Sanctuary Cap Cana

I thought this would be an easy 5☆ review before we got there, but sadly, Sanctuary does not live up to its name. Italian restaurant. Luke-warm sticky, sludge-like spaghetti that any real chef would be ashamed of. Room-temperature white wine with a very odd taste. Panacotta which is weirdly rubbery and far too sweet. This restaurant should be avoided if you like Italian food. We never went back. The Steak restaurant was good, and ok to get into as long as you don't arrive around 7.30 with everyone else. Seems to be closed more often than it's open so we only went once! Blue Marlin was good, but with a limited menu, especially if you are not keen on fish. We only ate here for lunch. Breakfast was OK, but the food isn't very warm. There was often a really loud noise, like a food blender, coming from a waiters station. No idea what it was but it was unpleasant. Service is a mixed experience. The Wok is by far the nicest restaurant and with good food. Seems difficult to book if you don't have a Butler but it's a nice setting with good food. They allowed children in one evening which spoiled the vibe a bit. The Burger Factory in Sanctuary town was still all-inclusive for us, but not any more. It's a shame because the food is really good there. We ate there twice. In my opinion, they should close the Italian and move Burger Factory in house. Yolo is fine for lunch on the beach. However, the sargassam weed was really awful and often there was a massive, noisy bulldozer, pumping out disgusting black diesel soot, working on the beach to get rid of it. Again, not remotely peaceful. The buffet restaurant has slow drinks service and the food is never hot. Only open one evening for the Dominican night which is best avoided in our experience. Underwhelming hotel buffet quality food. We wasted a night here which was a shame as we could have gone steak or burger The Castle Accommodation. After our reception at the hotel when we were told how we could expect a lovely tranquil experience, our first full day was subjected to a continuous barrage of drum and baseline music from an adjacent hotel. By the end of the day, we were genuinely ready to go home and worried how we would put up with it for the whole holiday (an absolute first for me!). It's not the fault of the hotel, but the fact is that Sanctuary is absolutely not a peaceful place, and they should perhaps not advertise it as such. We moved rooms within the Castle because we wanted the swim-up, but the noise was just as bad. The next day it was there again, a constant and incredibly monotonous and tuneless baseline. I imagine exactly what you would wake up to in CIA captivity! To their credit the hotel responded brilliantly and managed to sort out the situation to our satisfaction thank you very much Sanctuary and thanks to our excellent Butler, Joan. A word of warning, I was absolutely eaten alive by mosquitoes at the Castle so take plenty of mosquito repellent with you. Swimming. Was fine in the Castle swim-up, but the other pools are just for leisure. Swimming in the sea is just unpleasant and to be avoided. Zero visibility and loads of weed constantly in your face. Really horrible. The main pool often has loud unrecognisable music playing for some reason, we didn't like it and avoided the area. The beach cocktail bar is excellent and full of character when the right guy is on duty, otherwise it's a bit naff and they can't mix cocktails very well. Again, you get constantly subjected to the noise and fumes of the beach tractor when it's working. Bars are all ok, tipping is essential as it is everywhere. Sometimes staff get annoying as they still hover for a tip when it's not well deserved. Staff are generally very friendly and welcoming. There's lots of comfortable seating, inside and out. There were a few private events which meant a loss of amenity for guests, and on one evening, meant really offensively loud yoof music being played which dominated the whole hotel. The next morning we had to navigate litter and broken glass to get to breakfast. Such a shame. In summary. We did enjoy our stay and are very grateful to the hotel who moved us to a lovely quiet location. We did really miss the loss of our swim up room though, and we didn't get the holiday we wanted. The hotel overall didn't deliver the tranquil holiday promised, you really have to book the beach villas to get that, and even then, other areas are not at all peaceful and the food offering is no longer adequate for the pricing. If you don't mind party noise from other (and your own) hotels, if you like being bombarded with unfamiliar music in the pool, and if you enjoy the sound of a heavy tractor, and the smell of burnt diesel on the beach, you will like Sanctuary. If you don't, you need to book elsewhere I'm afraid. They have a big problem with the Steak restaurant which was closed 4 out of 7 nights! This with the loss of the Sanctuary Town amenity on the all inclusive, makes for a dismal future I think. We would not return and unfortunately, would not recommend it to anyone. It's a premium price from the UK and doesn't hit anywhere near the mark. We have experienced much better alternatives for similar or less money in the Carribean. To be honest, we would not return at any price.

The entire resort was well built. So many places to visit. We stayed in the castle side in the honeymoon suite facing the ocean. The view was unreal. We even had our own personal butler. Camacho was very accommodating and informative. Anytime I had a question or needed a ride to the pool or dining we would be there or make sure someone else did. Great experience!!

