TRS Cap Cana

Catering review TRS Cap Cana As promised, my comments on the catering. I would restate my comments that your staff are wonderful and a few of them ‘stars’. (Stand our names: Anna (reception restaurants) Yvette (reception restaurants) Deniece (Helios) Anita (pool bar) Jorge (Helios) Brauly (Helios) and many more - names forgotten. In fact, I will return to the Dominican: for the people as much as the climate. I would also restate that with only a tiny beach, little of interest in the area outside the hotel and taxi fares so expensive on the island, the only potential ‘Unique Selling Point’ for this hotel is the quality of the food. It failed. As a wider comment, the hotel needs to address some Health & Safety issues: the tiled floor in the shower is dangerously slippy, a liability for disabled and non-disable clients alike. This could be easily rectified by the provision of an additional shower mat and a grab rail adjacent to the shower. General Comments The information in the hotel booklet needs updating. Completely inaccurate. Also, as only El Gaucho is open for breakfast, the theme of the evening meal should be posted there for each restaurant every morning to inform choice. I also believe that all restaurants should be book able for the evening meal but allow a few extra places for new arrivals. This could save waste and improve quality across all of them. El Gaucho Breakfast: Unpredictable: table setting; availability of cutlery/ crockery; insufficient choice in yoghurt flavour and quantity (and a small fridge would be a more elegant & a healthier way to store them); the large heated toaster next to food drys everything out near it. Place it to one side away from any foodstuff. Breads: all available for breakfast are dense, heavy and flavourless. The croissants (and flaky pastry cakes) are also heavy and bear no resemblance to the ‘real thing’. This pastry should be light, crispy and buttery. The ones on offer are flavourless and taste stale. Please, please do a variety of fresh, DOMINICAN breads if you cannot produce tasty ‘bought in’ bread. Evening meal Menu very restricted. There should be at least two menus - preferably three - and include one authentic Dominican dish each day. Restrict the number of choices if this would help variety. The specific menu for that evening should be displayed at breakfast to inform choice of restaurants. Many of the dishes seem to have sat in the oven and become overcooked. Anything that includes the word ‘parmigiana’ does NOT mean putting a slab of local cheese on top! Pre-salting steak (heavily) takes no account of personal taste or health needs..... The desserts all ‘look’ correct but taste wrong. E.G. pre-prepared, tiny, tasteless pastry cases with a tasteless filling topped with meringue bares no resemblance to a Lime or lemon cheesecake. Tiramisu should taste of coffee (and a little kick of Brandy or perhaps rum) at the bottom - not merely coffee coloured sponge. Please, please produce at least one Dominican dessert on each menu and your special Bizcocho at least once a week. Helios Many of the comments made in relation to El Gaucho apply to this restaurant. Variety is vital. Restrict the choices for each course but make them fresh. Many items were clearly cooked pre-order. Despite this, some were cooked to order and there was a better chance of fresh, well cooked food in this restaurant. One night of Dominican food is not enough. One dish of your own culture’s culinary choice at each course or even just at main course would allow a traveller a specific taste of your island. Beach BBQ A big congratulations to the lovely lady who operated the BBQ each day! This was THE most predictable and freshest food in the hotel. Why not have an evening BBQ one night per week with Dominican music and make it a feature? Coffee Shop The food/ cakes in the coffee shop were ALWAYS dry and tasted stale. Consider just offering a variety of biscuits/ fruit/ nuts or other repacked snacks if food cannot be fresh and tasty. Izakaya This was the worst and best restaurant. With Japanese food, speed and freshness are vital. The ‘cook at the table’ dishes were good and tasty as was the noodle dish.... ..... But to wait an hour for your chosen first course and be served two dried out, small finger sized pieces of dried out, overcooked chicken or slices of lukewarm aubergine gone soggy with the miso absorbed.... both were dreadful. In other hotels, the food was prepared fresh and cooked fresh in front of clients. It was quick, tasty and great entertainment! This restaurant had two chefs at different stations with bar stools at the counter and only served approximately twenty-four guests so advance booking was essential - again adding to the sense of a special occasion. A local restaurant in England is always nearly full most of the day and has to be booked at night. They cook full 2 /3 course meals for about 60-80 guests an HOUR! Their key is advance preparation for some ingredients and having 4/ 5/ 6 chefs working AT THE SAME TIME! For a hotel, either model is fine. This restaurant did neither! The black suited gentlemen at the counter seemed to do nothing but squirt sauce on some dishes and the many waiters often chattered to waiting guests, to disguise the time people were waiting - I guess! I believe the issue lies in not having enough chefs to cater for the indefinite number of diners, some of whom were there because they had not booked for El Gaucho! As I stated to you personally, I frame my comments as Feedback. It would take a major rethink (though perhaps little financial expenditure) to change the catering in such a global fashion and certainly not within the timeframe of our holiday. What you currently provide bares no resemblance to your promoted ‘A la carte dining’ when compared to other 3/ 4/ 5 star hotels we have visited. Sadly, I came home feeling I had lost an opportunity to experience the taste of the Dominican Republic..... On the whole, I could have eaten BETTER and more predictable food in fast food outlets close to home. This is not a malicious statement merely the true account of a former guest. I hope that some of my points can be addressed and lead to promoting excellence. Your guests expect that level of provision. Your hotel needs that to become not just popular but a sought after choice. Finally, your wonderful staff deserve to shine in an environment that is worthy of them. I trust my feedback will help drive excellence.

Let me start by saying no disrespect for anyone older, I am close to 40 and felt this hotel was tailored to a much older, conservative demographic. I stayed at the sister property TRS Turquesa in May of last year. (Highly recommend!)Had an amazing stay. Thought trying the same company different property with better star reviews would be better. I was wrong! Get a nice room that you want to spend your time in. Other than that there is not much to do. Hotel is so far back from the front gates that you pretty much have to stay on property or get a taxi/excursion to explore anything else. - check in: uncomfortable. Arrived around 1, room is not ready until 3:00. Butler didn’t start until that time. So didn’t get a proper tour of rhe resort. Ate lunch, then my room was ready. Front desk staff is not approachable. - key didn’t work. Had to ask twice. Had to take the key off my wrist each time to use. Was a pain each time I went back to my room. - restaurants: there are only 3/4. One of which you need reservations for. Go figure. Not hard to get but you need to know that. Food in the restaurant by the ocean is awful. (Italian) No flavor, basic, all noodles tasted al dente. Juice was acidic and carbonated. Steakhouse was the only restaurant where I had a decent dinner. - pool: no hot tub!!! Pools are cold, not heated. Couldn’t even get in the pool. And the little area of the pool that has the massage Jets, turn off at a certain time, around 5? Good luck finding how to get towels? Had to ask, still don’t know if there was a towel hut? (Pics attached) - beach: non existent! You can put your feet in the water that’s about it. So ugly and worn down, with fishing boats and locals on their motor bikes right next to the fence. (Pics attached) - room cleaning- they kept the same old coffee stirrers in the room. When they replaced the towels, they just put hem on the shelf. Not like new, rolled with the logo out. Did not replace toiletries. Had to call to ask for additional. - gym: small! Mats dirty. Nothing to clean with. (Pic attached) - Butler: unless you know all of the different things you can request from a butler; this was pointless. Only reached out once when I was told I needed a reservation at the steakhouse. Really? And I could only do thru my butler!