Punta Cana Dominican Republic

Overall had a good time. Kids had fun in the kids club and food was amazing. But.. a few thing to know—Our room and the team’s response were disappointing. We called four times requesting an iron, ironing board, squeegee to push water toward the drain, extra pillows, and a small table or chair for toiletries—none were delivered. The shower design was terrible and flooded the bathroom. With no door or ledge, we had to push water back with our hands and feet. There was barely any counter space, and the sinks were small, angled upward, and too high for children. We struggled as a family of four. There wasn’t enough space to hang towels. The room was extremely humid, with condensation dripping from vents and pooling on the floor—every room should have a dehumidifier. Staff seemed to respond “yes” but didn’t understand or follow through. Our room was far from all main areas, and we had to walk nearly 10 minutes with two small kids to reach the kids’ club and dining room. When we asked to change rooms, we were told none were available in our category. That’s not how guests should be treated.

That being said I would recommend this resort.

Just starting the second of our two week stay here at Club Med Punta Cana (two adults and an eight year old). Thought this would be a good time to put down some thoughts: I'll start with the negatives, as these were some of our first impressions.

We're in the Montana section (so not the exclusive bit!) and unfortunately the rooms are a bit tired, with lumpy pillows and bad soap dispensers. The taps are too short so when you turn them on the water covers the sink tops. And on our second morning it took five calls to reception to get clean towels. The path leading to Montana is very uneven but as far as I can tell this is the worst one and mostly they look great. Maybe it's on the list for improvement already!

We weren't aware at the time of booking that there would be construction going on, but they have made a real effort to disguise it. It's quite noisy by the main pool but the very loud music they play there drowns most of it out.

Unfortunately, the construction does mean that a lot of “short cuts” are blocked off, and you have to go the long way round to get to the water park, mini golf, football, etc. They have golf buggies, which is really good, although it's not always clear where you can get one.

The main pool is nice and big, with plenty of sun loungers and parasols. The lifeguards are a bit over zealous about the no diving or jumping in rule, which feels superficial and pointless during the quiet times when it's not actually for health and safety's sake.

There was some scummy water in the main pool at the babies’ end but I only saw this once and in general the pool and indeed the whole resort (and rooms) are very clean.

The aquapark is shiny and new and great fun. Again, plenty of lifeguards to keep things safe. I wish there were more parasols though as there aren't enough for every group of sun loungers and it's HOT in the sun.

Watersports: you can only take out the lasers, as the hobie cats are reserved for kids club only. We haven't really been on the beach as there's a lot of seaweed at this time of year. Club Med makes a valiant effort to clean it up and there's a tractor sweeping the beach every morning.

Kids club is a bit repetitive, although I guess some people would appreciate knowing that the same things are offered every day. The staff there are fantastic - Banana in particular has made a real effort with our son and definitely won a special place in our hearts. Feels like all the kids club staff are trilingual (French, English and Spanish - with French being the first language for most of them).

The constant photo taking is a bit intrusive, but you can always decline and they won't insist.

Things I love:
*You get two large bottles of water in your room every day
*Proper glasses in room (not little disposable plastic cups)
*Lots of staff
*Zen Oasis (adults only area) feels like paradise (and Alina who works behind the bar is excellent at her job). The pool here is really big, with an area for doing lengths if you feel so inclined, a large jacuzzi, shaded cafe area, lots of poolside seating including little cabanas, air conditioning in the loos…)
*The scenery!
*The FOOD (incredible fruit, great variety of dishes at Hispaniola, the patisseries are to die for, loads of ice cream flavours at lunch and dinner)
*Indigo bar - lovely, peaceful and chilled vibe/ evening meal delicious (you need to book at 9am on the dot and I recommend the ceviche and the filet mignon!)
*White Night (Hispaniola food even better than usual and the evening party is really fun)
*Miguel (the sports manager) gets a special mention for being extra friendly and helpful (and going out of his way to help me find my phone).
*The entertainment - particularly the circus performers and dancers!

All in all we're having a wonderful time. If only the pillows and soap dispensers were better! But generally this is a fantastic place.