The good: The Agua is a stunning and beautiful resort. The rooms are wonderful. Housekeeping is excellent. The staff is very nice. The beach is great – you can walk for miles and miles.

The bad: The main pool had no water and they tried to keep it a secret and so did not inform our travel agency! There was only one restaurant open and the food was not very good.

This resort has the potential to be a Four Seasons, but it needs at least one additional restaurant (and more guests). Basically, the management does not seem to be capable of making the Agua the luxury resort it could be.

As as the amenities of the resort are concerned, Agua is a great resort. Think Aman-Light. The rooms are very large and well designed. The public areas are also very nice. The beach is beautiful. But...there is a very big but. 1) The resort is very far from the airport and the road to get there is terrible. 2) Only a handful of the resort' 50+ rooms were occupied so the place was Deadville 3)The food was disgusting, primarily because there was no volume of visitors 4) the spa services were lame 5) the service was well-intentioned but very clumsy. In addition, there was no attention to details. For example, the music was a short list of 15 merigue-like songs that kept playing over and over and over... It was really attrocious. But on a positive note, if Agua gets any significant levels of business and becomes more professional at hosting premium visitors, it could become a fabulous destination.

My husband and I booked our trip to Agua in January once we decided on the Dominican. Quite simply, the resort looked like the most beautiful in Punta Cana. It looked like it was exactly what we were looking for - a small boutique like resort, peace, quiet, thatch roof huts on the beach, and great scenery. We also considered the Sivory (right next door) but this looked nicer.

After seeing some negative reviews on this website, we began to get a bit anxious in the days leading up to our trip. Most complaints centered around the food being unbelievably bad, bugs, and non-English speaking service. Undeterred, we went ahead with the trip.

Our trip started off on a rocky note. We arrived at the airport on time and instead of being met by a rep from the resort for our transport to Agua, there was no one there. Worse, as my husband was dialing the international number incorrectly on his phone, we couldn't get through to the resort. Finally, we asked a random travel agent if he could call the resort and find out where our car was. He did so and they located the driver. We ended up waiting an additional half hour before he finally showed. For full disclosure - due to a passport snafu we changed our flight by one full day so its possible that the new details were lost in translation. However, I emailed the new itinerary the day before we left and I received a reply from the resort. Anyway, we put this small inconvenience behind us and moved on.

The trip to the resort lasted an hour. Contrary to all the horror stories, its not a terrible trip. Again, you're in a 3rd world country which as you will see does not have a great deal of infrastructure. There does not seem to be any motor vehicle rules on these roads. But the driver was very nice and the trip was painless.

We got to the resort and realized what we were spending our money on... the place is beautiful. We've been to Las Alamandas in mexico, the Nui in Bora Bora and Le Taha'a in Taha'a. This place is comparable with these locations from a scenery and room perspective. We were greeted with a cocktail at the open air check in area and were then escorted to our room #22 - right on the beach. Seriously, you walk out of the bedroom and you're standing on a patio with a plunge pool to your right and palm trees and a beach in front of you.

We were there for 3 nights and, maybe because we were there in February, we didn't experience any issues with mosquitos. After reading these reviews, we brought down our own bottle of Off (they also provide one in the rooms). we barely needed it.

The Food: Better than expected. Listen, you're in the Dominican and this resort - like the country - is still a bit of a work in progress. They have not mastered American cooking. The only misstep we had with the food was when I ordered a Club Sandwich whcih wasn't very good at all. From that point on we asked what there "especiales" were or ordered the steak or fish dishes. These were very good and the presentation of it was on par with good restaurants in New York. The service was also terrific. If you eat somewhat like the locals do your dining experience will be great. The best food we had was when we had a beach dinner as a part of our package and we just sat down and they started bringing out food - we didn't order anything. The dinner was a huge plate of seafood paella which was tremdendous - let alone the fact that we were sitting on the beach with a glass of champagne each looking out at the waves with the moon above. The breakfast - the only iffy part. It was ok - passable, nothing more.

The language: Yes, you're in a Spanish speaking country. As I mentioned above, this place is still new and developing. Not everyone there is fluent - or even passable - with English. However, this was never an issue and my husband and I can barely speak 15 words of Spanish. Bring a Spanish translation book. It's fun and they will appreciate you trying.

I personally had a small issue with the amount of garbage on the beaches once you walked outside of the hotel property but, that's just a personal gripe and it was outside the hotel property.

To address some other comments I've seen on this site - we never experienced any issues with overbilling or phantom charges on our bill upon check out.

Bottom line: If you're looking for relaxation and great service in a beautiful and peaceful environment then this place is for you. If you're looking for tons of activities and a party atmosphere - you should look into the all inclusive places that Punta Cana is mostly known for.

We're looking forward to returning - hopefully soon.

The Punta Cana area is mostly known for huge all-inclusive resorts, but fortunately The Agua Resort, a botique spa hotel, has arrived in the beautiful Uvero Alto region. What a find this place was!

Arrival at the Punta Cana airport can be confusing with locals hustling for your luggage and the large groups from Apple Vacations and the like being hoarded onto their busses like cattle. It was a pleasure to see a man standing right outside of baggage claim with our name on a sign and a big smile, ready to take our bags into a private air-conditioned van for the ride to the resort.

Agua is about an hour away from the airport, and although some of the roads are not well paved and it can seem as there are no actual traffic laws on this island, the trip was not a problem at all - nothing like the horrendously nauseating drive from Montego Bay to Negril.

