My husband ,daughter and I were totally disappointed in this vacation. We will never go back to Punta Cana and will advise others not to go as well.
We stayed at Cayean Beach Club which has 47 units on the LTI property. The grounds were beautiful and well maintained. The beach was gorgeous.
We reserved two rooms--our's was musty smelling but my daughter's seemed ok. Since we reserved a separate room for my daughter, the resort unexpectedly charged us and extra $532 for food for the week for a fourth person who wasn't even there! They said the fee was based on double occupency---We felt this was a rip off! And the food was horrible to boot. The safest dinner was the pasta station. We arrived on Saturday and by Tuesday my daughter was ill from the food and she didn't even respond to the medications(prescription) I had brought with me. It wasn't until we arrived home and our doctor ordered her an antibiotic did she start to feel better. The doctor said it was a bacterial infection from the food.
The water pressure in the rooms was minimal -and barely warm--and the shower curtain was at least 3 inches above the top of the tub--needless to say--you couldn't avoid a wet floor.
At the airport more than a few people said they would never go back to Punta Cana--they all complained about the food at various resorts. It's not safe to travel outside your resort on your own so you are like a prisoner of wherever you are staying.
If you have another alternative for a vacation take it!

We just returned from a week at the Cayena Golf resort. The unit was a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with a kitchen and living space. It was clean and fairly comfortable. The furnishings were "beachy".....rattan sofa and loveseat with cushions. It was fine for our week long stay and accomodated us for the week. The one thing, upon check in, I could not become comfortable with was the distance from the resort and the beach where we would be spending the majority of our time. All our meals would be at LTI, the neighboring resort, and the pool and beaches as well.

Be aware, it's a good 8-10 minute walk from the condos for meals, the pool and the beach.

My husband and I decided that the good news was we'd walk off our meals and probably lose a couple pounds on this trip!

The good things about this property is that LTI is a beautiful property. As most, with it's palm trees and tatched roofs, you feel like you are getting away to a tropical paradise.

The bad things, unfortunately....out weighed the good.

Cold showers - the water never really warmed up. We spoke to someone the first day abou the problem and their response was to "let the water flow for awhile, it would eventually warm up." Most dasy we tok cold showers. We had ONE warm shower and we were elated!

Hard beds - the beds are very firm and uncomfortable.

Loud air conditioning units - we figured out after a couple of days the best thing to do was leave the air on while we were out so the evenings would be cooler. But to have the unit ON while you sleep is almost impossible to sleep through, unless you're a heavy sleeper.

Roosters!!! As adorable as they are to see walking around, these buggers start around 4AM and don't stop till around 6:30AM. My husband and I would wake up around 4, and fall back to sleep when they would down. The kids slept through them. Amd we'd all sleep in till aroun 9, then make the 10 minute walk to breakfast, hoping they did not put the food away!

Food was an issue as well.

There is one main restaurant for meals, buffet style. They do not change the menu much, so you are faced with the same choices all week long, which got really old.

There are 2 restaurants where you can make "reservations" for dinner. A seafood resturant and an Italian. On the night we arrived, it was around 6pm, we were all pretty hungry. We looked into the Italian restaurant, where there were maybe 4 tables being used, with 15 or so open. And were asked if we had "reservations?" When we told him no, he said we needed them to eat there?? I pointed out we had just flown in and there were several tables open and could we eat?? It all seemed very silly. He did seat us and we were able to have some dinner. Once we sat down the menu consitsted of ALL PIZZAS??? Very boring menu. And a buffet with some lasagna, salad, bread and desserts. Seemed odd to need reservations for this?

We experienced something simliar at the seafood restaurant. After we made our "reservations" there were only 4 families dining inside? With several availble tables. The food was OK, nothing special. We decided to pay extra and order from the menu, rather than have the all inculsive and were greatly disappointed. My daughter and I had lobster, which I think would have been best served without all the sauce and vegetables over the top. It really ruined the point of eating lobster. And my husbands and sons steaks were dry. Sadly we paid more money for a disappointing meal.

On a scale of 1-10 I would give the food a 4.

If gorgeous beaches and relaxation are what you're looking for, I would rate the area a 9! I would just choose a different resort.

The Staff - For the most part were friendly and helpful at LTI and Cayena Golf. I would recommend that Cayena Golf invest in a staff that solely drives their guests in golf carts between the properties. Often times when we called for a ride back in the evenings, noone answered. And the property is very dark, and not well lit, with a swampy area you walk by to get back. A little unsetling.

Guests - We're Americans, and I found it particularly hard dealing with the high percentage of European guests that go to LTI. I'm part Dutch and was embbarrased by the rude beahvior of people. One evening my husband held open a store door for three European women and not one of them said thank you, or even looking at him. They acted comepletely self righteous. They never smile back which I found very sad seeing they were on vacation in a beautlful place. It wouldn't kill them to smile when someone smiles at them. I got the feeling they felt Americans were intruding on their little gem of a place they had staked out? Maybe that's what they are trying to accomplish.

Lastly, the Cayena Golf's employees that try to sell time share units started out extremely annoying! Day after day they came to us to attend some kind of party, or give us a gift (which were t-shirts we could care less about) After awhile they gave up when my husband made it clear we were here there to relax! It would be nice if they were up front about what they wanted instead of trying to schmooze and annoy people into attending these events.

