CONS:
Bed bugs – My wife is still suffering from the itch now a few days after being home, several others at the resort were complaining about it and 2 women we met took a dangerous reaction and had to go to the hospital for anti-histamine shots.
Diarrhea – I have it, not sure from what food.
Buffet – Gross, the only thing we ate for breakfast for 7 days straight was French toast. The scrambled eggs were swimming in water and the bacon was all fat. They changed the theme daily but the menu didn’t appear any different. Everything here was just half done; there was no pride in the food whatsoever, everything just looked sketchy and risky.
Tex Mex Al La Carte – Don’t eat the deep fried tacos, they were barely edible
Bellini’s Italian Al La Carte – Cudos to the pizza, it was great, I ate about 6 of them over the week, it was about the only safe looking food.
IndoShine Chinese Al La Carte – It was just ok, nothing special, probably the best of the restaurants.
Blue Lagoon Al La Carte / Beach Grill – We were scared to eat dinner there but if you wanted a disgusting dehydrated deep fried hamburger for lunch with sun baked mayonnaise from a packet this was you place.
We came with low expectations of food, but we’ve eaten food in Cuba before which is famous for bland, but Cuba was gourmet compared to this place.
Staff – Mostly rude, and bothered if you asked them for anything. There was the occasional nice once like the woman at the cappuccino bar in the lobby.
Animation Staff – Ok, this has got to be my biggest complaint about the whole vacation. They were absolutely PATHETIC and should not be allowed on site. For 24/7 they felt they had to entertain you. They BLASTED the speakers constantly way past the point of distortion, this seems to be the norm throughout D.R. – all radio stations are just half tuned in and blaring. There was barely escape from this nuisance except the far end of the beach. There were more people covering their ears by the pool than not. They constantly tried to recruit people for “dancing lessons” the pool and play dumb games, and they sang to the song “choc-o-lat-e” 300 times a day to the point I would wake up in the night with it in my head. One night they put on a pathetic musical of the Lion King, I’d never seen anything so bad in my life, not to mention it was so loud that people had to leave.
Time Share Goons – These people didn’t understand the meaning of no, they hung outside the buffet and harassed you every time you walked by, they promised “free gifts” and a “lifetime of happiness” – what they don’t tell you is that it will cost you $35,000. Stay away from these people. There were rumors that people even paid for excursions to find themselves looped into a 3hr timeshare pitch.
V.I.P – This “high class” alternative to the regular resort is pushed in your face to make you feel like a second class citizen. The funny things was the VIP’s were at our pools and restaurants.
Vendors – The resort allowed them to setup outside in the evening around the buffet, this is a big mistake on their part as they are the worst leeches I’ve ever seen, you have to avoid the area all together to avoid the incredible harassment. It’s too bad because we wanted to look at the merchandise but the vendors were too busy scaring the customers away… 99% off! Almost free!
PROS:
Beach – Although a hike, the water was warm and the waves were great! We bought boogie boards and used them constantly
Pools – There were many pools, and they were clean, warm and nice to lounge around
Rooms – Nice and clean, plenty of hot water.. although our shower floor over-flowed the first night, but that didn’t bother us.
Cappuccino – Mmm.. Delicious
Excursions – We did the Outback Jungle Safari which was worth every penny, as well as the ATV tour, which would have been fun if they weren’t always breaking down!
CONCLUSION:
Unbelievably, we actually had a good time and got the sun and sand that we intended. We are used to more low key resorts and this one was just too busy, and the high turn over makes it what it is. Although a nice placve with lots of potential, I would not go back unless I heard it’s under new management to increase the food quality, rid of the vendors and animation teams.