My wife and I stayed at the Sivory Punta Cana in April of 2007 in for our Honeymoon and found it to be an amazing experience. Upon returning this week (April 08') we have experienced much of the same joy. I feel it is important to recognize that we have celebrated both our honeymoon and 1-year anniversary at the Sivory. So as you can imagine we arrived on both occasions in great spirits. The high point of the trip is the room for it has a number of modern ammenities and is quite large compared to what you find in the states. The shower is glorious, the bed comfortable and two couches are available for in-room lounging. The chaise chairs available on the balcony allow for you to listen to the waves and read a book or perhaps use the wireless internet as I am now. The pool is great, however the (2) times I went swimming this week I found myself removing leaves as I swam. Not sure what it was like last year but the pool is very much "under their control" as opposed to others complaints about the beach and choppy waters. The staff is by far the best I have ever experienced and I spend 100+ days a year on the road. My wife would guess that we encountered over (25) staff while spending (7) days in paradise this week and they have all felt like friends and family. We mostly relaxed, played tennis, worked out, and enjoyed Mojitos. All is well and I will attempt to give "constructive criticism" and compliments where necessary.

On both occasions we purchased our package through Luxury LInk which included breakfast, a four course dinner and various spa treatments well below the face value. I will begin by addressing the Spa, the staff is extremely courteous, however as someone mentioned their training and knowledge is on the lighter end of the scale. We received pedicures, manicures, exfoliation treatments and an (1) hour massage during our recent stay and enjoyed them all. However, if I were to pay the face value for any of those treatments I would have been disappointed - mainly because I'm cheap. The reality is many of the services (food, beverages & spa treatments) are not worth the advertised cost - such is life!

The food is the greatest area of concern for if you are staying more than (3) days then you ned to bring your own personal chef. I believe the Chef's are better classified as "Cooks" versus actual Chefs. The food is very average if not disappointing at times. The staff however is so amazing that you give the "Cooks" a pass. The price of the food however is absolutely ridiculous. They force individuals to purchase the meal plan and which ultimately leads to individuals eating (poor food) and drinking (great Mojitos) all day to trying to get their dollar's worth. The breakfast is easily the best meal of the day however, breakfast who can't make eggs, hash browns and sausage. The menus as someone touched on earlier are the same dishes that were on the menu as last year. None of this would be a problem if they didn't bill themselves as serving "art cuisine' and asking entirely too much for "dorm-like" food. Again, the staff is amazing and I suspect that native Chef's of Punta Cana may not know the difference for they have never left their country. Where would they go to be trained? Who would conduct the training? (another native of Punta Cana) To end a long story, the flavors could be much better as the presentation is very art-like however the food is extremely poor and the selection is limited. After (3) days you are out of options as we ate possibly (5) bacon cheeseburgers last year. This year I will add that I asked for Fried Chicken (I'm a southern boy) and French Fries on my birthday and they happily obliged. Today as well we made a request completely off the menu and unique to Texas and they did a great job of re-creating the dish based on our explanation. The moral of the story if you are disenchanted with the selection - offer your own suggestions for they truly due aim to please!

My wife and I truly love the staff and will come back on our (5th year anniversary) simply to re-live our first (2) experiences and see how things are going for it feels like family when you are at the hotel. I am going to miss everyone and hope they are able to maintain their level of service for I foresee many issues arising over the coming years. Hotels are high-maintenance are its remote location and limitations in a country such as the Dominican Republic present challenges. It will continue to deteriorate before I see them upgraded or improving for the hotel is less than (3) years old.

I can't conclude without recognizing the cab ride. The drivers take on the road like no one I have ever seen and I have been to New York over (30) times. My wife and I thought we would die or at least (7) times on in route to the hotel. We only hope our travel back to the airport is less eventful.

Note: Bring as many snacks as possible for a bottle of wine and your favorite snack is the perfect substitute for a meal at any of the three restaurants. If you are traveling to the Sivory Punta Cana have a wonderful time for as you may have noted above we will be back!

I just returned from a week at Sivory Punta Cana. The resort was beautiful and the staff was very friendly. The rooms are wonderful. I had a Premium Ocean Front View room- I opted not to get the plunge pool. I didn’t see a need for one on this trip. The people who had them seemed to hardly use them. ( I noticed because I was on my patio constantly taking in the wonderful view. I was in room 14- in the first set of suites near the pool. (fabulous location)

The ride to the hotel was not too bad. Other reviews described the pot hole- ridden road. The road was indeed that way, however, it was a country back road and was literally at the end of the hotels on the punta cana strip. Once you hit one of the other all inclusives, you will veer off onto a dirt road. The bumpy part of the ride added to the trip for me and was not bad at all. The drivers take their time and go around the pot holes. What would be a 5 minute drive turned out to be about a 10-15 minute ride due to the slowness needed to maneuver the roads. It was no big deal at all! Don’t let the reviews dissuade you.

Once you arrive at the hotel you will be impressed by the Balinese type resort entry way. I was greeted by name which was impressive. I was registered and given a tour of the hotel ground and shown my room. The room was fantastic. I had a wonderful view, comfortable bed, tub for two, shower for two, and a flat screen TV. You will be provided a fridge with free, beer, water- liter bottles, and soda. There is also a wine cooler in the room. If you opt for the food plan- $150 a day, you will get to drink the wines for free, with out the plan, you will have to pay for them- the water etc. were free. You will get a complimentary breakfast with and with out the plan. Pastries, juice, and coffee. Wonderful way to start the day!

