There is always something I enjoy about spending part of the holiday season, when it’s miserable and cold in Toronto, in a warm part of the world. The Westin Punta Cana Resort and Spa was booked 10 months in advance just for this feeling. After arriving from Toronto (via Ottawa on Air Canada Premium Rouge) we were ready for some R&R. 

Booking 

The Dominican Republic has several Marriott hotels, but The Westin Punta Cana Resort & Club was the one that stood out. As I booked this before the Peak and Off-Peak pricing, this Category 5 hotel was only 140K Marriott Bonvoy points for 5 nights (Note: As of March 2020, this hotel will move to Category 6, costing on average 50K Bonvoy points a night, diminishing a significant portion of the value). During the Christmas period, this hotel retails for $3245 USD ($4300 CAD), which is a redemption of almost 2.5US cents per point (over 3CAD cents per point), a fantastic deal.

The Check-In and Room 

The hotel check-in area had a large atrium that was open to the elements. When we pulled up from our 6-minute taxi from the airport, our luggage was collected by the bellman and we were told to proceed to the check-in desk. 

The hotel was full, as this was peak travel season, thus we weren’t expecting to get an upgrade. There were both positives and negatives with regards to the check-in experience, as we were not given a welcome drink that we saw a few other parties receive during our stay. That being said,  I had reached out to the hotel before our stay to see if they would honour Platinum breakfast benefits during our stay as I would qualify for Platinum during the stay. Although they didn’t confirm via chat, at the front desk they did mention that the full breakfast would be covered for each of us during our stay, an over $40 value each day. In my opinion, this is much better than a measly check-in drink, needless to say, I was thrilled. (Editors Note: Apologies for the pictures, they were taken at night when we checked in)

We were assigned Room 150, a standard king on the ground floor on the West side of the property. As this floor was on the ground floor, I was a bit worried about noise coming from the pool, but the hotel has done an exceptional job of soundproofing the rooms, as we never heard any of our neighbours or activity by the pool during our time at the hotel.  Our room wasn’t overly exciting, as it was a typical Westin resort room. After entering the room, the bathroom was to the right of the entrance. It contained one sink, along with a bar area containing a bar fridge. We cleared the bar fridge to put some extra leftover food from the Air Canada Cafe at Pearson and bottles of water. Weirdly, midway through our stay, the hotel put all of our items back into the fridge which was a bit annoying. 

There was one area with the shower and the toilet, separated from the sink area  by a weird frosted glass door. In my opinion, this was a poorly designed area, especially as it was easy to run into the door at night. 

The hotel had amenities, but they weren’t always restocked every day, even if they had been used. For a resort, it would have been nice to have two sinks, that being said, the water is not potable at the Westin Punta Cana Resort. 

We were provided with one bathrobe. 

The bedroom area was simple, with the king-size bed located sharing a wall with the bathroom, which is better than sharing the wall with the neighbours. For a Westin “Heavenly” bed, this bed was awful! The comforter wasn’t put on it, just sheets laid on either side of the comforter, clearly a cost-saving method. The pillows that we were given were so soft that our backs were killing by the third day, we had to order new pillows, which greatly helped. This was one of the worst beds I’ve ever slept on at a four-star hotel, and doesn’t even compare to the bed at the JW Marriott we stayed at in Costa Rica. 

The TV was located over the desk, but I was able to move it out to watch from bed. We bought an HDMI cable to watch TV using my laptop. 

Speaking of technology, the bedside clock was relevant in 2013, not so much anymore. It was so bright that we had to unplug it. The coffee machine wasn’t anything fancy, and it looked a bit dirty, so we just grabbed takeout coffee at the restaurant (for no extra charge!)

While the bed wasn’t great and the room wasn’t stunning, it was adequetely appointed for what was a beach vacation. On arrival we were also given a welcome gift of nuts and fruit.

The Facilities

The reason we came to this resort was the beach, and that truly didn’t let down. The water was calm, the sand was clean and soft. It was truly the perfect place to relax on the beach and spend the day reading. The whole reason we chose this hotel was because of the beach and it delivered. 

Along the Southside of the beach is undeveloped land for about 500m until you get to the golf course. 

Along the Northside of the beach, there was a restaurant, Playa Blanca (covered here) and a place to go kitesurfing. 

There were numerous families on the beach that came down early to claim seats, only to not show up until later in the day. Obviously extremely frustrating when a family of eight takes eight lounge chairs only to not use them all day. That being said, overall the beach was peaceful, unlike many Asian beaches which have hawkers trying to sell everything from beer to towels. If you’re looking for a beach destination, this hotel hits the mark. 

For those people who prefer a pool, there were two connected pools located in the centre of the complex. These pools were surrounded by chairs that were filled up pretty quickly in the morning by families.

There was a gym on-site, which I used every day. The facilities were basic, and there were a few leaks in the ceiling, but they did the trick for a morning workout before hitting the beach for the day. 

There was also a kids club on location. Its hours are:  It truly added to the family vibe of this resort, which is evidently the target demographic of this specific resort.  

If you needed to pick up odds and ends, there was a small shop with various items, including chips, sunscreen and a few souvenirs. Don’t rely on purchasing items here, sunscreen was on sale for $27US.

Restaurants and Bars 

There were several restaurants and bars on location at the Westin Punta Cana Resort, including the Anani Restaurant where breakfast was served, the Brassa Restaurant which also makes the food for the beach and the pool area, the Lobby Bar at the entrance to the hotel, the Kite Bar located in the pool area, and the Don Queco Cigar bar which is open in the evenings for cigars and drinks. 

The Westin Punta Cana was kind enough to treat me as a Platinum Elite guest even though I would be qualifying for platinum status mid-way through my stay, that is outstanding guest services in my books. With that we were entitled to the buffet breakfast for the duration of our stay. 

The buffet was solid, offering a made to order omelet area, eggs benedict station along with several different sections of grains, fruits and local and western hot plates. The overall quality of the buffet was good, but nothing compared to our stay at the Bodrum EDITION. That being said, as a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite, this buffet is much better than many hotels treat their Platinum Elites. 

The Brassa restaurant was located by the beach. It served a mix of Western and Dominican dishes, but nothing to fancy. Here is the lunch menu: 

And here is the pool menu (I was too busy on the beach to take a picture of their beach menu, but it’s similar to their pool menu):

One day we had a burger on the beach, it was rather plain. 

And another day we had a chicken club, which was massive, but also rather plain. 

We frequently grabbed drinks from the Kite Bar at the pool bar. (Pro-tip: if you tip them well, they’ll give you a long pour). The menus were not laminated, so they were dirty with spills and stains. 

The drinks were made with lots of sugar, which is typical of a 4 star Caribbean resort, but they were reasonably priced for the amount of alcohol they contained. 

We also checked out the cigar bar, although we only grabbed a drink there while we were playing board games. 

If you are interested, the Westin Punta Cana offers all-inclusive packages.  For $89 per person, you can have unlimited drinks and eat 3 meals at the restaurant.

Overall Opinion

Overall, the Westin Punta Cana allowed us to do what we wanted to do, relax in the warm weather during the Christmas vacation. While the food wasn’t five stars, the Platinum elite recognition gave us a good breakfast to start our day.  

The facilities cover everything necessary for a beach vacation, and the location near the airport means you’re going to be wasting little time getting off your plane and onto the beach. Even more so, this hotel is catered for the family travellers, which makes it a perfect destination for a family trip in the sun. At 35K Marriott Bonvoy points a night, it makes for a great escape from the North American winter at a competitive rate for your hard-earned Bonvoy points, I recommend it.