My husband and I visited the Lifestyle Tropical for the week of his birthday in January. We booked through CheapCaribbean. I waited until the last minute to book, so we saved a ton on the room, but paid extra for the airfare. You live and you learn, I guess. Anyway, as soon as we cleared Customs, a porter took us and our bags to our awaiting transfer, which we also booked through CheapCaribbean. As soon as we made it to the van, we were off. There were 2 other couples on the van, and the ride was pleasant enough, if you could ignore the one guy screaming into his cell phone for about 75% of the ride. When we arrived, we were greeted with cool fruit punch and checked in immediately. Santo Domingo showed us to our room. It was fine- clean and the mini-fridge was stocked with 2 sodas, 2 waters, and 2 Presidente cervezas. Our room was in building 1, overlooking the 'party pool'. We were fine with this. The music usually started around 9 or 10 am, by which time we were always up because the bed was not good (more on that later).
The food, in general, was fine. We ended up having lunch at Bellini almost every day. The pasta carbonara was good. The spicy pasta was far too spicy to be edible, so I sent that back and never ordered it again. Alvaro always greeted us by name and gave great service. At check-in, we were given a reservation for Indochine, which was okay. I requested an additional reservation for my husband's birthday, and Juana was more than happy to help out. She got us into The Blue Lagoon. I met with the manager there early in the day and told him that we were celebrating my husband's birthday. He told me that they would arrange something special, and they delivered. The entire waitstaff came out with a slice of cake with a sparkler in it and sang Happy Birthday. It was really nice. The first lobster they brought out was way overcooked, but the second one was perfect. Since we aren't members, there was a $25 charge for the lobster. The buffet was okay. I could always find something to eat. If you like your potatoes a little crispy and with onions, the guys on the grill are more than happy to throw them on for a few minutes. The smoothies were good, too. Lunch and dinner at the buffet had a different theme every day. You won't starve.
The drinks ranged from decent to pretty good. Through CheapCaribbean, we were granted access to the VIP beach. There, you could get brand name liquor. Everywhere else, no such luck. Jose Luis at Las Canas pool bar was great and put more 'loco' in our Coco Locos. He always greeted us by name. The Mamajuanas were not my favorite, but you have to try at least one.
The animation team was great. I did water aerobics every morning. Caramelo and Mr. SexyFace were so much fun. When we arrived, we were just in time for the Coconut Party. Although this was a totally relaxing vacation, we tried to do a few activities. The animation team works hard to keep things fun.
On the second day, we noticed that the guy who stocks the mini-fridge had Presidente Light on his cart. We requested that, and he left some for us every day. He also offered us a few bottles whenever we saw him, and also greeted us by name. He seemed to have the only supply of light beer on the premises.
I only have 2 complaints. First, the bed was extremely uncomfortable. It was so uncomfortable that I attempted to upgrade our room. Not for free, mind you, I was more than willing to pay. The front desk refused to help. They told me that I needed to talk to the folks at CheapCaribbean, who told me that they are only allowed to book the 'superior' rooms. Also, they charged me $2US to make the call. I eventually gave up and just sucked it up. There was no sleeping in on this vacation. Second, I have to discuss the tour guys. I actually wanted to take the tour to see the entire resort. Our guy, J, was extremely personable and took us all over. He wouldn't discuss price (I guess they don't want to scare you). So 3 hours later (3 HOURS!!! On a delightful, sunny day that could've been spent on the beach or by the pool), he was finally ready to discuss price. We balked at the own payment, and he suddenly became hostile. I'm sorry you 'wasted' 3 hours, but we did, too. If they would've discussed price earlier, we could've ended things a lot earlier. I was so upset that I went back the next day to voice our displeasure. The kicker is that we really do like the place and the 'vacation club' concept. Also, we'll probably buy in next year, when we can budget that extra money into what we'll be spending. However, he will not get our commission. You do NOT treat people like that and then expect to get paid off them. I told him as much.
All in all, we enjoyed ourselves and met some really nice people. We would go back, but only as members because the bed was really bad. I actually do like to have the option of getting some sleep while on vacation, which was not possible in our bed.
Room Tip: Building 1 might be a little loud if you like to sleep in or have an afternoon nap, as it overlooks...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
