Just returned from 2 weeks in DR. Stayed at Cayena Golf Resort first week and the condo was beautiful. Staff like Edwin and Gueirmo and Javier were so helpful and friendly. We stayed at the Cayena Beach 2nd week and loved every minute of it and it was because the staff became like family. Elcano food was just the best. Pedro and staff made our breakfast and lunch a pleasant experience as did Pasqual and Leonora The buffet at LTI was not as good and saw same stuff every night but waiters were very good. Loved the white sandy beach and the blue water. Beaches were very clean and liked the privacy which was separate from LTI . Kuddos to Newton the bartender he sure new how to make my drinks. The office personnel was also very professional and solved any problems we had in our room which were few. We stayed on bottom floor and it was just a few feet away from the beach. Took excursion to Santo Domingo but would not recommend due to long bus trip 3 hrs there and back. I would suggest the trip to Saona Is. The catamaran trip over was a blast and the Island was so beautiful. Travel suggestions: Buy plenty of sunscreen before you go because it will cost $27.00 US to purchase at the shops. I also brought $100.00 in one dollar bills as tips and believe me you will use them. Overall it was a great experience and would go back to Cayena Beach if it was not so far from Wash St. I really hated to leave this paradise

We stayed at the Cayena Club, which is the time share portion of LTI resort. If you stay in this portion, you have access to the entire resort, however LTI guests only have access to the LTI areas. So you have a private pool, restraunt, 2 bars, beach & huts, and lobby/concierge service. Fernando is the "concierge" for the cayena club, and he knows his stuff. He speaks Spanish, French, and English, and he can point you in any direction you wish to go. We got married and honeymooned there, from March 21-29. It was nothing short of fantastic! Sylvie was our wedding coordinator, who works for the LTI portion of the resort. She is the guest services director, speaks French and Spanish, and knows her stuff. Her and Fernando were so great, they stood up for us in the wedding too! They gave us some great insights into the native country,people, and local customs.

Anyway, on to the resort. The food was excellent, everynight there seemed to be a different theme, and Thursdays seemed to be the big welcome day, with fantastic drinks handed out at the entrance of the main buffet. Clariza takes the reservations for the seafood and italian places, and she is great to talk to, also. She directed me to a great salon in town to get some acrylic nails for the wedding, and Sylvie made sure we got there and back with no problems.

The best way to avoid all of the hassels of resort/airport travel, is to have the hotel arrange your transportation. We paid $35 each way for a private "bus" (van) to take us to/from the resort/airport. Well worth the money. Very clean, friendly driver. No waiting for anyone else, and they meet you with a sign with your name at the airport so there is no confusion about which taxi to take. DO NOT take just any old taxi waiting at the airport. Sylvie warned us about them, don't do it, no matter how tempting. The drive was about 25 minutes to the resort, thru beautiful country, littered with trash. However, once you turn into the resort driveway, it was spotlessly clean. Truly beautiful. The staff was excellent, at both resorts. If you struggle with Spanish, use the guest services desk as a resource, they generally keep someone with tri-lingual skills there. The staff seems to take lots of abuse from travelers, so a little kindness goes a long way!!! Learn a litte conversational spanish, and you will have no problems dealing with the staff that only speaks spanish.

Sylvie met us at the door of our Taxi, and gave us a tour of the entire resort, while our bags were taken to our room for us. We were then turned over to Fernando, who explained the remaining "time share extras" that we would experience at the cayena club.

Our room was fantastic, we had a Jr. Suite. Beautiful marble bathroom, double sinks,jetted tub (a little shallow, but nice), and seperate toilet area. the only problem we encontered, was that our shower curtain was about 2 inches too short, so there was a mess on the floor everynow and then if you weren't careful with the direction of the shower head. Queen sized bed, the only down fall was no fitted sheets, so they kind of crept up at the foot of the bed by the morning. Seperate sitting room, with hideabed, and chair. Private patio with fenced in yard! very nice. we were on the first floor, by the way. ocean front, and beautiful, room 111. we were greeted in the room with fruit, rum and flowers. i don't know if this is the norm, or just for honeymooners, but it was great. minibar stocked with bottled water, sodas, and beer, replenished everyday, free of charge. the only problem we had with our room was the telephone, which didn't work for incoming calls. outgoing was no problem. we also had unlimited room service from 2:30-midnight.

