The Royal Suites of Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Resort are located just a half block from the golden sands and the sparkling silvery hues of Cofresi Beach and offers spacious deluxe and standard one and two bedroom suites in a lush and tropical surrounding. Nestled inside the world-class Lifestyles Resorts, Royal Suites features six low rise modern Mediterranean-style buildings surrounding a beautiful pool. The resort provides a first class, five-star vacation experience. In addition to the Royal Suites swimming pool and tennis courts, our guests will enjoy other resort swimming pools, multiple pool bars and restaurants, a fully equipped gym, a relaxing spa, a kid’s club and multiple beach clubs. Whether you come to eat well, shop, enjoy excursions or you just want to completely relax and enjoy our Caribbean beaches, your stay at the Royal Suites of Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Resort will be the vacation that you have always dreamed of.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Trendy
Modern
Location
Cofresi Beach # 1, Puerto Plata 57000 Dominican Republic
The Royal Suites
121 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
So, I went to life style resort at Puerto Plata a few days ago. I spent a week there. I booked through a real estate owner. By booking through her, I had the navy blue bracelet which allowed me VIP access. I had access to 7 beaches, including the Deja view beach. I had a day pass to ocean World. Free Wi-Fi was included, and I had a golf cart for the week. I was able to eat at some of the top VIP restaurants, including Azule. I also had two bottles a day of any alcoholic beverages I wanted. I stayed at the royal suit. So, I did not get to have my own personal cook breakfast for me. Had I booked a villa, I would have a personal chef cook breakfast every morning. The navy blue bracelet allows access to everything that the gold bracelets allow, just in case someone was wondering.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Only book through members, owners, chairmen circle if you want the best experience.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management Team, General Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 11 Apr 2024
Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to write a review about your stay at The Royal Suites We feel delighted and motivated to read such an excellent opinion about our resort, services, and facilities, and we appreciate that you have shared it on TripAdvisor with other future guests. It would be a pleasure to host you again in the future. Warmest Regards The Management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We went to relax and enjoy ourselves, luckily we did that because as we were about to get on the plane the hotel called to say we couldn't have our original villa. We were with our friends as their guests . It's a great spot but a little messed up on how they operate. Would we go back again, I have to say yes cause they have kept the money we were owed for the downgrade. Lots to do, food was good, some restaurants were a lot better than others. It was not easy to get reservations and the restaurants you didn't need them for had food that was much better.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management Team, General Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 6 Nov 2020
Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to write a review about The Royal Suites in Puerto Plata. It is of great importance to know our guests experience in order to improve our services. We are really happy to read such a nice opinion about our resort, services and facilities and appreciate that you have shared it in TripAdvisor with other future guests. It would be a pleasure to host you again in the future. Warmest Regards The Management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
It was all awesome mainly the customer service. The food was good and the facilities were very clean, the view enchanted me because we were between mountains. I really recommend this resort. I just want to say thanks for making my honeymoon a terrific experience.
