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Paradisus Punta Cana trip report (long) and Pics
Pics here,
http://community.webshots.com/user/mjcramden Report below. Any questions I'll be glad to answer. -Cramden My wife and I vacationed at the Paradisus Punta Cana the week of April 10-17, 2004. It was our second trip to the Paradisus and third to the Dominican Republic. We traveled with USA 3000, a charter airline that handles most of Apple Vacations' package flights. We flew directly from Hartford to Punta Cana on time and without as much as a whimper from my wife who enjoys flying about as much as getting a root canal. The flight included a movie (Big Fish), complimentary mimosas and the basic in flight meal of chicken or lasagna. I would have no problems flying them again. Arrival and processing at the airport went smoothly. We disembarked, paid for our tourist cards, had our luggage and were in a cab heading for the Paradisus 30 minutes after landing. We decided to take a Taxi ($22 US) instead of the bus to save time and get to the resort sooner. After the usual eventful taxi ride in which rules of the road are optional and after almost running into in no particular order, a cow, a motorcycle and an oncoming bus we made it to the resort. About a 30 minute drive. Check-in was smooth. We were given our bracelets (not plastic, but fashioned out of coconut shells) room keys, towel cards, safe lock and key and information packet about the resort. It included an information "Passport" for the resort which contained everything you needed to know about the Paradisus such as descriptions of all of the restaurants including dress codes, numbers to call for room service, to have your mini-bar restocked, maid service, laundry service, etc. The packet also contained a Paradisus "Dictionary" which included useful phrases in Spanish. The only negative about check-in was the quick hit by the Melia Vacation Club staff when you leave the registration desk trying to get you to visit the Melia Tropical/Carib. I was prepared for this so I politely said we weren't interested and continued to the tram that would take us and our luggage to the room. We had requested ahead of time via email a corner room with a king sized bed and were happy to see that's what we received, room 1063 in Bungalow #6. It's set in a great location on the perimeter of the resort near the neighboring and quiet Bavaro Princess. Not as much foot traffic as there would be in a room closer to the pool so we had quite a bit of privacy on our deck. I like the corner units because you only have another room on one side of you and the deck is a bit larger. From this point of the review on I'll be breaking down the resort into specific areas and grading them on a 1-10 scale. Room 8 The room was nice. It was refurbished since the last time we were there but I actually preferred the old style of interior better. It used to be furnished in bright colors, aqua, pink , orange with lighter colored wicker furniture. Very Caribbean. But now the furniture was made of darker woods and fabrics, more plush and I guess richer looking. Beautiful but we still preferred the other. The bathroom is to the right as you first walk in the door. It consists of 2 rooms completely tiled from floor to counter top. The first contains the sink surrounded by mirrors from counter top to ceiling. Plenty of counter space for any essentials you may need. There is also a basket containing about 8 types of creams, soaps, shampoos and lotions. A hair dryer is on the wall so there is no need to bring one. On the front of the counter top is a towel rack where two hand towels and two wash clothes are hung. On the opposite wall from the sink is the closet. It has 2 large full length mirrors as sliding doors. In the closet are 12 hangers and plenty of shelf space to store luggage, bags or clothes that you may have. There's also an iron and ironing board, umbrella and the room safe. The second room is separated by a door from the first. In it are the toilet, bidet and shower. The shower will not flood the bathroom as I've read in another report if you keep the shower curtain "inside" the tub. The wall on the far end of the shower contained a towel rack that held two large bath towels. Two floor towels were always available to use for stepping out of the tub after your shower. Water pressure and/or lack of hot water were never an issue as we had plenty of both. Leaving the bathroom brings you to the sleeping area. Our room consisted of a king sized bed (firm but comfortable) with three fluffy pillows two bedside tables and lamps, ceiling fan/light and a large mirrored table-desk- bureau. This bureau had three more drawers on either side which could be used as more storage for your clothing. The AC unit was also in this section. It had a high-medium-low-off switch. The unit worked fine and we had to turn it to low several times even though it was in the high 80's outside. Stepping down one step brings you to the sitting area. In it were a couch and loveseat, coffee table, corner table and lamp, a small round dining table with 2 chairs , and a counter area where the mini fridge was hidden and had a TV, microwave and four cup coffee maker on top. There were also two sliding doors which led out to our deck. We always spent some time here before going to dinner and before turning in for the night enjoying a few cervezas, champagne, cigars (me) etc. We packed a few candles that we would light on the deck at night to help set the mood. Very nice way to end the day. Grounds 10 Still without a doubt, the most well kept resort we've ever been to. I run out of adjectives trying to do justice to this place in my description. The rooms are in two story bungalows. Each bungalow contains 16 rooms. In between each bungalow are scores of flowering plants, palm and banana trees, fountains, statues, coy ponds, green grass and interconnecting stone walk ways. The walkways are illuminated at night on either side with low wattage light fixtures spaced every few feet. The lushness of the property always seems to give you a sense of privacy no matter where you are or how crowded the resort is. It was filled to capacity this week and it never felt that way. We saw groundskeepers from 6:00 am until late at night working throughout the property. Planting, pruning and raking, putting new roofs on palapas etc. They work very hard. We ended up tipping a few of them a few dollars just to let them know we appreciated the work they do too. Their smiles were worth 10 times every dollar we gave them !! The walk from the bungalows to the lobby is about 5 minutes. The area in between the two is beautiful. Nothing but tropical vegetation and Taino statues on either side of the cobblestone roadway. The roadways are also lined with the same lighting as the paths