Iberostar Waves Punta Cana - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9808 reviews

• 

  Second trip even better

  We came back this September after beiing there in june 2025. This time was even better! I think we found our place! Weather was amazing, beach so beautiful! It was clean and there was not any seaweed! Food was tasty and delicious! Room daily cleaned and fridge stacked! People there are the best part! Special shout out to Chris and Maria at the buffet! Coming back next year for third time for sure!

  Sep 28, 2026
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  Disappointing stay – certainly not the 5-star experience we expected

  Disappointing stay – certainly not the 5-star experience we expected We recently stayed at Iberostar Waves Punta Cana for 11 nights, and unfortunately our experience fell well short of what we expected from a resort marketed as 5-star. There were some positives, including some genuinely friendly individual members of staff and some nice areas of the resort, but overall there were simply too many issues during our stay for us to consider it a satisfactory 5-star experience. The room Our problems started with the accommodation. Our original room had a very noticeable damp/musty smell. We reported this to the hotel and, despite attempts to deal with the smell, it remained an issue. We were eventually moved to another room, which we appreciated, although the replacement room had also been fumigated, making the whole situation less than ideal. Having to move rooms during an 11-night holiday is inconvenient enough, but the condition of the original room was particularly disappointing. Hot water – a major issue We also experienced a significant problem with the hot water. One evening, hot water was extremely limited and, the following day, there was no hot water for most of the day. This meant that we actually had to take cold showers before our dinner reservations. Having to shower in cold water before getting ready for an evening out is certainly not something we expected from a 5-star resort and was particularly frustrating given that we had planned our evenings around restaurant reservations. Pool condition The condition of the pool was another major disappointment. At various points we noticed green slime/mould-like build-up around parts of the pool, which did not give us much confidence in the cleanliness or maintenance of the facilities. The pool is such a central part of a Caribbean resort holiday that this really shouldn’t have been an issue at this level. We raised our concerns with management and were told that the problems would be addressed. To be fair, we did see some improvements during our stay, but even after those improvements, the overall standard still wasn’t where we expected it to be. Restaurants and food One thing worth knowing before booking is not to expect a huge variety of completely separate restaurants. Some of the restaurants effectively operate as the same buffet/lunch venues during the day before changing into different dining concepts in the evening. This isn’t necessarily a problem in itself, but if you’re expecting a large selection of genuinely different restaurants across the resort, you may find the choice more limited than anticipated. For us, the clear exception was La Sibila, the French restaurant. This was, by far, the standout dining experience of our stay. The food was noticeably better, but just as importantly, the staff and service were excellent. The level of service there was significantly better than what we experienced elsewhere in the resort. Honestly, La Sibila was the saving grace when it came to the food and restaurant options for us. Unfortunately, elsewhere we experienced some very long waits. On one occasion we waited approximately 40 minutes for dinner without even receiving our starter. What made this particularly frustrating was the lack of communication or acknowledgement of the delay. Pool bar and general service We also experienced issues with the pool bar, including long waits and inconsistent service. There were also occasions where we observed staff drinking bottled beer while still in uniform. While this may not directly affect every guest, it didn’t give us the professional impression we would expect from a 5-star property. Language and communication We speak very limited Spanish, and we did find the language barrier could sometimes make communication more difficult. It is possible that guests who are fluent Spanish speakers may find communication easier and potentially have a different experience, so this is worth bearing in mind if you’re considering the resort. We don’t speak enough Spanish ourselves to judge whether this affected the level of service we received, but it certainly made some interactions more challenging. We did speak directly to management Importantly, we didn’t simply leave the resort and complain afterwards. We raised our concerns throughout the holiday and had discussions with hotel management. They listened to the issues and assured us that they would be addressed. Some things did improve, and we do appreciate the fact that management engaged with us. We were also offered a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine with dinner one evening and a bottle of wine on another occasion as gestures of goodwill. We appreciated the gestures, but for us the issue was never about receiving something complimentary. It was about the underlying problems and the standard of the holiday we had paid for. TUI We also raised the issues with TUI. During our discussions, it became apparent that TUI had not received a direct response from the hotel regarding the issues we had raised, which was disappointing. TUI subsequently acknowledged the disappointment we had experienced and offered a goodwill voucher, which we accepted. Overall – 5 star? This is marketed as a 5-star resort, but if we’re being completely honest, based on our experience we would say it barely scrapes a 4-star standard. That isn’t based on one bad meal or one unfortunate incident. It’s the combination of: * The damp/musty smell in our original room * Having to change rooms * The replacement room having been fumigated * Very limited hot water one evening * No hot water for most of the following day * Having to take cold showers before dinner reservations * The condition of the pool, including green build-up * Long waits and inconsistent service * Issues at the pool bar * Limited restaurant variety compared with what we expected * Inconsistent communication * The language barrier making some interactions more difficult There were certainly positives, and there were individual staff members who were friendly and helpful. We also appreciated management taking the time to listen to our concerns and some of the improvements made during our stay. However, when you book a 5-star Iberostar resort, you expect the overall experience to reflect that rating. For us, it simply didn’t. This was also our first stay at an Iberostar property, and unfortunately, based on this experience, it is likely to be our last. We genuinely hope the hotel takes the feedback constructively because we were told during our stay that the issues would be addressed. If those improvements are properly implemented, future guests may have a very different experience. For us, however, the combination of problems overshadowed the positives and meant that our 11-night holiday was ultimately a disappointing experience.

