A giant flip-flop at the entrance of Margaritaville Island Reserve Cap Cana, in the Dominican Republic, already sends the message to guests: there, the rule is to enjoy rest and comfort.
In the garden, next to the reception, a sign once again reinforces what the all-inclusive hotel wants to offer visitors — she says that, from that point on, “no more shirts, shoes and worries”.
Margaritaville, opened in October 2021, is located on Juanillo beach (15 minutes from Punta Cana airport) in the Cap Cana region, the noblest in the region. Neighboring other luxury resorts, the hotel seeks to stand out for its grandeur and gastronomic experience.
As the region is very popular with couples on their honeymoon or celebrating their wedding anniversary, the hotel has created an area designed especially for these occasions.
There are 40 private villas, with a kind of small houses that host up to two people and have a private pool and outdoor shower. Nights at these accommodations are no less than $1,000.
For guests not looking for so much privacy, there are also 228 suites, all with balconies overlooking the sea and bathtubs. Some of them even have direct access to an infinity pool with curves that occupy the entire central area of the resort.
In fact, it is in this winding pool that the hotel shows its purpose. The guest can spend the whole day in the slightly heated water while looking out to sea, without worrying about food or drinks.
Inside the pool, there is a wet bar, Five o’Clock Somewhere (5 Hours Somewhere), which already has the perfect excuse for guests who want to start tasting the extensive drinks menu early in the morning. You can also have tacos for lunch, served on a floating barge.
The resort strives for an upscale dining experience with six restaurants. One of them, molecular cuisine, offers a ten-step menu. There is also a Caribbean restaurant, an Italian restaurant and an Asian restaurant.
The craft brewery is open all day and offers four types of beer produced right there, inside the hotel. It is the first all-inclusive resort to offer such a service.
At night, the brewery also becomes a place to party, with karaoke nights and a silent ballad, where guests dance with headphones to music at the highest volume.
Although Margaritaville is not exclusive to adults, the hotel has invested little in children’s attractions. The Karisma chain, of which it is a part, opened another resort in the same region, completely designed for the children’s experience, Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts.
In this one, located on the beach of Uvero Alto, the idea is that children can see their fantasies come true, like having breakfast next to the characters they see in the drawings, while eating pizza, hamburger, cake and waffle with unlimited quantity — unless be for the parents—of chocolate and sugary toppings.
The hotel offers rooms with balconies that are directly connected to swimming pools, and a water park with slides, toys and slime bath (a water with green dye, with the appearance of the snot that has become a fever among the little ones).
Throughout the day, at the pools and toys, they also bump into SpongeBob, Patrick —or Patrick, as he is called in the Spanish language—, Dora the Explorer, the PAW Patrol friends and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Parents, who do not pay little to please their children (daily rates start at US$ 400), do not fail to be contemplated. The hotel offers a free service for children aged between 4 and 12 years old — minors need to pay $15 an hour.
The two Karisma hotels in Punta Cana are trying to attract Brazilians, who are currently less than 5% of guests. The resorts, filled mainly with Americans (more than 60% of visitors) and Europeans, face competition with the beaches in Brazil.
In addition to the high dollar and the logistical difficulty (there are few direct flights to Punta Cana and the journey, with a stopover, takes at least 10 hours), the two beaches that house the chain’s resorts do not offer the long-awaited blue Caribbean sea. .
On the sand strip between the two hotels, the Sheet found red flags warning of unsuitable water for bathing due to the excess of sargassum, a bad-smelling red algae that accumulates on the shore. The blue of the sea is seen from the balconies, but the water is muddy on the shore.
To swim in azure waters, like the ones seen in photos and movies, you have to leave the resorts and spend a few more dollars, as no tour goes for less than $100 per person.
Service
Nickelodeon Hotels & Resort
Uvero Alto Beach, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Rates from US$400 (double rooms) to US$6,500 (homes for up to five people in Pineapple Ville). All-inclusive service of food and alcoholic beverages in all restaurants in the complex and free access to the water park.
MargaritaVille Island Reserve Cap Cana
Cap Cana, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Rates from US$ 350. All-inclusive service of food and alcoholic beverages in all restaurants in the complex.
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