Sunscape Punta Cana Grand Hotel

My husband and I just returned from Sunscape , 5/9-5/16. I must say, we had a beautiful time. We did the 5 square deal with Apple and it worked out wonderfully. THere was a little confusion to what hotel we were at but no problem.When I read the complaints, I have to wonder if about the people writing them. I understand that mistakes happen all the time and everywhere but get over it, people that fixate on the negatives are probably impossible to please.The food was typical carribean food and we KNOW that the food is different. We KNOW we are in another country so the language can be an issue. Hellooo, we are in THEIR country, you should be the one speaking spanish if you have the problem. Either way, we never ever had a problem communicating and if we did, they would get someone else to translate to us.We loved everything. . The service was outstanding, the people were so helpful and we tipped here and there, not much and it wasn't expected either. The beach was beautiful and very well maintained. Seaweed started to appear by early afternoon but is cleaned up every morning and will always be an issue. We walked the beach past other resorts and Sunscape's beach was best kept.Punta Cana is so beautiful, miles upon miles of secluded beaches. We have vacationed all over to many all-incluse clubs (Jamaica 3x, Mexico, St. Lucia, Hawaii...) so I feel experienced enough to know what makes a great vacation and Sunscape did a wonderful job making our week one of the best!

My friend and I visited Sunscape May 9-12, 2003. We went for a short weekend - we treated ourselves for Mother's Day. The hotel is approx 20 min from the airport which is great considering we went for such a short time. Check in went smooth and we were sent to our room in Bldg 4, third floor - great ocean views. The rooms are very basic but kept very clean. A small tip and you will be brought as much water as you request. The weather was amazing the entire weekend. We spent most of our time on the beach, which had some seaweed but nothing out of control. They clean the beach every morning. The pools were VERY warmand we found that very unappealing. I know it must be hard to keep the pools cool but they should make an attempt. Considering it is only May what will they be like in July. This could be a potential health hazard. They should try to fix that problem. The staff was amazing and spoke very good english. The maids had more difficulty with English but we managed to communicate. The food was OK. We loved the italian restaurant, Windows is a typical buffet restaurant. The chicken/mushroom pizza at the American Grill was very good but we weren't thrilled with the burgers. We didn't make it to the Tex Mex but heard many great comments about it. All in all I would definitly return to this hotel. I am considering bringing my family in July. Remember you are in Punta Cana and they move very slowly - but you are on vacation - what is the rush !!!

To make a long story short? Spend your hard earned money elsewhere! When we arrived in Punta Cana ( 3hours late, thanks Apple Vacations) I must say that customs was not a nightmare compared to others. 3 planes landed at the same time, but as we went though customs, he barely looked at our documentation, which did speed up the process. Once we arrived at Sunscape, the people at the front desk barely spoke English. You would ask them a question, and the would just say ok, and go on with what they were doing before. We were traveling with our kids, and another family. When we got into our room, we had 1 kingsize bed. After calling numerous times, they told us to come back down to the front desk. After going all the way back down to the front desk with our things, they told us there was nothing they could do that night but give us a small cot. They said they could not change our room until 2pm the next day. (A bit of info. If you need something done, go to higher management!!! Hopefully they will give you what you need. )Their entertainment was so-so, but they cancelled our Bar-B-Q with no notification. There were several people walking out to the beach looking for it, but we finally found out it was cancelled. I was disappointed given the fact that the person running the hotel was from the U.S. and he is knowledgable on "customer Service". The staff will only work for tips. (with the exceptions of the guys at the pool, and pool bar)If you have already booked, get a perscription for Cipro before leaving. There were a lot of people sick for several days!! Keep that in mind!!! We will not travel there again. A wast of money

