We visited Punta Cana for the second time and had another great holiday in paradise. This time we stood at hotel Caribe Deluxe Princess and share our experience from the 5-star hotel we chose. This is a perfect place for your next beach holiday to relax and enjoy the beautiful white sands and palm trees.
The hotel offers spacious rooms, excellent food, great service, beautiful wide sandy beach, well maintained hotel grounds and a range of activities to choose from to complete your holiday. Find out more about our experience and what we liked and didn’t like about this hotel below.
Why We Chose Hotel Caribe Deluxe Princess
We searched a lot for the perfect hotel to fit our requirements and budget. We booked our all inclusive holiday with TUI.
To help us choose the right place, we shortlisted a number of hotels and watched YouTube videos before we agreed on this particular hotel. Here is why we chose Caribe Deluxe Princess:
- Beachfront location
- Sandy beach with palm trees
- Village-style hotel (this is what we like)
- 5-star hotel in Bavaro, Punta Cana
- Recently renovated
- Consistently good reviews on TripAdvisor
- Very close to Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), meaning short transfer
- Fit our budget
We were also familiar with the Princess Hotels brand as we stood in a hotel from the same chain when we went to Playa del Carmen in Mexico.
You can read more about the hotel and our experience below.
How to Get to Hotel Caribe Deluxe Princess
Hotel Caribe Deluxe Princess is located 25 km from Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ). It’s easy and quick to get to the hotel from the airport and the transfer is around 30-40 minutes.
As we booked a package holiday with TUI, we had the flights, hotel and transfer included in the price. Our transfer from the airport was just for us and another couple in a private vehicle unlike the big bus transfers we had in Alanya and Sharm El-Sheikh.
On the way back, for one reason or another, we missed our transfer and had to get a taxi from the hotel to the airport. It only took 30 minutes and at the time we paid $35 cash to the driver. We raised this with TUI and got a refund for our taxi transfer even without showing a receipt (we weren’t issued one), another great experience and outstanding service from TUI!
Address: Caribe Club Princess Beach Resort & Spa, Punta Cana 23000
Reception, Lobby and Guest Relations
The reception and lobby area are spacious, open, beautifully decorated and with comfortable furniture. The check-in experience was smooth and straight forward. We were were given a map of the hotel and our all inclusive bracelets which were also the keys to the room. How smart is that!?!
We arrived late at night and were impressed to see so many people in the lobby area. Later we realised this is the main place to hang around in the evening after the evening entertainment.
Reception staff were friendly and happy to answer any questions. Next to reception is the Guest Relations team who helped us with all reservations and were able to fulfil some special requests related to mine and Paul’s birthday. Special thanks to Maria for being so friendly and helpful.
If you booked a package holiday, this is where you will find your TUI Rep or other agency representatives and information boards.
Hotel Estate
The hotel estate is huge! There are two main areas – reception area with the amphitheatre, coffee house, ice-cream parlour some restaurants, church, 24/7 bar with food, mini market etc. and the main area of the hotel where the villas, swimming pool, beach, lake, main restaurant and bars are.
The two areas are separated by a massive mangrove which makes for a lovely walk. During the day you can see a lot of families wandering around and admiring the plants and animals. We saw a lot of iguanas, turtles and variety of birds in their natural habitat.
Our room was just opposite the lake/ pond and in the mornings were were woken up by peacocks and enjoyed watching the flamingos, I even got a nice photo with one of them 🙂
If you feel lazy like us on most days, you can use the hotel shuttle bus to go from one point to another. It’s super convenient to hop on and hop off at your desired place. The shuttle bus comes very often and we never waited more than 8-9 minutes.
Room Overview
The hotel offers 355 rooms to choose from including honeymoon and executive suites, Caribe Deluxe rooms and suites. We went for the standard Caribe Deluxe room.
We found the room to be spacious and with lots of day light coming through. We had a king size bed and a sofa in the room. The sofa was extendable, so technically could accommodate more people. Whilst the bed was very comfortable, the mattress wasn’t a memory foam mattress and you could feel every small movement.
