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This review is from the point of 4 people in their 30’s. We were at EdenH from April 19-26. We had 2 people join us on the 20th which were in their 20’s. The review is broken down into sections for easier reading.

Here is our experience at this beautiful resort. Our stay was from April 26-May 3. Travel from the airport was approx. 20 mins. Check in went quite smooth considering there were probably about 100 people checking in at the same time. We were given our room within minutes although we were checking in at 11 am. Our room was on the first floor and had 2 double beds, having the whirlpool tub in the room was much better then on the decks we thought. We did have a few mosquitoes but have to say were not bothered by them. Housekeeping was good most of the time, although we did have a couple of days that we didn't receive water in the fridge and had to go and ask for it. Since you can't drink the water there I did have an issue with this. I saved several of the water bottles and filled them at the pool bar so we would have extras for teeth brushing as well as drinking. Also some days it was like pulling teeth to get face cloths. Other than these minor problems the rest of the week was fine. We shared our time between the beautiful beach and the pool and never had a problem finding 4 chairs for us. May have to go and look a couple up but what is the big deal with that, they are still saying that there are more chairs on order. Bar tenders Danny, Leonal (aka Lionel Richie Jr.), and Alexis are "A-1", make you any drink you want. Alsisos lobby bar was also another popular spot, where you can sit and be served and receive your drinks in real glasses. Also here is another place we found that you could get bottled water. Don't expect to get bottled water at the pool bar as they do not have it there but there are 2 large water coolers there that you can fill your cups up and the guys will give you ice to keep it cold. My biggest complaint was with the buffet, very difficult to get hot food, even when something new was just brought out of the kitchen it still was only luke warm, and also out of our 7 days there was only bacon 2 mornings, not a real big thing, but would have been nice to have. We ate at all 4 a la carts, myself I enjoyed them all. Didn't have any real problem getting seated, if you go around 6-6:30 you should be able to get in. Also remember you are on vacation so if you have to wait 1/2 hr. -1 hr. to eat, go grab a drink and relax. Have to try the steak at the shore grill it was to die for!!!! Also the beach restaurant has a great selection of chicken, pizza, fries, hambs.,etc. with salad stuff and an ice cream machine. There are markets on either side of the resort to the left a very short walk and to the right about a 15 min. walk, found the vendors very difficult to barter with this year, wasn't looking for much so did manage to get what we went for. All in all our week was fantastic, this is a beautiful resort and hopefully given some time the minor problems will be ironed out.

Arrival and Flight
Apple Vacations USA 3000 departed from Cleveland. Excellent Rooms
Loved our room # 2456. Nice view of the ocean, (if you looked past the vacant lot). We had the open wall into the bathroom which was weird but fine. I preferred the tub inside to the ones on the deck in the so called upgraded rooms. The cleaning service usually showed up right around the time we were returning from the beach to get ready for dinner. I never could figure that out.

We were a group of 18 and stayed at the Edenh Real April 19-27. I would say we all had a great time and got what we paid for…”It is what it is” a cheap vacation that got us all away from the cold !!! The ala carte reservation is not (in my opinion) acceptable. You have to start lining up at 5. The beach chair issue is just a joke. My husband and others in the group were up and on the beach By 5:30-6:00. if you did not play the game you did not get a chair. Overall we did have a nice relaxing week and enjoyed the beach and the nice warm sun. Would I go back? Probably not. Would I recommend? Yes, if the price was right. I think in time the resort will resolve the issues and it will truly be a 5 star. But right now I would give it a 3.5.

My boyfriend & I (25 & 26) stayed at the EdenH from April 19-26. In the grand scheme of things we had a wonderful vacation! If the price stays the same as when we bought our tickets we'd definitely return, but I can absolutely see the prices increase by this time next year so it probably won't happen. I'll break it down for you Flight (Sunwing): Good
Check-in: Good
Room: Good
Staff: Fantastic
Food: Good
Reservation system (or lack thereof): Needs a lot of improvement
Entertainment: Fair-Good
Beach: Fantastic
Pool: Fantastic

My wife, my sister and husband and I stayed at the Edenh form April 10th to the 24th. We booked through Sunquest Vacations, flying directly from Vancouver to the Dominican Republic on Air Transat. The flight was on time, with no problems. We arrived at the hotel at approximately 7PM, and proceeded to check in. Checking in was no problem, it was quick and easy, although they did try and upgrade us to the tune of an additional $350.00 per week. When we said no, they made the same offer but with a 50% discount. We refused this offer also. I find this a bit if an aggressive sales pitch. We were given our green bands and assigned our rooms. My wife and I got room 2370 and the others got room 2320. We got an upgraded room (without the additional benefits) while the other was the standard room.

My Trip to Edenh Real Arena was certainly one I wont forget.
Got there and check-in was a breeze- no problems
We left our luggage with the bell boy cause our rooms we not ready, we had something to eat and a few drinks while we waited. We went to our rooms when they were ready and after requesting a king size bed we got 2 double beds in our room. We complained and got switched to another room with a king size bed. The rooms werelovely but there was no privacy. The food I hated, and I became ill and had to stay in bed for 3 days. When I got better We did the Manati park tour and it was alright except my husband got stung by something and his finger swelled up twice it's normal size. That following day We had a Outback Safari Tour booked but my husband got violently ill. I tried to get our money back but there was no refund cause you have to give 48 hour notice. I went on the tour without him and we were out 75$ US. When my husband got better we had 2 days left to our trip, when the worst thing happened, I fell asleep and my husband woke me up to kill some of the many flies in our room, We did once open our patio door but when the maids come in to clean they would leave the doors open and the room would fill with flies. any how when I got up to get rid of the flies a HUGE COCKROACH was on my pillow, I went and moved from that room to another and then another until fianlly we found a room without a COCKROACH in it. The hotel did not say a thing...no sorry, no nothing only 2 coupons for 20 min of Spa massage on the beach...no thanks. I have to say this was my second trip to the Dominican Republic and the very last. I dont blame the workers nor take it out on them, they were all lovely people, the service was great. but i do blame the resort for posting such a nice resort as a 5 star when I would actually give it a 2 star. I Slept with the COCKROACHES
NEVER AGAIN!!!

Our group of 12 arrived on April 5th for our two week stay at the EdenH resort. Let me tell you I have been away on 10 other vacation down south and this by far was one of the best resorts I have ever stayed at!! (The best being The Grand Caribe Real in Mexico).

My wife and I along with three other couples arrived on March 31 and stayed for two weeks. We went with the upgraded package so check-in was in the VIP lounge and went very smooth. The staff was very friendly especially Rami. This is not his entire name but is what he wanted to be called. He took us to our room and made sure all was fine and bid us goodnight. He made a point to say if we needed anything during our stay to see him. Over the course of the next two weeks he proved to be the person to go to when we had questions or any concerns. If he could not answer our questions or directly take care of the issue, he always knew who to contact. Our room overlooked the pool and we had a partial view of the beach. The room was spacious and very clean. The housekeeping staff took great care to make sure the room was cleaned everyday. Service was excellent. Times that the room was cleaned varied but we attributed that to staff getting other rooms ready for new guests. The grounds were very clean and staff worked on the maintenance everyday. Staff seemed to always pick up any garbage they came across. One thing we did notice was the lack of garbage bins especially at the beach and pool area. The food was good and depending on where you ate was a personal preference. The beach grill was fine and the line up usually went quick. The food at the lunch hut was good and had a reasonable variety. We only went to the buffet a couple of times and the issue seemed to be with cleanliness around the food area. We went to all the restaurants and loved the Asian. The American and Italian were good as well. We did not go back to the French restaurant because the food was not too our liking. There is no doubt that the reservation issue needs to be addressed. Having to be at a restaurant door to line up every evening at 6:00 was a pain to say the least. It made for a hectic rush from the pool to the room to getting ready each evening. Our last few days we resorted to ordering room service to avoid having to line-up for dinner. A special note on the staff. We found them to be very friendly and hard working. Due to the lack of sufficient staff and the restaurant situation they took some unnecessary criticism. We would like to mention a couple of staff who we found exceptional. I have already referred to Rami above and the others would be Carlos (2) and Ramone who took great care of us at the VIP pool area. They always had smiles, made sure our glass was full and appreciated our friendship. We ate at the Italian restaurant for breakfast each morning and was given excellent service by Eddy. Each time we ate at the American restaurant, Jose was there to greet us and provide great service. The Sports and Tandra bars were a great place to relax but at times were crowded and bar service was slow. We attributed this to lack of staff. Also it would have been nice to have an on-site disco to do some dancing. We were not into going off the resort for nightlife. In conclusion we did have some issues but nothing that ruined our vacation. Our first morning we discovered that the shower did not work. We made a call to the front desk and went on our way. When we got back that lunch time it had been fixed. One of the couples had air conditioning problems that were never fixed. The issue of the restaurants needs to be addressed. We did have to take a beeper and we went to the bar until called. We leaned after that all the seats were not taken and this seemed to be the norm. It was attributed once again to lack of staff.

