Finest Punta Cana

Very disappointed in the food.

We stayed at The Finest at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. We arrived on Thursday the 19th and were originally supposed to leave the following Friday, but due to Winter Storm Hernando — Blizzard of 2026 — our flight out of New York was delayed, extending our stay. To put it in perspective, this was a historic, federally declared emergency storm that dropped 2 to 3 feet of snow across the Northeast, canceled over 8,000 flights on February 22–23 alone, and resulted in over 22,000 delays. JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark each reported over 1,000 individual flight cancellations. We were not alone — thousands of travelers were stranded. That context matters for the second half of this review. The original stay was great. Staff members like our bellman Francisco, our housekeeper Tatalina, the lead guy at the bar Franki, Javier the entertainment coordinator, and our swim-up bar guy Wilson — the staff there are the most professional, hardworking people I have ever met. Period. Full stop. They did their absolute best. Oh and Alexander at Dommo's was spectacular, he was the best server of them all during our stay. Now let's start with our room. Our room was spectacular. I loved it. That said, if you're not traveling with a large party — like a wedding party — and you don't need space to host guests on a terrace, I really don't think the terrace suite is necessary. A swim-up pool junior suite is just enough for a couple. Be that as it may, the suite was nice. A couple of things to be aware of though: the marble floors are a bit dangerous because they are constantly slippery — you'll want to keep towels on the floors to avoid slipping. Also, the Jacuzzi does not have an automatic shutoff. I flooded the room the first night because it had no automatic stop or overflow drainage. Just a heads up. The food is definitely hit or miss. The room service food is hit or miss. If you're an American who eats meat, I would stick to the beef products. Their salmon is also great. As for the restaurants — Dommo is amazing, Insieme Trattoria (the Italian restaurant) was amazing, and Duke's Lobster & Seafood was great as well. The nightlife at Glows, the center bar, and the overall atmosphere at this resort is spectacular. They do a great job keeping the energy high and fun. Every night felt like a really fun event night. Met some amazing people there. The adult side of the pool is amazing. They did have construction going on toward the back end of our stay, but they did their best to disguise it and keep it out of the way. It was 24/7 construction — I assume so they could get it done as quickly as possible. I'd also like to say the grounds are so well kept, so pristine, so beautiful, so perfect. I believe the groundskeepers are the hardest workers on that entire resort. Now — here comes the bad part. As I mentioned, we were stranded due to Winter Storm Hernando — the Blizzard of 2026 — a historic, state-of-emergency-level storm that grounded thousands of flights out of New York on February 22–23, 2026. This was not a minor inconvenience. This was one of the worst blizzards the Northeast had seen in decades, with nearly two feet of snow falling on New York City alone, and over 3,000 flight cancellations across JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark combined. Being stranded was completely out of our control, and any reasonable resort should have had a clear, fair, and transparent policy for guests in that situation. Instead, The Finest at Punta Cana responded with dynamic pricing — charging us more money for a lesser room. We couldn't get in touch with the person we were originally booking with. There was a very strange, back-and-forth booking process with no manager on-site to speak with about our situation. It was a sketchy situation. It lacked transparency. It lacked honesty. They did ultimately give us concessions and kept us in our same room — but I believe they were not being truthful with us. I think they lied about our room being booked. I think they lied about the dynamic pricing. They were charging us significantly more money for our extended stay — more per night than our original booking, for fewer days. It felt like they were taking advantage of guests who had no choice but to stay due to a federally declared weather emergency. It was unfair, it was not transparent, and it was wrong. And we were not the only couple this happened to. The trip would have been a 10 out of 10 had we not run into that situation. Outside of that, it was a truly great experience. My advice: Book directly with the hotel. And always — always — make sure you insure your trip through travel insurance to protect yourself from being taken advantage of the way I feel we were. A storm like the Blizzard of 2026 can happen, and if a resort is willing to exploit stranded guests during a historic weather emergency, you need that protection. That is my review of The Finest at Punta Cana.

The best à la carte restaurants we have ever encounter at an all inclusive. Octopus! Tomahawk Steak! I went with my significant other. We booked an ‘Excellence Club Junior Suit Garden or Pool View’. Adult only side. The top shelf alcohol was also the best we have encountered at an all inclusive. We have a little guy at home, so we checked out the family side and it looks amazing for kids. My biggest issue was the pools were way too hot. Was very close to the hot tub/jacuzzi temperature. So it wasn’t possible to cool off. (Aside from the ocean) It was a good quality resort. I went from Feb 22-March 1st. So this is when spring break starts. So I paid more then I’m happy with for what I received. It was for my anniversary, so we splurged. But I wouldn’t go back any time soon. I like trying new places though. But something about the vibe/layout wasn’t the best for my liking. (Based on the other resorts I’ve been too) The beach is amazing. You can walk for miles. Two days the water was nice and calm, and we were able to walk to one of the other resorts to the right and snorkel! Amazing snorkelling! (In front of Breathless. 5 min walk) The other days, the waves and wind was too strong and you couldn’t see anything. Wilson and Maria in the adults only area were amazing bartenders, service wise. Don’t remember the name of the adult only bar bartender. But he was a great mixologist and friendly. Really nice rooms! The biggest we have had. Huge walk in closet! Huge open room! We loved having the sun bed on the patio! Amazing croissants at the breakfast buffet. Pizza was great! 2-5 omelette/egg stations open at a time based on how busy it is in the resort. So never had to wait long.

We just got back from 8 days at Finest Punta Cana! We stayed in a Finest Imperial Suite and nearly everything was excellent! Our kids are 3 and 6 and they loved the (very) heated pools, the blobs, the waterslides in the kids area, and the beach. One of the best things about this resort is that you never have to fight for a spot on the beach or by the pool, there is always plenty of options even though the resort was nearly at capacity while we were there. The food is good on average with some offerings and restaurants that are legitimately excellent. The Italian restaurant needs to improve it's menu and strangely enough the Finest Club exclusive restaurant Gusto had a disappointing menu as well. The drinks are well made and the bars are stocked with some better than average stuff. Special shout out to some of favorite staff there: Ramon and Jason at the Finest Pool Bar, Wellington at the Finest Beach area, and Jordano at the Finest Lounge bar! You guys are awesome and really made the trip great!

Beautiful beach, great food, amazing staff and exceptional daily activities! Loved our stay at the excellance finest punta cana. Aracelis, Bryan,Soledad and Benjamin