Royalton CHIC Punta Cana Resort & Spa

Not my favourite resort but it has good points. The entertainment is late and longer than family resorts. The bubble party was fun but hard if you have sensitive skin or lungs. Silent rave was great but they ran out of head phones and the resort was not even full. Queen cover band was quite good and full of energy. The coffee shop is a lovely extra. The hydro therapy was so nice to enjoy daily. The Asian restaurant was so tasty and had to be visited twice. Our room did not have the privacy latch on the interior so staff could walk in if you did not hear the knock. The toilets through out the resort were not to have anything thrown in them including toilet paper. But there is no clear signs about this so they were often plugged and the waste can next to the toilet was awkward to use for you toilet paper. The lack of lounge chairs and umbrellas around the pool was unreasonable 7am or no chair for you. There wasn’t even enough to go around the whole pool.

There is a part of me that is reluctant to write a review because I don't want this place to get too popular, overcrowded, and expensive! But, our trip was really amazing and I feel that they deserve a great review and I want to thank a lot of the people that made our trip so great and really contributed to the experience. First of all, we upgraded to the diamond club. I think it was totally worth every penny! The diamond club includes the private beach area and the beach bar as well as the diamond club lounge which has snacks and upgraded alcohol selections. Before I get into more details, I'd really like to give attention to a few people. Ronald, our butler. This guy never stopped working! He would arrange dinner reservations (which you do not actually need, but does help), spa or cabana reservations, or any other possible requests that you might have. He would just magically appear and make things happen with no stress for you. Leonel, Dahiana, and Johan. These three all helped to contribute to our gluttony, relaxation, and our fun on the beach! Leonel, our favorite beach bartender was always smiling and making us laugh, made great drinks, told great stories, and made great conversation. We genuinely enjoyed just sitting at the bar and talking to him and the others as they were working. Dahiana, beach cocktail server. She, was sooo great! That woman worked non-stop all day in sneakers on the beach bringing us more fresh drinks and food. She helped to keep us relaxed, well fed, and always at least slightly buzzed. And of course Johan who was always smiling and laughing and always working hard too. Jamar! I have to give a super shout-out to Jamar, the afternoon/evening bartender in the DC lounge. That guy was ALWAYS smiling and chatting with everybody that came in. He kept everything in there clean and well-stocked. Plus he put up with a lot of crap from all of us super happy-drunk people and always managed to magically procure what we requested. (Although I may have gotten him in trouble a time or two, so I'd like to tell his boss that it was my fault, and that guy deserves a raise!) Nermis (and the other dancers/entertainers). SO. MUCH. TALENT! Plus, I had so much fun at her pole dancing class. It was super sexy, yet fun and comfortable. They actually taught a routine and it was a pretty good workout too. And ALL of the rest of the staff at this place including restaurant servers, chefs, front desk, housekeeping, and maintenance who all made this place seem effortlessly clean, relaxing, well-stocked, and just perfect. (I swear, I am not getting paid for this, I really just loved this place!) So many more details: Rooms: Our room was beautiful. We had a swim-up, beachfront room and I will try to get one of these rooms again when we return someday. We loved it because it was quiet, peaceful, and more shaded (we love the sun, but also aren't huge sunbathers). If it is full sun that you want or if you want to be in a room that is closer to the party, then the swim-up poolside rooms are for you. Those people lounged and sunbathed in their own pools and had drinks brought to them and the party was all right there. We liked the more quiet and private environment of the swim-up, beachfront rooms. Of course, the presidential suite gets the best of both worlds. These rooms also offered the lovely ocean breeze. We noticed that it was very hot and stuffy outside (even in March) once that breeze is blocked back in the regular rooms (although it was still absolutely beautiful!). Yes, the rooms are a little musty, but it is a super humid place and it would be impossible to control for that unless you constantly kept the rooms closed off and the a/c on, but who wants to do that when you can leave your patio door open and get that incredible ocean breeze to cool you off naturally? Food: This was my first all-inclusive resort, so I have nothing to compare this place to. But my sister (with lots of resort experience) recommended this place to me and she said it was the best food she has ever had out of all the resorts she has been to. I am a vegetarian, and kind of a picky eater and I was always VERY well satisfied. There were SOOO many options to choose from! Each meal was delicious. Plus the snacks in the diamond club lounge were always available and always delicious. Oh! Also, the 24 hour room service was really great and super convenient after an evening of partying when we were drunk and hungry in the middle of the night. It was also great for breakfast when we were hungover and didn't want to leave our room yet. Alcohol: There were no alcohol dispensers in our rooms anymore. This being said, our fridge was always stocked with beers, sodas, and water and we were given a regular bottle of Skyy vodka at check-in (we were given a menu to choose from with lots of different liquor options and we chose that one). And also, you can have a drink at any of the bars at almost any time you want. And with the DC upgrade, we could always get quick upgraded drinks at the lounge as well. Beach: The beach was stunning. It was always clean, there were plenty of lounge chairs, beds, and you can pay a little extra to rent a cabana for the day. We rented a beach cabana for one day and thought it was totally worth it!!! Plus the staff that worked on the beach were constantly moving and always busting their butts and still managed to look happy doing it. Again, shout out to Dahiana, Johan, and Leonel who all contributed to our relaxation, gluttony, and fun on the beach! Entertainment: I was so impressed by the evening entertainment!!! I didn't participate in much of the pool entertainment during the day because I spent all of my time on the beach, so I can't speak for that. The evening entertainment was spectacular!!! They put on some seriously amazing shows each night. These entertainers are some seriously talented people! We weren't sure how tipping worked initially. We only had a few single bills but had more $5-$20 bills. We tended to leave a big tip at the end of the day, or before we left whichever area we were in. Nobody ever acted awkwardly like they were waiting or expecting a tip though. We just thought everything was so great that we wanted to make sure they knew how much we appreciated it. These people work their butts off! Make sure you tip them! My ONLY complaint is the sales pitch BS for timeshare stuff. I understand that it could be a great deal, but they just went about it all wrong. They really pressured you until you said yes. We did get a massage coupon for the spa out of it, so I guess it wasn’t too bad. It was supposed to be a “90 minute” thing, but we left after 60 minutes and still got our spa credit. Just say no and be firm.

