Secrets Excellence Punta Cana: A Complete Honeymoon Report
Written: Oct 28 '06 (Updated Apr 25 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Service, People, and Beauty of Resort.
Cons: Vendors, Spa, Some Food, and Beach. See Review for Expanded Details
The Bottom Line: Had a Great Vacation Overall, and Great to be back in the USA.
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| DeRango's Full Review: Secrets Excellence Punta Cana |
Ah, yes the honeymoon is over, but our experience at Secrets Excellence will last a lifetime. We had a blast overall and I took some "Excellent" notes to assist anyone traveling to the DR (Dominican Republic).
A few things to keep in mind, your not in the US, Spanish is the most common language, the Dominican Peso is a 33 to 1 ratio to our dollar, and George Washington is a very powerful man.
First Impression
Our total travel time from Chicago was approximately 12 hours if you include traveling to the airport, flights, layover in Miami, and the bus ride to the hotel.
Groggy and crabby from the extensive traveling we were ready for a little R & R. Lucky for us the hotel staff was quick to oblige, offering us a cool drink once we stepped off the bus, along with a cold towel to continue the cooling process. The bus ride from the airport is approximately 1 hour to the resort.
The main entrance is a gorgeous marble floor with roman style pillars to compliment the tropical decor. A main fountain with box turtles, fish, and plants surrounds a wooden open gazebo in the center of the main entrance, which is right near the check in counter. Comfortable white wicker chairs with matching tables are abundant in the lobby area for you sitting pleasure.
Wooden walkways surrounded by water with beautiful fish swimming about lead you to rooms and pool. The landscaping is not only beautiful, but attractive and appealing to the eye. Keep in mind the lobby is not enclosed but open and subject to humidity, bugs, and the outside weather conditions.
Beautiful, tasteful, and elegant is the best way to describe the grounds of the resort.
Punta Cana
*Description per Secrets Website
Known as the "New Caribbean", Punta Cana lies on the easternmost coast of The Dominican Republic and is the fastest growing resort area in the Caribbean.
Punta Cana is a nature's paradise with miles of unspoiled white sugary beaches surrounded by dense palm groves. Secrets Excellence Punta Cana is accessible by both Punta Cana Int'l Airport and La Romana Int'l Airport.
History of the Island
*Courtesy of infoplease.com
*The Dominican Republic in the West Indies occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. Its area equals that of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.
Some Brief History information provided by the website as well. To truly understand the people of Dominican Republic one must understand the history and hardships the people had to endure. They are not unlike the United States which suffered greatly during the development of our great country. Before taking my trip to the DR, I read this information and it gave me some great insight to the countries people, as to understand how to communicate and speak to them.
*The Dominican Republic was explored by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492. He named it La Espanola, and his son, Diego, was its first viceroy. The capital, Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere.
Spain ceded the colony to France in 1795, and Haitian blacks under Toussaint L'Ouverture conquered it in 1801. In 1808 the people revolted and captured Santo Domingo the next year, setting up the first republic. Spain regained title to the colony in 1814. In 1821 Spanish rule was overthrown, but in 1822 the colony was reconquered by the Haitians. In 1844 the Haitians were thrown out, and the Dominican Republic was established, headed by Pedro Santana. Uprisings and Haitian attacks led Santana to make the country a province of Spain from 1861 to 1865.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107475.html
Service
5 stars across the board, everyone from the maids & maintenance staff, to the bartenders and waiters at the hotel is there to make your stay memorable. Anytime you say thank you, the common response is "It's a Pleasure." Many of the employees go out of their way to make sure everything is perfect and enjoyable.
Keep in mind these people are not your servants, but employees and just like in real life people make mistakes. The difference between these people at this resort is they strive to make your experience excellent and requests are met with good overall satisfaction.
Although tips are included, I brought $60 in singles and gave accordingly to excellent service or bartenders that I frequently visited. I was somewhat generous and ended up tipping about $100 total time I left, which in my opinion was worth it for those employees whom served our trip well.
