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Majestic Elegance Punta Cana 
Location: Beach front - Punta Cana - East Coast - next to Majestic Colonial Punta Cana 36 mins. from Punta Cana airport
All-inclusive - 600 rooms – various categories including Adults Only section
Description from resort website:Room amenities include air conditioning, TV, internet access*, in-room safe*, hairdryer, minibar, Jacuzzi, room service*. (charges may apply) - 1 buffet restaurant and 5 a la carte restaurants, 8 bars. Pools, lit tennis court, Kids club, games room, spa and fitness facilities.
 ~ Map of Resort
 ~ Reader's Vacation Photos ~
1
 ~ Debbie's Review of the Majestic Elegance
~ Reviews posted on this page — 36
 ~ Dominican Republic Travel Forum
 Have you stayed at this resort? Share your vacation experiences with others.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Sue ~ Central NY |
November 29 2009
Arrival:
We arrived in the late afternoon and were greeted and given our room immediately upon arrival. Check-in was perfect and friendly
Rooms:
We had an oceanview room in the last building before the Elegance Club section. Couldn't have asked for a better view. We were on a voucher from last years delayed opening so this room was a real surprise. I was not expecting such a great view. The room was clean, and nicely decorated. We had no issues with the room at all. The water was hot, and plentiful.
Restaurants and Bars:
We ate at every restaurant except the italian. The food was typical for all inclusives and the staff was really good and spoke english well. We loved the steak house and ate there twice. You only needed reservations for two of the restaurants (italian and gourmet).. the others you could walk into. It was off season and low occupancy, so we had no troubles with reservation requests. They also closed one to two restaurants each night because of the low attendance but that was posted each day and was not a problem for us.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
IMMACULATE!!! Really wonderful, clean and spacious. We had no problems getting a chair anytime of the day.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went on two tours this year, and two last year when we visited. We did an "outback" exursion both times but with different companies. It was our favorite part of the trip last year with Bavaro Runners.. but wanted something different this year for variety. We chose Monster Truck. Monster Truck was terrible.. very old worn out trucks and the excursion was not nearly as nice. If you are going to go on one, choose Bavaro Runners. We also went on a Catamarin tour of Saona Island. A VIP tour run exclusively by Club Caribe. It was more expensive but nicer. Included a riverboat ride of the Chavon river with breakfast, double Cat with jaccuzi tubs on board, lobster lunch and free massage on board. The only complaint was that we didn't spend enough time at the island. It was a longer day than they informed us of too.. not that I minded, but I wish they were more upfront about it. Same thing happened when we went to Santa Domingo last year. I think they are afraid to !
tell you how long it will REALLY take for fear you won't book.
Other Comments:
If you go to the Dominican Republic, bring used baseball gloves with you and give them as tips to the staff. They only cost a few dollars used in the US but are not very plentiful there. All the kids aspire to be famous players someday and they have no equipment. Is is sad to see them playing with sticks and rocks! Bring a ball and glove and for just a couple dollars you can make someone REALLY happy! I used them to tip the staff with, and gave them out on the tours.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Cathy and Ron ~ Niagara Falls, Ontario |
October 2009
Arrival: sept 29 2009 - 0ct 05 2009
went to this resort to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. airport arrival went smooth. sunwing reps at airport brought us to sunwing bus.waited for a few minutes.bus was air conditioned. 30 min bus ride with a couple stops, dropping off other people at their resorts on the way.waited in line,even though we paid for elegance club package which includes separate check in, but not much of a problem as there were only a couple people ahead of us.we were handed a cool drink. when we got to check in counter and they realized we were members of the "elegance club" they quickly appologized and escorted us to a separate "air conditioned" room,gave us chamapagne,and we sat comfortably at a desk to be checked in.check in took only a few minutes. we then got a nice walking tour through the resort to the elegance club section. in was a nice walk as the resort is not that huge. ended up at the elegance club outdoor bar, which we were offered a drink and told our room would be ready !
in fifteen minutes. we were offered a room to change our clothing to be more comfortable, but we declined and just relaxed at the outdoor bar with our drink.in about fifteen minutes we were then brought to our room by our butler.
Rooms:
room # 2353 ocean front room! elegance club "elle" which in our opinion is the better side of the elegance club buildings. this section is right in front of the elegance club private beach.(closet building to the beach) the other side of resort elegance club suites are in elegance club "ella". both sides of elegance club have their own private pools, bar, outdoor bar, but the "elle" side is on the side with the private elegance beach. this room is a one bedroom suite! spectacular! facing the ocean! this room was on the top floor.awesome view of the ocean. indoor and outdoor jaccuzi! spotless! flat screen t.v. in bedroom and living room. robes, were a bit worn, but clean. plenty of toiletries.room was thoroughly cleaned daily and towels, toiletries and yes, even faceclothes replaced. the only bugs we saw in room were those tiny flies they have in the tropics. we only saw them the next morning if we left any food out.these bugs dont bite or fly,,so we dont find them annoyin!
g.did not see one mosquito or any other bug.our room also had a sliding door in both living room and bedroom. we got 4 bottles of different liquors. we asked consierge to change one of the bottles, because we didnt prefer one of the liquors and it was promptly changed. butler service was great. butler arranged for our "romantic bubble bath" and asked us numerous times to tell consierge to notify him if we had any requests. air conditioning worked well. the only exception was the one night we had a thunderstorm,,a.c. went out with power for about an hour, but you can't help that.
Restaurants and Bars:
have to admit, we're buffet people. flavors buffet was very good. lots of variety.we ate at 9 doors japanese restaurant. food was very good. we were not very happy with the seafood at the see & sea restaurant. quality of lobster was not very good. ordered room service a couple times. unlike others mentioned , we found the service to be rather quick. really want to mention that we did not get sick eating any of the food! one of us has a very sensitive stomache,,and we did not have any food illness of any kind.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
beach was beautiful! seaweed was cleaned up on beach every morning. plenty of casitas. most people put a couple towels to save spots, right before the go for breakfast, and then come back to enjoy the beach for the day..no problem with vendors. the only vendors were the sport guys or photo guys,,they would just ask if you were interested and we would say no,and they would walk away. pools were wonderful and clean. we found in both areas, beach and pool, there were plenty of casitas and loungers at any time of day. we also found in the elegance area,,that the pool and beach had great bar servers coming around to take our orders for drinks. also, these areas were kept very clean. felt bad for the staff having to pick up garbage after rude people.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
didnt go on any tours
Other Comments:
we had a wonderful time at this resort and plan to go back there again!
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Eric & Nancy ~ Ontario |
September 2009
Arrival 21 - 28 Aug 2009:
Arrived at airport with no difficulty and had no problem finding the bus to the resort. Arrived after a 25 or 30 min ride and was greeted with cool wet towels and a glass of bubbly. Check in was effortless as we had booked an Elegance Club package which includes separate check in. Were shown to our suite and luggage arrived within minutes.
Rooms:
Room was larger than I expected. The minibar was fully stocked and was refilled daily. There were some small imperfections in the room a chip in the bottom of the door for example but nothing to cause any concern. Everything was neat and clean and in good working condition.
Restaurants and Bars:
Believe it or not we found the buffet was our favorite place to eat. The food was great and there was a large selection to choose from. We found the a la cart restaraunts had limited menus and the food was mediocre at best. We tried them all with the exception of the Japanese and French restaurants.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Never really bothered with the pools as we perefer the beach and it was stunning. Small amount of seaweed that was cleaned by the staff every morning.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We were not big on activities but there seemed to be something taking place every night, usually bands, beach bbq and the like. We went on the tropical storm sunset tour which was fun but did not really care for the food at the jellyfish restaurant.
Other Comments:
We were surrised to find people smoking all over the resort with little regard for non smokers but in a resort that size it was not too much trouble to stay clear of them. Hopefully they will change the policy sometime soon. Overall we would recommend the resort but I don`t think we will retun there next time as we want to explore some of the other resorts.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Teresa ~ New York |
August 2009
Arrival: August 2009
I've been travelling to DR for the last 17 years. We tend to stay at different hotels to try them out. This hotel, by far, was one of the worse hotels I have been to. Take it from me, try another one. There are so many nice ones out there. My stay at majestic Elegance were not a memorable occassion whatsoever.
Rooms:
Nightmarish!! We had no AC for 3 consecutive days. They claim that the problem lied outside of the hotel but that was a lie. I spoke to one of the workers in the dining room, who claim to have had AC all along. Beside the lack of AC, the room was very nice and clean. The shower had very good water pressure and heated water. The mini bar was filled daily with water, sodas and "presidente" cerveza.
Restaurants and Bars:
I enjoyed the Japanese and French restaurants. The steakhouse and seafood restaurant were ok. At the beginning of my stay the food at the buffet were cold. It seems that the hot plates were not turn on until we complain a couple of times. The service were lacking. Your order for drinks would take forever if they would even remember you place an order. You had to ask them again or go to the bar and get it yourself!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was amazing. We had beautiful weather. For a hotel that just opened up, the grounds were lacking, not much of landscaping around the grounds. The swimming pool were missing tiles all over as if the pool had been around for years!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Not much activites around the hotel, like other hotels. The animation team needed to be animated as there were no enthusiasm from them. It was very quiet throughout the day. The disco was ok. They only played Techno throughout the night. Perhaps 2 or 3 spanish songs.
Tours: we went on the "Adventure Boogies" and we had lots of fun.
Clubs: We went to IMAGINE, we all love it. You must try it.
Other Comments:
I would strongly suggest that you look into other accommodations beside Majestic Elegance. You could not go wrong in any of the other hotels in the vicinity.
Enjoy your holiday and have fun!!
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Greg ~ Los Angeles |
July 2009
Arrival: June 2008
Horrible!!! Booked Elegance Club ocean front suite 6 months before trip. Hotel claimed they 'accidentally' booked our room and tried to make up for it with a $50 spa voucher. Had to wait over 3 hours for the correct room to magically appear. Staff was very rude and not apologetic over this.
Rooms:
Horrible. Refrigerator would not get cold, complimentary liquor was not provided. Complaints about this were not attended to. Room service sometimes took 2 hours, the shortest time was 45 minutes and the food was always disgusting. Robes are old and have a musty smell. Mosquitos everywhere, you will get bitten. Asked concierge desk to spray the room. They said they would but never did. Complaints about this went unanswered. Concierge is VERY rude.
Restaurants and Bars:
Horrible!! Every restaurant is disgusting. Had food poisoning the entire trip and had to leave early because of this. Went to hotel pharmacy for antibiotics and they wanted to charge $50 for what costs $5 in US. Still taking antibiotics a week after getting home. Stay away.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Horrible. Elegance club chairs always had towels on them but no people. Hotel should really consider monitoring this. Beach drink service came around only once in 4 hours of being on beach.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Horrible. Hardly any available, very boring hotel.
Other Comments:
Horrible hotel, service, staff. Stay away from this hotel unless you like to have your vacation ruined. My assessment of this hotel is as follows: you put a decent hotel in a nice area but staff it with rude, unprofessional staff, you have a poor excuse for a resort.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Mari ~ USA |
June 2009
Arrival: June 15-19
Taxi driver ($40 from airport) went to Colonial first, then realized his mistake. Check in was very quick - no towel or drink given. After a quick tour of the resort and a stop at the bar for a shot of mamajuana, we went to the room.
Rooms:
We stayed in the Elegance Club. We've stayed at hotels around the world, and this room was one of the nicest. No problem with mold or poor construction. There were some small ants (the kind you find in the tropics, not larger ones like in the States) mainly near the sink - not enough to complain about, just a few. Butler drew a bath for us on nights we didn't have the Do Not Disturb sign up - very nice! Robes were a bit ratty, as previously mentioned. I had read on TA to bring your own lotion, so that was no biggie. Same with face cloths.
Restaurants and Bars:
See & Sea - went for dinner, was not good. Japanese - sushi okay, dinner bland. Steakhouse - tenderloin was the best thing on the menu. Very flavorful and tender. Didn't go to Italian or French for dinner. Buffet - actually quite good, compared to the other restaurants. Loved the milkshakes for breakfast! Bars - upstairs lobby bar between 3-midnight visit Roberto, he is a blast!! Hector at the Club bar is also fun. Room service - never ordered, but always smelled good when we'd pass someone delivering it!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Since we were in the Club section, we had a private beach area. Never a problem finding a palapa, and there was often someone coming around taking drink orders. Never went to the pool, as I can do that at home!!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We had a tour scheduled with Punta Cana Mike, but he never showed up. So much for seeing some of the country!
Other Comments:
Few people speak English, as mentioned. Power only went out once, when there was a HUGE storm (caught a building at Moon Palace on fire from lightning). Service was hit or miss, not terrible but I've seen better elsewhere. Some of the staff was fantastic (Marcos in Club guest services, Roberto in upper lobby bar), while others would walk past you and never say a word or smile. If we went back to PC (which we probably won't, as there are too many other places in the world to see), we'd probably try Excellence. Several people we met at the ME said it was better.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Sheri |
June 2009
Worst travel experience ever, would NEVER go back or recommend anyone to go here ever. We researched and booked our trip back in Jan. before the place was open long enough to get many reviews and never thought to check back on recent reviews shortly before traveling to be sure things were still going well at Majestic. Wish we had known.
Now after our experience was so terrible and we return, we NOW see all these bad reviews online that totally corroborate our experience. Yes, the showers leak, the staff doesn't speak English, the service is terrible, it looks great but the construction is shoddy, the place isn't clean, the food is disgusting and there is a serious mold issue...this is not just one or 2 picky travelers complaining about anything they can...this is person after person saying the same exact thing. In the entire 12 days we were there, we only met one other person who was happy with their experience and it was someone who did not have prior experience at all-inclusive resorts or resorts at all for that matter. Anyone who goes here and says it is worth its value is an inexperienced traveler who does not know what 4 or 5 star entails. Anybody who HAS experienced that and expects luxury and pampering, will be completely frustrated with their time at the Majestic.
A bit of our experience:
1) They do not give you facial wash clothes. We had to call every day for them and then they would bring the wrong thing. In the 12 days we were there, never once did they bring the right thing or the right amount of towels/wash clothes for which we were asking. Might seem like a small thing, but it really starts to get annoying day after day after day
2) Staff does not speak English. Not a big deal until there is a problem. And there were LOTS of problems
3) Don't expect to get anything accomplished on the phone. Expect to spend a lot of time walking to the front desk if you want anything done or done right and tipping doesn't make it better
4) Staff is friendly until there is a problem, then they suddenly forget any English they might have known, especially when you ask for their manager and they pretend like they don't know what is going on.
