Live Aqua Punta Cana Resort HONEST Review

Jhon and I had been wanting to stay in the Live Aqua Beach Resort in Punta Cana for a while now, and this past weekend we finally did.

The Live Aqua is a small, adults-only resort that we think is perfect for couples. We saw a few couples celebrating anniversaries or having romantic dinners. The hotel does a good job of catering to these special occasions.

BOOK THIS RESORT:
👉 On Expedia
👉 On Hotels.com
👉 On Booking.com

Here’s How Much We Paid

We took advantage of a special price offered by American Express and paid $346.86 for the two of us to stay in a “Garden View King” room for one night. The room was very pretty, but more on that later.

Location

The Live Aqua is located in the Uvero Alto area, about a 39 minutes drive away from the Punta Cana international airport.

If you’re part of our travelers community, you know by now that Uvero Alto is a secluded area about half an hour away from Bavaro, where most attractions like Coco Bongo, Downtown Punta Cana, and Katmandu Park are located. You must take a taxi if you plan to explore outside the resort and go into town.

The Beach

If you watch our YouTube channel regularly, you know that the beach in Uvero Alto is not the prettiest. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a beautiful tropical beach, but Punta Cana has better-looking beaches in areas like Bavaro and Arena Gorda.

The sand in Uvero Alto is a darker brown, and it almost looks like it’s always wet. Since Uvero Alto’s location is more on the Atlantic Ocean than the Caribbean Sea side, the water can be rougher and darker.

This being said, the beach area in the Live Aqua was super well organized and clean. The sand was raked, so it was nice and even; the vegetation was nicely groomed.

There was very little seaweed during our visit, but the staff was busy picking up what little amount there was. Even though the sky was overcast and it had rained, the beach looked very pretty.

We’ve stayed at four resorts in Uvero Alto, and this was by far the best beach area we’ve seen; We give two thumbs up to the Live Aqua.

The Pools

The resort has excellent pool area coverage. There are five pools for general use; four are located halfway from the lobby to the beach.

They are rectangular in shape, and two of them are parallel to the other two. One half of the pool is shallow, and the other half is about waist deep for a 5 ’11 person; not very deep but enough to swim.

All four have swimming pool faucets for a nice water massage and relaxing waterfall sound. The surrounding area is beautiful; you feel like you’re in the middle of a tropical garden. There are plenty of chaise lounges and Balinese beds in these pools.

Closer to the beach, you’ll find the main pool, a bigger, deeper pool. Here you have a pool bar and music playing. The seating area is more limited than the smaller pools, and all the chaise lounges around the pool were taken, so we had to wake up early the following day to grab one. 

The pools and beach are colder in winter, so keep that in mind if you like warm water.

The Amenities

The Live Aqua is what we’d call a boutique hotel, so it’s not heavy on amenities.

There’s a medium-sized, well-equipped gym with free weights, weight machines, treadmills, and a dedicated spinning area.

There is also a pretty-looking spa next to the lobby area and a sports bar called Compton Street; we had a fantastic drink after checking in and had lunch after checking out here. We tried the pizza and the ribs, and both were good.

There’s plenty of seating, two pool tables, and a darts board. 

The Nightlife

The night we spent at the Live Aqua, the “Aqua del Mar” theater, didn’t open. The night entertainment advertised during the day took place outside by the coffee shop instead. 

There was live music, a magic show, and then live music again. After dinner, people gathered in this area to watch the magician and dance to the music.

Many people also gathered around the “Strainer” bar, located under the lobby floor. This area is quite large, with plenty of seating options and servers taking drink orders.

You could hear the live music from here and still have a conversation. The drinks at this bar were super tasty; here, Ari tried the best piña colada he’s had in Punta Cana so far.

We thought all these people were waiting for the disco to open at 11 PM, but a few minutes after 11, there were just a couple of people at the disco. The music was super loud, and we only stayed briefly since we were tired.

The Food

We really liked the food during our stay. Breakfast at the “Liberi” buffet was super good, one of the best breakfasts we’ve tried in the resorts we’ve stayed in so far. The buffet is not super big, but it has an excellent variety.

The Live Aqua does the buffet differently from what we’ve experienced in most Punta Cana resorts. We’re not sure if we like it.

On our first day, the buffet only opened for breakfast. For lunch, we had to eat at one of two restaurants by the main pool, the Mediterranean or the cevichería, both of which are a la carte.

Lunch

We ate at the “Huzur” Mediterranean restaurant. The view from here is beautiful, but the food is just ok. We didn’t have to wait long at all for our food, and the staff was super friendly.

The “Miraflores” cevichería is on the opposite side of the pool, closer to the beach. We didn’t get to try it.

There was also a small grilled food buffet in the beach area. The food looked and smelled delicious.

We found ourselves missing the variety of a buffet for lunch. The next day, they told us that the buffet would open for lunch and that they open or close it depending on the resort’s occupancy.

Dinner

For dinner, the rest of the a la carte restaurants are open. There are four cuisine options. You don’t need a reservation to dine at any restaurant, so we decided to do a culinary tour.

