Serenade All Suites, Adults Only Resort

Having read many reviews before our stay we were slightly apprehensive about our trip here. We decided to form our own opinion and judge the resort for ourselves. The resort is smaller than we’ve stayed at before but that suited us. We had a swim out garden view room which got the afternoon sun. The room was spacious and clean. The à la cartes can easily be booked on the app when you arrive, we never had any issues making a booking. The choices of dishes was quite limited but the food enjoyable. The buffets had a wide variety of foods, meaning the pickiest of eaters could surely find something! The staff were great. They work long hours in the heat for peanuts, yet they smile and serve you well. Yes some of the staff have limited English but it’s not their language and they always try and converse with you. The resort does show signs of wear and tear, but what resort doesn’t, especially in this climate. All in all we had a wonderful 10 days here and would recommend it. We had no complaints at all, a holiday is what you make of it and if you let tiny niggles bother you when you’re on holiday then it’s a real shame. If one pool is too noisy, then choose the beach or the quiet pool. Show respect to the staff, they are there to do a job and not be slaves! Our one observation would be that some of the guests were very demanding and often rude. No please or thank you, waving away plates of food, not tipping, and in some cases, leaving the public toilets near the pool in a disgusting state. I only hope they were in the minority. If you go expecting 5 star white glove service the this isn’t the resort for you. But if you go expecting hot weather and lovely friendly staff and a relaxing break then that’s what you’ll get.

We stayed at Serenade All Suites in the Adults Only side, for my husband's birthday. Overall the hotel is very clean and tidy and the food is reasonably good. The bartenders serve whoever is waving a dollar bill first - and the majority of guests are Americans. There are three pools, one is for priority guests, there is a similar sized middle pool and a large pool with a swim up bar. The entertainment committee put on games and music in the large pool. I love listening to music but their taste in music is mainly reggae and old 'house' music with a constant beat. It's frequently very loud with DJs shouting and regardless of where you are in the hotel (even in your room) you have to listen to it. This was my only concern - it was just too noisy. There was no possibility to just relax and enjoy nice background music. It wasn't what we expected of a 5 Star hotel, and definitely not what we have experienced at other hotels in Domincan Republic. If really noisy music isn't your thing I wouldn't recommend this hotel. I did mention the noise levels a few times but without success. We went on two trips whilst there - Saona Island and Whale watching. I wouldn't recommend either of them. Saona Island is quite nice but not very much different to the beach at the resort. There is only a small toilet which you had to queue up outside in the high heat to use. It was pretty disgusting but they do remind you that you are visiting a third-world country. We were both violently ill after this trip and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The Whale watching lasted from 7am to 10pm, although they advertise it as a 6 hour excursion. The boats chased the whales as soon as they were spotted, radioing to each other so that they could all crowd round a mother with a baby. It was pretty disturbing. It was then followed by hours and hours on the catamaran with little shade and lots of alcohol if you want it. They came round with bandanas and put them on your head then asked for $5 for them. There are much nicer hotels in DR and better excursions, but this is just my opinion.

First time at the resort, beautiful resort. Beaches are gorgeous. Rooms are beautiful and clean. Entertainment is excellent, goofy is fabulous.