5) Food - I just cannot begin to explain how terrible it is. Previous posts talk about how the food sits out for hours and it is true - it is disgusting. Seafood is gritty with sand, tough and chewy and very fishy. Very low quality meats. Dairy is scary. We were served dishes that were obviously made with spoiled cheese. Imagine every day of your trip, 3x a day, walking into a meal that you know is going to be barely edible...that's how great this vacation was. Had one good experience at the Cowboy restaurant and the last 2 experiences there were not good.
6) People before talked in their reviews of the mold problem and humidity problem as well as plumbing issues. The construction of this place is laughable. It looks good in pics, but when you are there - look closer. This place is 8 mo. old and already there are room number plates fallen off walls and written on in marker, tiles falling off the pools and walls! They framed their walk-in shower in WOOD! And the shower leaks right on out into the open room. No wonder there is mold! In our room, when people above took a shower, it leaked down into our shower. When they took a bath in their tub, it leaked into the light socket in our ceiling and right on into our tub! Disgusting! I saw someone else wrote in their review that they had the exact same issue and like us, they called and called and no one ever came to fix it. The place is falling apart. If it is this bad at 8 mo., I can't imagine what it will be like in 1 year or 2.
7) We took a bath our first night and 6 days later, they still had not cleaned the tub from that bath. I had to call 3x until finally, HOURS later, someone came and cleaned it. Always they say they are 'sending someone right away' and it is never the case.
8) We had a COCKROACH in our room as well as mosquitoes. My husband and I were getting bit up all night. (2nd floor room)
9) They had Bali beds which I was so excited about but just wait until you see them. They are disgustingly dirty and moldy and smelly. Real luxury!
10) Robes - a real luxury? Think again. They are dingy, gray, and ratty. I've never had a robe so disgusting in all my hotel stays. They might as well not give them. In all of our hotel stays, we have never been given such disgusting robes and these are only 8 months old???
11) There is no top shelf liquor in this resort except in the casino
12) Speaking of the casino, the roof caved in on the 2nd night of our stay and injured guests. Then it was closed down for a day or two before they opened up again.
13) Room service - a joke. Don't bother. Food arrives cold.
14) Internet is not provided. $5 for every 30 min. or $10 per day in your room
15) Power outages CONSTANTLY. Not a day went by where the power did not go out. So forget relying on an alarm clock - you have to use your cell phone or something not relying on power to wake you up. We finally figured out that they have the room on a censor. When you leave the room, the power in the room goes off. It also does this at night after so many minutes of none-movement because you are asleep. Way to save them money but then you think they would provide alarm clocks not reliant on electric!
16) The resort does not provide lotion in your rooms, so if you are accustomed to a real 4 or 5 star resort where they DO provide this, be sure to bring your own because they charge and arm and leg for it in their store
17) No rafts or floats provided for the pool or ocean. You have to bring your own. Again, not a 4 or 5 star experience.
18) They say they provide roaming butlers to bring you drinks on the beach or poolside. Ha! I can count on one hand the amount of times we had anyone bring us a drink in the whole 12 days we were there. When they did come, be prepared to wait about 30 min. before you see that drink and by then the ice has watered it down.
19) Tipping does not help get better service. Even when the staff and managers knew they were getting it wrong, they did not care. The service was just so bad that I can't put it into words. You just have to experience it yourself but if you're smart, you won't and will go SOMEWHERE ELSE!
20) Finally, the finale - I spent the last 4 days of my trip violently ill and I am convinced it is because of the food because I never drank their water or got ice unless it was from bottled water. I cannot explain to you the intense stomach pains I experienced, so badly that they almost did not let me fly because I was so sick. I could not keep solid food down for days & I lost so much strength that I could barely walk and had to be wheelchaired through the airport where when I finally got back to America and away from the terrible food at Majestic, I immediately started getting better. Bring your own Immodium & meds for constipation - this food will make you so sick, as so many other reviewers confirmed.
Conclusion - don't waste your money. Some other resorts might cost more money, but trust me, TRUST ME, it is worth it to ensure a good experience. This place is cheaper than a lot of other resorts, yet the pics look beautiful and so you think you are getting a deal. Think again. When you go on vacation, you expect to have a better experience than at home instead of just having basic necessities - especially at a place that claims it is 4 or 5 star. Not the case here. We would have rather eaten fast food all day long than the food served at Majestic. This place is 3 star at best and with its construction issues, I don't think its on its way to getting better.
And the real clincher? We had originally booked at Majestic Colonial and our experience there was so bad that this was our *upgrade* to the Elegance. We should have just left when we had the chance. At the Colonial, our first room had a broken bed. Springs were broken and the middle of the bed had a huge 3 inch hole/dip in the middle. Plus it was filthy - it was like it had not been cleaned! They changed us rooms and we settled in and unpacked even though this room was just as dirty. But then hours later it becomes apparent that the AC was broken. They send 3 guys out, none who speak English, and they can't get it fixed. So 1:30 a.m. we are changing rooms again. The Colonial is old and washed up and the entire place smells very badly of mold. If you have allergies, DO NOT GO HERE. We spent our first entire day changing rooms, and the condition of the rooms and resort was really below par - definitely not 4-star. My husband and I decided we were leaving and going to another resort, so to save themselves revenue, they upgraded us to the Elegance. Unfortunately we believed it would be better but we should have known better since it is run by the same people & left when we had the chance.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Jodi ~ Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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June 2009
Arrival: June 2009
No line for check in, cold towels to freshen up when arrived. No problems.
Rooms:
Junior Suite room with jacuzzi tub. Really nice and romantic. The only problem was that the shower leaked into the room, but nothing a few extra towels didn't solve. No other problems with the room. Nice canopy bed.
Restaurants and Bars:
Restaurants were the same as everywhere else we've been. Really liked the Steak House, Italian was okay, buffet was okay as always. Didn't try the other restaurants.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Pool was nice and refreshing, not too cold. Beach was nice and so was the ocean. No complaints here. No problems getting lounges at either.
Other Comments:
This is one of the best hotels we've tried over the last ten years. Would highly recommend for couples. There were some kids (but usually babies/toddlers or teenagers/preteens, no inbetween ages that we could see, no kids in the kids club at all that we could see).
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Tom ~ North Jersey
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June 2009
Trip dates:
April 3-10,2009. Regular Suite, not Elegance Club I gave this resort high marks,because it is on par with similar resorts we have stayed at, Palace Vallarta, Rose Hall Iberostar,and Paraiso del Mar.I think it's important to remember that these are all inclusives,and not the Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons.
I read all the negative reviews,but our experience was very pleasant, with a minimum amount of problems. We lost power at dinner one night for 10 minutes,which knocked out the wireless internet service for 4 days due to the Holidays, and yes mosquitos only in the lobby at night, but then again you are surrounded by the jungle. Those were the problems, weather during our stay was 88* and sunny every day.
Our trip was booked on line with Ultimate All-Inclusive Travel Inc, and had no problem with the non-stop flight,airport and transfers was smooth,within 30 minutes we were on the bus and arrived at the resort with in 1 hour after landing.
Check In:
Arrived at hotel 1.00 pm, yes we received the cold towel,no drink, check in procedure took 10 minutes,got our room, Bldg # 1 3rd floor # 2313, on the beach at 1.30pm.
Beach:
Narrow,but great sand,and water,with plenty of palms for shade from the sun, yes get there early, or if your late just ask around and you will find someone who will be leaving soon.You can walk for miles on the beach, the resort is in the middle of about 10 resorts. Plenty of activity on the beach, all sorts of water sports,vendors selling trinkets, but nobody was in your face.very relaxing.
Restaurants:
Did not try the French, Italian,good limited menu, Steakhouse, 2x's great meal both times,very good service, Japanese 2x's Very good, Seafood, how can grilled lobster be bad?,Buffet :plenty to choose from, some of the food was not hot enough, I think the trick is to order something right off the grill, that way it will be hot....
Breakfast & Lunch:
A large selection available, and if you don't see something you like, just ask, and if they have it they will make it for you.
Room:
Suite was about 450 sq ft, shower had 7 nozzles, makes it interesting, toilet seat is square?Guys good luck! No problems with room, hair dryer and robes, and high end bath products provided.
Golf:
Payed 3 rounds @ Nick Price's Punta Blanco course,which is attached to the resort.
140 USC per round,discount for 3 rounds. Very nice course, not tricked up, they pick you up at the lobby in your golf cart,my tee times were 7.15 am, first out each day, range balls, drinks and yardage book included,I was done by 9.45 and having breakfast with the family by 10am.Shot 82,84,88...Other courses were available, very pricey,and they take most of day. Cap Cana was 350 USC.
Service:
People for the most part were very friendly and helpfull,spotty service at breakfast and lunch, tipping a dollar per person at dinner or the bar,usually solved any and all problems. We were surprised at how many people did not leave anything for the servers or bartenders.
In Closing:
Resort is brand new so they are still working out the kinks,attached to their sister resort the Colonial,which is more of a family resort.To really enjoy the resort you should explore both places early in your stay,they really don't have an orientation,so your on your own. Local shopping village right outside the gate,Casino is in the Colonial,could never find the Sports bar(under construction),finally found the Johnny Walker Black half way thru the vacation in the lobby bar...
Really enjoyed the resort, will return!!
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Dave & Family ~ Maine
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May 2009
Arrival: April 2009
Arrival was on time. Greeted by tour people, and had no problems with tranfers to the hotel.We went with our daughter, son in jaw and 2 teenage grandchildren.
Rooms:
Rooms were beautiful and spacious.
Restaurants and Bars:
Restaurants and bars were great, food was excellent for the most part. Did not try the French or Italian.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach and pools are absolutely beautiful.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
They do need a better Activities Director, everyone mentioned this. However, this is a brand new hotel and this was the only negitive we noticed. We all had a lot of fun playing black jack and the slots. My grandchildren it was cool.
Other Comments:
My wife and I have been to many resorts and this was one of the best. The service and people who work there are very pleasent.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Kathie ~ Buffalo, NY
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May 2009
Arrival: April 7 - April 16
We took a commercial airline with a layover in Atlanta. We were driven by bus to the resort where we were greeted with a refreshing "Majestic" and a cold wet towel.
Rooms:
Our room was conveniently located and very large. We loved the fact that the rooms are all very close to the free form pool, so you can go back and forth easily.
Restaurants and Bars:
The restaurants were the definite downfall of this resort. The food was not very good. We have stayed at many all-inclusives and this was the worst food we've ever had. The Japanese Restaurant was the only one that we enjoyed. Flavors was fine for breakfast and lunch but I have definitely had better.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The pool was nice but they already need to do maintenance on it as some of the tiles have broken off or are loose. They were repairing the water feature near the lobby while we were there, so its obvious that they are aware of the problems and are working on them.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We were there for a rest so we did not go on any tours.
Other Comments:
We love Punta Cana, this was our 4th time there in 10 years. The people are lovely and so helpful. I don't think I would go back to the Majestic though. We did have a great time and so will you if you have already booked, but there are better places in Punta Cana.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Paulette ~ Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
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April 2009
Arrival: March 28 to April 4
We were met at the airport by our Sunwing rep who accompanied us to our bus and hotel, leaving us in the capable hands of our butler, Henri. We were welcomed at the hotel with a Magestic drink and treated like royalty.
Rooms
We had one of the most beautiful suites - jaccuzi in our room and one on the patio. Top floor with a beautiful view of the ocean! My dream come true - thanks, Henri!
Restaurants and Bars
Our favorite was Nine Doors, the Japanese one but they were all great. Flavors had the most variety - the pasta bar and salad bar was especially good.. Service in all the restaurants was exceptional.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach was great. Wlak with a cane and was worried that I might have a problem walking , but the sand was easy to walk on. The water, in both the ocean and the pools ,was like bathwater. The grounds were immaculate - even the walkways and stones were washed daily. The pools were so clean- never saw a speck of garbage anywhere on the resort
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We went on two tours and a shopping trip - all were set up by our sunwing rep , Modesto. We went on a half day trip to Marinarium and a day long trip to Saona Island. We had a ball - the people are so friendly and talented - fluent in several languages and gracious in all of them. Beautiful dancers!
Other Comments
We had a wonderful time from start to finish! The Elegance club is the way to travel and we were so pleased with Sunwing vacations as well. Saving to go back asap.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
David ~ Kitchener, Ontario |
April 2009
Background
This was our fifth trip to the DR (Riu, Excellence, Gran Bahia, and most recently the Majestic Colonial); have also travelled to Jamaica and Mexico. It was because of the excellent time we had at the Colonial that we decided to come back here first time ever going back to the same resort.
Arrival: March 14 - 21
Arrived at hotel late (10:30 pm). Were booked into the Club section, and were told to wait so we waited, and waited and waited …. 45 minutes later, and two trips to the front desk we were finally taken to our room. Apparently the Club closes at 11:00, and no one came up to get us too close to quitting time I guess. Not a great reception for the start of our vacation.
Rooms
Had booked, and of course paid for an Oceanfront Suite in the Club section. What we got was a regular room, not oceanfront, in the Club section. When we talked to Lucia early the next morning, we were told the Oceanfront Suites were all booked the earliest they could move us would be in 3 days (almost half way through our one week holiday). We were offered a massage to compensate! Not sure how a $50 massage compensates for a room downgrade (for which we paid $680 extra) my calculations would indicate 3 nights x $100 = $300. Everyone, except one couple, we talked to had the same issue. With computerized booking systems, and the fact that they would have very few no shows or extended stays (this is a resort island, people have flights booked) there is no excuse for this. It appears that this is a complete SCAM, they intentionally double book these premium priced rooms, take the extra money that people have paid, and they are up $100 per night per room! When they finally did move us, it was to an oceanfront room, not suite forget about it, let's get on with the vacation.
Restaurants and Bars
Buffet restaurant had good selection for breakfast, never ate lunch there, and OK food for dinner. Lunches at the Sea & See were good. The Gourmand restaurant was disappointing; the Italian was very disappointing; the Japanese was quite good (although no show at all) until I found a fried fly in my fried rice; the Sea & See was quite good; the Steak House was very good—ate there twice.
