My enjoyable however not-so-adults-only keep on the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana

The Dominican Republic has lengthy been identified for its abundance of all-inclusive resort choices, starting from hyper-affordable choices with bare-bones service to ones on the pricier aspect that are inclined to get all of it finished proper (here is taking a look at you, Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana).

However as of late, selecting the correct all-inclusive resort within the Dominican Republic generally is a little tough, particularly as increasingly resorts add hotel-within-a-hotel ideas which might be sometimes just for adults, provide upgraded facilities and supply unique entry to sure areas (like a pool or restaurant), alongside entry to the bigger resort and all its choices and facilities.

A kind of resorts is the Royalton Punta Cana, An Autograph Assortment All-Inclusive Resort & On line casino, which affords the adults-only Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana (a resort inside a resort).

In 2022, my colleague Ben Smithson reviewed the resort with out staying within the Hideaway, noting that the property is “a celebration for the entire household” however that the “always-on” vitality of the family-friendly property left him wanting one thing “small, extra genuine and extra enjoyable” for his subsequent seashore vacation, per his evaluation.

So, on my most up-to-date journey to the Dominican Republic, I made a decision to see if staying within the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana was a cheerful center floor: a spot the place I may make the most of all the things the resort has to supply, together with a water park, however nonetheless discover relaxation and rest away from the throngs of individuals (learn: households with youngsters) within the unique Hideaway areas.

This is all the things it’s good to know earlier than reserving the adults-only Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana, a part of Marriott’s Autograph Assortment.

What’s the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana?

Royalton Punta Cana, An Autograph Assortment All-Inclusive Resort & On line casino is a big family-friendly, all-inclusive resort on the seashore with practically 500 rooms. It is about 25 minutes from Punta Cana Worldwide Airport (PUJ) and is a component of a bigger resort complicated that shares facilities with Royalton Splash, one other family-friendly, all-inclusive resort with a small water park.

Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana is the resort’s tackle an adults-only resort-within-a-resort property that features 168 rooms and suites; personal adults-only pool and seashore areas, every with its personal respective bar; an unique adults-only restaurant, Dorado; 12 whole eating places spanning the whole resort complicated; and full entry to all of the facilities, actions and sights spanning each Royalton Punta Cana and Royalton Splash, together with the water park.

Moreover, friends can ebook Hideaway rooms or suites with Diamond Membership entry, that means these friends can go to the lounge space for premium drinks, espresso, tea and snacks like varied cheeses and pastries all through the day, in addition to a Diamond Membership pool and seashore space. The perfect perk is the chance to have a butler who can help in making reservations on the eating places as most friends use a first-come, first-served system.

The right way to ebook the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana

Charges on the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana begin at $319 per evening, based mostly on double occupancy, or 43,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors per evening for an entry-level visitor room with a king mattress or two queens. Wanting round at varied charges, Diamond Membership-level rooms appear to value at the least an extra $100 or extra per evening, a worth that you just may wish to assume twice about paying contemplating that you just’re already at an all-inclusive resort the place you will get comparable meals or drink at varied spots all through the day or 24 hours a day with room service. In distinction, upgrading to Diamond Membership can assist you rating reservations and add extra construction to your days as a result of, as they are saying, time is cash.

When reserving this, you may wish to use one of many bank cards that earn probably the most factors for Marriott stays, in addition to one which probably affords computerized Marriott Bonvoy elite standing for value-added advantages. These embrace:

• Marriott Bonvoy Sensible® American Specific® Card: Earn 6 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at motels collaborating within the Marriott Bonvoy program; computerized Platinum Elite standing; and 25 elite evening credit per 12 months towards a better tier.
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Specific® Card: Earn 6 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at motels collaborating within the Marriott Bonvoy program; computerized Gold Elite standing; and 15 elite evening credit per 12 months towards a better tier.
• Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Card: Earn 6 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at motels collaborating within the Marriott Bonvoy program; computerized Gold Elite standing; and 15 elite evening credit per 12 months towards a better tier.
• Marriott Bonvoy Enterprise® American Specific® Card: Earn 6 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at motels collaborating within the Marriott Bonvoy program; computerized Gold Elite standing; and 15 elite evening credit per 12 months towards a better tier.
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit score Card: Earn 6 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at motels collaborating within the Marriott Bonvoy program; computerized Silver Elite standing; and 15 elite evening credit per 12 months towards a better tier.
• Marriott Bonvoy Daring Credit score Card: Earn 3 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases at motels collaborating within the Marriott Bonvoy program; computerized Silver Elite standing; and 15 elite evening credit per 12 months towards a better tier.