Read more
Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: February 2020
Room Tip:Nothing. It was amazing.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management T, Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 21 Mar 2020
Dear guest, First of all we would like to thank you for choosing The Royal Suites as the hotel to enjoy your vacation and we also would like to thank you for writing your opinion about your experience. We really appreciate your positive review! Best regards, The Management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
beware of this company yesterday whilst walking along the beach on punta carna in the Dominican Republic my partner and myself were approached by a representative from the hotel, asked if we were interested in a 90 hotel presentation as they were trying to attract clients due to covid -19 and this included lunch, we had just walked for about an hour, we were peckish and I needed to look so we agreed. cutting a long story short we had a lovely lunch with a sales representative who to my surprise offered us alcohol during our lunch. a 90 minute presentation took 4 hours as they basically offered us just about anything so that I would sign a contract. during the 4 hours we were given champagne? wine and beer and when I demanded to see a contact, the second clause states not to sign if you are under the influence of alcohol. when i pointed this out in was told of that's OK you haven't drunk that much and wood you like another drink to which from then I declined even water. the one thing that I wanted to do before agreeing to this fantastic too good to be true deal was to check out thier company 1st and as I didn't have any WiFi I wanted to do this at my own time. all they wanted was for me to sign, sign and sign. they also offered to put us up in they 5 star hotel in a vip suite for the duration of our stay and if I still wasn't happy I could get a no quibble refund . I am so glad I walked away . when I got back to my hotel got straight on the Internet and Man sadly my reservations were true. most of what they said to me was bull.i can only speak for myself but others just be mindful to me it's a new version of timeshare scams from the 80's to before you sign make sure u got WiFi and do your homework. this could have turned out to be a very costly holiday.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management Team, General Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 24 Dec 2020
Dear guest, Thank you for choosing us as your holiday destination and taking part of your valuable time on posting this review of us in TripAdvisor. We very much appreciate your feedback, as it is through this medium that we are able to address guest issues and discrepancies. Please be assured that we have already informed your comments to all relevant departments of the Club in order to follow up and improve our services and operation. We would like to apologize for any inconveniences that you may have experienced; we sincerely regret that, on this occasion, we were not able to fully meet your expectations. With best regards, The Management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We just stayed a week (during President's Week in February) at the Royal Suites (part of the "Tropical Hotel" in the Lifestyle Holiday Vacation Resort. We are interval international owners and traded our week for this stay. It was just three of us, my husband and I and our 1 year old daughter. Let me clarify now and say we were NOT VIP members and paid $40 per person (not for the baby) per day for the all inclusive plan. I'll explain further. If we wanted to upgrade to VIP it would cost us $180 a day...no way!!
Pros: The property is enormous with several different kinds of "lodging". There are regular hotel rooms (the Tropical), 1 bedroom suites (Royal Suites where we stayed) and then there are also free standing 5 bedroom villas/houses. The property is walkable, but certainly not handicapped equipped or baby friendly. There are tons of hills and stairs. The Royal Suites was nicely located with in a short distance to the beach and had its own pool right outside your room. The tropical (main hotel) had a great pool as well and was never crowded. Getting a chair in the morning was not a problem (which is nice especially during this popular week). The "beach" is manmade up above the regular beach. On this ONE ONLY beach we were "allowed" to go to since we were not VIP members it did get a little crowded and people stood on line for the beach to open at 8:00 AM to get one of their "beds". No lounges...think "SOUTH BEACH BEDS". The staff was always wonderfully welcoming, polite and accommodating.
Cons: The food was downright awful. They tell you there are 11 restaurants to feast from plus a daily buffet everyday...all true...all except ONE - Trapiche (Mexican) we were able to eat somewhat normally. Nothing had taste, and the meat tasted "gamey". We never tried the Italian (Bellini) because many others ate there and said it was bad. We also didn't try the Indian restaurant since we do not eat Indian food. When we checked in they had made about 5 reservations for us ahead of time. Good thing they did because the other 2 nights we were unable to make reservations anywhere. Lucky for us we ate early (6:30 PM) and could get in with out a reservation. The buffet was hit or miss. Same thing every morning for breakfast. Lunch was the better of the meals. They did have an ample amount of food and an incredible selection. The quality was what was lacking. If you are a VIP member you get top shelf liquor and apparently better restaurants. What people forget is that the food is all coming from the same "kitchen". We went to 2 VIP restaurants...and it was the SAME QUALITY!! Problem #2 - WIFI...WIFI is only available ON THE BEACH??? You can pay $60 for the week to get it in your room or if you are a VIP it is free. It was so annoying to have to bring our phones/IPads to the beach just to check our e-mail. Problem #3 - The room...It looks like they are trying to update the rooms, but ran out of money. The facade was nice...however the dresser had no knobs on the drawers (but had holes for them). The shower was large but the hot water was either scolding or cold. The worst was the main door knob. There is a normal regular door lever with an electric card reader...well that doesn't work...you have an actual key for a dead bold above it. That was how you come in and out of the room...the only security you have is this one dead bolt to both keep the door closed and to lock the room. Very unsafe. And finally the sliding glass doors out to the patio - the actual glass was separating from the frame...and we were under and mango tree with millions of mosquitos...many bug bites later...the doors need to be replaced. The bed was horrible. Every bone in our bodies ached. If you wanted a safe key for the in room safe...you had to pay for it at the front desk $20. They transferred us for free from the airport to them when we arrived. However, to go back it cost us $50 CASH to get a taxi back to the airport.
