TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Upon arrival, we had to wait at the gate for 15 minutes while the one attendant was questioning? the sprinter van in front of us. I understand security is important but instead of making a line of six cars wait they should have asked that van to pull to the side so other cars could get through. Upon check-in, the bracelets they give you which serve as your room keys are HORRIBLE. It’s a long ribbon that you can’t cut because it gets frayed and will fall off. They will charge you $75 if it’s lost, even if you lose it due to the horrible design. The ribbon is so long it’s a hygiene issue. I was diligent to tie and tuck mine. But, if you can imagine thousands of people with long ribbons on their dominant hand, using the bathroom and wiping themselves with part of the ribbon hitting the toilet water, the going to the buffet where the ribbon can fall onto food, that’s probably the reason my partner has diarrhea now. In addition, the main buffet was closed our first night and we were told it was because they were having a Brazilian night by the beach but my partner who is fluent in Spanish heard another worker say it was closed due to a “bacteria.” We should’ve left then. The service gets exponentially worse the larger the crowd. We arrived on a Wednesday & the first two nights the service was good. Thanks to Glory who helped us get dinner reservations after check-in, Hector who helped us move rooms and bellboy Miguel. As the resort got at full capacity on the weekend, service got bad. The resort is huge and they have trolleys to transport you but we waited for nearly 20 minutes and five trolleys passed us with empty seats each saying that “the next one”would get us. This resort doesn’t have swim out or ocean view rooms. We knew we weren’t getting those but didn’t expect an unsightly view. Our first room had a view of the back side of one of the restaurants and had some random objects on the balcony and workers would congregate in the area for breaks. Everyone deserves work breaks, but that isn’t the view I want on a vacation. Fortunately, we did get a room change. The maid service is excellent. I would need this resort to address the hygiene issues and bracelet design before I’d come back, and then only on an off season where the crowd isn’t so large that service greatly suffers.

