TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

This is our 4th time returning to this place and let me say - it just keeps getting better!! From the cleanliness of the resort, friendliness of staff- ( which many of them call us family now), to the variety of options and the touch of class with entertainment- these guys do it right!! But one of the biggest reasons we return is our Butler- Melvin Rojas. He has been at our service for each trip. He is the best. Goes above and beyond our expectations and requests. He has become a dear friend and we keep in touch all year round between trips. He brings a level of pleasure to our vacations that keeps stepping up with each return visit. If you visit this resort, you most definitely will not be disappointed and certainly guaranteed to be the best with Melvin at your side. We continue to plan our next visit quickly after we return and Melvin always assists with our plans. We have been to MANY different resorts in Punta Cana and now - we won't even consider going anywhere else. If you need specific details- just ask - more than happy to help. ????

Erickson was fantastic as a butler. Everyone was so respectful and would definitely return to enjoy the delicious drinks provided by Anyelina, ronni, layder and the service provided by William. 10/10 !

We’ve been here for three days now, and we’re pretty disappointed with the hotel. The furnishings are worn out, the drawers in the room don’t close, and the showerhead is clogged with limescale. Outside, no one follows the rules. Groups of Americans are playing Bluetooth speakers by the pool or on the beach. The staff says nothing and even goes out of their way to encourage them! As for the buffet, we’re very disappointed with the quality. In the morning, there isn’t even any honey or spread, and only three kinds of store-bought jams. This clearly doesn’t live up to a five-star standard.

Excellent butler service with club package . Personalized, friendly and caring lady (Katherine) who checked in on me frequently as I had some health issues . Made resos at restaurants, helpful, never hard to find . The Air Canada rep who was supposed to meet with us the first morning to give us departure info never showed up . This caused us a lot of wasted time tracking down that info. Hotel guest services helped us the day before we left because we still din’t have the info. I have to follow a gluten free diet for celiac disease . 3/5 for that. Could be better but i managed to get through the week without getting sick . Room spacious and clean, but over airconditioned , could not turn it down much so very cold in the room . Very disturbing to have not plastic bottle recycling when the resort goes through a massive number of water bottles . dominican Republic has an obvious plastic problem which is visible outside the resort with thick layers of plastic garbage in natural areas . I wouldn’t go back unless this is improved in a real way .

Majestic Elegance Punta Cana – The Good, the Bad & the Ugly We stayed at Majestic Elegance Punta Cana for 14 nights in September 2026, travelling from the UK. We had booked Club level, paid a significant amount for the holiday and had high expectations. After all, this is marketed as a five-star resort, and we were expecting a two-week holiday where we could relax, enjoy good food, great service and simply switch off. Unfortunately, our experience was very mixed. There were some genuinely fantastic aspects to the holiday, some wonderful staff who went above and beyond, and eventually a move to Majestic Mirage which completely changed our experience. But there were also issues that, for us, became impossible to overlook. So, here is the good, the bad and the ugly. THE GOOD ?? The staff – absolutely the stars of the show Without a doubt, the best thing about the Majestic resorts is the staff. At the Club pool at Elegance, Felix and Santa were absolute stars. They looked after us every day, remembered what we liked, kept the drinks coming and genuinely made us feel welcome. Nothing was too much trouble, and their service around the pool was fantastic. They were the sort of staff members who make you feel like you’re part of the place rather than just another guest. They deserve a huge amount of credit because they really did make our time at Elegance more enjoyable. And then there was the Martini Bar at Majestic Mirage. Angel, Michael, Juan and Arwin were absolutely brilliant. They were fun, energetic, incredibly attentive and clearly loved what they were doing. They even made cocktails from recipes we showed them, and nothing ever seemed too much trouble. They were genuinely so entertaining that, at times, they put some of the actual hotel shows to shame! We were still laughing about them after we’d returned home. These four were a huge highlight of our holiday and, in my opinion, exactly the sort of staff who make people want to return. The main lobby and Piano Bar The main lobby at Elegance is beautiful. The furniture, sweeping staircase and overall feel of the entrance are impressive, and the Piano Bar and Martini Bar area has a much more luxurious feel. It was actually quite a contrast to some of the other areas of the hotel, which unfortunately felt