so walking at night is not a problem. They've also added a new Ecopass walk to the resort. It's a short walk through the mangroves where you'll see several Birds, Iguanas and Monkeys. A good way to kill 10 minutes but not as nice as the Eco walk used to be through the old Melia Bavaro (now Bavaro Princess). Pool 10 Their website states the pool is one of the largest free standing pools in the Caribbean. I can't speak for the rest of the Caribbean but it is big. I tried capturing the size on film but you can't. The pool breaks off into too many sections, all surrounded by palms so you can never get an idea of its scope through pictures. It's about 5.5 feet at it's deepest but mostly about 4.5 the rest of the way. There are fountains, islands, unheated Jacuzzi, water sports section and a very large palapa style swim up bar within the pool. Surrounding the pool are scores of loungers, dozens of palapas and several large palapa beds. The resort has a lounger in every place possible so I don't fault them for the reports about a lack of loungers. The reservation system that seems to be prevalent at most of these resorts stinks. We were always up early and we would have to pick our spots to reserve them with our towels. I hated doing this but you have no other option. By 11 am most are marked. Since most of these loungers remained empty for hours at a time I have no doubt that some people would mark loungers both at the beach and pool and alternate between the two or not even use them. Room Service 10 We used room service to some degree almost every day. One of the biggest improvements we saw between this visit and our last was the increased speed and efficiency of the room service. Since our last trip they've started making deliveries with Kawasaki "Mule" utility vehicles. We waited no longer than 30 minutes any time we ordered. They have a menu in the room with listings in French, German, Spanish and English. 24 hours a day you can order from a selection including, shrimp cocktail, beef carpaccio, smoked salmon, club sandwiches, filet mignon, sirloin steak, grilled sea bass, pizza any style, etc...In addition to the food you can have a bottle of champagne, rum or cerveza(s) delivered. Anything you want. Delivering our room service each night was Amaury. We remembered him and he remembered us from the first trip here almost four years ago. At the time he was a waiter in El Romantico. The service he gave us was exceptional. There was one time we ordered and the person on the other end of the phone didn't quite understand our weak attempt at ordering in Spanish, especially after the number of Cuba Libras we had drank that night !!. We didn't know quite enough Spanish and his English was not much better than our Spanish (that's another improvement, the staff's English is markedly improved since our last visit). Amaury saw the order and called us to make sure the waiter had it right. It turned out instead of a "four seasons" pizza we ordered four pizzas !! If you go and see Amaury tip him well and tell him Marc and Denise from room 1063 say Hi !! Maid, Mini Bar and Restaurant service 9 Like Amaury, we made friends with Ruben who worked at the Rodizio restaurant. We only ate there once and his service was excellent but we saw him several times after that. He would always go out of his way to say hi to us and to bring me a cigar or two whenever he saw us walking about. He gets a 10. Our maid and mini bar staff also get a 10. Our room was always made up early. Usually by 11:00 am and never later than 1:00 pm. We always had plenty of towels and fresh flowers scattered about the room. The floors were mopped, the sheets fit the bed and we always had two extra rolls of TP. The mini bar was re-stocked every day. Any time something was taken out it was replaced the next day. They no longer put beer in the mini bars unless you ask for them so be sure to ask !! We never had less than four cervezas stocked in there once we asked. For the most part the restaurant staff was very good. There were a few times when we waited for coffee to be served at breakfast, or our drink or food order to be taken but for the most part it was fine. Once our orders were taken our meals often were prepared and served more quickly than in restaurants back home. On one occasion Denise ordered the caprese salad ( fresh mozzarella and tomato) as an appetizer at lunch at Dolce Vita. They brought her the beef carpaccio (raw filet mignon sliced very thin) instead. That was fine, I gave her my parma prosciutto appetizer and ate hers. It was delicious and I had it two more times on the trip. Bars 10 There are four main bars at the Paradisus. Surprisingly even the beach bar had a selection of top shelf alchohol, all of which are included. We saw such brands as Stolis, Absolute, Tangueray, Beefeaters, Grand Marnier, Drambuie, Tia Maria, Baileys, Kahlua, Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, Canadian Club, Cutty Sark Johnny Walker Black and Red, Amaretto de Sarona, Chivas, Frangelico, Fonsecca Port, Contreau etc. throughout the resort. In addition you can get bottles of wine and champagne with or without meals. They have a selection of about 15 wines, Merlots, Cabs, Chardonnays, Zins and Pinots from Chili, Argentina, France and Italy that are included, plus a separate list of wines and champagnes you could pay extra for. We never had a long wait to get a drink at any of the bars and they would make them as strong as you wish or with any brand you preferred. I stuck mostly with the Cuba Libras (rum and coke) and I asked for them to be made with mucho Brugal extra viejo rum. Very tasty. The beach bar, Chiringuito, is located right on the beach in a little pink shack. They have four tables and a few chairs set up so you can sit and look at the ocean or do some people watching. They also serve grilled ham and cheese sandwiches if you get hungry. The Pool Bar, which has service both in the pool and out. You can get burgers, fries etc. served here if you get hungry. They always had lively music playing and it would be hopping between lunch and dinner. It was a great place to hang out and meet people. Each day we would follow up lunch with a few drinks in the pool. The Hybiscus Bar which serves the restaurant area near the beach and pool. You could get your drinks at the bar or have a seat in the lounge and have a waitress serve you. There were several large couches and overstuffed chairs throughout the bar/lounge to relax in. There is also a large pagoda style open aired gazebo outside this building situated between the pool and the Chinese and Spanish restaurants. More big couches and huge marble tables. This also serves as a waiting area at night if you had to wait for a table in one of the restaurants near the pool area. The Lobby Bar. As you probably can guess this was located in