Breathless Punta Cana Resort & Spa

I’ll start with: I absolutely love the quality of treatment delivered by the Iberostar chain. They set the standard for mainstream resort chains. That being said- I booked this resort in lieu the European travel ban after having canceled by Barcelona trip. This resort ranked high enough on TripAdvisor, without having to sacrifice the fun, young atmosphere. Upon arrival, I sensed a Lack of warmth and welcome from staff. After check in, I assumed there would’ve been some sort of mention of the Xhale club. That never happened. I decided to address this ( because I actually considered it after reading reviews), but was met with mild aggression- “ yes, but that’s an extra cost”. I found this response to be quite offensive, particularly considering I wasn’t even presented the option. It then was paired with a resort staff member whose job was to sway us into agreeing to the “resident breakfast”. I hadn’t realized at the time that I had agreed to a 2 hr sales pitch. The attempt at “breakfast” to sell us a subscription to AM RESORTS was a painful one. I received several subliminal condescending statements from two salesmen. After diplomatically airing any disappointments, our main salesman walked out of the pitch. It was a complete waste of half my day. Additionally: The resort looks a little dated, which is unusual considering it isn’t that old. My room had a broken toilet and missing iron The food was subpar. However, there was a spot on the beach that had better food The crowd was fun ( both young and old) Had some cute events - foam party, beach party etc The drinks were ok. Bottom line: I’ve had better Caribbean vacays. This was just ok. The Trip Advisor ranking is exaggerated

We have stayed at Secrets resorts many times and this was our first time trying a Breathless resort. There is definitely a different vibe at Breathless. There is a more social scene, with pool parties galore and music always playing with the same familiar beat. There are high energy events (Masters Acrobatic show was amazing) and theme parties (White party was my favorite) that will keep you entertained long into the evening. This resort is a perfect place to enjoy time away with friends or celebrate a special occasion. We booked the Xhale Club Junior Suite Swim Up and I highly recommend it, as the Xhale club was worth every penny. The towel game is played pretty heavily at this resort, despite the signs stating no reserving. Having a swim up room, we always had a chair by the pool and excellent poolside service, provided by the amazing, Benjamin. He keep our glasses full and had our drinks of choice memorized. Our concierge, Emilio, was AMAZING! He made reservations for the 6 of us for dinner nightly, and really went above and beyond. We celebrated a friend's birthday while there, and he made it a memorable one! Emilio always had a smile on his face and was eager to help in any way possible to make our vacations extraordinary. The food was most surprising to me. Everything I ate was great! With booking the Xhale club, you have access to your own restaurant for breakfast. You can order off a menu or do the buffet (joined with main resort). It was at the Kibbeh Xhale Breakfast, we met one of the most delightful and kindest servers, Ilaria. She genuinely has a heart of gold. We sat in her section every morning and she always had a smile on her face. She truly loves her job and it shows. For the mid-day munchies, I would recommend visiting the Barefoot Grill for pizza, fries and a plate full of nachos! Now on to dinner... My favorites were Coquette (French) for lobster bisque and duck confit, Silk City sit down off the menu-not hibachi (sushi and pad thai shrimp), and Culinaria (scallops, beef tenderloin and save room for dessert). Another privilege that comes along with booking Xhale is the Xhale Club. They serve mini breakfasts in the am, great coffee here too, and then snacks on snacks on snacks, available all day long and change every few hours. You also have access to top shelf, premium liquor here and I would walk from the swim up pool to the club just to get my Grey Goose on. The beach is beautiful here. It is swimmable and there are rocks in the water, so be careful stepping. The beach is public, so there were children present from the resort next door, but they were always well behaved. We walked to the left of the resort and visited some vendors. I would definitely recommend visiting Tropical Treasure. I would highly recommend Breathless when traveling with a group of friends or interested in meeting other people from all over the world.

I had one of the best trips ever in my lifetime, I find myself still thinking about it 3 and a half weeks later! Beautiful beach, fantastic atmosphere in the resort, great food and drinks, the mango Daquiri was a favorite! I loved the cool modern music they played by the pools and in the front area in the resort by the bar! And the nightlife was so amazing,fantastic dancing with the e team!I'll always treasure the memories of this trip at Breathless punta cana, thank you so much to the staff for everything, I feel like the whole trip returned the skip in my step and the joy in my heart. Forever grateful. Shannon Gillespie.