This February, the Patel Family went to Punta Cana on a family trip, one may cay #PatelsInPunta. We decided to go on a family trip when we were celebrating Thanksgiving, but unfortunately the airline prices this year have been absolutely ridiculous so we went back and fourth on a location. We finally found reasonably priced flights (on Spirit/ Frontier), did we make it there and back? YES, would we fly with the airlines again? NO.
My parents have stayed with the Bahia Principe brand in other countries, including Punta Cana, so we decided to go with them. Over all I loved the resort and the staff was absolutely amazing. Our trip was Wednesday- Sunday, and my husband and parents were meeting my sister and her fiancé there since they were flying directly from Philadelphia. On the way to Punta Cana, we got delayed in FLL for a few hours, we still don’t know why we were delayed but we made it just in time for our dinner reservations. Good thing we spend our delay in a lounge that served espresso martinis thanks to Chaitan.
Day 1 (Wednesday):
We arrived closer to dinner, while my sister and her fiancé were able to enjoy the afternoon in the pool and at the beach. When we got the the Punta Cana airport we had a private transfer waiting for us to take us to the hotel, which was really nice. Usually, other all inclusive resorts use shared transportation base on peoples arrival times, which makes the trip to and from the hotel long with all the stops at other hotels along the way.
When we arrived, we check into our hotel rooms, and got ready for dinner. We were fortunate enough to let the hotel accommodate or dinner reservations before we arrived to the hotel instead of making them when we arrived. Our first dinner was at CAPRICCIO RESTAURANT, which was traditional Italian food. Over all the food was good, I think we like the pizza and bread more then the pasta on the menu. The calamari was actually really good. At the end of dinner they served an after dinner drink called mamajuana. Mamajuana is a smooth blend off rum, spices and honey, and it is usually homemade.
After dinner there was a white out dance party in the hotel lobby with a DJ, so we hung out for a bit. After the DJ ended, my parents went to bed and the 4 of us went to the beach. We sat on beach chairs and listened to the ocean and watched the waves in the mooning. There was a late night room service menu and for whatever reason, we were compelled to order a TON of food which I would rate 1/10 (10/10 for the fruit) LOL but it was the first and last time we ordered room service.
Day 2 (Thursday):
We woke up early and headed to breakfast, the breakfast buffet spread was pretty legit. We enjoyed mom ordering “lychee caliante” every morning so she could make chai at the table. I think after the first day I made a cream cheese veggie sandwich every morning. After breakfast, we all changed into our MATCHING T SHIRTS and swimsuites. We spend the whole day in the pool and throughly enjoyed the swim up bar. We went to lunch at the same buffet we went to breakfast for a quick lunch. My sister and I took a quick nap on the pool chairs before getting back in the pool and my husband and mom went on a beach walk and met a cute monkey.
That evening we had reservations to ORIENTAL TAKARA RESTAURANT, an asian fusion restaurant. After our pool day we decided to get ready and head to the sports bar for a drink (ALSO they had mozzarella cheese sticks on the menu). The asian restaurant had a number of vegan options, the sushi was very good considering that we were on a Caribbean Island. The dessert wasn’t that good though. After dinner, we went to the beach again to enjoy the sound of the waves hitting the beach.
Day 3 (Friday):
We woke up and went to the coffee shop for coffee and pastries before doing a long beach walk with mom. Our plan was to go on the walk, then meet dad for brunch at the beachfront buffet. The walk was beautiful, the sun wasn’t hot yet. After breakfast and mimosas we went up to put our swimsuits on and we decided to have a pool day at the larger pool in the resort next door.
After breakfast we spend the rest of the day at the the larger pool, we even got fresh cocktails made in a pineapple, they were very good but very strong. We went to a FOAM PARTY in the pool next door, which was something else. There was a live DJ and a lot of foam.
After another successful pool day, we had dinner reservations at THALI, the indian restaurant. Before dinner we went to the Sports Bar again. By this day the sunburn was setting in for sure, I was red. The indian food was decent, it wasn’t the best but toward the end of the dinner someone affiliated with the resort was talking to Chaitan and brought him back into the kitchen, and they created the best paneer(cheese) dish for us!
Day 4 (Saturday):
We started the morning off with breakfast at the beach buffet. After breakfast, we went up to get ready for our family photoshoot which turned out so nice. The boys had matching outfits and the girls wore white.
After our photo shoot, it was time for some beach time followed by pool time. The sand and beach in Punta Cana are absolutely amazing but unfortunately the water was extremely choppy with bad undercurrents. We went in for a little but before switching back to the pool. That night our dinner reservations were at MAIKO JAPANESE RESTAURANT. The dinner was good, the show and prep of the food was also good! After dinner, we went to a magic show which was fun.
Day 5 (Saturday):
This was our final day in paradise. We woke up and went straight to the coffee shop followed by a beach walk, quick brunch and pool time. Neha and Ravi left fairy early to go to the airport but our flight wasn’t until 9pm so we ended up spending once last day in the pool before packing up and heading to the airport. Overall we loved everything about this family trip! We can’t wait for another Patel family vacation!
🖤
Living My Best Life 