My husband and I just returned from our first trip to the Dominican Republic - we were there for our anniversary. It was a wonderful vacation and a great place to relax. We had an ocean-front view and the resort is HUGE - like a ciudad (city) - but there was a tram to take you around the property and lots of pools and activities and 9 restaurants to suit every taste (3 of them on the beachfront), along with places for ice cream and snacks. We tried every one of the restaurants out, and also enjoyed a romantic dinner, couples massage and beach horseback riding and Moon Rockers ATV excursion, as well as the beautiful beach. The weather called for scattered showers the whole week, but it only rained once or twice (first time the day we arrived) and it didn't last long. We want to give special thanks to some of the awesome staff at HRPC - Nelson Fuentes and Karina with Guest Services, Alexander with the Entertainment team, Luz, Fior and Reina at the Spa, Rosa at Moon Beauty, Edward at the Bongos pool for our Romantic Dinner, Jenner and Dinorah at El Toro restaurant and Simon. I know there are a few others I'm forgetting - everyone was so friendly here, and it helps to know a little Espanol. :) The food was great, we also had fun dancing and singing karaoke. Overall it was a great experience. We look forward to a return visit! Gracias a todo en Hard Rock!

Visited may 19 to 26
I read a lot of reviews before I go places and these were all over the place we didn't know what to expect. People are funny sometimes, they expect more than they would be willing to give.
First, let me say that we had a wonderful time and appreciate the effort that all the workers put forward.
Got in late and checkout went with a breeze and in no time we were our way with the bellman to the number 7 building near the pool second floor. On the way He would tell us about the places we were passing, he was very good. Our room was great, we had a little trouble with ac but we put it on 66 degrees and left it there all week and were very comfortable. Mentioned it to the hotel but they may not have been able to notice the trouble because we did have it cold.
I have to say we have gone to aventura spa in riverara maya and knew we would be comparing the two. And the biggest difference to us was we could use the credits all for the spa and golf at aventura and could only use $300 for spa at hard rock. Also we did feel more appreciated by all employees at aventura spa. As members of palace resorts you get a little v.i.p. treatment but when we would go to the guest relations desk they had 5 workers there but they wanted our personal concierge to help us and he wasn't there. Finally after a few days I went to the desk and said someone take care of me I don't care who it is, Tina did and she did a great job, that's the biggest difference as a whole they were not as helpful, it's like they didn't give you there total attention, it's like there mind was elsewhere.
That said, some workers were very good, almost all would tell you ola when you passed.
Our favorite hostess was Ingrid at cafettas and the waiter Franklin at the same restaurant they would both try and work on our Spanish with us while we ate breakfast and seemed sincerely interested.
We did notice that the more you interacted with them the more friendly they got.
As for food here goes, our favorite was zen at the habachi grill mostly dinner, all the food was good, there was less menu restaurants than I expected, I'm not a big fan of buffets, our worst experience was The Italian restaurant for lunch, it didn't resemble anything Italian to us, again it may have been just a bad day for them, but if the sauces we ate were normal they need a chef who knows Italian food. Breakfast was great at toro near the beach, lunch at the pizza place was a regular stop, we also liked the black beans and rice and grilled fish for lunch at impanema.
On intertainment we would have liked to see a more carribean flavor at any of the pools aNd clubs, we didn't do any dancing maybe we were not out late enough or in the right place at the right time.
The spas were wonderful and even if we had to pay $125 for a resort spa treatment that would be good
The golf course was beautiful the greens are a little tough for a normal handicapper
We did the Dominican experience and enjoyed it.
All in all this was agreat trip and my comments are not complaints only suggestions
we will go back and bring the rest of the family.

