Subscribed, i loved your review, I like the wrist bands as it’s different. We’re leaving in 2days on the Hammock side in a luxury swim up suite for 2 weeks, we can’t wait Celebrating our 1st anniversary 🍾🥂✈️
Thank you for all of the great info and tour. You guys did a great job. Hope they have everything up & running & the foos straight . We're looking forward to visiting Margaritaville in DR in 7 days for my birthday.
Thanks for doing such a great video. We are foodies and your video is exactly what we've been looking for - an honest review of the good and not so good. Appreciate you taking the time to explain how this resort works and sharing your experiences with us. We much prefer to hear about the not so good vs other videos that come across as infomercials for the resorts. Looking forward to the next episode.
Hi Paul, we appreciate the encouragement. We were determined to tell the story exactly how we experienced it. The second chapter should be up later this weekend. Currently editing the review on Frank and Lola's the Italian restaurant. We did a review on all dining experiences that were open when we were there. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have.
Hi Paul, I am still working on the next chapter. I was under the weather this week and did get much time to edit. I am starting to feel better so I am jumping in and working to get this out ASAP.
@@jimmccullough7339 We have finally released chapter 2. Underestimated how busy the holidays were going to be and getting did not help. Hopefully you find more helpful information with chapter 2. We do have more information captured during the trip. We are thinking through how to get that information out.
Hello Tammy, I am so glad to hear you loved our video. It's the first time we've done anything like this. I just went through my footage of all of the bars and I did not see Captain in any of them. Most of the rum options that I saw were Brugal (which is Dominican) and Bacardi. They also have well rums (which I do not have footage of, but I would not suspect that they would keep Captain in the well). So I am inclined to say I'm about 90% certain that Captain Morgan rum is not available at the resort, but I will say that Michelle is a big Captain fan but she really did like the Brugal rum.
Thanks for the video, considering this resort for May. Can you advise as to what beer is available at the bars? Is is all draft or are cans available as well?
Hello Scott, the primary beer available is Presidente. That's the only beer currently that is available on draft. There are cans and bottles also available of very limited US domestics like bud light and Miller. There is are a handful of craft beers available in the Joe Merchants store.
Hi guys, thanks to you that we have a very first decent review of this place, Can't wait for part 2 and hopefully more. Would it be possible to review how many points for different room categories and what point price wines 🍷 and beer is? Thank you and enjoy traveling ❤
Hello Ayesha, thank you so much for the kind words. We will have chapter 2 for release this weekend. We will look to incorporate some of these questions you're asking in one of our upcoming videos. For clarity are you asking about the price on the wine and beer in Joe Merchants? Thank you for watching.
@@truopio omg! You took the time to respond, thank you so much! Yes, I was wondering how many points it would cost to buy drinks at Joe Marchant. We will be visiting in January so was just wondering. Tha ka again. ❤🙏
Hello @Ayesha we are planning on doing a segment on this question, but let me try to help now rather than making you wait. We stayed in the a Paradise King room (pretty much entry level). For 4 nights we had 7000 points. I am not sure exactly how many points are provided for each level. I hear that it varies on category of room and how it was booked. The mini bar in the room is just stocked with water when you arrive so you do need to go to Joe Merchants to select things you want. This is where it gets tricky. Everything is way more expensive than we expected. Beer started at 1200 points for a can of Presidente beer, Corona was 1600, Miller was 1800. A can of coke was 320 points. A small bag of chips started at 400 points and the larger bags were 800 points or higher. A Robert Mandavi Sauvignon was 6800 points. Many of the wines were more than the points we had. There were a couple bottles that would have taken basically all of our points. What we learned through this experience is room service will deliver sodas and water bottles along with coffee or juices. So you don't need to use your points on soda. Also if you are in the main building the Punch bar is easy to get to and they can make you mixed drinks to go or beers. So use your points for special items like a craft beer if you want, or we used them or snacks like chips. Joe Merchant's also has a selection of fruits, sandwiches, and desserts. Those do not cost any points. So you can take advantage of that as well. I know this is a really long answer, but if you have any additional questions about this or anything else please do not hesitate to post them. This is why we do this, we love sharing about our experiences so we can help others maximize their travel.
