Hard Rock Punta Cana - any experience?
- Thread starter pittpsu
- Start date
Funny, we were there two weeks ago
A few assorted comments:
This one is out of LF, but they had this coffee machine near the main lobby. Best friggin coffee I've even had. Admittedly, weird comment to start.The spa there is really, really good.Food is eh. Pretty typical of an all inclusive. Japanese steakhouse and the Mexican were the best that we went to.Decent casino. Pleasant surprise.All of the bars are pretty decent.Even though it is all inclusive, they do accept gratuities. I guarantee your drinks and service will be better if they know you will tip them. Plus, these people work hard and aren't affluent. Do them a solid.The food at the center pool area was a great lunch spot. Great burgers, and that isn't typically something that would wow me.The beach, while nice, can get kind of windy. It is a great beach to walk or run, though.I heard the ice cream place was good, although I never went there.Depending how old everyone is, there was some decent evening entertainment. The casino and the clubs were jumpin'. As an aside, we had a lot of spring breakers. Wake Forest kids were very normal, UVA were eh, and the Dukies were tools in general. I can't imagine being in college and playing at the $25 blackjack table...It won't be quite as busy for you, but the airport can get very busy. Be sure to plan accordingly.They have some decent excursions, depending on what you like.
Hope that helps.
A few assorted comments:
This one is out of LF, but they had this coffee machine near the main lobby. Best friggin coffee I've even had. Admittedly, weird comment to start.The spa there is really, really good.Food is eh. Pretty typical of an all inclusive. Japanese steakhouse and the Mexican were the best that we went to.Decent casino. Pleasant surprise.All of the bars are pretty decent.Even though it is all inclusive, they do accept gratuities. I guarantee your drinks and service will be better if they know you will tip them. Plus, these people work hard and aren't affluent. Do them a solid.The food at the center pool area was a great lunch spot. Great burgers, and that isn't typically something that would wow me.The beach, while nice, can get kind of windy. It is a great beach to walk or run, though.I heard the ice cream place was good, although I never went there.Depending how old everyone is, there was some decent evening entertainment. The casino and the clubs were jumpin'. As an aside, we had a lot of spring breakers. Wake Forest kids were very normal, UVA were eh, and the Dukies were tools in general. I can't imagine being in college and playing at the $25 blackjack table...It won't be quite as busy for you, but the airport can get very busy. Be sure to plan accordingly.They have some decent excursions, depending on what you like.
Hope that helps.
We just got back Friday!
Here is a summary of our trip along with some tips/comments
· Getting through customs/immigration in DR was a bit of a pain - took us over an hour. They didn't have nearly enough agents for that many planes. Make SURE that you pre-purchase the "Tourist Cards" - not really cards, just a $10 tax on each person. Do it on-line and it will save you from standing in another line.
· After getting through customs/immigration, it was difficult to tell who was who/who was legit. We had people trying to help us with our luggage, other people trying to get us to our resort, other people trying to get us to pre-paid shuttle bus ride, etc.
· Check-in was very smooth and easy, as was check-out
· We got the hard sales pitch for "Rock Royalty", "Legendary Status", etc. started. Not sure how many times we said no, nor how many phone calls we received. We were smart enough never to answer our phones!
· The rooms were fantastic. The bathroom was huge, the bed was very comfortable, the porch/deck was nice. I can't imagine how nice the "upgraded" rooms must be!
· The maid service was flawless - she got the biggest tip from us
· The main building (front of the resort) houses the shops, the majority of restaurants, a few bars, the casino, spa, and fitness center
· For breakfasts/lunch, we ate at the various buffets around the resort. Nothing special, but good just the same.
· For dinners, we ate at Pizzeto (homemade pizzas), El Gallo (Mexican), Toro (steaks), Ciao (Italian), Zen (Japanese Hibachi), and Ipanema (Brazilian steakhouse). Isla was the only restaurant we did not make it to. It was actually nice not having to make reservations. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table (most times way less than that), although we did tend to eat relatively early (~ 7 pm) each night.
· Totally agree with Dr. Evel: food was fine, but definitely nothing special. Call us spoiled Americans! For a 4.5 (or 5) star resort, I was expecting better.
· The resort is huge! We never left the resort (no excursions), but instead did mini-golf, bike ride, fitness center, karaoke, various theater shows (Magic, Michael Jackson tribute, and Circus)
· The pools are very nice and plentiful. We stayed at 2 near the beach every day. Swim-up bars rock!
· The ocean waves were big enough to body surf - fun! They rent boogie boards for $25/day, or you can buy them for $26. As Dr. Evel said, it was windy everyday, but not enough to keep us out of the water. Volleyball, soccer, and frisbee on the beach everyday
· The weather was great: no rain, never got below 73 and never above 85
· The tram system around the resort was fantastic (plentiful, timely, large), although we found ourselves enjoying the walk to/from the rooms most of the time instead
· Agree on the tipping/tips!
