Punta Cana Princess - Happy Graduation to me!
Written: Jan 01 '09 (Updated Jan 02 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: relaxing, service, free internet, pool, bars, all-inclusive
Cons: outside vendors, toliet & jacuzzi, no clock, cold food
The Bottom Line: I would go back to Punta Cana Princess in a heartbeat.
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| Twix109's Full Review: Punta Cana Princess, Dominican Republic |
For my recent graduation from East Stroudsburg University, I told my parents I wanted to go somewhere hot and sunny opposed to a big graduation bash. We booked our vacation through allinclusiveoutlet.com to go to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic from December 15 to December 20 of 2008. We chose to go to Punta Cana Princess All-Inclusive Resort. This is an adults only (18+) resort right on the beach.
Arrival at Punta Cana Princess (PCP from here on out…)
When you arrive at PCP, you are greeted with a nice fruity cocktail and a wet cold washcloth. The lobby is an open-air lobby with a long check in counter. We checked in a few hours early. We got two rooms; one for me and my sister, and one for my mom and my dad. One of the rooms was ready. Check in was really efficient. They gave us our wristbands (what you need to show you are a guest of PCP) our two room keys and a map of the resort. One of the PCP staff drove the luggage to our room that was ready and brought it to our door. We followed the map and signs to Building #3 where our room was located. No complaints here.
Resort
The resort has 270 suites between 5 buildings on three floors. Buildings 1 & 2 are near the lobby and farthest away from the beach and pool. Building 3 is where we were located and that is near the buffet. Buildings 4 & 5 are nearest the beach and pool. The resort really isn’t that big. The main spa is the only building in front of the lobby. Behind the lobby are various walkways with palm trees, big stone decorations, beautiful landscaping, etc. To walk the entire resort would take no more than 20 minutes at a casual pace.
All-Inclusive
Included in our package was 4 restaurants and 1 snack bar, 3 Bars with national and international drinks included, waitress service on beach, 1 freshwater pool surrounded by extensive gardens and terraces, Daytime sports program at pool and beach area, evening entertainment in lobby and evening shows in the Serenata and La Rumba theatres (located in the Hotel Caribe Club and Tropical Princess), Areíto Discotheque (admission free with national drinks included until midnight), fitness room, jacuzzi & sauna (included in the mini spa at the beach), 2 Tennis courts, minigolf (at the Hotel Tropical Princess), archery, conference rooms (available in the Hotel Caribe Club Princess), Non-motorized water sports (boogie boarding), internal transport and Princess tower casino with free transport service.
With our package, we were able to use the pools & other Princess hotels facilities. We took a walk down to the others hotels, but they were more family oriented, so we were glad we got the hotel no children and with more peace and quiet.
Lobby
The center of the lobby housed a beautiful, tall, Christmas tree. The lobby is full with plenty of comfy couches and chairs. The lobby has a bar, bathrooms, guest services, and 4 laptops for 20 minutes of free internet each day. At guest services you could make reservations for the other resorts restaurants. They fill up quick so my mom suggests you do it a couple nights in advance. You can also sign up for excursions in the lobby. We did not go on any excursions. To use the internet you go up to guest services and they give you a little piece of paper with a code on it. You plug that code into the computer and get 20 minutes for free. If you want to go online again, you just get another piece of paper with the code. The lobby is where all of the nightly entertainment is held. It is also where you can take a trolley to go to the other Princess resorts, the Caribe Disco (club), or the Princess Tower Casino.
Room
All of the rooms at PCP are suite style. When you walk in there is a spacious closet with a safe in it. There are also 2 plush robes hanging with slippers. We got a room with two double beds. The beds were on the firmer side, but comfortable. The beds were very clean. The room was one of the biggest rooms I have ever seen. There are two steps, and there is a comfortable trundle day-bed with 2 oversized pillows. There is a coffee table with the Princess resorts book and room service menu. There are many dressers to put your clothes. There is also a minibar that was filled with 2 cokes, 2 sprites, 2 waters, and 2 beers. The mini bar is restocked daily. The beer wasn’t very good. The balcony was humongous. It had 2 plastic chairs and a plastic table and overviewed the buffet and the walkways. Since we are VIP (comes with the package), we received a fruit basket, Dominican rum, and Dominican cigars. What a nice surprise. There was also a swan made out of towels on the dresser. There was also a huge flat screen TV with remote.