We had all the usual and necessary things in the room to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable. The room was beautifully decorated and featured a 50′ smart TV. In addition, we had AC, hairdryer, mini bar, safe box and coffee making facilities. There was plenty of storage with multiple chest of drawers and spacious wardrobe with shelves and hangers. Iron, ironing board and an umbrella were also provided.
Our room was on the ground floor with a nice balcony overseeing the lake. Most mornings we would have a freshly made coffee outside on the balcony whilst watching the peacocks, flamingos and other birds wandering around.
The bathroom area was different than most hotels we have been to. As you enter the room, you have a large mirror with two sinks in an open space, separate shower area with rainfall shower and hand held shower and a separate toilet.
Not sure we enjoyed this type of bathroom but we got used to it. Whilst the room was beautiful and recently renovated, the toilet and the shower area looked a bit tired and not fancy at all.
Standard toiletries were provided – soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and shower cap. We found that these weren’t always replenished and towards the end of the holiday we didn’t have shower gel provided.
Towels were changed on a regular basis, but one day we ended up with no towels. We were really impressed of the level of cleanliness throughout the hotel and the room was no exception – the floor was mopped daily and it always smelled of bleach giving us reassurance that the areas were properly cleaned.
Food and Drinks
One of the reasons we like village style hotels is because you get a lot of restaurants and bars scattered across the hotel grounds with plenty of options to choose from. This hotel didn’t disappoint us with the food and drinks places and we were spoilt for choice.
If you ever wondered how food is prepared at an all-inclusive hotel, then read our article “Inside an All-Inclusive Kitchen” for more details.
Restaurants
The hotel offers 9 restaurants in total to choose from. This includes:
- Main buffet restaurant
- Beach Club Snack
- A la carte restaurants:
- Italian
- Tex Mex
- Asian/Teppanyaki
- Brazilian
- Dominican
- Special a la carte restaurants which are only available to platinum members (charged extra).
In addition, there is an ice-cream parlour and a coffee house which we visited every single day.
Food Market (Main Buffet)
This is the main restaurant where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. There is plenty of seating area to choose from. The main buffet area is airconditioned, however the seating area is open plan and ventilated with ceiling ventilators.
You will find a great selection of salads, hot and cold foods, bread and pastries and desserts here. In the morning, there are special sections for eggs and omelettes and freshly squeezed juices.
Our favourites are the pineapple and the watermelon juices. You can also get a melted cheese sandwich made to order.
For lunch and dinner you will find different areas to choose from including fish section, meat section, freshly made pizza and pasta zone, desserts area with crepes and ice-cream. These are in addition to the buffet area and are great!
Overall the food was fresh and tasty and we really enjoyed it. Some of the highlights include the perfectly cooked pork chops and beef roasts, grilled fish and seafood selection and the freshly baked breads. We also enjoyed the variety of cheese available for each meal and the tasty jamon, chorizo and salamis.
We found the service at the buffet restaurant was hit and miss. If you sit in the middle of the restaurant, perhaps you will get more attention than if you sit by the side. We especially noticed this in the morning whilst we were waiting for the waiters to serve us coffee at the table.
BeacHouse
The BeacHouse was a real highlight and when we chose the hotel, we really liked the concept of the beach house. As the name suggests, this is at the beach and offers lunch and snacks options, beach bar and a top floor bar with beautiful views.
We went to the beach house for coffee and pre-lunch (usually fruits and nachos) but you could also have a proper lunch including burgers, hot dogs, chicken, salads, sides and more. Paul tried the burgers and he didn’t like these.
A few times during our stay there was freshly made paella and sangria offered here accompanied by music and dances from the entertainment team.
Being by the beach and one of the swimming pools, the dress code is vey casual and you can walk in your swimwear unlike the dress code in the main restaurant. Another thing we enjoyed here is the table service and generally the staff attitude.