Overall drinks were very good. The beach service was excellent, the pool swim up bar somewhat inconsistent, but the main bar by the restaurants was excellent. We never went thirsty.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach is superb! Yes the towel game is in on every day, so if you want a casita better get up early. Beach service in the Club sections was awesome. They only have one sign for the Club section of the beach, so staff does chase others away, after they are already settled (more signs would help). The pools are huge and clean, and the water is refreshingly cool. The grounds are very well kept. An earlier reviewer said they have tried to build a 5 star resort with 2 star labour this is very correct. Many fixtures and finishes were in need of repair (the maintenance staff was kept very busy), but this didn't affect our stay.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
This was a relaxing holiday, so we did not do any offsite excursions.
Other Comments
The Sunwing rep was absolutely useless when asked to help resolve our room issue, he was only interested in selling their excursions (for the commission). They can screw their customers over by overbooking the premium rooms, but it's not what you would expect from a resort that would like to be known as 5 star, not to mention they can forget about return customers. The old slogan "the best surprise, is no surprise" really is true. Unless management gets their act together this will never become a 5 star resort (such as the Excellence). We won't go back, and I would not recommend this resort to any of my friends, but would recommend any of the other resorts we have stayed at in the DR.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Mark ~ Pennsylvania, USA |
April 2009
Arrival: 28 February to 7 March
USA 3000 from Pittsburgh International to Punta Cana airport. Not a bad flight experience on this discount airline [our first experience with USA 3000] in terms of fees, lines, on-time departure/arrival and the like. Customs and immigration was an adventure though. No line control [they move the orderly queue line formations and just corral people in a massive herd] and no written or verbal instructions was quite fun. Luckily travel goers were excited and in a good mood so we doped it out and helped each other out [how to fill out forms, borrowing pens and what line to jump to next].
Rooms
Thanks to Orlando and Roogan at the front desk for letting us switch rooms from the first floor to the fourth floor. Interior of room was slightly better but the biggest betterment was lack of foot traffic outside our front door. The way the resort is set up lends itself to heavy foot traffic in a row of rooms in one of the center buildings. Rooms were brand spanking new. Good quality materials used in construction but definitely not the best labor in putting the materials together. I am all thumbs with home repair and the like so the room looked as though I did the finishing work.
Restaurants and Bars
Wide choice at buffet with no signs but you can figure it out - not brain surgery. Steak restaurant was okay. Had 5 year old and 3 year old with us so we were frequent guests at the buffet restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
I have been to Mexico, Barbados, St. Martin, Bermuda and Puerto Rico so I have been to a few beaches. This beach was the best in terms of smooth sand, no rocks, little sea shells and no seaweed in the water. Even the ocean floor was smooth! Plus, we didn't have to worry about strong undertow with our two little ones. We loved this beach. Pool was nice and new. Kiddie pool was nice too. We liked the big area that was a hot tub right off the middle of the main pool.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We were total beach bums and thoroughly enjoyed the resort - food, beach, pool, drinks, music, dancing and a few shows. Early to bed and early to rise with two kiddies so we can't speak to the nightlife.
Other Comments
People were nice as pie! It is nice to be nice. Happiness is infectious and we were spreading the sunshine all over the resort.
If I owned the place, I would hire a squad of 'chair nazis' that would patrol 'saved' chairs on the beach and poolside. It got to be ridiculous at some points - about 60-70% hotel occupancy and not an open chair anywhere. I had to do the get up before the roosters thing and save a spot at the beach at 6am - but at least our family of four were in the beach chairs by 9am. There were 'saved' chairs at the beach at pool that were unoccupied for 4 to 5 hour clips. I would have the 'chair nazis' come along and place a chalk mark on chairs with the time of day, then come by for a next pass a few hours later - if not occupied still then off come the beach towels and the like that represent fractional ownership of the chairs! Sorry to be so negative on the whole chair thing, but I couldn't find an open chair for my napping 3 year old son at around 1pm so the poor boy had to sleep on top of towels on the concrete floor next to the pool so my daughter could enjoy the pool and we could watch both children without breaking up the family vacation. Ugh - so annoying to have about 50 chairs unoccupied other than a towel hanging over it!
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Audrey ~ PEI Canada |
March 2009
Arrival: March 9- 22
No problems. We flew through sell off vacations, but also through Sunquestand on Air Transat. We were about 45 minutes late leaving Halifax. It was about an hour from the airport to the hotel as we had to make several stops. Our room was ready when we got there.
Rooms
Really, really nice. 1422 was our room and it did not face anything but a walkway. Just as it shows on the webpage, a 5/5. We asked for the 4th floor before we went.
The only thing I didn't like is, although there is a small stall for the toilet and shower they open right out into the living space. There is no private area for these in your room, unless you are in a 1 bedroom suite which is in the VIP adult only section.
There was champagne in our room on arrival, nice surprise. The second week we had chocolate bars in our fridge too. Lots of pop and beer but no wine in the fridge. I am nut sure why they do not offer that.
We had a guy clean our room for the 1st 10 days and he was just fair, never dusted, and I think the only thing they do in the shower is do the floor. Cleaning... 3/5. he was a great little whistler and a happy little soul and wiling to get things like more towels etc. Tips did not make a difference.
Restaurants and Bars
The big buffet was great, lots to choose from but not very hot unless you get it cooked in front of you. Great service although it is funny, they dont quite get it al right every time. Some tables have all silverware and glasses etc. while othere may only have water glasses, they are just so busy.
One suggestion is to have the tables numbered so they are not confused about who they are serving. I am sure us Canucks all look alike. The A-la carts, wonderful. We did the steak house 3 times... the roasted potatoes are actually baked and always come with sour cream, not always hot but they will return it and bring you what you want. You must emphasize your meat well done. Go to Melvin at the pool and he will teach you a few spanish lessons about how to say wel done etc.
The French/Gourmet restaurant was OK. Beautiful room, baby grand etc, we wouldn't go back... food jut OK. You only get to order your entree, the rest is like samplers with appetizers and desserts. The Italian, I loved, we went there twice, the peanut butter and walnut linguini was awesome, wish I had the recipe. This is only open to the VIP section for breakfast. The Sea by Sea at the beach bar was OK, some loved others was just OK. (There were 7 in our party.) You can go here for breakfast (a bit later) and we always went there for lunch as it was at the beach. Lunch is excllent.
The Japanese was an experience and was so fun. We went twice, the first guy was a little noisy and over the top but kept everyone in stitches. The lobby bars were great!!!. The lower lobby is the happening place every evening and so much fun. Some of the waiters/waitresses are a bit stressed but they do a great job. This was the main area we were after dinner and waiting for the show or the disco to open. Show opens at 1000 PM.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach awesome. You need to get your chairs and hut early, before 7. Everyone is very respectful if you leave your towels ther and will not move them but we did have 1 instance where someone took our hut so we just sat beside them and had a respectful conversation and they moved on. There were wonderful Fench people from Toronto who tried o tell her it was ours, to no avail. Thanks to those Torontonians
Pools long, different but again clean and great. Sim up bar fun. We really only went to the pool for pictures. Grounds great, not quite as lush yet but they are all working hard and are happy.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Two people went swimming with the dolphins. It was $120 each. If just 1 of you wants to go then it is still $120 and the other person accompaning you pays $30.They really liked it. You can buy the CD which has about 8-10 pictures on the CD and more info about the DR.
The Gym is awesome. I went to Yoga and Elsa is 80 pounds soaking wet and stretches you awesome. We did the dance lesons with Henry, he is a good teacher. He got a bit cranky when I called the desk at 1200 to see if there was going to be dance lesons that day and apparently his director called him and must have been mad at him because he came up in a snit which I didn't think was very professional. He is the assistant manager of the activities. Melvin teaches Spanish at the pool and is wonderful. He has a 2 year old daughter, he makes good money for there (200/week) as the supervisor of activities.
I would strongly suggest the couples Spa... worth every dime!!!!!! The girls were soooo wonderful. Two hours of pure relaxation! The shops in the plaza were great. There was dancing every single night in the plaza. I loved the layout of all of this area as it was right off the lobby, very nice. Music awesome but when you are there more then 1 week it is all repeated the next week. The shows were some of the best for the resorts we have been to.
Other Comments
Church was at 6 Pm Sat only although several told us it was at 5. No one seems to have the same answer. Mass is in Spanish and the priest was not friendly at all. He just wanted his money and not interested in chatting with me at the end. Of course it could have been that the people in our row broke the pew seat.
I would go back in a heartbeat. We are still trying to decide wether this is better then the Gran Bahi AMBAR where we were last year, I am not sure. The Bahi has turn down service and their cleaning was impeccable, that may be a hill to die on for me. Either way, enjoy your vacation, you deserve it :-)
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Tracy ~ Canada |
March 2009
Arrival: Feb.13 - Feb20
Arrived Feb13 about 30 min. drive from airport
Rooms
We stayed in room 2103.It was a swim up room and was amazing and very close to everything.It was like having your own private pool.
Restaurants and Bars
No problems with meals at any of the restaurants and all the food was excellent
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach is a little cozier than some we have been to in the Dominican but you never have a hard time finding chairs.And of coarse the beach is beautiful.The pool was always clean and warm
Other Comments
This is a new resort and they are still working on it but it will not interfere with your vacation
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Jackie & Chris ~ Ottawa, Ontario |
March 2009
Arrival: February 21 - 28
We left Ottawa via WestJet Airlines at 6 am and arrived in Punta Cana on time at 11 a.m. with the time change. WestJet is an excellent airline, have never had any problems with them. When we arrived at the Elegance, there was a kiosk in the lobby with a sign for the Elegance Club. This is where our butler was waiting for us. There were 2 other couples as well. We all walked down to the Elegance Club section and we entered into the Club section where we were checked in. This is also where all club members can go and check their e-mail, enjoy some snacks and get great coffee, bottles of water, pop etc. Great concept if you ask us. Our room wasn't ready, so our butler, Hoolio, showed us to the lunch buffet where we had some lunch. After lunch he came to pick us up and off we went to our room.
Rooms
What a beautiful surprise when we walked into our Ocean Front Suite. On the third floor, room 3335. As you walked in, there was a bathroom on the left, with the closet's on the right. When you walk into the living room, you will find a leather couch with ottoman, a table with two chairs, a large cabinet which holds your fridge, coffee maker,espresso maker, ice bucket, bottle of champagne with glasses. As well, there was a bottle of Johnny Walker Black, Absolute Vodka, A bottle of Rum as well as a bottle of Bailey'. There was also a huge patio door leading to a massive balcony over looking one of the Elegance club pools. On the balcony you had two chairs with a bistro type table, a couch with a coffee table as well as a huge round jacuzzi tub. If you looked to the right, you were looking at the beach and the Ocean. Just breathtaking. To the left was the resort and grounds. In the second room, off the living room was the king size bed, a desk with your plasma tv above on the wall, a walk in closet, jacuzzi tub, two sinks, your shower as well as a second bathroom. The shower was huge, we never had any problem with the draining of the water, it's possible they've fixed all the rooms, or are working on it. The maids were excellent, we never saw them. They would attend while we were out of the room. We brought a bunch of gifts for the maid, when we would return they would be gone, the room was cleaned, we had towels and facecloths. Never any issues. We also received on a daily basis, the newspaper, which was nice to read in the afternoon on the patio with a nice cold Presidente from your fridge!!! We had pop, beer water and chocolate bars.
Restaurants and Bars
I believe we did them all. The seafood was good, the service here is a bit unorganized, but we just watched the show and waited. Eventually we did receive our dinners and the food was excellent. The steakhouse is gorgeous. The food is excellent and the staff, well, I personally believe they are overworked. I believe in great service, but I also think that having your staff running through the restaurant is a bit much. We watched these guys for almost and hour and a half. They have one guy doing all the running to the tables with the main courses. It's very well organized, don't get me wrong, I just think they should split it up so they're not running. We called him over to the table to talk to him and my husband gave him a 10.00 tip. He was so gracious, but he didn't have time to even talk, he needed to get the next round of plates to the next table. The buffet was great, they have signs to indicate what the dish is, the food was hot, there was plenty to choose from. This goes for the breakfast,lunch and dinner. The Gourmet was great, nice ambiance, a piano player in the middle of the restaurant. This is fine dining. Men are required to wear long pants here. And the women are wearing anything from jeans to gowns! Service was excellent. We also dinned at the Italian restaurant. The lobster Gnocchi was excellent. My husband had the "over" cooked lasagna. There was a typo on the menu...should have read "oven". We had a good laugh at that one. The lasagna was fine. Small portions. The Japanese was excellent as well, though they do put alot of salt in the food. We didn't try the Sushi bar, but the people that we talked to said it was excellent. There were alot of people in there when we would walk by. Just before we left, they did open a "wine tasting" room just off the japanese restaurant. We spoke with someone who attended and said it was just awesome. I believe you have 4 different wines, they bring you all the food that accompanies these tastings as well.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Well, I can't say enough about this resort. We have been to the Majestic Colonial twice and right after it opened, so this was kind of the same idea. The grounds are amazing. They have their maintenance staff constantly working on the grounds. The greenery is just amazing. You have the main pool for the Elegance guests, this pool runs through the whole resort. You also have four pools that run along the Elegance Club buildings. These pools have tonnes of beach chairs as well as the "bali beds". The elegance club pools were very quiet, it was the perfect atmosphere for us. The beach is the best part of this holiday. The water and sand here is just amazing. The beach is a bit more narrow than most, but there's enough room here to sit comfortably. They had alot of palapas as well. There was an Elegance Club section on the beach to the left, this section is strictly for club members. There's no signage so you have everybody coming over. The staff ask anyone without the elegance club wristband on to move over the other side. What a show....some people moved, most people would just ignore them. Very rude in my opinion. Might make a bit of a difference if they had some signs up. Maybe not, but it wouldn't hurt and would save the staff from being put into rude situations.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
My husband and I were there to relax. We didn't attend any shows whatsoever. On tuesday evenings, the Elegance Club puts on a cocktail party on the rooftop bar. They had all the staff, the manager Calixte, as well as the butlers, they had a singing trio who where just wonderful. They served champagne and hors d'ovres. It was a great way to meet everyone and mingle with the other guests.
