Have just returned from a fabulous holiday on Friday August 23.
Loved the arrival at beautiful Punta Cana Airport and was stunned by the lovely lobby when we arrived at Ocean Blue.
Check in was easy, and efficient and our bags didn't take long to arrive at our third floor room which was spacious, clean and lovely and cool.
We ate at most places at Ocean Blue our favourtie being the buffet but our teenage boys loved the steaks at Route 66. Mike's Coffee Shop was also a great place. Had a little bit of an upset stomach but propbably more to do with quantity of food and alcohol consumed rather than food issues.
The beach is stunning but be aware that swimming is reduced to a small penned off area close to the shore due to the large volume of motorised traffic moving along the shoreline to avoid shallow reefs.
Used the Hobie almost every day (had to pay initial insurance of $15 but after that we took it out without a fuss). Boys also windsurfed and kayaked. They also did some Scuba Diving with Wellington from the beach shack which was very good value and they thoroughly enjoyed.
Found the bar staff helpful and usually very friendly, liked the lobby bar best where we had our baileys, Beefeater gin, Champagne or Tequilla Sunrise cocktails before dinner.
Pools were amazing, and the beach has little cabanas for shade which do tend to get booked out very early.
Our only disapointment, which we refused to let it ruin our holiday, was that $400 was taken from our room a week in to the holiday.Unfortunately we were made to feel the criminals and not the victims by the hotel, and the police refused to attend. Hotel Manager Danoli did step in and change our two rooms to the Elite Club rooms in Villa Six so that we wouldn't feel uncomfortable and we of course were much more careful with our things after that.
Still left feeling that we had a great holiday.

Just returned from this hotel and it was great. I have stayed in many All Inclusives in the Caribbean including Sandals and Beaches and this hotel is very good.

Ok the staff do not speak that much English but it is a Spanish Island! If you go to Paris do you expect then to all speak English? No. go with an open mind and you will love it!

The beach is lovely too, not as good as some others but still beautiful.

The rooms too are more then fine for what you need. Anyway, how much time do you spend in there anyway? Food was great in all the different places.

Overall I loved and would go back.

Ignore the fussy ones that moan about small silly problems, you'll love it!

We visited Ocean Blue from March 29 to April 5, with a group of 44 people. Our visit was a little different, as we were traveling with (and as a part of) a radio station promotion.

LOBBY: was lovely. Open, airy and breezy with plenty of seating. There is a bar in the middle, which we used each night as our group convened before dinner. There is also entertainment (live music) starting about 8:30 or 9 each night. The reception area is closed off with glass doors and air conditioning, so you stay cool even if it's sweltering hot!

ROOMS: Ours was fine. We were in Villa 3, on the second floor, which we found to be conveniently located. It's not super close to anything in particular, but it wasn't a bad walk no matter where you wanted to go. We did have 2 separate incidents with our safe not working. The first time it was repaired quickly; the 2nd time I had to call a few times, but they finally did arrive. Maid service was fine. It could get late in the afternoon before they arrived, but since we didn't spend a ton of time in our room during the day, it didn't really matter. We had no occasions of any insects.

BEACH: Was very windy - but blame Mother Nature if you don't like it! There were several canopied seating areas, but you had to get there early if you wanted one. No sense complaining - it's like that anywhere! Otherwise, we always found somewhere to sit.

FOOD: There was plenty to eat. We visited the buffet each day for lunch, and a couple of dinners. Was the food the same as the day before? Sometimes. But it was still tasty. We also ate at all the restaurants that were included, and though there were a few dishes I didn't like overly much, for the most part there was always something good to choose. The smaller buffet by the beach was also a good place - try the pizza!

BARS: Were fine. Treat the servers with a little respect, and you'll get some back.

SERVICE: Can't complain at all. Because we were in a different situation (being with the radio station), we required a lot of help from the resort - and they were very helpful. The resort manager and his staff accommodated all of our requests cheerfully, solved our many problems, and were always available to help.

ENTERTAINMENT: Fun. We never went to the casino, but we did hit the disco on 3 nights. Lively, fun, and the DJ was happy to find any song we requested. We closed it out! One night the staff from the show came in and did some fire tricks. Very cool. We also participated in the "Ideal Couple" show - which was a blast.

SHOPPING: I had luck at the beach vendors; the ones that came to the resort on two nights were really pushy. Just keep walking!

We also had a private party in the small buffet on the Friday night and it was great! It is an additional cost, but if you're traveling with a group, this is a great way to wrap up the trip!

All in all, it was a fun trip. Enjoy!

We stayed at the Ocean Blue resort from August 10 thru 17, 2008. There were 4 of us: me, my husband and our two boys, ages 12 and 9. We all loved it and had a great vacation—we were sad to have to leave at the end of the week because it was so enjoyable and relaxing. I had read so many good and bad reviews before going, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and it was better than I even thought it would be. We talked to a honeymooning couple on the way back to the airport at the end of the week who had stayed at Bavaro Princess all week, and they had some issues there with their room & other things…so I really think that things can happen no matter where you stay.

