Melia Caribe Tropical

Our stay at Melia Caribe Tropical, Punta Cana, was amazing, the food was excllent with a great choice of resturants to choose from , the staff were extremley pleasant and helpful, the pools were clean and had brilliant pool bars to swim up to if you fancied a cocktail or two!! and the beach i have to say is the best beach i have ever seen, very clean and the water clear and warm. What really made our stay at this resort is that we got married there, if you are thinking of getting married aboard and are unsure this is the place to go and get married, very relaxed and organised with a wedding co-ordinator to answer every worry you have, they have a separate place set in a little lake with flamingos surrounding it and you wallk over a little bridge with a band playing and you get married under a beautiful dome with angels painted inside set on white pillars, i arrived at the ceromony in a white horse and carriage, it was a lovley day with all the family and friends lots of champayne and lovely meal after, the weather was perfect along with the gardens for our wedding photos and we are planning to go back for our first wedding aniversary next year!!!

Hi Folks ! we, me (31 male) and a good boy-friend, where 2 weeks in the Melica Tropical in 2001, 3 days after the horrible 11 Nov. bang in NY. Everything was fine. We arrived and our room was not free, but we moved within 2 minutes into an other with a better view to the sea. :-) The resort ist in a very good conditions. The rooms are quite big and very clean for DR. We met the big boss hotel-manager in one of the bars and we could talk very cool to him. Also it was verys nice to meet not so much other german people. We talked to people from usa, chile, brasilia, peru, argentinien, ... and it was great. The best thing was the catameran drive. We were sitting on a very big catamera and hearing Hotel California from The Eagles und were drinking Cube Libre. That was really gerat. Freedom und Relaxing pur. My tips : try and book some day tours e.g. jeep safari and the catameran tour - it´s worth !!!! Drinks + Food was very good. We had several times party on the beach with all kind of fresh food. (fruits, fish, meat from grill, whole porks, ...) We never had any problems with this. Also the servcie is very goos. Also try the coconut golf. Greets, Sascha P.S.: Learn some spanish before !!!!

Our Vacation was wonderful and could have (should have) been much longer! The rooms were great, the food and drinks were spectacular, golfing was challenging and a lot of fun and the scenery was breath taking! Can't wait to go back! There were many places to curl up in the sun or shade with a good book either by the pool or on the beach. My husband tried the windsurfing and we also used a catamaran for an afternoon. The shows at night were good, some better then others and the “Bingo, Bango, Bongo” at night was a blast. We managed to find a different restaurant to eat at every night and had reservations spread out for the week to the 3 Reservations only restaurants (Seafood, French and Japanese) the rest are all first come first serve. We never had to wait for a table and usually ate around 7:30 or 8 pm. The food was really good. My husband is a very picky eater and always managed to leave full. The rooms are huge and fully air conditioned. We were in building 15, close to the beach and the pool and about a 10-15 minute walk to the lobby and restaurants. The maid was very creative and would leave us fresh flowers everyday in our room in different arrangements. If you go to Punta Cana, go on the Outback Safari tour. You get to see a little more of the country then just the resort and even get to try out boogie boarding on the Atlantic Ocean! It is $75 US per person but well worth it, the tour guides are a blast and the drinks are non stop! I guess the only negative was that it took them over an hour to get a bell boy to pick up our bags when we were departing. They told us to check out 30 minutes before your departure time and to call 90 minutes before that to get your bags picked up. We called in plenty of time and they told us to call back 30 minutes before we left to check out (it was early morning and we needed to check out at 8:45 am). We called about 45 minutes before we had to leave our room. The half an hour went by and no one showed. My husband went to the lobby to check us out. I waited in the room with the bags. After calling back to the front desk 3 times and my husband talking to them at the desk 2 more times someone finally showed up about 15 minutes before we had to depart! I was told that I didn’t have to wait in the room but I wasn’t feeling all that comfortable leaving without knowing that our bags were on their way to the front as well. The bell boy did give me a ride in his truck with our bags to the front so I wouldn’t be late for our departure. All in all, for a total of 7 days to have this one small inconvenience is not bad at all and would go back in a heartbeat once we pay off this trip!

We flew in, boarded the bus and arrived at the melia in less then an hour. The check in line was moving very quickly but was disappointed that most people in line failed to follow any kinda line they just seemed to wiggle and squeeze their way to the front. We were at the front of the line and stayed in line but ended up being the second last couple to check in. The grounds, rooms, beach, and pool are fantastic not a complaint. They do a great job of staying on top of the sea-weed problem we heard so much about before leaving. The buffets were great, lots of selection and always kept freshly stocked. The dinner reservation restaurants were excellent. The only complaint was they weren't all open they were alternating nights between them. The satff was very friendly and for the most part understood english. Special thnaks to the maid service for the flowers and extra care given and all that for a small tip every day. The only significant complaint is that the other tourist who were there were terribly rude and left their manners at home. They never said please, thank you, excuse me and worst of all spoke condescendingly to the staff. We had a great time and would go back any time.

