TRS Turquesa Hotel — Hotel in Higüey

Not long returned from my second visit to TRS Turquesa, Thought I would let things settle down in my mind before I wrote the review as it was disappointing to say the least. I will start with the positives, The grounds in the TRS section are as beautiful as ever, Really do get that tropical feel when laid around the main pool or walking around the property. The staff (a large proportion of them) really are amazing, Very quickly remembered our names, drinks, room number when going into the buffets etc, the little things can make a difference. Sadly like most resorts get those few miserable staff members or ones too busy on their phones to notice you stood at the bar waiting. The gym is more than adequate to keep your body ticking over. But sadly now to the negatives, We knew in advance one of the sister hotels and some restaurants would be fully closed for refurbishment, Would of maybe used the ala cartes there once or twice but thought wont impact us that much. Unknown by us they where also doing quite major work on the actual TRS section as well right next to the main pool, jack hammers going on for probably 4 hours each day in total, For people who go for short trips and spend a lot of time drinking in the pool etc this wont impact you at all if it continues, For us being from the UK, travelling for 14 days and wanting peace and quiet in the sun it was much more difficult, Early morning half of the sunbed dont really get the sun, so kind of forced into quite a small area where theres either no shade from the umbrellas etc. They where doing work on Helios roof, So often got the strong smells of paint and roofing chemicals. Again will only impact people that this is an issue for. Some will argue its quite season and I get that, Lots of resorts do work during this time, But never work of this kind and do Mexico and the Dominican the same time most years. Ended up with some people getting free upgrades if they complained and we ended up with a pretty large compensation from TUI, So both the hotel and travel company agreed there was issues and it had impacted our stay, Otherwise they would of just said its normal accept it. Had leak issues in the room, mentioned it every day for the first week and they were never able to fix it, in the end just dealt with it using the coffee pot and towels, Did receive a free hydrotherapy session for the inconvenience, Aircon whilst ok for us was rattling, Mentioned this once, but with the water issues in the end i just jammed paper behind the metal grate to stop the rattling. They were good for getting us a dehumidifier on arrival which really helps the room feel more comfortable at night. For breakfast Capricho is closed so the only TRS option is Helios, For me personally whilst the food was OK, the choice wasnt great in all honesty, Been to resorts with similar numbers of guests and way more options available, Again people only doing 3-7 days wont have an issue. The Ala Cartes all in all where pretty good, service good, Some really great meals and some very quickly forgotten (about what would expect for the price you pay) Sadly the beach had been damaged about a week before we got there, The sea has undercut pretty much most of the Palladium section, Damaged a few trees, Shower section etc. Not the hotels fault in the slightest, But in the 3 weeks after the damage there was no sign of starting to either remove the damaged things, let alone rebuild or try to fix the beach, If struggle to walk it is about a 3ft drop from the top to the actual sea level of the beach. Sargassum was in full force, Hotel was doing an ok job on keeping on top of things, But sadly if you are a beach person the likes of Punta Cana, East coast of Mexico will be massively impacted when this is bad, Hopefully things in the future can be done to either catch this further out at sea or something, Otherwise I can see a lot of movement to hotels in the La Romana part of the Dominican or especially people from the UK even changing where they travel to, Its a long flight to not have that amazing beach and sea, Personally if continued would probably pay that bit extra and go to Mauritius or the Maldives which is a shame because I do love the Caribbean area and the people. Never impacted us but the secret pool was closed half way through our stay, People thought it was to just do a deep clean because from what I had heard the place was quite dirty and pool rarely cleaned, But it turned into quite major work, differing reports on how long the pool would be closed. I think the saddest part for me with the TRS is there is so much potential for it to be a pretty good 5 star resort, Beautiful grounds, Some amazing staff, Great sized rooms that if refurbished to a good level could match or exceed much more expensive hotels, I think the design of the swim up area blocks is brilliant, Better again than a lot of way more expensive hotels I have seen. It just kind of feels for me that the management here seem more interested in staying at what I would class as a 4 star resort and pricing it accordingly. Speaking to people who have stayed at TRS Yucatan and TRS Coral this hotel doesn't come close (I cant comment on that) But if that is the case then Palladium maybe need to look at the management side of things at this hotel. Personally if I was to return to the Dominican I would pay that bit extra for Secrets Royal Beach, Felt this hotel was a much better standard for not a great deal more money (From the UK) So US Canada etc may be different, Stretch a bit more and go for Live Aqua, Secrets Tides or Secrets Esmerelda. Which is a shame because TRS Turquesa was my first ever trip to the Caribbean 13 years ago and kind of hoped I would enjoy it just as much and have a few more trips there throughout my life, I think the only way would come back is seeing a lot of great reviews and got a brilliant deal on a...

