The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club

What was meant to be a relaxing getaway for me and my 14yo daughter was overshadowed by a troubling interaction with a male staff member that constituted a serious breach of guest privacy and professional conduct. I requested laundry service pickup, and a male staff member initially collected our items and the form. He returned a few minutes later insisting it had been filled out incorrectly, I think. Communication was difficult, as I only understand rudimentary Spanish, and I could not determine what the issue was. I had listed items such as sweatshirts, T-shirts, and pants—common clothing categories that were not explicitly included on the form, which instead listed things like “blouses” and “jeans.” Without clear explanation, he entered our room while my daughter was still asleep, dumped two bags of our clothing onto the floor, and began sorting through our personal items—including underwear—while arguing with me in Spanish. The situation quickly became chaotic and tense, with the staff member growing increasingly agitated and confrontational. At one point, he appeared unable to understand that my daughter’s striped beach shorts were not men’s boxer shorts. He repeatedly picked up, inspected, and threw down the same items over and over again, escalating the confusion and discomfort. It became clear that something was “off.” He then took the pen from my hand and began filling out the form himself, adding items such as “coats,” which were not included. I had accounted for every item, as I had done earlier in the week without issue. I still do not understand what he believed was wrong, or whether he was accusing me of attempting to include additional items without payment. By this point, my daughter had woken up due to the commotion. The interaction escalated into shouting. I called the concierge and put her on speaker; they immediately began shouting at each other in Spanish, and the staff member abruptly ran out of the room. When he left, I was shaking and my daughter was on the verge of tears. A hotel employee entering a guest room, dumping clothing on the floor, and aggressively handling personal garments—while a minor is asleep in the room—is an unacceptable violation of privacy and basic hospitality standards. Beyond this incident, much of the staff appeared poorly trained, with a noticeable lack of professionalism, communication, and accountability. As two women traveling without a male companion, we were often made to feel invisible and dismissed, and after this incident, unsafe. To date, I have not received any response, apology, or acknowledgment from hotel management or Marriott Guest Services, despite multiple emails.

I have never left a negative review about a hotel or even a restaurant before, but this experience unfortunately made me feel the need to do so. The service here was extremely disappointing. Communication between staff and guests is poor, and it often feels like they are unwilling to help even when you clearly explain what you need. We repeatedly received different answers from different employees regarding transportation. For example, we had an excursion scheduled and asked which gate we should go to for pickup. We were told that we needed to go to the front gate. When we asked how to get there, one concierge told us he would help us and asked us to wait, but we never received a clear answer. As our pickup time got closer, we asked another concierge what we should do. He then told us that we would have to walk to the front gate, even though we had previously asked about what we should do. At this point, our pickup was scheduled in about 10 minutes and we had already been waiting for help. When we were would have to walk, we asked to speak with a manager because we had no time to walk to the front gate (the front gate is at least 30 minute walk the resort is huge).The manager then told us that the hotel had complimentary rides for all guests which would take us to the front, which directly contradicted what the concierge had just told us. In the end, we were directed to the wrong gate for pickup, which made the whole situation extremely frustrating. On another occasion, we asked about dining at a restaurant on the resort property and were told it was fully booked. It was not—we were easily able to get a reservation ourselves for the next hour. We were then told that a shuttle would arrive in 15 minutes to take us there. We waited in the lobby in front of the concierge who had been helping us. We kept an eye out for the shuttle, but it was never announced. About five minutes after the scheduled time, the concierge approached us and said, “Guys, what happened?” acting surprised that we had not gotten on the shuttle—even though he had in front of us watching us wait the entire time. We explained that we had been waiting right in front of him and that no one had announced the shuttle came. We then spoke to the front desk, and the concierge began explaining the situation in Spanish while standing in front of us, which felt very rude and unprofessional. The front desk employee did understand our frustration because he had seen us waiting. We were also told it may have been a language barrier, which I would normally understand. However, in this case the concierge clearly understood that we needed to get on the shuttle, since he came up to ask why we had not gone. I normally read negative reviews and assume that guests may have been rude or difficult because I always try to give staff the benefit of the doubt. However, in this case, the lack of communication and professionalism was very frustrating. The housekeeping staff were great and helpful, but unfortunately the front desk and concierge staff came across as cold and unhelpful.

We have stayed at The Westin Resort in Punta Cana several times and each visit is more special. From the very smooth,professional and welcoming check-in with Mariana’.. to the friendliness and helpful assistance of Pedro taking us to our beautiful suite our vacation was beyond our expectations,once again.. The resort is beautiful and so well maintained. Every staff member takes such pride in their customer assistance and helpfulness. Our suite was impeccably cleaned and prepared every day.A special thank you to Altagracia Villalona who greeted us every morning with her beautiful smile and a cheerful “ Hola “! The buffet breakfast every morning in the ANANI Restaurant was wonderful. Greeted by such welcoming staff ,fantastic young ladies Maileny Martinez ( and so unfortunately do have the name of her equally welcoming co-worker) to our favourite waitress Rosie who was so special ,such a wonderful start to the day. The pool area is fantastic and so well attended to.The service from the Kite Bar is excellent with a nice variety of drinks and poolside food choices. And of course our favourite Ronald ,always providing the greatest assistance and friendly conversation. The beach is beautiful and the views are breathtaking.Yes, unfortunately there was some seaweed ( presently common in most of the Caribbean), but efforts were made each day to eliminate as much as possible. All the restaurants on the property ( and those that are at close distance and part of the resort area) are wonderful. Thank you once again for a fantastic 10 day vacation at the beautiful Westin Resort,Punta Cana . Every staff member is so welcoming ,friendly ,cheerful and helpful. The Gentlemen : Pedro, Fernando,Franklin ( to name only a few) who help with luggage, arranging shuttles to any kind of assistance are so wonderful…. they become friends! Special memories from such a great resort! James & Patricia Nicholas

We recently returned from an amazing week at this fantastic property. We will definitely be back. Not only was the property absolutely beautiful but the staff was attentive, hospitable, and just generally full of joy. We have to shout out some stand-out employees who made our experience most memorable. Luis every morning at breakfast; Lilliana and Angelo at Brassa and Bao; and our lovely and wonderful housekeeper Nikayree. All of these individuals (along with many others) went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed and “part of the family.” Gorgeous property, immaculate rooms, delicious food, great service. The beach was spacious and beautiful. The pool area was well maintained and there were plenty of chairs for people to spread out. Grounds were well kept and the walking/bike trail was safe and provided a great environment for getting some extra exercise and seeing the surrounding area. Plus, the 5 minute ride from the airport allowed for the maximum amount of time to enjoy this location. Highly recommend.

We loved the fact that there weren’t any big hotels next right to it. It felt exclusive with less people around. Beach was lovely however there was some seaweed. Personally it did not bother me. No one was reserving sun lounges in the morning which was fantastic as you did not have to worry about waking up earlier to get one. Food was nice, however we felt it was a little bit overpriced (they had UK prices) plus tax I think 18% and 10% tip. Selection of drinks was good as well but again, certain drinks were overpriced, e.g. a bottle of the cheapest prosecco was 50 USD. Wait time for food was long when they were busy (40mins). As a couple we really liked the place but would not return as there were too many children and relaxing by the pool was not an option as it was too loud for us. It would have been nice if they had a dedicated pool space for the kids.