Let me start by saying that before leaving for this resort I was a little trepidatious because people had complained about several different things. However, upon the conclusion of my week at this resort I was left wondering if the people who wrote those bad reviews stayed at the same resort! The resort was truly one of the best vacations that my family has ever been on. I do not normally write reviews but was compelled to write this one in the hope that people will read this and not listen to the other reviewers who clearly have expectations that could not be met by any resort, much less one at this price point. I traveled with my parents, sister, her boyfriend and my boyfriend. My boyfriend and I are in our 20's, my sister and her boyfriend are in their 30's and my parents are in their late 50's/early 60's and we all had the same opinion about the resort.

Beach and Pool:
First and foremost, the beach was one of the most beautiful that I have seen. Between myself and my family, we have traveled pretty extensively through the Caribbean and Europe and still found it one of the nicest. The tanning beds were quite possibly one of the best inventions that was ever created for the beach and we never had a problem getting three, even when we slept in and had a late breakfast before heading to the beach. The sand was wonderfully soft and white and the water was beautiful and turquoise. There was very little seaweed and what little seaweed there was, was quickly raked up by the resort staff and removed. There was great butler service on the beach for drinks and unlike previous reviews we did not find that this service was non-existent. The pool was also wonderful. The swim up bar was great and there was plenty of activities if you wanted to participate. Again, unlike other reviews we did not find the Animation team annoying. They would recruit you for activities if you desired to participate but would leave you alone if you did not wish to do so. They did a great job keeping the guests entertained and really made an effort to have a variety of activities available. My boyfriend especially liked the beach volleyball!

Spa:

My Mom, sister, and I all had appointments at the spa and found the experience great. The massages were in a great hut near babbling water and the staff was nice. As a regular spa goer in a big city at home, I found the atmosphere was exactly what a spa should be and the prices were relatively reasonable for a resort.

Food:

Now this was the area that I was most worried about after reading previous reviews but those worries were misguided. The staff truly makes such an effort to provide a variety of food and excellent service. The morning and lunch buffets had a great selection. I think the key to the food at this resort is picking things that you know are fresh and have not sat out. The lunch buffet had a great pasta station where fresh pasta was made to your individual taste and the morning buffet did the same thing with omelets. I did not have one problem with any of the food and I normally have a very tempermental stomach and am also an extremely picky eater. We talked to several other guests and found they did not have any problems either. The a la carte restaurants were also great. My family and I ate at the Italian restaurants at our resort and at the neighboring resort and both were wonderful. They truly do special touches such as bringing bruschetta for the table or delicious welcome drinks. We also ate at the Mare Nostrum restaurant which had the most beautiful atmosphere right on the beach. The fondue restaurant was also a crowd pleaser and was my personal favorite. The shrimp there was fantasic!

Room and Staff:

Our room was truly lovely. The room was cleaned twice daily and we always had fresh towels and beautiful flowers upon our return to the room. Bottled water was restocked daily as well as Coke and beer. All of the water at the resort is filtered except the shower and sink water so that was never a problem! We did tip our housekeeper two dollars daily but she did such a great job, it was well deserved. The room is spacious and the beds were very comfortable. We were in building four and my parents were in five but both were close to the pool and beach. The staff all throughout the resort were so upbeat and always willng to help. You can really tell how much effort they put in to keep the guests happy.

Resort Grounds/Check-in:

The resort grounds were beautiful. The landscaping was well-maintained and always clean. The resort itself was spotless. The lobby was spacious and had a lovely bar. Our check in went smoothly with a cold towel and welcome drink to greet us. The bus ride from the airport was not nearly what other reviewers have written. Although it was a bit bumpy and the town you drive through is poor, this is neither the fault of the resort or the responsibility. If you have traveled to any other Islands in the Caribbean, you will find that most of them share this quality in that they are poor countries with neither the resources or the manpower to have the road systems we have at home.

Overall, I have come to the conclusion that some people forget what the art of traveling is about and that is that you are experiencing another culture. In this same vein, this means that you should acclimate to their culture, not the other way around. The people who wrote bad reviews also seem to forget that this is an all-inclusive resort. Therefore you are never going to get five-star dining because you are not paying for five-star dining. The resort did a fantastic job getting as close to this standard as they could get and we were very appreciative. If you are going on vacation for five star dining then go to NYC and spend hundreds of dollars instead of an all-inclusive resort on an island in the Caribbean. My parents have stayed at several Sandals resorts which were triple the price of this resort and found the food to be the same quality. I hope this review helps those that felt the same trepidation as I did upon reading previous reviews. Don't listen to them! My boyfriend and I just completed the Bar exam two days before leaving for this vacation and needed a break from the real world after three years of law school and two months of 24/7 studying. This was the perfect relaxing, stress-free vacation!