the restraunt at the cayena club was great, something different everyday, and there is no crowd to fight, and they will make you anything you want to drink at the bar right there for breakfast, from spirits to juice blends. they do an omlette station, made to order steaks for lunch, buffets, desserts-all good. the selection isn't as great as the big buffet, but it was worth it not to deal with lots of people, and the quality seemed to be better, too. however, nothing beat the coissants and fresh rolls at the buffet. there is also a swim up bar attatched to the restraunt/bar, but we seemed to be the only people to discover it! there is a loft above the restraunt with yet another bar, and amazing view of the beach/ocean.

the food at del mar (the seafood place) was very good, however not part of the all inclusive pkg. la trattoria (the italian place) requiers reservations, and it is worth it. it is part of the all inclusive, but you have waitstaff/bartenders at your disposal, which is nice. great service, excellent pizza, and the buffet there was very good also. the lasagna was exceptional, as was the cauliflower gratin(which i don't even like). the house wines were very good, or you can order a bottle, for an extra charge. take a few dollars to tip your servers, they do a great job, even though you may still be eating the buffet. and the chocolate ice cream was fantastic!!!!! all homemade ice creams!

the burger/chicken joint was great when you miss the main meal times, with fries to supplement the burgers/dogs/chicken. the chicken was great, at every place we ate, but very good off the grill here! the buffet attatched to this place was limited, but nice because you have the bar with it, and it is all poolside.

the trick to drinking at this place is: bring your own travel mugs/cups!! the little tiny cups and straws just require too many trips back and forth if you spend the day on the beach. bring something that closes with a lid, and a straw is helpful too. it keeps the sand out. i only saw 2 bugs the entire time we were there, so they weren't an issue during the time we were there. but the sand sticks to everything. and a mesh beach bag is a must...we had access to beach towels from the cayena club, although we brought our own anyway. ours were just easier to spot. the only downfall to the timeshare, was they had a day, i think it was monday or tues. , where they have people standing out on the sidewalks trying to get you to sign up for more weeks. luckily we were busy with the wedding-who can argue with that excuse??

the wedding itself was a piece of cake! all you do is show up, and sylvie takes care of the rest. it was held in one of the beach cabanas that they use for massages, overlooking the beach. we did photos before, during, and after the wedding, and the photographer, Arnaud, was fantastic! I was worried about the quality with an "in house" photographer, but he was great, and the pics were great too. dinner, flowers, drinks, dancing, all great! if you have more questions about the weddings, email me, i can fill you in with more details, as there are just too many to write here.

Excursions- we did 2 excursions- one good, one not so good. the first was the El Pat Ranch, which was horseback riding on the beach. save your money. the mistreatment of the animals was shocking, from lack of food,water and rest, to ill fitted saddles and pads. there was a gentleman in our group, about 300 pounds, that was put onto a small pony, with a child's saddle. he was falling off the saddle just sitting still, and it only got worse from there. while the beach they take you on is beautiful, there is only about 30 minutes of acutal beach riding time, so it really wasn't worth it, and the 4 guys that take you out on the beach were kind of rude to everyone, and they ride behind people and whip their horses to go faster, whether you want to or not. And you have to wear helmets, which sucks in the heat. We have 2 horses of our own, so we may be a little more sensitive to the mistreatment of the horses, and minimum standards, like drinking water, they should have.

our second tour, mountain view tours, was spectacular! i think it was $80 per person, with 10% off if you book it thru LTI. Small tour groups, great tour gides and drivers. You will see mountains, plantations, local cities and shops, and beaches.
Your first stop is a school, so take some school supplies to give to the children, the living conditions are a shock to our american systems...then a stop for some shopping and mamaghyana (spelling??), then into the mountains, for sugar cane, cocao, fruits, and a tour of a local home. then farther into the mountains for some great horseback riding, and lunch at the ranch. both were excellent, and beautiful. well taken care of , and well mannered animals, and the guides were fantastic. don't drink the water with lunch, stick to the coke or sprite, though. then you stop at another shop, watch some cigars being made, smoke a few if you wish, shop, and then it's off to Macao beach-wear your swimsuit under your clothes, you will want to swim when you see the beach. sand, blue waves, cliffs, and coconuts for drinking-a great day! take some cash if you want to shop, and guides will watch your items when you are not in the truck. clothes would be a good addition to give away at the cacao plantation, once you see how they live, you will understand...

overall, LTI was great, we can't wait to go back, and see Sylvie, Fernando, and Clariza. spend some time with your favorite staff member, and talk to them about their country. it is fascinating.

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.