If you’re an OG reader, you’ll remember my Mum’s 50th birthday trip to The Bahamas. We were supposed to go to the Dominican Republic but the pandemic ruined our plans, so 2.5 years after our original cancellation, we finally got our holiday to Punta Cana.

The title of this post is a little misleading seeing as we didn’t do a whole lot of actual exploring in Punta Cana. Our holiday was a fully all-inclusive, rest and relaxation type of holiday. My ‘exploring’ consisted of perusing the breakfast buffet and having an omelette with all the trimmings made for me every morning. I explored the coffee shop which had the most delicious ice tea and sweet treats. I explored the beach bar and converted my blood type to 99.9% Coco Loco. This resort had literally everything: loads of restaurants, coffee shops, an onsite medical centre, a gym, a gorgeous stretch of beach, a packed entertainment schedule and bars upon bars upon bars.

Our days were spent on the beach, laid out on the white fine powdery sand with palm trees towering overhead. Punta Cana is on the Atlantic Side of the country which is obviously rougher than the Caribbean Sea, the consolation being that the water was beautifully blue and bath water warm.

Not having to do a food shop, not having to cook and not having to wash up after really and truly meant that dinner hit different. We booked a couple of the hotel restaurants and one night had a theatrical Teppanyaki experience as we had access to pretty much all the restaurants on the resort, not just the ones in our specific hotel. Even the regular degular dinner buffet would give my Mum and I paralysis of choice every night!

I would say that the majority of guests were from America & Canada, so Halloween was a big deal – the hotel went all out! The place was decorated, the dinner buffet had a Halloween theme and there was even a Halloween party by the pool which was actually a fair amount of fun… If a litttttttle bit cringe.

This trip was the perfect way to ease us into the cold, dark and miserable British winter. We stayed at the Bahia Principe Luxury Ambar which was Adults only. I cannot fault this place at all – we wanted for absolutely nothing! Staying here also meant that we had access to, not just Ambar facilities, but most of the other hotels on the resort too. The star of this place though is, without question, the people. Everyone was so incredibly warm and friendly. Hospitality hours are generally mad long and I can’t imagine what it’s like working in the heat & humidity, yet everyone was happy to have a chat, (even baring with my rusty ass Spanish!), help with anything you need and do it willingly too. I have every intention on going back to the Dominican Republic and I would absolutely recommend this hotel if you’re staying in Punta Cana. I reckon Punta Cana would be so much fun for a girls trip as I hear the nightlife is actually lit. For my return to the DR, I’d love to try La Romana – it’s on the South side which is on the Caribbean coast and closer to Santo Domingo… More on that tomorrow!