Secrets La Romana Resort & Spa — Hotel in La Hispaniola

We travelled as a family with two young children 5yo and 7yo. Overall this was a really wonderful Tui package holiday at the Hilton La Romana.||Pros||Leg room on the Tui flight economy was excellent. I’m 6’3” and it was some of the best leg room i’ve had. Food was decent enough. ||The hotel is exceptionally clean. One of the most constantly clean hotels that we have stayed in. Generally speaking all of the staffs attention to detail is second to none. The hotel is very well set out, with a fabulous relaxed feel everywhere you go, long enough distances to have a little walk from place to place but not big enough to feel like all you do is walking when you need something.||The ground floor room (we were in 5132) was great for what we needed. Two double beds of a decent size that were perfectly suitable for my wife and I, and our two children sharing. We were able to push the bed against the wall to stop our 5yo from falling out! Plenty of space around the beds to move, relax, have all our luggage etc. Not quite enough storage to hang everything but I don't mind living out of drawers while my wife hangs her stuff, and they gave us 10 extra hangers when we asked. Lovely little outdoor space at the back of the room that had views of the Enclave family pool and is incredibly close to the Enclave family bar if you decide to upgrade to Enclave (we didn't). Wet room Shower was spacious, enough for me to shower both our kids at once. It had a handheld and overhead rain shower. Pressure and temperature was excellent. Again, bathroom was pretty much always very clean. The location had pros and cons (see cons later on) but in terms of walking out of our front door and getting to the restaurant, main pool, kids activities, individual restaurants etc it was fabulous. Large TV in room but we never turned it on. Hair dryer was acceptable power. Air con had great levels of controls and was very efficient. You certainly need to use it as much as possible to stop the feeling of damp in the room. ||The staff - 99% of the staff are absolutely excellent. The all round level of service is super attentive and happy to help whenever needed. Some people really went above and beyond when trying to create a perfect holiday for us though and they will be named later on. ||My wife had the signature Amber massage and it was 10/10 for her. Wonderful and well worth the $130 for 50 minutes as a holiday treat.||They make a great Negroni! The standard Rose wine is also very good. Selection of kids drinks and mocktails are very good.||The beach is incredible. So clean, so unbelievably warm and with beautiful fine sand throughout. Also lovely and shallow for the little kids. There are some beautiful fish to be seen in the waters and I even got the chance to swim with the friendly and highly sociable Manatees for about 40 minutes. It made my holiday! Sadly they only appeared once in our 12 days. ||The ability to buy and use pool toys in the main pool absolutely made the holiday for our kids!||We played pickle ball one morning and it was fun but too hot really for the kids. You have to wear decent clothes and proper trainers/shoes. The courts are supposed to be pretty much brand new but it looks like the heat has ruined the surface. Was still good fun while it lasted though!||The waterpark was absolutely fantastic - really well designed (well apart from the lazy river isn’t very ‘lazy’ due to the multiple water hazards and waterfalls you need to go under!) - It’s so clean, safe and the lifeguards and staff are great. Some were clearly fed up being there but most were very very good. The little kids area is excellent as its so shallow but lots of fun and the slides are brilliant for both kids and adults. Get on the red slide - you’ll love it!! ||The sea zumba has to be done! it’s a lot of fun.||cons|||food cooking and quality - this was the greatest downfall for us. It was so unpredictable, especially in the buffet. We found there were very few healthy options, especially at breakfast, apart from the fruit bar, and the fried food all just got a bit samey and undesirable. We also loved eating at the coastal grill as waiter/waitress service was a welcome change but we had the brisket three times and each time it was cooked differently. On the last night my wife and I ordered the fish and hers was overcooked and mine was hugely undercooked. However we still ate there 3 times so it wasn’t so bad that we couldn’t make do.|room cleaning was touch and go despite leaving tips - most of the time it was fine, but we did have dirty cups and spoons for 3 days.|mini bar snacks weren’t always refreshed despite asking multiple times |about 4 times during our 11 nights the room location wasn’t that great for noise. As it is directly at the junction where people come in from the pool area, we found that people would stand outside the room late at night / early morning and have their (drunken!) conversations. It woke us up a few times. Luckily the kids didn’t wake up and it wasn’t that much of a problem. I can see some people getting frustrated by it though. |pillows were poor|as a whisky/rum enthusiast, the spirits selection wasn’t as good as other Caribbean holidays we’ve had.|Having to be served food at lots of stations in the buffet was a pain. Sometimes it was very difficult to explain what you wanted, and you ended up just wishing so much that you could serve yourself.|There are not enough umbrellas for all the loungers. Especially on the beach. This meant that, as a family with young children, we needed to reserve loungers - we hate doing this, but we were forced to, as during our stay, the reserving of loungers from others got more and more and one day we found ourselves without the ability to have any umbrellas at all for the whole day. We were lucky that it wasn’t at full capacity as I cannot imagine the disappointment of no shade, and the battle over loungers. when the hotel is full. We even had an umbrella taken from our area when we were getting food, when it was obvious we we using the loungers.|The staff at the watersports (beachfront) were absolutely miserable - very unhelpful and verging on rude when trying to ask them what we needed to do. The staff in the watersports hut were lovely though.||Notes ||It’s worth noting that only a few of the staff have excellent English as a language. There were plenty of times when communication was slightly tricky. But that is absolutely fine and something that we certainly do not expect. We are in a foreign country after all and some staff have not had the luxury of being able to learn another language. I really tried hard to learn and use as much Spanish as possible and it seemed to be appreciated. However if you can’t do this, you will definitely get by as the overall knowledge of basic English is good|waiting for baggage at Punta Cana was almost an hour.|tipping worked fine and was welcomed - We tipped anything between $3 and $10. We tipped the room maid, and we tipped various waiters and waitresses. We also tipped a few people around the pool.|You will definitely need factor 50 for the kids. It was extremely hot and there were lots of burned kids and adults when we were there. We also used factor 50 and 30 on the last few days. |We didn’t use the kids club as such but it seemed to be run ok as an onlooker. The kids club staff were really nice and responsible, when we opted to do some activities run by the kids club. We stayed with our kids during the activities. |Is Enclave worth it? I’d say no not really for people in our position - the kids absolutely loved everything that was on offer and didn’t need any more. Also it is quite a big extra expense for us. However if money wasn’t an issue then i’m sure lots of people will say the additional treats would be worth it.|we were asked in advance to complete the ‘enter DR form online’ but we never needed to show the QR code or form at all. I’m sure they had it all on file though.||Some staff that need a mention ||Caesar Hernandez did an amazing job helping us and others and making sure everything was perfect around the pool and in other areas. His people skills are excellent and he was always so friendly - he would make an excellent butler. ||Yeury did an excellent job with the water activities||Jose Alberto was absolutely amazing at the Coastal Grill. A very fine waiter. |Mayobanex Castillo was also excellent and super friendly at the Coastal Grill||Alejandrina Cabrera was superb with the kids.||Eric Mercedes and Franchesca Brito made an excellent team on our last night at the Coastal Grill||Madelyn Martinez and Orbis Peguero were fabulous throughoutout our whole stay in the buffet restaurant. ||Finally ALL the main pool bar staff were superb. They have a tough job sometimes with the location and the customers (!) but they were fantastic and never put a foot wrong. ||All in all, a very very...

