Sanctuary Cap Cana, a Luxury Collection Adult All-Inclusive Resort reviews
11480 TripAdvisor reviews
Repeat Visit was Just as Great!
Happy_Haus on Jan 18, 2025
This was our second stay at Sanctuary Cap Cana; it re-affirmed that we will most likely book yet a third stay for later this year--we are that pleased with this Marriott property! I'll organize this revie...w with pro's and con's, as our impressions are somewhat bi-polar....meaning that there are many, many things to like, but also things that could be improved upon (as always). Hopefully our observations and comments will be helpful to others considering this resort. First, the pro's--- 1) The overall facility and grounds are just immaculate! Beautiful public spaces, with many spaces and nooks to linger and hang out. The environment looks and feels very relaxing! 2) Location close to the airport makes it easy/quick to access flights, yet it is in a largely undeveloped area so the property is relatively quiet and peaceful. 3) Foodservice is first-class! There is tremendous variety on the breakfast and lunch buffets, which are supplemented by two reservation-only restaurants (Asian and Italian), plus a Steakhouse and food-court (called Sanctuary Town) that includes pizza, sushi, a pub, and sweets shop. Quality of the food is quite good, with only minimal repetition on the buffets from day to day. Breakfast is particularly outstanding! Try the pizza in Sanctuary Town--the Capo and the Caprese were our favorites. The sushi is also decent for a non-Asian country. The gelato and desserts are to die for! 4) The two reservation-only retaurants are quite good, with the Italian (Capriccio) being our favorite; we found every dish we tried to be quite good. Wok (the Asian restaurant) was good, but not outstanding. It was about what you would expect in a non-Asian country. The pad thai was especially good, as were the various starters. Wok's specialty cocktails were disappointing; I tried three different ones before I found one that I would order a second time. 5) The resort staff is remarkably enthusiastic and friendly, almost without exception. A wonderful woman, Glory, who is in charge of the salad/fruit bar at breakfast and lunch is incredible! She is a true ambassador for the Marriott brand and is very service-oriented. It was such a treat to see her smiling, friendly face every day! Sandro, who is on the waitstaff at breakfast and also works in Capriccio, has such a wonderful, helpful attitude. Others who we especially have to thank are: Ginette (who is a greeter in several of the foodservice outlets) was always welcoming and friendly. Jonathan (in Capriccio), Yorman (in the Steakhouse), Luis, Felix, Miguel, and Roberluis (in Casa Bella), Leticia (in the Wok), and Emilio (in the Blue Marlin bar) were always very helpful and patient with our questions and orders. 6) The pools are not crowded and there are generally plenty of loungers, clean towels, etc. There are a variety of pools--some louder with a bar, music, and water aerobics, and others tucked away so if you are seeking a quieter, more relaxing experience, you can find it. Pools generally were well-kept and clean. Now for the con's--- 1) As they say, "The Devil is in the details!" Although the first impression of the rooms (Building 12, fifth floor for both stays) is quite good when you walk in, there is quite a lot of deferred maintenance that needs attention. For example, there were four lamps in the room--none of the lampshades were attached. They were all wonky and leaned every which way each time you turned on a lamp. The lock on the sliding door was totally broken. Both the sheer curtain and black-out curtain were broken at the top, making it difficult to darken the room. There were two telephones in the room; only one of them worked (more on that later). The shower door seal did not extend all the way to the floor, allowing water to leak on to the bathroom floor everytime you showered. Worst of all, the bed (apparently the frame) was broken so that the bed squeaked and was not level. 2) Housekeeping was inconsistent--some days they would come by 10 am; other days they would not come until after 3 pm. This made it difficult to plan your own coming and going. One day you would receive wash clothes, but no hand towels; the next day might be just the opposite. 3) While most all staff are over-the-top helpful and friendly, there were exceptions. The conceirge staff is largely lacking in good people skills and a can-do attitude; I realize they probably deal with a lot of difficult people, but one would hope they would begin each interaction with an attitude of trying to be helpful. 4) Our check-in was less than desirable. Jeffrin handled our check-in, but it took nearly 45 minutes because he was trying to up-sell us (not once, but twice) to a villa room, which would have doubled the price we would have to pay for a week. He also presented us with an envelope (with great fanfare) that supposedly had offers only for us---which turned out to be largely useless discounts at the spa and over-priced jewelry outlet that is on-property. He came across as a "used-car saleman," which we did not appreciate after a long flight from Canada. 