Sunscape Dominicus La Romana Hotel

The resort felt like a calm, green oasis, and our morning walks were the best. The staff were always smiling and helped make each day relaxing. Our room was spacious and comfortable, the gym was big enough and not crowded, and Sun club beach wasn’t crowded either. That beach was my top recommendation, with bars, snacks, loungers, towels, pools and music. Coco caffe is open 24 hours for coffee lovers. The restaurants were great, with delicious food at every one where we ate, and the service was top level. Nights could get a little loud, though. Staff on the night shift used strollers and motorbikes that were sometimes very noisy, so I’d suggest the hotel switch to quiet electric vehicles. Two excursions were cancelled because of heavy rain, and we had to wait three days for our money back. That was the only thing we really weren’t happy with. We were told that when you pay in dollars or euros, the hotel doesn’t have the deposit on site and has to go to an office outside the resort. Even with those two trips cancelled, the rain didn’t ruin our vacation.

Keep your expectations low, then cut them in half. You’ll be drinking 4 oz shots of beer from a line that’s three miles long. Breakfast gives you two minutes to eat, and if you’re late, the wonderfully pleasant staff will give you a satisfied “too late” smile. The beer dissolves the paper cup in your hand, so you’ll have to drink that 4 oz fast whether you want to or not.

The beach is okay, but it’s packed. Get up at 5am if you want a chair, and even then people are sitting on top of each other. Pool chairs are scarce too, and towels take them all. Nobody checks whether people are saving chairs or have left them behind. Depending on where you find a spot, the washrooms are a long walk from the beach, and plenty of people just lie on the sand. There’s no service at the beach or pools, no wait staff. Today my husband cleaned the pool himself, scooping up clumps of dirt and hair. It’s embarrassing that a tourist had to grab the net and clean it. The service is sad. People watched me waiting for an omelette and walked past about ten times. I eventually gave up and took an old croissant. I was waiting with a toddler, so you’d think someone might show a little mercy and feed a kid. The food is bad. The buffet is bare, with little choice and no flavor. Lunch burgers have been burned every day. If you can live on pasta and fries, you’ll be okay. Very Cuba vibes. Rooms are hit or miss. If you get a renovated building, you should be okay. Half our family is in older buildings, where the floors are popping up from moisture, the walls are covered in mold, and the shower floods. The list goes on. We had three birthdays in our group, including a 40th. The resort left two apples and five grapes on a plate as a treat, thumbs up. I’m amazed this place has so many good reviews. On its best day, I’d give it three stars. Wouldn’t recommend it. Resorts in Punta Cana were better.

Rooms are large, with a nice balcony, and the bed was comfortable. The TV has plenty of options in different languages, and the Wi-Fi is fast enough for streaming. Everything in the room was what I’d expect from a quality hotel. The resort is big and well equipped, with a huge pool, a kids’ area and a twisty slide. There are several bars serving included cocktails and alcohol. Its private Caribbean beach has white sand, turquoise water, palms and palapas for shade. The swimming area is mostly soft sand, so water shoes aren’t needed. The buffet is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For dinner, there are several included sit-down restaurants: Mexican, Japanese, Amazonian, Grill and Italian. We tried a different one each night, and all were good quality. This is listed as a 5-star resort on Google, but I’d rate it closer to 4 or 4.5 because of the crowds. The quality and amenities are great, but there are 1,800 other people here. Lines get long, the buffets get swamped and picked over, and at prime dining time it can be hard to find an open table or clean coffee cup. At the beach and pool, you won’t get a chair if you arrive after 9am. With those crowds, it doesn’t feel truly exclusive as a 5-star resort. It’s all inclusive, though some things cost extra: premium wine and spirits, while basic house options are included, romantic dinners on the beach, the fancy seafood restaurant on the pier, spa services, scuba diving, transfers, shore excursions and the member’s club, which gives access to less crowded beach, pool, restaurant, bar and lounge areas. We don’t do all inclusive that much, since we try not to eat and drink to gluttony level, but if you like this kind of resort, Sunscape Dominicus is a good choice. It was very nice. One neutral observation, this resort seems heavily favored by Europeans, with very few Americans here.