I went on a trip with my mom to CHIC this March **before COVID-19 was a pandemic** and it was beautiful. When we arrived, we were handed a nice cool towel to freshen up, the staff were impeccable and treated us like royalty. Even though Air Canada lost my luggage, the CHIC staff were amazing about it and ensured it arrived the very next day, by noon. We got Diamond Club, and it was worth it. Our Butler Omar was beyond words. Kind, brilliant- he speaks 5 languages and teaches English- and very funny. Some butlers were absent or were too aggressive with dinners to pay for etc, but Omar was perfect and let us do our thing, but was always there if we needed him. The food was out of this world. The lunch buffet blew my mind- fresh options for anything you could ever want. Fish station? Sure, with french calamari, mussels, anything cooked to order! Meat? Sure- every type possible, all day every day. Pizza, salads, desserts- so much fruit and veggies- it was superb. The a la cartes were fantastic as well, and you rarely had to wait. The cafe is great for late night coffee and tiny little sandwiches and snacks. The beach was amazing for. The sand was soft and clean, and the ocean was beautiful. It wasn't ideal for older people to swim as the waves were high and strong every day- but that being said, the wind was always blowing to keep you cool. I personally loved it and bounced in the waves all day for days. Our room was nice- typical issues for southern areas- some rust on the fridge, a bit of a damp smell- but after we opened the windows and aired it out, it was just fine. The maids were lovely and it was great having the infinity shower. I could go on about that shower for days- two MASSIVE infinity showerheads in the shower, it was hard to get out lol I loved that no matter where you went, someone had hand sanitizer for you. And, recycling bins all over, which was a bit hit for me. The shows at night are risque quite often, but very talented people. The house band was great. I found the pools warm, and not much shade so it was hard for me to spend a lot of time out there as I am very pale- but they were clean and overall really nice. NO KIDS_ WOO can't say enough about that lol Overall, a great resort for the price we paid, and we would go back for sure. THANK YOU OMAR- you are amazing and I hope to see you again and speak some french! Maybe by then, I can keep up to you in Spanish too!