Punta Cana, the mellow, balmy beach resort at the eastern edge of the Dominican Republic, is an ideal place to unplug. Because the hotels along the coast, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea, are few and far between, they’re almost entirely of the all-inclusive kind. Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana (owned by Karisma Hotels & Resorts) strikes just the right balance between kid-friendliness and adult intrigue.
What’s most interesting about the property is its segregation of full-on kid bliss from adult pleasures. There are no themed rooms with Nickelodeon characters or amusement-park style pools on the main hotel property. Rather, the rooms are all designed in elegant, beachy style—and all are suites—with beer in the mini-fridge and 24-hour room service.
But if it’s dancing with SpongeBob you’re after, have no fear. One of the many restaurants on the property, Zest, holds regular character breakfasts, at which Nickelodeon’s entire A-list makes an appearance, from Dora the Explorer to SpongeBob SquarePants, two of the most beloved.
You can also make an easy jaunt over to the water park (or hail a golf cart), a place so raucous with the 6-10 set that it’s amazing you don’t see or hear it from the lobby. But you don’t, and that’s intentional. You can head over with the kids for the group “sliming” (which is, as it sounds, having slime-colored water dumped in copious amounts on your head), then drop them off at the kids’ club while you shower and get ready for dinner.
Back at the suite, it’s all prosecco and swim-up leisure. The bottom floor of every building has a narrow, refreshing pool that runs the length of each side, allowing for easy in-and-out. It really makes it possible to avoid turning on the air conditioning—you can just get wet, instead. There are also swim-up bars at the main pool and at Fresco, an outdoor-only cafè.
The all-inclusive food program, called “gourmet-inclusive,” gives you access to nine restaurants, plus a coffee shop and fast-food option. Instead of buffets, the hotel staff refer to “food displays” because there’s always someone visible behind each display cooking fresh food, non-stop.
The water park often holds special events, such as foam parties, where the lazy river is filled with soap bubbles and kids dance to loud 80s music.
While all the restaurants are kid-welcoming (except for Kitchen 23, the adult-only spot where a small supplement is charged), Spacewalker is perhaps the most geared toward kids, with a wearable space helmet on each table and an astronaut mannequin in the hall.
The beach is sandy and wide, with ample loungers for all, an adventure sports kiosk with boogie board and Hobie cat rentals (included in the room price), and food and drink service at the adjacent infinity pool.
Service is friendly and authentic—exuberant, even, where kids’ facilities staff are concerned. The swim-ups are worth the extra fee (negotiable at check-in), as is the spa, a spacious and deeply relaxing area of the property, with a full-service salon and a large menu of massage and facial treatments.
Nickelodeon Resort shares the beach, and most of the restaurants, with another Karisma Hotels & Resorts hotel, Sensatori (which has a separate lobby and rooms), but only Nickelodeon gives you access to the many kid-specific events and activities unique to this resort.