The data for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.

A clean check-in

The check-in course of for friends of the Hideaway begins at an unique check-in space in one of many Hideaway buildings fairly than the huge principal foyer space — a pleasant contact meaning it can save you time by not ready in an extended line. You may merely depart your baggage in the primary foyer, and as soon as you’ve got checked in on the Hideaway reception, your luggage will shortly be delivered to your room.

The reception space additionally performs host to the Hideaway Diamond Lounge, which was open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout my keep. It serves cheeses, pastries, small sandwiches and different snacks, plus top-shelf liquors, beer, wine, Champagne, tea and low. (It is also the place Jennifer, one of many membership’s servers, made my day each time I walked by as a result of she was simply so form.)

My swim-up suite

In all of my years overlaying all-inclusive resorts, my journey to the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana was the primary time I would ever scored a swim-up suite — and I used to be past excited for this ground-level room to be my house base for 2 nights. My room was in the course of the primary Hideaway constructing, which had an open-air idea on both finish, one finish main out to the adults-only Hideaway pool. It was additionally simply steps away from the Hideaway Diamond Lounge, making it simple to seize a fast snack or get to the water.

The 408-square-foot room consisted of a principal room with a double mattress, two nightstands and a pullout sofa with a espresso desk on one aspect of the room. Although the room itself was snug — and the big sliding doorways let in a number of pure mild — the design decisions within the room felt dated and off, and the imagery above the mattress, a really close-up shot of a flower (or, at the least, I feel that is what it was) was not nice to have a look at.

The sofa was as uninviting because it regarded (fairly stiff and angular).

The alternative wall consisted of a big TV that lacked streaming capabilities (that means you may spend a night channel browsing or forking over money to hire a film), a big console with drawers, a espresso maker, an assortment of snacks like Lay’s potato chips, Pringles and M&Ms, a complete bottle of Skyy vodka and two bottles of wine.

The minifridge had varied sodas like Pepsi, Coke Zero and 7UP, in addition to bottles of nonetheless and glowing water, Coors Gentle, Heineken and varied juices.

A small closet was adjoining to the mattress, and it contained two robes, some house to hold or retailer garments, a secure and a really highly effective transportable steamer (an extremely sensible amenity that I consider all motels ought to have in rooms).

The lavatory, positioned proper subsequent to the suite’s entry, consisted of a conceit with a mirror and an oddly-shaped sink. This sink-vanity space was in an area with out its personal door, and it opened into the primary entryway of the room. The bathroom and an enclosed rainfall bathe have been in a separate room positioned past the sink. Royalton-branded facilities like hand cleaning soap, lotion, a dental package and a toiletry package have been sitting on the sink whereas the bathe had particular person bottles of shampoo, conditioner and physique wash.

By means of the sliding glass door, the terrace led out to a good looking swim-out space in a pool that was linked to the opposite block of swim-up rooms. Whereas I used to be excited concerning the swim-up pool, I used to be not as excited once I bought into the unheated water and located it freezing. Thoughts you, the climate within the Dominican Republic the week I used to be there was milder than different early February journeys I’ve taken there, however I want I may have loved it extra.

Farther exterior, our terrace had two chairs and a desk however no lounge chairs like our neighbors clearly had. I did, nevertheless, very a lot get pleasure from spending time on the market, however if you need an excellent personal swim-up expertise, this won’t be the resort for you.

Food and drinks

One beauty of the Hideaway is that friends have entry to an unique beachfront restaurant, Dorado, plus all the opposite eating places throughout the 2 resorts, which vary from an entertainment-filled teppanyaki restaurant to eateries specializing in Italian, French, Asian, Mexican and worldwide flavors, plus a steakhouse, a sports activities bar and even a venue with an upscale tasting menu that prices further.

