This is the fourth all inclusive resort that we have stayed in.  It is the first in the Dominican Republic.  Two of them were in Mexico, in the Yucatán area, and the other was in Costa Rica.  We have only paid for one of the resorts out of pocket.  The other three we used our points.  All the resorts were considered five star resorts, but this is the first one in which we really feel like it’s five star.  

We arrived early, around 11:30am and they gave us these delicious purple drinks. I know they had blueberry and champagne. They checked us in and our room was already available. It was a quick and easy process.

First of all, it’s not a massive resort.  We are staying in the adult only side (as we did all the other resorts).  There is another section that has kids that we are allowed to visit and use their facilities as well.  In our side of the resort, there are two pools, but one is for club guests only.  You have beach access and restaurants that are adult only. There is a steakhouse, Indian, Peruvian, French Polynesian and Caribbean restaurants as well as a buffet, coffee cafe,  and numerous bars, including a specialty martini bar.  On the other side, there is another buffet, Asian, Italian, Caribbean, as well as a coffee cafe and numerous bars.  It also has the water park and spa.  The water park is away from both hotel areas and has a lazy river, eight water slides, and a kids play area as well as a clubhouse for teens.  There is also a spot for both sides on the beach to use kayaks, SUPs, and Hobie cats for half hour time slots for free. I like that everything is very separate and we can decide to go to the other side or not.  

We are very impressed with the service here.  When we are at the pool there is a waiter/waitress that comes around constantly. They seem disappointed if you don’t order anything. The buffet has an amazing selection of foods.  At lunch our waiter made me a smoothie with mango because they didn’t have mango juice, so he got cut mangos for me and made a delicious drink.  They have a grill where you can get several types of fish, shrimp, chicken, and two cuts of beef.  They also have a pasta and salad stations and several areas with traditional Dominican foods.  The desert selection looks like something you would see in a pastry shop.  And it is all very tasty.  Each restaurant has specialty drinks and the menus are not huge.  I like that you can see online what they have to eat so you can decide where to go.  We have yet to wait in line to eat. 

We went to the water park several times. The lazy river was fun, but you get soaked with various water elements as you float through.  We went around twice every time we did it. There are several spots to get out if you wish.  You can also choose a tube for two people or a solo one.  We took the tube up the the water slide.  It was a fast ride. We tipped at the end and unfortunately my husband’s knee hit the back of my head, but it was the only calamity of the day (which is saying something since we are both very clumsy).  I also tried one of the slides that you can ride sitting up and one of the slower ones that you lay down with your arms folded across your chest.  My husband tried a faster one and still wants to try to one that goes straight down. Water slides are not my favorite, but I liked the lazy river. There were not that many people there when we went on a Tuesday, but later in the week there were a lot more people. 

We did not try the spa.  It is located in this rocky looking outcrop area. We went inside, but we could just see the lobby.  If you get a massage you also get access to the spa area with a steam room, sauna, and pool area. We couldn’t see it because it would disturb the guests.  The cheapest massage starts at $199. Since we can get excellent massages for $55 at home, we didn’t think the price was worth it. 

Every day we signed up for a time on the Hobie Cat. They let you go out on it by yourself.  My husband was an excellent sailor.  I just go for the ride.  When it’s time to come in, they blow a whistle and wave you in for the next group to take a ride.  They were not allowing people on the SUPs because of the wind speed. We also didn’t feel like taking a kayak because of said wind.  They have tandem and single kayaks you can use. Each session is for 30 minutes, but one day they let us stay out for 45 because no one was signed up. Our last day we couldn’t use it because they were not letting people in the water.  

Every day a schedule of events comes out. They have a good number of fitness classes both inside and outside and even in the pool.  They also have pickle ball, corn hole, archery, volleyball, ping pong, and other beach games for you to play. One day I wanted to take a sushi making class but it turned out to be private.  Instead I went to a painting class.  It was fun.  They let the canvases dry and gave them to us the next day. 

We went to the gym a few times to use the cardio machines. There is one room with all the machines, another for classes, another with weights and TRX equipment.  It is air conditioned and each cardio machine has a fan, which was nice.  They also provide water (cold or room temperature) and towels.  

At night they have different acts at the outdoor theater on the other side of the resort.  They also show a cartoon on an outdoor screen for the kids.  The only thing we watched was a magic show.  It was entertaining. 

It was a very relaxing vacation in which we didn’t run into any issues, which was not the case with the other resorts. I also enjoyed speaking Spanish with many of the people who worked there. They were appreciative that I could speak their language with them.  However, there is always someone that speaks English if you don’t speak Spanish.