TRS Cap Cana Resort HONEST Review

The TRS Cap Cana Waterfront & Marina Hotel has its own private beach, the smallest beach in Punta Cana. How does this manmade beach compare to other famously beautiful Punta Cana beaches?

We’re Jhon and Ari, and we’re here to feed your travel bug with this review of the TRS Cap Cana.

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

Here’s how much we paid

We paid $435.87 for the two of us to stay in a “Junior Suite Marina View” room for one night. The room had a stunning view but more on that later.

Location

As the name indicates, The TRS Cap Cana is located in Cap Cana, the most exclusive area of Punta Cana. This private and luxurious complex has seen a boom in popularity in recent years. It is home to famous resorts like Margaritaville, Hyatt Ziva, and Hyatt Zilara. 

The TRS is just 12 minutes from the Punta Cana International Airport and right on the Cap Cana marina, which gives the resort a premium view and an upscale feeling.

The Beach

Right next to the marina’s entrance, the TRS Cap Cana built a small beach between two breakwaters; we measured it, and its width is just 133 feet.

This beach has a seaweed barrier, so very little seaweed makes it to the shore, and the sand was pretty much seaweed free.

We saw some plastic trash on the coast and in the water; we understand the ocean current brings this trash. However, this being such a small beach area, it should always be pristine.

Since this beach is between two breakwaters and has a seaweed barrier, there is reduced water movement giving the water a greenish tint due to the build-up of green slime in the rocks.

There’s a limited number of chaise lounges, but it’s more than enough for a small resort like the TRS Cap Cana. We only saw one person swimming on the beach during our stay.

While the beach is not great, especially compared to some of the world-famous Punta Cana beaches, it’s a much better alternative than no beach at all.

They also offer a free shuttle to the renowned Juanillo beach twice daily.

The Pools

The TRS has good pool area coverage. Apart from the semi-private swim-up pools for guests in ground-floor rooms, there are two large pools for general use.

The pool closer to the beach has a pool bar. There was music playing in this pool almost the entire time. A great thing was that, while the music was loud, it didn’t bleed to other areas of the hotel.

There is also a bubbling jacuzzi in one of the corners of this pool. They share the same water, so the temperature is the same.

The other pool is elevated and has a volleyball net. The seating area around this pool is varied; it has Balinese beds, chaise lounges, hammocks, and hanging chairs. This pool gives you a better view of the marina, making it very relaxing.

Early in the morning, there were many leaves and twigs in the water, but the staff did a great job of cleaning the pools by opening time.

The Amenities

With only 115 rooms, The TRS Cap Cana is a tiny resort, so it’s light on amenities. The pool bar area has a ping pong and a pool table. As part of the hotel activities, pool and ping pong tournaments are organized during the day.

There’s a giant chessboard by the pools for a more intellectual challenge. There is also a grass badminton court.

The gym is small, and it has equipment for basic workout routines. There are some dumbells, kettlebells, a multistation gym, a stationary bike, and an elliptical machine.

Since the TRS is part of the Palladium hotel group, a Zentropia spa is on site. It’s beautifully decorated and has a very relaxing atmosphere. You may use the sauna and the hydrotherapy hot and cold pools free of charge.

The hot pool is a pleasant 100 degrees Fahrenheit; the cold water is supposed to be 62, but it was around 98 degrees. There were also healthy snacks and tea.

Just outside the hydrotherapy area is a secluded pool; the best view of the Cap Cana marina is from here.

The Nightlife

Nightlife at this resort is pretty quiet. There is no nightclub and after the night show the place to gather is the sports bar. On the night we were there, the night show was a live singer in the lobby area.

The singer had a lovely voice, and the evening was mellow. The music could have been louder to bring people more into the performance.

The next night there was going to be a fire show on the pool promenade, and we overheard there was also a Michael Jackson impersonation in the night shows rotation.

If you’re looking for vibrant nightlife, there are better resorts than the TRS Cap Cana for you. On the other hand, this resort might be a good fit if you’re looking for a relaxed atmosphere at night and gorgeous night views.

The Food

Now let’s talk about the food; this is the Achilles heel of this resort. We’ve been to the Palladium complex in Bavaro, where the Punta Cana, Bavaro, and Palace resorts are located, and the food was good.

Since the TRS Cap Cana is the luxury Palladium resort in Punta Cana, we had high expectations for the food. Unfortunately, we were deeply disappointed.

No buffet?!

For starters, there is no buffet for lunch or dinner. There’s a small buffet for breakfast with little variety, but it was the best meal of our stay.

We’re used to having dinner in a la carte restaurants; however, a buffet is a must in an all-inclusive resort for lunch. We’ve only been to another hotel with no lunch buffet, the Live Aqua Punta Cana, and we also didn’t like it.

Lunch

For lunch, only the “Helios” restaurant is open. The view of the marina from this restaurant was breathtaking and one of the highlights of our stay.

The restaurant has a roof, but if it rains with wind, almost every table gets wet, and service stops completely until the rain is over. We experienced this, but luckily the rain only lasted a few minutes.