Other Comments
The only thing that turned me off was that we hardly saw any guests tipping these fine workers. They would constantly go out of their way to ensure that your holiday was memorable. A buck goes a long way people. We never had any problem with communicating, if anything we found that the majority of the people who worked for this resort spoke perfect english. This was possibly the best holiday and resort that we've ever stayed at. We travel at least twice a year and have been for the last 17 years. We love this island. This resort was a five star in our eyes and we can't wait to get back there to enjoy another excellent holiday.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Steve & Linda ~ Ontario |
February 2009
Arrival: Feb. 18th - 25th
Flight down and back with Westjet were uneventful. Anticipation of arrival and depression after departure are the worst parts of the trip.
We arrived and got out luggage very quickly and IBK transfer was waiting for us which we now know is the only way to get to and from the hotels. Thanks to all involved with IBK.
Rooms
We were travelling with 3 other people so a total of 3 rooms were invovled with this trip. Each room had some small issues but these have been ongoing problems since opening and really should be addressed by now. Water did leak out from the showers and a towel was on the floor at all times in one room, this was a concern traveling with a senor so was worried about falling, balcony doors didn't lock in 2 rooms, mosquitoes were terrible in swim up room and major plumbing problem in one room required daily maintenance by the resort plumber. Since we were at the Elegance Club, our concerns were dealt with immediately but not always able to be resolved. Otherwise, the rooms are spectacular in appearance and comfort. Beds were great, housekeeping service and bar fridge services were extremely well done. These staff members were so very friendly and always smiled and took time to talk to us. Fantastic staff at this hotel.
Restaurants and Bars
We ate at all the restaurants during our stay. The A la Cartes were all very good. The food in all restaurants was very enjoyable, no bad meals here at all. Japanese, Italian, Steak, and French were all very good. Steak was the best but the staff were really rushing around so you felt rushed. If this staff would slow down then the guests would be able to enjoy their meal better. Sea and See was really not too good and tended to have the same food every day at lunch. Buffet was very large for seating space and had a very good selection for food. Elegance Club can go to the Italian restaurant for Breakfast and Lunch which was a nice touch otherwise the buffet is available or a continental breakfast at the Sea and See. Elegance Club have food always available at the internet cafe for breakfast and lunch. Once again the staff were all very good at the restaurants and many nights we sat and talked with them and learned new Spanish phrases from them. Many laughs at meals times with the staff.
So many bars so few days to visit them all. We really enjoyed the piano bar in the early evening after dinner and Norman the bartender was so much fun making special drinks for us every night. We then went every night to the Plaza Colon bar for the nightly entertainment which was a lot of fun and the entertainment team was there everynight to get the guests up and dancing. The lower lobby bar was also a very popular place to sit and watch the comings and goings. The pool bars and beach bars were all very good as well.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach was as usual for Punta Cana FANTASTIC. Separate area for Elegance Club with enough palapas to go around. Unfortunately the towel game is in full force. There is a very long pool at this resort and several small ones which makes it very comfortable to sit around. Never felt crowded at any pool. There are a lot of Bali beds around but not in too much use as there is no covering over them and therefore no shade. They tended to be used in the later afternoon after the heat of the day was passed. As this is a new resort, the flowers are not mature yet but still very nice overall. Gardeners are out working everyday on them, pruning and watering so will not take long for them to take hold and then WOW they will be beautiful. The path to and from the main lobby is very well lit at night so no problems walking around in the dark. The covered paths are also very nice to walk under. There are a lot of fountains and water features and small pools around the lobby which adds to the visual appearance. Very attractive resort. The main entrance and lobby are very breath taking. When you enter the hotel, there is a very large reception area and then you see this spectacular grand stair case going down to the lower level. What a view. Gorgeous hotel.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We stayed put for the week and just relaxed by the ocean and pool.
Other Comments
We would both be willing to go back to this resort but the room issues really need to be dealt with sooner than later.
The staff is some of the best staff that we have ever had the pleasure to interac with. They are so much fun to be around. Wandes at the elegance club internet cafe was so much help to us and always had a smile on her face. Thank you Wandes for making our holiday very enjoyable. There was a management meet and greet for Elegance club guests on Tuesday evening which was a nice time and the bar staff were making sure that all guest were happy happy happy with lots of champagne. Overall we had a great trip and would fully recommend anyone to go here with an open mind. The issues were small and did not ruin our holiday in the least. Any questions please feel free to pm me.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Brent and Suzanne ~ Cornwall, Ontario |
February 2009
Arrival
we flew sunwing from the ottawa airport, zero problems leaving or returning to the ottawa airport,, also zero problems in punta cana other than a baggage belt failure at the airport that created a checkin backup..flight was 100% perfect as always with sunwing, very friendly and great service. Welcome and checkin at the resort was great. Bellboys were great and got to your room in recort time...the majectic welcome drink was super and refreshing
Rooms
We arrived at our room 1118 at first glance it looked great,jaccuzi is a plus the room was very musty smelling,not like at some other resorts where you have a little musty smell,, this was almost overwhelming,, the beds ,linen etc felt damp..something very important to point out is when you get your room check the patio door it doesnt lock,, from what we discovered very few of them do.. Opon closer look at the room you can quickly learn why this resort was built in a record time,, finishing touches were of a very poor quality,, not only in the rooms but all over the resort,, this in itself would not make a a your stay go bad but as i said check your patio door they do not lock and being on the first floor this is a major problem i asked the front desk to change rooms because of this and the musty smell and were accomodated very well.. Look for paola at the front desk she will make thing right.. We moved to the other side of the resort to the 4th floor room 3407,, great view of the pool and a peek at the ocean,, a touch of musty smell but nothing that we couldnt deal with.. Facecloths were a small problem and had to be chased down,, but our room was made up early in the morning and cleaned to a shine. Beer ,,water etc,, was replaced daily.. All in all it wasnt bad not the best but not terrible
Restaurants and Bars
We sampled all the resturants and the 2 buffets,,the seafood resturant was terrible,, italian was good,, japanese was fresh and exciting but they seemed to try to hurry you out,, would have been nice to sit and chat over a coffee etc..french was so-so,,steak house was good try the chateaubriand was fantastic.. Main buffet was okay not fantastic,, chicken,,pork or fish,, near the last day of our stay they started to label the items,, lunch and supper buffet items were very close to the same.. All in all if you are hungry you will find something to eat,, not really one of our main concerns because we came for the sun.. The beach buffet aka seafood restaurant was the same every day,, pasta, salads, chicken.. All in all we didnt put any weight on from eating..all the bars were great try a majestic with some r\light rum or a sammy sosa,, very tasty,, great service on the beach by the waiters, of course the hotel was only 63% full..
Beach/Pools/Grounds
As always the beach was 100% to our liking, beautiful sand and warm turquoise waters,, pool was clean and nice to swim in,, lounges etc were never a problem to get but remember the place was not full
Activities on and off the resort/hotel
We did not do any tours this time around but my brother and sister in law went on the catamaran tour and they thought this was fantastic..this was all r&r so we mostly vegged at the ocean
Other comments
All in all we had a good time,, the weather did not cooperate at the first of the week but we still had a good time.. Is this resort a five star not quite yet,, but will be in time. Will we go back,, yes in a few years when they get everything settled down. The staff was 100% friendly and helpful,, with all the minor problems that they are having they always have a smile and a cheerfull hola to you.. Lots of english spoken by the staff.. Do any of them stand out,, yes all of them, they helped us have a great holiday..the grounds, flowers etc were always an ongoing thing with the workers, it looks fantasatic just dont look at the finishing touches.. Hats off to sungwing,, they will always be our choice for vacations and to the majestic,,you have a nice resort and in time you will have a fantastic resort thanks for a great vacation brent & suzanne
brentbranchaud@sympatico.ca
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Nick ~ Canada |
February 2009
Arrival: Feb. 14 - 21
Our first room had two double beds and when we asked for a king they said there wasn't any left. When we complained a few hours later and indicated it was our honeymoon, they finally moved us to a room with a king.
Rooms
Nice, but the water from the shower leaks into the room... must place towel outside the glass door. Also, there was reminence of bloody dead mosquitos all over the walls of the room. Pretty nasty.
Other Comments
Our room was infested with mosquitos. Every night there were at least half a dozen in our room. Most of them likely entered while the cleaning personnel cleaned the rooms while leaving the door open. We were on the ground floor next to the small forest (I believe the south side of the resort). We saw towels outside the doors of several other rooms (guess others had the same problem). When we complained to the front desk, they gave us bug spray which I would use every night. Still, my gf was bitten many times. Given the risk of Malaria in the Punta Cana area (as per Government of Canada www.voyage.gc.ca) I would not return to this resort.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Don & Heather |
February 2009
Short and sweet: This NOT and may never be a 5 star resort.
To assume so would be an injustice to the truly excellent resorts; Food and service rates 7 out of 10, at best!.
Don & Heather; (frequent, mature travellers, 5 star only!)
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Noam, Juanita & Nicky ~ NYC |
February 2009
Arrival: Feb 13th - 21st
Our arrival was smooth - we were welcomed with a nice cold drink and everyone was very accommodating. The bellboy was extremely nice; he gave us a description of the facilities while walking us to our room.
Rooms
There are only two types of rooms (the one bedroom suite and the junior suite). Our junior suite was beautiful equip with a large Jacuzzi, marbled floors and a king size four post bed; very romantic.
Restaurants and Bars
Drinks made at the bar are delicious, great frozen drinks, Mojitos etc. Must try the Mama Juana Drink (Dominican rum infused with honey and herbal bark) great drink. The establishment is all inclusive drink and food, however at the Casino they do charge you $5 for top shelf liquor. Kind of ass backwards considering alcohol is usually free at Casinos.
Every single restaurant in this place was horrible.
1. The Italian restaurant: Upon arrival, the waiter gave us wet cloth napkins. When we ask for dry ones he explained all of them are that way they are just cold. Ridiculous considering it left a wet ring on our pants at the end of dinner. THE FOOD WAS THE WORST I HAVE EVER HAD let's just say we would have settled for Chef Boy R Dee that would have been better. Definitely not of Italian descent. The service was extremely bad .We waited forever for the food and bread that they served us when we were done eating.
2. The Japanese restaurant was of a Benihanna style set up. The beef was horrible not edible, had a rancid smell and weird after taste. Clearly not good beef at all. The Asian style rice and grilled chicken was ok. The shrimp however had a weird taste as well.
3. The Steak restaurant is ok if you order the cowboy steak. Our grilled vegetable sides and grilled potatoes was served cold as if it was pre-made and sitting around.
NOTE: All salads are served with one type of lettuce Iceberg lettuce, even the Caesar salad.
SOME ADVICE: Stick to the buffet they serve freshly made eggs and omelets for breakfast, for lunch and diner freshly made the rotisserie chicken daily and some edible desserts and fresh fruit 24 hours a day.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach and pool area are beautiful, clean and limited activities throughout the day like pool aerobics in the morning, volley ball, a ping pong table a darts contest etc. The entire staff that work the pool, beach and grounds were so friendly and work extremely hard to accommodate the guests. They are the best. The one draw back to the beach and the pool is limited seating, I found myself walking around each day for about an hour trying the find a chair. 80% the guests leave there towels on the chairs while they disappear for a few hours wondering the grounds (Very inconsiderate to other guests who may want to enjoy the pool or beach area too). The hotel should have a policy or some type of regulation for this.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The hotel does not promote off the ground tours or daily activities in the facility. Leaves you everyday wondering the grounds looking for something to do, very boring.
You kind a figure out the daily routine after a few days, everyone gathers at the outdoor auditorium from 10pm - 11pm for what ever high school showcase they are presenting that day and at 11pm the disco opens for all the alkies and there kiddies.
For the adventurers we recommend you rent a car and drive around to the near by towns. We took a 4 hour drive to Santo Domingo Stopping at the smaller towns along the way. We also drove down to Captain Cook's in Bavaro a few times for lunch, the food is great. They catch fresh fish daily and serve basic Hispanic food. You may be wary of driving into the small poor towns but the people are very friendly no need to be scared. We recommend driving during the day only because the small roads are filled with pot holes which are hard to see at night.
Other Comments
Room Service is horrendous here, just god awful. We didn't get clean towels daily and never got any wash cloths for bathing (Complained to guest services about 3 times during our stay and they still never got it straight) When ordering room service, cross your fingers and hope they show up. They only showed up 1 out 3 times that we ordered room service.
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Jeff ~ Canada |
February 2009
Arrival: Feb 9 - 16
Left from Ottawa on the 9th via Skyservices. We booked the exit row and had more leg room than the regular seats. We however didn't get that row on the way back and therefore are requesting a refund. We arrived on time and had no problems getting through customs or finding our bus to the resort. Upon arriving we did receive a welcome drink but no cold towel. It was late at night (10:30PM) so it was a big deal as it wasn't hot. We we're then escorted to the Elegance club by Henri and went through an easy check in. Henri then showed us to our room (3rd floor 1346)and explained everything we needed to know. They had run out of the passports which explained everything about the resort and it would have been nice to have but it wasn't a problem finding anything out.
Rooms
The room was very nice and if you care to inspect the place you're sure to find some poor workmanship. We chose to accept is as it is and therefore found it quite nice. It has everything we needed and my wife loved the in room jacuzzi while I preferred the shower. We had no problem with flooding or bugs but did encouter a problem with the air conditioning. We couldn't turn it off and therefore it was always cold. We did raise the issue with Angel and the following day it was fixed. Didn't receive face cloths until day 3 but since we brought our own it wasn't a big deal. Maid service was at different times every day and sometimes the room would be cleaned but the towels wouldn't show up until later. Also the drink replenishment guy would come at differnet times so you could end up getting 2 or 3 knocks at different times of the day.
Restaurants and Bars
We tried the Steakhouse, Italian and both buffets. Steakhouse was good all 3 times we ate there but one couple we were with had a very fatty cowboy steak. We ate at the Italian once and it was also good. Both buffets were good as well and the main one is now starting to put up signs indicating what you are about to eat so that helps. I did get sick upon returning home and I think it was something I ate just before I left but can't be sure. All in all the food was fine.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach was as good as everyone says. On our last day though the beach was overcome with seaweed, but that was the only day we saw any at this resort. We saw it at other resorts while walking on the beach so I'm not sure if this is a hit and miss type of thing. Since we were in the elegance club we never had a problem getting a bali bed or beach chairs. There is a little bit of towel game going on, but there was still never a problem in finding a chair. Grounds are very well kept and there are always gardeners attending to them. In time they will make the resort that much more beautiful and more private.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We didn't attend any off site tours but did take in a couple of the on site shows. The disco was too smokey and not our type of music but the plaza music was quite nice. The shows in the theatre were alright but nothing I'd rush back for and in time I'm sure they will become much better.
