TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

we just spent 7 nights dec2-9/24 . prior to leaving thought we had made a mistake booking this resort after reading all the negative reviews. We were a family of 11 (5adults 6 children) check in was fast , very friendly - couple of rooms were not the size of beds we thought we were getting but resort was full so couldn't change rooms but was not a big deal - after that no issues at all - rooms were updated, very clean, housekeeping came daily and fridge was restocked daily . food was very good - we preferred the buffets or pool side grills ( easier with younger kids). Myra at the buffet was the best! always greeted us , happy and very good at her job . our granddaughter had her birthday supper at buffet - myra surprised her with a big price of cake with candle and staff sang happy birthday ). very much appreciated! both buffets had a large assortment of options to please all. we only ate at 1 of the ala carte restaurants - the mediterranean and although food was excellent the staff there were not friendly or helpful - we left before having dessert as they never brought requested refill on drinks and seemed to be ignoring most of the guests and were not busy just standing around . the pools and grounds and waterpark were well kept . would definitely return !

The Resort was one presented by the travel agent. Great for families. My kids (10) (14), really enjoyed the water park. Great rides. The beach was not favorite. The water was warm. Kids enjoyed the natural waves. It was like a wave pool. No calm crystal clear beaches at this resort, however still nice. The themed restaurants were great!book one every evening for supper, as the buffet restaurants get packed at peek meal hours. House keeping was hit and miss. Had problems getting all the towels everyday. The room safe was a bit tricky but the desk sent a maint guy to sort it out. The staff were overall helpful and friendly.

We had an amazing time at Grand Serenis Resort. Day to day we were greeted by our amazing server Ana, who greeted us with a smile a wave and a high five as she sat us for meals. I would highly recommend this resort on staff interactions alone. Apart from that, the food was always great and cooked well. The weather was beautiful, as well as their pool facilities and ocean front beach, which was well maintained and kept clear of any garbage or debris.

Francis in the pirimid bar made our night. We were teaching him bits of English and he was teaching us bits of Spanish. He was so accommodating and sweet, same for the rest of the bar staff to be honest, Thank you for looking after me and my friends

