The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club

We decided to go to Punta Cana for some relaxation and to do some reconnaisance, and settled on the Westin as a "Five Star" hotel with many reviewers talking about how fabulous the hotel was. It was very quickly apparent that we had very differing opinions on what a 5 star hotel really is. This review may seem overly critical, but we want to make sure that people going to the hotel understand what it is. Its by no means a bad hotel, but its barely pushing 4 stars, and to rank it 5 stars similar to a Fairmont or St Regis is frankly ludicrous. We expected a lot better for close to $400/night. Pros * The shared bar between Bao and Barra was excellent. Two large TVs and the ability to order from either menu, and drinks that actually matched or even exceeded the price (remember, add 18% tax and 10% service charge to everything). * The grounds were immaculate and it was always an impressive sight from the hotel looking down at the pool, palm trees and clean beach * The rooms had excellent blackout curtains and the fan/airconditioning worked very well. They also had mini fridges for storage (helpful for storing happy hour drink ingredients which you can pick up from duty free or the supermarket across from the Blue Mall) and also the maids were very generous with free bottled water daily, which of course was a necessity and appreciated * The music volume and variety around the pool was excellent, mellow in the morning, a bit upbeat in the afternoon, but never overwhelming * Never had a problem finding pool chairs. No stressing of getting up at 7am ahead of the chair savers. There were still some uncouth chair savers leaving their stuff on chairs for hours, but thankfully not too many Cons * They trumpet their free shuttle from the airport, however once you follow the signs exiting the airport there's nothing except a poster on one of the columns to be seen listing a DR (international) number to call and ask for a shuttle. Luckily a local tourist guide was there who lent us his phone, but this was a sour start to the trip. Its really not that hard to list a better way to request the shuttle, or do it via DM. Pretty much any way would be better than what they have. * Mispriced menus: After our first meal at the Arena beach bar we noticed hours later that we had been overcharged for a dish compared to what it was listed for on the menu. Although it was only a $3 difference, it was still the principle of it. What 5 star hotel doesn't even make sure its prices charged match the menus being given? * The pool and the hot tub both shut at 6pm. This seems ridiculous and egregious given its not even close to sunset. At most resorts we've been to, a late night in the hot tub or pool looking up at the stars is one of the most fun things we do. * Bathroom privacy (or lack thereof): I know this is such a modern theme that the Wall Street Journal recently even did an article about it, but it doesn't make it any less annoying and repulsive to have a toilet/shower separated from the rest of the room by merely a glass door with huge gaps above and below, essentially zero privacy. There is no actual door (hinged or pocket) separating the whole bathroom from the bedroom. * Prices. We knew being at a "5 star" hotel would have expensive prices, but when combined with 18% taxes and a 10% mandatory service fee it sure adds up. A regular bottle of Stella was $8, making it around $11 after all the fees. A $14 drink is now pushing $18. So much for being in the carribbean. * Minor but annoying issues in the room. The room design with the wall facing the bed being the glass out to the patio/balcony makes mounting the TV on a side wall the only solution, but cheaping out on the TV mount meant that only one side of the bed could manage to view the TV properly. How it didn't occur to anyone that maybe both people in bed might want to watch TV at the same time is inexplicable. Also, they have an alarm clock which is nice in theory, but clearly nobody had thought through the ramifications. Our first morning, at 4:28am, we were awakened by the blaring alarm, taking awhile to locate the noise. I have no idea why turning off alarms when rooms overturn isn't part of the standard housekeeping checklist. Similarly, the room next to us had an alarm that went off every day for over 30 minutes around 8:45am. There were also a lot of TV channels on the guide, but trying to find any that were actually available took a lot of hunting around. * This wasn't a huge problem, but we did experience some overt extra tip-grasping at the bar which felt unseemly. Sure, we waited for 10 minutes to get a drink and then didn't see you until we asked for the bill, but no need to be all smiley and asking repeatedly about the service just as we're finally paying the bill. We're all for tipping extra when the service and/or fare fits the bill, but laying it on thick without merit was off-putting. * One end of the pool had these hidden mini cement columns along the floor just begging to stub people's toes. I think the pool designer had them installed to sort of "guide" people down the ramp into the pool but they were very ill placed and frankly, seemed odd. * A simple mesh system would help the hotel wifi extend to the beach in front as opposed to the current spotty service. So...there you have it. Not all bad. Not great either. As a seasoned traveler, I have high standards, and appreciate all the little details. Hopefully the ones summarized above give other travelers a clearer sense of what the Westin does and does not offer before booking. Certainly a lot better than reviewing a lot of the numerous generic "5 star" reviews posted in this forum and on other sites like Google.

We spent a week at the Westin Punta Cana. The rooms and amenities are what you’d expect at this level of accommodation - clean and comfortable enough to make a very pleasant vacation. The service here is generally good, but two employees deserve a special shoutout for making our time here special. Ronald at the pool kept our drinks full and kept us fed, and did it without being a bother. It is a delicate balance that he struck perfectly. My wife and I are early risers, and Maria de la Cruz greeted us at the lobby bar every morning with a huge smile, delicious lattes and beautiful latte art. The perfect start to every day and we really appreciated that. It was a great stay and we plan to be back!

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