Punta Cana Princess

Currently on my honeymoon and on day 2 and already feel so welcomed and everyone is so friendly especially the entertainment team! So energetic and smiley.. A special shout out to luis (room service) for going above and beyond and making us feel special.

Very disappointing, with some serious safety and maintenance concerns I’m a solo traveller who stayed here for two weeks. I came on holiday wanting to relax and enjoy myself, but unfortunately I came away very disappointed with the hotel. I don’t expect a hotel to be perfect, I’ve stayed in DR before. I can accept the odd maintenance issue, a late room clean, or a disappointing meal. What I find much harder to accept is the number of problems I experienced during my stay and, more importantly, how some of them were dealt with when I raised them. The biggest concern for me was an electric shock from an oven in the seaside restaurant. I reported it to a member of staff at the time, but the response I received was frankly ridiculous. I wasn’t satisfied that the issue was being taken seriously, so I reported it directly to the hotel manager. I assumed that would mean the oven would immediately be taken out of use. Apparently not. Almost a week later, an elderly couple told me that one of them had also received an electric shock from the same oven earlier that day. I immediately went back to reception and challenged the manager about it. It was only then that the oven was finally removed from service. I find that absolutely appalling. Once a guest has received an electric shock from an electrical appliance, surely the obvious response is to take it out of service immediately and investigate. The fact that another guest was subsequently shocked before anything was done is extremely concerning. For me, that is the issue that sticks with me most from the whole stay. Restaurants and facilities I had access to two buffet restaurants during my stay, and the difference between them was enormous. The buffet restaurant at my hotel was vastly inferior to the one next door. In fact, the facilities at the neighbouring hotel were better on pretty much every level. Customer service, food, coffee bar, ice cream bar and sports bar were all noticeably better. I found myself regularly choosing to use the neighbouring facilities instead. There is one important point to mention. The neighbouring hotel does have children, so if you are specifically looking for an adults only environment, that is obviously something to consider. Personally, as a solo traveller, I was happy to make that trade off because the overall quality and choice of facilities were so much better. The seaside restaurant at my hotel was poor in my opinion, both in terms of the food and the attitude of some of the staff. I experienced staff who came across as rude, dismissive or simply uninterested when concerns were raised. During my stay I also witnessed and heard numerous complaints from other guests. The buffet restaurant at my hotel raised some serious concerns for me. I saw flies landing on cooked food, birds sitting on tables and cats freely wandering around the restaurant. What made this particularly disappointing was that staff did not appear to make any effort to chase the animals away or prevent them from being around the food. It seemed to be considered acceptable for customers to feed the birds and cats while sitting in the restaurant, with no correction or intervention from staff. I appreciate that this is the Caribbean and that animals are inevitably part of the environment. However, personally I found it very difficult to accept animals being encouraged around a restaurant and food service area in this way. It is not something I would expect from a resort of this standard. The pool was another disappointment. At times there was visible scum and debris floating on the surface, which gave me the impression that the pool was not being filtered or maintained properly. The room and housekeeping There are some good things about the rooms. Mine had a jacuzzi bath, a separate shower, a balcony and a fridge, which are all nice features and made the room feel well equipped. However, my room also had several maintenance issues. The toilet basin was badly cracked, and the glass door leading to the veranda was cracked in the bottom corner. The door frame was also loose, making the door difficult to open. There was also a much more fundamental problem during my stay. On three separate occasions, on different days during my two week stay, there was no running water to my room. That meant no shower and, more importantly, no ability to flush the toilet. Having no running water on three separate days is a pretty significant inconvenience when you are staying in a hotel. Housekeeping was also inconsistent. My room was not always cleaned properly, towels were not always changed and fresh bottled water was not consistently left. Shower gel was replaced just twice during my two week stay, and on one occasion I had to ask for it. When the room was cleaned, it was often very late in the afternoon. As a solo traveller, this actually had quite an impact on how I could use the room. I could not comfortably return after the morning activities to change before lunch or simply relax for an hour or two in the afternoon, because there was always the possibility that housekeeping would arrive and interrupt that time. It might sound like a small thing, but when you are on holiday, being able to come back to your room and have some downtime is part of the experience. I should not have to choose between sitting in my room waiting for housekeeping or risking being disturbed while trying to relax. Being on the top floor also has its own considerations. Even with the air conditioning turned all the way up, the temperature in my room never dropped below around 26°C. I personally found that quite warm, particularly at night. There is also very little insulation or soundproofing between the roof tiles and the interior ceiling. This became particularly noticeable during heavy overnight rain. When the rain comes down heavily, you will definitely hear it inside the room and it can disturb your sleep. Personally, I actually quite liked the sound of the rain and found it quite relaxing, but I appreciate that it will not be to everyone’s liking, particularly if you are a light sleeper. The location The location was also a disappointment for me, particularly as a solo traveller. There is very little within easy walking distance of the hotel, and I would not feel comfortable walking around the surrounding area alone. If you are looking for a resort where you can step outside and safely walk to shops, restaurants or other places, this is probably not the best choice. Santo Domingo is also a long way away. It is around a four hour journey each way, so if you are thinking about using the hotel as a base for exploring the capital, be prepared for a very long day travelling. The road leading to the hotel is also in very poor condition, with numerous large potholes making the journey uncomfortable. One particular pothole was so bad that, during my stay, the bus I was travelling on suffered a tyre failure after hitting it. I appreciate that the condition of the road may not be the hotel’s responsibility, but it is certainly worth knowing about if you are considering staying here, particularly when arriving by transfer or travelling in and out of the resort. A small point for British guests I also noticed that, despite the hotel clearly catering to an international clientele, the flags displayed outside the hotel did not include the UK flag. On its own, this is obviously a very minor point and certainly is not a reason not to stay here, but as a British guest it was something I noticed. The beach and sea The amount of seaweed, or sargassum, was disappointing, although I want to be fair about this. This is not the hotel’s fault and should not really be held against them. Unfortunately, it did mean that the beach and sea were not the typical Dominican Republic experience I had been hoping for. Facebook and other reviews I would also recommend anyone considering this hotel look beyond the public Facebook groups and pages relating to the resort. I personally tried posting about my experience in these public Facebook discussions. When my posts contained negative comments about the hotel, they were not approved and eventually timed out. Posts without negative comments did not encounter the same issue. I am only able to speak about my own experience, but as a result I do not feel those Facebook discussions necessarily provide a complete picture of guests’ experiences. I would strongly recommend looking at several independent review platforms and reading the negative reviews as well as the positive ones before booking. The positives It was not all bad. The resort itself has attractive grounds, and I met some genuinely lovely members of staff who were friendly, helpful and clearly doing their best. As a solo traveller, I also appreciated the opportunity to meet other guests and there were certainly some enjoyable moments during my stay. Having access to the neighbouring hotel’s facilities was also a significant positive. The fact that I could use a much better buffet, coffee bar, ice cream bar and sports bar definitely improved my overall experience. The jacuzzi bath, separate shower, balcony and fridge in the room were also good features and things I appreciated having. But that also highlights the problem. I was able to see first hand what the overall standard could have been, and the difference between the two hotels was difficult to ignore. Overall The negatives outweighed the positives for me. I do not expect a hotel to be perfect, and I can accept the odd maintenance issue, a late room clean or a disappointing meal. What I find much harder to accept is the number of issues I encountered and, more importantly, how some of them were handled when I raised them. The electrical safety issue is ultimately what sticks with me most. I reported an appliance that had given me an electric shock, yet it apparently remained in use until another guest was shocked almost a week later. For me, that is simply not good enough. Based on my experience as a solo traveller staying for two weeks, I would not return to this hotel and I would struggle to recommend it.