After reading so many negative reviews before going we were concerned about our holiday and how much we would enjoy this hotel. So here is an honest review from our 11 nights stay with Tui with a family of 5, 2 adults 3 kids. We paid just £5 extra for 11 nights compared to 7 nights with TUI so check the prices for different lengths of stay, you might just get a great deal like we did. Hotel Site The site is amazing and very beautiful and well maintained. There are plenty of bars around and food sites so you won't go hungry or thirsty. Hotel Rooms We had rooms 4910 and 4911. Personally these rooms had the best view of the beach and sea of the whole hotel and could not be happier with the view. Block 49 is the furthest away from the main lobby where the restaurants are located and it can be a 10 minute walk from our room to the lobby which we didn't mind because of the amazing view from the room. They do have a golf buggy service if your a member but some drivers would give you a lift if you tip them and their free to do it but not every driver. 4910 air con and fridge worked well and was clean. We did feel we were getting bitten in the main bed though but the 2 kids didn't get any bites so can't be sure if it was the bedding or not. 4911 air con didn't work as well as our other room and the fridge didn't work (we didn't complain though). The room did seem to get damp though with the aircon on and caused my son to get mold to grow on his bag and shoes which he left in a corner of the room but there wasn't any sign of mold in the actual room. We didn't complain about this at the time as we didn't want our son being moved to a different room away from us. We did have an issue with the toilet blocking up in 4910 twice but spoke to reception and maintenance fixed both these issue within an hour so that was fantastic on their part. The room cleaner for our block was amazing and would give us extra coke, sprite and fanta whenever we asked. One day we got 36 bottles of drink. (make sure you tip your cleaning lady, they are amazing people). She really made our holiday by being so friendly and nice and giving us advice when travelling off site to Higuey alone. Aqua Park Food and bar on site so easy to spend the whole day here, The small kids area for toddlers was great with small slides and seems in very good condition. The main aqua park slides though are very worn. It did cause a few cuts on the back of 1 of my kids and I got a cut on my foot from the long slide when my foot slid off the mat going down the long slide so would recommend maybe wearing a swimming top if your going to be using the main aqua park. Restaurants We didn't dine in the themed restaurants as we weren't really that bothered. The 2 main restaurants were OK, A normal all inclusive restaurant with a variety of food available. Yes you have to be mindful of what you eat at any all inclusive restaurant but both restaurants had stations which they cooked chicken, stake, pork chops, fish and pasta right in front of you so you can guarantee these items were cooked to how you liked them. The other items like ham, cheese etc was left out so I wouldn't trust them myself but plenty of other people seemed to be eating them. Both restaurants were air conditions so it was cooler inside than outside, Both restaurants did occasionally have birds flying around inside but never were the food is located. Cutlery is mentioned a lot in other reviews and most of the time cutlery is available and we didn't have to wait too long if cutlery was not already on the table (it would be there by the time we got back with our food). The restaurants can get busy and I think it is more people can't wait and be patient than anything the staff are doing wrong. Tables are cleared fairly quickly and when busy you can have to wait a minute whilst someone clears the table in front of you as they are just trying to get people seated as quickly as they can. Drinks can take a few minutes to arrive but again it can get busy and take longer but the staff are doing there best with the amount of people there. To me it seems people are expecting instant service like in small restaurants in their own country rather than anything the hotel is doing wrong. Coffee Shop This is the best place of the whole site (for my wife), especially as my wife only drinks coffee, Once the staff get to know you they knew exactly how my wife wanted her coffee made every time, the ice cream station if the coffee shop is great as well with a selection of cakes. The staff are great and friendly and we had some great chats with the staff (Pay them more!!!) Main Pool The main pool was great with plenty of space for the kids to play, yes the pool is very deep when you go past the bar area. The pool bar can get busy and you get a few people who will just sit there at the bar which can make it more difficult to get a drink due to some selfish people. They have a large speaker playing music which is OK if the music is good and not too loud before 1pm. When it starts to play drum and bass really loudly after 1pm it is not enjoyable trying to relax by the pool with thumbing music (only played drum and bass on 1 day) but music does seem to be turned up after 1pm. 3:15pm seems to be pool aerobics everyday where the music is turned up even louder and just not enjoyable if your not into that sort of thing which we weren't. The music can even be heard on the beach it is that loud. Overall the pool is a great place to be early on in the day. The restaurant by the main bar is not as good as the main restaurants, food is left out all day but they do have 1 person who can cook fresh food if requested. Birds can be seen flying around the whole pool area but its nature and they weren't really a problem. The pizza place hidden round the corner is very good though and tasted nice every day I had pizza. Beach The beach is amazing and even has a life guard on duty every day. The sea area outside of the swimming area has rocks if you go too far out so be careful if your swimming in the quieter areas either side of the main swimming area. Beach volleyball and football goals are available and well maintained. Food area serves basic food and again you can wait for food to be freshly cooked. Only saw the 1 fly at the beach area but guess each day can be different depending on the wind. The food is out in the open after all. Entertainment The entertainment was fairly good but the main entertainment at the theater doesn't really start until 9:30pm The couple of shows we did see was fantastic. they do have a kids disco every day at 8:15pm which is great for little ones (our kids were a bit too old for this) Lobby entertainment from 7:30pm was OK but can be loud on some days. Finishes around 9pm. Later entertainment at the stage from 10:00 - 10:30pm is ok but again didn't really spend any time here but they need to replace their speakers as they are so blown and muffled. Personally the entertainment is started too late and seems to be spread out over the 3 areas at different times and would be better if the lobby area was used less and the other 2 areas used more. Check in Check in was ok, took a bit of time waiting to be checked (25 minutes) in which can be annoying especially after travelling for 12 hours but they did have 4 receptionist on working. It depends on how many people arrive at the hotel when you arrive, we had about 10 other groups arrive at the same time as us. If your lucky to arrive when no one else does it doesn't take longer than 10 minutes for the whole check in. The lobby area is not air conditioned and it is hot when you arrive but what do people expect, your arriving at a country that is constantly above 26C and should be expected. Personally this is other people moaning for no good reason in other reviews. Staff The staff were always friendly and attentive, It's amazing the job they do for so little money out there (make sure you tip them). Most could speak a little English but they appreciate it if you take the time and effort to try and speak in Spanish where you can. I only knew 3 Spanish words before arriving but the staff helped translate things so I could ask for what I wanted in Spanish and I learnt a lot from them. IMPORTANT!!! - The amount of people who seemed to think they were entitled and above these staff members is unbelievable. Being over demanding and rude when something wasn't quite right. Show the staff some respect and be friendly with them and they would do anything for you to help and resolve any issues you have. They have a concierge service but we didn't really use it. They seemed happy to help with anything if asked though. Overall We had a fantastic time here, Enjoyed the holiday despite a few issues here and there with the rooms, staff were amazing, It's not a 5* resort but its not a 3* resort either. We never got asked for any reviews or to attend any membership meetings. Would we go back? Most likely but it would need a refit within the next few years. Do not let the bad reviews put you off this place (maybe except for the aqua park), but if your expecting to be waited on hand and foot and get 7* treatment then go somewhere else (not because the hotel is bad, because you'll be bad guests for the hotel).