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~ EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana Resort reviews posted on this page ~ 37
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Hollie ~ Orlando |
"Edenh Real Arena...Heaven on Earth!"
Wow! It is amazing how people can have such different reviews on the same place at similar times, but we stayed at Edenh from March 8 - 14, 2008 and LOVED IT! We are not the most experienced Caribbean travelers (though have traveled elsewhere), and can only compare to Sandals Dunns River Villagio, where we stayed last year, and honestly, it was right up there with it, even better in some areas. Edenh is a brand new resort, that is well on its way to being a premier vacation destination.
Preface: We booked Paradise Club (or Edenh Club, whatever Cheap Caribbean calls it), requested a king bed on a high, quiet floor. Before we went, we wanted to upgrade to a suite when we got there. From probably late December until the day we left, we read every review on here and many forum posts. We knew what some of the “problems” were, and went to Edenh with the mind set that it may not be perfect, but that we plan to be easy going and enjoy our vacation. The negative reviews are, in my opinion, very exaggerated. Further, if such little things ruin someone’s vacation, I think they need to take a deep breath and chill. But, we enjoyed our vacation, and would return to Edenh in a heartbeat!
Our flight to Punta Cana:
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Kari ~ Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada |
Arrival and Flight
SkyService at 3:20 PM
Rooms
#2175 Concierge Room Pink VIP bracelets – Room was great always clean and well stocked, didn’t use the tub due to being main floor and right next to pathway but my husband did. Cleaning staff was always pleasant.
Restaurants
Enjoyed all of them except the French… not so fond of but the Asian (Hibachi ?) was AMAZING and the food was GREAT!
Bars
Good loved the Tantra Bar..
Beach and Pools
Found everything beautiful but like it’s been said could use some more chairs but we didn’t let it dampen our vacation…
Grounds
We found it very clean and seemed to be safe with security around never had any problems
Activities and Entertainment
There always seemed to be something going on if you wanted to… we didn’t have time due to tours and relaxing
Tours
We went on the Safari, Shark swimming, Saona Island…. They were all GREAT! Saona Island was a little bit of a drive but it was GREAT! Safari was a hoot Raphael our driver and Indy Antonio was our guide… they made the whole trip!!
Departure and Check
Out Just as we were going to call to get our bags picked up the phone rang and they were on the way… very smooth quick check out!
Conclusion
We were impressed with EdenH and would definitely return. They just opened and have a few kinks but they will get ironed out and it will be a great resort! A+++
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Alex ~ Canada |
We stayed at EdenH from March 6th to March 13th. Our package was Mirage at EdenH sold by Transat Holidays (aka yellow bracelets). General thoughts about this resort. EdenH is a new resort, chic, stylish, addressing to a certain type of traveler. Most of the restaurant, bar, lobby space is air conditioned. There’s no loud music anywhere. All garden rocks conceal speakers playing soft piano music during the day. Edenh offers a relaxing atmosphere, of a ‘spa’ resort, but this cannot make everybody happy. So, if you expect wild parties and loud club or Latino music day and night, this resort is not for you. Also if you like the open air resort style, EdenH is not for you. Also, if you travel in groups larger than a couple planning to share one room, or if you travel with kids or in-laws or friends/relatives sharing the same room this resort may not be for you.
Check-In: Arrived at midnight. We were invited in the VIP check-in area and finished check-in in 5 minutes. The room numbers were already assigned at the time we got there. We were given the keys, beach cards, all coupons (massage, internet) and a map of the resort. We were explained where all major things are. Then the bell boy took us and our luggage to the room showing us the points of interest on our way (restaurants, the Tantra bar…).
Room: We were in room 2221. According to previous reviews and forum postings on different sites, this was supposed to be a “good” room. Building 2, odd number – means pool view. Second floor – means privacy, less mosquitoes and no need for the elevator - the ones close to our room were working fine, but did not check the rest of the building. The room was close to the pool and equally distanced from the beach and restaurants and we liked that. I’m not going to insist on the room layout, everybody knows that already: ours was a deluxe room with that well-known opening in the bathroom wall. Did look weird, but we did not have any issue with that. Notable is the fact that one year ago we’ve been in a very similar room at Majestic (jr. Suite) just that in that case there was no wall at all. Wonder why so many people complain about the setup at EdenH while everybody seems to like the same thing at Majestic (judging by the rating it’s getting). Everything in the room was in its place and fully functional. We found the bottle of rum and the fruit basket waiting for us. The slippers and bathrobes were missing but we’ve got those the next day. The room was cleaned daily and resupplied with toiletries and drinks. Yes, there were only two beer cans daily but that’s what we’ve got at all other Dominican resorts we’ve been to. The first night we spotted four mosquitoes and put a violent end to their life. Next days we haven’t seen more than one on occasions. We came equipped with a Raid spray can and used it in the room every night before going to dinner/bar/show. Was efficient enough to kill any mosquito that may have sneaked in while the maid was cleaning the room. First two days the maid came to clean in the morning, while we were at the pool and we’ve also had turn down service. After the wave of March break teenagers hit the resort on Sunday, our turn down service disappeared (too bad, chocolates were nice) and the maid started to show up at 5 pm for cleaning. Did not mind and assumed these are the effects of understaffing at peak periods.
Guest Services: They’ve been very nice helping us renting a car. Did not have anything else to deal with them. Other couple in our party had the air conditioner broken in their room. They complained to guest services and the air conditioner was fixed the same evening.
Food: Breakfast is served everyday at the main buffet. One may complain of monotony. Yes, there are the same things every day, but there’s variety and it’up to you to pick different food all the time. Everybody constantly reading reviews and forum posts must have heard about Felix. Well, for those who don’t know, Felix is the omlette guy. He will offer you an omlette made to order and nice, personalized conversation. The lineup for his omlette is 10-20 minutes long, on the right side as you look at his station. I have a tip here: if you don’t like waiting, lineup on the left side. You’ll be served by Eduardo, the quiet one, very fast, with an equally good omlette, but without conversation. I don’t think Eduardo speaks any English, actually I’ve never heard him saying anything at all, but he understands “two over easy” for sure (I tried that). Lineup for Eduardo is usually 1-2 minutes long. About a la carte restaurants. People lineup at 5:30 for dinner and wait until 6:30 when restaurants open. I hate waiting in line and, because of this, I’ve never been in the Asian a la carte. With the other three it was easy: we showed up between 7 and 7:30 pm and were either admitted immediately or got a pager and came back in half hour with no lineup. I still think a reservation system of any sort will straighten things up. It’s a little bit annoying to leave the room to have a nice dinner in an a la carte restaurant and end up eating in the buffet. A la carte restaurants we were in were nice, service was ok. The food was good, nothing extraordinary, just the food you’d expect (and get) at any other good resort in the Punta Cana area. We only tried the house wine, both red and white. It’s ok, nothing to write home about, but a nice, decent wine, going well with food. Can’t remember getting anything better at other resorts in the area.
Drinks/Bars: Having a yellow bracelet we haven’t tried the VIP bars. We could be easily found at the pool bar in the morning, lobby bar in the evening and Tantra after the shows were over. We only tried straight drinks so we cannot comment on the consistency/strength of cocktails. I drink scotch and I had to settle for the Red Label (not that bad, after all). There was Black Label and Chivas Royal for pink bracelets or extra charge(?), haven’t seen any nice single malt. Friends tried the brown rum, my wife tried the amaretto (on occasions she was even served Disaronno – reserved for pink bracelets) – no complaints here. We also tried the local beer: Presidente and Bohemia. It was ok. About the service at the bars: at all bars, at anytime, went there, grabbed a chair and ordered my drink. Never waited more than 1-2 minutes. I’ve never seen pink bracelets served ahead of the line. Had lots of fun with the pool bartenders: Alexis, Leonel, Raul. We did not try to order anything to the girls waiting on the beach or around the pool. There’s few of them and too many people ordering drinks. If you do that, expect a longer service time. We did order at the table in the lobby bar and Tantra and service was reasonably quick; I’d name here Claudia who served us many times at the Tantra bar. We’ve been at the Sports Bar the night we arrived. There’s food in there late at night. They also have the Bohemia beer for those in need of a break from Presidente.
Staff: Everybody works hard. Contrary to what one would expect reading some reviews, the staff is friendly. We have never seen staff being rude or having an attitude. We did see rude guests, but that’s another story; we’re not reviewing guests. Not everybody speaks good English but we were always understood. We did use the 10-20 Spanish words we know a lot and that may have only helped. We did use tips, but never upfront. We tipped only when we felt we’ve got good service.
Beach/Pool: Gorgeous. No glass or construction debris on the beach. Could not see exposed wire anywhere.