considerably more tired. The Club pool and Bali beds One of the things we genuinely loved about staying Club was the poolside set-up. Around the Club pool, you get a Bali bed and two sun loungers, which was a fantastic addition. We were there in September and the heat was intense, so having the choice was brilliant. You could spend some time stretched out on the Bali bed under the shade when you wanted to escape the strongest sun, then move onto the loungers when you wanted to get back out there and work on your tan. It sounds like a small thing, but we really appreciated it. The Bali beds were a lovely addition to the pool area and definitely one of the Club-level perks that added value to the stay. The move to Majestic Mirage And then came what was probably the biggest turning point of the holiday – Majestic Mirage. After everything we’d experienced with our room at Elegance, we were offered the opportunity to move to Mirage and retain access to both resorts. The difference was enormous. Our Mirage room was on the top floor and had stairs leading from the bedroom to our own open rooftop terrace, complete with a Bali bed and a huge spa/jacuzzi. It was stunning. The décor felt much newer, fresher and more luxurious. Everything looked immaculate, and we genuinely couldn’t believe the difference between the two resorts. The restaurants at Mirage were also on another level. The Italian restaurant had beautiful painted ceilings with cherubs, gorgeous booths and really lovely furniture and colours. The steak restaurant had an almost underground/cavern feel, while the French restaurant had beautifully spaced seating, a more private atmosphere, a central podium and a baby grand piano with a pianist. Even the Club lounge at Mirage was worlds apart from the Club lounge at Elegance. Mirage felt like a major upgrade – almost like we’d suddenly been given another three stars on top of what we’d originally booked. In hindsight, I honestly wish we’d booked Mirage from the beginning. The move was unbelievable and, without a doubt, saved a large part of our holiday. The fact that we could still go back over to Elegance was also important to us because we’d made friends with staff there and didn’t want to lose that part of the experience. THE BAD ?? The arrival and the room saga Unfortunately, our holiday got off to a very poor start. We paid for a private transfer because we wanted to arrive early, get checked in and have the afternoon to unpack and settle in rather than waiting around for a coachload of other holidaymakers. We were checked into the Club area, but our first impression wasn’t particularly Club-like. The Club check-in lounge was quite dreary and lacked atmosphere. There were just tables and chairs and very little that gave you that initial “wow” feeling you’d expect from a premium check-in area. Some of the cushion/wall panelling around reception and near the buffet area was also visibly tatty and torn. It gave the impression that the area simply wasn’t being looked after. Then we saw our first room. It smelled of drains – and not just a faint whiff. It was a very strong, unpleasant, almost “pooey” smell. The air conditioning was extremely loud, the outside terrace looked grotty, two of the sun loungers had completely ripped cushions and the hot tub looked like it needed some serious attention. Overall, the room just felt tired. I told my husband there was absolutely no way I was staying in it considering what we’d paid, and thankfully he agreed. Unfortunately, the process of getting this sorted wasn’t particularly smooth. We were left waiting for around 40 minutes, and Victor, our Club butler, said he would come to the room but didn’t turn up. Eventually, we asked for a manager. There seemed to be a lot of uncertainty about finding somebody who could actually deal with the problem. A woman who I believe was a manager or assistant manager eventually came over, listened to the issue and apologised. Victor then said he’d found another room and had checked it. So we moved. Unfortunately, the second room was also in Block 1 – or, as we affectionately named it, “Poo Block 1”. And the smell was even worse. By this point it was getting late, so reluctantly we accepted it, unpacked and tried to get on with the holiday. We couldn’t get into the restaurants that evening because of availability and dress requirements, and after travelling all day we didn’t want to start digging through our cases for formal clothes and closed-toe shoes, so we went to the buffet. The following morning, the room still smelt dreadful. My husband went to reception/Guest Services and another room was eventually found for us in Block 3, much closer to the beach. He went to look at it first with a member of staff because, by this point, the hotel clearly knew we weren’t happy. We were promised the room would be thoroughly cleaned and ready for us. Thankfully, this room was lovely. It smelled clean, felt fresher and was considerably less tired. Finally, we were happy. If we’d been given that room from the beginning, the holiday would have got off to a completely different start. Unfortunately, a few nights later, the drain smell returned. My husband contacted Luz, who promised to sort it while we