the lobby at the entrance of the resort. This was a favorite hangout at night when either waiting for dinner at the Mexican or Japanese restaurant or for an after dinner drink while waiting for a show or the fun pub to open (11:00 pm). This was the most elegant of all the bars. Several nights they would have live entertainment such as a singer or piano player playing before the shows. It's a large open aired, marble tiled area with fish ponds, fountains and water falls running down the length on the entire lobby. More big couches and chairs to lounge in and drinks will be served to you if you don' t want to go to the bar for them. They also have six bench swings lining one end of the lobby that you relax on. Beach 10 As has never been disputed in any trip report, this beach is one of the finest in the Caribbean. A wide stretch of white sand and beautiful blue water. Great wave action too if you like that which we do. Every day right after breakfast we would walk the beach for 2-3 hours, going as far as Breezes in one direction or the Melia Tropical in the other. You'll find shopping available on the beach in several areas of vendor tents. They'll call you to come see their stores but a simple no gracias would does the trick if you're not interested. The area in front of the Paradisus might be the nicest we saw on all of our walks, rivaled only by the Rius. One thing we liked about the Rius is the shade offered by the numerous Palm Trees between the hotel and beach. At the Paradisus they do have several Palapas but they were taken early. We got up one morning at 5:00 am to take pictures of the sunrise and noticed that several were already reserved (obviously from the day before). We could have reserved one but we felt bad doing that and being gone for 3 hours on our walks. As for loungers, there are hundreds and it amazes me that they all get taken by 11:00 am. I hate to advocate it but reserve them as needed on your way to breakfast. Food 8 You only need reservations at the Japanese and El Romantico restaurants. I made our reservations via email for El Romantico two weeks before we left. They didn't have a record of this when we arrived but guest services took care of it and made them for us. Nothing was bad, most was good and some outstanding but I'll rate each restaurant individually. Palapa Grill 8 It's not advertised as serving breakfast but it does. We had breakfast here every morning as opposed to the Hybiscus Buffet. It's located right on the beach and is open aired so you can get your day started with the beautiful ocean and beach right in front of you. The food consisted of the usual breakfast buffet. Fruits, juices, cereals, pastries, omelets, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, a carving station, one morning it would be roast tenderloin of beef, another day it was ham, etc.. The service here was a little spotty. They only had two servers dispensing coffee to the entire restaurant and we saw several people get frustrated that it took so long to get coffee. It even got to me one morning ( but I'm not exactly a morning person ) so I think adding a few extra servers would be a good idea. Hybiscus Buffet 7 We only ate here the first night since we didn't get to the resort until 8:00 pm. The buffet is about half the size of what it was the last time we stayed here. They built the Rodizio restaurant and a service bar in one section of the Hybiscus and downsized the actual buffet. It's still a pretty good selection of food but not on the grand scale that it used to be. On the positive side they enclosed the buffet in an air conditioned room so it's no longer subject to birds, flies or any unsanitary conditions that occur in such open aired buffets. Dolce Vita 8 We ate at the Dolce Vita almost every day for lunch. It's the only ala carte open at lunch time at the Paradisus. They also serve dinner but the menu is almost identical at night so we never had dinner there. We would usually have either a bottle of Castillo del Diablo (castle of the devil) Merlot, a surprisingly good wine served in ½ sized bottles or dos cervezas served with our meal. For appetizers we alternated between the Parma Prosciutto served antipasto style with roasted peppers, white asparagus, olives and mixed greens. Very tasty. The Caprese Salad which was fresh vine ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella or the earlier mentioned Beef Carpaccio, which is paper thin slices of beef tenderloin drizzled with a basil olive oil. They also give you a small bowl of diced tomatoes and olive oil and a basket of grilled bruschetta when you are seated. This was very simple but very delicious. Every day my wife had the grilled red snapper for lunch. It was a perfect sized lunch portion and very fresh. Delicious. I mostly ate the seafood trio which consisted of calamari, shrimp and what I think was grouper. It was great. On our last day I decided to order the escallops of veal. It was pretty mediocre and I had wished I'd stuck with the seafood trio. We also had several of their pizzas delivered for room service throughout our stay. They are small but delicious and perfect for a snack. Rodizio 8 This was the Brazilian ala carte restaurant. It was a fixed menu. You would start with a soup, salad and appetizer bar. Next you were brought a plate of fried plantains and potato strips. Following this the waiters would bring around one at a time and all carved from long skewers, portions of chicken, sausage, turkey medallions wrapped in bacon, roast lamb, pork loin and filet mignon. All very tasty. Antojitos 9 The ala carte Mexican restaurant. It was one of my favorites. Corona is available here if you want but I stuck with the Presidente. You start with the app-salad-soup bar. The guacamole, marinated ranchero style beef (you must add the spicy green chili salsa on top !!) and tortilla soup were great. I had the pork enchiladas and Denise had the chicken fajitas. The fajitas were good and the enchiladas excellent. We followed this up with the flaming crepes served with ice cream and flaming Mexican coffees for dessert. La Albufera 7 Spanish steakhouse restaurant. You start with the salad-soup-app-bar and we ordered a bottle of Luna di Luna pinot grigio. Nice and light and not too sweet. You have choices of filet mignon, sirloin, t-bone, lamb chops, pork etc.. I don't know why but I decided on the chicken supreme. It was just a plain grilled chicken breast served with potatoes and vegetables. It wasn't bad but I felt short changed when I saw how spectacular some of the other plates being served all around me. Denise had the filet of dorado. It was fabulous. I'm left again very impressed with the quality and freshness of the seafood we had here. Chinese Pavilion 9 This was the traditional Chinese ala carte. We considered mai tais but ordered the Luna