Service was slow, and lunch took over an hour; if we had a buffet option, we could have finished sooner and returned to enjoying the Dominican sun.

The food was underwhelming; everything from the entrees to the desserts could be significantly improved.

Snack bars

There’s also a grill open during lunch hours that offers snacks like chicken wings, sausages, and burgers. The “Piacere” coffee shop is also available during the day, offering sweet and savory options for snacking throughout the day.

Dinner

In addition to “Helios,” two more a la carte restaurants are open for dinner “Tentazione” and “El Gaucho.” We were told we needed reservations for dinner during our check-in, but we could tell that you could show up at any restaurant; they don’t keep track of reservations.

We tried the Italian restaurant “Tentazione” first. They bring you Arancini when you sit down, and they were okay.

The entrees were good; I ordered a tasty mushroom and potato cream and Jhon the Salmon tartare, which he also liked. As main dishes, Jhon ordered the Palermitan fish, and I ordered the four-cheese pizza; neither of us enjoyed our food.

We then headed to “Helios,” where Jhon tried the fried calamari, which were overcooked. I ordered the Hummus with Pita bread and left almost all of it on the plate. The view of the marina from this restaurant was also gorgeous at night.

For desserts, we headed to “El Gaucho,” We shared the choco torta Argentina and the alfajores de dulce de leche. Again, both left much to be desired.

The Drinks

When it comes to the drinks, they were hit or miss, depending on who the bartender was. The welcome drink was super tasty.

There are five bars across the resort; service in the bars was slow; the bartenders were friendly, but we even had to walk away while waiting for a margarita because of how long it took.

I always order a piña colada to compare drink quality from resort to resort, and I can say without a doubt that I had the worst one so far at the TRS. Then again, I ordered a couple more throughout our stay, and they were much better.

A super-friendly waitress at Helios recommended a drink called Banana Mama which was also very good.

The Service

Our check-in process was smooth and quick. We discovered we would have a butler during our stay, and he gave us a quick tour of the hotel after checking in. He was friendly and professional; after that initial interaction, we found no use for the butler service, to be honest.

The rest of the staff was very friendly and attentive. Service at the restaurants and bars was on the slow side, and better training could be provided to the bartenders to homogenize the drinks experience.

We had to use the front desk services a couple of times during our stay, and the staff working at reception were the most diligent we’ve interacted in Punta Cana with. No request was ignored and resolved promptly.

Even though only one person worked at the front desk, the check-out process was seamless.

The Room

We booked a junior suite with marina view, the cheapest room at the TRS Cap Cana. Your room key is your bracelet; we had trouble getting one of our bracelets to open the door, so we had a physical key card made for Jhon. 

The room was ample; the bedroom area was completely separate from the bathroom, and the closet was in its own room. Even though it was big and comfortable, the decoration was basic.

Bedroom area

The bed was big and soft; in fact, it was so mushy that I thought I’d wake up with back pain the following day, but we had a great night of sleep. We had four pillows on the bed; they were big and heavy.

There’s a workstation in front of the bed and a good-sized TV; the image quality could have been better. There’s a bench for seating at the workstation which could double as a luggage rack.

There’s a ceiling fan on top of the bed, and the air conditioner works great.

There’s a tall table with a couple of chairs and a big comfy sofa. The sofa was clean and in perfect condition, which is rare for hotel room seating areas.

Bathroom area

The bathroom area has a door separating it from the rest of the room. It’s big and well-illuminated. There’s an always-welcome double vanity with a big mirror and a magnifying mirror that lights up.

The shower was big, clean, and had a rain shower head. The toiletries had a great smell.

There were enough towels for two people and no towel racks for the face towels, which we found ourselves missing. The towels could have been in better condition, especially for the luxury property of a hotel chain.

The toilet area is separated from the rest of the bathroom by a door for ultimate privacy. We wish every hotel did this!

Miscellaneous

There is plenty of closet space and drawers, but more hangers are needed. The safe is in the closet room and was working great.

Overall, the room was okay but showed signs of wear and tear. The lamp by the bed sparked when we tried to turn it on, and it’s obvious why this was the case. We didn’t have the bathrobes and slippers either; However, we called the front desk, and they promptly corrected both issues.

This reminds me, the phone receiver of the phone room was not working, luckily it had a speaker function.

The blackout curtains are thick, and they darken the room perfectly. At night it’s pitch black. Sound isolation could be better; we could hear people walking in the hallway throughout the night, which woke us up a couple of times.

Minibar

The minibar was basic. It had beer, water, soda, two juice boxes, and a snickers bar. There were also a couple of peanut packs, and a lays potato chips bag. The coffee station had a working Nespresso machine.

Balcony

The balcony furniture was also basic, and this area had no decoration. The view from here was magnificent and our favorite part of the room.

Would We Go Back?

Would we go back to the TRS Cap Cana? Yes, but only if they improve the food.

Our score of the TRS Cap Cana is a 7/10.

If you feel the TRS Cap 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 TRS Cap Cana in our Punta Cana resort rankings.

Click here to see our Youtube video tour of the TRS Cap Cana facilities.