We just returned from a wonderful 7 day trip at Melia Caribe, Punta Cana. For your reference, My wife and I are in the late twenties and thirties age group respectively, and have been to Hyatt's and other Melia's in Aruba, Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, plus other resorts in Bahamas, Maldives, and Cairns in the past 5 years. So, this was not our first trip to tropical beach resorts. We hope the following info would be helpful to both first time and seasoned tropics vacationers. It was our first time to D.R. We booked the vacation before reading all the reviews ( both good and bad ), and even having stayed with Melia hotels for a few times in carribean/central America, we were not really sure what to expect when we headed to the airport 8 days ago. The negative reviews did get us worried. And in the end, everything turned out surprisingly great! Here are the break downs: Airport: Simple, tropical feel with rancho like ceilings. Open design. Has medium size duty free shops, Bar, and fast food outlets. 3 USD for a bottle of Coke, 3 USD for a slice of pizza. You can smoke in the building. When you arrive there, 2 young female staff, dressed in traditional dress, will have your welcoming picture taken right at the entrance, just before immgration. Ladies, be prepared for the photo shoot. My wife wasn't. You get to purchase the picture, around 4 by 6 inches in size for 5 USD at the same airport when you depart. About 20 miniutes to Melia Caribe. Hotel check in: We had no problems what so ever. Our room key cards/towel cards/map and the usuals were all ready at the desk when we arrived. Make sure you ask all you want to ask about the room and hotel when you check in. It will help you plan you stay much better. The friendly staff will answer with pleasure, and , no need to rush. The vibe there is quite laid back, which is fine with us. We then ID'ed our luggage to the bell boy, and went for dinner at the Mexican Buffet restaurant. Our luggage was in the room before we finish dinner. Room: All the rooms there are suites: spacious room with high ceiling, balcony, and living room area with coffee table and 2 club chairs ( single seat sofa ), typical Melia style. Room was clean, and everything was in working order. Ceiling fan tends to shake a bit, but it is only normal for this type, no worries here, unless it does not work. AC was fine. The iron and umbrella were all there. Bottle water and pop in the mini fridge. I requested a pool side room and we got one, right by the pool/club house, 2nd floor. We had no problems with clean towels. Bed sheet /pillow case were fresh. Hotel Complex: Just magnificent! Bring lots of film or memory cards for your cameras/camcorders. It is a rather large hotel. Try to orient yourself with the the site map the first day. To get from the lobby to our room, we usually took the hotel train : a train-on wheels type cart that picks up guests at various stops around the complex. Plenty of lush vegetations, ponds, beautiful gardens around. The lobby is quite nice: open design, high ceiling, lots of wood, wrought iron furnitures, flowing water, ponds, romantic lightings at night.... lots of photo OP's. They also have their own in house photgrapher taking pictures of guests daily. You may choose to purchase the photo's the next day at breakfast. Pool: A very pretty, free form pool, with swim up bar, with center island where you can sun bath and hang out with the young crowd, surrounded by palm trees and gardens, just a few steps from the beach. Has showers and washrooms close by. Beach: Excellent. Fine, white sand ( think Baby Beach/ Aruba, Rum point/Grand Cayman, any resorts in Maldives ) .... I mean white, not sugar brown sand. Melia Caribe/Tropical is situated on part of the Bavaro beach, which is very long and curved. Again lined with plenty of palm trees, there are just miles and miles of it for those who like romantic beach stroll. With the warm sea breeze, it is great for sun tanning there. The ocean is clear, in a crystal light green colour for the shallow area, which can still be up to your chest in depth if you walk out 2 to 3 hundred feet from the shore line. The sand is very soft and fine as well in the ocean, very very few rocks. There are sea weed, but not a problem at all. Not the slimey, long type, the ones floating on the surface occasionally are usually 2 inches long, tooth pick thick, very straight, plastic like, does not stick to your skin. If you want zip to minimal sea weed, head to the Melia Tropical side on the beach, which is between the beach volley ball area and the beach market. The best time to swim, from experience, it's between 1 to 3 o'clock afternoon. The sun is strong that time, but the water is the calmest, and oh so crystal clear! A very very clean beach; the staffs comb it everyday. Topless sun bathing ? You bet. Ladies, just feel free if you want. Nobody will bother you there. In contrast, other local small tour activities marketers push their business, in a friendly way, more around the pool area. Restaurants: The food there is great: fresh ingredients, lots of varieties, from pastas, local various stew dishes, to fresh fish, sea food. If you insist on hot dogs, hambourgers and fries, they do have that available for lunch everyday, but it is not their strong point. My wife and I tend to focus on local and spanish cousine, and these are excellent there. After all, we went there to enjoy and experience new things, and culture. If strict N. American cousine is what you must have daily, then you will miss out a lot, and may be Vegas and Maui will be a better place for you to visit. Our favorite Buffet dinner restaurants are the Mexican one and the Spanish ones. You can bring food back to your room. ( we packed our breakfast for the full day excursion, and the restaurant staff were very helpful! ) As for a la carte restaurants ( the ones you have to reserve ), the French one and the Japanese one are fine, nothing spectacular; but still, try them when you are there. Their interior deisgns are nice, bring camera. They have smoking area as well. Did not try Capri, the sea food restaurant. For a la carte restaurants booking, here are the rules we had to follow: we can only book the 3 a la carte restaurants, each once, during our weekly stay. And they tend to get booked up very quickly, as always. Book them as soon as you can ( next to the lobby bar, is the booking table, the guy with a laptop... ). If somehow you don't show up at your reserved time, you just lose your table, that's it. You can just try other restaurants instead, or try them all the same