We went May 1-5. The resort is very close to the airport, very easy transfer. The grounds are very well kept, everyone was very professional and welcoming. TLDR Resort Overall: 5/5 Room: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Food: 3.5/5 Beach: 3.5/5 Ocean View: 5/5 Spa: 5/5 We stayed in a castle garden view. The room was perfect. Ours was over top of the Wok Restaurant. No issues at all. Rooms are very well sound proofed, even with a concert at the resort behind us, with the door closed, it was silent. We also didn't spend much time in the room. Our Butler, Hector was always trying to think ahead. He solved a problem right away. I was unable to book reservations a few days ahead of our arrival even though I tried. He was able to get a great time slot for dinner. He also created a core memory for my wife on Saturday when an outside florist dropped the ball on an order. He went above and beyond. There are many pools. We didn't even use all of them there are so many. There was never really an issue finding a chair. Covered seating is slightly competitive, but we always seemed to find one, sometimes with a little help. The beach is small, but very private. If you go for a walk along Juanillo Beach, you will see the contrast right away. Juanillo is right next door, and is public. Good for walking. Sanctuary's beach is for laying in a chair. The beach was clear of sargassum the first two days. It did hit hard the last two days. Since it's such a small beach, the crews were out there removing it as soon as they could. I do wish there wasn't competing music around the pools and beach. Friday was particularly obnoxious because the main pool was blasting country music (gross), and the beach side bar was playing classy island cabana music. The food was fine. There doesn't seem to be a focus on any one cuisine, which I think is unfortunate. They try to be all things to everyone, and it's what you would expect. The Italian restaurant was the nicest setting. Wok had the best food. The steak House had the best service. Blue Marlin had the best views. The buffet was mostly the same each day, but lunch had some variation. There needs to be more options for non-meat eaters for dinner. That was a struggle. The buffet covers just about everyone, but it's not open for dinner. You wont go hungry, that's for sure. However, you might be eating after 9pm on some nights, so plan ahead. It wasn't an issue for us. The Spa was top notch. We both mentioned that it was one of the best we ever received. We walked through sanctuary town a couple of times. It was dead and a bit odd. No one was really there. It felt like a film set honestly. Come to this resort if you want to avoid loud drunk people. It's quiet at night, and that's a good thing. We're not old, just not looking for a party resort. It's not an uptight resort at all. A peaceful sanctuary is how I would describe it. One thing I keep wondering though, why did they play that Kelly Clarkson song every morning at the pool for the noodle exercise? lol We are already discussing a return trip.

We just got back from Sanctuary Cap Cana and overall had a really relaxing vacation. The property itself is absolutely beautiful — probably one of the prettiest resorts we’ve stayed at. It’s super quiet, never felt overcrowded, and there are so many places to just sit, relax, and enjoy the scenery. The pool area was one of our favorite spots, mostly because of Felix. He was incredible. Every morning he had our chairs set up and ready to go before we even got there. Honestly, he works harder than anyone there. If you want good pool spots, either get there very early or take good care of Felix because he makes it happen. The drinks were good and they definitely use quality/top shelf alcohol. The spa was also one of the highlights of the trip. We did the hydrotherapy before our massage and it was such a nice experience. Huge thank you to Sophia and Ana — truly one of the best massages we’ve ever had. Our room was great too. We stayed in the Premium Luxury Suite and it was spacious, clean, comfortable, and very quiet. Food was a little hit or miss depending on the restaurant. Capriccio (Italian) was probably the best overall experience. Service there was excellent. The eggplant parm appetizer was delicious. I’d skip the arancini though — kind of dry. My husband loved the bolognese and my carbonara was simple but good. The steakhouse was probably our least favorite experience service-wise. Everything took forever and we barely saw our server. The shrimp appetizer was nothing special but the pork trio was really good. My short rib was actually excellent but husband found the ribeye a bit bland. Blue Marlin was decent but again… very slow service. Crab cakes were good, shrimp tacos were bland, salmon was okay. Wok ended up surprising us in a good way once we finally got a reservation. The Geisha cocktail was amazing. I loved the black bao and Pad Thai. My husband thought his samosas and curry chicken were just average. Pool food was very good - burgers, fish and chips, nachos. Quick and easy. Buffet was lovely for breakfast. One important tip: download the Marriott Experience app BEFORE you arrive and start booking restaurants early. Reservations go FAST and I was literally checking the app every morning trying to grab times. You can use your reservation number to log in before your stay. A few negatives worth mentioning: The check-in process was honestly frustrating. It took over an hour after traveling all day. They seat you, take your passport, bring a welcome drink (which is nice), but then the process drags on while they try to upsell rooms, walk back and forth to the desk. At that point, you just want your room and to start your vacation and this process should not take more than 10 mins. The other downside was that service throughout the resort was generally very slow. Not rude for the most part… just slow. One bartender at the formal pool bar seemed especially annoyed anytime we asked questions. Our first day we asked what drinks people liked and she basically responded with “whatever you want, we have it” and acted bothered when we asked for a menu. Also — bring sunscreen, Tums, Advil, literally anything you may need because the prices in the gift shop are INSANE. A tiny bottle of Tums was $29 and sunscreen was about the same. Overall, we did have a lovely trip. It was peaceful, relaxing, beautiful, and exactly the quiet vacation we needed. I’m glad we went and experienced it, but personally I don’t think I’d return.

Sanctuary Cap Cana, Punta Cana Dominican Republic.