Sanctuary Cap Cana

This is day 2 of our 6 day stay and I thought I would write a short review each day. First, when we finally got to Sanctuary (after some confusion with Transekur the transportation company recommended by Sanctuary) we were taken by golfcart to the Castle for a "private" check in. Our room is in the Castle which I highly recommend. We have a very nice ocean front suite. I am a Marriott Lifetime Platinum Elite member a benefit of which provides free room upgrades when available. So I inquired about an upgrade. I was offered a non ocean front suite (which did not seem like an upgrade) or the Honeymoon Suite for an additional $330 per night. August is apparently slow season here and the hotel seems to be empty. I was surprised that they wanted to charge for the upgrade which is supposed to be free. The check in person told us $330 was a bargain because the honeymoon suite usually goes for $2300 per night. We declined the offer. So much for being a loyal Marriott customer. I checked online and the Honeymoon Suite was around $1100 per night, not $2300. Apparentlynthe Honeymoon Suite is available during our stay, but the hotel is holding out to try to generate some revenue off of it rather than upgrading a Platinum Elite member Second. So after a long day of travel we just wanted to get to our room. The check in guy, after taking care of paperwork, directed us to wait for our butler. So we went across the lobby to the Ocean Bar and had a drink and waited. And waited some more. At that point we decide to order something to eat and I decided to get our luggage and take it to our room. When I came back a butler was talking to my wife, but he was very clear that he was not our butler. So we would have to wait a little longer for our butler. Our food came and when we were done "our" butler was apparently busy doing something else so we decided we didnt want to wait any longer and just went to our room without the introduction. We eventually met our butler who is an extremely helpful and pleasant person. But the hotel's process for checking in did not respect the fact that we had gotten up at 3:30 a.m and spent the next 10 hours driving, dealing with airports, customs, etc and just wanted to get to our room and relax. So far, Sanctuary is not meeting expectations. But it is only day 2.

We chose Sanctuary Cap Cana for our 20th wedding anniversary and expected the level of service and quality you would associate with a luxury resort. Unfortunately, it was one of the most disappointing stays we have ever experienced. Our original room was old, dingy, and poorly maintained, with dirty furniture, a clogged sink, flickering lights, maintenance noise, unpleasant odors, and a balcony made unusable by the overwhelming smell of sargassum. After we moved rooms, the air conditioning was still inadequate, and we slept poorly for two nights. The service was equally disappointing. My wife was treated rudely at the Love Bar, the drinks were undrinkable, and our dinner at the steakhouse was extremely poor. The following day, I became ill with symptoms consistent with food poisoning. Management failed to follow up on commitments they had made regarding our room and upgrade fee. After only three nights, we ultimately left and relocated to the St. Regis, where the service, facilities, and food were dramatically better. This was supposed to be a special 20th anniversary celebration, but instead became a frustrating and disappointing experience. For a resort marketed as a premier luxury property, Sanctuary Cap Cana fell far short of expectations. I hope this review helps others make an informed decision and prevents someone else from experiencing what we did.

My wife and I stayed at Sanctuary Cap Cana to celebrate our 25th anniversary, and it exceeded expectations. We booked the Castle Oceanfront Suite, and we loved it — it was comfortable, private, and had a great view. One note for future guests: there are only four Castle Oceanfront Suites, and we couldn’t find much video coverage of that specific room type online before booking. Having seen a lot of Junior Oceanfront Suite videos beforehand, that’s actually the category we’d lean toward next time, just because we knew more of what to expect. Either way, we were very happy with our room. Our butler, Camacho, was outstanding — he made everything effortless and was a huge help getting our plans in place for the week. At the pool, Felix took great care of us with towels, shade, and comfort, and Omar, one of the pool drink servers, was hustling all day, every day, and never missed a beat. We also really enjoyed the servers at the Love Bar and Ocean Bar — everyone took great care of us. The pool areas were a highlight of the trip — beautiful, relaxing, and well-maintained, and we spent a lot of our time there. We also enjoyed the hydrotherapy circuit and a couples massage at the spa, plus a private beach dinner that was a wonderful way to celebrate the milestone. One thing to flag for future travelers: there was sargassum seaweed on the beach during our stay. It didn’t ruin the trip, but it did limit beach time — just be aware it’s a seasonal issue in the region rather than anything specific to the resort. Overall, a fantastic resort for a special occasion — we’d happily return.

Emilio was absolutely amazing!!! We wanted for nothing during our stay… the grounds were beautiful and the villa was just incredible

The food was great and service was even better. We are already planking our next trip there!