Where to Stay in Punta Cana Dominican Republic

Last week, we traveled to Dominican Republic for the first time ever! We’ve never traveled to Dominican Republic, so we did not know what to expect. Our beautiful vacation was planned by two of our close friends who invited us, along with 17 others, to celebrate their 5 year wedding anniversary! Not only did we share in seeing our friends reach their special 5 year milestone, but they also planned a 5 star experience for all of their friends at the Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana All-Inclusive Resort. Continue reading as I share deets on where to stay in Punta Cana Dominican Republic in case you want to visit here one day!

Punta Cana Dominican Republic – Know Before You Go

Airport & Transportation Considerations:

It’s important to ensure you have a valid passport prior to traveling to Dominican Republic. As you review your passport, it’s also important to ensure there is at least one blank page available for Immigration Control to stamp. Prior to departing from your home airport, be sure to verify if an electronic ticket is required. You can fill out an electronic ticket for DR entry here.

The Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana is where we stayed and it is very close to the airport (literally a 15 minute drive). You could try to catch a taxi from the airpot to the resort. However, I found the taxi drivers at the airport to be quite aggressive. To save on all of the hassle, we booked our transportation in advance with Transekur, which was a recommended car service from Hyatt.

Upon arrival and after immigration, it was very easy to find our driver because they were holding up a sign, and we enjoyed a smooth ride to the resort. Before arrival and close to leaving, Transekur also did a wonderful job with sending text message updates. Upon departure, they coordinated the best pick-up time between our ride and flights, worked with the resort on times to retrieve our luggage, and escorted us to the correct airport counter with plenty of time to spare.

If you are a frequent traveler with a Priority Pass, you can access Punta Cana’s exclusive airport lounge! I’m a huge fan of lounges, as they are a great place to grab free food and drinks before taking off. I must say, this is the first airport lounge I’ve visited where there is an actual mini-rooftop pool that you can enjoy as you watch planes take off! This is must-visit feature, regardless of whichever terminal you’re traveling out of!

Packing for Punta Cana Dominican Republic:

We were told by locals that December to early April are the best time of year to visit Punta Cana. Temperatures can range from 70F (21C) – 85F (29C). If you are traveling from the US, you will not need to pack a power converter for Punta Cana as they are also running on 110v. Only those traveling from Europe and other countries will need a way to convert their power.

Below you will find some of my other favorite packing items for travel:

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Cash & Tipping in Punta Cana:

Hyatt Zilara is an all-inclusive resort. Therefore, if you choose to enjoy most of your time on the property, the only cash you will need to bring is for tipping. Tipping is customary in Dominican Republic, usually around 10%-15%. If you select Club Level access at Hyatt Zilara, you may receive a butler, so it is good etiquette to have funds on hand to tip for this service as well. During our stay, we tipped in US dollars, however if you choose to tip in the Dominican Peso, be sure to calculate the proper conversion rate.

Hyatt Zilara – About the Property & Service

This Hyatt property is two resorts connected into one. The Hyatt Zilara side is adults-only and the Hyatt Ziva side is family friendly for kids. Both sides of the property were very nice, yet very different from one another! The Zilara side was very quiet and posh, while the Ziva side was louder and more active for a number of reasons 🙂 . You must be 18 years or older to stay on the Zilara side of the property.

The property was very clean and safe. There were plenty of hand sanitation stations, room doors were marked with stickers when they were properly sanitized and ready for check-in, and a day did not go by where I did not see someone manicuring this beautiful resort. The staff was very welcoming, friendly and helpful! If you choose to upgrade to Club Level when booking, upon check-in, you will be escorted to a separate check-in area, receive a yummy welcome drink, and receive personalized care from your assigned butler. When we entered into our room for the week, a surprise was waiting for us on the table – A welcome bottle of wine and a cheese/charcuterie board!

I’ll share a few photos and a video review below of our room. For reference, we booked the Club One Bedroom Master Suite. All of the rooms on this property are absolutely beautiful and very spacious. Originally, we wanted to book one of the Junior Suite Swim Up Rooms, but after further research, we learned these swim-up pools did not have a lot of privacy. The One Bedroom Master Suite contained 2 bathrooms, 2 closets, a living room area, dining table, separate bedroom, and a large balcony with a jacuzzi!

Quick Video Tour of the Hyatt Zilara Club One Bedroom Master Suite:

@elicitfolio

Hyatt Zilara Dominican Republic Room Tour – Club Level One Bedroom Master Suite #hyattzilara #hyattzivacapcana #dominicanrepubliccheck #hyattzilaracapcana #roomtour #vacationtips #fyp #capcana

♬ original sound – Elicit Folio

Larimar Spa in Punta Cana

One of my favorite features on this property was their Larimar Spa! The entrance and ambience of the spa was so relaxing. There were a variety of amenities such as a Himalayan salt lounge, a lagoon style hydrotherapy pool with waterfall, a sauna, and ice bath just to name a few. If you’re traveling with a group, I recommend looking into their Veuve Clicquot Arrow Punta Cana Brut experience. This will give you access to the Hydrotherapy area so you can lounge and truly unwind after your treatments.