night, if you want. Also, we must understand that the service style there in general is quite laid back. Most of the staffs we met were quite friendly, but for some reason, it takes them a while to get drinks other than water, to you table ( when dinning ). May be it is the restaurant system there. Just remember this, and try to be patient. Dress code for a la carte restaurants: smart casual will be fine for men. During peak hours for dinner, there will be lots of guests waiting for the train, and the car will be full. So if your room is far from the restaurants and you have reservations, it is better for you to walk there from your room, give or take 10 to 20 minutes, in a nice stroll. If it rains a little, there is umbrella in your room which you can bring to the restaurants. In House Activities: Fun, nightly entertainment, starts at 10pm. Friendly staffs go out of their way to entertain. Not pushy for audience participations. Day time activities, plenty. Check with the club house by the pool, where you get your daily beach towels. Try the 4 pm beach front Merengue lesson, it was great fun and a great way to burn those unwanted calories. Merengue is their national dance, why not learn it there. We had no problem getting beach towels everyday. Yes, and the usual Casino is there right by the lobby.... Discotheques: Usually, our fellow young travellers will drink up at the lobby bar or the pub, then head to the disco bars in neighbouring hotels. There were a lot more younger crowds at the less expensive resorts, just a fact. Ask the bar staff or the entertainment staff for more info on this. The locals know how to have a good time there and they will be happy to show you. Shopping: The souvenir shop in the lobby has the usual variety of merchandise, and of course, a bit pricier. If you head out to the beach, turn right , located right by the Melia Tropical beach front, is the beach market, consisting of a few souvenir shops. Have a look first, and don't part with your money yet. Be a bit thick skinned, the sellers can be pushy and aggressive at times. Just say no if you are not ready to buy, remember. Only say yes when you feel comfortable and ready to make any purchase. Now that you have a rough idea of what they have to offer, go to the hotel lobby, get a taxi, or you can share one with other guests, and head to Bavaro plaza, very close to Melia, and they have more souvenir shops there. You can find almost everything, and can bargain as much as you want. Usually you can bargain from 50% to 70% off the list price ( if there is any ). Or you can join a local shopping tour, and shop with other Melia guests. Check with the tour operators, located at the desks across the check in lobby, where you can also find car rental. We had some help and advise from the lovely Mari Lisa of Sunquest tour, and had a great local excursion and paid fairprice when shopping. So, thanks, Mari Lisa. Remember, no ones wants to be ripped off, so try not to rush into buying. Shop around, ask around, and bargain. Most of the shop owners or sellers are reasonable, but there are always a few that are ultra pushy, aggressive, and even with mad attitude ( like one shop owner I encountered there ). Just ignore them and walk away when feeling pressured. Others will always be more than willing to have your business. Excursions: There are various local excursions available and you can book them at the tour operator's desk across from the from desk. They range from full day tour to half day, and the $ is from 75 to 18 USD. We took the full day Saona Island/Chavon river tour, and had a great time sun tanning, site seeing, swimming. The theatre and replica village at Chavon were very nice, lots of pohto op's. Getting to see different parts of the country other than just the resort is always refreshing. Lunch and drinks included. They aslo have Monster 8X8 Jeep Safari tour, and the Kontiki Party Raft boat cruise which a few of our fellow travellers took and enjoyed very much. Quite a few for you to choose from. There were also local tour sellers who hang around the pool area to promote their horseback riding tour or what not. They are friendly, will approach you. And they won't pressure you. But they will be there. Hotel crowd: A great variety, mainly couples of all ages, young family with kids, and some singles; and typical for any Caribbean resorts, the guests are from Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, France, USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina...etc. a lot of the guests spoke Spanish as well. Water: As advised by our tour operator the first day we got here, you should not drink their tap water. There were bottle water, along with pop, in our in room mini fridge, and you can also get bottle water from any bar in Melia. The water and ice at their restaurants are fine as they have been treated for in take. We used bottle water to brush/rinse our teeth and experienced no sickness during our stay, and we know guests have gotten got sick in DR before. So, be cautious. Tipping: You don't have to and the staffs don't push for it nor expect it, but just a dollar per meal can go a long way. I usually tip our waitress 1 US after meal, and she will remember you next time she sees you, even in a different restaurant. You will surely have your drinks faster. After all, they are freindly, hard working people, as you will see. And they really appreciate it when you tip. Again it is at your disgression. Conclusion: You will no doubt have a great time there. Bring sun block, the sun is very strong. SPF 30 is higly advised. Bring insect repellant for your skin, if you wear shorts or tank top in the evening. Ladies should spray their ankles at night if they wear dress for dinner. It is normal to have mosquito in such lush, natural setting. And it is perfectly normal to have rain there, short occasional showers. There were a few evening ones during our stay, didn't cause problem. Try to learn more about DR's climate before you book your trip. A few couples from our trip complained about the hot humid weather. You have to understand that the way it is hot there is not the same way as in L.A., NYC, or Toronto. Knowing just sunny and hot is not enough to prepare you for a good Caribbean trip. Ask your travel agent for climate info on DR. It is best for you to know when is their rain season, hurricane season. Temperatures and humidity do change slightly there during the year and they do make a difference. Be prepared, and you will have a great, relaxing, and romantic time at Melia Craibe. Hope you enjoy Melia and Punta Cana as much as we did.