The last stretch is on an entirely unpaved road which leads to very large and non-descript doors, but as soon as they are opened - wow! The beautiful outdoor lobby opens up to what appears to be an incredible oasis in the middle of nowhere. Drinks and cold towels are brought over and as seemed to be the pattern throughout the week, the staff are extremely attentive and courteous.

Make no mistake - this hotel is small (just fifty-one rooms) so if you are looking for a mega-resort with non-stop activities it is probably not for you. That being said, it is one of the most beautiful places that either of us have ever stayed. The rooms are simply elegant - not fancy but incredibly warm and soothing. The floors, lamps, bathroom area and everything else were designed with a great attention to the relaxing esthetic. So are all of the public areas. I highly recommend checking out the pictures on the website and then imagining the actual resort being even more beautiful in person.

Our room was on the first of two levels and right on the beach. Now this is not simply an "ocean-view" or "beach-front" room; it is actually right on the beach. Large sliding glass doors open to a patio with a table and two huge lounge chairs which are actually connected to the sand. The view is incredible and it is so nice just to open your door and be right on the beach.

The sand is a fine golden color and the water nice and blue; just the typical perfect beach that the Punta Cana area is known for (although the sand is not the pure white of some of the other beaches).

All in all, this was the perfect setting to enjoy five days of pure relaxation, excellent food, great service, long walks on the beach and lots of lounging around.

After reading some of the reviews on Trip Advisor, I actually started getting cold feet and almost cancelled this hotel and thought of moving down the beach to "Excellence." What a bad move that would have been. With that in mind, I would like to address some of the concerns that I had while reading these other postings.

No doubt the hotel is new and is experiencing some growing pains. Some things just do not work and apparently repairs in The Dominican are none too swift. Thankfully, the excellent management makes up for any problems quickly.

Two examples -
Upon our arrival the main pool was not functional, so we were upgraded to that fantastic room right on the beach. I don't know why anyone would want to use the pool anyway with that beautiful beach right there, but it did look pretty cool.

The wireless internet was not working correctly in our room, and since it looked like repairs were a long way off, they gave us a key to a vacant room which had a strong wireless signal. So problem solved, and who wants to spend all day on the internet anyway when on vacation? Also, the business center has a free computer with internet that was always vacant. So no problem there.

As far as the food, they must have gotten a new chef or maybe threatened the old one, because the food was plentiful and delicious. Our only comment on the food quality was that we would have enjoyed a few more simple dishes such as plain grilled fish in the Mediterannean style. This stuff was a little heavy at times (although they can prepare it any way that you like). That being said, although the menu was small, every night they had dinner specials which were quite good. Definitely ask about the Dominican dinner, which if you don't mind eating goat is not to be missed.

Many seemed to comment on the cost of the food. No question, this is not an all inclusive and they don't charge Denny's prices, but then again it is a high-end resort spa. If you want piles and piles of mediocre food and long lines perhaps an all-inclusive is for you. Even so, the prices were much lower than what you would expect at a Four Seasons or Ruth's Chris. The big disadvantage is that it is pretty tough to get an inexpensive light dinner if that is what you are craving.

But the great thing is that they always throw in some little special sometings that you don't order, so the value always turned out well. An example would be delicious lobster bisque in a large shot glass topped with a snail that came with dinner one night. Yum! Also, one of us was celebrating a birthday and they were extremely generous with goodies that night.

Along with the food, the food service was superb. Definitely order lunch at the beach grill and have it brought over to your beach chairs. What an experience! We ordered club sandwhiches, and they just went wild. First came ice buckets for our beer, then nachos and guac one day, fresh fruit the next, tropical punch the next; all complimentary. We even asked if they had fresh coconut and ten minutes later it showed up beautifully sliced and delicious. Keep in mind, this was all at no charge. So while the prices may be a bit high-end, all the goodies come along with it.

Another typical complaint was that not much English was spoken. Well, DUH! It's a Spanish speaking country! The world does not revolve around Americans. Even so, take a few minutes to make an attempt at Spanish and you will be treated extremely well. There are enough English speaking staff that communication is really not a problem.

We really enjoyed taking long beach walks every day. This is a perfect beach for a long walk with fine sand and warm gentle waters. Walk to your right when facing the ocean and you can go for quite a while. Plus, eventually you will pass the Excellence Resort with its military bunker styling and be glad that you didn't stay there. Right next to the Excellence there is a small string of shops that are good for souvenirs, island jewelery, cigars, etc. If you ask, they will even bring you back a cold six-pack of the great local beer, Presidente. (Oh - here is a tip. If you leave a few dollars and a note for the evening housekeeper, she will stock you up with water and a few bottles of beer which magically did not show up on our bill!)

The Spa at Agua was just right - nice atmosphere for massages and a really interesting "Circuit Pool" with all kinds of neat things like a hot tub, cool slabs with water jets, a waterfall, water massagers, a mist shower, etc. Very fun to hang out there.

To wrap it up, if you are looking for a mega-resort with beach volleyball, water aerobics, obnoxious music blasting on the beach and gobs of free food and alcohol, The Agua is not for you. But of you want an incredibly indulgent vacation, relishing in the fact that there is not much to do except relax among incredible architecture with fantastic service, this may be your hotel. No question they are still working out a few kinks, but it didn't seem to matter at all. The service always made up for the few problems we encountered. They try very hard to get everything right, and definitely succeed. We will be back!