Problem #4: Timeshare sales pitch. We had NO intentions of ever buying here. They have these "sharks" pull you from the buffet during breakfast and lunch to bring you down to the "VIP WORLD" to meet with a salesperson. We let them know that before we sat down. My daughter was taking a nap when we went in the stroller and my husband was rocking her. The salesperson asked me to "give him the respect of 2 minutes to listen to his deal". He did everything he could to "woo" me and steal me away from interval international. They're big pitch is that they do not charge maintenance fees and you can come and stay there for as many weeks as you want. Funny because they'll charge you $270 per week though when you do book it...so that's where they make up the maintenance fees. Plus then you pay $80 per person per day for the all inclusive.
Bottom line is - if it sounds too good to be true - it probably is. You're buying a property in the Dominican Republic ...let's be real...it doesn't hold a great amount of value or have high trade availability. You buy and own in Aruba...that's a whole other board game. Not to be rude or snobby...just the truth. There are a TON of retirees down there that own and rant and rave about it. Good for them. I knock it up to the fact that we have higher standards (we're Marriott owners) and for us, this wasn't our cup of tea. I don't know how they stay down there for a month at a time and just keep eating that same food.
Back to the sale pitch...after repeatedly telling the salesman as nicely as I could - we were not interested...he started to fight with my husband and tell him that he was "rude" for not sitting at the table and listening (instead he was off to the side rocking our daughter in the stroller). He got very nasty and annoyed and then finally stood up and ushered us out. I could not believe the way he behaved our treated us. Interval International will be hearing about this and I am highly recommending that they take this resort off their list. What ever happened to respecting people's wishes. Maybe we couldn't afford it. Non of their business. The best part is, when you sit down with them, they offer you a drink with their "top shelf" liquor...get you boozed up and drunk so you don't know what you're listening too and get sucked right in.
Make what you want from this review...but it is all honest. We are just a regular average NY family trying to travel during February Winter break to somewhere warm. I got home and got sick with a stomach bug that night. Other travelers we met had the same thing while they were still there. I never drank the water...don't know what happened but it's not uncommon at all to get sick from the food or water down there. Good luck. I think this is a normal experience to anywhere in the Dominican Republic.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2014
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:If you go down with an owner who is a VIP then you are a VIP too. However there are different...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management Team, General Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 4 weeks ago
Dear guest, We thank you for your feedback and point of view about our property and services, which help us improve our standards. On behalf of the Management, please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience you experienced during your stay with us. Respectfully yours, The Management Team
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I am writing this the day after we returned from our stay so everything is fresh in my mind. We stayed at Royal Suites Dec. 16-23, 2017 on an Interval International timeshare trade as a family of four with 12 and 14-year-old kids. More specifically, we used the Interval International guest certificate so we did not use any Interval International points; we just paid the Interval International transaction fee and the resort all inclusive fees of $40 per person per day (about $1,120). There was also a $25 charge to get a key for the safe. We were not VIP and were not even given a chance to pay more to be VIP so I don’t know what the additional cost would have been. VIP get access to more bars, restaurants, snacks, a golf cart, beaches, and free wifi. Many people were VIP so I don’t know if they are owners or just paid money outright for their stay.
I believe we received the value that we paid for this week.
When I read reviews I always wonder about the expectations/standards of the people who are writing the review. Before I continue let me tell you about us so you can determine if your standards may align with ours or if they may be higher/lower. If you find this review helpful, please indicate so. We take trips at least twice a year from the Midwest as a family. We have cruised at least 12 times. When we stay for a night or two in a hotel, we will look in the $75-$125 range (only higher if the local rates are just more expensive in general). We like hotels with free, hot breakfasts. We often will go to Golden Coral buffets. When on a cruise, we will choose an oceanview cabin and sometimes even an interior cabin rather than a balcony room. We never pay extra for restaurants on cruises; We eat in the main dining rooms. We do spend our money on excursions and tours when we travel. We find value in doing things more than in food and rooms (although rooms need to be clean and fairly updated). We own a timeshare in Hawaii.