Bartenders
These are by far my favorite people, for obvious reasons, quick to retrieve your drinks of choice, although you should be specific in what alcohol brand you wish to drink or you will be served the cheapest available. The bartenders tend to understand English fairly well, and knew of many different types of "American drinks" along with tropical favorites
Booze starts being served the second you wake up and enter the buffet at 7:00am with Mimosas & Bloody Mary's, and then the bars begin to open at 10:00am and do not close till 3:00am, fantastic!!! Not to mention you have a stocked mini-bar in the room meaning you can literally drink 24 hours a day 7 days a week, B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T!
Drinks
*Coconut is a natural laxative, so be sure to keep an eye on how many you consume. 6 a day is about all your body will be able to handle.
Coco-Loco: By far the most tropical drink, they take a fresh coconut damn near fallen off a palm tree, and use a machete to hack a hole in the top. To create the drink they dump out some of the coconut water, add light rum, coconut creme, and blend with ice then place it back into the actual coconut.
Blue Angel: Basically a Pina Colada with added Coconut creme, banana, rum, blue Curacao, blended with ice to a light blue color and a delicious taste sure to please.
Dirty Banana: Actually I first had this drink in Jamaica but I quickly showed the locals how to create this masterpiece: Dark Dominican Rum, Banana, Coffee Liquor, creme, blended with ice, and to top it off add some chocolate on the sides of the glass for a appealing effect.
I guess its time to Cocktail it up a bit Wooptie Whoop!
Housekeeping & Maintenance Staff
Any problems reported to the front desk are directly handled by the maintenance staff along with the housekeeping department in a fast & efficient manner. We had a few issues with our room which were handled and solved quickly.
The baggage handlers brought our luggage from the tour bus to our rooms. Unfortunately they dropped on of our bags in the pond, so it was a bit wet. They offered a free cleaning service, but we declined only a few items in the bag were a bit damp not biggie.
Room Service
We had a mixed experience with the service first time we ordered it for our "Honeymoon" Breakfast in bed they were a bit late & the food left something to be desired. Not a big deal, I just wanted to eat so I could go to the pool bar.
Second time I ordered breakfast I was told 45 minutes and it turned out to be about 2 hours, but I personally didn't care.
The final experience was the best, I called the front desk and told them we needed to setup room service for 6:00 AM before we headed out on an excursion along with a wakeup call I set up through the automatic phone service. The front desk called at 6:00 AM on the dot & then immediately after we hung up there was a knock at the door! Fantastic… to bad the other experience was not as good.
We used room service sparingly, you cannot order alcohol with your room service, but it is available 24 hours a day at no additional charge.
Concierge
For setting up appointments, horseback riding, romantic dinners, or questions we would seek the concierge’s consul. Overall a very helpful person.
Front desk
“Welcome Home” was the greeting we received from our friends at the front desk, check in & check out was a breeze, of course Anna called home from the room phone and it cost 10 bucks for about a 3 minute conversation. They gave us a direct number to call the representative incase of an issues or concerns came about.
Restaurants & Food(Average Overall)
Keep in mind the service at all established restaurants was excellent, but the food typically left something to be desired. I have rated the food & experience each on a 5 star scale, 5 being excellent & 1 being avoid it.
All restaurants opened for dinner at 6:30PM to 10:30PM, some restaurants opened for lunch at 12:00-4:00.
Bordeaux, French Restaurant (4 stars)
This was our favorite restaurant, a dress code of pants was required, but I wore sandals and a T-shirt the last night and wasn't told to go change. The food overall was good, I tried the duck and the special which was thick cut beef in a white sauce. We went with a couple whom ordered the seafood risotto with prawns which turned out excellent. Some of the items did not turn out well in the appetizer department and dessert area.
Sea Side Grill (4 stars)
Steak, chicken, and some fish opened for lunch and dinner, different menus existed for both. The food came out tasty, I usually ordered two steaks like the rib-eye and New York together because the portions were a bit smaller than a normal dinner. The food overall was good, and we spent many lunches here tasting the different entrees. I would recommend it highly for lunch, but dinner times poised a threat of being carried off by the mosquitoes & biting flies. We had our romantic dinner here which included a separate menu, a delicious 3 milk dessert cake, and a secluded location within the restaurant.