@@truopio thank you so much for the detailed information, very kind of you 😊 ❤. It seems the Brand could up their game to match the hype that was created long before openning this location. People seem to be paying top dollar for a great experience and for now it seems they are lacking in delivering!. Regards.
Heading out here in early 2022, so I've been watching every video that comes out and by far, yours has been the best! Few questions if you have time; I noticed in many of the other videos that the bathroom area has a tub with a "wall" around it, that is pretty see-thru, is there a curtain or drop down screen or other privacy device for when in the bathing area of your room? We will be in a Karisma members room with the member perks...not sure if you are members, but did you notice any specific member perks (private cabanas or other things)? Lastly, we stayed at the Nickelodeon resort the last time we were in Punta Cana (also by Karisma), the pools all shut down at like 5 or 6 PM, which was a disappointment, do the pools stay open longer at Margaritaville?
Hello Eric & Julia, we did not see all of the room categories. We are not part of the vacation club, so I don't know what perks the vacation club members were getting. There were some really cool covered lounging couches on the beach and when I talked to people who had them they told me it was set up by their concierge. I suspect this is related to the vacation club. We have also stayed at the Nickelodeon Resort and yes the pools pretty much shut down by 6PM. I am going to check through our footage to see if we captured specific hours for the pools. As far as privacy is concerned in the bathrooms, the glass looks way more see through on video than it actually is in person. But that being said, most of this bathroom space is wide open and is not exactly the most private of experiences. I know someone who is going to the resort tomorrow. I'm going to message them to check in to bathtub privacy closer and I'll see if they ask around about the vacation club perks. I'll let you know if I can get any more information.
@@truopio Awesome, thanks for the reply. We will be traveling with our kids, so having some bathroom (tub/shower) privacy would be nice for all involved ;P
Traveling with a family was our first concern. We were there as a couple so there wasn't a challenge for us, but we were speculating about how comfortable our girls would be with the open concept. It's a valid concern for sure.
Hi Jim, I am currently working on chapter 2 now. Sadly I was really under the weather for the week and did not get as much time to edit. I'm finally feeling better and I'm working as quickly as I can on the next chapter. It will be out hopefully no later than Wednesday.
@@jimmccullough7339 Chapter 2 is finally up. So sorry for the delay. We are new to doing this so it's a learning curve. The holidays and being sick messed up the timing as well. We will hopefully get better at this.
Great video guys.. We're travelling there in June from the UK, but our holiday is booked through tui and not karisma/margaritaville...Is there a separate hotel block for tui?..or is it all margaritaville?...I know they share the same entertainment and restaurant area...
Hello Paul, when you booked with TUI did you book Margaritaville or AZUL? There are two sides to this resort. The AZUL side and the Margaritaville side. There are separate pool areas and some exclusive dining areas. There are also shared dining areas and shared entertainment areas. So in short to my knowledge TUI books into the AZUL side of the resort which is not Margaritaville.
The beach is big but not the waters edge. So the beach is deep but not wide. The water is swimmable. When we were there they were clearing a lot of seaweed, but that’s an issue that happens all over the Caribbean and it’s not always an issue. They were staying on top of it though.
Hey! We are huge swimmers and we are trying to find information on the seaweed and the sand on their beach before booking. We are also wondering if the sister resort, the Azul Beach Resort shares everything, it all looks the same, but they do not show many reviews, photos, or videos of that resort. We are mainly looking to go to enjoy the beach, though - Any advice? Thanks!
Hello Sarah, our honest assessment is this beach is not the most swimmable beach. They have done a lot of work to clean up the seaweed, but it's still an ongoing challenge. There is a bit of a rock challenge going into the water as well. The pool on the other hand is fantastic and a great place to spend the day swimming and laying out. On our chapter 2 video we do cover more information about the beach as well as video. The beach has lots of space to grab a chair and layout, but spending time in the water at this resort is a challenge. We consider this resort a pool lovers resort that also has a beach. It is not a beach lovers resort.
