From the moment you step off the plane you are greeted by a staff employee. They whisk you away(and they were nice enough to take my husbands daughter and family and friend thru), to a private area to get thru airport. note it is a 10 dollar fee per person to enter country. They take you to a VIP exit with a hotel shuttle waiting. We got in at 12 noon and no problem. They check you in inside your room. We had an oceanfront one bedroom suite. Room great, 2 bathrooms, 2 balconies(one with jacuzzi). Dinner at bamboo fantastic the largest lobster I have ever seen. Staff could not be any better. Pool is quiet and relaxing. Beach was a bit windy so we only went one day and they do make every effort to keep up with the seaweed. Take your golf cart and cruise the property. We don't play golf but it looked like a beautiful course. Take the Segway tour, it is a blast and the kids really enjoyed. They take you to a fresh water lagoon very refreshing. It is about a 15 minute walk so keep that in mind thru the forest. Dinner at Lay ola on property was also wonderful. If you get a chance go to the village and eat at mama Louisas great fish. Overall would def go back to this gem

My family stayed at the Tortuga Bay in Punta Cana in late July of this year. Tortuga Bay is ideal for a quiet couple’s getaway, but not ideal for a family vacation with younger children.

First, there are different levels of accommodations at this resort. We stayed at Tortuga Bay, which is comprised of approximately 16 units and separated from the rest of the resort. We loved the rooms, the beach, the service and the food. Because we were with children, we had two bedroom suite and were blown away when our “room” was a 1,500 square foot room with two separate gorgeous bedrooms and a large comfortable living area in the middle. The suite was ideal for a couple with two children. There was a nice kitchenette, French doors that opened onto the lawn which then led to the beach, and the décor was incredible. The room was so nice that we had dinner in the room twice because the room and setting were so special.

Though you would not need a room this large for a “couple’s get-away,” I would highly recommend Tortuga Bay for a couple’s get-away.

For the adults and children, the “Kids Club” was not really the type of Kids Club that we were looking for. By this I mean that the facility was not geared for anything other than a small number of very young (4 years or less) children. While there were many other activities which older children COULD enjoy, the resort is set up in a way that necessitates that the parents are with the children during the activity. While we don’t want to avoid our children during holidays, we do like to stay at a resort where there is a Kids Club or some supervised activity that can keep the children occupied and happy independently, without the necessity of us being present at all times. Unfortunately, that was not the case at Tortuga Bay. In other words, there were things the kids enjoyed, but you had to be there with them. Perhaps there is a more extensive kids’ club “in season,” but not so during July.

We went fishing from the resort and had a wonderful time. The boat was booked right at the resort and left from the dock at the water sports center. The Captain, mate, boat and fishing were EXCELLENT, albeit expensive.

We also did a segway tour. I’ve always wanted to ride a segway, and it took just one time to get it “out of my system.” Riding a segway is pretty cool, but not without risks. A rather large fellow who chose to ride a segway wearing only a speedo in our group “wiped out” and had some pretty significant cuts and scrapes. It’s worth doing once, but I would not make it the centerpiece of a trip.

There are fresh water lagoons on a nature preserve in the middle of the resort. The larger one is approximately a 15-minute walk into the preserve from the resort, and it was a wonderful experience. Our only regret is that we did not take snorkeling gear with us when we went to this lagoon. I would describe a visit to the lagoon as a “must do.”

I took the kids (ages 6 and 8) to the Macao Surf Camp, which is about a 50-minute drive from the resort. If you’re interested in surfing and are a beginner, I highly recommend the trip to the Macao Surf Camp.

I was not golfing on the trip, but the golf facilities looked incredible. If you’re a golfer and/or looking for a couple’s get-away, Tortuga Bay is just what the doctor ordered.

We were VERY impressed with the food. The breakfast buffet was extremely good, and the fresh seafood dishes were OUTSTANDING throughout the day and all restaurants at the resort.

Here are the only “negatives” that I observed:

- “Kids Club” limitations as noted above.
- Service in the restaurants can be SLOW, which is okay since you’re in the islands.
- Water skiing lessons for our children consisted of one person taking our kids out in a boat with me tagging along. I do not water ski, but I was “drafted” into handling the boat while the instructor was in the water with the kids. Frankly, I was not that comfortable operating a boat in unfamiliar waters, so I would describe the “water skiing lessons” as a misnomer. I would suggest that you go water skiing there only if you already know how to ski.
- Not really a “negative,” but you need to be very careful to avoid glitches due to the language barrier. I rather like the fact that not everyone speaks English well, as it adds to the sense of exotic travel, but it can result in getting 3 omelets instead of one. :)

This was our first visit to the Dominican Republic. This resort had high ratings with regard to travel.

Not Good:
Difficult overcoming language barrier - we should have worked harder to learn Spanish before we went. Most guests spoke Spanish so with our limited ability it made it difficult to communicate with staff or guests. (If we went back we would both learn to speak more fluently)

Waiters didn't know menu - Waiters in the restaurants didn't seem to have a good knowledge of the menu.

No night pool

Jacuzzi broken

The resort provides a property map that is extremely confusing.

- The food was okay
- The Ecological Park was definitely worth visiting. The freshwater lagoons are beautiful and there is nice wildlife to observe.
- We did a Segway Tour one day and enjoyed it. There is a short hike afterwards where they bring you to a lagoon which we could have done without. Riding the Segway's was nice and give you a nice tour of the property.

Good/Excellent:
VIP Airport - Staying at Tortuga bay provides you with VIP status at the airport. This meant that we didn't wait in any lines. We were escorted in an out of the airport in record time. When leaving we bypassed all lines and had our own security line. We were able to stay in the resorts lounge (air conditioned) and they came and got us when the flight was leaving.

The property is beautiful and expansive. Lots to explore and beautiful areas to take in.

Our beach was beautiful and was cleaned everyday so it was clear of seaweed. The beach service was excellent, they are extremely attentive to your needs without ever being intrusive.

We ate at Acentos Bistro off the property one night. They specialize in Spanish, French and Mediterranean infused cuisine. The food was unbelievable. The resort made reservations for us and brought us there and back. The meal and atmosphere were perfect. This was the best meal we ate all vacation!

The spa was exceptional - we went for a couple's massage and enjoyed every moment.

A special thanks to Victor Ramon ad Julio Angel who made our stay wonderful.

Overall we had a beautiful, relaxed vacation. It was quiet and we wanted for nothing. This was a great place to unplug and unwind.

We had a great and relaxed time, service was great all around. The idea was to have a private and relaxed vacation with my wife and 4 kids, not a super market all inclusive one.
We had friends at Punta Cana resort so we had the best of both worlds, resident and tourist. Even though the Tortuga Bay is sometimes too quiet, there are several options to choose from in the neighboring places. Golf in Cap Cana's Punta Espada is the best. Corales is also astounding. Well, in our case, we had a great and relaxing family vacation.