Occupancy The resort was remodeling the Tropical resort buildings so their occupancy seemed low during our stay. There didn’t seem to be many people around but it is also a huge resort and people probably spread out well also.
Our Room We stayed in the Royal Suites two-bedroom, two-bath unit 7311. It was fantastic! The location of this room is probably the best we have ever had on any trip. It’s the room often shown in their pictures to the right of the whirlpool tub (which is cold-not warm/hot—more on that under “Pools). We loved the patio with its loveseat, two chairs, side table and chaise lounge. It was a step down and we were lounging at the pool. The room was modern, had exceptional windows and was very clean. One bathroom had a shower, toilet and double sinks while the other bathroom had a shower, toilet and a single sink. There was a good-sized closet with about 12 hangers and two drawers). There was additional dresser storage and storage for bathroom items on the mirror stand. Maid service was once a day and beverages were restocked daily (water, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Presidente beer). There is no charge for these drinks. We left a tip in our room every day. The Royal Suites complex is six 2-3 level buildings with only 4-6 units per building. The pool was so quiet which we loved. Most of the times it was us and maybe one other family. It was wonderful. See more under “Pools’”.
Getting Around The Royal Suites location is the best. It is so close to most everything—the shows, the beach, buffet. There is shuttle transportation and sometimes golf carts will be driven to transport people. Getting around was really easy. This is a huge resort but it is easy to go to the Tropical lobby and get transportation to the further restaurants. This is not a resort for older people who have trouble walking though! Strollers would also be a challenge. The ramps are very steep and meant more for transporting luggage than wheelchairs. The sidewalks have stones sticking up that would really be difficult for older people who “shuffle”. I often wondered how many people have ankle injuries there. The curbs are very deep for drainage and there just seemed like lots of walking hazards. If their drinks were strong, this could actually be a really high injury resort.
Royal Suites Chasers Bar Royal Suites also has its own bar which was very convenient. There were two exceptional bartenders. I believe Pablo was the name of one of the gentleman; he was so friendly and would come to us next to the pool and always greet us as we were coming and going as “mi familia”. I wish I could remember the other gentleman’s name because he was outstanding! He was maybe in his 50’s? We saw him one evening stocking glasses at the buffet. He only worked once at the Chaser’s bar at Royal Suites but he was amazing. He made us some unique, delicious drinks. He would come to us and ask if we would like anything, pick up empty glasses, go to people in lower level patios next to the bar and ask if there was anything he could get them. It was really great service! The other bartenders were not great even though we were tipping them. They just didn’t seem to have the ambition of the two bartenders I mentioned. It was as if they were not supposed to leave the bar even to pick up glasses or as if anyone needed anything. The bar closes at 6:00. The first night, our glasses were still sitting there after the bar closed so after that, we just threw them away ourselves. One of the bartenders did come over to ask if I had a cellphone charger they could use though. He didn’t think to also ask if we would like anything to drink.
Drinks The drinks are not strong AT ALL. The only time I even noticed I was drinking alcohol was at the restaurant after a glass of wine one night. To put this in perspective also, we rarely drink—maybe one time a month we will have a drink. We mostly drank frozen strawberry daiquiris. We found the recipe was very inconsistent between bars and between bartenders at the same bar. We loved the version we would get at the Tropical pool bar which was mostly white with some red liquor on the top and bottom. We were always disappointed when we would get their slushie-machine version instead. The only bar I found that could make a mojito was at the Dome for the Thursday night show. We were not VIP so maybe those bars would be able to make them. The VIP beach bar made a good Daiquiri.
Only one place to get food otherwise- El Pilon has burgers from noon-6:00 PM
Snacks- no where to get snacks! No food available outside of the above hours if you do not have VIP. I really wanted chips and salsa but this was not available from what we could figure out.