Beach Special Lunch (4 Stars)
For lunch each day (weather permitting) they would host a specialty type lunch cooked in front of the guests in attendance as a specialty type Dominican meal. First they had a Mexican taco lunch which was very authentic cooked on an open flame, then we had a Dominican style chicken & rice gumbo, very tasty! The entertainers would explain in English & Spanish how they were preparing the food we were about to eat. Good eats on the beach!
Also during lunch they had a Sugar Reef bar which served burgers, hotdogs, nachos, ice creme cones, and other snacks to supplement your appetites.
El Patio Mexican/Dominican Restaurant (3 Stars)
Two menus to choose from, either the Mexican menu or Dominican culture food. The Dominican menu was kind of out there with goat meat, and weird entrees so we did not eat there.
They started you off with a plate of fresh guacamole, sour creme, and fresh salsa complimented with fresh baked hot chips. Awesome!
The menu itself was somewhat a hit or miss we had good & bad experiences with items ordered. I felt the food was mediocre overall but it was better than some of the other restaurants. I still recommend trying the food, just be selective on the menu items as the quality of meat seemed below par. Also the food made me a bit ill so I was eating Gas-X and Tums for a majority of the night.
The World Cafe (2 stars)
For Breakfast they served a large quantity different foods from French toast, omelets cooked to order, oatmeal, bread, croissants, cereals, a fresh juice bar, and a European style meat deli. The menu was typically the same with some minor variations in some of the side dishes. I stuck to the omelets and dry goods, along with a few potatoes dishes. Sometimes the food in steam trays was unappealing or cold, breakfast proved to be a hit or miss situation. The dairy was not refrigerated properly so sometimes you received warm milk with your cereal. The juice bar had a wide variety of juices to choose from: Tomato, Orange, Celery, Watermelon, Melon, Guava, and Papaya however they were served warm, so you had to add ice and sometimes these juices like the orange were very bitter.
We skipped breakfast a couple of times and went straight to the Sea Side Grill for lunch. I maintained the healthy liquid diet during our stay.
They also had a lunch buffet, which we avoided, the World Cafe doubled as the Italian Restaurant at night.
Oceana, Sea Food Restaurant
I cannot really rate this restaurant as we only had lunch there once, and the fish was not cooked well at all, the Mahi, was over cooked the Grouper was mushy or undercooked. The shrimp dishes were decent as the size and flavor of this particular sea creature was good. It was under construction during our stay 8 out of the 11 days we were there so I cannot give a full report on this particular restaurant.
Himitsu Japanese Restaurant (2 Stars)
The best part about this restaurant was the Sushi, which turned out better than expected. The entrees however did not turn out good at all, typically served cold and not to taste. Our experience was not uncommon as these issues came up talking to other couples at the resort. Stick with the sushi, and then head over to another restaurant for the main course.
Da Mario, Italian Restaurant(1 Star)
Not really much to say except the sauces tasted like they came out of a Chef Boyardee can. Our meal came out cold and the pasta was not cooked correctly. Somewhat dangerous the chicken was not cooked enough thus making it pink in the middle. The dishes were extremely far from authentic, tasteless, and unappealing. Another group of couples that ate the same night as us reported sickness & nausea following the meal. An honorable mention to the pizza served from lunchtime to the wee hours in the morning as it was cooked to order and decent enough for a snack.
Overall the restaurants were average combined just heed the warnings above and your experience will be much better than my trial and error method of food. Decor at each restaurant was themed to the style or type of food, the waiters & hostesses wore appropriate attire.
The Room (3.5 Stars)
You spend more time in the room than you think especially sleeping in a somewhat uncomfortable bed. The bed itself was a very firm & the mattress hard, my wife reported limbs going numb during the night. The actual room itself was marble floors along the foyer into the bathroom and along the wall itself in the bathroom. A giant Jacuzzi tub first visible upon entrance to the room, complete with jets and seated both of us comfortably. The maids did a good job keeping the room clean and stocked with towels.
The mini bar was stocked with 1 coke, 1 diet coke, 1 sprite, 4 presidente beers, and 4 bottles of water. To request additional beverages just simply leave $1 on the counter with a note of what you would like, the barkeep will be happy to oblige. I requested bottles of Dominican rum and received them every time.
