Well yet again, LTI lived up to my expectations!
This review is a bit lengthy, but wanted to share as much as possible!
This was our 6th trip to Punta Cana, and our 3rd to LTI. We traveled there in May of 2007 and again in September of 2007.
Lets start at the beginning…
Flight:
We flew on USA 3000 with a nonstop flight from Baltimore. I would highly recommend this airline to anyone who has the availability to use them. Check-in at the airport was a breeze, as was the flight. They have food and alcohol for purchase and an inflight movie.
Airport
Once we arrived in PUJ, we paid our $10 and received our bags, then headed to our prearranged transfer with mikesmarina. There are a lot of porters after baggage but a firm “no Gracias” go’s a long way. The transfer service through mikesmarina is highly recommended to those who’s transfer was not included in your package. It cost us $66 round trip. The driver was waiting on us, and we went right to a nice air-conditioned van and headed down the road. The drive was about 20-25 minutes with no stops.
Checkin/Room:
We arrived at LTI around 12:15pm and got checked in. Before leaving I’d requested a room in building 5, although no big deal, we weren’t given building 5. We received a room in Building 3 which is right in the middle of the property with no views of anything. We asked to be moved, and Juan at the front desk, said to check in the morning. The room in building 3 was nice, the air worked great, however there was just nothing pleasing to look at.
The next morning we went to breakfast and returned and found a note stating to come to reception. The manager greeted us, and said because of being return guests he had a special room for us, and moved us oceanfront.
The bellman moved us to our new room, which was awesome! We had an actual king sized bed, not like in the past where it was two beds pushed together, with a secondary bedroom with 2 twin beds and a sitting area. You could lie in bed and look directly into the clear blue waters of the ocean.
It was perfect!!
Food:
The food is good, however a bit repetitive, but was always able to find something to eat. We ate at the buffet every morning for breakfast and once for lunch. In seven days, we at the buffet dinner 2 times, which was a pleasant surprise. The food was great!
The other nights we rotated between the Estrella del Mar (ala carte) and La Trattoria (ala carte/Italian). You make reservations outside the main buffet each morning, and never had a problem getting it. Even went one night without reservations and was accommodated. The only annoying part to making the reservations, is that they are taken by reps from the Cayena Beach Club, and they try to sell you there service every time. However, a polite “No Gracias” helped and they would stop.
My birthday was on the 24th and we ate dinner at Estella del Mar and the service was GREAT!! The food was good, nothing special, but good, and the desert was great as well. We ate at this restaurant again, and the service was good, however, the food was horrid. The descriptions given on the menu did not match what was served. However, I ate what I could and left the rest. The Italian place is great, perhaps my favorite at the resort. You can order your own pizza from the menu, or you could eat from the buffet in the restaurant. Surprisingly enough, the Lasagna is some of the best I’ve had.
During the day, they service burgers, hotdogs, and chicken by the pool. They also a sandwich making station as well. The food, is good, however it’s hot outside and found it hard to eat a lot during the day.
Late at night at the Calypso bar, they serve sandwiches and soup, both were very good and filling, especially after a long night of drinking and dancing.
Pool:
The pool is fantastic. They seem to have moved most of their activities to the beach during the day, which is great, seems to make it a bit more relaxing. We would find “our” hut each morning and place our towels on the chair on the way to breakfast. We never had a problem finding a hut, however we were down there around 8am every morning to go eat.
Around the pool you will meet lots of people from all over the world, and have made some great friendships. They also bring around animals to have your picture taken with. They had a monkey, iguana, snake, and parrots. All where cool, and the pictures are available for purchase that evening outside the main buffet. They cost $8US.
Beach:
The beach is absolutely beautiful! The sand never feels that hot, and the water is warm. There were a couple days that wind was blowing, which made the water seem choppy. Not bad, just more than normal. The breeze was great, and really cooled you down.
Service:
The service at all the bars where great! Bienvinedo at the pool bar is great, and always happy to accommodate my thermos mug with a smile. Also, Manuel in the disco and some nights at the bar in Estrella del Mar was great. He tried to teach me some new Spanish, and always kept my drink filled.
On that note, the service at the main buffet was less than ideal. The waiter would never come to us, and would come to all the tables around… not sure why, but we had no problem getting our own drinks. Same for the service at the lobby bar. You could order a drink and wait 20 minutes for it to return, we would recommend getting your own directly from the bar.
Drinks:
I’m primarily a beer drinker, and Presidente is great, actually my favorite beer! The drinks can be strong if you ask, and if requested they will bring out the good rum. Cocolocos are my next favorite and would enjoy several in the evenings at the show or lobby bar.
They had a drink called the Mariposa Amarilla at Estrella del Mar, which was great. Reminded me of a frozen Fuzzy Navel… very very good!!
Excursions:
We went Scuba diving through the Pelicano Watersports center located next to the hotel on the beach. The guys that work there are great, and super friendly! Benjamin was our guide, and was very knowledgeable and professional. They even have a videographer go out with you and film you while you’re diving… another awesome thing. The video is on a DVD and costs $45. A bit expensive, but since we were the only ones on the dive, he filmed us the whole time.
Although, not really an excursion, we went shopping at the Palma Real where the Hard Rock Café was located. The stores are VERY expensive, however, our primary reason for going was the Hard Rock Café. The prices are comparable to other Hard Rocks around the world. They have a free shuttle from the hotel to the Palma Real, however you make SEVERAL stops. We decided to take a taxi to Bavaro Shopping to buy some souvenirs. The sales people are aggressive and after a while will take a no. Be sure to barter, and you will be surprised how low they will go. Just stick to you guns, if you don’t want to pay more, walk away… 9 times out of 10, they will chase you down and make you a better offer.
We went to Steve’s Corner Bar. Met some great Trip Advisor people… Joken, Candi, and Kelleegirl. As well as the famous PC Mike! The beer was the coldest I’ve had, and very reasonably priced at $2US a piece. It’s a very cool place, and will make sure to go everytime we are in PC.
We took a Motoconcho back to the hotel at a cost of $3. This was very exciting, and really the cheapest and most fun way to travel. I will do this in the future!
Shows:
The shows were not very good. Although the music normally was, I’m just not into dancing for 7 nights in a row. We would either sit in the bar next to the theater and chat with friends and enjoy our drinks, or sit in the lobby and do the same.
Disco:
The disco is great. It’s really crowded after the shows are over, but only lasts about 30 minutes. It’s open from 11pm to 2am, we closed it down a couple nights, and we were the only ones in there for the majority of the time. After leaving the disco, we would head to the beach to enjoy our final drinks and call it a night. The Disco is air-conditioned which is nice, however the music is really really loud!
Checkout/Departure:
Checkout was without problem, just had to pay for our safe key return, and was done. Again, our transfers were pre-arranged via mikesmarina.com and they driver was right on time.
At the airport, the line for USA 3000 was REALLY long, so I’d recommend getting there early. We stood in line for over an hour!
We got through customs with no problem, and bought our picture they took when you arrive, and ate some Wendy’s. Surprisingly the prices aren’t that bad $8 for the combo. It was really good though! We found our gate and before you knew it we were departing. They actually left early… which I found odd. Flight back was great, and I’d recommend BWI for returns via customs. It was the smoothest I’ve ever experienced.
This trip was by far our best, and we look forward to another return in the fall of this year. If you have any questions, please let me know, I’m more than happy to assist!