We just came back from the Dominican Republic and while my experience is still fresh, I wanted to give a review on the Serenade Punta Cana Beach & Spa Resort.
When we first booked this hotel months ago, we were persuaded that we selected the adults only but upon arrival, they told us it was the family one. Not a huge problem, however we wanted some quiet time and if we wanted to stay there it was an extra 250$ USD per night. We didn’t want to do that so we stayed at the family resort.
As a first impression, we loved the aesthetic. It is the kind of look I like. One thing I can say is that communication was difficult. To be frank, I thought I understood and could get my way around in Spanish, but I quickly realized that I didn’t understand anything LOL. Thankfully, our concierge was fluent in French, Spanish and English. When we needed something, we would ask him. Plus, we had Google Translate.
When you go to a resort, be prepared to lose an entire day because they will try to sell you some sort of timeshare. Of course, they will say it is not the same thing as timeshare and what they have to offer is way better; don’t fall for it. The next day, we participated in their presentation and they were promoting the adults-only resort – as it was only open for three weeks. Both resorts are nice.
Rooms
We were in the Luxury Tropical Garden View and our room was okay. When it comes to cleanliness, I give it a 1 out of 5. The bed skirt was stained, the bed sheets were not good quality, they were ripped and the pillows were horrible. The cleaning team doesn’t do a great job at all. We realized that they do not change the sheets but only make the bed with the same sheets. Just know that you won’t be comfortable. The rooms didn’t reflect the “luxury” effect… at all.
Service
It was nearly impossible to reach the front desk when you called. The line is often busy and/or rings non-stop.
At times, the workers were rude. They seemed pissed and felt like they didn’t want to work. In other words, it was not welcoming.
We understand the poor service because the resort is way too big. It has 603 rooms and not enough workers. We saw the cleaning people once and that’s it. No wonder they can provide new bedsheets every single day. At the same time, the owner of this resort should have thought about that.
The restaurants close early – 9:00 pm for most of them. If you stay late and want something to eat, you won’t be able to order food and room service is also closed. We couldn’t believe that. The only option left was the Sports Bar, which was meh.
To get beach towels, they have a card system. You have to walk to a booth, give your card and you’ll get a towel. Once you’re done, you bring the towel back and they give you a towel card back. We didn’t like that system because we had to do it every day but again, for how big this resort is, they have no choice but to implement something like this.
Restaurants
We tried almost all the restaurants except O’livo which is an Italian restaurant. I’ll give you my opinion on the ones we’ve tried.
- Sports Bar: It was okay. The burgers were okay, the fries were not crunchy. The nachos are the only thing I enjoyed there. I need to highlight something. There are A LOT of stray cats. If you eat outside, about 7 to 8 cats are waiting for you to feed them. I saw one guy eating his burger and being harassed by those cats. It wasn’t pleasant and cheapens the resort’s value.
- Prime Steak House: One thing about this one is the kitchen is outside but be prepared for the smoke to blow in your face. The smell stayed on our clothes and hair for the rest of the evening. The steak was tender – we liked the gravy. Again, the food was average. Nothing special.
- Kyoka: Usually you go there for the performance and their skills, the chef we had was not too skilled. He was instead making weird noises such as “ayayaye” “ouuhh ouhh”. It was getting annoying but the food was good.
- Bellum Mediterranean Breeze: We liked the presentation and the food was okay as well.
- The Buffet: I was not a fan of the breakfast buffet because I felt like all the proteins were too salty. However, we enjoyed the evening buffet a lot, it was our favourite. The pasta station was very good.
Entertainment
There was something to do every night. At 8:30 pm, there’s a show and at 10:30 pm, they open the “club” until 1:00 or 2:00 am. That’s why we don’t understand why we can’t get food/snacks in between or after. Anyway.
The performers were very skilled and enjoyed every show. One thing though, the theatre is extremely hot, almost suffocating.
Overall Experience
We went near the end of November and there were supposed to be thunderstorms and rain all week but we got amazing weather. We came back 2 shades darker. We started to enjoy our trip toward the end of our trip, We had to come to terms that it wouldn’t be the same as other places we went. However, it is a good place for a family. There are waterslides so the kids will love it. For a luxury resort, they need to work on their customer service and hire more employees. This resort is huge so it is difficult to cater to all 603 rooms. The outside of the resort is nice but the inside is questionable.
Hope you enjoy reading this review.
Take care
Ga’L
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