Punta Cana Trip Report
Dec 10th, 2006, 09:17 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Punta Cana Trip Report
“Let’s leave the chaos of the last year behind us”
November 18-22nd Punta Cana Grand- Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
An overall amazing trip- its purpose was well needed relaxation from jobs & a family member’s illness. We (DH & I, late 20’s) wanted to do nothing but have tropical cocktails, stare at blue water, and be away from all contact from the ‘real world’! This is a huge change for us, we are usually the people that have to see everything in a destination we visit. For me not to have a guidebook or any maps – well, I didn’t think I would know what to do with myself. But oh how the Caribbean seduced me quickly…
Day 1, we leave Buffalo at 5:30AM, change in Philly & arrive in Punta Cana at 12:30 – the whole day ahead of us still! (USAir, unremarkable flight, booked through package)
The airport is really a thatch roof building! You will find steel in a few sections, but it is basically an open air thatched hut. It has modern amenities inside, and I think what it did for me (being from Western NY!), was show me how truly beautiful their weather must always be! (did question the hurricane stability though…) You deplane on the tarmac and walk a bit before you go in the building. It was HOT and sunny, with lots of beautiful foliage – great big tall palm trees, smaller frond-type, flowers, blue sky; it was just what we were looking for!
Once inside, buying the ‘visa’ is such a farce. Yes, it is required, but all it consists of is handing a $10 bill to a lady with a stack of pre-printed cards. 20 feet later you then relinquish it to a man who scans the bar code on the back and tells you ‘Welcome to DR’. Definitely seemed like a well-thought out government fee!
Once you get your luggage off the baggage claim and go to leave, you will see a group, a LARGE group, (25-40?) of porters. They basically swept your luggage away from you and attempted to get you to your transportation. I saw some people resisting and being angry about the porters – who were a bit pushy – I just let them take my things, as they were airport employees, we were still INSIDE. If that’s how their airport works, I’ll play along.
Well, it turned out to be a good thing I let him take our luggage (just two roll-ons we could easily handle). You tell him what company you booked through – they just assume everyone is booked through a package – and he takes you to a rep from that company and gets you loaded into a van – it’s extremely efficient, and what the hell- I’m on vacation, I don’t need to stress myself out over how the system works! We watched other people who were trying to find their bus company, driver, etc and we just sat in the van and people watched.
I'll try to write more later... I'll get sucked in if I keep going now!
November 18-22nd Punta Cana Grand- Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
An overall amazing trip- its purpose was well needed relaxation from jobs & a family member’s illness. We (DH & I, late 20’s) wanted to do nothing but have tropical cocktails, stare at blue water, and be away from all contact from the ‘real world’! This is a huge change for us, we are usually the people that have to see everything in a destination we visit. For me not to have a guidebook or any maps – well, I didn’t think I would know what to do with myself. But oh how the Caribbean seduced me quickly…
Day 1, we leave Buffalo at 5:30AM, change in Philly & arrive in Punta Cana at 12:30 – the whole day ahead of us still! (USAir, unremarkable flight, booked through package)
The airport is really a thatch roof building! You will find steel in a few sections, but it is basically an open air thatched hut. It has modern amenities inside, and I think what it did for me (being from Western NY!), was show me how truly beautiful their weather must always be! (did question the hurricane stability though…) You deplane on the tarmac and walk a bit before you go in the building. It was HOT and sunny, with lots of beautiful foliage – great big tall palm trees, smaller frond-type, flowers, blue sky; it was just what we were looking for!
Once inside, buying the ‘visa’ is such a farce. Yes, it is required, but all it consists of is handing a $10 bill to a lady with a stack of pre-printed cards. 20 feet later you then relinquish it to a man who scans the bar code on the back and tells you ‘Welcome to DR’. Definitely seemed like a well-thought out government fee!
Once you get your luggage off the baggage claim and go to leave, you will see a group, a LARGE group, (25-40?) of porters. They basically swept your luggage away from you and attempted to get you to your transportation. I saw some people resisting and being angry about the porters – who were a bit pushy – I just let them take my things, as they were airport employees, we were still INSIDE. If that’s how their airport works, I’ll play along.
