TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I have stayed in numerous hotels across the Caribbean and especially the Dominican Republic. This is never a 5 star resort, TUI rated as 4 but I wouldn’t even give that. Probably a 3/5 at most. Where do I start?? - rooms late to check in - no baby crib provided for over 36 hours - our key cards were blocked as apparently we were down for 7 days even though it was 14 - dirt under all the beds and chairs - stains on the bed sheets (another UK couple had mouldy mattresses) thankfully ours were newish - air con wasn’t cold at all - black mould all around the bath/shower -cobwebs around the room and especially the buffets -absolutely NO service around the pools as you’d expect in a 5* resort - staff mop and put no signs out.. nearly broke my back many times -buffet food was always cold even when it had just opened and the ice cream on numerous occasions was like a milkshake -NO service in the buffets (first time we had drinks served was on our 10th day) and tables aren’t cleaned allowing us to sit anywhere -Not enough baby high chairs in the buffets.. even though this is a family resort??? Very poor! -Pizza guys were rude, when trying to get food for my daughter (who is 2) - Steak house wasn’t great -Pool buffet always ran out of knives and forks.. especially spoons -ice cream machine always out of order - pools needed some TLC as tiles were loose and some had come away leaving a black mouldy mess. Good: -pools were cleaned daily -Fridge was restocked daily -the sea and beach -Staff at the bar next to the VIP pool I’ve been to many resorts and always tip but here.. I’ve returned with a lot more money than I anticipated- good thing I guess!

We stayed here for a week large group, the family suite rooms are nice! Pros * Clean pools * Good a la carte restaurants * Big rooms * Wifi works in the entire hotel * Friendly staff * good drinks ( pina comada, coffee etc) * The entire lobby has huge fans and also the theatre has fans * Good entertainment shows * Brazilian restaurant had good food Cons * No catamaran or boats to use * If you go an hour after the buffet opens the food is cold * Some day the maid didnt put face towels * Bed Headboards had stains on it * Comforters had black spots, i put mine on the floor hoping the maid would replace it but she put it back on the bed lol * Concierge tried selling you their timeshares / vip lunch * Check in process was extremely slow * Disco was outdated and needed alot of TLC * Mediterean restaurant food was mediocore * At some points i felt as if i was in cuba rather than the dominican, nothing is close to the hotel * customer service takes forever to fix problems

We’re on our last day here (stayed a week) and wanted to write a quick review as it’s still fresh! All in all, this is a great resort. We’ve stayed at many, and I would definitely rate this amongst the highest! Pros: - likely the time of year but it’s not that busy, which makes everything better - food variety and quality are great! I’m a picky eater and I ate my way through the week lol - drinks are delish - pools are beautiful - beach is beautiful and huge - rooms are updated and really nice decor - tons of amenities, restaurants and activities - a la carte restaurants are actually good! Booking was super simple on the app and very convenient - the water park was so cool and it seemed like we had private access to a theme park - kids loved it! We spent most of our week there - beautiful decor and upgraded towels, pool chairs, and other amenities. They definitely spent $$ to make this place look good Cons - staff is mostly friendly - some seem a bit unhappy and over tourists - beach needs more shade and umbrellas - pool deck is sooo hot and will burn your feet - the staff doesn’t really speak much English so it was hard to communicate - our room had some maintenance issues and they only gave us one bed for 4 ppl…which took over 6 hrs to fix - they do push their VIP club, so beware of that - the place is gigantic - you will be walking a lot!! Bring comfy shoes - kids club was lackluster - was expecting bit more in terms of programming, amenities and engagement with the kids - beds were average. Pillows were terrible. Pull out for the kids wasn’t ideal. Like I said before - we were pleasantly surprised by a lot this week. It feels like affordable and accessible luxury. Would recommend!

