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Impressive Punta Cana Review [Dominican Republic]

by Lisa Stentvedt
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I just came back from a 2-week stay in the Dominican Republic, and thought I’d share my honest Impressive Punta Cana review for anyone considering a stay at this all-inclusive resort!

In this review I’ll share all my thoughts and opinions about the hotel, including the good and the bad! Hopefully this will give you a clear idea of whether this is the resort for you.

To share a couple of key takeaways before we dive in, I did love my stay at the Impressive Punta Cana All-Inclusive Resort, and would gladly recommend it. There were a few minor bumps that I’ll point out in the review, but they didn’t ruin the resort experience.

This post is for you if you are planning a trip to Punta Cana and are unsure of where to stay! I have now stayed at my fair share of all-inclusive resorts (check out all my reviews here), and have even perfected an all-inclusive packing list for your guys. So I truly think I’m the right person to share my experience.

In case you were wondering: do you need a passport for Punta Cana?

Quick Punta Cana Travel Guide

Where to stay: Punta Cana is located on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, with loads of high-end all-inclusive resorts lining the coastline. Most visitors to Punta Cana opt to stay at one of these resorts, as it truly is a destination for relaxing and enjoying the Caribbean climate. Popular resorts include Dreams Macao Punta Cana, Impressive Premium Punta Cana and the Hard Rock Hotel.

Top activities and tours in Punta Cana:

Packing for Punta Cana: Punta Cana is hot year-round, so you obviously want to pack your swimwear, flip flops and light summer outfits. Resorts usually have a casual dress code, but won’t allow swimwear in the restaurants. So pack a few summery dresses or shorts and tops for dinner as well. Don’t forget reef-safe sunscreen, sunglasses and a good book, and read through my all-inclusive packing list before your trip!

Airport transfers: There are plenty of vendors and sellers waiting for you at the Punta Cana airport, so finding a taxi or transfer to your hotel is not a problem. However, if this feels a little overwhelming to you, I recommend booking a transfer in advance – for ease of mind. Our transfer by taxi (booked upon arrival) to our hotel cost $30 USD, whilst booking a transfer in advance would have been less than $15 (this is the highest-rated one).

Impressive Punta Cana Review

Impressive Punta Cana All-Inclusive Resort truly lived up to its name during my recent stay with my friends. From lazy days by the pool to refreshing cocktails at the swim-up bar, our time at the hotel was nothing short of amazing.

The resort’s gym and spa were perfect for a bit of pampering and relaxation, while the variety of restaurants allowed us to indulge in a range of culinary delights.

My favorite thing about the resort was that an impressive five a la carte restaurants were included in the all-inclusive package. This added a touch of luxury and variety to our dining experiences, making our stay all the more memorable. If you’re looking for a perfect blend of relaxation, indulgence, and fun, Impressive Punta Cana All-Inclusive Resort has it all!

Unsure about visiting Punta Cana? My Cancun vs Punta Cana guide can help!

A bright blue pool with a thatched roofed pool bar at the very end, with palm trees hanging over the pool in the background and blue skies above. This is the pool at Impressive Punta Cana.

Impressive Punta Cana Resort Overview

Impressive Punts Cana is an all-inclusive resort, located in (you guessed it!) Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Punta Cana is a popular tropical destination with its pristine sandy beaches, crystal-clear turquoise waters, and a palm-fringed coastline.

This destination offers a perfect blend of relaxation and adventure, from lazy days basking in the sun (we had plenty) to thrilling water sports and excursions – there are some great tours to choose from there!

With luxurious resorts, fantastic dining options, and warm hospitality, Punta Cana is truly a slice of heaven on earth for travelers seeking an escape.

Most resorts line the beachy coastline, and you’ll find that some of the best all-inclusive resorts in Punta Cana have direct access to the beach – Impressive Punta Cana included.

Side note: check out my guide to the best beaches in Punta Cana here!

The resort is not huge, which is convenient if you don’t want to trek 10 minutes to get to breakfast in the morning, and has two separate areas/sections. Impressive Punta Cana makes out one area, with its own pool, beachfront and buildings, and then Impressive Premium makes out another area, with more rooms, a separate pool and bars.

A marble lobby at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, with the words Impressive Resorts & Spas Punta Cana on the wall behind a dark marble counter.

Amenities and Facilities

Below I dive deeper into some of the amenities and facilities Impressive has to offer. We spent most of our days here relaxing by the pool or on the beach, and all agreed that even after 6-7 days of this we truly weren’t bored.

All though by day 7 we did decide to book a few Punta Cana excursions to fill our days.

Restaurants

I mentioned in the introduction for this Impressive Punta Cana review that I was impressed that the hotel had 5 a la carte restaurant included with the all-inclusive package. I have been to some really nice luxury all-inclusive hotels before (hello Grand Fiesta Cancun), and know that the best ones have a la carte restaurants in addition to the standard buffets.

The buffets (yes, there are two) at the Impressive were just as expected. Lots of options, stations for fresh omelettes (for breakfast), pasta or even tacos (for dinner), friendly staff and free-flowing drinks. I wouldn’t expect anything less.

