Tropical Princess Hotel

Just came back from the tropical princess. We were there from August 7 to August 14th. I travel frequently to Cuba and the Dominican Rebublic and I have to say that the Domincan Rebublic is by far the better place to travel to. Check in: Check in took a little while only becuase they had two full buses which arrived at the same time. The front desk staff are extremely friendly and go out of there way to assist you. Rooms: Our room was spacious and was EXTREMELY CLEAN. There was absolutely no smell to our room. We were in building 5238. Ask to stay in the quiet side of the reort, you won't be disapointed. Food: The food was descent. You could always find something to eat. We went to two ala cartes which were the chinesse and mexican. Both of these were fantastic. Staff: the staff overall were extremely friendly even if you don't tip. FYI make sure you bring down little gifts. I went to the dollar store before I went down and brought deodorants, shampoo candy perfume and cologne. They absolutley LOVED it. They appreciate gifts more than money. Overall I really enjoyed this vacation. In january I stayed at Brisas Guardalavaca in Hoguin Cuba which was an absolute NIGHTMARE. This by far is one of my best vacations. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me at cbascombetrack@hotmail.com.

My husband and I have just returned from our all-inclusive trip to the Tropical Princess Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Like many of you, I looked through the reviews on this website before I booked my vacation, and I was very happy I did. To make it easy and simple, I've included my reviews under different categoried....hope this helps!!! Hotel Room: Our room was nice and clean. Like many of you, I'm picky when it comes to cleanliness, and I have to say that the room was beautiful. We had a king size bed, a long dresser with mirror, and a full bathroom. The room was also equipped with a mini fridge that had coke, sprite and a big jug of water. The only negative thing was that they didn't have a remote control. We were told that if we went to the lobby, we could give a $5 deposit and get one there. However, we tried and tried, but they kept telling us that there were no batteries. We gave up after the 2nd day there. Also, the room was nice and cool because the air conditioner worked great and we were able to keep it at the temperature that we liked/ Food: If you are looking to eat american food than this is not the place to go. Just remember that you are in another country and so the food there is completely different. There were many A la Carte restaurants to choose from but we mostly ate at the Main Buffet Restaurant. If you're a coffee drinker like us, you will not be happy because it was as thick as mud and even after adding tones of cream, it still was black. Nevertheless, they had lots of drinks to choose from like juices, tea, pop, and of course alcohol. Like almost every resort, they are cheap with the alcoholic drinks. Sometimes they had lots of alcohol but sometimes it tastes like there's nothing in it. Once again, the food was ok. I ate lots of pasta, salad, bread, ice cream, french fries, and lots of fresh fruit because most of the food was stuff that I usually don't eat like rabbit, fish, cooked bananas, octopus, ect..Don't be afraid of getting sick because neither of us got sick during our vacation. Just stick to the food that you know is good. Pools: There were 3 huge pools at the resort and they were absolutely beautiful. There was lots of room to swim and they were never crowded. In regards to beach chairs, that's another subject. Like other reviews of resorts, there are LOTS of people who throw towels on the chairs first thing in the morning and don't even show up until late afternoon. I found iit to be very annoying and ignorant. We were usually down at the pool at 10:00 and we always found a lounge chair by the pool and in the shade. Beach and Gardens: I have to say that these were my 2 favourite things at the resort. They absolutely stunning and what I'd hoped they'd look like. The resort was filled with beautiful gardens, flowers and palm trees. The beach was gorgeous with its white sand and blue water. Shopping: All I can say about this is BARGAIN...BARGAIN....BARGAIN.!!!! The gift shop at the resort has set prices in US dollars. Make sure to bring everything you need with you like sunscreen, aloe gel, and snacks because you don't want to have to buy anything there. Here's a few example: They charged 2 dollars US for a chocolate bar, 7 dollars US for a big bag of chips, 22 dollars US for a little bottle of aloe vera gel, over 20 dollars US for sunscreen. They definitely like tourists!!!! As for souvenir shopping, there is Bavaro Plaza whcih is about 10 minutes from the resort. You can use a bike or take a taxi. We also found a little market on the beach. If you're facing the ocean, walk to your left down the beach for about 10 minutes and you'll find about 20 little huts set up with souvenirs. Once again, bargain with them. We got 2 big bottles of rum for $17 US dollars, and the gift shop at the resort was charging $18 US for one bottle. Great overall vacation.....Hope this helps!!!!

