Ok...this is my first ever review and may be lengthy but its time to spell it out!
This is my 7th trip to the DR and 6th to Punta Cana and I have also travelled extensively in the Caribbean. Why I keep going back to Punta Cana...the beach is one of the best in the Caribbean, the people are wonderful and very accommodating, the weather usually fantastc ( for late January and Feb. as two driest months) and the cost is very manageable.
Treat some one like you want to be treated, learn a bit of "espanol" and all is wonderful! It really pisses me off how many people complain about the silliest things! Clearly these are people I would never want to meet! "Oooohhh...never go here...I found a cockroach in my shower!...Bite me...I just killed a spider on my door at home in January in Ontario...guess I should move!!
So.....I stayed for the first time finally for 10 days. How in my wildest dreams did I ever only stay for 7 days in all my last travels in the past is beyond me!.. 10 days is perfect...and if you like where you are 14 is pretty cool...but 10 is great as it takes you about 3-4 days to really get in the groove for relaxtion...
I read the reviews on here and as always ,take them with a "large grain of salt" Certain nations quite frankly just dont travel well......I will not be so bold as to point out which....you can easily figure it out...but generally I find some nationalities to damn picky over the most trivial things.....youre in a foreign country for Gods sakes...when in Rome?!!!.....then we have some Nationalities that are quite frankly rude arrogant and pushy....you may guess from some other reviews currently here, ...but handle the situation politely with a solid manner and you wont get pushed again ( lol...maybe it helps being a big guy,, Grande Bandido)
Ok...the resort.......I loved it!! For coming to a 3.5 Star resort it exceeded my expecations. I upgraded to the VIP package which gave me a great ocean view in the Corrillo building right at the beach. However I did this based on what I read and in hindsight the Superior rooms were just fine. My family joined me for a week after we had been there for 2 days and found their Superior rooms just fine. Yes...as per another review I read and liked very much who sums up the resort nicely...the water sometimes was hit and miss for pressure and hot but didnt last long..hell...Ive stayed in major hotels TO and if you hit the peak period for showers in the day sometimes its not as hot as expected also....but wait a few minutes and its ok
The rooms were fine....sure a little used and the bed sheets were amusing in the fact they didnt order ones correctly for King beds and simply stretched 'em for a Queen but they put two on to compensate...whatever....when I went to bed I was pooped and had enough Mama wana ( however you spell it) and slept fine. Ask for extra pillows though and work them into your sleep habits as the beds are very firm. The maids was great and with a few dollars on the pillow each morning we got what ever we wanted including extra Presidente in the fridge.
No tipping is not neccessary but they work hard and make peanuts so I feel better knowing that I can assist and show apprecaition for there hard work!
The beach, pools and grounds are well kept and very attractive. I love the colour they used in all the buildings....the beach...actually is one of the better stretches and is quite noticeably better as you walk further up the beach to your left towards the market, as the beach gets narrower and more crowded as you head up
Chairs on the beach could be be updated as are getting a little saggy but theres tons to be had and at no time did I ever have to get up at 630am to get a spot ( like I did at Dreams the year before)....chairs around pool are much newre in most cases and fine.
The Tram is pretty frequent and takes you all around to the lobby, and to the other Princess adjoing resorts ( Tropical...lovely pool and nice bar but not in pool and Punta Cana..no nighltly enertainment and adults only). Some times we just grabbed a few Cuba Libres and rode the tram for fun. The Lobby is nice, wide open and bright ( not like the Barcelo ) and the people working there are the best. Cheers to the lobby bar crew of Ignicio, Obama and Johenny ( Janet Jackson) They are so much fun and so effecient...and also the guys organizing your bags and trips in and out.....if your from Ontario/ Canada..just mention the Blue jays and you will be an instant hit,,,George Bell, Manny Lee etc
The restaurants were all great ....La Cava is beautiful decor and ambience but unless you get the VIP is $35 per head. Oddly enough my fav was El Pilon....great decor and and great food for the Dominican a la carte. Try the steak! The others were good too...did not try Brazalian
The main buffet is as they say hit and miss but you will always find someting. I asked the manager why I didnt see bacon for breakfast after my first day.. on day 4....he apologized.....had bacon every day after that and brought over to our table a whole plate for the 6 of us. Oh yes...my lovely Yanira....she was wonderful and took care of us like her own family in the main buffet.
Would....I go here again...absolutely! However I travel enough that I always like to experince something new for better or worse but am always cognicent that where ever I am its there country and I adapt to their customs and ways...do this and you will always have fun!
And finally thanks to Daniel and Santiago ( I think that was his name...always wears Tim Hortons hat) for teaching me nasty words in spanish and mine to him...lmao...the Adventure One Tour on the carts was a blast!.....Ola amigo and "pendaho"
Cheers to all.....and enjoy

The hotel was fine, the food had many choices the staff excellent except the "motivators"
We love music but had it rammed down our throats morning and afternoon and some evenings.(avoid the beach party) Volume much too loud often we had to leave our appartment as it was close to painfull. Our request to 'turn it down a lttle' seemed to fall on deaf ears.(which isnt surprising)
I pity the 'motivators' as they will no doubt have deafness in later life. Would we go back? not while I have some hearing left.