My family of 4 travelled to Hard Rock hotel in Punta Cana this past November for a week (2 kids ages 10 & 12). The resort is very big, outdoor spaces are well cared for, and the beach is beautiful. ARRIVAL: We took W2M transfers which went very smoothly. Upon arrival, we waited about 15 min in line to check-in. Front Desk was pleasant and friendly. Rogelio, one of the bellman, took us and our luggage to our room (5457). He was absolutely amazing. So friendly, helpful and thorough in explaining the resort and the features of our room. Thank you, Rogelio! ROOM: We had an Island Junior Suite with 2 King Beds in building 5B. To me, this was the perfect location. Close enough to the lobby and restaurants and also close enough to the main pool and beach area. The room was okay, but I did feel that it needed some attention. Maybe a fresh coat of paint - lots of scuffs everywhere. The worst part of the room was when we opened up the AC filter door. The filter was so full of dust that it had caved in on itself. We didn't ask for them to replace it though during our stay because we didn't want to disturb the dust and have that floating through the air. We did let them know upon check-out it needed to be changed. You would think they would change them on a regular basis though. It probably hadn't been changed in over a year. We could also not use the outdoor jacuzzi. I brought some cleaner with me to sanitize the jets and tub before using it, but after 3 or 4 fills and rinses, there was still crap floating around in the tub when you turned on the jets. Gross. The jacuzzi also leaked from the bottom all of the balcony when we drained it. Our AC worked okay - but we wish it would have dropped a couple more degrees. The minibar was supposed to be filled every day, but I think they did it only once in the 7 days we were there. We left tips on the fridge and they never came. There were no snacks left ever either - just beer and pop. Housekeeping was pretty good. The tablet they give you in the room never worked for dinner reservations and the phone buttons also didn't work. No big deal though. You can make your dinner reservations through the app on your phone. BEACH: The beach is huge and beautiful. Soft sand and pretty water. The water is always rough though and pretty much always red flag. We stuck to the shore and played in the waves a bit, but didn't venture out far enough where we would have gotten into trouble. Rip currents are a hazard as well - lots of signage. POOLS: There are SO many pools to choose from! We spent a lot of time at the Guitar Pool where the volleyball net is, but we also visited the Drums Pool, Central Pool, Moon Pool and Bongos Pool. Our favourite was probably the Bongos pool. Little more chill and a snack bar on site. FOOD: There were always lots of options for food no matter where you were. We found the food quality to be hit and miss though. Our favourite was the Teppanyaki at Zen - amazingly delicious. Black Sexy was our chef and he was hilarious and entertaining! They also have these cool food stations in the lobby in the evenings with crepes, waffles, churros, tacos, fries and hot dogs. My fave stand was the taco one - the tacos were absolutely delicious! Best breakfast was at Isla and Ciao. We tried Impanema for breakfast and it wasn't great. For dinner, avoid the Market Buffet - it was absolutely terrible. Stacked had great burgers, Ciao Trattoria was decent, Impanema was okay. I didn't really like Toro. For lunches we stuck to the food trucks and snack bars around the pool areas. They were okay - although I found the service was not good from any of these. When it was my turn at the food truck at the kids pool, I was greeted with "What do you want?" No "hello" or "how can I help you?" I work in hospitality and I really don't expect much, but it was kinda abrupt. They also ran out of a lot of items, even early the day. WATERPARK: The waterpark area was really good. Fun slides, clean, and my kids enjoyed their time there. Food truck there had better service, but it took forever in line to order. FLOWRIDER: We have done the Flowrider at 3 other resorts and it was included with our stay. Here they want $40 USD for 20 min! Kinda ridiculous - so we skipped it. BOWLING: Lots of fun! $10 USD per person, per round. ENTERTAINMENT: The Michael Jackson show and the Queen show were great! The guitarist from the Queen show was amazing! STAFF: We want to do some shout-outs to some of the amazing staff we encountered during our stay! Manuel - Guitar Pool: He helped us find chairs and umbrellas - such a nice, friendly man! Ofnel - Trolley: He was the best and funniest driver! Winder - Isla Breakfast: Loved this guy. Always had a smile and a song! We hope your son does well in baseball! Estefani - Server - Guitar Pool: The best server. Always came around to help us with drinks! Lenin - Ipanmea: Great server and we enjoyed his service! Daniela - Server - Bongo Pool: Wonderful lady and good dancer! Viviana - Isla: Made the best omelletes! Emilio - Bell Man - Group Lobby: Made our departure great - so friendly! OVERALL: We were not part of any preferred club, and I think I missed that extra service. There were a lot of things not included - like the bali beds surrounding the Central Pool. They weren't cabanas, just beds - I've never had to pay for those at any other resort I've been to. All in all it was a pretty good stay though.

I recently had the pleasure of getting a haircut from Jeffrey and a pedicure from Carolina. They were both amazing! I highly recommend them for any haircut or pedicure needs you may have.

I stayed at Hard Rock Punta Cana during Thanksgiving break, and it was honestly the worst vacation I’ve ever had. The service was terrible — no one answered the phone no matter how many times I called. Most of the staff was unfriendly and unhelpful, and the whole stay felt stressful instead of relaxing. The food was low quality and disappointing, definitely not what you expect from a resort that claims to be luxury. The restrooms around the resort were dirty and poorly maintained. On top of that, they charge extra for things that should be included in an all-inclusive resort. They charge for all kids’ games and many other activities that should not cost extra. It feels like you're constantly being charged for something. The only staff who truly deserve respect are the team running the FlowRider. They were the only professional, friendly, and helpful workers in the entire resort. I left extremely disappointed. I will never come back, and I don’t recommend this place to anyone.

Otto Danny boy poncho brau obi absolutely brilliant bunch of people this made our holiday with all the entertainment friendly and very helpful people . they made my 50th birthday so special.