I’m not one to wax poetic about all-inclusive resorts—especially those that upon initial impression look like complete dumps—but we had the BEST time at the Crown Paradise last week, I don’t know if there are enough superlatives to cover my posting.

To get the few negative aspects out of the way, when compared with last year’s stay at the Majestic Colonial in the Dominican Republic, this property left much to be desired. It’s not nearly as stately (to say the least), the lobby is downright crappy, the beach is small, the sand is not white, the water is murky (and currently riddled with jellyfish) and like our God-awful stay at the Gran Caribe Real in Cancun a few years ago, you have to stand in line every morning for reservations at the two sit-down, kid-friendly restaurants. Did I mention that the line is dog-eat-dog and can become quite contentious when non-civilized adults actually budge? Apparently manners are not a given. However, we always got a seat at our preferred time so the system works.

With all that said, the positive aspects far outweigh the negatives. Aside from Disney, this resort is the most family friendly place we’ve stayed at. It was overrun with children last week and our kids had no problem making a gazillion “friends” and seeking them out day-to-day. The guests were mainly a NATO melting pot of Canadians, Americans and Mexicans—most of whom were totally laid back and not stuffy in the slightest.

The property boasted all day activities as well as an outdoor giant chess board, shuffleboard, ping pong, bowling, beach volleyball, beach soccer, pool tables, air hockey, etc. And there are four pools ranging from a heated (read: piping hot) main pool filled with kids and activities well into the night to a cooler and quieter lap pool where few guests were found. The main pool is 4’ deep throughout which makes it difficult for young kids to fully enjoy without wearing bubbles or clinging to the sides; however, the kiddie pool (i.e., kids’ aqua park) had varying degrees of shallow water along with a number of small-ish water slides that kids of all ages were going nuts on. The main drawback to the kids’ section is that there are no chairs around it to relax in—so parents were found sitting in the pool all day long. Mind you, I can think of worse ways to spend a day . . .

If the day isn’t chock-full enough, every night there is a free kid show in Club Nitro right up the street ranging from wacky games to magic shows—some of which include parents engaged in beer chugging contests or the staff doing risqué dance techniques so be forewarned. At 9:30 p.m., the shows start a bit late but our kids didn’t seem to mind. And the property has fireworks on Sunday nights.

There is a small but fun flea market next door and the property is right up the street from a nice supermarket, an easy walk to the shopping mall and a short distance by cab to the town center. This is important to those who needed to escape the resort because the food was not up to snuff. We found, however, that it simply took getting to know what to order on a daily basis—mainly the freshly prepared entrées and/or the Mexican food (no surprise). Fabulous guacamole, cilantro-infused salsa and fresh tortillas. The Italian and Japanese kid-friendly restaurants are good, too. Again, ask other guests what to order beforehand. Some meals are terrific; others are just so-so.

And, of course, the unlimited blender drinks helped. There are bars everywhere (including a swim-up bar for adults only) but our favorite was the poolside bar where the kids could order flavored drinks named after Sponge Bob and Pikachu and the bartender was really friendly.

Lastly, the rooms were clean, there was no musty smell that typifies some of these properties, and the balconies were large and welcoming. But really, who cares, you’re not in Mexico to stay in the room!

I cannot recommend this highly enough to families who want to have a week of laid-back fun. If we didn’t enjoy trying a new locale each year, I would definitely go back.

We loved our vacation at this resort. We have a 5 year old girl and a nine year old boy. It has been one of our best vacations ever. The water park for younger children was a big hit. My son although a little older loved playing in that pool We had trouble keeping our daughter out of the water. She spent an hour or two everyday in the child care center also. . She loved it. Gizelle and Yaqueline were very special to my daughter. Not all of the girls speak fluent English, so one had to make sure things were understood about sunscreen, activities etc...

My son would play basketball every morning and then we would all go to the buffet for breakfast. The service was first rate. We were treated very well by all of the staff. In the buffet restaurant they would always give us special care. One waiter asked me if I would like Baileys in my coffee. I said " sure". The food was hit or miss, but we were never short of desirable options. The Ceviche was delicious and so was the fresh orange juice and fruits. We waited in line one day just for the experience of going to one of the specialty restaurants and decided that was just too much of a time waster. . We just took our chances later on what was available. We ate Japanes 2x and Itallian 1x. It was ok as a change of place..

We all enjoyed the free shows at Club Nitro. We were all up on stage several times during our stay. We had a lot of laughs doing that. The shows were late for the children at night, but they always wanted to go.

My son is learning Spanish and all of the staff gave special attention to speaking with him in Spanish.

I thought the hotel itself was very very clean. Our room fixtures were average, nothing fancy. The beds were so so. I am happy to be sleeping in my own bed now.

There are kids all over the place in this resort. Do not go if you do not want to be around children,. My husband put our kids in childcare one day and we went over to the adult pool/hottub to have a drink in the bar. Loved that.

We appreciated the advice we followed from Trip Advisor, and didn't encourage the timeshare people at all. They soon accepted that we were not biting and left us alone.

The beach vendors are a mild annoyance. But they were never pushy, just omnipresent.

This resort was a great value. The all inclusive aspect meant we enjoyed a dividend we had not anticipated - casual easy eating decisions. We never had to deal with who's not hungry yet, who's wearing sandals.. are we going for lunch or late breakfast. It was great to allow the food considerations to sit well behind the fun decisions.

