Just OK
by TripAdvisor Member nyctravelgirlnyc
We (myself, my husband and 2 our children) have just returned from a week at the Sunscape the Beach Punta Cana resort. We were there from November 16 to November 23. That was our 4th trip to Dominican Republic. Every time we stayed at the different resort including Iberostart Bavaro, Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus and Melia Caribe Tropical. By the comparison with those resorts I can put Sunscape the Beach at the last position. Not that the resort was bad, but if you take combination of location, grounds, room condition and food at each of the above resorts, Sunscape the Beach is definitely below them all.
First of all if there are more than 2 of you - you can not fit into STANSARD room - it is very small. We traveled with 2 kids - a girl and a boy - and of course I needed 2 separate beds for them, but I found out at the check-in time that no additional bed can be put in the standard room because of it's size. So we had to upgrade to family/honeymoon suit (another $500). Our new room was OK. We had 2 more families in our group and saw their rooms as well and all I can say is - all the rooms at the resort are in need of upgrade.
The beach was very good. Even though the resort is on the ocean side, the beach in front of the hotel is protected by the coral reef, so even on the windy days we could swim in the ocean and there were no huge waves. There are no rocks in the water if you swim on the left part of the beach. The water was very warm - warmer then in the pool. There was a lot of fish swimming with us. We fed it bead crumbs and it jumped out of the water to pick it.
The pool is huge, but not deep - just 3 feet in all areas. There is no zero-depth area for small kids and elder people to go into the pool. Everyone has to jump or take steps.
The food was just as everywhere else in Dominican resorts.
We ate mostly at the buffet, because in the a-la carte restaurants you have to wait too long for your order and the waiting is not for our kids.
The entertainment team is realy great. I can honestly say that they are better here than in other places we stayed before. All people in our group participated in activities ( we never did it before in other places). The team is very friendly and fun. The shows at night were also great.
The casino is like any other resort casino - small, but has a little of everything - black jack, pocker, rulette, machines. I even won $50 playing .25c machines.
Nobody got sick!
To total my thoughts I can say that this hotel was OK for the money we paid, but I would not return back. Next time we are going to Iberostar.
Brilliant!
by TripAdvisor Member sarpook
After a lot of research we chose STB for our honeymoon location and I have to say it was the best decision we ever made.
Our first night wasn't so good though. When we arrived the locals were striking on the roads so we couldn't get to our resort and had to stay in the Riu (can't remember which one and don't realy want to either - terrible) The next day we were picked up by our transfer rep and brought to the resort. What a treat from the first place we stayed!!! Greeted by cold towels and fruit juice - nice!!
We upgraded to a honeymoon suite so we had to wait a while for the room to be prepared. This suited us as we got a chance to look around. Very pleased with our room, well worth the money!!
The resort itself is fantastic. There is so much room to walk about and everybody has plenty of space to feel completely relaxed. The pool was great but we spent most of the time on the beach as it was cooler down there.
The food was varied and great. We tried everything bar the Oceana and Japanese places. Great steaks in the Sea Side Grill, Fajitas in El Patio are the best I've ever had. Breakfast in the World Cafe is everything you could want. So much to choose from, fruit, omlettes, freshly cooked doughnts!!! Wasn't too good for evening meals though.
My only complaint of the who holiday was the maid servicee. On the first day we filled out a card to specify what time the room should be serviced at (we ticked 10.30 - 11) but it was never cleaned until the afternoon.
The vendors can be quite annoying, especially the ones approaching you throughout the day for quad biking or horeseback riding etc. They have an answer for every excuse you give them!
We booked two excursions with Apple Vacations. The Outback Safari was great because ou get to see the culture and beautiful scenery on the Island. The Saona island trip is also well worth the money.
Advice: Bring whatever medication you might need with you as it is quite expensive to buy in the resort ($20) Don't show any interest in the vendors merchandise if you have no interest in buying it, they will just bug you until you buy smething.
The evening entertainment wasn't the best, like watching a school talent show. We went to the casino every night instead and lost a load or money on the slot machines. Good fn though.
All in all if you book this resort you will have a great time, especially if you want to relax. We're going back for our 5th anniversary and I can't wait!!!
Don't Dive with SeaPro; Pool Great
by TripAdvisor Member Axcen28
If you are staying at Dreams, formerly Sunscape the Beach, DO NOT go SCUBA diving with SEA PRO divers unless you are interested in getting dumped out of the boat and having to swim for it, on your own, in through the surf, and still pay full price. This is what happened to our group.
First they tried to get us to pay in cash. (now we know why!) They said if we pay with credit card it is 5% more added on, which is sketchy business.
Then, they took us to two dive sites that had zero visibility and 4-10 foot surge washing us all around. You couldn't see a thing and it was quite nauseating. It was ridiculous that they took us there. It was just terrible!
On our first dive, my sister-in-law's regulator quit working at 40 feet down! Then, when we went down on our second dive, the dive boat left us all alone out there while they went to return her to shore. They did not offer her a refund even though their faulty equipment totally malfunctioned at her great detriment. There was no fresh water on the boat for a post-dive drink.
All of the equipment was leaky. It is not fun listening to the high-pitched squeal of a small air leak for your whole dive.
