Punta Cana resort recs?

[nextbigthing]

Girls trip, 4 of us in late July Total of 10 kids under 6 we will be leaving at home so we want to relax, spa, etc.

Looking at Dreams, Hard Rock or Bahia Principe. Those 3 bc using a friends timeshare points

Thoughts? Pros/cons?

Thanks!

[snapoutofit]

We stayed at Bahia Principe. It’s my only experience with an all inclusive but I really loved it.

[lacey]

Not on your list but we went to Excellence Punta Cana with a group of friends and really enjoyed it. The ocean water was wavy (the Atlantic side I think) but we could always get lounge chairs there or at the pool. Drinks and food were good. It is adult only. We went with a fairly large group - 3 singles and 4 couples. I don't think any of the single travelers felt uncomfortable but it was probably more geared towards couples than singles if I had to peg it. There were other groups that seemed to be traveling with friends instead of couples. It was a fun, relaxed place to spend a few days.

[nextbigthing]

Mar 2, 2019 18:26:15 GMT -5 lacey said:

Not on your list but we went to Excellence Punta Cana with a group of friends and really enjoyed it. The ocean water was wavy (the Atlantic side I think) but we could always get lounge chairs there or at the pool. Drinks and food were good. It is adult only. We went with a fairly large group - 3 singles and 4 couples. I don't think any of the single travelers felt uncomfortable but it was probably more geared towards couples than singles if I had to peg it. There were other groups that seemed to be traveling with friends instead of couples. It was a fun, relaxed place to spend a few days.

I've heard really good things about that place!
We're looking at those three I listed because were using a friends timeshare points.

[knx9211]

We stayed at Dreams Palm Beach and really enjoyed it. We didn’t use the spa though. I recall people saying bad things about the other Dreams (Punta Cana) while we were there. But that was in 2011, so who knows.

[lovelyshoes]

We stayed at the bahia Esmeralda and had a great time.
Haven’t stayed at that dreams, but stayed at one in dr and one in Mexico and loved it.

[wildrice]

I've been to both Melia properties in Punta Cana and they are both fantastic. One is quite a bit fancier (and expensive) but the less expensive one is awesome too. I am forgetting their exact names but they should be easy to find if you look up Melia.

[steph96]

Excellence! They now have 2 there. I stayed at the oldest one twice.

[pinkalicious]

All I can say is DO NOT go to BeLive Punts Cana. Not on your list, but it was the worst.

[snapoutofit]

Mar 2, 2019 18:59:13 GMT -5 lovelyshoes said:

We stayed at the bahia Esmeralda and had a great time.
Haven’t stayed at that dreams, but stayed at one in dr and one in Mexico and loved it.

That’s the one we stayed at. I thought it was great!

[campermom]

It’s not on your list but I can’t speak highly enough about Club Med Punta Cana. Their Cirque de Soleil Creactive area was what drew us in. It was truly unforgettable.

And their Zen Oasis area. Omggggg

[mags]

Excellence

[orangello]

The Excellence El Carmen was one of my worst hotel experiences, and I’m fairly well traveled. Avoid at all costs. On the upside, the DR was lovely.

[mslhb]

We stayed at the Dreams Palm Beach and thought it was great. Food for an all inclusive was very good. Especlially liked their coffee shop.

[Whitecaps]

Excellence Punta Cana was our honeymoon location and it was amazing.

[steph96]

Mar 2, 2019 23:25:27 GMT -5 orangello said:

The Excellence El Carmen was one of my worst hotel experiences, and I’m fairly well traveled. Avoid at all costs. On the upside, the DR was lovely.

Thats their new resort, so I’m pretty shocked. What was so bad about it?

[foodiemom]

A friend went on a girls trip to Hard Rock and said it was too loud with too much of a party atmosphere for them. Might be great if you are going for that, just good to know.

We chose Excellence Punta Cana a year later for our adults only group and it was fabulous.

My suggestion would be to stick with an adults only.

[orangello]

Mar 3, 2019 22:05:14 GMT -5 steph96 said:

Mar 2, 2019 23:25:27 GMT -5 orangello said:

The Excellence El Carmen was one of my worst hotel experiences, and I’m fairly well traveled. Avoid at all costs. On the upside, the DR was lovely.

Thats their new resort, so I’m pretty shocked. What was so bad about it?

