Just back from a week at the Tropical Princess and wanted to make a few comments. Stayed at the Caribe Club last year, so anyone looking for a review comparing the pros and cons of the 2, you're in the right place!!! Sorry if this is long.....

I'm going to assume if you're reading this, you've done your homework already and know the basics about these 2 resorts, so I won't go over the obvious stuff like the rooms are dated, the beach is 5 star, the food is what it is as it's the DR. That's the basics as far as I'm concerned.

We went Jan. 20th for a week, and after going Feb. 20th last year, We all found Jan to be colder. Yes, it was 27 all day long and hot in the sun, but the breeze on the beach and in the pool bar was enough to make you say "this is chilly for a vacation!" Walking around at night was so nice though, as you didn't sweat just walking to the Lobby!! That being said, it will be late Feb. for us next year if not early March. The breeze means no flies all week....which was the same as last year.
Booked the TP with no VIP what so ever, and fully expected to pay for a safe key, but didn't get charged.I really think it depends on who's working the desk because I'm pretty sure we should have had to pay for one, but I certainly didn't volunteer!! We had 2 rooms and neither safe key worked. There was a little brass nub that prevented it from going in. We locked everything in the luggage (as we do with most stuff anyway) and got it replaced at the lobby the next morning. No hassle what so ever, as they were aware what the problem was and gave us 2 with no brass nub.
Regarding complaints about the sheets.....we took our own and left a note asking them not to change the bed (in Spanish) problem solved.
We stayed at Gardenia, which is one of the 4 smaller buildings, and because of the small size, there was no doors slamming all hours of the night, there was hot water and water pressure 24/7 with no issues, and we had a 2nd floor room with cathedral ceilings that was much nicer than our Caribe VIP last year, and quite a bit cheaper!! Only downside, no Presidente in the fridge, no matter how much we bribed her!! (which was $5.00 a day + gifts)
I've said this before, but when using the buffet use the same entrance, and sit in the same area each time, and drop a couple bucks as soon as you sit down in the center of the table. You do this, and you'll never be on here complaining you didn't get a drink, or had to wait 20 minutes for coffee. They will fight over you because so many don't tip just because it's all inclusive. Remember, just like at home the meal is one price, the level of service you get is somthing different. By day 3 they'll be calling you over when they see you coming!!
We agree that this resort caters to the French, but why not, there's enough French people there to support this so good for them! Never had a rude encounter with anyone, let alone a French person. We had many wonderfull conversations with people from all over the world, and if you make an effort to break the language barrier it can be very rewarding. Remember, like our friends from Argentina told us "SPEAK SLOWLY PLEASE"!! lol....
I found the food at the buffet a bit better this year, but lunch always seemed to be a weak version of supper. Best was Mexican night. I still say avoid the meat and cheese....meat and cheese shouldn't be in the heat that long! No tummy issues for anyone that wasn't self induced at the pool bar!!
Went to the Casino this year, it's free drinks if you're at a machine or table, but they didn't come around as often as I would have liked. Otherwise it's $2.00 a beer. Disco was loud as you might expect, which would make it hard to start a conversation with anyone.
Vendors on the beach, on the resort and really just about anywhere, are not nearly as bad as the guys at the market down the beach!! Those guys are agressive and there must be 50-60 of them in 15 or so different buildings along the shore. I had a great time and spent $65.00 or so, you should be able to get them down 75% on the big ticket items, they just want a chance to sell you something, it's up to you to say no and move on if you don't want it. Rum, $20.00 for 2 750's, smokes are 2-$11.00 and 3 nice necklaces for $25.00 seemed like a good price for me!!
I have to end this so if you have a question, please feel free to ask. The question of the Caribe vs the TP, which are in almost all ways the same resort, was answered for me as soon as I saw our room. Save the extra and book the TP, sometimes, cheaper is better!!
I miss everyone already, Ester and the girls in the buffett, Antonio & Humberto at the bars, everyone who put up with us at the 24 hour beach bar, Lionel Richie and of course Jose Obama. Can't remeber the girl who did our room, but thanks for the extra "Pillows" and water!! See you all next year.....

My sisters and I booked this resort in Punta Cana for a sister week! I had never been to the Carribean before and it was my first all inclusive. My sisters had been before. The room was the family suite for the three of us. It was exactly what we were expecting. It was clean and well maintained and on the bottom floor which was better for us but markedly noisier then other floors I'm sure. The food at the buffet was wonderful, great selection and anyone who says they couldn't find anything to eat is way to picky for anybody and should just stay home. The beach was gorgeous, the entertainment at the evening shows was stellar. We had a wonderful wonderful time. I did hear others complain of no hot water the whole stay and no water at all in their upstairs suites but we were unscathed.

