Paradisus Palma Real All Inclusive Resort

The resort is clean and in a fantastic spot on the beach, with friendly staff around whenever you need them. Lunchbox buffet was a highlight, and we enjoyed the live music in the evenings and the swimming options, with plenty of nearby attractions. We had a great dinner at Mina Steakhouse at the Paradisus Palma Real resort, with top sirloin, a mai tai, cheesecake, and a couple of sides. Roberto served us, and he was cheerful and attentive. Room service food was below satisfactory, though it didn’t affect the rest of our experience.

The facilities and seaside location are top class, with several lovely pool areas, including one for adults only, plus restaurants, a coffee shop, a small store, and evening entertainment. The rooms are modern and clean, with most of what you need, and the pool towels and pool bar’s drink selection were good. The buffet had a great range for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, though it was sometimes hard to get cutlery or coffee. A few details brought the stay down. The complimentary minibar was meant to be refilled daily, but ours wasn’t, and there was wine but no opener in the room. BlueAgave gave great service, but the Mexican food could have had more spice and flavor. Flora was the low point. It was very hard to get a reservation, yet the restaurant wasn’t even half full. We were seated in what seemed the worst spot despite empty tables. They let us move when we asked, but the staff were grumpy about it. The food was average, the waiter seemed eager to finish her shift, and after the main course we were told there was only one dessert left. There were too many little things like this and some weak service, so the overall grade is lower.

The hotel is beautiful and clean, and the ladies at the buffet were the one great part of my stay. They were always smiling, helpful, and genuinely caring. Yafreisy deserves all her flowers, along with the three women working with her. She greeted us warmly, checked that we had what we needed, and even arranged for them to sing happy birthday to me with a dessert. She is amazing, and the main reason I considered giving this place three stars. She deserves 10 stars. The rest of the service was so-so, and the check-in was awful. Jean seemed lost, Gheiddy was rude, and neither helped us. At 3:05pm we were told to wait longer, and our room wasn’t ready until 4:30pm, even though check-in was supposed to be at 3. They gave us one room, then changed it before we checked in. The key didn’t work, so we had to go back to get it activated. They mixed up our personal information, attaching my Melia details to my sister’s. The bell boy also acted like helping us was a bother. Our fridge didn’t work. We called several times, were told someone was coming, and nobody dealt with it. We left the green button on for room service and still got nothing. It was my birthday, and after speaking with Franklin and Andres at concierge, I was told the hotel no longer celebrates birthdays. I asked for details for their outside vendor and never got them, so I couldn’t arrange anything through them. I got a cake from outside myself. Angela did help, though: she had the staff sing happy birthday at dinner and sent champagne to my room. I travel a lot and take time to review hotels for future travelers. With service like this, I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

The beach was the highlight, and we also had access to affiliated Melia resorts. The rooms were spacious and clean, the buffet had plenty of choice at every meal, and the reservation restaurants were decent. At Mina steakhouse, I’d recommend the skirt steak and picanha; at Flor, the flower basket and slow-cooked ribs; and at Sante, the salmon and octopus salad. I heard the shrimp rice was good too. Santo at Flor was warm and gave us an amazing Mediterranean lunch at Sante. The spa was pretty good as well, and Dorka was a very nice masseuse. Everyone felt kind and genuine, and this seemed like an excellent deal for our first time in Punta Cana. We’d wondered whether the reviews were incentivized, but the positive ones turned out to be true. One thing left us feeling uncomfortable and disgusted. A girl in our group found her checkout card labeled “Kim II Joong.” It might have been an honest mistake, and it didn’t seem to reflect the hotel chain as a whole, but the room number was right. Whoever wrote it should be held accountable for something so unprofessional and frankly racist. We didn’t feel discriminated against during the rest of our stay.