Chair game: Well, there was no surprise here. I’m not the 7am kind of guy, so at 10am when I showed up, there was nothing available on the beach. Not more than 10 people sitting directly on the sand at any time. But I could always find at least two chairs at the pool (in full sun) at any time. Had floaties and used them as chairs on the beach. Lots of palapas there. Summary of this already discussed issue: unpleasant, but I’ve seen that in several resorts, I wouldn’t say it’s an Edenh only problem.
Massage: We were able to successfully use our 20 minute free massage coupons without buying any extra services from them.
Activities/Entertainment: Not a lot of activities during the day: dance lessons, tile painting… Did not try any. There are shows every night. They start late (around 10 pm) and are performed either in the central plaza or in the theatre (yes, the theatre is open). The karaoke one was held in the lobby bar. After the show, people can chose to go to the Sports Bar (there are two pool tables in there) or upstairs, at the Tantra Bar. The lobby bar also has a live keyboard player/singer performing every night. All activities and shows are advertised every day on flyers posted in the main lobby.
Internet: there’s a business centre with several computers were guests can pay for time using a computer. Yellow bracelets also come with a 30 minutes coupon for this centre. Pink bracelets have two other computers in the VIP lobby. Access to those ones is not time-restricted (for VIP guests). If you bring a laptop there’s Internet for free in the lobby bar. The access point is mounted on the left (South) side of the lobby bar (as you look at the bar). First and last table on that side have power outlets. Connection to the access point is ok, but the bandwidth is so-so; if you expect true broadband Internet it’s not gonna happen.
Overall: EdenH is almost ready. Still needs some finishing touches, vegetation has to grow, long awaited chairs have to be released from customs, something has to be done to allow everybody to get into a la carte restaurants. But we’ve had a great vacation and may return there sometime. At the same time there’s so many other places to visit…. Loved the EdenH. Sad to be back home, surrounded by snow.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Connie ~ Calgary |
My review is going to be short but sweet. There have been a lot of reviews on several sites with a lot of the same information good and bad throughout the many different reviews. I just want to say we were considering moving from Eden because of the negatives. After awhile you actually start to panic and BELIEVE! Guess what… We are so glad that we didn’t! We were a group of 2 families consisting of 4 adults and 4 teens. We met such wonderful people from all over; I really enjoyed starting up a chat with everyone when ever possible. The staff are very friendly, warm and very helpful in every way. The accommodations were fine, the food was great with a lot of variety for everyone, even picky eaters and I have a one who is. We didn’t ever get a beach or pool lounger till later in the day, everyday. We just planted ourselves in the sand in front of the ocean….you can’t get much better view than that! Everyone has their own expectation of a holiday and what they believe they should receive or have. I know there is no “perfect” vacation as this is not a perfect world but we wouldn’t really have changed anything…not even for a lounger. We are looking forward to try to get there again this winter/xmas.
Also, a heartfelt “Thank You’” to Punta Cana Mike for spending the little time he has during the day to share his valuable information to all of us. I was able to see first hand how busy he really is!
Missing Eden and the staff already, as I see my tan slipping away.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Jo ~ Toronto Canada |
A group of 7 of us (2 families) just returned from the Edenh. We were there from March 6 to 13. We are all seasoned travellers having visited dozens of 5 star resorts over the last 10 years, all over Mexico and the Caribbean. This was our first time to the DR, and we absoutely loved it, and found this resort to be of 5 star quality. Here is my perception of our experience (which was shared by all in my group).
Check in:
We checked into the VIP Paradise Club (aka pink bracelets)lounge at midnight. We were quickly assigned 2 adjacent rooms (we were travelling with our 2 teenage boys), on the third floor, pool facing in Building 1, as requested by our travel agent. The room was very nice, spacious, excellent view, and everything was in working order - no issues at all except for a minor toilet flushing problem (the flusher occasionally needing jiggling to stop the flush - not a problem at all). The air conditioning was excellent, adjusted in every room. The rooms were new, fresh and smelled clean and new. No mold anywhere. The beds, sheets and everything else was brand new and good quality (good thread count on the sheets); and the beds were very comfortable. Mosquitos were not an issue in any of the 4 rooms. Our friends had two rooms in Building 2 on the 4th floor, pool facing and they also had no issues.
Food:
The food was excellent at the ala carte's. We went to the Japanese Tapanyaki, Italian, French (Romantico), and American. The Italian was our favourite, but most people loved the Japanese. The sushi was excellent and very fresh - comparable to North American standards. All were very good though; however, some restaurants were slightly understaffed which left us with a slightly longer dining experience. The wait system for the ala carte's was painless. We actually walked in to the Romantico and Italian, as did the green bracelets; and waited about 1 hour for the American, and 2 hours for the Japanese. By waiting, I mean we were given a beeper, went to the Lobby Bar, enjoyed a few drinks with friends and then went to dinner at about 8 (American) and 9 (Japanese). There was a longer wait for the Japanese because they can only accommodate about 12 people at each hibachi table and there are only 3 in the restaurant, with the remaining tables offering sushi and other Asian food from a menu. There was a much shorter wait time for those tables. The buffet was very good for breakfast and lunch and hit and miss for dinner.
Beach/Pools
Beautiful. The beach was very clean. No glass or syringes anywhere. Some seaweed that was constantly cleaned; and some twigs and branches from the palm trees. The ocean water was warm and beautiful with some seaweed as well. The kids enjoyed all the water sports. My husband and boys went on the catamaran, kayaks, banana boat (extra charge) and parasailing (extra charge). The catamaran and kayaks were always available and the boys used them every day, sometimes twice a day.
We had no problem booking our free massages; my friend went three times (used the coupons for herself, her husband and her daughter). She was never refused; again contrary to reviews. We never used the free lobster dinner as we had lobster at the other restaurants (American and buffet in the paella for lunch).
Beach Chair situation:
Our first morning there we expected no chairs anywhere. Well, at 8 a.m. there were plenty of chairs at the VIP pools. We were able to find 7 chairs every day, no problem, even as late as 8:30 a.m.. We didn't try the beach because we knew these would be scarce. We opted to sit at the pool a mere 3 feet away from the beach, which took about 30 seconds to walk to the ocean... again, no big deal.
Staff
The staff are the friendliest I've ever met in all my travels. Most speak English very well. Others try their best and are learning. The VIP Pool staff, closest to the towel shed, are exceptional, especially Carlitto (aka Carlos #2), Maria Elena and Ramon. They all deserve a huge bonus for keeping the guests entertained with their singing and dancing; providing us with beer in buckets and champagne on ice. Carlitto deserves special mention for his yummy Carlos' Especial drink - Baileys, Kahlua, Vodka and banana.
Everyone I spoke to was having a good time. There were some minor complaints from some people that I spoke to. The reality is, some may have been expecting a 6 star American resort, instead of a 4 to 5 star Caribbean one. As two families, with 4 rooms, all had a great time with only very minor issues.
The only minor complaint is the lack of music around the pool and in the Tahntra Bar. Staff informed us that management is trying to maintain an upscale "spa" type resort, hence the elevator music piped through the pool/grounds. This was annoying, however, the bartenders made up for it by doing impromptu singing and dancing (again, thanks to Carlitto). There was some talk that this may be changing though, as management sits back and re-assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the resort.
From my experience, there was no two tier system. The green bracelet guests were receiving excellent service as well. The only differerence between green and pink is the location of the rooms (pink are closer to the beach); and some of the alcohol is of better quality (from what I saw, we got Absolute Vodka, at the best). For a few extra dollars, the pink bracelets Paradise Club rooms were well worth it. Our friends used the balcony jacuzzi daily (just put towels on the balcony railing). My husband even used it once.
All in all, an excellent experience. Don't believe the bad reviews. They're over exaggerations of minor issues experienced by the minority. A true measure of a good experience is whether you'll return to the same resort twice. Although we have vowed never to do this because there are so many new and exciting places to visit, I think I may return to this one next year and am recommending this resort to a few friends who were thinking of visiting this summer but were put off by the negative reviews.
This is truly a gorgeous resort and I'm already missing it. To everyone out there who is considering this resort, or has already booked. Don't worry. You will not regret it.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Lucy & Pierre ~ Québec CAN |
Just returned from a wonderful 7-day vacation at Edenh real...impressive set-up...great orientation tour given by Saoul, our bell-boy on our way to our room...good beach, most friendly and cheerful personnel. All staff very helpful trying to please clients...problems with à la carte restaurants and beach chairs are being looked after as well as could be expected. Go with an open mind and enjoy the sun, the beach, the pools, all the amenities and you will enjoy the experience...while still affordable.
Muchos gracias to the Edenh people.
P.S. Don't pay too much attention to the 'negative' comments on TA review boards.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Paula |
Travelled via Skyservice from Kitchener and returned to Toronto (bussed us back to Kitchener)...not impressed with Skyservice/Signature vacations. We lost a full day because of their rescheduling. Also payed more $ to fly out of Kitchener (where we live) and ended up back in Toronto. No reason given. Very disappointing. We will follow up.