Well, it turned out to be a good thing I let him take our luggage (just two roll-ons we could easily handle). You tell him what company you booked through – they just assume everyone is booked through a package – and he takes you to a rep from that company and gets you loaded into a van – it’s extremely efficient, and what the hell- I’m on vacation, I don’t need to stress myself out over how the system works! We watched other people who were trying to find their bus company, driver, etc and we just sat in the van and people watched.
I'll try to write more later... I'll get sucked in if I keep going now!
Dec 10th, 2006, 05:50 PM
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I suppose I should mention that I booked through Vacation Mart (www.vacmart.com), I called them after seeing a deal in the ‘Best 40’ from Budget Travel. We allowed price to decide on our destination, and PC was cheaper than Aruba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, etc. The resort listed in the magazine didn’t have room, so I discussed a few other places in Punta Cana with the rep. At the same time I had Trip Advisor’s list in front of me and when she told me the deal at the Punta Cana Grand and it was in the top 20 out of 300+, I was sold. I read mixed reviews before I booked – from loved it to hated it – but I think that’s true of EVERY review you read on the net! Trip was all-inclusive, which we had never tried before. Back to regular programming…
We ended up being the only ones transported in the 12 passenger van. The trip was quick, only 20 km, and you travel a few towns on the way there. It is immediately apparent you are in a third world country. I take that as both good and bad, but it is very apparent.
We arrive at the Punta Cana Grand with no big impressions. It doesn’t seem like much from the bell stand, no grand entrance. However, we fell in love with what lay behind that boring façade very quickly! Check in was very simple since we didn’t arrive with a group, but it was still early and our room wasn’t ready. I could see on our sheet the front desk man had that we were in building 7, but on the first floor. I knew from other people’s reports 7 is the nice new building, but my plan had been to ask to be on the third floor no matter what building we were in.
Well, I gambled and asked to have a room on the third floor. He looked at me like I was slightly crazy, apparently that’s not a common request?!?! I told him I needed the exercise. Ok, really I needed the view, but he laughed and said they were very full, blah, blah. But he’d see. We change in the lobby bathroom, jump in the pool and try some of that famous Dominican rum – OMG- how wonderful is this???
Once we left the nice, lobby but again not impressive , we were greeted again by beautiful foliage as soon as we turned out the door. The grounds of this place were amazing and very well kept. Each day there were staff members, cleaning, painting, inside and out. But I never actually saw things that NEEDED the upkeep; it was really all to keep the high standards.
Anyway, we have some tropical beverages, hang out in the pool, and just enjoy being together. Just after 3:00 we go to the lobby, and get our check in materials for room 7321. YES! We kept the good building and got a 3rd floor – I’m ecstatic - and it only gets better!
He says the maids are literally still in our room, so take our time getting there. Well, the hotel’s shops are between the lobby and our room – and we’ve sampled a good bit of the local products – Brugal & Presidente - by now.
This leads to us doing what we do in almost any city – buying a painting that we seriously question our sanity about when we return home. I’ve done this in more places than I care to mention, and while not a cheap (or small!) souvenir, the paintings always make me remember the destination!
I also end up with a cheaply made red necklace. Oh, and the DR culture is that they give you something when you enter their store, I really did see people leave without buying anything and keep the ‘something’, so don’t worry that it is a scam. This was in the hotel shops as well as the beach ones.
So, we find building 7. It has open air hallways, beautiful tile and doors, and is spotless. We head up to our room and there are two ladies mopping themselves out the door – just finishing. Yes I said mopping, we had a beautiful coral colored marble floor throughout the HUGE room. Then, I see IT – I had read about 3rd floor rooms having Jacuzzi tubs, which I am a complete sucker for.
Our room has a tub right in the center of the room- it is large and open, and there are two doors on the left, one for the shower, one for the loo, but the tub was in the room. We had a gorgeous king bed with a fabric canopy. Then there is a nice love seat/table/chair seating area, then a wall of glass looking over the tall palms, the beach, shops, and out to the water!
