Arrival: $20 taxi if you speak Spanish and walk 200meters from the airport exit. At the hotel was a completely different situation. Had e-mailed ahead since this was a return trip to get the 3000 block. Arrived @ 500PM and given the room keys to a 4000 room. Told, somewhat snidely, that it was the better building. After a 12 hr total flight time with 3 friends arriving from 3 different cities, I was happy to be there so I did not argue. Opened the door to find a family packing who nicely told us that they would be done in an hour. Returned to check-in to be told that the could get the room ready in 1/2hr and that we should just go to the restaurant. Understanding that this was low season and that it was impossible to accomplish in 1/2hr, I thought it was reasonable that since this was much later than check-in time that maybe being upgraded to a suite would be reasonable. I was flatly told that there were none available but the manager told the receptionist in Spanish that we had not paid for it and we were NEVER to get this. The receptionist looked uncomfortable since I had just spoken to her in fluent Spanish(I am Asian so no one thought I spoke) but they would not budge. This would not even be a problem other than 1) We were all exhausted and sweating from long flights 2) the commentary was really insulting given that it was entirely their problem.

Room: Large and clean. 2 beds were a bit small for 4 adults. Water was hot. A/C was the perfect temp. Beds are hard and pillows flat.

Service: Usually excellent especially because they were so nice. Big exception was when we finally got the room, the minibar only had a half-used water bottle in it. Called 3 times and told it would be refilled. Had to bring the water bottle to the front desk again and finally it was filled.

Food: Buffet's had a decent variety especially in the Catedral which is the largest. Favorite was the steakhouse even though the steak was very overdone but tasty. Don't get the shrimp there, it was just horrible. Hemingway's has the best variety of "top-shelf" drinks which just means Bombay gin and Stoli vodka but I wasn't picky.

Activites: The club at night was hit or miss but they play a good variety especially on Sat. Tried to do archery but it was too difficult to schedule. There is the towel game but even during peak hours you can usually find some area under a tree.

Overall a reasonable 3 star and it was OK because I paid a 3-star price since we were able to cram 4 adults into the room. If I got this service the first time I had come with my wife and paid significantly more, I would have much more annoyed. The positives are the variety of activities, food and, fortunately, personalities. Since it is geared more towards couples/families, I think they are much nicer to them...just my guess though I've noticed that the more negative reviews are single-sex groups.

Simply put, best vacation ever. We stayed for one week from April 24th to May 1st and were blown away by the experience. If you are thinking of going to Punta Cana, this should be the resort you visit, you will not be disappointed!!

Food: Amazing. First off, the resort is huge, so there are many, many restaurants to choose from. Buffet breakfast and lunch always had a plethora of choices, always with fresh and fun foods. As for dinner, almost every night we went to a different restaurant (dress code in effect, bring a few nice shirts, etc) to experience Chinese, Dominican, Mexican and seafood. Every place, experience was the same; amazing food, friendly staff and beautiful decor.

Swimming & Beach: Again, amazing. The beach was breathtaking with its white sand and tall palm trees. All the good spots fill up quickly so you should get up and hit the beach by 8am to secure a good spot. Pools - and you have your choice of about five all around the resort - are well kept and offer a nice, relaxing environment when you need a break from the beach. Same deal with the spots, get up early and reserve one. Several of the pools have swim-up bars for those lazy afternoons.

Staff: Again... amazing. I have been to resorts before where the environment is spectacular but the staff are not polite or happy. It does not feel like they care if you have a good time or not. This is not the case. The staff at this resort are so amazingly friend and always look like they are having a genuinely good time. My number one recommendation would be bring about $100 or so in one dollar bills. Even though everything is all inclusive, the staff are so polite, pleasant and dedicated to you having a good time that you will want to tip every time. Housekeeping staff were very polite and did a great job with the room. Recognition needs to be given to the POP animation team (a team that explores the resort and holds dance lessons, contests, games and other participative events) who really do their best to get us lazy tourists off our butts and having a good time! Most of all if you are just relaxing and you don't want to participate they won't make you, but I recommend trying something, they are usually very funny!

Entertainment: Again the POP animation team really keep the sprit high through out your trip with scheduled events throughout the week. At night, there are themed-shows each night at the resorts two theatres. They are perfect for getting a drink after dinner and enjoying some very fun and well choreographed shows.

