Written By: Geoff Millar, Owner – Ultimate All Inclusive Travel
This month we will finish our coverage of the NOW Resort chain by looking at the NOW Resorts located in the Dominican Republic. There are 3 NOW Resorts located in the Dominican Republic. All 3 are in the Punta Cana Area. Two of them were take overs of other resorts and one was a new build. All of them are located on beautiful beaches and within a short drive from the Punta Cana Airport.
The first one we will look at is the NOW Larimar. This very nice 540 Room resort sits on a beautiful beach, not only for swimming but for walking. The beach it sits on is Royal Beach, part of Bavaro Beach. This is the same beach that Secrets Royal Beach sits on. In fact, the NOW Larimar sits right next to the Secrets Royal Beach and just down the beach from the Melia Colonial/Tropical Resort. It is in a great location for golf and very close to shopping. This resort does share their restaurants with the Secrets Royal Beach.
The accommodations at the resort range from standard resort or garden view rooms, partial ocean view rooms, ocean view room, family rooms, and at the top level the Preferred Club or what I call the concierge level rooms with additional amenities. The Preferred Club rooms have the same categories as the lower level with the addition of a Master Suite category. The Master Suite is a 1,200 sq ft 1 bedroom Ocean Front.
There are activities for every age group making this resort a fantastic resort for family reunions, multi-generational vacations, and any type of group made up of all ages. On the land there is Tennis, golf nearby, family friendly daytime and nighttime entertainment, kids club for kids ages 3-12, and includes such supervised activities as arts and crafts, beach activities, movies, treasure hunts, rock climbing wall, weekly camp-outs, game room, and splash pads. There is also a teen club for kids 13-17 with such activities as a game room, pool, ping pong, snack bar serving snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. There are also supervised nightly dances and get-togethers. Or, it can be just a place for teen to hang out together. In the water there is the beautiful beach, kayaking, sailing, wind surfing, and snorkeling. There is also scuba diving nearby. The resort does have a casino but remember that casinos in the Dominican, as a rule, tend to be much smaller and a different atmosphere than casinos in the U.S. Don’t forget the fantastic Spa.
Dining at the NOW Larimar is wide and varied. It includes, Seafood and Steakhouse, French, Asian, Mexican, a beachside grill, a coffee and snack shop, and a great International Buffet. There are a number of bars on the property serving top shelf alcohol. 9 bars and clubs to be exact, including a swim-up bar. Remember that the resort does share their restaurants with the Secrets Royal Beach next door.
This resort is great for Families, Family reunions, Multi-Generational Vacations, Destination Weddings, and even Honeymoons.
The next resort we will look at is the 180 Room NOW Garden Resort. This resort used to part of the NOW Larimar. It was a separate section that sits behind the NOW Larimar. It does not sit on the beach. AM Resorts made this section a separate NOW Resort, the NOW Garden mainly because it became confusing which room categories were where. It also has exchange privileges with the NOW Larimar. This used to be another resort until AM Resort took it over. It is self-contained but does allow use of the NOW Larimar restaurants and the beach.
Accommodations are made up of 3 categories. There is no Preferred Club at this resort. The rooms are standard rooms with a garden view, a pool view, and a swim-up.
The resort has a pool, but all other activities, including the kids club and the teen zone, are located at the NOW Larimar so the full slate of activities at the NOW Larimar are available to guests at the NOW Garden. This Resort offers massages but does not have a full Spa. Guests can use the full Spa located at the NOW Larimar.
Dining at the resort consists of 4 restaurants. There is A casual grill, 2 Italian restaurants, one more casual with pizzas and flatbreads and the other more formal with a full Italian menu, and finally a great buffet. Remember that guest at the NOW Garden also have exchange privileges with the NOW Larimar.
This resort is good for the more budget minded traveler but with the exchange privileges still good for family reunions, multi-generational, and any group with both adults and children, Destination weddings, and Honeymoons. Remember that the adult only Secrets Royal Beach is right next door so if you have guests that are attending a wedding or group but want an adult only atmosphere, this complex with the three resorts is a great choice.
The last NOW Resort we will look at is the newest one, the NOW Onyx. The 502 Suite, all rooms are Jr. Suites or higher, NOW Onyx resort is set on a great remote beach in the same area as the Dreams Punta Cana, the Breathless, and the Zoetry Resorts. Adults at the NOW Onyx even have exchange privileges with the Breathless that sits right next door.
There are a wide variety of accommodations at the resort. It starts with the fact that all the Jr. Suites located on the ground level are swim-up rooms. There are garden view Jr. Suites, pool view Jr. Suites, Partial Oceanview Jr. Suites, and swim-up Jr Suites. The next level of accommodations are the Preferred Club or Concierge level Jr. Suites with the same views as the regular Jr. Suites but with additional amenities in a separate section of the resort. The also have 2 Suite categories, the Preferred Club Master Suite and the Preferred Club Presidential Suite, both with one bedroom and they are Ocean Front.
As far as activities there are a wide variety at this resort. On the land they have movies on the beach, tennis, paddleball, pool, golf nearby, dance lessons, beach volleyball Spanish classes, and even, at an extra cost, helicopter rides and don’t forget the fantastic Spa. They also have the Supervised Kids Club for kids 3-12 and the Teem Club for teens 13-17. In the water there is kayaks, sailing, snorkeling, water aerobics, and 5 pools. All non-motorized watersports are included.
Dining also offers a wide variety of choices. They have Italian, French, Asian, Steak House, a Burger Bar, Great Buffet, Ice Cream Parlor, A coffee bar with a variety of coffees and snacks, and a casual grill. Also remember that Adults have an additional 20 dining options with the Breathless Resort next door. There are 9 bars, including a swim-up bar, to satisfy your thirst and this does not include the bars available at the Breathless Resort.
This resort as with the other NOW resorts is great for Families, Family Reunions, Multi-generational Groups, Regular Groups, Destination Weddings and Honeymoons.
This concludes our look at the NOW Resorts. Join us next month when we look at another great resort chain.
Until then safe travels and good selling.