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Background: I have approximately 30 week long trips to the Caribbean under my belt. This trip was booked with a long-time girlfriend who has less travel experience. It was nice to see the island and vacation from ‘virgin’ eyes. This was my 3^rd trip to an AMResort. The first being Secrets in Punta Cana, the second Secrets Capri in Playa Del Carmen. I am extremely impressed with this chain of resorts. Sunscape is the cheapest ‘family’ resort in the chain. AMResorts also owns Dreams resorts which is family version of Secrets. The similarities between Sunscape and Secrets are astonishing! From the architecture right down to the room service menu, there is positively evidence that this is the same company. I will attempt some comparisons in my review. It is relevant to note that Secrets is considerably more expensive than Sunscape, however these resorts are extremely similar in terms of quality and amenities. The largest difference being Secrets is Adults Only and Sunscape welcomes families.

Logistics: Booked through apple vacations. Direct flight from Detroit was delayed 1.5 hours going down. On-time on the return. We paid bottom line $960.00 per person (including flight and all taxes). We did pay to upgrade to an ocean view room, otherwise the entry price for Sunscape the Beach was closer to $850.00 (including flight and taxes). I probably could have gotten away with the entry level room and gotten an upgrade, as the resort was clearly not at full capacity. I must note that the PC airport is my absolute favorite little airport in the entire Caribbean. They have ‘expanded’ to include an air-conditioned area, but have managed to maintain the Caribbean Charm unique to this destination.

Transfers: It took us approximately one hour to and from Sunscape the Beach and the PC airport. Very comfortable bus arrangements. No problem finding the apple reps when you leave the airport. They are wearing flowered shirts. Pick up was 3.5 hours prior to plane departure.

Check-in: Extremely well managed check-in procedures are in place. The activity team came up from the pool area to welcome us with a fun little dance. Cold towels, tropical drinks, and yummy cookies were offered as you stepped off the bus. You positively had the feeling you arrived in the Caribbean! The check-in packages were pre-printed with two room keys and two towel cards. The entire check-in process took less than 5 minutes.

However, Sunscape dropped the ball by not providing escorts to your room. Be advised that you should take a look at the map provided in my photo section and memorize where the buildings are located. It was HOT walking around with our carry-ons trying to find the room. I can’t imagine how I would have felt had I spent time searching the resort for our building location. Bags were delivered in about 30 minutes.

First Impressions: The resort is quite large and well spread out. As with all new resorts, although absolutely beautiful, the foliage is new and needs to fill in (Sunscape opened only 6 months ago). The lobby area is massive and impressive. Two stories. Marble. Huge amphitheatre. Nice little shop area. I will tell you that the two story lobby area is very similar in set up to Secrets Capri and has the same ‘feel’. The walkways to the main building are nearly identical to those at SEPC. Again, clear evidence that you have arrived at an AMResort.

Room: We were in room 2325. Excellent location and beautiful ocean view (However: more information about the resort layout to follow). High quality amenity kit (Shampoo, shower gel, toothbrush, toothpaste, ect..). The amenity kit contains 8 oz bottles, so they aren’t refilled every day. With the exception of missing sunblock, the amenity kit is identical to Secrets (identical brand, content, and quantity). Robes weren’t in the room upon arrival, but we had them with-in the hour. Plush, nice and thick (again, same brand as Secrets). No slippers in the room, didn’t bother asking for them (although I’m sure they would be provided). I simply borrowed some spa slippers for the week lol.

The room is small but very adequate. Two nightstands with drawers. Two very large shelves in the Armoire. 5 shelves in the closet. One rod in the closet which was small but adequate. Bring some hangers you expect to leave behind, never enough. I like to hand nearly everything (because with the Caribbean humidity things iron themselves on the hangers). Absolutely NO Mildew smell (evidence of a new resort). Extra pillows and a pillow menu if you prefer harder or softer pillows.

Maid Service: We received daily maid service sometime during the day (we were out of the room from 10-4 daily) and turn down service every night, complete with a different decadent chocolate left on the pillow. Plenty of towels and washcloths. Fresh flowers daily. Coffee and cream was left each day.

Mini-bar: There was a mini-bar menu the first day where you check off what you’d like stocked. Choices were Presedente’ beer, coke, diet coke, orange soda, sprite, water and orange juice. The mini-bar was filled daily with water and beer, although I had difficulty getting diet coke. I’ve played the diet coke game before, so on the third night I just ordered 6 bottles delivered to the room. I was fine for the rest of the week.

Room Service: Ironically, this menu is IDENTICAL (and I mean word for word) to the room service menu at the new Secrets Excellence in Mexico. It was more limited than the room service menu I had at Capri and SEPC. We ordered room service a multitude of times. The fries came cold each time (never a problem at Secrets). It appears as though they pre-package plates here by putting cellophane over the plate and keeping it in a warming bin. This could be improved. Photos of each of the choices on the room service menu are available in the photo tour.

