Sanctuary Cap Cana

Our anticipation for our stay at Sanctuary was very high and we had high expectations. We stayed in one of the Castle swim-out rooms which was the only real positive to our stay. Despite having early check-in our room was not ready for hours. Our butler, Samuel, however, was gracious and kind. Samuel was also one of the few good things about the stay, but one man trying his best cannot fix the systemic failures of a poorly managed hotel. When we got to our room we were shocked at its condition. The bathroom had mold in the shower, and the tub was covered in spots of mildew while the main mirror had stains literally all over it. All of the furniture in the room was damaged to some degree and had stains on them. We had crusty and worn towels - two total despite having a room with a pool. The bed itself was slanted a few degrees toward the headboard which was something I have never experienced before. The loungers out by are pool had bird poop on them. We called housekeeping THREE TIMES on the first day to ask for extra towels and then for turn down service, we never received either. The overall positives at this resort are the restaurants. They are generally good with fast service and a good attitude by the staff. The steakhouse is the one exception. It is disgusting - the decorations are literally peeling off the walls and all of our glasses and silverware were stained - and the food is no exception. All other restaurants we ate at were good, better than expected after eating at the steakhouse on the first night. Wok was a lovely surprise and would recommend you eat all your dinners there. Overall, the staff around the pool and lobby are nice, but many of them, and specifically the activities and guest experience team are rude and disrespectful to guests. You get the sense that they are resentful to you for even being there. I observed one activity that my girlfriend was participating in - a candle making class - where the staff was literally goofing off in the back in between yelling - yes, yelling - at hotel guests to be quiet. The guests in question were two old ladies having a conversation about how much fun they were having. It was tough to watch and made me sick to my stomach. Overall, this place is one to avoid. There are clearly some massive issues at the hotel as it feels that corners are cut at every opportunity and there is no attention to detail. For example, as we waited in the Castle lobby to leave after checkout we observed a hotel guest swim up to the patio at the castle pool and pull on a piece of pain at the base of the patio resulting in him pulling off a foot-long piece of paint. The whole property needs love and attention and investment. It is a glorified 3-star hotel and felt like a total waste of money. We also had several conversations each day with guests that all had the same takeaway: "This is not a luxury experience."

We were at Sanctuary Punta Cana for our honeymoon. We stayed for 6 days and 5 nights and had the most amazing experience. We stayed in The Castle portion of the resort, which included our lovely butler Camacho. Every morning, he would send us the weather and activities for the day. He also took the initiative to make a reservation for dinner for us every night, which made relaxing on our honeymoon, not much easier. If we needed anything at all, he was quick to respond and always took action!! The food at most all-inclusive resorts are always OK, but the food here genuinely blew my husband and I away! The Wok and the steakhouse were our favorites! Don’t forget Casa Bella at lunch! The resort had activities, but also had many quiet spots which we thoroughly enjoyed. We cannot wait to come back and visit again!

We had a great honeymoon stay at Sanctuary. We stayed in the castle portion of the resort and Camacho our butler was fantastic l, always letting us know what was going on, helping with dinner reservations and checking in with us. The room was lovely and the food we had was pretty good - resort was accommodating for gluten free eating which I appreciated. Only downside was that the beach wasn’t able to be swam in at all due to seaweed so we stuck to the pools and the restaurants would close last minute so there wasn’t a whole ton of options every night for dinner which we were told happens in the low season. Everyone was kind and helpful on site though and we would return.

Second time visiting this resort but this time with eleven 50+ friends. We loved our beach front suite in first floor. The staff here is beyond amazing! They are upbeat & always ready to please. Food buffet for breakfast & lunch was abundant, delicious & great selection with gorgeous views. The Steakhouse & Wok was nice with solid menus. Highly recommend both. I don’t think there is much alcohol in the drinks but they were cold & kept coming. Really no good beer but I drank frozen mojitos instead, The buildings have mostly been beautifully updated & lobby is a stunner and whatever incense they’re using is amazing. Spa is also beautiful but ridiculously priced so we did not book anything. We had a great 5 nights & it was just right as we never left the grounds.

The service was excellent and the property was beautiful and well kept. We ate at the Asian wok restaurant for dinner and the Italian capricio and both were amazing. Of note our butler Samuel was very attentive and responsive and the pool attendant Felix was always ready to accommodate our pool chairs for the day. He set us up nicely with a shaded cabana and always greeted us on arrival to the pool. Everything at the resort was great and we will return again.