Wife and I decided to get in on a trip with 3 other families to go to the DR next Friday and was looking at any inside information from anyone that has been there.

Kids will range from 13-6 in age so family friendly recommendations are welcome. I don't think we plan on leaving the ground unless there is something that is highly recommended.

A big question is how are the beaches (rocky requiring shoes, safe from rip currents in general)?

The resort is VERY large. We walked 15k+ steps a day while there. I do think they have golf carts that come around but we didn't use them. You can rent golf carts if they aren't sold out but they are $$$.

They now have a waterpark, which they didn't when I was there, so that is a huge perk.

Beach is nice and there were not rocks when we were there. Pretty soft and wide. Waves can be rough though, you may have red flag days.

Food there is not very good, so keep that in mind. They did recently (last few years) remodel the rooms so those should be nice.