No exaggeration, this was the worst vacation we have ever been on. We seriously considered leaving the second day. I will give as many details as possible.
CHECK IN. No lines at check in and we were given a drink....that is where the good ends. We were given no information about the restaurant reservation systems. You must go to Guest Services and make all your reservations as soon as possible. There was no info about where to get what at the hotel. Two bellboys were fighting over our luggage.
ROOM: So here is where our trip took a serious downturn. We stayed in a Family Deluxe Suite near Barcy Water Park. The room was completely infested with mosquitos. Our first night was spent swatting mosquitos flying around our heads. Our 6 yr old received 37 bugs bites all over her body including her face! The sink was broken, both TV's did not work, mold in the bathroom. The bedroom door would not close. Went to Guest Services to change room 1st day – and was told an "exterminator" would fumigate, which was a housekeeper with a can of toxic bug spray. Which she left for us to ingest this poison. 2nd night worse, and we were all exhausted. Couldn't even use the hot tub because the patio was infested with mosquitos. I went back to guest services and after an hour and a half finally got a room change to a 3rd floor room.
FOOD – would not serve it to dog. The buffet is disgusting. Here are the A La Carte's we ate at: Mexican was the best...but not great. Hibachi was okay, the rice was good. Steakhouse was awful, don't expect to get anything "steaklike" that you are used to. I ordered the ribs and it was ok, and the steakhouse was the ONLY restaurant we ate at that served chicken nuggets....which if you have kids is kind of a staple. Italian......please, please, please do NOT eat here. It was the worst - It really was so disgusting, we left and ate at the buffet. Could not get reservations at the French restaurant until 10:45pm….even though ½ the tables were always empty on the nights we tried to get reservations. The childrens menu at all these restaurants are limited to two things, and except for the steakhouse, we usually went to the buffet so my child could get something to eat (which always consisted of fruit, bread, sometimes hotdogs and icecream) HINT: For lunch try the golf club house. Decent hotdogs, ham and cheese sandwiches, muffins and coffee. HINT#2: Order room service! It is WAY better than the buffet, eventhough I was upset we paid for an all-inclusive and here we were paying for food. The spaggetti bolognese, hot dog, and even the hamburger was better at room service. A word about the Sports Bar Restaurant, which is open 24-hours. Don't bother, the food is just as bad as everything else and the staff is rude. Warning about the food: Be prepared to spend a lot of time in the bathroom if you know what I mean. My daughter had stomache cramps for most of our trip and we made frequent trips to the "Bano" and several trips to the gift shop to buy gatorade, pepto-bismal, etc. We were miserable and we were careful not to drink the water. You can just tell though that half the food is borderline bad.
KIDS CLUB: My 6 yr old enjoyed the Kids Club. We dropped her off at 10am, and met her at the pool at 11am, then picked her up at Noon and took her to lunch. They did minigolf, tennis, etc and then brought the kids to the Barcy Water Park. There is no way though for them to contact you in case of emergency. Some of the club counselors do not speak English, but fortunately my daughter made friends with a bi-lingual little girl. One hint is that we found out from another couple on our last night that they have a fun 45 minute show for kids at the theater (across from the spa) at 8PM every night,and their kids loved it.
SPA: We got two massages and I got my daughter a manicure. The staff is very friendly, and my massage was very nice. Did not get a chance to use the hotub, pool and steam room but it looked nice. He hated his massage, it was freezing in his room and the massage was not very effective. We had two different experiences, but the staff was very nice and it is not crowded at all. The gym looked nice, it was empty - did not get to use it because we all had stomache pains.
STAFF: First, I would like to make a comment that I spoke spanish as much as possible, - and I am saying that because I read comments on here "well they were probably rude Americans and did not try to speak the language, etc"....not true. I would say there are some very nice staff at the resort that smiled and were eager to assist. Then there were other staff members that were outright rude. It really put a bad taste in our mouths, and of the 3 other couples w/ families we met there, we all complained about the same thing - BAD food, rude staff. The people in the gift shops seemed to forget how to smile, and the man in the cigar shop....well let's just say I have a few choice words for him. Oh and there is a stand by the bar upstairs w/ a nice looking Dominican man trying to sell trying to sell a box of cigars for $39 US Dollars that you could buy in the states for $7! They were the minis and the brand was not Dominican. What a ripoff.
EXCURSION: We only went on one, the Dolphin Explorer. It was pretty good, not great. The staff was prejudice and make frequent jokes about us "milky" white people and how tigers liked to eat white people. He even asked us if there was any sun at our resort! Half the place was under construction, and we felt rushed. The dolphin experience though and the seal lion show were great. Bring food though because the "restaurant" consists of a stand that sells Doritos and Cheetos for $3 a bag. Hint: Take a $10 taxi ride to the Playa Real Shopping Center - to get away from the Resort for some real food. We ate at Tony Romas which had good food and real frozen drinks. Unfortunately our experience was ruined because it took three tries for them to get the check right (they tried to over charge us for things we did not order, and then they explained some crazy 16% tax for security??) But there is a pizzeria and Hard Rock Cafe. Cute icecream shop and lots of fancy shopping. It was just nice to be off the resort grounds. There was also a guy with a spider monkey that we got out picture taken with.
POOL & GROUNDS: This was by far the best of the resort. The Barcy Water Park is outstanding and my daughter loved it. The pools are beautiful as well as the beach. The lounge chairs are really comfortable. Be very careful about walking around the resort though, they tend to mop the tile walkways and don't put up caution signs, so they are very slippery. Lots of chairs available at the kids water parks. You need to give them your towel cards, and return the towels to get the cards back, and some of the towels look like they should be thrown away (they are ragged). The public bathrooms are decent, but make sure you check for TP...always running out. And once the door handle came off the exit door and we got stuck in the bathroom. Told guest services, but 3 days later it was still busted.
DRINKS: Do not think you are going to get a frozen drink of the consistency you are used to. We stuck to beer, which was pretty good. If you want a frozen rum drink, try the Miami Vice - but drink it quick and be careful of the three large icecubes in your drink! Can't think of anything else, accept to say that we wished we did not stay here. I am not sure about the other hotels at Dominican Republic, but unfortunately we will not get a chance to find out because we will not return. If you are thinking of booking a trip here, don't do it, I am warning you! If you already booked your trip, I hope this helps you out.