I am a Travel agent from New York; we were at this hotel April 11-18. What you read is true. I wonder if the owners read the reviews and do something about. I thought the restaurant food and beverage manager was very rude to the guests and staff alike and I witnessed some very unprofessional behavior on his part. Look like hi own the restaurant, no respect to the guest very nasty personality if hi can say to the guest “I kick you of from restaurant” This hotel has half the facilities it needs to service the amount of guests it holds. You do not need a business degree to see that 200 beach chairs and twice the wait staff would help guests overlook the other deficiencies.
The lack of facilities does not make for a relaxing holiday. At the beach by 06:00 to get a beach chairs. Always 10-15 people in line for an omelet. Lunch at the beach 15-20 people in line for the grill. Most resorts take reservations for diner in this resort you get the beeper and wait, but this restaurant half empty when you get in. Once again its line up and wait.
The staff is very friendly, but you can see that they are frustrated and looking for tips from guest So, there are too many other better hotels to go to, never recommend to anyone

Check in was easy. Our room faced the swamp but was not a problem as we only sleep in the room and gone all day. Every night about 6:30 water poured out of the ceiling around the light fixture. We reported it but no action was taken or any response. There was a constant language barrier if you complained. Room cleanup was done daily but most of the time after 5PM when you are getting cleaned up from the days events. Mosquitoes were present every day. A can of Raid helped. There were a constant supply of flies on the food in the buffet. There didn't appear to be any attempt to keep them away.
Chicken was usually available and was usually fully cooked , more than I can say about the other meats .Hamburger was always raw on the inside. The vegetables were not always clean as there was dirt in the cauliflower and broccoli on three occasions. Coffee was slow being served but when it came you were entertained by the server. In the a la carte restaurants the Asian was very good.The American was take what you get as there was no consistency to what you order. Medium well ment anything from rare to well done. The French was not that enjoyable as the waiters were arguing and loud. I never got the coffee I ordered. Bar service was slow even when you tipped regularly. The lobby bar is a big echo chamber and the service is very poor. Twice we gave our order and it never arrived. You could die of thirst before you get a drink. The chair situation will last forever as the pool area is no big enough for the volume of people. More chairs would only create more problems walking. The beach is nice with mostly sand and little rocks. They attempt to keep the seaweed cleaned up as it washes in constantly. They don't maintain the rule that any beach chairs that have towels or other personal item on them will have them removed at 7AM if not occupied. One security officer did remove items from a few unused chairs once during the week. I know we are in their country but if they are going to advertise for us to rent their facilities in English, then there should be some effort to have more English or whatever language spoken by more of their staff. Their attempt at entertainment was quite often the sound of drums which is very nerve racking. One night in the buffet they had the constant sound of a loud drum that never changed. Drums with a band is fine but solo is unbearable. For me the resort was no ready to have guests as they were constantly replacing tiles in the hallways and the walls and painting was not complete. A major attitude adjustment of a large portion of the staff is needed. Check out was easy but then who else is up before 6AM at a resort.

My husband and I stayed at EdenH from March 13 – 20 and I will admit I was nervous going with the reviews being all over the place.

We spent a week at this resort in April. We had read a lot of negative reviews and had thought about switching resorts. We did decide to go there and wish we had not. We had a reasonable time and enjoyed the lovely weather and a chance to get away together but we did not care for this resort. The rooms (Paradise Club) are quite spacious and well appointed but some of views from the balconies leave a lot to be desired. Rooms with views over the construction area should be discounted not sold as premium rooms. There were some issues with plumbing in our room and the room next to us. Maintenance tried to fix them but without much success. There are 4 floors on each building and you can use the stairs or elevators. The elevators have a very strange smell. I had to hold my breath. Better to take the stairs. There are 4 pools including a large main pool (excluding the children's wading pool) with bars at each of them. The tile at the bottom of the pools is a rusty yellow which gives the water a greenish hue rather than the turquoise blue most pools have. But they were clean and did not smell of chlorine. There is a significant lack of chairs at this resort and people get up very early to claim their chairs. The buffet was adequate with salad bar, bread bar, dessert bar, pasta station and carvery as well as a long counter with pre made dishes (duplicated on the other side). The buffet is very institutional in nature. The A La Carte seating system is cumbersome and unnecessary. Rather than pre-booking reservations ( like at every other resort I have been to), they ask you to line up, fully dressed for dinner to get a spot. If they don't have a table they "may" give you a blinker which lights up when a table is ready. This system is not consistent. Our blinker never lit up - we just went back and usually at some point they would seat us. The hostesses seemed very stressed and disorganized. They never crossed names off after they seated people so they had no idea where they were at. Some guests were going on lists at several a la cartes and taking the first one they got called for. If you wish to eat at the sushi bar you can go right into the Asian restaurant. Otherwise you wait for both the Hibachi tables and the a la carte menu tables. The biggest line ups were for this restaurant. The food was fair to good (hit and miss) at the a la cartes and many of the items on the menus are not available. There is a lunch area near the pools and a barbecue on the beach. The lunch restaurant was very busy with long lineups for food. It serves hot dogs and hamburgers and chicken as well as salads and some side dishes like baked potatoes. The barbecue was never that busy. A lady with a big canoe full of fruit is located near the big pool and you can get fresh fruit on a skewer. The drinks at the bars are very weak and service is very slow. They do not have enough bar staff to accommodate all the guests at this at capacity resort. There is a lobby bar which again is very loud - you can't hold a conversation and a sports bar which is quieter (go figure) plus the casino where you can get a drink while you play. The rooftop bar opens late but is quite pleasant and is open to the evening breezes. It gets very busy however and there was only 1 bartender trying to serve all those people. The pool areas are very noisy with loud repetitive music on the speakers all day. There is no quiet area. The beach is nice, deep but not wide and fairly packed with people and chairs. Very few people actually swimming in the ocean. Wavy water, soft sandy bottom and lots of seaweed. They do water aerobics, regular aerobics and step aerobics here as well as dance lessons and tile painting. Once a day a couple dressed up in costume walk around the pools to see if you will pay to get a picture taken with them. Entertainment was pretty good at the EdenH, not your typical audience participation shows except for one night. The biggest thing we missed at this resort was a nice quiet area to read a book, enjoy the sunshine and have a cocktail. The only place was our room or balcony. People have different vacation expectations and for party people this resort might be for them. We had expected a classier atmosphere to this resort but it is very touristy. There is no tropical feel to this resort, there are few natural materials, all man made materials - fake rattan. We missed having a quiet pool with no loud music and not having to get up ridiculously early to reserve a chair. The pink bracelet does not help you here. We also disliked the a la carte dining system. We hated having to dress and report for dinner at such an early hour. We would not go back to this resort. We have been to much better resorts and frankly for less or equal money.

Travel Agent Just Returned from Edenh I Just returned from a 7 night stay from April 5th - 12th 2008.
I am a travel agent and have stayed at over 30 different All Inclusive properties throughout Caribbean and Mexico. The Good
The resort has beautiful beach and pools
The Staff is very friendly and hardworking
The Food Quality is good and pretty normal for 5 star rating The Bad
Since the resort is new they are working thru construction issues
Bad plumbing and electrical work done by original construction
Management has issues with the lack of Dinner Reservation System and Inability to easily get beach and pool chairs.
The entire 7 night stay, I was not able to get a chair at beach or pool
My feeling is the resort is at total 100 capacity and some of these issues would not be visable if the resort was 75% full
The evening entertainment was boring and the latenite Euro Disco was just wierd These items did not completely ruin my trip, but I would have been much happier to spend a few hundred extra dollars and not have the hassle.
If you could change to another resort without any penalty, I would, otherwise be prepared.