I stayed at Sunscape April 9-16 2003 with my mom ,dad and brother.Upon arrival at Sunscape you enter into a lobby area where you check in.The lobby is open air.Very nice!When waiting in line to check in everyone was served fruit punch with or without rum.Also I was served chocolate chip cookies.The people really know how to treat someone right.Check in was smooth and it was off to the room.Room-I had a third floor room with cathedral ceilings.The rooms are nice but nothing special.In the room is a mini refrigerator that was stocked with beer , soda, and water everyday!That was nice.The maids kept the room clean everyday.Hotel-The hotel grounds are very well kept.Very lush and tropical plants.The hotel is very nice.Beach-The beach was very nice as well but most of my time was spent by the pool.The beach did have some seaweed but it didnt bother me at all.I took walks only to see other beaches overcrowded.Sunscapes beach was not crowded at all.At night it was nice to go on the beach and lay on a chair and relax.Pool-The pool was where I spent most of my time.The pool was like bath water and I enjoyed it.There is a swim up bar which is nice to get drinks.I was told there it is safe to brush your teeth with the tap water but do not!I brushed my teeth in the water once.Im pretty sure that explains why I got diarrhea.There is bottle water that the maids put by the sink so you can brush your teeth.Entertainment-At night there is a movie playing on a very large screen.One night the movie was playing on the beach.Following the movie is a nightly show.Some of the shows were funny but some were corny.Activities-There is some water activities you can do.There is water aerobics and games like water polo in the pool and activites on the beach like volleyball.For the kids is the Explorers Kids Club where the kids do fun activities.Food-I thought the food was great.They had a lot of variety.One evening there was dinner on the beach that took the people who set up tables and everything quite awhile.It started toet up and people went back to their tables.There are 4 restaurants on the property.All in all I had a very fun and good time.The staff is nice and friendly. I would definitely go back again. Thanks Sunscape for a great time!!!!!!

We stayed at Sunscape March 29 - April 5. After reading many reviews about the pristine beach, we were extremely disappointed to find an almost unswimmable beach area with floating sea grass. Perhaps it was because of the wind or tide, but each morning workers had to rake and shovel piles of seagrass so that they could wheelbarrow it over to bigger piles for the beach dumptrucks to come pick it up. The palm tree beach area with white soft sand is beautiful, but we love to swim in the clear ocean and snorkel, however, the snorkelling was very poor. The sailing was a lot of fun and the boats were always available. We had to walk about 1km down the beach to find a nice swimming area. We did enjoy the beach aerobics, the coco party on the beach, the helpful and kind employees and the wonderful swimming pool. The food, service, variety of restaurants, entertainment/shows, cleanliness of the resort, availability of beach/pool chairs and overall lay-out are all very acceptable. We have been to many resorts and would recommend this resort only to those who don't wish to swim in the ocean.

My husband, myself and 5yr old daughter visited Sunscape April 6 - 13. We had a great time. The resort is lovely and taken care of like no other resort we have ever stayed at before(including Sandals). RoomsRooms are clean and spacious. It is not luxury but you don't spend much time there. Leave a dollar or two on your pillow for the maids. We forgot once and the room was not as well made up. We had a terrace and it was spotless, a great place to relax before dinner. There is a mini bar with beer and soft drinks and bottled water. There is even bottled water on the bathroom sink so no chance of running out. StaffMost of the staff were very pleasant and eager to please. Service was usually quick and with a smile. We had heard raves about the manager, Rod. Sorry to say we saw him a few times and he never said hello, maybe just a smile. The resident manager was terrific. Activities staff work from early in the morning until late at night. A special thank you to Paulina - coordinator for the kids club. She is very sweet and loves kids. If you have teen daughters be wary of some of the guys in the activities group - no names.FoodFood is okay, not great. Highly recommend the steak at the Texmex restaurant, the shrimp pasta and lasagna at the Italian restaurant and the continental breakfast and chicken at the Beach Cafe. Also, the buffet breakfast is pretty good with awesome smoothies.ActivitiesThe nightly shows are fun and the movies for the kids are great. If you like you can get away for an hour or so for a nice dinner and the kids watch a Disney movie. Pool activities are varied and fun. Overall a great place except the food wasn't great. The beach had a lot of seaweed but you could always walk up the beach and find a clear spot. I would definitely return. It's a beautiful, well kept resort with friendly staff and small enough that you don't feel lost in the crowd.