Cappuccino (Coffee House)
The coffee house was absolutely amazing and this was our go-to place after lunch. You can get barista style coffees and frappuccino, delicious patisserie style sweet treats and freshly made crepes. This was a perfect place to avoid the strong sun and relax after lunch.
The desserts are really tasty and beautifully presented. A favourite here is the dulce de lece cake which Paul absolutely loved, even his “birthday cake” was this type of dessert.
Corneto (Ice-cream Parlour)
As an ice-cream lover, this was one of my favourite places. The ice-cream was absolutely delicious and I can confidently say it was the best all-inclusive ice-cream I have ever tasted. They also offer milkshakes there, even Paul enjoyed one.
There were some interesting flavours that I have never come across before such as prune ice-cream and macadamia ice-cream. By far, the best ones for me were the dulce de lece, macadamia and cookie ice-cream.
You could chose from different flavours and get variety of toppings as well. I have no complaints but should mention that at the ice-cream parlour at the Princess hotel at Playa del Carmen they were also serving sundaes, melbas and my favourite banana split, so I was expecting something similar here as well.
Fogo (Brazilian Steakhouse)
This was by far the best a la carte restaurant. We love going to Brazilian restaurants in London and it came as no surprise when Paul chose this restaurant for his birthday dinner.
We had salads for starters and a selection of chocolate and coconut truffles for desserts. As it was Paul’s birthday, he also had a special cake accompanied by a march and singing from the staff members.
The main part was the selection of meats – lamb, beef, pork gammon, pork loin, sausages, chicken, turkey, fish and pineapple (vegetarian option). All were beautifully cooked, succulent and served with a smile. These were accompanied by a selection of three sauces and sides including jacket potatoes, fries, rice with beans, fried plantain and a mix of vegetables.
Everything was so delicious, it’s a shame that they only came once with the meats as we could have easily had more. The jacket potatoes were excellent, we even asked for more.
Nopal (Tex Mex)
Overall we enjoyed this restaurant – the atmosphere was nice and the food was delicious. This is where we had my birthday dinner celebration.
Although there was a note that it’s my birthday, I was a bit disappointed that the staff didn’t acknowledge this and as such there were no special elements e.g. balloons or birthday dessert.
For starters we had the fried cheese with chorizo and coleslaw salad which was nice but nothing special. Paul and I also shared a portion of tacos before enjoying the mains. Paul had the mixed grill with a variety of meats and I had the Texan pork ribs.
Tao (Asian/Teppanyaki)
We were really looking forward to this restaurant as we have been to some great teppanyaki places and generally enjoy the food and the show.
For starters we got sushi and for desserts I had fried ice-cream (which was better than expected and better than what I have previously tried) and Paul had the tofu flan.
The main was cooked in front of us at the teppanyaki and included beef, chicken and prawns with egg fried rice and mixed vegetables. The food was tasty and I loved the prawns and the beef. Unfortunately the chef wasn’t very engaging and there was no entertainment element during the cooking process which was a let down.
If you have been to teppanyaki places before, this might feel disappointing but if you haven’t been to one before, definitely make a booking.
El Pilon (Dominican Food)
This is the first a la carte restaurant we booked and were very much looking forward to some traditional Dominican food. Unfortunately this was our least favourite restaurant and left us a bit disappointed.
We loved the colourful interior and authentic setting but there were no windows, the AC wasn’t turned on and it felt too hot with stuffy air … not sure if this was meant to be part of the experience but we didn’t enjoy it.
The food was OK but rather underwhelming. For starters we had yucca dumplings which weren’t tasty at all. I ordered the Dominican Flag dish with chicken, rice, black beans, plantain etc. and was expecting a nice presentation as the name would suggest but instead I got a plain dry chicken with rice and some beans on the side.
The star of the show was the goat stew which was absolutely delicious and as Paul said “it’s home cooked meal similar to when your mum wants to cook something good for you”. And it was … even I ordered this after the disappointing chicken meal I got.
