After reading all of the terrible reviews about this resort I wanted to cancel the trip, I'm so glad I didn't. It was amazing, everything, the food, beach, grounds, staff, entertainment.. Everything. There was always something to do. Pool was very big, only annoying part was that there was a few people who sat at the pool bar all day ... But there's those people everywhere. The beach was amazing, if you wanted to get a shaded place to sit you'd have to go early in the morning.you could walk for awhile and check out shops, there were water sports, we did the banana, it was so fun 4 people was 60$ American but so worth it. Breakfast buffet was good, lots of options. Lunch was good as well. Supper was always amazing, again - so many different options. We went to the steakhouse, Italian and Japanese.. All were so good . Italian and Japanese were my favourite, the steak wasn't cooked very well but was still good! People need to remember that you're in a 3rd world country, food isn't the same there as it is where your from. There's also a snack bar open from 11:00 pm - 4:00am. They put on a show every night - they're not the best but it's entertaining and something to do. Only thing I'd change about the resort is that they close the pool at 6 pm .. A little early. They also have some type of competition at 4 at the pool every day, Mrs. Bikini .. Mr sexy .. Etc .. Very funny. As for the rooms- ours was fine. Needed to be updated a little bit.. Door could barley close, sure the bathtub could use a little polishing up, but you're hardly in your room. Grounds were amazing, remember to tip the workers , especially bartenders and maids .. Hardly seen anyone tipping . It's the least you can do, it was a 10\10 for me, would to back right now if I could. Stayed April 8th - April 16th

Nice resort, very large and spread out, not suitable for folks that have trouble walking. My mom found the distances difficult, especially when getting picked up for excursions at the "meeting point", which was a significant walk from the lobby. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. Our room was satisfactory, and certainly good for the price($1670/13days). For early arrivals; check-in is at 3pm. There is a fee for wireless internet; I paid $60usd for two weeks. It performed quite well and coverage around the resort was acceptable. You have to pay for a safe in the room($3usd/day I think). The food was quite good; its a busy spot so be prepared for lots of people in the main buffet restaurant. I used a translator app to get some spanish phrases for speaking with the restaurant staff, as I'm Celiac and had to ask about everything. It was a little tedious, but I made out ok. The staff at the resort was excellent, always helpful, friendly, and I didn't see one person ever get upset or be rude. The Entertainment team was supurb, great people, always accommodating and doing their best to see that you're having a good time. I must mention some of the Entertainment staff who helped make the vacation a good one; Papa Smurf, El Chivo, Lady Gaga(choreographer/dancer) Melvin(choreographer/dancer), La Flaca and the other dancers/performers, all genuine, friendly people. The nightly entertainment(dance theater) was always enjoyable with different themes every night, and incredibly talented dancers. One of the highlights of the resort. Also, the house band was very good, handling pop and local music with the utmost professionalism. I love hearing Dominican music. The beach was nice. You could walk the beach forever. Quite windy in this area, the sand is brown and the beach fairly narrow. Some may prefer calmer winds, and a white sand beach with more depth. Still beautiful though. Water temperature was quite warm, likely high 70s. For currency, I advise Canadians to change your money to USD before leaving home and bring small denominations for tips you'd like to give the staff you really appreciate. I found out the hard way that the US dollar is favored there, and the Canadian dollar is valued less than what the exchange rate is on the world market. If you exchange CAD for Dominican Pesos, you lose. Then,if you want to buy with pesos an excursion priced in USD, they use the US exchange rate(same as the world market) so you lose a second time. 1 cad - 31.5 pesos(world market 34.8) 1usd = 46 pesos. Lesson learned for me; take USD or use your credit card for excursions. Local vendors accept USD and Pesos. The Saona Island excursion was great. Time on the island was a little short. Lots of time cruising on the catamaran to and from the island. Next time I go, I'll plan on taking the excursion to Catalina Island. Did the Bavaro Splash excursion(speedboat, snorkel, and snuba). Snuba was the highlight of the trip. The transportation was an open air Truck(dirt flying off a dump truck ahead). That was somewhat unpleasant and I think they should be using air-conditioned buses. I did the Zipline Excursion in the Anamuya region. That was a fun adventure and recommend it. Be aware though, if they have people on the bus that are going to the monkey zoo, you may be taking an extra 15 minutes of really bumpy road on the way back, in order to pickup the monkey zoo people....not so cool.