Royalton Punta Cana, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort & Casino

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

17136 reviews

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  Disappointing Stay at Royalton Punta Cana – Poor Service and Serious Security Issues

  We recently returned from a two-week stay at Royalton Punta Cana as part of a large group booking of over £50,000 for a family wedding. Given the scale and significance of our trip, and the resort’s premium branding, we expected a high standard of service, professionalism, and care. Unfortunately, our experience fell far short of this. To begin with, while the resort grounds are undeniably beautiful, the rooms and facilities were average and not reflective of the luxury standards that were advertised. On arrival, our in-room television was not functioning — a frustrating issue, particularly as the TV is required to make restaurant reservations and order room service. This meant we were unable to access basic services for the beginning of our stay, and staff were slow to respond. More troubling, however, was a serious security breach. My credit card was stolen from our room and shortly after, someone attempted to spend nearly £2,000 on it at a location approximately one hour from the resort. Thankfully, my bank contacted me and blocked the transaction. When I raised this with hotel management, their response was wholly inadequate. Despite the presence of security cameras, I was told there was "not enough evidence" to investigate. No further follow-up, no accountability, and no support was offered. The lack of concern shown for such a serious incident was unacceptable. We were also travelling with two one-year-olds, and while some staff were genuinely helpful and kind — for which we were very grateful — others were inattentive and dismissive. On multiple evenings, we were left standing at our restaurant table for up to five minutes waiting for high chairs, even after asking several times. This lack of attentiveness was particularly frustrating considering we were clearly managing young children in a large group setting. The inconsistency in staff attitude was striking. Some bar and wait staff were warm and appreciative — especially when tipped — while others barely acknowledged guests. On several occasions, bar staff made drinks without saying a word, often with a miserable expression, and made no effort to engage or even say thank you when tipped. For a resort marketed as a high-end, luxury destination, this level of service is extremely disappointing. Given the nature of our trip — a family wedding, a large group booking, and a significant financial investment — we expected to be well looked after and to feel valued as guests. Instead, we were made to feel like just another number. The lack of personal service, poor handling of serious concerns, and inconsistent staff attitudes left us feeling extremely let down. In summary, while the aesthetics of Royalton Punta Cana are impressive, the experience behind the image tells a very different story. Inadequate security, inconsistent service, and a lack of care for guest wellbeing made this a regrettable stay. I would not return, nor would I recommend this resort to others — especially to families or large groups expecting a premium experience.

  Sep 14, 2025
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  Look Elsewhere - Hideaway is just what the managers do!

