Feb 1-8: 4 of us traveled, ages 25-35. We flew from Toronto to Punta Cana with Air Transat on an Air Transat Flight which took approx 3:40min to Dominican Republic and 4:20min back to Toronto. We paid approx $1100.00 Canadian last year for a normal suite and $1206.00 this year for a Superior Junior Suite. This is my second visit to Sirenis Tropical and I’ve been to Cuba 4 times prior.
Note: Sirenis Tropical and Sirenis Cocotal is the same resort with different names. There is no actual division other than which side of the resort you sleep on. They both have amenities for their guests that everyone can use. You check in at either reception and that’s the difference!
Hotel: I like this resort. That’s why we went back. I spoke to several people there who were very impressed with it for the price. The rooms are all 2-story bungalows but two of the buildings were 3 stories with an elevator. There are about 16 rooms in each. They are all fairly central to amenities and I would guess that the least convenient rooms would be a 3 minute walk to the lobby or beach. There is a main street so to speak from the lobby over the pool to the beach that separates the Tropical and the Cocotal. All the bungalows run off that on the avenues. The grounds are well kept with nice covered walkways and fountains down the main drag. I uploaded a picture of the hotel map that may give you a better idea. It has several bars, including 2 swim up and 2 buffets plus the A La Cartes. The resort seems to be aimed more toward older families and couples.
Food: First things open in the AM are the buffets. One buffet is on the Cocotal side and the other on the Tropical. They serve the same food as far as I know. Everyday the service was great considering the amount of people in and out. There was never a service or seat shortage. I really enjoyed breakfast, after all how can you screw up breakfast. Lunch you had the option of the grill on the beach (Burgers, hot dogs, chicken and pork chops) or a buffet style restaurant by the pool or the main buffet. I assume on the Cocotal side, their building had this buffet as well but I never went to see. It had mostly grill type foods with salads, pizza and fish. I always ended up here for a late 2nd lunch because it was open till about 5pm. The buffet opens for dinner at 7pm and stays open till 10pm. Each night has a theme but keeps familiar dishes (Themes: Sushi, DR food, Mexican, Seafood…). Come 11pm, they open the Cocotal for snacks...its leftovers from dinner and is open till 6am I believe. The food at this resort was certainly a step up from every resort in Cuba I’d been to. Even the picky eaters won’t starve. The Italian A La Carte was more impressive last year, stay away from the pizza. The Steakhouse was good and hands down, The Japanese was excellent. I wont be the only person to say this, if you can do the Japanese more than once BOOK IT! There is a few other A La Cartes as well, book them in the lobby and NOT with the concierge. You may not actually have a reservation so our tour operator told me.
Rooms: We had a Superior Junior Suite. It gave us robes, slippers (Neither fit me.), bar fridge stocked with 2 beer, bottled water, pop and our beach towels in the room. Also on arrival was a bottle of rum that made the trip home with me. The cleaning ladies will restock the fridge with water, pop and beer as needed. The Tropical offers bigger rooms than the Cocotal as I found out. They have a living room with a couch and some chairs. Handy for entertaining if you like spending time in your room on vacation...Other than the slippers it had a great shower, flushing toilets and a big tri-fold closet you can fit a suitcase in and working AC. We had two double beds made up and pushed together. I expect this wasn’t a king suite but I wouldn’t be surprised. I liked the rooms myself, they aren’t pretty but they work.
Beach: Lots of chairs and huts available. Get up early if you need the shade and leave your towel on the chairs under the hut. People usually obey the towel rule. Out in the water is a lot of coral. It’s not safe to swim on rough days unless you know where it is. They have an area marked with buoys that’s safe but its pretty small. The coral makes for good snorkeling. About 20ft out in 4ft of water is a small piece that holds about 6 different species of fish. Throw a bun out and watch them swim right up to you. The water never seems to get too rough because of the coral. So even on a red flag you can swim comfortably if you know where the coral is. The beach is nice but it’s seen some weather since last year. The sand was blown up to the resort exposing some cement used to keep the palm trees in place I suppose. I found the ocean more littered than last year as well while snorkeling. We walked South down the beach to a shop we were told about and its was littered all along the way. The Caribbean side of Punta Cana was much cleaner and very impressive. If you’re a beach fan I would suggest looking at hotels over there. There are kayaks and catamarans available for free BUT, this year, you had to buy insurance unless you wanted to be billed for any damages you caused. We were the only people that didn’t opt for insurance that day. What’s unnerving is the coral is so shallow you could potentially get stuck on top and owe them big ridiculous amounts of money. So we didn’t paddle long. I believe it was $5 a day or $10 for the week to be insured. Red flag days they don’t operate the shop. North of the resort on the beach is a shop that the salesmen will hound you when you walk past. I never went past again.
