Michès Playa Esmeralda Dominican Republic

We previously visited this resort in 2022 and decided to come back this year (foregoing our usual stay at Turkoise) because the resort had been so, so wonderful when we last stayed. Like others have pointed out, Miches had a particularly heavy rain season in December so would like to factor that into the review. The weather - save for a rainy day or two - was lovely while we were there.

We stayed in the Emerald Jungle (adults only) in two separate rooms. The water pressure has severely weakened since we last stayed but the rooms were as gorgeous as ever and the cleaning of the rooms was immaculate every day. My room was perfectly fine save for the roof outside my door somewhat falling apart during our stay (someone patched this up immediately upon request), but the other room unfortunately had a wealth of issues pertaining to electricity and temperature which took a lot of nagging to fix (reception was pretty much absent IRL and on the phone). Luckily the CDV and his Sports Manager are fantastic and helped me expedite the resolution of this issue. One thing I will say though, is that the pathways at night are extremely poorly lit - there are no lights under the Emerald Jungle room number signs for instance, so definitely be prepared to use a flashlight!

The resort definitely felt a bit run down compared to our previous stay, and while the food was relatively decent, it was often cold and hardened due to the hot plates not working very well. Edwin’s ceviche/raw fish bar was a huge highlight of our stay, however, as was the Asian station (with super fun and cute art everyday). I have to admit the pizza was amazing as well and I definitely had more than I care to share! The shows were incredible - especially helped by an amazing choreographer and gymnastic team. The Zen pool is divine and Guy at the bar makes the best mojitos you will ever have in your life. The main bar has wonderful and efficient staff, particularly Sanders and the Quebec crew (Jordan, Olivier and Pier-Ann) who were so friendly and fun to chat with!

The biggest kudos I’d like to give out go to two members of the local staff. Carmen served us in the adults only section of the restaurant several times and was such a sweetheart to us - she even helped me learn a bit of Spanish! She was so attentive and kind and really helped to make us feel happy and at home. Finally, Waldin drove us to our rooms at night many times during our stay as we were having a bit of difficulty walking the wet pathways in the dark. We were blown away by how charismatic and kind he was - he remembered every little detail about us and was so lovely to chat with. Unfortunately his day off was our last day so I didn’t get another chance to thank him but hopefully this will do! He’d make a great GO if ever he chose to go that route.

Thank you Club Med!!

This resort is PERFECT for families who want to have both fun activities for and with the kids and relaxing adult-only time for a true vacation for the parents. We were a group of 13—three families over three generations—and everyone had a great time.

We used the childcare several days and it was fantastic. Yara, Luna and the rest of the mini club team are so fun and joyful and put a lot of thought, effort and enthusiasm into creating a fun program for the kids. We also used baby club for our 11 month old who had never been in day care before, and Zoe, Ilona and the rest of the baby club team were so sweet with her.

Our room was great for our family… we were in the explorer cove and it was perfect to have a separate bedroom and bathroom for the kids.

The resort is kept meticulously clean, to the point that dozens of staff emerge after any brief rain to immediately dry, mop and pick up fallen leaves and flowers.

It rained a bit while we were there, but never more than a few minutes at a time, and we were still able to enjoy the beach and pool for most of the day.

The food and drinks were great… nothing particularly interesting or special but very fresh, high quality and well-prepared. The main buffet is good, but I’d recommend eating at Coco Plume as much as possible, as the atmosphere right on the is much nicer.

The staff and other guests were super friendly and welcoming.

All in all, we had a wonderful time and will likely return!

We just returned home from tennis trip at the Club Med Miches and had a fabulous time. We took a group of 66 tennis and pickleball players there for a week of fun and relaxation. Jennifer, the groups coordinator went above and beyond to make our stay excellent. This resort is in a beautiful remote setting and the beach is natural and fantastic. The tennis staff led by Miguel was also top notch and they were also a ton of fun.

Great Club Med!
I was the TA for a group of 66 people that went to Club Med Miches in Jan for a tennis getaway. I was also one of the travelers.

Phase 1 - The contract: CM was good to work with from a TA perspective. Karie (their contracts person assigned to me) was responsive and easy to work with. 5-stars.

Phase 2 - Planning: I had an awesome Affinity Coordinator/Planner, Laiza. She was on top of everything. Again, extremely responsive and attentive. Highly recommended. 5-stars.

Phase 3 - Arrivals and Onsite: The onsite Meeting and Events Coordinator Jennifer, was amazing. Jennifer was on top of everything. With 66 people, there were a couple of minor hiccups, but if we did have a bump, Jennifer was there to smooth it out. 5-stars.

TA Summary: I'd love to work with any and/or all of these people again on a future CM trip and I'd take or recommend my clients to the resort without hesitation.

Phase 4 - The resort and trip:
Resort: The resort was beautiful. The grounds were well maintained and very clean. The staff was pleasant and attentive. The beach front was well kept up.
Room: I personally had a Deluxe Garden View Caribbean Paradise A3P. I was on the 2nd floor. The room was fairly well appointed and comfortable. There was plenty of room. The bed slept well. I had a nice outdoor porch/patio area. It had a slightly musty smell on arrival, but if you've stayed in the Caribbean before, you know that's just part of the deal. A few minutes with the ceiling fan running and the AC turned down and that smell was gone.
Food: The food was very good.
We ate at the main dining area Cayuco every night. Don't let the term "buffet" fool you. The food was fresh and the main courses were different every night. The salad bar had a good variety of options. There was plenty of seating available for everybody and they had an adult only seating area as well. Very nice!
We also ate at Coco Plum for breakfast and lunch. They had the beach BBQ there as well as serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dinner requires a reservation, but there is no extra charge.
We did not get a chance to eat at the Coal and Copper Steakhouse.
Amenities:
Pools: We visited two pools.
The main pool which also has a lap pool tied to it. Plenty of chairs to pick from. The bar and snacks are just steps away.
The Zen Pool - Adult only, very quiet. It also has a swim up bar. No food.
Bars: The bars here were not as good as I expected. They had all the typical stuff (beer, seltzer, wine). Plenty of rums and vodkas. But they were severely lacking on the whiskey side. NO Canadian Whiskey (Crown Royal, etc), one American whiskey (Jack Daniels), one Bourbon (Evan Williams - if you can call that a bourbon with a straight face), and one Irish (Jameson).
Internet: Ok, let's just call it like it is. The basic internet there is terrible. I was getting right at 1 Mbps down and up (+/- .5). Barely enough to check email with no images. I had to do some work while there, so I opted for the enhanced internet. It cost me $30 US for 5-days. BIG difference. 150+ Mbps down and up. So if you need to work you'll probably need the enhanced internet.
Entertainment: There was some sort of show every night. Some were better than others. The Michael Jackson was sub-par as was the Ruby show. The Queen tribute band was good as was the gymnastics/trapeze show. The staff took over entertainment each night after the shows. If you like lively music and like to dance, you won't be disappointed.
Tennis: We were there for some sunshine and tennis. The tennis facilities are very nice. The courts are all hard courts (no clay). The pro Miguel is very good and nice to be around. Super friendly. They run tennis clinics daily and you can book personal court time as well.

Overall - 4.5 stars! The bar and internet drug the score down a little bit.
Would definitely go back!