The ocean is calling and I must go…

There is something very theraputic about getting away from the chill of a freezing Toronto December that I love.

Hmmm… that is clearly stating the obvious [insert eyerolls here], but as you know I dial up all things social leading up to Christmas: business gatherings, re-connecting with friends, and my big annual Christmas open house.

Love   Love   Love   all of it !

But

[sideways glance]

We know this is a marathon of goodness that I dearly love, but truth be told … it takes its toll.

I am so thankful that my chickas wanted a Caribbean getaway  [arm twisting of rubber arm inserted here ].

I revel in relaxation.

I do it well.

Excel in fact.

Soooo.. if you are inclined to go to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, the following is my review of our visit (second !) to the Now Larimar resort for your perusal. If you have anything to add…please do let me know.

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December 25, 2018 – January 1, 2019

This was my second stay at the Now Larimar to relax after Christmas and ring in the New Year.

The beaches of Punta Cana are spectacular: deep, sugary soft sand and gradual entry to pristine aqua crystal clear water.

My review will bear in mind that we are repeat customers to this resort, seasoned global travellers and veterans of the ‘all-inclusive’ vacation option.

We used Conexion Tour for our airport/hotel private transfer that I will address in a separate post. I cannot say anything but good things about their exceptional service: great communication, timely and clear pick-ups, clean vehicles and professional and polite drivers.

1. Check-in:

The chilled scented towels and drink upon arrival to main reception was very welcoming upon arrival. Their pat “welcome home” address upon guests checking in is a very nice touch and I do like it!

The overall check-in experience was sub par in that the reception did not acknowledge our repeat visit (100% of all 5 star hotels/resorts I stay at do this). Though several of the rooms had a paper banner “welcome back” our 2 rooms did not.

We chose to stay at the Garden portion as it’s typically quieter and we wanted swim up rooms.   The main reception photocopied our passports, upgraded (per our request) us to Preferred Club…but other than that they handed us off to the Garden Club reception rather quickly.

I must say that the swim up rooms were quite lovely and convenient as I do like an early morning and post dinner dip.

Assuming that we would be greeted with efficiency at the concierge desk at the Garden reception, we were quickly disappointed. The gentleman on the desk again wanted to photocopy our passports…didn’t understand why we didn’t have our keys etc. etc.

When we DID get our keys from him he completely missed doing the requisite: this is your room keys…you are located here (show on map), here are your towel keys (here is the process), here are your privilege club cards (here are all the benefits – highlighting restaurants etc. on map) to us. This is very, very basic welcome protocol, and if we were first time visitors I would be appalled at the lack of attention to a group that was upgraded and staying for 7 days.

Additionally, the understanding of English was rather suspect given the high-touch customer element of the concierge desk.

Not a great customer facing guest experience and one that should be improved upon.

2. The Grounds:

This is a large resort.

You have many options for pools:

• The main large one is loud and full of activity and has a high energy level. A loud and proud vibe here!
• The Garden swim up rooms have a serene yet still lively (albeit much quieter than the main pool). I simply loved this at the end of whatever our day held to come back and chill here for a bit before the pre-dinner clean up.
• The Preferred Club pool near the ocean is small, but ideal…all the amenities and next to the beach. I have to say… this was my favourite.

• The Garden suites are near the tennis courts and quieter than the main complex. It’s a short walk (~ 5-10 minutes to the beach). You can also use the shuttle from the Garden lobby to the main reception.
• The grounds are beautifully laid out and are exceptionally clean. In 7 days I never say garbage on the walkways or lawns. Truly lovely!

3. The restaurants:

So here is a pet peeve of mine with this resort. I have been to so many all-inclusive resorts whereby upon arrival you can give your restaurant choices, dates and times for reservations for the duration of your stay to the concierge to manage. This takes a lot of stress off the dinner shuffle at the end of the day and gives the guest great piece of mind.   Also, after speaking to several top rated restaurant owners in several cities, having reservations allow them to manage their guest flow and service better.

Now Larimar main reception upon seeing my list of dates and times quickly handed me off to the Garden concierge where upon (and I think he didn’t quite understand how to articulate things), told me that the restaurants don’t take reservations except the Spice restaurant which was fully booked until Jan 1   Jan 1 was the date of our departure! There is clearly a flaw here.

So we decided, as we are early risers that an unfashionable early dinner (6/6:30 pm) would be ok as we did not relish waiting an hour for a table which is what we were told was the wait our first night of arrival.

