All Inclusive Resort Review: Iberostar Punta Cana

We have returned from another wonderful 8 night all inclusive vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  Picture the stunning blues of the Carribean Sea, the beautiful beach, palm trees and all you can drink and eat!  Pretty magical, right? February 10-18 were spent enjoying 80 degree weather and lots of pool time at the Iberostar Punta Cana.  This resort is one of five Iberostar’s in Punta Cana. The resort we stayed at shared the pool area with the Dominicana next door.  This included two identical swim pools (only difference was tile color) and a bar in between, restaurants, beach and more. Below I will share with you a review on this all inclusive resort.

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Room

The room was pretty standard with a king size bed, a sitting area, table with two chairs, dresser and tv, closet with a safe in it and of course a mini fridge stocked with soda and beer.  It had a smaller bathroom than other resorts we have stayed at; standard shower/tub and one sink. It was also on the first floor with a garden view which was really pretty!

There were only two complaints I had: 1) we had a pond outside our door and when it rained at night it was quite loud and woke us up and 2) they did not have real black out drapes so more light than I like came through (this did not bother my husband).  In order to combat the second we were able to unscrew the lightbulb on our patio and that did help a lot. There might not have been any wow factor to the room, but it was perfectly nice and comfortable for our stay.

Food

Going into the trip I was pretty confident that we would enjoy the food.  There were many ala carte restaurant options, so I was excited about that!  Unfortunately, my ala carte dreams were dashed a bit when we got there and talked to our concierge; we were allowed three reservations.  It was a bit of a let down for me at that moment as I had planned out my reservations based on previous experience at other resorts. Luckily, I was able to get my top three choices: Oriental, Gourmet and Steak House.  The concierge wrote down our options and first and second choice for the timing and then we had to come back the next day to pick them up, so I was also surprised by not being able to choose the day we would be going as I am used to.  The concierge did a good job of spacing out our reservations so that it worked out to just about every other day.

The first on the lineup was Oriental and it was delicious! The buffet for appetizers was very good and included spring rolls and a wide variety of sushi.  Next up was the Steak House, which happened to fall on Valentine’s Day and it was perfect since we had that last year while in Mexico at the Iberostar Maya, so it felt like it was meant to be. The special feature of the Steak House was that it was in an open aired building on the beach, yes, our tables and chairs were in the sand and you could hear the waves of the Caribbean crashing.  The food overall was good, they had an appetizer buffet, our top sirloin was good (not best ever, but good) and the hot apple pie was actually not hot, but still good.

Lastly, and the one I was looking forward to the most was the Gourmet restaurant and it did not disappoint. The restaurant was cute except for the flickering row of lights, but after a little bit those were fixed. They had a delicious asparagus soup that we had for an appetizer!  The main course we had steak (again…hehe), sautéed peppers, au gratin potatoes and for dessert I finally got the tiramisu I had been waiting for. That tiramisu did not disappoint and we had a delicious cappuccino to go with it.  

On to the buffets!  Breakfast we had at the main buffet closer to the lobby as it was open the earliest and although it wasn’t as extensive in food choices as we were used to it was still good.  My husband always loves the omelette station and I ended up doing that most mornings as well. Like I mentioned in our review of the Iberostar Paraiso Lindo breakfast does get a bit boring, by the end.  Lunch, there were two options: main buffet at the Dominicana or the buffet near the pool and beach. We ate most often at the buffet by the pool as it was the most convenient. They also had a big grill where they would make different seafood skillets or grill meats, corn, peppers, sometimes baked potatoes.  Honestly, we found that we really enjoyed the lunch buffet! There was also an ice cream station, which we tried once, but I wasn’t very impressed with the service as it was part of the bar, so those getting drinks would get priority and the ice cream wasn’t labeled, which was frustrating for me.

Activities/Entertainment

As with all Iberostar’s the entertainment is always a highlight!  The theatre shows at night were very good and the professional singers and dancers were very talented.  The main theatre was located on the Dominicana side and not as big as the other theaters we have been to at other resorts.  On the Punta Cana side near the lobby they had a smaller stage for live music and one night a fire show, which was amazing!

During the day there were plenty of sports, games and other activities to choose from if that’s your thing.  We also enjoyed a couple days of live music out by the pool area. There was a foam party, which we look forward to even though our calf muscles hate us after from all the dancing in the pool. The Star Friends (entertainment crew) put on a beach party, which we unfortunately did not get to go to as the first night it was cancelled due to rain and the rescheduled party was the night before we left and we didn’t want to be tired. This is something we hope to experience in the future.

The Grounds

A palm tree garden!  Imagine a beautiful garden of palm trees!  That is the best way I can describe the center of the resort right in between the Punta Cana and Dominicana buildings.  There was a fountain as well, it was so beautiful! Besides walking around admiring the palm trees you can walk the many paths that connect the other Iberostar properties nearby.  There is also a place called the Coral Lab, which I would recommend checking out. They are using the lab to preserve coral species in the surrounding Carribean. Carribean Street which is located on the other side of the Dominican has some cute colorful shops. There is also a shopping center located not too far from the resort as well.

The Iberostar Punta Cana is a great option for your next all inclusive vacation and it’s only about a half hour drive from the airport, which is an added bonus.  The staff was also very friendly, especially the waitress working the pool area while we were there, Maria. Maria was awesome! I have never had a pool waitress with so much personality, she was always checking on people to make sure their drinks were full and a couple days in she remembered our most frequent drink order and would sometimes yell to us “two vodka sodas”!  You can have a beautiful resort, but the people can really make or break your stay. The pool bartenders were fantastic as well. With a comfortable place to rest our heads, the beautiful palm tree garden, good food and views of the stunning Carribean Sea this all inclusive resort has been added to our list of places we would go back to.

Tip: Bring a couple water bottles with you.  Iberostar is an environmentally conscious company and in order to limit the plastic bottle waste there had been they installed water stations throughout the resort.  I know they were working on it at the Iberostar Paraiso Lindo in Mexico where we stayed in December, so it was exciting to be able to use it this time. In the room you were given two large glass bottles for water, but it was nice having our own bottles so we could fill them up and take them out by the pool and there was a station not too far so we would fill it up throughout the day ensuring we stayed hydrated.