We (young 40's couple w/o children who travel frequently) stayed at the Eden H Arena, Punta Cana April 1st -6, 2008. This resort was fabulous, the room was elegant, very clean, and well stocked. We have stayed at "4-5 star resorts" that aren't this elegant, paid more and were not as satisfied. Check in was a breeze. The room was exceptionally clean (OCD) attractively decorated, with a pass through wall from the bathroom with Jacuzzi tub for 2 to the bedroom (romantic for a couple, and eye appealing).The room has a stocked refrigerator with coke, diet coke, sprite, bottled water, El Presidente beer and an in room coffee maker. The staff were very attentive to your personal needs, and tipping felt worthwhile, appropriate, and very appreciated. The food was excellent quality, (I was able to creatively find ways to accommodate my personal taste food that had a hotter temperature,at the buffet, by having eggs fresh cooked) the staff was very friendly in all areas. We enjoyed all the restaurants (Asian our personal favorite with even more exceptional service) and if we had to wait for dinner we would stop by one of the bars for a cocktail enjoy the surroundings, and wait to be buzzed. The grounds of the hotel and beach were very clean, well groomed, and we felt very safe and secure. This is a gem of resort. We would not hesitate to stay or recommend this resort. What a wonderful vacation. Now for Airlines, We would NOT recommend flying Spirit Airlines as a part of the package (miserable experience) We would recommend paying more to fly a different airline due to delays, detours, added stops not on itinerary, lost luggage. Spirit's new policy of charging $20.00 per bag both ways ($10.00 if you pre schedule your luggage not mentioned found out from a guest at hotel after the fact ).Spirit Airlines made us feel like we should be grateful to have our luggage lost for 2 days (still not here) and have to pay an additional $120.00 to have this great experience .Spirits personnel are not friendly, in fact down right rude, and have an I don't care attitude in almost all areas.This airline left a very bad taste on our vacation. If you have a choice I recommend Jet Blue we have had great experience with them, next time I will take my own advice on choosing a different airline (if jet blue not available I will try any other airline), I don't believe that any company should treat it customers in this manner, even if they are a cheap airline. I guess their attitude is you get what you pay for and Spirit Airlines intends on treating you cheaply.

My husband and I arrived on Sunday March, 30 for a seven day stay. We were not disappointed by choosing this resort. It is definitely top notch. Beach and pool areas are very nice. I don’t think there is a shortage of pool or beach chairs if guests would stop staking their claim for hours at a time. We did manage to find a few palapas’ during the day but no beach chairs (plenty to see with no-one on them except towels). We enjoyed all the a la cartes especially the American and Hibachi and also had an a la carte breakfast in the Italian Restaurant. We had pink bracelets and had the in room Lobster dinner and complimentary massages. Our room was on the first floor. Dealt with the mosquitos during the week (approximately 10 in all). I was bitten twice. The ambiance at this resort is certainly my style. The only complaints I have are not with the resort and staff but with some guests and their attitudes toward staff. The outright rudeness (in the a la carte and beach restaurant) and inappropriate behavior at the main pool were disheartening for us spectators. Sure everyone is there to have a good time but a little courtesy, patience and common sense goes a long way. Would I choose this resort again? Yes. I must say that all staff work very hard and long hours. We especially liked Ramon at the Paradise Club Bar. He is so sincere and charming.

My husband , 13 year old son and I just returned yesterday (April 5) and we had a fantastic time at the Edenh. This place is incredible! We had an Air Transat package (standard room with great view and a few perks) that entitled us to a yellow bracelet. We were able to check in at the Paradise Cub section on the right and it was very smooth. Loved the room (put a shower curtain up in the space between the bathroom and the main room like others) and especially the amount of storage space and the beautiful wood from South America. The animation staff was great . We took part in water aerobics, intro to scuba, dancing, tile painting, flower arranging and cocktail mixing and really enjoyed. The beach is gorgeous and we managed to get chairs under a palapa almost every day even when we arrived on the late side. It was very windy most of the time we were there so it seemed that the chairs by the pool were the most popular. Loved the drinks - tried all the ones people have been talking about plus. My favorites were the margarita, mango colada, spanish coffee and dominican sunrise. The house wines were very good too. Alexis at the swim up bar was very entertaining - don't know how you can dance with a full glass of beer on your head but he did it! Oh and they have an adult and kid's drink of the day (listed in their newsletter) and my son enjoyed many of the kid's concoctions. The food was very good and we never once had a problem getting into the restaurants. Many days we lined up for 20 minutes before the restaurant opened and had no issue at all. It really looked like the only bottleneck was was the Hibachi show at the Asian restaurant. Try table service at the Asian if you have difficulty getting the hibachi show. Our favorites were the Asian restaurant and the Italian restaurant. My favorite shows were the Jazz/Swing show and La Cirque. There was a Las Vegas style dance review that was very well done too. For those of you about to go to the EdenH have a great time!

My husband and I stayed at Eden H from March 27 - April 3. This resort is absolutely fabulous. We were not sure what to expect due to a few negative comments, however, we could not find one single problem with this resort. Check in and check out was very quick. The staff was very friendly, and very helpful. The rooms were top notch and kept cleaned. The mini fridge was refilled every day with coke, diet coke, sprite and beer. the food was great. We ate at every restaurant, and enjoyed each of them. The only issue I ran into was asking for well cooked steak (which when they served it, there was a lot of pink/red) We had no problems getting in right away as we usually ate at 6:30 pm which is when they opened. The bars were great. All the restaurants and bars were air-conditioned which was very nice to walk into after being in the heat for a few hours. We did not see any major problems with getting chairs. We always seemed to find two chairs to sit on. They allow people to reserve the chairs for an hour, but after that your towel can be removed. It seemed the pool was busier in the afternoon, so we tried the pool in the morning and the beach in the afternoon which worked out great. I would highly recommend this resort, and hope to go back again next year, although I highly doubt the price will be the same.

Stayed at Eden H from March 19-26.... truly a great place. Don't listen to negative reviews. Check in was fast, within 10 minutes. Room was awesome, brand new. Safe, lots of closets, and huge jacuzzi bath tub and separate shower. We were with our 15 year old so took a shower curtain with us and hung between bathroom and bedroom opening. Fit perfectly. Toilet and shower were totally private. View from balcony was awesome even though we never had much time to enjoy as there was so much to do. Quiet and relaxing. Beach was superb. No broken glass or seaweed. Chairs were not a problem. I would get up at 5:45 a.m. and reserve with our own towels. Only last day when new group of tourists arrived did we encounter a problem. Several came down and threw our towels in the sand and took our chairs because we were not there but eating breakfast. I believe once your chair is saved one has the right to go for walks on the beach, lunch or whatever they might have to do and it is nobody's business. If you want a beach chair then get up early like everyone else. No problem with chairs by pool. The food was enjoyable. None of us were sick. The staff were extremely friendly and we made lots of friends. The room was always cleaned early and fridge stocked. We had no complaints. Loved it. The only problem we could see are some visitors that complain constantly about nothing. In past reviews, some complained about elevators not working. Well that occassionally happens and when it does just walk twenty steps to the next elelvator ( I believe there are 5 in each building). Some complained about no light coverings on some lights in the hallways. Trust me, your holiday will be so enjoyable, most would not evewn notice or care. Regarding a la cartes, waiting for 30 -45 minutes to get in each evening... well in many cities I have visited, I have had to wait longer. So the tip is just to relax, smile and enjoy. If one is genuinely friendly, the staff will love meeting you.

My 5 cents My boyfriend and I (both 22) stayed at EdehH from March 24th through 31st. Here is the description of our great vacation...

we had a great week-long vacation at the edenH (3/23-3/30). there were 2 adults, 2 kids (ages 8, 5) in our group. kids' club was nice. food in buffet/restaurants/beach area was decent. clean resort. nice, friendly staff. beach chairs hard to come by after early morning (6-7 a.m.). no atm (money machine) in resort, so bring enough cash to last entire vacation.

