My husband and I travelled from London with BA holidays on 8 June with our two senior mums and spent two weeks at this fabulous resort. For the first time we had upgraded our stay to “preferred” , providing a few additional benefits, including additional meal options and separate pool/beach areas which we felt would benefit the “old gals”! We also had a dedicated “butler”, Natali, who did everything she could to make our stay even more memorable and easy.
There so much to say but I’ll try to keep it brief.
ROOMS - we were in the original part of the resort, not the new “preferred” area, which suited us as it was closer to the majority of the restaurants. The rooms were very spacious and beautifully kitted out with seating area, balcony (with bath!), a lovely large bathroom and special touches such as incense sticks. The mini bar was stocked daily including bottled water. Housekeeping worked exceptionally hard, keeping everything ultra clean and tidy.
POOLS/BEACH - simply stunning in every way. Yes, there can be sargassum, but it’s a natural phenomenon and it is cleared as soon as possible. The temperature of the lazy river is quite warm, the pools a little cooler but still very pleasant. The new “Preferred” section pool area is smaller but beautiful and we found it quite peaceful.
RESTAURANTS - so much choice. The main buffet is varied and only closed a couple of times for deep cleaning. We tried all the à la cartes except Oceana and didn’t have one bad meal, in fact the opposite. I know it’s subjective, but I’ve read reviews of the food claiming it’s inedible and sub par. Well we travel extensively and I can say that such claims are totally false and misleading. The food is very good, granted not Michelin star quality, but this is an all inclusive Dom Rep resort. Set realistic expectations and it’s absolutely fine. If you struggle to find anything to eat, then it’s best to stay at home.
BARS - very well stocked with friendly bartenders. Sometimes the drinks were a little odd tasting but such is life. The majority were fine.
STAFF - the glue that hold it together and who make your holiday extra special. We’ve never met such a happy bunch of people, so willing and keen to help enhance your experience.
ENTERTAINMENT - whilst we didn’t participate, there were regular pool/beach activities which looked fun. But best of all were the shows, really professional and some of the best quality musicians and singers we’ve seen at Caribbean all inclusives.
TIPS - yes, we tipped as much as we could, a couple of $ here and there, more where we felt we’d had exceptional service and we left tips for housekeeping every day, plus the fridge guy every few days.
PREFERRED - we loved this option and we found it suited us to have separate and additional areas to eat and spend the days. The new section is separated from the main resort by a walkway across a lake which is stunning and teeming with wildlife. It doesn’t take long to go from one end to the other and there is transportation at a moment’s notice. That being said, if you don’t upgrade to preferred it wouldn’t be an issue and you probably wouldn’t notice. For us, we felt it was a nice extra for our mums. And having Natali, our butler, available was a comfort, even though we didn’t need her too much. But she always caught up with us every day, by WhatsApp or in person around the resort and had a chat to make sure we were ok. The other butlers were friendly too, especially Marcello!
Would we return? Absolutely! And we don’t often say that. Shout out to Natali, our lovely Butler (thank you for everything), Rafael (entertainment), World buffet Raul and Candy (servers) and Martina (hostess), plus Maryanny (night time cocktail waitress), Delores from the Grotto bar and Alexander, drinks server on the beach. There are so many more but it’s impossible to name everyone. They are all wonderful. We look forward to our next visit.
