OT: Punta Cana, DR

[RUaMoose_rivals]

Anyone been to PC and can recommend a mid-priced adults only resort on the beach I'd appreciate it. Wife and I are looking to go late April

 

[RUEd]

Hard Rock is great. Not sure if mid priced but one of the best all inclusive I've been to.

 

[rutalum07]

Majestic elegance. Awesome. Food was good too.

 

[Knightmoves]

Bringing your wife to Punta Cana DR ?

Isn't that like bringing sand to the beach ?

 

[Retired711]

FWIW, I had a bad experience at the place that Apple had me stay at -- I can't remember the name. Everything was fine except that the food and water made me sick. Interestingly enough, my last day I went on an excursion to Santo Domingo -- too long a trip in my view for what you see -- but had no trouble with the food and water there. But this was a long time ago.The beaches and ocean were super.

 

[RUaMoose_rivals]

Majestic elegance. Awesome. Food was good too.

Will look into it. Thanks for the rec

 

[RUaMoose_rivals]

Hard Rock is great. Not sure if mid priced but one of the best all inclusive I've been to.

Yeah I'm trying to keep it reasonable. Heard of HR. Will investigate. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[RUaMoose_rivals]

Majestic elegance. Awesome. Food was good too.

A little on the pricey side but maybe worth it. Not sure how this "all inclusive" thing works. Neither of us are "big eaters" or drinkers for that matter so I am not sure if that makes sense given they probably build a high amount of consumption into the price.

 

[rutalum07]

I know someone that stays at the Iberostar twice a year in punta Cana and swears by the place. Just haven't had a chance to try it yet. Been to PC 3 times.

 

[RBNY87]

Iberostar is mid-priced and I like that chain. They have one in Bavaro and one in Punta Cana which is eventually the same geographic area. As someone mentioned, be careful of drinking the water. I would even use bottled water to brush your teeth. Getting sick the first day can ruin things. DR is good value.

 

[Tango Two]

Anyone been to PC and can recommend a mid-priced adults only resort on the beach I'd appreciate it. Wife and I are looking to go late April

Some of these might prove helpful to you:

https://rutgers.forums.rivals.com/threads/help-punta-cana.87129

https://rutgers.forums.rivals.com/threads/ot-has-anyone-been-to-hardrock-punta-cana.4682/

 

[RU-AGK]

Hard Rock is awesome but not adult only.

 

[InGregITrust]

Iberostar is mid-priced and I like that chain. They have one in Bavaro and one in Punta Cana which is eventually the same geographic area. As someone mentioned, be careful of drinking the water. I would even use bottled water to brush your teeth. Getting sick the first day can ruin things. DR is good value.

I stay at the majorly upscale Hotel Grand Bavaro (owned by Iberostar). Not mid level priced so it wouldn't work for the OP. About $750-800 per night. In my opinion, worth every nickel. Ridiculous food, great service and no crowds. Feel like a king and queen when we go.

 

[Debtbubble]

Casa Colonial hotel is in Puerta Plata and much nicer than the all inclusive places by far. It's like something out of a movie. You can get a room for under $300 with breakfast. You won't spend more than $200 the rest of the day on food and booze.

There is more to do in Puerto Plata. You can get a driver for the whole day for $50. Ocean world is fun and you could easily spend a day there. Go on the the Brugal rum factory tour. The rum is excellent and very reasonably priced. Go to the old Spanish fort. It's beautiful. Take the tram up the mountain to the botanical gardens. Plenty of restaurants and reasonable prices. Great seafood. Green jack tar is a good restaurant close by.

Punta cana is a giant tourist trap rip off and quite frankly it sucks. And is way overpriced.

Or go to Cabarete and get an amazing oceanfront condo at the ultraviolet hotel for $200 a night. Beautiful, right on the beach and you can walk down the beach to dozens of restaurants. They sell Z packs at the pharmacies without a prescription if you get sick. Take a couple of those and it will get you right in a few hours. I've never gotten sick there and I drink the water. But maybe I'm use to it now.

 

[musclesmarinara]

Just got back yesterday from Bahia Esmeralda - great time, awesome facilities, walking distance the beach.

 

[bob-loblaw]

If you enjoy eating a good meal, a vast majority of the AI resorts are a set up to let you down. If you want to get drunk by the beach and not care about food, I'd say go for it.