di Luna again. We started with appetizers of steamed won tons and vegetable springrolls. Very good. Next we had one each of the hot and sour soup and the seafood tofu soup. Both excellent. For dinner I had the Cantonese duck breast served with a hoisin dipping sauce and Denise had the shrimp and broccoli in oyster sauce. Hers was good, mine was outstanding. One of the best duck entrees I've ever had. Marino 7 This is the seafood grill ala carte. It's actually the Palapa grill during the day but converted into a very romantic waterfront restaurant at night. We started with an Italian Valpolicella red that was good. For appetizers we had the fried calamari served with tartar sauce and a shrimp casserole. The calamari was ok but not nearly as good as what was served in the seafood trio at the Dolce Vita. The shrimp was good. It was broiled in a casserole dish with whole cloves of garlic and lots of butter. I had the grilled lobster for dinner and Denise the grilled red snapper. The lobster was good. Split in half and grilled with a lime butter. The snapper was fresh and tasty but is grilled whole (headless) and served with all of the bones. If you don't like bones in your fish don't order this one. El Romantico 9 This is the gourmet French ala carte restaurant and reservations are needed. Service is outstanding and the restaurant is beautiful. We again started with the Valpolicella for our wine. For appetizers we had the shrimp cocktail and the roasted red pepper filled with lobster mousse. The shrimp were good but they are served with thousand island dressing as opposed to cocktail sauce. The lobster mousse was outstanding. For our entrée we had the chateau briand for two. It's served and carved tableside and served with turned carrots and turned potatoes and two sauces, béarnaise and green peppercorn. Beautiful presentation. For dessert we split an order of flaming crepes. They're made with grand marnier, cinnamon sticks, orange zest and raisins and served to you flaming. We should have each gotten one, they were so good. Denise also had a Frangelico and I had a glass of Port. Miscellaneous One day we each got a massage. 60 minutes at the pool for $60 us. It was worth every penny. They also offer them in their Spa for $70. The spa also houses a fitness center, sauna, jacuzzi and steam room. The only requirement for using the gym is to wear sneakers. In a space saving move before we left I decided I'd work out this time in my Tivas. Needless to say I don't have a review of the equipment in the gym but it looked to be in good condition. Part of the reason I wanted to save space was because we brought down a good amount of school supplies that we had bought to donate. We contacted Marcos at the Paradisus before we left and made arrangements with him to deliver them for us. We shopped at Plaza Bavaro and it's basically an indoor version of the beach shops. Do your homework before you shop. Look at what stuff is selling for in your hotel gift shops and you'll know you should be paying less than that since the gift shops are usually overpriced. There's much to do at the resort and it's all included. Tennis, Scuba, Horseback Riding, Sailing, Kayaks, Golf (have to pay for the cart), Bikes, etc.. You can do as much or as little as you want. Learn a little Spanish before you go. There are free translation sites all over the internet. I made up a list of about 25 words and phrases that I studied and brought with us. Even though English was more prevalent than our last trip our attempts at Spanish were appreciated. Tipping. It's not required but we did. If you choose to tip it's going where it's much needed. Summary Our opinion is that the Paradisus is a fabulous resort. A tremendous value for what you pay. The services and amenities are comparable to resorts that cost twice as much on any other island in the Caribbean. We usually like to travel to different destinations each vacation and this was the first time we returned to a resort that we'd been to before. We had such a great time that our next trip is going to be back to the Paradisus. I hope this report helps answer any questions people may have had about this resort and I apologize ahead of time for its length. Happy Travels !! Cramden and Denise |
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Paradisus Punta Cana trip report (long) and Pics
Great review Cramden......
Love the Pics too.... We're also from Ct.(NW corner)...... My family of 4 will be heading down to the Bavaro Princess in a few months and can't wait for it to happen (10 nights)....almost wondering if we should have reserved Paradisus Punta Cana instead after reading your comments.....(Our 1st time heading to the DR).....Thanks again for the wonderful and thorough review... Regards..... Rick "Cramden" wrote in message ... Pics here, http://community.webshots.com/user/mjcramden Report below. Any questions I'll be glad to answer. -Cramden My wife and I vacationed at the Paradisus Punta Cana the week of April 10-17, 2004. It was our second trip to the Paradisus and third to the Dominican Republic. We traveled with USA 3000, a charter airline that handles most of Apple Vacations' package flights. We flew directly from Hartford to Punta Cana on time and without as much as a whimper from my wife who enjoys flying about as much as getting a root canal. The flight included a movie (Big Fish), complimentary mimosas and the basic in flight meal of chicken or lasagna. I would have no problems flying them again. Arrival and processing at the airport went smoothly. We disembarked, paid for our tourist cards, had our luggage and were in a cab heading for the Paradisus 30 minutes after landing. We decided to take a Taxi ($22 US) instead of the bus to save time and get to the resort sooner. After the usual eventful taxi ride in which rules of the road are optional and after almost running into in no particular order, a cow, a motorcycle and an oncoming bus we made it to the resort. About a 30 minute drive. Check-in was smooth. We were given our bracelets (not plastic, but fashioned out of coconut shells) room keys, towel cards, safe lock and key and information packet about the resort. It included an information "Passport" for the resort which contained everything you needed to know about the Paradisus such as descriptions of all of the restaurants including dress codes, numbers to call for room service, to have your mini-bar restocked, maid service, laundry service, etc. The packet also contained a Paradisus "Dictionary" which included useful phrases in Spanish. The only negative about check-in was the quick hit by the Melia Vacation Club staff when you leave the registration desk trying to get you to visit the Melia Tropical/Carib. I was prepared for this so I politely said we weren't interested and continued to the tram that would take