The resort is beautiful and the employees are very helpful. We were told that you can use phone cards with a small connection fee for each call. They ended up charging us for each minute thru the resort plus the minutes used on our card. When we called the 800 card number we got a Spanish message and all we could understand was to dial 880 with our card number and that got us right thru. What we didn't hear or understand was that a charge per minute would be added. This is a rip off and is controlled by the resort. The manager agrued with us until our bus was leaving and we ended up paying half of the bill. Also the resort allows some local people to set up tables in their lobby to sell you jewelry, cigars and such. They are very annoying and get upset if you don't buy something from them. My wife and I were just walking by and were looking and a man would not let us leave or look at another table. Don't get me wrong we could of just left, but he was very persistant and controlling. Made me very uncomfortable for being at a luxury resort and on vacation. Not good. Except for these problems which I would never expect from such a place the vacation was great. Gary

My Husband and I went to Punta Cana the second week in September, 2002. We were scared to death after we read those horrible reviews about the Melia Caribe Tropical. Well we went with the intentions of the worst and we GOT THE BEST OF EVERYTHING!!!. Our room was always clean, ALL of the food we ate was wonderful. We realized that we were in a foreign country so we tried to speak spanish and found that the staff would help us with our language when the realized that we were really giving it a try. The Activites staff was wonderful and very friendly. There is always something going on either at the pool or the beach. Exercise, dance lessons, volley ball, beach olympics, sumo wrestling, etc. These guys are CRAZY!! They will make you laugh at anything. Melvin, Charlie and Mini are the best. Tell Oscar at the pool bar we said hello!!! You have to be nice in order to be treated nice. I think it was my grandmother who told me, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you are hateful and snobby and demanding sure you are going to be treated like an outsider. But if you are nice, patient and try to understand their way of life you will be treaty like ROYALTY!! WE WERE!!! Can't wait to go back next year.

We were fortunate enough to have been able to visit the Melia in December of 2001. We went for one week and had an amazing time. The grounds were beautiful and very well maintained, the service was quick and efficient, the food was always great with lots of variety, and the pools and beach were of course the highlight of our vacation. We recently went to an all inclusive resort in Mexico and found the Melia far better. We would highly recommend the Melia for your next vacation.

