My husband and I just returned after 6 amazing days at this resort. The views are breathtaking from every spot on the resort. We stayed in a 1 bedroom oceanfront junior suite and it did not disappoint. The room was spotless, beautifully decorated, perfect location to Bamboo (restaurant) and the beach. The balcony was our favorite part. The view we woke up to every morning was picture perfect. We chose to have breakfast delivered to our balcony daily just to enjoy the view. Well worth the $10 delivery fee (breakfast was included)! The food was incredible. We had everything ranging from eggs, omelets, pancakes, french toast, huevos rancheros, bacon, ham, toast, etc. All perfectly cooked and delicious! We spent the afternoons just relaxing on the beach. Beach service was great, although we only ordered a couple of times (lunch one day too), Eziquiel never quit asking if there was anything that he could do for us. We tried all of the restaurants except La Yola. The night we planned to go there, we were just tired, but it did look incredible. We had lunch at La Choza (situated over the water). It was inexpensive, great food and the view was pretty and peaceful. We had the signature massages at the Six Senses Spa and definitely was a highlight of our trip. The beach and pool there are worth visiting. Lunch at The Grill was really, really, good and also pretty inexpensive. The view from the grill was amazing. We had dinner at the pizza place (forgot the name) at the Punta Cana hotel one night and got pizza to go one night from there as well. We ordered one of the salads, hawaiian pizza and a quesadilla and all were great. The service there was okay, but not the best. Maybe this is just because of how incredible the service was at Tortuga Bay. Still worth eating there, wasn't terrible, just not as friendly. Now the staff at Bamboo. They seriously are what make this resort special. We had dinner there twice and drinks at the bar almost daily (occasionally delivered to our room). What an incredible group of people. They truly want to make your trip special. We made friends with most all of them. We enjoyed just having conversations with them. Beddy was the BEST bartender! He was so incredibly nice to us. Such a great personality and went out of his way to make us feel special. He is the reason we visited the bar daily. Cesar and Luis made dinner extra special. So enthusiastic about everything. Dinner was excellent and we followed their recommendations. So glad we did. One of the times my husband walked across the way to get some beers to go. Cesar insisted on bringing it over for us. Again, wanted to give the best service. Luis would tell us the specials mid day hoping to have us eat dinner there. So glad we did. Victor is also great. We enjoyed talking with him. One of the days we accidentally got locked out on our patio (wind blew the door shut). We saw Victor walking by and told him what had happened and immediately he was at our door rescuing us. The staff at Bamboo deserve to be recognized. They are what made our trip memorable. As far as the villa managers, wow! They seriously would do anything we asked. We are not high maintenance people, didn't ask for much, but they did check in occasionally just to make sure there wasn't anything else they could do for us. They made spa appointments, dinner reservations, came over to take our picture on our anniversary and arranged a very special surprise one evening. Our bathroom was lit up with candles. Rose petals in the shape of a heart, candles surrounding, rose petals by the jacuzzi tub with more candles, bottle of champagne, and the sweetest note. Thanks to Giovanna and Virginia for giving us that special memory. They truly were incredible. Some other highlights of the trip. Ecological Gardens. A must see! This is one of the most beautiful natural things I have ever seen. It is a natural place which means bugs, lizards, etc. Not really my thing, but we did it anyway and so glad we did (just use bug spray and watch where you step). We went into town to have dinner at Mamma Luisa's in the village (resort has a free shuttle over to the village). We actually went there the night of our anniversary. Italian food was incredible, reasonably priced and the staff was extremely friendly! Having a golf cart was a big plus. We drove the entire property just to check everything out. The golf courses are just amazing. We didn't play, but if you enjoy golf, it is a must do. Everyone has commented about the VIP airport service and until you see the airport (on the return trip) you can not have an appreciation for amazing it truly is. I can honestly say that I don't know that I would want to visit Punta Cana without this service. The airport is pure chaos, yet you are whisked through when you arrive and depart like you are a celebrity and completely avoid the madness. We normally don't travel internationally with our kids because of customs and airport madness, but with this service we would seriously consider it. The people that provide this VIP service are so friendly and happy to do it. This is really how we felt about everyone at the resort as well. They genuinely want you to enjoy your stay.
Few negatives...The Punta Cana hotel/resort could use a little facelift. Just appears a little rundown in comparison to Tortuga Bay, which is sad since they share the same beautiful property. The gift shop was probably the most overpriced gift shop we've been too (it's not associated with the resort). That was disappointing as occasionally we wanted to pick up a different drink, snack, bug spray, etc. They had really cute stuff, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to pay that kind of money. We held out on buying souvenirs thinking we would find something at the village, but there aren't any kind of stores like that. We found out too late in our trip about the supermarket. We would have picked up some snacks and drinks for our room had we discovered it sooner. Also wanted to pick up a cheap float for the ocean, but the gift shop wanted $20 US for it. Crazy for a $4 float! There is a cute toy shop at the village if you are looking for stuff for little kids/babies. Some typical character toys and a few unique things as well. Last thing is that the sand in the ocean was rocky. It's not a big deal, but noticeable. If we had brought our kids with us, I would have made sure they wore water shoes to avoid hearing the complaints.
Way more positives than the few minor negatives. This resort is truly amazing. It is great for couples, yet family friendly at the same time. Most resorts you consider taking your kids to are so busy. This resort would have been perfect with our kids too, since you feel so isolated from everyone else and can let your kids truly play on the beach and not have to worry about a crowd. Our entire trip was perfect! Would return in a heartbeat. By the way, we've never taken the time to write a tripadvisor review!