i am not a review writer,
to be honest, i never wrote a review about any of my travels, but reading all that countless threads about the new opened EdenH Arena Real resort, ranging from top to hop, i couldn'd stand it and had to take my time for a quick check, and that happened this morning, friday morning January 25th 2008.
i can not comment on resort/room/amenities conditions prior to my todays visit, but i can put all visitors arriving from today ahead on eeeeaaaseee, because what i saw is one of the best the Punta Cana area has to offer as an all inclusive resort. it starts with a whole new design, not the always the same look everywhere, all appears spacy and not overfilled even with ALL rooms booked, running their max possible capacity. i had my private walk around guided by Punta Cana Mike and started to get jellous on 2 points:
* 1st, it seems like everybody there knows him, not only the staff, also the guests, while i recognized 3 or 4 guests who seemed not to know who I am??, strange, but i can live with that, maybe they been staff members paid by PC Mike to look like guests and ignore the famous visiting star, lol.
* 2nd, i am only a visitor while he can enjoy those great surroundings everyday.
i watched out for the big construction site all the time, while driving my car in the resort area to the lobby where several buses loaded and unloaded luggage and passengers on their arrival/departure, but it did not let me feel to be at a crowded place and within 10 seconds i had a very friendly greeting bell boy asking for my car keys to park my car, i want to mention that i did not plan to visit there, at least not today, nobody of that resort's staff knows who i am, i did not take my Marine's batch out and my car's Marine Plate been under the driver's seat. i entered the spacious lobby area and headed towards the check in/out front desk, busy with a bunch of customers arriving/departing, but nothing feeled stressy/crowded, everything is working smooth there, quiet and efficiently fast. within just 2 minutes a friendly smiling front desk employee ask me what he can do for me, i told him my name and that i wish to speak with Punta Cana Mike, a short phonecall by the guy, a smiley "one minute please, Sir", and an other 30 seconds later my buddy Mike arrived. i handed him over a bunch of soccer balls donated by visitors at the Ocean Blue Sands&Spa this morning, he showed me around his office (btw full of kiddies stuff, thanks to everybody of you guys who is bringing donations, clothings, school supplies, his office looks in that case the same than my home and most of the days the back seat of my car) and right away the decision been made, let's have a walk around the resort, and that we did from the front to the end, down and upstairs.
on the entire visit i did not realize more "Construction" than some workers fixing a door, some small electricity boxes still without tabs and the entire area in the middle of the mangroves where the Spa and Gym is really still under construction, but that construction can not be seen by hotel guests, because the area is covered by a very high fence, you can not see a thing of that construction area and you hear absolutely no noise from over there, so i could not find a thing which could bother a thing on vacations. Mike explained me that on the far other side behind the Theater the bowling alley will be builded, but i did not walk in there, i wanted to see what is accessable/visible by regular hotel guests. i entered each one of the numerous a la carte restaurants, each with it's own flair, like the very romantic decent red painted italian restaurant, the very fine/fency styled french restaurant, the american grill/lobster/seafood-restaurant and te best sports bar i saw in the whole punta cana area, within and off the resorts, flatscreens on all sides and they can put different games/programs on each screen, depending on the sport the present guests want to watch, on nighttime they also have a buffet there for the late night snacks after restaurants are closed. we also went on the roof with it's huge jacuzzi, i want to visit again on nighttime when the sun is down and you only see the stars above you, the ocean shimmering in the short distance, lights on in the gardens down there. that area is top and unique within all resorts, a lot of space with very comfortable couchs/palappas aso, spacy and each in a decent distance to an other, so each group of people can enjoy that place without beeing disturbed by the neighboured group. service personel absolutely everywhere for everything, there's staff at each door to open and close it for you.
all restaurants are airconditioned and the tables including at the Buffet restaurant are in a very comfortable distance to each other, you won't disturb your neighbour's table when pulling back your chair, that's what i saw at that resort everywhere at everything, it is spacious, leaving free room around everything, you can not feel crowded there.
