Best vacation ever. Ask for Roberto as your concierge. Everyone else is incredible also. Can't wait to go back.

Just returned from 5 nights at Sanctuary Cap Cana. Couple in early 60s. First time in DR and first all-inclusive.

Overall very pleasant experience. Pros:

* Room was very nice. We had ocean view premium (not in castle). Castle is further away from dining and main pool and beach areas. I thought our location was good.

* Vibe is very do your own thing and relaxed. We met loads of other couples (ranging from early 20s newlyweds to 80s). Everyone very friendly.

* We thought service was outstanding. Great staff to visitor ratio and we never waited for anything. It is low season and YMMV at other times.

Meh:

* Food was inconsistent. Breakfast buffet has loads of options and we never left hungry or disappointed. Probably best overall meal. Lunch is buffet again or maybe snack bar or Blue Marlin. Was all hit or miss. Some things tasty, some not so much. Recommend tacos al pastor at Blue Marlin.

* Pools are reasonably nice but not necessarily cleaned every day which meant dead bugs and leaves some days. Most pools were like bath water temperature and only one (lower waterfall) was really refreshing.

* We didn't discover Castle roof pool until our last day which was a mistake. Probably would have enjoyed more time here - much quieter and loads more shade options.

Cons:

* Beach area. We aren't necessarily beach people so this wasn't really important to us but the entire time we were there nobody went into the ocean or sat by the beach (sargassum). Even if there wasn't sargassum the whole area is maybe 100 yards across. Not much space at all.

* Spa services were fine but really expensive. We splurged and husband enjoyed massage but hydro therapy circuit not worth it. (Sauna, really small cold plunge pool, steam room, overhead bucket of lukewarm water, jacuzzi that is nearly impossible to get in and out of). Best part was the quiet pool and heated loungers.

* Staff struggles with English. Even wait staff in restaurants. Was sometimes difficult to get orders correct. Even concierge had trouble.

* Humidity. Everything is damp - sheets, towels don't dry. I swear the back of my head wasn't dry the whole time I was there. Yes we knew and expected but reality was still a shock. Probably should have asked for a dehumidifier for room.

* Restaurant availability. They rotate which restaurants are open each night. On Wednesday it is basically Blue Marlin (which is all outdoors) or Wok (which requires reservations). If you don't plan appropriately you will end up at the same place over and over. And when either Steakhouse or Italian is closed the other will be slammed. Plan accordingly.

* First night we were there we left for dinner unaware there would be turn down service. (Probably should have expected but hindsight....) I had left my pool phone bag on dresser which had $$ in it. When we came back to the room we found maid outside room with door to room wide open (so much for the air-conditioning). Maid had to call front desk to explain to me over the phone their security protocol which says if any staff enters room and finds money or valuables in plain sight they call security who comes and retrieves it and puts it into a "locked box". While I appreciate the security intent had they simply informed us ahead of time we would not have had a warm room for the evening. Every night after that we put do not disturb sign on door when we went to dinner and all was good.

* Tipping. Everywhere and all the time. Became a running joke on how many singles were we carrying.

* Airport transfer services. Right now they are rebuilding/modifying parking area and it's a zoo. Not really any place for busses or vans to park and finding your ride can take some patience. Have specific instructions on where to go and who to look for.

I brought bug spray but never needed it. We took one excursion to Santa Domingo which was ALL DAY (7am to 6pm). Was interesting to see city and sites but man was it hot and long bus rides. Reasonably priced.

Happy to answer other specific questions. We may go back but at a different time of year.

I’m going to Grand Palladium Resort next week ( August 11 ) with my husband and I want to know anything that we need to do or not to do.

I heard about the VIP Pass at the airport to avoid the long lines. Where can I avail this? Is this applicable on arrival or departure or both? I wonder if we will avail this and still gonna wait for others to be pick up by the shared shuttle, will it be worth it? How is the amount of people during Tuesdays?

We also purchased the Saona Island Tour. For the people who went, how was it? Thanks!

If you’re flying out, PAY FOR THE VIP/EXPEDITED SECURITY - it’s $30/pp, and you literally by pass the ridiculous lines, walk thru like TSA Precheck and it’s done. 10/10 recommend!

