We booked our honeymoon for Secrets Royal Beach and are so happy we did! Our butler Ruddy was the star of our trip. He responded immediately when we would message him, surprised us with an amazing dinner, and made sure our room was decorated on our last night there! 10/10 highly recommend Ruddy and if there is any way to request a butler, ask for Ruddy!!

This was our first visit to Punta Cana, I'd heard so many things about it but honestly was a bit disappointed. First of all, although the weather in mid Nov was 83ish, the main pool was cold enough that nobody stayed in it more than 10 minutes. And it was impossible to get one of the 30 or so umbrellas/covered beds near the heated pool, even at 6:00 in the morning. I also noticed virtually all the small room pools were in the shade and NOBODY was using them as they were very cold.
I will say they did a good job of cleaning the beach directly in front of the hotel, but still you had to cross 8 ft or so of weeds to get to the water and then another 30 ft to clear the muck and billions of seaweed bits floating in the water. But then, the water was so cold almost nobody went in. We did take a walk up the beach to a pier and what we found off premise was 15 ft of seaweed stacked 2 ft high and loaded with glass and plastic bottles of all types. Beer, pop, chlorine, and assorted trash. It amazing how poorly people take care of such a precious resource and gives testimony to how hard Secrets works to keep their area as pristine as possible.
As to food, I'll start with the good. The breakfast buffet was top-notch and as good as what we find on higher end cruise ships. The dinners left a lot to be desired. Our first night we went to the steakhouse and 3 of my companions ordered an Angus ribeye. All 3 of them left half of it on the plate as it was chewy and loaded with fat/gristle. I ordered what they called an Angus steak and received what looked like flank steak. It was tasty and tender though. We tried the Mexican, Italian, and Seafood restaurants our other nights and at best 2 out of 4 of us were ever happy with the meal. Sometimes the appetizer was great but the main course sucked, sometimes vice versa.
Drinks. They claim their bars serve top shelf drinks. I'll let you decide. The vodka choices were Absolut and Skyy. Tequila was Cuervo and something i think was called 1716. Scotch was Cutty Sark and Johnny Walker RED! Middle of the road at best for me. I will say their mixed drinks were very good, try a mango daiquiri of a pina colada. But top shelf? Not in my book.
For us, at least in mid Nov, this is not a place I'd return to.