AND THEN… there’s a freaking Jacuzzi on the balcony! OK, so I am now thinking I must have good karma or something, because this is not the type of room we paid for! It was the most amazing room we have stayed in, and we travel more than anyone we know. We don’t typically book high-end accommodations, so this was so special to us.
We enjoyed the outside tub first – amazing to sit in a Jacuzzi and look out over the amazing blue water. Woohooo! Then we decided that room service was in order- tried to order pizza, which was on the menu, but told there was none today. Ummm, ok, chicken sandwich and more Boheim (the beer in the room fridge). He says he can’t help with the beer, but the maid’s will. And he was right, btw.
We ended up being the only ones transported in the 12 passenger van. The trip was quick, only 20 km, and you travel a few towns on the way there. It is immediately apparent you are in a third world country. I take that as both good and bad, but it is very apparent.
We arrive at the Punta Cana Grand with no big impressions. It doesn’t seem like much from the bell stand, no grand entrance. However, we fell in love with what lay behind that boring façade very quickly! Check in was very simple since we didn’t arrive with a group, but it was still early and our room wasn’t ready. I could see on our sheet the front desk man had that we were in building 7, but on the first floor. I knew from other people’s reports 7 is the nice new building, but my plan had been to ask to be on the third floor no matter what building we were in.
Well, I gambled and asked to have a room on the third floor. He looked at me like I was slightly crazy, apparently that’s not a common request?!?! I told him I needed the exercise. Ok, really I needed the view, but he laughed and said they were very full, blah, blah. But he’d see. We change in the lobby bathroom, jump in the pool and try some of that famous Dominican rum – OMG- how wonderful is this???
Once we left the nice, lobby but again not impressive , we were greeted again by beautiful foliage as soon as we turned out the door. The grounds of this place were amazing and very well kept. Each day there were staff members, cleaning, painting, inside and out. But I never actually saw things that NEEDED the upkeep; it was really all to keep the high standards.
Anyway, we have some tropical beverages, hang out in the pool, and just enjoy being together. Just after 3:00 we go to the lobby, and get our check in materials for room 7321. YES! We kept the good building and got a 3rd floor – I’m ecstatic - and it only gets better!
He says the maids are literally still in our room, so take our time getting there. Well, the hotel’s shops are between the lobby and our room – and we’ve sampled a good bit of the local products – Brugal & Presidente - by now.
This leads to us doing what we do in almost any city – buying a painting that we seriously question our sanity about when we return home. I’ve done this in more places than I care to mention, and while not a cheap (or small!) souvenir, the paintings always make me remember the destination!
I also end up with a cheaply made red necklace. Oh, and the DR culture is that they give you something when you enter their store, I really did see people leave without buying anything and keep the ‘something’, so don’t worry that it is a scam. This was in the hotel shops as well as the beach ones.
So, we find building 7. It has open air hallways, beautiful tile and doors, and is spotless. We head up to our room and there are two ladies mopping themselves out the door – just finishing. Yes I said mopping, we had a beautiful coral colored marble floor throughout the HUGE room. Then, I see IT – I had read about 3rd floor rooms having Jacuzzi tubs, which I am a complete sucker for.
Our room has a tub right in the center of the room- it is large and open, and there are two doors on the left, one for the shower, one for the loo, but the tub was in the room. We had a gorgeous king bed with a fabric canopy. Then there is a nice love seat/table/chair seating area, then a wall of glass looking over the tall palms, the beach, shops, and out to the water!
AND THEN… there’s a freaking Jacuzzi on the balcony! OK, so I am now thinking I must have good karma or something, because this is not the type of room we paid for! It was the most amazing room we have stayed in, and we travel more than anyone we know. We don’t typically book high-end accommodations, so this was so special to us.