Don't let the negative reviews put you off - this is a fabulous resort. We almost bailed out but are so happy that we didn't. The resort is beautiful and the people working there are amazing. Yes there is a problem with the beach chairs but a lot of it is "greed" - people want the beach and pool and save both locations all day long. We found that security were walking around the beach area and anyone who was trying to save their chairs prior to 7 am - had their towels removed unless of course that they were actually sitting on the beach chairs. When we were in Cuba last year we also had to get up at 6 am to try and gets seating at the pool or beach so it is common at a lot of resorts. I'm sure when the shipment of new chairs arrive that it will alleviate this problem. We purchased and paid extra for the concierge package (pink bracelet) through AirTransat - and although it gave us a little extra service - we did not see any discrimination against those with yellow or green bands. We did get premium liquor but just like everyone else we had to line up for the ala carte restaurants. The Asian restaurant which seem to be the most popular has three sitting for the hibachi cooking tables: first sitting is at 6:30 second sitting is at 7:45 and final sitting is at 9:15 - you do not necessarily have to sit at the cooking tables there are also individual tables available where you can order from the menu - the cooking tables are quite entertaining though. For the individual tables you are given a beeper and then a table becomes available you are contacted through the beeper.....

EdeNH Feb 4-18th. Husband and I thought we'd try out the new resort, mainly we got a really good deal for two weeks. Flight out of Toronto was normal, arrival in Punta Cana excellent. We didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes for our bags, total time in the airport was approx 30 minutes. Shuttle to resort was uneventfully approx 20 minutes. Hubby would have liked to have beer on the shuttle, as usual when we travel, but nothing was available. Arrival at the resort was quick as their were only 8 of us. There were no welcome drinks for us as we arrived about 11pm. Victor our bell boy showed us where everything was on our walk to our room 2238. Mosquitoes well a few but in two weeks there were no more that 10 but coming from canada we see more than that in 30 minutes at that temp. First floor had a few more, but they fogged everynight and would give up a can of spray for your room.

Returned last night from a wonderful week at Edenh Resort. Had a fabulous vacation! The food was excellent, drinks cold, beautiful beach and pool areas. We flew Sunwing out of Charlottetown, which I would rate as fair at best. Staff really go out of their way to make sure that you have a great time!

Hi, ,just like to give a quick review,on this resort.We just returned from there(EdenH Real) with 2 other couples Mar 13-20..This place is excellent in just about everyway,food was top notch,bar service was excellent with bartenders entertaining you with there humor.The room service was perfect and very quick. The resort was spotless and the rooms were as well.The main buffet was fantastic,the four restaurants were very good, but sometimes you had to wait a little longer to get in(its on first come first serve basis.)They would give you a light box to take with you and they would buzz it when they are ready for you,so we would relax and take a drink at the bar.A couple of small issues of a place just getting started but no big deal(ie elevator repair,airconditioning not real cold in one of the three rooms)beach was very nice and the pools were too,all the staff were pleasant and a delight to be around. We ate at the steak house three times the steaks were the best we had ever eaten. We had been reading reveiws and were getting a little bit weary about the resort after reading some of the negative reviews. I want to say that the people that wrote all those bad reviews must have been very unlucky with every aspect of their trip or there is just no way to please them anyway. I would recommend this resort to anyone and would definiatly not hesitate to return there again. Some reviews we read talked about how bad the flies were we never had any in our room, we stayed in room,2408. The only flies I seen were around some of the food outside and that was not often. Some people complained about some of the rooms had the bathroom open to the room... ours did but we did not mind it at all after all most couples were there with your spouse or partener.The toilet and shower area has a frosted door in front of you with a double whirlpool tub to one side ..What is the big deal!! When ever we ordered room service they were knocking on the door with 5 to 10 minutes and the food was great! One of the couples with us have been to Porta Plata, Mexico, Hawaii, Florida and they said they have no regrets either and would definitly return. They said some places they stayed in that were 4 and 5 star were not as nice.If you want the perfect place go to heaven,they say its perfect there......

We stayed at the Edenh from March 8 – 15th 2008. Our stay was beyond fantastic and our only complaint is that by this time next year we won’t be able to afford to stay there again!! We arrived at the hotel at approximately 5:30pm, our check in was smooth with absolutely no problems, the bell boy took our bags up to our second floor room in building two facing the pool. We booked a standard deluxe room (green bracelets) and were staying in a room with the open view from living and bathing areas. This did not effect out stay as we are a young couple in our 20’s, but I do understand how this could be uncomfortable for a family/friends sharing a room. Two couples that we met on our 25 -30 min bus ride to the hotel did have trouble with check-in as the hotel had not placed their faxed reservations into the computer system yet, they told us this was rectified and were in there rooms within an hour or so. From start to finish we were in our rooms within 20 minutes. Our room was clean and spacious, with lots of clothing and storage space. Each day our room was cleaned by 4:30pm when we came up from the pool area. We received clean towels everyday and facecloths 2 out of the 7 days we were there… No problem, if we needed to wash/dry our faces we used one of the two hand towels we were given each day. Each day we received the same amount of fresh towels as we had used. ie) we used two towels, we got two new towels!! Our room was stocked with 4 towels, 2 near the shower and 2 above the Jacuzzi. The bathroom was equipped with one small garbage can that was placed inside the toilet stall which I moved from inside the stall to just outside the stall door and the maid had no problem leaving it there all week. Because the garbage is small, we placed our empty water/pop bottles and cans on top of the bar and that seemed to leave an appropriate amount of space in the can for other types of waste. The maids do leave the doors open while they clean (understandably) and the mosquitoes do come into the room. On average we killed between 5-10 mosquitoes per day after the maid had been in our room. After we had “violently ended their lives” (as I read in another review!), we were mosquito free for the rest of the evening. If we happened to be in our room for an extended amount of time I would light a citronella candle in our room which seemed to help a little. One day after the sea had gotten the best of my boyfriend, we spent the afternoon holed up in our room with the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, the maid service did not disturb us but did leave a note under the door stating that they had come to clean our room but didn’t because of our sign and if we required any towels or amenities to call guest services and they would be brought to us. One day we requested more water from the bar re-stocker and he had no problem giving us more than enough water bottles, we tipped him 1us dollar for his generosity and each day after that we received extra water. To be clear we did not tip to get the water, we asked politely and without demand and received our request, AFTER we received the service we tipped. Tip of advice fold up a piece of paper and slide into the electricity slot near the door in place of one of your room keys to keep your electricity/AC running, this will save you from having to reset your clock radio everyday. The grounds are beautiful, well kept and clean. Once the flowers and shrubs have grown more they will be magnificent. The fountains and water throughout the property are a nice touch, adds serenity to the atmosphere. The pools are beautiful, with a tranquil green hue. With mention of the pool brings me to the beach chairs. Each morning we would go down to the pool anywhere between 8:30 - 10:30am and would place our towels and belongings on two chairs. We generally did not have a problem finding two chairs, sometimes together sometimes not, but all you have to do is drag them together! One morning closer to 11, we couldn’t find any chairs and just as we were about to suck it up and lay on the pool deck, a nice couple graciously offered a chair that they had saved for their young son who was not using it. I had brought a blow up air pool mattress from home to use in the pool (it was great to place over top of the in-pool lounger for added comfort) just in case I had to use that to an alternative to a pool chair. One morning I woke up at 7:30am to save two chairs on the beach, once again they weren’t together in the same spot but all I did was drag those suckers together! As I was moving the chairs, a security guard came over and helped me move them. One couple we talked with, who had been at the resort for one week already had mentioned that he had noticed a difference in the chairs wars. He said the week before we arrived the chair saving had been very bad and that you couldn’t find a chair by 7:30am, but the week we had arrived, he said he noticed a younger crowd and that there were more chairs available later in the morning. The chair saving game is quite bad, but you can easily select the few who ruin it for everyone, I would observe hours going by with no body sitting in chairs that had been saved earlier than when we ventured down to the pool… I guess you really can’t teach old dogs new tricks. All the specialty restaurants were delicious; we ate at all 4 restaurants each night, 3 times at the Asian (twice ala carte, once habatchi grill). Each night we would go down to the restaurants between 7:30 – 8:30 pm and receive a beeper with a wait between 30 - 45 minutes. One night when we went to the Asian we were able to walk right in at about 8:30pm for the ala carte seating. By our second night at the resort we realized we were going to have to line up for the hibatchi seating, so we asked the hostess Lorenza, who is actually very nice and accommodating if you talk to her with a little bit of respect and patience, told us we should line up at about 6:00pm to “reserve” a time for the hibatchi. We waited in line for 30 – 40 mins, had a drink and enjoyed the warm breeze. We decided not dress for dinner while we waited because we knew we wanted an 8:00pm seating at the habatchi, therefore we wore our beach attire, I was wearing a dress bathing suit cover up and flip flops and my boyfriend was wearing shorts, t-shirt and flip flops. Please take note that if you decide to use this advice, Lorenza WILL NOT let men make reservations in shorts, she would only let me approach her to make the reservation, which was fine by us. We then went back to our room to shower and dress for dinner. CRISIS SOLVED! The Italian restaurant had very good food my Italian boyfriend even commented that it was almost as good as his moms cooking! I think one of the main problems with the restaurant seating is that guests are lining up 1-2 hours before the restaurant opens, if I was standing in line for an hour before a restaurant even opened I would be pretty grumpy by the time I got to eat too, and that doesn’t even guarantee you a seat in the restaurant depending on how many people were in line before you! If guests trickled down between 6:15 – 6:30pm, instead of mass truck loads of guests hoarding the doors for hours I believe a lot more guests would be satisfied with the no reservation policy, not everybody rushes down to the local steak restaurant exactly at 4pm because that’s what time it opens at…common sense people…not everybody can eat at 6:30! We would have either a late lunch or light snack from the beach buffet, where we could always find something to satisfy our cravings, and that would tide us down until we ate later in the evening. We had no complaints with the bars or bartenders, we saw no preference between green and pink bands, and frankly during the day the “pinkies” should have nothing to complain about as they have two bars just to themselves! One night in the sports bar, I felt as though the bartender was “looking past me”, so I patiently waited (5-7mins) but did not feel that it was appropriate to tip someone who had served people that had come after me first. That was the only semi-rude service we received all week. We found one gem of a bartender, aside from Alexis the swim-up bartender, named Miguel, he was fabulous always had a smile on his face, always shook our hands each time we cam to see him and always remembered our drinks. He worked in the lobby bar, or outside during the shows closest to the casino. The shows were very entertaining and what seemed to be quite original to our resort, we found the start time to be perfect, by the time we finished dinner and got a drink it was Showtime. One night there were not enough chairs so we politely asked an employee to get us four chairs and he did, as well some for other guests who had asked. All in all, I think a lot of the negative feedback this resort is receiving is not because of management not knowing how to run a resort its management not knowing how to deal with the rude American/Canadian way! A smile and a hola goes a long way…if your ideal vacation is to go to a resort and be treated with respect and gratitude, soak up the sun and enjoy the company of your travel companions, this place is for you…if your ideal vacation is to stay at a resort and be waited on hand and foot, with Egyptian cotton sheets and gourmet meals by wolf gang go to the nearest four seasons, because you wont find that in the Dominican Republic and no resort will make you happy. To those of you going to the Edenh soon go and enjoy it, and stop reading Trip Advisor, once you get there you will realize how much of your precious time you wasted listening to the petty complaints of others. It really was a standing joke with many of the guests about the “complaints” on Trip Advisor.

