Tl;dr – The Royal Beach Hotel Punta Cana is a bit of an odd duck but might be a backdoor way to ‘have it all.’
Hyatt just opened the doors to its newest hotel in the Dominican Republic, the Royal Beach Hotel Punta Cana. Earlier this year, I briefly profiled this hotel when I wrote about all the expected 2025 openings in the ‘DR’ hotel market, as well as in this piece covering the fun uses of a World of Hyatt Category 1-4 Free Night Award. A few things about this hotel make it a bit quirky – let’s dive in.
Royal Beach Hotel Punta Cana
First off, there are two all-inclusive Hyatt hotels right next door – a Dreams and a Secrets, (the Dreams just opened last December), which cater to families traveling with their children and the adults-only crowd, respectively. Keep in mind the Royal Beach Hotel’s neighbors, as their importance will factor in later on.
Another quirk is that the Royal Beach Hotel Punta Cana doesn’t appear to have direct beach access (I could be wrong about this), which, if true, is a bit of a damper. Punta Cana is a destination where you travel to enjoy some beach time, so it’s at least a minor convenience to have to lug any beach belongings back and forth across a road to get to the sand and water.
Lastly, and this is just my take, this hotel looks like it was tailor-made for those ‘end of year high sales performers trips.’ One of the stock renderings even seems to have a welcome banner for an organization on it! Of course, this isn’t a bad thing. This could be exactly on brand for what Hyatt’s going for. The property nestles in as a Category 3 property, part of Hyatt’s JDV brand —a soft brand of sorts that it acquired a few years ago with the Two Roads deal.
As far as the hotel’s amenities, there’s a cozy pool with lounges that looks pretty laid back. There’s also a 24-hour fitness center.
For dining, the Royal Beach Hotel’s flagship restaurant is Ambar Fusion Cuisine, which combines island and international flavors with local ingredients to create an exceptional culinary experience.’ There’s a pool bar as well – Bar Colón – and a lobby bar – The Royal Beach Lobby Bar.
There’s only 66 rooms at this hotel, so it’s a relatively small place. Perhaps this bodes well for those seeking some true rest and relaxation?
Okay – So, Why Is This a Low-Key Value?
Remember those neighbors? You can also purchase daily access to the two aforementioned properties for $60 (Secrets) and $50 (Dreams). This is somewhat intriguing as the day pass is also all-inclusive, meaning if you’re the type of person who doesn’t rock with all-inclusive resorts but also might want to put some platters down one day, this day pass option might be the deal you’ve always wanted. Indeed, “Day pass guests have full access to Los Corales Beach tennis and pickleball courts, basketball courts, restaurants and bars, and more.”
Let’s also not forget that, as a category, hotel redemption rates are as low as 9,000 World of Hyatt points per night. Cash rates from what I’ve seen rarely rise above $140 per night, hovering closer to $117. When you compare this to the redemption rates of the neighboring Dreams and Secrets (17,000 and 21,000 respectively) and crunch the numbers…it might not be a bad look to crash at the Royal Beach Hotel and pop in for a day or two at the Dreams or Secrets, particularly if you’re rolling solo or as a couple (admittedly, looking to check out Dreams probably doesn’t seem much savings if they plan to ‘day-pass’ it more than one day). I think this is especially interesting if you don’t have the required points to redeem for Dreams or Secrets, but can swing a few nights at the Royal Beach Hotel. If you can get your hands on a Guest of Honor certificate, then you should have a complimentary breakfast coming your way – a perfect start to the days when you don’t go all-inclusive.
Will the Royal Beach Hotel Punta Cana be your most glamarous stay? No. But sometimes a trip is ‘I just need to get away for a weekend.’ Well, if you’re a Hyatt member who’s looking to stretch your dollar, this might be an intriguing option for you. Keep in mind that the DR has at least (when I last counted) four international airports you can fly into, including one right in Punta Cana (25 minutes away).