Over my two-night keep I ate a number of occasions at Dorado (for the exclusivity and comfort of its location), plus Hunter Steakhouse and the Zen teppanyaki restaurant. This is a breakdown of my experiences.

Dorado

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Dorado is the adults-only, beachfront restaurant unique to Hideaway friends. For breakfast, friends can seize a seat within the ethereal house dealing with the seashore or in a coated space. The breakfast menu here’s a la carte, however there is a good little buffet part with fruit, cheese and pastries, plus a build-your-own mimosa and bloody mary bar.

For breakfast, we ordered some classics like a breakfast plate with bacon, eggs to order, mushrooms and hash browns, in addition to pancakes, a smoothie, glasses of Prosecco and low. The meals was all superb however nothing particular, and the yokes of my over-easy eggs weren’t runny in any respect. Nevertheless, the pancakes have been so fluffy and scrumptious, as have been the early morning views of the seashore served with a aspect of people-watching (you would be shocked how many individuals journey with steel detectors to look the seashore for … treasure?).

For lunch, Dorado transforms right into a breezy seafood grill with a small buffet of salads, bread, grilled veggies and ceviche. Over Aperol-forward Aperol spritzes, we totally loved just a few totally different objects, together with a salad with strawberries and goat cheese, ceviche, the grilled fish of the day (mahi-mahi), rooster skewers with a pleasant Asian-inspired glaze, popcorn shrimp and a aspect of grilled greens. Although it was a variety of meals, it was the perfect lunch for a sunny day spent lounging by the pool and the seashore.

Hunter Steakhouse

For dinner, our concierge made our reservation for Hunter Steakhouse, the place we sat on the attractive terrace lined with water and palm bushes and embellished with Western-themed fake horn chandeliers. As a Texan who loves an excellent steak, I used to be curious to see if an all-inclusive resort may pull off nice steakhouse fare, so we ordered a medium New York strip, a medium uncommon filet, an iceberg wedge salad, a beet salad and creamed spinach.

Each salads hit the spot, particularly the beet salad combined with feta and delicate balsamic French dressing and the wedge salad with tomatoes, bacon and blue cheese dressing. The steaks, however, did not do it for us. The standard of the meat simply wasn’t too nice and all collectively was fattier than you’d have at an everyday steakhouse. Nevertheless it was nonetheless a beautiful night in a semi-romantic setting (regardless of the very fact that there have been children round).

Zen teppanyaki

For our final dinner, we as soon as once more had our concierge prepare a reservation for us, this time on the teppanyaki restaurant Zen. Arriving on the restaurant, we watched a pair with out the power to make reservations (a motive to ebook Diamond Membership-level!) get requested to return in about an hour and a half to be seated for the showy eating expertise. That made us recognize the power to have a extra scheduled day with out worrying about how lengthy we might await dinner.

For those who’ve ever been to a teppanyaki restaurant, you realize precisely what to anticipate. Diners sit round a communal desk and watch as an animated chef wows the group with fireplace, knife expertise and the occasional shrimp or rice thrown into folks’s mouths. This specific expertise additionally included a number of communal chanting and dancing, which made the restaurant bond collectively in a very foolish manner that everybody beloved.

The meals was additionally precisely like each different teppanyaki restaurant I’ve ever visited: soup and salad adopted by a number of scrumptious rice and greens, plus steak, rooster and shrimp. Teppanyaki eating places are a staple of the all-inclusive expertise, and this one was actually an excellent expertise.

Bars

Friends on the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana have entry to all the general public bars throughout the resorts, plus unique pool and seashore bars, the place we most frequently ordered from. At these bars, friends may order just about no matter they needed (with some higher-quality liquors) from pleasant, educated employees.

Persons are at all times curious if drinks are watered down at all-inclusive resorts, and I discover that that normally is determined by what you order. As an skilled all-inclusive traveler, I have a tendency to stay to what I do know may be finished simply and the way I prefer it, sometimes margaritas on the rocks with salt or Weight loss plan Coke with coconut rum or tequila. At these bars, the margaritas at all times hit the spot, although spicy margaritas have been made with Tabasco sauce fairly than muddled jalapenos.