us and our luggage to the room. We had requested ahead of time via email a corner room with a king sized bed and were happy to see that's what we received, room 1063 in Bungalow #6. It's set in a great location on the perimeter of the resort near the neighboring and quiet Bavaro Princess. Not as much foot traffic as there would be in a room closer to the pool so we had quite a bit of privacy on our deck. I like the corner units because you only have another room on one side of you and the deck is a bit larger. From this point of the review on I'll be breaking down the resort into specific areas and grading them on a 1-10 scale. Room 8 The room was nice. It was refurbished since the last time we were there but I actually preferred the old style of interior better. It used to be furnished in bright colors, aqua, pink , orange with lighter colored wicker furniture. Very Caribbean. But now the furniture was made of darker woods and fabrics, more plush and I guess richer looking. Beautiful but we still preferred the other. The bathroom is to the right as you first walk in the door. It consists of 2 rooms completely tiled from floor to counter top. The first contains the sink surrounded by mirrors from counter top to ceiling. Plenty of counter space for any essentials you may need. There is also a basket containing about 8 types of creams, soaps, shampoos and lotions. A hair dryer is on the wall so there is no need to bring one. On the front of the counter top is a towel rack where two hand towels and two wash clothes are hung. On the opposite wall from the sink is the closet. It has 2 large full length mirrors as sliding doors. In the closet are 12 hangers and plenty of shelf space to store luggage, bags or clothes that you may have. There's also an iron and ironing board, umbrella and the room safe. The second room is separated by a door from the first. In it are the toilet, bidet and shower. The shower will not flood the bathroom as I've read in another report if you keep the shower curtain "inside" the tub. The wall on the far end of the shower contained a towel rack that held two large bath towels. Two floor towels were always available to use for stepping out of the tub after your shower. Water pressure and/or lack of hot water were never an issue as we had plenty of both. Leaving the bathroom brings you to the sleeping area. Our room consisted of a king sized bed (firm but comfortable) with three fluffy pillows two bedside tables and lamps, ceiling fan/light and a large mirrored table-desk- bureau. This bureau had three more drawers on either side which could be used as more storage for your clothing. The AC unit was also in this section. It had a high-medium-low-off switch. The unit worked fine and we had to turn it to low several times even though it was in the high 80's outside. Stepping down one step brings you to the sitting area. In it were a couch and loveseat, coffee table, corner table and lamp, a small round dining table with 2 chairs , and a counter area where the mini fridge was hidden and had a TV, microwave and four cup coffee maker on top. There were also two sliding doors which led out to our deck. We always spent some time here before going to dinner and before turning in for the night enjoying a few cervezas, champagne, cigars (me) etc. We packed a few candles that we would light on the deck at night to help set the mood. Very nice way to end the day. Grounds 10 Still without a doubt, the most well kept resort we've ever been to. I run out of adjectives trying to do justice to this place in my description. The rooms are in two story bungalows. Each bungalow contains 16 rooms. In between each bungalow are scores of flowering plants, palm and banana trees, fountains, statues, coy ponds, green grass and interconnecting stone walk ways. The walkways are illuminated at night on either side with low wattage light fixtures spaced every few feet. The lushness of the property always seems to give you a sense of privacy no matter where you are or how crowded the resort is. It was filled to capacity this week and it never felt that way. We saw groundskeepers from 6:00 am until late at night working throughout the property. Planting, pruning and raking, putting new roofs on palapas etc. They work very hard. We ended up tipping a few of them a few dollars just to let them know we appreciated the work they do too. Their smiles were worth 10 times every dollar we gave them !! The walk from the bungalows to the lobby is about 5 minutes. The area in between the two is beautiful. Nothing but tropical vegetation and Taino statues on either side of the cobblestone roadway. The roadways are also lined with the same lighting as the paths so walking at night is not a problem. They've also added a new Ecopass walk to the resort. It's a short walk through the mangroves where you'll see several Birds, Iguanas and Monkeys. A good way to kill 10 minutes but not as nice as the Eco walk used to be through the old Melia Bavaro (now Bavaro Princess). Pool 10 Their website states the pool is one of the largest free standing pools in the Caribbean. I can't speak for the rest of the Caribbean but it is big. I tried capturing the size on film but you can't. The pool breaks off into too many sections, all surrounded by palms so you can never get an idea of its scope through pictures. It's about 5.5 feet at it's deepest but mostly about 4.5 the rest of the way. There are fountains, islands, unheated Jacuzzi, water sports section and a very large palapa style swim up bar within the pool. Surrounding the pool are scores of loungers, dozens of palapas and several large palapa beds. The resort has a lounger in every place possible so I don't fault them for the reports about a lack of loungers. The reservation system that seems to be prevalent at most of these resorts stinks. We were always up early and we would have to pick our spots to reserve them with our towels. I hated doing this but you have no other option. By 11 am most are marked. Since most of these loungers remained empty for hours at a time I have no doubt that some people would mark loungers both at the beach and pool and alternate between the two or not even use them. Room Service 10 We used room service to some degree almost every day. One of the biggest improvements we saw between this visit and our last was the increased speed and efficiency of the room service. Since our last trip they've started making deliveries with Kawasaki "Mule" utility vehicles. We waited no longer than 30 minutes any time we ordered. They have a menu in the room with listings in French, German, Spanish and English. 