My husband, my 2 children and I stayed at the iberostar punta cana June 17-25. We stayed at the Parisio beach/delmar Iberostar last August and we came to the conclusion that this resort was not as nice as the one in Mexico. The positive---- The landscape is beautiful, everything is groomed nicely, and the workers at the resort are very nice and eager to please. It is not necessary to tip, but they really do appreciate it and they deserve it. The beach is absolutely gorgeous, just like all of the other reviews say. The sand feels like flour under your feet. My children really enjoyed this beach. If you are offended by nudity, you do not want to stay here. We had to tell our children that people from other countries don't see a problem with being topless and it is just something they do. It really wasn't a big deal. After seeing a few it was almost like you didn't notice it anymore, they just blended in with the crowd. Most of them should have kept their tops on, I was not impressed, and really didn't see the point of walking around with half of a bathing suit. Although my kids did not take advantage of the kids club, other children seemed to really have fun. The schedule was full of activities, things like archery, tennis, art, water polo, water soccer, water trampoline, dancing for children right before the nightly show etc etc. I would recommend this hotel for families. There are places to go that are more quiet than others, but if you want more lively, you would want to hang out on the dominicana side. The FOOD---it was average by all inclusive standards. If you have stayed all inclusive before you will most likely agree. I am not a picky eater at all, and at times I found myself going through the buffet and not ending up with much on my plate. The food in Mexico was much better in my opinion. Breakfast is usually my favorite meal at all inclusive resorts, and I found it a bit strange, and not very good. The pancakes didn't taste like much, and they always had deli meats that looked like they had been there for days, don't eat them! They had wierd things like onion rings on the breakfast buffet, maybe its a European thing. I also read other reviews that said one buffet catered more to europeans, and the other catered more to americans, and I looked at both buffets (punta cana side, and dominicana side) and they were exactly the same. Don't get me wrong, some things were really good. There is plenty of choices and the presentation of the food is beautiful. They have several reservation restaurants on site besides the buffets, and we found them all to be good. We did mexican, seafood, and the gourmet, which is a 5 course meal and lobster is the main course. I got sick and was not able to eat mine, but my son and husband were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. There is a sports bar as well, and it was pretty good, but we talked to others who thought it was awful. Make sure you get your reservations squared away as soon as you get there. We did not have any problems, but we talked to others who did. Alcoholic beverages---- The lobby bars have the best tasting drinks, and the one on the beach (dominican side) has the worst, I call it rot gut liquor. If you want premium alcohol you have to ask for it, and it is not a problem. I have read many reviews complaining about the drinks being terrible, but it is most likely because they did not ask for the better alcohol. We purchased our own big mugs before we left for our trip, and had them fill it up in the lobby with the better alcohol. The negative--- The rooms----They could use some renovating, and it seems like they are in the process of doing that. We initially had an ocean view when we got there, but the mattresses were so worn out it was obvious to the eye, and the body. After two nights I could not stand it anymore! We asked to be moved, and we found out that they had a brand new set of rooms on the punta cana side (just a few months old) not even on the map yet. We switched and it was a little better, but not great by most standards. The maid service was horrible once we moved rooms. We tipped the first day, and when we didn't have facial cloths or enough water for us to all brush our teeth we didn't tip again. One morning around 5am my husband went down to the lobby to ask for water and the guy at the desk said he did not have access to any water until the maids arrived. So lets see, we are at an all inclusive resort, and we have enough beer in the fridge to get you drunk, but no water! We have animals made out of towels with flowers all over, but not water. We also went 8 nights with out one single wash cloth. She didn't refill the soap and shampoo dispenser either. So make sure you bring a couple of wash cloths from home. Overall this is a good place, but I didn't feel like they paid much attention to details. Like the floors were somewhat dingy, and the restroom on the punta cana side had a broken soap dispenser, and it was that way for my entire trip. This resort does not live up to the iberostar standard. I still enjoyed my trip, but I would choose another resort for a return trip to punta cana.

This was our first time in Dominican Republic. Being honest, several friends advised us not to go to Punta Cana, because of their horrible experiences out there. My gut feelings were assertive. Once we got off from the airport, we confirmed what our friends said about the place. All we saw for the next hour dumped garbage all over the places, and dust. What a mess. Our nightmare did not even start, yet! Our stay at the Iberostar Punta Cana hotel was more than a nightmare. Food was tasteless, and waiter and entertainment staff were inattentive and careless. If you do not show them up the tips since the beginning, they just ignore you for the entire week. The rooms are deteriorated, and the restaurants are overbooked. Therefore, they just allow you to reserve one or two times for the week. Staff is very rude and inflexible. One day we dared to go to Higuey, a close small town, and we got so scared, because the habitants use to chase you even you ask them to leave you alone. We did not know what they wanted from us, but it was so scary experience. Bottom line, CANCUN IS THE BEST PLACE TO GO IN THE CARIBEAN. We have been there ten times, and we never got disappointed about anything. Mexicans are wonderful people to share your spare time.