This was our third time to the Dominican Republic and our third time to Punta Cana. Room We went with another couple, so decided to book a swim out suite - pool view. (We were in building 3) This was our first time booking a swim out and we actually really enjoyed it. We faced east, so had the sun first thing in the morning and our deck was fully in the shade around 1pm. Most of the people on our side seemed to be using the pools in the morning. We actually used it a few times at the end of the day to cool off since it was out of the direct sun. The pool itself was clean and the water temperature was nice. Our friends had a garden view swim out and they had the opposite sun exposure. Their pool was the same for cleanliness and temperature and they had no complaints. (their is wildlife on that side that liked to sing, so if you will be bothered by that, it may not be your preference) Resort The resort was nice with some small things in need of repair or upgrading but the resort is a few years old now, so it is to be expected. We stayed on the adults only side which didn't seem to be very busy compared to the other family side. We went over one night and the lobby was almost completely full with very few chairs available. I did quite like the outdoor bar area, but again, there were no chairs available. Once the evening show started it cleared out. Food Buffets were decent, nothing spectacular but not disappointing. I enjoyed the fresh pasta station, but the line can get long and take some time to be served. We enjoyed the Palapa for a couple of a la carte lunches which were good. We also went to the rooftop bar/pool area and had the fish tacos and plantain dishes which were also quite good. Breakfast buffets were as expected but there were some odd inclusions which I ended up really liking. (asparagus, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes) The a la carte dinners were all enjoyable, but varied from meal to meal. For example, the beef rib meal in the Steakhouse restaurant was quite small the first time we went. The second time it was easily twice the size if not more. We also enjoyed the Italian twice and the Asian once. We have seen teppanyaki display before, so we didn't bother with that experience. The arugula salad was made with romaine lettuce which was slightly confusing and our friend would not have ordered it knowing that. The themed Dominican party night was outside and the main buffet was closed. We had a look and didn't really see anything out of the ordinary from what would normally be at the buffet. I only gave the resort a 4 because I feel like we have been to better all-inclusive resorts in the same price range when it came to the food. (It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't quite on par with others we have visited. Could be because it is the DR and most of our trips have been to Mexico) Beach Yes, it's an ocean, and yes, there is seaweed. The resort did an admirable job trying to get rid of it, but it's like cutting the grass, it just grows back. I will say there was a nice path out quite some distance to enjoy the ocean for those that are bothered by the seaweed. It isn't really a location to snorkel if that is something you enjoy. We took a couple of long walks to the east and went all the way past the Catalonia resort. To the left there is a marina and we didn't really venture past the marina area to the west. Bars We spent time in the lobby bar most nights and a couple of nights stayed out in the Palapa to take in a bit of the entertainment. The crew works hard to put on a great show for the guests and I don't think they ever get the credit they deserve for the hard work they put in. We really enjoyed the swim up bar during the day, but would almost always get out and get a drink on the topside because the poolside bar would get quite busy. Overall we enjoyed our visit, but we usually prefer a larger resort. Our travel companions weren't really interested in visiting the busier side of the resort, so I can't say if it had more action or not. There must have been something going on though, we heard groups coming back to their rooms quite late and had obviously enjoyed the unlimited drinks. :) Most of the staff were happy to help and serve when needed and truly made the place special. Some special shout outs to people that really made our stay next level: Pedro at check in was very helpful and ensured we had a great start to our trip. Our butler Alan Castillo took great care of us and always greeted us with a smile when we saw him. Lobby bartenders Marco "Polo" and Rigo were great. Servers Monica, Ruth and Melissa also did a great job if we ordered drinks from a seated area. Yordan from the rooftop bar was excellent. (even found our friend's lost Yeti and knew immediately that it was ours when I returned and asked for it) We had a blast with Heribert Matos in the Steakhouse and there was another nice lady that served us but I didn't get her name. Weather Great. Lots of sun. Seems pretty consistent in the DR. Thank you Serenade for a great stay.

Just came back from our second time at Serenade All Suites and it did not disappoint. We absolutely love it here and plan on coming back again. The resort has many pools to choose from and a beautiful beach to relax at. The sandbar is great for people who do not like deep ocean water and the resort does a great job at minimizing sargassum. The rooms are modern and great size (we had the master suite with elite service) and very clean. It is a newer resort and the only negative about the rooms would be that the entry doors have taken a beating and could use replacing. The food at this resort was delicious. Favorites were the steakhouse and Japanese a la cartes. Breakfast buffet was always good and lots of variety to choose from. Drinks were always flowing and tasty but the only thing that bothered me was there was no consistency. If I ordered a Coco Loco at one bar it tasted different at another bar. Sometimes frozen other times just with ice. The staff at this resort is by far what makes this trip an amazing experience. They call you family, they treat you like family and it was a pleasure to get to know them on a personal level. Huge shout outs to some of the staff..... Jorge, our concierge, thank you for checking in on us daily, making our reservations and arranging our tour at Don Lucas. All the little things that make the difference. Devid, our server at the beach(not sure if spelling is correct), Yordan, from rooftop bar, Edwin form La Palapa, Naomi and Micheal from Elite pool, and last but not least Jeremiah and Luis from Koi. Thanks you everyone for making our week and hope to see you again.