Arrival and Flight Feb 18- Mar 3....no problems with the flight

We we're booked Air Transat from Toronto with the Mirage Concierge package. We we're scheduled to depart 530pm but when I called to confirm my flight it was delayed to 650pm...Sad start. We went to Toronto airport and quickly checked through to the gate waiting to get on the plane. Everything went smooth and we arrived in Punta Cana at 1130pm. Luggage wait was about 30 minutes on two different converyor belts which was confusing. About 350 people looking for bags which didnt help matters. All the bags arrived, which was good, and we headed for the outdoors trying to figure out which bus to get on. People going in every direction. There is a little Air Transat desk you have to go line up at just before you go outside that tells you which bus number to go find for the EdenH. The trip from the airport to the EdenH is about 15 minutes. The bus was filled with about 50 people all tired and excited. We arrived at the EdenH and then they wouldnt let us off the bus! You have to wait til the luggage gets removed before you get off, which seemed very weird to me at the time. They let us off the bus and then there is a mad scramble to find you bags to go check in. I told my wife to head inside and line up to check in. Its's almost 1am in the morning and I wasnt in the mood to line up for an hour to check in. While my wife was inside I find my bags and they wont let me take them inside. I had to leave them outside and they wouldnt give me a reason why...Getting frustrated... Anyways I head inside and my wife is 2nd in line to get checked in so things we're looking up...or so I thought...We then get told that our reservation was Mirage Concierge and that our check in was over to the other side on the lobby. We hoof it over there and of course we are last in line behind 10 other couples...Anyways, we check in and things got better from there. We have an eight year old daughter and she was getting quite tired. I then find out the reason the luggage is left outside is a bellboy drives you to your room, which was nice. The only thing is I wish this was explained to us on the bus with the tour guide that was there. Anyways things to know, when you get off the bus forget about your luggage, go check in, Concierge to the room on the right and regular guests to the counter on the left. Then go get your luggage and get dropped off at your room.....Simple We got to our room around 230am. Room was nice, about 3 mosquitoes which I made quick work of. Bathroom was seperate and was nice. Jacuzzi on the balcony and 2 double beds. There was a fruit plate waiting plus grey pool towels, bath robes, and slippers. We ordered room service which was nice and it showed up about 15 minutes later. The TV setup was interesting, LCD tv with Amercian Dishnetwork setup, 100 channels, with about 70% of them in Spanish. Finding something to watch was never to hard. Some disney channels for our kid which was good. The whole week the room was very well maintained and kept very clean by the staff, our room was cleaned everyday by 12 and always a fresh supply of towels, facecloths and Bar fridge restocked. I did find tho that leaving 5 one dollar bills instead of a single 5 got things extra nice. I dunno but the one dollar bills are much better accepted than the five dollar bills. I gave several 5 dollar tips and didnt get much thanks, but gave several 3 one dollar tips and they we're all over me...go figure...i am glad for their sake the US dont make a 10 cent bill. :) Every night as well there was a turn down service that cleaned our room, set out our slippers, turned on the romantic music channel, and put out chocolates next to our beds. It was very nice and very appreciated. It was always a nice surprise Let me say this to try and sum up alot of typing...The food was FANTASTIC....Everything I tried I loved. The Festival Buffet was fantastic for every meal. The buffet by the pool with lunch snacks were awesome as well. All the food from the chicken to the vegetables tasted like home if not better. We tried the 4 A La Carte and enjoyed the food very much. The complaint with the food is lack of service. The few staff they have working there try very, very hard. It was hit and miss if we would get decent service in any of the locations to eat. For the A La Carte restaurants the lack of no reservations suck. Everyday people complained heavily in the lineups and outside the doors. You have to be lined up no later than 6pm or you will not get in til 830pm -9pm. Which didnt bother me to much cause eating 9pm didnt bother me to much cause it gave me time to drink up a nice buzz before I ate. The thing that irritated me more is the fact that there are very frustrated people waiting outside and every A La Carte restaurant we we're in had almost half of the tables empty the whole while we we're in there. The problem again is lack of servers. Not Enough by far. I will say the few that are there try their best. Thankfully tho the food was awesome which alleviated alot of frustration on my part, if the food sucked it would have made the experience miserable. Anyways, moving on... It amazed me the cleanliness of the pools. The pools and beach we're immaculate all the time. The beach chair situation around the pool was never a problem. However at the beach for the week I was there I never got a chair or seen one empty for the whole time I was down there.
No where near the amount of chairs at the beach as there should be. Everyday they cook down at the beach and there is a little dory full of water and soft drinks. The beach was very very nice as many other reviewers have spoken about. The evening entertainment was just average, we have an eight year old and she didnt enjoy much but the magic show and the circus act. The other nights with the music and entertainment to us was just plain boring. If you are between 25-40 expect to be bored with shows. It was geared more for an older 40-65 crowd which there we're plenty of. I hope I dont offend anyone. :) We went to the Tanhtra bar several times in the 11pm time frame and it was empty. It was weird cause it seemed like it would have been a good spot to party. Maybe we we're there to early. Like I said we have an 8 year old and we usually we're in bed by 12. What else to say....One thing to mention is several days in our room, and the elevator, a very strong odor similiar to cat piss. Irritated the hell out of my wife, we would open the balcony door for 20 minutes to clear the air. Im guessing it was the odor from fumagation of the mosquitoes. Still tho, quite a strong smell which seemed so out of place. Check out and flight home we're non eventful. Overall I would rate the vacation 8.0. The high mark with the quality of the food. It would be a 5.0-6.0 with just decent food.

