THE GEN X WANDERER / Serenade Punta Cana Review: Honest Family Trip

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Serenade Punta Cana Review: Honest Family Trip

Before anything else, a quick disclaimer: this is not a paid or sponsored trip. I booked and paid for this vacation with my own money, and this Serenade Punta Cana review reflects my own subjective experience as a family traveller. Not every review I write is a 5 star review, and this one isn’t either.

My overall rating: 3.5 out of 5. A good trip overall, but there were some real issues worth knowing about before you book.

We travelled as a family of four (two adults, two kids) and stayed at Serenade Punta Cana. This was our first time in the Dominican Republic. Here is the full breakdown, so you know exactly what to expect.

How We Booked: Air Canada Vacations

We booked this trip through Air Canada Vacations, and the process itself was smooth from start to finish. If you are a Canadian traveller already collecting Aeroplan points, this is worth knowing: booking your Punta Cana vacation package through Air Canada Vacations lets you earn Aeroplan points on your trip, which you can then put toward future flights or travel. For anyone comparing booking options for Serenade Punta Cana, this is one of the easier and more rewarding ways to go, especially if you are already loyal to Air Canada for flights.

Check In

Check in went pretty smoothly with no major complaints. We were welcomed with some refreshing drinks and were in and out with minimal wait, which is always a good sign for the rest of the stay.

The Room: Swim Up Suite Review

We have two kids, so after a great experience with a swim up room at a Catalonia property, we always try to book swim up rooms when we travel as a family. The resort did give us the swim up room we requested, but the bed configuration was wrong. We had asked for two queen beds and instead were given a king bed and a sofa bed, which is not ideal when you are travelling with children.

Second thing that was glaring was the see through glass window shower. You are essentially bathing totally naked in front of your family. This was a HARD NO for me, since my 2 kids are boys. I had to run to reception to grab some scotch tape and I literally taped that runner at the end of the bed to the glass. I think I used their entire roll of tape. I was not impressed.

The resort was able to move us to a new room the next day around 4pm, no questions asked. The new room ended up being closer to the beach and was actually very nice, so it worked out in the end. But I had to retape that shower.

Tip: double check your bed configuration is confirmed in writing before your stay, and know that room changes are possible if something is off.

The Grounds

The resort grounds are medium sized and very clean. That said, and this matches what other reviewers have mentioned, there is a septic type smell that comes and goes in certain areas, particularly between buildings and sometimes even while sitting in the swim up pool. It is not pleasant, and it caught us off guard the first time we noticed it.

On the plus side, the lobby is large with a great atmosphere at night. Lots of guests gather there in the evenings, and it brings a fun energy to the resort.

The Beach

The beach at Serenade Punta Cana is genuinely one of the highlights. There is a section free of seaweed where you can wade out quite far and the water still only comes up to your knees or waist, which is perfect for families with young kids. Beach vendors are present but nowhere near as persistent as what we experienced in Jamaica. Beach chairs were plentiful during our stay, so we never had trouble finding a spot.

Food and Dining

Breakfast: the buffet is your only option for breakfast, and unfortunately it was not good. The food was bland, and staff were not attentive with drink service. More than once we finished an entire meal without anyone checking on us for drinks.

Lunch: your choices are the buffet, a taco and burger truck by the beach, a restaurant near the pool, or a sports bar. The truck sounds fun, but be ready to wait a very long time for your order. The pool restaurant and sports bar did not impress us either.

Dinner: we tried every specialty restaurant except the Mediterranean option. Teppanyaki was the standout and the best meal of our trip. One downside worth mentioning: booking any specialty restaurant requires going through the resort app or an Air Canada representative, which felt like an extra hoop to jump through. It also often seemed like there was no availability, yet when we arrived there were plenty of empty tables.

Language and Staff Interaction

As English speaking Canadians, we found that most staff did not attempt to communicate in English, even with basic words like towel or drink. We understand we are visiting a Spanish speaking country and are not expecting fluency, but in a hospitality setting a small effort with common guest requests goes a long way.

Staff friendliness was also inconsistent. On one occasion at the breakfast buffet, a server made eye contact with me while I was motioning for a drink for myself and my child, and simply walked away. This was not a one time thing either, it happened more than once during our stay. Housekeeping staff, on the other hand, were consistently the friendliest people we encountered.

Timeshare Presentations

We are familiar with how timeshare pitches work, so when one representative approached us, we politely declined right away and were not bothered again.

A Strange Spa Encounter

One more small but memorable moment: a spa representative was offering free five minute massages on the beach. I considered booking a full session but changed my mind. She seemed visibly upset, got up, and walked away without another word. A bit of an odd interaction, but not something that affected our overall stay.

The Adults Only Section

One night after dinner, the kids stayed in the room and my husband and I took a walk and ended up on the other side where it was adults only. We were exploring the grounds. We were then chased out by security cards because we had the wrong wrist bands on. He followed us until we were off that side of the property.

Final Verdict: Is Serenade Punta Cana Worth It?

Overall, we had a good time as a family, but this is not a resort we plan to return to. Between the septic smell, inconsistent staff friendliness, and underwhelming buffet food, there are enough drawbacks to keep this out of 5 star territory. That said, the beach, the swim up rooms, and the Teppanyaki dinner were genuine highlights.

Room Tip: avoid the pasta and egg station at the buffet during peak times, the wait is long. The taco and burger truck by the beach also has very long wait times, plan accordingly.

If you are planning on an all inclusive resort, perhaps this resort has changed since we had stayed here, so I advise you to go to Tripadvisor and read their most current reviews.

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