We are returning guests to this property. We came to get away from the daily stresses to relax and have a good time. Unfortunately this hotel has changed for the worse. From the moment we checked in we were constantly being upsold to upgrade to Enclave although we knew we didn't need this service as hotel was around 50-60% booked. We were given rooms on the third floor although I told the receptionist that I was tired of climbing stairs knew that they didn't have elevators, she gave them to us anyway. Upon arriving to our room with the bell boy we were unable to enter our room as the keys were not working. The bell boy didn't offer to go and get us new keys rather he called the house keeping to temporarily let us in and he told us that we should go by the lobby to get our keys done as he was too buy. We had strong smell of mold in the room and most of their power sockets were not working as well. Our usb power sockets were not working well too, you had to jiggle the head to work and it kept charging and not. The next day requested to be moved to a room on the ground level because of the tiresome climb. They did find us a room with moldy smell. We were too tired to complain and just stayed there. The power charging problem also continued in this room as well. We asked numerous times to the operator to send us someone to have a look and no one ever came. Then I had a guest visit the property on a day pass and the next day he wanted to come by and wait at the main entrance to give me something. I went to the lobby and asked the concierge whether they were able to send me with the Buggy/Golf Cart to the main gate to pick up the item they brought for me. The person at the concierge did confirm that I would be able and I waited almost one hour in the lobby for my guest to call me when they arrived to the main gate so that I would be late. I then came to the concierge and I said I am ready to be driven to the gate and only then the person said that I couldn't because the bell captain said NO. I said you already confirmed and now I couldn't Frustrated with them I walked to the first gate in the blistering heat with a sore leg so as not to be late to my guest where the person at the gate didn't allow me to go further. I then called my guest to come to the beach area where I finally met him. I complained to the reception asking to talk to a manager and they said manager was on holiday and gave me some low level assistant concierge manage called Angelo, who firstly told me he doesn't care that I am returning customer and that I mixed up the difference between buggy and golf cart. This has nothing to do with the point that I wasn't offered the service that I was promised to go tot the main gate and I was prepared to tip 20$. He kept disrespecting me as a guest and I wasn't able to meet any director or manager of higher level, they all seemed to be on vacation or not interested. I asked another hotel staff at the pool area to call manager and he said he will come in the next 15 minutes, and 2 hours later no one ever came. I am truly disappointed with the whole service, I never ever got an apology from the hotel team when I mentioned all my problems and I truly liked this property and I even recommend it to lots of my friends, but because of this I will mark a big X on this hotel to avoid at all costs as it has gone down way below our expectations. We are very well travelled guests and we don't need this kind of stupid disrespectful treatment from anyone, especially when we are on vacation where we want to relax and have a good time. Only thing that we can say was ok was the quality of the drinks and food, other that the staff are all very nervous, unpleasant and unfriendly. I remember previous stays were they were much better, and the fact that no manager ever approached us to listen to our problems was a big NO NO for this property. Avoid this property...

