We stayed at ocean blue 9/8 to 9/15
My wife and I with 3 teenagers 15 – 13 – 12-

This is our 7th stay at an A/I so we are no strangers to this type of vacation.
Our check in was fast and we were greeted with a tasty blue drink called the ocean blue.
We were in our room (4000 Building) for 1.5 hours before I finally went back to the bellhop and brought the luggage to the room myself. The room was nice but worn for a resort of this age. (Beware of the high pressure H10 Sales people) they did not bother us however we did see them bother many others.
The walls were scuffed and the furniture was again very worn for a resort of this age, my wife opened a dresser drawer and it fell out on to the floor. The view was nice.
The grounds were not as well kept as most A/I s we have been to (Iberostar / Rui? Dreams ECT) the grass was worn down in many spots. The location of this resort is truly beautiful. And the beach was gorgeous. Get there early if you want to get a shaded area on the beach. The water was clean and warm. The shopping on the beach is very over priced even after haggling them down. The people are constantly asking you to get them some food from the resort in exchange for a discount, which never happens. I cannot count the times I have seen people walking away from them angry from broken promises.
The pools were in fact missing many tiles as many other people reported but this did not effect our stay because the pool was so warm to as go in would not be refreshing at all.
All drinks were served in little disposable plastic cups and ice was very hard to come by with out asking for it. As for the staff I found them to be friendly despite other reviews. The food was average at the buffet (just average) the kids did not have to many problems finding something to eat. Mikes coffee house was awesome as reported. We ate at all the restaurants and were just average (could have had a little larger menu). Strikes was nice for the teenagers and they had no problem making friends by the first night. You get one free game of bowling and after that it was $15 a game which I found to be a little cheesy. The casino was fun my wife won $500 on the slots however I would like to gamble with out the staff watching over your shoulder with every pull, it was a little intimidating at times. As for the shows in the 7 nights we were there were 5 shows and only one we cared for and that was the magic show, all other shows showed a major lack of material. How ever the performers worked very hard for what little they had. Most nights we walked out. The English is very weak at this resort and I think they Taylor to Europeans more than anything, which is ok unless you speak English. We went on 2 excursions the shark/ray encounter (don’t waste your money) and the jungle tour.
The 2nd tour was very nice we visited a school / coffee / coco plantation / horse back riding and at the end of the day we went swimming at a beautiful beach.
We will probably not return to the DR or this resort. We had a nice time but in comparison to other Ais we do not think this r