Hotel: Very nice. Great rooms. Clean. A few mosquitos , but not a problem.
Beach: Beautifull beach but was not cleaned up or raked enough around the chairs. Glass on beach and on walkways. Have to be up by 6 to get chair/palapa. We did not sit around the pool. They are short 500 chairs (we were told that by one of the managers).
Food: Just ok. Very difficult process for the reservations. Don't ask for anything other than what is on the menu as they won't be able to make it happen. Often they don't even have that. Lots of the table sit empty all night but they tell you they are full ???? We enjoyed the Italian the most.
Entertainment: Evening shows....Some good, some very Hokey. Entertainment on beach was good.
Shopping: don't go to the left as they are too aggressive and scary - drugs etc. The market on the right was great....15 minute walk on the beach. They close at 6.
Thantra Bar: Very nice - needs dancing music or other music than the same songs over and over and over and over. That was very strange.
Excursions: Did the Snorkelling and swimming with the Sharks....too many boat rules but otherwise good. Also did the parasailing. Very nice...$85/two persons
WARNING: Got scammed on the beach: We were scammed by someone who sold us a parasailing ride. They came right onto the hotel grounds. We were not warned by hotel or Signature rep. Guards were right there and did not intervene. Are they in on it???? We insisted (nicely but we were very clear) that the hotel reimburse us. It took 3 hours work but for ethical reasons we persisted. It is all about management doing the right thing.
Weather: Hot and sunny. Loved it.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | ald1 ~ Ottawa Canada |
Arrival -
Check-in at reception was very quick as they had pre-filled envelopes for their guests which included towel cards and literature about the resort. They offered a nice welcome drink while waiting in line. We had pre-reserved our rooms with reservation (direct call from Ottawa on the Monday prior to arrival because wanted to assure side by side rooms as we were traveling with our 2 sons. The front desk was not aware and assigned us different rooms which were not even close together. Because we had noted the hotel reservation number (not the same number as our tour company) and the employee I spoke to on the previous Monday, the front desk manager was able to accommodate us and gave us our rooms side by side. Rooms were available as of 3pm.
Rooms -
We had rooms 1316 & 1314 facing the inside of the resort on the 3rd floor.
Very spacious with a king size bed.
Balcony with 2 chairs and table.
stocked fridge everyday it was re-filled with a couple of Presidente, Coke, Sprite and water.
The bathrooms were fine and were not an issue as far as the big opening is concerned as we had frosted glass on the bathroom and shower door
Restaurants -
We ate at the buffet 3 of the 7 dinners and found the selection excellent. No complaints here
They have 4 other restaurants. Italian, American, French and Asian. We enjoyed the Asian, the portions were huge and the food was cooked directly in front of us. (Steak, jumbo shrimp, chicken with veggies and rice)
The Italian was also very good. I had the lamb, my wife had the pork. My son had spaghetti with meat sauce and my other son had a cheese pizza. We all left very satisfied.
The American restaurant was steak and seafood style. We enjoyed it also.
Did not try the French.
Bars -
Bars are all great they have booze.LOL! Service is rapid and bartenders are all very friendly. Tipping really does not get you served any quicker.
Beach and Pools -
Large pool……very quiet at times. Music was only at the pool bar. Chairs and umbrellas are an issue . not enough of them. We had to get up at sunrise to have a chair. They removed all the umbrellas on our 3 day for repairs and never returned any before our departure.
Beach is simply beautiful and the cleanest around as the crews are constantly raking the weeds coming in from the waves.
Grounds -
Grounds will be spectacular in a couple of years once the vegetation matures. Lay out is central and convenient to get around not too big not too small in our own opinion
Activities -
lots if you want to participate. it's your choice (water aerobics, dance lessons, pool volley ball, etc.)
Conclusion -
very affordable resort on a beautiful beach. will definatly go up in price once they have ironed out the small stuff.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Brad |
Had a fantastic time! So relax people!!!! Golf -
Breakdown - a smaller group of 10 - Five of us in our 40's and 22, 16, 14, 11 and 6 year old.
Landing the Punta Cana airport can be a trying situation. The airport is now too small for the amount of people they have coming and going. We had to wait on the runway for 30 minutes. Than wait for luggage. Relax the bus will not leave without you!
Edenh Real Arena
Check In quick easy and beyond friendly! The only people I heard getting upset were people who wanted a free upgrade and didn't get it. We had four rooms in our group. One ocean view upgrade with the jacuzzi on the balcony but not the pink wristbands. The other three regular rooms. All rooms were fine - one room overlooked the property next door. They didn't care because they are hardly in the room anyways and they didn't pay for an upgrade! Wouldn't we all love to have the perfect room! All the other rooms faced towards the pool. No issues with mosquito's - had two in my room the whole week. Rooms were fine. I was missing a tile in the bathroom - didn't care - figured they would be able to fix it in the summer months since it is packed right now. We had the jacuzzi on the balcony and the kids loved it! The other rooms had the open concept rooms. Everyone should know that the basic rooms are open concept - so there should not be any complaining about it. Rooms were clean and fridge filled daily with water, pop and beer! Had room service one night - menu was small but food was good! Sat on our balcony and relaxed.
Pools - Lots of room for everyone. Didn't have a problem getting chairs but shade is an issue. The towel game is played here and similar to other resorts I have been too. If you want a beach spot early early you will have to be. Swim up bar - Alexis the bar tender is a hoot! Let them know how you like your drink - if you like mucho rum ask for extra! I love Presedente so it was my pool beach drink!!!
Beach - the colours of the water at this end of the beach - just incredible!!!!! It looks fake it is soooo pretty. It's a busy beach but I enjoyed that. Always something to see. No snorkeling from the beach it's all sand. Calmer at this end of the beach than at the end by the sunken boat. You can walk for hours and never get to the end!
Restaurants
Breakfast Buffet - lots of food!!! If you can't find something at this buffet your hard to please. Fresh fruit bar, smoothy bar, omelet station, fresh donuts and eclairs, yogurt, cereal , all sorts of buffet food etc.... Breakfast is served until 11am.
Beach Grill buffet - was good - serves the same food everyday. Pizza, salad bar, burgers, hot dogs, fries and usually chicken on the grill etc...
Beach Grill - everyday they set up a small but good buffet grill right on the beach. They had the best chicken fingers ever! They also make different things - grilled fish, Pia ya I think that's how you spell it! etc.... Sometimes one of us would run down to the beach and get a plate and bring it back to the beach grill buffet. Didn't go to the main buffet for lunch although it was open everyday.
Dinner Buffet - pasta station, buffet selections and the meat on the grill was excellent. Salad bar and the best cheese I have ever had from France! This was the only restaurant that truly catered to the larger tables. One night it was so busy they set us up outside. So nice of them!
Restaurants - for now you have to line up to get into the restaurants! They give you the light up buzzards like at the Keg restaurant. Relax the courtyard is pretty and we would line up and the other person would get drinks. It worked out wonderful. Knowing this before you go don't expect to get in without waiting!
Italian - really pretty restaurant, service is slow like at a nice restaurant not too slow - we need to slooooow down!!!!! Food was good. We had a large group of 10 had to divide up into two tables.
International Grill - Neat looking restaurant. Steak was good and cooked the way I wanted. Remember when ordering lobster - warm water lobster is way different than cold water lobster - you either love it or hate it. The other grilled beef was also very good. Same large group so we had to sit at two tables.
Asian - A friends husband lined up at 20 to 5 to get this one!!! I was his bar wench while waiting in line. It was well worth the wait and the show was amazing. Best food!!!!!! Everything cooked to perfection!!!! We took up a whole Hibachi table but got to sit together because we lined up very very early.
We had kids so we didn't go to the Romantico!
Nightly Entertainment - very good at this resort. Circus show was really good! Also they had a techno disco dance type show. At first I thought - what in the world. Well we had so much fun. Make sure to see the break dancers at this show. Jazz show was also good. Our friends went to the Karaoke and had a good time.
Daily entertainment - they have activities volleyball, exercise and dance lessons. But not all the games and things. We did miss the entertainment crew as we usually join into all those silly games but I also know a lot of people who enjoyed not having them. The painter guy. You can join this guy to paint a tile for $20 dollars. It is a cute picture but he is VERY sarcastic so if you can take sarcasm you will be fine but if you can't - don't do it! I find the people who enjoy it are the ones who aren't his target. He is especially mean to children and seniors. Oh and he can't take sarcasm back. When I gave him a quick yank of his chain he gets really nasty. Oh well his loss - there was 7 of us signing up! Also if you are going to do this paint takes longer to dry here so do it at the beginning of the week - hard to travel with wet paint! Everyone one paints the same picture. Water sports many to choose from! Easy to book - water kayaks. Water trampoline was so much fun! Outdoor chess game - played with my 6 year old - he cheats! haha
Casino - best bar tendor - made the best drinks Dirty Monkey, Miami Vice and some yummy blue drink! Some had luck others lost. Loved playing the tables. They had Penny slots!
