Paradisus Punta Cana Resort — Hotel in Higüey

The room had horrible air conditioning. Everyone complained about it in the resort because they preset it so that it only works like a fan to save money. We had to complain because the light outside of our room was out for 3 days and the door to the room that my parents were in was broken. When I was at the bar and happened to talk to another guest that was staying at the reserve which is even more expensive, she told me that they had no electricity for 5 days.

To get around the resort, little golf carts come around certain areas to take you where you want to go within the resort. Many times we waited like an hour for them to come and even had to ask guest services to call them because they never showed up.

The hotel has NO entertainment. They announced shows on the events calendar but it was just a DJ in the lobby and on the beach one time where three of the workers were just dancing and two guys had glow sticks. By one of the dining areas, they have a tiny area with a small bar that they called a club. The only people that looked as though they were enjoying it was the young kids because they were able to get alcoholic beverages despite being extremely young. I saw so many really young kids drinking alcohol which was disturbing.

My husband and I was so bored that we decided to purchase an excursion tickets. Unfortunately, I got food poisoning that night. All night, I had excruciating pains in my stomach and had constant diarrhea. My mother, my uncle and his wife also got sick. I think my uncle was the most sick because he couldn’t stop vomiting. My husband went to the booth in the resort that we bought the excursion at to cancel because we did not feel good. The lady that sold it to us told us that we could get a refund if we went to the doctor and showed them the documentation. My husband shortly after took me to the doctor that is located right in the resort. When I rushed to the bathroom in the clinic, there was no soap there. When I mentioned it to the doctor, she gave me a little bottle with oil in it. How sanitary can this place possibly be that they do not even have soap in the clinic.

After my husband gave the place that we bought the excursion from the documents from the doctor, the manager named Ismael was making excuses not to refund the money. He stated that the document from the doctor was missing a stamp. My husband went back to the clinic in the resort with the girl who sold us the tickets and the doctor said that they do not use a stamp, that the logo that says the resorts name on it was suffice. Bottom line, they didn’t want to refund the money. My husband then went back to guest services and complained. He talked to a lady named Rocio Reyes that contacted Ismael to speak about the matter. When she told Ismael that it is the resorts policy that the money for the excursions had to be refunded if we had a doctors note, he lied and said that he was refunding the money.

My husband saw that no refund was posted on his account so we then returned to guest services and asked for the person in charge of the hotel. They called a man named Oscar De La Cruz which claimed to be the guest service manager but gave me a card that said “Guest Service Concierge” with “Concierge” crossed out and manager written underneath it. He had assured me that he would get us our refund because it was the resorts policy and that he would contact us back. To this day, we got no refund and no call or email. I cannot believe that a place that according to the internet is rated 5 stars has such horrible conditions (broken door, no electricity, staff that lies to customers, and unsanitary conditions). I plan on putting a review on as many sites as possible so that people can become aware of the circumstances there before booking their trip. I definitely do NOT recommend this place. My husband and I travel a lot and have never experienced anything like this. As a matter of fact, I will NOT ever stay at any resort that the company “Melia” owns. My advice is, do yourself a favor and stay away...

