Checking In: TRS Turquesa All Inclusive Hotel – Punta Cana • Dominican Republic
- Author & Photographer: Teri Didjurgis
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Hotel
- Accomodation: 5-Star
- Brand: Palladium Hotel Group
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Location: Avenida Francia Sn | Playas De Bavaro
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
FIRST IMPRESSION
Large Compound with activities & restaurants
THE SCENE
Adults Only
THE ROOMS
Caribbean Flair
PERKS
All Inclusive Resort
I love a nice hotel. Who doesn’t? Beautiful rooms, attentive service, great amenities with pools and restaurants. And though I enjoy a peaceful night’s rest and all the amenities, I am always on a mission to get the most out of the destination by packing in the activities.
I usually want to go, go, go! But once I entered the Palladium Group compound at the TRS Turquesa in Punta Cana, all I wanted to do was stay, stay, stay.
I knew the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean in general would be a different pace from pounding the cobblestone in Europe. What I did not expect was how quickly that Caribbean relaxation sunk in at the TRS Turquesa Hotel. Driving into the massive compound of the Palladium Resorts with over 1,800 rooms, you seem to enter a different world, a little bubble of an all-inclusive vacation.
The Scene
The Palladium Group has 4 hotels within the compound in Punta Cana. Three of the hotels (The Grand Palladium Punta Cana Resort & Spa, Grand Palladium Palace Resort Spa – All Inclusive, Grand Palladium Bavaro Suites Resort & Spa) are available for families with kid friendly pools, activity areas, entertainment filled lobbies, restaurants and a fort like kid’s club and playrooms that might make you want to be 8 again.
The TRS Turquesa at the far end of the property is Adults Only and the vibe was divine. I could not have enjoyed this more with two adults-only pools with swim up bars, and two adults-only restaurants. The entire property is easily accessible by golf carts which will zip you between each hotel, activity or one of the 17 restaurants on the entire Palladium property.
The Grounds
A quick check-in and a welcome drink of fresh coconut and the first stop was hitting up the pools and beach.
Blue Blue Blue everywhere.
The beaches looked to be cleaned daily of seaweed and had countless lounge chairs covered by grass umbrellas and also several Ibiza style beds for lounging. The Ibiza lounger was a favorite as we read books and enjoyed the cool ocean breezes.
The pools were immaculate with swim-up bars for a truly adult afternoon. One of the adult-only pools is called the secret pool and kicked off our party with a foam pool complete with inflated flamingos and unicorns. Ironically, who was galivanting on the inflatable pool toys… All the 40+ aged men. There is a kid in all of us.
The Rooms
Back to the hotel rooms, the beds were large, room cool, fridge stocked and large bathrooms and showers. Some rooms have perks including a jacuzzi tub and if you are really lucky, a swim up pool. It’s quite a treat to roll out of bed and have your choice of just walking out the side door for a dip in the clear blue pools or just a few minutes’ walk to the beach to watch the sunrise over the sandy coast.
Each building is carefully attended to by a concierge who is on hand for any question you have and can book your dinner reservations and activities. There are also ready and waiting to make a quick call for a cart to whisk you to dinner or find you an umbrella when the impending tropical storm comes pouring down – though there is nothing like dancing in the tropical rain.
The Dining
On all four properties, a prevalent theme was the friendly staff with food and drinks on hand to fulfill the all-inclusive resort promise. The lunch hostesses knew my name by day two and welcomed me – “Hola Theresa” in Spanish flare and chorus as I walked up for my daily sushi roll and the secret pool bartenders made sure my drinks had extra mint as I swam over.
If you did not eat enough food at the restaurants, which seems nearly impossible to do, the lobby bar had snacks on hand from breakfast to dinner. In the TRS Turquesa lobby, you might also find Frank, the cocktail master, who would concoct you some interesting concoctions made with smoke, dried ice and flames. – I tried the Muchachita Linda – “a harmonious blend of coffee, rum, and cocoa” where you could taste the flavors of the Dominican Republic in every sip.
The hotel is filled with an international clientele focusing on Dominican Republic locals, Argentinians, Germans and Americans. The hotel has specific staff equipped to handle the German and English-speaking guests, though almost all of the staff I encountered had basic English skills which made my life easy with my very rusty Spanish.
There was really no need to leave the Palladium complex with 17 restaurants with a variety of themes. The food choices are endless with themed restaurants including Mexican, Spanish Tapas, Hindu, Japanese, Argentinian, Caribbean, Italian, Indian, French, American and beach grills. I promise you, you won’t be hungry or lacking in variety on a longer stay.
My favorite, Kuzco which foodie fusion of Japanese and Peruvian. The sushi rolls and tuna tataki had unique flavors and the death by chocolate desserts were worthy of a round 2 during the week. Sumptouri was another favorite with teppanyaki Japanese dishes made with flare as you sit at the grill with the spatula wielding chefs.
Nighttime was capped off with wonderful rum concoctions at Hemingways bar infused with a Havana style decor and Caribbean music.
Zentropía Palladium Spa & Wellness
The first trip to the spa was for a relaxing massage which started the vacation off right. However, a trip to the spa quickly became part of the daily schedule. Another child-free zone, the spa had great gym facilities and beautiful hydro pools with large beds for lounging.
Tucked in the patio was the hydrotherapy circuit, a series of water experiences to soothe every cell in your body. Sauna, Steam, Ice bath, jacuzzies, cold dip, water bucket, hydro pool and finally a mud bath. Our skin was purified and rejuvenated, and we could not have been more relaxed.
Activities
Within five minutes on the property, I abandoned all thoughts of booking anything off-site in nearby Punta Cana. There were plenty of activities including sailing, paragliding, snorkeling, horseback riding, and 4×4 tours through the hotels preferred tour operators with desks on site in the hotel lobby area.
However, the property itself enticed me to just stay and relax enjoying the private beaches and pools and in addition there was onsite yoga, dancing, and one of my favorite activities – archery. I joined two different sessions and worked on my target practice with my instructor George, who took over photography duties and filmed some fun slo-mo’s of my arrows hitting the target.
Final Thoughts
As each day progressed in Punta Cana, the Caribbean vibes sunk in as the stress levels went down. You can do as little as you want laying on an Ibiza style bed in the find white sand or signup for a variety of activities to find your perfect escape.
The TRS Turquesa delivered on the all-inclusive Caribbean vacation and I can’t wait to go back.
Thank you to TRS Turquesa for hosting me on this trip.
All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Information
- Accommodation: 5-Star
- Brand: Palladium Hotel Group
-
Location: Avenida Francia Sn | Playas De Bavaro
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
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Teri Didjurgis
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