Well, just got back from the Dominican with a destination wedding in Punta Cana.We stayed at The Finest/Excellence Punta Cana. The resort was nice and clean, the shower head phenomenal, strong tasty drinks, but the food absolutely sucks. They don't use any seasoning, and the salt and pepper shakers were always empty. That wasn't just a resort thing, but we experienced the same thing in Biyahibe.
The wedding was on a Wednesday, so we went down a few days early to dive the southern coast. Driving was like NASCAR, our VRBO was nice, but the water pressure was so low, that you didn't dare use soap, or you wouldn't be able to rinse off. The worst food I have eaten, and some of the best food I have eaten. There was one restaurant, Beachside by Onnos, that was inexpensive and absolutely rocked. They had crispy pork belly bao buns, crispy pork belly fried rice, and the best chicken yakitori I have ever eaten. Nothing else was even close, even the high end places.
Overall, if I were to go back, it would only be to Biyahibe. You don't get hounded by hawkers on the beach, very low key as there are only about 3k people. La Romana is about 20 minutes away, and has an international airport. It is cheaper than Cozumel, for sure, the shallow dives were as good, or better than Cozumel (same structure, but less reef damage), but the deep stuff isn't in the same zip code.
CHIEF