  Sep 19, 2026
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  Honest review from UK family

  Positives The resort has a great facility, with plenty of space and a well-laid-out complex. The grounds were impeccably clean, with neatly trimmed hedges and closely mown grass. Our room was an adequate size, with plenty of wardrobe and cupboard space. The bathroom was roomy and well appointed, with a large walk-in shower. Rooms were cleaned daily, including the floors being mopped and the fridge being restocked. The buffet had an impressive variety of different types of food, including Dominican specialities. There was plenty of fresh fruit, and a good selection of food being cooked to order. There are two large pools to choose from, with plenty of sunbeds around the pools and on the beach, although the resort was only around 60% capacity when we visited. The beach itself is beautiful, with plenty of shade if needed. There is a seaweed issue, which I will come to later. Negatives There is a choice of six different restaurants if you don't fancy the buffet. Unfortunately, other than the Smoke House, we found them very disappointing and didn't return to any of them. Although the room was clean, it did smell and feel damp. We were there in August, when it is very humid, but it was still noticeable. Additionally, two items of my wife's clothing were stained by some kind of bleach-type product after she placed them in one of the cupboards. The pool was quite warm, so it wasn't particularly refreshing when you were hot and wanted a dip. There was also one morning when there was a very visible film of dirt and grime on the bottom of the pool, as well as floating on the surface and around the sides. There was some frantic cleaning — certainly more energetic than normal — but the dirt was still visible. Thankfully, it had gone by the following day. The sunbeds don't have cushions, making them quite uncomfortable after an hour or two, which was annoying. Unfortunately, both my wife and I suffered from tummy problems for most of the final week, and our daughter was also affected when we returned home. It wasn't bad enough to keep us confined to the room, but we had to be conscious of where the nearest toilets were. It also put us off eating and drinking as much during the final week, which was a real shame. I appreciate that this can happen anywhere, but as it happened to all three of us, I would be remiss not to mention it. I'm a beer drinker, but the only beer served was the local Presidente, which I didn't particularly enjoy. It was also served in small chalice-style glasses of around half a pint or less. The only bar where we found it served in a chilled glass was at reception. Around the pool, beer and other drinks were served in plastic glasses, which is understandable, but unfortunately the drinks became warm and flat very quickly. The cocktails served around the pool were also very inconsistent in terms of their actual content. On two occasions I had to ask for rum to be added because it had been left out, which I found annoying which I will come to later. The Beach and Seaweed During the time of year we visited, from late August to early September, there is normally a seasonal buildup of seaweed. This is not unique to Dominica, as other countries in the region experience the same issue. We were aware of this before visiting, although the seaweed was particularly bad during our stay this year. There was seaweed in the sea, and the amount varied from day to day. However, once you got around 5 - 7 metres out, the sea became largely free of it. The seaweed itself wasn't particularly unpleasant; it was quite fibrous and easy enough to move out of the way. Every morning, a section of the beach covered in seaweed was cleared and the seaweed collected and taken away. The downside is that tractors drive up and down the beach throughout the day, roughly once an hour, which does rather spoil the peace and tranquillity. There are also beach sellers offering jewellery, massages, trips and cigars. However, they didn't pester us once we gave them a firm "no", so they didn't cause us any problems. Service However, the main cause of our disappointment was the level of service — or, more accurately, the attitude of some of the staff. Roughly 20% of the staff we encountered were acceptable, with some being genuinely very good. Unfortunately, the remaining 80% were well below an acceptable level. The general feeling you were left with was that some staff were doing you a massive favour by serving you. I don't think it's too much to ask for somebody to speak to you when serving you, or even to look at you in some cases. I've already mentioned the cocktail issue, and when I questioned the young barman about not adding any rum, he simply looked at me and grinned, signalling that he'd effectively been caught out. It actually became a bit of a joke between us towards the end of our stay, seeing just how uninterested the staff could be, and whether we would even be spoken to or acknowledged when being served. While we initially found it amusing, it did become rather wearing and disappointing as our stay went on. We've been to several Caribbean islands previously and have experienced their own unique take on service, but this was by far the worst service we have experienced. It's a real shame, because the resort itself has a lot going for it. The facilities, grounds, rooms, pools and beach are all very good, but the attitude and level of service from a significant proportion of the staff really detracted from our experience. Would I Go Back? Unfortunately, no. The resort has many positives, and there are certainly things we enjoyed about our stay. However, the inconsistent food outside the buffet, pool cleanliness issue, uncomfortable sunbeds, tummy problems and, most importantly, the poor attitude and level of service from many members of staff meant that, overall, we were disappointed. It's a shame, because with better service, I think Iberostar Waves Punta Cana could be a very good resort.

