Where do i begin??? Let's see when we first walked in the hotel we were told at the front desk that our room was ready. To make a long story short when we got to the room it was a mess as if someone had just checked out. Going back to the part of first walking in we were encountered by a concierge named Leonardo. He told us we were staying in "the reserve" section of the hotel. Which is suppossedly the newer and better part. He said we had access to the private pool and beach. The next day we had found out that was a lie. We asked the bartender at the "reserve" section for a drink and were denied.

Going back to our lying concierge Leonardo we did not confront him because we were on vacation and didnt want to deal with headaches so we left it as is.
Our second day Leonardo invited us for breakfast at the "Gabi" restaurant. He never prepared us for any of the following.... he told us we would get a free gift for walking through the property. OK.. so we agreed. To find out when we got there it would be a 90 minute time share presentation..which i need to say turned out to be 2 1/2 hours long. We had a pleasant young lady escort us and show us through but later encountered by a beast named Randolf. I don't know where they find these time share people. Randolf was rude and highly unprofessional. He was trying to belittle my wife and I. Constantly laughing at us and making nasty comments. To much to write. All i have to say is whoever decides to go to this hotel BEWARE!!!! We complained about this uneducated man immediately and nothing was done.!!!!!!
Lets now go to the service of the hotel. Let's see WHAT SERVICE! This place sucks!!! To put it simple. If you need a spoon bring one from home. If you need a fork bring your own. If you need soda go get it yourself at the bar before you eat . As a matter of fact get 3 or 4 drinks so you don't have to keep getting up. These people don't ask their guests if they would like refills . They throw away your food and drinks if you get up at the buffet. There is no service for food or drinks on the beach area. So if your used to that like we are you are in for a huge dissapointment.
One more heads up about this place. You must remind that appetizers come before the main course at those so called reservation only restaurants. Like "Fuego" at the Paradisus.
I strongly urge my fellow vacationers to never, ever stay at this MELIA/PARADISUS PUNTA CANA property . If you must stay at a melia property I would say go to the PALMA REAL it may cost more but you will be treated accordingly. We have stayed at other properties in Punta Cana and the Carribean and this hotel is horrible. Food was limited because all the resatraunts were on different schedule which means you had to find out on the day of
to eat. Front desk had no clue what was open when. The food was outright bad not much options. Dont waste your time.

This was my first all inclusive experience and based solely on the Paradisus Punta Cana Website boasting "facilities and impeccable service (that) are the perfect elements to add to your escape into paradise", my expectations were set. I was looking for a quick getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life; a place where I could relax and melt into the Caribbean sands. The all-inclusive notion appealed to me because I wanted to get away and not think about what to do and where to eat.

Check-in was smooth and the clerk was jovial and even made dinner reservations for me at the "gourmet" French restaurant. I arrived to my "Deluxe Junior Suite Garden View with Jacuzzi" to discover an overwhelming odor of mildew. I immediately called the guest services representative stating my concern, to which the representative unapologetically replied, "We have no other rooms available". After reiterating my concern and disappointment and asking if I should sleep outside, the representative advised he would check with the manager and that I should call him back in two hours. The room itself was satisfactory, but hardly deluxe. The Jacuzzi was located in the bathroom 1 foot away from the commode. The mattress was extra firm and the fabric on the furniture was stained and faded. The walls and base boards showed evidence of mold growth.

Coughing and wheezing, I left the room and decided I would go to dinner and deal with the room after a good meal. I arrived at the French restaurant, half-heartily greeted by the hostess who eyed me up and down and said that she could not seat me because my Armani capri pants where not long enough and that I needed to have long pants. I asked her to reconsider and both she and the manager at her side refused. Feeling hungry, tired, sick, and annoyed I went back to my deluxe mildew suite, grabbed my suit case, and returned to the front desk.

I explained my room problem and my lack of long trousers in the Caribbean and the clerk advised she would change my room and offered to allow me to borrow pants from the hotel tomorrow. Next, she rang for the guest service representative that I spoke with previously to show me to my new room.

The new, identical room was located directly across from the old room (I thought there were no other rooms available). And upon entering the room, I was attacked by an utterly overwhelming smell of bad, chemical, air freshener mixed with an underlying scent of mildew. My disdain was evident, but the guest service representative wasn't interested in a resolution and I was exhausted and hungry. I opened the window and turned on the fan and went for the buffet where I encountered additional qualms regarding service and food.

The inconsistent trends in service, facilities, and food continued for the remainder of my trip and were far from the impeccable claims of the Paradisus Punta Cana Website. I would never return and never recommend this resort and most likely never return to the Dominican Republic. There are too many other places and hotels in the world and for the money one can do much, much better. Please look elsewhere to spend your precious time and money.