  We traveled to the Royalton Punta Cana for 14 nights from the UK with TUI from August 17 to August 31 as a family of four (parents with a 20 and 18 year old) and came away feeling disappointed with our experience. Before travelling we decided to upgrade our stay to the adults only Hideaway Section of the hotel in the hope of some peace and tranquility. More on that later. Our primary reason for choosing this hotel was the location on Punta Cana’s pristine white beaches and this is where our disappointment started. On arrival we checked in and headed to the beach to take in the views, only to find that the beach actually resembled a construction site. Large “sandbags” had been placed on the shoreline in an attempt by the hotel to prevent coastal erosion and these had been exposed leaving drops of between 4 and 6 feet to the waterline. Not only was this shockingly unsightly, but also extremely hazardous for anyone attempting to enjoy the beach or enter the sea. A wall of sargassum added to the disappointment, and while we know that this is down to mother nature and therefore beyond the hotel's control, there appeared to be no urgency or plan to deal with this by the hotel’s management. NB, every other hotel adjacent to the Royalton had staff and equipment clearing their part of the beach on a daily basis. We made the mistake of speaking with TUI’s representative at the hotel, Juan, only to be met by aggression, intimidation and generally unprofessional conduct on his behalf. Our request for assistance with a move to a different hotel was ignored and we did not feel we could approach him again. TUI need to address this as a matter of urgency, and they need to provide an explanation as to why we were not notified of the beach condition prior to our departure. Enough of that though and on to the hotel in general. There are some good things about this hotel and with some care and attention Royalton Punta Cana could truly be a 4-5 star hotel. I’ll try to be subjective and as honest as possible as it’s clear that the 5 star reviews on here have been written by staff at the hotel, not by actual guests. The pools - The pools are just ok and despite being too small for the resort serve their purpose despite being overcrowded due to lack of access to the beach. We spent our time between the activity and main pools as they are so close to each other and only separated by an activity area. They are clean but in need of maintenance with many missing tiles and a general feeling of being neglected. The staff at the pool bar (DIPS) and those that walk around the pool offering drinks are great and will genuinely interact with polite guests. Our only small gripe with the pool area was the repetitive music with the same 6-7 songs played on repeat all day everyday, most of which have sexually explicit language unsuitable if you have a younger family. The pools at Royalton Splash are much nicer, but they get very busy very early, so getting a sunbed can be an issue. The bars - all great, offering a good selection of drinks. Just avoid the beer, Presidente, it's truly awful. We particularly liked Martini Bar in the evenings and loved listening to the waves at Sands bar at the end of the night. Service was always quick and generally cheerful. The restaurants - The food selection at the Gourmet Marche buffet was excellent in our first week, but we noticed a significant decline in service and quality during our second week as the hotel occupancy reduced. Breakfast was the highlight, but evening meals were hit and miss. The staff are lovely, especially the coffee coffee guys! Hunters Steakhouse was good, just avoid the starters as they’re poor. We ate at Hunters four times as we found the service to be excellent and food was superior to the other a la cartes. The brisket was superb and the steaks were always cooked just right. Grazie Italian Trattoria was also quite good with a reasonable selection of dishes. However, as a word of caution, two of our party were ill after eating here and we narrowed it down to the beef starter. The illness continued for some days afterwards so that did impact on the holiday. Jade - awful with inedible food. We had better Asian food at the buffet. Dorado (Hideaway Guests only) was very good with lovely attentive service and a great view. They provide guests with an a la carte breakfast menu and the food is exceptional in a very quiet atmosphere. Bliss! Score Sports Bar was good for snacks from 3pm, and the food truck serving burgers, fries, hot dogs etc was a good convenient way of grabbing some lunch at the poolside. The rooms - We stayed in rooms 2325 and 2326 in the Hideaway Section and these were beautiful. They appeared to have been recently renovated with luxurious beds, great rainfall showers and a gorgeous sea view. Sadly, we overlooked the swim up pools which descended into party zones at dusk with large groups shouting and playing more loud sexually explicit music, so we were unable to enjoy our balconies. The smell of weed will also have you scrambling to close your patio doors. The hotel management were totally indifferent to this and clearly turned a blind eye. The housekeeping staff were very friendly and appreciated any attempt to interact in Spanish no matter how poor your vocabulary may be. Rooms were cleaned and towels replenished every day and we managed to catch the mini bar replenisher most days through luck rather than by design. Entertainment - as with any all inclusive resort evening entertainment is a bit hit and miss. We really enjoyed the Michael Jackson show, the circus, magician and the weekly White Party at the Plaza, but the rock show was dire as was the Dominican Show. There’s not really much else going on during the evenings. The beach - sadly this was unusable for the entirety of our stay, but we did walk down the beach to our left and to our right. Neither side was particularly impressive, but it was nice to get away from the strong smell of rotting sargassum at our hotel. Finally, our experience at the Hideaway Section was really a mixed bag. The rooms and location were excellent. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end as the noise and generally anti-social attitudes of the other guests ruin the experience. This should be an area to chill out, relax and enjoy some quality service and products, but it’s actually more like an area that you’d avoid in any major city. The smell, the noise and lack of manners by most (not all) of the guests is something to behold and would prevent us from returning. In summary, we liked many aspects of the hotel and enjoyed our time there. There is scope for this hotel to be exceptional, but scratch the surface and this is currently a two star resort with a touch of glitter sprinkled in the communal areas. As a result, we wouldn't return to this or any other Royalton property.

  Sep 09, 2025
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  Feedback form a Hospitality Professional

