Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

6005 reviews

• 

  Excellent holiday - would definitely book again!

  First off I want to say the staff absolutely make this hotel. They cannot do enough for you, everyone is so polite and they always say hello from the grounds keepers, to the towel guys, to the wait staff. The entertainment staff were great, during the day and the evening. We didn't travel with children but the children's entertainment staff seemed amazing, they did so much with them, crafts, games, dress up. There seemed to be lots to keep them entertained. Particular shout outs to Sugeidy who worked the top bar wait area in the evenings, we would often arrive after the shows had started as we like to eat later and she would always insist on getting us a table and chairs for our group of 6 even though we said we'd be happy to stand, she wouldn't hear of it. She knew all our drinks, never had to ask for more, she would just bring them over when she saw we were running empty. She was so lovely and worked so hard. Another shout out to Obispo, Sebastian and Adonis at the Blue Dorado pool bar. These guys made our trip so much fun. They would make special cocktails, shots, get everyone doing the special 'shot' chant and dance. They cane around the sunbeds in the morning with bottled water for you. Again, they work so hard and they're so friendly and would replenish your drinks without you even having to ask. We stayed non-preferred and we didn't find we missed out on anything by not being preferred, however I can't comment of the full preferred experience as obviously we didn't pay the extra for that. We did walk over the bridge (which is well worth the trip during the day and evening) to the new preferred section, this is where the Italian is that you can visit if you are non-preferred in the evening. The new section looked lovely, more modern, but it was very quiet. A lot of people we spoke to in the day at the pool bar had come over to our pool from the new section as there's more atmosphere, but again that's personal preference on what type of holiday you want I guess. The swim up rooms in the new section did look amazing! There were two swim up bars, one near the beach which we found to be the 'party' pool and the Blue Dorado which was quieter but as mentioned above had the great bar guys. Hotel itself is spotless clean. Our room was always clean, made up and mini bar refreshed daily. We were building 5, floor 3. Our room looked out onto the back. Found no issue with noise and the room itself was really spacious and comfortable. The bed is huge! The food, I know there are lots of comments here regarding the food and I've got to say we found it to be great, our party even commented it was better than Mexico. My Mum can be a bit of a fussy eater and me and my husband do like fine dining and we had no complaints. Is it Michelin star, no, but its a Caribbean all inclusive, I don't know what some people expect. There is so much to choose from, the people that comment that they couldn't find anything they liked, honestly I don't know why you even bother leaving the house. The breakfast buffet had a big selection, all the breads are freshly made on site. Fresh egg station, cereals, fruits, a big pastry selection. The buffet at lunch was great also, there was everything from Greek chicken kebabs, to burgers, pizzas, fresh fish and meats, and traditional Dominican dishes. We ate at all the A La Carte restaurants twice for dinner as we were there for 2 weeks. My favorite was the Seaside Grill (excellent steak both times) and the Italian. Others in our party loved the Mexican. There is a coffee shop in reception open 24 hours which is great and has a selection of little sandwiches and cakes / pastries etc. I also had room service a few times whilst there, once for dinner and a couple of times at breakfast, it was fast and arrived hot. Again, no complaints. Overall I would definitely recommend this hotel, you will have a great time!

  Jan 06, 2025
• 

  Thorough review w props to workers

  Delores (drink runner) - always nice and kept coming around to make sure we were good. Wilken (drink runner) - fantastic and quick service. Where others might take a while to get back, he was back in a fraction of the time. Diogenes - (World Cafe) very friendly and made us feel welcome. He says he's learning English, but it was already good, and we hope that he gets his chance to move up. Freddy - (World Cafe) always smiling and keeping our coffees filled and remembering our name. Jennifer - (Preferred lounge) best lime margaritas, no contest! Great service, friendly conversation, and overall great first impression if this is where you start your stay. Isaa - (Preferred lounge) Great cookie martinis and will make you a great drink catered to your tastes (ie “sweet” “fruit” + base alcohol you may like). Also very friendly and funny. Overall, the staff was very friendly and made us feel welcomed. Some had their challenges with English, but they always made an effort to try to understand as best they could. Pros: Swim out room was great for our autistic son (sound sensory issues). The new section would have been better than the old (quieter), but we were closer to the World Cafe buffet. The rooms are far enough away from the sound activities that another family had issues with their young one and the nightly entertainment. Good size rooms. Lots of beach seating. Take a walk between resorts if part of the Preferred.  Nice walkway and see some wildlife. Food selection - great at the buffet and always able to find something. We didn't do restaurants due to our son’s needs and the speed of eating. A chef from the World Cafe even found some peanut butter for our son! However, their jam is more like jelly donut style, fyi. Cleanliness: the resort looked clean (in spite of other guests not returning towels etc) and well maintained. Always gardiners outside and some work being done, but we didn’t feel like it interfered with our vacation. Neutral: Pool temp is cool at first, but you get used to it quickly. Cons: More significant - Mosquitos. Bring bug spray! They sprayed the area after our first night, but the damage was done, and we still had other bites afterwards Seaweed - lots on the beach when we went. They tried to keep it clean, but we also had some bad weather which could have caused it. Just not fantastic for us and our son. Others found it manageable. Power - my mother noted a few power outages during the night when her CPAP machine cut out. I noticed one during the night when the a/c and fan turned off. They weren't long, it appears. Hot water - at different times, my wife and I went to have a shower and we couldn't get hot water. We thought the first time was odd, until it reoccurred. Minor Golf carts delivering people/luggage at night reversing sounds are loud in the room at all hours. It may have let up after the last people of the day arrive at the resort. First level floors hear the chairs above us moving around very loud as well. Their sales pitch - don't bother with it. They say that it is only 90 minutes (1.5 hrs).  It lasted about 135 minutes (+2 hrs), even after we told them that we had to make sure it didn't delay us that long for our autistic son. We stayed for our promised gift, but we would have rather not even gone. They say you can say “no”, but then bring out 2 other people each time to try to convince you. (ie “quality control” person is ultimately another salesperson). The deal could be good, if you have enough up-front cash, but maybe for select people only. Other things we noticed: some walkouts (not swimups) had enough trees/bushes that one wouldn't likely stay out there. Maybe use it for another door only. Just an observation as we didn't have the room ourselves. Some guests liked to play their music loud, but not sure if they were told about it or just stopped. Advice to those people - save it for your room or your headphones.

