First of all, if you go there with the highest of expectations, DON'T! You have to remember, this is not the U.S. We went not knowing what to expect after reading some of the reviews on here. When we got to Grand Paradise, the check in was smooth, with in 15 minutes. They have someone take the bags to your room, if you want.

The room was average, but better than I expected. We had a pool view in the old section.

The beach was great, but would've been better if there weren't so many uncaring people there. They leave alot of trash on the beach, mostly bar glasses and such. They do the best they can to keep everything clean. People should learn not to be so lazy, and pick up their own trash!

We found the food in the buffets better than the specialty restaurants. At dinner time, we took the trolley to the "club" section, and found their buffet dinners were awesome!

We did take 2 excursions, one was a sunset cruise followed by a lobster dinner(best lobster I've ever eaten), and the trip to Saona island. The island trip gives you more of a perspective as to how these people live, as well as a great look at the countryside. This trip was good also.

The best advise I can give to anyone going to the Dominican Republic, is......... Go with an open mind, take plenty of U.S. dollars(one and five dollar bills mostly because sometimes they have to give you change in pesos). Don't be afraid to tip the workers, they need it, even if it's only $1.00.

And, after you arrive, make sure you make your dinner reservations for the specialty restaurants. They fill up fast, and alot of people complain about it, but you have to keep in mind there are alot of people staying at the resort, and the restaurants have limited space. (The Club buffet was better anyway) And men have to wear long pants and closed toe shoes. Women can wear pretty much what they want.

All in all, it was the best trip I have been on. The people there really try to accomodate you. I have to say, despite the fact of how they live, these are some of the happiest people I have ever met, and they show it by singing while they work! A lot of us could take a lesson from the Dominican people!

The resort overall is nice and it has really nice beach. When we got there we had no idea that service and people working there are so unwelcome and rude. No one told us anything about the resort, how it works and what to use. We have been in different resorts before and so far that was our worst experience ever. The service in the restaurant was terrible, food really was better at the buffet (and service). We aren't kings, but we did expect better treatment from the people working there. When ever we asked a question we felt like they are doing us a favor answering it. If you go there, the reservation dinners aren't worth it, so don't do it!!!!!! Food is the same every day, nothing really special. Shows are ok, so if you go hope you will have better experience than us and enjoy what ever it is, well happy vacations!!!!

I will start by saying: don't listen to the bad reviews!!!!!
I read all the reviews before we left in our vacation (May 1-8) and to be honest I was a little stressed out with all the bad reviews i read. But.....I did not see any of the bad things that people wrote here. So I guess they would have to look for 5,6 stars hotels from now on...in Europe not in Dominican and they will probably sill not be happy.
Anyways.....
1. We booked our vacation with sunquest and we were in the sunquest select section.
2. FLIGHT - absolutely wonderful (both ways)....
3. we were picked up from the airport in a really nice bus and the trip was around 30 min. to the resort
4. ROOMS - we were in the sunquest select section and the rooms are great: new, clean, no bugs or spiders, no leackings, we had hot water every day (we were in building s7 and 8), we had new sheets every day and clean towels.
6. THE RESORT there are 3 parts of the resort
a. the main resort - right on the beach, with pools, restaurants but the rooms are older
b. the select section - the rooms are great, and it has its own pools,jacuzzi, bufet, bar, tenis court, kids club, minigolf and others, The staff here is great and I liked the food here better than in the main resort (more variety) also it was not that crowded as in the main resort.
c. the club section - has the building from 1-6 which also has its own pool. I cannot say more about this section as we did not go there at all.
7. FOOD - there was plenty of food, really good, something for everybody and the fruits were great.
8. BEACH - we had to walk aprox.5 min from the select section to the beach but we really enjoyed it....it was a nice, short walk but if yu didn't feel like walking you could take the troley that would go every 10 min.
The beach is AMAZING - the best I saw so far
I hope this will help people relax when they go there.....f you have any problem at all, the staff was ready to fix it right away. We were 4 families and none of us had anything to complain.
EXCELENT TRIP and i would return here any time.

I'll list for you the good, the bad, and the ugly, and you can make your own decisions based on that. I read some horrible reviews on here that were unfounded, but i read some great reviews which made me wonder if people stayed at the same resort i did.

