Sanctuary Cap Cana

Absolutely loved Sanctuary, we stayed at the Honeymoon suite and it was Amazing! The room was nice and clean and well maintained by house keeping. Beautifully decorated and nice and quiet. It’s only about 20 mins from the airport so you’d get there pretty quickly. They have 5 restaurants to choose from that is included in the all inclusive and they were all really good. The service was superb from the waiters to the guys riding you around in the golf carts were absolutely great but one person in general I have to tip my hat off to would be our butler Lugo he was on top of everything top notch service, took care of our every need and was just outstanding. I would definitely recommend it, it is worth every penny.

We stayed at the Sanctuary Cap Cana resort for 4 days and overall had a good experience until the very end. My husband and I both brought our wallets on the trip which included our debit cards so we could pull out cash at the airport for tips. Other than that, our debit cards did not leave our wallet in our hotel room since it's all inclusive and we did not go off property for the 4 days. That said, when we were at the airport we got a Schwab potential fraud notification and both realized that our debit cards were missing out of our wallets. Our credit cards, passports and IDs were in the wallet but not our debit cards and by then, whoever went through our stuff had racked up $2000 at a local club. What was weird was that we noticed during our stay, that staff members were consistently coming by our room to bring us water or to check if we needed anything which at the time we thought they were just being very attentive for tips. Now we doubting that perhaps they were checking if the rooms were empty or not because it was very frequent that we got a knock on the door. I've seen this in other Sanctuary reviews with similar experiences. It's truly unfortunate and my fault for not using our safe but thought I'd share this experience with future guests... really violating feeling and put a huge downer on the trip!

Sanctuary at Cap Cana is lovely, and we thoroughly enjoyed our Castle Junior Suite with Ocean View. We had a private deck with lounge chairs and beach access. Hector, our butler provided excellent assistance with, luggage, dinner reservations, transportation to the golf courses, and general questions. The pools were very nice with plenty of lounge chairs, cabanas, and umbrellas. We golfed at Punta Espada and La Cana which were beautiful and in perfect condition. We enjoyed the breakfast and lunch buffet, and the snack area by the main pool. For dinner, we dined at the Blue Marlin, the Wok, Capriccio, and the Steakhouse. Other than the Blue Marlin (our fish and rice were cool), the restaurants were good. My thoughts for areas of improvement: 1) Extend the hours of the buffet to include dinner. Our stay was 4 nights/ 5 days. If we had stayed longer, we would have had to repeat dinner at a restaurant to avoid dining at restaurants that are not part of the all-inclusive, or going offsite. 2) Improve the house wines (included at no additional charge). The brand was Virtuoso which is about $5 USD a bottle. They served Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot - No Pinot Noir option. For brands that are $12-15 USD, the charge was $70. The cocktails were good. 3) More staff or better trained staff may be needed for the buffet. When it was busy, you had to ask multiple times for coffee, silverware, etc.

I recently stayed at this Marriott property while attending a wedding, and unfortunately, the experience fell far short of expectations—especially given the significant cost! Upon arrival, the check-in process was exceptionally slow. We ultimately decided to upgrade to the penthouse suite, at an additional cost of approximately $1,000 per night on top of the significant price already paid for an ocean view suite, with the intention of hosting a small after-party for the wedding. While the suite was spacious, it was not worth the price due to numerous maintenance and service issues. The condition of the suite was particularly disappointing. The powder room toilet ran constantly, and one of the bedroom bathrooms had a toilet that would not flush properly. The same bedroom also featured a broken shower and a closet that smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. In another bathroom, the shower would shut off after just two minutes, requiring repeated restarts mid-use, which was extremely inconvenient. The pillows smelled like mold and unlike most all inclusive I’ve been to (secrets, sandals, la Blanc, Ruby, Hyatt, and even other Marriott’s) there was only one type of beer in the fridge, no liquor, and no snacks just one bag of banana chips- yet room service had a charge. Additionally, the hot tub required assistance from a butler to operate, yet it would not hold water—by the time we returned to use it, it was already half empty. Housekeeping services were also lacking. Cleaning was only available until 5:00 PM, and when provided, it was inconsistent—beds were made, but trash was often left behind on nightstands and other surfaces. The food and beverage experience was equally frustrating. Room service carried an unexpected $10 charge, which felt unreasonable for a property advertised as a four-star all-inclusive. At the bar, staff appeared disengaged, at times even rolling their eyes when approached. I also had repeated issues with drink orders being ignored or substituted without explanation; some of the time the bartenders would roll their eyes when I’d ask for a drink. As someone who suffers from chronic migraines, I specifically requested alternatives to well vodka, yet my requests were not respected. At one of the on-site restaurants, I ordered a Sapporo beer but was instead brought a pear cider without explanation—and was still charged for it, despite not consuming the drink. One of the most disappointing aspects was the hotel’s refusal to accommodate reasonable requests related to hosting. Despite upgrading specifically to entertain wedding guests, we were denied requests to have liquor sent to the suite—even when the bride’s father offered to pay additional fees. This made it impossible to use the space as intended. Event coordination during the wedding was also problematic. When rain disrupted the reception, the backup plan appeared disorganized and chaotic. Guests were redirected to a disco area, which initially had no bartender available for approximately 30 minutes. Additionally, staff were unable to operate the music system, resulting in the bride and groom not having their planned music. Later, scheduled entertainment opened the space to the public, further disrupting the private event atmosphere. To make matters worse, I scheduled a blowout service at the salon, which began 30 minutes late. My hair was not washed beforehand, and the final result was highly unprofessional—parts of my naturally curly hair were left frizzy and only partially styled. The excessive use of hairspray made it extremely difficult to fix, especially given the issues with the shower. This service cost $170 and was far below acceptable standards. The food was subpar at best. The cafe staff did not speak English so you would have to ask for something from the counter multiple times and point to desired item and most of the time you’d be handed the wrong thing; even though there wasn’t much to choose from! As a frequent Bonvoy traveler, I have stayed at many Marriott properties and have never encountered such a combination of poor service, lack of maintenance, and inadequate event coordination. This experience was especially disappointing given the premium price paid for the penthouse suite. In discussing our experience with many others from the wedding party it became clear we were not the only ones disappointed. The property is clearly in need of significant updates and improved management oversight.

Not what I expected from a so called Luxury resort. Buildings and grounds were beautiful but the quality of the food/drinks and customer service was inconsistent.