TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We stayed at the grand Serenis for 14 nights and returned home today. We’re a family of 3 adults and 2 children and had two family suites in block 31. The rooms were quiet and spacious. There was plenty of storage for us all. There was a tv in both rooms, along with a safe, fridge and coffee maker. There is not a kettle, so we didn’t mess around with it, to see how it worked. The fridge is restocked daily and the safe is easy to use. One of the safes did not work and despite having three call outs to it, was not fixed for the duration of the stay. The rooms are slightly dated but we had no issues with mould or damp, remembering that the country is very humid anyway. The room was cleaned every day and we had fresh towels, drinks and loo roll when needed. The cleaners work very hard, throughout the day. The beds were comfortable and large and even the sofa bed was great. The bathroom was fine- we had a bath with a shower over it, vanity sink and loo. There is a magnifying mirror and hair dryer.They provided slippers and two towel bath robes. They provide some smellies- shampoo, body wash and soap. There is good air con and a fan in both areas, which can be separately controlled, which came In handy. We had to turn the fan off a few nights as it was too cold! There was a balcony with two seats and a table. The grounds themselves are beautiful and very well kept. The staff work very hard. The gardeners bring coconuts around the pool and prepare them for you to try. For the first week of the holiday, the beach was beautiful and the staff managed to keep the seaweed away but the second week was a different story. The beach became impossible to get onto properly and you couldn’t get into the water safely, due to the seaweed, which after days of not being cleared up, started to smell. This was a massive disappointment to us, as the kids love to swim in the sea and we had purchased body boards for them. Although I do appreciate that the seaweed cannot be helped, I do feel that the maintenance of it was lacking and could have stopped it becoming such a big issue. There are two main (connected) swimming pools, a couple of baby pools and a members only pool. There are two pool bars and a shallower area. The beach towels are provided by the hotel and obtained from the hut by the pool. You need to get cards when you return them, or they will charge you 20 dollars. The main pool is very deep. At the deepest point it is nearly 7 foot, so it’s advisable to watch small children around it, although there was a lifeguard at that point. However, The lifeguards and pool maintenance men were often observed on their phones and a few spent a lot of their time staring at young, female holiday makers and making comments to them, which would be found to be inappropriate in this country. They have activities in the pool, such as water aerobics, water bikes, kayaking and inflatable slides. The foam party was good. The entertainment is mainly in Spanish. We heard more English music in the second week. The main pool has music playing all day and can, at some times be quite loud and busy, especially around the pool bar later on in the day. There seemed to be a few groups of holiday makers that stayed around the bar all day and didn’t leave the water. The drinks can be quite large measures, so people often became rowdy and at some points, it wasn’t suitable for children to be around that. Due to this, the bartenders struggled to see who needed serving and children were overlooked. We also observed the bartenders doing drinking games with the holiday makers, so this just made issues worse. However, Leonardo at this bar was great and remembered our orders! At this hotel, they have a membership (timeshare) scheme, where if you buy into this membership, you get extra luxuries and privileges, such as nicer rooms, pool for members, parties and theme nights and separate facilities. The concierge are based in white huts and it’s their job to sell these memberships, regardless of how they do it. They’re pushy, arrogant and rude and we heard so many issues relating to them, including one where a guest was squared up to by one and another one who had two fingers stuck up at him and his family, because he didn’t attend the breakfast, where they show you around the members section and try to sell it to you. They are reluctant to help you, if you’re not a member, they openly speak about you in Spanish, when you don’t give them the answers that they want and we had issues getting reservations at restaurants because of this. We eventually gave up. They make you feel like second hand citizens, because you’re not a member, regardless of the fact that you have paid an equal, if not higher, amount, to be there. This behaviour is seriously worrying and should be addressed. Most of the hotel staff are hardworking and friendly. They will do their best to help you but there are some of them (?25%), that let the place down. They can be rude, dismissive and disrespectful. This is not just In one particular area, just in general. Some struggle with English, so this may by the reason. Tipping- we did tip, but only when we had good service. There is a slight prescient to tip but we didn’t do this and tipped for good service only. We too USD for tips and had some money on a pre paid card for trips etc. During our stay, only one of the buffet restaurants were open. Breakfast was fine but we found it better to come early and make sure the food was fresh. Ana at breakfast was amazing. She was so friendly and helped us most days and is an absolute asset to the hotel. The food can be an issue. Some areas are ok when they first open but often. the food is left out for hours and food hygiene doesn’t seem to be adhered to in the same way as at home. We spoke to many people who had been unwell (some very unwell) and all of our party was unwell at some point in the break. This was hard, especially with children, and not something that we had dealt with before. We reported to TUI but got a limited response and no support. The Buffet is ok, but can get repetitive and the staff struggle when it’s busy. There doesn’t seem to be enough tables and staff to wait on the tables. so we found that it was best to utilise the restaurants, which can be booked via the app or concierge. We tried most of the restaurants and our favourite was the Japanese (show cooking) and the