Resort (upkeep, cleanliness and weather): Beautifully kept and breathtaking. It is easily noticed how much effort goes into keeping this place spectacular! It rained a few times through out the week, but nothing major. Most of the time it finished raining within an hour or so and one time we even just swam in the pool until it stopped.

I feel like our experience cannot be summed up in a few short paragraphs... but this place is amazing. I hope that every negative review of this resort and its staff is outweighed by my review. Thank you to the amazing staff, the airline and our signature tour guides, we had an amazing time!

We stayed at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana the week of April 5th, with a group of 20 for our wedding.

Wedding: WOW! Not one thing went wrong or was missed. Carolina our wedding coordinator was great. If your thinking of getting married here, go for it! PM me if you want more details.

Food: great restaurants, long pant policy for men a bit silly. No reservations required...bonus.

Bars: Overall great service. Always best w/ a little tip ! Tip them (remember it's a 3rd world country) charity begins on vacation.

Rooms: altogether very nice. room attendants very personable. Only complaint mattresses very hard. Mini bars always well stocked. That was a really nice touch.

Beach: Just beautiful! Perfect sand. Little marine life. Most has been cleared out. You can find corners though... I did. Be prepared to swim ! Finding a chair early afternoon was difficult. But your on vacation..if you walk a little, you will find one or two!

Security: SOLID, evident.

Front desk services: Overall a little disregarding, unless you speak a little Spanish. Jesus at the front desk was great though. Look for him !!

Pools: Crystal clean..the chair game is annoying, but with our group of 20, someone was always up to get our chairs!

I have to say this resort is very well manicured. You always see the gardeners out watering, trimming. They do keep the place immaculate.

We loved the Grand Palladium and do plan on returning some day. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Enjoy!

We're a couple in our late twenties, and stayed at this resort with another couple from May 4 - 11, 2008...we're now nice and relaxed! Overall, this was a really great place - we've travelled to many other AIs and this falls somewhere between a 4-4.5 star hotel based on experience.

Check-in and check-out: seamless and quick - (other than the fact our bus left without us to the airport on the last day - however, not the resort's problem - guest services were wonderful about helping us -Candians beware of Conquest vacations - they were completely prepared to leave us stranded in DR) The welcome drink is a matter of luck - we didn't get one, but noticed that the group that arrived 20 minutes after us did - we weren't concerned, there's a bar within 25 meters of the front desk

The Rooms: stayed in the 3000 block - I have seen many pics with jacuzzi tubs located in the main portion of the room - not in this block - in fact, the rooms were truly the one really disappointing part of the hotel - the furniture was old and beat-up, as was the bedding - the comforter was visibly soiled, as were the decorative pillows - i'm not a germaphobe by any means - but avoided touching these items at all costs - just, yuck! The sheets were of course, changed each day, and were perfectly fine - the pillows for sleeping were small and lumpy - we tried 3 times to order 2 extra 'new' pillows, and in the end received 1 extra small lumpy pillow. The bathroom was lovely, towels always fresh, and in-room fridge loaded-up each day - tipped the maid $2-3 a day, but don't think this made a difference in service.
Overall, didn't notice a lot of tipping going on at this resort compared to others, and really can't say that it made too much of a difference in service.

Staff - 90% of the time cheerful and helpful - they appreciate your efforts at spanish - lots of European guests at this resorts - far fewer english speaking guests than other resorts I've been to as well - perhaps this is why the staff's english wasn't as profficent as at other resorts too. Still, never had major communication problems

Beach - incredible! - the towel game is ridiculous - i think it would be nice if the hotel had a no reservation policy, but it's really not worth getting too upset over - there's always somewhere to sit. The ocean water was a perfect temperature, and the soft white sand extends as far as you can wade in - very little seaweed or other debris.

The grounds are impeccable - the groundsmen work hard throughout the heat of the day - walk around a little to appreciate how well everything is manicured.

Activities - there is a LOT going on all here - at the beach, and at many of the pools there's constant action - games, aerobics, volleyball - you will be harrassed by the activity crew (P.O.P), so mentally prepare yourself! The vendors on the beach are also relentless - again, a little mental prep will do you good - we found that ignoring them actually works best (as completely rude as that sounds!) There is a marketplace a short walk down the beach where you can purchase souvenirs - we walked passed a couple of times while on walks and were completely harassed by shop owners - we actually decided to shop at the stores on the resort to avoid the harassment it was so unnerving! Some people love the thrill of bartering - we despise it, and just thought it was worth it to pay a little more $$ to avoid it.