In the bathroom, the toilet paper and tissues were crinkled. There were flower petals around the sinks. There was a large basket full with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion, dental kits and shower caps.
In the room there is a room service menu. You could order room service – some things cost extra and tax is not included. It takes 45 minutes for room service to get to your room. They have an extensive menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and after hour. We did not order room service.
Mini-Spa & Spa
The mini-spa is right near the beach. They have several open air canopies where massages can be performed. They also have saunas and a Jacuzzi. We discovered the Jacuzzi on the second day since it is very secluded. On the third day, the Jacuzzi was not working, so the gentlemen told us to go to the Spa past the lobby of the building. We went to the main Metamorphosis Spa and they told us we needed to pay $5 to use the Jacuzzi. My dad told them that the one in the mini spa wasn’t working, and that that is an important amenity to this resort. They let us use the Jacuzzi in the main spa for free. Too bad when we got into the Jacuzzi, it was freezing cold. So, I told the lady that it was cold and she had it changed so that the water came out boiling hot. After about 10 minutes, the water temperature was perfect. After I was done relaxing in the Jacuzzi, I took a look around the spa. They have a free fitness room with a few cardio machines, but mostly free weights, and they had many different rooms for manicures, pedicures, facials, massages, etc. It was very, very nice.
Food
There are 4 main restaurants and one snack bar.
Mare Nostrum is the snack bar near the beach. This is very casual. We usually just went to eat here in our bathing suits. You need to catch the food as soon as it comes out – or else it will probably be stale and cold. It is buffet style, and open-air, and you have a decent selection of food. There is a bar at this snack bar. I would give this place 5 out of 10. You never know what you are going to get at Mare Nostrum.
Buffet Restaurant Casabe is where we usually ate breakfast and on some nights, dinner. They have a huge selection of food. Each night for dinner was a different theme. The best buffet night was Dominican. The buffet was packed. The Dominican food was authentic, hot, and absolutely delicious. We all left with our tummies full and smiles on our faces. Other theme nights were Asian, Gala, Italian, Mexican, and Seafood. Breakfast was the same each day – they had an omelette station, eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, pancakes, French toast, and other basic breakfast foods. They have a bar at this facility. I would rate this 7.5 out of 10. Sometimes, the food was cold and some food just looked unappetizing.
Tex-Mex Steakhouse was our favorite place to eat. It is a sit down dinner where they give you a menu in 4 different languages and you pick an appetizer (or 2), an entrée and a dessert. I got a chicken burrito as an appetizer, my parents got a Caesar salad, my sister got mozzarella sticks. Everyone was pleased except for my sister who only got 2 mozzarella sticks – and since when is mozzarella sticks Tex-Mex? They didn’t have a vegetarian option for an entrée, so my sister got mashed potatoes and vegetables. Our entrees were delicious. The three of us (me, mom, dad) got steak, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. We ate dessert at the buffet. The service is very slow in the Dominican. It is very relaxed. If you are used to a fast lifestyle, the service here will be a big reality check. I give Tex-Mex Steakhouse 9 out of 10.
Il Bacio is the Italian restaurant at this facility. This was nothing special. I got tomato and mozzarella caprese salad along with my sister, my parents got the beef carrpaccio – the mozzarella was a little bland but the tomatoes tasted fresh and delicious. My parents highly enjoyed the beef carpaccio. For dinner I got the fettuccini alfredo, my sister got the spaghetti with pesto, my mom got the porcini mushrooms and fettuccini and my dad got the ravioli with sauce. Mine was a light alfredo sauce, it was decent, nothing spectacular. The best was my mom’s mushrooms and fettuccini because the mushrooms were delicious. My dad’s “ravioli” was really tortellini – but we didn’t complain. I would give this place a 6 out of 10.
Le Petit Fondue was an experience, to say the least. We got the shrimp fondue as an appetizer which you dip in egg, breadcrumbs and then stick in the hot oil. After you take the shrimp out, they gave you one dipping sauce. The shrimp for 3 people (my sister is a vegetarian) was plentiful. My sister got the cheese fondue for dinner and we got the meat fondue (chicken, beef, and sausage). The cheese fondue was horrible. It was a very sharp Swiss cheese that was not really anyone’s thing. My sister was disgusted so she went to the buffet for dinner. The meat fondue was really good. They gave us 3 different dipping sauces and it was pretty filling. I would give this restaurant a 8 out of 10.