Tantra Bar loved going there at night! Just a fun place to hang out! Bar service was great. Wonderful view and great decor. We sat one night smoking our cigars. Met some great people here.
Lobby Bar - they had a juggler bar tender guy - very good! Drinks were yummy there!
There was bar service in the courtyard as well.
Sports Bar - Two pool tables inside and some small tv's. Sports bar has light snacks late at night when the restaurants are closed. Generally a quiet place - great spot for larger groups to get together.
Tours
Mikes Marina - booked before I left - they picked my son and husband up from the beach. My son is 6 and this is his third time with Mikes Marina. This year he caught a barracuda. His friend caught a grouper and apparently a couple big ones got away!!!! This is his high light every year. Now you have to know I walked down the beach and was late coming back. So we usually do catch and release. My son was so excited that he saved the fish. When I came back from my walk and into the resort he pulled the fish from under his chair and ran to me!! Everyone was laughing! I was glad! Because him running with that fish will be a laughable memory I will never forget! Thanks Mike! like usual your the best!!!
Scuba Diving - at the resort excellent equipment and great dive instructors. But if you book the Catalina dive they out source and the equipment is old and not in working order. My first dive I ended early as my PFD wouldn't inflate and my regulator was not working. Did not feel safe doing the second dive. So I snorkeled. Had to wait around until the crew was finished partying before we headed back. The trip to Catalina Island was so scenic. Really must spend more time in the country - it was amazing. They did give me a partial refund. I would take the advise of other divers and book Catalina Island with the Scuba Caribe at the Melia next door. It was good but a very long trip left at 8:30 in the morning and returned at 7:30 at night.
Caribbean Festival - I brought photos from the last two years with these guys - they loved it! We had another fun year with them. The weather was just perfect this year and we saw a lot of fish. If you are an avid snorkel person sign the waiver so you don't have to wear a life jacket. Easier to snorkel without it. Everyone loved this tour again. Although this time we had a lot of little kids on the boat. We did the early morning tour - I assume less little ones on the afternoon tour. Loved the stingray exhibit. Novascotiannewbie went on the Marinarium and really enjoyed that tour as well!
holiday2@rogers.com
You can also check out my pics at http://community.webshots.com/user/holiday2fun
I will be adding more pics in the next two weeks so check back. I just didn't have time to get them all on. I have even better photos coming and some videos! So check back!!!
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Angela ~ Canada |
Arrival -
Arrived Feb 23rd, no problems at all with check in. Arrived around 1 pm were told our room would not be available unit 3pm, no big deal. Went for a tour, had a nice drink and by 3pm our room was ready
Rooms -
Very nice, clean and beautiful view, 2nd floor. Bell boy (Victor) was very nice, as we forgot our card (key) and without any hesitation he went back to the lobby and got it for us.
Restaurants -
Went to only two of the specialty restuarants, the buffet is awesome. Never had a problem getting in, we actually walk right into both restuarants. We did see alot of people waiting on other nights to get in the restuarants, but you know what, if you have to wait for an hour to get in, so what, you are on holidays, do you actually have somewhere you need to be?? And besides their is a lounge bar and casino right beside the restuarants, so its not like you have to stand their and do nothing. Enjoy and relax.
The buffet at the pool was really good, they had pizza (really good), chicken (like Swiss Chalet), they also had a cook-out on the beach daily. FABULOUS
Bars -
Great bars, we tried them all, had all kinds of drinks to try, and we proberly tried them all too. Oh well what are vacations for. Service was great, especially on the beach, was great having someone serve you.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Tim |
We just came back after three nights at Eden H. We had read all the reviews and knew about the beach chairs and the lines at dinner, etc.... When you read these reviews you have to take a certain amount of complaining with a grain of salt because nothing motivates people to review a place more than a complaint. We are not fussy and we figured the complaints were exaggerated and maybe they would fix them before we got there, seeing as how they were the same well documented problems now for months.
I can now say, all the complaints are true and they all add up to a miserable experience. Here are a list of the pros and cons.
PROS:
The rooms are perfect an
d beautiful. (if you don't like being eaten by mosquitoes, get a room on the 4th floor) The buildings are very nice.
The reception is very high-end and nice like a nice business hotel in Toronto. (Very un-beach like and un-relaxing/vacation like) Climate is perfect.
That is it.
CONS:
Chaos and confusion was the theme for everything we did, from getting a coke at the bar, getting a glass of water at the beach bar, getting a towel (one guest was about to come to blows with towel people), getting a chair (more furious guests), getting a meal (more fights between the guests and the staff).
Please see the other 500 negative reviews about the beach chairs, meals, management, staff, etc.. They are all true, so I won't repeat them. After 3 days our mood went from anger to laughter at the absolutely pitiful situation there.
Here is the objective math for all who say it is fine:
There is seating for 400 people at the 4 restaurants. And they can only manage 2 seatings per night. That makes it 800 people who can eat at a restaurant per night, in theory-- as others have noted there were screaming mad people in line and empty tables inside that were never filled. The buffet seats about 600. The number of guests at the place was 1500.
Not everybody eats at the buffet at the same time, but one evening after waiting in the restaurant line for 2 hours we went to have an appetizer at the buffet and we had to stand at the counter and eat-- no tables.
There is one other thing I can add that seems to have been overlooked in all the anger. The beach, as nice as the sand and water are, is a highway of touristy motorized junk. In one hour of sitting on the beach you can expect to see: 3 helicopters buzzing low, 2 airplanes buzzing low, 3 parasail boats plus their support boats buzzing up and down the shore, 2 party platform boats with loudspeakers blaring, 10 mini jet boats zooming by, 5 jet skis zooming by, a couple of other misc. boats. On the beach are hairbraiding vendors and the like.
There is a large "swim pen" for the guest to use and a floating trampoline, but if you were foolish enough to venture out of the
"pen" you would surely be chopped to bits by a propeller in no time.
Maybe the other positive reviewers are from Northern Alberta and this level of activity seems exciting.
If you want to take a sail boat out, they have only 4 catamarans which they where reluctant to loan-- it just means more work for the already overworked staff. I never could get one.
So, there isn't much to do there but sit by the pool on the hard paving, unless you got up at 5:30 maybe 6:10 at the very latest to
get a chair, or go to the beach and marvel at the traffic. And, by
the way, activities for kids are non-existent; the so-called kids club was always deserted, and we never saw any group doing anything either in the pool or on the beach.
The food in the restaurants was good. We only got in 2 out of 3 times we tried. Our last night we waited in line starting at 5:15 and we finished our meal at 9:20. That may be some reviewers' idea of a great vacation. It is not mine.
On the subject of other great reviews, I am pretty sure some are "plants" from the company pumping the place while some might be from people that did actually have a good time.
All I can say is, if you like everything we hated, you will have lots to like and you will have a great time.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Trista |
Arrival was at 1pm, by bus from the airport which took about 20 minutes. No problems at check in however our room was not ready. We were served cool drinks, and a cool wash cloth which was very nice. We were asked to come back in an hour and our rooms would be ready. Went back in an hour room was ready, was taken to an upgraded room, but declined it( I was vacationing with another gal we needed 2 beds) was taken to another nice room 2 floors up, also very nice, both rooms were lovely. Didn't have any issues with rooms, fridge was always stocked, with soda, water and beer. Toilets worked, showers were hot, Jacuzzi worked awesome. I did not see a menu for room service but didn't need it any way. I did get stuck in the elevator with the bell boy but we quickly got out and laughed about it. I am easily pleased with a beer.
We walked to the beach grill and had some lunch, which was very good. Had pork, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, salad, slaw, ice cream cones, anything you can imagine. Every day the beach grill had very good food.
Walking along the grounds appearance seemed very clean and well groomed, flowers planted, water flowing, no construction that I could see, or hear. From the lobby to the pool was quite a distance and even further to the beach, but the scenery was worth it. I did not see anything that needed to be fixed, however I did not seek out.
Restaurants seem to be a small issue that they are working on. Surf and turf, Asian, french, Italian, and they are making another and also the buffet. They cannot seem to decide if they want to do the beeper or reservation and if they can figure it out it will work well. We dined at all and had very good meals aside from the confusion, and people getting angry. There was a mishap the night we ate at the surf and turf where people were "paying" to butt in line ahead of the beepers. This was dealt with accordingly. We did eat late 10:00, I also ate at the buffet before hand....The buffet, ahhh hard to find a table, and nearly impossible to get a drink. I think this is the most under staffed area. Food is good here, however I think strangely the strategy is bad. You seat yourself, so I think there is not enough staff in each area. Otherwise it would be great!
