Zoetry Agua Punta Cana Rating: 4.0 Pearls

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

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The lobby scene

It was eerily quiet as Freddie the concierge escorted me from the lobby to my room, and that scene never really changed. (As a diehard fan of Lost, the first thing I thought of when arriving at the nearly deserted resort was when the islanders arrived at Otherville and discovered nothing but empty bungalows.) The tiny resort has just 53 rooms, and in the midst of a recession, a $600+ room rate in a hard-to-reach location is tough to justify. The only time I ever saw other guests was at dinner and breakfast. (There were only two other couples staying there, from what I could tell.) My only other human interaction was with the occasional maid or groundskeeper along the paths.

Anyone seeking peace and quiet will be delighted with Agua. With massive suites, secluded terraces, and private plunge pools, there's hardly any reason to leave the suite if that's what you want. For this reason, Agua strikes me as one of the best honeymoon spots in the Caribbean.

Agua is very couples-friendly. Freddie told me that the majority of Agua's guests are from the United States (a rarity in the D.R.), although it also gets plenty of visitors from Europe and South America.

My waiter at dinner remembered my preferred cocktail from lunch, I arrived to my room with a platter of fresh fruit waiting for me, and my housekeeper was happy to ply me with extra Korres bath products.

When I pulled up to Agua's large wooden gate, I was slightly taken aback by the friendly greeting from the concierge, who asked, in English. "Hello, how are you doing today?"

A bellman offered me a cold towel and a passion fruit champagne cocktail before escorting me to the concierge desk to check in. It only took a few minutes, and the concierge escorted me to my room, pointing out spots like the gym, spa, and dinner restaurant while easily conversing about New York.

Once I arrived in the massive suite, Freddie briefly pointed out its various features before bidding adieu. About five minutes later the phone rang.

"And how is everything?" Freddie's now-familiar voice asked. "Great," I gushed. "Are you serious?" he asked. "Don't be afraid to complain to me!" "No, it's fabulous," I insisted, giggling a bit at his frankness amid all this hushed luxury.

Since the resort was nearly empty (only two other couples by my count), it was difficult to gauge how the service changes when the resort is full.

I only wish I’d had time to take the hotel up on its offer of a complimentary four-hour car tour of the area, which I learned about at checkout. Speaking of which, the front desk was completely flexible about when I checked out. When I called and asked for a 90-minute extension, I was told, “Whatever you wish!” Granted, the hotel was nearly empty, but I still appreciated their eagerness to cater to my needs. At the restaurants, I was always greeted warmly (even when the restaurant was about to close). My consistent waiter for all three meals, Miguel, spoke excellent English. By the end of my stay, we had become great friends. (I even learned some more Spanish, most notably "Estoy plena!" -- “I’m full!")

When I visited the spa to use its free facilities, two ladies attended to me, pouring eucalyptus-scented water on the hot stones in the sauna, bringing me a drink while I cooled off by the indoor pool, and running into the bathroom to hand me a fluffy towel after I showered. I felt like Prince Akeem in “Coming to America’’ with my own personal attendants.

View on a Larger Map

For those who get carsick (and it's easy to do on Punta Cana's winding, bumpy roads), the resort will also arrange a 10-minute, $200 helicopter ride.

There’s nothing in the area but gleaming, freshly built resorts. Next door is the upscale Sivory resort to the north, while a bit further south down the road is Excellence Punta Cana.

The beach

During my stay, the resort's beach was virtually deserted -- a refreshing contrast to the clogged mass of humanity typical of the area's many mega-resort beaches. In fact, I could have had a little colony of umbrella loungers all to myself.

I did enjoy strolling barefoot along the empty beach past other quiet resorts, including our next door neighbor, Sivory, which looked just as empty. The gentle waves were as warm as bathwater, and the soft, wet sandbars made for perfect walking conditions. I also spotted a horseback riding tour.

The Garden View Agua Junior Suite

Dark wood floors and furniture and white Frette linens complement the front door, made of heavy blond wood, and the washed white stone exterior.

A bamboo screen separates the bedroom from the three-part bathroom area, which includes two Grohe vanity sinks, a separate toilet and bidet room, and a wood-and-slate shower and soaking tub trimmed with the same light pebble motif prevalent throughout the resort. Fresh hibiscus sprigs were also scattered throughout. I had two small gripes with the bathroom: First, the soaking tub took hours to fill because the faucet dripped so slowly. Second, I reached for a bath towel in the nearby basket when I was finally able to soak -- only to have a little lizard leap out from the middle of it and into the tub. There went my relaxation.