We enjoyed the outside tub first – amazing to sit in a Jacuzzi and look out over the amazing blue water. Woohooo! Then we decided that room service was in order- tried to order pizza, which was on the menu, but told there was none today. Ummm, ok, chicken sandwich and more Boheim (the beer in the room fridge). He says he can’t help with the beer, but the maid’s will. And he was right, btw.
Dec 11th, 2006, 05:52 PM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've never written a report this long- I'm pretty darn long winded! Back to our first afternoon...
I’m still enjoying the tub, and DH is asleep when the food comes, no idea how long it took. This was our first look at the resort’s food. It was deep fried bar-style chicken sandwich, with some soggy fries. We were starving and ate every bit of it, but I can’t actually say it was good. This was the food theme across the trip, nice presentation, nothing wrong, but nothing outstanding.
DH and I actually decided that we are ‘food snobs’ and that it was not the resort’s fault we were underwhelmed. The good report is that I never heard of anyone being sick while we were there. Overall: if you’re a serious foodie, don’t stay here. If you’re not SO worried that every meal be gourmet, everything else about the PCG is fantastic.
They do put a nice effort into including a signature cocktail in the three restaurants- a bellini-type drink in the Italian restaurant, a margarita complete with cactus stem glass in the Tex-Mex grill, and a mimosa at the beach restaurant. They regularly made drinks were always better, but the signature cocktails were a nicety.
Only complaint is the dinner reservation system, you could only make reservations for the 3 restaurants for two hours in the morning, and for 2 hrs in the afternoon. One very friendly man (READ: he took forever with each reservation!) did all the reservations and you had to wait forever to see him! We ate in all 4 restaurants across four nights, so it worked out for us, but it was a PITA and we never got to pick what time we ate. The restaurants seemed fairly empty, but what I realized is that it is an Italian dining model- the table is yours for the night; they don’t turn over the tables multiple times.
First night we ate in the buffet restaurant, and I learned not to drink wine by the glass… I guess I’m a wine snob too! Luckily there was wine be the bottle, however, you had to pay extra for that. I was irked at the Italian restaurant day two when the wine list was presented with prices, however, this was the ONLY thing I ever saw a charge for on the resort, so I got over it.
Speaking of the Italian restaurant, Da Mario, we got quite a laugh from the soups. I ordered an Italian vegetable thing, and DH asked for seafood soup. It was the same soup except his had assorted (un-nameable) seafood in it! Exact same broth and veggies.
Our first night we went to the Michael Jackson show- I can say that if MJ comes on the radio, I change the station rapidly- but the show was great! The dancers are phenomenal, and the clips of the old MJ videos brought back memories. I had heard the show mentioned by other travelers and do think it was worthwhile. We went to the Dominican show another night, still great dancing, but we just weren’t into it. We capped off our second night in the Discotheque – mostly salsa/meringue music, and very lively! It was interesting to see that the resort management came out for drinks and interacted with guests at the end of each night.
We discovered we loved the piano bar on the second floor over the lobby. We adopted Ruddy as our favorite employee and had a great time there two of our four nights. We hung out with two ladies from Spain both evenings, and met other assorted people. There was a hearty round of tequila shots one night, and Spanish sparkling wine the other – Ruddy treated us well!
OH, and while this was a piano bar, we introduced the Europeans and resort staff to an iPod. There were amazed that I had 323 DAYS of music on that small of a gadget. We were dj’ing through an AV cord into the sound system, and requests ranged from Eminem to Bon Jovi, I still have to make Ruddy the CD's I promised I'd mail him
I’m still enjoying the tub, and DH is asleep when the food comes, no idea how long it took. This was our first look at the resort’s food. It was deep fried bar-style chicken sandwich, with some soggy fries. We were starving and ate every bit of it, but I can’t actually say it was good. This was the food theme across the trip, nice presentation, nothing wrong, but nothing outstanding.
DH and I actually decided that we are ‘food snobs’ and that it was not the resort’s fault we were underwhelmed. The good report is that I never heard of anyone being sick while we were there. Overall: if you’re a serious foodie, don’t stay here. If you’re not SO worried that every meal be gourmet, everything else about the PCG is fantastic.
