This resort is pretty nice for the price point! We loved the room situation with our kids being in a connected room. It didn’t feel like a typical connected room though honestly, it felt like we had one big room with separate bedrooms. We went with another family and they had the one right next to us so we basically had the whole floor to ourselves. The Coral level Lounge is a really nice perk, it was right next to our room so we would pop in for snacks or drinks whenever we wanted. The breakfast buffet on our side was actually very good. They’ll make eggs for you anyway you want them, there’s tons of breakfast meats and fresh fruit & then there’s also waffles, french toast, bread, cereal, I don’t really eat lox, but I did notice them. The lunch buffet here was also pretty good, burgers, chicken, salads, soup, pasta. My oldest daughter is pretty picky, I thought this would be more of an issue, but she always found something to eat. The restaurants for dinner were hit or miss, some were very good (Mediterranean & hibachi were our two favorites) and others weren’t the best (Italian & Steakhouse were not our favorites). The reservations are hard to get though so try to make them for the entirety of your trip as soon as you get there. And keep checking back if there’s something you really want, someone may cancel. My only other complaint was the kids club area. We did not do the day camp at all, we did see them around and the kids did appear to like it, but I can’t comment on that further. But the kids club areas were really spread out. I have a 13 year old, 12 year old & 7 year old. The 13 year old area is in an entirely different area than the 12 & 7 year old area. We were really just looking for them to do something while we sat at the nearby bar or the show (they tolerated the shows, but didn’t necessarily love them). I wish they were right next to each other. We also did go to the Magic/illusion show at the adults only hotel for an extra cost. It was fun and entertaining, and a nice break from the regular nightly shows. We didn’t do the dinner there so I can’t comment on that.

This was our 3rd Iberostar vacation (Grand Bavaro and Selection Paraiso Maya) and 8th all inclusive so we have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Overall, it was a great experience and, according to our family of 3 teens, on par, if not better, than Beaches T&C which has held our top spot of favorite family vacations. We would definitely return again. Here are a few highlights and tips. Coral Level: This is a no brainer. For us it was about a 20% premium over the Selection and worth every penny. I suspect that Iberostar will start charging more of a premium. The villas style rooms create a laid back tropical atmosphere. Plumbing at this kind of place is usually suspect but ours worked well. The family suite was great for us. Each kid has their own bed and we had a room to ourselves. Both rooms had their own entrance, bathroom, patio and mini bar set up. We arrived early around noon and were shocked that our rooms were ready by the time we finished lunch. We spent the majority of our time in the Coral section. The vibe at the Coral is very relaxed and boutique. You will not find a party atmosphere. Nothing (beach, pools, restaurants, etc.) is ever crowded. The service, drinks and food are leveled up and the facilities right down to the faucets were nicer and newer than elsewhere. I witnessed some staff in training and it was clear that management is setting a different tone with Coral. The team goes out of their way to make you comfortable and get to know you. As an example, a senior staff at the coral beach bar (outside El Faro) noticed us get up to leave mid-cocktail due to a brief rain storm. He asked us if we wanted to be seated for dinner and we told him our reservation was an hour later at Il Forno. He said no problem and escorted us directly to the restaurant and had us seated immediately. On another day, we had some rain and were rushing back to the room. A cleaning staff member reached into a closet and handed my daughter a large umbrella. Neither of these moments were prompted by us. The staff is just that attentive. Beach: This was a concern of ours due to the increased sargassum over the last few years and due to a not so great beach experience at the Hard Rock several years ago. The beach was beautiful. There was some seaweed in the early AM but it was removed daily before most were on the beach. It sounds like sargassum is very much a seasonal thing. You have a constant wave in Puna Cana and we were present for some windy afternoons but the water remained clear past the break and of course was the most clear during the least windy conditions. The sand was soft without any rocks like we encountered strolling to neighboring resorts. Mornings were best for enjoying a peaceful ocean. We did not encounter any of the sand bugs we read about. In fact, we didn’t experience any bugs and perhaps this was somewhat due to the wind. Activities: We used the gym a few times and as expected was pretty crowded in the AM. The equipment was decent and the classes were good. Given the size of the resort, the gym would benefit from an expansion. We golfed twice and the course was in very good shape but moved really slow. We waited on every front 9 tee. The “unlimited” food and drink was very limited. The only food offered was a ham and cheese sandwich, banana and apple. It would be nice if nuts and chips were offered. There is no place to get any other food at the turn so bring a snack if you don’t like the above. If you enjoy Presidente beer, you will not go thirsty. Two of us went diving. The diving on the resort side was pretty poor. The reef is mostly dead resulting in few fish and the currents were strong. Not a bad place to knock out a refresher dive as the boat only goes out about 15-20 minutes directly from the resort. The dive staff are really great and from all over the world. Based on a recommendation from another diver, we went diving on the Caribbean side around Saona Island (more on that below) via Iberostar’s other resort and that was spectacular. 