Great beaches. Food is not so great.
If you are adventurous, the capital Santo Domingo is only 3-4 hours from Punta Cana. There is a monument to Columbus there, and they claim his remains are buried there (but that is the subject of great debate).
My cousin got stabbed on a beach on the North Shore near Sosua.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dominica...and-punta-cana
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dominica...-santo-domingo
http://latinamericanhistory.about.co...busremains.htm
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/526