Restaurants The first night our Interval International attendant (who was an exceptionally nice young man and very helpful) made a reservation for us for Jazz. We were able to make three more reservations for the week. We ate at Rodizio (Brazilian), Trapiche Paradise (Mexican), Belini (Italian) and Jazz (New Orleans). All of these restaurants were very good. We all enjoyed the food for dinner at the restaurants and the service was very, very fast. We are used to 1.5 hour long cruise ship dinners so enjoyed being served quickly. The food is not quite as good as a cruise ship though. There were additional we had access to as Non-VIP: Indochine (Asian), El Pilon (Dominican), Blue Lagoon (Seafood), Moomtaz (Indian) and the two buffets-Pearl, Casablanca. The other restaurants listed on the “all guests” restaurant list were not open. The reservation system is where we found a lot of inconsistency with other guests. It really seems to depend on how you made your original reservation. We talked to another family that traded through Interval but used points. They were able to make reservations for the whole week. We wondered if we were limited since we didn’t actually use any points. I talked to another lady who was staying at Presidential Suites; she bought it on Groupon for what sounded like a great deal to me and was able to make reservations every morning for the evening. We were told we could call after 3:00 and see what still available. There were only two nights that we didn’t have reservations so we ate at the buffet. While the restaurants were all very good, we did not really like the buffet. We are generally not hard to please and we do like buffets. We thought other reviewers were just being picky but overall, we never looked forward to the buffet.
Buffets We ate at Casablanca for breakfast and lunch every day. We went over to Pearl one day for lunch when we were exploring the resort. I personally like the food better there that day but the building/ambiance is not as nice as Casablanca. The breakfast food was just weird to us. Dominicans must eat lunch/dinner food for breakfast too because it was mostly stewed meats, beans, rice, etc.—for breakfast. There were egg and omelet stations. They did have good bacon at an egg station, when it was available and their small sausages were very good. Unfortunately, they don’t have ham. They use more of a Spam type meat. Our kids did not eat the hotdogs because they were more of a Spam dog also. I loved the bread pudding and rice pudding they had. I usually had a onion, pepper, tomato omelet made for breakfast. I was really disappointed with the fruit. It was mostly watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple and not the most flavorful. The pineapple was pretty good but I was really looking forward to some good tasting fruit. I never saw a banana or an orange. We discovered the pasta station late in the week and found that to be really good. The burgers had a “meatloaf” type taste and consistency. The fries were good. Our kids ate mostly cold sandwiches they made with turkey for lunch and donuts, French toast and bacon for breakfast. One of the nights we ate there was the “American BBQ” night. It was good. They do just seem to chop of their meat with a cleaver so you will often be eating it and find a bone fragment. Not the most enjoyable experience. The desserts were okay. They were very pretty bite sized pieces but they all seemed to taste the same. Our kids loved the little chocolate pieces they were decorated with.
Beach We only had access to the VIP beach seating area and NV beach seating area since we were Non-VIP. All guests, as well as locals, have access to the actual beach. We didn’t notice many locals on the beach. The seating areas are wonderful with many beds, there are no just plain beach loungers though. We only walked through NV beach but it was overcast and somewhat sprinkling so it was mostly empty. The first time we were in the water it was wonderful. The water felt clean and the bottom was a nice smooth, firm sand bottom. We played in the waves. Two days later, the water was full of seaweed, plant matter and just felt dirty. It seems to just depend on the wave action. The water was fairly warm. A tip: VIP beach is about a two minute walk if you go right as you exit the Royal Suites complex.
Pools The pools are cold! We used the Royal Suites pool and the Pool at Cofresi Palm. The whirlpools at VIP beach are also cool. The Tropical pools have nice shallow areas for small children. The Royal Suites pool is about 4-5 feet deep everywhere except the whirlpool seats so it’s not the best pool for small children. We wished we would have brought floaties but the stores onsite have some add albeit at a premium price. The pool they show with a slide is only at the kids club area and it was closed when we walked by.
Sunday Night Welcome Party This was fabulous! Get there at 6:30. The buffet is amazing! All the restaurants are closed and everyone comes here. Don’t miss it.