5) The front desk is slow to respond to phone calls, if at all. One days we called four times with no answer and finally just walked to the main building to deal with a small issue. 6) We had at least two unsolcitied phone calls each day---some of which were simply to ask how our stay was going, but others asking if we would like to book a shopping trip, book the chef's table at the Asian restaurant, etc. It became annoying to the point that we asked for no more such calls, which didn't solve the problem. But unplugging the only working phone did.... Things to know: The water is not potable at this hotel (meaning, you cannot drink the tap water). That said, the hotel is great about providing all the bottled water that you can possibly use. Do be aware that sparkling water and premium brand still water are an up-charge and not part of the all-inclusive. Same thing with certain top-shelf alcohol and anything other than house wines (which we actually thought were quite good). Men need to dress with long pants and a collared-shirt at the Wok and Capriccio; no open-toed shoes. All that said, there are many positive attributes at Sanctuary Cap Cana, despite the inevitable things that you might like to see improved. The pro's definitely outweigh the con's! Our two experiences have been quite good on balance--so much so that we already plan to return for a third visit!
A relaxing time at sanctuary cap Cana
tadp0612 on Jan 18, 2025
We loved our experience at sanctuary cap cana!! From the minute you walk into the lobby you feel like a VIP! The ambience, the tranquility and scents make you feel like you are in luxury! The pools and gro...unds were beautiful! The beach is small but worked perfectly for our girls trip! The food was good as it is an all inclusive resort. I feel that out of all the inclusive resorts I’ve been to the food was good. The employees were always kind and pleasant. Israel from the beers of the world in the sanctuary town was the most pleasant human being we’ve ever met. He is a ray of sunshine and always kind, honest and a happy person who made our experience there awesome! The room views and balconies were beautiful. The rooms were mediocre compared to the lobby and grounds but we stayed at pretty basic room. Not sure how the other accommodations are but I’m sure more beautiful as they increase in cost. The public restrooms were clean and beautiful and well kept. The relaxation and zen feelings we had were above and beyond. On a side note we celebrated two birthdays on this trip and asked for birthday cakes and special accommodations for dinner at the Italian restaurant. Not only was everything perfect for both birthday girls but they went above and beyond with champagne and singing in celebration. We appreciated our experience here and would definitely come back again!!
Exceptional Experience at Sanctuary Cap Cana
gkellyg (Minneapolis, Minnesota) on Jan 18, 2025
Just got back from a wonderful 6-night stay at the Sanctuary Cap Cana. We stayed in a Premium Luxury Ocean-View Suite... the views were amazing from our room - if you're an early bird, pull open the black-...out curtains to reveal beautiful sunrises centered directly in front of your balcony each morning. The resort is beautiful and is very walkable (not too big). It isn't a "spring break" vibe...it's a relaxing, yet fun vibe...with a wide age-range of people -- good for couples, friends and adult families. Many pools to choose from and the beach is smaller but lovely. Premium liquor is served at all of the bars... and the bartenders make really great drinks with real fruit/mint/etc. (no fake mixes). We experienced mostly great food... the standouts being the steakhouse, the Wok, and the pizza in Sanctuary Town that's included as part of the all-inclusive package. We also enjoyed the spa, gym and rented a bali bed one day at the beach. If you're a golfer, book a tee time at Punta Espada... price is a bit steep, but the views are unmatched. Plus, a non-golfer can keep you company as a rider for $30 USD. The big standout at this resort is the staff. Everybody takes pride in making sure you have an exceptional experience... from the hosts to the servers to the concierge team to the housekeeping team to room service to bartenders to entertainers to groundskeepers -- we encountered such wonderful people all throughout our stay. Special shout out to Domingo checking us in seamlessly, Felix El Gato making sure we were always comfortable at the pool, Elvi for effortlessly remembering our "custom" drink orders and Omar for also keeping the drinks coming at the pool, Leticia and Maximo for making both nights at The Wok a fantastic and fun experience, and Moses who saw us rolling our bags on checkout day and stopped his golfcart mid-ride to pick us and our luggage up. Bring tip money - the team at Sanctuary deserves it! Speaking of "tip"... here is mine... email the concierge a week before your trip to book dinner reservations (Italian and the Wok), spa appointments, and gather excursion info. They'll also give you a QR code so you can see the upcoming week's schedule of activities. I find that doing this all ahead of time frees you up for more time to enjoy the resort when you're actually there!