Four of us stayed an the new Edenh resort from March 12th to the 19th. We booked the rooms in October after reading descriptions from Apple and Funjet. We chose the "adult club rooms and were very glad we did. The VIP check in was quick and easy. We were taken to our rooms within a few minutes. We weren't impressed with the room location (facing a construction fence) but since they were near the beach we decided not to ask for a change. We suffered none of the mechanical failures that seemed to be so widespread in previous reviews, nor did we hear of any from other guests. I did kill five mosquitos during the week and the couple we traveled with found about a dozen. This really isn't a big deal after the reports of swarms being ready to carry you off if you ventured outside. The news letter did announced spraying schedules but we only noticed the smell once. All in all we found most of the rants to be way overblown. The chair problem and the restaurant reservation system have yet to be resolved to the satisfaction of the guests and I don't think the reservation will be solved any time soon. The latest rumor seems to be the current system has been imposed for one year by those evil corporate executives. Oh well, at least he chairs are supposedly waiting to clear customs. We did have to get to the beach well before sunrise, not to get lounge chairs, but to get a front row palapas. You can place towels on a chair to reserve it BUT you must remain there till 7:00am or the security people will remove your towels and other belongings. Trying to bribe the guards doesn't work either as we saw one guard vanish never to be seen again after one incident. The beach is the reason to stay at the Edenh. The water is far calmer than the resorts further north. I think this is due to the shallow areas off shore. I scraped the rudders on the sailboats on the bottom in a few places at least a quarter mile from shore. The staff removes the accumulated sea grass every morning before nine and the sand was groomed by machine twice while we were there. The beach is quite wide and there doesn't seem to be any overcrowding. The pool areas, except the "club pools" are filled with people very early and it is difficult to find seating. As to the rest of the resort, the grounds are still being planted and enhanced, the fountains still being tested and adjusted. We found no unpaved walks and no major construction. The restaurant food had a good variety and did not all taste the same as we've found in some other all inclusive's. We went to the Japanese and the steak house and had excellent meals a t each. I will say if you're expecting Chicago Steak House quality you will be disappointed(Ruths Chris it ain't). I will not rate this resort as a five star because at present it is not. That said, I can see the potential for the property to grow into one. The ocean front suits will offer a very attractive level of luxury to guests willing it pay for the view and amenities.

"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:

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Had a fantastic time! So relax people!!!!
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!

Golf -

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

We had the privilege and honour to stay at this resort from Feb 1-8th 2008. My fiancée (now wife) and I were the first to get married at this resort. I have been to a few true 5 star resorts in the past. Secrets Excellence Mayan Riviera and Riu Palace Mayan Riviera. At this moment I would consider this resort a 4.5 star and will be a 5.5 this time next year. I have read some negative reviews on this resort. They are ridiculous! We saved money knowing it was under construction. Before booking you should always do some research on the resort you are paying for. Construction should be done by mid April 2008. Unfortunately the people complaining are princesses and should have never booked this resort in the first place. I am sure that some of the people complaining about this resort would probably be upset with the 7 star hotel in Dubai. The only negatives were 1. The negative whiners, which dwelled about their little issues for their entire vacation. Chill people, it is really hard to sit on the beach with a drink and enjoy the weather. If you spent hours in your room then sleep on the beach or stay home. 2. Having to get up at 7am to reserve a chair. Keep in mind some people would reserve a chair and never show up or show up mid afternoon. The resort is working on the problem. I counted 5 mosquitoes in one week. There were some people upset because Signature vacations sold a bunch of packages but forgot to notify the resort. So a busload of people had to go elsewhere. As for the staff speaking English, well we are going to their country not the other way around. Some staff was very fluent in English and all staff tried hard to make you happy. The hostesses at the al a Carte restaurants should definitely speak better English. Now for the good stuff We eloped to Eden. Ruth the wedding coordinator greeted us. >From the initial handshake with her until we left was absolutely amazing. We will be back. If you are thinking of having wedding in the Dominican pick this resort. Ruth the wedding coordinator was very professional, polite and most of all patient. We sat down a few hours after we arrived and went over the details of the wedding. What can I say; the room, beach and bars were amazing. The Asian restaurant was the best and then the Italian. The wedding was smoooooooth. My soon to be wife arrived on the beach via a dressed up golf cart. The setup was AWESOME! We did elope so we were by ourselves. We ended up having 70 people that we did not know standing around taking pictures and clapping. We had a 3-man band walk behind us, which was fantastic. The judge spoke Spanish and Ruth translated it for us. Jorge the photographer, that Ruth recommended, took some of the best photos we have ever seen especially for a wedding. As we walked around the resort taking our pictures people would be clapping and saying congratulations. I would like to thank all of you that were there. Carlos at the beach bar and Juan#1 (he calls himself) at the lobby bar were fantastic. They would remember your drink every time.

My husband and I stayed at this resort Jan 28 - Feb 4, 2008. We are in our mid-50's and this was our 5th trip to Punta Cana in 7 years. Our other 4 trips we stayed at resorts at the far northern end of Bavaro Beach. We decided to come to this resort because of the amazing deal we got.

