Dreams Palm Beach

Date: 06/27/2009

Name of Resort Dreams Palm Beach

Location: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Agent Reporting: Carolyn Young

General Comments: The Dreams Palm Beach is the newly renovated Sunscape Punta Cana and before that the Allegro Punta Cana. It opened under the new name December of 2008 and is very lovely. The renovations with a multimillion dollar price tag were noted and the entire resort was looking quite nice. There are comfort issues in some rooms though, that need to be addressed. This issue is apparently not in all rooms because I asked all of the people traveling back to the airport upon our departure and only a few of the rooms were uncomfortable.

We actually stayed for 3 nights in a lovely room, but the air-conditioning and humidity was miserable. Every item in the room was entirely too damp, including the bedding. When we asked for some assistance, we were told that we would not have as nice a room, and to keep in touch. If we had booked a full week, we definitely would have demanded a move.

Rooms: On a positive note, the rooms are very nicely decorated and very upscale. There are 513 rooms at Dreams with the following categories:

• Deluxe Tropical View
• Deluxe Tropical View Preferred Club
• Deluxe Partial Ocean View Preferred Club
• Deluxe Ocean Front View Preferred Club
• Deluxe Jacuzzi Tropical View Preferred Club
• Deluxe Jacuzzi Partial Ocean View Preferred Club
• Deluxe Jacuzzi Ocean Front Preferred Club
• Honeymoon Suite Jacuzzi Tropical View Preferred Club
• Honeymoon Suite Jacuzzi Partial Ocean View Preferred Club
• Honeymoon Suite Jacuzzi Ocean Front Preferred Club
• Presidential Suite

The Preferred Club is an exclusive area providing exceptional services that include the following:

• Private Preferred Lounge
• Preferred Status and Amenities
• Concierge service
• Daily continental breakfast service in the lounge
• Afternoon hot and cold hors d’œuvres
• Exquisite desserts & fine liquors in the lounge
• Complimentary newspaper in room every day (English or Spanish)
• Free internet access in suite
• Free computer access in Preferred Lounge
• Upgraded mini bar service
• Upgraded bath amenities

The rooms include the following: King or two double beds; Furnished balcony or terrace; Daily refreshed mini bar with beer, juice, soft drinks and bottled water; Flat screen cable TV; CD/DVD; Coffee maker; Bathroom with luxury personal amenities; Robes and slippers; Hair dryer; Iron and board; Rollaway beds and cribs available on request; Air conditioning with individual control; Twice-daily maid service; Direct dial phone; Alarm clock with MP3 player docking station; Electronic safe box; Electronic keys; 24-hour room and concierge services.

Beach: The beach is totally wonderful! It is flat with brown-sugar-like sand with the ocean depth graduating out slowly, remaining shallow for a large distance. There are lots of water activities to participate in and a good number of the guests definitely were taking part.

Pool: There are three outdoor pools complete with entertainment areas, adults only relaxation area, children’s pool, and large sun decks with shaded areas.

Food: There are seven restaurants available to guests. The four a la carte restaurants have no reservations required, although you may have a wait depending on who has arrived before you do. Most of the restaurants with limited seating provide electronic beepers to alert you when your name comes to the top of the list.

The restaurants include the following:
• World Café – Main buffet
• Himitsu – Asian a la carte
• Chief Burger – beachside dining
• Portofino – Italian a la carte
• El Patio – Traditional Mexican a la carte
• Bordeaux – French – a la carte - Adults only
• 24 hour room service is also available

We dined at the El Patio Mexican Restaurant and the Portofino Italian Restaurant. The meals at both were both very tasty and the service was good.

Drinks:

We found a darling “Starbucks-type” coffee shop out side of the World Café on our last morning. The drinks were wonderful! We were sad to think we had not found it earlier.

The lobby bar is a hopping place. This is where a large majority of the guests congregated in the evening. The liquor is top shelf and was mixed well and served quickly. With the exception of the margaritas served in the Mexican Restaurant, but no one in Punta Cana or Jamaica seems to make them well except for the resorts in Mexico, where tequila is the national drink. There is drink service poolside and at the beach.

Service/Staff: The staff seemed very accommodating and friendly, but when we called for help with the condition of the room or talked to the front desk it seems that our requests went no where. I would guess it is probably because they couldn’t do anything. When we called for help with the room safety deposit box, because the batteries died and we couldn’t operate it, they came down with two security persons and fixed it right away.

Occasionally it seemed that language barrier was difficult for some of the staff, but I feel that this will improve with time. They were friendly and polite.

Activities: The typical all-inclusive activities are available, including beginning scuba in the pool, snorkeling, Hobie Cats, windsurfing, kayaking, tennis, Euro-bungee, water aerobics, ping pong, board games and much more.

There is an Explorer’s Club for the kids and Core Zone Teens Club for the teenagers 13-17. Golf is provided at the Cocotal Golf & Country Club for a fee that includes pick-up service, golf cards, driving range and a bucket of balls. Golfing is available on Tuesday, Thursday & Sunday.

Dreams Palm Beach also has a very nice casino available on site for those who love this type of recreation.

Overall: The Dreams Palm Beach is a small to moderate size resort that has really been nicely renovated. It is quite beautiful and definitely would be a nice resort to get away for a relaxing vacation. There are some issues with air-conditioning units and the humidity, but because they request that you fill-out a comprehensive feedback form at the time of check-out that identifies your room number, I hope that they are addressing the issues.

One of the nicest surprises was the “no wrist bands policy”. Sometimes they can become quite uncomfortable, and I didn’t miss it at all.

You may look at photos of this resort on my personal web page at www.goaway2getaway.com