Punta Cana

Our experience was overall, quite good. We travelled with our two kids (12 and 9) and friends with their kids (13 and 10). We paid for the preferred club room, but I'm not confident we actually got a preferred room. There were issues upon check in about having two preferred club rooms available. We had butler service, but it didn't seem like our butler provided anywhere near the level of service other butlers seemed to. He did our dinner reservations and helped me get housekeeping service when it hasn't happened. Other butlers seemed to get towels (which were at a premium) and get pool or beach chairs for their clients. The entertainment staff and kIDs/teen club staff were absolutely incredible! All four kids had the best time with them. The beds were OUTSTANDING! I usually get a sore back when I'm away, but I didn't at all. Overall, we would totally go back. But there are some things the resort can work on for sure.

We had an amazing time at the Majestic Mirage! The rooms were spacious, the staff friendly and helpful, food and drink options were plentiful and delicious, pools and oceanfront well-maintained....truly an excellent time. Would highly recommend this resort to anyone looking to travel to Punta Cana.

We visited the Riu Palace Macao complex (adults only) for two weeks (starting end of Feb. 2025). This resort was completely renovated in the summer of 2023. Our room was located on the 4th floor. We had a king bed which we found comfortable. There is a fan above the bed which we appreciated. The air conditioning worked very well. The curtains on the patio door are opaque. On our balcony there were two adjustable chairs, a small table and a dryer rack affixed to the wall. The balconies all have a cement wall (approx. 6 feet) that give you privacy with your neighbors. Our room service was excellent. We had our small refrigerator stocked daily with water, beers and a variety of soft drinks. There are also 4 bottles of drinks with a serving size dispenser (Gin, Vodka, Rum, Whiskey). In the bathroom there are two sinks and a large shower(shower massage removable head or rain forest). In the wardrobe you have several hangers (22) and a free digital box. Also, there are two dressing gowns, ironing board and iron (no umbrella). The Wi-fi is free and worked well. There is a very good variety of food that we found famous at all the places (buffet and La Carte restaurants) that we ate. For A La Carte restaurants no need to book in advance, if it is full, they give you a *puck* that lights up and vibrates when your table is available. For a little extra after your meal or during the day/evening, there is the Cappuccino which serves a good variety of coffee, herbal tea and pastries style desserts.... The service at the bars was very good. The 3 pools were clean as well as the bathrooms. For the beach, it is beautiful and there are sun loungers, no need to reserve. There are no palapas but many palm trees that give you shade if you wish. About 150 feet from the ocean, you have an interlock sidewalk that runs from the Riu Palace Bavaro to the Riu Palace Punta Cana (covering all 4 Riu Resorts (including Bambu/Macao). The location of the Riu Palace Macao is ideal for beach walkers, you can walk east or west for very long distances. The new gym & Spa faces the lobby of the hotel. Everything is very nice and new. Most guests are from the United States, Europe and Canada. This hotel is quiet and there is no music at night. The average age of visitors is 55 . All the hotel staff is friendly, smiling and helpful from your arrival to your departure. My wife and I will be returning to this resort as our 12th stay was again excellent & relaxing!

We loved our stay at Dreams Onyx! Great pools, water park, and amazing beach. Friendly and attentive staff. The rooms were fantastic and the swim out room that we got was well worth the money. The food was great (for resort food). There is always something good to eat. We tend to stick to simple foods like pasta as it's cooked in front of us. We also avoid salads, sushi, seafood, etc to try and avoid any chance of getting sick...so far this has worked for us. There are a bunch of a la carte restaurants and all were great. Our favorite was the steak at the French restaurant. Delicious! The room had a dry drain smell in the bathroom. We told them an guy was at our door within 20 min to flush the drains and that took care of it. Our only complaint is that they use very strong fragrances. The room cleaner is very strong, we had to ask that they not use it (which they did and it was never an issue again). The main lobby and both preferred lounges were pumped extremely strong fragrances. Visualize a perfume department in a store then multiply by 10. My wife has a fragrance sensitivity and couldn't go into any of those rooms. I was fine in them but I also found that the smell was overwhelming and didn't like spending any more time in the rooms than necessary. I only mention this so someone else with a fragrance sensitivity is prepared for this. Let me be clear, this is only an issue in 3 rooms and we will definitely go back. It's not a deal breaker. Just hold your breath and scoot through the lobby if you don't like strong smells.