My Alex and I spent a wonderful week at Edenh Punta Cana from Feb. 2 -9, 2008. They had been open for just a month when we arrived. I am writing this review highlighting items I am looking for in reviews when we are deciding where to go. Sorry if it is long, I am just trying to be helpful. We booked Edenh last minute and selected the Paradise Club upgrade. We felt we got a great value for our vacation dollar at Edenh. Our main requirements for our vacation were lots of sun, a beautiful beach and pools, yummy drinks and friendly staff - we got that and so much more. Edenh has a feel to it, a "chi" so to speak, and it just felt good to be there. We were comfortable from day one. The resort is the perfect size, not to big, but you never felt crowded either. Well laid out with the rooms between the beach and the restaurants, with the main pools in the middle. It took no more than 5 minutes to walk from the lobby to having your toes in salt water. Rooms: Paradise Club upgrade offers premium room and location - closest rooms to the beach, and we received that. We ended up in room 1264, had a great view of the pool and ocean, second story with a king bed and Jacuzzi on the balcony which we enjoyed frequently. There was bathrobes and beach towels in the room. Freezing cold AC that will shut off when you open the balcony door. Air temp was so nice we rarely had it on. No real mosquito issue for us, saw a few in the room from time to time, but that was it. Resort was frequently fogging the grounds and that seemed to help. I had no bites, Alex might have gotten one all week. The bathroom was large with double sinks, well lit, shower was to die for. Yes, sound does travel in the glass door and tile design. Lots of room for storage, many drawers throughout the room, and a full wardrobe with hangers, shelves and easy to operate safe. Hairdryer, magnifying mirror, coffee maker, iron and board in room, no washcloths, clock or nightlight, but we knew that (thanks T.A.!) and brought our own. Nice flat screen tvs, ours died near the end of our trip but they replaced it with a brand new one the same day so it was fine. Mini bar had a very cold fridge filled with water, coke, and presidentes, 2 of each, someone came and refilled the minibar daily. Housekeeping came daily in the afternoon, did a great job for us. Beach and pools are beautiful, lots of chairs, but never enough. Maybe someday people won't be selfish and save chairs they don't use - then there won't be a problem. Too bad the resort has to be chair police. They are working on a system but don't have it in place yet. Just be patient and keep looking, or do what we did and enjoy a leisurely morning at breakfast, take a long stroll down the beach to burn off all that great food, and then find a chair in the afternoon. We had no problem but every morning I sat on our balcony enjoying a book and the delicious Santo Domingo coffee watching people race down to put their towels on chairs and then not come to use them for hours later. Shame on them. The chairs at the resort are top notch and super comfortable. I took many naps on them! Lots of palapas on the beach as well, and in the afternoon the palm trees offer a bit of extra shade if wanted. The beach is IDEAL!!! We walked both north and south quite a ways, saw lots of different resorts and really thought Edenh was the best out there for the beach. The sand was so soft and white, the water calm. There was also a trampoline in the ocean to play on, as well as windsurfing, sailing and kayaking included if you wanted to partake. Food and Drinks: with the upgrade we had access to the two VIP pools and bars which also included some call brand liquors in addition to well brands. We also had the best bartenders in the resort at the VIP pool bar in front of building one - Carlos and Carlos did some of the best bartending I have seen. They were funny, sincere, and had memories like an elephant! Alex had asked for cashews one day and for the rest of the week with his first drink, a dish of cashews were given to him as well. It's the little things that matter and these two really understood that. Ola's, the restaurant by the pool offered very very good food for a poolside restaurant! The chicken was to die for, and the pizza which has different cheeses than what we are used to was quite good in it's own way! They also offered a salad bar, rolls, desserts, soft serve ice cream, fries, hamburgers and hot dogs every day in addition to a few pans on items that change daily like little empanadas, bbq pork, veggies, etc. The Festival Buffet served breakfast, lunch and dinner remarkably well! We only ate there for dinner twice and lunch one, breakfast daily, but would stop in often just to see what they were serving. Very nice variety, lots of fresh produce for salads, delicious bread selection, always lots of super fresh fruits. I like the "make your own" mimosas and bloody mary bar at breakfast! We enjoyed meals at all four of Edenh's ala carte restaurants. They changed the reservation system half way through the week. No reservations as I write this EXCEPT if you are a VIP you can make reservations for the restaurants, everyone else uses the first come, first serve method with a beeper to let you know your table is ready. This system seems to be working ok by the time we left. Food was very good at all four restaurants - very limited menus so they should be able to handle this. The entire foodservice operation is managed by a gentleman we had the pleasure to meet named Jose Maria. I have over 20 years foodservice/hospitality management experience, so I was naturally drawn to watch how this part of the resort operates. We could tell from the first night who was in charge as he was literally everywhere. We really enjoyed talking with Jose Maria, he is there day and night, and truly is working so hard to make the operation succeed. It's an enormous task and I believe it is in good, capable hands with him. Nightlife is very fun at the resort. We happened to be there for Superbowl and it was the best Superbowl party we have ever been to! They showed the game on a huge screen in the courtyard with lots of good "bar food" (chicken wings, nachos, etc) and turned the fountains into big beer buckets filled with cans of beer and ice. It was really fun!! Edenh offers nightly shows that are very entertaining, as well as the sports bar with billiards and the Tahntra bar for dancing late into the night! Love the beds up there, so very comfortable!!! The casino is not open yet, but we didn't feel we were missing anything - just gave us more money to tip the awesome staff. Ahh, the wonderful Edenh staff - they really were trying so hard to make everything perfect. I have opened a brand new hotel in the past, they are facing the same "shake out" that any new operation does. In the next few weeks the stars will shine and the not so good staffers will weed themselves out. It is already becoming apparent who the stars are - the aforementioned Jose Maria, Carlos and Carlos in the VIP bar, Rafael the porter who should be a captain waiter in the Asian restaurant, Franklin - bellman extraordinaire with the contagious continuous smile, Kelly and Juan F. in the VIP lounge. And Punta Cana Mike who we only got to see a few times as he was constantly working with guests. Edenh has a great basis for success if all we had to judge them on was the people there. But there is so much more to enjoy, and we did. You will too!

Arrival - My husband and I arrived on February 1 to EdenH and were greeted in the foyer with a cool tropical drink, and asked to proceed to the registration desk. We were quickly told that because we were Paradise Club guest we had to go to the VIP lounge and register there. Once we got into that line, things moved quickly. We asked the man behind the desk if we could please have a room with an oceanview. He made a telephone call and told me that we had a very nice room but that it was not yet cleaned and that we should come back in 3 hours to pick up our room key. We were given our ID braclets so we could go ahead and have something to eat or drink. My husband and I, not wanting to leave our luggage in the lobby, asked if we could have our luggage taken to our room while they were cleaning it. That was not a problem and the bellboy that delivered our luggage allowed us a quick peak into the room to see the view. It was breathtaking. Rooms - We were in building #2, fourth floor, room 2461. The view from our balcony was amazing Our room very large with a king size bed, sofa and chair. Most importantly it was new and clean. We had extra bathroom towels, the mini-fridge was full of water, beer and soft drinks. The safe worked without any problems. Lots of english channels on the televison (if you wanted to watch TV) but we spend most of our time out on the balcony enjoying the view and the hot tub. We had NO issues with mosquitoes, or any other bugs for that matter. Every afternoon our rooms were cleaned and the bedding was changed. We did have a issue with our hot tub the first time we used it. The drain plug wouldn't work so we couldn't drain the used water. However when we told the cleaning person about this problem, they quickly made a telephone call and within five minutes the repair man was there to fix the problem.

PhotosLet me share our experience with you from the week of Feb 2 - Feb 9, 2008 what we spent at edenH Real Arena. We booked the place in October 2007 on the Net, with Sunwing via Sell of Vacations. The price was great, the flight was 6:00 am -1:30 pm in Punta Cana. In December we got email from Sunwing, the trip will be via London Ontario, and the arrival time will be after 3 pm. With over a 3 hours delay from Winnipeg we got in Punta Cana at 7 pm, and 9 to the hotel after dropping some people at other resorts. So half day gone. We got our room in building #2 main floor 2178 (Paradise Club)... The room was very nice, with all what you can dream.
The extras were the mosquitoes. A lot of them. In Manitoba where the provincial bird is the mosquito, last year I got 3 bites. Here in the room took only seconds to get more than that. The time we spent in the room was mostly killing the suckers. The very nice hot tub in the balcony is a joke in this case, because there was literary by hundreds. Don't even consider it to use. Next day the safe failed to open, I phoned and phoned again. Nothing happened. After a short visit to the VIP room we got a guy from Security to fix it (the message was Err.). The guy said the battery... He got a few sets with him, but he has no tools!!! Go figure. So like in jokes: "How many guys need to change the batteries?" The answer was: 4! One held the toolbox, one tried to fix the tool, the Security guy with a PDA reading the Err message and one was watching the whole action. Make the story short: finally the safe was open and changed all together. But next day we changed the room, and that was better 2359. The mosquito issue existed, but not that bad. The hot tub went in action a few times, and no bugs there. The main problem of the resort in our opinion is the mosquitoes. The swamp beside the hotel is a good breeding place for them, the hotel was fogging in the evenings (I do not know what was very stinky - just burned oil???) but should provide in rooms some cans of RAID or similar. I know in building 1 was not that big issue, but you have 50% chances to get in this situation.. The construction is still going on (in building 2 at least), sometimes noisy, and tens of workers around all the time. Didn't bother us too much, but we could live without. The A la Carte restaurants are not doing well. Line up in a daily basis, people walking and waiting with beepers to get inside. First evening we went to the Asian. Was OK, but the food wasn't too tasty even for my wife. We gave up. The buffet is excellent. Very high quality food, big variety and we just were happy there 3 times a day. The Champagne in the morning..., well we were spoiled. I don't know what was the best there, we couldn't say anything was under our standards. Just great. If anybody is not happy with that, would be nice to know what s/he is eating in other 50 weeks at home! We were the 7th time in DR and we had no stomach problems, we never had in Mexico also. Maybe because we are try to avoid certain type of food. The bars are just same: very good variety, mostly great service. If anything wasn't perfect, I would say, is a learning curve. Sometimes the tips didn't make the memory awake more than a few minutes, but only with some people. No problem. The pools are very nice, and enough. Now the beach is a so-so. In the first place is the sea weed. a lot. And even if the hotel is cleaning it in a daily basis -the place won't be without the weed , because is there in the front of the hotel. Some places is a lot of debris in the sand, my wife got a cut on her toe. Probable for the bigger number of tourists from Canada and US the number of topless was less then in other places with more European ladies. The grounds are fine, and I'm sure will be gorgeous in a couple of years. The grass has to catch up, the flowers will grow and the plenty of fountains and waterfalls basins are really a classy stuff. Activities are not that many like in other hotels we've been previously, but again is a start and is not bad. Was funny the painting class (the instructor is a great fellow) and we saw other activities, but did not participate. Entertainment was also pretty good. Disco at Tahndra was great also. The entertainment shouldn't be unidirectional: at the time of the Super Bowl nothing else happened. There are plenty of people not interested in that (including myself) and should be still some piano bar or something else in the same time. One more big problem is the beach towel system. It is not working. Is the first place were you don't need a card. But in that case some people using more than one, and keep occupied more than one beach chair. I noticed others are using their hot tub towel to hold chair for themselves. Also using T shirts, books, whatever. Indeed, by 8 am are no chairs anywhere. Than start the fight for a chair... My suggestion: the hotel should go with a card system, and remove any other objects from chairs. Or buy more chairs. (I saw person keeping busy one set of chairs by pool and one at the beach..How you can stop that practice with actual system?) Conclusions: the hotel for the price we paid gave us a great value. If next year will be the same is worth considering the place for return. But they have to deal with the issues we noticed: mosquitoes, chairs (because the towel system) and a la carte restaurants. The place is great for relax and families. Check out was a breeze, and after another delay (weather related) at midnight we landed in Winnipeg in very cold (-49 C) night.

