You really do get what you pay for at Catalonia Punta Cana; a relatively affordable family vacation at a fixed price with no surprises. Great for families or couples. We had 2 rooms (same floor, next to each other was no problem) and upgraded to the "priviledged" section putting us closest to the beach. Had breakfast and lunch at the priviledged buffet (same food, just closer to rooms) and walked to the front of the resort for dinner at the themed restaurants and nightly show.

The resort is showing it's age in places but was clean and secure. The service was excellent and any problems in the room were quickly attended to. Some safety concern over the electrical wiring in the room. The bedside lamps, clock, and TV are all "hard-wired" into an electrical outlet without insulators or electrical tape. Be aware, if you need bedside electrical outlets, there are none; take your own extension cord. The maintenance crew were very nice to "make" us an extension cord that we ran to the bathroom.

The AC in one of the rooms did not cool or reduce the humidity as well as the other but the celing fan made up for it. Just go to the beach for a breeze! The grounds are mature and very well maintained; plenty of lighting and chairs on the beach. No need to "save" shaded chairs. The staff at the Dive Shop were professional and we enjoyed several dives and excursions with them. The food was average but with plenty of selection; the Italian restaurant was the best. Bar service was okay but the "Dominican" brand vodka is awful; stick with rum or tequila. Our maids were the very best, leaving flowers and special items each day. Tip them well the first day; I took samples of hand lotion, Tylenol, soaps and shampoo ect. to leave with a note of "Gracias" each morning.

I went down to Punta Cana with a large group of family and friends. I paid a good price for a one week all-inclusive stay and had a great time. This was my first time to the Dominican Republic so I didn't really know what to expect.

Pros:
- In general, most of the resort's staff were friendly and approachable.
- Large, clean rooms.
- Large swimming pool.
- Nice swim-up bar
- Clean bathrooms.
- The on-resort club was lively most nights.
- Large beach with plenty of beach chairs.
- Plenty of palm trees and huts on beach provided lots of shade and great photo ops.
- Lots of a la carte options. Japanese was my favourite.
- Good pizza.
- Man-made ponds have plenty of animals to look at and photograph (birds, fish, turtles, frogs, etc.)

Cons:
- Swimming pool's circulation/filtration system seems to function poorly in deeper areas of the pool. Don't be surprised to find some floating debris in the middle (perhaps a bandaid or two!)
- American a la carte was so-so
- Nightly shows were sub-par when compared to Cuba's.
- Burgers at the pool bar weren't good.
- No bidets in bathrooms (I was surprised since this hotel has a lot of European vacationers)
- Swimming at the beach was disappointing. It had a considerable amount of vegetation floating around. Water was a little turbid. Some parts near shore were rocky and sharp. Luckily, you can find clearer water if you don't mind walking for 10 minutes or so.
- No 24 hr bar.
- Close to airport

General tips and recommendations
- If you're doing excursions sold by resort staff don't pay "retail price", you can negotiate.
- Having only been to Cuba before Dominican, I had high hopes for the food. Although the selection here was better, the quality wasn't as good as I expected. So if you don't have high expectations you will be fine. After a few meals, you will find what you like and you will generally stick to it.
- The resort's convenience store is ridiculously overpriced. So don't forget any necessities like sunscreen. I know hotels can be pricey but charging $29 USD for a small bottle of 60 SPF sunscreen is ridiculous. Luckily, my family/friends brought enough sunscreen to share.
- The resort is large and there is plenty to see/do. Walking to and from places will take time. If you are in decent physical shape, you don't have to worry.
- Lots of mosquitoes at evening and night time are a nuisance. Bring bug spray with you if you are particularly sensitive to insect bites.
- Helps to know some Spanish; not all resort staff speak English that well.
- When lobby bar closes at midnight, you can go to the disco for a few more drinks before it closes at 2 am. The only other option after that is self-serve beer at the 24hr snack bar beside the pool.
- This hotel seems fairly isolated from other attractions like shops, excursions/activities, clubs, etc.

Overall, I would recommend you don't go to this resort with high expectations and you will be just fine. I would consider coming back again after I have seen what some other resorts in the Dominican Republic have to offer. 3 out of 5.

we had to call every night to get towels, we asked for wash cloths but they never arrived, the pillows are hard, the room was dated. The lamps in the corner did not work it was always dark in the room,Our rep Danny from fun jet never called us back, thank God for the nice girl at the front desk Jennifer Coneierge, she did all of Dannys work she got us our flight back home to Philadelphia, we had to book another night due to the Hurricane Sandy.We will not go back here. they had room service but you had to pay extra for it, only one resturant was opened , besides the buffett, the food was not that good. The items that are sold in the stores were priced on the high side. the shows were good and all the kids did a fine job on the stage. the kid on the beach, trainee Edwin :) was a good kid, He went out of his way to get us a drink.

So, when I was planning my wedding, I knew that I wanted to do a destination wedding and combine the time with our honeymoon. When this hotel came up with our travel agent, we thought it would be a good fit for us and our guests based on the location and cost. We read through literally hundreds of reviews and realized that sometimes, you get what you give. Once I saw the reviews that focused on the positives of the resort, I knew that this might not be a five star hotel, but the food would be good, the people were friendly and the beach would be amazing.

Working with the Wedding Co-Ordinators, Rosa Rodriguez and Minerva was a great experience. She assisted with our stay and our 40 guests and was even able to remember most of their names which was an added touch. She was able to put together all the information we provided and turn it into a plan. Once we arrived, the staff was extremely friendly and we were well taken care of with an immediate upgrade to the Priveleged Suite. Our room was literally steps to the beach and woke up to the view of the beach every morning and a beautiful sunset every evening.

Some of the pros and cons were that the resort is so big that if you are located near the beach it is a good walk to the main dining hall. However, this is a benefit because you don't have to feel guilty about all the delicious food that you eat (or over eat) for each meal. Also, the rooms could do with a little updating but nothing that was a trip spoiler, truth be told, we were hardly in our rooms anyway.

Once we picked the actual location for the ceremony I felt even more at ease because it was perfect, private and shaded. The cocktail hour was fun and the reception hall was decorated perfectly. The food was delicious and the open bar was absolutely fantastic. Rosa added so many different touches that made the experience delightful. Small deserts were on the guest book table, the lighting in the hall, we also added a lesson of Meringue to the reception which was so much fun. The package also included a romantic dinner which was one of my favorite moments. We had a romantic four course dinner on the beach at night. The weather was perfect and Wander Porquin was our server. The dinner was the day after the wedding which was perfect to unwind with my new husband and go over the highlights of the day before.

Although all the staff was amazing, friendly and hospitable, Rosa, Minerva and Wander were the most memorable and we will never forget them or the experience and memory that they gave us.