Thanks so much for such an in depth review! I have been long awaiting this an cant wait for the second video! I was hoping this resort would be a tad bit different of an experience as we have been to Punta Cana before to the Be Live Collection and had some similar issues - Language barrier is definitely difficult and the food of the restaraunts definitely sub par to that of anything 5 star to match the resort amenities. Can you tell me in rating all of the food overall what number would you rate it? Any food prep safety concerns? I was down for 2 days after paying for a nearly $300 dinner on the beach at the other resort so really concerned with this! Wait, did you ever find a strawberry daquiri? lolHow about the safety of Cap Cana? I was definitely intrigued that it is on a private part of the island. Did you feel that this increased your sense of safety while there? We are Ohio to MArgaritaville bound in JAnuary so pretty excited. Thanks again!
Hello @kluquias, thank you for the feedback. We are excited to release the next video in a few days. We found pockets of food that ended up being ok. Our second trip to Landshark was better than the first, but the wait time was outrageous. We decided that Rum Runners for lunch was hands down the best dining experience. Over-all the dining here was a 6 out of 10 at best. Frequently food was served cold or timing was way off. I think this could be impacted by being a new resort and becoming more operationally refined. We did talk to other guests and they were having a similar experience. In past experiences with Karisma resorts (specifically El Dorado Resorts) the food has been really great for being an all-inclusive. We did not feel this resort lived up to other Karisma resorts. We did not have any food safety concerns they handled that very well. We did end up finding a Strawberry Daquiri at the Punch bar and the swim-up bar in the main pool. It just seemed strange that they could not provide that at the LandShark Grill. Cap Cana being gated really did enhance the safety experience. It feels like a totally different world within Cap Cana. At no time did we ever feel unsafe.
You guys there is a app to translate for you. It will speak in full sentences. You can talk or type it in. Sounds like this couple really needed it when ordering.
Hi Bre, what is the name of the app that does full sentence translation? This sounds interesting. It would have been cool to see how that worked while trying to figure out the menu. Thanks for the suggestion.
@@truopio Yea... the app is called "Translate" with a blue world icon. It's suppose to be in the iphone upgrades, but I had to add it. I'm about to go to that resort in a couple days. I'm excited. Thanks for the heads up on the food.
Hello Thomas, the beach is average. There's a lot of sand since the beach is deep between the water and the resort. It's not a very long beach and they were doing a lot of continuous cleanup of the seaweed. A couple days it was ok to access the water other days not so much. If you like just laying out at a beach there's plenty of spots to do that. There's very little palm tree cover so it's a mostly exposed beach. I would not consider this a beach lovers resort. I think it's a pool lovers resort with an option to visit the beach for a few minutes.
M Dhami, lol it was in Spanish. The point was the language barrier with the menu not that we would or wouldn’t recognize the cuts of beef. We are by no means experts, but we have been staying in the 4 and 5 Star resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico for almost 20 years. That’s the context that contrast our experience against. We really appreciate you watching.
Hi Reed, thank you for that feedback. This was our first time recording a full review. Next review we do I have some ideas on what I'd like to change up but any suggestions would be appreciated.
Subscribed, i loved your review, I like the wrist bands as it’s different.
We’re leaving in 2days on the Hammock side in a luxury swim up suite for 2 weeks, we can’t wait
Celebrating our 1st anniversary 🍾🥂✈️
Thank you for all of the great info and tour. You guys did a great job. Hope they have everything up & running & the foos straight .
We're looking forward to visiting Margaritaville in DR in 7 days for my birthday.
Thanks for doing such a great video. We are foodies and your video is exactly what we've been looking for - an honest review of the good and not so good. Appreciate you taking the time to explain how this resort works and sharing your experiences with us. We much prefer to hear about the not so good vs other videos that come across as infomercials for the resorts. Looking forward to the next episode.
Hi Paul, we appreciate the encouragement. We were determined to tell the story exactly how we experienced it. The second chapter should be up later this weekend. Currently editing the review on Frank and Lola's the Italian restaurant. We did a review on all dining experiences that were open when we were there. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have.
