A complete review of the Grand Palladium Punta Cana for families
Our first trip to the Dominican Republic was also the first international trip for our children. We wanted to create a good experience for them, so that we could begin fostering a love of international travel to match their love of domestic travel. International travel can be tricky. The travel days can be longer — with delayed flights, confusion on where to be, etc. This can all be exacerbated when kids are pulling at your clothes asking if they can have a snack. It can also be hard when you have particularly picky eaters, who are not sure if they are ready to sample international cuisines.
So our approach was this: limit our time to 5 days to maximize recuperation time afterward before it was time to head back to school and work, go somewhere warm and not too far with a direct flight available, and find an all-inclusive to minimize decision making and logistics once we were there. Some of our normal approach was simplified because of the planning unknowns that COVID-19 caused, but overall if we were to plan this trip again there are few things about this overall strategy that we would change.
We chose our hotel, the Grand Palladium Punta Cana Resort and Spa, based on location, price, and reviews. By booking through the JetBlue Vacations portal, we were not only able to book our flight and hotel in one package, it also included airport transport. Travel insurance can be paid for as a simple add on if you like as well. This was our first time using JetBlue Vacations and though we had a few hiccups once we arrived at the Punta Cana airport in finding our shuttle, it was overall a simple and easy experience. I also enjoyed that we could offset the cost of the trip by using JetBlue points. Now that you know how we booked, read on to find out how we enjoyed our stay.
Location: 4/5
The Grand Palladium is part of a large complex that houses a few other resorts in the family as well. This works out nicely, as you can dine and participate in activities at a sister resort which broadens your options.
The hotel was about a 45 minute drive from the airport, and it feels really set back from the road and private. It is in a major tourist area of the island with many different resorts dotting Bavaro Beach. This makes for easy sightseeing if you want to check out a long stretch of beach or see what other properties may look like, but because the beach is not private, you are not protected from solicitors trying to sell you goods or services like hair braiding or photos. Overall, this wasn’t a nuisance, and a simple “no, gracias” was always respected.
Check-in: 2/5
To be completely honest, the check in experience was perhaps the worst that we have ever had at a hotel. Likely the staff has very little control over this, and they were extremely pleasant, but the experience was so slow that we remain puzzled at what was happening in line in front of us.
I’ll start with the good. We were greeted by fresh juice in champagne glasses. The kids loved the refreshing beverage after a long day of travel. There was plenty of seating for the long wait, but that was only good for those not actively participating in the check-in process (aka the kids).
The adults, however, had to stand in a line that didn’t move for over an hour. We will never understand why. Is there only one printer? Internet moving at the speed of a slug? No idea, but it was really not the best impression after a long day of traveling. I hope this improves as travel picks up again in the coming months because I can only imagine that at larger volumes, this system will break.
Grounds: 4/5
The grounds were extensive, and relatively easy to navigate. The staff was happily willing to honor our request to have a room close the other family that we were traveling with which made meeting up for a walk to the beach or dinner really easy even on such a large property.
We had access to 6 pools between the resorts, but spent most of our time at the pool where the kids waterplay area was located. The pools were well kept and the perfect temperature to offset the hot sun. Each pool had a dedicated bar, some swim up and some not. The variety of drinks offered left something to be desired but we quickly found our favorites including the kids who loved ordering non-alcoholic Bahama Mamas and pina coladas. We also loved that it was relatively easy to find spots and all chairs were covered, either with an umbrella or awning. Shade was easy to come by which was much appreciated.
The beach was a short walk from the pools and was picturesque. The water was turquoise. The sand was white. And there was a little haven of a spot that we found marked “Kids Korner” which provided the most lovely shade below the trees. It was truly dreamy.
Rooms: 2/5
We stayed in a Junior Suite Garden View which had a lovely little patio with drying rack. This came in handy to dry our suits daily. We had a few complaints about the room itself though. One thing was just purely an oversight on my part. Two double beds is just not enough space to fit our growing family. Because of this we slept rather uncomfortably during the entirety of our trip, but I’ll chalk this up to a lesson learned for next time.
However, the beds also had a protective covering that was so plasticky or rubbery that every time someone in the family moved, it woke me up. The sound was loud, like the sound you make as you try to gracefully get out of a pool float that you’ve been wedged in for too long. It was truly grating on the ears.