The pools are very nice and kept clean, you see the workers out every morning cleaning, as well as tiding the chairs. Pool chairs, and beach chairs are an issue. However, it seems that tourists are saving both pool chairs and beach chairs, so perhaps there are enough for everyone if people aren't saving one at the beach and at the pool. Staff is having security remove items from chairs that are saved before 7AM, which is chaotic. I did see people remove other peoples property from chairs and take.
The beach is well groomed, and the Edenh owns their own groomer. The activity staff tries to get you involved in water sports. They also have an on the beach grill, and are always serving food. Very good as well.
It seemed that you did have to wait at the bars for a drink depending on which bar you were at, and that was disappointing. It seemed some staff just really didn't care, but others really went the extra mile for you no matter what. You could really tell who loved their jobs and who didn't. Those who remembered your names...and those who looked right past you.
Edenh will be a great resort once they work through the kinks. Would love to go back in a year to see how they have progressed. Has great ambiance, and potential. This is not going to be a spring break resort, this is not going to be a boozer resort.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Betsy ~ Wisconsin |
Restaurants -
buffet was good, at primetime you have to wait for a table. as for the restaurants, the system changed three times while we were there. they gave us a beeper one night and it never went off, so at 10pm we went up there and they gave us a table, the other night i gave up at 9;30 and went to the buffet before they closed. if you did get in a restaurant it was a 2 1/2 hour ordeal eating. the pool bars were so short staffed i took for ever to get a drink.
Beach and Pools -
beach is great, the pools are so cold there was never that many people using them, the hot tubs were cold water also.
Tours -
went on a scuba tour from the resort, they took us to a dead reef, didnt see anything.
Conclusion -
our ac didnt work, and everyday they told us they had fixed it. didnt get a phone until half the week was over. sink fell out while i was blow drying my hair. my friend got stuck in the elevator, the list goes on, and on.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Sheila |
We just returned from the Edenh Real Resort (Feb 29-March 7th). I was concerned about the mixed reviews prior to our leaving for the resort, but just assumed the negative reviews were from the usual few people that at can't be pleased no matter what! I was wrong. The hotel itself is pretty, and the beach is beautiful, but the hotel had some major issues:
You had to stand in line each day to make reservations at the restaurants. I stood in line for 90 minutes one day reserve a table. The line was pretty long, and the other tourists were just as upset. The restaurants are filled to just under 50%. The restaurants look to be understaffed, and the staff work pretty hard. It was noted that only Americans and Canadians leave tips. Don't believe that the "all inclusive" includes tips. I doubt that the money paid out for these trips trickle down to the lower level staff.
Not enough beach chairs for all the tourists. Security personnel took any towels off unoccupied chairs before 7am. That's fine, as when we first arrived, tourists were going out in the middle of the night to reserve a chair! Too many security people. I don't know if they were looking out for the tourists or making sure the neighbors outside the resort didn't swipe the beach chairs
Courtyard with not enough chairs and table for everyone. And for a few days, the chairs and tables were gone in the late afternoon, only to be put back in place later on.
We heard from two other tourists that their sink fell through to the floor! Watch your feet! We had a flood in the room when a pipe burst in the ceiling, but that was cleaned up within an hour. Our friends had a poorly functioning air conditioner, and for one day it smelled like a landfill!
Not enough staff behind the bars.
Receptionist at the check-in had a very poor attitude and no customer skills. What a lousy first impression she gave of the hotel! Now and then we met staff who just seemed to hate their jobs and everyone around them.
All in all, I would not return to this resort. There are many other successful hotels in the DR that have strategies in place that meet the needs of tourists, and the Edenh should follow along with what works instead of going down a different path. Vacations are meant to be relaxing and not cause worries, concerns or stress.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | M.l. ~ Mass. |
This is my 16 th time to punta cana. I never have been so disappointed till I went to this hotel
They are very under staff .. The buffet was ok... Nothing to brag about one night
They were 2 waiter for an area of 30 tables so you can image the service you received
You could not get into the a la carte restaurant unless you went and waited
In line at 530 PM to get reservation for 6:30 and on ..and then you were lucky
The second night we were there they changed the system.. You had to be dressed
Up while y waited in line to get your beeper to eat at 6:30 or later and they did not
Come out to give your a beeper till 520pm ...and told us they would fill the restaurant
To full capacity that was a joke. We had a flood In our room our bathroom
Sink fell down and this happened to other people.. They sprayed every night
For flies around 5pm. We were on the 3rd.floor so we were lucky no bugs
The beach is beautiful. Not enough chair for the amount of people that were
There ..we were told they were stolen, some were ordered.
I have been to the majestic and bahia prinipe when they first opened
They were wonderful.. .. Maybe in 1 year this might be a good hotel. I'm not
Usually picky as long as my room is clean and the food is ok ... But this
Was a great disappointment
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Elizabeth ~ NYC |
I arrived at the Edenh at apron. 3pm. I was checked in and at the pool by 3:30 pm. There were no check in lines, at either the main desk, or at the upgraded check-in room. I never observed a line to check in or out. I visited the lobby a number of times.
The rooms were very nice. done in cream shades with a pop of orange. The creamy marble walkways and room tiles were beautiful, The bathrooms had all the amenities, Puffy netted type bath sponge, wash cloths, bath salts, glycerin soap, shower & bath gel, shampoo, conditioner, Q-tips, make-up sponge(cotton), toothpaste & toothbrush,
hair brush. The only thing I didn't notice was shaving cream & razor, they might have even had that. They now have clocks with a MP3, I-Pod in line. the clock will go off when the power card is moved. 3 AA batteries will solve the problem.
I stayed in 2 different rooms. First was rm. 2164, gardenview . The room itself was very nice, but, It faced an active walkway. The gardenview was of a fence separating building 2 from a large sandbox with some palm trees. I believe NH owns this sandbox and has plans for it in the near future
There were the dreaded winged critters outside and inside (boo). Those skeeters thought I was the beach buffet.
The tub was outside, facing the walkway. If I used the tub I would've been giving out a little too much unsolicited info. and been the local picnic to boot. They sprayed outside every day.In fairness this problem seems to occur on the Ist fl rooms, especially the ones facing away from the hotel. Lets hope the sketter situation is controlled, as I'm confident it will be.
I decided not only would I ask for a room change but an upgrade to a suite( paid extra). WOOOOWW!!!! The suite was fabulous, The master bath was almost as big as the bedroom. It had 2 closets & 2 vanities as well as shower & toilet, both with frosted glass doors and of course the jetted tub. There was a door separating the master bed & bath. The entry to the suite had a closet and a bathroom with shower, toilet and vanity. 2 full bathrooms both with doors. The Dining Area - Glass top table & 4 chairs, sideboard with mini fridge and an espresso maker with bullet like coffee pods, tea bags and sugar. Get some milk from the buffet of beach restaurant.
Living Area - Pull out sofa, coffee table, end table and flat screen TV (TV in bedroom as well).
Double Terrace - another table with 4 chairs. there are steps which lead you to the hot tub, behind it is a shower. My favorite thing about the suite was the view It is awesome, spiritual when you observe nature. Watching the parade to the beach at 5 am was so much fun. People were in dress clothes, in PJ's and everything in between., they were drunk, sober, sleepy, a few even camped out on the chairs. It would've been nice if the people who moved the chairs put them back where they belonged at the end of the day. The guards worked for hours straightening out the chair mess, not long after they finished the parade would start again.
I recommend the suites for families especially, if you possibly can go for the suite. I went solo and felt like royalty, the suite was huge. I would've been fine in a reg room. I like the rooms with the big cutout between the bed & bath. Even so I'm glad I upgraded. Next time I won't be able to afford it.
The American, Shore Grill - Tried beef tenderloin med. rare, it came just the way I ordered it. Very Good
The Italian,Cinque Terre - Beef Marsala, again very good
The Festival Buffet - nice variety of meat veggies, fruit, some fish and dessert. Your typical AI buffet.
The Beach, Olas - the only open air eatery, very good chicken, burgers, hot dogs fries, ice cream
Beach BBQ - every day they start a bit before noon,.pretty much the same as the Olas rest. minus the ice cream
Didn't try Senses or the Asian Restaurant. The Red & White Wines they serve are really good, a nice surprise. The staff work really hard and have very long hours. In spite of this they do whatever they can to make your holiday special. I work with the public and enjoy it. I take pride in having a good attitude, helping someone's day along with a smile. I do have some stressful days when I'm not at my best. We all do. Please keep this in mind. when someone is not having the best of days, smile spread some sunshine. Often it helps pick up that persons day and as a bonus yours also.
The Beach Bars are great. Carlos and Carlos, Ramón also they are good at breaking the ice getting people laughing and talking. I met a lot of really nice people by the beach bars. It would be nice if they had MUSIC. Some want meringue, salsa style music, I like it but don't want to hear it all day. A nice mix of mostly upbeat music would be a plus.