No stranger to TRS brand, I am very pleased with my most recent stay at TRS Turquesa. There were a few cons but overall we would consider this a lovers paradise. The best part about this resort is that it was a surprise 4 in 1! We booked TRS Turquesa but got to enjoy, Turquesa, Palace, Punta Cana, and Bavaro.

The food was the most important aspect to me during my 5 day stay. The first two days we were dissatisfied. Arriving on a Saturday, our first dinner was a buffet at Las Torres. Average food that night and it was also like sitting in a sauna. It is March and it was very hot inside the restaurant - no AC. La Cathedral, we went for the pasta station and the lady had no interest in her job. She tossed our noodles in hot water, put it in the sauce for 5 seconds and plated it. We were eating hot noodles. We tried to do a walk in at the Italian restaurant Portofino and they denied us without checking. I would advise everyone to not waste a meal at El Dorado, their steakhouse. The clam chowder is just broth - no clam or potatoes or anything that makes it a clam chowder. The steaks were terrible quality. For Americans, the steaks is identical to the steak you get at Denny’s (rubbery).

The next 3 days we had fantastic meals. Las Torres is very busy so it was nice to eat breakfast at Capricho - the same selection and not busy. It took forever to get an omelette cooked fresh at Las Torres but it was quick at Capricho. Bhogali had great Indian food. Small decent portions. The only con was it took 30 minutes for someone to take our order. My favorite restaurant had to be Kusko, Peruvian-Japanese cuisine. The sushi is fantastic and they only give 3-4 pieces per order so you dont get full. Recommend the beef loin entree and the freshly sliced salmon in ponzu sauce. For lunch, Helios grills fresh steaks, pork chops and seafood outside. Tasty lamb chops and vegetables at the buffet. My favorite spot for lunch was Poseidon. They had everything. Including the view. Their sanchocho was addicting. My boyfriend loved the TRS Pool lunch service. The food here is surprisingly delicious and fresh with a server to bring you your food and drinks.

A con would be the amount of mosquitos. I was constantly getting bit. In my room too. We went to buy mosquito spray at their store and it was $25! Everything was expensive here. The power also went out of our room a few times. Once, it was out for 4 hours from 10am-2pm. Avoid the public bathrooms. The lobby, pool and restaurant bathrooms are all gross and smelly. The last con would be how they rope in people for their Palladium Travel Club. When checking in, were introduced to a guy name Benaldo who told us to come back to the lobby tomorrow morning and he would take us to breakfast and show us around the resort. That he had a gift for us. Well, it cost us half our day. Quoted 90 minutes to show us around the property but we ended up in a meeting for 5 hours and the only tour we received was of Palladium Travel Club areas. It was incredibly rushed because we had only been here for half a day at this point with no real input if we liked the property or not.

Lots of pros. Casino on the property. Beautiful beach access. We went to Palladium Travel Club beach access once we became members and that might be my favorite part of the hotel. That is until I met the spa. Beautiful amentites - not crowded. They have open daybeds too! We got massages here. On time and professional. Our secondary spot was the TRS pool. The temperature was much more comfortable at the pool than our swim up room’s pool. Last, what made our trip so memorable was the amazing staff. Our butler Cindy for Villa 54 was on top of her game. She snagged all the reservations that we wanted. She called us golf cart cars every time we needed a ride somewhere. She also set up a nice rose petal and champagne night in our room for us. We made great connections with extremely friendly and caring individuals that shuttled us around - Israel, Caleb, Jorge, and Ricardo. These individuals made our trip with great tips...