Italian. We ate at route 66 twice, the first time was brilliant but the second time completely different and disappointing. The coffee shop and sports bar are great. The air con is very welcomed and the coffee shop has ice cream, cake and sandwiches, with the sports bar offering snacks in the night. However, we found the sandwiches to be hard and left out for hours, so avoided them. The sports bar has pool tables, air hockey and some other arcade games, which you have to pay to play. Our kids enjoyed them but they often were out of order. The staff in the sports bar were brilliant and made excellent cocktails!! The coffee shop staff did not seem too happy… My 11 year old son went to the kids club most days and enjoyed it but it’s not a structured club, as such. More of a supervised free for all, with the staff again, being hit and miss. There are computers and games consoles, which are popular. My son liked going there to cool down and have some quiet time, so it worked well for us. They offer long hours and even evening clubs but we did not use it at that time. The hotel has four shops on site and all were closed after a day or so of us being there. They were very expensive though and didn’t seem to have any customers. They’re apparently being taken over soon. We went left on the beach and walked for 5 mins to a couple of shops there. The first shop was better for us, as they were friendly and had better quality gifts. The second shop owner was not as friendly and was more pushing us to buy things. They all have a tax on debit or credit card payments. The gifts are expensive in most shops, but I think that this is because it’s their only income and it’s a monopoly. We didn’t watch many shows or entertainment but did watch the Michael Jackson show in the outside theatre, which was great! We went to the coconut and foam parties, which were good. The Water park is nice and a good change to break up the day, but one big slide was not open the whole of our holiday. There are some big slides and a smaller area for younger children, as well as a pool area. There is a bar, changing room, snack bar and shop. One slide unsafe as everyone seemed to get injured. I went to the Spa for a promotional offer and it was lovely but overly structured and you’re not able to go to what you want, as they tell you where to go at what time. I found it to be nice and had a deep tissue massage, which was great. We found that the salesmen were hard work around the pool, especially at first. They constantly bother you and push you to book. It’s hard work and relentless, but I understand why they do that as they work on commission. I used the gym quite a lot and it’s adequate and clean. No air con, so can get quite hot. Machines are ok and useable. There is towels and water to use. They open long hours and only let adults in. We went on the dolphins trip, booked with one of the men that came around the pool. We went for the highest package and it was amazing. We haggled and got a good price. The day was brilliant and we have some great memories and photos. The check in was great but the check out not as good, as the female staff member was quite rude about where we should put our bags, but again I think that this was a language barrier. Overall, we have had a great holiday, as it’s been a special time with our family, in a beautiful setting l, but I would not return. The hotel has a lot of potential but is not up to scratch at the moment.

I am writing this review while still currently staying at the hotel. I’m not usually someone who leaves negative reviews — I’m generally very laid-back and easy to please — however, I feel people deserve an honest account of our experience. I’ll start with the few positives. The hotel grounds are absolutely stunning, and the gardeners deserve huge credit for how beautifully maintained everything is. Most of the bartenders have also been fantastic — friendly, hardworking, and always making sure drinks are topped up around the lobby and pool bars. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end. The biggest issue with this hotel is the food. Honestly, putting it politely, I wouldn’t feed my dog some of the food being served here. There is a pizza station beside the main pool buffet where pizzas are supposedly made fresh to order. On our second day, I asked for a simple margarita pizza. The staff member behind the counter told me “no” because he had no cheese. What made this even more confusing was that he then continued making other pizzas with various toppings. When I questioned how pizzas could be made without cheese, his attitude immediately changed, so I walked away before the situation escalated further. The à la carte restaurants have been equally disappointing. Earlier in our stay, we tried the steakhouse. The steak arrived stone cold, and the chips tasted like they had been sitting around since lunchtime at the pool buffet. Tonight, on day 11 of our 14-night stay, we tried the Route 66 American diner — and somehow it was even worse. Our order was wrong four separate times. I sent my Philly cheesesteak sandwich back because it arrived completely cold. When it returned, the waiter warned me the plate was “very hot” — which it was, because it had clearly just been blasted in the microwave. I actually feel bad now for judging people on our first night who were complaining about the hotel. At the time, I thought they were exaggerating and that some people simply can’t be pleased. I completely understand now. Do not waste your money booking this hotel. In my opinion, it is every bit as bad — if not worse — than many of the negative reviews suggest. We had booked the à la carte restaurants for the remainder of our stay, but we will not be attending any more of them. Instead, we’ll be leaving the resort and paying for meals elsewhere. Another major issue is that all of the on-site shops have been closed throughout our entire two-week stay. If you need basic essentials such as snacks or sun cream, you have to walk around 30 minutes outside the resort to find the nearest supermarket. If the weather hadn’t been so beautiful, I honestly would have booked a flight home within the first few days. How this resort is advertised as a 5-star hotel is beyond me. I normally always book through TUI, but after this experience I will definitely be questioning how this property is marketed as a luxury 5-star resort. Be warned, book at your own peril….