I just returned from my trip late last night and I need to report an incident that happened at the Paridisus, which I am extremely upset about. On our last night, August 10th personal items were stolen from our hotel room. Since it was our last night there, we had started to pack our luggage and left almost everything packed before we went out to dinner and a show. The next morning while we were getting ready to leave we noticed that some items we had already packed away were missing. The items that were stolen were a cell phone and an Ipod and special adapters and chargers for both. We contacted hotel security right away. When security arrived to our room they quickly looked around and told us that they usually don't have this sort of thing happen, and they were sure that our items would show up in our luggage. They did nothing further and I couldn't really follow up since, we were already set to check out and head to the airport. I am really shocked that a hotel of this stature would treat it as if it were not a big deal and dismiss it as a mistake we did by misplacing the items. I am also surprised that theft would happen at a resort of this caliber.
I write this review, so anyone who plans to stay there....please lock your stuff in the lock box....good luck

We had a wonderful vacation with another couple at the Paradisus Punta Cana from July 17th to the 24th. We are very particular and were a little concerned with an all inclusive resort but after doing some research and speaking with many individuals, we selected this resort. We were not disappointed.

We were strongly advised that we needed to make sure we were in the “Royal Service” area. This is the highest level of service and has a private pool and a host of other amenities. There are three levels of service, the “Common”, the “Reserve” and the “Royal”. Our travel agent got us two deluxe suites in the “Reserve” section of the resort, which is one step below “Royal”, but the “Reserve” area of the resort is brand new – just opened in December 2007. We were going to upgrade to Royal when we got to the resort but after discussing it at check-in, we were advised to stay at the Reserve. We are very grateful we did because the suites were incredible. They were brand new, clean, nicely decorated and very comfortable. The large hot tubs in the suites were a very nice addition. We subsequently spoke with many individuals that stayed in the Royal area and almost without exception, they were all disappointed. They were given a tour of the Reserve area because the Reserve is part of a Vacation Club program they were selling at the resort. The Royal rooms were older, not as nicely decorated, and in need of updating. Although the service was slightly better than Reserve, they all felt it was not worth the extra cost. The Reserve and Royal have their own private areas of the beach and they have their own separate pools, but the Royal pool area is very small, for couples only – no children. It was a beautiful pool right next to the beach. The Reserve area was about a ten minute walk to the beach but there are golf carts that take you to and from the beach and restaurants. That was one only negative during our stay – they needed more carts. We had to wait sometimes as long as 20 minutes at dinner time to get a cart. While there appeared to be little difference between Royal and Reserve Service, the Common did not have the same amenities. Service in the Reserve area during breakfast and lunch was excellent. The waiters and waitresses were constantly refilling drinks and were very attentive. We ate in the Common area one day and the service was not nearly as good. It was basically self service for everything. Also, the Reserve and Royal areas had better stocked bars. With respect to beer, all the bars had Heineken and Presidente Beer (local) but the Royal and Reserve also had Corona.

We were very pleased with the level of service we received and rivaled the most upscale hotels in the United States. We tried to tip often which I’m sure contributed to the level of service but we’re not talking about a significant amount of money. Our concierges were outstanding and anything we needed or wanted was taken care of and we were generous to them. They made the trip special. We also took care of the bartenders, beach runner who was constantly bringing us drinks and food, and the maids. Total out of pocket for the entire week was about $150 which wasn’t a great deal of money considering the total package, but it was worth every penny.

During the week, we tried a different restaurant every night. For the most part we were pleased with every one but we aren’t talking five star quality. The restaurants were good, the food was well prepared, and the atmosphere was enjoyable. We ate at Italian, steak, Chinese French, Japanese, Mediterranean, Continental-Gabi. We enjoyed every one, except the steak restaurant - Albufera. Both couples had the porterhouse steak and we were disappointed with how it was cooked, the service, and the whole atmosphere of the restaurant.

The resort had a ton of activities including all water sports, horseback riding, tennis (lessons included), a batting cage, archery, rock climbing, a full fitness gym, play areas for kids, and a spa. The casino, although small, was clean, enjoyable and not overly crowded. All of the activities were very good. There really was very little that we did not like about this resort and we are fairly particular individuals.

The beaches were clean and the large palm umbrellas on the beach and by the pools were great. It was hot in the sun, but under the umbrellas it was very comfortable. Humidity wasn’t a major problem and there was always a nice breeze. We brought insect repellent but it really wasn’t needed. The resort must be doing something to control the insects because we didn’t have a problem. The only other negative was that during the day on the beach, there was a constant stream of guys trying to sell parasailing and other water sports outside of the resort, or cigars and jewelry. The security guards from the resort did a pretty good job keeping them away but they were a little annoying after a few days.

The resort tries to push the Sol Melia Vacation Club. We were asked to attend a presentation a few times but we declined and it wasn’t a problem. Others that went felt that the price was unreasonable for what they were offering but we can’t verify that.

There is a small shopping village of about 20 or 30 stores which is about a ten minute walk right outside the resort. It seemed safe and our concierge told us there are a lot of police, both in uniform and undercover, to protect the visitors. Prices were very reasonable for items and you can get them to lower the prices. Don’t take their first price. There is a very nice, upscale shopping mall nearby but people who went said the prices were very high.

In summary, we had a great time at Paradisus Punta Cana and we would definitely go back provided we stay in the Reserve. I would not be happy staying in the Common area, and I probably would have been disappointed with the rooms in the Royal area.