My recommendation would even be to request that your cocktails be served in common cups as a substitute of those seemingly enjoyable margarita glasses — they’re type of a ache, and you will lose half your drink earlier than getting again to your chair (they are usually simply spilled).

We additionally spent just a few hours at Rating Sports activities Bar & Lounge, open till 2 a.m. There, we sipped whiskey and Weight loss plan Coke whereas folks danced within the club-like space with couches and a DJ. Throughout our go to, we bought a kick watching a gaggle of foolish youngsters who have been having fun with the chance to drink legally on this nation. A full arcade within the again makes use of a token system, so you’ll want to carry further greenback payments if you wish to play a spherical of air hockey.

The service

Throughout the board, I used to be very impressed with the service from everybody working on the eating places and bars. They have been extremely attentive, very pleasant and fast to make sure we bought all the things we needed or wanted. Lots of them remembered our orders day after day and left us feeling seen and cared for our complete keep.

Swimming pools and seashores

The adults-only pool reserved solely for Hideaway friends was an excellent place to spend just a few hours because of a lot of lounge chairs each across the pool and sitting within the water. Simply do not forget: At any all-inclusive resort, folks rise up early to say chairs, so if that is vital, you’ll want to set an alarm.

Servers have been strolling round taking drink orders (and sometimes passing out canned beers), and a DJ performed music whereas of us mingled within the pool.

Hideaway friends may also make the most of a lot of the different resort swimming pools, together with the gorgeous principal infinity pool overlooking the seashore (pictured above). Discovering chairs at this pool is harder, because it’s shared by many extra folks than the Hideaway pool, however it was a beautiful spot with a swim-up bar.

There’s additionally a small unique seashore space with a non-public bar for Hideway friends. Bavaro Seashore, the place the resort is positioned, is gorgeous, and the ocean temperature is normally excellent (higher than the swimming pools throughout my keep), so I spent most of my time enjoyable there. Simply know that this personal seashore space is elevated and roped off, that means that moving into the water is a little bit of a journey — however it’s an excellent spot for individuals who simply wish to calm down.

It is also vital to know that seashore distributors are a dime a dozen within the Dominican Republic. They don’t seem to be pushy and can depart you alone if you happen to merely say “no thanks.” At this seashore, there was additionally an journey firm providing parasailing and journey rides on varied interior tubes. We paid $50 whole for a wild journey on a couch-like interior tube that felt like a curler coaster on the water; I’d extremely suggest the expertise (although remember the fact that the corporate you employ will not be related to the resort, as was the case for us).

1 celebration I will always remember (and 1 I actually will)

One beauty of all-inclusive resorts is the quantity of leisure on provide, from scheduled every day actions like water aerobics and seashore video games to reveals with dwell music and dancing. At this resort, you may wish to be sure you head to the weekly “White Get together,” the place friends of all ages converge on the seashore to bop the evening away. The celebration was actually a spectacle, with folks dancing with balloons of their fingers to music starting from present Prime 40 hits to throwbacks like Usher’s 2004 smash hit “Yeah.”

Even higher, there was a kind of round photobooth platforms the place friends may slide their cellphone right into a holder and take a 360-degree video.

On our second evening, we ventured to the close by family-forward Splash Punta Cana (by way of a five-minute shuttle) for karaoke evening in a big pavilion. Coming from our 8 p.m. Zen reservation, we arrived as karaoke was winding down and a small dance celebration was beginning. Many individuals have been having enjoyable and becoming a member of in on dances just like the “Cha Cha Slide” whereas loads of others merely sat within the chairs and bars surrounding the dance ground. It felt type of like a household reunion or a clumsy wedding ceremony, however the leisure crew was doing an excellent job getting folks up and dancing, and we finally had a reasonably enjoyable (albeit not memorable) time in comparison with the White Get together the evening earlier than.

A water park for the youngsters at coronary heart

Although the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana is adults-only, friends have entry to the close by water park at Royalton Splash (which is accessible by strolling or taking a fast shuttle that runs each 10 minutes). The water park has an assortment of each open-air and enclosed slides, a wave pool and a splash pad space for smaller children. Although the water park was present process some renovations, we had a very terrific time profiting from the thrilling slides, together with one with a very steep drop and one which dropped riders into a rest room bowl-like basin to spin round in earlier than dropping you out.

