe it was a little watered down.
During out stay, we had to book Covid test within 72 hours. The doctor came to our room and we paid $85.US each. Hopefully as of the 28th, they will no longer require.
It was pretty windy during stay so we were out able to swim in the sea for about 1-2 days. Too scary for my daughter with the big waves. Although seaweed problem seemed to be a lot better than previous weeks.
The room key issue was real for us. Oh my gosh it was so annoying going back and forth. They were quite cold and ride about it and said my cellphone was too close to it and it disactivates. However I made sure they weren't touching at all and yet still stopped working. They really need to solve this problem.
Overall because we had the VIP experience, it was worth it. I'd give 7/10. However, not interested in returning at least for awhile.