We arrived in Punta Cana at 7pm. The luggage was available very fast for pick up. Once you get your luggage, you head straight (away from where you came in) and go through customs. No one there speaks English...at all. Everything was fast in the airport, no problems at all. The bathrooms were horrible. I was gagging and almost made myself sick in there, but hey, if you REALLY have to go, then you have to deal with it. Anyway, at the front of the airport, there are guys who will take your luggage for you and direct you to your ride, but you have to tell them where you're going, and make sure you give them a tip. Everyone there depends on these tips to live off of. I gave them $5 for our 2 bags. Not breaking the bank, but they really do appreciate it! The ride from the airport is about 20 minutes. The streets don't have lights or lines or stop signs or anything and if it's at night when you get there or leave, there are no lights on the streets either. At check in, if it's during the day, TAKE YOUR OWN LUGGAGE WITH YOU or you'll wait forever to get it! We got to the hotel at night, so it was there within about 10 minutes, but you have to be there when it arrives, and you don't really want to stay in your room during the day and wait, right? Check in was a breeze cause it was later, but during the day check in's ... you could be there for an hour! When you get to your room, they don't tell you this, but DO NOT pull out the little key card that is on the wall, because it will shut down your entire room and it will lock and the electricty will go off. If there is a power outage, look outside to see the lamp posts come on, then pull the card out and put it right back. That will put your power back on. The pools are nice, but very warm after about 11am. We liked to go to the beach, then to the pool, but the water was just too warm. Now, if you want to go to the beach, you HAVE TO get up EARLY, like 6am and take towels and put them on each chair you need. You can't leave just the towels, either, you have to take a book or magazine of a pair of flip flops or something else to put on the chairs, too, cause people will take the towels, too. Bring your own beach towels, because it's hard to get one at their booth. The buffets were good. Italian restaurant was ok. But the seafood restaurant on the beach was the best!! It's $40 for a set menu. You get your drink (wine, beer, water, soda) and you get seafood soup which was pretty good. Fish croquettes and they were really good. Then, you get three halves of fresh lobster. It's alot of lobster. Very good for the price. It's grilled lobster, not steamed, so it tastes different, but it's really not bad at all. They don't serve it with butter, so you have to ask for it. And I think it comes with dessert, but we had a birthday cake instead (cause it was my bday dinner). You pay for your meal when you check out of the hotel, so you just leave the tip and then fill out the form to bill your room. If you have the money, go on the StingRay Bay trip. It is the absolute best! Our guide was "Cappucino" and he was really very funny. They put on a show on the way home and it's really a great day. I think it was $150 for 2 of us for the day. The gift shop is expensive. Every place accepts US money. Please, no matter what, take pepto and gas x with you. Like, 2 bottles. Everyone needed it there, even though we all drank only the bottled water and even used that to brush our teeth. It's the food. There are people in the lobby who will try to get you to buy a time share, just say no thanks. They will have you there all day! They walk the resort, too, just ignore them. You will get a flyer under your door telling you to go talk to them for your free gift - DON'T...unless you want to buy a timeshare....They also have vendors that come in with tables and set them up in the middle of the walkway. They're a pain. They hound you until you either go over and look at their stuff and buy it, or until you tell them no and just walk away. You can walk the other way or take the shuttle tram so they can't get to you. We did buy a nice painting there from one of them. It is beautiful. You have to make deals with them. And be firm with what you want to pay. They will take it! Also, if you go down the beach, there are vendors there, too, but this is not part of the resort! Be careful. They're pushy, too, and they follow you and one man grabbed my arm as I was walking in the water, not even browsing. That was scarey. The casino is nice. I spent alot of time there because there is really nothing to do at night but sit at a bar or go to a show. I dont' drink, so I went to gamble. Make sure you take gambling money with you, too, just in case. Take alot of $1 bills. Tip everyone good for good service. The maid we tipped $20 our first day, and she put extra beer in the fridge for my fiance and gave us extra soda and towels and toilet paper and mopped our floor. We gave her $10 each day after that. All the people are very nice. We really liked Vladamir at the swim up bar in the yellow pool, and one guy in the casino...I foget his name now, but he was great! Very nice! The mamajuana there is very potent, so be careful if you like to do shots. It tastes like JagerMeister. Also, if you're getting a frozen drink, ask for it with vodka or rum (gasolina) because it doesn't have it in there. Blue Hawaiians are good. There are way to many kids there for me. That was my biggest problem. People are on vacation, so they don't care what their kids are doing, and they're little animals! And if you are taking kids, just a little FYI - there are topless women on the beaches.

We have just got home after an amazing holiday at the Ocean Blue Resort, and wanted to review the place as soon as possible ... especially to respond to negative comments by others.

We'll take you through what was a fabulous experience step by step.

First of all, don't dismiss this as a knee-jerk review by rookie travellers who havn't seen the world ... this is our seventh time in the Dominican Republic, and won't be the last, as the experience was positive from the very beginning. This wasn't destined to be the case, we've been around and have been disappointed in the past, but we expect good service, good facilities and good surroundings, and if we don't get them, we let people know.

After a 10 hour flight from the UK and a 35 minute transfer, we were in no mood for any nonsense, but check-in was a great start. Fast, efficient, and a (very) well air-conditioned area. A huge, well presented lobby area floored with polished marble is always nice, but a relaxed ambience and pleasant staff made a real difference. Sure, you won't be discussing astro-physics with the reception staff or the bell-boys, but their English was good enough to get by. All they need to be able to discuss is luggage, rooms and keys, which they did very pleasantly, always with a smile. Don't forget how hard these guys work and how little money they get paid for it ... I wouldn't be smiling if I was in their shoes, that's for sure.

Our cases were tagged, and brought to our room within 30 minutes. During this time, we were taken to our room by another bell-boy (always smart in their starched white safari uniforms) who showed us the facilities. On his way out, I had to stop him to give him a tip ( I HATE it when they hang around EXPECTING a tip ... they never did this). This may be a personal thing (or maybe an English thing?!) but I tip whan I'm happy with the way I'm treated. I DON'T tip in order to get better service next time, which seems (to me) to be a peculiarly American thing).