The room's terrace was large enough for a table and two beautifully carved wooden chairs as well as a linen loveseat. I noticed a small lizard scurrying in and out of the love seat cushions a couple times and didn't want to cramp his style, but again the area was large enough to host a small cocktail party.

The terrace in my ground-floor Agua Garden View Suite, like most suites, also had direct access to the narrow serpentine pool that winds its way through half of the property. I found that the daybeds placed strategically around the pool made for a perfect spot to catch up on some reading in the afternoon sun. In fact, I preferred this to making the five-minute walk to the windy beach.

The water in my bath also never got any hotter than lukewarm, at best. I had the same issue with the shower in the morning but neglected to have the problem fixed due to time constraints. When I mentioned it at checkout, though, the concierge assured me that the enormous showerheads usually spout extremely hot water. I was a little dubious, considering I’d read similar complaints on Trip Advisor.

Rooms do have a bevy of deluxe features, including wonderful Bvlgari bath products a JVC flat-screen TV, a DVD player, and a Frette robe and slippers. I also arrived to find that a silver platter filled with creatively presented fresh fruit had been placed upon my minimalist desk. (And they had no idea I was reviewing the hotel!)

Suites are wired with complimentary Wi-Fi. With three bars of reception, I found the connection would cut out about once every hour, but it was still great to have Wi-Fi for free (a rarity in the D.R.). Along these lines, my TV only received two English-language channels – CNN and ESPN – and a number of channels that should have come in froze instead, displaying the ominous error message “Signal is weak.”

What my room lacked was a directory of hotel services. I had no idea what time checkout was, or when the restaurants were open, or what kind of non-motorized water sports were available. Yes, the uber-helpful front desk was just a phone call away, but it's nice to have all that information in an easily-reached place.

The Yarari Spa

The resort has two pools. A narrow, shallow pool snakes through the property and essentially amounts to a plunge pool for ground-floor garden villas. I could jump right in from my terrace, but if I walked around the edge, I was able to relax on strategically placed daybeds. The pool could have been a little cleaner – branches and flower petals occasionally floated past, and I noticed some stains from above – but it was refreshing and more protected from the stiff sea breeze than the oceanfront infinity pool. On hot days the oceanfront pool might be quite nice, but during my stay the water felt too cold to even swim in. Furthermore, the palms and mangroves strategically planted throughout the pool are very cool in theory, but made for a lot of twigs and leaves floating in the water.

The Yarari Spa is one of the best in the D.R. I didn't spring for any of the various body treatments -- all of which cost more than $100 -- but was granted full access to the spa pool, steam room, and sauna, free of charge. Since no one else was around, it was like my own personal spa, with nothing but the trickling of water and light theremin music playing in the background. It was fantastically relaxing.

A single tennis court and the gym are adjacent to the spa complex. The gym is small but has modern enough equipment (no personal video screens or any high-tech gadgets). The tennis court is next to a vacant lot where, during my stay, some men were doing construction. One side of the court has no wall, so balls can easily get lost in the nearby weeds.

The beach was nearly deserted during my stay, but I did see a few stray kayaks and a catamaran.

Because of its luxurious amenities, personal service, and attractive grounds, Agua is a lovely spot for weddings, and it does host the occasional fete. One wedding party rented out the entire resort shortly before my visit.

There is a small, fairly precious playroom filled with books and games and a jungle gym out back. The chefs in the restaurants are also happy to prepare custom, kid-friendly meals. Baby sitters are available on request. That said, the resort is definitely geared toward peace, quiet, and relaxation, and only the calmest, best-behaved children are likely to enjoy it.

I did spot a tiny lizard in the bath, but such is the risk of just about any ground-floor room in the Caribbean, so I don't hold it against Agua. As mentioned earlier, the pools could have been a bit cleaner (I spotted twigs and leaves floating on multiple occasions), but this may have been a function of the resort being nearly deserted.

The Caribbean lobster dish

The resort has three restaurants: Olena, Indigo and Amaya. Between the three, you have the choice of Spanish, Dominican and "all-world" style food, which basically means European cuisine. Also, each restaurant claims to use locally-grown ingredients in each dish.

If you're dining, you're expected to abide by the dress code, which has been dubbed "casual elegance." It requires guests to wear dress shirts with sleeves, and long pants for men. No flip flops or sleeveless shirts are allowed.

Room service is available 24/7.

There are two bars: Canoa Lobby Bar and Indigo, both near the oceanfront.