Restaurants: Never had a bad meal, but I’m not really picky with my food. Service was friendly, although sometimes slow (which is a culture issue more than anything else, relax folks….. you’re on vacation). My personal favorite was the steakhouse, although the meal we had at Dreams (the adult only restaurant) was superb! Unlike Secrets, there isn’t a place to sit down and order breakfast off a menu, so you were limited to the Buffet. There were several omelet stations and chefs cooking eggs to order. We ate at the lunch buffet several times because that restaurant is air-conditioned. The buffet could use a station for self-serve beverages. The servers take drink orders, but the restaurant is very large. I really don’t think people mind pouring their own soda while at a buffet, and it would certainly speed up the process. I have photos of the restaurant menus in the photo tour.

Pool: Huge and 3 feet deep. Although perpendicular to the beach, it really is a breathtaking pool. It is extremely similar to the main pool at SEPC (although that pool was deeper and ran parallel to the beach which is much nicer). PLENTY of papala huts…. And I mean PLENTY! We never arrived at the pool area before 10:00 and we had our choice of literally 50 or 60 papalas left. Sunsape hit the nail on the head with the design in this regard!!! However I was amazed that this newer pool didn’t have zero entry portion. I was surprised that this was overlooked in the design. In addition, the number of stairs leading into the pool was inadequate. We didn’t have a problem jumping from the ledge, but I can certainly see where older guests or guests with young children could have difficulty. There was also an abundance of pool floats! Each night they would collect and stack the pool floats next to the mid-pool bar. Each morning at 10:00 a.m. there was at least 40 pool floats still unclaimed. People were fantastic about not removing them from the pool itself which helps tremendously.

Beach: Please, don’t go here thinking you’re getting the beautiful turquoise water and white sands of the Caribbean. You will be disappointed. Although beautiful in it’s own regard, sunscape the beach is not on what I would consider a prime beach location. In fairness, neither is Capri, SEPC, or SERC or Sunscape Grand (due to the marina). For some reason AMResorts has yet to manage building a resort on a PRIME beach (with the exception of perhaps Sunscape Casa Del Mar and Sunscape Tulum).

This area of Punta Cana is lacking the really powdery white sand that you can find along the Bavaro Strip. It is also known for larger waves. My week at SEPC was red flagged daily, however our entire week at Sunscape was green! I believe this was a fluke, but there were many mornings that the ocean resembled glass with not a whitecap in sight. As a result, the water sports center was very busy. There are only two hobbie-cats and fewer sea kayaks and water bikes than I’m accustomed to (I believe this is because the beach is rough more often than not). Much like the pool area, Sunscape nailed the concept of necessary papalas! I find it difficult to believe that even in peak season, there would be any difficulty finding a perfect resting place either at the pool or beach.

Spa: I went all out and purchased a 5 day massage package for $300.00 and a pedicure for $35.00. The pedicure set up is quite nice, however the pedicure itself was sub-par. The polish started chipping on the second day. In all fairness, I did go back and complain and was given a free 're-polish'.

The daily 50 minute massage I received was quite nice. The spa area is very beautiful, with each massage room built as a private 'hut' (although a few of the huts are connected and you can hear adjacent massages). They are located in an oriental garden setting with nice music piped in. I opted for a massage on the beach one day also. Much like my beach massage on the Zuiderdam the previous April, the beach massage hut was located in a very noisy area which makes relaxation challenging. I found myself twitching to the merengue' during the massage lol. Resorts and cruise lines REALLY need to think about the placement of the beach massage huts, ensuring it is away from all the action.

Sunscape the beach has a special one hour 'relaxation' therapy room that you can use on the day you purchased your massage (this is one of the reasons I went for 6 days of spa-ing lol). The facilities are state of the art in terms of amenities (however, they weren't always working). Directions are on the wall for how to go about the one hour of relaxation. You start with a 2 minute warm cold shower and progress through a steam room, sauna, rustic shower, cold pool, ect... It really was very relaxing. I give the spa area at Sunscape a very solid 8 on a scale of 1-10. The beauty is there in terms of the facilities, but the spa manager was somewhat rude, and the therapists themselves were 'fair' in terms of the massage techniques.

Summary: We had a very nice vacation at Sunscape the Beach. This is a fabulous alternative for people on a budget who can not afford the adults-only Secrets price tag, since many of the amenities are identical. If you're looking for an 'amenity' vacation, sunscape the beach is certainly worthy of consideration (room service, robes, slippers, top shelf liquor, ect...) However, if you're looking for a fabulous beach destination, you are better off looking elsewhere.