I just got back yesterday from a fabulous week's stay at the Majestic. When I was there I was constantly thinking of the hundreds of reviews I read on tripadvisor and wondering where some people were coming from with their complaints!

When my boyfriend and I arrived we had a speedy check in and a personal tour from Richard on the way to our room. After reading so much about him here I felt like he was a celebrity! I really appreciated the time he took with us to make our dinner reservations and show us where everything was.

Walking around the resort for the first time left us totally awestruck. By the time we reached the gorgeous beach we were just giggling like idiots, we were so happy! That night we ate dinner at the buffet and continued to be very impressed, the service was great and the food delicious. We returned to our hotel room to find a bottle of champagne, a plate of cheeses and a fruit platter. We truly felt like King and Queen, we were just delighted.

A few things in response to reviews I had read:
-some said you had to get up early to reserve chairs at the beach/pool. Perhaps we were there at a less busy time but we always had our pick of great spots, regardless of the hour. In fact nothing ever felt crowded.
-we brought bug spray and an air freshener and really did not need either
-I almost didn't go to the Taino restaurant because it seemed a lot of people didn't like it- this ended up being our favorite. We were not impressed with the seafood restaurant. I think a lot of it is personal preference and what you order from the menu.
-the pool is almost as warm as a bath, hardly even refreshing, I do not understand how some were calling it too cold??

Some things that we agreed with:
-the resort could definitely benefit from some variety in the music. It was the same every day, like clockwork. We even had a joke about knowing it was 10:15 when you hear Toni Braxton singing "Unbreak my heart".
-some of the food in the restaurants could be improved. Certainly the Japanese would benefit from a Japanese chef.
-we did both have some stomach issues (no vomitting) and I would recommend everyone bring Pepto and Immodium since we certainly used ours. To be fair though, we ate everything and a lot of it, and we had no problems until the last day or two.

We did the Carribbean Festival and really enjoyed ourselves. The snorkeling wasn't great but the entertainers on the boat made our afternoon really fun and swimming with the sharks and stingrays was very cool. It cost $78 and you are gone for about 5 hours.

Also right on the beach you can do various watersports, we did the tubing for $13 each and it was well worth it. Very much a thrill! I was screaming half from joy and half out of fear for my life! It takes a lot of strength to stay on the tube and he goes really fast and makes you fly all over the place.

It was upsetting to see how few people tipped. Even if it says tips are included, a couple dollars here and there is most likely nothing to you and it can make a real difference for them. These people work their butts off, you never saw them stop for a second. I was disappointed to see how some of the guests treated the staff. Some people are just rude and walk around feeling so entitled. Don't be that person! Be polite, be understanding when they have to serve drinks to many people and you have wait a minute or two, and leave a tip!

Also we did not do the bus transportation to and from the airport, we just took taxis. It worked out well, we were very comfortable and got there quickly for $35 each way.

Another thing not many people write about is the photography. On the beach one day a photographer approached us and we started doing an impromptu photo shoot. It was great fun and the guy really knew what he was doing, posing us and spending a lot of time getting good shots. We felt like we were on Top Model! It works like this- they walk around taking pictures all day, and then at night you can go to the photo shop (the last shop in the little strip of stores) and buy the ones you want. You can get prints or have them on a CD for 10 dollars each. We loved the pictures so much we couldn't help but get a bunch- but you are not obligated at all.

The weather was perfect and even though the forecast said thunderstorms every day, we never saw a drop of rain! Bring a lot of sunscreen- we are people who tan easily and we still went through a couple tubes of it.

All in all we had a fabulous vacation and were very sad to leave the Majestic. I wish I was still there!

I want to give you the most objective review I can possibly give.

My wife and I went to the Majestic for a 5 day 4 night stay with best friends from college. I will give you a short review of the highlights for the Majestic.

1. Airport ride - first of all, just let the guys take your bags, if you dont they will pester you to death. The ride if you do a voucher will take longer than 30 minutes. It took us an hour, they stopped off at other resorts to drop off people from other resorts.

2. Check in - very smooth and fast. arrived at 4:30 so maybe it was a down time. The guy got us a room RIGHT next to our friends room. We were laughing cause he said it was the best he could do.

3. Food - sorry, but i will need to agree with other reviews...NOT good. The chinese/japanese place was OK - meat was good but the rice was gross. Buffet gets redundant for b-fast and lunch. Dinner we got sick from the salad at the seafood place. DONT eat the salad, they wash it with water. Dont drink tap water, heed to what everyone tells you.

4. Drinks - can NEVER get the coke or diet coke right. Always had too much syrup. EVERY resteraunt for the exception of maybe two places, you had to fight for bottled water...we didnt trust the stuff out of the pitcher. they say its bottled water poured in there, but even if it is, its still mixed with ice. Had a buddy who went to Excellence Punta Cana and he got a tape worm from the ice!!!!!