They do put a nice effort into including a signature cocktail in the three restaurants- a bellini-type drink in the Italian restaurant, a margarita complete with cactus stem glass in the Tex-Mex grill, and a mimosa at the beach restaurant. They regularly made drinks were always better, but the signature cocktails were a nicety.
Only complaint is the dinner reservation system, you could only make reservations for the 3 restaurants for two hours in the morning, and for 2 hrs in the afternoon. One very friendly man (READ: he took forever with each reservation!) did all the reservations and you had to wait forever to see him! We ate in all 4 restaurants across four nights, so it worked out for us, but it was a PITA and we never got to pick what time we ate. The restaurants seemed fairly empty, but what I realized is that it is an Italian dining model- the table is yours for the night; they don’t turn over the tables multiple times.
First night we ate in the buffet restaurant, and I learned not to drink wine by the glass… I guess I’m a wine snob too! Luckily there was wine be the bottle, however, you had to pay extra for that. I was irked at the Italian restaurant day two when the wine list was presented with prices, however, this was the ONLY thing I ever saw a charge for on the resort, so I got over it.
Speaking of the Italian restaurant, Da Mario, we got quite a laugh from the soups. I ordered an Italian vegetable thing, and DH asked for seafood soup. It was the same soup except his had assorted (un-nameable) seafood in it! Exact same broth and veggies.
Our first night we went to the Michael Jackson show- I can say that if MJ comes on the radio, I change the station rapidly- but the show was great! The dancers are phenomenal, and the clips of the old MJ videos brought back memories. I had heard the show mentioned by other travelers and do think it was worthwhile. We went to the Dominican show another night, still great dancing, but we just weren’t into it. We capped off our second night in the Discotheque – mostly salsa/meringue music, and very lively! It was interesting to see that the resort management came out for drinks and interacted with guests at the end of each night.
We discovered we loved the piano bar on the second floor over the lobby. We adopted Ruddy as our favorite employee and had a great time there two of our four nights. We hung out with two ladies from Spain both evenings, and met other assorted people. There was a hearty round of tequila shots one night, and Spanish sparkling wine the other – Ruddy treated us well!
OH, and while this was a piano bar, we introduced the Europeans and resort staff to an iPod. There were amazed that I had 323 DAYS of music on that small of a gadget. We were dj’ing through an AV cord into the sound system, and requests ranged from Eminem to Bon Jovi, I still have to make Ruddy the CD's I promised I'd mail him
Dec 11th, 2006, 05:58 PM
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the encouragement - I know I love to read other people's reports, but I'm certainly feeling like mine could bore everyone to sleep...
It seems funny that I have SO much more to write about, but we really feel like we did NOTHING over the 5 days. I'm not used to such relaxation!
It seems funny that I have SO much more to write about, but we really feel like we did NOTHING over the 5 days. I'm not used to such relaxation!
Dec 12th, 2006, 06:00 PM
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I’m out of order now… but trying to think of what happened on day 2. We started out in some chairs by the beach, but it was busier than near the ‘skinny’ pool by building 7. The skinny pool ran between two buildings and was right outside many rooms. It was also on the edge of the beach by some shade huts, no music, no bar, very peaceful for reading in the sun!
We had to meet with our travel rep about 11:30 that day. I didn't know what to expect from that, and wasn't sure I wanted to have to remember to be somewhere! We remembered about 1/2 hour late, but luckily the reps are there in 2 hour blocks. Esteban didn't try to sell us anything, which surprised me! He told us when to expect our shuttle home, what would happen if our flight was delayed (they would find us!), and asked if we understood everything about how the resort worked, reservations and such... From my paperwork I had to look into what company I was with - Vacation Mart books through actual DR agencies, and that seemed true for most of the packaged I heard about. Just bring your paperwork and the staff will help you figure it out. (There were a bunch of logos on the letterhead!) Back to regular programming...
When we wanted entertainment we left our stuff on the chair, and headed to the main pool for a swim up beverage.
