Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana

My wife and I spent two glorious weeks in the Hideaway at this hotel. First of all the special thank you's to Wilqui and Jean Paul, Juan and Gracie. Wilqui and JP are the best Vibe team in any Royalton hotel, they kept us entertained and informed, we learnt Spanish, threw darts, laughed and sang everyday. Along with Jaun and Gracie (the best barstaff at any Royalton hotel) they made each day one of wonder and enjoyment, Jaun and Gracie make an excellent team and are always happy to see you! The hotel itself is clean and spacious, as I said we stayed in Hideaway, this was mainly due to a wish to avoid as many travellers as possible during the covid pandemic, because of this we made great use of the private pool and bar, private beach area and restaurant. When we first arrived at the main reception we were met by a bell boy who told us we would be taken to our private Hideawat reception, we were told our luggage would follow us and we were given a lift in one of the golf buggies. At reception we were given Champagne and Budweiser and an assortment of nibbles. In a short while the paperwork was completed and we were shown to our room. We didn't book a swim up room and ours, 1117, was on the ground floor at the rear of the block, this room faced a service road on the other side of a fence which could be busy at times but it never really bothered us. Our luggage was already in our room but it took some time for our hand luggage to arrive, this was a bit stressful as it had medication in it. Our room was exactly as described on the TUI website, the bed was huge and the plumbing sometimes a trial. Food, we ate in the Steakhouse, Tempanaki, Italian and Dorada and Buffet. The Steakhouse was fine, the Ribs were nice, Tempanaki wasn't amazing but at least it was better than the Italian. We went to the Italian on our first night and were unimpressed. We were seated in a corner in the dark and had to use the torch on a phone to read the menu. The Jade restaurant closed on our 3rd night and stayed closed until we left, this was a shame really but nothing we could change. The buffet was good for all meals, there is a Hideaway section which is nice - even though normal guests tried to sit there from time to time. The buffet has a wide selection of food as you would expect, tacos, pizza steak etc. We had most breakfasts in there, they make good smoothies. The Dorada is the Hideaway restaurant, its on the beach next to its own bar and we found it to be a bit hit and miss. For example on night we had salad for the starter and we were told to help ourselves from the salad bar, but the next time the waiter bought our salad starter, some people got bread rolls before ordering and some didnt, things like that. The food was good though, the lamb chops were great as was the Grouper fillet. All in all I think most people would enjoy this hotel, Hideaway pool is great with waiter drinks service and snacks at mealtimes, there is entertainment on all day ( number one Vibe team Wilqi and JP) and an aquafit session for 10 minutes or so. The girls in Hideaway reception were lovely as well but I've lost the card with thier names on 🙁 UK travellers and COVID When we went the govt bought in the departures COVID test, this can be done at the hotel and you get results the same day, its about £30 each. The COVID test for up to 2 days after arrival in the UK can be done the day you land, we did ours at Manchester airports drivethrough testing facility and got same day results. Bottom line, this is a great hotel, the staff (big up JP and Wilqi numer one Vibe team in DR) are amazing and will go out of their way to do anything for you, we loved it so much this is on our list of hotels we would go back to.