The TV included some key channels like: ESPN, Showtime, Fox, CNN, Weather, and even Playboy. Weird flipping though the channels seeing this. However a quick mention about the quality and sound of the television as it was extremely poor, and many times the channels via satellite did not come in. Not that we spent much time watching TV.
The bathroom was a bit small, but we both fit in the shower just fine, I would highly recommend not drinking the tap water, or even using it to brush your teeth. Stick to the bottled water, which is FDA approved, as your body will not have certain bacteria to fight parasites that live in the water down there.
Our room was a Swim-out Sweet in building 6 on the ground floor, simply 30 feet from the swim up bar! The location was excellent as it allowed for quick access to the seaside grill, pool, and main lobby. I would recommend paying for the upgrade to one of these sweets.
We did have a bit of a bug problem several times I caught Cockroaches in the room, but we called the front desk and explained the situation and they came and sprayed. I found out the bugs were getting in through the front door, so I placed a towel on underneath the door crack and this seemed to fix the problem as well. Keep in mind your on a tropical island where each palm tree houses 100,000 of these bugs, I personally didn’t mind but my wife was a bit terrified by this.
Other couples reported mice, bugs, and cockroaches as well. However the room itself was kept clean overall.
Activities(4 Stars)
Many things are going on during the day and night at the resort including: horseback riding, water sports, excursions, volleyball, a sports bar, shopping area, and even a nightclub. Something is always keeping you occupied at the resort, they even had beach parties and football games on big screens on the beach and in the sports bar.
Excursions
A quick blurb about our experience with trips outside the hotel, typically you were picked up in a tour bus and drove to a location. Two companies offer these trips, GOGO Travel, and Apple vacations. We had to cancel 1 trip with GoGo and another trip was cancelled without us even knowing for several hours of waiting in the lobby from GoGo Travel. The trips offered through both are similar but the apple vacation tours were 20-40 cheaper and the staff seemed to be much more helpful.
My experience with GoGo Travel was poor as the refund process was a bit shady and required me to make several phone calls to my credit card company for issues regarding my bill. I did not appreciate that, nor did I appreciate the way charged me for trips & services that I had not even had the opportunity to go on yet.
We kept these trips to a minimum as we were on vacation and wanted to spend time relaxing at the resort and enjoying our time off.
The Spa (2 Stars)
The gym or weight room was very small and they boast a large selection of weights and machines on the website, this is however untrue. The prices are the same in the states for massages, pedicures, and manicures per my wife’s information. A 50 min message runs about $70-80 depending on type. Although the facility and main entrance are clean and look good the amenities offered were just ok, and I felt they embezzled a bit on the quality and services they offer. I personally received two massages during my stay, and was somewhat unimpressed with the quality as the people seemed somewhat weak in their practice and training.
Overall pricey and unimpressed.
The Beach(3 Stars)
Being on the south side of the island subjects the beach to a harsher wave & water environment. The water is not as clear as the Caribbean side and the sand is brown rather than the boasted white claimed at the website.
The staff managed to keep the beach clear of debris, sea weed, and trash, along with secure as keeping the locals away from resort beach area. The entire time we spent on the resort the water was very choppy rough and had some strong under currents pulling us away from the shore. The entire time we were there, the red flag was flying high, meaning not safe to swim. A yellow flag merits a caution flag, a green flag means calm and free to swim, and a white flag means jelly fish. So our time on the beach was limited mainly to light swimming near the shore, and sun bathing.
Needless to say I have visited better beaches, but it still was nice to sit on this one and soak up some sun.
The Pool (4 Stars)
The staff did a decent job maintaining the pool against bugs, leaves, and debris but the water was a bit dirty in some areas with cloudy greasy layers. Overall the size of the pool was huge, apparently the second biggest on the island, with rafts, pool chairs, and even large beds everywhere to enjoy.
We spend a large portion of the day relaxing by the pool and enjoying the swing up bar. Like a bunch of seals doing tricks for a fish, the residents spent a lot of time at the bar.
I will say even though our room was close to the pool, we were a bit mislead as the travel agent showed us a picture that indicated an actual pool for a patio that had a small private area leading into the pool thus making it a swim out. This however was not the case as the patio was a concrete porch with chairs and we had to walk to the pool. Not a huge deal, but why show us a picture of this private swimming area that leads to the main pool if the room does not have this features?