There is little to do on the grounds of the resort. You will be forced to relax. The pool is wonderful and there is a heated pool and splash pool/sauna inside the spa area of the hotel. The gym is located in the spa area as well. The gym and spa areas were lovely and there was rarely anyone using the facilities so you will often be the only person using the spa area.

The grounds are very quiet and you may see other guests at times, but in general you will be surrounded by peace and quiet. The only sounds you may hear are the wind, the waves, and the occasional bird. It was a wonderful escape from an otherwise hectic life. I travelled alone and had no difficulties. I did not feel strange because there were couples at the resort or left out in anyway.

The concierge was helpful to plan an outing and would greet me by name every time he saw me.

The hotel has a computer for guest use, a library and piano bar area that is usually empty. I came back one night to a man just playing the piano by himself and it was quite enchanting with the beautiful sun setting in the background and the waves crashing on the beach. Nice touch!

I ate at the Laverenda restaurant and the food was ok. I found the food at the local restaurant down the street better and cheaper (including the $10/each way cost of a taxi.) You must visit the El Navagante restaurant down the road. It is next door to one of the all inclusives and right on the beach- wear you insect repellant!!)

The staff were wonderful and if you know Spanish it is helpful. Spanish goes a long way!

The boutique has a small selection of art work, women’s accessories, and even smaller selection of toiletry items. The items are rather pricey but no more than an artsy boutique in any major city.

The beach is interesting. People rarely swam in the water. The water is a bit rough toward that end of the beach. The beach is well kept in the immediate area of the resort but literally two minutes in either direction it is not as well kept as other 5 and 4 star hotels- I found that to be interesting. It wouldn’t keep me from returning again, just don’t expect the pristine beaches you may be accustomed to.

Pool and beach service has to be sought after, they do not come to you, however most people I encountered brought their own drinks from their rooms, so it is nothing to be overly concerned about.

I have found my place for rest and relaxation and I will return to Sivory Punta Cana. I would not recommend the place for people traveling with children or people looking for tons of nightlife and a place to mingle and meet lots of people. People generally kept to themselves while I was there and I spoke to staff far more than I spoke to other guests. Honeymooners would love this place as you will have nothing to do but be with each other in a wonderfully exotic setting without having tons of people around.

The hotel has beautiful grounds and wonderful plant life. You may even see a gecko or two- especially in the spa area.

Thank you Sivory Punta Cana for the best vacation I have had in years! As for those people who have posted negative reviews, take the reviews with a grain of salt. I am glad I chose to do so. I came home refreshed and ready to return to Sivory Punta Cana.

We recently returned to Sivory after having an incredible vacation back in 2007. Unfortunately, this property has gone downhill. I don’t know if it has changed owners, managers, or what the difference is, but our vacation this time was a complete let down. The staff is as friendly as ever, even though most of the faces were not the same, the employees were still very helpful and kind. The most obvious difference we noticed was the general upkeep of the hotel. The gardens look completely unattended, which is strange, since they had told us last year that they were in the process of re-designing the entire landscape. Frankly, it was in the same state of dishevel as our last visit, and really give a bad first impression of the hotel. The beach has also gone downhill, alternating between high surf with brownish water, to days that it was completely unusable as it had so much debris it made it undesirable to even go swimming. Only on occasion did they rake the surf line in the mornings, and it had large logs and driftwood. We also were dissappointed to find that the menus in the various restaurants were exactly the same as our last visit. The food is delicious, but we got tired of the same limited choices as the last time we were there, and were forced to go to the hotel next door (Agua) to look for some variety. Unfortunately, it was definitely not an improvement, and we did not return. Our room was probably the worst in things that have not been maintained. Lights not working, internet access not working, mildewy smell, scratched and stained wood furniture, dirty windows, amenities not complete, towels threadbare in places, lumpy pillows, it was not even close to what we had enjoyed during our prior visit. On a happy note, we did take a horseback riding tour on the beach, and that was probably the highlight of our trip, something we would repeat it if we ever planned to visit the area again (which I doubt). We did spend one day in the spa, but we found it to be overpriced and the therapists inexperienced, so we did not return. This whole trip which was intended to be a romantic getaway, but basically overall turned out to be a huge dissapointment.
If you are looking for an isolated hotel with friendly workers, this is the place to be, we love it’s distant location from the mega all-inclusives, but it’s not likely that we will return a third time to Sivory, as for the price we paid, we have lost our confidence that it will be better our next visit.

My partner and I have very stressful jobs and found our stay at Sivory the perfect place for some much needed "down-time". Upon arrival via helicopter we were greeted by warm smiles and two glasses of bubbly... Our suite was beautifully decorated in a contemporary style. Just large enough to have space and small enough to feel intimiate. There is no night life at Sivory so if you are looking for quiet evenings to share with that special someone, this is the place. On the downside the beach was only accessible 2 of our 6 days. The waves were too rough to allow us to swim, the debris from the rough water made the beach unattractive. The local horse back riding was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon, however the trail left a lot to be desired. Not much to see. The food and service at Sivory was top notch. My advise to travelers headed to Sivory, pack a good book, and be prepared to spend countless hours doing nothing. There are no activities other than those you create for yourself. You will be "forced" to relax. If you want a break from the pricey meals at Sivory head up the beach to the local spot for friendly service and great food. Speaking Spanish would be helpful!!! Bugs... no bug problem!!!! Overall we found Sivory to be secluded and sexy....