Punta Cana

We are just back from a week in tropical paradise at Dreams Resort and Spa in the Dominican Republic, located 50K north of the Punta Cana Airport. Dreams is an expansive all-inclusive Resort with a beautiful beachfront, one of the largest pools in the Caribbean, a casino, tennis courts, and activities for the whole family. We so enjoyed spending time on the beach, we didn’t even step foot into the pool until our last morning there!

We were fortunate the resort wasn’t at full capacity while we were there and we had little to no wait at the restaurants and no trouble getting lounge chairs. We upgraded to the Preferred Club and had access to a private lounge with computers and a bar stocked with top-shelf liquors, complimentary wi-fi in our room, and access to a private beach area. The beach area was well worth the extra expense as there were approximately 14 king-sized four-poster beds that were available on a first come, first serve basis. After spending the first day on one, we knew we needed one everyday. They were unbelievably comfortable. Getting one required getting out to the beach well before 8 every morning. But all you had to do was lay a few of your belongings on the bed and give a tip to Rafael, the man in charge of the Preferred Club Beach area, and the bed was yours for the day, even if you went off to do other things for a few hours. Afternoon naps on the beach were the highlight of the trip for me. I’m thinking about getting one of these beds for my back yard!

Among the many activities offered are Spanish and dance lessons, Big Screen movies on the beach, an ocean trampoline, tennis, night club, batting cage, an electric bull, and a climbing iceberg in the pool. We went on 1 excursion to Catalina Island to do some snorkeling. It was a long 1 1/2 hour bus ride, followed by a 30 minute boat ride. We drove through several towns and it was very interesting to get a glimpse at how the Dominican People live.

The only negatives of the resort were the food, which was just so-so (but no one got food poisoning!) and the people who haggle you to buy things. When we went to Jamaica last year, there were lots of people trying to sell us things on the beach, but they were not allowed on the resort property and they were friendly when you said ‘no Thank You’. At Dreams, there were actually people set up selling things inside the resort several nights while we were there. They were very aggressive in their selling tactics and did not want to take “no thank you” for an answer. There were also people trying to pressure us into going to visit a nearby time share. Only other thing that didn’t appeal to me about the resort was the long distance from the airport and excursions.

But all in all, we had a wonderful time and as you can see below- we took LOTS of pictures.