The room was big, cold, well equipped, and with the biggest spa-bath that we've ever had in a Dominican hotel ... this all suggested that these guys were trying hard to impress. The bathroom was floor-to-ceiling marble and mirror, big enough for two, and with 'his-and-hers' basins. The cold water was cold, the hot water was (very) hot, and everything was cleaned every day(normally by lunch time). What more can you expect? Clean towels every day? Check. An extra bunch of clean towels when we called reception to ask for more? Check. The spa-bath was more than big enough for me (pretty big, see below!), and was powerful. Here's a tip ... take a pack of Milton baby-bottle sterilising tablets with you, fill the tub, and run them through the jets ... then you know that you're not sitting in the last guest's dirt!

We got the king-size bed that we requested a few days before arrival, which was big enough to make me feel like a munchkin (not easy for a 6 foot 3, 260 pound bloke). Make that a very COLD munchkin, as the electronically-controlled air-con worked a treat (controllable in half-degree steps from 'far-too-warm' to 'far-too-cold'). We had it set at 'far-too-cold' for the first day (I always like to open up the throttle on air-con to see what we're dealing with). Then I caught a head cold. This was GOOD air-con.

Electronic safe (free for the stay) was big and sturdy, cable TV (lots of Spanish channels, but hey, you're in a spanish-speaking country ... deal with it!). Rachel Ray and Regis became firm favourites of ours. You Americans get abc, CNN and the weather channel, so (again) that should keep you happy. If you want to watch cable for two weeks, stay home. The TV did its job (no 50 inch plasma, but hey). So did the fridge, coffee machine, iron, and the hair drier (my wife is fussy, but didn't complain once!). The ceiling fan was set to the 'suck' setting (there's a switch to set it to 'blow'), which made things even colder, and probably helped my head-cold to dig in. Our bedside lamps were troublesome for the first day (both crackling and popping), but a call to reception produced a maintenance guy (who brought along a security guard with him ... he'd no need to bring him along, my wife isn't THAT scary!), and fixed them both. One started to crackle again (a pain, but hey), so the maintenance guy came back and replaced the whole lamp and base. Can't ask for more ... everything breaks eventually, and in large hotels, there'll be a guest in the room when it happens. Our safe also failed (locking in my i-pod, which I can't survive without), so a techy guy in a safari suit came (within 20 minutes) and opened it (with a security guard watching him). It did the same thing again two days later, so the same team came to the room (again, within 20 minutes), and replaced a bunch of the electrical bits in the safe door, and no problems since.

An important point is that the floors in the room are fully tiled, and CAN be a little slippery if they're wet or sandy. The maid will get rid of the sand every day, so if you try to keep things dry, then you should be ok. Go to any beach resort and you'll face the same issue.

Outside, the view from the balcony was truly first class, and we were on the third floor, which meant a few stairs, but that was no problem. We were half way between the beach and the restaurant, both of which were maybe five minutes walk away. Again, this wan no problem, as the walk was through excellent grounds, which were really well maintained with the obligatory palms, flower-beds and water features. Lovely. There was an army of guys keeping things pretty, and they get to use nothing more than a mower and a machete!

If you're REALLY lazy, then you can get round the five minute walk using the tram, which buzzes between the pool and the restaurants all day. If you want a chauffeur driven limo, then may I politely suggest that go to Vegas. If you want a ride on a 'rough and ready' (but very cool!) tram, then the Dominican is for you ... these things are pretty common over there.

A nice touch to the grounds was the use of rock-shaped waterproof speakers along the side of the walkways ... these piped local music at you which was great, if a little eerie on the way back to the room after a shot or two of rum!

The beach was great ... the usual fine, white coral sand (and the odd cigarrette butt - will you guys either quit smoking or use an ash tray?!), warm water and a cordonned-off area to keep the water-sports boys out of your way. Loads of sunbeds, and loads of shade (you'll need it if you have Anglo-Saxon skin like mine). There were a few dozen Cabbanas to either side of the beach (wood and fabric sun-shades), which were reserved pretty quickly, but worth reserving. A few of these were trashed by Tropical Storm Fay (which hit hard for a day), but made good the next day. The watersports guys (all locals) worked hard, and gave free sessions in catamarans, wind-surfs (pretty good quality kit), kayaks and boogie-boards. There was a large climbing wall and bungee trampolines too, so I was a little worried about it being noisy, but no, it was quiet ... just as I like it. Whether you go to the beack or the pool, you'll get fresh beach towels every day.