Other Comments
We had a late flight (11PM) and we're moved to a ground floor swim-up room for our last 6 hours. This room was also nice but we did encounter mosquitoes here. This may have been because this was the first day there was no breeze or because we were now on the ground floor. They did spray each night we were there but this was our first encouter of any bugs. Some people on the ground floors had put towels at the base of there doors but I'm not sure if it was for crawling bugs or mosquitoes. All in all we had a wonderful time and will probably go back. The one thing about this resort that is top notch is the sevice. Special thanks to Henri & Saffino in the club, Freely at the club bar and Gloria and Kelvin at the Sea & See buffet. Also to Angel for getting our one problem fixed.
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Jackie ~ Pennsylvania |
February 2009
Arrival
it was ok. we were greeted with a yummy drink and fresh towel. We had trouble getting the room and bed we had requested. A girl took us to our room walking soooo slow and didn't speak ANY English. I was frustrated after a long day of travel. They had no idea what you were asking and would just smile at you, super annoying!!!!! Pull it together!!!
Rooms
Beautiful rooms.... Our shower didn't drain but someone did come fix it the next day. Room service is so gross! I odered a bottle of water and after 4 hours it still didn't arrive!!!! Good luck with that! Maids did an ok job... I had to fight for towels and it took over 24 hours for someone to collect our dirty plates from room service from the first day.
Restaurants and Bars
The Asian restaurant was amazing!!!! The food was great and it was a great way to meet people around as you were seated with 4 other couples!!! My BF and I don't eat steak, but we heard such great reviews that we had to try it; so amazing!!!! We heard Italian and French restaurants were NOT good, so we skipped..... The buffet was gross! Tons of fattening food and nothing was labeled, when I asked employees what it was, they didn't know either! What? SCARY!!!! FLIES!!!! The bars were pretty, but they didn't have much to offer! I was totally disappointed to find they offered only one kind of beer! (i don't drink anything but amstel light or corona light) Also, it was mostly all BOTTOM shelf liquor!!!!! EEHHWAA! You would think they would have at least some nice liquors since you paid alot of money. They did not have anything nicer than Stoli ;( Bummer for me, because I drink Kettle One.....
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach was nice ;) Pool was beautiful ;)
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
not many activities... we didn't go on any tours, we wanted to relax.
Other Comments
It was a beautiful place, but I would NOT go back!!!!!!
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Suzanne ~ Medina, Ohio USA |
February 2009
Arrival: Dec 13 - 20
We arrived at the resort + waited for our butler while we enjoyed a "Majestic" cocktail(tastes like a fabulous Dreamscicle!). Our butler met us + walked us thru the property -explaining all the restaurants, etc.
Rooms
Our suite was on the third floor facing the empty lot next door. Our room was fine but due to the frequent rain while there---we had a ton of mosquitos attacking us in our room. I've never seen anything quite like it. Our room was lovely--definitely have your butler draw your "bath" for you! It was a fabulous bubble bath with candles-very romantic!
Restaurants and Bars
We definitely loved the asian restaurant the best. The Italian was having major issues getting the correct food to the correct guests. There was also an issue with mosquitos in this restaurant also. They make a fabulous "bloody mary"!
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The pool was lovely but the bali beds don't have any shade over them. There also wasn't any shade to be had around the "adults only" pool. For shade you'll have to seek a palapal on the beach or around the main pool. Terrific waitress service around the pool!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Not really--
Other Comments
The Elegance was still under construction while we were there. We had a very nice time + I'm sure it will get better with time!
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Pattirose ~ Oshawa |
February 2009
We left Toronto Sunday Feb. 8 and it was quite mild weather. We arrived in Punta Cana to much warmer weather but quite cloudy with some light rain. We flew Sunwing and were concerned that having to purchase the $10 tourist card would be just another crazy line to go through, however I must say that it was extremely well organized. You had your picture taken with the girls, then proceeded to a line where you paid the $10 and received your tourist card and then followed in the line where you turned in your tourist card and then continued along through the line to customs. It was all very painless and quite quick. Then did all the usual things...grabbed our luggage, contacted the Sunwing booth, bought some cold Presidente’s and went to our bus.
The ride to the resort was quite quick. We had a smaller bus (with trailer behind for the luggage). There were only three stops, first at the Bahia Principe and then the Majestic Elegance and lastly the Majestic Colonial.
Upon getting off the bus we were greeted at the door with a cold towel and a cold drink. There is a Majestic Elegance Club stand right at the front of the lobby and the butlers from the Elegance Club are there waiting for you. Our butler was Angel. What a wonderful man, very informative and always helpful. As the check in for the Elegance is down at the Elegance Club lobby, you are walked down through the resort and explained to where everything is. I thought that was very helpful. It made you feel that you were somewhat oriented already to the resort. Upon arriving at the Elegance Club, you are seated at the desk to do a tiny bit of paperwork , receive your bracelet, etc. During this process Angel was already getting us a cold drink. After all this was done Angel then took us to our room and explained where all the light switches, etc were.
Our room - We had an Elegance Club Junior suite, room 4331. These rooms by far are the most amazing rooms I have ever seen. They are extremely large, very nice decor, beautiful marble, large closets, comfortable chairs in the sitting area, wall mounted large screen tv, and quite comfortable chairs on the balcony. There was also a fridge stocked with water, Presidente, soft drinks and chocolate bar. Above that was a coffee maker and a bottle of Bailey’s, scotch, rum and vodka. We overlooked the vacant lot, BUT.... that gave us also an amazing ocean view.
Elegance Club lobby – in this room there is the registration desk , nine computers , dvd’s that you can borrow, books to borrow if you run out of reading material. There are a few couchs and about 5 table/chair settings. There is also a wall mounted tv. There is a mini snack buffet located along the other wall (food varies depending on the time of day..i.e. breakfast time would be more croissants, fruit, etc). There is also a very large glass fridge containing water, soft drinks, Presidente and wine. Next to that is the ice machine. At any time you can also exchange your beach towels for fresh ones in this area.
Elegance Pool – as everyone has reported the pool water is cooler than it would be at home, but is really not any colder than any other resort we have stayed at. There are many lounge chairs and several bali beds for you to use. There is also a dry bar at the pool area that is open from 9 – 6
Beach – the beach is very nice. We have stayed at the Majestic Colonial before, so in comparision to the Colonial we found the beach to be a bit narrower, however we never had a problem getting a chair. If you don’t want to sit where the chair is, feel free to move it. Several times we pulled our chairs to the other side of the water sports area, and that made us feel very secluded as there was only about 3 other couples that did this as well.
Restaurants – we ate breakfast in the buffet and enjoyed it. There are many different kinds of eggs and pancakes already prepared for you, but if you prefer they will cook it for you right there at your request.
We never had dinner at the Sea & Sea, but always had lunch there. The burgers were fabulous, as was the chicken and the pasta. The guys also really enjoyed having a snack of nachos/cheese and jalapenos.
We ate at the Italian restaurant twice and really enjoyed it. The lobster ghnocci is excellent. Hubby tried both types of veal and it was delicious as well.
We also ate the the Japanese one night. (You have to make a reservation) The food was very good, and it was a great way to meet people as you are seated at a table for ten.
The steak house we ate at three times. Each meal we had was very good, but without a doubt the chateau brined was our favourite.
We did not try the French/gourmet, but spoke to people that did and they enjoyed it.
We did have room service once, and it was very good. The food was hot and delivered very quickly (about 20 minutes). Entertainment – unfortunately I really can’t comment on this as we really have never gotten into going to the shows. At the Elegance there is a plaza bar (outside)where if weather permitting there is always a band or jazz playing there nightly and that is our preference. The music was very nice, and we actually did some dancing.
Spa – the spa is not open yet, but you are allowed to use the spa at the Colonial
Bars – the bars are all very well stocked. There is premium alcohol at all the bars, and the lobby bar goes above and beyond. I have never been to a resort and had Benedictine, Amaretto, Grand Marnais before. That was really enjoyable.
Staff – these are a group of very hard working people. They are extremely friendly, very polite and really work hard to make you feel at home. The hours that they work are very long.
Valentine’s Day - when we got up on Valentine’s day the resort was all decorated up around the lobby area and the restaurants with balloons, hearts, banners, etc. Very festive. Whichever restaurant you went to for dinner that night, the lady was presented with a long stem red rose and the man was given a white ball cap with Valentines day on it.
Weather – now here is what a lot of people won’t like to hear. We have travelled to Punta for three years prior to this on this exact same week. When we arrived at 11:30 am it was cloudy, light rain but still warm (much better than snow)..the sun came out for a little bit and then it rained on and off the rest of the day.
Monday morning started off cloudy, but we headed to the beach anyway. The sun came out around 9:00am and it was beautiful, but it did not take long for a storm to roll in...so we had to head back in for shelter. We hung around in the Elegance club lobby for a while, it cleared so we went back down to the beach....same thing all over again in about another hour. So, back to the Elegance club. There were very unhappy people complaining about the weather so we decided to leave and walk around the resort. We ended up at the pool bar under the palaypa...stayed there and had a great time chatting with other people, some were happy and some were not.
Tuesday when we woke up it was cloudy and very windy so we went to breakfast. After breakfast it was starting to clear so off to the beach we headed. Had about an hour before the rain started, so back up to the Elegance Club. This rain didn’t last very long before we were able to get back outside, but this time we decided to hand around our pool area instead of going to the beach as it was extremely windy. It cleared for about ¾ hour or so and then a huge rain storm with strong strong winds.
We decided to go back to our room. We ordered room service (very good) cuddled up with our books and spent a relaxing afternoon.
At the lobby bar that night there were many unhappy people, but luckily we also found some guests to chat with that had the same attitude as us....no one has the power to change the weather...the air was much warmer than at home, there was no snow to shovel, the resort was gorgeous. Simply complaining about pay “X” amount of dollars for a vacation, and getting yourself all in a tizzy because the weather was not what you hoped for is just not the way I wanted to spend my vacation. I spent some much needed quality time together with my husband which is what a big part of what this vacation was for.
Wednesday we all woke up to the beautiful sun, so everyone was happy.
Thanks very much to Omaira García and Angel. You made us feel very welcome.
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Vicky ~ Milwaukee, WI |
February 2009
Arrival:Jan 20 - Feb 6
Angel greeted us with a polite smile and guided us throught the resort, explaining very clearly where we could find everything. He than directed us to the guest arrival services, brought us what ever we wanted to drink while we checked in, was very attentive and sweet.
Rooms:
The first room we checked into was beautiful. A Jr. Suite, 1st floor, I think the room was 1147 located in the Club Elegance section. The following morning while taking a shower my husband came screaming to me to shut the shower off because I had flooded the entire bathroom floor. We were shown to another room, same Elegance Club section but now a view of the ocean and pool below. Room 2250! Great room. The maid did a great job, provided us enough towels and always stocked the fridge and cleaned up nicely. The bed and pillows were wonderful! Nice king size bed. :) Oh, and no leaking shower into the bathroom area!
Restaurants and Bars:
Sea & See. My husband ate the grouper and really enjoyed it. I ordered the "prawn" which were tiny shrimp which I didn't care for. Over all, my favorite was the Japanese hibatchi style dinner! Loved it! Otherwise, my mainstay was fruit and water and of course the cocktails. Main lobby (Lower) bar there are wonderful and attentive bartenders. High-end liquor can be found here. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it was they way the food was prepared, but my stomach was upset for a majority of my stay. If you want some "snacks" like Doritio's or potatoe chips expect to pay $8.00 American dollars per bag!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was so comfortable and breathtaking gourgeous. Every morning, (yes you do have to get up early to pick a prime spot) I'd lay out on the beach, read my books, stroll on the beach, watch other vacationers. GreatT The bartenders were fun and the servers were gracious. The pools are very nice.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We participated in the catamaran trip and the Bavaro Runners Safari Adventure full day trip. The catamaran trip was a full day (left at 6;30 a.m. and got back to the resort at 9:30 p.m.) but was well worth it! Go!! The Bavaro Runners trip included a visit to a surgar cane plantation, coffee farm, cigar farm, horseback riding and lunch up in the hills. Amazing views and amazing people.
Other Comments:
This was my first trip to the Carribean and loved it. The sights and the people were the best.
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Elizabeth ~ New York |
February 2009
Arrival: Jan 11 - 17
I was given a wet facecloth and a drink, then Domivie ( E. Club butler) escorted me to the Elegance Club Lounge and gave me a tour of the resort. then to the room we went, oops wrong room. The Oceanfront was overbooked, after some initial dissapointment and an offer to be moved to a swim-up suite the following day, i decided to stay put.
Rooms
The room was lovely, it was 2nd fl. and faced the palm tree forest. After a little trial and error I found all the light switches and figured which lights they controlled. i found the bed comfortable with great pillows. The shower was really nice with extra water jets on the side as well as a handheld and overhead shower.Remember to open the door facing into the shower so it doesen't drip onto the floor. The room waw just like the photos, Luckily i didn't experience any of the opening issues that some previous guests have discribed. nice Flat screen tv plenty of channels. champagin and 4 bottles of liquor in room - Baileys, Jonny Walker Red Brugal Extra viejo, Absolute.
The club Lounge was a treat, 8 high speed computers, no password or code needed, sit down and go. Soda, water, beer, expresso machine and assorted snacks.
Restaurants and Bars
The Lobby bars are georgous. the main bar has a very good selection of top shelf liquor. The pool and beach bars were pretty good as well. I loved the jSushi bar at the 9 Doors Restraunt. The only restraunt I didn't try was the Romantic. I found the food from good to excellent. My favs were the Sushi Bar, the Sea & Sea of course the buffet where they had some really good choices each time I went.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach is a bit narrow but has plenty of lounge chairs. you have to get there early to get a palapa. The water was great a little wavy the first 2 days, clamer the last five days. Love the beach even if it is narrow. They had daily volleyball games that were very popular. Anely, the beach butler is the best always with a hello and a smile. They have a Water sports center on the south side of the beach.
The pool water was chilly at first, only for a minute. The main pool is huge, toward the center by the bar they have activities and games. Since I spent most of my time at the beach, I didn't participate but did see quite a few people enjoying themselves at the main pool, with the animatation team.
