I first visited The Grand Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real last year while on a family vacation at Melia Caribe Beach Punta Cana.
We popped in for the day and loved the modern luxury and warm, welcoming atmosphere. We loved the main pool and the boys loved the kid-dedicated water park with waterslides, splash pools and kid sized sun loungers.
My husband was determined to head back to this amazing resort for a longer stay and that is just what we did this past December. Together with 3 other families, we headed to Punta Cana for a fabulous family vacation…and the price tag was not at all exorbitant. It was exactly what we hoped it would be. Here is why we loved it:
The Food
The Paradisus resort brand spends more on food than most of their competitors: This means that the quality of food is higher and you can definitely tell. I am not a fan of buffets (I know, I know) but I will eat at the buffet here all day. The top shelf cuisine stretches across all 8 of their restaurants (and room service) from morning till night. From fresh green smoothies to a crisp ceviche bar, mouthwatering steak to succulent seafood, the menu here has been created and considered in great detail.
Also, being gluten free means that I have a tough time finding food at a lot of all inclusive resorts. Not a problem here. Here I can find multiple gluten free options at both the buffet and at one of the many restaurants. (P.S. The burger bar by the pool is delicious and the fries are legit…and I know french fries…)
The Accommodations
Every room here is a one bedroom suite with an eat in kitchen. Anyone traveling with kids knows that this separate bedroom is key to enjoying a family vacation. Modern and elegant, every suite has a jacuzzi on the balcony, ideal for the balloon filled bubble bath they drew for the kids. Wine and beer in the mini fridge is always topped up, as are the delicious snacks. If the staff noticed that we were eating more of one snack than another, we would get double the next day. Although we opted out of swim up rooms in this instance, they are also available.
The Childcare
The childcare options here are endless. Although we played with our littles during the day, napping on the day beds when they needed a rest, Habitat, the kids club, had crafts, cooking, games and dances for the kids. Habitat welcomes children from one year old which is ideal for parents who just need a break. Most resorts start their kids clubs at 4 years old so this was a welcome discovery. Not only are the workers trained in childcare and CPR, they genuinely love kids. From the moment we walked in, we could see that they loved their jobs. We only left the kids here on two occasions (to enjoy a childfree dinner) and all of them loved it.
One on one babysitting is also available. We took advantage of this once, putting the boys to bed and giving the babysitter the baby monitor. We had a great night!
The Family Friendly Atmosphere
The overall family friendly atmosphere is ideal. Staff were friendly, attentive and always remembered my kids names. We didn’t need reservations for restaurants which meant that we could follow our stomach’s desires every night. They layout itself (a circle) means that we could see our little ones from the main pool as they went on midday walkabouts.
We also had access to the other Paradisus resorts which was great when we wanted to add a little variety to our day.
The Summary:
Would I go back? Yes.
Would I recommend it? Yes.
Check out my IG story highlights for our vacation pictures!