Disco and Nightlife: After dinner the only game in town is the lobby until the shows start. I noticed a non-smoking side, which is rare at resorts. There is not enough seating for the population so if you have a group get down there early or plan on standing. There are two bars attached back to back, one in the reception area where there is live music often and one below it where its larger and more quiet. The service was always excellent here. Outside the Cocotal buffet there are billiards tables and a ping pong table. I think the equipment comes from the front desk. Around 8 they open two more bars that cater to the theater, disco and casino. The casino has its own bar BUT you may only get served if you’re gambling...or so it read in the bar details. The disco, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR DRINKS!!! I know, eh? The only way you can drink in there without paying is to be a black bracelet or club member I guess they call it. I’ve only been in it once and we were the only ones in there. You are free to drink outside and head in loaded though...Thanks Sirenis.
Service: No issues at all. Everyone did they’re job well and some better than necessary. They really seem to appreciate tips and it goes a long way surprisingly. Two warnings though, communicating with people who don’t speak English is hard, so understand its gotta be frustrating for them too. Second Warning, THE CONCIERGE!!! These slimy thugs aren’t your friends, they’re selling time shares. They dress in white shirts and sit on all major intersections and avenues. They tell you things like “I have a gift for you” or “You want A La Carte come see me.” Now in their defense, they never approached any of us this year but last year for the first 3 days I was a target to buy a time-share. These people were a pain in the worst way. To the point I avoided the direct routes to my room. BUT this year they just said hello and left us alone. The Dominicans compared to the Cubans are much more forward with sales. I found the best way to deal with them was the wave and keep walking. Don’t shake hands if you don’t wanna chat.
On a side note the Entertainment Team are on duty from 8am to 10pm or later depending on the events. They’re job is to keep you entertained and they will if you let them. Look at the board by the pool for the events and enjoy your day. If you win the events you get to accept a bottle of rum on stage prior to the nightly show. For the younger crowd or the ambitious there was a beach party one night. I’d suggest you go.
Excursions: Lots to do in the DR. We only did the Caribbean Festival to Sting Ray Bay. Normally I don’t support the caged animal tours but these are fish, they don’t feel right??? Anyway they had two big enclosures out in the Caribbean Sea, one with about 20 Stingrays (The biggest apparently was 400lbs) and the other with 15-20 Nurse Sharks. Nurse sharks aren’t small! I would guess some were close to 9ft long and around 300lbs+. The guide, who you follow around in the water, pushed me down so I could touch one, which was not allowed but really cool. Then they take you snorkeling. This wasn’t as impressive as at the hotel. Then the bar opens and you get blasted on a double deck catamaran to loud music. We paid 75 American and we all enjoyed it.
Sports and Rec: They have a Spa and a fitness center connected. The spa is free as far as I experienced and opens around 8 or 9am. It had a steam room, hot tubs and other stuff you need to pay for like massages. The gym is decent considering and opens at 8 or 9am also. There is a large basketball court and at least 2 tennis courts. I think the staff at the spa entrance will loan you the equipment.
Issues: It seems to me, everything here is extra. Yes it’s all-inclusive but things like having to buy drinks at the disco, or the safe key being $50.00 dollars for the week (Maybe it’s a deposit returned to you with the key, I don’t know?). This stuff shouldn’t cost you money at this point of your trip. Another thing I can’t get past is there isn’t a washroom that’s convenient for the people at the pool or the beach. You need to walk back around the pool and behind the restaurant to get to a washroom. This is why the water at the swim up bar is so warm. Another small complaint, you can self-serve pop at the beach but not water. You can self-serve both at the pool restaurant and neither at the lobby bars. At minimum, they need water available at each bar whether it’s staffed or not. Cigar smokers, bring wooden matches. Freebies are too damp to light.
SIRENIS, IF YOU READ THIS. Build a washroom between the pool and the beach, PLEASE! People will start pooping in the ocean! Swimmers will get pink eye!!!
Dominican Republic: I had good weather this year and great weather last year. I’ve been burned (Not literally, I’ve had very cold weather.) in Cuba a few times. I don’t find the locals or the area as inviting as in Cuba. I’ve heard great stories of their good nature but I wouldn’t leave the resort at night. The ride from the airport shows you a bit of the seedy areas and it might be enough sight seeing for you. It was for me. One thing about the airport that chaps me is when your arrive on the bus to leave, a swarm of employees come to take your luggage for you. Last year, unaware of this, I got off the bus and my luggage was GONE! I saw a man walking about 30ft away with it and when I caught up to him he turned his back to me holding my suitcase. I handed him my last 3 dollars and he let go without a thank you and left. It took me a few minutes to realize I just tipped a man for stealing my luggage. This year I said I didn’t have any money and I got to carry my own bag across the street.
All in all, I would go back to Punta Cana but I would aim to stay on the Caribbean side. I would go to this resort a third time but probably with a larger group to make the nights more entertaining. I never spoke to anyone who disliked the hotel so if you’re booked here enjoy your stay. I’m rooting for you...Afterall, it could have been worse.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