Activities
Every day the Amacion crew was there to get the guests at PCP involved. These are some of the hardest working people at the place. The resort has several different activities during the day that these people run. Some activities are darts (I came in 3rd place out of 20), beach and pool aerobics, yoga, tennis, Spanish lessons, archery, ping pong, and dance lessons. At night, the Amacion crew runs the entertainment shows in the lobby featuring Ms. Caribe competition, Mr. Caribe competition, couple night, live music & dancing night, and karaoke night. The staff works from 8-12, then 3-6, then 8-11:30 so they are exhausted but really get people involved and brings fun to PCP. If you want to get involved, you can – or you can do nothing at all.
Beach & Pool
This is probably the nicest part of the entire trip. The pool was very large with many entrances and a swim-up bar. The pool is not heated. It is chilly, but refreshing. The pool is right near the Mare Nostrum buffet and the beach. There are beds and chairs at the pool. There are plenty of hut hogs, chair hogs, and bed hogs, so make sure you throw a towel on your chair or you might not get one. There are signs posted that if your hut, chair, bed is unoccupied for 30 minutes your belongings will be removed but I don’t think anyone has the balls to move anyone else’s stuff.
The beach has chairs, huts, and beds as well. There is also a little hut where you can get towels, or a boogie board, or be able to sign up for excursions for an additional cost. Excursions like the glass bottom boat and snorkeling were very popular. The beach was gorgeous. The water is turquoise. The chairs were comfortable. The sand was like nothing I have ever felt. The waves on some days were a little rough and there is a strong rip tide – there are no lifeguards so you really have to be careful.
Disco
My sister and I took the trolley to the disco one night. With our wristbands you can get free drinks until midnight. There were 2 dance floors. It was a lot of fun. They played all different kinds of music. It was really a blast. The night that we went was striptease night – so a man and a woman got completely naked. If your kids are under 18, I would highly recommend you find out what kind of night it is at the club before you send them to the disco. Also, the staff is allowed to go into the disco (not sure about locals) so it was really cool to see them, hang out, dance, and for them to forget about work.
The Bad
One night they had outside vendors showcase their items for sale on the major walkway. They were aggressive, pushy, and annoying. My mom spoke to guest services about this issue. There is no need, as such a beautiful resort, for these vendors. If we want to purchase something and be pressured, we would go outside of the resort to the flea market.
When we first arrived, the toilet wasn’t working (which my dad fixed), there wasn’t a clock in our room, the cigars in the room were not of quality, the Jacuzzi wasn’t working for most of our trip, and there was several occasions where our food was cold at the buffet and we had to tell them to reheat the food.
As Paris Hilton says…”LOVES IT!”
We loved the peace and quiet and serenity of this resort. The location couldn’t have been better. It was right on the beach and had a huge pool. The room was fantastic. It was so spacious for my sister and me. We liked how everything was all-inclusive. We liked the free internet to check our mail and e-mail our family. We liked how we could go to the other resorts, we liked the free trolley services, we liked how friendly and nice the staff was, we really liked mostly everything!
Mediocre
The food was definitely hit or miss. If you don’t go as soon as it is put out (buffet) then you will probably be disappointed.
Some Helpful tips
My first tip is that speaking Spanish is very beneficial. My mom is trilingual (Italian being her first language, then English, then Spanish), my sister and I speak conversational, basic Spanish and we definitely got treated better than those who did not speak Spanish. We got the best tables, my mom made conversations, and we were treated really, really well. They found is surprising that three American (we don’t look a tad bit Spanish) women can speak fluent Spanish.
My second tip would be to tip. These people bust their butts down there. Please remember to tip your waitresses (putting a few dollars on the table doesn’t hurt), bartenders, the man/woman who brings your luggage to your room, your trolley drivers, and anyone else that you feel makes a difference in your stay. As I said before, these people work very hard – even if you give $1, it still makes a difference.
Closing remarks
I would go back to this resort in a heartbeat. I think that a few things need to be changed in order for me to give it a complete 5 stars – but I think this is one of the nicest vacations I have ever been given. Happy Graduation to me!
Thanks for the read,
Danielle
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Twix109
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Danielle
Location: NJ
Reviews written: 245
Trusted by: 202 members
About Me:
Grad School = Less Epinions! Sadness. :-(
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