For those who’re making an attempt to have a full-on adults-only expertise, this isn’t the place to cease. However if you happen to’re on the lookout for some quick, lighthearted enjoyable, you may wish to give it a attempt — regardless of your age.

The fury and the flood

The one hiccup we had on the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana was on our final evening. After returning to our room to relaxation after an extended day of absorbing some solar, it began raining. At first, it felt like your normal late afternoon tropical thunderstorm, however after the solar went down and we took time to nap and relaxation, the storm bought a lot heavier, a lot so, in actual fact, that our entryway had been filling up with water with out our realizing — solely to be found once I ventured to the lavatory and realized there was a small lake in our room. I instantly threw down the towels that we had and rushed to the reception desk for extra solely to search out that the whole open-air hallway was flooded and friends have been lining the foyer space asking for assist, too.

It is price noting that the employees jumped into fast motion by doing their greatest to comb the hallways clear of water, stopping at every room to do the identical earlier than drying the flooring and plugging the doorways with towels. Many friends have been offended, demanding rooms on greater flooring — and the employees clearly was working their hardest to relocate these folks. In the end, the storm ended simply as shortly because it began, and our state of affairs was simply reconciled.

The truth is that that is doubtless not the primary time this has occurred on the resort, and a few upkeep work on ground-level rooms may doubtless save everybody a little bit of bother.

Different facilities

For friends trying to get pampered whereas on trip, Royalton’s Hideaway space has the Royal Spa, which affords all the usual companies and sweetness therapies, equivalent to facials, massages, manicures and pedicures, for an extra payment. Or, if you happen to’re one to work out on trip, Royalton Match affords a gymnasium with all of the important gear, plus courses like seashore boot camp, yoga, Zumba and kickboxing. There are additionally tennis courts accessible.

Accessibility

Discovering details about Royalton Punta Cana’s accessibility is troublesome on-line — a disservice to vacationers with bodily challenges trying to ebook a dreamy trip. As somebody who travels with a father or mother who makes use of a wheelchair, I did discover the usual accessibility choices like spacious elevators and flat, open walkways, however different options — like pool lifts and even simply accessible room varieties — have been arduous to search out.

For these needing accessible rooms, I would extremely suggest calling the resort instantly and talking to somebody on the bottom earlier than reserving. Additionally remember the fact that motels exterior the U.S. aren’t certain by the identical Individuals with Disabilities Act requirements required of properties stateside.

Is it actually adults-only?

Increasingly all-inclusive resorts provide adults-only experiences in in any other case family-friendly resorts, main folks to surprise how adults-only a property may be. That is precisely what I got here to search out out.

Associated: 19 enjoyable adults-only, all-inclusive resorts for a kid-free trip

The truth of the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana is that whereas there are a handful of adults-only areas, you will notice and listen to many youngsters all through your keep — and there is no method to keep away from that. Certain, the Hideaway pool is freed from children, however to get to Dorado, the adults-only restaurant, you may need to stroll out of the gated pool space and more than likely previous some little ones. If you need a late-night drink from both the foyer bar or the sports activities bar, you may additionally doubtless have children round.

So, if you need a real adults-only expertise with no little one in sight, this isn’t the precise expertise for you. However if you happen to’re superb with having just a few adults-only retreats inside a big, vigorous resort, you will not be dissatisfied.

Trying out

My expertise on the Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana was one of the best of each worlds: a enjoyable resort-within-a-resort expertise that allowed me and my associate freedom from children alongside unique, much less crowded areas whereas nonetheless gaining access to a variety of different enjoyable actions and facilities, equivalent to an enormous dance celebration, a water park and extra eating places and bars than we may go to in a single keep.

Your complete expertise was lighthearted, the service was superb, the seashore was incredible and the adults-only pool felt like an unique membership the place we made buddies and relaxed. Although there are extra high-end all-inclusive resorts within the Dominican Republic, my expertise right here checked a lot of the containers, and I’d return once more in a heartbeat if the value or Marriott Bonvoy award redemption have been proper.

However if you happen to’re on the lookout for a real adults-only expertise, you would be happier staying someplace just like the Hyatt Zilara again in Punta Cana.