Sanctuary Cap Cana

This all inclusive resort is simply amazing. It is meticulously maintained with the friendliest and most hospitable staff. There is so much to enjoy you don’t ever want to leave the property. They have exceptionally delicious food from a variety of nations. Try to book a castle room so you can enjoy your own butler/concierge that takes care of your needs like dining reservations, in room requests (ice delivery-sodas-water) as well as making your celebrations extra special. We had the pleasure of Frank taking care of us and he is simply amazing. He updated us with the daily activities and ensured our anniversary trip was a memorable experience.

We booked this vacation through Costco. The resort is stunningly beautiful, the buildings and pools are the highlight. The beach, unfortunately, was loaded with smelly sargassum. My understanding is that some resorts try to stay on top of this problem, but it does look like an impossible task - as it just keeps washing up. That’s a lesson learned for us, as it’s a seasonal thing and something we’ll be looking into before booking again. However the beach itself did not seem like much to begin with, its small and narrow, not made for walking. Our room was lovely and well stocked, with housekeeping coming in twice a day. The pools- the big main pool with the swim up bar is really fun, lots of room and music playing not too loud to ruin the atmosphere, most of the time. Sometimes they do aerobics or games there, too, which was entertaining to watch. Swim up bar staff was pretty good, but there are no menus of their specialty drinks to choose from like you often see at other resorts, so know what you want before heading up because it’s hit and miss. One day we ordered probably 6 or 7 Purple Rains in a row (a very common tropical resort drink) the next day none of the bartenders knew what we’re talking about. This pool was the closest to the beach, so there was an end of it most people avoided because of the rotting smell wafting up from the sargassum. There is an infinity pool which is calm and peaceful, and a few other smaller pools as well that are more tranquil and stay less crowded, but the staff doesn’t seem to get around to them much for drink orders. They stay pretty busy at the main pool. The staff - we arrived at an awkward time apparently, around 4:30pm. None of the restaurants were open and the bartenders at the Love bar in the lobby seemed a little put off by us ordering a drink, as we were ignored for a while and then service was slow. We left. But the initial lobby staff was very nice and brought us the delicious welcome drink (pina colada) and helped us with any questions we had. No high pressure sales pitch for their Marriott vacation club either, that was very appreciated. We went to make a few reservations with the concierge for dinner at the busier restaurants on site and they were not overly friendly, but did do their basic job. We inquired about excursions and they directed us to come back to the 2nd floor the next day as those folks were gone. We came back, no signs on the 2nd floor of where to go, we found our way to a possible office but it was empty. We knew we had to make plans for the return trip to the airport, ahead of time so on day 2 we met with Carlos who handles Costco travelers. The arrangements were easy to make, until we asked about excursions. We wanted to go to Saona Island and also do a little local shopping. Bella Mare is where we were taken to shop and it was ALL junky touristy stuff. Overpriced and gave flea market vibes. Pass on that. It took 2 hours out of our day for nothing. Another couple used the word hijacked to describe it and it’s true - they take you through a hallway (museum) of cigar history and into a flea market that takes 5 minutes to walk through and then when you request your ride back to the resort it’s a 45-60 minute wait for the van to pick you up. We were hoping for a more market style place or even just a decent selection of t-shirts. Seems your drivers have connections with certain shops and get kickbacks for sales. The tour group TUI is who took us to Saona Island. We paid around $180 each for a VIP experience and their food on board was a questionable half sandwich with one piece of lunch meat and cream cheese and a tin tray of opened Doritos. They did provide rum and cokes on the way, in Dixie cups. No food refrigeration that was seen either. The island itself was stunning and completely worth it along with the natural pool area they stop at for you to swim in. The VIP meal on site with unlimited drinks was a mediocre buffet with Dixie cups for your unlimited drinks. That was disappointing. But not getting the beach experience at the resort made it a worthwhile adventure for the sightseeing and swimming. Restaurants- we’ve been to numerous all inclusives and the food here at Sanctuary was the best we’ve ever had. The Italian restaurant had the most incredible pasta with Aurora sauce and shrimp. The steakhouse ribeye was great. Wok, the Pan Asian had a wonderful shrimp appetizer I could’ve made my whole meal and been happy. And the pizza, my goodness. The Pizza restaurant is wood fired magic. Can’t believe some of the best Margherita pizza I’ve ever had came from an all inclusive in the DR. Even the buffet was pretty good for breakfast and lunch. We had a lovely vacation here and would return at a better time of year during non sargassum season!

Ambiance, food, and staff were incredible. I would recommend this hotel for those who are seeking a nice and quiet relaxing vacation. If you’re looking to book excursions, there is a on-site travel guide where you can do so. Check Viator for cheaper options, though. Other than that, This was resort was lovely and my Husband and I really enjoyed our time here.

We had a fantastic time at Sanctuary Cap Cana. The resort is beautiful, peaceful, and perfect for a relaxing getaway. Everything from the food to the beach was top quality. A special thank you to our butler Frank—he made our trip extra special. He was always there to help, super friendly, and went out of his way to take care of us. We felt truly pampered thanks to him.

We absolutes our stay at Sanctuary Cap Cana. It was truly the paradise that we envisioned. We stayed in the Castle and Lugo was our butler, he was absolutely outstanding and very helpful. We are already planning our next trip later this year!