Despite the apparent popularity of the Dominican Republic as a tourist destination, this was a first time visit for both of us. Being sat at the front of the plane provided a convenient head start to join the immigration queue, which turned out to be irrelevant. A fortunate coincidence of timing meant our flight was the only one that arrived for a while so we walked straight up to the counter. I liked this country already.
Like many popular tourist countries, a visa (more appropriately described as a tax) for tourists is required. It’s available to buy on arrival at the first counter, only to then be surrendered at the second counter. Both counters have their own queue to negotiate. A much better option is to pay for the visa online before traveling. Print out the barcoded receipt and take this along to bypass the first queue and go straight to the second counter and get your passport stamped. It didn’t make much difference to us on this occasion, but looking at the size of the hall and the length of the snaking line that could be utilised when things are busy, this saves quite a lot of time getting out of the airport.
That would have been great, if it took less than 40 minutes for the luggage to start appearing. There was no justifiable reason for it, with plenty of airport staff loitering around, some even sitting on the baggage carousel safe in the knowledge they wouldn’t be disturbed anytime soon.
Getting to the Bavaro Beach area involves a choice: airport transfer or local taxi. For 4 people or less, my advice would be to take a taxi for a flat $35 each way. Transfers go for around $50-$60 for the same trip.
We stayed at the Paradisus Palma Real Golf & Spa Resort. There’s no shortage of resorts to choose from along this stretch of coastline, with prices to suit any budget. Our choice was steered towards this one after discovering it was part of the Melia Hotels group, something neither of us were familiar with until American Express added gold loyalty status with Melia to their travel perks earlier this year.
Still feeling hungry after the disappointing shrimp n’ grits on the flight from Miami, we ordered from the room service menu (part of the all-inclusive) and tuned in to watch the CNN anchors blowing their minds as the result of the Brexit referendum started becoming apparent in the early hours of the morning, 5 hours ahead of us.
Only by staying there did we discover another perk of having Melia status: being given a special colour coded bracelet. All guests receive a bracelet to wear for the duration of their stay. The Paradisus Palma Real resort is actually 3 resorts in one, with some shared facilities for all and some exclusive facilities only available to guests staying in certain resort areas. Some restaurants are part of the all-inclusive while others require payment of a supplement, and the color of the wristband tells staff whether to welcome you, charge you or turn you away. As we explored more and more we discovered the benefit of our “access almost all areas” black wristbands. The only guests that received more were those staying in the Royal Service section, which is significantly more expensive. Talking to guests staying there, the perceptible difference they saw was one extra restaurant that was included free, their own section of beach and a butler. The only real use they had for the butler was to make restaurant reservations.
We had access to the facilities reserved for guests staying at “The Reserve”. This gave us the best of both worlds. The Reserve is located quite a way inland from the beach, either a long walk or a ride on the complimentary golf carts to the main resort centre. The Reserve also has two restaurants of its own, but they’re identical to two of the restaurants in the main resort except for their names. Despite the name, “The Reserve” is the family-friendly resort, so anyone thinking they’re paying more with the expectation of some seclusion from other people’s children will be sorely mistaken. Those people would be better off at the main resort and paying a cash upgrade at the property for preferential wristband status to gain access to the reserved beach facilities and second pool.
One frustration around the pool areas was the daily hijacking of chairs around the pool that took place. People would leave towels on chairs all day to claim them, even though no one would use them for hours. That made it difficult for the staff to distinguish between towels that were simply left laying about after people were finished at the pool and those that were still in use. The best way to secure a spot in the afternoon when switching from beach to pool was to keep an eye on an area for a while and then go stake your claim.
Most of the restaurants surrounded the courtyard above. The food was generally of a very good standard and the highlight was Passion by Martin Berasategui, a AAA 4-Diamond restaurant. Both the service and food there was outstanding and highly recommended. He’s been awarded 7 Michelin Stars across his restaurants, including 3-stars at his eponymous restaurant in Spain, so this is far above the standard of an average beach hotel.
There are 3 sections to the beach: those reserved for guests staying at The Reserve (or with preferential wristbands), those with Royal Service, and the area for everyone else.
While taking a long walk along the beach one day, we had a good look at some of the other resorts along the coastline. The general standard on display is very diverse; some look very run down while others are immaculate. It reinforced the importance of carefully researching your options before committing where to stay around here. That could explain why guests were actively encouraged by the staff to submit reviews on Trip Advisor. Many staff members even wore co-branded Trip Advisor shirts and handed out business cards with QR code links to their Trip Advisor page.
Scuba diving is readily available from a number of operators along the beach. I chose to go with the one based at our resort and did a boat dive at the reef only a few hundred meters off shore with one other guest and the dive guide. The level of service on offer was of the self-service variety: there’s the gear, now go put it all together yourself. Nothing wrong with that, but it comes as a surprise after diving elsewhere.
Overall we’d highly recommend our stay and wouldn’t hesitate to go back.
Accommodation Details
We booked direct through Melia because gold status offers members a 20% discount code that can be used on three reservations per year. 20% off 4 nights at an all-inclusive property was a worthwhile saving. At check-in we were offered a two tier room upgrade to a one bedroom master suite thanks to Jan’s Melia Gold status (a complimentary perk with American Express Platinum). We didn’t realise how much of a perk Melia status was until we walked into the upgraded room. It was huge, and even had a balcony overlooking a pond in the gardens.
Once again we connected in Miami and had another surprisingly pleasant experience clearing US immigration and customs. There were a couple of hours to kill in the Centurion Lounge in MIA (which smaller and not as good as the one in DFW with free massages, but still vastly superior to the AA Admirals Club), then we were on our way to St Louis.
Links
Paradisus Palma Real Golf & Spa Resort – website
Dominican Republic Tourist Card – Information www.dgii.gov.do/tarjetaTuristica/en/about/; Purchase www.dgii.gov.do/Tturistaweb/
Jan & Warren's Spot 
Looks awesome!
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Seems like you had a great time! My family has been fully vaccinated, and we are looking for a place to visit in the future. We bought a Centurion boat as well. Maybe it’s a sign to think about visiting this place! Thank you for a review and inspiration.
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