While we specialize in Disney, that’s not all we do! We can help you with any Disney vacation, Virgin Voyages, Royal Caribbean, several other cruise lines, and also all-inclusive resorts like Sandals – and many more. Today I want to write about the Hilton La Romana in the Dominican Republic. We visited for a wedding in November of 2022. This was shortly after the Dominican Republic was hit with a hurricane and sustained major damage and shut the resort. Hilton La Romana is split into two sides, a family side and an adults-only side. We were originally booked in the adults-only side, but it remained shut for repairs while they were able to open most of the buildings on the family side.
This resort is then divided again into two categories. A regular and a Premium. The Premium rooms offer access to a Premium-exclusive pool, beach, and higher-shelf alcohol. Unfortunately, I really can’t recommend premium. At the time we visited, there was no way to know who was premium at a glance. Usually when you go to the bar for a drink, they’ll ask to see your room key, which is a different color. But there was no such security at the premium pool. The premium beach is basically just a sandbox with no ocean access. Additionally, the alcohol selection is actually more restrictive at the premium bar than the regular bar. Chocolate martinis are my favorite and there was only one bar that had them.
We sprung for a swim-out room, which I absolutely DO recommend! It was so nice to get up in the morning and immediately be in the water without having to wait for the pools to open. They’re the perfect depth to get a little water aerobics and walk up and down and wave to your neighbors. These rooms are also at the edge of the resort, so they were nice and quiet. You can also just see the ocean peeking out in the distance.
The pool areas are quite lovely, and staff will bring drinks to you while in the pool. You might think it would be nice to lounge on these beds, and I’m sure they are, but they’re $70 a day! The pools also close at 6PM, which seems really early.
There are several restaurants to choose from. Interestingly, none of them will let you get anything to-go. Some of them were closed while we were there, including the Japanese restaurant that I really wanted to try. We were able to eat at the French, Italian, Peruvian, Grill, and the buffet. Italian wasn’t on their A-game that night, but the others were great! Be aware that all of these do have a max capacity, so you may have to wait. Most of the restaurants are in a pavillion near the ocean which look like an activity center if you approach from any direction other than the ocean. They may try to upsell you on bottles of wine, but you can still get your all-inclusive alcohol at no extra charge by the glass.
So how do you get here?? What kind of money do you need? You can fly into either the Santo Domingo (SDQ) or Punta Cana (PUJ). SDQ was significantly cheaper for us, so we flew in there from Nashville (BNA) on Spirit. If you choose Punta Cana, beware of a scam where someone will come up to you, say your transfer was cancelled, so you need to go with them and pay again. PUJ tends to have more tourists come in, so this scam isn’t seen as often at SDQ. We scheduled airport transfer ahead of time from Punta Cana Transfer, and it was perfect! They communicated with us ahead of time and someone was waiting for us with our name on a tablet when we were out of the secure area. Very nice experience. Didn’t try to take “the scenic route”
It is recommended to bring cash for tips. USD is perfectly acceptable! So no need to worry about exchanging your money.