We were there Jan 28th to Feb 4th 2008. The resort was beautiful and the rooms were georgeous. I have been in Cancun, Punta Cana and Cuba this was the nicest room I had ever stayed in. All the reviews are accurate about what they say. The food was great and lots of variety. The weather was a little rainy when we were there. It rained about 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night. It was a bit overcast most of the days. But when the sun was out for the full day it was hot. Although there were a few people who spoke a bit of english, I wish I had brushed up on my spanish. Special regards to Gabriel who gave me a tennis lesson, he spoke the best english, Miky at the beach bar who was going to be a new dad the day we left, and also Adan at the lobby bar, great bunch of guys. There was no night life and we had wished there would have been more at the water sports hut. Communication wasn't great there and they didn't offer alot. The snorkeling was not good, the ocean was too rough and cloudy. The best spot we found for snorkeling was on the south side of the public beach which was beautiful. We saw mostly starfish, conch and a few unusal fish but nothing colorful. The only problem we had was the key card to our room kept failing, so we were frustrated from time to time.

My Husband and I were recommended by our travel agent to go to this resort and glad we did!! Our week was fantastic! Beautiful grounds, clean pools, friendly staff and lavish rooms in the villas. Our room had a king size canopy bed, jacuzzi tub seperate shower, private balcony etc. We also had 24 hour room service and a mini bar which was totally awesome!!! Our whole trip started off with a cool towel once arriving at the dock at the resort. You don't even worry about your baggage, it's all taken care of! Then we were entertained with dancers and were given a welcome drink and welcomed by the whole management staff! It just got better from there, the food was amazing at the buffet and at the A La Cartes. We liked both DonPablo and the Mediterrainian just the same. The Seafood restaurant unfortunately we didn't get to try. The regular buffet has themes aswell which was great. My fav was Gala night. Red carpet style and candlelight. Very nice. Overall we didn't have any problems exept for turndown we only received it a few times. The entertainment got better and better as the week went on. My favorite place to relax was by the bottom pool by the ocean in the comfy lounge chairs. You are close to the action. Ie: Games, Snack Bar, regular bar etc We are definately considering making this resort our yearly tradition! But before you go brush up on your spanish. Some speak english but not many. Enjoy!

A group of us have just returned from this hotel and all-in-all were very happy with our vacation. This resort is beautiful!! Gardens, grounds, pool, beach very lush and well kept. The resort is quite new so still in very good condition. Most of the staff were very helpful although few spoke english.

The food: At the buffet - somedays it was very good, other days hit and miss. Not as much variety as in other resorts we've stayed at but probably something to satisfy you. Good prompt service. Great coffee. At the restaurants - 3 star at best. The room service menu was limited and the food not of good quality. I do not think that the food was even near 5 star quality except on a day when outside management was visiting. Some of us returned with intestinal problems.

The room: Was very beautiful and clean. We had problems with the maid serivce - some days good others so so. One couple we travelled with got no maid service one day. As for the turn down service offered along with the upgraded villa - we never had it, not once! We came back from the beach one day to find our room door open and a card left in the card box. Nothing was taken but I have never had this happen before in any hotel. We tried to make our concerns known to staff members but felt that they were not really interested. Another couple we travelled with had the same experience -- this is very unnerving.

Otherwise, we had a very relaxing vacation. We did not leave the island or take any trips. Others in our group took the trip to El Limon the waterfalls and were very happy with it. Also one person took the whale watching trip and did get a chance to see six whales. This island is so beautiful and well worth the trip although it is unlikely that I would return to this resort. I feel that while the resort is beautiful it should not really be classified above a 4 star.

My husband and I, along with another couple, have just returned from this gorgeous island resort and even after reading all the favorable reviews, we were still amazed with this place.

Our only disappointment was the fact that we had two days of cloud and rain and that we were a little early to see the whales, which I had been really looking forward to. When we first left the airport we met a man who runs a tourist transportation business and it turns out that he lived right around the corner from us when he lived in Canada, and went to the same high school as one of our friends! He was very helpful with information and it was actually through him we learned that the whale population was a little late arriving to the Bay and that we would probably be wasting our money if we went out on a tour in hopes of seeing them! We took his advice and will just have to go back next year, a little later in the season.

All four of us were thrilled with this resort, the food is excellent!! The buffet always has more choices than anyone could ever want and we went to the Mediterranean and Gourmet restaurants and both were excellent, both the food and the service!

The grounds are beautiful and immaculate, the rooms are huge and quite beautiful. We stayed in Villa 4102 and it was a great location on the grounds, not too close to the main building but close enough to walk and a quick walk to the beach and pool.

The two hotel beaches, while not overly large, are very pretty. The public beach is bigger but more crowded with chairs and people when the tour boats dock there for excursions.

We found all of the staff to be always very courteous and helpful and while we could use to have a little more command of Spanish, we made out fairly well. Someone is always right there to offer their services, carry your plate, open a door, pull out a chair, etc. They work very long hours and we were happy to tip them something whenever we could, although most people don't seem to.

Except for the two rainy days, which are out of everyone's control,
we had a wonderful, relaxing, pampered holiday. If you are looking for night life, you won't really find it here, it is pretty quiet and the few shows that do go on were not very well attended, although the animation staff works very hard at it. I think one of the problems could be that they don't start them until at least 10:00 and they may too late for a lot of people after a day in the sea and sun! We hope to return to this place again one day but I have a feeling that after it becomes a little more travelled the prices are going to go through the roof! Enjoy it while it is affordable!