The lobby bar has very comfy sofas its a good place to go while waiting for your hockey puck to light up for dinner. the Courtyard is also a good place to wait. You 're in good company at either place. There is waitress service in the courtyard, a bit slow. You can walk into the lobby bar from the courtyard and get your own drinks, its faster.
The pools are lovely. between 11am & 12 pm each day they do pool exercise this is one time where you have music. Normally I prefer pools. Bravaro beach is beautiful it drew me away from the pools. The water is blue, there are no shells or rocks on the bottom to cut your feet, ocean sand like sugar. There are non motorized catamarans, sail boards, kayaks. Of course you can arrange to dive or go parasailing. I went parasailing, its not scary at all. When you're up there the view is spectacular , you feel surprisingly calm.
I made it to two shows The Circus, it was very nice and different. The singer (sorry, forget his name) was very good. He sang songs that spanned generations and genres.
Presently the grounds, like the hotel have a minimalist feel. I've wondered, is this on purpose? The lawns are green and well kept. There is no plants or shrubbery to speak of, some palm trees. I've read that they've been planting flowers and such, but I didn't notice any evidence of this. I imagine it will take some time for the gardens to fill out.
I went on the Funny Monster Safari. Loved,loved loved it. Alex our guide helped to make the trip both interesting and fun. We learned some Dominican history, passed through a sugar cane field. Next stop was a place where they made the stone carvings. A picture perfect river ran through the grounds, all had the opportunity to take a refreshing swim here. We went into the mountains to a cocoa & coffee plantation. All types of fruit grow here grapefruit, oranges pineapple and of course coconut.
The vehicle passed through fields with cattle, pigs, horses, and goats. The Country is beautiful. We stopped at a farm to eat while there you had a choice, horseback riding or just lazing around on a hammock or a beach chair. The tour stopped at a school where the children sang to us. All along the route people smiled and waved to us. The ancient Tatino Indian Cave, now that was something to see. The trip was capped off with a swim at a beautiful public beach. If you have the chance go on one of the many safari's that are available from the different tour operators at the hotels. They are well worth it.
This holiday will hold a special place in my memory. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at The EdenH Real Arena. Allowing for a few minor inconveniences, this was on of the best vacations in all of my 56 yrs. I would go back to EdenH in a heartbeat. I hope I can afford to go in 6 mos.when the soft opening prices are history. Oh! What the heck I can just work some OT.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | D & J ~ USA |
First off I am writing this because they gave us a card when we checked out asking for our comments so here are ours.
We stayed at your resort dates February 14th through the 21st, 2008, in Punta Cana. The resort was lovely as our room was very nice. We were fortune to receive a top floor room with balcony overlooking the pool, with a parcel ocean view. We have no complaints about that. We would like to make some comments as to things at the resort.
Let me start out by saying we have been traveling Apple Vacations for 10 years now. In the Ads for this resort they did not mention that all inclusive was not all inclusive. When I say this, it is to the effect we have never been to a resort, when it was all inclusive that you were discriminated, by the color of band you wore, in fact everyone always has had the same color bands, and were entitled to the same things. Maybe when you would book a club room, you would have more things in your room, or a cons aria but never were you told that you could not drink at this pool bar, or could not be in this pool, or you couldn’t go to this dinning area, because you don’t have the right color band. Then to be expected to pay for drinks that were not in your level, what is this. When you pay this much to go to a rating hotel of 5 red apple, you expect a little less, but with the prices you are charging to come to your resort, we have been to 6 golden apple rated resorts for less, and got everything the resort had to offer without being told you don’t have the right color band. We have never been to any resort that you would walk around and hear the talk that people were talking, and nothing but mad people, everywhere. People stressing out on vacation what is that.
Our friends that traveled with us, ended up with a garden view room, which was over looking construction, and garbage. They did not settle for this, for the price they paid, and were moved to a different room on the next day. The stress they were under dealing with the front desk people, did not help them enjoy there first day there. After being moved to a different room, they were in it for one day and the ceiling started leaving from the tub above them, so they were move yet another time. In three days they had three different rooms. I went and talked to the manager and he was very nice and gave them the best room he could at the time, beings the hotel was Totally over booked. He also agreed to up grade their band color, so they could get the better drinks, and could make reservations. Since we were traveling together, he did the same for us which was very much appreciated. My point is, they were vacation, and for the first three days, and never got to even unpack their bags. That is precious lost time. It was nice to have the band up grade, as we knew how we had been treated, with the lower color band, which was not good.
I might add that you were totally under staffed. It would take forever to get waited on and then, the help would ignore you a lot of the time like you weren’t even there. There were very few that treated you like they were happy that you were there.
Now for the chair situation on the beach and around the pool. Never have we been to a resort that we had to worry if we were going to be able to get a chair to lie on while on the beach. You could go down any time of the day at the other resorts, and always find a chair. We had to get up every morning on vacation, at 5:45 a.m. and walk down to the beach and put personal items on our chairs, and sit there till 7:30 a.m., in order not to loose our stuff. The security guard could have the option of taking your stuff. The hotel put a letter under our doors stating that security could do this, so we would do this every morning. If you did not go down early, you would end up lying in the sand, on a towel, on the beach all day. We did not pay this kind of money to have to lie in the sand. They knew this was a problem, and yet did not do anything about getting more chairs in while we were there. Over booked or not, that is no excuse to treat your guest this way. We all come, with the thought of relaxation, and no stress, and for not having to set an alarm clock so we could get up early on vacation.
The food was good, but way over cooked, everywhere you ate they were burning things and it just wasn’t fixed proper. I usually don’t complain about these things, but you need to take time to see that your chefs, that are preparing the meals has good and more help, and the time to prepare what they are given to fix. That is one of the things about going to these many resorts, it the food. The many that we have been to, your food rated second to the bottom of our list on being good, not excellent. Then the lines, for dinner, first you had to get off the beach early in order to get ready for dinner. You were all dressed up to go down and stand in massive lines, and didn’t know if you could even get into your dinner of choice. Not a good, last thing you want to do when you are on Holiday, is stand in long lines and listening to people bitch about everything, and believe me you heard it.
You do have a lovely place and I hope you can work out all of you problems there. As for us, we are not sure that we would pick your resort again, we have been in the Dominican Republic 4 times now, and love it there and will come back to the country. You would have to have major improvements, and do away with the band colors, so all were treated the same, before we would ever consider it. We do have people talk to us all the time on where we go as we do travel, and we have been to many lovely places, and at this point probably would not recommend this resort. We hope that you take this as constructive criticism, and try to improve on all mentioned, believe me they are real issues you have and need to resolve. I will add that we had fun, even with all the complaints, but as you know you make your own fun. You can either let these things wreck your fun or just go with the flow, and hope that the next people that come to the resort, will see an improvement, since we were there.
Still enjoying traveling.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Alley |
We just got back from Edenh today. I did post a few times from Punta Cana, as we took our laptop.
We went with two kids 12 and 10. We had a wonderful family vacation - we have never been anywhere like this with the kids and never been to Punta Cana before so I can't compare this with any other resort.
My point of view will be more from the "family" perspective. We are not party people so I can comment on the Tahntra bar happenings. Only went there once with our Sunwing rep one morning.
The room was fantastic. I think the window to the bathroom is just plain stupid, but we went prepared with a sheet and duct tape and that solved the problem. I am thankful for this forum, as being a family of four, we would have been annoyed if we were not prepared. So thanks people! The beds are very comfortable, lots of good channels on the TV, no problem with hot water in the shower, maid service was excellent. We did take mosquito coils, but I think they were a waste really - didn't kill the mosquitos. Probably a can of Raid is the best defense.
The sun is very hot and you can burn fast. Perhaps the more experienced travellers recognize this, but we all got a bit burned. Take lots of lotion, like 3 bottles. It will cost you $20 American to buy it there. Make sure you get all the spots right up to your bathing suit edges - I was sloppy and got burned in these spots.
My husband did get up very early to get us chairs under a cabana. 4 chairs for 4 people. While comments are made that putting your towel, shoes, books on the chairs to hold them isn't right - if you don't do this - you very likely won't have a chair. So taking the attitude that you are above all that is great, but enjoy walking around frantically hoping someone will leave. I did see a few people taking double chairs - 4 under a cabana and 4 in the sun so they could switch back an forth - that isn't right. We would carry our chairs out to the sun or back to the cabana, depending on the time of day.
Towels were a non-issue. We could always get fresh towels and they never ran out.
Restaurants - only tried the Italian twice and the American. Both were great. The kids didn't care for the American but I thought the steak was excellent (rib-eye). I heard a lot of people complaining about the surf and turf (didn't like the size of the lobster tail) - but my husband had that and was thought it was just fine. Where the resort fails here, is in not explaining to people up front how it works. They really should give some sort of hand out to guests to explain certain things. Anyway, here is how it works.