· Make sure that you ask for and try the drink of the day each day. We enjoyed them (Miami Vice, Beach Boy, Muse, etc.) along with our standards (Mojito and Margaritas)
· I didn't golf, but everybody I talked to was pleasantly surprised about how nice it was
· Beach/Pool towels are plentiful, with no check-out/check-in required
· We didn't get to the pools/beach each day until ~ 10 am, and never had a problem finding enough lounge chairs for the 4 of us.
That is all I can think of at this time. Enjoy your trip! I wish I was back there instead of here in Minnesota! Jeff
Here is a summary of our trip along with some tips/comments
· Getting through customs/immigration in DR was a bit of a pain - took us over an hour. They didn't have nearly enough agents for that many planes. Make SURE that you pre-purchase the "Tourist Cards" - not really cards, just a $10 tax on each person. Do it on-line and it will save you from standing in another line.
· After getting through customs/immigration, it was difficult to tell who was who/who was legit. We had people trying to help us with our luggage, other people trying to get us to our resort, other people trying to get us to pre-paid shuttle bus ride, etc.
· Check-in was very smooth and easy, as was check-out
· We got the hard sales pitch for "Rock Royalty", "Legendary Status", etc. started. Not sure how many times we said no, nor how many phone calls we received. We were smart enough never to answer our phones!
· The rooms were fantastic. The bathroom was huge, the bed was very comfortable, the porch/deck was nice. I can't imagine how nice the "upgraded" rooms must be!
· The maid service was flawless - she got the biggest tip from us
· The main building (front of the resort) houses the shops, the majority of restaurants, a few bars, the casino, spa, and fitness center
· For breakfasts/lunch, we ate at the various buffets around the resort. Nothing special, but good just the same.
· For dinners, we ate at Pizzeto (homemade pizzas), El Gallo (Mexican), Toro (steaks), Ciao (Italian), Zen (Japanese Hibachi), and Ipanema (Brazilian steakhouse). Isla was the only restaurant we did not make it to. It was actually nice not having to make reservations. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table (most times way less than that), although we did tend to eat relatively early (~ 7 pm) each night.
· Totally agree with Dr. Evel: food was fine, but definitely nothing special. Call us spoiled Americans! For a 4.5 (or 5) star resort, I was expecting better.
· The resort is huge! We never left the resort (no excursions), but instead did mini-golf, bike ride, fitness center, karaoke, various theater shows (Magic, Michael Jackson tribute, and Circus)
· The pools are very nice and plentiful. We stayed at 2 near the beach every day. Swim-up bars rock!
· The ocean waves were big enough to body surf - fun! They rent boogie boards for $25/day, or you can buy them for $26. As Dr. Evel said, it was windy everyday, but not enough to keep us out of the water. Volleyball, soccer, and frisbee on the beach everyday
· The weather was great: no rain, never got below 73 and never above 85
· The tram system around the resort was fantastic (plentiful, timely, large), although we found ourselves enjoying the walk to/from the rooms most of the time instead
· Agree on the tipping/tips!
· Make sure that you ask for and try the drink of the day each day. We enjoyed them (Miami Vice, Beach Boy, Muse, etc.) along with our standards (Mojito and Margaritas)
· I didn't golf, but everybody I talked to was pleasantly surprised about how nice it was
· Beach/Pool towels are plentiful, with no check-out/check-in required
· We didn't get to the pools/beach each day until ~ 10 am, and never had a problem finding enough lounge chairs for the 4 of us.
That is all I can think of at this time. Enjoy your trip! I wish I was back there instead of here in Minnesota! Jeff
Thanks - couple of questions
1. Did you take walkie-talkies/prepaid phones or anything to communicate with kids?
2. I can't get Hard Rock to answer my email (I guess I will have to call) - but is the shuttle from/to the airport included?
3. We have a $1,500 credit to use at the resort - but I understand that they will charge us 20% on every dollar that we use?
4. Can u use the credits for buying things like the boogie boards?
1. Did you take walkie-talkies/prepaid phones or anything to communicate with kids?
2. I can't get Hard Rock to answer my email (I guess I will have to call) - but is the shuttle from/to the airport included?
3. We have a $1,500 credit to use at the resort - but I understand that they will charge us 20% on every dollar that we use?
4. Can u use the credits for buying things like the boogie boards?
My answers
No, but my kids are older. I wouldn't have done this when mine were younger, though.It depends on what you bought. We were a little up against the gun when we were looking to book everything, so we used a travel agent. Transfers were included. It is about 20-30 minutes from the airport (and the transportation area at the airport is a little nuts), so I would definitely find this out in advance.Yes, the 20% fee is a service charge. They charge $50 for a $10 t-shirt, which then ends up costing you $10. We used ours at the spa. That ended up being a much better deal.I think so.
No, but my kids are older. I wouldn't have done this when mine were younger, though.It depends on what you bought. We were a little up against the gun when we were looking to book everything, so we used a travel agent. Transfers were included. It is about 20-30 minutes from the airport (and the transportation area at the airport is a little nuts), so I would definitely find this out in advance.Yes, the 20% fee is a service charge. They charge $50 for a $10 t-shirt, which then ends up costing you $10. We used ours at the spa. That ended up being a much better deal.I think so.
