Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana: Hotel Review

Hi friends! It’s been a while since I’ve jumped on the blog and shared a post since I have been traveling quite a bit over the last month. Recently, I’ve been to Dominican Republic, Barbados, Bermuda a couple cities in the U.S., and I’m off to LA next week! I had sooo many requests from you to recap our trip to Dominican Republic, so today I’ll be sharing an Instagram roundup of that trip as well as my thoughts on the hotel experience at Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I’ve received several DMs from you all mentioning that you loved visiting the hotel, which makes me so happy that you all enjoyed it a much as I did. Here are my thoughts…

Visiting the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a beautiful country to visit. I’m always blown away by how kind the locals are and the generous welcomes I’ve received upon arrival at the airport. They truly value tourists and always want to make sure that you have a great experience. The island as a whole has very beautiful beaches and amazing cuisine. You can’t go wrong with planning a vacation to the Dominican Republic, and in my experience it is always one of the most affordable vacations when booking a trip. Hotels are reasonably priced, flights are easy to come by, and most hotels are all inclusive, similar to the Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana.

Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana Hotel Review

Hard Rock has hotel’s in several different locations across the United States, Caribbean and Mexico, and I had the pleasure of visiting the Punta Cana location in the Dominican Republic. When we pulled up to the hotel, I could not believe how big the grounds were. It seemed like they went on forever. They even have a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus on site that I know Drew would have loved. Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana is an all-inclusive hotel, so I love that the second you set foot on their property, everything is included for your stay, that means food, drinks, snacks, afternoon coffee, dessert and basic activities, all included! On property there are 13 pools with swim up bars and water slides, 9 restaurants with several different taste cuisines, a full-service spa and a large private beach.

Food

I think my favorite part about the hotel was the food and drinks, which I know is not surprising with how much I love food! We were only there for three days, but we made sure to try as many restaurants as possible. During our stay, we ate at Los Gallos (Mexican), Impanema (Caribbean Cuisine), Pizetto (pizza), Zen (Japanese steakhouse), and the outdoor grille by the pool. Of all of those, I think my favorite was Zen, the Japanese steakhouse. They had the most amazing sushi and I always love the entertainment you get at dinner when they cook in front of you. For lunch, I loved the outdoor grille by the main pool. They had the yummiest paella served everyday for lunch as well as burgers and chicken wings on the grille.

Last but not least, I wanted to make sure and touch on the drinks. The drinks at Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana were amazingggg. They have a craft cocktail list that they make at every pool bar and I didn’t have a single drinks I didn’t like. My favorite that I would recommend is the Easy Lover, it was similar to a spicy margarita. SO good! In addition to the cocktails the girls and I made sure to stop at their wine shop during happy hour to split a bottle of wine before dinner. The is not included in the all inclusive cost, but split among a couple of people makes it super affordable to get a really nice glass of wine before dinner.

Things to Do

There is an endless number of things to do at the resort. Every day Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana provides a schedule of activities for things going on at the resort. Anything from sports games, workout classes, live entertainment or even cooking demonstrations can be found on the activity guide. We were there to relax, so we didn’t partake in many of the activities during our stay, but from our view everything looked like a blast. In addition to scheduled activities, the resort also offers non-motorized water activities such as canoes or paddle boarding. I highly recommend this if you are looking for some exercise while also enjoying the view!

Other entertainment options are the full-service spa on site, golf, kids-club, fitness center, the casino, or the various nightlife options at the Moon Lounge, Sun Club or Oro Nightclub. Since we visited during Spring break, there were a tonnnn of people taking advantage of the Oro Nightclub. It looked like a blast, but we made sure to rest up each night so we could enjoy a full-day of activities each day.

Overall Experience

Overall, we had a great time at Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana. The food and entertainment options were endless, and I was impressed with how clean the grounds were. We visited during Spring Break, so there were a lot of younger adults visiting the property during our stay. During non spring break times, I think the property would be great for families or even couples. If staying with your family, I recommend you invest in the hotel rooms that are by the beach as it can be a bit of a walk from the main hotel lobby to the beach. Keep in mind, the property is hugeeee so walking from one place to the next can take a while. Thankfully, the property also offers routine shuttle service by golf cart across the main parts of the hotel so you can take advantage of the many restaurants and different pools available to you.

If you have any questions regarding my review, feel free to leave a note in the comment section below, or you can always e-mail me at: bailey@dailywithbailey.com!

Last but certainly not least, I want to make a comment regarding the travel advisory currently in place to the Dominican Republic and the recent events that have happened in the country. No matter where you travel, you should always be cautious of your surroundings. Bad things happen in every country, and I realize this post isn’t very timely with the current state of travel to the Dominican Republic. The best advice I can give is always book travel to and from the airport in advance with a reputable provider recommended from the hotel. I also do not recommend leaving the resort during your vacation to travel to remote areas of the island. Do not go anywhere alone, especially if you are female. Overall, be smart and aware. Speaking from my personal experience, I have been to the Dominican Republic several times, and I’ve never felt unsafe on the island, but that doesn’t mean that you should lose a sense of your surroundings. Always be cautious when traveling anywhere you are unfamiliar.

Thank you to the Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana for providing my stay at the resort. As always all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.