The swim up bar has now been labeled “World’s Greatest Invention”, by none other than yours truly! It was a great place to have a breakfast smoothie (fresh banana, strawberry drink and rum in the blender!) or to have a nice cool Presidente in the afternoon. There was a ‘regular’ bar behind it, and that had stairs to a little seating area over the top of the swim up bar. *Advice* When it rains, run up there, grab a chair and your favorite beverage- mine was usually Frangelico on ice
We spent 2 or 3 afternoons on that balcony reading as the sun went down too. Many people were playing cards there, and they had put out tea and muffins on two of the days (Other days there was a coffee/snack set up near the oversized chess set).
I mentioned rain, it did rain a bit each day – but nothing to be concerned about. The first night was a serious storm, but it is so warm and humid that even though we were soaked, we quickly dried out during dinner. During the day it was a quick light rain, and many people didn’t even leave their beach chairs! It certainly didn’t spoil any plans I had in Punta Cana - but wait, it couldn’t have, I didn’t have any plans
Signing off again...
We had to meet with our travel rep about 11:30 that day. I didn't know what to expect from that, and wasn't sure I wanted to have to remember to be somewhere! We remembered about 1/2 hour late, but luckily the reps are there in 2 hour blocks. Esteban didn't try to sell us anything, which surprised me! He told us when to expect our shuttle home, what would happen if our flight was delayed (they would find us!), and asked if we understood everything about how the resort worked, reservations and such... From my paperwork I had to look into what company I was with - Vacation Mart books through actual DR agencies, and that seemed true for most of the packaged I heard about. Just bring your paperwork and the staff will help you figure it out. (There were a bunch of logos on the letterhead!) Back to regular programming...
When we wanted entertainment we left our stuff on the chair, and headed to the main pool for a swim up beverage.
The swim up bar has now been labeled “World’s Greatest Invention”, by none other than yours truly! It was a great place to have a breakfast smoothie (fresh banana, strawberry drink and rum in the blender!) or to have a nice cool Presidente in the afternoon. There was a ‘regular’ bar behind it, and that had stairs to a little seating area over the top of the swim up bar. *Advice* When it rains, run up there, grab a chair and your favorite beverage- mine was usually Frangelico on ice
We spent 2 or 3 afternoons on that balcony reading as the sun went down too. Many people were playing cards there, and they had put out tea and muffins on two of the days (Other days there was a coffee/snack set up near the oversized chess set).
I mentioned rain, it did rain a bit each day – but nothing to be concerned about. The first night was a serious storm, but it is so warm and humid that even though we were soaked, we quickly dried out during dinner. During the day it was a quick light rain, and many people didn’t even leave their beach chairs! It certainly didn’t spoil any plans I had in Punta Cana - but wait, it couldn’t have, I didn’t have any plans
Signing off again...
Dec 13th, 2006, 05:14 PM
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Each day I made use of a tub- morning and afternoon! I never ran out of hot water, but we did experience two power outages. I think they may have been related to having the jets on, but some power did stay on. I could look out at the pool and see the pumps still running, and our AC stayed on (v. odd, as not much takes more power than that!). They only lasted 15 minutes or so. There was also a power outage at the airport on our way home – now that one could have been worrisome!
As for public hot tubs, there was one attached to the ‘adult pool’, but it was the same temperature as the pool, so not really a hot tub! We were told about the adult pool our first night at the piano bar, I hadn’t even realized we were missing that section of the resort. The adult pool was always partially shaded by the large palms all day. It does have it’s own bar with very quick service, but nothing special about the pool.
In the main pool, with aforementioned ‘world’s greatest invention’, there was always activity- salsa lessons on the side, water volleyball, music, etc. The chairs in this area were taken until late afternoon, but it was more for people watching than relaxation. One nice perk is that ladies dressed in traditional DR clothes would carry around baskets of snacks! One day it was turkey sandwiches on a fresh (small-ish) sub roll, one day it was fruit kabobs. It was amazing to stay in the pool with a banana mama and a fresh sandwich! If that is not the ULTIMATE gluttony, I’m not sure what would be
Speaking of the banana mama, I can’t say I typically like banana, but this was the best drink! Apparently it was the signature of PCG. The mudslides and pina colada’s were in a frozen mixing machine, and I asked for mojito’s twice, but the two bars I asked at never had mint to make them with (they were pictured on a sign behind the bar!).