were at the pool. When we returned, the room smelled strongly of cleaning products – which initially seemed promising – but underneath that, the drain smell was still there. That night, both of us actually woke up in the middle of the night because of the smell. My husband went back to reception again the following morning. The hotel found another room in another Club block, but by this point we’d had enough of moving rooms. My husband suggested moving us to Majestic Mirage instead. Thankfully, Luz acted very quickly and agreed. We were taken to see the Mirage room before we packed everything up, and when we saw it, there was absolutely no question. We were moving. Elegance is looking tired This was probably one of the biggest surprises for us. There are some beautiful areas at Elegance, but there are also areas that are clearly looking tired and in need of investment. The main pool had thousands of tiles missing from the bottom, which isn’t what you’d expect from a five-star resort. The restaurants at Elegance were also, for the most part, fairly basic rooms with furniture rather than beautifully designed dining spaces. Then you walk into Mirage and the difference is immediately obvious. It made Elegance feel much more dated than we had originally realised. Restaurant choice over 14 nights This is something I think is important for UK travellers considering a two-week stay. If you’re staying for four or five nights, I think there is plenty of choice. There are several restaurants and enough variety to keep things interesting. But for 14 nights, the choice becomes much more repetitive. We were there for two weeks and found ourselves eating the same things and revisiting the same restaurants. For a longer holiday, I think the resort could really benefit from adding a couple more à la carte restaurants. It’s not that there aren’t restaurants – there are. It’s that after two weeks, you start running out of genuinely different options. THE UGLY ?? The food This is ultimately what has left the biggest impression on us. The food was incredibly inconsistent. There were meals that were good, and there were meals that were genuinely dreadful. The buffets were extensive, but they were also repetitive. And one thing that really bothered me was seeing flies on the food on numerous occasions across different buffet restaurants. This wasn’t something I saw once and thought nothing of. I saw flies around food a lot of the time. A lot of the buffet food was also uncovered, which made me increasingly uncomfortable about eating anything that wasn’t being cooked fresh in front of us. Once I’d noticed it, I couldn’t stop noticing it. I became very conscious of how long food might have been sitting out, particularly in the heat, and whether it had been left uncovered. Even the Club lounges had sandwiches sitting out throughout the day, from around 8am until 7pm. Again, these were uncovered, and on occasions we saw flies around them. Some of the lettuce looked completely wilted and had turned translucent . For me, that isn’t what I expect from a five-star, Club-level experience. Then I became very ill On our fourth night, I became extremely unwell. I had severe diarrhoea and was poorly for around 10 days of our 14-night holiday. I made several trips to the pharmacy and initially the medication wasn’t helping. Eventually, after researching what might help with a possible parasitic infection, I obtained medication from the pharmacy. For several days I was eating very bland, beige food because I was worried about making myself worse. Normally I eat salads, meat, fish and plenty of healthy food on holiday. Being scared to eat properly was incredibly frustrating. However, when you’re already seeing uncovered food and flies, and then you become seriously ill for a significant part of your holiday, it inevitably affects how confident you feel about eating. My husband was also affected by the whole situation, so it wasn’t just me having a couple of days feeling under the weather. The illness took a huge amount away from what should have been a relaxing two-week holiday. Food quality was all over the place Even putting the illness to one side, the quality of the food was simply too inconsistent for us. We had some good meals, but there were far too many occasions where the food just wasn’t what we’d expect. One example was our final-night meal at the French restaurant at Mirage. I ordered Chateaubriand. The first steak arrived and hadn’t been rested properly – the plate was covered in blood. A replacement was brought out, but that was raw. Again, this is supposed to be a five-star resort. At the steakhouse, we could actually see filet mignon displayed in the meat cabinet, but it wasn’t on the menu. Perhaps there was an innocent explanation for that, but it did make us wonder why the better cuts weren’t more clearly presented as an option. Another example of the food – the “monkey brain” incident One evening at the Italian restaurant at Elegance, my husband ordered the calamari to start, followed by the eight-hour slow-cooked beef rib. The calamari consisted of just three rings. Two were a very pale brown and one was considerably darker. Unfortunately, the difference wasn’t simply colour – the