24 hours a day you can order from a selection including, shrimp cocktail, beef carpaccio, smoked salmon, club sandwiches, filet mignon, sirloin steak, grilled sea bass, pizza any style, etc...In addition to the food you can have a bottle of champagne, rum or cerveza(s) delivered. Anything you want. Delivering our room service each night was Amaury. We remembered him and he remembered us from the first trip here almost four years ago. At the time he was a waiter in El Romantico. The service he gave us was exceptional. There was one time we ordered and the person on the other end of the phone didn't quite understand our weak attempt at ordering in Spanish, especially after the number of Cuba Libras we had drank that night !!. We didn't know quite enough Spanish and his English was not much better than our Spanish (that's another improvement, the staff's English is markedly improved since our last visit). Amaury saw the order and called us to make sure the waiter had it right. It turned out instead of a "four seasons" pizza we ordered four pizzas !! If you go and see Amaury tip him well and tell him Marc and Denise from room 1063 say Hi !! Maid, Mini Bar and Restaurant service 9 Like Amaury, we made friends with Ruben who worked at the Rodizio restaurant. We only ate there once and his service was excellent but we saw him several times after that. He would always go out of his way to say hi to us and to bring me a cigar or two whenever he saw us walking about. He gets a 10. Our maid and mini bar staff also get a 10. Our room was always made up early. Usually by 11:00 am and never later than 1:00 pm. We always had plenty of towels and fresh flowers scattered about the room. The floors were mopped, the sheets fit the bed and we always had two extra rolls of TP. The mini bar was re-stocked every day. Any time something was taken out it was replaced the next day. They no longer put beer in the mini bars unless you ask for them so be sure to ask !! We never had less than four cervezas stocked in there once we asked. For the most part the restaurant staff was very good. There were a few times when we waited for coffee to be served at breakfast, or our drink or food order to be taken but for the most part it was fine. Once our orders were taken our meals often were prepared and served more quickly than in restaurants back home. On one occasion Denise ordered the caprese salad ( fresh mozzarella and tomato) as an appetizer at lunch at Dolce Vita. They brought her the beef carpaccio (raw filet mignon sliced very thin) instead. That was fine, I gave her my parma prosciutto appetizer and ate hers. It was delicious and I had it two more times on the trip. Bars 10 There are four main bars at the Paradisus. Surprisingly even the beach bar had a selection of top shelf alchohol, all of which are included. We saw such brands as Stolis, Absolute, Tangueray, Beefeaters, Grand Marnier, Drambuie, Tia Maria, Baileys, Kahlua, Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, Canadian Club, Cutty Sark Johnny Walker Black and Red, Amaretto de Sarona, Chivas, Frangelico, Fonsecca Port, Contreau etc. throughout the resort. In addition you can get bottles of wine and champagne with or without meals. They have a selection of about 15 wines, Merlots, Cabs, Chardonnays, Zins and Pinots from Chili, Argentina, France and Italy that are included, plus a separate list of wines and champagnes you could pay extra for. We never had a long wait to get a drink at any of the bars and they would make them as strong as you wish or with any brand you preferred. I stuck mostly with the Cuba Libras (rum and coke) and I asked for them to be made with mucho Brugal extra viejo rum. Very tasty. The beach bar, Chiringuito, is located right on the beach in a little pink shack. They have four tables and a few chairs set up so you can sit and look at the ocean or do some people watching. They also serve grilled ham and cheese sandwiches if you get hungry. The Pool Bar, which has service both in the pool and out. You can get burgers, fries etc. served here if you get hungry. They always had lively music playing and it would be hopping between lunch and dinner. It was a great place to hang out and meet people. Each day we would follow up lunch with a few drinks in the pool. The Hybiscus Bar which serves the restaurant area near the beach and pool. You could get your drinks at the bar or have a seat in the lounge and have a waitress serve you. There were several large couches and overstuffed chairs throughout the bar/lounge to relax in. There is also a large pagoda style open aired gazebo outside this building situated between the pool and the Chinese and Spanish restaurants. More big couches and huge marble tables. This also serves as a waiting area at night if you had to wait for a table in one of the restaurants near the pool area. The Lobby Bar. As you probably can guess this was located in the lobby at the entrance of the resort. This was a favorite hangout at night when either waiting for dinner at the Mexican or Japanese restaurant or for an after dinner drink while waiting for a show or the fun pub to open (11:00 pm). This was the most elegant of all the bars. Several nights they would have live entertainment such as a singer or piano player playing before the shows. It's a large open aired, marble tiled area with fish ponds, fountains and water falls running down the length on the entire lobby. More big couches and chairs to lounge in and drinks will be served to you if you don' t want to go to the bar for them. They also have six bench swings lining one end of the lobby that you relax on. Beach 10 As has never been disputed in any trip report, this beach is one of the finest in the Caribbean. A wide stretch of white sand and beautiful blue water. Great wave action too if you like that which we do. Every day right after breakfast we would walk the beach for 2-3 hours, going as far as Breezes in one direction or the Melia Tropical in the other. You'll find shopping available on the beach in several areas of vendor tents. They'll call you to come see their stores but a simple no gracias would does the trick if you're not interested. The area in front of the Paradisus might be the nicest we saw on all of our walks, rivaled only by the Rius. One thing we liked about the Rius is the shade offered by the numerous Palm Trees between the hotel and beach. At the Paradisus they do have several Palapas but they were taken early. We got up one morning at 5:00 am to take pictures of the sunrise and noticed that several were already reserved (obviously from the day before). We could have reserved one but we felt bad doing that and being gone for 3 hours on our walks. As for loungers, there are hundreds and it amazes me that they all get taken by 11:00 am. I hate to advocate it but reserve them as needed on your way to breakfast. Food 8 You only need reservations at the Japanese and El Romantico restaurants. I made our reservations via email for El Romantico two weeks before we left. They didn't have