I have been to 10 All inclusives. This was the worst experience. Building: Walls crumbling and caving in, paint splatters everywhere - it looked like someone dropped a gallon of paint on each floor and stairwell, no elevators (was a 3 story), garbage piled up in the hallways, food trays and trash stowed in every corner, air conditioner sounded like a helicopter was over my head (when it worked). No ice machines - you had to call room service. No water for 1/2 a day. Service: They cleaned our room 2/7 days and that is after we called several times asking for service. We did not have a "do not disturb" on the door ever. Room service never came with ice as requested daily. Asked for soda/water to be replaced - nothing. Beach: The beach was nice but I don't really attribute that to the resort. The servers on the beach were kind and quick. The sellers on the beach were not aggressive. No chairs to be had because all reserved with towels and a book before 7AM. No towels were available even at 7am. Food: It was ok, nothing memorable and reservations were required but you could only do 2 days in advance on the app.

We went as an extended family with our 3 adult children and their spouses and our 3 grandsons who were 3months, 6months and 18 months in age. We all thought the resort was excellent. There is a BRAND new play ground for children, not a scratch on it, with brand new astro turf underneath. There is a FANTASTIC lazy river and it has a 9 hole mini golf course around it; that they were putting new astro turf on when we arrived. We had a bit of difficulty getting a kettle which they needed to sterilize baby bottles but eventually they got it. We were in diamond so we had our butler make the dinner reservations for our group of 8 adults and 1 high chair—the 2 babies we took turns holding during dinner. We went to 1) Oceanside-our least favourite service was slow and meal seemed like it had sat a bit. 2) Grazie Italian the second night—service was Fantastic there, but the food was not the greatest—don't order the Lasagna unless you think you want meatloaf. My daughter's choice of chicken parm was a bit better. 3)Hunter steak house was THE BEST—great rib eye cooked medium like we like it—so pink and service was very good. 4) Tapenaki experience was fun and the meal was okay—the beef and chicken were overcooked and a bit tough but its more about the show than the meal there. 5) Brazilian restaurant was VERY Good —we were all nervous about this one as we had a bad experience with it in Mexico at another resort. 6). last night we did Japenese à la carte in the Tapenaki restaurant—service was very slow for this but the food was excellent and the sushi arrived at the end of the meal; which was a bit weird. We were happy that we had diamond club as then we had a Butler to book the restaurants as we needed to eat at 6pm so the 18 month old wouldn't fall asleep at the table on us without eating. Without the Butler I doubt we could have obtained 6pm for our group each night. The Buffet in the morning was excellent we typically were there from 7 am with our grandsons however I noticed there could be quite a long line up to get in if you didn't show up till 9am. I really enjoyed the coffee shop—open 7am -11pm each day and the cappuccinos were great and their ice cream too. We tended to sit near the lazy river during the day under a big covered canopy as the babies don't tolerate the sun —the servers came by and brought us our drinks and were all very friendly. For lunch I really enjoyed the Ocean restaurant as long as you got there right at 12:30 it was a magnificent buffet with french grilled fish and calamari. Other than using the Butler to book our restaurants we didn't use the Diamond club stuff as the rest of our group just were regular. None of the pools are heated but I like that as then you can cool off and the babies got used to it. We bought blow up floating pool things on amazon before we left so the grandsons each had one for the lazy river or pool. Most people seemed to bring flotation devices with them. I would go again, it is a very clean resort. The staff were friendly and not looking for tips at all. All the staff picked up whenever they saw something so the place was kept exceptionally clean for the volume of people that were there. There were alot of small children and extended family groups. I liked our room —we were in the Chairman's building and the rainwater shower heads and hand held shower head were great. Very big room and well appointed.

Excellent resort the only complaints/suggestions would be more shade on the beach and the volume of the music in the lobby in the evenings. Just turn it down a few notches so everyone doesn't have to hear bad karaoke.

All in all a very good vacation

Barcelo Resorts is a big name and one my family and I have chosen many times and in several countries but it fell short here. Starting with the availability to book an a la carte restaurants - you are given 3 for your stay. We attempted to book immediately after checking in.For our 7 night stay we had almost no options available. Several booked fully and remaining with only after 930pm available. Resort staff excludung house keepinng although not rude far from helpful warm or kind. I understand English is not a first spoken language but you are working at a large tourist chain and simple phrases should easily be understood. In respects to housekeeping extremely polite and friendly albeit still no English. I cannot hold the resort at fault for the fact that it rained for 7 days but if there is this much rain, activities that get the guest excited and upbeat should be encouraged bingo, crazy games or even silly dance lessons something. Beach was nice and well maintained pools as well maintained and cleaned. First time I've ever seen a water test done

Front desk was petulant, no smiles, and unwelcoming. They did not appear knowledgeable about the rooms or offer any information. There are few shuttles to anywhere other than a cigar factory so very little shopping. Drinks are very sweet and watered down. No fresh fruit juices.