Hey there! Watch my video for a tour of Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I booked this vacation through Keith Belanger at Vacation Happiness, book here: www.vacationhappiness.com
This is our third time in the Dominican Republic and second time at this resort, Secrets at Royal Beach. When we were here 2 years ago this resort looked much different. Everything is updated, new, and very sleek, modern and clean design. I’m in love with the new resort look and it’s by far my favorite out of the 5 Secrets vacations we have been on.
We booked December 23-28, 2020 - so yes we were here for Christmas! We booked in the Preferred section of the resort which offers extra amenities not available to the rest of the resort such as private pool and beach access, spa discounts, top shelf alcohol, exclusive restaurants and a private Preferred Lounge just to name a few.
Food was the best at this resort - better than any others. Yet the most mistakes on orders. We are very easy going and don’t complain to the staff, but a few times we asked for a different plate because it wasn’t what we ordered.
COVID Protocol: When we first arrived we were told the resort was booked at under 30% capacity and they would be going down even less since Europe is locking down travel due to COVID. There were signs everywhere about wearing face coverings and social distancing. All staff wore masks and in indoor spaces most guests did too.
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Tips & things to keep in mind for your trip:
* Floaty - They didn’t have them for guest use, due to COVID maybe? We love floating so we bought one in the shop
* Selfie stick - If you plan on taking lots of pictures and video
* Plenty of bathing suits and cover ups, that’s all anyone wears during the day.
* Comfortable shoes for walking from room to main area. I had dressy flip flops but they hurt. Wear the comfy shoes during the day so you can save your feet for heels at night
* Men dress shoes shirt and pants ... these are required to get into some of the restaurants.
* Women some restaurants require dress up and most women dress up nicely for dinner. Do bring your best clothes and bathing suits for the ladies. Bring causal too, but it’s better to be prepared. You’ll see a lot of ladies wearing heels…
* Change for Tips - $1’s and such ... sometimes they can’t make change
* Stick on bras for dresses at night, really come in handy
* Socks for airport if you wear sandals your bare feet touch the dirty airport ground. Seems silly but if you get grossed out by that like I do, bring socks
* Drink lots of bottled water to keep your energy up. It’s easy to get dehydrated and tired ...
* Swim up room is so nice and I do recommend upgrading to it and the preferred section. Not a huge upgrade and so worth the money.
* Phone battery does run out. While taking photos, videos, FB messenger with our private butler, posting to Facebook/Instagram and such my phone batter my does not last all day. Turn your battery in low power mode or bring a phone charger if you are someone who always likes to be connected (like me). The Apple Watch is nice because you can swim with it and stay connected.
* Get out early to reserve your chair, cabana spot at the pool/beach. We go out around 9:30 and all the good ones are taken. Even not booked at full capacity
* WiFi is a little spotty but to be expected on a tropical vacation. Wasn’t too bad. But don’t expect a perfect connection
* At dinners they will try to make it seem like if you want wine you need to buy a bottle. Not the case and their house wine is decent enough you don’t need to buy the bottle. Save your “extra” spending money for the amazing spa or an excursion or dinner on the beach.
* What we call: “Land sharks” - Selling trinkets, cigars, drugs on the beach. You can get weed or other drugs very easily on the beach. They aren’t shy about it. Once you step onto the beach they are relentless, in 2 hours we were asked by 4 different people to buy something.
* Don’t bring anything too expensive in case it gets lost or stolen - no expensive purses or anything. I left my engagement ring at home because I’d hate for anything to happen to it.
* The staff may try to up-sell you into their timeshare like. Avoid this as it takes 3 hours of your sun time and is a scam
* Tipping is not required but we always bring around $300 in tips for the week. You’ll tip at dinners, spa services, drink service, room service, private dinner service, beach service... there are many services here that are no extra charge to guests however we always tip. When looking around, you won’t see too many guests tipping. Maybe they give one big tip at the end? Not sure, but we feel it’s the polite thing to do when receiving a service!
For more photos and videos: soldwithbailey