The Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real All-Inclusive Resort, SALVALEóN de HIGüEY

A group of 6 of us went to Dominican Republic in November and stayed at Paradisus Palma Real. For the most part we had a great time. The room was great. All 3 rooms were upgraded because it was slow season when we went. We would recommend going the week before Thanksgiving. We never had an issue finding a chair at the pool or getting reservations. The nice part was that half way during our stay, they started to decorate for Christmas. Our room had the view of the garden and it was great. We talked to another couple that spent 2x the amount we did for an oceanview room, and they said they wished they would have just spent less money b/c it wasn't worth it. The pool and beach area were AWESOME!!! There are beds around the pool where you can lay back and relax. I was concerned by other reviews that said that they didn't feel like they were treated as well as the Royal service members. We did not upgrade to the Royal Service and we were just fine without it. It was so slow during our time that the conceirage staff still booked reservations for us. We would recommend the boat tour that happens once a week. Chris the boat manager was awesome. There was beer and rum on board. Make sure to bring your bathing suit b/c they stop the boat on a shallow area of the ocean where you can get off and swim. If you go to the hut with the towels, there will be a sign each day saying what the events are for the day. We enjoyed the wine tasting also. The food was for the most part good. We ate at the tepanaki tables 2 times because it was so good. Pasions and Vento were also good. The buffet was ok but nothing to write home about. Every morning, I ended up getting an omelet at the buffet b/c everything else was cold or not appetizing. Make sure to try the juice bar in the morning. Try the watermelon juice! For lunches, we switched off between the buffet and the grill. The best lunch we had at the buffet was the day they did made to order pasta. The grill was also good when we were craving normal food (i.e. hamburger, hotdog). We spent the most time up at the lobby bar after dinner. We had the best service at that bar and the drinks came out the best! Make sure to order a Bahama Mama! Our suggestion is to make sure you know some spanish. We went to a sushi seminar during one afternoon. The instructor would spend 5 minutes describing the process in Spanish then would spend only 30 seconds to let us know what was going on. The only real negative of the trip happened towards the end. We had an incident with the maid. We bought a painting in the courtyard from one of the local artist. We put in on our mini-bar area in the living room then went to the pool for the day. When we got back, the painting was ruined when the maid ran her fingers through the painting in 3 separate spots. The upside was that the hotel paid for a new one and did give us a 1 hour trip to the spa. The artist told us that this was the 8th or 9th time it happened so if you buy a painting, put up the do not disturb sign until it is dry!!! Overall, it was a great vacation. If you are looking for a spot where you can have a relaxing vacation, then this is definately the spot to go!

This place was absolutely gorgeous and wonderful time. I would recommend it to anyone. Great service, fun for all

Just got back on the 25th of Feb. and the over all resort was beautiful, the view, the look, worth the money. Except when the lights went off, because there were roaches in my bathroom, not water bugs, little roaches! My second night I killed an adult roach and I thought, well maybe it was just one. My last night there I killed about 4 baby roaches and still saw a few more, I wanted to call the front desk and have something done, but my boyfriend said what's the point we're leaving tomorrow anyway. Over all, good resort to stay in but stay away from room 2208!!!!!!!

Truely beautiful hotel. Expensive, but worth the money. Not much for kids. Annoying time share pitch. Food was pretty good, but not fantastic. Buffets could do better. Top shelf drinks. Attentive and friendly staff. Very clean. Great, active beach, but lots of sea weed from the ocean. Casino is small. Open 8pm to 3am. No in room Internet. Best pool I've ever seen.

Bed bugs in every room,horrible service,staff that could care less,mediocre food,high high prices, 1/2 restaurants are closed.Bugs in every room

My husband and I were pleased with everything at Paradisus, but having gone to other all inclusive vacations, we were most pleased with the type of service we got. It was much better food, drinks and mostly friendlier more helpful employees made the trip the best tropical place we have visited outside the US. It is an absolutely beautiful resort. We felt much safer than we do in places like Jamaica and Cancun.

There were 3 of us. Expectations were much to high for the service and quality that we received. This resort does not compare to the Rivera in Playa Del Carmen. Service levels should be the same no matter what. 3 hours to get a room and then it was not clean upon arrival to the door. 45 minute wait for milk from room service is unacceptable. The food presentation was beautiful but the taste was horrible. We lived off of bread and fruit for 5 days. The bathroom was a very odd idea. No wall separating us from the bedroom. Our experience will not take us back to the Palma Real.

My husband and I traveled their for our honeymoon in February 2007. We had the royal service which was extremely nice. We had a butler that treated us around the clock. We were able to order late night snacks and drinks. There was always an event going on in the theatre or at one of the bars in the resort. The staff was awesome. We always had a bed reserved for us on the beach and we were waited on hand and foot. Drinks were always brought to us on the beach. Dinner reservations were hard to get but as long as you called the day before or early in the morning they were always able to find room for you. They had all sorts of activities for you to participate in. The hotel itself was extremely nice and clean. I would recommened this to anyone. Overall I could have never picked a better place to go for our honeymoon. We hope to return for our 1 year.

My husband and I stayed at this all inclusive hotel. We had a great vacation. The room was beautifully decorated with sitting area and balcony the grounds well kept with all kinds of flowers and tropical plants, extra large pools with many Jacuzzis, the staff was friendly and very helpful and the food was excellent. We recommend this hotel.

We just returned from a one week stay (February 2007)and it's the first time that out kids were happy to be back in school. In our first room we were greeted by huge jumping bugs, it took 2 hours to get 2 pillows, the linen was spotted and had holes in it. It is impossible to get a restaurant reservation since the rules for making a reservation change every day. Eventually we found a manager who helped us with the reservations. We were not able to get a hut on the beach (even at the Family Concierge level) without going in person at 7:AM the day before. You have to learn the rules the hard way since no one tells you anything when you arrive. Would have been willing to tip for such services, but you don't talk to the same person twice. No such thing as kid friendly food. Plum ice cream is not kid friendly. Can't get a plate of pasta without going to a manager. The kids pool is 5 feet deep all around. My 8 year old was afraid to go in. Not all kids are great swimmers. No such thing as a family friendly show in the evening. Everyone around us had the same complaints. The only happy people were those who were there for conventions. They were loud, drunk and displayed very rude behavior. The food at the buffet is average to poor. The lines were very long at the 2 omelet stations. The a la carte restaurants have much better food (if you can get in) except for Passion where both the food and the service were below standard. We were promised a massage and a manicure to make up for some of our problems, but we did not receive them. If your travel agent suggests this place, drop your agent! Ours is fired.