Dominican Republic - Paradisus - The Good and The Bad!

My recent trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic to an all inclusive Paradisus Palma Real Resort for 7 days had some pros and some cons.   First, let me mention that the Paradisus Palma Real is connected to the Paradisus Reserves which is a different resort from the original Paradisus.  The amenities such as Fitness center, Spa, and Pool can be used while staying at the Original Paradisus with no extra cost however, the restaurants are not.  The Reserves is significantly smaller and is less crowded this time of year than the original.

Suggestions and Tips

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Upon arrival, you will get an assigned concierge that supposedly will plan everything for you, mainly for tips and basically to waste 2 hours of your time upon your arrival. I didn't find the individual helpful as he failed to mention the weekly activity sheet or the daily special show or events as we come to find out 3 days later.   These special events were posted on a billboard in the lobby daily, each event includes a special buffet and a show.  During our stay, there were at least 5 special buffets, 2 on the beach and 3 in the theater that we didn't know we could attend as we thought it was reserve for a group, we finally attended a show after seeing the billboard in the lobby. The show we saw was the Cirque, it was phenomenal similarly to Cirque Du Soleil and the food spread was awesome, the ambiance was filled with energy. 

Food

There are five restaurants at the Paradisus Palma Real and all require reservations that you can make 3 days ahead of time and only available on certain days and only 1 reservation per room per day.  So upon arrival as earlier mentioned, request an activity sheet for the week and the list of when restaurants are open.  

CONS

Every restaurants will have an upcharge menu ranging from $25-$60 for lobster or Kobe beef. We did not pay extra for these as we thought it was ridiculous that they are trying to nickel and dime us at an all inclusive.  Four years prior, the Paradisus did not have these upcharge menus and lobster was included.

Bana which is the Asian restaurant consisted of 3 different sub-restaurants, the bistro with Thai, Indian and Japanese cuisines, with about 10-12 dishes on the menu. The sushi area which is mediocre sushi. Finally, Teppanayaki, not quite as good as Kobe or Arrigato.   All require three separate reservations as only 1 can be made daily, I tried booking the sushi restaurant first for appetizer then Teppanayaki and that was a no no.  One couple did just walk in and got seated but these are usually really late, around 9pm.

Bana Bar

The bar in the waiting area has a martini menu, make sure to ask for Absolut Vodka otherwise you will get really crappy house alcohol and it will taste really disgusting. 

Vento, a Meditterean restaurant that serves steaks, duck, risotto, salmon and a few others.  The food was all very good and I highly recommend this restaurant.

Passion, a white, black and red restaurant with heart shape glass bottles every where, the food was very similar to Vento and were quite good.

Vento / Passion Bar

The bar outside the Vento serves amazing drinks, all these tropical bellinis.  Now remember, you will need to specify a higher end alcohol otherwise you will the house rum or vodka and tasted like crap.  Absolut Vodkas are included and there is a list of higher end Vodkas and Whiskies (such as Greygoose and blue label for $15 upcharge).

Market Grill, an outside steak house by the Gabi pool. Steaks were pretty good.

Agave, a buffet style dinning hall with outside seating.  Lunch/dinner buffet included pasta bar, two grill areas, one seafood and one for steak/chicken, salad bar, dessert bar.  Breakfast buffet include omelet station, pastries, fruits, yogurt, fresh juices, cereal etc.  A really wonderful buffet, highly recommended.