A few reasons for us choosing to go to Punta Cana over other places.
- Safety! We looked at resorts in Mexico and although it’s close and cheap it’s dangerous right now.
- All inclusive! We wanted a place where we didn’t care if the kids didn’t finish their meals and a place we could eat and drink without worrying about additional cost. We have searched for closer places in the US but you can’t find the all inclusive option.
- Distance! With the first two in mind Punta Cana isn’t terribly far away. It would be nice to get a direct flight but other than Mexico it’s hard to find closer all inclusive options from Columbus.
We chose the hard rock because of the kids features, room options and price.
Room:
We had the two bed room family suite. And let me tell you it was sweet!!
Two bed rooms, one with two double beds and one with a king. There was a mini kitchen with a stocked fridge and full size table, great for eating in room service. The room also had two full bathrooms one of which had a big enough closet we put Emmys crib in. The funny thing about this closet though was that there was a motion sensor light in it. Obviously, this was an issue for an kid sleeping in there. Engineer Keith to the rescue with a towel wrapped around the sensor which took care of the issue! We now had a three bedroom! The balcony on this room was amazing. There were lounge chairs and tables and it ran the whole length of our room. They even had little floaties and a beach ball in the room for the kids when we arrived.
The pools were great! There was a kids pool with a huge climbing water feature and water slides which is where we spent a lot of time. The awesome thing about the food options at the pool was that all pre-prepared and ready for the taking. Each pool had something different from hot dogs, fries, burgers, chips and salsa bar, snow cones, ice cream etc... it was so nice not have to wait for food and just let the kids (and ourselves) graze on whatever. And best of all was the pool side waitresses. Can we say Cuba libre por favor!
We wandered to the adults pool on our last day and let me say what a blast! They had all kids of activities from water aerobics to dancing to the most hilarious water balloon fight. The balloons were half full of water and you literally had to chuck it at all the people on the other side. It was like an episode from Wipeout.
The pools lined the beach which was also beautiful. Lots of space, chairs and cabanas.
There was seaweed on the beach but because this was a bigger resort they had tractors clearing it so it was never an issue. And it didn’t seem to be bad in the water. The kids had a blast swimming in the ocean and again there was a full beach bar with waitresses.
The Restaurants were amazing. Some were closed on certain nights so you have to plan accordingly. We did the Brazilian type steak house one night, which was awesome. The kids actually loved it! They loved the little green and red cards to flip over when you were ready for food or not. The actually tried a bunch of new things. Our waiter loved emmy and sang to her each time he came by. It also resulted in us getting a special flamming dessert which was a hit for the kids.
Another night we did the hibachi grill. This was great because it kept Emmy and Lincoln’s attention. Our chef was very entertaining and kept it lively the entire meal. The food was delicious. Both of these type restaurants we probably wouldn’t have taken kids to at home due to cost and possible awful behavior. We were pleasantly surprised with the over all enjoyment from the whole family.
There is also a pizza joint in the main building. We all chose to pick our own toppings. The pizzas came out as individual size pizzas but they would definitely feed two. This was casual place and had quick service. We would recommend everyone try the pizza during your stay.
Breakfasts were mostly buffets which was perfect because too many sit down meals and our kids are a disaster. We love to be able to get in and out. I really enjoyed the food at this hotel. The only thing that was just ok was the room service. I imagine with a resort that big it’s hard to keep things hot and fresh tasting when driving it all over the place. But the option to eat in the room was great since we were exhausted from the beach all day. We also used room service to bring us each a bottle of wine for the week.
The resort is huge so be ready to walk! We brought our stroller for Emmy which was a must have. This also allowed for pool side naps and one of us not having to sit in the room. They do have shuttles you can catch to take you all around that are also nice.
KidzBop experience:
The kids sign up during the day for a spot and then get dropped off in the evening for rehearsal. They all get fun all access name badges and get to get dressed up to sing and dance. It’s a whole private club. They got bags at the end with lights up bracelets and other fun things. Later that night the group puts on the show for the whole resort. Unfortunately the show was at 9pm and with our kids being relatively young, we decided to head back to our room before they performed. Macie had a blast anyway just practicing. Then the next two days she had all these girls friends she knew at the pools like a big hot shot.
AND... The resort just added in the new year some sort of package that has free spa services and excursions!!! Say what! I wish we had that when we were there. We had an amazing time and will definitely be going back!
Random side note our shuttle company didn’t have car seats... I was uncomfortable to say the least but we all survived.
Cost:
Flights:
Like usual we flew Southwest to Punta Cana. This was Emerson's last trip flying under 2 so we only had to pay roughly $20 for taxes. I used points for the other 3 flights. Kim also flew for free because of my companion pass.
Total points used - 25272 x 3 = 75,816
Total cost for taxes - $120 x 4 + $20 for Emmy = $500
If I didn't use points each flight would have cost roughly $400 each.
Hotel:
For the first time we booked through Costco travel. My mom is a member and we booked through her account. One perk of booking through Costco is that round trip transfers are included in the hotel cost. Our four night trip in November cost us $2,554. This also came with a $328 Costco gift card. Roughly 10 days after our trip was complete the card showed up in the mail.
This was definitely one of our most expensive trips but it was worth the cost.
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