darker piece was clearly overcooked, while the paler pieces appeared undercooked. The whole dish was awful. Then came the main course. The waiter placed the eight-hour slow-cooked beef rib in front of my husband. On the top was a layer of what appeared to be fat, which, to be fair, can obviously be present on a beef rib. However, when my husband cut into it, what was underneath was genuinely one of the most unpleasant things I have ever seen put on a plate. We actually nicknamed it “monkey brain” – and honestly, the name was rather appropriate. It looked absolutely vile and, quite frankly, inedible. I found it so off-putting that it actually put me off my own food. Again, this is a supposedly five-star resort. I appreciate that food is subjective, but surely a dish leaving the kitchen in that condition should have been noticed before it reached a guest’s table. It was one of those moments where we simply looked at each other and thought, how has this actually been served? It became another example of the inconsistency we experienced with the food throughout the holiday. We weren’t expecting every meal to be Michelin-star standard, but we did expect a basic level of quality control. And then there was the temperature… Another recurring issue was that food was very rarely hot. It was often warm – sometimes barely more than that. After becoming ill, this became something I was particularly conscious of. I became much more cautious about what I was eating and how it had been prepared and served. It actually became a bit of a running joke whenever we ate at Mirage. I’d ask for my food “muy caliente, muy caliente” – very hot – and the staff would laugh and make sure it came out properly hot. For me, after everything I’d experienced, having food arrive genuinely hot gave me a much greater sense of reassurance that it had been properly cooked. Perhaps that’s partly psychological after being ill, but when you’re already nervous about food, receiving a meal that is piping hot rather than merely warm makes a huge difference. And unfortunately, that became something I shouldn’t have needed to think about on holiday in the first place. Premium drinks There were some excellent premium spirits available, including brands such as Grey Goose and Belvedere. However, at Elegance these weren’t always openly displayed, and initially we didn’t realise they were available. At Mirage, the premium bottles were much more visible and accessible, which made the whole experience feel more premium. It’s a small thing, but when you’re paying for Club, you shouldn’t have to discover by accident what premium options are actually available. The butler service We had never had a butler experience before, so perhaps our expectations were higher than they should have been. Victor at Elegance did have some very positive qualities. He messaged us daily, kept us updated on restaurant opening times, dress codes and other information, and did try to help when we raised our concerns about the food. He even offered to have chefs prepare food specifically for us. But that wasn’t really what we wanted. We didn’t want special food made for us – we just wanted to be able to enjoy the normal holiday food. By comparison, our Mirage butler, Samuel, was much less involved. He didn’t keep in touch in the same way and there were two issues with the room that weren’t resolved through him, meaning my husband ended up dealing with them directly. The contrast between the two butler experiences was noticeable. THE BOTTOM LINE There is a very good holiday hiding within the Majestic complex. The staff were absolutely wonderful. Felix and Santa at the Club pool were fantastic. Angel, Michael, Juan and Arwin at the Mirage Martini Bar were unforgettable. The Mirage itself is beautiful, the rooftop room was incredible, the restaurants were far more luxurious and the check-in Club lounge was in a completely different league. Moving to Mirage genuinely saved a large part of our holiday. But that’s also part of the problem. The move highlighted just how tired some areas of Elegance have become. We booked Majestic Elegance, not Mirage, and paid for what we believed would be a five-star Club experience. Instead, we experienced multiple room moves because of persistent drain smells, tired areas around the resort, a lack of restaurant variety over a two-week stay, visible flies around buffet food and inconsistent food quality. Then there was the illness, which took around 10 days of our 14-night holiday away from us. Could we have had a better experience if we’d booked Mirage from the start? Absolutely – based on what we experienced, it felt like a completely different level of resort. Would the wonderful staff make us want to return? They certainly made the holiday more memorable, and we genuinely miss some of them. But overall, we came home disappointed. The combination of the room problems, the tired appearance of parts of Elegance, the food concerns and the illness means that, personally, we wouldn’t choose to book a Majestic holiday again. And that’s a real shame, because there were moments when we absolutely loved it. The good was very good. Unfortunately, the bad was very bad – and the ugly was something we simply couldn’t ignore.