The two pools (one for activities, one for peace and quiet) were scrubbed every morning, and weren't too heavily chlorinated. I ended up swallowing some of the water on a few occasions and didn't get sick ... bear in mind that I ALWAYS get sick, so that's another big gold star for cleanliness. Only one down-side ... take a tent peg or a thin metal pen with you, as you'll need something like this to make the sunshades around the pool stay up! We ended up using a couple of twigs. No problem. A few reviews have complained about missing tiles in the pools ... this is fair enough, a few patches of mosaics were missing. Firstly, they wouldn't be missing if it wasn't for the mindless idiots we saw PICKING them off (fools). Secondly, the only way to make good would be to drain the pool. I'd rather have a square foot of missing tile than no pool.

I've read criticisms of the food on this site. Are you kidding me? I hesitate before using such a blatantly American term, but the food was awesome! As I said before, I always get sick away from home, so I'm pretty fussy. The buffet restarant was huge (we never saw more than a quarter of the tables full), with a great selection. Great pizzas (and lots of variety), burgers (small, but made from ground steak), cheeses, cold meats, fries (for the less adventurous) and all manner of stuff for the more adventurous. Personally, I don't see why people need Champagne or caviar for breakfast, but if you want it, its there. Across the room was a spit-roast pig. Again, not to my taste, but others seemed to love it. Absolutely loads of other stuff to choose from. Bear in mind that not EVERYWHERE can have a Wendy's!

Even though the buffet was great, this was almost a reserve to be used when you didn't use the speciality restaurants. The American (burgers, huge steaks, fries), mexican (fajitas, nachos) and Italian tempted us most nights, but we didn't try the dominican.

Mike's Coffee shop was cool, with some of the best fresh-ground coffee I've ever tasted ... you just don't get stuff like that in the UK. The atmosphere was great too, quiet, cool and relaxing. Great choice of sweet snacks to go with your drink ... but you have to ask specifically for the cheese cake (which they keep hidden behind the counter!). Try it.

Great rooms? Check.
Great grounds? Yup.
Great beach and pools? Yeah.
Great food? You bet.

Would we go again? Did you READ what I just wrote? Course we would. In a heartbeat.

Try it.

You'll love it.

Here is the truth - your vacation is what you make of it! If you go expecting everything to be perfect all the time, you will surely be disappointed. If you go with a positive attitude and are there to enjoy yourselves and relax, you will NOT be disappointed!

We spent 12 nights at this resort during the last week of June and first week of July. There were 6 of us total; 2 in their 60's, 2 in their 30's and 2 pre-teen boys. It was simply the most relaxing vacation I have ever taken! The resort grounds are emaculate, the hotel rooms are better than average, the food was comparable to the Sandal's where we stayed in Jamaica.

As always, there are things that are not perfect... Yes, they don't all speak wonderful English, but my Spanish is not the best either. (Keep in mind you are visiting a Spanish-speaking country!) We NEVER felt that we could not communicate because of this language barrier though - they tried their best and we tried ours, and we communicated wonderfully. The buffets are not the best, especially after 12 days. The choice for the evening meal is second to none though for an all-inclusive resort. Buffets are buffets, folks! If you want to order from a menu for every meal, this is not the resort for you. Compared to other all-inclusive resorts though, it was NOT bad at all - just gets old after a while. The evening shows are entertaining, but not wonderful. The magic show was awesome though! I would NOT recommend going to Bavaro (local town) to go shopping for two reasons: the merchants are totally overwhelming, and you can find almost all of the same items just outside of the resort property at the beach.

The biggest complaint we had during our two week stay was that it was awfully hard to get drinks at the buffets when you wanted them - with your meal. By time you sat down and began to eat, it took WAY too long for the wait staff to bring water or a drink of any kind. This was only a problem at the buffets, not the restaurants. It could be EASILY solved if they just had a self-serve pop machine or water and coffee stations set up for guests and we gave them this feedback.

The highlights of our trip... the massages (Lucia is wonderful), the Mexican and Italian (especially the Italian) restaurants, Mike's Coffee, The Strike game room (for kids, not necessarily for adults), the incredible beach and ocean water, the nice warm pool that our children spent hours in everyday, the Kid's Club (which we only used for a total of 4 hours, but the kids had fun and the staff was great), the incredible grounds.

All in all, this was a fabulous resort to visit and I would highly recommend it to anyone who asked. It is a beautiful country, lovely beaches and pools (nice and warm, unlike other resorts that we have visited where you could not even use the swim-up bar!), vendor shops right off the hotel beach - you would never have to leave this hotel if you chose not to. It is wonderful! We would go back in a heartbeat!