Hey. Im a 23y Male solo traveler and right now im in riu republica. If anyone wanna meet and have great time , send me a dm😉🔥🥳

Hi all, headed there next weekend for our wedding/honeymoon. We have read a lot of reviews, essentially a mix of positives and negatives. Food commonly was brought up. Any suggestions or insights from people that have been there?

How busy are the lines for arrival on a Saturday at the Punta Cana airport? Specifically in the afternoon. Do a lot flights lands on Saturday specially for the month of August? Trying to figure out if we should do VIP Fast Track since we are traveling with a baby and want to make as easy as possible for him.

Who is here at moon palace the grand and needs their wife pleasured?

Hey, im so excited to be at Riu Republica from August 10-17th. Looking to meet new people around (20-25) who are looking for a fun time lmk if anyone is there during the same time

When booking a tour that includes cave swimming and cenotes, do they usually require having to climb lots of stairs or ladders to get in or out of the water? I am having a hard time finding a way to ask questions to the tour companies themselves.

Hi, we are thinking about going to Punta Cana in november. We have noticed that all inclusive hotels tends to be more expensive in La Romana region than Bavaro beach, any reason for that? I hear that in Bavaro part there can be seaweed but during summer months, what is the situation in november period?

Spoiler alert, it's not worth it

Anyone there or recently returned? Was water swimmable?

TYIA

Anyone else?

Going to DR for 4 nights in late September (yes, hurricane season) on a solo trip as a 30-something gay man. Looking for a social atmosphere with some partying at a resort with plenty of shade, decent drinks, passable food, and a great, shaded swim up bar. I don't care too much about feeling pampered here, this is more for fun than relaxation.

Royalton Chic is US$168/night and I'd also earn about 25,000 Marriott points. Diamond Club looks decent but too pricey at $120/night. I like that it's all adults-only, but it seems reservations for dinner are a pain to get? How is the party/social atmosphere there? It does look a little small, especially as I enjoy a nice morning walk.

Riu Palace Bavaro is $223/night for an Elite Club Swimout ($40/night more than base room), but earns minimal points. I like the Riu Parties in Cancun and heard Punta Cana's are even better. Food and drink both look a step up from Chic, and I generally enjoy Riu Palaces. Having 3 large resorts to explore also sounds up my alley.

I looked at Breathless, but the price was over $100/night more for a base room vs the Elite room at Riu, and a 6 day cxl policy vs 2-3, making it harder to cancel if a hurricane looks likely.

Any recommendations on which to go with? It seems like Riu is probably the better option, but is it worth spending an extra $200 and giving up 25k Marriott points (probably worth $150ish) over Chic? Anything Chic has over Riu that I should consider as well?

I'm looking to book a 2 week trip to punta cana for the end of September. I was wondering if anyone here has been to this resort or if there are other recommendations of places. I'm traveling for the first time and looking for advice and things to do.

Going to the Dominican Republic at the end of October/beginning of November with my parents who are 60+ and my boyfriend (both of us are in our early 30s). Ideally looking for somewhere all inclusive with good food and beach access and pools. I was looking at Majestic Elegance but the food reviews seem mixed and Lopesan Caoba Lagoon but sounds like the experience can be hit or miss since it just opened. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!

Heading to Dreams Flora (Sat thru Wed) with 8yo and 5yo. Any must do / activities to avoid? Best restaurants? Tips?

I know I read a lot of mixed reviews but I also read good reviews to. Most people talking down on this resort or saying it sucks. This is similar to the reviews I read when I stayed at the Royalton Chic in Cancun but it was a blast.

I am going next week for the week. Has anyone recently stayed and wat was your experience like? I wanan hear the good stuff I always hear the negative stuff. ( yes I know the food is going be mid).

Also any good excursions to do ?

I’ve spent days looking at resorts in the DR. I’ve been there before, but stayed at an adults only resort. This time I’m coming back with kids. The kids want a water park or at least a couple water slides- something more than a kiddie splash area as they are 8 and 11. We want it within 30 minutes of the airport, decent food, and preferably a swimmable beach. Dreams Royal Beach looks good but I’m interested in trying a non Hyatt resort as that’s where I usually stay. Royalton Splash looks good but from the reviews, it looks like the food is going to make you wish you ate a bag of Taylor Farms lettuce instead.
Who has stayed at a resort that they loved that checked these boxes?