We stayed in Villa 4 and that was a good location halfway in between the restaurants & things in the front, and the pool and beach in the back. I had requested a 3rd level room with a front/pool view through our travel agent, who forwarded the request to Apple Vacations. When we checked in, they first were going to give us a 1st floor room facing the back (the property next door). I told them about my advance request and asked for a 3rd level room instead; after a bit, they checked their computer & switched the cards, and we got a 3rd level room even though it was facing the back…which turned out to be fine anyway, because it was more private and still had a nice view of coconut trees and lush foliage (no construction).

The only problem we had with our room was 1) the safe didn’t work right when we first arrived. After 2 or 3 phone calls to the desk, the security repairman arrived within about an hour (not bad considering it was during prime check-in time) and fixed it in about 5 minutes. Also on our last day 2) the front door keycards stopped working (even the maid’s card wouldn’t work) and I notified a repairman there, who brought a new lock for the front door within 5 minutes and had it replaced/fixed in no time. Everything else in the room worked great—the A/C was cold, the mini fridge worked, there was not a single bug in the room the whole week, the hair dryer worked fine, etc. I will say that the shower leaked a little bit onto the floor after taking a shower, but it was no big deal—I just put a towel down on the floor to soak it up. Hey, I was on vacation and I don’t let those little annoyances bother me or ruin my week! J

I had read about the lighting being too low in the rooms and I’d brought 60 watt light bulbs along—but didn’t need to use them, the room lighting was all fine, even in the bathroom. I had brought bug spray, but we never saw a single mosquito outside and never had to use the spray. It was very hot outside, so we did take the tram every chance we got, but other times we just walked. We didn’t do some of the activities such as tennis, archery or basketball because it was way too hot & humid during the day, so we stayed in the pool or ocean everyday. What do you expect, it’s August in the Caribbean, so of course it’s gonna be hot & humid! The pools were awesome and who cares if a few tiles were missing—I only noticed because I’d read review with people commenting about it. It made no difference while you were in the pool. The pool water was a little too warm the first few days we were there (felt like 90 degrees bath water!) but that’s because it was so hot everyday and never cooled down at night below 80. There is nothing that can be done about that. That is, until TS Fay came through, then the next day the pool water felt perfect & was much cooler. The beach is beautiful.

We thought everyone who works at Ocean Blue was very friendly. We always said “Hola” and smiled to everyone we walked past, and they all did the same. I think if you are friendly to the workers and treat them with respect, they will be friendly back. We brought a pocket Spanish dictionary with us, plus I know a little Spanish, so we didn’t find the language barrier to be any problem at all. We tried to speak Spanish as much as possible and it was fun. We wrote notes to the room maid everyday, left her little gifts everyday (Bath & Body Works sample size lotions/shower gels, Clinique makeup items, Hershey miniatures, school supplies for her kids, and $2 tip everyday) and she was very nice, and we had plenty of clean towels everyday and our fridge was always filled with plenty of bottled water, pop and beer. They do work hard for the $200/month (plus tips) that they earn.

The food was really good and we never got sick, not even our kids. We drank bottled water all week, but even had ice cubes in our beverages all week and we were fine with no “tourista” issues. We ate at the buffet everyday for breakfast, the beach buffet everyday for lunch, and for dinner we loved the Dominican restaurant the most, the Italian & Mexican were pretty good, Route 66 was good, and the buffet was also good. I found the pork to be kind of tough so I stayed away from it; my husband had a steak at Route 66 and it was just “OK”, nothing great. The chicken, fish, shrimp/prawns and everything else were awesome though—which isn’t surprising considering where you are. We had about a ½ hr wait at the Mexican restaurant, but it was no big deal. We just went to El Bodegon and had some free appetizers while we waited. (you have to pay extra for the meals there, but the appetizers in the front when you first walk in are all free and are really yummy). Our kids figured out what they liked & didn’t like wherever we ate. Yeah, the bacon & sausage at breakfast was more bland than we’re used to, but we just ate other things instead. The made-to-order eggs/omelets were always excellent, as were the pancakes & French toast, the fresh fruit all the time (yum!), yogurt, the paella & pizza at the lunch beach buffet as well as the roasted chicken (mmmm!), the chocolate ice cream at both the Mexican & Italian restaurants for dessert was great; the cheesecake at Mike’s (you have to ask for it).

I just can’t really think of anything negative to say because we were so happy all week just to be there. Every day was sunny & hot except for the one day that Tropical Storm Fay came through, and it was rainy for one whole day & night. We did the Bavaro Runners excursion one day (awesome & highly recommend it! Alex the guide was great). We walked down the beach to the right about ½ hour and slid down the huge inflatable slide they have on the beach—what fun! Our boys loved the EuroBungy on the beach and they also loved Strike with the bowling, the game tables and the Wii’s. We went there every night for a little while. We never did go to any of the shows—there just was never time, it seemed. I think the disco & casino are pretty lame, but to me this resort is more family friendly and isn’t really known for its nightlife, so it made no difference to me. The lobby bar was nice at night & had good entertainment & a singer with music.

All in all, it was a wonderful vacation at a great resort and we were happy to have spent our week at Ocean Blue. We felt very safe there and had a really positive experience. For the price it’s an excellent value, it’s clean and beautiful and has everything you could want.