Tamarindo – Mexican

• The interior is very colourful and well appointed.
• The serving portions are appropriate for 5 star (read: small-ish), but some North Americans may want to order multiple starters.
• Also the accoutrements (salsa, guacamole etc.) serving were miniscule.

• The service is exceptionally rushed to the point of being almost rude: you haven’t even finished chewing and have barely put your fork down when they are sweeping your plate away.

Carnival buffet

• This is a large restaurant with many food options…there is something for everyone.   Though a diverse range of food, the food presentation was somewhat lacking. Many resorts will augment the buffet with floral displays, fruit carvings, multi-level food presentation etc. to make the buffet look enticing.
• Note that with the exception of the roast beef that is hand carved for you, most of the fish and meat is overcooked/well done.
• Though lots of wait staff loitering about, you still have to wave down a server for wine/refills. They were not really attentive at all.

Castaways beach side restaurant (for Preferred Club members only)

• Fabulous location next to the big pool and beach.
• The salad/cold bar is small but well appointed. I would suggest that in addition to their creamy salad dressings (pink?   Ranch?) that a healthier, non-creamy based option be offered like a simple balsamic & olive oil vinaigrette.
• The hostess here (who also is the hostess at the Mercure French restaurant at night) is quite lovely. She is very attentive, remembers certain guests, and will smile occasionally.

La Trattoria  – Italian restaurant

• This is located in the Gardens section of the resort. The alfresco dining area though small is quite pretty.
• We ate here every morning for breakfast (with the exception of one) and due to its proximity to our rooms were ideal. The buffet with hot and cold options offered a good range.
• The pancake/French toast/waffle section was nicely stocked but all were cold and very, very dry. If you like dousing your waffles with a load of syrup, this is not a problem, but if you like to load with fruit and just a small amount of syrup it is very disappointing.
• The coffee overall (with the exception of the coffee bar Coco) is not very good overall given the Caribbean location: very bitter and not very strong.   I always deferred to getting a cappuccino here and though it’s from a machine at least it was with a solid coffee flavour.
• Our morning server, Christian, was wonderful.   He was attentive, remembered how everyone liked his or her coffees, and was generally very positive.
• The Capers restaurant is at this shared location, but not sure if that’s solely for the interior and dinner only—we did not partake.
• The restaurant menu offers a nice selection of pastas, pizza and other traditional Italian fare. I had the tagliateli bolognaise one night that was very good, but the seafood risotto was a huge miss: over salted, seafood was dry beyond words and the risotto was undercooked. Beautiful presentation, but as this is one of my guilty pleasure…a bit of a miss.

Mercure – French restaurant

• Hands down my favourite restaurant on the resort.
• I love the hip décor and the vibe is upscale and sumptuous.

• The food also was on point:
  • I had a lovely citrus salad with lobster thermador one night. Though the lobster was overcooked and lacking in the traditional sauce…it was beautifully presented and was delicious.
  • Another night I had the roasted goat phylo starter and the grouper that was outstanding!

• The service here was exceptional – we were not disappointed.

Coco coffee bar

Located in the main square, this is the place for your cup of Joe. There also are small wraps and excellent sweets to nibble.   The gal behind the counter was a delight! Every day with a gorgeous smile and pleasant banter – lovely!

Spice –Asian restaurant

As I mentioned, both main and Garden concierge services did not want to make reservations for me at all except for NYE at La Trattoria. I read that you needed a reservation for Spice so upon checking in this was my priority. I was told it was fully booked until January 3^rd ….9 days out from our check-in day!   This seems rather outrageous and something seems rather off.

The food overall, much like most Caribbean all-inclusive resorts is not for foodies. With the exception of the Mecure, I can’t give rave reviews to any of them.

If you enjoy your wine, order a bottle. The stocked red and white are equally horrid.   I think I drank better wine in my student days. Having said that though, all restaurants have a decent selection of good wines for purchase.

4. Beach side service with the Preferred Club

• The Preferred Club portion of the beach is lovely in that you get more comfortable loungers than the public side and it’s much more spread out.
• I must give a special shout out to Algeni who was our server for the week at the beach. He was outstanding!   Always with a smile….always on the move. He always gave you the impression that he was there to make your day enjoyable
• The Preferred Club is an upgrade that you can get upon check-in. As returning guests our ‘special’ rate was $800 USD for 4 people for 7 days. I can’t vouch for the ‘discount’ authenticity, but for us, as we are not fans of being crowded in like sardines, this was a fabulous upgrade.

The best experience !