5. Pool - AWSOME! Loved this pool.

6. Room - Clean, had a must smell...just be smart like our friends and bring a renuzit or febreeze and you will be fine!

7. Beach - GORGEOUS

8. Excursions - Lady at the Marinia(sp?) who hands out snorkeling gear, etc... RUDE as can be. She has a gap in her teeth, you will know who she is. Lazy and runs the place on her own agenda. We wanted to snorkel for 10 minutes knowing it closed at 4, we showed up at 3:45. she said they were closed and then argued with us, etc... WHO does that?

9. Deep Sea Fishing - great time, lots of time on a boat though in the ocean that can make you very sick. My buddy caught a HUGE mahi mahi....dont believe them if they say you can keep it though.

10. Spa - Wife and friend got a facial, good price. I got a 30 minute massage on the beach...AWSOME. However, when i went to pay the bill, it said 85 bucks should have been 30. I reasoned with the guy at the front desk who had to bring in the lady from the spa. I signed for the 85, my signature was there, BUT i signed up for 50 and they say on the sheet 85 rsd not USD. they confuse you on purpose, trust me. THey have their tactics of trying to sneak one by you. The guys name at the front desk was Roberto, he said he trusted me what i was saying but still made me pay the full price when i said i CLEARLY had a 30 minute massage, not and 85 dollar one. The spa lady argued with me to at the front desk. I told them it was VERY simple. I have the money to pay you, you can charge me 50 or 85 its your choice....BUT you will either end someones trip on a good note or a bad one, your choice. They made me pay in full so i left pissed. I think anyone would when they say they trust you but had to bring the spa lady and couldnt make a MANAGERIAL decision to make a guest happy. Honestly, i am only one amongst many guests they deal with. But the internet is a great thing and can be their worst enemy if they keep on pissing off people like myself. It will bite you.

11. ALSO, the entertainment is good. We knew it would be low budget stuff, so dont expect broadway. If you do, then its your own loss. The MC was hilarious. Micheal Jackson show was the best. We also watched ideal couple last night. That was hilarious!!!!

I think that is it and should cover it all.

This is a bit late but better than never. I know that there have been glowing reviews lately so I hate to be a downer but I wasn't that impressed.

Grounds: I will agree without a doubt that the grounds of this resort are beautiful. The beach is great and I never had a problem finding chairs. No one will harass you unless you are bothered by the occasional topless women and children. The pools were great, again with ample chairs and no need to go out at the crack of dawn. Staff worked really hard to keep everyone entertained and were always very friendly and accommodating. If I could stay at the pool or beach and not have to eat or sleep then I would have no complaints.

Room: The beds had to be the most uncomfortable that I have every slept on. The room stayed humid so it always felt like everything was damp. We could never get the temperature right so we stayed cold and wet if that even makes sense. I think it's been mentioned before but be sure to bring your own wash cloth because you won't be able to get any without a fight. Not sure what the problem is but it took us a few days to get anything other than a hand or bath towel.

Food: I've been to countless all inclusive resorts and the food here had to be the worse. First it was totally ridiculous that for a few hours between lunch and dinner there was no where to eat. Each buffet served the exact same food day after day after day. The restaurants weren't much better and the service was often extremely slow.

Overall I would say if you can eat anything and sleep anywhere then this resort will be just fine. For some the shortcomings with the food and room will be justified by the beauty of the grounds- unfortunately I wasn't one of those people. I also didn't like that you couldn't really go anywhere outside the property on your own. We did a few excursions that were fun but there weren't very many options. I was there for 7 nights and after the 3rd night I was feeling a little too confined.

I came here for a destination wedding. The trip started out a bit bumpy with the hotel being overbooked and 17 of us having to transfer to a neighboring resort. That was not a fun time as we wasted basically two days between the transfer. That being said, upon our arrival the next day back to the resort, we were greated with premium upgrades and a kind and very helpful staff including upper management. We were given 30 minute massages, horseback riding, internet and room service, all things not included in our original packages due to the unfortunate circumstances.

Although I came with a group, I did spend most of my time alone and I found the staff to be absolutely wonderful, particularly the animation staff. Whether they were truly happy or not, I'm not 100% sure, but they ALWAYS had a smile on their faces, and were friendly, engaging, and quite interactive. I made friends with them quickly during their morning beach activities as they are very quick to encourage participation, and while persistent, they are also understanding if you'd just like to be left to your reading or lying on the beach. Talk to any of them more than once and they will recognize you walking down the hallways and reach out a friendly handshake or hug. Speak a little spanish and you have a friend for the duration of your stay. Bartenders were the same way...a small tip goes a long way and they remember who you are. I had plenty of the staff saying "hola amiga" by the end of my stay.

I enjoyed the entertainment at night and the animation team being at the discoteque to practice all of the dance steps you may have learned by the pool earlier that day.

There is only one swim up bar, but to compensate there are a large number of staff waiting poolside to take your order need be.

I would go back to this resort for the animation team staff alone.