Zel Punta Cana

I loved this resort! The staff were so kind, the food was delicious and the amenities offered - gym, spa and different pools were perfect. The resort is also only a 15 minute walk and 5 minute shuttle to the beach. The all inclusive resort is meant more for older kids in their twenties and for couples to relax. It’s not really designed for kids as there’s mostly pools and no kiddie rides or entertainment.

We had a really good holiday at Zel, but it does have some shortcomings, with the main one being the food… The resort itself is lovely. Great pools and looks lovely. There is always a cabana or chair free (no extra charge for the cabanas). Buggies take you to the beach or fun republic. They are regular and quick. Fun republic is great too, with butlins style entertainment, a really good ropes course and high quality mini golf. The beach is nice too (have nets so no seaweed), having walked along the beach, it is pretty much the nicest part. Only problem is there are not enough chairs and definitely not enough parasols. They are usually all gone or reserved by towel hogs by 9am. Room - we stayed in a standard suite - amazing room. Huge, comfy bed, lovely balcony. Nothing but positives. Includes multiple usb sockets, well stocked mini bar, nice bathroom. Balcony has a hot tub and comfy quality chairs. if you can afford it I would definitely recommend upgrading to a swim up room - they are great with lovely pool access, cabanas, and loungers. Food - is not great. The buffet breakfast - omelet, fruit, pastries and yoghurt are good. The rest is Luke warm at best, soggy and not very nice. Lunch and dinner are pretty much the same, with only the salad, bread and pizza any good - I am unsure why don’t they use proper hotplates and chafers after everyone gives the Same feedback? Albeit I found the desserts reasonable for an AI hotel. Tacorini is reasonable for lunch, but the dinner menu is limited and not very good. Nokyo is ok, but not great. The teppan is terrible - worst I’ve had… was just special fried rice. Steak restaurant was the best. Steaks and prawns were nice, but the side I was served was microwaved rice! Entertainment - the resort is a bit confused. There is not enough wellness going on - wanted to do more Pilates every morning (as was really good) but only happens a couple of times a week! Nightlife was limited, which was fine for us, but would have been nice to have a few more bands. Bars - drinks were good. Only problem is there is only really one bar, meaning a 10 min queue for Drink is not unusual. The resort is linked to the Nadal centre, which was a big reason for us booking the resort, as wanted to play padel and some tennis, however you have to pay full price to use the courts or have lessons, which is a lot ($90 for a lesson). Also no way of organising games with other guests and staff won’t help with this. Service- sometimes good (mainly at the bar and tacorini). Often very transactional, and not too friendly. Was a nightmare trying to get anything in the buffet such as cutlery or a drink . The concierge is a bit gimmicky, would have been happy with a functioning app where I can book my own restaurants etc. tried to email the hotel in advance of my stay, no reply to multiple emails. As above, had a lovely holiday. Resort is great, rooms are great. I can put up with below par service, but the food would stop us coming back.would recommend if food isn’t important to you.

Zel is quiet and refined with amazing pools meandering through the property. The all suites property is highly recommended. There is a dedicated beach area with a great bar and food. Getting to the beach is best done by on the Zel “bus” which comes frequently. You can walk but it is a bit of a hike and you need to know where you are going. The food at Zel is generally good. It is easy to get a dinner reservation at one of their 4 à la carte restaurants. The main buffet is great for breakfast, and dinner is okay but not spectacular. The steakhouse is the best. The spa at Zel is amazing if you are looking for a relaxing and quiet couple of hours to escape from your family or travel companions. The best part of Zel is the wonderful staff! They are friendly and attentive to ensure your vacation is the best! Special shout out to to Yunior (our concierge), Francisco (who were have known for many years from Melia, the Level), Jose, Ricardo and Socrates! We are looking forward to coming back again next year 😎

I can not say enough GOOD things about Zel Punta Cana, we ( 3 sisters, 1 good friend) just returned yesterday 3/14/2026 and we traveled thru Apple vacations. It was so beautiful, forecasted for rain everyday, but it rarely rained and mostly at night. Our cansierge, Yunior was awesome! Look for him, he’s the best! He booked our dining times, messaged us every day to check us, answered all our questions, took care of any problems we had. He even answered us on his days off! The suites are beautiful, they each have a balcony or porch, with a jacuzzi tub on them!! The beds were comfortable, plenty of hot water, mini bar stocked with coke, water, beer, chips, coffee, tea and peanuts. The pool is gorgeous and clean, with a swim up bar. Beach towels at both the pool and the beach. The resort is NOT on the beach, but at the lobby is golf carts are making constants trips to the beach and takes just a few minutes. The beach club there is great, right on the beach with delicious food. Pay close attention to the daily activities schedule, as there are ALOT of things to do. There is all kinds of yoga, Pilates, classes (reflexology, etc) and crafts. We did doll (statue) painting, painted hats and a tote bag, also did an embroidery class. The activity/class people are so much fun, especially Danyelis, Carlos and Jasmel!!! Everyone here is so polite, friendly, kind, helpful and so happy! The food……. yes, at the Parda buffet, the food is not as hot as we (U.S.A.) are used to, but it was quite a variety, much wonderful, ripe sweet fruit. The is a cooking area, where they make omelets and pasta. There is also a pizza bar every day. The supervisor of the Parda is Gabriel and he will work hard to make you happy with whatever you need or want. We went on 2 excursions: swimming with the dolphins and monkey land. The dolphins were so neat, you’re in the water with them, they give you a kiss, and you ride on their fins!!!! Of course they take the pictures of you and you have to buy them. Monkey land was awesome! The monkeys climb all over you, even sit on your head and you can take as many of your own pictures as you want. The only down side: it is located more than an hour ride away in the hills, on an open bus, on very poor roads. Our week went too fast, we didn’t want to leave. Thank you Yunior and Danyelis for the time of our lives!!!

We had such a great time at Zel Punta Cana for our spring break trip! Yunior was the absolute best and helped us create reservations, gave us great recommendations, and overall made our stay better than we could have ever hoped for!!