We arrived on a Saturday and were ready to come back home to the USA on Thursday........but were scheduled to come home on Saturday......
this sums it up I suppose.

If you're staying in Punta Cana, choose a well known resort and spend the money to guarantee a good time.

One of the best vacations we have ever had! The staff is wonderful! They really treated us like we were the rich and famous! This is not a fancy resort either! The cayena is a smalle resort located with The LTI resort which they also own. All the rooms are beachfront, the views alone are priceless, we were only a few feet away from the pool/bar-rest. from the back balcony-door. All the resort rooms have private front(ocean view and feet away access) and the back as well(few feet from pool/bar) The food was excellent! We usually ate at the buffet as their were so many choices to choose from!(Even the pickiest eaters can find plenty) They also have three wonderful restaurants with one that was al-a carte and could pay extra for certain items but we never had the chance as there were so many choices. The rooms were spotless! The staff was perfect from the maid to the bartenders and due to the size and their service became like family and friends after a day or two! We actually missed them all and felt we were leaving family behind! All alcohol is included and had some wonderful mixed drinks as well as some island favorites and frozen drinks as well. We were right on the water from our roms to all the services so could bring drink to the beach and g back in 2 min. for another. Everything was that close! They were constanly picking up your glasses on the beach as soon as you finished them! They gave you free towels for the beach to use everyday at no xtra charge! There are more than enough comfortable beach chairs with straw umbrellas for shade, you do not have to reserve them or be there early to get one, there were always plenty of emply ones s they do not allow the LTI side to use the cayena facilities but caye na could use the other side which was extremely close walking wise, they have a larger pool with much more people, depending on what you want, as same with beach area, our side was private like a v.i.p. section! Balconies at both entrances, all private as well! The cayena has a private office and staf just for them during the day until 5:00 then you use main lobby w/bar and very close to walkto. Entertainment was fun but nothing to special bit never dull! Always something to due. They also include half hour catamaran ride which was great, especially because of the staff! I couldn't think of one single complaint and have been to many, many resorts and usually much more expensive. This is an economy resort with luxury resort treatment, services. the rooms were comfortable and t.v. w/ cable but not fancy furniture ordecor, but very acceptale. They are cleaner than most luxury resorts we have stayed at and the private access to beach and distance, usually pay high price for. Water was clear and warm, calm, perfect for swimming! The beach is very long, with beach markets down a short distance. Also besides what the rsort offers that are included you are very close to parasailing, bannaboats, horsebck riding, all just a short distance on beach, also very good priced. We went their in Sept. of 07, then went back in mid Dec. again! We loved it that much and have never had a vacation so enjoyable and relaxing and beautful w/ services included at much higher prices. Actually paid more for most resorts per night withou A/I. We are actually going back in Sept. 08. and then not sure yet, if not Jamaica will go back in Jan.- or Feb. of 09. As we have two vacations a year that we usually use in the winter in the carribean due to a timeshare we own here in the U.S. in Westerly,R.I. on the Atlantic ocean, so we exchange a week to go to the carribean or other warm climate during winter months here and due to the discounted price on getaways usually use one to go to the cayena beach club. We actually thought of buying a vac. week there but since we only pay 195.00 for a week there through our membership club, we don't really need to aside from the all nclusive fee of 60.00 per person a day, if owner only pay 30.00 per day. Very affortable and worth much more than price, like I said economy resort prices and rooms but luxury resort services and very luxurios location for beach and closeness to all! Just a perfect vacation!!

We just came back from the Cayana Beach Club on December 1st, after a 1 week stay and had a great time. Though not everything was perfect, some of these other reviews are a bit harsh and may have been written by people who were expecting far too much.
The grounds and beach are absolutely beatiful, on both the Cayena side and the LTI side. There are plenty of huts for shade, for those of you that can't sit in the sun all day. The ocean water was gorgeous, we could stay in for hours. The pools were also very clean and nice.
We all had the smaller rooms with 2 full beds, but they really were quite large. Our A/C worked excellent (i actually thought it was too cold), which I know is very important to many people. The maids did a great job cleaning, especially around the messes we left!
Our excursions, which we booked with Fernando's help, were the highlights of the trip. We did the full day Safari that was a blast. The tour directors were so knowledgable and fun, not too mention all of them spoke multiple languages. If you would like to see more of the island and learn more about the country definitely take this tour. Our 2nd excursion was the speed boats and snorkeling. Again, everyone was friendly and upbeat and those boats went FAST!
Not everything was perfect though. The food wasnt so good. We all had stomach issues by the 3rd day. But honestly, this is a caribbean island, i think its to be expected. The a la carte lunch place in Cayena was the best for food. Also, all of the chicken I had was really good. I suggest being careful with what you eat and dont go too crazy.
Also, the drinks didnt have enough ice, ever! Sometimes they were super strong and other times had almost no alcohol. If you were polite and asked for the drinks exactly how you liked them, then they were ok.
The nightly shows were pretty entertaining, more so because they were funny (not always when they were supposed to be) but thats ok! Also, if you participate in any activities and win or come in 2nd they give you a bottle of rum at the show, so that is a plus!
All in all, I would recommend this trip to anyone. If the food makes you super sick, take a trip to the nearby mall for the Hard Rock Cafe. Otherwise, hang out at the beach, relax and enjoy paradise!