  Sep 11, 2026
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  Not the best iberostar.

  We arrived at the hotel and pretty soon we realised this was not going to be the best holiday we have had recently. We were told by the star prestige team that our room would not be ready until 1900 (we arrived at 1600) and would be accept an upgrade. With 3 of us travelling, when i booked it through the club, i booked 2 rooms next to each other, the upgrade meant that we would be 10 rooms apart. We accepted the upgrade as having travelled all day we just wanted to unpack and relax. The upgrade meant that we were closer to the pool. The main language on the resort was Spanish. Alot of the staff only spoke Spanish which sometimes became an issue, when we tried to speak in Spanish, we felt we were made to reverted to English. Many of the staff around the hotel were very rude, I made a complaint to the Star prestige but as we suspected, nothing ever came of it. The evening entertainment was very poor. Majority of the holidaymakers went to the neighbouring hotel for the better entertainment. Having Argentinian nights went down well for those who came from Argentina, but for those who didn’t, it was not entertaining. The entertainment team were non-existent during the day unless you want to the pool area which seemed to belong to the neighbouring hotel. As Iberostar club members we used the members only area on the beach. The bar staff were average, however, a big shout goes to Randy P who spent time trying to make conversations with us, however, a number of times, we went to the bar and found some staff sat on the floor behind the bar drinking beer….i was told once “uno memento” as the bar staff were checking each other phones before I was served!!! It was not all negative, the food was amazing, so much choice and plenty of it, Maria who worked so hard walking around the swimming pool asking if people what drinks and saying, “I love yoouuuuu” Overall, the holiday was what we made of it, unfortunately, this hotel has got it very wrong compared to Iberostar in Jamaica. We will not be returning to this hotel; we will be going back to Jamaica where the staff in the Star prestige and around the hotels are much more welcoming and helpful.

  Aug 31, 2026
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  Family of 10- review

  Unforgettable trip for a group of 10 — amazing staff and non-stop fun! Our group of ten from England just finished an incredible stay, and we couldn't have had a better time. Dining & Drinks We ate only at all of the à la carte restaurants for dinner during our trip, the young man at concierge desk was very helpful in helping us book them (sorry I forgot his name), and every single one delivered great food and service. A special mention has to go to Jonaton in the Italian restaurant for going above and beyond! We are at the main buffet for breakfast, where the staff worked tirelessly keeping everyone's drinks topped up. For lunch, the pool BBQ/buffet was a daily favorite and offered great options. Pool & Amenities Even as a large group of 10, we had zero issues finding sunbeds together—even when heading down at 10:00 AM. A huge shoutout to Maria by the pool, who was always smiling, incredibly lovely, and kept the drinks flowing all day long. Rooms & Housekeeping Our rooms were kept spotless throughout our entire stay. The housekeeping team did a fantastic job. Entertainment Team The entertainment team truly made the holiday for us! Our teenagers absolutely loved them. Mini Sexy, Chema, the movie and our favourite......Suly.. ohh ohh!, you were all fabulous, full of energy, and did an amazing job getting everyone involved in the activities from day to night. Trips We would recommend doing the snorkeling boat trip- booked at the hotels beach hut, it was great fun and no bus journey to get to it! We also did the buggy trip... Very chaotic and busy but kids did enjoy it.

  Aug 09, 2026