Rate in Tour Brochures as a 4.5 star, I would rate it definitely between a 4 and 5 star resort.
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/342541/index.html for photo’s
Flight
We live 2˝ hours from Pearson Airport in Toronto and with a late afternoon departure. We parked our vehicle at the Valhalla Inn on Burnhamthorpe Road. The rate of $99 included 7 days’ parking and a stay over the night on our arrival back in Toronto. They provide excellent customer service and the rate is reasonable. And the shuttle ride is very short and efficient.
We were scheduled to leave from Toronto at 4:35 pm and did not leave on time, 5 pm due to de icing for a 3 hour and 46 minute flight to PUJ on a Boeing 757 with Skyservice. The 757 I felt had a much better seating room than the previous A320 aircraft I had been on. I was in seat 13F and my wife in 13E and we were very comfortable for the flight down to PUJ.
Dominican customs Check-in at the airport was very quick and we were on our bus within a half an hour of landing and on our way to the resort with a stop to let off 6 passengers at the EdenH and then rode for another 5 minutes to the Barcelo Dominican to drop off 8 more passengers, about 10 minutes later we pulled into the Palladium.
Check In
On arrival at the hotel we were greeted Bell captain who secured the entire luggage and checked in about 10 minutes, and then escorted by the Bell Captain to our room 4030 in Building 4, right across the hall from last years room an identical Romance suite, we were surprised that we had been upgraded to an Ocean view room again, of course this was our fourth visit, a prior email to the manager got our entire group into Building 4000 which was very central to everything.
Accommodations
A huge room, we found a huge king bed , an armoire with 37 inch TV, 2 sitting chairs and oval table, a chesterfield with coffee table and sliding patio doors to a very decent size balcony. There was a separated Dressing room with a table to put your luggage on, and a large 7 foot Jacuzzi bathtub separated from the living area by a 4.5 foot wall and a huge closet with electronic safe on the other side of the room. The toilet area was a small closet area with sliding door with a nice stall shower in the opposite corner. We unpacked quickly and headed to the lobby bar for a cool Presidente and then onto the sports bar for a quick bite to eat before turning in around 3 am.
Restaurants
We had use of all the buffet restaurants in the entire complex and found them all very good with an excellent selection of foods. We also had unlimited a la cartes and chose to try the Mare Nostrum (Italian) and the Arrecife. Steaks were not much to write home about, this year they were tougher than a horse’s reins. The buffets afforded us a good variety of food and there is really no way anyone should go hungry.
Pools
The Punta Cana section had two large pools for our use as well we could have used the Bavaro and Palace pools, they were well maintained and lots of loungers were available. The water was very cool and refreshing. Each pool has a swim up bar.
Bars
We spent most evenings in the Punta Cana or Bavaro lobby bars where each night they featured live bands. After most evening meals we went to Hemingway’s quiet bar and indulged in some good premium drinks either inside or on the patio. Service at this bar was exceptional with a very large variety of premium cocktails available.
Grounds
The grounds were well manicured and kept well maintained with daily watering was a common practice, they needed of no rain as it rained most nights while we slept and once for about 2 hours one afternoon.
Beach
What else is there to say about the soft white sand beaches of Bavaro other than fantastic. The wind was quite high one day of the week and we stayed pool side after we cancelled our catamaran tour on the Patatatu which was moored of the Palladium for the week. We managed the trip 2 days later and had a fantastic cruise.
Entertainment
We only took in one show while at the resort, “The Michael Jackson Review” which reasonably well performed and mimed by the animation staff.
Check-Out
Resort Check out was very quick and efficient on our departure day at noon and took all of about two minutes, we relaxed pool side for the balance of the day and then we bused for our return to the airport. At 7 pm. One must be aware that at the airport check in many tourists being charged for extra weight again, we had weighed our bags before heading to the airport with a fish scale and we were fine as our bags were only 2 kg under the limit. Should you feel that your luggage is not overweight protest loudly and ask for a supervisor as some did and they were allowed to check luggage at no additional costs, while others were definitely overweight and had to pay.
Accessibility
The resort for those who might need a wheelchair is completely handicap accessible and I saw no places that there would be any problems with a wheelchair other than the beach of course. Byerbill had his wife in her wheelchair for the week and was ablly assisted by the staff when necessary.
There are two trams that run constantly to get around the resort so movement from one section to the other was never a problem.
Weather
The weather was hot and humid every day (28C to 32C) with nice puffy white clouds floating by and a nice soft breeze off the ocean with exception of one day when the wind was very high and we took refuge around the pool, there was an occasional shower for a few minutes on a couple of days.
Like being in any of the tropics there are geco’s, bugs, lots of butterflies, the occasional fly, dragon flies around the ponds and fountains, but never did we see a mosquito or any no see ums or sand fleas.
Return Flight
The outbound Toronto flight was 3 hour and 46 minutes, our flight home was very fast and smooth even though it left Punta Cana 3 hours late due to the previous day’s snow storm in Toronto landing at 3:10 am .
Summary:
Would we return to the Palladium Punta Cana?
Yes definitely
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