Punta Cana Travel Diary: The Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real

So it’s been about 4 years since Luke and I were on a vacation enjoying the pool, beach, weather and of course the drinks! And, obviously, a lot has changed over the past four years.  I mean, we have wanted to get away every year, but with the boys wasn’t the easiest thing to do. But this year, it was time!

So when had the opportunity to go somewhere, we decided no more delaying.  Let’s just DO IT!! I mean think about it- tantrums at home or tantrums on the beach. Thats what all us parents have to keep in mind! We are so happy we finally decided to go on a family trip.  As you know we took our family to The Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real and it was a dream come true.  

First off, we wanted somewhere nice with a five start rating (check). Second, we wanted a family friendly resort which had activities and places to keep both us and our kids busy (check). Thirdly, we wanted it to be all inclusive, with great restaurants, pools, and drinks (check).

When choosing the Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real, we had looked all over the place at the top resorts down south and wanted to make sure all our needs were met.  Since Paradisus received Trip Advisors Travellers’ Choice Award in 2018 and was advertised as one of the best family friendly resorts on Sunwing we knew it was worth looking into.  The Kid Zone was something which peaked our interest and a family concierge was over and above our expectations.

Our trip was a dream come true from start to finish.  From the Elite Service we received from Sunwing which allowed us some heavier luggage, always a must when travelling with children! To our seats on the plane! Mason was so excited to be on an orange plane, he still talks about it to this day, “mom are we going on the orange plane again?”. Also, I can’t forgot our excellent service on the plane – shout out to Regan, who made our plane ride extra memorable and made sure I had my wine in hand!

Arriving to the resort and our suite was a breath of fresh air.  The rooms were the best I have ever been too! The view of the ocean and the balcony was spectacular!  Of course we were greeted with Champagne and horderves upon arrival. Just another area where Paradisus went over and above.  We instantly fell in love with the staff onsite. Leidy our family concierge was the sweetest and most amazing women ever! She made sure everything went off without a hitch and if it didn’t, she was right there to resolve it! Mason and Asher were well taken care of and absolutely loved everyone since they were so nice. Basically she made our vacation actually relaxing going as far as making all the dinner reservations for us! I know right? A vacation that you can actually relax!

I can go on and on about how much fun we all had, but let me just go through some more of the highlights.  For the boys, the Kids Zone and kids pool at The Reserve was by far their favorite. They always wanted to be at the pool and since the kids pool is shallow it made it so much easier for us with them.  Mason could actually touch the bottom and walk around. The slides took a little getting used to, but after a day Mason was obsessed. We also had the boys attend a painting session in the Kids Zone which they loved. Everyday, was another adventure with the boys.  Whether they were at one of the pools or just playing in the sand it was so nice to see them having new experiences.

For Luke and I, we loved everything.  The drinks were great, the restaurants were so good, and we enjoyed the variety.  It was nice to take the boys out with us for dinner and have other families enjoying themselves with us. One of our favourite restaurants was MIZU- literally the best fried rice ever and they take Japanese Cuisine to a different level, I mean its literally a dinner show! The variety of restaurants available to The Reserve Paradisus Palma Real is endless, we had Japanese, Italian, Seafood, Mediterranean, Steak Houses and more! 

The breakfast and lunch buffet that we went to daily was not your “typical” buffet. I am talking dessert tables, pancakes, waffles, eggs your way. I was BLOWN AWAY! Another thing I want to point out, is the boys would nap in their rooms most of the time in the afternoon, room service gives you the ability to have wine and lunch brought to your room free of charge. Welcome to the art of all-inclusive my friends!

Something people are not aware of is the on-site babysitter option. Gissel got along so well with the boys and even though I was suspect at first, she made me feel at ease right away.  She even brought Mason and Ashers favourite characters to colour, Buzz and Peppa Pig. Who goes that above and beyond? It gave me and Luke the ability to actually adult, have that one on one time ourselves. 

To end, our trip was nothing short of fabulous.  The staff at Paradisus made it so much more memorable and everything the resort had to offer, for adults and children made our first family vacation a success.  Now we won’t hesitate to go on another vacation, but I don’t think the treatment we received could be beat!

Thank you to Melia Resorts and Sunwing for such a great trip and a special thanks to all the staff who became our friends:

Leidy, Gabriel (one of the hotel managers, probably one of the best people I have ever met and goes above and beyond to ensure that his guests are always satisfied), Gissel and Santiago!