TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The resort is beautiful!!! It is brand new so there are still a few things to work out, but that is to be expected with a new resort. Our kids loved the water park and I loved the fantastic entertainment. A big thanks to Dominica and Donny at the front desk for being so helpful and to Angel, our fun poolside entertainment for his great service. We would definitely like to go back again!!

Overall, we enjoyed our stay and, for the price we paid, we felt we got fair value. We paid an average price and, overall, the hotel reflected that. The staff were excellent throughout our stay. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, but a special mention has to go to Caroline, who was absolutely fantastic with my daughter. She really made an effort with her, and we appreciated it very much. Unfortunately, the food was disappointing. I would avoid the steakhouse as we found it very poor. On the other hand, the sushi restaurant was excellent and easily the best food we had during our stay. My biggest issue with the hotel was the constant pressure to buy something. It became exhausting. On the beach, someone approached us every few minutes trying to sell boat trips or excursions. We moved to the pool hoping for some peace, only to be approached again by another salesperson. Even when we sat in reception to relax, a gentleman came over asking whether we’d be interested in booking for next year at the new luxury hotel currently being built. This is the part of my review that I really hope people pay attention to. We were told we’d be invited to a “special breakfast” where we’d also hear about next year’s hotel. That sounded reasonable. However, the “special breakfast” turned out to be exactly the same buffet restaurant we’d been eating in all week, except this time a salesman called Juan sat with my family throughout breakfast. Afterwards, we were taken upstairs where they tried to sell us a membership giving access to discounted hotels for £16,000. I politely explained that it simply wasn’t for us. Instead of accepting that, the owner came in to tell me why it was such a fantastic deal. When I still declined, a senior salesman joined the conversation, questioned my reasons, and even asked me how much money I had. At one point, there were three people trying to sell to me at the same time. This was not what I’d expected at all. I genuinely believed I was there to look at the new hotel for a possible holiday next year, not to be subjected to an aggressive, high-pressure sales presentation. What concerns me most is that a more vulnerable couple could easily have been pressured into spending a huge amount of money. The whole sales process felt designed to wear you down. They give you only a few minutes to discuss it privately before returning to pressure you into changing your mind. One comment summed it all up. When I said I wasn’t interested and wanted to leave, one of the sales team said, “If you leave now, we know you won’t come back.” That statement alone says everything about their sales approach. I will be feeding this back to my travel agent because I don’t think guests should be misled into attending what is effectively a high-pressure sales presentation. My advice is simple: if you’re invited to one of these meetings, don’t let anyone pressure you into making a decision on the spot. If it’s genuinely a good deal, it will still be a good deal after you’ve had time to go away, think about it properly, and make a decision without feeling pressured.

We are leaving tomorrow and two of us have been quite sick. We also heard of other guests getting sick. I have been to five resorts in Dominican Republic over the last three years and we have never been sick. It’s the first time. There are positive with this resort, including the master suite which is extremely large and very comfortable. The pools are clean and the stuff is very nice in general. The beach is not the greatest. I do understand however that it’s not the hotel’s fault for all the algae. Food wise there is a lack of options during the day. There is only a small food truck on the beach and our burger. Meat was undercooked. The buffet has a lot of options and is generally nice. Restaurants where you need a reservation are not the best. We found the Japanese to be the only good one out of the four. The food was generally undercooked, cold, or not good in general. We have seen quite a few cockroaches on the resort not in the rooms but it makes you wonder how many there may be other restaurants.

The lobby, all the buildings, the hallways, and the rooms smell like feces; the staff lie and claim there is no odor, but everything smells terrible—it’s impossible to sleep because of the stench in the room. While we were showering, numerous larvae crawled out of the shower tap. There is no maintenance or cleaning being done. All guests are at risk of infection and illness, especially children and pregnant women. When I complained in the lobby, ready to leave with my bags in hand, they made me wait two hours without attending to me or showing any respect.

I would not recommend this resort, especially if you’re an American traveler. The service was very disappointing, and the language barrier made it difficult to get help or have even basic requests understood. Many of the staff came across as unfriendly, and at times it felt like Americans were not welcomed. The rooms were also below expectations. They weren’t as clean or well-maintained as we had hoped, and overall the resort did not provide the experience we were expecting. Based on my experience, I would choose a different resort if you’re planning a trip to this area.