I went there the week of June 12th to the 19th with one of my girl friends. We went there to relax and we did.... The rooms are clean, the food is wonderful and the BEACH...WOW !!!! We could walk for miles on the white sanded beach. A few guests complained of the chairs on the beach and about the face cloths that were missing. On the first day, we asked our maid to bring us some and we had clean face cloths every day. As for the chairs, I guess it all depends on the time that you go to the beach... We stayed at our pool until about 1:00pm and we had no problems finding chairs at that time. The shows at night are the best I've seen so far. They are worth staying up for. My only complaint about this resort is the lack of bars... There was bars with every pools but they were all closed except for one which was the swim-up bar. I guess it's okay but for us, it represented a 7 minute walk to get a drink. The mini-bar from our room really came in handy. There was water, Coke and Sprite. The bottle opener by the way is on the back of the fridge door !!! Just a tip, use sunscreen, the sun is very HOT !!! Also, if you want to buy souvenirs, maybe a ride to the mall outside the resort would be a good idea. Let's just say that we were very impressed by this resort. Good food, confortable beds, beautiful beach, great entertainment and wonderful weather !!!!! It will be very hard to beat !!!

We were there the week of June 6 2005 and had a fantastic stay. Here are some pointers to make yours even better: - take face cloths (if you use them)as there will be none in your room - the doors have no bottom sill so insects can crawl under easily so put a towel along the bottom of your door on the inside. We had absolutely no problem with insects. - bring your own beach towels. Yes, they provide them at the beach but you will need more than one towel to cover the blue and white chairs. - the outside blue and white chairs are in excellent shape; the best I've seen at a resort. - ask for remote control for the TV when you check in. They want $20 if you don't return it. - if you buy internet access in the main lobby, watch your start time. Its $5 for 30 minutes but the guy will try to kick you off early ; even if no-one is waiting. - look for a bartender called Victoriano. He's very hard-working and anxious to please. - take battieries, film, sunburn ointments or any other pharmaceuticals that you think you might need. The resort mini-mart will charge you $22 US for a sunburn ointment you can get at home for $5. But you'll pay the $22 because you are really sore, right? - take $ US and don't bother with pesos. Stores off the resort will give you a better price for $ US. Avoid using a credit card. They will charge you in pesos and then charge you 4-6 % extra for using the card! - take some snacks for the late evening if you are visiting during the off-season. - again, take $ US even if you have medical coverage. We ran into a Scottish guy at the Occidental Grand Flamenco whose son needed dental work. All services were cash only upfront and he was scrambling to find bank machines to pay the hundreds of US dollars they wanted. - our toilet seat was broken. After maintenance requests to the front desk; nothing happened. I gave the chambermaid $5 US and a card with our room number and Spanish description of the problem. The toilet seat was fixed within hours! - stay out of the pools after 7PM daily as they are treated then. - take a bottle opener. Free pop in the room is great but there was no opener. - the timeshare touters on the beach can be avoided with a big smile, a wave and repeating 'No thanks!". Be friendly. Its their living. Thats it. Have a great time!

My husband and I were joined by our children, 14, 17, 22. It was a lovely vacation and the best beach that I have ever been to!! The buffet was incredible, they had 15 or 16 different stations. We arrived at 11 pm and there was lots of food and drinks for us so you don't need to worry about not having a supper on the plane. The buffet was open 24hours!! There was nightly entertainment in two different locations, one by the buffet and the other at the main entry. There were five different restaurants and three pools. We did however have to get up around 6 am to reserve beach chairs under palapas. However, if you didn't get up there were chairs to be found in the sun. We had beautiful suites with two bathrooms that were cleaned everyday. The staff was very friendly and if you tiped they were that much better. Bring hats to give away, you will make great friends and get incredible service from staff if you acknowledge them. In all it was very relaxing and we won't forget this holiday. Oh and don't forget your sunscreen and mosquito repellent for the black flies at night, that you don't see till the next day. Have fun and enjoy the beach

We have travelled many times before to the Carribean and knew what to expect. The food was very good. You must remember it is not Canadian food. There was something at the buffet for guests from all over the world so of course there are many things we passed right on by. For example one night there was a delicious hip of beef with all the trimmings. We went to the Dominican a la carte restaurant but were not overly impressed. The service was fine throughout the resort but what is our personal pet peeve when travelling is a resort that does not have enough lounge chairs at the beach. You had to be up before 6 a.m. to get a chair. People would go down and put their towel on the chair and not come to the beach til after lunch. I was surprised to see this at a 4+ star resort. We saw chairs vacant for 4-5 hours straight. Extremely rude guests. We have been away many times and always meet people from all over. This resort however had mostly French guests and we are strictly English speaking. We did meet an American couple the second to last day there and they observed the same. The attitude of the guests is something you can not hold against the hotel however they promote French guests by employing French students brought from a university in France to deal exclusively with the French guests. I have nothing against French people just only wanted to make a point that the language barrier made it difficult to meet people. The resort itself was very clean and the entertainment deserves top marks.

