Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana

Our stay at Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana was, unfortunately, the most disappointing resort experience we have had. We chose this property based on our excellent experiences at other Royalton resorts, including Hideaway Royalton St. Lucia. We also chose this location based on our experience at Secrets La Romana, where service was exceptional. Sadly, this resort did not meet even basic expectations. What We Appreciated There were a few positive aspects of our stay: • Convenient location close to the airport • Beautiful beach • Well-maintained resort grounds and buildings • Excellent housekeeping service in Room 2314; the staff was courteous and kept the room very clean only on the third floor. • Outstanding service from a few team members, including Maria, Salamon, and Alizandra at the main pool, as well as Christopher from Guest Services/Prime Sales Areas of Significant Concern Overall Service Service throughout the resort was consistently poor. Whether at the cafés, restaurants, bars, or even the Diamond Club Lounge, staff rarely greeted guests or provided attentive service. This was a stark contrast to our experiences at other Caribbean resorts, where hospitality was warm and welcoming. Check-In Experience Our vacation began on a very frustrating note. We arrived at approximately 12:00 PM and were told our rooms would be ready by 3:00 PM. One room was not available until 4:00 PM, and the second was not ready until 4:20 PM. Additional issues regarding check in: • Luggage was not delivered to our rooms • No towels were available in the rooms upon arrival • The promised check-in assistance and butler service was absent By the time everything was resolved, it was nearly 4:40 PM, effectively wasting the first day of our vacation. Restaurant Reservations Despite paying for Butler Service, our assigned butler did not make any dining reservations as promised. We were forced to use the mobile app, which was difficult to navigate and often showed no availability. The reservation system is poorly designed and unnecessarily frustrating. Butler Service We strongly advise against paying extra for Butler Service at this resort. Our assigned butler, Rodvel, was unresponsive and did not provide the level of service advertised. Specifically: • He did not explain the resort or available amenities upon arrival • He failed to make our dinner reservations • He did not respond to WhatsApp messages or phone calls • Multiple complaints to the lobby, guest relations, and his manager did not result in meaningful action • We saw our butler once and that was on our day of arrival during our entire 5 night, 6 day stay. At one point, we were informed that he was on vacation and someone else was covering for him, but no one communicated this to us or provided an alternate point of contact. For guests paying premium rates or with Marriott status for top-tier accommodations, this level of neglect is unacceptable. Food Options for Vegetarians and Vegans The resort offered extremely limited options for vegetarian and vegan guests. Staff often did not understand dietary restrictions or the ingredients in the dishes they served. I was eating french fries, beans and fruit during my whole stay. One particularly concerning incident involved being at Dorado when we were told that chickpea balls were vegetarian, only to discover they contained bacon. Menus were repetitive, especially in the lounges and no accommodations were made to modify dishes to meet dietary needs. You can only eat the same cheese sandwich and pastries so many times before you get sick. There were no chips or even fruit and vegetables. Cleanliness of Public Restrooms While our room was well maintained, public restrooms across the resort were consistently dirty, even early in the morning. They were often in such poor condition that we chose to return to our room rather than use them. Room Amenities Several room amenities were poorly designed or incomplete: • The coffee machine was difficult to use, and the provided cups did not fit properly • Bathrobes were not provided • Since no coffee shops, restaurants or lounges opened before 7:00 AM, the in-room coffee setup became more important especially if there are early morning excursions, but it was not functional. Check-Out Experience The check-out experience was equally disappointing. Although we requested a late check-out on our first day, we were required to leave the room promptly at 1:00 PM, despite the significant delay we experienced at check-in. We were locked out of our room with all of our luggage inside, without any prior warning. No flexibility or courtesy was offered. The bag delivery service again never arrived and we carried 6 check in and carry on bags across the resort ourselves. Overall Impression This was the worst resort experience we have had. While the property itself is attractive and a handful of staff members were excellent, the overall level of service was unacceptable. Poor communication, ineffective Butler Service, inadequate accommodations for dietary restrictions, and disappointing customer service overshadowed any positive aspects of the resort. It was my daughter’s special birthday and I asked for a banner or some decorations and they did not even do that, while other people had anniversary banners and all on their doors. There also were significantly less lively activities daily (water aerobics, dance parties, pop up food stalls) than we have experienced at other resorts. Given the premium price point and the strong reputation of the Royalton brand, we expected a much higher standard. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana and would not return

This was our 3rd time at Royalton Hideaway Adults Only Punta Cana, DR. Don’t go by other negative reviews unless you choose to complain about nothing. A BIG shoutout to a few of our favorite people who made our stay extra special. Our Butler Jhoenmy was the best!! He’s like family now!!! He checked in on us and took care of our reservations every night and made sure we were well taken care of in our room and with anything else we needed. Juan and Joesmerlyn are amazing bartenders at the Hideaway adult only pool bar. They are so friendly and interact with you making sure you’re having a great time. Wilson, the towel and pool attendant at the Hideaway adults only pool had our chairs reserved for us every day and always greeted us with a smile. Tipping is key for good service although we saw a lot of people who didn’t tip (shame on them). These people work hard for little money and a little appreciation goes a long way!!! JP was the activity guy at the adults only pool at Hideaway. He loves his job and it shows!! Sadeica is a late afternoon into evening waitress out at the square where the evening entertainment is. She also works very hard and is always happy. The ladies in the Coffee shop (wish I could remember their names) were wonderful and always knew what we wanted as soon as we walked in. There again, a tip goes a long way for great coffee, gelatos, fresh pastries, fruit, yogurts or just a little sandwich or snack. Overall, our stay was great, the beach was beautiful, the food was plentiful and we surely didn’t starve or get sick. You could always find something even if it wasn’t your first choice. Everything was clean from the rooms to all the restrooms throughout the resort but the theater could use a little TLC as there were chairs in need of repair. Would we stay at this resort again? Absolutely!!!

5☆ Resort 5☆ Staff 3☆ for the food. The Resort is huge. Very spacious. Very clean. All the staff on the ground housekeeping. Gardening cleaning the resort made our stay outstanding. They always said hello. Worked hard and made our stay excellent. The entertainment was also amazing. Excursion staff also very helpfull. HIDEAWAY. The biggest dissapointment was the food in the restaurants. Employ specialized chefs that cook the specialized foods. Eg an Italian that can cook italian. ( our pasta wasnt even cooked propaly). Same at the Asian. And the theatre in need of some good cleaning and repair. Alot of the seating broken? A really bad smell aswell in the theatre. Shame because the acts were really good.

Good trip overall. Had a great experience and help with our butler on property. We stayed at the Hideaway section at the ROYALTON and Denis helped us tremendously. We wish there were less families and kids overall at the resort so we could go up to the swim up bar without them there but having a section of the resort for us Hideaway guests was nice (pool, bar, restaurant, private beach access, etc).

This was our second time at Hideaway Royalton, Our butler Denis gaved us a super service. Antonio at the Hideaway beach bar was the perfect barder, he remembers our drinks,very friendly service, come and say hi to Antonio.