Sanctuary Cap Cana

We loved everything : the site ( really relaxing and beautiful ), the team ( always happy , positive , welcoming , ready to help ), the spa ( clean ... ) , the food ( high quality and choice ) ....very safe environment. The list could go on. We are ready to come back next year ! Thank you all

During my stay at Sanctuary Cap Cana, bartenders Miky, Criss, and Elvi made my experience unforgettable with their kindness, amazing attitude, and attentiveness. They crafted delicious cocktails, remembered my preferences, and created a welcoming, fun atmosphere. Their energy, enthusiasm, and genuine care for guests made every visit to the bar a highlight of my trip. They truly embody world-class service!

The staff truly makes this resort! From Felix the cat who is the most amazing pool concierge, along with Kayla and happy-boy you will always be well cared for at the main pool! Waited on by Elvi, Omar and Christian your drinks will never be empty!! Jefferson will lead all the activities and wears multiple hats during the day that I think he is truly all the guests best friend! The accommodations are well cared for and clean! Food is good, and we did not wait long for any tables. Service was again the priority for all in the restaurants. CasaBella for breakfast was fun and we had a great waiter in Neilsan whose smile lit up the place! Butler service was not worth the upgrade in price. Our butler sent us a text every morning with half the activities - which we were told was on the app any way. He did not venture to the main pool as we saw many others doing. Did not really help with reservations, or help in finding a lost item or restocking the mini bar. Given the rest of the staff was so helpful a butler really isn’t worth it. I will totally return to this beautiful place and amazing island!