Lastly, the set up of the room was quite puzzling, in that the bathroom had only a frosted glass sliding door separating it from the bedroom. This was problematic from a sound perspective as well as a brightness perspective. If anyone needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, turning the light on in the bathroom flooded the entire room with bright light like the Christmas lights scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I’m not sure if the set up was meant to create a romantic atmosphere, with a shower that could open up to the room but for a family, it just wasn’t practical at all. Also on the family note, the tub was so deep that it was difficult if not downright dangerous to get kids in and out of it at ages 4 and 6. We would look around before booking this room type again to see if others would be more functional for us.
Kids Club and Activities: 3.5/5
The kids play area at the pool was fun but our kids grew bored of it after awhile. It is small, with a pirate ship climber that had two small slides as well as a larger slide in a tower like structure off to the side. For kids less than 5 years old this may be adequate, but in the future we will be looking for a resort with a more substantial waterpark if we plan to spend significant time at the pool like we did on this trip.
The kids club was adequate, but nothing too exciting. Our kids ended up not spending much time there as they had originally wanted to, mostly just because they were enjoying the pool and beach so much. However, one afternoon we did happen to walk in at just the right time before a ziplining activity. The kids had an absolute blast with that. If you stay here, be sure to check the days and times of this activity on your first day to ensure that you don’t miss it because it’s only done a couple of times a week. I was so proud to watch our kids so fearlessly climb the tower, hook up to the carabiner, just step off of the ledge, and fly through the air. Our son said that it was his favorite part of the whole trip. Other kids activities were held sporadically and one night we happened to catch a dance party where the kids got to put on costumes and face paint which was also a big hit.
Dining: 3.5/5
Overall the food was good. There was an amazing variety and something for everyone, even our picky younger one.
One annoyance was that the hotel does not allow for reservations to be made ahead of time. In some ways, it’s nice that this puts everyone on an even playing field once on property. However, this made for quite a challenge the night that we arrived. The buffet restaurants that required no reservation did not open until 7pm. For families, this is a bit late especially on your first night when you’re dealing with tired kids and a time zone change. We had seemingly only one option on our first night which was to eat at the 24/7 sports bar on property where food choices were pretty limited. By this point in our journey everyone was hangry and ready to get to bed, but it would have been really nice to have had a great first dining experience — especially after our horrendous check in.
After this first day, we made a point to utilize the resort’s mobile app to make reservations for the other nights of our trip. This was incredibly easy and we highly recommend using the app for this purpose. Even with a large group of 8 (since we were 2 families of 4 traveling together), we were able to secure reservations throughout the rest of our stay. Our most enjoyable evening was spent at the hibachi restaurant which is always a hit for kids and adults alike. The waitstaff and chef were entertaining and accommodating throughout the meal, and the food was delicious.
Our experience was spotty at some of the other a la carte restaurants, in that they didn’t really seem to stick to their menus. One night at the steakhouse, we ordered a hot dog off the kid’s menu that apparently they were out of, but instead of asking us what we’d like to substitute for it, they just brought out a chicken sandwich to replace it. As many know, sometimes kids aren’t too keen on surprise changes so this didn’t go over well. At that same restaurant, the adults tried ordering off the menu but we were told that they’d just bring us a little of everything which ended up being only some of the side dishes that were on the menu but not all. It was unclear if this is because the other items weren’t available or they just didn’t feel like making them. Either way, it was just a little bizarre.
For breakfast and lunch, we headed to one of the many buffet restaurants available on property, where a variety of foods were offered to appease any appetite. Our favorite lunch buffet was at the Poseidon restaurant right off the beach. It was completely open air which made us feel extra safe during COVID and its location was perfect for head right back to the beach to lounge around after a filling lunch.
Overall: 3.5/5
Overall our stay at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana was really enjoyable and just what we needed. The location and weather were great and we met our goal of literally lounging by the pool and beach for 5 days with very few meltdowns from kids or fights over what activities to do. However, if we were to plan another trip to the Dominican Republic, we’d be inclined to try the Nickelodeon Hotel and Resort for it’s more extensive waterpark area or the Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana for a more updated resort that caters specifically to families.
*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
