Hello, fellow travelers! We spent 24 hours at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana but had access to the Grand Palladium Bavaro and the Grand Palladium Palace; this is what we thought about them.
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Price
For your reference, we paid 272 US dollars for two adults, one night, in a newly renovated junior suite with a garden view at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana.
The rooms at the Grand Palladium Palace are more expensive than the ones at Punta Cana, and the rooms at the Grand Palladium Bavaro are the cheapest.
Overview
They are three different hotels, but I want you to consider them one colossal hotel divided into three lobbies. All the amenities are located in each one, making one huge hotel.
For instance, if you want to go to the disco at night, you will have to go to the Bavaro grounds, but if you want to go to the spa or the gym, you have to head over to the Palace, and if you fancy Italian for dinner you’ll have to visit the Palladium Punta Cana grounds.
Since this is a vast hotel, there will be a lot of walking involved, or you can take one of the little trains that take you around from one hotel to the other, but you’ll have to wait for them whenever you want to get on them.
These resorts are located in Bavaro, about 25 minutes away from the Punta Cana airport, and smack dab in the middle of el Cortecito, which is one of the best areas to stay if you want to get out of the resort and don’t have a car almost everything is available within walking distance.
The Beach
El Cortecito Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Punta Cana, at least in my opinion, but since we visited in July 2022 and Summer is the high season for seaweed; the beach was covered in seaweed.
The hotel does a pretty good job of picking it up; they even have tractors, but in summer, particularly this summer of 2022, we expect a record amount of seaweed during summer; even though they try to pick it up daily, it just keeps coming and coming.
Early in the morning, the beach was covered in seaweed, and they pick it up, and the next day it’s the same over and over again.
All three hotels are right next to each other, so they share the same stretch of beach.
Pools
There are six pools in total located around all three resorts, one pool in the Bavaro which is the oldest one; three pools in the Palladium Punta Cana; it has a smaller pool which was always crowded, a bigger pool which for some reason, was less crowded and it also has a kid’s pool with a pirate ship a really cute little area for small kids.
There are also two other pools in the Palace; the biggest one is like the two pools in the Punta Cana but combined into one design in the center of the Palace resort.
There is also a pool that is only for adults and opens until midnight; we visited it at night, and it was super dark pretty colors like psychedelic, had an open bar.
It was very cool, so if you’re an adult. If you want a deeper pool than the others, you have to visit the one called The Secret.
Sports Amenities
There are a lot of sports amenities in these resorts, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot! They have tennis courts, paddle tennis, basketball, a full-size soccer field, and a smaller one.
They have mini golf, an archery range, ping-pong tables, badminton, beach volleyball, giant sets of chess, and checkers.
All these amenities are located in the Palladium Punta Cana hotel grounds. Hence, if you’re staying at the Palace or the Bavaro, you must go to the Punta Cana to enjoy these amenities.
Other Amenities
There is also a casino, a huge spa, a very well-equipped gym, a disco, a theater for the night shows, a convention center, and a kids club so parents can relax and leave the kids at the kids club.
They also have a shopping boardwalk, basically small gift shops, and even an escape room available at this boardwalk.
The Food
The food was delicious, and take it from me that I always gain like a pound per day whenever I go to an all-inclusive resort. Unfortunately, we could only try the food at the buffet for lunch, breakfast, and dinner.
When we tried to make dinner reservations at one of the many a la carte restaurants in these three hotels, we couldn’t get a reservation because everything was packed.
The hotels were crowded, and the staff told us that it was almost guaranteed we would not get a reservation on our first night staying at the resort because when you get the room number at 3 PM already, all the spots are taken.
That’s a huge drawback that we weren’t able to enjoy in our only night at the resort we only had the buffet to eat. Still, the buffet was delicious for dinner, lunch, and breakfast; we liked it a lot.
Buffet Restaurants
There are three buffet restaurants, one for each hotel, but you can use all three. The food selection was great, the flavors were amazing, and the presentation was beautiful.
There are a lot of different cuisines and options for vegetarians and vegans. I’m a vegetarian, and I loved the food selection, of course, for meat eaters as well. Desserts were terrific, which is usually not the case in Punta Cana resorts.
Specialty Restaurants
There are also eleven a la carte restaurants. The food selection ranges from Italian, Spanish, Mexican, Asian (including Indian), and many more.
If you’re ever hungry between meals, don’t worry. There are four snack bars, most located near the beach and pools, so that’s a great way never to be hungry while staying at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana.
The Drinks
The same is true for drinks. There are many bars at every pool and near the beach, so you’re always close to a bar whenever you want to drink.
The drinks were great, great selection, excellent flavor, and no generic alcohol brands, so that’s a great plus.
The Service
The staff was highly attentive, always serving with a smile on their face; we have no complaints about the team at any place we visited at any of the three resorts, so whoever is doing the training keep doing it because they’re doing a great job.
Check-in and Checkout
The check-in and checkout process was smooth. Even though the resort seemed packed, we didn’t have to wait for our check-in. Checkout was even faster than check-in.
If you’re driving to the hotel, there’s a parking lot next to each lobby.
The Room
The room was recently renovated; at least, that’s what it said on the hotel’s website. Still, it felt slightly outdated, especially the woodwork like the door frame, the door itself, the closet space, and the bathroom.
The furniture was okay, and the bed was pretty comfortable, but the pillows were not; they only provided two instead of the usual four.
The balcony was very nice, the garden view was beautiful, and the furniture was comfortable.
The air conditioner didn’t cool down the room enough at night, which is always a letdown. Luckily we did have a ceiling fan that improved the air circulation, so we had a good night’s sleep.
Bathroom
The bathroom had a rain shower which we liked. It was inside the hydro tub, so you had to stand on the top if you wanted to shower.
The bathtub had a glass door communicating with the rest of the room. It was weird because the toilet did not have a separate space; no door separated it from the rest of the bathroom, so it didn’t feel very private.
If you want to use it, tell your partner, “Please get out to the balcony so I can have more privacy.” Other than that, the bathroom did feel a bit outdated. Still, it was immaculate and very well-illuminated, so it was okay.
Our final rating for the grand palladium Punta Cana was 7.5 out of 10.
If you feel the Grand Palladium Punta Cana is the right resort for you, book it using the below links:
👉 On Expedia
👉 On Hotels.com
👉 On Booking.com
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Click here to see where we rank the Grand Palladium Punta Cana in our Punta Cana resort rankings.
Click here to see our YouTube video tour of the Grand Palladium Punta Cana facilities.
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Ale
Friday 23rd of August 2024
Thank you for a great review !!
Tammy
Saturday 28th of October 2023
I love your channel! It is a great help in planning my vacation to punta cana. I look forward to your next resort reviews.