Sanctuary Cap Cana

This was our fifth time to the Dominican, but our first time staying at Sanctuary. We have always enjoyed our time at the different resorts, but this was the best. The rooms are spacious and clean. The food was excellent. What put the resort at the very top, however was the staff. Everyone was fantastic, but a special shout out to: JT, Oscar!!!, Christian, Super Jerry, and Omar. We look forward to coming back next year!

This was our third stay at Sanctuary Cap Cana in the past three years. We obviously enjoy going there and have generally been very pleased with this Marriott property…and we still are, with some caveats. There are both many things to like, along with things that definitely need improvement. This review addresses both categories. First things to like: The staff tops this list, especially the wait staff, who are generally excellent! And especially at breakfast—Sandro has become our really good friend; Alix, Niky, and Maria (omelet station) are really on their game, always smiling and attentive. Glory, who staffs the salad bar at lunchtime is just invaluable! She is always smiling, pleasant, and going the extra mile!! Alix and Sandro also both work in the evenings at Capriccio (the Italian restaurant)—both are very professional and knowledgeable about the menus. Niky also works at the Wok at night—he is a very welcoming host. Randy, who manages Capriccio some evenings, is excellent! So is Joey, his bartender. Overall, quality of food is quite good across the various specialty restaurants and at the breakfast/lunch buffet. The food presentation and variety is also much better than many other all-inclusives. Dialing zero for any and all needs works remarkably well—that department is staffed by good English speakers who direct requests as appropriate. Kudos to José Orsatelly, who manages the front desk. Our experience with his staff this year was much more positive than in the past—everyone seems to have a good, helpful attitude, with a lot less emphasis on trying to upsell guests as they check in. And I get it: a front desk job is one of the most difficult at a hotel—mostly because guests can be unreasonably demanding. But José seems to have pulled together a team that is very adept at being positive and helpful. Unlike in the past two visits, we appreciated that we did not receive a single unsolicited phone call in our room from staff trying to sell some special hotel service or dinner. The grounds and setting are just beautiful—well-kept, clean, with fantastic landscaping. Housekeeping is well-above average: our maid most days was Rosa, who was always very attentive and friendly. Items that could use improvement: Our biggest disappointment is that the eating outlets in Sanctuary Town are no longer part of the all-inclusive offerings at Cap Cana. That is likely going to be a deal-breaker for us returning, particularly because it is so difficult to get evening reservations in the specialty restaurants. Getting reservations remains a pain in the tail. If you do not get them VERY early in your stay, you will not be able to get a reservation until 9:30 pm, if at all. Many of the other slots are held for the butlers who are assigned to the more expensive rooms. To add even more complexity, reservations are not released for the coming week until the immediate weekend before. If you arrive mid-week, you are generally out of luck. The official way to get evening reservations is via the concierge staff, which is yet another weakness. The concierge staff are generally not helpful, and rather than having a positive (“Let’s see how I can help you!”) attitude, it is usually just the opposite. We have seen a decline in the general condition of the guest rooms over the past three years. Cap Cana is becoming an older property, and management is not keeping up with ongoing maintenance in the rooms. For example, during our stay: the closet clothes rod fell down, dumping our clothes onto the floor (no, we did not overload it; took two calls to get it fixed). The television was not working properly and had to be repaired (Brandon was excellent at fixing it, however). Our mini-bar frig was not working at all when we arrived and had to be replaced. The curtains from the room to the balcony would not operate, so they had to be repaired. Hopefully this much-too/long review is helpful to others as they consider Sanctuary Cap Cana. As for us, whether we return for a fourth visit largely depends on whether the facilities begin to undergo refurbishment, an equitable reservation system for the specialty restaurants is put in place, and whether Sanctuary Town gets put back into the all-inclusive package.

We had the most amazing time. The resort is even more beautiful in person than in pictures. Attention to detail is apparent at every turn. Every member of the staff we met was extremely nice, helpful, and welcoming. They all take so much pride in their resort. They go above and beyond to make sure you are having a good time. We stayed in the castle section. Our room was so spacious and clean. We had the most beautiful view of the ocean and spent a good amount of time on the large balcony. One of the best things about our entire experience was our butler, Samuel. He was very attentive and made we always had everything we needed. Even if we didn’t reach out with a request Samuel made sure to take time each day to personally check in on us. He really made our stay extra special. We can’t wait to go back again!

Luxurious and beautiful Very attentive staff Gorgeous architecture and comfortable rooms Top notch dining

This was our second visit to Sanctuary Cap Cana this year. We initially went for our anniversary (just my husband and I) in January. We loved it so much we decided to return in March (and bring our daughter for spring break. (18). She fell in love as well. The grounds are stunning- feels like heaven. Food and drinks are great! Especially Wok and the breakfast buffet. The welcome drinks are fantastic! *Have them add tequila* We were offered an upgrade when we arrived for a reasonable price and got to stay in a castle suite which was breathtaking! The staff there is amazing and I always feel so welcome. Has not been the case in other places in the Caribbean. Special shout out to wonderfully chill Osvaldo at the beach bar (who remembered us from our first trip), Shelly in the castle bar for her infectious joy who made the best Santos libres, and our butler Lugo who left us to do nothing and made sure everything was perfect! We’ll be back later this year for sure!