Sanctuary Cap Cana

Chris Yerg

I want to give an honest opinion, I cannot say I am a expert on resort but I have been to a few and the one thing I noticed most about this location. Your experience on property is heavily based on tipping. If you want a table at either the Asian restaurant or Italian restaurant, you should try tipping 20 bucks. Bring a mavecave roll of singles and you will know everyone. I even had a drink with a older woman from the Hamptons, she made it sound like her experience was over expected, "Just hand out some cash". Quoted, The Hamptons of NY. The room had sewer flies. Like 6 a day. I smooshed them on the wall with my hotel bathshoe. Once I made change for a $100 my trip got better, unfortunately that was to late for me. Order the Boca Chinco fish on the pier, it was solid delicious, but again I started tipping good just that morning. Fun, quite, low key drunk, lots of hangout spots, plenty of sun chairs, and if you make it until @ 9pm catch the karaoke or Burlesque show for some fun. I found the food aspect to be stressful during a stay, with this being an inclusive resort. Ask me questions I'll be transparent, I had fun, however I want to leave 100% stress and decisions at home.

Natalia Bilash

We just returned from our first all-inclusive Caribbean vacation. We chose Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and booked a vacation through a third party to stay at Sanctuary Cap Cana, a Marriott resort located 15 minutes from the San Juan airport. The resort is beautiful, offering 5 pools and a small beach. There was no seaweed and everything was very clean. The property is very well maintained and the wait staff working here is very polite and friendly. A big shout out to Oscar who brought us our drinks at the pool. The resort offers one restaurant for breakfast and lunch: CASA BELLA. This is a buffet style restaurant which has something for everyone, including Dominican specialties. 2 restaurants are open to everyone for dinner and you don't need a reservation: THE STEAKHOUSE – amazing food with many meat choices and very friendly staff. The ribeye was one of the best we’ve ever had! Very friendly staff, nice sized portions. Come early if you don’t want to wait for a table. BLUE MARLIN – seafood restaurant on the ocean. This restaurant can get quite chilly on windy evenings. The staff here is terrible. We ate here twice and both times, our orders were mixed up, staff was nowhere to be seen when we wanted more drinks or water. The food is ok. The 2 other restaurants on the property require reservations through the hotel. OpenTable reservations are not honored. We managed to get reservations and the other 2, but his was not easy to do and the restaurant reservations staff were not accommodating to everyone. It seemed they cater to those guests who booked directly through Marriott or those in the Castle. CAPRICCIO – Italian restaurant located at the front of the resort. Nice ambiance, slow staff, interesting menu. Very small portions! Our antipasto appetizer had 2 rolled up pieces of meat, half a cherry tomato and a little breadstick. The burrata had one small ball of burrata, a sundried tomato in balsamic vinegar. My spaghetti carbonara had one piece of guanciale and when I asked our waiter about it, they brough me badly charred pieces of meat (not guanciale) to add to my then cold spaghetti. My husband had a chicken dish which was mediocre. WOK – very nice ambiance, lots of Asian style food options but nothing was spectacular. We shared 5 dishes and each was just ok. The cocktails however were interesting. Located in the Castle area, at the far end of the resort. Sanctuary has 5 pools including the one in the Castle – open to everyone. The main pool has a swim up bar. All the drinks are watered down. The best bar hands down, was the Love Bar located in the main building. Ocean Bar in the Castle section is very nice also, and it overlooks the ocean and is next to a nice small pool. Sanctuary Town which has several smaller restaurants are not included in the all-inclusive. I didn't like that. Entertainment is limited, both during the day and in the evenings. It’s a very chill atmosphere, perhaps because it’s an adults-only resort. I’d have preferred more nightly entertainment but did enjoy the ABBA show, the Dominican Night and the musicians in the Love Bar. Overall, a nice stay, but the resort has a lot of things to improve. I suggest they open up more restaurants.

Pam Sikkink

Arelci, Christian, and Endy were the most exceptional wait staff in the whole resort. They were so good at their job and made you feel extra special and appreciated. The resort itself has changed a lot in the past few years. The staff in general is not as outgoing and don't seem to be as happy as they once were. They don't interact like they used to. The poolside activities are almost non-existent. The entertainment staff they have are very nice, but they really don't have much (activity wise) to work with. We miss a lot of staff that were there for many years. They were such good employees that remembered you and interacted with everyone! A lot of visitors are thinking that Marriott has turned Sanctuary into a typical corporate resort. It doesn't have the same feel as it has had in the past 12 years.

Eliana Kim

We chose this luxury resort to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary after doing a lot of research. Before coming, we saw a few reviews that made us a little uncertain, but we decided to experience it ourselves — and we’re glad we did! This resort is adults-only, which makes it a perfect place for couples who just want peace, quiet, and relaxation. The staff are very friendly, and the food is overall good. If I could suggest one thing, it would be to have some small evening shows or live music — it would make the nights even more enjoyable. We also loved spending time at the pool bar, sipping cocktails and just unwinding. I especially recommend the Asian restaurant — the food and service were both excellent. If you’d like to receive a bit of extra attention, leaving a small tip goes a long way. We truly enjoyed our 4-night, 5-day stay here. Also, I highly recommend joining a local tour. It costs around $50 per person and makes for a fun and fulfilling day. Just keep in mind that the resort photos online look a bit more glamorous than reality — so try to come with an open mind. Overall, we had a wonderful time and would definitely recommend this resort!

alyssa soprano

I just got home from a girls trip at this resort. The lobby is beautiful. The ground are well kept and very clean. The staff seems very unorganized and even more so they are not friendly at all. The only time I felt like the staff was friendly was when I had cash in my hand and they could see it for tipping. I was a generous tipper regardless of their attitudes. The food was pretty spectacular for an all inclusive resort. I am a foodie in my regular life so I was expecting sub par dining. The meal options far exceeded expectations. The alcohol options were not my favorite because I prefer craft cocktails but I pretty much expected I wouldn't find any alcoholic beverages that really blew my mind. The beach is fairly small which I did not mind however if you are someone who likes long walks on the beach this is not the resort for you. My friends scarf got stolen out of the room and it was a luxury LV scarf and the hotel did nothing about it. They did not offer compensation. They took days to respond or give her any answers into their investigation. The spa was amazing. I was not expecting such a wonderful spa at an all inclusive resort but it is a must do if you are traveling there. Overall I would recommend this to friends and family. I wish that the hotel had kinder staff because it seemed across the board that everyone hated their job that worked there.