We are finally rested from our great vacation at the Crown Paradise to write a review. We stayed here for 7 nights and we can't wait to go back. We traveled with our 8 year old daughter, and all 3 of us have a wonderful time.
Check in was a breeze! Great room, a wonderful view of the ocean and the fireworks from the Pirate Ship every night! They had champagne, chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us. Were celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary.

Everyone who worked at the resort was very nice and very helpful. The Resort was spotless, they were cleaning inside and out all the time. Service was great. We ate at all the restaurants our favorite in order.. Italian, French, Japanese. The Breakfast buffet was very good, the omlets were a hit! Yes, it did get a little old, but you would always find something that you liked. We never went away unhappy. Our daughter loved the snack bar . Hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, fries, salads etc. Oh, don't forget the ice cream!! The kids drinks were fun too! I think she had them all atleast once.

The beach vendors were out in full force. But with a polite "No Gracias" they would leave you alone. The vendors that we did buy from were very nice and had great stories. Lila, who braided our daughter's hair is 39 years old and was having baby #8!!

We did venture off the Resort for some dinners out. Pipis, Barcelona Tapas, and the El Colequita. All Excellent! We did 2 tours. The Pirate Ship (daytime) Very fun! Take Dramamine if you get queezy at all. The Los Veranos Canopy Tour A++!! A fantastic time for the 3 of us! Will do that again for sure. Wish we would have booked for a few more days as 8 was not enough time!

The only negatives that we found (and it wasn't that big of a deal) was having to wait in line early in the morning for dinner reservations. No one wants to get up early on their vacation to stand in line for 1 hour to see if you can get in at a decent time. But hey, it was nice outside and we met a lot of very nice people. The second thing was the beach towels, you had to get up early again to secure a lounge chair by the pool for the day. Although we never sat right up on the pool, we always found a chair 1 row back. We always found a place to sit. We spent a lot of time at the pools. They all were great! If you wanted to be involved in activities that were going on you could, If you wanted just to lay back and relax well you could do that too! The kids pool was a fun place with all the slides. They do a great job with the little ones. I thought we would utilize it more but our daughter had a lot of fun at the main pool and met some great new friends (they were from our same city!) The beach area was nice . Nice palpas to sit under, a good amount of chairs. If you don't want to be approached by vendors, then don't go down there. Just remember, that they are just trying to make a living. They will respect you, and they will walk away when you say no thank you. (although you will see them again soon! :)).

The bartenders, waiters, maids, bellmen, pool staff, etc. do a great job to make your vacation nice. I would make reservations in a heartbeat again to this resort! Don't let a few bad reviews change your mind! We had a great time . ENJOY YOUR VACATION!

My husband, 10 year old daughter and I stayed at the Crown Paradise Club March 29 - April 5th. We arrived at 11:00 AM and were given our wrist bands and told our room would be ready at 4:00. A lady then ushered us to a desk to "tell us about the resort". She did give us a map and some general information then tried to get us to agree to go to a timeshare breakfast - we know better and declined. She wasn't too pushy. We left our things in the hospitality room and changed, then went to explore the resort. We ate lunch, checked out the pools and the beach, and even found chairs at the activity pool (we didn't know how lucky we were until later in the trip!). At 3:45 I went to check if our room was ready and was told to come back in an hour. I was disappointed, but he told me "I have a really good room for you". He did. When we got our keys at 4:45 we found we were in room B-8. This is in the time share building overlooking the small, quiet pool. Our room was really a one bedroom condo. It had a kitchen with a ref. and stove (no microwave), a dining table, a sofa/daybed that could sleep 2. There was a balcony with a table and 2 chairs overlooking the courtyard with the gazebo and small pool and we had a partial view of the ocean.. The bedroom had a king sized bed, large dresser, closet and two nightstands. The bathroom was somewhat small, but clean and all tile. The furniture and fixtures were outdated but VERY CLEAN and servicable. I really don't know why we were given this room. After seeing the size of the standard rooms and hearing the noise level in the main part of the hotel I am so glad we were where we were - No complaints. It was also fun to look at the cruise ships right outside our front door. We also never had a problem getting clean towels for the room. The maid once forgot washclothes, but after I asked her about it the next day we always had them.

THINGS WE LIKED: I loved the size of this resort. It had plenty of ammenities but did not feel too big. I felt safe giving my daughter some freedom to go off on her own with friends she made.
We always found something to eat. Food is not like it is at home and that is why we went to Mexico! Try new things. My daughter loved the kids drinks menu. We found the staff to be very friendly - never had a rude experience. A few times a drink we ordered at the beach or at the buffet didn't show up, but we were not too lazy to get up and go get it ourselves.
The kids waterslide pool is incredible. I only wish we had taken our daughter when she were younger.
It was great that you could always find a palapa on the beach.
We enjoyed watching the cruise ships come and go.
Location was good. We went to the flea market right outside the resort and also walked to the grocery store. It was a short cab ride to the airport and into town.

THINGS WE DIDN"T LIKE: When I am on vacation I don't like to get up early just to wait in line for reservations to the restraunts, nor do I like to eat large meals at 9:00 PM. I only waited once and that is because my daughter wanted to eat at the Italian on our last night. Otherwise I went after breakfast and got whatever time was available, usually 8:00 or later. We ate at the French once, Japanese twice and Italian twice.
We didn't like people reserving chairs around the pool early in the morning and then not even really using them. This wasn't that big of a deal since I prefer the beach, but it is still rude!

General comments: This place is clean (so is every resort I have stayed at in Mexico - the people take real pride in their work)Never did we feel like staff members were waiting for a tip like some previous posters reported. All in all we were pleased with our experience and would go back. We made wonderful memories and that is what a vacation is all about.