This place was very nice, I recommend this resort for travel, staff was very nice and courteous. Always available for help. Restaurant had very good food just not a lot of variety, however there were more restaurants there but not open due to Covid. It was pretty empty for the same reason.
We rented an Airbnb type place in the Presidential Suites. Like other reviewers have mentioned, it was in disrepair also. I guess since it's an island, it's hard to get items in. The handle on the bathroom crank open style window broke off, the one TV set in the place was broken, the bathroom sink in the master bedroom wouldn't drain, the outlet by the bed in the master didn't work, etc. Every time I asked for assistance, they said they'd send someone up and no one came. I'd have to call and call. Days later, someone would show. Our host was onsite and tried to help, but they only spoke Spanish. I can speak some, but couldn't understand the majority of what he was saying especially as fast as he spoke. When we got there, we just wanted to be able to hit the beach and not have to go shopping and get food. I used a concierge app I found online and had someone go shopping and get groceries. I thought it'd be similar to the US prices. Was I surprised! I got groceries where the bill at home would've been around $150. It was more than $400. Crazy! The scenery is gorgeous and the loungers are awesome. You need to wake up early to put your towel or something on one of the covered daybeds if you want one of them. We had a suite that was on the top level so there were stairs up to the roof from our place. The compound's also gated. Those were about the best things about the place. Since we didn't have the regular bracelet that most people had it was like we were lepers. The staff didn't really interact with us much, except for the timeshare people. They were pretty relentless. There's a picture they use often online that shows a view of sun loungers as far as you can see to the beach. The thing is that is the entire beach area! There's not much and it's a super skinny swath of beach - maybe 40' wide? There are people selling whatever - hair braiding, jewelry, etc. - standing in the water just beyond the shoreline. You go nowhere without being hustled. I was with my son who's 6'7" and 200# and they still have no fear about approaching you and trying to get money out of you. We were walking down the beach one night to a restaurant and we're having trouble finding it. There was a guy who came out of a souvenir shop trying to get us to come to his shop. We told him no. He asked what we were doing and we explained. He said let me help you. He walked us to this place we'd passed a couple of times and walked us inside. The hostess at the place paid him for escorting us in! NOTHING is done as a favor or to help. Everything costs. Everyone's hustling. One night we were looking for a place and got a taxi. We went to the lobby and asked the staff to call a reputable taxi company and for help. They called someone and he picked us up. The place where we were going was within 3-5 miles and even though it said it was open on the website, it was closed. He drove us round trip and charged us $50. It was ridiculous. I tried to get management's help. No one ever called or tried to help. The staff said that's how they are around here. So glad I asked for their help. I called the taxi company and they didn't call or do anything either. So we're in the main restaurant one morning and the mgr comes up and asks our room #. This was the next day after the taxi incident. Soon after, we leave to go back to our room and they start following us along with hotel security. They then ask me to come to the office with them. I asked if it was about the taxi and was this to speak to the manager. They really didn't say anything. My heart is beating in my throat at this point and am wondering why I need a secure escort to the lobby. I get there and the front desk lady says the Airbnb people don't get to use the restaurant and it's $50 per meal per person. So, I paid them $150 for breakfast and then everyone walked away. Never said anything about the taxi. There are only a couple of countries where I'd never return and this is one of them. I think since it was an Airbnb place, they charge for the electricity you use. However, I'm not sure. You'll want to check. Lots of places in the Dominican apparently do that. We only had the A/C on in the evening when we were in the place. It was just 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, and small living room. Turned the air conditioning off to sleep (just ran fans) and didn't have it on during the day. We didn't cook much at all. It was like $125 for the electricity for a week. One day we went sightseeing and to a cave where you can swim. Outside said cave is a guy with an iguana. He asked if we wanted to pet his iguana. Should've known. We pet him and took pix. He wanted $. Some guy came up to us on this beach and put a bracelet on me and a friend. We said no thanks. He said to keep it. I kept trying to give it back. He said but you can give me some money because it's rainy today and there's no one around and I can't make any money. Same deal with the guy on the beach at the resort with the little capuchin monkey. But, by then I'd figured out it would cost me. You really couldn't relax outside because there was always some kind of hustle going on. We'd go up to the rooftop some nights and have drinks up there and watch the sunset which was nice.…
We arrived at this hotel at check-in time and it took nearly 3 HOURS for us to get checked in and actually get into our room. Our room "wasn't ready" so we had to sit and wait in the lobby. This hotel's website states that it has "Three Top A La Carte Restaurants run by our award-winning Food & Beverage staff- Kimonos – Asian Restaurant, Basil & Tomatoes – Italian Restaurant & Carpe Diem - Steak & Seafood". It also states that the resort has "One Main Buffet - Decadence – Buffet Restaurant." This information is VERY inaccurate. The "resort" has TWO menus you can order from - one for breakfast & lunch ("Decadence") and one for dinner (Kimonos). There is only ONE restaurant you can sit in and it is VERY casual. You'll be given a menu that says Decadence (for breakfast or lunch) or a menu that says Kimonos (for dinner). The resort's website claims it has "Tennis Usage (Daytime)" but there isn't a tennis court on site. We asked about tennis when we checked in and were told they don't have it. So, we lugged our rackets and balls on our flight for nothing. We asked about the "Access to Fitness Center & Health Club" per the resort's website. We were told it was closed...but we didn't see one on-site at all anyway. There aren't any photos of tennis or a fitness center on the website, so I guess we should have known they were being dishonest. The photos that ARE on the website are entirely misleading. Our room was in bad repair and wasn't clean. There wasn't any cookware at all in the kitchen. We had to go out and buy a frying pan, knife, and spatula. An odor that smelled like sewage came through the A/C vent in the big bedroom. We stopped turning it on because the smell was so bad. I have attached a photo of the hot water heater. It clearly hasn't been serviced in ages and was in dangerous condition. You get harassed nonstop by men walking around on the property. They'll tell you that they want to set up a meeting with you so you can "learn about your benefits and get a free t-shirt". Do NOT fall for this - I knew it was a timeshare sales pitch bait & switch so we told them NO THANK YOU. They make it sound mandatory, so don't fall for it! You'll even get harassed on the beach or at the pool. We gave up trying to go outside to relax because they would not leave us alone. There are people selling other things on the beach too - excursions, etc. It is really hard to relax when people are constantly bothering you. We ended up leaving nearly a week early. We'd booked 3 weeks and just couldn't make it past two. I'd avoid this place at all costs.…
No service of any kind.Nothing works. No help and no answers.The only staff you see is security guards over perimeter of the property doing absolutely nothing. And frequent attempts by strangers to sell you something.
We traveled with RCI. I doubt there's a more beautiful location on earth...and nothing more. We reserved an extra day months before our RCI checkin. We arrived with no towels, silverware, dishes, hot water, water pressure, beds as hard as rocks, sheets didn't fit, pillows were lumpy and old, 1 extra blanket. Our cabanas were soaked. There was not a picture on any wall or a piece of art on the shelves. The furniture was literally falling apart. Please know this was not just our unit. My daughter had a different unit and her wasn't much better. We also met other friends their and they shared the same complaints. We did have roaches! When I asked to get some bug spray, I was told someone would be right up and there was no resolution for the remainder 3 days that I was there. We were asked to get out of the pool at 7pm, not because there were no lifeguards. They blamed it on chemicals. One day we stayed until 10pm and no chemicals were dropped. Property manager should be ashamed asking employees to work so hard. Lots of Lifestyles associates sitting around all day but contributing in any way other than try to sell another time share. They are generous with kindness, t-shirts and drinks until you tell them no. Then they completely ignore you.…
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