Shows The Michael Jackson show was great! The other shows are the same thing every night. Hardly any guests go—maybe 200 people out of the thousands that were there. We went every night. About 70% of the time it is just women dancing with thongs and bikinis and men in full dress. This is not what I want my daughters to see—women blatantly objectified. I thought it would improve each night. I thought there must be some variety. The Sunday Night party had a saxophone player, singer, and yes—the thong-bikini go-go dancers but at least it had some variety. The shows were no where even close to the cruise ship entertainment. I was amazed by how many costumes they have. I can’t imagine where they are all stored. They did change the set every night. The actual shows were just more dancing though… Stay home for the Thursday night Dome VIP party. It was painful. It said it started at 7:30 but we actually had to sit in the lower level listening to very loud music with swaying go-go dancers until 9:00 when we could go upstairs for the show. I was able to get mojitos at the lower level; that was the highlight of the evening. The show started at 9:30 and was all singing in Spanish while more women in thongs and pasties with headdresses danced. I seriously looked at the time 4 times wondering how long before it was over. It was painful… I longed for cruise ship entertainment.
Extreme Zone The website makes this sound really great. I wish I would have taken pictures because it was so ridiculously bad. For us, they charge $10 per person for three hours. I’m not sure if this would have been included in VIP or not. When we went to look at it there was no one there, not even an attendant. This was at about 2:00 in the afternoon. There were a couple bowling lanes were the pins needed to be hand placed. There were 3-4 mini golf holes made out of wood; they looked like something handmade someone would have their backyard and weathered for about 5 years. There was a backyard trampoline with netted sides in a corner of the concrete Extreme Zone. I don’t recall the rest. It was just ridiculously bad. It seemed like they should just let people use it rather than have to pay additional. It was not bright and clean and colorful like the website. It was dirty, dingy and rundown.
Wifi They charge for Wifi. I think it is $25 per device. We just occasionally used the free Wifi at VIP beach. You have to have one of the security people put in the password though. It was a nice break from electronics so we didn’t mind not paying for it. There seemed to be quite a few people who opted not to pay because I didn’t see many people on their phones.
Ocean World We booked Ocean World one day. It cost us $69 each and included transportation. The resort does charge an additional 9% for using a credit card. I believe VIP get it free. If you are interested in doing a dolphin swim it did seem reasonable compared to other prices we have seen. It is no SeaWorld but it was a fun time; we were there from 9:45 to 3:30.
Half day city tour We really enjoyed this tour. I believe it was $59 each. We went on the cable car to see a version of the Christ the Redeemer statue similar to the one in Brazil. We went to a store where they make Larimar and Amber jewelry in the back, a cigar store where they roll cigars upstairs, a chocolate store with a video of their chocolate factory. Saw the fort, catholic church and walked the city streets. It sounds very touristy as I am typing this but it was actually an interesting day.
People The people are very, very friendly both at the resort and on the streets. I always felt safe again both at the resort and on the street.
Timeshare sales We received a phone call in the morning which we didn’t because we had no interest in buying another timeshare. There are men in hats standing outside the resort asking people to take timeshare tours. No one ever asked us. Guests have different colored wristbands. Ours were shiny and said Interval International; we assumed they noticed that and weren’t permitted to ask us. It was nice not to be bothered.
Kids Club Our kids didn't attend it.
Resort in General The whole Cofresi side of the resort felt much older to us. We really enjoyed the Tropical side much more.