The Elegance Club poola are quieter, no activities but a good place to relax and have a chat.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Went to the Casino, lost but played for a while and had a good time. Poped my head into the disco it was jumpin, the music was a little too loud for me, some years back I would've loved it. The live music on the plaza was more my speed. Every night they had live music and dancing. The shows at the theater were entertaining, not Broadway but good.
The only tour i did this time was the Maritanium Tour, I enjoyed it for the most part. I have reservations about imprisioning sea creatures for our entertainment. Aside from myself and 1 other person, everyone enjoyed seeing & swiming in the pen with the sharks and sting rays. The reef snorkling, entertinment on the boat, the crew and other guests were all good fun.
Other Comments
I was impressed with the Majestic Elegance, had a great vacation, and wouldn't hesetitate to go back. Within the next year they will have polished all the rough edges and I believe will be one of the top 5 resorts in Punta Cana
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Marlene ~ Hanover, Ontario, Canada |
February 2009
Arrival: Feb 1 - 7
Guided very quickly to our rooms with a brief review of the facilities. Towel service & a "Majestic" greeted us.
Rooms:
Junior Suite was everything as described. Spacious, well laid out. Shower was not a problem at all; always plenty of hot water.
Restaurants and Bars:
Steakhouse & Italian were excellent. Food was good where ever we went. Not necessarily as well presented as could have been and the service was lacking just a bit, but we never went away hungry!!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Nice beach, a bit of seaweed one day. Pool was well maintained.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Outback Jungle Safari was well worth it. Day away to see the real Dominican life was an eye opener.
Other Comments:
A great resort. Everything was great!!
mborho@log.on.ca
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Eileen ~ Kitchener, Canada |
February 2009
Arrival: January 25
We arrived at the hotel at 1 am to find they were not expecting us or the other 3 couples arriving at the same time, we eventually got our room at 3.30 am
Rooms:
The rooms were spacious and clean but had minor problems, you needed to put a towel by the door when showering. The one thing I didn't like was after no movement in the room for so long lights, air conditioning went off, so you could not lie on the bed and read. After approx 11 pm until morning this did not happen.
Restaurants and Bars:
The food to me was poor, the Italian was well presented but not much choice. The steak at the steak house was tough and chewy. The sea and sea restaurant for me was the best, no complaints except it is very windy there at night. We didn't go to the French as we had heard such bad reviews, the buffet was poor and nothing was labelled we were told they were working on it.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was lovely but not very deep, consequently it was overcrowded. The pool was really cold and very few used it. I never saw anyone at the swim up bar, I think it was too cold in the water.
Other Comments:
I enjoyed my vacation but would not go there again, The one good thing was the staff they were amazing, nothing was too much trouble. If they improved the food it would make a huge difference.
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mavjb – Dominican forum |
January 2009
I just got back from a corporate trip at Majestic Elegance. They are "almost" there but fall short in many areas.
The construction isn't sound. For example, if you plug something in your room, when you remove the plug, the whole plug will come out of the wall with you.
The showers tend to overflow so you are forced to walk from a marble shower out onto marble floors all while trying not to slide on your butt.
Some of the public bathrooms lack soap and towels or electric hand dryers so DO bring a portable hand sanitizer with you when you step out of your room.
Every night there is a black out of the facility. Some nights, it happens when you are already in bed, so that isn't so bad. However, if you are outdoors and it happens, you are plunged into darkness. Sometimes it lasted for half a minute, other times it lasted over an hour. Bring a small flashlight with you to be safe.
The buffet areas are wide open and have LOADS of flies circulating around the food. The few restaurants that are on the Elegance side are not bad. Men have to wear pants in some of the resteraunts and you MUST book a reservation to the Japanese and French restaurants if you plan on eating in them. The buffet closest to the lobby made me nauseous each time I ate there so after 4 attempts, I learned my lesson and went to the sea food restaurant that served a late breakfast after the first buffet closed. It too is open and loaded with flies. DO pick food from the bottom of the pan where the flies haven't landed or you might bring back hepetitis as a souvenir.
There is a very minimal list for room service. If you don't eat ox, veal burgers, and fish soup, you can forget room service completely.
The spa in the Elegance section is still not in operation, so if you are looking for that sort of thing, you would have to go to the colonial side.
The colonial side has been in operation for about 4 years. They managed to get all of the details down though it is smaller in scope in the lobby and in the rooms. The food courts are very well done and the buffet there LABELS all of the food in the food pans. (Not so in the Elegance so you have to play "guess the mystery food" much of the time.
The casino is on the Colonial side and the disco is in an alleyway between the Elegance and the Colonial. The staff are super friendly and the management staff try but always seem to fall short for some reason.
Whatever you do AVOID the VIK Hotel Arena Blanca at ALL costs! Our flight was cancelled and the airline put us there for a night. Quite frankly, sleeping in the airport would have been a better choice!
Overall, if we had to do it again, we would have booked the corporate trip on the Colonial side since they worked out all the kinks. The Elegance side is almost there but they have a lot of construction issues to work out, so paying the premium price until they get it done isn't recommended.
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Paul and Dorothy ~ Ontario |
December 2008
Arrival: Dec 13-21/2008
We booked at the majestic elegance back in October knowing that we would be in a "soft opening" period for the hotel. Our arrival confirmed what we had heard and seen from other visitors..the ME is a truly wonderful property that in time will be one of the outstanding resorts in Punta Cana. We arrived and were quickly taken to the elegance club lounge by our concierge, Henri, who gave us a brief tour of the facilities and answered any questions we had. We were booked into room 4335 which has a beautiful view of the ocean and the empty property next to the hotel. Melissa and Luis at the elegance club desk were extremely helpful!
Rooms:
Since room descriptions have already been written and photos available online, I won't go into any detail other than to say our maid service was great, linens and bar stocked daily ( I asked for extra baileys twice!) We did have a problem with our jacuzzi at first and the air conditioning was not as good as at some other properties we have stayed at, but it did the job. Opening our patio door was a workout and there is no handle on the outside so its tough to get back in!! I have the feeling a lot of work was done in a short time to get the resort open and hopefully some finishing touches will be done later.. The room was beautiful and we don't let minor irritants turn into major problems...besides the view from the balcony just made you forget about everything anyway!..I should add that two bldgs were still not complete as far as interior work but the work never bothered us noisewise!
Restaurants and Bars:
I have a gluten allergy so my choice of food is limited, which does'nt allow much comment on the food ( or maybe more). We found the food excellent...the buffets made up in quality what they lacked in variety from other larger resorts. Hot breakfast, hot meats and fish at night, great pizza and rice stir fry atlunch I had a great steak at the steak restaurant, fish at the see and sea, and treats like some serious desserts and great ice cream. Elizabeth and Luis were great hosts at the main buffet. My wife did have a stomache problem one evening after a caesar salad..but she quickly recovered and was fine the rest of the week...
As for bars..well the lobby bar is a great place to sit and watch people..lots of great drinks including baileys, cc, vodka and cran, brugal rum, mixed drinks The pool bar was very quiet compared to other resorts and the number of bars available waslarge , but our good friend Ismael was wonderful at making drinks and entertaining us..make sure to say hi to him!! The elegance club bar was great, we enjoyed the rooftop bar in the evening, and the butler service on the beach was outstanding...many thanks to Rosa and Anely..they made our days so much fun!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
If you don't like the beach in Punta Cana, take up coal mining for a holiday..what else can I say...its six star..Do yourself a big favour if you are reading this...take a walk north around the point for at least one hour...there is the most fabulous stretch of empty beach left in Punta Cana..next spring the moon palace will open and another 3500 people and beach chairs will pop up, but for now it is gloriously empty and wild! Many beachwalkers were commenting on how nice the beach and chairs and beds were at the majestics compared to their resorts. The pools at the elegance make for a quiet lazy swim and because they are so spread out there is no noisy party area like some resorts. They were very clean and had many features like fountains and falls and whirlpools. The grounds are of course, newly planted and are nowhere as mature as the sister resort, the Colonial. Given the climate, it won't take long till this is a lush landscape. Thank goodness, though, they left a large number of coconut palms through construction, so it already looks great. The layout is fabulous, a nice smaller resort where everything is only five minutes away.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
There are some great shops, a sports bar, gym, disco, tennis courts, chapel, theatre, etc at the resort. For some interesting shopping, there is a small plaza at the front entrance to the colonial, and beach shops about 45 minutes south on the beach just past the iberostars..also a great little music store and cafe where you can get a cold beer and watch the world go by..ask for Eddie.. While we were there they also had a vendors night at the majestic and a christmas festival at the colonial...we caught the ever popular michael jackson show..( actually quite good), a magic show, and a dominican dance show..great way to enjoy your evening, topped off with a sit in the lobby or a visit to the disco.. The disco and plaza area of the majestic was just opening when we left but all the facilities of the colonial were open to us, not sure how long that will last.
Other Comments:
Final words...we had a wonderful time here..would go back in a heartbeat! If we had paid full price for this property, some of the little things would be more of an irritant, but we go to Punta Cana to have FUN, not complain. I will end with this..it is the people, more than anything, that make the majestic elegance a great resort. They are pleasant, helpful, fun, and dedicated to making your vacation a great one! Salut! Annelo, Luis, Henri,Elizabeth, Melissa, Rosa, Ismael, and everyone else at the Elegance
pdvander@hotmail.com
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
vtrab |
December 2008
Traveled to the Majestic Elegance from Dec 8th -15th.
First question I know everyone wants to know is "Is it finished?". Answer "No" but almost there. The Elegance club areas are,and 2 1/2 of the main room areas are almost there. From what I could see only final furnishings and some fixtures in 2 of those buildings. Landscaping is done and things just need time to grow. You can see some of the areas that were finished first by the way the grass has taken and flora has grown.
Main common areas:
Lobby, Theatre, pools,restaurants(all): are finished and beautiful. They were still working on a building which was housing some shops and Disco. The Disco opened on our last night. Large and loud. It was fun.
Room:
We arrived after 12am and had booked a Colonial suite(2 jacuzzi room). We were taken to our room and it was a regular suite. Beautiful but not the room we booked. Bottle of champagne and plate of tropical fruit along with a welcome letter with our name hand written on the envelope.(nice touch). I just said to Bell boy that this wasn't the room we expected. We went back to reception and understandably they asked if we could stay in the room for that evening because the room booking personnel were not in until the morning. Not and issue to us as this room was beautiful and the "open mind" attitude was turned on. Next day after our welcome meeting with our Sunwing rep we meet with Orlando. He took care of everything. From what I could tell there are not many of the Colonial rooms and only a few were finished. We then were taken to a 1 bedroom suite. Holy gorgeous!!! Living area with couch, chair, table for 2 work station, LCD TV, bar area with liquor and fridge, coffee maker. Bedroom area with 4 poster king, sitting chair, Jacuzzi tub. another LCD TV. The balcony wrapped around the corner to the living area sliding door. Of course another bath area. It was absolutely beautiful and huge. They also offered us some extras for our inconvenience for the first night we were there.. a one hour couples massage and free internet for the week since we were not in the Elegance section so internet was not included if you didn't have your own laptop.
Pool areas were also fantastic. Lots of loungers, Tikki shades. Swim up bar, towel area and another bar are which wasn't open because of the lack of people but was finished. Staff would cater to what ever you needed.
Beach area was also beautiful(hard not to be on that beach). This was one of the areas they were still working on. They were putting the finishing touches on the water sports building. It was done by the time we left.
Restaurants were awesome. We did not go to the French or Japanese, the Italian and Steakhouse were great and so was the Buffet. If you wanted a burger they cooked it, there was fish, chicken, pork, steak and pasta cooked to order. If you can't find something there then you probably shouldn't travel. Very fancy display and service. You had 3 people making sure you were taken care of at all times. By far the best service we have ever experienced in our travels.
As far as the ongoing work, it didn't affect us at all. in the week we were there I heard a saw a few times and the odd hammer but no different then a mower running cutting grass once in a while. There were workers around concentrating on one building which was closed off. Super polite as well.
It is a soft opening and our first time going to resort doing this. We did talk to people who had small problems with their rooms, ie. lights not hooked up, only cold water working.. but they were all taken care of as well. Considering the money we saved and the fact our vacation didn't suffer one bit I would advise anyone to go here. I do realize we may not have been as lucky at another resort but that is a chance you take. This will be a 5+ when it's done!!
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Monika - Germany |
December 2008
November 21 - December 10
We totally agree, the Majestic Elegance and its Elegance Club is gorgeous.
Yes, not everything was set up as it should or could have been from the beginning but the management and all the staff did their best - and made real good progress.
They are right if they complain that in total they did not get what they have paid for, this is correct. Anyway, erveryone has taken that risk by knowing to be one of the first guests.
We have been the first guests in the Elegance Club. The club lounge was not finished but the team in there really tried to compensate and we would say they did have success.
The room we got was almost finished. Ok, the TV was not hanging on the wall and the minibar was filled on the second day, but is this a big deal ?!
The hotel layout with its garden is successful. And the same is valid for the pool area. The beach over there is one of the best ones we have seen so far (no stones, almost clear water, etc.).
The variety as well as the quality of the food in the restaurants was great and the service of these people being always friendly and always having a smile on their lips improved quite fast.
Actually the Casino or the Disco we did not really miss.
So we really did enjoy our stay there.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Greg ~ Allison ~ Pittsburgh, Pa |
December 2008
Arrival: 6-13 Dec 2008
Arrived in PC at 2:45 PM, Prieto Tours provided transfers which were pre-arranged thru Vacations To Go. Arrived at the resort at 4:30. Resort staff unloaded and tagged our luggage, notified the Elegance Club of our arrival. Within 5 minutes we had cold towels, welcome drinks and were met by our Butler Henry. Henry took us on a tour of the property and escorted us to the Elegance Club lounge for check in. Check in took less than ten minutes including the welcome briefing. We also received a DVD library list and Room Service Menu. Off to our room with Henry who had already checked our room to ensure all was well. Our luggage arrived about 5 minutes later.
Rooms:
We stayed in the Elegance Club Jr Suite. The rooms are fantastic, everything was provided as advertised. Along with the furnishings there was a bottle of Champagne as well as a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label. The mini fridge was stocked with beer, soda and water. There was coffee and condiments as expected. The room itself was furnished as in the photos, king sized bed, jacuzzi, LCD TV, DVD, fantastic shower with a rainfall showerhead and three wall mounted jets, very relaxing. Everything worked when we checked in, no problems at all. The only issues we had was the alarm clock was missing the battery for backup so it blinked if the power went out and the iron stopped working after a day or so, we left a note with the maid and a new iron was in the room when we got in that day. The finish work in the room needed a little attention (such as touch up paint etc, you can tell that they had to hurry to finish, but I'm sure they'll get to it when time allows.
