We are again trying new things. I feel very uncomfortable with luxury travel and have mostly avoided all inclusives in the past. But, there are some places where it just feels like the best alternative available. Punta Cana is filled with all inclusives so it was the thing to do. We don’t really usually like things like this and I will try to verbalize why luxury travel doesn’t feel great to me.
This is another post where I need to make it clear that Meg doesn’t always agree with my conclusions when I write blogs. I know I am a bit different by avoiding luxury travel and cost is not the biggest reason. Anyway, we just got off our first real cruise across the Atlantic and we ended up in the Dominican Republic and had free meals in a “5 star” resort for 4 more days. What is happening to us?
We went to the Melia Punta Cana Beach Wellness resort and reserved 4 nights for about $880. We probably had the cheapest room in the resort and many people were paying much more than we did for nicer rooms or the “Level” exclusive area. Melia is a Spanish corporation that now has over 350 properties. It is an adults only resort that calls itself a “5 Star” luxury resort. The hotel star system is not very objective or policed and hotels all over the world routinely give themselves as many stars as they want. I think they think it is 5 star because the food, drinks and some yoga and exercise classes are free. It is hard for us to call this real luxury when the staff didn’t really show us much care as the Virgin Voyages cruise that we just disembarked. The information about what restaurants and activities were never really communicated to us. We needed to reserve our restaurants for each evening but their one restaurant reserving kiosk seemed to be out of order until we made a fuss on the second day. There were a lot of people that worked at the resort but we often got the feeling of “its not my job” when talking to the staff. Nobody seemed to know anything.
The grounds itself were beautiful. We stayed in the inland part of the resort which was a few hundred feet from the beach. Lots of beautiful ponds surrounded by tropical plants, palm trees and peacocks. The enormous pool with the swim up bar was a walk from our area of the resort. There was a shuttle but it was so inconsistent that we often just walked the 1/4 of a mile. The breakfast and lunch buffets near the beach had tons of options and the food was pretty good if you ordered at the right cook-to-order stations and avoided the buffet trays of “warm” food. We loved the pool and spent most of the time there. We had our fill of free drinks made with the cheapest rum they could find. We had some rainy and windy weather for a couple of days so we couldn’t swim in the ocean until the last day. Even then the rain had made the water too cloudy for any snorkeling. It was still really an enjoyable rest of a few days just sitting by the pool and eating and drinking….
We had 4 nights and they had 4 restaurants in the resort so we were able to try them all. The first night we ate a their huge buffet which could be fantastic if you took the right things. I have a love-hate relationship with buffets. I always seem to leave wishing I would have tried something else. The other nights we went to an awesome Mediterranean restaurant which was actual Lebanese, a Vietnamese restaurant which was good but didn’t taste much like the food we ate in Vietnam, and the last night we went to a set menu Taino restaurant which had jazzed up Dominican food. I liked all 4 nights and was very impressed to have great food in “hotel” restaurants. They weren’t all perfect, and none had the best service, but we really were liking the food part of this “luxury” hotel.
We have never been to the Dominican Republic before. After 4 days in this resort, I don’t really think I can claim I have seen our 60th country. We didn’t leave the resort at all. There wasn’t anything in walking distance and they charged extra for Uber to pick up at the resort. We didn’t really have anywhere to go because this whole town is full of all inclusive resorts. I don’t think there is much of a town. When researching Punta Cana, we didn’t see many restaurants or even sidewalks for those that found an Airbnb instead of stayed at the resorts. We walked down the beach, but couldn’t go in anywhere because they all required different colored bracelets from what we wearing. We would have made more of an effort to leave the compound and see the country but we actually have 2 more weeks here staying outside of the resort world. We will eventually explore it.
I guess that is part of what left me feeling a bit embarrassed on our choice to see an all inclusive. We travel to see things and here we are in a new country and are spending our days by a pool in what could have been in Palm Springs, Hawaii, Mexico, Belize, etc. Many people spend their vacation in Punta Cana and don’t really leave the resorts. Every country has something to showcase but many people are missing it by the all-inclusive game….
But, I also have to take into account that not everyone is going on vacation to explore the world. Some people are getting a much needed rest from a stressful job or life back home. This resort would be great for that kind of vacation. It has been a few years since I have had that stress to escape from. Maybe we just needed a break from the 2 weeks of the grind of being on a cruise ship :>)
But my bigger issue is being uncomfortable in “luxury” accommodations. I know, I really liked the food and complained about a bit about the service. What do I really want? I actually really do like good food and enjoy luxury things, but I am never really happy in luxury situations. I feel guilty asking for things when people are barely making a living as service workers. Poor countries often have the most fancy resorts, and I don’t feel comfortable being a part of that. I know those issues exist even when we stay in Airbnb’s, but in fancy resorts, it just bothers me more. I am aware that it is often hypocritical by writing about what we like when traveling, and then complaining about inequality. I don’t like experiencing the economic gap between service workers and tourists. I need to say this…. I like luxury … and I hate it….
Our next stop is in Las Terrenas which is on the other side of the island. It is a 5 hour drive and our concierge didn’t know how to help us except by connecting us to a $400 private driver. I don’t think any guest has every asked about buses. We searched the internet and finally figured out a way to take buses with a connection in Santo Domingo. The trip was $60 all in but it was a long day in buses and taxis. We are now in our comfort zone of a an Airbnb in condos with a pool near the beach. Yes, we can’t drink the water and can’t throw the TP in the toilet. We woke up this morning with a mangy cat on our balcony and a dead cockroach by the door. It is giving us our Mexico vibes and it feels like our comfortable “home away from home” that we are used to. We are done with the “luxury” part of our vacation and looking forward to getting back to traveling in “our style”. It will be just more comfortable for the Nylands.
P.S. We haven’t seen Julio yet.