Quick Video Tour of Larimar Spa:

@elicitfolio

Next time you’re in Punta Cana, visit the Larimar Spa at the Hyatt Zilara resort! #hyattzilara #hyattziva #puntacana #dominicanrepublic #traveltiktok #blackgirlluxury #hyattzilaracapcana #fyp

♬ tropical reggae BGM no melody – yo suzuki(akisai)

The pools, hot tubs and cabanas at this location were everything! Cabanas must be reserved ahead of time and can comfortably hold 3-4 people. There were two large pool areas – One for Club Level and one general pool area. Both were very nice and each pool had access to multiple hot tubs. The general pool area did contain a swim-up bar, but during our stay we had to walk up to the bar. If you book a cabana in the Club area, or grab a lounge chair, drinks and food can be served to you as you relax throughout the day. The property also had lots of beach chairs with beautiful views!

If you want to maintain your health and fitness routine while on vacation, there’s plenty of options to choose from. Each morning a daily activities list was published and shared. Classes started around 8:30 AM with various focuses and different locations. I truly enjoyed the 30 minute stretch classes as they were an amazing way to start the day. There was also a great weight room, TRX stations, and cardio room!

Restaurants & Recreation at the Hyatt Zilara

Hyatt Zilara offers room service and plenty of options for dining! There are over 20+ places to eat or grab a drink between Zilara and Ziva! Below are some of our favorites and so/so thoughts on a few of the places:

Shutters Restaurant at Hyatt Zilara:

Shutters was a beautiful location to start the morning for breakfast! The menu was healthy and flexible. The staff was very friendly, and the open-air dining room provided amazing sweeping views of the beach while eating.

Brando’s

Brando’s was a dressy French-Polynesian styled restaurant. The decor and food presentation were outstanding. However, I was not too impressed with the serving sizes and flavors. Some of the fish dishes for our table were not fully cooked and the soup flavors fell a bit flat for me. This was probably not a reflection of the entire restaurant, it could be whoever the cook was for that particular night.

Tempest:

Tempest was a great Hibachi style restaurant on the Ziva side of the resort. Depending on the time of arrival, you may have to wait a bit for your table. None of the restaurants on the property take reservations, so you have to place your name on a waitlist. However, the wait is worth it if you’re a lover of good Japanese food! The starters here were a bit different than a traditional Hibachi restaurant. You receive a variety of 4 sushi rolls to start instead of soup and salad. The remaining portion of the dinner is cooked right in front of you at the table.

Waves:

Waves was a group favorite during our trip. I believe some in our group even dined there twice! The steak was cooked to perfection, regardless of temperature, and all of the starters were divine. My favorite was of course – the tacos!

The Pier:

This was a great grab and go buffet style restaurant. Personally I am not a huge fan of buffets because I do not like the idea of people picking and reaching over my food, but the Pier did not allow this in their dining area. All food was showcased behind a protective plexiglass and any food selections were served to you by the staff. Depending on the time of day you visited, you could enjoy anywhere from 4-5 cuisines at once at the Pier.

Noodle & Thread

Noodle and Thread is also located on the Ziva side of the resort serving up Italian-styled meals. The decor of this restaurant was very beautiful. However, I was not too crazy about the food. I would compare the taste to that of Olive Garden. Not amazing, but not bad either.

Deja Brew

This little coffee lounge located in the lobby area was one of my favorite daily stops. They served this amazing Hawaiian brew coffee that I wish I could have taken home as a souvenir. They also rotated out yummy pasties and desserts throughout the day, or various gelatos.

Moments

Moments was a fun sports lounge to checkout for an after dinner drinks, or to watch a sports game. The vibe here was very casual and fun. Just outside of Moments, there was a performance stage for entertainment enjoyment as well.

One Eyed Cat

This was a very chic lounge to grab a cocktail before or after dinner. The drinks and presentation were amazing! Each drink seemed to be named after a James Bond film!

Bongos

Bongos was also another bar / lounge you can enjoy any time throughout the day if you have club level access. Bongos was also available for Club Level check-in, butler meet and greet, along with a welcome drink. I enjoyed dropping into this location from time to time to grab a quick snack or drink.

Private Dining Experience

To celebrate Dave & Nicole’s 5 Year anniversary, they reserved a private beach cocktail party for their guests. We met on the beach just before dusk and everything was absolutely perfect. It was warm with a gentle breeze, the sun was just starting to set; creating a beautiful array of colors in the sky, tables were beautifully decorated by the staff, a private bar with servers and a bartender were available, white lights hung between palm trees and delicious h’orderves were served throughout the evening. The staff was also friendly enough to take photos to capture this special day.

Overall Hyatt Zilara Capa Cana in Punta Cana Recommendation

All in all, I would give the Hyatt Zilara Capa Cana 5 out of 5 stars! The staff was warm and friendly, everywhere we turned, the property was clean, spacious, and absolutely beautiful. There were plenty of food options, an amazing spa on-site, plenty of daily activities to sign-up for and get into, nightly entertainment, close proximity to the airport, and close proximity to any excursions should you choose to leave the resort. If you’ve traveled to Punta Cana before, where did you stay? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments down below!

TikTok Overall Hyatt Zilara in Punta Cana Recommendation Video:

@elicitfolio

Visit #hyattzilara next time you’re in Punta Cana Dominican Republic! Beautiful all-inclusive property! #puntacana #traveltiktok #blackgirlluxury #hyattzilaracapcana #dominicanrepublic #capcana

♬ original sound – Elicit Folio