to the rooms, i saw just a regular standard room, Punta Cana Mike's own room, 2 beds, huge bathroom, nice balcony, i wouldn't miss a thing on vacations there in such a standard room. the resort on full capacity runs a very friendly and quiet and absolutely stressfree atmosphere, i felt like that from the beginning when i entered the lobby area and that feeling did not change til the end of my stay. very friendly helpful staff in big quantity everywhere for everything, to take my wife there on a vacation right now i would decide within a eyeblink if i had the time and money for it, maybe i get a chance to gather a room on the sorrily always crowded easter weekend, the choice of hotel to stay couldn't been made better than to take that one. and still left to imagine how that georgous spot will be when the mangroves area with it's Spa and Gym amenities in the middle of it will be open (planned for around easter 2008) and the bowling area for additional group entertainment. right now it is absolutely o.k. to enjoy the atmosphere at the center of the mainbuilding, right after the lobby area, where they have nightly open air entertainment in a very different way to the typical all inclusive resort "Shows". of course i can not comment on most food, because all a la carte restaurants been closed during my visit on daytime, so i just walked throu them , what i saw at the buffet been anyways enough to suit my needs of food.
so for my really own fisherman's meaning of a top rated all inclusive resort, and i know each resort in the area, each single one, i wouldn't have a thing to complain, nothing of disturbance by what ever kind of construction/noise aso, all i saw and tasted left me with a very positive feeling and the wish to come back for a long weekend with my better half.
to all clients who booked that resort, don't worry about a thing, forget about scary rumors or negative reviews. on my way throu the property with PC-Mike we got stopped by hotel guests countless times nd each of them with a smile on his face, thanking PC-Mike for the great time they have here on the property. if there's been anybody unhappy that one been hiding from me somewhere in his room, or maybe climbed over the deviding high fence along the construction to take some fotos of the construction site to complain at his TA's office afterwards for some money back.
wow,
i am pretty sure that's by far the longest thread i ever wrote, but once started i couldn't stop.
i am sitting right now at the Corner Bar with a cold beer aside after the lunch i took here, thinking about how i explain my wife that i want to take a new resort this year's easter weekend for our anual easter runaway instead of HER beloved one, but i am pretty sure the Boss will understand me and hopefully PC-Mike can arrange to get one of those small sweet standard double rooms for me, ha ha.
and please don't get me wrong, i always pay for my rooms/services at each resort where i spend a weekend with my wife, no complimentaries, no extras, no VIP sh.., we even pay as Dominican booked direct customers much higher rates than foreign visitors as packages with their TA.
to everybody visiting here the next days/weeks/months,
have a blast vacation, the resort is ready to do so,
and of course happy travel to everybody else at all resorts on our wonderful island.
cheers
Mike
the Fisher one
to be honest, i never wrote a review about any of my travels, but reading all that countless threads about the new opened EdenH Arena Real resort, ranging from top to hop, i couldn'd stand it and had to take my time for a quick check, and that happened this morning, friday morning January 25th 2008.
i can not comment on resort/room/amenities conditions prior to my todays visit, but i can put all visitors arriving from today ahead on eeeeaaaseee, because what i saw is one of the best the Punta Cana area has to offer as an all inclusive resort. it starts with a whole new design, not the always the same look everywhere, all appears spacy and not overfilled even with ALL rooms booked, running their max possible capacity. i had my private walk around guided by Punta Cana Mike and started to get jellous on 2 points:
* 1st, it seems like everybody there knows him, not only the staff, also the guests, while i recognized 3 or 4 guests who seemed not to know who I am??, strange, but i can live with that, maybe they been staff members paid by PC Mike to look like guests and ignore the famous visiting star, lol.
* 2nd, i am only a visitor while he can enjoy those great surroundings everyday.
i watched out for the big construction site all the time, while driving my car in the resort area to the lobby where several buses loaded and unloaded luggage and passengers on their arrival/departure, but it did not let me feel to be at a crowded place and within 10 seconds i had a very friendly greeting bell boy asking for my car keys to park my car, i want to mention that i did not plan to visit there, at least not today, nobody of that resort's staff knows who i am, i did not take my Marine's batch out and my car's Marine Plate been under the driver's seat. i entered the spacious lobby area and headed towards the check in/out front desk, busy with a bunch of customers arriving/departing, but nothing feeled stressy/crowded, everything is working smooth there, quiet and efficiently fast. within just 2 minutes a friendly smiling front desk employee ask me what he can do for me, i told him my name and that i wish to speak with Punta Cana Mike, a short phonecall by the guy, a smiley "one minute please, Sir", and an other 30 seconds later my buddy Mike arrived. i handed him over a bunch of soccer balls donated by visitors at the Ocean Blue Sands&Spa this morning, he showed me around his office (btw full of kiddies stuff, thanks to everybody of you guys who is bringing donations, clothings, school supplies, his office looks in that case the same than my home and most of the days the back seat of my car) and right away the decision been made, let's have a walk around the resort, and that we did from the front to the end, down and upstairs.