Hi Paul, I am still working on the next chapter. I was under the weather this week and did get much time to edit. I am starting to feel better so I am jumping in and working to get this out ASAP.
@@truopio any updates on part 2?
@@jimmccullough7339 We have finally released chapter 2. Underestimated how busy the holidays were going to be and getting did not help. Hopefully you find more helpful information with chapter 2. We do have more information captured during the trip. We are thinking through how to get that information out.
Omg what an awesome video finally. Heading to margaritaville in March for my 🎂 birthday, so excited. Excited to see chapter 2
Hello Lynette, thank you for the kind words. We're so thrilled you enjoyed the video. A birthday trip to the Caribbean sounds like a blast!
Great tour, can't wait to watch Part 2....
Loved the video! The hubs and I are looking to go here for our 10 year. Do you know if they have Captain Morgan?
Hello Tammy, I am so glad to hear you loved our video. It's the first time we've done anything like this. I just went through my footage of all of the bars and I did not see Captain in any of them. Most of the rum options that I saw were Brugal (which is Dominican) and Bacardi. They also have well rums (which I do not have footage of, but I would not suspect that they would keep Captain in the well). So I am inclined to say I'm about 90% certain that Captain Morgan rum is not available at the resort, but I will say that Michelle is a big Captain fan but she really did like the Brugal rum.
Thanks for the video, considering this resort for May. Can you advise as to what beer is available at the bars? Is is all draft or are cans available as well?
Hello Scott, the primary beer available is Presidente. That's the only beer currently that is available on draft. There are cans and bottles also available of very limited US domestics like bud light and Miller. There is are a handful of craft beers available in the Joe Merchants store.
Hi guys, thanks to you that we have a very first decent review of this place,
Can't wait for part 2 and hopefully more.
Would it be possible to review how many points for different room categories and what point price wines 🍷 and beer is? Thank you and enjoy traveling ❤
Hello Ayesha, thank you so much for the kind words. We will have chapter 2 for release this weekend. We will look to incorporate some of these questions you're asking in one of our upcoming videos. For clarity are you asking about the price on the wine and beer in Joe Merchants? Thank you for watching.
@@truopio omg! You took the time to respond, thank you so much! Yes, I was wondering how many points it would cost to buy drinks at Joe Marchant. We will be visiting in January so was just wondering. Tha ka again. ❤🙏
Hello @Ayesha we are planning on doing a segment on this question, but let me try to help now rather than making you wait. We stayed in the a Paradise King room (pretty much entry level). For 4 nights we had 7000 points. I am not sure exactly how many points are provided for each level. I hear that it varies on category of room and how it was booked. The mini bar in the room is just stocked with water when you arrive so you do need to go to Joe Merchants to select things you want. This is where it gets tricky. Everything is way more expensive than we expected. Beer started at 1200 points for a can of Presidente beer, Corona was 1600, Miller was 1800. A can of coke was 320 points. A small bag of chips started at 400 points and the larger bags were 800 points or higher. A Robert Mandavi Sauvignon was 6800 points. Many of the wines were more than the points we had. There were a couple bottles that would have taken basically all of our points. What we learned through this experience is room service will deliver sodas and water bottles along with coffee or juices. So you don't need to use your points on soda. Also if you are in the main building the Punch bar is easy to get to and they can make you mixed drinks to go or beers. So use your points for special items like a craft beer if you want, or we used them or snacks like chips. Joe Merchant's also has a selection of fruits, sandwiches, and desserts. Those do not cost any points. So you can take advantage of that as well. I know this is a really long answer, but if you have any additional questions about this or anything else please do not hesitate to post them. This is why we do this, we love sharing about our experiences so we can help others maximize their travel.
@@truopio thank you so much for the detailed information, very kind of you 😊 ❤.
It seems the Brand could up their game to match the hype that was created long before openning this location.
People seem to be paying top dollar for a great experience and for now it seems they are lacking in delivering!.
Regards.
