i would like to mention one employee who always had smile on his face and was always eager to extend a helping hand or a cold drink. (Felix Sanchez) bartender at the bar near the pool always inquired on how he could help us whether it be about food, drinks, places to go and visit. He went above and beyond his duties to make us feel comfortable while on vacation.

Hopefully you have read reviews preceding this one and we agree whole heartily with all the positive remarks so I will not reiterate them here.

We are retired and have traveled primarily in the "time share" world for the last 20 years or so. This has been our first experience with an all inclusive resort and we are overwhelmed by the courtesy and quality of service we have received since our arrival.

We would be remiss if we did not give credit to some of the outstanding people that made our visit a thing of joy and beauty.

First of all we must thank Marlenia Belliard of Guest Services, she simply made whatever we asked of her to become our reality and would greet us every time we would happen upon each other by name and always that lovely smile, bless you Marlenia.

The travel was never a problem between the main hotel or the beach and for us, the golf course was important also and we must personally thank Gregory for his friendly help and prompt service.

Breakfast was our favorite meal at The Resort, always eggs made just the way you want ,an omelet or some concoctions I did not understand but enjoyed watching being made by the morning chef...I regret that I do not know his name but you will know him if you get him, young, friendly and I think maybe from New York or New Jersey at some point in his life!

Lady....what more can be said about her but her name tells it all...always the happy smile and the perfect table with JUST the right breeze and the perfectly prepared Mimosa!
Hamlet, Juan and company are delightful and the coffee and juice is always there and fresh, thanks guys!!!

Can't forget the guys at the "Fun Store", these guys have the liquor and we had some really good nights... Thanks to Gustavo and Feliz behind the bar, oh by the way don't come here thinking they will have your bourbon whiskey, Canadian Club and Jack Daniel's if your lucky. The word whiskey here means Scotch Whisky.
I leave my last comment for 2 men who truly made our trip a trip to remember.... Subeiol Castro and David. Every time we would meet they made us feel more welcome and tried to teach ol' dummy here another world of Spanish. You guys are the best

What I have hoped to convey is that ,it is a GIVEN that you are coming to this Resort and when you get here ASK for these people, you will not regret it.
Steve

My family and another 4 person family travelled to The Reserve the first week of Dec. We were all very pleased with our stay, it was much better then we were expecting. I feel almost all of the reviews I read we're quite accurate. I do want to add a few minor details that I would have appreciated knowing.
If you are sensative to scents, beware! There are little pots of scented oil, and incense everywhere. While this has a wonderful effect, I can see how it would bother some. I was particularly effected by the scented toilet paper in our room!
The credits only cover the portion of anything. There are cheap/passable wines you can purchase, my bottle only cost me $5 extra and I felt it was worth it as the house wine was terrible. We also used our $400 upgrade. Even though this didn't make much of a dent in the total price, we were very happy with the master suite. With two big boys, we were happy for the extra space and a door that closed. LOVED the bathtub on the balcony!
There are many activities but because of poor signage, we missed some things.
The reserve grounds are small and private, you can always find a "quiet" corner. Always relaxing/pleasant music playing. The walk to the bigger resort is not long and very pleasant because of the paved road/sidewalks and gardens/ponds along the way. If you don't want to walk, go to any lobby and you will get a ride immediately!
We loved the beach! It was big, beautiful, and clean. Many chairs covered and uncovered. Not sure about the waiters, didn't see one all week!! You can walk for miles and when approached by the locals want you to shop, say gracias and keep moving.
There is a free snorkelling trip any day the water cooperates. Although the reef they go is quite damaged, there's lots of fish
We were apprehensive about the food. Although it wasn't fantastic, it was good. The buffets were just fine. The one by the beach is bigger and better then the one at Gabi Reserve. The restaurants always had a table of 8 for us and that was appreciated.
We saw quite a difference in service staff between the two resorts. Everyone at the Reserve provided great service, with a smile! Two gentlemen stood out in particular but i forget there names. One provided real coconuts for my children to drink the milk from. The other man provided me with mint tea, the morning after I had been looking for it. It was nice he remembered my face and request.
Top shelf alcohol is only served at the Reserve Gabi bar. Ask for it even if you don't see it. I only drink Grey Goose and they keep it in the freezer. They will even make a couple "to go" so you can take it to the other resort. They also have chips and popcorn! These guys work LONG hours. We made sure we gave them a little something extra to show our appreciation!
Because of the BEAUTIFUL! vegetation, there are Mosquitos. If you sit in the beds covered with leaves and vines, you will get eaten alive. I don't think this is a big surprise!
The last thing I'd like to draw attention to is the decor. There are so many different design touches in this resort. Lots of gorgeous colours and patterns, artwork, sculptures, water features, candles and lanterns are lit at night, soft music throughout the whole resort, the scents as mentioned before, comfortable seating, well manicured grounds and good quality textiles (towels/sheets/linen). These are all things I enjoyed and they enhanced my stay.
Although my husband and I enjoy Mexico the most, we would definitely come back to The Reserve!

We very much enjoyed our stay in the Dominican at The Reserve in mid November—speaking for me, spouse, and our boy toddler.

Facilities are as nice as advertised by other reviewers. We received $1000 in resort credits because we stayed a week. NOTE: The credits are apportioned to specific services (e.g. some for spa, some for restaurants, etc.). We used the $400 room upgrade to bump up to room with Private Patio and Garden--it was quite nice to have a contained place for our 2 year old to wander around. The room itself was quite large and well equipped—we made full use of the daily restocked beer and plantain chips. Our room attendant, Juan Jose, also provided us with complimentary champagne and rum during our stay. Our room was cleaned at least twice a day with night turn down service. My wife made more room service calls than I would have thought possible even at an all-inclusive. Buffet food was better than room service though. Occassional mosquitoes in the room were a bit annoying...but this is the Carribean.

We did not understand the relationship between The Reserve and Paradisus until we got there. The Reserve is not on the beach but carts were readily available for couple minute rides to Paradisus to access beach, other restaurants, etc. when we wanted to--Paradisus amenities are included for Reserve guests. They are part of one experience in my view…although if you’re looking for more young beach bodies than families, Paradisus is your place. Reserve is much quieter come nightfall. We were concerned about seaweed on the beach, given other reviewer comments, but we felt the beach area was quite nice and the seaweed not bothersome. We only went to one show…entertaining but not the best dancers I’ve seen though the featured female was quite good.

Staff was very friendly and helpful…with exception of our concierge. Because the concierge did not establish the ground rules with us we ended up making our own dinner reservations and that sort of thing on a day to day basis rather than for several days at a time—which apparently other guests were able to. Check in also took quite a while—not accustomed to as a frequent business traveler. A lot of good rum drinks made up for this…

We took advantage of the spa services, using our resort credits, and very much enjoyed ourselves there.

With our first and only child in tow we had reservations about the The Kids Zone but came to appreciate Natalie in particular and had her babysit at our room in addition to leaving our son at Kids Zone a couple of times during the week. Kids Zone is open during day…after which you will have to arrange sitters for a fee.

We also booked a couple of tours…both of which we enjoyed. The Buggy Tour gave an opportunity to get muddy, see cigars made, and see some of the local area off the resort. However, the Santo Domingo tour was a highlight, albeit a long bus ride, as we like to get out and see the country and people. The Reserve gave us a fairly carefree base station with our toddler but we also had opportunities to see some of the DR.