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Message |
    
BK2NJ
Citizen
Username: Bk2nj
Post Number: 5
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 1:37 pm: |     |
Has anyone every been there? We are thinking of going on vacation but don't know that much about Punta Cana or club me. Any info would be helpful. |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 3718
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 2:11 pm: | |
Punta Cana was great when we were there a few years back. I have heard great things about plenty of the other resorts, but not much re: Club Med.
When we were going I found a lot of opinion pages online, maybe check epinions too. |
Robert Little
Citizen
Username: Boblittle
Post Number: 277
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 5:15 pm: | |
We went with some relatives to Club Med Ixtapa, which is similar to Punta Cana. It's very kid-oriented and I wouldn't go without kids. Some other Club Meds are more adult-oriented. Ixtapa and Punta Cana have day care and are totally all-inclusive. Food was okay with the Mexican food the best, making me skeptical of Punta Cana. The main benefit is the costs are very predictable.
Call me if you have further questions, but I'm sure there's a Punta Cana alumnus around town. |
Alberto
Citizen
Username: Buckwheat
Post Number: 50
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 6:45 pm: | |
Punta Cana was the first resort in the Caribe for the chain. Its been the subject of two renewals but the beach areas is the same. there is a sunken ship 250 mtrs offshore - an old freighter that split in 2 on the reef that has excellent snorkeling and scuba. The reef also holds an enclosed "fish pool" we call the aquarium. The club is incorporated in the Punta Cana Resort complex, 5 minutes from the airport. The land next to it is soon to be come a Ritz Carlton.
You can also go the Dolphin park in Bavaro Beach, about 15 minutes away and visit the town of Higuey (around 30 minutes away and the fastest growing Dominican town today with the Basilica of Nuestra Sra. de la Caridad.)
Got lots of other info - we own Kawasaki Motors Corp down there - don't rent motorcycles/atvs- too dangerous
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lizzyr
Citizen
Username: Lizzyr
Post Number: 221
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 10:37 pm: | |
try somewhere else - food was terrible, you need to buy bottle water (or bring lots of imodium), rooms small & not enough activities for what they've enlarged the place to be. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1143
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, January 1, 2006 - 2:03 pm: | |
I just stayed at Secrets Excellence Resort in Punta Cana in November. Great resort -- I highly recommend it, but it's adults only, so if you've got kids, it's a no go. The ONLY thing that I didn't like about that location was the extremely rough surf. It was November, still within hurricane season, so that may have had an impact, but I got the sense that it was pretty rough all year round because we were on the Atlantic coast. If I go back to Dom Rep, it would be to another part to get a better beach situation. Of course, lounging by the fabulous pool all day wasn't so bad.... .
I would recommend looking at the postings from people on Tripadvisor.com - People post their opinions there and it's a really great source of info. |
mona
Citizen
Username: Mona
Post Number: 18
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 1:36 pm: | |
2 years ago we went to Club Med Punta Cana - 2 adults, 2 kids, 6&4.
POSITIVE POINTS:
- Direct flights to Punta Cana and Club Med is about 10 minutes away from Punta Cana airport.
- Public parts of facility are gorgeous: great pool (though it does have a very deep part), beautiful beach, calm surf, nice dining facility (food is so so/ not awful not great), nice lobby/rec space
- Very family oriented people, so no wild couples getting drunk and loud at the bar (at least not during the PG hours!)
- The kiddie club med is extra, but if your kids are independent types, it might be worth looking into so that you can have some time without them. Our kids hated it, though, because the pool time is limited and the activities are all structured, very much like a camp.
- Spring break weather (APRIL) was fabulous and hot.
- Really nice, even if sometimes overly attentive, staff
NEGATIVE POINTS:
- The club beach is short(1/2 mile???), so you can't really wander far away or take long walks.
- The use of loudspeakers to boost the energy level (OK EVERYBODY, now let's MAMBO!!!!) is kind of irritating.
- I thought the rooms weren't quite large enough for 4 (we had a bedroom plus a close-off-able TV space with 2 day beds), though my husband and kids were fine with it all. (There was also a small terrace with a couple of chairs which was GREAT for housing sandy wet bathing suits, toys, etc)
- Daytrips to other parts of the island are EXPENSIVE. VERY EXPENSIVE. And very manipulated.
Really, not a lot of negatives, I guess.
We also went to another hotel in Punta Cana last year - Sunscapes the Beach. This place was gorgeous, but HUGE!!!! Significantly better food, beach bar/restaurant, a variety of restaurants to eat in (not just the big buffet dining place), kids' club, babysitting, access to the public beach for longer, more interesting walks, nicer, larger room. The NEGATIVE was that it's an hour from the Punta Cana airport (and even longer from the capital airport), rougher (cloudier) water, less appealing staff and you need to tip to get the "good" service. It's more of a traditional resort set up so it feels less personal than club med. And, quite honestly, alot of the people we met were people we'd never hang out with outside of the resort....rowdy couples (of all ages) whose sole objective was to drink hard and fast at the free bars. Positive note, the pool (which is very long and narrow, then opens - on both ends - into traditional large pool spaces) never goes more than 3 feet deep, so if you have older kids you don't have to worry (so much) about them being out of sight in the water.
If we were to do it again, I'd be hard pressed to choose one over the other. Our kids are young, so they were thrilled with either - with the sense of freedom, the ability to run to the bar and order their own food & sodas, with the pools, with all the STUFF there is to do. For me, though, if Club Med had better rooms I'd probably go there.
Both hotels are all-inclusive, which means meals & all kinds of drinks. Kids clubs and certain sports are extra. Day trips are extra. And as I said, tipping is the norm at Sunscape. Neither is cheap, but you can - if you wait long enough and are willing to risk it - get a deal on non-Club Med hotels close to your travel time.
Good luck.
Mona |
newjackfam
Citizen
Username: Newjackfam
Post Number: 27
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 7:27 am: | |
Anybody have experience with Club Med in Florida? We've got a 4 and 6 year old, which is why I'm thinking about it. |
User58
Citizen
Username: User58
Post Number: 390
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 10:32 am: | |
USA 3000 flies to Punta cana from Newark. I hear the better choice is Paradisus. |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 2525
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 11:23 am: | |
Check Apple Vacations for thier packages to Punta Cana. Went several years ago with 2 kids to Sunscape Punta Cana Grande and it was wonderful. No complaints whatsoever. Very calm surf, not too far from the airport, nice beach, nice pool, kids club--there were lots of activities for the kids in addition to kids club, my kids still talk about watching a movie on the beach. Everything is included (except some water sports which our kids were too young for anyway), we paid for NOTHING out of pocket once we were on the resort. The food was good, and the buffet restaurant was the perfect solution for eating with little kids. You get what you want in the portions you want without having to sit and wait for anyone to bring it to you. The staff were really, really wonderful and I would never consider them to be "too, friendly," although I can understand that sentiment (reminds me of the staff at Disney--just a little "creepy" really). And, boy oh boy, was the price right!
The only downside was that all of us were in the same room. Of course we could have paid for two rooms, but the kids were a little young and that would have broken the budget. But what can you do, it was, after all, a "family" vacation. Upside: my husband and I got plenty of rest! |
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