First, we tried the Mexican. The restaurant was well decorated, the service was fast, the staff super friendly, and the food delicious. We tried the nachos, the fish tacos, and the tortilla soup; everything was super tasty.

Then we headed to the Italian restaurant. It was busier, and the service was slower. Our waitress was doing all she could; it seemed she was the only one taking orders for all tables. They had a small buffet of entrees, and the options we tried were good.

Here we tried the steak, which was perfectly cooked, the super tasty eggplant parmesan, and the potato gnocchi with porcini mushroom sauce which was a letdown. We also had the cannoli and the panna cotta for dessert, which could have been better.

We then headed to the Asian restaurant called “Seishin.” I had the shrimp tempura, which was excellent, and Ari tried his luck with two desserts, the Arroz con leche Sushi and the fried ice cream, which were not good.

There’s also a French restaurant called “Chez Rose,” and while our intention was to try all the restaurants that night, our stomachs couldn’t take it!

Snack Bars

If you’re hungry between meals, this hotel has you covered; there are three places where you can grab a snack: a coffee shop called Cool Fever, the coffee here is very good, and there are sweet and savory options.

Everything we tried here was good, but what we loved the most was the seating area, and the great view, it was very relaxing, and the furniture was super comfy. 

There is also a Sports Bar near the lobby called Compton Street; this is a pretty cool place with great vibes; we ate a pizza and barbecue ribs here, the pizza was ok, but the ribs were super tender and yummy, overall; it was a pleasant experience. 

And finally, there is a snack place between the pools and the lobby called Wonderpool; we didn’t eat there, but it looked beautiful, and every time we passed by, guests were eating there. 

The Drinks

There are 4 bars scattered across the resort and two more places where you can easily order a drink; it doesn’t sound like a lot but trust me, it is. This resort is not very big, and the bars are strategically located, so you can locate one when you need to. 

We’re not huge drinkers, but we do like to try new cocktails whenever we go to a resort, and let me tell you, the drinks we tried at the Live Aqua were delicious.

A good amount of alcohol, great combinations, and flavor; the bartenders knew precisely what cocktail you were asking them to prepare for you.

If you are unsure about staying at the Live Aqua because the drinks are essential for you, then fear not, You won’t have a problem here; great cocktails, good quality alcohol, and natural products to make the cocktails. 

The Service

We had heard great things about the staff at this resort. From the moment we arrived at the Live Aqua, we found that this was indeed true; everyone in the hotel treated us incredibly well.

They were attentive, friendly, and fast; our check-in and check-out process was one of the fastest we have experienced in a Punta Cana resort so far. 

The entire staff at this resort is incredible; every time we passed by an employee, they would ask us if we were ok and if we needed something, they were also very respectful, and we appreciated that. 

We have nothing bad to say about the staff at the Live Aqua, only great things. 

The Room

We stayed in a Premium Room with Garden View. The room looked great at first sight; it was modern, the furniture was beautiful and very stylish, lots of natural light, the layout was super interesting, and it had a lot of space. 

What’s that smell?!

Unfortunately, there was a terrible smell when we entered the room. We could not identify if the odor was sewage or a damp smell, so we called the front desk, and they told us they’d send someone over with scented oil.

We waited for more than 20 minutes, and no one came; then, we decided to go out and explore; when we arrived, the smell was not as strong as before, and they seemed to have placed a scented oil in the room. 

After we came back from dinner, the smell was very strong, but since we were staying for one night, we decided to give it a rest. 

Bedroom and Seating Areas

We loved the bed; it was super comfortable, a little on the firm side, which we loved. The bed sheets were clean and in perfect condition, the pillows were excellent, and a pillows menu was included in the room.

The TV was quite big; not sure if it was 60 or 65 inches, but we were happy with the size, and the programming was great.

The sofa was comfortable but wasn’t as clean as we’d liked. There was a lovely dining table and a very inviting accent chair. The bathroom was beautiful, although it didn’t feel sparkling clean.

There was a lot of closet space, an iron, an iron board, and a nice addition of two bathrobes and slippers for each of us. 

Minibar

The mini bar was ok; we were expecting a better selection of drinks and snacks due to the price point of this resort; honestly, it was a bit underwhelming.

Balcony

We fell in love with the balcony; it had a beautiful view, and the hot tub was incredible; we spent most of our time looking at the beautiful view. 

Overall, the room was beautiful and nicely decorated; we felt a bit disappointed because, for a resort this price, you come to expect the room to be in better condition.

There were some details in the bathroom, the cleaning, the smell, and the minibar that let us down; we liked the room but didn’t love it.

Our score for the Live Aqua is 8/10.

If you feel the Live Aqua Punta Cana is the right resort for you, book it using the below links:
👉 On Expedia
👉 On Hotels.com
👉 On Booking.com

Click here to see where we rank the Live Aqua in our Punta Cana resort rankings.

Click here to see our Youtube video tour of the Live Aqua facilities.