Other restaurants
From what was included in our package, we visited all but one restaurant – the Italian La Tagliata. We didn’t feel like going to this restaurant considering we have already been to Italy and are soon going again, so we will have plenty of opportunities to sample some traditional cuisine.
If you pay for a platinum package, you can also enjoy the gourmet restaurant La Cava and the Mediterranean Platinum restaurant.
Bars
There are 9 bars to choose from including the 24/7 Sports Bar. By each of the a la carte restaurants there is a bar to get a drink before dinner. For platinum members, there is a special bar where branded alcohol is served as well.
There are lots of soft and alcoholic drinks to choose from and a great selection of cocktails and mocktails. Our favourites include pina colada, cuba libre and banana mama. We took advantage of most of the bars but here are our highlights:
Lobby Bar
This is the place is opened all day however, most people go for a drink in the evenings. It’s located in the lobby and offers comfortable seating and relaxing atmosphere.
In the evening this place gets really busy as it’s right by the amphitheatre, two of the a la carte restaurants, the coffee house and ice-cream parlour. We spent the evenings here.
Acqua Bar
This is located in the main pool and serves the pool as well as the beach. You can enjoy a drink whilst in the pool or sit by the bar outside of the swimming pool.
BeacHouse Bar and BeacHouse Rooftop
We went to the beach house on a daily basis and enjoyed drinks from the main bar. There is also a rooftop bar on the 2nd floor which is adults only and opened from 4pm.
During the day, we also enjoyed staying at the rooftop bar and admiring the views towards the sea. We attempted to go there in the evening as well but the atmosphere wasn’t particularly nice. Our advice is to enjoy this place during the day – you can easily grab a few drinks from the downstairs bar.
Kanalla Sports Bar
This bar is behind the reception area and next to the amphitheatre. It is airconditioned so if you want to cool off, this is the place to be.
As the name suggests, you can watch sports (there are so many plasma screens all around!) or at an additional charge you can play bowling, air hockey, pool and some machine games.
This bar is opened 24/7, so if you are feeling peckish, you can grab some snacks made to order. We tried the buffalo wings, crispy chicken strips and cheese fingers. Although we found the service to be a bit slow, we enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.
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Beach
The beach was amazing! Exactly as seen on the photos – wide beach, white sands, palm trees and plenty of sun beds to choose from. We were really impressed by the fine sands and smooth entrance to the water.
Paul loves beach volleyball, so having this right there was another thing that attracted us to this hotel. This time I also played beach volley and didn’t even feel the need to sun tan to achieve the beautiful tan.
Whilst there is no beach bar as such, you can get drinks from the BeacHouse bar or from the pool bar. There is no beach service, unlike the other hotel in Punta Cana where we were previously.
In the first two days, there was seaweed which made it a bit more unpleasant to swim in the sea, but we appreciate that the hotel staff were cleaning and raking the beach. Overall the water was warm, enjoyable and there were some waves to make it a bit more entertaining.
We also walked alongside the ocean on either side of the hotel and saw some hotels with almost non-existent beach. This made us appreciate how nice the beach we have is. We also took a day trip to Saona Island and whilst the island was beautiful with great beaches, it wasn’t much more different from the beach we had.
If you want to find out more about Saona Island, check our Saona Island article with tips and recommendations for an amazing trip from Punta Cana.
At the beach, there is a water sports activity station from where you can rent a catamaran for free for 30 minutes every day or get a kayak. Motorised water sports are also available for an extra charge.
Swimming Pools
There are 3 swimming pools to choose from. The main swimming pool of the hotel is where the pool bar is, by the beach, This is where the animation team organises lots of activities during the day as well, so if you like going to the pool, this is the place to be.
By the pool, there is also a towel station, so if you didn’t bring your own towel, you can get a beach/pool towel from the hotel when you present the beach card.
There is another pool by the BeacHouse which seems a bit more relaxed. You can also take advantage of the pool at the sister hotel Tropical Deluxe Princess where there is an aquapark for the kids.
We don’t really like spending time at the pool area, so we only stood in the main pool once. The reason we go to beachfront hotels is for the beach.