From the start of our arrival there were problems, no arrival drinks, not even offered a water. Reception staff very robotic no personality going through a script. We were given a room someone else clearly occupied by the cases and person we seen when entering the room. After a second and third attempt we were finally given a better room although the room had an awful smell from the rotting sargaso on the beach. (Which took a whole week to clear) The air-conditioning in the room is poor and centrally controlled ours only got to 26°,27° Room was clean but accessories are dated and broken down. Food in the restaurants is varied and edible but not tasty or morish. The snack bar, bar nostrum at beach has lots of flies and some staff were asking guest for money, not tips just asking for money. Some staff Maria , Felix in particular are hard working and run rings around others. These mentioned people work with purposes and clearly enjoy their job. Smiles and very pleasant with all your guests. Others staff members are rude don't speak are intimidating and clearly only there for money. The entertainment teams daily activities are repetitive and boring. Aqua gym and volleyball every day... We found the sister hotel next door more modern and inviting, their entertainment in the theatre is better too. Although staff and food still unimpressive. We had a massaman curry in the Asian restaurant which was more like a bland stew no flavour. Therefore we will not be returning or able to recommend this hotel to anyone.

Where do I start?? There were soo many issues I will have to put everything in point form. 6 of us went to Punta Cana princess adults only and 5 of us got sick. 3 of which ended up in the hospital with diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. Each couple in the group changed rooms 2 to 4 times and all of them had issues. When we spoke to random guests on the property everyone was experiencing something similar to us. Here is the list: - no a/c - rooms dirty - sink handles had mold/rust - same with shower handle - the beach was full of seaweed so we couldn't swim - shower wouldn't drain - there was a leak in the ceiling - cleaners did not clean the room properly while we were there. They didnt mop, sweep, remove used cups/plates nor make the bed We spoke to front desk who kept "sending maintenance" who never showed up all 5 days. They sent us to guest service who just wanted us to change rooms again and again. The manager offered only 2 of us to move over to the sister property which wouldn't be fair. Calling sell off vacations didn't help, calling Sunwing didn't help, nexus said they aren't involved. This was my sister's 25th birthday trip and it is memorable for the wrong reasons. After contacting sunwing and the property all they offered me was a possible upgrade to my next stay! Who is paying my flight?? And why would I trust the property after this!? Do not stay here! (Unfortunately I had to screenshot the videos because I can't upload them)

The location right on the beach is wonderful but there is nothing outside of the hotel apart from a couple of little gift shops on the beach. Check in was problematic after 2 attempts we finally got the room we wanted with a great view of the beach even if it was a bit smelly from the rotting seaweed on the beach. The room a free upgrade was spacious but we did have continual issues with the door keys throughout the holiday and the air conditioning isn’t great, centrally controlled by the hotel and insufficient, the staff are all clearly told to lie and will give you lots of excuses about it being fixed but the reality is it’s controlled. Food at the all inclusive is adequate but the Steakhouse is awful, the Swiss restaurant was good and the Italian ok but overall for an à la carte experience disappointing and they really need to sharpen up on service. The animation team and entertainment overall was hit and miss, and very repetitive considering we only had two weeks I think we had 4 Karoake nights, the entertainment is basically on you although you do have access to sister hotel which do grander shows but again repetitive. Service from some staff was exceptional , however staff seem miserable and some staff don’t speak at all, the animation don’t speak if your English speaking and the girls particularly are very lazy. The hotel needs a significant upgrade to modern standards , we had issues with door locks, the safe and the keys constantly and everything takes so long to sort out … We had a nice holiday but no way is this hotel 5 star, maybe a 3..wouldn’t come back sorry , hotel management need to invest and upgrade along with retraining all staff to bring it up to standard.