• Hands down my favourite experience at the resort was the rental of the 2-storey beach Cabana in the Preferred Club. Compared to other 5 star hotels the rates were very reasonable with a $100/125/150 price ladder depending on the services you wanted.
• Upon arrival to the beautiful cabana we were greeted by Luis and his team of servers and shown the stocked cooler with water, beer, soft drink and champagne on ice.

• Luis and Algeni stopped by frequently and were exceptionally attentive.
• This is a must-do in my opinion.

5. The areas that need improvement

• English proficiency

This is a massive issue on the resort. With the exception of a very few, I am stunned that front-line customer facing associates have such a poor command of the English language. Though there are many Spanish-speaking guests I am sure, the balance if not English speaking will in all likelihood have English as their ‘travel’ language. Garden concierge, pool bar staff, towel girl, and house keeping all had sub par understanding of what some of my simple requests were…. I had to resort to ‘sign language’ and baby vocabulary to assist them.

• Money/change

Though there is a currency service offered in the main reception, they will not break your $20 bills into smaller denominations that you can use for tips. There is a small market store in the square where you can break a 20$ but only at the beginning of the day when they have change and you are served up with a lot of surly attitude every day by the cashier. Don’t even try to discuss this with her because even though working in a boutique, she too doesn’t speak English.

Bottom line: if you want to plan your tipping (and everyone has their own approach to tipping at all-inclusive resorts), then do so prior to leaving North America. Load up on $1 $5 and $10 USD bills for the bar staff, housekeeping, and hostess/serve staff.   I don’t know why the resort makes this so difficult.   Perhaps if the staff could easily be tipped they may actually smile more!

• Housekeeping

I must say I love the vanity tray offerings: the shampoo, body lotion (both with gorgeous fragrance), razor, toothbrush, toothpaste and mending kit are great. What needs to be added is hair conditioner and the ‘vanity kit’ with the ear swabs needs to be replenished daily (2 ear swabs for 2 people for 7 days is not good enough… I had to hunt down housekeeping every day to get additional).

The turndown service though pleasant is well behind other 5-star resorts. Now Larimar is very basic and totally misses the services that not only turn down your bed, but also have whimsical, creative ‘towel creatures/art’ for you to enjoy.

• Hospitality

One thing that stands out here is that most of the staff (not all as we did have some lovely attendants as mentioned) does not smile. This is so highly unusual in the Caribbean where warm, enthusiastic smiles are the norm at 5 star hotels that I think management needs to address right away. It’s an easy fix and one that would improve the vibe of the resort.

• Music in the main square

In the evening, the music in the square when they are trying to get people pumped up and dancing on stage should be something that most people are familiar with. Think of some wedding favourites: Brown Eyed Girl, Dancing Queen, Macarena, Havana, etc. Spanish favourites can be peppered in, but if you want audience engagement and participation, give them a bit of familiarity (it’ll be in a tropical setting, so it will be with a new twist!)

• The Market Square Boutique

Okay, confession time: I am a retail specialist and so when I see a great opportunity that is not capitalized upon it makes me crazy!

From an assortment standpoint:

• Much too much apparel (reduce this space)

• Focus on beach apparel (mostly wraps) and Punta Cana and Now Larimar T-shirts. Promote your own brand!
• Offer a larger selection of wines, champagnes and hard spirits (this is an easy way to make money!)
• Offer Now Larimar logo goods- coffee mugs, coffee travel mugs, key chains, wine glasses and beer glasses with the logo etched on them. Etc.
• Offer a small selection (8-12 linear feet of shelving) of books. Light fiction using New York Times bestseller list, Oprah book club and Reese Witherspoon book club top picks as a guideline. This is very easy to manage. Magazines are messy and time-sensitive so do not bother unless they are vendor serviced

From a service standpoint:

• The guest experience in this store is not great. Though greeted with the obligatory ‘Hola’, any interaction with English speaking guests is minimal. I observed this every day during our 7 day stay. A smile and a friendly vibe would do wonders too. You want people to feel welcomed.

• The cash out system is clumsy. It is very slow and often if I was behind 2 guests, the cash out took almost 10 minutes. Yes, it IS a computer system, but there are a lot of good systems that gather all point of sale information and are speedy.

Final words

Overall the Now Larimar is a large, lovely resort. The beaches are pristine, the pools areas are meandering and organically laid out (versus rectangular grid blocks) and the grounds rather gorgeous. Food for the most part is mediocre if you are a foodie, but serves the purpose. As mentioned, there are a few things that can be easily rectified to make the overall experience much more customer centric and enjoyable.

I hope this helps!

Xo-Sandra