Entertainment and Activities
During the day there were a lot of activities to choose from. I particularly enjoyed the morning stretching and the competitive games organised at the beach. I even won a bottle of rum for throwing balloons full of water. The main activity we did was beach volleyball.
In the main pool there were a lot of games, aqua aerobics, foam parties etc. as well as boccia, archery and table tennis competitions. We felt during the day the animation team was good and organised lots of activities.
Unfortunately the evening entertainment wasn’t amazing for us. The evening shows were rather boring and once the show was over, the entertainment moved to the lobby bar where one of the staff members was DJ-ing. We have had much better entertainment shows in the hotel in Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt and the hotels we visited in Turkey.
Having said this, we enjoyed the beach party. It was my birthday and the entertainment team sang a song for me and danced around me which was very nice. The atmosphere at the beach party was great and if you get the chance, definitely attend it, it only takes place once a week.
In terms of sports, there are plenty to choose from e.g. tennis, golf, boccia, archery, table tennis, gym, and lots of board games to choose from. If you are into water sports, head to the beach and choose what you want.
Hotel Facilities
The hotel offers a range of services and facilities including a medical centre, spa centre, casino in the nearby sister hotel, kids club and teens club, hairdresser and conferences and events facilities.
By the reception, you can also find a commercial area with a boutique, gift shop and mini market. To be honest, the prices were really high in the shop and if you want to get any gifts, it’s best to go to Bavaro or Punta Cana or wait for the Dominican market which takes place at the hotel once a week. There you can negotiate the prices with the local sellers.
This is the first hotel where we saw a church with religious service. Every Sunday there is a mass taking place, should you wish to attend it. The church is small, nicely decorated and with very comfortable seats.
Our Experience at Caribe Deluxe Princess Hotel
Overall we had a great experience at the hotel and would definitely recommend it. We were impressed by the beautiful beach, well maintained hotel grounds (including all the animals that live there) and overall the facilities the hotel has to offer.
Being fairly recently renovated, the hotel is very well maintained and tastefully decorated. Our room was spacious and comfortable with lots of storage space.
Internet was available everywhere and even at the beach you get Wi-Fi signal. There were some intermittent internet issues but nothing major and the speed was definitely better than expected. If you do need better internet, you could check Airalo and the options they offer.
Final Thoughts
We were really happy with the hotel we chose and would certainly recommend this for your next trip to Punta Cana. It wasn’t all perfect but there were no major issues to report and although we didn’t particularly enjoy the evening entertainment, this is not a deal breaker.
With wide range of bars, restaurants and amenities, the hotel is designed to satisfy every type of traveller. We believe hotel Caribe Deluxe Princess is suitable for couples, families and solo travellers. It is a also a great destination for a honeymoon or special celebration.
In our opinion, hotel Caribe Deluxe Princess is a strong contender for one of the best hotels to stay in Punta Cana and the amazing beach is just one of the reasons to choose this. We would recommend and would happily return again.
Ready to book? Below are some recommendations to get your trip started:
- Flights – we use flight aggregators such as Skyscanner and Google flights to find the best options. You can find more information about finding cheap flights here.
- Accommodation – would recommend booking your accommodation through an aggregator such as Booking.com, Trip.com or Agoda to get the best rates. We also use TripAdvisor to read reviews.
- Transport – consider Rentalcars.com for car renting or if you rely on public transport, you can use Omio for trains, coaches, ferries, airport transfers and even flights.
- Activities – a great option is GetYourGuide, Klook or Viator for tours, excursions, experiences and tickets to many tourist attractions.
- Travel money – we have Starling Bank accounts (UK residents only) with 0% fees on FX and a good Mastercard exchange rate. Revolut is another good option.
- Internet abroad – with Airalo or Nomad you can access a wide range of eSIMs (digital SIM cards) available for different countries and regions.
- Luggage storage – if you need to store your bags whilst exploring the destination, you can use Radical Storage to find your closest luggage storage and enjoy your journey until the very end.
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