You can go at 6:00 or so and get a buzzer to eat at 6:30. You go away and at 6:30 they buzz you. But...if you want to eat later, you go at 6:30 and get a buzzer and when a table is ready, they will buzz. Now - if you do this, it is likely you wont get buzzed til 8:00 or 8:30. So, go have a drink and relax. But so many people want an exact time. They get mad because they want to make a reservation for a specific time and the staff are not great with English so you see a lot of ticked off people. I found myself explaining the routine to many people who were frustrated but many walk away shaking their heads angry. We didn't have an issue - we just went with it. I think if people knew up front how it worked, they wouldn't get so worked up.
The other 4 nights we did the buffet. There is always something being carved, i.e. roast beef, turkey, pork... and there are salad items, pizza (very good but you get sick of it by the end of the week), the pasta bar which the kids liked, rice, fish, vegetables, etc. To be honest, I was a bit sick of the buffet by the end of the week but it was okay. If it wasn't for the kids, we would have done the Asian and the American one more time but such is life.
Someone asked about the coffee - very good. Also, the wine with dinner was just fine. I personally drink white, so I can't speak for red wine drinkers but it looked good. The breakfast buffet was fantastic and I will miss that a lot tomorrow when I have to make my own.
The remarks about green bracelet feeling lower class then pink - I never felt that. Now about the drinks - we are not big drinkers, but I did order the occasional drink. I doubt there was even 1/2 oz liquor in the drinks. Now, I heard that you can ask them to make the drinks stronger if that's your thing - but it was a non-issue for us. I did see more than a few people that obviously had consumed enough to bring out their "booming" personalities so if that's your thing, no worries.
oman around the pool - yep - and many you wish wouldn't - hehe - an early education for my 10 year old son.
The pool water aerobics were lots of fun everyday. The staff made it lots of fun and entertaining. I think there were other activities, but again, the hotel doesn't really provide any information on this stuff - it's more like if you happen to run across something that you can participate. I think they really need to improve the communication with guests as to what is available. I do believe they could do more to create guest involvement and fun.
The kids club was not open yet, so I can't comment on that and was a bit disappointed that it was not available.
Also, the nightly entertainment was okay - the circus was great. They had a white night (not sure what that was about, I assume you were supposed to wear white) but it was just loud music and dancing with some mimes going around. The highlight was a girl who made the kids balloon hats. A couple of nights of jazz which we skipped. But this was all no big deal to us, we went to bed fairly early compared to others.
So, that's my two cents. All in all, it was very enjoyable, great staff, no checkin issues, very fun vacation.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Jan |
This is my first review. I have been traveling for the past 12 years or so to the Carribean and always check in with Debbie's site for reviews. This year we stayed at the newly opened Eden H in Punta Cana. It's a good thing my husband and I always find fun and excitement wherever we go. This resort just opened in January '08 and it is a disaster.
The building is full of cracked tiles (watch out for tripping), broken plumbing (watch out for flooding in your rooms, closets, etc.) lack of staff (good luck with ordering food, drinks, necessities for your room), unfinished details in rooms (no peepholes - only holes, missing deadbolt locks in the doors allowing staff to walk in on you, etc.) I would think a newly opened place would have more than enough staff to see to guests needs and make as good an impression as possible. If they continue, they will have no guests to please.
This is supposed to be a 5 star resort and currently I would rate it a 2.
There are two swamps on either side of the drive leading to the lobby where mosquitos breed. They spray a fog every evening around dinner time through the place, but until the swamps are taken care of, the mosquitos will continue to invade at a furious pace.
The casino looks like it will not open for months, the gym the same and the bowling alley - maybe never! All these were advertised as being on site.
The entertainment is held in the open courtyard so if weather is inclement, the show is off. There is a perfectly good air conditioned auditorium on site where the shows could alternatively be held, but this was not used. They are also scheduled at 10:00 p.m. - Much too late if you want to be up by 5:00 to save your beach chair. If you sleep in til 7:00 a.m., the chairs are all gone.
Food was ok but don't even think you can get in to one of the specialty restaurants without a hassle. They hand out beepers and then keep you waiting for hours. There is a color coded wristband system in place and if a higher up band shows up at your scheduled dinner time, you are sol. My husband is diabetic and needs to eat on schedule, so we found ourselves at the ordinary buffet where we could at least find food at a specific time. The beach cafe is terrific with grilled chicken and pizza for lunch.
We always do a snorkel trip each vacation and this year we did the 2 person speed boats to the snorkel site. This was fabulous.
As I said, my husband and I always have fun together and find anywhere there isn't snow and ice to be a better alternative, but to spend thousands of dollars on a week long trip, we expect to have a better facility. I would tell anyone who is considering the Eden H to find a different place at least for this year until they get their act together.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | David |
Stayed Jan. 5-12, 2008
We arrived the night that the resort officially opened, so some of my comments reflect opening jitters and mishaps. The reader should keep in mind that a number of these issues may have since been resolved. Moreover, we enjoyed our stay regardless of the start-up problems.
Shake down cruise problems included: our phone was somehow wired as the next room. Not a big deal until they called us (thinking they were calling next door) at 2:30 AM about some room service order. Our door lock didn't work for 2 days, while they tried numerous new keys and eventually they replaced the lock itself. The mosquitoes and other insects were terrible the first 2-3 days. They eventually issued us (any guest who asked) bug spray and did blanket spraying by trucks at 5 PM each day. Perhaps not very "green" but it solved the problem. Also, there was no soap at the bathrooms by the poolside/beachfront restaurant. Remember everyone in the kitchen here uses this bathroom. We reported this all week long, they never put soap, bar or liquid in these bathrooms. Construction was going on everywhere, including down the hall. Landscaping was being installed and the waterscapes and fountains were being tweaked. We have stayed at other hotels in similar construction states including the Iberostar and the Aventura Palace- both in the Riviera Maya. Both of those resorts isolated the construction activity better. Many of the light fixtures in hallways and public areas were bare bulbs, still awaiting the final installations. Public decorations and art were awaiting installation. Some facilities like the sports bar were not yet open. The A/C in the computer room didn't work, but on the other hand they didn't charge for the internet the first 5 or 6 days. Expect to pay now. Having said all of that, we are reasonable and experienced travelers. Stuff happens, we understand. Besides, due to the new opening, the price was great.
About us: We're a couple traveling with our 24 year old grad student daughter. We live in the Washington DC area. We traveled using Apple Vacations/ USA 3000 Airline. The flights both left and arrived early in both directions. Can't complain.
The general Layout: Numerous buildings laid out in rows leading to the beach. Much like the rest of Punta Cana or the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. The property's buildings are low rise, elevator atrium style buildings. Unfortunately, kids and late night drunks make a lot of noise, which the atriums seem to make even louder. For that reason I prefer the hallway style, like you find at some of the competing properties. Guests can access most of the buildings via covered walkways. This is a nice feature when it rains.
The Rooms: Nice and spacious. Our room had 2 double beds, a large bathroom with a big shower, and a terrace with an outdoor Jacuzzi type tub. We faced land being cleared for the next phase and a black netting fence designed to hide the earth moving and construction. A guest at the bar told me that their room's bathroom opened out to the room itself, which their adult daughter staying with them did not appreciate. So, they moved to a room like ours. If you are traveling as a couple, this open to the room bathroom shouldn't be a problem. There is a mini-frig and safe in the room, that was free for our use. Note to honeymooners: some of the first floor whirlpools near walkways, have no privacy.
The beach: Great. Wide, sandy, plenty of chairs and palapas. I hope this continues and was not a result of a partially completed property. They came around in the afternoon and served cookies on the beach and at the pool to guests. What a nice touch. The beach is on Bavaro. The water is perfect. There is plenty of security on the beach and in the hotel. Nevertheless, a woman sitting near us on the beach had her IPod stolen when she was away from her chair. They work to keep the roving vendors at the waters edge. There are plenty of available water sports. Expect additional costs for parasailing and motorized water sports. For us the beach quality is a biggie. This passed the test.
Restaurants: Very good buffet. My daughter actually preferred it over some of the specialty restaurants. There was even an outdoor patio one could eat on, nice touch. We ate in the Italian Restaurant called Cinque Terra twice. Good food, but not the traditional Italian one would expect, if in NY or Toronto. The service was excellent. We all enjoyed the Asian restaurant which offered sushi, Chinese and Japanese grill food. Also recommended. Everyone, my family included, thought the so-called Romantic or French style restaurant named Tanhtra, I believe, was excellent. The failure in the group was the Grill, which was billed as and decorated like an American upscale diner. It took an hour and three quarters to get served. Many of the orders when they finally arrived were incorrect. Shockingly, the hostess kept seating people. They should have not accepted new diners until the "old' people were fed and gone. After almost two hours of waiting (some guests left for the buffet after an hour or so) the food was poor. Hopefully, the problems in this restaurant have been fixed. Since it was the first days of the hotel, no reservations were required for the specialty restaurants. I'm guessing that they have since gone to the system, (if that's the word) at other all-inclusives, where reservations are required. This is a persistent weak point in many of these hotels. Almost anything would be an improvement over what most properties put their guests through just to get a reservation, i.e.., long lines and limited hours to make reservations.
