Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana

A beautiful, clean, and safe resort with a wonderful, friendly staff who truly value every guest’s stay. The team creates a welcoming, home-like experience for both adults and children, offering attentive service along with great variety of quality food and drinks. When resort management and staff genuinely care, guests feel it and that’s what keeps patrons coming back time after time.

Great stay and resort Fun for entire family Food is great and safe Activities and shows were excellent Beach is fabulous; white sand and can walk for miles no safety concerns Staff are helpful and friendly You can walk around the resort

We visited Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana over the 2025-2026 holiday season, from December 26th to January 2nd. We travelled as a family group of seven, ranging in ages from 17 to 79 (grandparents, parents, adult/teen grandchildren). Although we have travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean and Mexico, staying at a variety of chain resorts (e.g., Iberostar, RIU, Bahia Grand Principe, Barceló Maya, etc.), this was our first experience at a Dreams resort. I will break our review into sections for those only interested in certain parts of this review. Flight Travel Experience To and From Punta Cana: We travelled from Ottawa, Canada direct to Punta Cana using all-inclusive Air Canada Vacations packages. Our flight out of Ottawa was delayed several times (two hour total delay) due to traffic issues over American airspace. I will say the plane itself (Boeing Max 8) was the most uncomfortable plane I have ever travelled on. Terrible hard seats, limited access to onboard entertainment, no warm meals available for purchase, etc. The return flight was also delayed several times (four hours total, not leaving Punta Cana until 3am) due to plane arriving late to previous destination). This all made for very long travel days. Punta Cana Airport: Customs upon arrival was smooth and the Punta Cana Airport is modern and beautiful! Comfortable seating in terminal 2 was much appreciated during our return flight as we were delayed many hours in the middle of the night. There was lots of seating to rest and try to sleep on. Baggage claim was an absolute disaster. The baggage from all arriving flights was mixed together on one baggage belt. Some of our group got their luggage immediately, while other finally came out an hour later. Very upsetting, especially because our flight had been delayed and it was very late at night. 
 Transfer To and From the Resort: We decided to use the transfer that was included in our Air Canada vacations package, as the distance to the resort was only approximately 25 minutes. I will say the air conditioning was good in the transfer vehicle. Again, Air Canada used the cheapest means to get us to and from the resort. The transfer van was the most compact I’ve ever seen and very uncomfortable. The front and backseat were almost inaccessible, requiring people to climb over seats to get to them. Luggage was piled around us in the passenger portion of the van because there was not enough room in the cargo portion. On the return trip, he dropped us off at the wrong terminal, creating a lot of confusion. Thankfully the older members of our family were able to manage getting themselves to the other terminal with their baggage. Check In at Hotel: Check in went very smooth as it was the middle of the night and we were the only group checking in at the time. No welcome drinks or perks at all, and no information about the resort was given at all at check in. I’m guessing this is because we arrived in the middle of the night. It is important to note that upon check in, they give you a “golden key” with your room keys that will give you $200 worth of “free” perks (e.g., discount at spa, etc.). This is a marketing scam. The first 24 hours on the property, there are people located at the entrance to the lobby who will harass you about the golden key every time you walk by. Room Location: We stayed in the non-preferred section on the third floor of building 5. This location is very close to the lobby and overlooks the entertainment area. It can be very loud during show times, but we didn’t mind because we were typically at the shows. As other guests have mentioned, the noises coming from the hallway and other rooms can be very disruptive (e.g., you can hear every word of hallway conversations, babies crying in next room, etc.). Room Our room was beautiful, even though a bit dated. We never spent much time in the room. Balcony looked over nice greenery. Beds and pillows were comfortable, always lots of hot water in the shower, blow dryer, iron and ironing board provided. Surprisingly nice body wash, shampoo and conditioner in the shower. Only complaint about the room is that it wasn’t as cool as I would have liked, but I am always hot lol! Hotel Grounds The hotel grounds were probably the nicest I’ve seen. Lots of gorgeous greenery right next to the beautiful winding pool, everything exceptionally well maintained. It was a lovely short walk down to the restaurants and beach. The walk over to the new preferred section was also gorgeous! If you are a sun seeker, there are very few lounge chairs around the pool in the sun, so you may prefer the beach. Servers were amazing around the pools, continually offering drinks and refills with a smile. Beach As always, Bávaro Beach is one of the best in the world. The beach at this resort is huge, with lots of chairs, including some under palapas and palm trees for shade. I don’t love swimming in the ocean, but I even went and played in the waves here because it is such a beautiful beach to do so. A current hot topic in the Carribean is sargassum. I was absolutely shocked when I walked down to the beach on our first day and saw piles upon piles of sargassum. Quite frankly, it was awful. I was so sad to see Bavaro Beach in this condition. Despite the workers best efforts to keep up with it, they were fighting a losing battle. They must have worked throughout the night, because the next morning it had all been taken away. The rest of the week there was thankfully very little sargassum and you could walk the beautiful beach for miles. The hotel staff were amazing on the beach, working tirelessly to entertain and serve drinks straight to the lounge chairs. There were many vendors walking the beach and they would also come up to the beach chair areas to offer their goods. We found them to be all very pleasant, and with a simple no thank you, they would head on their way. Buffet We ate all of our breakfasts and some of our lunches and dinners at the buffet. I loved the made to order omelette station in the mornings. Breakfasts were pretty much the same foods every day. Lunches the same. Buffet food tended to be better the earlier you went, as they didn’t replenish food as much as I’ve seen on other resorts. Food was generally good and mostly warm. Service was not as great at the buffet as we’ve had at other resorts. Most days, it was hard to get a glass of water, a coffee or a drink of any sort. We often had to search out someone to get our drinks. Our family loved the burgers and french fries at the beach grill, and also appreciated that you could just walk up to the grill in your swimsuit to get a quick lunch. Specialty Restaurants We chose to eat most of our suppers at the specialty restsurants. At most of these restaurants, the food and service were exceptional and some of the best we’ve had at all inclusives. Our favourites were the Italian, the Mexican and the Japanese (at the tappenyaki display cooking table). Service at all three of these restaurants was exceptional, and the food was amazing! The Italian and Mexican meals were relaxing, however, the tappenyaki meal felt a bit rushed, as I think they only allot one hour for the dinner reservation. Having said that, it was a fun meal and the food was very good. We ate at the steakhouse twice (on the beach at the old preferred section) and had two very different experiences. The first night, food and service were both good. It was a nice location being in an open air restaurant near the beach. The second time we went, it was for our New Year’s Eve dinner, and quite frankly it was a disaster. Menu was set the same at all of the a la carte restaurants that night and was five course meal (oyster, seafood pate, soup, main steak and lobster, then dessert). Food was hit and miss. Lobster was amazing. They didn’t ask how we wanted our steak cooked and mine was like cardboard. It was almost impossible to get a glass of wine with our meal unless you ordered off of their incredibly overpriced wine list. We simply wanted a glass of house wine and my husband actually had to get up twice to ask for some because no one came over to our table even though they were serving everyone else around us. Our server wouldn’t even make eye contact with us, and part way through our meal, he actually took off his name tag. It was odd and disappointing. Nightly Entertainment We were all very impressed by the nightly entertainment. Some of the best entertainment we’ve seen at all-inclusives. The Queen Show and the Rock Show were really great. New Year’s Eve was also lots of fun and our whole family enjoyed it, despite the range in ages. We loved that the shows started at 9pm and were done by 10pm so that is wasn’t too late of a night after being out enjoying the beautiful resort all day! The entertainment crew were really fabulous, friendly and energetic. The servers at the nightly shows were also great! One night, we ventured over to Secrets to the disco, and it was a ton of fun. Lots of dancing and great entertainment staff there as well. Staff Deserving of Honourable Mention: With the exception of one or two locations (steak house on New Years Eve and the buffet), we were very fortunate to have great service throughout the week. Staff were friendly, hard working and attentive. I must mention the exceptional staff who went above and beyond to make our vacation enjoyable: Marianna serving drinks at the nightly shows, Baby Face and Pikachou on the entertainment crew, and Raul at the Mexican restaurant. Preferred vs Non-Preferred: This is an interesting one. We have stayed at hotels in the upgraded areas before (e.g., RIU Palace or Barcelo Palace where you can stay at one and play at the other properties because of your upgrade). This was our first time staying at a resort where preferred and non-preferred guests were mixed together. The perks of preferred didn’t seem worth it to us when we were booking, as most specialty restaurants were still accessible and we really don’t care about having an ocean view, butler, etc. What our travel agent didn’t explain is that although you can access many of the preferred specialty restaurants, preferred guests get reservations and non-preferred wait in line to see if spots were available. This wasn’t fun. We also had to give our room number at the buffet for every meal, and although no one said it specifically, it was very clear that the nicest seatings at the buffet were reserved for preferred guests. Not once were we able to sit outside at the buffet, even though there were lots of empty tables. This leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth when you’ve spent thousands of dollars on a vacation. Summary Overall, we had a great vacation. The property is beautiful and the staff are friendly. We will most likely try another Dreams/Secrets property somewhere else to see how it compares, or go back to our RIU Palace properties that we love so much.