Tropical Princess Resort & Spa (4*) – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic From Vancouver, Canada My husband and I stayed at this resort from March 10 – 17th, 2005. My criteria in looking for a resort was that it had to be 4* or plus and be a newer location. This resort was built in 2000. We had paid an extra $80 each to have the VIP package and it was definitely worth it. It gives you added services such as: 20 minute massage, top shelf liquor (i.e. Johnny Walker Black, Remy Martin, Courvosier etc…), motorized sport, free cigars and rum in your room, free pop in your mini bar and free dinner at La Cava (steakhouse) or El Pescador (seafood). Without the VIP package, you would have to pay $25 USD per person to eat at one of these restaurants. First off, I will say that the vacation was fabulous – the beach and water were beautiful, the staff were friendly and the service was impeccable, the resort had a lot of activities you could choose to join (i.e. baci, archery, fitness classes on the stepper or aquatic classes, dance lessons, miniature golf etc…). For food, there are ample places to eat to suit the pickiest of eaters. The main buffet (El Higuero) had an international buffet, local food, assorted fruits, cheeses and desserts. There were a couple of grills where they would make: fish, chicken etc. There is also a pasta station where you choose the pasta and sauce and the cook heats it up for you in a pan on the spot. If you don’t want to eat at the buffet for lunch, you can eat at smaller buffets on the resort, or we liked the Grill on the beach. They grilled chicken, burgers and hot dogs. You can find french fries in probably all the restaurants. To eat at one of the a la carte restaurants (Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Brazilian, Dominican) you have to book ahead at Guest Services in your building. There is a limit on the number of times you can eat at the a la carte restaurants; my favorite was El Pescador – get the lobster; it’s huge! There is also a creperie on site. They serve sweet and salty crepes (i.e. with lobster or salmon etc.) – I liked the sweet crepes better. The creperie is also the place to go for ice cream or banana splits. The resort has 2 swimming pools (one with a swim up bar) and a hot tub. It was way too hot to use the hot tub although I did see people try it out. As probably indicated in your vacation literature, tips are not required because it is supposed to be included in what you already paid, but you can’t help but want to give something (not all the time) to those that go above and beyond their duties. I also brought along a couple of Clinique makeup kits filled with some bonus (sample) items. I gave one to our housekeeping lady on the first day and one to the ladies who gave us our massage. I think that they appreciate anything you give them. You’ll find that the staff will say “hola” with a smile all over the resort; not only at the front desk, but with employees everywhere on the resort (i.e. gardener, bellboy etc). The resort is really big, so there is a tram that goes around and picks and drops off people. I believe it runs 24 hours a day. You only have to wait for about 10 minutes. One of our favorite places to go everyday was the lobby. It was so comfortable with the wicker cushioned couches. We would get our drinks from the lobby bar and sit on the couch looking at the palm trees with the breeze coming in. There are even people who come around from the lobby bar to take your drink order so that you don’t have to get up. We bought a couple of things from markets: coffee, souvenirs and larimar. Larimar is a blue semi-precious stone only mined in the Dominican Republic. There are markets to the left (15 min walk) and the right (40 min walk) on the beach. Do not buy anything from the resort stores (convenience market, cigar store, art, jewelry) – it is overpriced to say the least. For the nightlife, there is a show every night at 9:45 pm. We only dropped in a couple of times, because we would eat dinner late after our drinks. We went to the club twice (free for resort guests) – good music. There is also a free shuttle to take you to a nearby casino. I don’t have anything to really complain about. I knew this was a 3rd world country and I lowered my expectations a little. There were only 3 things that could have been better: 1)a couple of times, the shower only had cold water (I didn’t mind, it happens) 2)check in was somewhat slow and we had to ask more than once for our VIP privileges (ie. Rum and cigars were not delivered to our room until day 4) 3)watch out where your room is; if it is close to the activity area, you will hear loud music from 11 am. It got sort of annoying after awhile with the person on the mic. We got used to it, but if we go back, we may ask to be in another building. Again, these were only minor things and they do not change my mind about this resort. I absolutely recommend it!