a record of this when we arrived but guest services took care of it and made them for us. Nothing was bad, most was good and some outstanding but I'll rate each restaurant individually. Palapa Grill 8 It's not advertised as serving breakfast but it does. We had breakfast here every morning as opposed to the Hybiscus Buffet. It's located right on the beach and is open aired so you can get your day started with the beautiful ocean and beach right in front of you. The food consisted of the usual breakfast buffet. Fruits, juices, cereals, pastries, omelets, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, a carving station, one morning it would be roast tenderloin of beef, another day it was ham, etc.. The service here was a little spotty. They only had two servers dispensing coffee to the entire restaurant and we saw several people get frustrated that it took so long to get coffee. It even got to me one morning ( but I'm not exactly a morning person ) so I think adding a few extra servers would be a good idea. Hybiscus Buffet 7 We only ate here the first night since we didn't get to the resort until 8:00 pm. The buffet is about half the size of what it was the last time we stayed here. They built the Rodizio restaurant and a service bar in one section of the Hybiscus and downsized the actual buffet. It's still a pretty good selection of food but not on the grand scale that it used to be. On the positive side they enclosed the buffet in an air conditioned room so it's no longer subject to birds, flies or any unsanitary conditions that occur in such open aired buffets. Dolce Vita 8 We ate at the Dolce Vita almost every day for lunch. It's the only ala carte open at lunch time at the Paradisus. They also serve dinner but the menu is almost identical at night so we never had dinner there. We would usually have either a bottle of Castillo del Diablo (castle of the devil) Merlot, a surprisingly good wine served in ½ sized bottles or dos cervezas served with our meal. For appetizers we alternated between the Parma Prosciutto served antipasto style with roasted peppers, white asparagus, olives and mixed greens. Very tasty. The Caprese Salad which was fresh vine ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella or the earlier mentioned Beef Carpaccio, which is paper thin slices of beef tenderloin drizzled with a basil olive oil. They also give you a small bowl of diced tomatoes and olive oil and a basket of grilled bruschetta when you are seated. This was very simple but very delicious. Every day my wife had the grilled red snapper for lunch. It was a perfect sized lunch portion and very fresh. Delicious. I mostly ate the seafood trio which consisted of calamari, shrimp and what I think was grouper. It was great. On our last day I decided to order the escallops of veal. It was pretty mediocre and I had wished I'd stuck with the seafood trio. We also had several of their pizzas delivered for room service throughout our stay. They are small but delicious and perfect for a snack. Rodizio 8 This was the Brazilian ala carte restaurant. It was a fixed menu. You would start with a soup, salad and appetizer bar. Next you were brought a plate of fried plantains and potato strips. Following this the waiters would bring around one at a time and all carved from long skewers, portions of chicken, sausage, turkey medallions wrapped in bacon, roast lamb, pork loin and filet mignon. All very tasty. Antojitos 9 The ala carte Mexican restaurant. It was one of my favorites. Corona is available here if you want but I stuck with the Presidente. You start with the app-salad-soup bar. The guacamole, marinated ranchero style beef (you must add the spicy green chili salsa on top !!) and tortilla soup were great. I had the pork enchiladas and Denise had the chicken fajitas. The fajitas were good and the enchiladas excellent. We followed this up with the flaming crepes served with ice cream and flaming Mexican coffees for dessert. La Albufera 7 Spanish steakhouse restaurant. You start with the salad-soup-app-bar and we ordered a bottle of Luna di Luna pinot grigio. Nice and light and not too sweet. You have choices of filet mignon, sirloin, t-bone, lamb chops, pork etc.. I don't know why but I decided on the chicken supreme. It was just a plain grilled chicken breast served with potatoes and vegetables. It wasn't bad but I felt short changed when I saw how spectacular some of the other plates being served all around me. Denise had the filet of dorado. It was fabulous. I'm left again very impressed with the quality and freshness of the seafood we had here. Chinese Pavilion 9 This was the traditional Chinese ala carte. We considered mai tais but ordered the Luna di Luna again. We started with appetizers of steamed won tons and vegetable springrolls. Very good. Next we had one each of the hot and sour soup and the seafood tofu soup. Both excellent. For dinner I had the Cantonese duck breast served with a hoisin dipping sauce and Denise had the shrimp and broccoli in oyster sauce. Hers was good, mine was outstanding. One of the best duck entrees I've ever had. Marino 7 This is the seafood grill ala carte. It's actually the Palapa grill during the day but converted into a very romantic waterfront restaurant at night. We started with an Italian Valpolicella red that was good. For appetizers we had the fried calamari served with tartar sauce and a shrimp casserole. The calamari was ok but not nearly as good as what was served in the seafood trio at the Dolce Vita. The shrimp was good. It was broiled in a casserole dish with whole cloves of garlic and lots of butter. I had the grilled lobster for dinner and Denise the grilled red snapper. The lobster was good. Split in half and grilled with a lime butter. The snapper was fresh and tasty but is grilled whole (headless) and served with all of the bones. If you don't like bones in your fish don't order this one. El Romantico 9 This is the gourmet French ala carte restaurant and reservations are needed. Service is outstanding and the restaurant is beautiful. We again started with the Valpolicella for our wine. For appetizers we had the shrimp cocktail and the roasted red pepper filled with lobster mousse. The shrimp were good but they are served with thousand island dressing as opposed to cocktail sauce. The lobster mousse was outstanding. For our entrée we had the chateau briand for two. It's served and carved tableside and served with turned carrots and turned potatoes and two sauces, béarnaise and green peppercorn. Beautiful presentation. For dessert we split an order of flaming crepes. They're made with grand marnier, cinnamon sticks, orange zest and raisins and served to you flaming. We should have each gotten one, they were so good. Denise also had a Frangelico and I had a glass of Port. Miscellaneous One day we each got a massage. 