Heading out here in early 2022, so I've been watching every video that comes out and by far, yours has been the best! Few questions if you have time; I noticed in many of the other videos that the bathroom area has a tub with a "wall" around it, that is pretty see-thru, is there a curtain or drop down screen or other privacy device for when in the bathing area of your room? We will be in a Karisma members room with the member perks...not sure if you are members, but did you notice any specific member perks (private cabanas or other things)? Lastly, we stayed at the Nickelodeon resort the last time we were in Punta Cana (also by Karisma), the pools all shut down at like 5 or 6 PM, which was a disappointment, do the pools stay open longer at Margaritaville?
Hello Eric & Julia, we did not see all of the room categories. We are not part of the vacation club, so I don't know what perks the vacation club members were getting. There were some really cool covered lounging couches on the beach and when I talked to people who had them they told me it was set up by their concierge. I suspect this is related to the vacation club. We have also stayed at the Nickelodeon Resort and yes the pools pretty much shut down by 6PM. I am going to check through our footage to see if we captured specific hours for the pools. As far as privacy is concerned in the bathrooms, the glass looks way more see through on video than it actually is in person. But that being said, most of this bathroom space is wide open and is not exactly the most private of experiences. I know someone who is going to the resort tomorrow. I'm going to message them to check in to bathtub privacy closer and I'll see if they ask around about the vacation club perks. I'll let you know if I can get any more information.
@@truopio Awesome, thanks for the reply. We will be traveling with our kids, so having some bathroom (tub/shower) privacy would be nice for all involved ;P
Traveling with a family was our first concern. We were there as a couple so there wasn't a challenge for us, but we were speculating about how comfortable our girls would be with the open concept. It's a valid concern for sure.
Great video, is there a part 2??
Hi Jim, I am currently working on chapter 2 now. Sadly I was really under the weather for the week and did not get as much time to edit. I'm finally feeling better and I'm working as quickly as I can on the next chapter. It will be out hopefully no later than Wednesday.
Thank you so much!
@@jimmccullough7339 Chapter 2 is finally up. So sorry for the delay. We are new to doing this so it's a learning curve. The holidays and being sick messed up the timing as well. We will hopefully get better at this.
Great video guys..
We're travelling there in June from the UK, but our holiday is booked through tui and not karisma/margaritaville...Is there a separate hotel block for tui?..or is it all margaritaville?...I know they share the same entertainment and restaurant area...
Hello Paul, when you booked with TUI did you book Margaritaville or AZUL? There are two sides to this resort. The AZUL side and the Margaritaville side. There are separate pool areas and some exclusive dining areas. There are also shared dining areas and shared entertainment areas. So in short to my knowledge TUI books into the AZUL side of the resort which is not Margaritaville.
We had some of the same issues you has back in 2009 when we went to new DR resort, all understandable.
What is the beach like and is it a swimable?
The beach is big but not the waters edge. So the beach is deep but not wide. The water is swimmable. When we were there they were clearing a lot of seaweed, but that’s an issue that happens all over the Caribbean and it’s not always an issue. They were staying on top of it though.
Hey! We are huge swimmers and we are trying to find information on the seaweed and the sand on their beach before booking. We are also wondering if the sister resort, the Azul Beach Resort shares everything, it all looks the same, but they do not show many reviews, photos, or videos of that resort. We are mainly looking to go to enjoy the beach, though - Any advice? Thanks!
Hello Sarah, our honest assessment is this beach is not the most swimmable beach. They have done a lot of work to clean up the seaweed, but it's still an ongoing challenge. There is a bit of a rock challenge going into the water as well. The pool on the other hand is fantastic and a great place to spend the day swimming and laying out. On our chapter 2 video we do cover more information about the beach as well as video. The beach has lots of space to grab a chair and layout, but spending time in the water at this resort is a challenge. We consider this resort a pool lovers resort that also has a beach. It is not a beach lovers resort.
@@truopio Thank you very much for your quick and honest reply! We really appreciate it!