Bonus: the Impressive is the type of all-inclusive that has table service for all drinks, and not taps where you help yourself to wine/beer/sodas. This makes for a nicer experience, in my opinion.

For dinner, you can either opt for the buffet, or head to one of the 5 a la carte restaurants, serving either Italian, Mediterranean, Grill/BBQ, Pizza and Tapas, and Japanese (teppanyaki with a sushi starter). These need to be booked in advance, and you can either speak to the concierge or just do it on the resort website once you have arrived.

We made it a point to try out all 5 of the a la carte restaurants during our stay, and we were happy with each one. None of the food blew us away completely, but we also had nothing to complain about. The ocean view from the Italian restaurant was especially lovely.

Pools

The resort has a large pool area, with two main pools in the “normal” area of the hotel, and another section over in the Impressive Premium area. Since we weren’t staying in a premium room, I won’t be able to go into too much detail about their area of the hotel.

The pools in the main area were great, with a swim up bar, varying depths and a water polo area. The swim up bar might have been our favorite detail, for obvious reasons.

One thing worth pointing out is that there was quite a bit of debris in the pool, fallen in from the nearby bushes and overhanging palm trees. It seems they don’t quite have the filtering system (or cleaning routine?) to keep this at bay, and is something you might want to know about. However, it didn’t stop us (or others) from chilling in the pool, as you can always just waft away the leaves and debris.

There are plenty of lounge chairs by the pool, and we never had any trouble finding chairs/beds for the day. They have a rule stating that items that are left for over an hour will be brought to the towel shed – which I really appreciated. Basically, this keeps people from going to reserve sun beds before breakfast, one of my biggest holiday pet peeves!

A resort pool at sunset, with a pool ladder in the foreground and sun beds in the background lining the pool.

Beach

As mentioned, the hotel lines the strip of beach along the Punta Cana coastline. The pool area opens up to the beach, so those who (like me) prefer spending their days with their toes in the sand will be able to at the Impressive Punta Cana.

There is a beach bar, of course, so you don’t have to go far for that Pina Colada.

Jutting out from the beach there is a long dock with a roofed section in the end, perfect for watching the sun rise when jet lag hits (like we did).

Two girls standing on the water's edge on a white sandy beach, with clear turquoise water in front of them, and a jetty to the left of the image.
My friends on the beach at Impressive Punta Cana!

Spa

As I often do when I arrive at a nice resort, I went straight for the spa on the first day in Punta Cana. I booked 4 massages for the duration of the stay, and they were such a welcome treat at the end of each day in the sun.

The spa is small, but offer the treatments you would expect, including Swedish massages, deep tissue massages and even a sunburn “SOS” massage (that I luckily didn’t need).

My friends opted for deep tissue massages during our stay, whilst I (a whimp) went for the relaxing Swedish massage. We were all happy, and the massage therapists did a great job.

Activities and events

At the resort, guests can enjoy a lively schedule of daily shows and events catering to various interests, from energetic zumba classes and merengue lessons to fun pool olympics and nostalgic Michael Jackson tribute shows. With such a diverse array of activities, there is always something exciting to keep you entertained throughout your stay.

While basking by the pool every day, you’ll find that boredom is never an issue. One thing to point out though, is that the sound system at the main stage could have been improved. The audio quality during the grand evening performances was not optimal.

Diving

Now onto my favorite topic: diving in Punta Cana!

I booked 3 days of diving with the dive center located just on the beach by Impressive Punta Cana, called Sea Klub Diving.

The first of my dive days was a couple of local dives just off the beach in front of the resort (about 5-7 minutes by boat from the beach). Sadly, it wasn’t a great experience, as the waves and swells (even underwater) were so strong I was left exhausted (and sea sick) by the end of the dive.

As a result, I sadly didn’t join the second dive of the morning, to head back to the pool to nurse my nausea. However, I was told that this is typical for the Atlantic side of the island (where we were diving), and that the Caribbean side would be much better.

My other two dives (a day of wreck diving and a day of shark diving – both bucket list experiences for me!), were luckily on the Caribbean side of the island. The wreck dive to the St. George’s wreck quickly became the best dive I’ve ever done! Such an incredible experience.

You can read more about my experience scuba diving in the DR here!

Excursions

As Punta Cana is such a resort focused destination, you’ll find that there are a huge selection of excursions and tours available. Practically all of them offer hotel pick up, and will drop you off back at your resort after you’re done for the day.

We loved doing a half-day cultural tour of the western part of the Dominican Republic, learning a little more about local culture and life. We also really enjoyed spending the day relaxing on a catamaran and snorkeling – one of the most popular tours in the area, in addition to Saona Island day trips.

Below you can browse some of the top-rated tours in Punta Cana.

Impressive Punta Cana Review: Final Thouhts

To summarize, my friends and I had a great time at the Impressive Punta Cana, and even though there were some drawbacks (the debris in the pool and the poor music system at the main stage, to name a couple), these didn’t really affect our overall experience.

We slept in comfy beds, in an air conditioned room, enjoyed slow mornings on our balconies and lots of options for food. If you are looking for a great all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, I highly recommend the Impressive!

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