Michès Playa Esmeralda Dominican Republic

My wife and I spent a week here at the end of April and had a fantastic time. It was our first time at an all inclusive resort and I was afraid we would get bored -- we did not. :)

Things we loved:

• Yoga in the palapa - an amazing location. Shout out to Lisa from FitBodies for her great morning sessions.
• Pickleball - we had never really played and did not expect to spend a lot of time playing, but we quickly found ourselves there daily and especially enjoyed playing doubles as an opportunity to meet and converse with other guests. Some of our favorite vacation friends were made out on the pickleball courts.
• Water sports - one of the primary reasons we chose Club Med Michés was because I wanted to learn to Wing Foil. I am a very bad surfer and had no experience with any wind based water sports or sailing. While the week we had was not the windiest, I was able to spend significant time (2 hrs+) on four different days and finally start 'flying' -- it was so fun! My wife enjoyed learning the basics of foiling and tacking back and forth on the standup paddle boards (the first step of learning at Michés). In addition we spent 30-45m daily on standup paddle boards in the mornings and found that to be a relaxing experience out on the water. Shout out to Nico, Ignacio, Edmon, and Qervens for their smiles, lessons, and positive attitudes at the water sports area.
• Beach - the palm trees and palapas providing shade, almost right up to the water's edge, made reading and relaxing at the beach at this location delightful. We walked to resorts around the corner and quickly realized what a special location Club Med Michés has.
• Food - CoCo Plum was a great beach front location, and the BBQs, ceviches, and salads there for lunch with live music were nice. But the main restaurant - Cayuco - was unbelievable. If you're looking for a heavy seafood diet (tuna, swordfish, salmon, shrimp, mussels, etc.), delicious meats (steak, ribs, lamb, etc.), and small fine dining plates (beef tartare, shashimi, etc.), then you won't be disappointed. (I also saw lots of burgers, fries, pasta, and pizza being eaten, and the bit of that I sampled was great too!) What really made it for us is that on the first day when my wife told a staff member she has an allergy to dairy and gluten, they connected us with the head chef, Vikram, who walked us around the buffet and showed us explicitly all of the items that would be safe and asked us to make custom requests when necessary to modify plates (e.g. take the steak, hold the sauce). Beyond that they made a gluten free seafood pasta one day specifically for us. In addition, he talked with Jessica, the pastry chef, and she made a gluten/dairy free dessert every day for us -- they were delicious! Huge shout out to Vikram, Jessica, and Jonathan (the sous-chef) for all of their assistance it making it a delicious week of accessible food for us.
• Activities - from trapeze, to aerial yoga, to sound therapy, to dance classes, we felt like there were always things to do.
• People - the other guests during our week were kind, engaging, and fun. The environment - especially group activities like doubles pickleball, Wing Foiling lessons, dance class, etc - lended itself to easy connection with others and a enjoyable sense of camaraderie.

There were a few less than ideal experiences.

• An amazing amount of staff spoke no English or French. I understand the language in DR is Spanish, but the number of baristas/chefs/guest-facing staff where we had to pull out Google Translate wasn't what I was expecting! This led to coffees being made with regular milk instead of almond due to miscommunications. Takeaway: Brush up on a bit of Spanish pre-trip, especially if you have allergies!
• The AC in room (215 in Caribbean Paradise) did not cool the room, pretty much at all. We heard this from other guests near us as well. We talked to the front desk about it on the first day and they sent maintenance. The maintenance guy brought a infrared thermometer and confirmed the vent of the AC was the degree we were setting it too. At the same time, he agreed the room was hot, and the AC had been on for a few hours. We talked to another staff, and they confirmed they get a lot of complaints about those rooms and offered to switch us. We had already unpacked and didn't feel like spending the time moving, so we asked for a dehumidifier and pulled the beds under the fan. (The humidity was almost 70% in the room and never got below ~55% - whenever we were in the room we were emptying gallons of water out.) Takeaway: Check if your AC is working to your liking before unpacking, and ask for a switch immediately if not!
• For all the praise about allergies (see above), they should be doing more by default. Food was consistently mislabeled, or not labeled at all, and we learned you had to confirm explicitly with a chef. The gluten free bread was very poor quality. There wasn't any dairy free yogurt options. This feels like an area that Club Med could absolutely be owning, in accordance with the mantra of sustainability, wellness, etc. Takeaway: If you have allergies, work directly with excellent staff (see above) and be sure sure sure to double check ingredients with chefs directly. And again, brush up on your allergy related Spanish!
• There were holes in several of our linens, which feels like a miss for the price/image of the resort. Takeaway: This one is just an improvement for club med. ;)

While these could be improved (and should be!), our overall experience was lovely and we do plan for another visit.

Thank you, Club Med Michés, for a wonderful week!

My husband and I spent a wonderful week at Club Med Miches at the end of April. We have been to the villages at Punta Cana and Cancun, but this was our first time at Miches. We decided to go to Miches because it's Exclusive Collection and we were curious to compare it with the other resorts.