In summary, we felt like we got the $40 a day that we paid for. Our room location was amazing and we loved the location of Royal Suites within the Lifestyle complex.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2017
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Royal Suites room 7113 is amazing!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management T, Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 26 Dec 2017
Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to write a review about The Royal Suites at Lifestyle Holidays. It is of great importance to know our guests experience in order to improve our services. We are really happy to read such a nice opinion about our services and facilities. It would be a pleasure to host you again in the future. Best regards, The Management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We were on the 2nd floor of the Royal Suites. It was a beautiful & clean place close to the beach & the staff was so friendly! We loved the bartenders Marco & Happy at the Chasers bar. There is a nice pool right in the Royal suites area. We exchanged thru Interval but wasn't told that exchange people don't receive all the benefits. We were only able to go to half the restaurants & beaches there. VIP are able to go to it all. I am fine with that but sure wish this would of been told to me when we checked in. We had to find out the hard way and feel humiliated as we got told we couldn't enter. After a few times we went to front desk where they gave us a map finally where we could & couldn't enter. Talk about Segregation & confusion in this place for the staff. Blue/Red exchange bracelets can't enter/ Black bracelets can & I guess white/gold can do whatever they would like. I thought this resort was beautiful & the shuttle to the different areas was nice, but I don't think I'd go back just because of not everyone is treated the same. Exchange customers also only get 3 reservations at the restaurants & make sure to get those done early in the week cause they fill up fast. Our favorite restaurant was the Bellini but we also enjoyed the Blue Lagoon. Be sure to book the city tour thru the resort as well. We enjoyed taking the trip up a mountain in a cable car & seeing the city. The buffets had excellent food. Also beware of the men in hats running around with your Name on the paper. They tell you they have your welcome package but really it is coaxing you to come to a timeshare meeting. We had no idea but when reeled in for a timeshare presentation after telling them that we weren't interested-they were RUDE!! I'm shocked that this resort allows them to treat their customers that way. I did complain to the front desk about them, but they told me they are thru a different company & they aren't responsible for them. (?but they are on your resort selling your villas, but they aren't responsible) We did have a great time once we figured out where we could go on this resort, but again if we were told from the start at check-in it would of been very helpful.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2016
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Royal suites rooms are in a quiet area.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management T, Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 8 Mar 2016
Thank you for taking your time to share your experiences with us. Our ultimate aim is to provide service excellence; our guests’ feedback shifts our focus on any possible deficiencies that may exist throughout our Resort and helps us improve the quality of our services and facilities. We would like to apologize for any inconveniences that you may have experienced; we sincerely regret that, on this occasion, we were not able to fully meet your expectations. Be sure that all supervisors have been informed about the recommendations that you have highlighted and we are already working on our hotel operation accordingly. Yours Sincerely, The management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The resort has many issues, although we had a decent time. I am a Marriott Timeshare owner and traded on Interval for a week. We were supposed to have a two bedroom condo and they gave us two one bedroom condos across from each other. Just wasn't the same as staying together. The resort is all about the levels of wrist bands. We were not given VIP and had one nice beach we could go to, several pools and only 3 nights of dinner reservations. We told so many times "you aren't VIP - can't come in". We met several groups who bought their weeks stay on Groupon for $350 for two people. They were VIP and I paid thousands and was not. We were treated horrible because we were interval. Not at all what I expected or was told. They have people everywhere selling the place and they harassed us endlessly about touring, offering this and that. The food at the 3 restaurants was good and fortunately we found a wonderful mexican restaurant right outside the resort - on Confresci beach. Los Charros. We ended up going there twice for dinner. There were some very good pieces of the trip but I would not go back. The beach water is not what you think of in the carribean...some big rocks in the water. We got banged up. We did the waterfall excursion and loved it. We also did the deep sea fishing and caught a 60Lb Marlin. A great highlight. Also, many of the nights and weekend they let the locals come in and eat and then attend the one disco club on property. Also, the only place that had wifi was one beach - and it sucked. We opted to increase our own data as the resort offers to buy wifi but it was useless. Beds in our Royal Suites were hard - and the futon pull out was miserable.
