Last Updated on June 8, 2019 by Jane
This past May we took the kids on their first all inclusive vacation. We went to the Melia Caribe on Bavaro Beach in Puna Cana Dominican Republic. We tend toward two vacations a year. One is more touristy where we are seeing sights and exploring a new place. The second is just pure relaxation. Swimming, eating and lounging. This vacation was the latter. We stayed on the resort and enjoyed the sunshine for a week of bliss. This is the Level at Melia Caribe Review.
The Level at Melia Caribe Review: Booking
This was the first time that I booked an all inclusive resort directly with the hotel. I signed up for newsletters as well as their loyalty points system to get some welcome points. When I compared booking with an online travel agency that I had used in the past I was consistently getting lower price per person when I booked directly with the hotel and airlines. I have found this to be the case recently that hotels and resorts are wanting customers to book directly with them and offering better deals.
The booking process itself was fairly easy however be aware that prices do not include tax. I do notice that there website is much more transparent on this issue now. Be aware (as I was not) the hotel will charge you in USD. Since prices were quoted in Canadian I was not expecting to be charged US dollars. I was charged the same price in USD as I was quoted in Canadian. Since our dollar is not at par I did complain to the hotel. I was told that the exchange difference was to account for the tax. To be honest I think it would make more sense to simply charge customers in the currency quoted and charge the actual tax instead of this round about way of handling things. This issue did put a bad taste in my mouth to start as it was not a very professional way of handling things but since the holiday was booked there was no turning back.
The Level at Melia Caribe Review: Arrival
We flew Sunwing to Punta Cana. I missed out on a deal from West Jet but Sunwing was totally fine. The flight itself was eventful. My daughter lost her iphone (found it a few rows back at the end of the flight) my son lost a tooth. Even with the drama we had a good flight.
We used Dominican Air Transfers to get from the airport to the hotel. Usually we have to take one of those large coach buses and stop at every resort on our way to the hotel. If you are lucky you will be the first stop but I have never been that lucky! Because we didn’t purchase a package vacation we had to arrange our own transfer to Melia Caribe.
I searched through reviews and found that Dominican Air Transfers was highly recommended. Plus I could arrange everything through their website. I received confirmations and reminders to my emails which was great. When we disembarked the plane and got our luggage the driver was waiting for us so we were able to get going right away. For the 4 of us we had a van and our driver was very conscientious. Driving in the Dominican Republic can be a bit crazy with motorbikes driving between the lanes, but our driver made us feels safe and he was never driving too fast.
When we arrived at the hotel there wasn’t a long line up to deal with which was amazing! We found our names on the check in list and were asked if we were with any of the weddings that were going on at the resort. We weren’t and instead of checking us in at Melia Caribe we were sent over to The Level.
At this point I should let you know that I paid for the lower end of the resort, but we were upgraded to the Level upon arrival. This was a pleasant surprise. More than pleasant because it definitely kicked our vacation up a notch.
We were sent into the lounge to wait while our room was arranged. I will say that the check in process is very slow. For some reason it seems like Melia is just arranging the rooms as we wait in person, instead of having this all done ahead of time. Keep in mind we had this vacation booked more than a month in advance so the rooms could have been arranged before we arrived. 
The Level at Melia Caribe Review: The Room
Our room was situated near the pool close to the restaurants and away from the beach. The section of the Level that is close to the beach is adults only, whereas the family section is closer to the Kids Club and a la cart restaurants.
The rooms are lovely. We had a second floor room. There was a king sized bed as well as a bunk bed for the kids.
Much like other Caribbean resorts I have visited the room has stone floors and bathroom. There wasn’t much in the way of good tv but we did have WiFi.
We had a issue with our safe but the resort sent a technician to repair or rather reset it so that we could use it for our valuables.
While I didn’t spend any time in any of the rooms in the other parts of the resort from what I could see peeking in while we were exploring the resort the rooms tend to be older and more tired. The Level rooms do look very modern in comparison.
The Level at Melia Caribe Review: the Resort
The Level is a relatively small section of the resort as a whole. It comes with perks like separate pools and restaurants. You also get to ride in the golf carts as opposed to waiting around for the train.
The resort is quite large. While we did walk from the top end of the resort where our room was down to the beach we only did it once. We instead waited for a golf cart or train ride.
There are 6 swimming pools, two of which are adults only and one is for the Level. We spent our time between the large pool at the beach and the pool near our room for the Level.
The large pool at the beach is great for families and kids who can’t swim as there is a larger shallow end. The pool at the level is much more asthetically pleasing in that it looks more modern. Guests at the Level don’t have towel cards but just have access to fresh towels they can rotate for dry ones by the Level pool. There are also many more cabana areas to hide from the sun. There are cabanas by the Tropical pool but not as many so if you want one get up early.
The people that I have talked in my real life that have also visited Melia Caribe have done so for weddings. I know why. The grounds of the resort were the most beautiful I have visited. It was like being in a tropical garden the entire time.
Not only were there beautiful flowers and palm trees but there were also flamingos and peacocks all over the resort. The peacocks become a bit annoying after you have been there a week. They will try to sneak your food and they are very loud. If you want to see the flamingos wander by the water in the evening.
The Level at Melia Caribe Review: The Food
If there is one thing I can say about the food is there is plenty of selection. There are 9 restaurants listed right now. While we were at the resort some of the restaurants were under construction and renovation. There are a few different buffets. One that we were able to use as part of the Level. We ate there for mostly for breakfast.
You really need to visit the beach bar or the pool snack bars for lunch. The burgers were fantastic as was the grilled chicken. We ate at the snack bars more for lunch than at the buffets. Both the snack bar at the Level pool and down by the beach were equally good but it was less busy at the Level pool.
For dinner we tried a number of the a la carts. All of the food was good. Nothing was really spectacular. Better than North American chain food but not gourmet dining.
We did end up eating at the Mexican restaurant La Hacienda a number of times. We also stopped by the Gabi restaurant for ice cream each night. I have been told that the Italian restaurant was really good but we never did try it.
The buffets didn’t have as much selection as we are used to from other resorts like Bahia Principe. However they did make up for that with selection of a la cart restaurants.
The Level at Melia Caribe Review: Last thoughts
Overall we had a great vacation. I wish we would have spent more time at the beach but the kids were more comfortable at the pool.
My husband used some of the free golf that came with our package. However it wasn’t exactly free since you have to take a cart and it was $40 USD. Also you need to talk to the front desk to get a ticket for the free golf and catch the free shuttle.
Getting upgraded definitely made this vacation as I don’t think I would have been overly impressed with the resort if we had of been put in the other section. Not that it is bad but it does retail for more than other resorts we have gone to in the past (like Bahia Principe) and I don’t think it was worth the extra money without the upgrade.
So would I stay at the Level again? I think I would rather check out another resort before returning. If you are looking at this resort for a wedding I would recommend it as the grounds are beautiful and they do have enough space to accommodate a wedding and guests.
If you are on a budget you can stay at other resorts and get similar quality of resort. If you are willing to upgrade to the Level I think you will be happier with your stay.