Restaurants and Bars:
We ate at several A La Carte restaraunts and visited all bars. Where to start? The food was VERY good overall. There was one restaurant closed(rotating) each night due to the occupancy rate.
Sea & See: Seafood for Dinner. We had Lobster, Salmon, and Shrimp entrees, all were great, appetisers we enjoyed were Octopus, Lobster Bisque and Cream Clam Soup, again fantastic. Dessert bar was tasty but not great. We had Brandy, Amaretto and coffee. Lunch buffet at Sea & See was extremely good, selections from pizza, pasta bar(cooked to order), big salad and sandwich bar, cooked to order burgers, hot dogs, steak and fish. The Paella was delicious as well as hot chicken and beef dishes. Italian: For lunch we had Seafood Risotto, Gnochi with red sauce, veal carpaccio, procuitto with melon, capresse salad and Lasagne. For dinner, Veal Saltimboca, Eggplant parm and veal parm, as well as misc pasta. The food in the Italian ranged from phemominal to good, they are still getting consistent, we never had anything we didn't like, never had room for dessert.
Gourmet: This is where they need some work, fixed menu, we went twice and the meals were the same. also, the food was not as good as the other restataunts. Wine list is at a supplemental payment. At this point I do not recommend the Gourmet.
Steak house: Steak melts in your mouth and was cooked to perfection. We had The Cowboy Steak, Chateaubriand, and Ribs. Plenty of sides to choose from.
Breakfast Buffet: Fantastic selection, eggs cooked to order, Pre-cooked omelettes, fried and scrambled egge for those in a hurry. Plenty of bacon, sausage, fresh fruits, cereal, juices, smoothies, breads, yogurts, pancakes etc. We also ate a la carte breakfast at the Italian which was very good. We also had continental breakfast in the Elegance Club Lounge, Espresso machine, sweet rolls, cold meats/cheeses and juice.
Room Service: We ordered Burgers and Champagne twice as well as cocktails. Burgers were great and all was delivered in a timely manner. Lobby bars have the best selection of premium liquors, see Manuel, he'll take great care of you. All bars are open and running, the bartenders and servers will take care of you. The restaurant staff goes way out of thier way to give you the best service possible. They are truly professional and really want you to enjoy yourself. Some are new to this profession, so please be patient while they get some experience, I believe they know their jobs but are a little nervous due to rude guests mistreating them.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach: We walked on the beach most days, the Elegance beach is nicer than surrounding resort beaches. We heard of guests on the beach from other resorts asking about the Elegance because it's so nice. Plenty of Loungers and palapas. Server to bring your drinks, bar nearby if you want to hang out.
Elegance Club pool: We had a Bali bed all day every day, pool is beautiful, talk about being spoiled, water was perfect.
Main Pool: great pool, more loungers than people, great bar and bartenders. Grounds: Groundskeepers everywhere working for perfection, it'll take a little while for vegetation to grow, and every detail to be perfect but they're at it constantly. Still some lighting, speakers etc to be installed, but they make great progress everyday.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The animation teams were at it at the pool and beach, we are loungers, but those involved seemed to be having a great time. We went to the Casino and Disco at the Colonial and enjoyed ourselves, they could use a good cleaning but were passable. My wife had a massage at the Colonial spa and loved it. Both the Elegance and Colonial have nightly shows. The Elegance has live music outdoors each evening weather permitting. We did not do any excursions outside of the property.
Other Comments:
We were a little nervous going in due to the negative reviews (which were true from what we were told while we were there) but all was fixed/adjusted as far as we felt. Any new operation will have problems when it opens. The staff is no less than phenominal, we were treated like royalty. They strive to enhance your stay as time goes on, I just can't say enough about them. The resort is beautiful and will be better and better as the days go by. There was a little bit of noise from the workers, but they have to get it all done. The ongoing work didn't bother us. If you stay in the Elegance Club and Henry is your butler you will be amazed how he works to make your stay perfect.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
FLPlanetman |
December 2008
For those of you looking for some info or reviews on the brand new Majestic Elegance in Punta Cana, DR here is a first hand review. Full story below of my time there. skip to the bottom for the final word.
Although bookit.com’s ad said it opened the end of October we checked in on November 21, 2008, which turned out to be opening day and stayed to the 30th of November 2008.
Upon arrival the category room I had booked, a Majestic Suite, was not available to what I thought was demand but as I later learned it was not even built yet. This Majestic Suite had both a jacuzzi inside and outside and since our purpose to go to the Dominican was to marry and honeymoon it was the perfect room.
We were asked to take a Jr Suite for the first night which since we had traveled much and it was a crash night it wasn’t a major crisis and we were assured the next day we would receive the correct room.
The room was beautiful at first glance, Italian marble floors, indoor jacuzzi, four post bed and view of the pool area. Nice art and great decor.
As we unpacked we noticed quite a few things that should of been on the contractor’s checklist, large gaping hole in the ceiling where the air vent cover should be exposing inside of the whole drop ceiling, inability to open our sliding glass door at all to the balcony and the most shocking feature of all, getting shocked when plugging in my phone charger into the ac jack for the TV. It was loose and ungrounded, TV had a cable that ended 2 feet from the TV so neither TV or cable was hooked up. Our high speed internet in our room did not even have a cat5 hookup installed yet but since the bed and bath were perfect it was our only concern for the night and a new room was ours the next day.
Our noon promise of a new room soon grew to 2 pm but we were assured we were moving to our Majestic Suite and our other 8 nights would be right.
As we entered our next room the first thing i checked for was the outdoor jacuzzi as the bellman brought in the bags, the back porch and a hole in the wall where maybe one was suppose to be hooked up but the only thing close to it was the pool 10 feet away. I immediately returned to the lobby where I was told i was mistaken, the computer shows it is a Majestic Suite and has a jacuzzi. Not so.
I am sometimes way too patient, the resort just opened, bound to be some glitches and I did get a super rate from bookit.com so maybe I’ll take their promise of the right one the next day and spend our second night in another wrong room. We kept the room, hit the bar and beach and returned later to shower up for dinner.
My fiancee was in the shower adjusting the dials to try to get hot water to come out, none would and to complicate mattere no nozzle end was on the Euro-style metal hose and it more resembled a garden hose yet all water was cold no matter what. We changed the dial to the above shower head and nothing came from the head at all, then suddenly from the electric light above us the water started pouring out, OF THE SHOWER LIGHT which was on.
We jumped out quickly, threw the light switch off and called the operator for emergency maintenance before we got electrocuted. After an hour when no one showed I went to the front desk and discreetly told the staff the problem since the lobby was full of new guests. They did not have a empty room to move us to and assured me someone would be right over when I left there at 4:00 so we did the only thing possible, staying in a 5 star resort we took shampoo and soap to the pool shower and showered there without fear of electrocution. It was sort of like camping with a really good tent and outdoor showers.
We ate and waited until 10 pm and no one had come yet to fix the problem. At this point it was like other cases of potential electrical disaster was much bigger than ours and we didn’t rank in the list to fix. I went out to one of the areas under construction myself and found two electricians working, when I told the one that understood English he came right away with his assistant, could not believe the danger and lack of service and he and his assistant spent 45 minutes fixing plumbing and electric in the shower. So we went to sleep with the dreams of a shower that worked the next day and the real room we suppose to get two nights before.
The next morning we had hot water, just it still came out of the light again, our time for a room we could shower in moved from 12:00 to 1, I wrote to bookit for help and then time went to 2pm then finally after wasting the entire day checking back at 3pm we had nothing. Orlando at the front desk had been great, he was honestly trying to fix it all but at this point I escalated it and requested his supervisor. Bookit contacted them on our behalf at this point in response to my email the night before.
We met with the Majestic Elegance supervisor and was promised the right room, he said he would go check out our room himself and to meet back at 4 pm in the lobby. While waiting for his return we were offered a certificate for a massage for two and asked to sign a waiver of claim against any refund requests for us to get the room category we had actually paid for. Obviuosly bookit.com scared them a little sending many many people there in December that had great weight. With us starting the wedding document process the next day and all factors of frustration from the first minute we just wanted it over, the money mattered less than the experience and getting our real room and agreed to sign. Finally at 4:30 we got taken to a new room, we had been upgraded to a Elegance Club room.
Without a doubt, I have stayed at 7 other resorts in the Dominican this was the nicest room at the hotel and probably the island. It was a two room suite, double balcony overlooking pool and beach and two jacuzzi s as promised in our reservation. Life was good, it didn’t even matter much when they told us the hot water would be on in a half hour, air conditioning in one hour so we unpacked finally in our third room and sat on the bed to relax.
In the first two minutes sitting there we heard water begin to flow, somewhere, I pulled the front off our double sink and underneath was a waterline had three holes in it and water was shooting out into the air, the good news was we finally had hot water after three days.
Withing minutes we had two maids and a maintenance man trying to mop up the flood before the entire room was underwater, another person was trying to find the cutoff and it was like the Spanish Keystone Cops and we couldn’t help but laugh, accept the fact a Two Star contractor built a Five star resort and make the best out of it regardless. We just went for our massage with our suitcases on the bed to stay dry and then the bar. By the way, the drinks are REAL good there.
It was our third night, we went through three rooms and know the fourth would be no different so it was time to accept the fact we just have to accept our fate or move to the older kid filled sister hotel next door.
We stayed, that air conditioner never actually started to work even though a repairman came every other day but the ocean breeze and view offset that with the sliders open. Next guests will not be so forgiving.
I will say it is hard to get mad at the staff, they didn’t build it and they have a quality Five Star staff, very helpful friendly and doing the best they can and they are just overwhelmed. The staff outnumbered us 5 to 1 at least in the first days and if you count all the other workers and contractors there over 100 people are getting the rest of the rooms ready until late at night. There was no construction noise but the reality is they should of opened a few weeks later as a Five Star instead of rushing opening and delivering the experience they did.
For those of you going in December, let’s hope you aren’t the first one in a new room, three full buildings were still being furnished and each may have an electrical shower or surprise waiting you.
We had a wonderful time, the last 6 days went great, we married and honeymooned and the resort went from two restaurants open to all open prior to our departure. We got bounced out of the bar at the Elegance Club due to our original wristband even though we were upgraded to the Club which was a disappointment after all we went though. The Gourmet and Japanese were both awesome and the oceanfront seafood restaurant and cowboy steak house were improving daily and more bars were being finished and opened.
Our good friend Orlando at the front desk gave us a late check-out and we really hated to go on our last day, they had worked really hard and come a long ways in the first week. If you are expecting a full Five Star experience then maybe you should wait a while, if you can adopt an island attitude and have patience and drink the place is perfect already by now. One thing, If I had any small kids with me I would of moved to the Colonial, it is not kid friendly electrical anywhere,at all. Light fixtures along the side walk with taped power wires, stairs at the beach restaurants with no light covers and power easily reachable by kids, just not worth the risk and more fun programs for them next door. Don’t expect internet in your room it’s only in the lobby on a wireless router and whatever you do don’t roam on a Verizon aircard with your laptop, in USA a Mb is $.25 and there it is $20.48 PER MB, one thing that wasn’t the fault of the Majestic Elegance.
I know I picked the right woman to marry if she smiled through our week and still kept her cool.
BEACH, FOOD, DRINKS, STAFF and attitude there was totally awesome, by the 5th day, lol.
We had such a nice experience there, (except for the parts that weren’t) we will probably return for our 1st anniversary with all our kids.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Cyndy ~ Stoney Creek |
December 2008
Other Comments: Nov 21 - Nov 29, 2008
We were originally booked from 15th to 29th November 2008; however the resort was not ready. We were contacted by our tour operator and advised that we could stay at the Majestic Colonial for the 1st week (Nov 15 to 21st) and then moved to the Elegance resort for the 2nd week (Nov 21st to 29th).
This review will only be for the Majestic Elegance resort.
We went with an open mind, seeing this is a new resort and focused on the positive experiences that we encountered.
Upon our arrival at the Elegance Resort we were greeted by the Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mr. Ricardo Espinosa. Upon request we were upgraded to Elegance Club with many thanks to Mr. Espinosa.
The room was exactly as we had imagined it "Elegant" with a wonderful side view of the ocean. We did encounter a couple of issues with the room, but they were corrected to our satisfaction, with the exception of the air conditioning.
The resort, on the first day had only 2 restaurants open, the Italian and the Sea & See buffet restaurant on the beach. As each new day rolled around a new restaurant would open. The food was excellent in all of the restaurants and reservations are only required in the gourmet and Japanese.
We were very impressed with the fact that you could just walk into the "a-la-carte" restaurants without reservations.
We only ate in the "main buffet Flavors" on our last day, the variety, quality and display of the food was outstanding.
The drink selection was very good at all of the bars. The upper and lower level lobby bars served premium drinks and had a wide selection to choose from. All the bartenders were without a doubt the friendliest that we have encountered in all our years of travel.
The pool runs from basically one end of the resort to the other, with 2 private pools for the Elegance Club members. There were plenty of loungers (aluminum and not the plastic kind) around the pool areas. The "Bali beds" were very comfortable and great for an afternoon siesta. There was no shortage of palapas on the beach and we never had to play the "towel game".
On opening day there were many "finishing touches" left to be completed. We were amazed at the amount of work that had been completed during the week and that the workers were unobtrusive and the noise was next to none.
We are quite confident that within the next month or so, they will be completed and will truly make this one of the premier destinations in the Punta Cana area.
We are returning in February 2009 for another 2 week stay and are anxious to see the progress that has been made.
At this time we would like to take this opportunity to personally thank those staff members that made our stay an enjoyable one.
In the Elegance Club: Calix, Larissa, Mariannie, Kayala, Angel & Ramone. These people went out of their way to assure that we were well looked after and that we did not require anything, and if we did, took care of it immediately and without any hesitation or question.
Sea & See (beach restaurant); Bartender Felix, server (waiter) Nelson
Steakhouse restaurant: server (waiter) Juan (his speech for the "best desserts in the Caribbean") is very cute and funny.
There are many others who deserve praise, but unfortunately we can't remember all of their names.
As we stated in our opening remarks we went with an open mind and had a wonderful time.