After 9 days spent with my wife at TRS Turquesa. I can honestly say that this was one of the most enjoyable vacations we've had.

Service: Our main butler, Manuel, made sure all of our needs were met. We are not used to having someone to depend on for our every need, it was an adjustment. However, it let us relax for the entirety of the trip! When Manuel was on his days off, Cindy took over. She was very pleasant as well!

On our last night, Manuel prepared a romantic evening in the room for my wife and I. Rose pedals, champagne, and filled tub!

Pool: We mostly spent our time at the pool and IO Poolside Swim-Up Bar. The bartenders, Anyelo (Pronounced: "On-yellow")and Denis are the life of the party. Please tip them generously, they will both take care of you! Also, be patient, as sometimes they need to run both sides of the bar to help cover for meal breaks of the other bartender.

Drink Suggestions Mojito however substitute white rum for the Brugal Extra Viejo dark rum! This was my go-to the entire trip!

Coco-loco with Cinnamon - My wife loved these!

Pina Colada- Also a very nice drink to enjoy those extremely hot days!

Shots - Ask about "Mini-Beers", you're welcome! The women loved them!

Buffets:

If you're looking for quiet with a view, Helios for breakfast and lunch is your go-to.

If you want greater selection than Helios, which I did. I chose mostly to eat at Las Torres. It has way more selection for all meals, if you get there early before the rush its extremely pleasant and quiet. I usually enjoyed dinner there if we weren't going to any of the specialty restaurants. I showed up around 6, and usually was let in before the massive dinner rush.

Poseidon is good, however a little busy for lunch due to it being closest to the Grand Palladium pools and villas.

If there is one thing I can say, get to the buffets early. Food is typically hotter and fresher without everyone making a mess of it all.

Ala-carte Restaurants:

Tentezion - My wife loved the duck risotto. My steak was good, but was nothing to write home about.

La Boheme - The Chatot Briand was delicious.

Sumptuori- Was a good meal and ok show. Plates were full, and everything tasted delicious. Performance was ok, but I only care about the food so didnt matter about the show. You've been to one hibachi style show, you've been to them all.

Kusko- The food here was good, but nothing special. I mostly loved the civiche.

Portofino - Salad bar was good with a wide selection, and my wife and I ordered the mushroom risotto and enjoyed it!

El Dorado - Probably the best steak we've had at the resort. Steak came medium-rare as ordered. However, steaks are not as good as what you get stateside. They pass, but nothing special.

Entertainment -

POP tries to get everyone involved in the poolside activities. They work their butts off hauling all the equipment back and forth! Im not much of a dancer, but it was fun to watch! Especially with the floating yoga. Watching the uncoordinated people fall off was a guilty pleasure! Haha!

Complaints:

The main complaint we had was getting pestered left and right about massage packages.

Many complaints from others regarding the "Guided Tour" by the Travel Club staff, aka "Green Shirts". We thankfully avoided the 30min-2hr sales pitch for their membership. If you want to waste some time for discounted packages such as free tickets to the Chic Caboret, feel free! Ill gladly pay full price for the tickets as my time is worth more to me!

Showers lacked a bit of water pressure as well as temperature control. Thankfully I was sunburnt and chose cold showers. You have hot or cold, and if you find just the right spot, you'll get warm temp.

Jacuzzi, water pressure was lacking. Took an hour to fill the tub some nights. Again hot or cold, no warm temp. Floor in the room is extremely slippery when wet. Dry your feet well before walking on the tile.

Tip the cleaning staff and leave a tip for the mini bar stickers. They'll appreciate it and take care of your needs! If you have a request, a tip...