Biting fly's, and mosquitoes were a bit of an nuisance especially after it rained, so if your not in the water wear some bug spray or sunscreen that contains a repellent.
Hotel Shopping (1 star)
I recommend avoiding the shops as the prices are more like a complete jacking with bottles of Tums going for $12.00 and four AA batteries going for $8.00. The souvenirs are extremely overpriced as well charging large sums of money for cigars, rum, and presents.
Also 4 nights a week they allow “vendors” from 6:30-10:30PM to set up tables and basically harass you as you walk by dragging you to their tables with the same necklaces we traded to the Native Americans for the state of Massachusetts.
Somewhat irritated with the hotels prices, I found that the locals have set up shops just outside the hotel property on the beach where you can haggle for some decent deals on gifts for the family. I purchased 40 cigars for $60, verses the hotel shop wanting $175 for 25 cigars of the same brand/type. I also found some great deals on rum and other gifts the vendors were raping the tourists for at about one-third the price. The shop owner allowed me to smoke a cigar of my choice while shopping to verify the taste/brand. I personally do not smoke cigars however I did this for my father as he is a huge fan of cigars, plus it made me look like I knew what I was doing.
A bit of advice, the price they ask is not nearly what the item is worth, do not be afraid to haggle and offer a much lower price than what they are asking. Do not let them try to fool you with calculators, pleas, or begging. I had a guy tell me he wanted $63 for a necklace and I laughed as the “made in china” sticker was still on back of it, so I told him it was worth $2. We finally agreed on $8, then I walked away just because he was being a complete jackass.
Entertainment/Shows (4 Stars)
Every night at 10:00PM they have a different group of people come in and do a show, some nights the staff themselves does it, and other nights they have an outside source perform a show.
They had a Magic Show, An Acrobat Show, a Michael Jackson show, and even a Dominican Cultural dance show. Each one of the shows is repeated on a weekly basis, so because our stay was 10 nights/11 days we managed to see a few repeats.
Overall the energy and quality of each show was good and entertaining, each show lasted about 1 hour, and right afterwards they nightclub/disco bar opened from 11:00PM till 2:00AM.
I would say 4 out of the 7 shows were great, and the rest we did not enjoy or it was simply boring.
The Disco (3 Stars)
This is what they call their night club, and each night they had a theme with prizes given out to guests that participated. They had a Limbo Contests, a Cow Boy night theme, a Toga Party, and even a Pajama party which again was repeated on a weekly basis.
The club itself had two bartenders on staff to serve drinks and a decent size dance floor with tables around it to sit and watch. Black lights were a part of the club along with a large projector which played some of the music videos while we were enjoying the songs.
Even though we had a good time, it got rather old because a majority of the same songs were repeated each time and the club was somewhat small so it felt a bit crowded with even 60 people in it.
Still a nice touch for nightlife enjoyment.
Overall Experience (4 Stars)
The staff at Secrets Excellence is fantastic always doing everything they can to make your experience that much better. We enjoyed the pool, some of the activities, and entertainment. The resort was gorgeous and we found there was a lot to do, I would have liked to stay 7 nights rather than 10, but we still enjoyed the overall experience.
The first couple days took our body some getting use to with the food, so we did have some issues with our stomachs. I really started to miss home cooking and American foods about 5 days into the trip.
Stay away from the hotel shops and vendors, be careful swimming on the beach, and remember to bring everything from: sunscreen, to sunglasses, bug spray, plenty of batteries for the digital camera, Gas-X, Tums, Anti-Diarrhea medicine, and plenty of comfortable clothes.
The resort is really geared towards honeymooners, couples, and a business person as the Secrets Club contains amenities to accommodate these guests. No children are allowed at this particular resort.
Hopefully this complete report will assist you in making a decision, I’m in the process of posting pictures on my MySpace account so feel free to check out my profile it contains a link to see some pictures.
Feel free to comment on anything as this is my first Travel Review, and hopefully you'll find it helpful
Booked our Trip here:http://www.LaDolceTravel.com
Jeffrey DeRango
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Recommended:
Yes
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