I've been to DR several times. The beach is easily one of the best in the world.... the resorts are not on the same level sadly. The only area that is good is Cap Cana, but I never stayed there so I can't attest to the quality of any resort there.

 

[Retired711]

A little on the pricey side but maybe worth it. Not sure how this "all inclusive" thing works. Neither of us are "big eaters" or drinkers for that matter so I am not sure if that makes sense given they probably build a high amount of consumption into the price.

At least in my case, it meant that people next to me on the beach would start drinking in the morning. Quite a lot of liquor consumption seemed to go on, and I think some of my fellow vacationers really were there largely because of it. But people weren't dead drunk or anything. I didn't think the food was good enough to turn anyone into a big eater, but maybe you'll have better food where you stay.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

Dreams, Punta Cana was great. Service was exceptional. Every time a service person did something for me and I thanked them, they responded with "it's a pleasure". The spa was also exceptional. I got 10 massages for $500, which gave me full access to the spa all vacation long. Food was decent.

 

[realhoops2]

Barcelo has a couple all inclusive adult only resorts in Punta Cana that are moderately priced.

 

[scarlet devil]

Majestic elegance. Awesome. Food was good too.

I'm heading there next Tuesday. I'm glad to hear a good review from a real person rather than what I read on trip advisor, I never feel like I can trust those reviews.

 

[anvilofstars]

Depends on what you are trying to do. I stayed at the Barcelo Bavaro Beach. Was a great party resort. If you are trying to do romantic things though... not the resort for you.

I have stayed at other Iberostar properties as posters have mentioned and would recommend.

 

[DJYoshi]

I personally didn't mind the kids. I flew down to spin at the Paradisius Palma Real in March, but we stayed at the Reserve. Had a great time down there. We were at the hard rock for a day to play golf and check out the resort. seemed nice.

Paradisius isn't as crazy at HR, but there's still things to do. There's 3 properties that you can float between.
The a la carte restaurants are included in your visit.

I think when I checked in I saw my 4 day stay there was around $2000 so it wasn't too bad for everything that you get.

someone told me secrets isn't bad for all inclusive adults only...
and the big boy from aiAO would be Barcelo Bavaro Beach. really nice and not that bad.

 

[scotti314]

I have been to Punta Cana a few times. I stayed at the Majestic the first trip and it was the best all inclusive I have ever stayed at. Very good food and entertainment (both during the day and night). My aunt just got back last week and had very positive reviews. Also I got married at the Paridisus and it was nice enough. However, if you are not a big drinker then you may want to explore other options that are not all inclusive.

 

[scotti314]

I'm heading there next Tuesday. I'm glad to hear a good review from a real person rather than what I read on trip advisor, I never feel like I can trust those reviews.

As I said above, my aunt just back and had very good things to say, it has been 8 years since I was there and had a great time.

I agree with not trusting the reviews on Trip Advisor, I recently took a trip to a Seacrets in Mexico which had awesome reviews. We heard countless stories of free vacations and upgrades to remove or change the reviews. Needless to say the resort did not live up to the Trip Advisor Ratings.

 

[bob-loblaw]

TripAdvisor is only as good as the reviewer. Sadly, people who are more inclined to stay at higher end resorts/hotels are less likely to wrote a review. It's the reason for the constant plethora of holiday Inn express hotels often listed as the best hotel in certain places.

I really don't care what Jeff F of Watertown, NY has to say about x resort. Odds are, our tastes are nowhere near each other.

And I've stayed at Barcelo Bavaro. It wasn't the best. Food was meh. The resort was 100% catered towards the Hispanic community. Also stayed at Dreams. Found the food to be atrocious. WouND up eating nothing but pizza from the hut by the pool. It was on a cracker like crust and was ok when it was well done.

DR to me is a spot to go w a group of people to get drunk by the beach/pool. With the exception of Cap Cana I've yet to see a spot worth going to with the wife to relax

 

[RUaMoose_rivals]

Booked six days at Majestic Elegance.

Quick question for those that have been there: How do you get from the airport to the resort ? I assume a taxi ? No reason to rent a car I would assume.

 

[scarlet devil]

I went through a travel agency and our package includes airport transportation. I believe we are doing Olympus Tours for our transfer. Like I said, it was part of the package so I don't have a price for you.

 

[rutalum07]

Booked six days at Majestic Elegance.

Quick question for those that have been there: How do you get from the airport to the resort ? I assume a taxi ? No reason to rent a car I would assume.

the resort has buses at the airport constantly