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| Majestic Elegance Punta Cana |
Debbie of Debbie's Dominican Travel Page ~ Canada |
November 2008
Hotel web site
Debbie's Majestic Elegance Photos
Map of Resort
Majestic Elegance is located on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, in Arena Gorda (Bavaro Beach), next to Macao beach, 30 kms away from Punta Cana Airport, 1 hour from La Romana Airport and 3 ½ hours from Santo Domingo’s International Airport.
Majestic Elegance Punta Cana opened its doors to guests on Friday, November 21, 2008, after having the date pushed back several times. Pat and I had originally been scheduled to stay there from November 16 to 23, but due to the delay in opening only got to spend 2 nights there. We spent the first part of our week at its sister hotel, Majestic Colonial, which is adjacent to Majestic Elegance, an excellent hotel, and I will be updating my review of Majestic Colonial from two years ago as well.
As I start this, I have to emphasize that we were there on opening day and the day after. By the time you read this, many opening day issues will already have been resolved. I spoke to a number of people there who have promised to send their reviews when they return. Most agreed the hotel will be fabulous once everything is up and running and the staff gain a little more experience. Some arrivals who were unaware of the delay in opening were understandably upset, but management was doing everything they could to compensate for this, ie by making all the facilities at Majestic Colonial next door available to them. Some people chose to remain at Majestic Colonial where they had been for the first part of their stay. Make no mistake – Majestic Elegance will be one of the premier hotels in Punta Cana, it’s just going to take time for everything to run smoothly.
We packed up and arrived at Majestic Elegance on Friday afternoon around 2 p.m. They have a beautiful lobby very similar to Majestic Colonial, but the top level is smaller, and the lower level is more than twice as large From the upper lobby you have a beautiful view of the whole resort, right down to the ocean. The upper lobby will also have the Internet Center and some shops. As we were in the Elegance Club section, we were taken to the VIP lounge at the Elegance Club for checkin, where we joined other people waiting for their rooms. We were told our room wasn’t ready yet and it would be 3 p.m. before we could check in. The VIP lounge has comfortable seating, and drinks and snacks were available. Free internet access will be available there, it wasn’t yet set up. Unfortunately the air conditioning wasn’t working in the lounge and it was a little sticky, and it was pouring with rain outside. We were given a pamphlet outlining all of the hotel facilities. I’ve been told that in the future they will bring the guests to the VIP Lounge by golf cart, instead of having to walk.
A little after 3 p.m. the concierge took us to our room, a Junior Suite – the room was absolutely beautiful! We were in Room 4233, which was on the second floor, on the back side of the building away from the pool, but had a nice view of the ocean. The concierge showed us around and advised us that someone would be in shortly to program the TV. (They have brackets on the walls for the TV’s, but ours was just sitting on the table). Someone arrived promptly to program the TV and hook up the phone. We had also discovered our refrigerator wasn’t working, and it was promptly replaced, and stocked with beer, water and pop. This is replenished once a day. Internet access will be available in the rooms for a fee, but was not yet working. We had no hot water initially, and then the water was off totally for a while, but within a few hours we had both hot and cold water. We found that you had to let the water run for a while, particularly in the tub, for it to get hot. The room did not yet have all of the advertised amenities such as. 4 bottles of liquor, alarm clock radio, DVD player, pillow menu and aromatherapy for pillows, newspapers, etc. We did have an iron, and bathrobes. We had a coffeemaker but no coffee, creamer, sugar, etc. until the next day.
We had a very comfortable 4-poster king-size bed, with nice pillows. Nice rugs on each side of the bed. Furnishings are very modern, from the square toilet (the one thing Pat did not like), a shower with 3 different settings, double sinks, and a beautiful 2-person Jacuzzi located in the corner of the room by a window. There is an electronic safe, lots of closet and drawer space, and a separate room service closet. (At first I thought the drawers were hard to close, then realized that you just push them gently and they close on their own.) Lights go out automatically when you leave the room and come on when you open the door.
There are basically two types of rooms – a Junior Suite or a Suite, which is two rooms divided by a sliding door. Other categories are determined by location. I’ll outline these further in this report.
Grounds
In walking around the grounds, there were construction workers still finishing things in some areas, but having toured the resort the Tuesday before, it was amazing how much had been done in just a few days. 500 of the 600 rooms are complete, and it’s mostly inside work for the remaining 100 rooms, so shouldn’t cause disruption. The pools are all filled and operational. The main pool is 400 metres long, running the length of the property and include two integrated jacuzzis. Some of the bars were still being finished. The landscaping looks pretty good considering it is new. They put it in a month or so ago so it would grow a little bit. In a year or two it will be beautiful.
Plaza Colon is an outdoor area with tables and chairs and a stage for live entertainment. They had a band playing here in the evening. The adjacent building will house some shops and Coco’s Nightclub, not finished yet. The building is a replica of the Alcazar de Colon in Santo Domingo.
The theatre and bar on the opposite side of the resort is complete – we didn’t see any shows though.
Beach
The beach is of course gorgeous, and they have many palapas already constructed for shade, as well as many chairs available. There will be a separate area for Elegance Club guests, but this was not set up yet.
Dining
There will be 6 restaurants to choose from plus La Bodeguita del Majestic at Majestic Colonial for late-night snacks.
Flavors is the buffet restaurant.
Argentinian Steakhouse – not sure of the proper name for this one, in the brochure we received it’s called Asadito, but on the hotel website it is called West Meat Corp. – they had no signage up yet for any of the restaurants. – no reservations required
Il Bottaccio – Italian Restaurant – no reservations required
Restaurant 9 Doors – this is a Japanese restaurant and will have 9 teppanyaki tables and a suishi bar – wasn’t open yet. – reservations will be required
Restaurant Limited Gourmand – gourmet restaurant – reservations will be required. – (children over 12 only)
See & Sea Restaurant – located at the beach, will be open for continental breakfast and lunch, and in the evening is the seafood restaurant.
La Bodeguita del Majestic - This is actually in the Majestic Colonial section, across from their theatre – open from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for snacks.
As there were not many rooms occupied, there were only limited dining facilities available while we were there. The main buffet restaurant, Flavors, will open when the occupancy is higher. We were told for the first night only two restaurants would be open – the Italian Restaurant, Il Bottaccio, and the beach restaurant, See & Sea, which is the seafood restaurant. We were also told that for breakfast the Italian restaurant would be open for a la carte dining, and only a continental breakfast was available at the See & Sea Restaurant from 10:30 a.m.. We later found out the Steakhouse Restaurant was also open for dinner that first night, and for breakfast the See & Sea Restaurant had a full breakfast available.
We went to the Italian Restaurant for dinner, it’s a lovely big restaurant. We ordered and our meal was served in a timely manner. Staff is new, so service was a little tentative, but no complaints, they are really trying. We had Caesar salad and pumpkin soup, and I had veal scallopini and Pat had lasagna (called “over-baked” lasagna on the menu, I think maybe it should have said “oven-baked” : )
After dinner when we were walking around we talked to someone who said the steakhouse was also open and he had just had a fabulous steak.
The next morning we went to the Italian restaurant for the a la carte breakfast, as we were not aware there was a full breakfast available at See & Sea Restaurant. The Italian restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch for Elegance Club members only. There were few people there. We ordered eggs, sausage and toast (they had no idea what toast was) and ended up bringing buns. It was kind of funny because they served breakfast as a 3-course meal – first they brought a plate with just scrambled eggs on it, a little later the sausage came, and then later on the buns. They’ll get the hang of it, I’m sure.
Our last night we went to the Argentinian Steakhouse for dinner. This was somewhat of a disaster. They did not have enough menus for everyone and orders were not being taken. The staff seemed confused. People were walking out, some having waited over an hour and had not even had their orders taken. We waited about half an hour for a menu, and then it was a while before our order was taken. It was another half an hour or so before any food arrived. We ordered a Caesar salad, soup and steak. The salad was fine, although it took us a minute to realize they had brought the dressing separately. We ordered onion soup, Pat’s arrived steaming hot and mine was lukewarm – it was really good though. It was a long wait until the steak arrived - I ordered Churrasco and Pat ordered the Chateaubriand. The food was fine, but it took over two hours to have dinner. We opted to skip desert and went to the bar for our coffee.
When we left the steak restaurant we noticed that the Gourmet restaurant was also open, but I didn’t get a chance to speak to anyone who had eaten there.
Something I haven’t seen before – in all 3 of the restaurants we ate at, they all had an open or glassed off kitchen area so you can see the chefs at work.
We ate Saturday lunch and Sunday breakfast at the See & Sea Restaurant at the beach. A very good selection and good service. Once their main buffet restaurant is open this restaurant will likely not serve a full breakfast, just a continental breakfast from 10:30 a.m.
Miscellaneous Info
The Kids Club, Casino, and Sports Bar are located on the “Caribbean Street” at Majestic Colonial., accessed by a walkway from Majestic Elegance.
Room Descriptions
Rooms are large, with lots of European marble, king-size four poster bed or two full-size beds, complete bathroom, Jacuzzi for 2, walk-in shower with 3 functions- rain, massage and soft, air-conditioning, ceiling fan, 32” TV, satellite TV, DVD, telephone, hi-speed internet connection available, mini-bar, safe, coffee machine, desk, iron and ironing board. Connecting and handicap rooms are available.
Room Types
Majestic Elegance - Pool or Garden view – 473 rooms
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Jr. Suite: Large and comfortable hotel room with an Indoor Jacuzzi for two, pool or garden view, two full-size or king-side beds.- Max occupancy 4 people
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Colonial Jr. Suite: Same as above, but has both an indoor and outdoor Jacuzzi, on higher floors. Max occupancy 4 people
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Majestic Jr. Suite (swim up room): Indoor Jacuzzi and is located on first floor with direct access to the Swimming pool and has a small private garden. Max occupancy 4 people
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One bedroom Suites: one bedroom suite with an Indoor Jacuzzi, a sliding door connects to the
living room area. Max occup. 4 people
Elegance Club (Adults Only section with Majestic Supreme service) - 127 rooms
The Elegance Club accommodations are in buildings at each side of the resort, closest to the beach. There is a separate pool for Elegance Club guests with bali beds, loungers, tables and chairs. and bar service. They were just finishing the rooftop bar area, so it was not open yet.
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Jr. Suite: Indoor Jacuzzi, pool, garden or Ocean view, Majestic Supreme Service and facilities. Max occup. 2 people.
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Majestic Jr. Suite, Same as above, but located on first floor with direct access to the swimming pool and small garden, and also has an outdoor Jacuzzi.
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Swim up Suite: One bedroom Suite located on first floor with direct access to the swimming pool and small garden, Indoor and outdoor Jacuzzi,. Max occup. 4 people. Room and living room divided by a sliding door.
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Ocean front suites: - Ocean view. One bedroom Suites, room and living room divided by a
sliding door. Max. Occupancy 4 people
Majestic Elegance Club Inclusions:
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Two private swimming pools
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Private beach area with “Bali style” beds
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Private and personalized check in
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Complimentary late check out (based on availability)
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Two private ocean front roof top bars with hors d oeuvres and drinks
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VIP lounge at the lobby with library, table games and free internet connection
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Exclusive access to “Il Botaccio” Restaurant for breakfast and lunch a la carte
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Room service included 24 hours
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In room bar selection with up to 4 bottles of liquor per stay (ej. Vodka, Whisky, Rum, Baileys)
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Bottle of champagne in room upon arrival
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Access to 13 bars throughout the property (4 bars exclusive for adults)
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Butler service during your stay
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Express bell boy service
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Surprise gift in room
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In room beach towels
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Pillow menu
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Aromatherapy for pillows
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Robes and slippers in room
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Bath Kit
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DVD’s selection
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In room newspaper
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Espresso machine in room ( suites only)
Bars
There are 8 bars plus 4 additional bars for Elegance Club guests only
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Lobby bar
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Disco bar
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Plaza bar
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Wet bar
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Beach bar
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Parrots bar
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Lobby bar
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Midnight bar
Spa
The spa and gym are not finished, but guests can use the facilities at Majestic Colonial. They have a wonderful spa there.
Weddings
See our weddings page for details
FACILITIES AND SERVICES FOR ALL GUESTS STAYING AT THE MAJESTIC ELEGANCE PUNTA CANA
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Refreshing towel upon arrival
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Welcome cocktail upon arrival
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24 hours All Inclusive
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6 restaurants
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9 bars located in different areas of the hotel. Open during different hours
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Premium drinks in all bars
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Room service included
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Daily stocking of mini bar
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Sports bar / Discotheque with drinks included
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400 meter long swimming pool
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Casino located at the Majestic Colonial Punta Cana (2 minute walk) ($)
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Gym
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Spa ($)
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Golf nearby (300 meters away from hotel main Entrance) ($)
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Theatre for shows and entertainment team with day and night activities
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Supervised Kids Club for children (at the Majestic Colonial) 2 minute walk
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Nintendo’s for children in kids club. (at the Majestic Colonial) 2 minute walk
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Caribbean street with boutiques (jewelery, cigars, souvenirs, mini market, photo shop, pharmacy, clothes) ($)
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High speed internet in all rooms ($)
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Wireless internet in Lobby and Convention Center ($)
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Convention Center for up to 600 people ($)
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Business Centre with internet access ($)
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Gazebo for weddings ($)
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Wedding facilities: Catholic church and gazebo, beach and tropical gardens. ($)
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Umbrellas, towels and lounge chairs at the beach and the swimming pool
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Bath robes in room
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Slippers in room
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Medical center ( 24 hrs.) ($
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Laundry Services ($)
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Live Music at the Plaza bar ( night)
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Live piano at the” Limited Gourmand Restaurant”. Adults only
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2 integrated jacuzzis within the main swimming pool
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Guest Service (flight confirmation, car rental, excursions, and help with any special needs)
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ATM machine. Major credit cards accepted
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Tennis courts with lights
Audio System
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Plasma TV
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Iron and ironing board
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Basketball area
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Ping-pong, pool tables, darts, etc.
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Soccer field
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Water sports available
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Elevators in each building
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Handicap rooms available
Conclusion
Majestic Elegance is a new hotel – there will be growing pains. Go with an open mind and you will enjoy…it will improve on a daily basis! Staff are friendly and eager to serve you. You have only to look at the success of Majestic Colonial to see what it will be. With special thanks to Ricardo Espinosa, Annmarie at Majestic Colonial Guest Services, and Angel, our concierge at Majestic Elegance.
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