Thanks so much for such an in depth review! I have been long awaiting this an cant wait for the second video! I was hoping this resort would be a tad bit different of an experience as we have been to Punta Cana before to the Be Live Collection and had some similar issues - Language barrier is definitely difficult and the food of the restaraunts definitely sub par to that of anything 5 star to match the resort amenities. Can you tell me in rating all of the food overall what number would you rate it? Any food prep safety concerns? I was down for 2 days after paying for a nearly $300 dinner on the beach at the other resort so really concerned with this! Wait, did you ever find a strawberry daquiri? lolHow about the safety of Cap Cana? I was definitely intrigued that it is on a private part of the island. Did you feel that this increased your sense of safety while there? We are Ohio to MArgaritaville bound in JAnuary so pretty excited. Thanks again!
Hello @kluquias, thank you for the feedback. We are excited to release the next video in a few days. We found pockets of food that ended up being ok. Our second trip to Landshark was better than the first, but the wait time was outrageous. We decided that Rum Runners for lunch was hands down the best dining experience. Over-all the dining here was a 6 out of 10 at best. Frequently food was served cold or timing was way off. I think this could be impacted by being a new resort and becoming more operationally refined. We did talk to other guests and they were having a similar experience. In past experiences with Karisma resorts (specifically El Dorado Resorts) the food has been really great for being an all-inclusive. We did not feel this resort lived up to other Karisma resorts. We did not have any food safety concerns they handled that very well. We did end up finding a Strawberry Daquiri at the Punch bar and the swim-up bar in the main pool. It just seemed strange that they could not provide that at the LandShark Grill. Cap Cana being gated really did enhance the safety experience. It feels like a totally different world within Cap Cana. At no time did we ever feel unsafe.
@@truopio thank you for your reply! I'll be sure to let you know if they have worked these links out by end of January.
@kluquias we would love to hear your update. I am hoping that there's marked improvement over time.
@@kluquias Please let us know! We are planning a trip to DR in April.
Hi Jason! Following from WA State 😃
Thank you for the follow!! Hello in WA.
This is Kerrie Bronson Arneson 😉 I assume you are going to keep this up-“good luck” on this fun new adventure! You make a cute couple ☺️
@@kjarneson655 we wanted to have an outlet to share about the adventures we get to go on. Yes we are definitely going to keep it up.
You guys there is a app to translate for you. It will speak in full sentences. You can talk or type it in. Sounds like this couple really needed it when ordering.
Hi Bre, what is the name of the app that does full sentence translation? This sounds interesting. It would have been cool to see how that worked while trying to figure out the menu. Thanks for the suggestion.
@@truopio Yea... the app is called "Translate" with a blue world icon. It's suppose to be in the iphone upgrades, but I had to add it. I'm about to go to that resort in a couple days. I'm excited. Thanks for the heads up on the food.
Thanks for the video, how is the beach??
Hello Thomas, the beach is average. There's a lot of sand since the beach is deep between the water and the resort. It's not a very long beach and they were doing a lot of continuous cleanup of the seaweed. A couple days it was ok to access the water other days not so much. If you like just laying out at a beach there's plenty of spots to do that. There's very little palm tree cover so it's a mostly exposed beach. I would not consider this a beach lovers resort. I think it's a pool lovers resort with an option to visit the beach for a few minutes.
Is there another beach that’s nicer/swimmable within walking distance?
Shaking my head. If you guys are travellers and foodies I am surprised you didn't know what was on the steak house menu.
M Dhami, lol it was in Spanish. The point was the language barrier with the menu not that we would or wouldn’t recognize the cuts of beef. We are by no means experts, but we have been staying in the 4 and 5 Star resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico for almost 20 years. That’s the context that contrast our experience against. We really appreciate you watching.
I can’t hear a word you say
Wow! That girl is so annoying. Constant needless laughter ruined the video for me.
Just a suggestion. Show less of yourselves talking and more of the resort.
Hi Reed, thank you for that feedback. This was our first time recording a full review. Next review we do I have some ideas on what I'd like to change up but any suggestions would be appreciated.
Personally, I like to see explanation of things you saw at the resort rather than just video footage.