I want to start by saying that I am a Senior Concierge at a Luxury Collection Hotel in London and a member of a world-renowned society “Les Clefs d’Or”. So, I do know a lot about a 5-star service. Let me tell you now about “PARADISUS Punta Cana Resort” who are claiming that they are a 5-star service. I have stayed there from 28th January for 7 nights with my wife and my infant child. So, let me tell you about their service point by point. Had a reservation at their Fuego restaurant for one of the evenings, when we got there, door was closed and no sign explaining why it was closed. Had to walk down to M Bar to ask what is going on, where some of the stuff members just told us that they have moved to the Main Lobby. Waited for the car to takes to the main lobby with another couple who also were shocked. On arrival to the new location, where no sign states that this is Fuego now, receptionist explained us that for today we have moved here. No apologies were expressed by anyone who we encountered in regards of this situation. One day I forgot my daughters swimming suit and hat at the pool, so I approached a gentleman in green T-Shirt standing where you get a towel for your sunbeds (near the swim up bar). I asked him about it, and he told me he was not working here yesterday, but he will ask Pool Manager once he arrives. After this, he asked if I can do him a favour, he said he was hungry and was wondering if I can bring him a Hamburgesa from the restaurant. I was shocked and did not know what to say to that, I work for 10 years in hospitality and I would never even think to ask anything like that to any of my guests. That is just unacceptable. Every time we went for breakfast or lunch at Gabi Beach and ask for a baby chair it would pretty much always take long time and I would have to ask multiple people to finally find one who actually cares to bring one. Few times I asked hostess to bring it and she would say 1 minute and then would go on chatting and laughing to her colleague and I would have to stay there and hold my baby while she finishes her chat. Time to check-out, for an All-Inclusive package I cannot imagine it can be a long process, as there should not be any extra charges. Anyway, firstly receptionist forgot her password to log in, she asked her colleague to help. He started trying, but then moved to his station to check something and there was someone else who approached him, and he started serving them. Meanwhile I am still waiting, then phone rings and receptionist picks it up in front of me while serving me and gets on with conversation for 5 minutes (I am not exaggerating). I am getting really upset already as in my hotel I am trained not to pick up a phone until I have finished helping guest in front of me. That is just plain rude! I am standing there waiting for a simple process and wasting my last minutes which I could spend by the bar with the drink. Now I am telling her off, suddenly some movement happens, and they pay attention to me and start the process. However, once again no one even cared to express their apologies for inconvenience caused. *I had to delete few points as it is to long for google, hopefully tripadvisor will not cut me short There were many other small service issues, but they are not worth mentioning. I would just say that in general in this hotel not many staff members have any urgency to assist the guest. If I were an inspection, I would remove 2 stars from this hotel. As based on the service I observed that is a 3-star hotel at best. It was not all negative experience there were good moments too. I can mention that guys at the Swim Up bar were quite good, especially Marcelo and everyone at the Kids Club were really nice and were doing a great job. Also, the rooms and hotel design itself is quite nice, great pool and clean sandy beach. Drinks and food were good as well. So, overall if the hotel improves their service to actual 5-star level it can be an...

Pros:

The resort is beautiful. The staff were very kind and friendly. Hansel Evangelista, entertainment staff member, was exceptional at making everyone feel welcome and special. Lissette, our Concierge was great at making you feel right at home. Very attentive and friendly.

Selena Cartro, server at bar Mama & Juana gave us amazing service with just the right amount of sass. Actually all of the servers and bartenders at this location were great! The best drinks were here.

On our second night we dined at Alula Beach Club. The food was terrific. I had seafood pasta and a Tiramisu that rocked my world. Bartender, Alexander, couldn't have been more on top of things. A great personality to have behind the bar. Our server, Elvis, was courteous and professional.

Snacks at Ruby Rocks, Rocked! The Shrimp tacos were tasty, although not as spicy as I would have liked. It's resort food to please the masses, so how much more can you expect? The staff are welcoming and genuine. Janahira and Estefany made each visit a pleasure.

Sandra, our housekeeping staff for building two, kept our room clean and fresh. No small feat when dealing with an all suite resort full of families.

As a BEYOND guest, we loved being able to have a la carte breakfast at Mangu. Abraham and Aney always greeted us with smiles and treated us very well, which was a great way to wake up each morning.

We wanted to buy a bottle of rum to bring back home as a gift. Kirsy Ramos, at the Circle bar, gave us a very impromptu wine tasting of all the best rums on offer. She spent a lot of time with us and also made us a very tasty rum sour. This was one of the highlights of our trip!

Cons:

There was a mix up with our room reservation, even though we confirmed multiple times, months in advance. We did not get the swim out room we booked. That is not a reflection of the front line workers at the resort, but an issue with communication between Melia Circle staff and the reservation staff at the resort. When conversing with other guests we discovered our reservation wasn't the only one that was incorrect.

The swim out rooms are not private swimming areas. For the money charged they should be or the price should be dropped, as they are as expensive as private swim out rooms at other resorts.

No direct beach access. Quick five minute shuttle to access the beach area.

There is a service road which runs directly behind building five and six. This is also the road which shuttles guests to the beach. It's very close to Habitat and the water park for families who are up and about early. If you are going with adults good luck if you plan on sleeping later in this area. We were awake to the sound of vehicles very early in the morning. On the second day we had our room changed to building two, which was further away from the action, but the quiet was very welcome.

The cleanliness of our original room in building five was not great. Dirty sink with toothpaste globs in it. Door separating the bedroom from the bathroom was broken off it's hinges. Missing artwork on the walls, no area rug in the living room and accent pillows missing throughout. Thankfully the room we were moved to in building two was clean and exactly as expected.

Final Thoughts:

We enjoyed the very talented nightly singers/dancers/musicians, but this isn't a resort you go to for  entertainment.

We knew this resort wasn't adults only, but we weren't quite prepared for just how family oriented it was. It's not romantic or quiet. If that is an issue then you should choose to stay at one of Melia's Adults Only properties. We had a great time at Paradisus La Perla in Playa de...