Now Larimar Rating: 3.0 Pearls

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

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Guests at the bar early and often

Packed with booze-soaked middle-agers with families in tow, the Now Larimar is fun by way of 10 a.m. beer chugging and dunking a beach ball through a poolside basketball hoop (something much harder than you might imagine, as I observed).

The hotel consists of a series of long, narrow U-shaped buildings that surround a rectangular fountain lined in stones. In general, it feigns a Zen-like sensibility with its cool, calm colors, modern furniture, and water fountains, but falls short partially because most guests are more intent on partying than meditation.

With its art deco feel, rounded edges, and orange stucco, Now Larimar's front entrance looks like a hybrid between a convention center and a sterile mental institution. On one side there’s a parking lot, on the other is swampland, and there’s even a heli-pad carved into the front lawn (one of the only ones in the D.R.). With grass instead of the flourishing tropical landscaping found at most resorts, the building feels a little out of place, as if it belonged somewhere in Colorado City, Arizona. The interior lobby is more inviting than the strange, secluded feel of the exterior, but it all feels a little forced. Thankfully, their nice stretch of white sand beach makes up for their odd style choices.

By day, guests from Europe and the Americas bobbed their heads to Spanish rock, blasted from the DJ speakers beside the towel shack, while staff members tried to convince guests to pose for pictures with a parrot perched on their shoulders. By night, some of the more subdued guests checked out the jazz documentary playing on the large screen set up in the main courtyard as they waited for their drinks and swatted at mosquitoes.

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The half-hour cab ride from the airport should cost no more than $38. .

Watersports at the beach

I saw a little debris on the beach, but found it reasonably clean for such a large resort (642 rooms). Other guests, however, reported finding broken glass, cans, plastic bottles, and even a 5-inch nail in the sand.

Free non-motorized sports are available at the beach, and the water is home to an ocean trampoline and an "inflatable iceberg," both crowded with kids.

Jacuzzi is open to the bedroom

First off: bring bug spray. The hotel is built on a swamp, so mosquitoes here are relatively prevalent.

Rooms are spacious, featuring bathrooms with separate showers and jacuzzi tubs, that open up to the room. All rooms have flat-screen TVs and balconies or terraces, but mine showed significant wear and tear on the bland furniture.

There is a fee for Wi-Fi unless guests upgrade to Preferred Club rooms, which also grant them access to Preferred Club-only pools.

Pool's swim-up bar

Physically speaking, the Now Larimar feels a little more manageable than most of Punta Cana’s resorts, even though it has 642 rooms (by comparison, Majestic Colonial has 658 rooms and Grand Palladium has 1,825 rooms). It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the main buffet to the beach, something parents mentioned as a plus.

The large pool is separated into three sections, the smallest of which has access to the swim-up bar. Thus, if you’re in the largest section of the pool, you have to physically get out of the pool and walk over to the bar to get drinks -- not the most thoughtful of pool designs.

Guests can borrow games from the towel station, though the selection is small -- Scrabble, Connect Four, and a handful of other games. There's also a pretty poor selection of dog-eared paperbacks from which to choose.

There is a significant amount of evening entertainment, and the nightlife is livelier here than most resorts in the D.R. Like all resorts, the entertainment includes dancing, but I was entertained by the cowboy costumes and the Madonna tunes.

The hotel offers a shuttle service to the nearby Palma Real Shopping Center, which consists mostly of a Tony Roma’s and a Hard Rock Café (there’s also one in Santo Domingo).

Mini-theater at Explorers Kids' Center

The Now Larimar has one of the most elaborate and well-developed kids' programs I've seen in the DR.

For starters, the Explorers Kids' Center is fully stocked with games, finger paints, regular paints, a mini pool table, building blocks, an outdoor jungle gym, and the most adorable tea sets for snack time. And this only scratches the surface. There’s a climbing wall for older kids, which is one of the coolest features of the kids' club. There's also equipment on the beach that almost looks suitable (and dangerous) enough to bring on the adults, including something they call an " ocean trampoline."

Kids between ages 3 and 12 are welcome at the club. One of the staff members working in the kids' club, who spoke perfect English and was savvy enough to follow me around to make sure I didn't photograph any of the children, told me that between 12 and 15 kids usually show up on a daily basis.

I didn't meet any parents with children enrolled in the program, but one parent from Toronto said she would definitely send her daughter to the kids' program when she gets old enough. "There are so many programs; this place is really kid-friendly," Anne said. "Plus, in addition to the kids' pool, the main pool has a shallow level where kids can hang out."

Other kid-friendly features include basketball hoops in the main pools, a hair-braiding station near the beach, and more than enough fun foods like burgers and pizza.

There is also a teen club for ages 13 to 17.