We spent 6 days (including travel days) and loved every minute. We’d never done the resort thing, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d read some not so great things about DR resorts however this place got uniformly good reviews, and turned out to be just what we wanted.
Punta Cana is a region located on the eastern tip of Hispaniola, a low-lying area of long, powdery sand beaches with calm surf and brisk easterly trade winds. A few heavy downpours came through almost every night between 1-3 AM, but by morning everything was clear and warm. Afternoon temps hovered around 85F with low humidity. A cool breeze usually kicked in after sunset, you could wear long sleeves and pants comfortably.
The resort is a huge place, 15,000 acres spread out over about 3 miles of beachfront and including an inland ranch with a petting zoo and horseback riding. There is also a beautiful walking path through a natural lagoon area interspersed with crystal clear volcanic pools.
The golf course was great, well maintained, 17 & 18 run along the shoreline and offer a spectacular finish. Two exciting par 3’s, #4 right on the ocean, and #13 is an island green reminiscent of #17 at the TPC Sawgrass. It is a tough course, although mostly open, it’s a long Pete Dye layout with a lot of sand and water, and the trade winds are always a factor.
We got a great room overlooking one of the more secluded beaches (the rooms are nice & clean with balconies, all marble baths, we requested extra pillows and they piled in about 10, pillow paradise!) although the place never looked crowded at any of the beach areas.
We got a golf cart, which they charge a premium for, but are fun to have and makes getting around a lot quicker. They do run a free shuttle service every 15 to 30 minutes to most of the areas. Our favorite beach was over past their upscale Tortuga Bay development which would have been a mile walk each way from our room.
This was not an “all inclusive” deal which was just as well. The breakfast which was included was great, lots of fresh local fruit, some from their local organic farm, and a large selection of hot buffet goodies, all served in a large open air atrium right on the beach. Except for La Yola the restaurants are nothing special. The “beach grills” are both nice, especially the one by the golf course. Stay away from Cocoloba, way over priced and like sitting in a mausoleum (the only place we went that was not open air).
La Yola however is a world class dining experience, expensive but worth it. Situated overlooking the marina, its actually built on stilts right over the water, you can hear the waves lapping as you dine. The luxurious wicker armchairs and divans provide comfy seating, if you make your reservations (imperative) around 7 PM, you can watch dusk settle over the harbor and the ocean beyond.
The menu is mostly local seafood, a top notch ceviche, a superb langosta (Caribbean Spiny Lobster), Mahi-Mahi right out of the water, everything we had was excellent. They have a fun trio of local musicians that wander around and play among other things, a great version of “La Cucaracha”. The only criticism I have is the wine list, which was overpriced for what they offered. I would imagine its not easy to get a good wine distributor in the DR.
The Punta Cana region is undergoing intense and rapid development, the miles and miles of unspoiled beaches may become a thing of the past. Most of the development is in the form of golf resorts and upscale real estate, which if done conscientiously may not be such a bad thing. But I have a feeling that sprawl may become an issue.
The area resorts sponsored a tourist version of the Dominican Carnival while we were there. This was the first year it had been relocated to an unfinished shopping strip in what is called “Punta Cana Village” as a way to make it more accessible to the Yankee/Euro crowd.
I think it was a pretty authentic event, there were actually more locals than tourists, but the locale seemed a bit incongruous. The place felt like a cross between an airport runway and a parking lot, a lot of asphalt and not much shade. However we had a good time, there were some really outrageous costumes/ensembles and plenty of El Presidente, and was our closest thing to an indigenous experience.
The nightlife on the property is rather limited, but who cares. The main lobby has a nice bar with a goofy keyboardist covering 70’s schlock that went well with some nice Dominican rum and a cigar (yes, my wife was okay with a stogie and even took a few puffs).
There are some casinos nearby, and they also ran some interesting sounding excursions to old fishing villages in the area, which if we’d stayed longer we would’ve tried.
Maybe not the most adventurous trip I’ve ever been on in, but theres nothing like an ice cold cerveza by the pool in March.
PS.
There are many more single women of all ages than men.

We stayed at the Punta Cana Resort and Club from 2/28-3/4.

