July 25, 2004
Traveled to Iberostar Punta Cana on 7/3-7/10/04 as part of Apple Vacations Tour. My wife and I had never been outside of the US and really had a great experience. The staff is very friendly, and willing to do anything they can to make your stay comfortable.
AIRPORT - We were not given an option of flying directly to Punta Cana Airport, instead we were routed to La Romana, and had to take a private bus to the resort. Wouldn't do this again, the bus ride took nearly 2hrs, and all you need to know is that in DR they drive much differently than in the US.
RESORT - Very nice, everything is open air, very little of the resort outside of your room and some of the restaurants is air-conditioned. Plenty of bars, bathrooms, and staff. Rooms were fine, the Dominicana and Punta Cana offer single rooms, the
Bavaro is more like condo's with multiple bedrooms. Also, the Bavaro is considered 6 Star, while the Dominicana and Punta Cana resorts are considered 5 Star - meaning you will be charged for drinks at the
Bavaro if you aren't a guest there - while Bavaro guest can go anywhere in the three resorts for free. Each resort has a different colored wrist band you are required to wear during your stay.
FOOD - There are 2 buffets open for all meals, one is considered European Styled the other American Styled. At times the food could be hit or miss, no joke - they were serving pork chops and veal for breakfast. The restaurants at the resort, which require reservations, are very good, they have 5 to choose from Mexican, Caribbean, Japanese, Steakhouse, and a fixed menu Gourmet Restaurant. We ate at all but the Caribbean and found the food to be fantastic. Don't miss out, the buffet doesn't compare.
MONEY - Take about $40 in $1 bills, as it is very hard to get change there at the resort. Everyone will tell you to use your own currency and not exchange for Dominican Peso's as you will lose when you exchange back. Tipping the maid can seriously improve the drink supply in your mini-bar. Also, take all the sunscreen, toiletries, and anything else you can think of because the supermarket at the resort is about 4X the usual price on items. My wife bought a Snickers bar for $1.65
U.S - Hawaiian Tropic Sunscreen was $22 U.S.
BEACH - Awesome, sand is white and soft, no shells. Each morning there is resort staff members down raking the sand and throwing out seaweed to make the
appearance immaculate. One thing of note - many Topless Women are on the beach - while this may not offend you - it will definitely bother your wife if she has never been exposed to it before. Also, if you have teen children you may want to warn them about staring. We saw everything from 15-70 year old women without tops.
All in all, a very nice place to visit, the summer is obviously the hottest time of the year, we found it to be quite hot at times, but this would be great in the Spring or Fall. Very friendly people who work really hard to keep you entertained and taken care of, while probably not making much money. Tourism is there number 1 income in the country. Resorts were very safe, never saw any problems, lots of security officers (not armed) and staff always around.
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