100x more fish, interesting coral and calmer waters. The resort however was a few notches below and their beach not as good (rock and seaweed). The Coral Lab is worth a tour. We learned some surprising and sad information on the state of coral reefs around the world. Iberostar is genuinely investing in the restoration of reefs. We saw several markers on the Caribbean side where they were either taking samples or restoring. The evening shows could use some work both in terms of variety and quality. We’ve seen this done much better in other similar resorts but it’s a pretty low priority item for us. Food and Drink: We were happy with the quality of the food. The a la carte was certainly not 5 star but it was tasty and the menus had a lot of variety. The reservations worked out in the end but were a little choppy at first. I recommend finding out how to book ahead of arriving. I was not able to do so but others were. We ended up with several late reservations but arrived early on several occasions and had no problem being seated. We are a party of 5 and had the family suite which is technically two rooms so some of our reservations were mistakenly booked for one room for just a party of 2. Again, it was never a real problem but the staff was often surprised. At only one restaurant did we see it more than 50% full. We ate breakfast at the El Faro buffet every day and never got bored. Lots of delicious and fresh options. The lunch buffet was also great and they had 2-3 stations alternate throughout the week. By the Selection pool, there was usually a daily large meal prepared out in the open like paella or seafood stew, which were always great. The Coral had a really nice beach barbecue a few times and one day featured lobster. There is a self serve grill by the Selection pool as well that was good for a mid-afternoon snack. The Coral Lobby also had small plate snacks available that kept our teen boys happy before our late dinners. The selection there never really changed. We ordered room service once and got the guacamole. It arrived in a timely manner and was very good. Drinks were typical all inclusive. Don’t expect a wide variety of beer and wine though the a la carte restaurants had a decent wine menu for purchase. The Coral had nicer liquor brands and several cocktails were made with fresh fruit. There is water everywhere. Flavored water at every lobby, bar and food area and the water stations throughout the resort were really great. Ice and cold water on demand. Iberostar is very committed to reusable containers and the only single-use plastic bottle I saw was a Gatorade outside the market shop. Even a coffee to go is served in a plastic cup. Service: As mentioned above, we had great service especially within Coral. These folks work very long days. We noticed some of our favorite breakfast servers working late at night in the restaurants always with a smile. There are golf cart shuttles running frequently and we used them a few times especially at night. We never waited more than a few minutes at the Coral lobby for a cart. We brought a lot of dollars for tips and ran out with a day to go because everyone did such a good job. It helps a lot to know some Spanish as few of the staff can speak much English. Other things: Please keep in mind that this is a Spanish owned resort. We found that the vast majority of guests were Hispanic and very comfortable speaking Spanish. If you struggle with that and have very particular tastes and needs, this may not be a great resort for you. Most of us in our party have a very basic elementary level of Spanish and we are pretty low maintenance so we managed fine. It can be a good cultural experience. The only negative of our experience was an all-day excursion to Saona Island. The bus ride was over sold by multiple salespeople with both the dive shop and the WTM travel team. It was a good 1hr 40 min ride each way to the Caribbean side and we were led to believe it was 70 min max. Further, while I dove with my son before lunch, the rest of our party went snorkeling and were taken to two very poor spots. As mentioned above, our diving was fantastic. We were also shown photos and a video of a traditional catamaran with a sail and were instead on more of a ferry type “hard” motor only catamaran that was packed with a pretty limited “open bar.” It returned back to the dock very slowly which added to the frustration. We have done several catamaran excursions and they’ve always been a highlight of our trip. This was not. Saona Island itself was gorgeous but also packed with other tourists given its popularity and our stay was rather short. For diving, well worth the journey but not for snorkeling. We left at 7:30 and arrived back at 7. For the rest of our crew, they felt they lost an entire day of vacation. We are not normally complainers. I will give a lot of credit to Dressel for making things right for us. Lastly, this a family resort. Expect a lot of kids and large families. While we spent most of our time in the Coral section, we did not observe a wild party scene at the other sections large pool areas. Sure there were some daily dance contests and even a foam party one day but, for the most part, it was a tame scene and the resort was pretty quiet by 10 pm. That said, we did not check out the Casino or Night Club.