This was our second stay at Sanctuary Cap Cana; it re-affirmed that we will most likely book yet a third stay for later this year--we are that pleased with this Marriott property! I'll organize this review with pro's and con's, as our impressions are somewhat bi-polar....meaning that there are many, many things to like, but also things that could be improved upon (as always). Hopefully our observations and comments will be helpful to others considering this resort. First, the pro's--- 1) The overall facility and grounds are just immaculate! Beautiful public spaces, with many spaces and nooks to linger and hang out. The environment looks and feels very relaxing! 2) Location close to the airport makes it easy/quick to access flights, yet it is in a largely undeveloped area so the property is relatively quiet and peaceful. 3) Foodservice is first-class! There is tremendous variety on the breakfast and lunch buffets, which are supplemented by two reservation-only restaurants (Asian and Italian), plus a Steakhouse and food-court (called Sanctuary Town) that includes pizza, sushi, a pub, and sweets shop. Quality of the food is quite good, with only minimal repetition on the buffets from day to day. Breakfast is particularly outstanding! Try the pizza in Sanctuary Town--the Capo and the Caprese were our favorites. The sushi is also decent for a non-Asian country. The gelato and desserts are to die for! 4) The two reservation-only retaurants are quite good, with the Italian (Capriccio) being our favorite; we found every dish we tried to be quite good. Wok (the Asian restaurant) was good, but not outstanding. It was about what you would expect in a non-Asian country. The pad thai was especially good, as were the various starters. Wok's specialty cocktails were disappointing; I tried three different ones before I found one that I would order a second time. 5) The resort staff is remarkably enthusiastic and friendly, almost without exception. A wonderful woman, Glory, who is in charge of the salad/fruit bar at breakfast and lunch is incredible! She is a true ambassador for the Marriott brand and is very service-oriented. It was such a treat to see her smiling, friendly face every day! Sandro, who is on the waitstaff at breakfast and also works in Capriccio, has such a wonderful, helpful attitude. Others who we especially have to thank are: Ginette (who is a greeter in several of the foodservice outlets) was always welcoming and friendly. Jonathan (in Capriccio), Yorman (in the Steakhouse), Luis, Felix, Miguel, and Roberluis (in Casa Bella), Leticia (in the Wok), and Emilio (in the Blue Marlin bar) were always very helpful and patient with our questions and orders. 6) The pools are not crowded and there are generally plenty of loungers, clean towels, etc. There are a variety of pools--some louder with a bar, music, and water aerobics, and others tucked away so if you are seeking a quieter, more relaxing experience, you can find it. Pools generally were well-kept and clean. Now for the con's--- 1) As they say, "The Devil is in the details!" Although the first impression of the rooms (Building 12, fifth floor for both stays) is quite good when you walk in, there is quite a lot of deferred maintenance that needs attention. For example, there were four lamps in the room--none of the lampshades were attached. They were all wonky and leaned every which way each time you turned on a lamp. The lock on the sliding door was totally broken. Both the sheer curtain and black-out curtain were broken at the top, making it difficult to darken the room. There were two telephones in the room; only one of them worked (more on that later). The shower door seal did not extend all the way to the floor, allowing water to leak on to the bathroom floor everytime you showered. Worst of all, the bed (apparently the frame) was broken so that the bed squeaked and was not level. 2) Housekeeping was inconsistent--some days they would come by 10 am; other days they would not come until after 3 pm. This made it difficult to plan your own coming and going. One day you would receive wash clothes, but no hand towels; the next day might be just the opposite. 3) While most all staff are over-the-top helpful and friendly, there were exceptions. The conceirge staff is largely lacking in good people skills and a can-do attitude; I realize they probably deal with a lot of difficult people, but one would hope they would begin each interaction with an attitude of trying to be helpful. 4) Our check-in was less than desirable. Jeffrin handled our check-in, but it took nearly 45 minutes because he was trying to up-sell us (not once, but twice) to a villa room, which would have doubled the price we would have to pay for a week. He also presented us with an envelope (with great fanfare) that supposedly had offers only for us---which turned out to be largely useless discounts at the spa and over-priced jewelry outlet that is on-property. He came across as a "used-car saleman," which we did not appreciate after a long flight from Canada. 5) The front desk is slow to respond to phone calls, if at all. One days we called four times with no answer and finally just walked to the main building to deal with a small issue. 6) We had at least two unsolcitied phone calls each day---some of which were simply to ask how our stay was going, but others asking if we would like to book a shopping trip, book the chef's table at the Asian restaurant, etc. It became annoying to the point that we asked for no more such calls, which didn't solve the problem. But unplugging the only working phone did.... Things to know: The water is not potable at this hotel (meaning, you cannot drink the tap water). That said, the hotel is great about providing all the bottled water that you can possibly use. Do be aware that sparkling water and premium brand still water are an up-charge and not part of the all-inclusive. Same thing with certain top-shelf alcohol and anything other than house wines (which we actually thought were quite good). Men need to dress with long pants and a collared-shirt at the Wok and Capriccio; no open-toed shoes. All that said, there are many positive attributes at Sanctuary Cap Cana, despite the inevitable things that you might like to see improved. The pro's definitely outweigh the con's! Our two experiences have been quite good on balance--so much so that we already plan to return for a third visit!

We loved our experience at sanctuary cap cana!! From the minute you walk into the lobby you feel like a VIP! The ambience, the tranquility and scents make you feel like you are in luxury! The pools and grounds were beautiful! The beach is small but worked perfectly for our girls trip! The food was good as it is an all inclusive resort. I feel that out of all the inclusive resorts I’ve been to the food was good. The employees were always kind and pleasant. Israel from the beers of the world in the sanctuary town was the most pleasant human being we’ve ever met. He is a ray of sunshine and always kind, honest and a happy person who made our experience there awesome! The room views and balconies were beautiful. The rooms were mediocre compared to the lobby and grounds but we stayed at pretty basic room. Not sure how the other accommodations are but I’m sure more beautiful as they increase in cost. The public restrooms were clean and beautiful and well kept. The relaxation and zen feelings we had were above and beyond. On a side note we celebrated two birthdays on this trip and asked for birthday cakes and special accommodations for dinner at the Italian restaurant. Not only was everything perfect for both birthday girls but they went above and beyond with champagne and singing in celebration. We appreciated our experience here and would definitely come back again!!