Great Paradisus Palma Real review from another site

“Perfect Small Destination Wedding”
Paradisus Palma Realmafeflorida
floridaSep 29, 2008
1/1 found this review helpful



We all had a blast. I had a small destination wedding and we came back with so many wonderful pictures and memories. The resort is gorgeous. The beach is one of the most beautiful beach we had all seen. The music in the background all over the resort was perfect. We all spend alot of time by the pool were there is a pool/bar. There is plenty of places to be under shade at this resort.It is very well layed out. We all enjoyed the food. Vento and Passions was one of our favorites but all the restaurants had very good food. If there is one recomendation I can give is you might want to consider doing it away from Hurricane season I was stressed out before the travel date but thankfully we had good weather. We basically said no to the sales talk.My brother wanted to do it. The sales people are nice; not to agressive. We were very happy with the way our wedding pictures came out but they were changing companies as we were leaving. The Wedding Dept was very professional and made me calm every time i felt a little anxious.Be aware there is taxes that will be added to the bill. One bad thing that happen in our trip was that at the beginning of our trip one side of the building the a/c wasnt working to well. Were the resataurants are located but by the end of the trip it was working fine. My husband and I really enjoyed there Dinner/Show Circus Night (this was on a wed night) and we also enjoyed the Dominican Theme Day (this was on Mond night) The drinks are top-notch. Our room-fridge was always nicely full. I did hear some people complaining about having bugs in their rooms. They were on the 1st floor we were on the third. The people at the resort are very nice and try very hard to speak english. They charge you $30 each way to the airport in taxi. And the airport's food is super expensive*$5 for a slice of pizza. They do take american cash everywere. We had read on previous reviews about taking singles for tiping and that was a good advise. They dont ask you but it felt good to tip. Over all we were very pleased we had our wedding here and we all enjoyed the trip. Oh and by the way I got to go Diving it was my first time ever and it was included.

This TripAdvisor Member:
Liked — The Pool. Drinks. Beach. Palapas on the Beach.
Disliked — The a/c not working well for a few days on one side of the building but they fixed it fast

We have just returned from a week in PARADISE.
Check in was a pleasant experience we stayed under Royal Service (RS) with an Ocean Front View which made this trip extra special. With the RS you get Butler service or Majordomo. Now this service has changed from what they advertize, I’ve taken a photo of the list of the butler’s services. We hardly ever used the majordomo. He basically booked our dining reservations for the week.

Our room was originally on the first floor, but we had a second couple vacationing with us and they had a second floor view. The view was phenomenal. The first was level with the beach, but I like the aerial view. There were some minor discrepancies (a light fixture was leaning against the hairdryer and the phone wasn’t working properly, calls were made & everything fixed. No problems. With RS, when using the RS pool or Beach area, there was an attendant who brought us our drinks how often we wanted. I hope you have the pleasure of meeting Pedro. He was a genuinely nice person, & we enjoyed the time we spent chatting with him.

The beach was my main reason for being there and I wasn't disappointed. I've read in past reviews that the sea grass bothered some vacationers, but not me. The water was calm and clear, we actually saw a few fish swimming around. If you’re not crazy of pieces of sea grass floating around you as you’re in the water, then you may want to stick the pools
The resort wasn't busy at all. We were told that we were there during their “down time” Taking in consideration that we were there in the middle of hurricane season it did seems very lite in guests. I only had one issue with resort and that was the day we decided to go to spa, we’re all oily and were advised to shower before laying out in the sun, the water to shut off for most of the day. We were told the reason for it being turn off, was to do necessary repairs. They can’t do the repairs when the resort is filled to capacity so they picked ‘that’ day to work on the pipes. That was our small inconvenience, but besides that, we absolutely loved the resort.

The food was hit or miss. All but Naos was “Smart Casual”, I think they allow anyt attire because one man (who looked homeless, I’m sorry but he looked sloppy) came in with his girl companion with a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers to sit and have dinner. Anyway, I’ll list were we ate and what we thought

The Market Grill, (closed)
Agave, a Mexican-style buffet; (closed)

Bana, an a la carte Asian bistro offering Tepanyaki, a Sushi Bar and Asian Fusion cuisine;
My husband and I loved the Tepanyaki we ate there twice. Had beef filet and Tiger shrimp. If you like thing spicy, tell them you like it spicy and they’ll give you a bowl of this “sauce”, nit sure what was in it but it was good.

Passion, an "adults only" a la carte international fine dining venue;
This is a “tasting” menu, so be opened minded. Nice if you want something different.

Vento, featuring a la carte Mediterranean cuisine;
Good, but what made it even better was they has a “surprise” for us by coming out with lobster tails. 3 cooked to perfection and one not so much. Worth trying, we had breakfast here one day just to try it. It was okay.

Naos, an international buffet;
You find something there for anyone. We ate breakfast and lunch there most days.

Gabi Beach, an a la carte beach lounge, exclusively for guests staying in Royal Service and Family Concierge suites.
It was just okay, nothing to write home about but it was convinent to the show they were having afterwards ( “Back to 80’s” It was fun, dancing with staff, breaking dancers and fire eater putting on a show, with a DJ). Neat show regardless.

Entertainment: Different shows on different nights at various locations on the resort. In every room you had an activities schedule. Found that helpful when you wanted to things. The resort also had planned events going on during the day; our best time to do things was at 3pm. We learned how to make Mamajuana, make a floral arrangement, how to make a candle, and to make up our own cocktails. Cristina plus some other club house staff made it fun.

Overall I thought the hotel was magnificent and the service was wonderful. And I go back in a heartbeat. If you could afford Royal Service, go ahead and do it, if not no worries, it’s not needed to have a wonderful time. I may have left things out, but I wanted to make sure I typed something in at TripAdvisor. Feel free to email me all questions, and if I could help, I’d be more than happy to share whatever information I have.

This TripAdvisor Member:
Liked — The beach was beautiful and the service was very friendly.
Disliked — n/a

Date of Stay: September 2008
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Hobbies / interest / culture
Age group: 25-34