We are so happy that we chose this resort. Being adults-only meant that it was a much more mature and peaceful environment. Yes, people still had fun, especially in the pool area, but there were no screaming kids (and no turds in the pool! Yes, we saw a poo in the pool at the sister resort where we did scuba instruction).

The sister resort was a couple-minute walk away, plus they had shuttles. There are more food options, nightly entertainment (moderately entertaining), a late-night disco, and nice grounds to walk around there. There are a lot more birds wandering the grounds over there. We took a random early morning walk along the mangrove path to the neighbor lobby and were delighted by all the birds and fish we saw along the way.

The room was very nice. We were concerned about some little ant-like bugs when we first arrived. We told the front desk and they took care of it. We later realized that every time the cleaning lady put new flowers in the bathroom, the little bugs came out of the flowers. Harmless, and we happened to have a little natural bug repellent that took care of them.

The cleaning ladies work hard and long hours. Sometimes they'd forget a towel or something, but if it was important enough to call the desk or ask her in the hall, we always got what we needed in minutes. Even when we broke a lamp late in the night, she was there in minutes to clean it up. She certainly deserved a little tip left daily.

It does help to know some spanish. It will get you things you need much easier!

The staff there was wonderful. There is even one guy on the grounds-crew that will take off his boots and shimmy up a tree for coconuts and cut them open for you to drink, and refill at the bar with more drinks! He did not ask for payment, but we tipped him decent for all the effort, and we loved our fresh coconut! Try to catch their names and you can fill-out a "smile" form to hand in at the desk and hopefully help your favorite staff earn incentives. (the forms are in your room when you arrive)

The food was all good. The buffets always had good selections. The smaller buffet has a wonderful view of the ocean. My vegetarian wife always found decent meals at the buffets. The restaurants however are not vegetarian delights. Only the Italian restaurants at both resorts had vegetarian options. The fondu place was nice also, but for some reason we only got bread to dip in the cheese, no veggies like the menu said. The seafood restaurant did make a special dish for my wife by running to the buffet for a few veggies and cooking them. Nothing special, but at least she wasn't eating bread while I ate shrimp and salmon. It was sort of frustrating to be limited so much by vegetarian needs. Doesn't seem like it should be so difficult.

Overall the grounds were immaculate and beautiful! The stone walkways did get hot so remember sandles. The VIP beds on the beaches were really great, and the other bungalows for beach chairs were great too. Another nice thing about this small resort is that you don't have to worry about reserving your chairs early in the AM. There are always open chairs. We never left blankets to reserve spots while we left to eat. We always found a nice place to relax when we got back. Granted, the VIP beds helped the cause a lot.

I'd highly recommend this place to honeymooners and couples not looking for wild night life.

My husband and I stayed at this resort for 5 nights. The resort is so beautiful and the beaches took my breath away. Our room was great and everything was kept extremely clean - room, beach and the grounds.

We too, were a little nervous about the food considering we had read reviews from this site before we went. The food was fine. We did have a little bit of upset stomach but that can probably be expected due to the kinds of food we tried that we were not used to. But overall, the food was fine.

The only trouble we had was that we did not speak Spanish fluently. Most of the staff did not speak English very well. But we managed. We did have one waiter, Ramon, that went especially out of his way to make us feel welcome.

We loved visiting there and would go back.

We just returned from a week @ the Punta Cana Princess (from July 25 - Aug.1). It was everything we hoped for - nice accomodations, beautiful beaches, a wonderful pool and terrific service.
The room was exactly as pictured - we were in building 5 (room 5105). The building is the closest to the beach and to the pool - it was a little noisy in the late afternoon when the Animacion Team was at the pool, but not a problem. Our room was made up by early afternoon every day, and was turned down each evening, with clean beach towels left for the next day. The minibar was restocked every day, as well.
The food was okay - not gourmet, but we didn't expect that. Breakfast and lunch are buffets, either at Casabe or at Mare Nostrum (this was a smaller buffet). There certainly was enough to choose from, even for picky eaters. Dinners can either be at Casabe (if you want buffet) or at the a la carte restaurants. We enjoyed the Tex-Mex place (the filet mignon was wonderful!) the most. The fondue place was very enjoyable, as was the Italian restaurant (food was a little salty for me, but I don't use any salt on my food!). We didn't like the seafood restaurant too much because everything was cooked in lots of butter.
The grounds are beautiful - and looked after every day - the beach is cleaned, and there never was any trouble finding a lounge chair at either the beach or the pool. The resort is very quiet, without much of a nightlife.
We went on two excursions - to Saona Island and the Truck Safari. Saona is beautiful, but the bus ride to get there is very long (2 hours each way!) The truck safari was great - very informative about the Dominican and the people.
All in all, this was a perfect vacation - restful and relaxing, and very hard to come home and go back to "real life"!!!