Find paradise at 4 amazing Punta Cana hotels

By Whit Honea

Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa

Punta Cana, the easternmost point of the Dominican Republic, is known as an ideal Caribbean vacation destination with year-round, 80-degree temperatures, beaches, golf courses, and a breathtaking shoreline that runs along both the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Along its coastline, visitors will find endless natural marine pools for swimming and wading. Punta Cana is, simply put, a lot like paradise.

Finding the right Punta Cana hotel for your Caribbean vacation depends on a few variables. Will you be golfing, enjoying the beach, or both? Are you taking a romantic excursion or a family trip?

Once you narrow down the focus of your getaway, take a closer look at my top 4 favorite Punta Cana hotels.

Excellence Punta Cana

1. Excellence Punta Cana is an all inclusive, adults-only hotel that features two huge pools that wind throughout the entire property, a private relaxation garden, Swedish saunas, beach activities and ten bars. (It would actually be easier to create a list of what Excellence Punta Cana does no’t have: kids.)

2. Check out the Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa for family-friendly dining, themed restaurants, and nightly live entertainment. A pool complete with waterfalls makes its way from the lobby all the way down to the beach. The Explorer’s Club offers a fully supervised kid’s program featuring camp-outs, sand castle competitions, a pirate ship water slide, movie nights, pony rides, and a rock-climbing wall.

Iberostar Bavaro, Punta Cana

3. The Iberostar Bavaro, another all inclusive, adults-only resort, is situated on the brilliantly white sands of Bavaro Beach. Guests are able to enjoy full access to many of the neighboring Punta Cana hotels in the area, which also includes dining and adult beverages.

4. The all-inclusive Catalonia Bavaro Beach, Golf & Casino Resort, in addition to the perks its name implies, has eight restaurants and five bars, offers a weekly beach barbecue (complete with a live orchestra!) and a host of daily activities including archery, meringue dance, and native painting. The Catalonia Bavaro offers a great Caribbean vacation for the whole family; kids will enjoy exploring the coral reefs and their own disco, and anyone looking for a peaceful moment will enjoy the hammocks hanging from the resort’s coconut palms.

Whit Honea is a travel writer living in Seattle with his wife and two children. He packs light and travels often to far-away places, exotic lands and more than a few theme parks.

Tagged: Caribbean, Hotels, Mexico