The Food - very good overall
Buffets
Breakfast - excellent - make your own omelettes, smoothies, lots of fresh fruit, yogurt, variety of meats and hot items, pancakes, waffles, eggs everywhich way - pretty much any breakfast item you can think off
Lunch - El Behique is the biggest and nicest buffet, it's near the reception building - tons of variety everyday - and not the same items each day either - there are makings for incredible salads and sandwiches to your taste, along with a huge number of hot dishes - really, not too different from the dinner buffet.
We also did lunch at the beachside grill - really good - hamburgers, hotdogs, pork, chicken - and toppings - it's also right next to a beach bar - it definitely satisfied my hot dog and beer craving!
Dinner buffet: similar to lunch - had a theme each night, but could always count on salad bar, breads, cheeses, make your own pasta, pizza, and grill your own meats if you couldn't find something else - which I can't believe is possible!
A la carte - went to 4
Mexican - amazing - great salad bar, with wonderfully fresh guacamole - perfect fresh lime juice margaritas, and perfectly cooked seafood mains - this was by far the best meal!
Seafood - nice variety of choice - i had the curried shrimp pasta which arrived with no shrimp and no curry - and waaay too much salt (which is a common thread for most a la carte items), but for a main had shrimp and fish skewers - perfectly charred but still moist - delicious.
Asian - a strange mix of chinese, japanese, indian, and thai - had the sushi roll appetizer - was fine, very simple veggie fillings - and the chinese rice and shrimp stirfry - shrimp were well cooked but the sauce was simply soysauce and oil - too salty, and uninteresting flavour
Italian - grilled veggie appetizer was very good and simply seasoned - 'raw beef slices' appetizer which I thought meant carpaccio, was really thin slices of yesterday's fully cooked roast beef - didn't taste bad, but not what was advertised! had veggie risotto for pasta course - i would not be surprised if it was a Lipton's Sidekick made to order - super salty, itsy bitsy grains of veg, and definitely not risotto-appropriate rice. For main, had veal picatta - over salted, tough, but on a bed of yummy veggies and potatoes with melted cheese and a nice little sauce. Dessert - tiramisu, which was did not resemble tiramasu in the least - it was a piece of fluffy white cake with a thin layer of chocolate icing in the middle - no coffee flavour, no lady fingers, no marscapone! shame shame! but really, Iyou shouldn't expect authentic italian, or authentic anything really (expect maybe dominican flavours) - it was yummy none the less - and the capuccino to end the meal was deeeelish...in fact all the coffee at this resort was great - order cafe con leche for a more north american style of coffee.
Sports Bar - great for the late night tummy rumbles after some disco dancing next door - humungous BLTs - great grilled cheese and ham and cheese sandwiches - pizza, nachos, and salad bar are available 24 hours - handy dandy.
I realize i rambled about the food - but really this can make or break a vaca for me! overall i was impressed by the variety and the a la carte choices, vegetarians would be completely happy with the variety at this resort too - oh, and the green olives, amazing!

Night life - go to Hemmingways - it's located a short walk directly behind the Barcelo resort lobby - premium liquors are available - premium vodka, scotch, liquors, specialty coffees - we spent at least 3 nights there. The disco was fun and was busy on both nights we went - i've been to oterh resports where the discos were dead, so this was a nice change - a good mix of english and spanish music - and a great people watching venue!
We went to one show - M.J. of course - as a fan of the man himself it was an impressive mimicry of the popular music videos - in a cheesy kind of way - it was entertaining - just not enough to make a return visit to any of the other shows.

SPA - took advantage of the free offerings - you have to make an appointment to get in - but it's never too busy and nice and relaxing - a vapour room, a steam room, a couple of luke-warm hot tubs, a variety of different showers (cold water), pressure jets perfect for a 'free' massage, and some nice comfy loungers.

Excursion - only did a 1 hour snorkeling jaunt - it was fun and there was lots of fish - most of the coral was dead, but the number and variety of fish made up for it - bring a few slices of bread or a banana, the fish will swim right up to you and eat from your hands.

I think i hit the major points! feel free to contact me with any questions - just relax and enjoy your vacation here - don't get upset over small imperfections - the good points far outweigh the little oversights!