I must say I was a bit nervous to go to this resort based on other reviews I read. As soon as we arrived at the resort I was sure we were going to have a great week, and we did! Check-In was a breeze. We were greeted with a drink and a rose for the ladies. Our room was not ready, as our flight was an early one. But that did not stop us from pulling up a chair in a bar, having a drink and then checking out the resort. I will say, this resort is huge, but there was always a "trolley" cart to take you around. We never waited more than 5 mnutes for one, and a few times an employee would grab a golf cart and take you directly were we wanted to go if they could! There are tons of pools to fit all personalities. Loud, quiet, clothing optional, kid, members only, and more. It was nice because it really spread the guests out. We never had trouble getting a chair by a pool, or in a pool for that matter. Many of the pools have a ledge where chairs and tables are set. The beach...OMG!!! Awesome, one of the best I have ever seen. There are tons of little "huts" to sit under, and plenty of chairs in the sun. The water is amazing, clear, warm and the sand is powder fine!!! The breeze on the beach keeps it nice and comfortable. They had activities at teh beach during the day if you like staying active. Volleyball, relays, Tae Bo classes, dance classes, and more. Waitresses are on the beach all day to get you drinks and even food! I will get back to staff in a minute. Rooms are big, each regular room has a huge bathroom with a double head shower, two sinks and a seperate toilet area. Big closet, bed and two person whirl-pool tub. Also each room has a mini bar that is stocked each day (it's part of your all-inclusive, no extra charge). Restaurants were pretty good. There are a ton in the main building, and then three up near the beach. The three by the beach were great! One seafood, one brazilian steakhouse and one american steakhouse. In the main building there is a mexican, italian, asian, pizza, ice cream, coffee bar, one buffet and a sandwuch type place. Many of the places had a breakfast buffet, all were the same. Also on site is a casino, a night club (costs extra) and then two other bars. The spa and gym are amazing, ots of space and equipment at the gym and classes! There are excusrsions you can pay for including swimming with dolphins, zip lining, and snorkeling. As for the staff...excellent. The staff can really make or break a trip and everyone we met was so friendly and attentive. I will say...a tip goes a long way and my husband and I firmly believe in tipping. All-Inclusive or not, the staff worked the butts off and tips were well deserved. Not to mention, we gave our waitress $5 each day when she started to bring us drinks and she never forgot us!!! Our favorite waitress Plaisilia was often at the beach or poolside serving drinks. We had her almost everyday. The bar tenders at the pool were fun and would make fun drinks to try. Abraham was great! There were always clean towels available, bathrooms were colse to the pool and there were even little shops by the pools for sunblock, beach bags, sunglasses and things like that. BRING YOUR OWN SUNBLOCK!!! It costs $40 a bottle at the resort, and bring a bunch. We wore spf 50 all week and we both went home very tan and even a bit burnt!
Where these things did not matter to me I did hear other mentions them so I will bring them up...
1. Some people did not like how big the resort was.
2. You have to pay extra for the night club, and at the Casino Bar. Not if you are playing, just if you sit at the bar.
3.Food not great. It's not Five Star, but it's good and they are willing to cook it how you want to make something special.

The only thing my husband and I would have prefered was that the bars on the beach and at the pools stayed open later. They close at 6pm and the sun is still very much out. But with a mini bar back at the room it was no big deal, we just loved haning at the pool and beach it would have been nice to stay an extra hour or two:) And the only thing that seemed to take forever had nothing to do with the resort. The airport took a long time to get thru so make sure you get there with lots of time to spare. The resort will take care of your transportation, make sure when you get there you set up your departure transportation!!!

We will absolutley be going back. This reosrt is amazing, the staff including front desk, concierge, and administration were great. Plaisilia at the beach and pool, we loved you and hope to see you next time.

My husband and I just returned from a 7 day trip to the Hard Rock. We had a wonderful time. We had traveled to the Dominican Republic eight years ago, and did not have a great experience, but we decided to try it again, but this time, at the Hard Rock. Our check-in was speedy, the rooms are beautiful and clean, and the service and food was top notch. The only issue we had was out maid service light did not work; therefore we had to call some days to have our room cleaned. I firmly believe this was due to them thinking our room had already been cleaned, due to the lights not working. We asked to have the light fixed, but they were unable to do so. Not a big deal.

The hallways can be a little noisy, due to them being tiled. We've found this to be true at other resorts. So, if you are a person who likes to turn in early, you will probably not sleep through the night, due to hearing others returning to their rooms, later in the evening. Voices echo in the hallways and doors are slamming throughout the late evening/early morning.

If you cannot find something to eat at this hotel, you will not be satisfied anywhere. There's a large selection of restaurants, and the ice cream shop and the cafe, where they made the crepes, was wonderful. The resort is a little spread out, but there's a tram to pick you up and take you wherever you need to go. We chose to walk everywhere, which helped in working off all the meals we ate.

We sometimes found if hard to find a spot at the pool with an umbrella, they are limited, but we always had success at the beach, with a shaded place to sit. There's a waitress who comes around to take drink and food orders.

We did use some of our resort credits. I had prebooked online, which was helpful to make sure there was availability, but we still had to get the vouchers, once we arrived, for the excursions, we booked. This can be a little time consuming. We did the Moon Rocker, had a couple's massage, and golfed one day, all with our credits, so it is worth the wait. All the services and excursions, were top notch.

We didn't seem to find much to do in the evening. They have several bars, the casino, and two clubs, one of which you have to pay to enter. They put on shows every night, at the theatre, and although they try, we didn't find it very entertaining, and only stayed to see a portion of one of the shows. This, of course, was our opinion, and maybe others felt differently. We've stayed at numerous other resorts, and found the entertainment to be a little better and could also typically find areas in the hotel where there was a piano player or some type of live music. This we felt was lacking at this resort.

The hotel had a lot of little touches, you may not find at other resorts, ie. homemade chocolates delivered to the rooms every night, a pillow menu, aromatherapy candles, etc. No matter what we needed, the staff was very courteous and accommodating. To me, that's what makes your stay at a resort a pleaseant experience or frustrating one, and this was definitely a pleaseant experience. Hats off to the Hard Rock!