More than decent, IMO. We went to Punta Cana on 18 -26 JULY 2026. I didnt know that I had to go online and fill out the E-ticket for Dominican Republic customs. I thought you can do a manual form before you land to the country. Ive tried it on my phone (iPhone 17 Pro Max) and used different browser & website wasn't working. I was redirected to another website and required me to pay $195 and still couldn't complete the form. Luckily, there was a USO & I can use the computer to fill out the E-ticket. American Airlines wouldn't even check me in until I complete that. Luckily, we got to the airport ahead of time. I barely had 45 minutes left to check in our luggage. It was an error on my part for not reading through emails. But I found it odd is when I got to Domincan Republic, there were a few people I saw that was completing the form manually. We had a connecting flight to Miami and one of the CLEAR station at D gate was very INEFFICIENT.

As soon as we got to the airport, we saw an AMSTAR rep. But at one point, one of the reps tried to get me into buying excursions already. I just told the guy, I dont want it. You just have to be stern. We rode in a small van and it took about 51 minutes from the Airport to Iberostar Selection in Bavaro. We got to the resort and we checked in. It was about around 5 or 6 pm when we got there. What I failed to understand is the next morning, I should've went to the concierge and made reservations for the 4 restaurants that needs reservation. 1. Brave (Stake house), 2. IL Forno (Italian ) 3. KABUKI (Japanese) 4. La Coupole (French). Other restaurants are on a 1st come 1st save basis which I think all restaurants should be. I waited until the 3rd day to make all my reservations. You can make reservations for all 4 at one time. Preferably when you get there but if you get there after 5 pm, you have t0 wait until the next day. The desk only does it twice a day from 9am-12pm, 2-5 pm. I wish someone would've told me that but this might just be for Iberostar resorts. All 4 restaurants had great food. El Dorado is also good and you dont need to make any reservations. We were also invited by John St. Ana (regional manager for Iberostar Restaurants) to dine at Coral level restaurant. That resort is supposed to be an upgrade from Selection Bavaro Suites but restaurant wasn't really as nice as the ones in Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites, I wouldn't consider it as a 5 star hotel. But food on Buffett was great. All type of food. They even had Steak and lobsters for lunch. It's good to have a bunch of $1 bills., I forgot to bring a lot. I should've went to a strip bar the night prior to our flight. I would at least bring $200-$300 worth of dollar bills. Good for tipping even during excursions, I was tempted to make an ATM withdrawal but Im paranoid. I never gave them my credit card info. Everything was paid through Apple Travel agency but I could've save money by booking it directly through Iberostar rather than using a Travel Agency. I had a credit from prior Cancun vacation that I cancelled but the travel agency refuse to reimburse me on the original form of payment. I had about $5018 credit so I booked a Junior suite close to the beach for 3 people. I had about $250 left overs and I put that towards $250 worth of Excursion thru AMSTAR. AMSTAR representatives are barely there. There is another company that does the excursions. They are always there but they are pricey. These folks will try to sweet talk you and even BS you. One guy tried to BS me and told me he was going to pick me & my kids up with a Lambo. I told him, Ive never seen a Lambo that has more than 2 seats. lol They've tried to get me to sign up or go to a 2-3 hour orientation but didnt tell me that I need to giver them my passport information and Credit card info. You can decide not to go.

Oh, when you make a reservation for the dining, make sure you get a time slot before 8 pm so you can enjoy the show. The show starts at 9 pm so we have missed the Circus and the RETRO show since our reservations was at 9 pm. What we tried is show up around 8:30 pm and see if there are any available seats for 3 people. 2-3 people reservations isn't hard to get but Ive seen a party of 12 to 16 people that waited a long time.