Stayed at the Tropical Princess from December 28 to January 7. This was our third time at this resort,the last was October of 2010. We did notice a few changes.

Check in went smoothly as always. The porters were extremely helpful both at check in and check out. We were not part of a tour group, so it did not take long to get to our room. We did notice some new tour operators using the hotel, so when those tour buses arrive and unload, quite a daunting sight, but the hotel seems quite efficient in handling them.

Our room safe lock was included in our room cost. The first lock did not work, but no problem replacing it. One of our keys demagnetized, but again, no problem getting that fixed. In fact, the night it happened, we only had one key on us and housekeeping was close by to help us contact the front desk and have us let into our room, so we would not have to make the 10 minute trek back up to reception.

Room was comfortable. Air conditioning worked really well, so well in fact, that even after adjusting the temperature, it was still a bit cool at night, but housekeeping was quite accommodating in supplying a couple extra blankets. Some of the towels in the bathroom are getting a bit worn, as others have mentioned, but it never seemed all the towels at one time were thin, they were replaced every day. Shower always had hot water. Interesting shower head - rectangular, still provided lots of pressure. Annoying harder plastic shower curtain though.

We usually sat at the middle pool or the beach. The middle pool seemed to be the most quiet and it got the most sun. The pool closest to our room was where the activities took place throughout the day. The sun loungers have been replaced around the pools. Quite nice to sit on a lounger that does not sag to the ground. A few of those new ones can be found on the beach. Never a shortage of shade. Many days we would wander to the pool or beach at 10:00 and still find places to sit under shade if we wanted it.

Biggest change we found was with the buffet - it was excellent. The past two times being there, neither of us looked forward to the lunch or supper buffet. The resort obviously has a new head chef. Of course there still has the standard items and the pasta station, but every night, the food supplied for the theme was spot on for flavor and taste. Another change we noticed was they would try to supply yogurt at lunch and dinner too, before it was only available at breakfast.

We would usually eat at the beach restaurants for lunch, and the food there was even up a notch, and it was pretty good before for snack-type food - hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos, fried chicken. We were disappointed in the service at the Creperie restaurant. When you self-serve, excellent, but had to wait quite a long time if we sat down.

We tried a number of the drinks on the drink menu and had the bartenders create some new ones. They certainly don't skimp on the alcohol, it might not be top shelf, but it is alright in a mixed or fruity drink. Once we got to know some of the bartenders, there were always the bottles of the "good stuff" they would pull out for us and use in our drinks.

The little shuttle that runs throughout the resort is quite efficient. I don't remember it going to the Punta Cana Princess on our previous visits, but maybe we just would catch it after it had already traveled there. The casino shuttle starts at 7:00 at night. This one not quite as efficient. Sometimes the drivers don't notice you at the stop and go right by, or worse, don't notice you on the shuttle and don't stop. That was alright, just toured around the resort until it did stop and then told the driver where we wanted to get off.

Did not use the internet at the resort, can't recall the price, but do recall it was expensive. There are five or six laptops at reception for people to use or you can buy time for the WiFi on your own system. There is free WiFi at the casino.

As mentioned, it was our third stay, so we do enjoy this resort, and if the food remains at the level it is at now, or even gets better, we would not question our decision to stay here again.

We visited Dominican for the first time and stayed here at the tropical princess. Overall, it was a decent resort but nothing really sets it apart from the others we have been to.We visited this resort in the off season, end of September early October so the weather wasn’t the greatest. It rained a few days and on other days there was a lot of overcast. The people who worked on the resort itself were very friendly but I found the people who came onto the resort to sell etc. were very pushy and aggressive which I extremely disliked. We went as a group of three and they would always try and split us up and try and pressure us into buying things. I have been to a few other destinations down south and never experienced anything this forceful. The food was okay- not bad but not the best. Buffet was decent. There was 3 or 4 a la carts on this particular resort but only one open each night so their wasn’t much variety. We were particularly excited for the sea food but were dissappointed when we ordered from the seafood a la cart resturant. It just so happened that the one night it was opened their was a wedding party there as well. We waited an hour for our food, but because the staff was so focused on the wedding party, we kind of got the cold shoulder. The three of us each ordered a lobster tail, but when we recieved it it was charred on the outside and raw in the middle - Gross! We left and had to go to the buffet since it was the only a la cart open that night. We also tried the fondue resturant... yeah, that wasnt so great either now that I think about it. We left and went to the buffet again.
If it wasn't for the excursions, it would have been fairly quiet and kind of boring. Not to much going on on the resort itself entertainment wise. The rooms were decent, what you would expect for a resort. I felt safe for the most part. It was a nice vacation if you like to just relax. It might have been the timing of our trip since we went in hurrican season, but I don't think I would visit this resort again.