The organization i work for chose this resort to celebrate our christmas party... What a mistake.

To start off, the checkin process lasted for hours and was very disorganized. Food was terrible, bad taste, bad look, i've had better food on lower prices/stars hotels in the zone.

Service in the restaurants was awful... Waitress did not pay enough attention to us, for three times one of them dropped cups of wines and water in the ground, spilling wine on our clothes, there was pieces of sharp glass everywhere on us, my girlfiend had few cuts on her body (nothing serious) and my white clothes was ruined. After this accident no one came close to us or took responsability for this... We should had sued them...

Do yourself a favor and stay away from this terrible resort!

One of the reasons I booked this resort was because I had friends that went there in 2008 and raved about it, they are fussy about resorts and don't like all-inclusive but were impressed with PPR. I booked this trip as a surprise birthday present for my boyfriend and feel like we were cheated. First, from talking to a lot of people the quality and service of this resort has declined severely over the years, which was apparent.
first I was assured by Delta vacations that I had Royal Service, twice they checked with the resort and I was assured that was what we had. Upon arrival I was asked if I wanted to upgrade to Royal service for an additional $200/person/night! This would have added another $2400 to what I had already paid. Neither the resort or Delta vacations would do anything to help (Incidentally don't book through Delta vacations, customer service is HORRIBLE)
Edgar, our vacation concierge was helpful to us, got us something to eat and drink, then a whirlwind tour of the property that left out most of it, but he did make all of our dinner reservations for us that first day which was extremely helpful. Once he found out we didn't want to hear the time share talk or have any interest in buying a time share he was inadvisable to us.
Our room was clean an quiet, we did leave the maid a tip each day except one day we forgot and our room wasn't cleaned very well and we didn't get clean towels. The rooms are starting to show their age and could use some renovations.
One day we had massages at Yhi spa, $110/person for 50 minutes. Don't waste your time or money, message was terrible and there were a couple times I felt almost violated.
The food, where to start? First of all there is on;y one buffet available, it is small and crowded and the food is terrible. There isn't much variety and you have to practically beg to get coffee or refills in the morning, unless of course bribe them ahead of time. It is bribing here not tipping. Tipping is rewarding for good service, here you don't get good service unless you pay for it ahead of time. The ala cart restaurants are okay, but again really nothing special. The staff in the ala cart places is less than helpful, most of them cannot explain the menu and the majority of them speak little or no English so you are kind of at their mercy and just hope you get something close to what you think you ordered. There were a couple that took very good care of us though and I ws happy tip them well.
The bars, this is the only resort I have ever been to where you had to pay extra for top shelf brands. Again, you have to bribe the bartenders to get a decent drink. The first night we were there I had mojitos, the second night I asked for a mojito and the bartender said her couldn't make them. I ordered vodka tonic and 4 waitresses had to come and try and figure out what I wanted because they didn't understand "tonic". Again, you have to bribe them for good service or a drink that even has a hint of alcohol in it. I have no problem tipping, you provide me good service I will take good care of you but seriously the amount you end up tipping her gets to be quite ridiculous, bring a lot of $5 and $1's because if they won't make change for you. Seriously, for 7 days and 6 nights, it cost us about $600 in tips to get any kind of service.
this resrt is about two things, trying to get you to dish out more money to upgrade to Royal service and trying to sell you a vacation time share, if you don't want to do either of those things, they don't want anything to do with you and you are basically ignored. I have stayed at better resorts for half the price, this place is way over rated and way over priced. If this is the best resort in Punta Cana I would hate to see the worst, would not recommend and would never go back,

We stayed at this resort the year if first opened six years ago. We were very impressed the first time and very excited to go back. The staff is very friendly. The gardens and resort itself are beautiful. Our room did not smell and was very nice. Room service was excellent. All in all, we really liked it here.

Just returned after a wonderful week of relaxation in a beautiful setting. Wonderful food, attentive staff and a very comfortable one bedroom unit. Alberto Mercedes Ruiz, our concierge, met us each morning with a big smile and warm greeting. He was more than helpful, making sure we had our dinner reservations made and ready to help with anything we might need. This was my second time at the Palma Real and the friend I traveled with was very impressed with her first visit. I look forward to my next visit.