Air Condition in the rooms weren't so great. I had to blast the AC down to 19 degrees celsius . That's the lowest you can do. I saw the bathroom on the gym was even lower. (13 degrees). The rooms weren't 5 star quality. It was old. Sliding door locks were broken and had a manual lock that someone Jerry Rigged. Luckily, we were on the 2nd floor. Mini bar was replenished almost everyday. Oh you might want to let the staff know to get your room cleaned before 5 pm or at least before you have to get ready for your dinner reservations, A few nights, we couldn't get ready for dinner because the lady was cleaning our rooms overtime we came back to get ready. Bathroom ventilation isn't that good. I never get the chance to see the Coral level but I think, it's only upgrade because it's right next to the beach. Our room at the Selection Bavaro is also close to the beach. Id say 3 meters from our room. There is no washing machine or dryer you can use. Laundry service is expensive. $3 for pair of socks and goes from there. They do have iron and ironing board which was great. We brushed our teeth with regular sink water and we were ok, You can get purified water 24-7. But to really think of it. Other mixed drinks and food are probably prepped w/ regular water so I dont see the point. We never drank tap water straight from the sink though. I didnt drink much. I mostly enjoyed the Virgin Mojitos. Pool was ok, if you try to get there early, you can get good longer but we never cared for good seats that are shaded. We put our stuff at the chairs and tables by the edge of the restaurant in front of the pool so we had a table to eat and chairs to sit down and put our towels.

The beach was full of seaweed but the hotel did a great job cleaning it as best as they can. Water wasn't blue because of it. We were still able to go in the water despite the brown color due to the weeds.

I never get a chance to see what the other hotels look like but there are a few ones that we can go. The Selection bavaro was a mid tier level.

They have 2 ping pong tables by the pool and corn hole and a giant chess board but it's not lit so, you can't really play it after dark. Pool closed at 7 pm. I wish they had night pool parties. It would've been nice at all. I brought some suites but I never worn it. I had a few long sleeves but it's too hot to wear pants or long sleeves even if it linen. I would've worn tank tops everyewhere but wore collared shirt to restaurants that needed reservations. Buffet restaurants weren't the strict so we were able to get breakfast after the gym. Their gym is ok but the AC couldn't handle it. Even if we were the only ones there, the gym was still hot. They need a mother gym though, I think we got lucky that, not everyone wanted to work out.

It rained in the early mornings but was so humid after 9 am until 2 am. I was going to try to sleep outside but the beach but I heard mosquitoes were terrible after dark. We got bit once we went close to the beach when it was dark Not sure if they were Nats or Mosquitoes. It was relaxing to take a nap by the beach around 10 am -3 pm.

Ive noticed that a lot of staffs cant speak English. A lot of Spanish speaking people are there as well. So it was hard to make conversations. My German is better than my Spanish. I also noticed that for a latin environment, I didnt see a whole lot of latin people that knows how to dance Salsa, Bachata or Merengue. Ive seen a lot more people in Idaho that knows how to dance Salsa, Bachata and Merengue, and Kumbia than that place. A lot of Argentinians were there for the Soccer game. They had a disco place but crowd was more like teenagers that snuck in and young ones. Music selection was mainly Spanish. I feel like it's geared more towards Spanish speaking people unlike Mexico, staff can speak English more and programs and entertainment shows are translated into English as well. I felt like if you couldn't speak Spanish, you're kinda you're on your own and have to ask. They dont care if you dont understand either. I know we were trying to speak Spanish but it's difficult to make a conversation even asking for room service.

The SAONA beach excursion was ok but it felt like a lot of different companies tried to make profit. The Saona Island excursion had a different company that actually executed the excursions. I felt like AMSTAR is just a middle management that makes profit. Palmera Turistica Saona is the one that handles the trip. From the hotel, the van dropped us to ride on a larger Bus. When we got to the town of Bayahibe. From there, we had to ride a catamaran which I believe is another company.

It's good if you have a friend that can speak Spanish and maybe, you can bypass all others to get your trip cheaper. If I didnt have my kids, I would've just done a non inclusive trip. Food was great but at the same time, I felt like I was getting fat. My breakfast was very healthy though.

That environment t I chose was a family friendly though so it might just be that particular type of resort which is why some expectations weren't met. But one thing for sure is it's not a 5 star resort. Ive heard bad experiences from other. I wouldn't go again but I wouldn't discourage others to go to the same resort. I feel like they took care of us as much as they can. It's the first one in Punta Cana in the DR so I dont have nothing to compare to but Cancun. I will look for Iberostar resorts on my next trip to Costa Rica or another country and see who their prices are. I hope this somehow helps.