The location is beautiful, as the beach faces a large bay and is more protected than the beach at Punta Cana. While at Punta Cana we found it very windy and preferred to hang out by the pools, here the beach was clear aqua water, no seaweed, and much calmer. You can also walk the beach in either direction from the resort and there are only a couple of other resorts in the vicinity so it feels very unspoiled. The week we were there, the weather was a bit unsettled with a lot of rain. This surprised us because we didn't think it was the rainy season. I think it was a blip: the following week was entirely sunny. The resort does experience some flooding when it rains heavily, and there are a lot of wetland areas even within the resort (particularly in the Zen Oasis area).

The transfer from the airport is long, and it feels long. But, I think it's worth it if you are staying a week or more.

We had a room in the Explorer Cove section, which was directly adjacent to the Mini Club splash pad/water park. The rooms are very well sound insulated, though, and although I was worried it would be loud, it wasn't and we actually enjoyed the location. I think we'd stay in the Caribbean Paradise section next time, however, because it's closer to the fitness center, the Zen pool, the adults beach, and Coco Plum. That area is better suited for couples. The room and bathroom were great, and the A/C worked perfectly. No issues with housekeeping or anything, really. All buildings at the resort are stunning, and the small "village" scale of things blends in really well for the jungle location.

The food and drink were top notch, as always at Club Med. We preferred the smaller scale of Coco Plum and it has a much nicer outdoor table area than Cayuco. A couple of times during the week there were outdoor meals cooked there with live music and it was wonderful. There was also one cookout on the beach closer to Explorer Cove but it coincided with a period of very heavy rain so it was really impossible to enjoy that cookout. The bartenders at both Cayuco and Coco Plum were exceptional; the bartenders at the beach bar were less enthusiastic. The cafe was awesome, opens at 7:00am and makes delicious concoctions. Great for a sweet snack in between when the restaurants are open.

The fitness classes were wonderful. Annabelle was an exceptional teacher (Boot Camp, Total Body, etc.). We did yoga with Lisa (guest instructor with Fit Bodies) and she was amazing. We also did Aerial Yoga, and the instructor (cannot remember her name) was with the circus program and she was incredibly nice and a great instructor. The sports team at Miches is excellent.

As always, the entertainment was varied and full of energy. The new CDV, Harrison, is very gregarious and kind. I think he will do well there, and the energy was super positive with all of the GOs. They all work so hard at their jobs, really so impressive.

Thank you, Club Med, for another wonderful getaway. We hope to return soon!

We had a great experience in club med miches playa ezmaralda! While not all the facilities were up to our expectations, the team made our stay unforgettable. Big thanks to the bar team- Juan, Christina, Jesse and Shirley for their kindness and hard work. The special non-alcohol menu was great! Highly recommended

Our stay at Club Med Michès was nothing short of exceptional—an easy 5-star experience from start to finish. The resort itself is absolutely beautiful and impeccably clean, with more activities than one person could possibly fit into a single trip. Whether you’re looking to relax or stay active, there’s truly something for everyone.

We stayed for 7 nights, and my room was honestly one of the most beautiful I’ve ever experienced anywhere in the world—spacious, stylish, and incredibly comfortable.

A huge part of what made this trip so special was the amazing team. Chef de Village Harrison and his staff made us feel genuinely welcomed from the moment we arrived. Harrison, especially, brings incredible energy and fun to the stage—his presence really elevates the whole experience.

The food was outstanding. We made a point to try every restaurant on the property, and each one delivered. Everything was fresh, delicious, and beautifully prepared. The staff did a fantastic job keeping everything clean, clearing tables quickly, and always making sure your glass was full.

A special shoutout to Mish, Angel, Guytmy, Fanny, Ahmet, Confessor, and Oscar—each of you made our stay even more memorable with your warmth and excellent service.

We left with amazing memories and can’t wait to return. Highly recommend!

Our recent week-long family stay at Club Med Michès was unforgettable, with something special for everyone from start to finish. The main bar stood out thanks to Juan and Genesis, who consistently made excellent drinks and provided warm, attentive service. The circus crew—Claudia, Candela, Nacho, and Joel—were absolutely amazing and just ridiculously talented (amazing performances in the shows!). They brought energy, skill, and fun that our son couldn’t get enough of. The circus expo event was especially fun - we've stayed at several Club Meds with circus and none have had a "show" where GMs can participate. Such a fun idea! We also loved archery, the facilities were great and Jhony’s expert coaching made it both accessible and exciting for all ages. The beach is absolutely beautiful, clear water and soft sand. We stayed in a basic family room, which worked just fine for us given that we're so on the go! We loved the ATV excursion and had a great time horseback riding on the beach. From the fantastic service at CoCoPlum with Kelia (one of our favorite dinner's the entire trip) to Annie, the incredibly kind barista at the coffee house who always remembered my daughter’s order, the personal touches truly made this trip exceptional!