First and foremost, I must say, the service at the bars and dining was amazing. Antonio at the pool bar, Winston in the lobby bar and Yarnita in the buffet were amazing. A+++++++ service. Also, the cleaning staff were great too. Accidentally left a diamond ring on the coffee table and left, maid cleaned and we came back to the ring in the same place. The beaches are cleaned on a daily basis as are the walk ways and pool areas. Beautiful views, CLEAN SHEETS and NO BED BUGS.

Now, for the downside. The food is absolutely terrible, except for the $55 per plate ala Carte La Cava and El Pescador (that food is amazing.. but it's $55/plate unless you are VIP and get one for free). Now, I am not a picky eater by any means, but the food was either grossly undercooked, over cooked, or inedible. The pasta bar saved us from completely losing our minds. My husband and I lost over 6 pounds each on this trip. (The booze is good the food, not) Look out for mold in the rooms, we had a little on the wooden cabinet around the refrigerator, but we met a couple who had to move to a completely different room as the one they were initially relegated to was full of black mold. Water pressure is next to nothing and there was no hot water for over 2 days. Not only was the lack of hot water and issue, there was a 1.5 days, where there was NO running water AT ALL!! In all areas, private and public areas. So, just imagine what the bathrooms by the pool looked like... it was absolutely disgusting.

FOR COUPLES PLANNING WEDDINGS AT THIS RESORT. Francelia, the wedding planner will drive you crazy. Her response times are less than satisfactory. Some times it took up to 2 weeks to hear back from her. Details were mixed and vague, and follow through was terrible. I planned our wedding for 8 months and I couldn't even get a solid time to meet with the planner before we left. While I needed one, as I explained, so the hotel photographer, the wedding planner, my husband and I could meet. Francelia refused to set a time and said that she would leave me a packet upon check in. There wasn't anything at check in, and they called her and she said she would send it to the room. She never did, so I went to front desk to have them call her, she came up front and began discussing the details of the wedding with me, but the day that we had booked and other details weren't as discussed before, and she started calling me the wrong name. Turns out, she had no idea who I was, and the people she was scheduled to meet with were waiting for her too, as their previously planned appointment was blown off by the wedding planner. I was told the hotel laundry could steam my dress. They couldn't and told me to steam it in our bathroom. Kind of hard when there isn't hot water... or any running water for that matter. Turns out I was introduced to the other bride and we discussed our experiences. All of the things that were screwed up for our wedding was screwed up for there's. Seemed like tons of waiting and nothing being done. I had given up and had no idea what to expect, but was very happy with the out come. The ceremony was beautiful. Security was great with keeping people away and the beach clear of people in the photographer's way. Photo Shop Caribe did the photography for our wedding. Jorge the photographer was AMAZING...Great pics and service. Ada, the manager was great too. I cannot say how amazing the pictures turned out. In the end, the wedding was great, but when paying someone to plan it and they aren't, that is maddening!

Had a wonderful time at this resort - actually went July 2011, was inspired to write this when I came back to tripadvisor to plan this summer's vacation.

Pro's - beautiful beach (although murky water). great weather all week, friendly staff although not many fluent in English, good food with wide variety on the buffet, well-maintained pools, etc. Loved the freedom to hang at the beach, grab a snack or drink at the conveniently located snack buffets and bars along the beach, and just vegetate. Dinner hours were easy to hit, and the food was good and had a wide variety (did I mention I liked the food?). :-) We had a two-room family suite, which we liked very much. It was basic but clean. The maid service was good but unpredictable about when they would come. No major complaints, though.

Cons - the internet service was not available as advertised. They were supposed to have an internet center - we found where it used to be, an empty stripped room. If you want internet, you have to take your laptop up the lobby, about 400 yards from the rooms and the beach, and pay for wireless access. Can pay more to use one of their desktops. Was displeased that was not what was told. Second, the teen club was one of the attractions for us as we had a 14 & 11 y/o with us, and it was extremely poor. It was basically a shabby room with two pool tables and ping-pong table. No scheduled activities, attendand was often missing so couldn't get equipment to use what little was there, etc. Third, the other activities advertised (eg., archery, some other stuff I don't remember) were poorly maintained and staffed. I remember the archery because my son was excited about it - what we found was two bows, one of which was broken, and the other a frayed-string lowbow, with which you could shoot a half-dozen arrows, most of which were missing at least one feather. You found this equipment laying out at the range sometimes, missing at other times. Didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason when it was there - there was no attendant at this or the other outdoor activities. The only positive exception to this re: outdoor activities was the tennis. There were several nice clay courts with an attendant who passed out balls. But bring your own rackets and new balls if you want to play - they passed out old, tired balls to play with if you didn't have your own.

Overall, the rooms, beach, and food were were very nice, the other things were relatively minor but could have been easily fixed to make a 5-star experience.