This was our third stay at this hotel in recent years – the first time under the Secrets brand (our previous visits were when it was still Hilton).
We always choose a King Room with Garden View, under the Preferred Club (formerly Enclave), for 9 nights.
Overall, we truly enjoy this hotel – it has many qualities that keep us coming back – but there are a few areas that could be improved. This year, we felt some differences compared to previous stays, which made us wonder if we’d return for a fourth time.

Beach – Still Absolutely Stunning! The beach remains one of the highlights: the water is wonderfully warm, crystal-clear, and completely free of seaweed. It’s just perfect.

Preferred Beach – Needs a Little More Attention During our 9-day stay, we noticed that the security presence on the Preferred beach area was much lighter than before – we only saw the guard a few times, and our room number was rarely checked. This meant that some families with teenagers (underage for this area) stayed there without restriction. We also saw some guests smoking, which wasn’t addressed.
It’s a small detail, but in previous years the Preferred area felt more exclusive and better monitored.

Rooms The rooms are spacious, comfortable, and spotlessly clean.
We stayed in Building 1, which we consider the most peaceful.

Food We were pleasantly surprised with the food, despite some online reviews suggesting otherwise. Noor remains our favourite, especially for the grilled meats and black rice. Mare serves an excellent salmon dish. Chinola and Sakura also stood out for their tasty meals. The Caoba buffet has good variety and quality. We tried the French restaurant on the Dreams side once, and while the food was good, the wait times (40 minutes for a table and then 20 minutes for someone to take our order) were a bit frustrating – probably due to staff shortages. Speaking of service, there is a noticeable lack of staff in some restaurants. Orders and drinks (even something simple like soda) often took a while to arrive, though the staff are always polite and do their best. Aroma Café:
The coffee is excellent! However, we did notice some wasps around the pastry cabinet one day – probably due to the sweet pastries being left uncovered. It’s an easy fix with better maintenance.
This was also the first year we saw a few cockroaches in the hotel, which surprised us as we’d never seen this before.

Service The staff are generally very friendly and helpful.
However, the reception team at the Preferred Lounge didn’t seem as efficient as in previous visits. For example, when we had an issue with the TV, we were told it was a “general problem,” but the main reception immediately fixed it with a simple cable change.
We also tried to book a courtesy room through the lounge but weren’t fully confident in the process – and later found out the booking hadn’t been made.

Entertainment & Activities The beach Zumba class was great fun!
Evening shows, however, seemed less impressive compared to previous years – I still remember the incredible circus show from our first visit, and this year’s was a bit weaker.
That said, the entertainment team is always cheerful and motivating, and they go above and beyond to get guests involved.

Overall Impression Secrets La Romana remains a beautiful resort, with a breathtaking beach, comfortable rooms, and good food.
While we noticed some areas that could use a little improvement (Preferred Club service, evening shows, and maintenance details like the café pastries), we still had a lovely stay. We hope management will look into these small issues, as this hotel has everything it takes to continue being one of our favourite...