This was our first time visiting Punta Cana but it won't be our last. We were there from Nov 18-24 and had a wonderful experience. As you read these reviews, bare in mind that some people are really picky and will complain about everything under the sun, the sun included! I'm a well traveled person, but I'm not overly critical either. So sit back and let me give you my take on this resort.

CHECK IN: I was already preparing myself for the worst based on the reviews I had been reading. Well, it wasn't a smooth process. Lol. Only b/c our reservation was mysteriously cancelled. With that all being said, they were able to rectify the situation and we were in our room in no time. I didn't think it was that bad consdering how I read some people took an hour to check in with no complications.

LOCATION: Perfect! It's only about 25 mins (if that) from the airport. I also love the total seclusion that the property sits on. Coconut/palm trees are everywhere and it adds a lush, tropical ambiance. It was absolutely beautiful. The ground were well maintained and you could see workers constantly cleaning up, trimming, etc.

SERVICE: As many have already pointed out, there is a bit of a language barrier at times and that was mainly with the servers. With some pointing and a little bit of acting out pictionary-style, I was able to communicate. Lol. It can be frustrating BUT, I only noticed this when it was time to eat. Everyone at the front desk, gift shops, bartenders, etc spoke enough English to understand. Shame on me for going to a country and not brushing up on basic Spanish. I mean afterall it is their country and spanish is their native tongue. It really didn't bother me, but for some it might. Everyone was very friendly though and bent over backwards to accomodate us.

FOOD: C'mon people, it's an all inclusive buffet! It is what it is. I actually found the food to be rather decent. Again, I'm not picky but unlike some people that stated the food was terrible, not so. There was enough variety to find SOMETHING you could eat/like/tolerate. The a la carte's were delicious. We did Mexican, Japenese, Italian and the Steakhouse. The steakhouse was our least favorite. If you only pick one, I suggest Italian.

BEACHES: Guess it depends on what you deem a nice beach. My husband is from the Bahamas so he's not easily impressed. Yes the water was murky and there was quite of bit of seaweed near the shoreline. However, I still thought it was beautiful. The water was nice and calm which was perfect for me since I'm not big into waves and have small children.

ROOMS: LOVE the modern approach. Our room was spacious and clean. Had a fully stocked mini bar, jacuzzi on balcony and electronic safe which was very important to me. There was even a decent amount of english speaking channels. The only thing I will say is that if you have older children and privacy is an issue b/w you and your children, don't get the JR Suite Deluxe. There is no privacy at all. My kids are young (7&8) so it didn't bother me, but we already discussed that we would do the family room next time so we could get more privacy coming out of the shower.

ENTERTAINMENT: Well, we entertained ourselves mostly. Lol. However, I did partake in some dance lessons which was a lot of fun. We did some paddleboating and went to the Michael Jackson show in the theatre which was a pleasant suprise. There was entertainment and since we are more of a laid back family, I'm not the best to rate this. I will say that I recently went to Dreams in Cancun and I recall them having more outdoor entertainment like group volleyball, water aerobics, dance lessons, etc. Seems like they had something every hour there as oppose to Barcelo. Again, I wasn't trying to be bother with all the entertainment, so I could be wrong. Perhaps there was group activities every hour, on the hour. Correct me if I'm wrong. Oh, there is a Casino and disco too.

POOLS: They rock! There are so many areas to cool off and so many different pools. You never felt like you were on top of people. There were PLENTY of chairs everywhere! Poolside and beachside. I also want to note the new water park. No it wasn't included in the "all inclusive", but it was worth the $40 ($10pp once you use the coupon they give you at check in). We spent all day there and even did mini golf. Our kids really enjoyed it....ok, so did I.

MISC: The best cup of coffee I've ever had was in the Cigar lounge. OMG!!! Just do it!!! If you can't tolerate all the cigar smoke, you can sit outside and they'll come serve you.

If I had to make any suggestions, I would suggest free Wifi in the lobby area at least. I would also suggest doing away with the towel card system. I understand they probably do this to reduce cost in purchasing more towels, but it would be one less thing to keep up with while on vacation. Overall, this was the perfect family vacation for us. We had a wonderful time and can't find any reason NOT to return here again.

The hotel is brand new (renovated 1 year ago), the rooms are big, comfortable, clean.
Pool and beach amazing. The beach is not set up as typical resort, is has a more "natural" feel.
The food is terrible, but in most all-inclusive hotels is the same. Staff was not friendly or helpful.
Had to pay to go into the steamroom and jacuzzi at the spa...should be included, or at least have a hot jacuzzi at the pool area.

We checked into the hotel on arrival and asked if we could get a room upgrade and pay extra. They told us there was nothing available until near the end of our trip. The hotel did not seem that busy. We had also asked for a room close to our friends on check in and they put us at opposite ends of the resort. The next day we asked to be moved close to our friends and were accommodated as our bathroom had a leak running down a wall and onto the floor. The new room they put us in had a shower that leaked all over the floor and our bar fridge was leaking. The next day we waited a half an hour for the Westjet rep for our briefing and he did not show up so we went to the room and called and complained. The house wines were absolutely terrible and undrinkable and Im no connoisseur. The food was just ok. The ocean was full of seaweed and murky and we had to walk down the beach to find a small clear spot to swim in. It was like this for the full week. The staff were quite pleasant but the buffets in the morning were so busy we had to wait a long time just to get a coffee. The hamburgers were very undercooked. All in all we were disappointed.

Great location (25 minutes from airport), amazing amenities (1 young (~2-5 yr olds), 1 older (~5-10 yr olds) and 1 big water park for any age that you have to pay for). The rooms are very spacious...we have the family room (basic one) and it has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and 2 balconies (1 of them [master room] has an outdoor jacuzzi). Try not to stay close to the main building if you don't want to wake up around 7 AM due to loud sounds of removing garbage or bringing in food. The buffets are pretty boring after a couple of days since its the same food offered every lunch & dinner! The a la carte restaurants (you only get 4 during a 7 night stay) are presented nice, but the food pretty much is the same as the buffets. We ate twice at the seafood, once at the steakhouse and once at the Spanish one. Nothing impressed us apart from the red snapper meals at the seafood restaurants.
The activities staff are always doing a great job of keeping everyone involved.