The Resort:
There are two of them, Grand Paradise Bavaro is the one located on the beach, and where all the action is. The Club is the new squeaky clean section. The rooms at the club are better, they have nicer beds, nicer washrooms, and the buffet there was better, but you cant beat being 5 steps from the beach. Really, how much time do you spend in your room? My friend and i stayed in Building 6 at the main resort on the main floor. The only downside to this was we had a view of the pool and all night long we could hear people screaming "jump in the pool!" i'm a heavy sleeper, and i could hear thing.

Food:
5 a la carte restaurants, Asian, Italian, Dominican, Seafood and International. The asian was AWESOME, but its closed as of right now for 3 months for renovations. the seafood was really amazing as well. i would have gone to the italian, but the sunwing rep who booked the a la carte restaurants for me and my friend was a bonehead, and got the dates wrong. The main buffet at the main resort is currently closed for lunch and dinner, so you have to take the trolley to go to the club to eat. The lunch buffet by the beach is good, roast chicken, pizza, fries, burgers, you wont find anything gourmet there for lunch, which was fine for my friend and I, as we wanted to go back to the beach asap. dont be surprised if you have to use your arm as your napkin, as there never seemed to be a napkin in sight at the lunch buffet. The lunch buffet also turns into the midnight buffet, where they serve a ton of food for all the drunks rolling out of the disco.

Beach:
The most beautiful beach i had ever seen. turquoise blue water, and white sand. very few rocks in the ocean. the water was choppy, but fine to swim in. i wouldnt recommend the ocean for little kids to be in unsupervised. i'm not a strong swimmer, but i was fine.

Pools:
Kind of sandy. The pools at the club were very nice and had a swim up bar, the ones at the main resort did not have a swim up bar. but fear not, the bar was about 5 steps out of the pool. They could have been a bit cleaner.

The Crowd:
I would say the crowd was mostly 25 and younger, but there was a good mix of families, couples, and elderly people, as well as people who wanted to party. the French and French Canadian clientelle were DISGUSTING, you could pick them out anywhere, because they were always shouting, pushing people out of the way, spitting in the pools, leaving cigarette butts in the sand on the beach. Shame on you people, stay where you came from.

The Staff:
For the most part, very friendly. you'll find a few people who dont care everywhere, but i found that mostly everyone spoke english. Front desk was helpful when needed. Our maid was so sweet, we tipped her well every day, and she was very greatful for everything.

Entertainment:
The animation team is interesting. Its mostly perverted guys, who will hit on you, and treat you like gold while you're there. If you say hello to any of them, that's open season for them to hit on you or assume you are going to hook up with them. They all speak english, and they work long hours. They come to the disco every ngiht, and dance with the guests. If any of them ask to take you for a walk while you are at the disco, be prepared that they want more from you than conversation.

Gift Shop and Shopping:
To give you examples of how expensive Punta Cana is, a bottle of pantene shampoo in the gift shop goes for $18 American. A carton of marlboro's goes for $65 (where at duty free in the airport you can pick it up for $40). Haggle with the vendors on the beach, if they tell you something costs $50, offer them $5 (start at 10% and work up from there). They will rip you off. you cant haggle in the gift shop. The interact machine or even credit cards barely work half of the time. The canadian exchange rate is awful at the hotel, they will accept canadian money, but if you ask for it back in pesos or american money, you lose money. Take american money if you can, its just easier.

I flew through sunwing, and it was a great flight, the food was even ok for airplane food. The sunwing rep at the hotel was a bumbling idiot, so be warned. My friend and i didnt do any excusions, but we heard the booze cruise on the catamaran was amazing, and the ATV was a rip off.

The Weather:
Gorgeous! It was over 30 degrees every day! i am olive skinned and i never burn, but i had to wear SPF 30 everyday and sit in the shade, and i was a bit pink on some days. It is never a problem to get a chair at the pool or the beach, if you want shade, you have to get up early to reserve a palapa.

I'm on the fence about this resort, it was JUST OK. i've stayed at Riu hotels before, and this is no way comes close to the Riu. I would recommend this hotel only if you have low standards, otherwise go to a Riu. Avoid Bahia Principe and Dreams Punta Cana, as people who were on our flight back (numerous people) all had food poisoning.