We spent 7 days in Punta Cana from the 28th of December 2012 to the 4th of January 2013. We were a group of 10 + 6. We basically all were of the same opinion : definitely not a 4.5*...

We were told that this resort had the advantage of not requiring reservations for the “a la carte” restaurants. You show up at the restaurant, they give you a beeper that alerts you when the table is ready (you see this often in various places in the US). That would have been fine if all the hotel clients were using the same system... Unfortunately, some clients of the resort had the privilege to reserve their table, with the result that the restaurants the most in demand were full every night (e.g. The Japanese show, and the steak house). This was very annoying, but the hotel managers just did not care (when they were not straightly laughing at you...). The food however was generally OK. Just avoid the lamb at all costs!

Until the 31st of January, the wine served at lunch was basically undrinkable. Bad taste, and cut with water! The situation improved past the 31st (God knows why...), and we were then able to get drinkable wine. Same situation with the beach towels: almost impossible to change them until the 31st, and then they bought new ones (after many complaints), which seemingly solved the problem.

Unfortunately, we experienced various difficulties at the check-in. The rooms were not in the block we requested, which happens. However, we were travelling with my daughter that was to share a room with her cousin (male). There was no question for them to sleep in the same bed, but although we had requested a room with two beds, it seems that the only one available was one planned for renovations (no shower, no safe, no fridge, no AC...) in another part of the resort (not the Palladium, the Punta Cana). They finally had to resolve to take it for one night... Most of the rooms were OK, although they were not equal in terms of cleanliness... Some had dressing gowns, some not. The staff in the lobby was very disagreeable, again when they were not laughing at your requests...

The staff in the bars and restaurants is very nice and friendly. We wished it was the same with the managers and the lobby staff...

All in all, we were on the impression that the hotel being full, the managers jus did not know how to deal with it, and that they were panicked... Definitely not a 4.5*, not a lot more than 3.5*. Not one I would recommend.

We stayed at this hotel beginning of December 2012. We were really looking forward to this hotel because of the positive feedback we got from my sister and her husband who stayed there a couple of years ago.
The hotel is located in a resort together with the GP Punta Cana, the GP Bavaro and the Tropical Suites (Adults only). The resort is huge. There is a train riding through the resort so you can just hop on at any of the stops and see the whole resort in about half an hour.
The hotel offers free internet in the lobby.
Beach
The beach is amazing. Very clean, very nice. The resort is next to Cortecito, a Dominican “shopping center” where you can buy souvenirs, cigars or go to lunch. This is definitely worth visiting.
There were only two toilets at the beach (near the restaurant). This is not enough for a hotel this size. We sometimes had to queue. Luckily we had a room close to the beach so we could go to our room whenever necessary.
Rooms
The rooms our outdated and in desperate need of refurbishment/renovations. They are very spacious, have a small Jacuzzi, shower, everything you need. Our TV set did not work very well, it was probably 15 years old. We had a room with ocean view. I can tell you, the view was amazing and made up for the outdated room. The cleaning lady was very kind and kept our room very clean.
Restaurants
You can eat in all the restaurants (buffet and a-la-carte) except for the Tropical Suites, no reservation necessary. It is a pity though that some of the restaurants require long trousers and closed shoes for men (while women can go in half naked). In the evening the temperature is still 26 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Dominican republic, so why should men wear long trousers and closed shoes? Unbelievable. This is a holiday after all, not a beauty pageant.
My husband loves wearing 7/8 trousers, which is like 10 cm above the ankles. Unfortunately this is not accepted as long trousers. This is why we went to the buffet restaurant instead.
The food was just above average. Nothing special. One night I had grilled calamari. It took the cook ages to cook them (like 15 minutes) and when they were finally cooked, they were overcooked, black. Just awful.
One thing that disturbed me every time we went to the buffet restaurant is that the first row of tables was too close to the buffet. When people were helping themselves to some food on that side of the buffet, you could hardly pass. Also when people were seated at those first row tables, it was difficult to pass.
My sister said they had cava every day at the buffet restaurant for breakfast. When we were there however we only had cava twice in one week. Also, in the evening when I ordered cava at the bar they said we had to pay for it. It was sold by the bottle, as was champagne. This is unacceptable. Why would you charge people for cava when all the other drinks are for free? Whether you have a glass of cava or any other drink, the cost for the hotel is the same.
Also, at most of the 5 star hotels we’ve been to in Punta Cana, cava is always include in the all inclusive formula. So I was a bit disappointed we had to pay for our drinks.
Every day a cook prepared paella at the beach so we usually had some of that. It was really good. The only thing that was missing were the lobsters my sister talked about. They had lobster paella at the beach several times, however when we were there, I guess they ran out of lobsters????
Overall we can say that this hotel was OK, but we’ve had better. Our rate would be a four star hotel rather than a five star hotel. This was our tenth time in Punta Cana and we’ve been to so many different hotels (we try out a new one every year). I guess somehow we are glad we chose this hotel but unless they improve their service and do some renovations we are not going back any time soon.

We stayed at this hotell during its high Christmas season 2012/13. Having booked and paid in advance for a beachfront room for 12 nights we were told upon our arrival at 5 pm from Germany (11 hour flight) that it was not any longer available! We were, needless to say, shocked! How could this be? 5 star hotel? My husband, my 9 year old son and I were given a less good room without any apologies, without any compensation without any bonuses although the hotel was at fault. This can happen, indeed, but if the hotel is a 5 star establishment, compensation and apologies would be immediately granted.

Two days later after living out of our suitcases, we were finally told we could move into our booked beach front room. First, though we must sign a release form relinquishing all claims to the hotel. My husband refused and then the manager on duty, a Mr. Williams said then that we would not get the key to the new room if we did not sign this paper. WHAT?

This of course was a very very bad impression of the Palladium Hotel Spa and Resort and the entire Fiesta Hotel Group. We were not really able to relax as this experience hindered our enjoyment.

The beach is in fact nice and the service personnel mostly friendly but the management unprofessional and unable to deal with conflict. The gym area of this five-star hotel has very old equipment and definitely needs renovation.

Overall no need to come back.

We just got back from P.C. Dec 30 to Jan 6.
Positives
- weather was awesome
- the beach was perfect
- the sports facilities at this resort are very good, tennis, racquet ball, soccer, basketball and volleyball fields all located together and kept well/clean.

Negative
- the hotel is far from a 4 star hotel.
- the room (junior suite) was outdated..lamp broken, tv control did not work, shower broken, the beds were hard as a rock and everything that needed to be fixed was done extremely cheap fast and poor job.
- the pool was big BUT tiles were missing on childrens area...lots!! no attention to detail.
- the food was awful...buffet was all fried!! a la carte was a joke..we waited 2.5 hrs once for italian restaurant...people line up for reservations for Japanese restaurant 2 hrs before it opens!!
All the food at a la carte was average at best....At the Mexican restaurant there was a fly in the cottage cheese when we got there ...and was still there when we left 2 hrs later..no attention to detail!!
-There is nothing special about this resort ...no WOW factor..customer service was average.

I've been to Punta Cana 4 times and would rate this hotel at the bottom
#1 Hard rock hotel
#2 Iberostar punta cana
#3 Bahia principe
#4 Grand Palladium Palace (3.5 stars!!)
#3