GeekedOutRambo

Review of Now Larimar Punta cana & Secre...

Overall, the wife and I really enjoyed our 5 night...

Overall, the wife and I really enjoyed our 5 night stay at Secrets Royal Beach. It is located on a property with two other resorts and Secrets is the most expensive of the three and the adults only resort. The "adults only" really becomes apparent when you're flipping through your TV channels and stumble across the Brazzers network. Simply awesome.
The reason Secrets is more expensive than the Now Larimar resort right next to it is because you get access to the other two resorts on the property.
A quick run-down:
Secrets- Adults only, access to all 3 resorts. 4 Restaurants.
Now Larimar - built in 2007 so its newer and it shows in the construction
and decor. Biggest of the Resorts and fairly priced. 4
restaurants and a buffet.
Now Gardens - Cheapest resort and very small. Only a buffet and Italian
Restaurant. Didn't even go here(is a shuttle ride or long
walk away) and didn't need to.
Activities:
We noticed Secrets is a more relaxed resort with the average age of its guests being much older. My main gripe with the resort was the lack of things to do. Whereas my wife can lounge by the pool or beach all day and find this to be majestic and fulfilling, I quickly grow tired of it and I did find myself wishing there were more activities for me to partake in. Perhaps I'm a little spoiled by cruise ships with their long list of activities spanning every 15 minutes of the day, and the few activities that were offered were sparse and underwhelming.
Going in the ocean would have been nice but it was overflowing with seaweed--literally mountains--and nobody was swimming out there( not really the resorts fault but still have to mention it). The pool was nice though and I found myself hanging by the bar the majority of the time.
Rooms:
We loved our room. Every room here is a junior suite and it's large with updated modern designs. We had a garden view room which was nice due to it being located right in the middle of everything so nothing was too far away. Our first night I noticed some smeg on the top of the bed sheet which was disgusting and looked like a crusted blood clot and housekeeping was quick to change it. The mini fridge came stocked with cans of Presidente and water bottles. The bathroom was clean and very spacious.
Food:
I've seen on other reviews the food is hit or miss for some people but we really loved it! Breakfast is a must and the spread is fantastic. I did not care for the bacon though which was smoked. I'm a bacon purist and prefer the non-smoked variety. And the lunch we found to be just as good. The resort was not too busy the week we went so we never had to wait for a table at the restaurants(which are only open at night). The OCEANA was really good and the Sole was flaky, tender, and delicious, but the ribeye here was not that great and lacked flavor.
The ribeye at the SEASIDE GRILL however was amazing and came served sizzling on a skillet with a beautiful crust, however, don't expect the "chefs" to get the temperature right. A medium steak could come out as rare or well done, it's all up for grabs. My wife had the Filet here and it was great as well.
The HIBACHI and sushi were not worth it in my opinion and should be skipped, but maybe I'm spoiled from the excellent sushi and hibachi I've had locally in South Florida. My wife agreed though, skip it and just eat at the Japanese restaurant with their regular menu offerings.
The FRENCH restaurant at Now Larimar was by far our favorite and we ate there a few times. The dough stuffed with goat is out of this world and the lamb shank was amazing. The sauces...wow.
We had a bad experience with ROOM SERVICE since it showed up cold and they didn't even get our order right.
Bars:
Our favorite bar was the MOMENTS bar at Now Larimar and it by far served the best drinks on the whole property. These were the only bartenders I could find who knew what a "splash" of cranberry meant.