We travelled to Tropical Princess on feb 2 for 1 week with 2 people that had never been anywhere...i must admit that it is very scary to travel anywhere once you read all the range of reviews from everyone out there. but come on people...do you really think that when travelling to a third world country that it is fair to compare to back home...i think not... upon arrival...the lobby marble clean and open welcomed us tired travellers with professionalism and courtesy...the rooms very very clean(you could still smell the bleach) remade every day with new towels and refills for the fridge... the buffet was excellent...if you can't find something you like at a buffet then that is asking too much...we didn't visit any a la carte restaurants because we were very impressed with all the assortment at the buffet...the staff went that extra mile to speak to us in english and us to them in what little spanish we knew... if you treat people in the manner that you wish to be treated you will in return get that extra special treatment back...as for too many germans and french...what else do you expect...the caribbean if the europeans vacation land..yes we heard the rude people speaking down to the staff and butting in front of the line at the bar. their problem ...i'm on vacation we met a multitude of people from all over the world because we said hello to most everyone and they responded back...this is one of the finest resorts that i have visited and i have been to quite a few...mexico,jamaica, and the dominican...vacations are to be relaxing and fun...if you go with an attitude that the staff are dirt and the food is not like home them you are expecting to much and should probably stay home because other tourists go to have fun and mingle with other cultures not to listen to people speak badly of the staff or to bad mouth the resort...remember you chose it ...enjoy it...i would definitley recommend this resort and their wonderful staff to anyone...jc in hamilton ontario

Im 17 and my family of 4 arrived there on march 17. When you get off the plane it was like you were getting hit with a brick wall of heat, therefore go on the plane wearing very VERY light clothing. The airport is pretty amazing all outside but quite busy ( we arrived at night). Getting your luggage and getting on the bus that takes you to your hotel is a little bit hecktic but RELAX, when u get there its so worth it. The roads are very skinny and the drivers sure drive fast but its fun and they do get you there haha. Once again when u arrive at the hotel and checking in its pretty crazy because everyone is frantic to get to their rooms. The rooms are pretty nice but i suggest taking bug spray with dit. I got alot of bits but they were only minor. Make sure you have very extreme sunscreen, i was wearing 50spf but i still managed to burn, bubble and peel. My family adn i went on the Swimming with the sharks/sting rays excurtion. very well worth it. I was pretty timid to go into the pen but it was fine. There is snorkling included in that package. it was about 80 bucks / person. expensive but once again worth it. Parasailing was so awesome too, highly suggested. it is reccomended to take some snacks on the plane with you they didnt feed much, but the chips down there are about 6 bucks for a big bag, kinda ridiuculous.the beaches are absoulty almazing as well. If you have any questiopns e-mail me at ---

We just got back and my family of 4 (kids 5 & 6 )had a great time. Here is a brief overview. ROOMS: Plenty of variety. Easy to switch if you need to. Don't unpack the first night and have a look around the resort to see where you may want to be. We had a family room:living room w/ 2 days beds plus bedroom with 2 doubles, 2 bathrooms. balcony,tv, mini-fridge. 3rd floor rooms have vaulted ceilings. Others offered sunked livingrooms. FOOD: Pretty good with something for everyone. Brazilian (free) & Italian($8pp/$4kids) are great. Heard Seafood ($25) was good too. Crepes and ice cream avail near beach. Bar/grills offer snacks and lunch by beach. BEACH/POOLS: Best I've ever been to so far. Get up early (before 7am)to reserve your palapas with towels. The pools (3) are great. One for families with little kids, one near beach volleyball and one with bar and lots of action. NIGHT: Lively!!! Party/dancing in looby after evening show. STAFF: Friendly. Although it might not seem like it, but they do work hard all day long. You might think service is slow at times but remember where you are and be a little patient,as it won't kill you to wait a few minutes. GUESTS: We meet lots of really neat people from all over Canada, France, and Germany. If you get involved in something (i.e. beach volleyball) you'll meet people. Speaking French (and spanish) will help you a lot. OTHERS: The resort is beautiful, weather terrific, (did not see a single bug the whole time), well worth the $$$$. Shuttle bus available all day but beautiful and pleasant 5 min walk through man-groves to gorgeous lobby. $20 for safe. Babysitting is $8-$10 per hour but Kids Club free and staff spoke fluent English and French. HINTS: Bring plenty of sunscreen.- price at shop was between $20-$45 for a bottle of sunscreen. Pringles chips were $6, film $10. Bring plenty of small US bills. Change only given in peso.