The burgers at the pool were never cooked enough, virtually raw on the inside. I mentioned this once or twice, but it never improved. Raw meat in the tropics...bad combination. The pizza at the beach was delicious.
Staff: Very nice friendly people. A real plus. I spoke to many of them and learned that many of them came from other properties. They were trained well at some hotel. Smiles, hellos were the norm. Management and the front desk also tried to be attentive.
Overall: This is a good place and should get better. Readers may email me with any questions.
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Dale ~ Toronto, ON Canada |
Just returned from the EdenH. Traveled with 4 teenagers and offer the following for posting.
Stayed at the Edenh from Feb 16 - 23, and a vacation is what you make of it. If you tend to always see the glass half empty instead of half full, this resort is probably not for you. Yes, this is a new hotel, yes there are problems, and yes there is not enough beach chairs. But as other reviewers have said, every day there are improvements, so go with the flow. The beach is beautiful, yes there is seaweed, but the workers are out on the beach every morning raking it up. There is beach volleyball all day long and if not just ask "JoAngel" to get one going! We all had a massage at the spas on the beach and they were great. The pools are beautiful, the main one is a swim up bar, the pool beside it always has a volleyball net up and two basketball nets. There is water aerobics everyday, by Kelvin who is hilarious, an activity everyday at 4pm, from flower arrangement making to painting; both were a lot of fun, and all free. Lounge chairs are still an issue and yes I have heard more are on order. Because we were a group of six and wanted to sit with each other, we did have to get up by 7am every morning to get six chairs together "at the location we wanted". One day we did not get to the pool until 9:30 and we only got two chairs and that is all we had for the day! The food varied. Our group felt the Asian was the best, and being served at the Hibachi was entertaining. It is a stir fry dinner made in front of you with lots of interaction with the guests. The Italian and International were okay, the American was a bit of a disappointment, although the steak was good (and please remember you are not at The Keg....). They still do not have a system in place though for getting people in for dinner. We were a group of six and had to line up every day at 5:15 in front of the different ala cartes in order to ensure we would get in. One night we were a little late in lining up and did not get in the restaurant until 10:30...which was a little late for dinner. One night we had to split our group up as they mostly have tables for 4 and did not seem interested in putting any tables together. Also as others have mentioned, there are many tables empty and you wonder why as they say they are full. The problem is they still do not have enough staff to serve all the tables. In the Italian restaurant they only had two people taking orders for all the tables. The buffet did offer some variations during the week, and your hottest food came from 'made to order requests'. For breakfast the omelets were a hit, and at dinner you could always have beef, chicken or fresh fish grilled for you. The lunch grill by the pool and beach was good, offering hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, fries, chicken and every day there would be a 'main item' featured, such as roast of pork, beef, or fish. Salad bar, fresh fruit, desserts and a soft ice cream machine were also available. The rooms were very nice, and yes that is an opening between the bathroom and the bedroom. We did bring a vinyl table cloth from the dollar store and some tape, and it worked great for the week. The opening is framed in wood, so no worries about taking any paint off the wall. Room placement is key though in this resort. There is construction on the outside of building 2 (not Edenh construction ... something else is going on), and there is a private apartment and homes on the outside of building 1. Neither is something you want to look at from your balcony. We originally were in building 1 on the outside, but one call and the next day we had two rooms in building 2 overlooking the courtyard/pools. We were on the 3rd floor and there was a 'few' mosquitos in the room, but again, we brought a fly swatter to deal with that. Mosquitos were not an issue for us at all. The nightly entertainment was outside and no one in our group experienced any bites. They have a temporary gym opened and the spa is open. The casino was opening on the night we left. We did a tour through Air Transat (all the tour companies offer different tours) and it was a day trip for 85$ with the Bavaro Runners. We had a great time and our tour guides Eddie and Everesto were the best! Bottom line on this resort is if anyone has booked (or is booking) this place I think if you can see the glass half full, go with the flow, you will have a great time. We choose to have a lot of laughs this past week, in situations where we could have gotten upset, but why would you want to be angry on your vacation. Negatively breeds negatively ... don't let it ruin your vacation. If you are the type that is expecting a Marriott or a Hilton as you would in New York City ...you are not going to get it here. Also, communication with most of the staff is very limited as many do not speak any English. Be patient with them they really do want to help you. We did upgrade to the Mirage Deluxe rooms (extra $75 with Air Transat), and felt this was worth it. Allowed us the room change and the 20 min massage and a nice bottle of rum to take home as a souvenier. The weather was perfect, the beach was beautiful and the pools very inviting. Also, people always ask what to bring as 'gifts' for the people. While yes they do want 'dollars', I think they take these dollars and buy necessities as they make very little per hour. So...if you want to bring any 'treats' for your housekeepers, and their children, they very much appreciate colouring books, crayons, stickers for their kids, and they do like perfumes, makeup and soaps for themselves. These are very expensive in the DR. Also, a 280g bag of chips is 9$ dollars in the store, so if you can slip in some Pringles and candies I know they like these too! Don't forget your coffee travel mug, and your insulated cup for beer! and rest assured, if you have already booked here....you will have a great time.
Don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions....would be happy to put your worries to rest!
daleg737@hotmail.com
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Chantal |
We just returned from the EdenH on Feb 23/08. If you have already booked at this hotel (and I use the term loosely), please give some serious thought to rebooking elsewhere (the Majestic and Riu's are wonderful). Upon arrival at the airport, we were informed that the hotel had once again overbooked and we were carted off to a 2 star at best. Finally the next day we got to the EdenH and were told that they were no rooms. After waiting for hours, we finally had a room. Once there, we entered to find a couple already in that room. We were then sent to another room which had not yet been cleaned - the toilet situation was not pleasant to say the least. After 4 hours and 3 phone calls to the front desk we finally hunted down housekeeping and paid someone to clean our room. All in all, it was a nice room however the tub did not fill as the plug was broken and the shower was a joke. You had to have someone let you out of the shower as there was no handle to get out. The toilet would not flush and when we mentioned this to housekeeping we were told it was because we were putting toilet paper in the toilet. When we asked what we were to do with the paper they
advised that was what the garbage was for - what?????? The other
problem was the workers that kept coming in to the room for some reason or another. I honestly don't know how many workers saw me naked because they would just walk in even though the do not disturb sign was on the door. I would just be getting out of the shower or getting changed and in they would come. They would even walk in at 10 at night, just walk around the room and then leave????? This didn't just happen once or twice, it happened constantly, to the point where we put the chair under the door so they couldn't come in.
The restaurants were a joke - if you even wanted a chance at getting in you had to line up at 5pm to get in for 6:30pm. Just what you want on vacation, to line up for an hour and a half. The buffet was really bad.
The food was horrible and there was a very minimal selection. If you wanted anything off the grill or pasta, there was always at least a 20 min wait as they could not keep up with the demand. The buffet is much to small to handle full capacity at the hotel. The bar service also left something to be desired. Someone asked for a drink and were given the wrong thing. When they pointed this out to the bartender he said Jesus Christ and threw the drink across the bar into the sink. On another occasion, we witnessed a group of 4 all take a sip of their shooter which was supposed to be gin, they advised the bartender that it was vodka and he proceeded to take their drinks that they had already sipped, pour them back into the bottle and then give them the correct ones - gross!
The other issue is the beach chairs. They informed us that they have just over 600 chairs and 1200 guests. If you weren't up by 6am you would not get a chair. We saw several couples in their 80's trying to plunk themselves down on a towel in the sand as there were no chairs.
One morning, the hotel was taking an advertising picture by the pool and they had taken most of the chairs off the beach and put them by the pool to make it look like there were chairs available in the picture.
Needless to say, with one pool closed for pictures and even less chairs on the beach, it did not make for happy guests......
And the topper - we both got food poisoning and spent 2 days at a clinic on IV - when all was said and done, we had 2 days of vacation total.......
I do have to say that the beach is beautiful (the 2 whole days I actually saw it....) I'm not sure that the hotel will ever be up to the standards of a 4 star. The front desk service is atrocious to say the least and management would not even come out to talk to any of us.
Service in the restaurants is much the same, with no coffee or drinks served - had to fend for yourself. We felt bad for the waiters as they were very obviously short staffed.
We have traveled extensively and stayed at numerous new resorts and have never had an experience like this..........if you can, run as fast as you can, right to another resort!
| EdeNH Real Arena Punta Cana | Ihook |
Arrival: Check-in was fairly quick, however we did not receive the room we expected (yellow wristband). As you check in-if you get extras, make sure you ha