It was pretty much everything - just a short list; our first room the ac didn’t work; second room there was a light that wouldn’t turn off; we were given attitude both times we called for help. There was terrible customer service in general; people were getting ill from undercooked food and we heard multiple people complaining; etc. etc. it really seemed like none of the management had any past experience managing a hotel. I could go on and on. I’ve left reviews online and had tons of people agreeing - this really seems like like an aberrration for Excellence properties, as most of them are well reviewed.

In all fairness - the spa was lovely.

[orangeblossom]

Excellence El Carmen

[lulu806]

We stayed at the Bahia Principe Esmeralda in November 2017 and, while the property is nice, the food is generally awful. In addition, my son got HFM from the hotel and passed it through the rest of us. It’s the sickest I’ve ever been, including when I had the flu. We know he caught it at the resort because there were 10 other TripAdvisor reviews complaining of HFM from people who stayed the same time we did. I would never go back.

[NewGirlNic]

Mar 4, 2019 0:12:34 GMT -5 orangello said:

Mar 3, 2019 22:05:14 GMT -5 steph96 said:

Thats their new resort, so I’m pretty shocked. What was so bad about it?

It was pretty much everything - just a short list; our first room the ac didn’t work; second room there was a light that wouldn’t turn off; we were given attitude both times we called for help. There was terrible customer service in general; people were getting ill from undercooked food and we heard multiple people complaining; etc. etc. it really seemed like none of the management had any past experience managing a hotel. I could go on and on. I’ve left reviews online and had tons of people agreeing - this really seems like like an aberrration for Excellence properties, as most of them are well reviewed.

In all fairness - the spa was lovely.

When did you go? Right when it opened? I heard they had a lot of hiccups in the first year or so. Friends of ours went last month and said it was amazing. 
We have done Excellence Playa Mujeres and are booked for Punta Cana in September (not El Carmen). I was debating between the 2, but the price for Punta Cana was quite a bit cheaper, since it's an older property, but has been revamped/remodeled recently. I've heard the service there is amazing, since most of the staff has been around for a long time. 

[mrssandro]

If beach and ocean time is important to you we stayed on the Caribbean side. It was about a hour drive from the airport. The reviews on TA are not the greatest but we had a excellent time and it was a good family type resort.

www.dreamsresorts.com/en_us/resorts/dominican-republic/dominicus.html?msclkid=da764b9879181f51695817e53cc0abee&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Seer%20-%20Brand%20-%20Dominicus%20La%20Romana%20-%20DR&utm_term=dreams%20dominicus&utm_content=general_exact

[buckeyegirl]

We went to Dreams Punta Cana last weekend.  We were a group of 8 adults, 3 couples and we had a good time.  I didn't choose the place; I went with the group choice.  I can't really say anything bad about it but it wasn't amazing.  We've been to better AI.  I really like the Royalton and Now brands.  Dreams is a family friendly brand and in June there will be a lot of children.  The spa was nice.  The prices were what I would expect.  

[orangello]

Mar 4, 2019 9:39:26 GMT -5 NewGirlNic said:

Mar 4, 2019 0:12:34 GMT -5 orangello said:

It was pretty much everything - just a short list; our first room the ac didn’t work; second room there was a light that wouldn’t turn off; we were given attitude both times we called for help. There was terrible customer service in general; people were getting ill from undercooked food and we heard multiple people complaining; etc. etc. it really seemed like none of the management had any past experience managing a hotel. I could go on and on. I’ve left reviews online and had tons of people agreeing - this really seems like like an aberrration for Excellence properties, as most of them are well reviewed.

In all fairness - the spa was lovely.

When did you go? Right when it opened? I heard they had a lot of hiccups in the first year or so. Friends of ours went last month and said it was amazing. 
We have done Excellence Playa Mujeres and are booked for Punta Cana in September (not El Carmen). I was debating between the 2, but the price for Punta Cana was quite a bit cheaper, since it's an older property, but has been revamped/remodeled recently. I've heard the service there is amazing, since most of the staff has been around for a long time. 

We were there last July. Not sure when it opened?

[ryndi]

Mar 4, 2019 7:52:01 GMT -5 lulu806 said:

We stayed at the Bahia Principe Esmeralda in November 2017 and, while the property is nice, the food is generally awful. In addition, my son got HFM from the hotel and passed it through the rest of us. It’s the sickest I’ve ever been, including when I had the flu. We know he caught it at the resort because there were 10 other TripAdvisor reviews complaining of HFM from people who stayed the same time we did. I would never go back.

I ate a lot of toast during our trip-I dreaded meal times. We did an excursion and the food was delicious.

[dixeedeluxe]

We did Secrets Cap Cana in November. Not on your list, but putting it out there in case someone is reading and has any questions.