We came to Grand Sirenis in May 2024 with my husband to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We stayed in room 2025 only few yards from the beach ,We absolutely loves it.Beautiful clean Beach ,Georgeous,surroundings and foods in Buffets was amazing lots of selection of seafoods (lobsters, prawns fish etc) there were 2 Buffets that you can choose Macao and Saona just opposite its others.we tend to go to Saona for breakfasts and evening meals as more choices and bigger .in 2 weeks we stayed there i never booked a restaurants as we quite happy with the foods in Buffets.we have lunch in El Bohio snack bar as near the pool and beach .next door to it there a bar too.This is very close to our room too .we get bbq on the beach every other day(roast pig) and Paella cook on big wok with 3 stone put in sand . next to bbq another 2 snack bar opposite its other you so can choose plus a bar you can get drinks .there a swim up bar in the pool near El Bohio.we tried this once.you have to tips pretty much every staffs that serves you.another we tried is the Aqua games you can get a free rides to get there if you wait at entrance of the hotel as its fair amount of walks. There are swimming pools and rides and you can get foods and drinks there too. Overall our stay there in year 2024 I will give this Hotel/Resort 5 ??. So we decided to come back this year 9th May 2026 for 2 weeks again after 2 year. we arrived in the evening and were told our room is 4119 .Receptions told us instructions to get to our rooms but its not very easy to find our rooms .its very dark and we get losts as Bell Boy did not come to us with our luggage. eventually we find a different Bellboy but not the bell boy carrying our luggage so he told us to follow him and wait as he got other people luggage to deliver but not ours .he took us opposite and end up in room 1419 !!!!at this times we are getting annoyed we are very tired from travelling as our flight took 11hrs rather than 9 hrs plus over an hour from airport to this hotel.decided to check the map and we explores every rooms in the hotel eventually we found it was tuck in right to the end and farthest and the Bell boy carrying our luggage is waiting for us and told us is in 2nd floor luckily there a lift.so from the day we arrived not good start.we came down after we been to our room for quick drink in the bar and have foods in Macao Buffet . In the morning we have breakfast in Macao .opposite the Saona Buffet got sign Closed /CERRADO . We head towards the beach and exchange the 2 cards for 2 towels.we went to places we used to go under the tree close to pool and beach .we notice the food bar close to beach permanently CLOSE and No more bbq on the beach or Paella cook on stone. we head to El Bohio to get lunch and drinks. Breakfast and Evening meals in Macao for 2 weeks. The foods is not what im expecting. its So BLAND and BORING.not much choices pretty much same thing they serves. There's incident that I had bacon and sausages hard as rock !!!!not edible to eat but they serves it. There's a fat lady who look after the rice and meat section.twice she's offer me the scraps egg fried rice that burnt that she's scraping it. she put a burnt /hard pork in my plate the other day she slice on.i have to remove with my fingers and said NO.she laughs .I do not find that funny at all.she shouldn't be working there.the foods in Buffet gone down hill from 5 star to 0.they serves the foods that left overs the day before and COLD.they have ran out of ideas pretty much same thing.not much seafoods available .I have tried the Shrimp Risotto but not a single shrimp on it.i got so bored with foods now that I pretty much eating as much fruits and cakes. Our room I keep it tidy ,its huge room and its only 2 of us.Cleaner hardly do much job .there's incident that they didn't left us coffee/sugar ,drinks and ( water this is very important to us my husband is elderly and you can't drink tap water in Dominican) i have to leave them tips to make sure we get this on our stay.at some point no clean towels either and toilet rolls. My husband have to complain. The Beach its becoming Disgusting and Horrible after a week were here.The hotel/Resort dont care .they don't remove the Sargassum seaweed. It's got so bad its 3ft high x6 ft wide along the stretch of beach belongs to Grand Sirenis. You have to be very careful that you don't hurt/injured your feet on dried seaweed if you want to swim in sea . Overall Grand Sirenis no star for me = 0 its not Grand anymore so please don't come for holidays. I wish we didn't come here we just wasted our money. We felt very disappointed not the Holiday we came for.