The service was very poor. Staff was not knowledge in their jobs. Facilities and rooms were not clean. Facilities are old and getting run down. Specialty food places were great. Buffet was terrible. Excursions are oversold, crowded and expensive. Overall grade C. Not a good value.

My reviews focus on practical tips and factual details rather than personal opinions. Everyone travels differently, so with that being said, I’m happy to answer any questions. Room Details: Building 5 Family rooms #5334 / #5336 (connecting rooms) One King room + one Two-Queen room Rooms are spacious, but sound travels easily—plan accordingly In-Room Amenities: Beach bag provided Blow dryer, iron & ironing board 15 SPF sunscreen available in-room Slippers & robes provided Mini fridge stocked with water, juices, soda, light snacks, and a bottle of rum Dining: Breakfast: daily buffet Breakfast alternatives available only for Preferred guests Lunch options: Pooltides, buffet, or room service (unless Preferred) Activities & Property: Daily and nightly activities offered Lush, quaint, well-maintained grounds Spa, sports bar, casino, nightclub, and fitness center available next door at Secrets Service: SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE Shout-Outs Pool: Wilken Bar: Delby Entertainment: Jonathan & Picachu Helpful Tip If having a ball (volleyball, soccer, football, water games, etc.) is important to you, bring your own Same applies to pool rafts/floats