Honeymoon recommendations

Going to be tying the knot this November (19th) and we're in the process of choosing a honeymoon destination. We've narrowed it down to either Jamaica (Montego Bay area) or the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana area). Anyone have any recommendations on all-inclusive resorts in these areas? Any resorts we should avoid like the plague? Thanks in advance.

dan.k78 wrote in post #12426470
Any resorts we should avoid like the plague? Thanks in advance.

On the wedding day I would avoid the church like the plague....RUN!!!

tripadvisor. com. Best travel site on the 'net. You can search by location for the highest rated places. All reviews are good. Q & A boards with locals and people who have been there, done that. I use this site any time the wife and I decide on a new travel destination.

dave

Tripadvisor.com is a good call. I've been rummaging around through all their rankings and reviews. Problem is that after a while, they all look good! lol! We're "happy medium" type people. Not interested in constant on the go cliff diving, shark wrestling, and stuff like that, but at the same time I can only spend so much time at a pool or on a beach.

You cannot go wrong with Riu or Iberostar resorts, if there is one available in any of my destinations, those are my default choices. I think Riu is a little better than Iberostar, but both are excelent.
As for tripadviser, I always look at the comments from people that didn't like the place and their reasons for not liking it. If a place is good you will find that the reasons are often personal. Things like " the personnel was rude to me and one of them looked at me sideways" more often than not are just the clients perception. Things like " the room wasn't cleaned" " I got robbed" or other specific complaints get my attention. Looking at tripadvisor and seeing the comments of people who liked the place is a waste of time IMO, they liked it! What else is there more to say!
But you can get valuable information from the ones that didn't like it.

dan.k78 wrote in post #12426470
Going to be tying the knot this November (19th) and we're in the process of choosing a honeymoon destination. We've narrowed it down to either Jamaica (Montego Bay area) or the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana area). Anyone have any recommendations on all-inclusive resorts in these areas? Any resorts we should avoid like the plague? Thanks in advance.

My wife and I spent ours at the Excellence Resort in Punta Cana.

In a word. AWESOME!

Would I do it again? YES!

Now, its not cheap, but, you get what you pay for IMO. A great place, service, food, drink, everything was amazing.

I am the ultimate cheap skate so the all inclusive thing was right up my alley. Paid for it ahead of time, which hurt big time, but at the resort it was all relaxation. No worries about having cash to pay for dinner, etc... Your not even supposed to tip the servers there, so money only comes in to play with buying souvenirs.

The shows and entertainment were great, all in all a wonderful experience, albeit a pricey one.

So, a resounding thumbs up for the Excellence Resort!
http://www.excellence-resorts.com …ons/excellence-punta-cana

BucketMan wrote in post #12440755
My wife and I spent ours at the Excellence Resort in Punta Cana.

In a word. AWESOME!

Would I do it again? YES!

Now, its not cheap, but, you get what you pay for IMO. A great place, service, food, drink, everything was amazing.

I am the ultimate cheap skate so the all inclusive thing was right up my alley. Paid for it ahead of time, which hurt big time, but at the resort it was all relaxation. No worries about having cash to pay for dinner, etc... Your not even supposed to tip the servers there, so money only comes in to play with buying souvenirs.

The shows and entertainment were great, all in all a wonderful experience, albeit a pricey one.

So, a resounding thumbs up for the Excellence Resort!
http://www.excellence-resorts.com …ons/excellence-punta-cana

Awesome! Thanks. That was one of the places we are considering.

dan.k78 wrote in post #12440934
Awesome! Thanks. That was one of the places we are considering.

That was my pre-DSLR days so I really dont have any good pics to share. Rest assured its gorgeous there.

Kind of sad too though. The island is rather poor, the drive from the airport to the resort is an eye opener seeing some of the shanty towns there. The folks at the resort strongly encourage you to stay on the grounds. I wandered off the beach for a bit. Bought some cool knick knacks cheaper than the resort has them for sale. I wouldnt leave at night though.

I met a pretty cool witch doctor like guy off the grounds. He gave me a neat little totem for good luck, I still have it on my fire helmet to this day, hasnt let me down yet!

The live entertainment is cool. I am no Michael Jackson fan, however the show they did of him there was just plain awesome. That was before he died however.

One last funny story. Once we arrived we were exhausted from our flights and the ride from the airport. I pretty much collapsed on the bed and just out of habit clicked on the Tv. When it came on it was on a hard core porn channel.

I knew then, I was going to like this place.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Nice!!!

About how long of a drive from the airport was it?

Don't know if you are a cigar guy or not, but I am (worked in the industry for a while) and would like to be able to have a cigar either on a deck or patio or some other outdoor area. I know some chains like Westin, Marriott, and a few others have complete non-smoking properties (even outside).

dan.k78 wrote in post #12441407
Nice!!!

About how long of a drive from the airport was it?

Don't know if you are a cigar guy or not, but I am (worked in the industry for a while) and would like to be able to have a cigar either on a deck or patio or some other outdoor area. I know some chains like Westin, Marriott, and a few others have complete non-smoking properties (even outside).

Was about 45 mins to an hour, and the guy was driving like a maniac, think NYC cab ride. I enjoyed the hell out of it!

Not allowed to smoke due to my job. I have no idea about their policies regarding that.