We stayed at Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort from 9th May to 23rd May 2026 on an all-inclusive holiday with TUI for our anniversary. Many months before arrival, we requested a quiet room for our anniversary, but unfortunately this was not actioned. On arrival, the receptionist offered us an upgraded room, but only on the understanding that we returned later to tip him, which felt uncomfortable. Our room itself was lovely — we stayed on the 2nd floor in Block 32 and it was peaceful for most of the holiday. Unfortunately, on our final night, noisy children arrived upstairs and spent the early hours running up and down the corridor and screaming tantrums from 5:35am. Which was frustrating as we had requested a quiet room moths earlier when we booked. A small suggestion ,please assign specific blocks to parents with feral children ,that way they can all happily scream one another to sleep each night. The gardens around the resort are absolutely gorgeous and deserve special praise. The gardeners work tirelessly in awful heat, often unnoticed, and they truly deserve recognition for how beautiful they keep the grounds. The swimming pools, however, were disappointing. The water often looked cloudy with scum on the surface, and there was no noticeable smell of chlorine, which made us question how well the water was being treated. The swim-up bar also seemed to attract the same people all day without leaving the pool,(ie. No toilet breaks for hours on end) which you can draw your own conclusions from. Food was probably the biggest disappointment of the holiday. The buffet food was usually tepid, with limited choice and very repetitive day after day. The only way we found our food hot enough was to have a freshly cooked omelette each day for breakfast. The bookable restaurants were not much better. At Route 66, the ribs were chewy and full of fat rather than falling off the bone as expected. The steak was poor quality, very gristly and difficult to eat. Staff overall often appeared unhappy and unfriendly. The only bit of the experience that was remotely American was the striped 'booth style' seating and the photo canvas prints of various American movie stars, they didn't even put a bit of Rock and roll music on ? no music on at all ?. The Japanese restaurant was not for us at all. We expected a quiet meal but instead found ourselves in a loud interactive cooking performance with shouting and chanting/table slapping around the grill table. If you enjoy that kind of entertainment, you may like it, but we left early. The beaches were lovely during the first week, although the seaweed problem became very bad later on. We really felt sorry for the workers clearing it every day with rakes and wheelbarrows in the heat — they work incredibly hard, and if you visit, please consider taking them a cold drink because they truly deserve it. Entertainment was totally aimed at Spanish-speaking guests, and during our two-week stay we heard virtually no English music. The saxophone player near the pool was excellent though, and the Michael Jackson dance/mime show was very good. Overall, the hotel has beautiful grounds with direct beach access, but sadly the food, pool hygiene, customer service and entertainment let it down for us. There is a pizza bar situated near the family /shallowest pool just past the ping pong and pool table.The pizzas are lovely but the man who puts them on your cardboard triangle plate seems to enjoy being totally unhelpful and un freindly, a better role for him would be as a mortuary assistant... for heavens sake why does'nt he resign and give the job to someone who wants it.? Or paint a fake smile on/every one who works has to do this unfortunately,get on with it. Be aware that there's nowhere to go , it's a huge complex so just stroll up and around for your holiday , but saying that you would obviously already know this. There are various excursions t o purchase so fetch money if you want to go out for a change of scenery

My son and daughter-in-law and three young children age between 9 and 1 went there . All were ill with gastroenteritis, my son got taken by ambulance to hospital . My dil couldn’t get out of bed but the hotel would not help with providing food or drink for the children . They had to send young children to the restaurant alone . I rang the hotel from the uk to ask for help. They put me on hold and then hung up 3 times . Room service wouldn’t help either and the TUI rep was useless . Avoid at all costs