This review will explain in a different way our review of the resort. First, we agree with all of the positive reviews in this site. Yes, the food was great, the grounds and beach was also beautiful and the people were very nice. This will go beyond the typical review and hopefully help a bit in your stay:

Airport tips - Since you can't bring water through security bring empty water bottles and fill them up at the drinking fountains after you go through. This helped on the plane as well as at the airport on the other end.

Arrival - The airport was pretty efficient but expect to pay a $10.00 tourist tax before entering. No one expected this at the airport. Also, have your tourist paperwork completely filled out on the plane, make sure you bring a pen with. The rides to your resort will be waiting for you at the enterance and will help with all the bags.

Resort - Check-in was fast and they bring your bags to your room, PLEASE TIP. They do a lot of work. The glass of refreshments was a nice touch. Clean as I've ever seen, walk around after settling in to get to know where everything is and there is a lot.

Room - Bring a extension cord (small) because the outlets are set in the wall. Air conditioning is strong but good. Ask for water anyting and don't forget DONT DRINK THE WATER from the sink or shower.

Food - Get reservations to the specialty restaurants form the women at the computers right away. They fill up reservations pretty fast. The Gourmet Rest. was great with the largest lobster I've seen. The help there was great, PLEASE TIP, they deserve it. Also the Mexican was very nice with good food.

Tipping - The reason I put this in so much is that they really work hard to make you feel comfortable and happy. Most Europeans dont but they do not do that back home but American's do and the help really deserves it! The people there work 14 hour days 7 days a week with 3 days off and with that they still make you feel special. A dollar or two goes a long way.

Star Friends Staff - Leave your inhabitions at home and have fun! They are a great bunch of people that are there to make your stay memorable and FUN. Have a good time with them and dont be shy! Junior is a blast.

Things to do - There are extra things to pay for but the resort gives you so much to do that if you don't feel like going anywhere you don't have to. Snorkeling is right off the beach down by the RIU resort and the other way down the beach toward the little stall shops. There are plenty of nice fish there. There are non motor boats that you can use free BUT the guy at the window wanted us to pay $35.00 for insurance - DONT. I know people that went and didnt and everything was fine.

Shade - The shade huts at the beach do go early and fast but there are plenty at the poolside that are nice also. The guys always walk around to get you drinks all day.

Shows - Dont miss them. They are fun, get as close as you can, and enjoy them. They are hard working actors and singers as you can get.

BBQ on the beach - This was a nice addtion to lunch. They will BBQ something special every day at lunch, on day it was Piaya which everyone got a lobster and other sea food with rice that was piled on the plate, really good!

I hope this will help make your stay more enjoyable.

We just returned from IB* Punta Cana and can't say enough great things about the resort. the staff was friendly and warm, the rooms were clean and so were the grounds.

After the airport arrival and finding our transfer, we were whisked away to the IB* in an airconditioned bus. The driver drove just like the rest of the Dominicans and we all had a great time laughing during the ride. It was about 35 min. to the resort. We got there around 11:40 AM and found a room to be ready for us. We were taken to the room by the bellboy. At first I was nervous because of the construction going on in the building but it was at the other end of where our room was. And once inside the room, with the AC running you don't hear any outside noises, unless it's directly outside your door.

Our room was clean, cool and comfortable. We had the towel art on the bed and chocolates. We settled in and headed to the ocean. The ocean was just beautiful. The sand was white and powdery and clean.

Each staff person we met and dealt with was friendly and kind. Everywhere you went, there was someone cleaning or serving. The pools were clean and relaxing. We never had trouble finding chairs, even at 2 in the afternoon.

We did catch a virus from home and brought our colds with us so we visited the IB* clinic and were well taken care of. We made use of the internet cafe as well.

The food was great and there was always a variety of choices and places available to eat . We had 3 reservations but only used 2 due to my illness. The lobster dinner was great and very romantic. The Dominican people try very hard to make things perfect. The steakhouse meal was great as well.

I would return to this place as soon as money allows!