Dominican Republic

[Axeman33]

So the wife and I are doing some research on going to the DR later in the winter. We were supposed to go to the DR back in 2020 but one week before we were supposed to head down, Covid hit. We havent had the chance to get back there until now and we are doing our research.

Who here has hit the DR and do you have any suggested resorts?

We were in talking to a travel agent yesterday and these are the resorts they are booking at that spot:

Sunscape Coco Punta Cana

Impressive Punta Cana

Bahia Principe Grand Punta Cana (this is the resort we had originally booked back in 2020)

Iberostar Dominica

Jewel Palm Beach


Has anyone here hit any of those resorts in the past?

[Godin]

We too were supposed to go the week after Covid hit in 2020. It would have been our 8th year in a row. I have stayed at 3 different resorts in Punta Cana and found the Barcelo Bavaro as my favorite. We stay on the adult side of the resort, since our kids are grown ups. They have many good restaurants, great food, entertainment, a casino, many amenities and a great golf course, if you golf. I have also stayed at Catalonia Bavaro and the Iberostar, but prefer the Barcelo. Can't speak for the others.

[Axeman33]

We too were supposed to go the week after Covid hit in 2020. It would have been our 8th year in a row. I have stayed at 3 different resorts in Punta Cana and found the Barcelo Bavaro as my favorite. We stay on the adult side of the resort, since our kids are grown ups. They have many good restaurants, great food, entertainment, a casino, many amenities and a great golf course, if you golf. I have also stayed at Catalonia Bavaro and the Iberostar, but prefer the Barcelo. Can't speak for the others.

Appreciate the feedback.

I don't suppose you remember the good and bad of the Iberostar?

[Godin]

It could have just been the room we were in, but it seemed like we needed a ride to all of the amenities.

[2014olympicgold]

2018 or 2019 I went to a Bahia in DR and it was a good time, but I wouldn't go out of my way to the one we went too. I can't remember but it was the lowest level at the Bahia. The issue wasn't the beach or pool or public areas or anything like that, but the quality of the food at the buffets. With the level we had, you could only go to 3 a la cartes and we booked them while we were there so we got the ones that weren't already booked. So come day 6 we were eating the same buffet food and it was just so blah near the end.

I went to a bahia a few months ago to Mexico, so if you end up going through Bahia I'll say make sure you download their app and book a la cartes early. Book them, and if you need to cancel them the day of, do that. The Bahia app sucks, but it is useful.

If your resort is like an hr away from the airport, look into booking your own transfer and not using the free one attached to the trip. It's just not worth the waiting around for how cheap a transfer really is.

[Axeman33]

2018 or 2019 I went to a Bahia in DR and it was a good time, but I wouldn't go out of my way to the one we went too. I can't remember but it was the lowest level at the Bahia. The issue wasn't the beach or pool or public areas or anything like that, but the quality of the food at the buffets. With the level we had, you could only go to 3 a la cartes and we booked them while we were there so we got the ones that weren't already booked. So come day 6 we were eating the same buffet food and it was just so blah near the end.

I went to a bahia a few months ago to Mexico, so if you end up going through Bahia I'll say make sure you download their app and book a la cartes early. Book them, and if you need to cancel them the day of, do that. The Bahia app sucks, but it is useful.

If your resort is like an hr away from the airport, look into booking your own transfer and not using the free one attached to the trip. It's just not worth the waiting around for how cheap a transfer really is.

Thanks for the info. The Bahia we're looking at is part of a 6 unit complex (different bars/restaurants/etc) and the package being offered gives us availability to two of the six complexes but other than that, I dont know much. Not sure about the different restaurants but if we go that route, we will definitely be looking harder into it.

Someone else recommended the private transport as well so we will definitely be looking into that.

[PenguinHunter]

I went to DR a long time ago with my family.

We stayed at Puerto Plata, but we had friends that stayed in Punta Cana at the same time.
Punta Cana is definitely the better option.

When we went to Jamaica, we stayed at the Grand Bahia there.
It was amazing. Lots of great dining options and lots of activities.

[Godin]

The three places I stayed at were about 30 minutes from the airport. Another positive. No problem with their transportation either. Also, Air Transit is waaaay better than Sunwing. Each seat has it's own tv so you have plenty of movies to choose from while Sunwing has one screen to watch the movie of their choice.

[2014olympicgold]

Oh ya, heads up, If you are planning on using the airplanes entertainment units, bring a pair of wired headphones. When I went I just assumed my bluetooth ones would work and I had to watch stuff on my phone.