On the way in, after our second dive, they gave us no warning like, "grab all your stuff and hold it tight because we might flip and sink now." A heads-up at that point would have been REALLY HELPFUL. We found out later that this happens regularly. I would like to have been told that in advance.
Next thing you know the boat stalls out in the waves and gets swamped. The boat captain grabs his gas can and jumps overboard without so much as a word to us. The dive masters were busy inflating all the BCDs so they would not lose their equipment. They offered no advice or assistance to us passengers at this point.
Eventually, we bailed out and swam in through the waves (waves big enough to swamp and sink our dive boat) and as we approached shore, some guys from the beach came swimming out with boogie boards. I thought they were bringing them to help us finish the exhausting swim in, but they passed right by my husband and I and took the boogie boards over to the dive masters who were busy rounding up their precious equipment!!
Meanwhile, we were getting bashed against the underwater rocks with each incoming wave.
No wonder the equipment is faulty - we saw one of the dive masters using the regulator hoses to pull the equipment through the pounding surf.
Afterward, they made us all come right over to the dive shack and sign releases. No offer of a drink, no antiseptic for our bleeding scrapes, just sign here. Nice.
We lost a lot of our equipment, flippers, snorkels, towels, etc., which was annoying because we still had several days to stay. One person's flipper was ripped off his foot when it became lodged in the rocks as a big wave hit. Fearing he would drown, he pulled his foot free of the flipper, but in doing so, lost it.
Seriously, if you want to dive, go somewhere nice like saona, catalina, bayahibe or really, anywhere else but here! Diving off this beach is not worth it!! I would avoid Sea Pro divers as well. They are unsafe and unprofessional.
Otherwise,
hotel is beautiful although not in perfect repair. We were able to get our light and safe promptly fixed but would rather have been relaxing at the pool bar during that time.
Concierge Vanessa was very helpful, but others were less so.
Lots of very small ants in the room. Brother in law had cockroaches in his first floor room.
Be careful when you go out on your balconey. Many of the locks on the sliding glass doors are faulty and will lock you out. This happened to several people.
Pool is great.
Drinks are weak.
Service is decent - way better if you tip.
Food is pretty good.
Beach is so-so. Snorkeling is no good because the visibility is destroyed by all the sand kicked up by the waves.
The water trampoline was not out the entire week we were there.
If you like to surf, beach is great. The palms on the beach are great.
Most rooms are far from the beach. If you are near the beach, you are far from the buffet and lobby area. No shuttle service is offered for the old, fat, infirm or elderly.
FINAL WORD: If you want to lay around in the pool under palm trees, go here - it's gorgeous and there are lots of activities. If you want to dive, snorkel, shop or be near anything, go somewhere further south along the coast where the beaches are better and there is something outside the resort besides scrubby bushes.
Photos
Punta Cana beach
Punta cana beach
Punta Cana Beach Sculpture
Punta Cana Beach
Forum Posts
Sunscape Punta Cana Grand
by beachbuddy
Hi,
I'm new to this forum. My husband and I will be traveling to Punta Cana for the first time next month. Does anyone know anything about the Sunscape Punta Cana Grand? For the pass 4 months I have been reading all good reviews about the place, but the last few weeks I've read some bad reviews.......I'm getting nervous about it. I know to take reviews with a grain of salt........I mean some of the reviews as far as food, etc. are a personal liking.....some may like it and others may not. Also, from experience I know that you can go to your favorite restaurant and have a bad meal. Dosen't mean the restaurant is bad, just means they had an off night. Any information or adise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Beachbuddy
Re: Sunscape Punta Cana Grand
by tobytal
I didt stay at the sunscape BUT when I was in punta cana in march I stayed two hotels down from it and I took some tours of punta cana and met several Americans who were staying at the Sunscape and they liked it. They said that the food was good but that there was not much to do at night,. In general all of the hotelsin Punta Cana(except maybe the Bavaro chain of hotels-if you stay at one you can eat and use the disco at the others) have pretty lame and limited entertainment at night. They all put on what they think is a las vegas type show(but its not at all as good as vegas) and they all have bars with some type of disco/merengue music. But I was pretty bored at night. This is why when I go back to the DR I will go to the Puerto Plata side of the island-there's more to do and you can go into the town of sosua and cabarete which have nightlife.
Re: Sunscape Punta Cana Grand
by tobytal
just to add one comment to my previous post: the cahin of hotels thats supposed to be nice is the barcelo bavaro beach resort hotels in punta ( they must have a web site) I met someone who stayed at the Bavaro Princess and really liked it. Also everyone that I met that stayed At Secrets said it was beautiful with good food. The only down side to secrets is that the beach that it is on is not as nice as the beaches were most of the other all inclusive hotels are( the nicest beaches in punta cana are bavaro beach and cabeza de toro beach. I also hear that the the Riu chai of hotels is good. have fun One thing to keep in mind most of the all inclusive hotels in punta cana-except maybe the Club Med- do have average food. There's a cute little restaurant on the beach close to the Sunscape called the Blue parrot- you have to walk on the beach to get there . When youre on the beach in front of the Sunscape you head right and walk about 8 blocks and its right there on the beach.
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