Arrival - We were booked for 2 weeks at this hotel but were bumped to another resort for the first week (Excellence) I will write a seperate review .

This is what happened to us and I cannot speak for others, but I am glad to say that over the two wks things had greatly improved. We were 5 couples. We had booked in July. At the time we were told that it was a brand new resort and it was still not completed. The price for 2 weeks was fantastic for Punta Cana so we took a leap of faith. My travel agent was my friend, I had booked with this agency for many years and I trusted her. I have since joined their agency as an outside agent so my review will be based on both as a guest and an agent. No one knew that I was a travel agent because I did not want any favouritism and wanted to see how the guests were being treated. But I eventually caved in on the 4th day but it did me no good. I did, however, take care of my little group, while they enjoyed the beach I tried to resolved all of their problems. It was a learning experience. We had high expectations for this resort and for the most part our expectations were met. Our bus from the airport was full and everyone was dropped off at the EdenH so we braced ourselves for a long check-in wait. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a friendly waitress with a cold drink and a big smile. As expected we waited a long time to be checked-in, there was chaos all around us, the reception people were going in every which direction to find the reservations for the guests. The VIP had their own check-in. Other guests who had already checked-in kept interrupting and budding in while others were being checked in. The reception guys kept their cool but unfortunately served them and forgot about us instead of saying ``please wait your turn``. In the meantime all the rooms were being given away and when it came to us somehow the only rooms that were available were the ones that were still not completely finished but had furniture in it. When we got to our rooms we noticed that there was no lock on the doors. So went back to the reception but waited our turn and did not bud in. We were told that there were no more rooms available but they would try to find us something. So we waited for about another hour. Finally rooms were given to us but when we got there they were full of dust because they had just been finished, as in a new house it takes time for the dust to settle. The maid said she would clean them and just to be patient. We went to the beach grill and had a bite to eat. When we returned the floors had been washed but soon we noticed the floors were dusty again. We called the maid and again she washed them. While unpacking we realised that the dust was coming from vents and from outside the balcony we could see a cloud of dust. We could not open the patios. We returned to the reception and explained that we had allergies and could not stay in those rooms. We were told no more rooms were available and to come back the next day and they would give us new rooms because people were checking out. We returned the next day to Déjà vu but were promised that rooms were put aside for us for Tuesday and to come back then. We returned on Tuesday only to find out that the person that told us about the rooms had gone to Mexico and no one else could help us. We expected some problems and we were not going to let this spoil our vacation but this was not acceptable. Now I had had enough. It took another 2 days before we were told to go pack our bags that rooms were found for us and to put our luggage in the courtesy room and come back at 2 pm. We returned only to find out that there were no rooms for us. We asked for our rooms back only to be told that they had been given to someone else. So now we had no rooms. Finally by 5 pm we were given rooms. I did not understand why there were no rooms for us but yet other guests were coming in and given rooms. Our new rooms were in building 2 which was not completely finished, workers were everywhere in the front and back end and the top floor, they worked all day and all night in some rooms, but we did not let it bother us. Our rooms were beautiful overlooking the pool and ocean and most of all clear of dust, the only minor thing was the open window like opening between bathroom and the bedroom that made it not so private. But one of my friends their bathroom kept backing up but not wanting to spend another minute at the lobby they did not change room. They would either come to ours or went to the beach grill when the need arose. So we are not fussy, we can put up with a little discomfort even at a 4 star resort. Once the room issues were resolved, we did have a beautiful vacation. The resort was beautiful, the beach great and the pool area stunning. We did hear some drilling and sanding from the Paradise VIP beach front rooms but did not bother us. We also heard some complaints about mosquito problems but we were in the tropics and the bugs do not discriminate from a 1 star to a 6 star resort and the people staying at the Paradisus Palma Real were also affected especially the people facing the construction of the EdenH. Fumigation was going on every evening and it is only a matter of time before they get the problem under control. We liked the buffet restaurant better than the a la carte. We did try 3 a la carte before the reservation system, the American, Italian and Asian which was our favourite. The breakfast buffet had a very good selection. At lunch we mostly ate at the beach grill which served very good hamburgers and BBQ chicken. But the evening buffet was the best, with seafood, lamb chicken, fresh tuna and steak at every meal, plus a variety of different meats at others – duck legs, quails, with lobsters almost every second night in our second week. Smoked salmon, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella cheese etc. for all the breakfast, lunch and supper. No complaints about the food, as a matter of fact one of the best that I have had. The only complaint would be the service at breakfast which was a bit slow, so on some mornings we set our own table and poured our own coffee, to the dismay of the waiter, but we still tipped him as it was not his fault. The buffet restaurant is understaffed compared to other resorts that we have stayed at. The bars served anything that you wanted except premium drinks for people that were not in the VIP rooms. The Tanhtra bar had a fun disco type atmosphere after 11 pm. The lobby had a keyboard player, we danced, although he was off on Saturday and Sunday, and he stopped playing while the show was going on. The shows were repetitive for people that were there for 2 weeks and are outside acts. The Jazz band, Chris Blizzard were good, but sang mostly American songs. The Inspirations, a group of 4 young men from Santo Domingo, were great, they sang a mixture of American and Latin songs. On our last night the Dominican Folkloric dancers had an accident and the show was cancelled, on another night Football took over and that annoyed the people that do not like the game as there was nothing for them to do. The entertainment will probably improve once the dancers start performing by the end of February. We did see improvement and changes everyday, the bars and corridors were given bright but soothing colours and the service staff are getting faster and more experienced, there is also more organization at the reception, they are well on its way to receive, without too many problems, new guests. IN MY OPINION, once they resolve all of their problems with the rooms, this resort will be great as it is beautiful and has a lot of potentials but at the moment, I think, is not for everyone especially people that have stayed at other resorts and expect they same ambiance. They do offer the regular activities, aqua aerobics, dance and spanish lessons, volleyball, cigar rolling, painting etc. and the animators are great and lots of fun. You will have a good time if the bar and disco scene is your thing, but for people that are not into that but still want to with REAL Dominican and international social type music and Latin like atmosphere, you will not get is here, at least not now and we were told, not ever. OH! I almost forgot, there are no- non smoking area assigned, so smoking is everywhere even in the lobby and I hope that they would at least make the lobby smoke free. In conclusion, we did have a great time and will not write off this resort just yet. We will return in a few years and hope that they have overcome all of their growing pains.

My husband and I stayed at the Edenh from Jan 26 through Feb 2. Overall, we had a very nice time here. Upon arriving at the resort, we were greated with Chamagne/OJ in the lobby as we checked in. Check in was very fast. The gentelman checking us in liked my husband's hat...We told him we would give it to him if he gave us a good room...Well, we got to our room and it was a Paradise Club room. So he did upgrade our room! We had a tub outside which we were very excited about, however, we were on the 1st floor. So...there was a secrity gaurd walking past all day/night and during the day/early eveing, workers were walking by. At first this bothered us b/c we were unable to enjoy our outside tub, but then we just built a little baracade with the patio chairs, table and spare beach towels to create some privacy. This worked great and we enjoyed the tub every evening we were there! Our room was very nice. I thought it was quite large for 2 people so we had plenty of room. We did have some mosquitos each day after returning from the beach, but nothing to complain about...we were in the Caribbean for goodness sakes! We would just kill them when we saw them and that was that. I got maybe 5-10 throughout the whole week....