Iberostar Waves Punta Cana - All Inclusive

Our family of four visited Iberostar Waves Punta Cana in July 2025, and overall, we had a pleasant stay with a few notable highlights and areas for improvement. The resort itself is beautifully maintained, with lush, manicured gardens and inviting pools that are perfect for families. Although we didn’t visit the beach, the pool areas provided ample relaxation and enjoyment throughout our stay. We also appreciated that the resort is wheelchair accessible, allowing easy movement throughout the property. Check-in was smooth and efficient, thanks to the friendly and professional assistance from Diana, who made us feel welcome from the start. Housekeeping was also excellent our room was consistently clean and well cared for during the entire trip. Most of the staff were warm and courteous, although there were a few instances where service felt less attentive, with some staff members not acknowledging guests. One area that could use significant improvement is the food. As other reviewers have noted, the buffet offerings were repetitive and lacked variety. Some items did not seem particularly fresh, which was disappointing. For vegetarian and vegan guests, the options were especially limited. More concerning was the mixing of vegetarian dishes with the meat section, with cross-contamination occurring due to shared serving utensils. I brought this to the staff’s attention and recommended clearly that they should separate vegetarian and vegan items to respect dietary needs and preferences. Despite these issues, we had a great time overall and appreciated the resort's natural beauty, cleanliness, and relaxing atmosphere. With some improvements in food quality and dietary accommodations, this could be an even better destination for families.

Let me start with the elephant in the room - the entire Bavaro coast is battered by sargassum. Hotels are not really winning this battle, but it feels like Iberostar might not be even seriously trying anymore. There was about a day and a half within a week that you could actually get in the water relatively free from seaweed. It was to be somewhat expected during this time of year though. Other than that, the hotel was actually excellent. Well run, beautiful grounds, rather high standards. It won't score many points for style, but more than compensates for that with the substance. The room is very simple (see the pictures), but everything is very practical and convenient. That includes a proper bathroom door and a great shower. We were a family of three and an additional bed was already prepared for us in the room with two original doubles. Honestly, I don't remember the last time we got into a resort room where everything was just right and did not require coming back to check-in to ask for something. So kudos to Iberostar here. I also loved their reusable bottles and drinking water and ice dispensers everywhere. Given the beach situation, we spent most time at the pools and enjoyed it. The hotel seems well under capacity at this time, apart from the weekends when it does get busy. If you stay in Waves Punta Cana-Dominicana part of the complex, then this part is only really what is accessible to you. It is not very large and there are convenient covered walkways between all the living quarters, main restaurants and lobbies (which are bizarrely disjoint for what is basically the same property) . Great for both rain and midday sun. Most restaurants do not require a reservation. We only tried the Mexican one and liked it. The buffet food is quite good also. So overall this is a great resort and we had a very good vacation. Would I go back? That depends, I personally think some other hotels in the area are better value for money, and Tripadvisor's "value" rating perhaps reflects that.

This was our first trip to Dominicana. Travelled in Nov 2024. Overall I would say it was a good stay. The weather was mixed. Out of a week 3 days were rainy, but it was still hot. Beach was clean and sandy, lots of lounge chairs available, pool is good. Buffet and restaurants has lots of options. Open till 4 am which was unique, but useful. We liked French restaurant the best, Japanese had the best atmosphere. Professional great Shows every night. Resort grounds are not too expanded, so not too much walking, everything is in walking distance. I liked 3-4 floors buildings type. There no DJ option at night. Spa has hydro massagers, steam room and sauna, but nothing special. Our room was spacious. Beds are comfy.

Pros: Everything within 5min-walk. Beautiful grounds. Resort/room clean. Many alacarte's-no reservations-went every night; great service, excellent food! Buffets good food-&-selection. KidsClub a plus w/family-times. Lrg clean pools. Beautiful beach! plenty of chairs. Water stations everywhere. Staff mostly friendly. Seamless check in-out. Cons: shows bland, start late-9:30. American songs, extremely loud, no instruments; lacked cultural experience. RockCafe always closed. One pool-bar, 20min wait for drinks. Lacked special-touches like other resorts. We accepted breakfast-credit offer. They picked us up, then carted to sales-office (not-breakfast) During interrogation; my husband said "yes we are ready to go for breakfast, we will hear the pitch & if it's not for us we'll leave." She immediately barked "you have to stay for the entire pitch, you're not getting a free breakfast from us!" Excuse me! we spent 1000s to come here & "free" breakfast? We could have got our included! breakfast 1hr ago! Walked out. Resort advertised 5-star. Its 4-max which ok but misleading. Overall we enjoyed vacation. Only at the right price & expectations I would recommend this resort to families. Wont return

I had an incredible experience during my stay at this hotel. I’m a proud member, and the Star Prestige area truly exceeded my expectations. One staff member in particular, Felix, stood out as an absolute gem. He was exceptionally attentive, friendly and displayed outstanding customer service skills. His dedication and professionalism made me want to join as a member because I saw firsthand how guests are genuinely valued. Felix embodies the true meaning of customer care and is a tremendous asset to the IBEROSTAR team. I’ll definitely be returning—and sharing this amazing experience with my friends!

Wonderful resort, friendly staff, beautiful grounds.....will be back. Thoroughly enjoyed our week long stay. Went through Apple Vacations to book our trip, I liked they were on the property everyday to see if we needed anything and helped with excursions.