We went here as a family vacation with our children, ages 18 and 8 at the time. We were told in advance to tip the maid $5US among our arrival. So we did and asked for a few extra towels. Well, not only did we get a LOT of towels daily, our fridge was always stocked, she cleaned our room immediately after we left to breakfast each day. Service was great! They were very helpful with setting up excursions for us. Our kids had a great time. The oldest was able to drink alcoholic bvgs there since he was 18 and that is the legal drinking age, unlike the state we live in which is 21. So he had a ball! Our daughter loved the pool, beach, facilities. Dinner was great with the exception at one restaurant that took forever to wait on us. We had a fabulous time at the shows. We really could not have had a better time!! We're definitely planning a return visit.

I'm not gouing to waste anyone's time. Melia caribe Tropical:

Excellent Food, Good Selection - Do the 8:00am call for a la carte if that's what you prefer - We weren't denied once in the 7 nights we were there
Excellent Service
Friendly Staff
Nice Room - Couldn't get our safe to work but we locked valuables up in our suitcases.
Beautiful Grounds (they are as big as everyone says) - helps to walk off the food an drinks though
Beautiful Calm Beach
Night Life was Slow - More of a couples resort and family resort
Although they didn't pose a problem for us, there were many children on the resort so be ready to deal with that

Definately one of the nicest resorts I've been too. Great value, would definately go back if we decide to return to the DR

Our visit exceeded our expectaions and was certainly NOT consistent with many of the reviews we had seen on this site. We were at Melia from 4-15 to 4-22 with 3 children and 2 adults. With the exception of a slight misunderstanding at check in, we had a WONDERFUL vacation! The staff was extremely accomodatiing and always did their very best to make you feel welcome and comfortable. You have to remember this is NOT AMERICA!!!!
You are in the Dominican...and on vacation....relax. The resort is BIG but you should know that going in to your trip. The food is very good and getting reservations at the various restaurants is not as difficult as people lead you to believe. We were there 6 nights and got reservations 3 nights and decided we liked the buffet for the other 3. Our favorite restaurant was the French, La Mason, great food and good service. The pool bars are great, plenty of choices but don't expect powerful drinks....but you can have as many as you like! The beach is wonderful, plenty of chairs and great watersports. The kids club is not expansive but it is well staffed (most important) with great people and it's safe. We highly recommend this resort as great value for the money and as skeptics....maybe like you....we were very impressed and will definitely go back next year. Have fun, know the resort is big, exercise is fine, and relax. You'll have a great time.

My husband and I stayed at the Melia Caribe Tropical April 1 -8. We love Punta Cana and the people of the Dominican, however the Melia did not meet our expectations. It's a very large resort, too large. Plan to do a lot of walking. The walkways are not condusive to high heels, so wear comfortable shoes. The food was not too bad and we found the buffets offered a wide variety. We did not like being hounded by the staff trying to sell the timeshare. That seemed to be everyone's main goal. They were pushy and intrusive. I found that the resort skimped on the inexpensive things. While our room was nice and the maid did a wonderful job, the minibar was never stocked with anything more than water. Come on! How much more would it cost to add a few beers and sodas each day? I also thought it was pretty bad to charge us $2 a day for use of the safe. If Melia wants me to buy into their "vacation club" they sure are going about it the wrong way!