I believe it was day two that we got up the energy to actually walk the beach a bit. After the big storm of the first night a TON of seaweed had washed up. At the PCG the staff was raking it just like I would rake leaves and remove them. Outside of our area it was left on the beach - didn’t bother me, it was just noticeable. The resorts near us all seemed more, umm, quiet? Secluded? Not that PCG was a big party spot; it just had a number of water sports - kayaks and such, and a lot of chairs actually on the beach. The other places we walked by were less noticeable and had less people. But I never felt that PCG was crowded, quite the contrary. Only the main pool was ever crowded, not the restaurants, lobby, shows, bars, etc.
Some of our Canadian friends (eh?) felt that this was a ‘small’ resort. It has about 450 rooms, 4 restaurants, snacks, bars, tennis, a spa, a casino (appeared small and boring by US standards, but I can’t say I ever went in it), water sports, pool tables, etc, so I never felt I was lacking for anything. This couple did mention their last resort was 190 acres, so perhaps I just didn’t know what else to look for!
On day three we took the bike tour. Very interesting! I went to sign up that morning at 8. He told me the tour was full but people often don’t show. We went back down at 10 and did make the tour. There were probably 12 people, we hopped on simple island cruiser bikes and headed out.
Now, DH was shocked, because he can NEVER get me to go for a bike ride, and I had suggested this to him three times. Really I just knew I needed to work off at least 2 of the 50 drinks I had already consumed
We had no idea how long the tour was, what we were going to see, if it would be strenuous, etc… Without a disclaimer, and on an island cruiser, how hard could it be? Lucky for me, not very! Well, not until that evening, when our rumps were so sore we could barely sit! Within 100 yards of the resort the third world status is back in your face. The roads, the garbage and animal carcasses on the side of them, the buildings in various states of being put up? Torn down? It was hard to tell… anyway, you get my point. It wasn’t an area you would go for a walk to explore.
We turned onto a dirt road a little ways away, and the road was rough. We passed various water treatment plants, apartment looking buildings, and what appeared to be bus stops. We never saw any buses, though I know there is a bus system. But we kept seeing groups of people standing in the middle of nowhere, all apparently waiting for something - quite perplexing. The guide and all the other guests spoke Spanish throughout the trip, I know some phrases, but not enough to follow their conversations.
We passed a set up tourist shops seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but the beach was on the other side of them. I felt bad for the workers as we all rode by- this section of Punta Cana was desolate. No development at all on the beach and I had to wonder why there would even be shops there??
We stopped at a carport, yes, a plastic framed carport, and the guide told people to have a swim. The water was beautiful, but the beach was horribly littered, a common theme in DR. It was a bit boring hanging out for about 30 mins, and only 2 people swam. We headed back the same way and had to wait for my crazy husband who decided to go explore further on his own! He said he saw a huge development going in a mile or so down, but otherwise just beautiful (littered) beaches. On the way back we rode a different street and did go through the middle of a town. DH just worded it to me as ‘a pretty rough neighborhood, but definitely a town’. I never felt threatened as we rode through, but I got the impression they didn’t welcome travelers with open arms.
Back at the resort for a well-earned Presidente! The trip was 1.5 hour total, with probably only 4 miles of biking.
Did I lose you all yet??? I hope not!
As for public hot tubs, there was one attached to the ‘adult pool’, but it was the same temperature as the pool, so not really a hot tub! We were told about the adult pool our first night at the piano bar, I hadn’t even realized we were missing that section of the resort. The adult pool was always partially shaded by the large palms all day. It does have it’s own bar with very quick service, but nothing special about the pool.
