I recently stayed at Excellence Punta Cana with my wife to celebrate our anniversary on Valentine's Day, and unfortunately, our experience was far from what we expected.
First and foremost, I want to highlight the strict dress code for the restaurants, which was not communicated to us prior to booking. To our surprise, we were informed that we needed to wear sleeves to enjoy breakfast and that pants were mandatory for several dinner restaurants. On such a special occasion, being denied entry into a restaurant we had paid an upcharge for was incredibly disappointing and completely ruined our evening.
Additionally, the resort's marketing of their dining options was misleading. Although we were encouraged to upgrade for exclusive access to certain restaurants, many of these were fully booked during our stay, leaving us with limited choices. The claim that top-shelf alcohol was included in our package did not extend to wine, which felt like another letdown.
When I approached the concierge desk to express our concerns, I was met with a lack of accommodation or understanding. The only response I received was that it was hotel policy from corporate, despite my attempts to show that the dress code was not listed on their website.
Having traveled to the Dominican Republic multiple times and stayed at several top resorts, I can confidently say that this was my worst experience. The lack of communication and rigid policies overshadowed