Resort Review: Dreams Punta Cana

  My family and I recently travelled to beautiful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I would love to tell you that I had the time of my life and that this was the best vacation ever. Unfortunately, this is not that kind of story. I will cover my adventures in Punta Cana in a separate blog post, but wanted to share my review of the property.

Dreams Punta Cana: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good.

   
    
   
The property is beautiful, the drinks are included, most of the people are friendly and helpful, the pool was nice, and the nightly entertainment was awesome. That’s it. That’s all I got.

Moving on…..

The Bad

Towel Service.

We were given only 2 towels/wash cloths per day. The problem with that is we are a party of 3. Later on, we learned that the resort did not have enough towels for all the guests and so 2 were handed out, and if you needed extra, you’d have to wait until later in the day after they did the laundry.

Air Conditioning.

Depending on your floor, your experience of the AC varied. If you were on the first floor, it was very cold. Second floor may have been comfortable (no one in my party was booked here). Third floor (where we stayed):  Hot as Satan’s toenails. This was with the AC set at maximum cool and with ceiling fan on maximum setting. The room was so stuffy, it was, at times, cooler outside. On a tropical island. Yeah.

Wi-Fi.

Was shoddy at best. In the main building, (where it was free), it worked reasonable well. Otherwise, it cost $5 per day or $30 per week, per device. We paid for the weekly service and NEVER had reliable service. For example, my husband sat on one bed and I sat on the other…he had service and I did not. This inability to communicate made it somewhat challenging to coordinate meet ups, etc with the rest of our party.

The Very Ugly

THE CONCIERGE SERVICE IS THE. WORST. EVER.

First of all, the Wi-Fi service is purchased at the concierge desk. They are not responsive to complaints. My husband went to the desk several times to complain about the lack of service, and got nowhere.  This property is about 1 mile in diameter, so we are not talking about a large coverage area. So after 3 days of this nonsense, I requested a refund. Spoke with the manager, who agreed. When i get to the desk, the concierge seems to all of a sudden, 1. not understand English, and 2. not know her boss’ name. Unfortunately, things had to get heated and then all of a sudden my refund materialized.

Next, the concierge gave us bad intel. We wanted to visit the Hard Rock resort and go to the Hard Rock Cafe Punta Cana. A $35 cab ride later, we end up at the Punta Cana Resort & Casino, where there is no cafe. I had asked about this specifically, and was emphatically told “yes.” There was a restaurant there, but given that we weren’t guests staying at the resort, and that my daughter was too young to enter the casino area, we did not get to eat there. So there’s another $35 cab ride back to our resort. When I complained about this lack of knowledge to the concierge manager, he essentially told me that I was lying about my experience and that I had been fully informed.

Poor coordination with outside excursions

We took a few excursions off the property. The pictures were to be left for pick up at the concierge desk (yes, that concierge desk). I get there, and they have NO CLUE of what I’m talking about and then send me on an odyssey worthy of Homer to find them. These vendors conduct business and excursions are booked on the resort property. Is it too much to ask, that someone knows what is going on? I mean, am I the first one to do this or something?

So, in summary, the Dreams Resort is beautiful, and for the most part full of wonderful, warm people who are eager to show Dominican hospitality. Where they failed, however, is in the swift resolution of guest complaints, and also being at least apologetic for their shortcomings. Which is why, despite all its’ loveliness, I cannot and will not, in good faith, recommend this resort to anyone. In closing, I would not stay here, even if it were free.

Travel well,

Peaches & Pickles