First off, this review is meant to help those thinking of taking a vacation here, so I am not going to go on forever and ever the way other people do complaining about lost wedding rings, 3 hour check-in times, no towels, their getting sick, etc. (I didn't need to read for 2 paragraphs how some people were bed-ridden with stomach problems - a simple 'I got sick' would have sufficed!) Every vacation has its share of problems, none of which happen to every person. So read on if you want an honest opinion of a great vacation spot. The Melia Caribe/Tropical is an all-inclusive resort which is moderately priced, and you are getting exactly what you pay for - and this is a good thing, not bad. People going to the Dominican Republic expecting a vacation like Bora Bora are ridiculous. The Melia is a beautiful resort with friendly people and great food, and at the same time saving you thousands on an otherwise expensive trip to the Carribean. First off, when arriving at the Melia, immediately make reservations for the restaurants other than the buffets. It is understood that reservation can go quickly when a resort holds so many people, but we were able to get into all the ones of our choices. The restaurants, while mostly an 'interpretation' of what the Dominicans believe is themed food, is tasty. By this I mean, if you go to the Chinese restaurant and order Sweet & Sour chicken, it may not be the same taste and style as you may be accustomed to. But nonetheless, the restaurants and buffets were all fine - the Mexican buffet was especially delicious. Any drinks ordered on the grounds were all top shelf, and never watered down. Even the pool bar gave great drinks. The grounds are beautifully kept, and the pools were clean and the perfect temperature. With plenty of seating areas around the pool, you will have plenty of time to take in some sun. Seats are harder to come by on the beach, so if this is your fancy, get there early in the morning. The Melia is a huge resort. Depending on where your room is, you may be in for a distance-shock depending on where you want to go. For instance, our room was right near the beach and pool, but was on the complete opposite end of the restaurants and lobby. You can either walk it, which would be a 15-20 minute walk, or you can take the provided tram service which runs all day and all night long. Sometimes a walk is preferred due to the gorgeous weather, but it is comforting to know that there is a tram service when you are tired after a long day. The rooms were clean, with TV, A/C, and free mini bar, complete with bottled water that you must use rather than the tap water, which is fine. I never had a problem having a fresh stock of water every day when the room was cleaned. There was never any real reason to leave the resort. There were some included water sports, such as snorkling and paddle boats, and for small charges you can go scuba diving and wind surfing. There are activities at night in the lobby areas, including shows and the like. There are even traveling shops to buy all your souveniers - just remember never to accept the offer they initially come up with - they are all hagglers there. If you want a statue that costs $50 in their mind (after they do their little calculations on their pocket calculator), offer them half of that or even less and threaten to leave without nothing, and 9 out of 10 times they will give it to you for your price, not theirs. Bottom line, you are getting what you pay for, and then some. For a price much cheaper than going to Aruba or Puerto Rico, you are getting a beautiful resort with great beaches and pools, good service, and a relaxing environment. If you are one of those people like these reviewers who complain that EVERYONE doesn't speak English, well then maybe this isn't the place for you - this is a completely different country. English is NOT the native language, but non-Spanish speaking people can stil have a great time at a wonderful resort.

My friends and I (all single girls..ages 23-35) had the best time at this hotel..there are a dozen restaurants both a la carte and buffet style. the themed restaurants you have to make reservations for so be sure you do it bright and early..because they book up fast..the hotel staff was awesome we partied with them all week and they took us to a fabulous niteclub at the Flaminco hotel Bravo..i forget the name of the club but it was in this hotel. go dressy or causual but it had more of a singles vibe to it although there were some couples..but it is the best club. Sammy is the jewelery trader on the beach right next to the hotel. He'll hook you up if you bargain with him..don't rent a taxi or take a look outside the hotel for bracelets and stuff because Sammy has nicer stuff and he won't rip you off like they do. it's really poor outside the hotel areas so be careful. BRING 2-3 CANS OF "OFF" BUG REPELLENT!! you will go through a can a person. if you don't you'll get eaten alive. bring SUNBLOCK!! THEY WILL CHARGE YOU 15.00 USD FOR THE CAN OF "OFF" AND AT LEAST 10.00 USD FOR THE SUNBLOCK..I am italian and tan very well and i was black because i never went lower than 23 spf on my face and 12 on my body. i started with 30 spf all over.there is horseback riding and everything you want on the property no need to go elsewhere. THE RESORT IS VERY MUCH FOR COUPLES!! we had a hard time being like the only single girls there. go to santo domingo if your looking for a singles vibe..if you want to relax then go here. the hotel and staff were beautiful and wonderful..i rate this a true 6 star hotel because everything from the rooms to dinner was perfect. the only complaint i have is that it took a whole day to get our luggage from the lobby. we made it to dinner barely that nite. so if you want to hit the beach right away either wear your bathing suit or pack it in a seperate bag and take it with you to the room and change. your luggage will take at least 4-5 hours to catch up with you from best service ever..hope this helps email me with any questions..