TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Thanks to the bar team and espacially to Jahugel who did good cocktails with fresh fruits ! Our favorites were Veranito ans Pina Colada. Too bad we couldn t get our first choice smoothie the last day because they were lacking mango. See you the next time !

Before I begin, I must thank previous travelers for their reviews. It alerted me to the fact that I needed to pack meds for diarrhea and nausea. After a very long travel day, we finally arrived at the resort at around 8pm. As we checked in we were assigned our room, which was 311. I questioned the room number because we had booked a ground floor swim up. The rep at the desk said that there were no rooms like that available. I asked for a manager. Jenny came out and confirmed that all of those rooms were occupied because most people book for 7 nights and we had only booked for 5. She said that the 'location' of the room type that you book is not guaranteed. She said they had put us in a Deluxe Duplex instead, and we should be happy with the upgrade. That's the two level room on the third floor. It does have a private pool...but... 1) There is no shade on the balcony 2) When sitting on the balcony your view is to stare at the brick side of the pool 3) There is a stairway from hell to get to the bedroom (not good when I've had knee surgery and my hubby has bad knees). I declined the 'upgrade', and said that if I wanted the duplex I would have booked the duplex. I wanted the room we had booked. Was told, "Sorry. We don't have any available." It was late and we were tired so we went to the duplex, ordered room service and went to bed. We went back down first thing the next morning. I told Jenny that we couldn't climb the stairs with our knee issues and miraculously she found us the swim up room that we had booked. We just had to wait until it was ready. We spoke to two other guests that had gone through this same ordeal. People book the room type that they want. 'Free' upgrades are not necessarily upgrades to everyone. Walking back to the room after visiting the front desk, I twisted my ankle on uneven tile, fell to my knees, then my elbows, then my wrists, and bashed my head and face on the ground. Spent the week sore, bruised and scraped. Then, I got sick. I was sick Sunday and Monday. Didn't leave the room. Started to feel better on Tuesday. Then my husband got sick. He felt a bit better on Wed so we wandered to the beach for an hour at sunset. That was the best part of our vacation. Thursday morning he woke up with stomach issues (both ends). I had to pump him full of imodium and pepto in order to make sure he could fly home comfortably. Because of our illnesses, we didn't visit any other restaurants, and only ordered pizza from room service, because that felt 'safe'. Before my husband got sick he tried a few drinks from the pool bar. It was not an expansive menu, but they were gross, and the bartender had to look up on his phone how to make them. Pros: The housekeeping staff were great. That's why I've rated this review a 2.

2nd time at this resort, we do like it, but.... They only have 1 kind of white wine (Chardonnay which I hate) so I ended up have to buy bottles of wine to drink, I would have brought duty free if I knew that. We ate at the pool side for lunch each day, my hubby ordered a club sandwhich, when it came it was the skinny piece of ham and the smallest (one bite) piece of chicken I have ever seen. He sent is back, no apology. It was also disappointing to find all dinner locations had to be booked, was not like that several years ago. Be careful entering the pool, stay away from the edges of the steps - I cut my foot open and if were home would have got stiches. The resort says you cannot reserve chairs at the beach, have signs everywhere but do not enforce it so all the spaces are reserved early morning. That being said, the resort is lovely, clean and staff are friendly. We will probably go again (with duty free in hand). Beach is really nice.

I went to the Royal CATALONIA Dominican in La Romana in February 2025. I'll get to the good part first. Beautiful grounds and beach. The water on this side is amazing. Rooms are very nice, washrooms are spacious and clean - that's important as you will need a good room and a spacious bathroom here, because after you eat the food you will be confined there until the food poisoning disipates. It will be very important to have a large clean bathroom to hug the toilet after you encounter food Poisoning. Here is the bad news. While it says it's an Adult Resort what they mean to say is half of the resort is Adult the rest is not and neither is the beach out front of the adult section. Aside from the Asian and the Peruvian restaurant's the food is way below the average for Dominican. In fact, I along with at least 6 other people I know of at the resort (strangers I did not travel with them) got food poisoning. At least one couple needed IV after days of sickness. Good staff here is about 50/50. Some are great while others make you feel as if you have disturbed their day with eye rolls. I guess the worst thing is after getting food poisoning the second day and being out of it in the room for the next three - the management COULD CARE LESS. Even after being warned of the food poisoning at one restaurant in particular they left it open much to the detriment of the next consumers of rotten food. The management never once checked in on the room after my wife reported me being violently ill, nor did they offer anything. I wrote to the Catalonia about the issues and they simply forwarded my email to the management at the resort. The response I got from the manager Jenny CEDANO was beyond insulting blaming ME for having a weak stomach (I guess the other 6 guests I knew of did as well) you can read the response below; "We are sorry for the health inconveniences you experienced during your stay. We must point out that we are an active member of the HS CONSULTING Company, which is a company that ensures health and hygiene and constantly monitors all aspects related to health and hygiene standards within our hotel. The reports sent to us by HS CONSULTING show that we operate with high standards of quality and hygiene, that our hotel has external companies that regulate the good management of food and hygiene in our facilities. The body assimilates food differently in each person, the fact that something has gone wrong does not mean that it was a product of the food itself. There are multiple factors that can cause the symptoms you have presented. Either way, we appreciate your comments as they help us to improve our service." What this hotel has in a beautiful beach and grounds is not worth the sub-par food, the customer service, the price, nor your health. I have been to Dominican on 3 other occasions - Punta Cana, Bavaro Beach etc. I had an amazing time at each. This was BY FAR THE WORST RESORT AND EXPERIENCE in Dominican. Don't take a chance booking this hotel.

Ground: main ground is nice and cozy Beach: nice area with plenty of lounge chairs and palm shade Room: Very nice room, but relatively clean. Towels are earthy color, and look suspiciously gray Food: traveled as party of 6. Two were suffered with food poison. Meat was mostly over salted, dry, and hard as a rock. Oatmeal over sweet. Normal person would never eat so much sugar I will not recommend any restaurant. Food was unbeatable. Main cafeteria on the family site much “better” then any restaurant Overall not recommend this resort, specifically with kids.