This was our first all-inclusive trip and don't think we could have asked for anything more. While the weather didn't agree with us the first two days, it was still one of our most relaxing, fun vacations.Rooms-We had a third floor room in building 2 which offered a nice ocean view and was away from the noise of the nightly shows. Double queen size beds or a single king are available (ours was double queen). Very nice and comparable to a nice US hotel. Cable TV, minibar, hair dryer all there.Food-Far exceeded my expectations. DiMarco's, the Northern Italian restuarant, is formal but the food is very good. Windows has everything for breakfast and lunch. The American grill has ala carte breakfast and burgers/sandwiches for lunch, and TexMex has great steaks and seafood. There was no problem in finding something to everyone's liking in any of these restuarants (we were a group of 20). There are also hot dogs and pizza available at the backstage bar in the afternoon and burgers and hot dogs on the beach side of the Garden Bar.Drink-Presidente is the beer of choice although Heinekin is available at the Backstage bar. There is a drink menu at every bar but the will make whatever you want and do have upper shelf brands if you ask by name (Tanquary gin, Johnny Walker Black, etc.). If you are a drinker, I would advise bringing a 20 oz., insulated cup with you, it saves on refilling drinks back and forth to the beach.Entertainment-The main stage entertainment was mostly good. Xiomara is the featured singer/dancer and she is very, very talented. The nights usually begin with a movie and show aimed at the kids followed by a more adult show. One or two of the shows are a bit corny but lots of fun.Beach-GorgeousPeople-Gloria at the backstage bar (tell her Papa sent you) and Julio at the Piano bar. Julio lights up the bar every night with 151 rum and is not to be missed. Xiomara shows up some nights and gets the crowd dancing. Tucki shows up all around the complex and gets everyone laughing. Al works at windows in the morning. She looks away while she pours coffee and rarely has her mind on her work.Other-Hobie Cats, windsurfers, snorkel equipment is all available free of charge but there are insurance charges which are pretty small ($3 a day for a hobie cat).Summary-A great, inexpensive vacation package. We didn't bring any kids but they cater to them very nicely from what we could see.

We stayed at the Sunscape Punta Cana the week of March 22-29. I don't know what happened at the hotel the week after we left, since there are so many negative comments, but we had the most wonderful time from the moment we woke up until the moment we went to sleep. We booked our trip through Apple Vacations (we had traveled with them before to Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic). Everything went smoothly and we arrived at the hotel in the evening. Our room was ready as soon as we got there (I had requested a lower floor and got a room on the first floor). Everything was very clean throughout our stay. The food was excellent and the service was first-rate. Special thanks to Fernando, Papi, and Tono. All of our wishes were fulfilled before we even spoke them. Service with a smile has a special meaning here. We are going back in the summer for another wonderful week!

This was promoted as a 5-star resort. It is at best a 2-3 star resort by american standards. The food is palatable at best and very inconsistent. The facilities are old and poorly maintained. The beds are uncomfortable and the pillows smell. The water makes you sick. The shows are amatuerish. The drinks are watered down. The disco caters ONLY to the locals. About the only good thing I can say is that the stafff was freindly and helpful. Otherwise, this was my worst vacation ever and I will never return to Punta Cana or the Dominican Republic for that matter. There are too many excellent islands out there that deserve your hard earned money.

My first trip to the Dominican Republic with three friends was In June of 2002. We booked through Apple Vacations (which was a total nightmare) and ended up losing one whole day of our vacation because the Apple Vacations charter plane had problems and we had to wait FIFTEEN hours in the Philadelphia airport before we got there. Needless to say, we were expecting something amazing in Punta Cana. The Sunscape wasn't amazing, however. I would rate it as being dubbed a moderate resort by the skin of its teeth. The beach was absolutely terrible. The water is murky with a lot of seaweed and very coarse sand. It was almost as if we were swimming in a bay area because there is a huge marina RIGHT IN FRONT of the beach which blocks the view of the ocean. Enourmous boats are right in front of you on the beach at all times. It was like the Jaws ride at Universal Studios or something. Now here comes the scary part, get ready. We all got explosive diarreah about 3 days into the trip and so did every other single person we spoke to at the resort. We did not drink the water, but I'm sure they wash their foods in unpurified water. How else would we have gotten so sick? The pools were very nice, and the rooms were clean. The food was actually pretty good compared to other places in Mexico I have been. My friends and I are young, attractive, and gay, and we were surrounded by a mix of married 50 year olds, and hairy Europeans who were rude and clickish. If you are gay and like to party responsibly yet have fun, this is not the place for you. This year I'm staying at the Sunclub in Punta Cana which I have heard is moderate yet exceeds the expectations of many resorts in the area. I go in June, so I'll be sure to post my reflection.