In the main pool, with aforementioned ‘world’s greatest invention’, there was always activity- salsa lessons on the side, water volleyball, music, etc. The chairs in this area were taken until late afternoon, but it was more for people watching than relaxation. One nice perk is that ladies dressed in traditional DR clothes would carry around baskets of snacks! One day it was turkey sandwiches on a fresh (small-ish) sub roll, one day it was fruit kabobs. It was amazing to stay in the pool with a banana mama and a fresh sandwich! If that is not the ULTIMATE gluttony, I’m not sure what would be
Speaking of the banana mama, I can’t say I typically like banana, but this was the best drink! Apparently it was the signature of PCG. The mudslides and pina colada’s were in a frozen mixing machine, and I asked for mojito’s twice, but the two bars I asked at never had mint to make them with (they were pictured on a sign behind the bar!).
I believe it was day two that we got up the energy to actually walk the beach a bit. After the big storm of the first night a TON of seaweed had washed up. At the PCG the staff was raking it just like I would rake leaves and remove them. Outside of our area it was left on the beach - didn’t bother me, it was just noticeable. The resorts near us all seemed more, umm, quiet? Secluded? Not that PCG was a big party spot; it just had a number of water sports - kayaks and such, and a lot of chairs actually on the beach. The other places we walked by were less noticeable and had less people. But I never felt that PCG was crowded, quite the contrary. Only the main pool was ever crowded, not the restaurants, lobby, shows, bars, etc.
Some of our Canadian friends (eh?) felt that this was a ‘small’ resort. It has about 450 rooms, 4 restaurants, snacks, bars, tennis, a spa, a casino (appeared small and boring by US standards, but I can’t say I ever went in it), water sports, pool tables, etc, so I never felt I was lacking for anything. This couple did mention their last resort was 190 acres, so perhaps I just didn’t know what else to look for!
On day three we took the bike tour. Very interesting! I went to sign up that morning at 8. He told me the tour was full but people often don’t show. We went back down at 10 and did make the tour. There were probably 12 people, we hopped on simple island cruiser bikes and headed out.
Now, DH was shocked, because he can NEVER get me to go for a bike ride, and I had suggested this to him three times. Really I just knew I needed to work off at least 2 of the 50 drinks I had already consumed
We had no idea how long the tour was, what we were going to see, if it would be strenuous, etc… Without a disclaimer, and on an island cruiser, how hard could it be? Lucky for me, not very! Well, not until that evening, when our rumps were so sore we could barely sit! Within 100 yards of the resort the third world status is back in your face. The roads, the garbage and animal carcasses on the side of them, the buildings in various states of being put up? Torn down? It was hard to tell… anyway, you get my point. It wasn’t an area you would go for a walk to explore.
We turned onto a dirt road a little ways away, and the road was rough. We passed various water treatment plants, apartment looking buildings, and what appeared to be bus stops. We never saw any buses, though I know there is a bus system. But we kept seeing groups of people standing in the middle of nowhere, all apparently waiting for something - quite perplexing. The guide and all the other guests spoke Spanish throughout the trip, I know some phrases, but not enough to follow their conversations.
We passed a set up tourist shops seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but the beach was on the other side of them. I felt bad for the workers as we all rode by- this section of Punta Cana was desolate. No development at all on the beach and I had to wonder why there would even be shops there??
We stopped at a carport, yes, a plastic framed carport, and the guide told people to have a swim. The water was beautiful, but the beach was horribly littered, a common theme in DR. It was a bit boring hanging out for about 30 mins, and only 2 people swam. We headed back the same way and had to wait for my crazy husband who decided to go explore further on his own! He said he saw a huge development going in a mile or so down, but otherwise just beautiful (littered) beaches. On the way back we rode a different street and did go through the middle of a town. DH just worded it to me as ‘a pretty rough neighborhood, but definitely a town’. I never felt threatened as we rode through, but I got the impression they didn’t welcome travelers with open arms.
Back at the resort for a well-earned Presidente! The trip was 1.5 hour total, with probably only 4 miles of biking.
Did I lose you all yet??? I hope not!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
electricri
Caribbean Islands
2
Feb 3rd, 2014 03:43 AM