60 minutes at the pool for $60 us. It was worth every penny. They also offer them in their Spa for $70. The spa also houses a fitness center, sauna, jacuzzi and steam room. The only requirement for using the gym is to wear sneakers. In a space saving move before we left I decided I'd work out this time in my Tivas. Needless to say I don't have a review of the equipment in the gym but it looked to be in good condition. Part of the reason I wanted to save space was because we brought down a good amount of school supplies that we had bought to donate. We contacted Marcos at the Paradisus before we left and made arrangements with him to deliver them for us. We shopped at Plaza Bavaro and it's basically an indoor version of the beach shops. Do your homework before you shop. Look at what stuff is selling for in your hotel gift shops and you'll know you should be paying less than that since the gift shops are usually overpriced. There's much to do at the resort and it's all included. Tennis, Scuba, Horseback Riding, Sailing, Kayaks, Golf (have to pay for the cart), Bikes, etc.. You can do as much or as little as you want. Learn a little Spanish before you go. There are free translation sites all over the internet. I made up a list of about 25 words and phrases that I studied and brought with us. Even though English was more prevalent than our last trip our attempts at Spanish were appreciated. Tipping. It's not required but we did. If you choose to tip it's going where it's much needed. Summary Our opinion is that the Paradisus is a fabulous resort. A tremendous value for what you pay. The services and amenities are comparable to resorts that cost twice as much on any other island in the Caribbean. We usually like to travel to different destinations each vacation and this was the first time we returned to a resort that we'd been to before. We had such a great time that our next trip is going to be back to the Paradisus. I hope this report helps answer any questions people may have had about this resort and I apologize ahead of time for its length. Happy Travels !! Cramden and Denise |
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Paradisus Punta Cana trip report (long) and Pics
Cramden,
Thanks. We are planning to go vacation in August, what do you think about it compare with Mexico such as Cancun? May I ask how much did it cost? Hai Pham "Cramden" wrote in message ... Pics here, http://community.webshots.com/user/mjcramden Report below. Any questions I'll be glad to answer. -Cramden My wife and I vacationed at the Paradisus Punta Cana the week of April 10-17, 2004. It was our second trip to the Paradisus and third to the Dominican Republic. [quoted text deleted -- deb] |
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Paradisus Punta Cana trip report (long) and Pics
"Hai Pham" wrote in message
... Cramden, Thanks. We are planning to go vacation in August, what do you think about it compare with Mexico such as Cancun? May I ask how much did it cost? Hai Pham Never been to Cancun but we have stayed in Playa del Carmen, and more specifically the Riu Palace in the Playacar area. As far as the comparing the two areas, if you're a beach person and want to spend most of your time on the beach or at your resort, maybe doing an excursion or two, you'll love Punta Cana. If you like to venture outside of your resort to shop, eat, etc. Punta Cana may bore you and Playa del Carmen would be the better choice. For us, we've done some pretty extensive traveling in the past and now we like to unwind on vacation and the Paradisus gives us just the right blend of luxury and relaxation and the ability to walk for hours on the beach that we're looking for. We ended up paying about $1,400 per person for the week. I think a great value when compared to comparable resorts on other islands although aside from Secrets, the most expensive in PC. Hope this helps, Cramden |
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Paradisus Punta Cana trip report (long) and Pics
Cramden,
Thanks for your info. The price is a little bit high for us but may be you went in April the price was higher. We found an offer around 1K for 2 in Cancun and ~$900 for 4 of us (2 teenagers 15 & 18). I need to call her back to find out exactly where is it only we got so far is 4 * hotel inclusive include airfare from Philadelphia for a week from August 3. Hai "Cramden" wrote in message ... "Hai Pham" wrote in message ... Cramden, Thanks. We are planning to go vacation in August, what do you think about it compare with Mexico such as Cancun? May I ask how much did it cost? Hai Pham Never been to Cancun but we have stayed in Playa del Carmen, and more specifically the Riu Palace in the Playacar area. As far as the comparing the two areas, if you're a beach person and want to spend most of your time on the beach or at your resort, maybe doing an excursion or two, you'll love Punta Cana. If you like to venture outside of your resort to shop, eat, etc. Punta Cana may bore you and Playa del Carmen would be the better choice. For us, we've done some pretty extensive traveling in the past and now we like to unwind on vacation and the Paradisus gives us just the right blend of luxury and relaxation and the ability to walk for hours on the beach that we're looking for. We ended up paying about $1,400 per person for the week. I think a great value when compared to comparable resorts on other islands although aside from Secrets, the most expensive in PC. Hope this helps, Cramden |
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Paradisus Punta Cana trip report (long) and Pics
what is the rope for out in the water?
"Cramden" wrote in message ... "Hai Pham" wrote in message ... Cramden, Thanks. We are planning to go vacation in August, what do you think about it compare with Mexico such as Cancun? May I ask how much did it cost? Hai Pham Never been to Cancun but we have stayed in Playa del Carmen, and more specifically the Riu Palace in the Playacar area. As far as the comparing the two areas, if you're a beach person and want to spend most of your time on the beach or at your resort, maybe doing an excursion or two, you'll love Punta Cana. If you like to venture outside of your resort to shop, eat, etc. Punta Cana may bore you and Playa del Carmen would be the better choice. For us, we've done some pretty extensive traveling in the past and now we like to unwind on vacation and the Paradisus gives us just the right blend of luxury and relaxation and the ability to walk for hours on the beach that we're looking for. We ended up paying about $1,400 per person for the week. I think a great value when compared to comparable resorts on other islands although aside from Secrets, the most expensive in PC. Hope this helps, Cramden |
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