My family and I, including 2 kids aged 6 and 3 returned from the Iberostar Punta Cana a couple of weeks ago. This is our second visit to an Iberostar Hotel having previously been to Iberostar Rose Hall Suits in Jamaica. It was a good holiday and I will try and describe some of the pros and cons
Pros
1. Great pool and beach. The surf was a bit high due to Hurricane Isaac but nothing the hotel could do about that. There was plenty of shade and plentiful supply of sun beds. My only thought on the pool is it would be nice if they would allow some night swimming in a section of the pool, but I guess they do that for safety reasons.
2. The service was excellent overall. Staff were friendly and attentive and it was a pleasure dealing with them.
3. The grounds were spectacular and excellently maintained. Beautiful tropical flowers and trees and fountains, it was a real pleasure to walk around and just observe.
4. Use of the other Iberostar Hotels was nice- our young kids especially enjoyed the water park and the Bavaro hotel which has slides, fountains and a splash pad.
5. The availability of high quality drinks- El Presidente beer, Bailey's etc was plentiful. It was also very nice to have breakfast also available by the beach after the buffet closed so you would not under pressure to wake up...My family and I, including 2 kids aged 6 and 3 returned from the Iberostar Punta Cana a couple of weeks ago. This is our second visit to an Iberostar Hotel having previously been to Iberostar Rose Hall Suits in Jamaica. It was a good holiday and I will try and describe some of the pros and cons
Pros
1. Great pool and beach. The surf was a bit high due to Hurricane Isaac but nothing the hotel could do about that. There was plenty of shade and plentiful supply of sun beds. My only thought on the pool is it would be nice if they would allow some night swimming in a section of the pool, but I guess they do that for safety reasons.
2. The service was excellent overall. Staff were friendly and attentive and it was a pleasure dealing with them.
3. The grounds were spectacular and excellently maintained. Beautiful tropical flowers and trees and fountains, it was a real pleasure to walk around and just observe.
4. Use of the other Iberostar Hotels was nice- our young kids especially enjoyed the water park and the Bavaro hotel which has slides, fountains and a splash pad.
5. The availability of high quality drinks- El Presidente beer, Bailey's etc was plentiful. It was also very nice to have breakfast also available by the beach after the buffet closed so you would not under pressure to wake up early or hit the buffet early i.e. one could take a walk on the beach and then leisurely go for breakfast.
6. We received a lovely welcome platter, with a bottle of rum and some toys for the kids from Iberostar because were returning visitors. That was a nice touch.
7. The rooms were fine. I e mailed ahead requesting 2 Queen beds and it was granted and the room was ready. Check in was easy and the air conditioning worked fine, although you could only control the level and not the actual temperature via a thermostat. It didn't make much of a difference except the room got too cold and night and we had to switch it off. Minor stuff.
Cons
1. I hesitate to say the food was bad, because it wasn't. There was lots of food and lots of variety. My criticism is that the food was bland and after a couple of days started to taste the same. This wasn't the case in Jamaica and I can only think that it reflected the local food, which can be bland. The had tropical fruit tables, lots of variety of desserts, a pasta station, a roast station, a fish station etc. which all sounds excellent on paper, but it was bland. If they could someone change this up a bit by having actual theme nights then it would be better- they had some theme nights, but they were very limited.
2. The price of the internet for someone who didn't have their laptop or Ipad was plain silly. It was $10 per hour. If you did have a laptop or Ipad you could get internet access for $40 for 5 days or $13 a day. My advice is if you need to access the net or e mails, take your laptop. It was also a pity that you couldn't really get Wi-Fi in the rooms, it was limited to the lobby and the pool area. They need to improve on this.
3. There were few English speaking staff which is understandable because the hotel seems to cater to Europeans especially the Spanish. A lot was lost in translation but we managed to get our point across.
Summary
To summarize it was a pretty good holiday. Excellent pool, beach, water sports facilities and staff. They need to improve on the food and internet access but I would definitely return to an IberostarMore
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