The property is close to the airport, about 15 minutes. Only paid $15 each way for pvt shuttle to the hotel/back to the airport for me and my husband. Quiet, very relaxing, not much nightlife or activities (this is not the hotel for you if these things are impt in your vac). The room was a good size. We were given a sort of a garden view (bldg next to the gym). They provided 2 bottles of water everyday. The audio portion of the TV was a bit messed up so had to rely on the caption feature of the TV. There were a couple of nights that we did not need AC, but could not enjoy the natural breeze as there were no screen doors to ward off mosquitos/insects (this was not a big problem however as they spray regularly).

The property is pretty vast. We rented a golf cart for one day just to explore the property. Cost was about $35 for 2 per day. Truth is, you don't need the cart unless you are going to the area where the six senses spa is, and even at that, you can always take the shuttle. Most other areas are better enjoyed by foot - beach, the Ranch (not much to see in my opinion), Tortuga Bay (very nice properties), Eco reserve. The beach had white sand and turquoise water, but not very clean, it had a lot of seaweeds. Was a nice walk though with great views.

They have an ecological park with several freshwater lagoons (some you can swim in - very nice, refreshing, swimming with fishes and if lucky, turtles); I didn't care for the hike around the tropical forest, though did it anyway (make sure to use insect repellant prior to the eco tour).

Breakfast at La Cana was good with a variety of American and local fare with local fruits, juice bar for smoothies, plus fantastic view of the beach. You are on your own for lunch and dinner. We brought boxed lunches (tuna/chicken salad with crackers, cookie and fruit cup), so had those for lunch. 2 out of the 5 nights we stayed there, we also ate in with cup o' noodles and spam. Also brought lots of snacks to take to the beach as resort prices are ridiculously expensive. We ate at Franco's Pizzeria (which had more mexican selections than pizza ??), Mama Venezia (Italian) and Bambu (French/Carribean/Mediterranean). Sad to say, all were terrible, both in quality and price. Food was not good at all and were prohibitive. For example, I ordered seafood spaghetti at Mama Venezia ($23) and sauce tasted like it came straight out of a can and seafood consisted of mostly chopped up squid. Bread /bread sticks served was cold and stale (think day or days old bread leftover from breakfast?). Ordered chilean sea bass at Bambu for ($47), for that price, was expecting a good size portion. Instead, it was no more than a 5x2 inch piece. Had to eat some more snacks when I got back to the room. Because of the bad food experience we cancelled our reservation at La Yola, supposedly the best restaurant in the property.

We tried the six senses spa. We tried their steam, signature facial and massage. Nice ambience with soothing music and aroma. My husband and I both enjoyed it, though it is more expensive than back home.

Staff are generally pleasant and try to please, but some are indifferent and do not seem to like their job (eg: people in the activity center, down by the beach where you get towels/rent non-motorized equipment).

All in all, I would still recommend this hotel.
You can use all the facilities (gold club, tortuga bay) even though you are just staying in the Punta Cana hotel.

Among all the resorts and hotels we have visited, the Punta Cana Resort and Hotel is the absolute worst. The general approach at the front desk, concierge, restaurants, and throughout the hotel is one of general disinterest and sometimes rudeness. The simplest of exchanges often become a hassle with hotel staff, few attempts are made to provide any real customer service, and the food is appalling. Some of the apparent rudeness seems to stem from a lack of comprehension, but in many other cases it is a very clear lack of proper customer service ethic. Many staff do not greet visitors warmly and convey a sense that they resent their work and are glad to say "no" as often as possible. When we are told someone will follow up, nothing happens. The fact that an exorbitant service fee is built into the experience is maddening and perhaps explains why there is so little effort to deliver any service. The few exceptions were notable and appreciated but did not outweigh the many frustrating and stressful encounters.

The resort and natural environments are beautiful which makes it a great shame that the experience cannot be a more positive one. However, we would not choose to return to the Punta Cana Resort nor would we recommend the hotel.

Two couples from Atlanta...We scheduled this trip last minute based on maximum beach time in just 4 days of vacation and hoping for above average immenities. It met our expectations and didnt break the bank. We had the 2 bedroom beach casitas for 2 nights and couldnt get any closer to a beautiful beach than these fun nicely equipped cottages on the beach. We dont like all inclusive due to the quality loss in the food and acomidations and this property was a nice choice for us as it has many resturants on property but still allowed us to go off propety to the nice resturants of the area and experice the culture. "Jellyfish "was the resturant we found to be the best. We reccomend this property in just a 3 hour flight from Atlanta and only a 5 minute drive from the airport, we think you would too.