We’ve been to the Grand Sirenis in Riviera Maya, Mexico, twice now (the second time for our honeymoon because we loved it so much) and really tried hard not to compare this resort at Punta Cana to that one but it was so difficult. We did however have a lovely two weeks in the sun so here is our honest review. Rooms – ours was clean with no smell of mould, no cockroaches, everything worked fine except for one light in the bathroom over the shower that wasn’t needed anyway. Our housekeeper, Altagracia in block 12, was lovely, always smiling, said hello every time we saw her and left us little towel animals or flowers when she cleaned. The fridge was stocked well with water, soft drinks, and beer. We didn’t want the room doing everyday so left our do not disturb sign on the door. Beach – lovely with plenty of beds. We always found beds under a brolly, even when we got there quite late in the morning. The staff work hard to clean the seaweed away and the only couple of days where it was heavily present was after some bad weather. The sunrise is worth getting up at 530am to watch on the beach. Pools – we used the pool to the left of the bridge near the Juice bar, just because it was a little quieter to the other one. You can always hear the music and the animation team though, wherever you are. That area was always clean. A la Carte restaurants – we did all of them except for the Raw bar and Mediterranean. The French was hands down the best – we went twice- food, choice and service were all excellent. The Teppanyaki was a lot of fun and very interactive. The Brazilian (again, went twice) had a great choice at the buffet for sides and the meat that came around and the waiters were great. Route 66 we were unsure of having read the reviews, but it was ok, worth a visit. The steak house was delicious (our steaks were cooked perfectly), but the restaurant itself was far too hot so made being in there very uncomfortable (it was like this in the daytime too when it’s used as a buffet). The Italian was also good with a nice choice of food – the mushroom risotto was divine. Buffet restaurants – quite disappointing, food choice wise and service wise. There were dirty tables with staff just passing them by or stood talking, food and spillages on the floor that staff just stepped over, not enough cutlery or glasses or napkins on the set tables. I could go on. The staff seemed really disorganised, unhappy (unless they were talking to each other and maybe justified because of some very rude and seemingly entitled guests!) or only willing to help the Leisure Club members (some waiters appeared just to serve these tables?). We actually felt ignored the couple of times we went to the buffet restaurant by the pool. In Mexico, we tipped our waiters and they were actively looking for us each time to sit at their tables (I know this is to get more tips but that’s fine if the service is good) but we tipped at the beginning of our holiday here and it didn’t seem to matter so didn’t do it at all the second week unless it was called for. The food was a struggle for us because it was just very samey for both lunch and dinner times, but we didn’t starve. They do ribs on a Wednesday night, and these were a highlight of my husbands! There were never enough serving spoons so there was a lot of cross-contamination and hardly anything was labelled so you had to guess what it was. The Beach grill served the same thing every day which was disappointing, unless you made it in time for the BBQ. Bars – nice selection of drinks and cocktails, ask for mucho alcohol and you’ll get it! Every bar was busy which was fine but, again, sometimes the Club members were served before you, regardless of who was there first. There was one time on the beach where I was told no cocktails, only beer (again, fine) but then we saw people behind me being served cocktails? Other – Ultimate Leisure Club. We were asked daily (sometimes more than once by the same person!) to go to the ‘one time only’ VIP breakfast for the ULC talk to receive our cap and t-shirt etc. We didn’t want to do it (after doing it in Mexico we weren’t interested) but they wouldn’t take no for an answer, to the point where we felt badgered and actively tried to avoid them by walking a different route. Even on our last day when we told them we wanted to enjoy it on the beach, we were asked to go to the ‘one time only’ VIP lunch. I understand that their job is to sign people up, but they were relentless, and it was quite frustrating. The guys on the beach trying to sell excursions were always around but once we said no thanks, they moved on. One evening in the lobby, we saw two waitresses talking with trays of glasses and one of them dropped one on the floor. She picked up some big chunks of glass but then kicked the rest into a grassy area. The next morning, we just happened to notice that the glass was still there and hadn’t been cleaned up, an area where people were walking into the buffets with children. If it’s a choice between Punta Cana and Mexico, for us, Mexico wins this one hands down across the board. A couple on our transfer bus said they felt like they didn’t want to leave Grand Sirenis Mexico at the end of their holiday but couldn’t wait to get home after this one and we completely agreed. I think even if we didn’t have the comparison between the two, we wouldn’t return to this resort. PS – if you get the chance to go to Coco Bongos then go, you wont regret it!

The Ikebana a la carte is a place to visit while at Sirenis in Punta Cana. Excellent service and great tasting food. Yoel was very entertaining and engaged with the entire group and got us all clapping. Overall experience was exceptional. Try it.