Review: Tortuga Bay Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

If you are looking to splurge on a resort stay in the Caribbean, consider the Tortuga Bay Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. While the average price for a room here is $870 per night, you will no doubt be impressed by the high quality rooms and superior service you receive at Tortuga Bay.

The resort is made up of many villas on the grounds. Even though there will most likely be other people staying in your villa, it still feels like you have more privacy than you would in a traditional hotel. Each villa is two stories. You will have the option of one, two, three, or four bedrooms depending on the size of your group. Some of the rooms also have private Jacuzzis. While rooms on the first floor open right up to the beach, rooms on the second floor have balconies overlooking the water. We chose to stay on the first floor and loved that we could open the doors wide and walk right out onto the sand without even having to put shoes on.

The rooms are wonderfully decorated in the local style and designed by the famous fashion designer, Oscar de la Renta. The rooms are light, neutral colors with some bright accent pieces scattered about, which really gives them a beachy feel. Each room also has its own kitchen which comes in handy when you want to make a quick snack.

There are many activities here to keep you busy as well. If you are into golf, there are two golf courses available: La Cana Golf Course and Corales Golf Course. There is a full service spa and eight restaurants on sight. Tortuga Bay has five miles of beaches so you will always be able to find a clear, relaxing spot. One of my favorite features was the ecological park where we got to see some of the local wildlife, especially birds.

Since the resort is so big, each guest is given a golf cart for their stay to drive around whenever they want to go somewhere. This was a neat feature and came in handy a couple times, but I usually preferred to walk since it was vacation and I didn't need to get anywhere in a hurry anyway.

When you get off your plane, a representative from Tortuga Bay will meet you and escort you past customs lines and will bring you right to a van waiting to transport you to the resort. Check-in occurs in your villa so you do not need to wait in line at the desk. We really appreciated all of this because it greatly cut down on all the waiting around that always seems to occur at the beginning of a vacation. We were off our plane and on the beach within an hour.