Great food, great service, great week!
James N (Ajax, Canada) on Jan 18, 2025
Beach We spent most of our time on the beach. Happy boy was managing the beach chairs and umbrellas and always made sure we had chairs to use. As a party of 6, it would be tough to all sit together without... his help. Some people talk about the beach being small, but it was no trouble for us. The beach was very clean and raked free of seaweed every morning. We swam every day. The bottom has occasional weeds and stones but was mostly soft sand and shallow. It was fun to watch the pelicans dive for food! Pools Didn’t swim in the pools too much but we tried all of them. Our favourite was the infinity pool as it’s a bit quieter up there. Buffet Large variety of food with a mix of freshly made and buffet style options. Options were mixed between North American standard items and Dominican options. Restaurants In general, the resto food was much better than we expected from an all inclusive. Definitely have lunch at the blue marlin. We ate dinners at the steak house, Italian, and Japanese restaurants and all were excellent. The service is also very professional - and we need to especially mention Jakobo who served us at the Blue Marlin and the Italian place and did an outstanding job. Cleaning staff The whole resort is very well cleaned and maintained. Nancy was cleaning our room and did a wonderful job. She was friendly and took care of anything we needed. The rooms are well stocked with extras if you forget your tooth brush etc. Overall we would highly recommend this resort and would not hesitate to go return in the future.
The Best
Nicole J on Jan 17, 2025
This is THE place if you’re looking for a laid back romantic getaway. We just returned from our second trip. We book a K&Q Villa every time and you cannot beat the views, privacy, and space in general. The... rooms are great, the pools and restaurants are amazing, and the staff and the level of service they provide will keep us coming back. Jose, one the front desk managers is super responsive to any inquiries prior to arrival and ensured our check in/out ran smoothly for our most recent trip. We have had Miguel as a butler both trips and he truly goes above and beyond to help us celebrate our special occasions (one trip was our honeymoon and one was my husbands birthday). He doesn’t miss a beat and always makes sure that our entire trip runs smoothly and stress free. For our honeymoon he was able to recommend excursions that we loved and on our most recent trip he helped coordinate a beautiful birthday recognition for my husband and planned all of our dinner reservations throughout the week so we didn’t even need to think about it. We did room service every morning for breakfast on both trips and every morning we were greeted with smiles and enjoyed amazing meals on the deck of the villa. It is always one of our favorite parts of our trip. Happy Boy & Kaila by the pool/beach are so helpful and always made sure we were able to get a great spot every day. Them along with all of the staff we encountered by the pool bar and at the coffee bar in the morning always made sure we were well taken care of with amazing coffee to start our day and drinks to keep it going. And last but not least Charibel always made sure our room was in pristine condition and went above and beyond in so many other ways. One day I locked myself out of our safe and she happened to be there to clean 2 minutes later and before I could even ask she had the front desk on the phone and the locksmith there in 5 minutes.