on the entire visit i did not realize more "Construction" than some workers fixing a door, some small electricity boxes still without tabs and the entire area in the middle of the mangroves where the Spa and Gym is really still under construction, but that construction can not be seen by hotel guests, because the area is covered by a very high fence, you can not see a thing of that construction area and you hear absolutely no noise from over there, so i could not find a thing which could bother a thing on vacations. Mike explained me that on the far other side behind the Theater the bowling alley will be builded, but i did not walk in there, i wanted to see what is accessable/visible by regular hotel guests. i entered each one of the numerous a la carte restaurants, each with it's own flair, like the very romantic decent red painted italian restaurant, the very fine/fency styled french restaurant, the american grill/lobster/seafood-restaurant and te best sports bar i saw in the whole punta cana area, within and off the resorts, flatscreens on all sides and they can put different games/programs on each screen, depending on the sport the present guests want to watch, on nighttime they also have a buffet there for the late night snacks after restaurants are closed. we also went on the roof with it's huge jacuzzi, i want to visit again on nighttime when the sun is down and you only see the stars above you, the ocean shimmering in the short distance, lights on in the gardens down there. that area is top and unique within all resorts, a lot of space with very comfortable couchs/palappas aso, spacy and each in a decent distance to an other, so each group of people can enjoy that place without beeing disturbed by the neighboured group. service personel absolutely everywhere for everything, there's staff at each door to open and close it for you.
all restaurants are airconditioned and the tables including at the Buffet restaurant are in a very comfortable distance to each other, you won't disturb your neighbour's table when pulling back your chair, that's what i saw at that resort everywhere at everything, it is spacious, leaving free room around everything, you can not feel crowded there.
to the rooms, i saw just a regular standard room, Punta Cana Mike's own room, 2 beds, huge bathroom, nice balcony, i wouldn't miss a thing on vacations there in such a standard room. the resort on full capacity runs a very friendly and quiet and absolutely stressfree atmosphere, i felt like that from the beginning when i entered the lobby area and that feeling did not change til the end of my stay. very friendly helpful staff in big quantity everywhere for everything, to take my wife there on a vacation right now i would decide within a eyeblink if i had the time and money for it, maybe i get a chance to gather a room on the sorrily always crowded easter weekend, the choice of hotel to stay couldn't been made better than to take that one. and still left to imagine how that georgous spot will be when the mangroves area with it's Spa and Gym amenities in the middle of it will be open (planned for around easter 2008) and the bowling area for additional group entertainment. right now it is absolutely o.k. to enjoy the atmosphere at the center of the mainbuilding, right after the lobby area, where they have nightly open air entertainment in a very different way to the typical all inclusive resort "Shows". of course i can not comment on most food, because all a la carte restaurants been closed during my visit on daytime, so i just walked throu them , what i saw at the buffet been anyways enough to suit my needs of food.
so for my really own fisherman's meaning of a top rated all inclusive resort, and i know each resort in the area, each single one, i wouldn't have a thing to complain, nothing of disturbance by what ever kind of construction/noise aso, all i saw and tasted left me with a very positive feeling and the wish to come back for a long weekend with my better half.
to all clients who booked that resort, don't worry about a thing, forget about scary rumors or negative reviews. on my way throu the property with PC-Mike we got stopped by hotel guests countless times nd each of them with a smile on his face, thanking PC-Mike for the great time they have here on the property. if there's been anybody unhappy that one been hiding from me somewhere in his room, or maybe climbed over the deviding high fence along the construction to take some fotos of the construction site to complain at his TA's office afterwards for some money back.
wow,
i am pretty sure that's by far the longest thread i ever wrote, but once started i couldn't stop.
i am sitting right now at the Corner Bar with a cold beer aside after the lunch i took here, thinking about how i explain my wife that i want to take a new resort this year's easter weekend for our anual easter runaway instead of HER beloved one, but i am pretty sure the Boss will understand me and hopefully PC-Mike can arrange to get one of those small sweet standard double rooms for me, ha ha.
and please don't get me wrong, i always pay for my rooms/services at each resort where i spend a weekend with my wife, no complimentaries, no extras, no VIP sh.., we even pay as Dominican booked direct customers much higher rates than foreign visitors as packages with their TA.
to everybody visiting here the next days/weeks/months,
have a blast vacation, the resort is ready to do so,
and of course happy travel to everybody else at all resorts on our wonderful island.
cheers
Mike
the Fisher one