  My partner and I are currently halfway through our 14-day stay at Royalton Punta Cana. Overall, the trip is good, but the hotel needs improvement across the board. I rarely write reviews, especially as someone who works in the hospitality industry myself—I’m a head chef with over 15 years of experience in top-tier hotels and restaurants. I understand that guests can be overly critical, but this hotel genuinely needs work. That said, there are some positives worth mentioning too. --- **Rooms:** The rooms are decent but badly in need of a full renovation. Our mini fridge looks like it’s been through 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. There are exposed wires from the light housing, and the light works intermittently. The bathroom door doesn’t close properly due to a broken bolt. There aren’t enough power sockets either—we've had to rely on portable chargers to keep our devices running. --- **Housekeeping:** Housekeeping is inconsistent. Our room has been missed multiple times. Getting fresh towels feels like an uphill battle—we’ve had to request them nearly every day. When they do come around, it’s often after 4 PM, which feels a bit late in the day for such a basic service. --- **Drink Restock:** “Pitiful” is the only word I can use to describe it. We don’t drink alcohol, so on the first day we handed our alcoholic beverages back and kindly asked for water and soft drinks instead, giving a $20 tip to ensure we’d be well-stocked—as we were last year when staying at Splash. That tip got us nothing here. Restocking happens around 5 PM, and by that time, the trolley is often empty. It’s frustrating to pay a premium for this hotel and be rationed on bottled water. If I want 20 bottles of water, I should be able to get them—without eye rolls or dirty looks from staff. --- **Staff:** Some staff are amazing, while others seem like they’d rather be anywhere else. Understandably so—several employees told us they work 12 days on, with only 2 days off. That’s unacceptable. No wonder morale seems low. I’ve seen staff standing around on their phones while on duty. That said, we had excellent service from Elise at the pool bar and Clara in the buffet—they were both wonderful. --- **Pool Service Staff:** Some pool staff are rude and ignore guests altogether. We’ve had days where we weren’t offered a single drink, and others where we were asked once in the morning—then nothing. Occasionally, we had good service all day. Joel, in particular, works incredibly hard to serve everyone poolside. Elise (mentioned above) is also fantastic but often placed at the Diamond Club bar, which is much quieter. Reallocating staff could help—perhaps two at the Diamond Club and more circulating the busier pool areas. --- **Pool Bar:** Avoid trying to get drinks directly from the pool bar. Staff often ignore the queue and serve the loudest guests first. Multiple times, we were bypassed by pushy guests and left waiting. The bar turns into a crowd of people acting like it’s their personal warzone. Staff can be rude and give dirty looks if you ask to fill a Stanley cup with soft drinks (despite these being sold on-site). If it’s a problem, why sell them? --- **Restaurant – Hunter Steakhouse:** We ate at Hunter’s, which was okay, but nothing to write home about. We ordered two sirloin steaks—one well-done, one medium rare. Both came out well-done. Wine is overpriced: bottles that cost around £14 at home are marked up to $50 here. When we declined wine and asked for soft drinks instead, we received strange looks. Our waiter was polite, though, and we tipped him $10. --- **Buffet:** The buffet is okay but needs serious attention in food safety. One **major concern**: raw chicken is being cooked next to beef, and staff use the **same utensils** to handle both. This is a huge food safety risk. I highly recommend implementing separate utensils for different meats and using food thermometers to check temperatures instead of relying on sight alone. Also, consider investing in an air-jet system to blow cold air over cold buffet items, keeping them within safe temperature ranges. The food options are decent overall—some hit, some miss—but I understand it’s hard to please everyone. --- **Illness at the Resort:** We’ve spoken to many guests during our stay, and almost all have had stomach issues. Whether it’s food-related or typical traveler’s stomach, it’s hard to say, but I’ve experienced it myself as well. --- **Pools & Grounds:** Pools are cleaned daily around 6:30 AM. The pool maintenance team does an excellent job, including PH level checks. However, the pools are showing their age—broken tiles, damaged water intakes, etc. The gardening team is great—always working hard, whether it’s trimming bushes or climbing coconut trees. They deserve recognition. As for the **excursion team**—they hover like a bad smell. I understand the need to sell activities, but once should be enough. I’d suggest stationing them at a desk in the main foyer instead of having them circle the pool like a street market. --- **Floors:** The floors around the pool area are dangerously slippery when wet. We witnessed a gentleman fall and injure himself badly—he hit his head and cut his elbow. My partner, a nurse, offered to help and said he needed hospital care as he began vomiting (a possible sign of head trauma). It took **45 minutes** for a manager—not even a doctor—to assist him, only after he had to fill out a form. Thankfully, we saw him the next day—he said the hotel upgraded him and covered medical costs. --- **Pool Entertainment:** The entertainment team is great—very engaging and friendly. The only minor gripe is that the music can get a bit repetitive, but it’s not a big deal. --- **Final Thoughts:** I genuinely hope hotel management reads this review and considers the points I’ve raised. This is **not** meant to take away from the hard work many of the staff put in. The hospitality industry is tough—I know it firsthand. I simply want to share an honest review from a professional perspective, highlighting both the strengths and the areas needing improvement. Thank you to all the hardworking staff at Royalton Punta Cana.

  Sep 08, 2025
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  Enjoy short stay from August 30th thru September 2nd

  If traveling with the family 3 daugther, wife and myself rent room 19233, huge room. 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 jacuzzi, and a huge living room. Buffette was ok, reservation at Japanese restaurant is a must and will enjoy the experience, was worth it, the same for the steakhouse. I didn't use the beach because the sargazo, I spent most of the time in the lazy river, very relaxing. Live DJ every night prepare to walk a lot, Hotel is big. It was a busy weekend, at Bar it took longer than expected to get the attention of the bartender to order a drink, super busy. 24 hrs room service available, very fast, only it should include more items to order.

  Sep 07, 2025
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  Trip of a lifetime

  We are one week in to our two week stay, for our wedding, and we have had an amazing time for our first ever all-inclusive trip. Every member of staff has been amazing to us, the food has been perfect, but I must say Romeo, our Diamond Club butler, has been absolutely wonderful, he has helped us so much and made us feel at home! Special mention also to Michel in the weddings team who helped our day go off without a hitch

  Sep 07, 2025