Read more
Date of stay: May 2016
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management T, Gerente at The Royal Suites
Responded 3 Aug 2016
Thank you for taking your time to share your experiences with us. Our ultimate aim is to provide service excellence; our guests’ feedback shifts our focus on any possible deficiencies that may exist throughout our Resort and helps us improve the quality of our services and facilities. We would like to apologize for any inconveniences that you may have experienced; we sincerely regret that, on this occasion, we were not able to fully meet your expectations. Yours Sincerely, The management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
First room (Royal Suite) OK because it was for one night. Second Magnolia Villa was very run down and dirty. Toilets that didn't flush, showers did work or if one did it didn't drain. Sat on bed and it fell to the floor. Again, one night so we made due. Third, Royal Villa nice but still needed upkeep like shower head that was broken. By the time we got to this villa we were very ill and didn't have an opportunity to enjoy it. 4 days in bed very ill then 3 days in hospital ($3,500). During this week of illness we could not eat at any of the specialty restaurants and couldn't partake in the all-inclusive ($300 per day down the drain ... literally). Fourth move, back to Royal Suites. Toilet seat not attached and slipped with me onto the floor. After rain bathroom and bedroom were flooded (second floor of building). Kitchen cupboards cheap quality. After 6 days we still did not have a working safe ... this was an easy problem to fix but they never got to it. Smell of sewage in several areas around resort including right beside Saffron and the Chairmans Circle beach! Runoff into beach suspicious ... we refused to swim in the water at the beach because of the smelly sewage or runoff water. The staff at Saffron and the Chairmans Circle beach were (are) spectacular ... and this was our saving grace! Carmen was there to great us with a smile and a big hug ... and did everything possible to present us with food options which would help heal our illness. I read many reviews which pointed out the various band colours and variety of service levels ... well, despite the highest level band the resort was still, at best, a 2 star. Our "white band" airport return transportation was an old broken down van shared with 2 other pickups, no drinks or water on board and almost 1 hour late leaving the resort. No limo or helicopter or private taxi even! I believe that this resort has gotten too big and as it is aging ... they can't keep up with all of the maintenance that needs to be done.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2016Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management T, Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 8 Mar 2016
Thank you for taking your time to share your experiences with us. Our ultimate aim is to provide service excellence; our guests’ feedback shifts our focus on any possible deficiencies that may exist throughout our Resort and helps us improve the quality of our services and facilities. We would like to apologize for any inconveniences that you may have experienced; we sincerely regret that, on this occasion, we were not able to fully meet your expectations. Be sure that all supervisors have been informed about the recommendations that you have highlighted and we are already working on our hotel operation accordingly. Yours Sincerely, The management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Watch your drinks if you don't see it being made don't drink. I cant prove it but I am certain my wife was drugged at the tropical pool . The time share vultures do not stop harassing you until you take the tour . They stop at nothing to get you to go . There is way too many levels of service . We had vip band but apparently not the right ones to qualify for decent service. We had a couple nice days but the negative totally outweigh the positives . I will never return to the DR again This resort has ruined it for me and my wife
Read more
Date of stay: January 2016Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management T, Manager at The Royal Suites
Responded 8 Mar 2016
Thank you for taking your time to share your experiences with us. Our ultimate aim is to provide service excellence; our guests’ feedback shifts our focus on any possible deficiencies that may exist throughout our Resort and helps us improve the quality of our services and facilities. We would like to apologize for any inconveniences that you may have experienced; we sincerely regret that, on this occasion, we were not able to fully meet your expectations. Be sure that all supervisors have been informed about the recommendations that you have highlighted and we are already working on our hotel operation accordingly. Yours Sincerely, The management
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hope Mills, North Carolina35 contributions20 helpful votes
It depends where you buy it for. To get a vip you need to buy it from a member that they have you go as their guest. Stronly recomend to go that way. Is alot better with a VIP.
The Royal Suites is definitely the right choice. Close to the beach, within walking distance (some units you have to wait for a shuttle to get you down to the beach, or a pretty long walk), also close to the VIP beach which offers the jetted tubs and a couple of nice bars. They offer a free 30 minute horse back ride also, to see if you like it and if so, you can book the 2 hour ride, which is very nice, up through the hills. The staff is very helpful and attentive. We did one snorkeling trip and it was really fun. It took quite awhile to get to the snorkeling spot, but again, the staff was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed it. You can take a tour of the waterfalls, which is very nice
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Are there any historical sites close to The Royal Suites?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Fortaleza San Felipe (3.5 km), Casa Museo General Gregorio Luperón (4.3 km), and Logia Masónica Restauracion No. 11 (4.3 km).