  Jan 05, 2025
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  Great location for families… but not overrun with kids

  Small and beautiful resort that’s easy to navigate, with a variety of pools for everyone, and waterslides for an exciting activity. Food and service at the restaurants was strong, even at the buffet (which I generally avoid). Highlight was the Blue Dorado pool bar, where outstanding service and personalities from Obispo and Sebastian shone. They went out of their way to make everyone, including young ones, feel included in the fun times. Only negative was the New Year’s Eve set menu… did not enjoy.

  Jan 04, 2025
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  Some pros & cons

  Pros: Clean, friendly staff, Julio (Japanese hibachi chef) was FANTASTIC, easy to get around. *most importantly, we felt safe with our daughters. Very family friendly!!! The gift shop is reasonably priced, for the most part. But sunscreen is $$$ so come prepared. Cons: if you don’t upgrade to “premier” there are definitely places you can’t swim, eat, drink. So probably either worth spending the extra, or go somewhere else. Our booking reservations said “top shelf” liquor but that wasn’t included in our reservation. The cheapest liquor was. Warning: the guys on the beach with the parrots; they will act like it’s all fun and free then take your photo with the parrots. They will then demand you pay them $30 per person who had photos. Just beware. Overall, we had a wonderful, relaxing time!

  Jan 04, 2025
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  A great time - highly recommended!

  We had a great time at Dreams Royal Beach. This was a last minute booking, 1-week in advanced for Dec 30-Jan 4 . Went through Costco and got the Preferred King pool view. We were upgraded to a swim-up room close to the beach when we arrived. This is cool as you already have pool loungers! The resort was not crowded and didn't seem full. The rooms and grounds are well appointed and maintained and regularly cleared of cups, etc. There are nice finishings and details that make this an elevated experience. We were traveling as a couple. Didn't realize Secrets next door was adults only. But it's was nice at Dreams as there were a lot of large family groups traveling together. We never had to wait in line for dinner. The food is good and artistically plated. They have a lot of employees, waitstaff, so you are always tended to. Once we were sat and no one came to take our drink order and when I got up to ask if they were serving wine, they realized their oversight and served us immediately. The staff works hard. It also helps that the DR culture is so happy and friendly. Makes for a different experience compared to resorts in Mexico. The drinks were on point, taste exactly as you'd expect: mojito, caipirinha, cosmopolitan, Aperol spritz, Manhattan, draft Presidente, and very drinkable wine by the glass. We didn't engage in the “gold key.” lt's just small discounts and I decided a long time ago to never again sit through a timeshare presentation and ruin my vacation. When I'm on vacation I don't want to meet with the hotel people or arrange my time around theirs. I want to have a lose, uncommitted schedule I can roll in and out of. We walked the beach a lot in both directions. You'll see how the seaweed varies daily by location. We enjoyed our swim in the ocean and swam to the boom. There were plenty of loungers available on the beach so we found two under a thatched palapa. I have no idea if wew were in preferred section or not. I even got a massage on my lounger from a beach vender. Very convenient and satisfying. The water park is fun but out of the way. We tried all the slides. Loved walking the natural bridge - saw turtles, iguana, duck and heard cool jungle sounds at night. They weren't checking preferred status to cross. The shows are nice and provide nice entertainment in the evening. We had a special event for NYE. Lots of champagne! We did one excursion to the Marinariun Reef Explorer which we enjoyed. (See my review) Their Spanish is limited but it's not impossible to communicate. It was great for me to practice my high school Spanish. Just use Google Translate if you get stuck. Note - one evening we sat outside on our pool loungers and left the sliding glass door open. I looked down and saw a bug. We were outside - where bugs live. So a reminder to keep the slider closed! Tipping. It's optional. You don't have to. But if you have such a great experience, your may want to leave a tip. This could be a $1 for drinks, or $10 daily for your pool/beach server, $2 for breakfast/lunch, $5 for dinner, and a rare $20 for exceptional service. Plan a budget so you have enough and don't have to use a foreign ATM. Highly recommended. Don't look for things to complain about, it will ruin your vacation. Look for the good things.

  Jan 04, 2025