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 Ocean Sand/ Blue Golf & Beach Resort - Punta Cana   Location: Beach front - Punta Cana - East Coast - 35 mins. from Punta Cana airport All-inclusive - Ocean Blue - 374 rooms, Ocean Sand - 334 rooms Hotel Web Site Description from resort website:With the grace of the palm trees dancing to the rhythm of the breeze and the elegance of the waves caressing the white sand, emerges Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort. Enjoy the luxury of a resort where all the rooms are five star suites, specially designed to make your dreams of an exhuberant Caribbean vacation come true. Ocean Blue is located 35 minutes from Punta Cana's International Airport, a few steps away from the White Sands Golf Course, and right next to Ocean Sand, a resort with whom shares facilities and all inclusive 24 hours a day services, multiplying your possibilities and options to make your visit a true pleasure. 9 restaurants - 7 bars. Casino and bowling - Ocean Spa by Metamorphosis  ~ Debbie's Review of Ocean Sand/ Blue Beach Resort ~ Reviews posted on this page — 29  Don't forget to send Debbie your review ~ More Ocean Sand/ Blue Beach Resort Reviews ~ Map of Resort ~ Reader's Vacation Photos ~ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ~ Readers Ocean Sand/ Blue Wedding Reviews Save on All-Inclusive Caribbean Resorts with Travelocity
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| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Angie ~ USA |
We had 30 of us on the trip together. There were 15 kids (ages 8-16) and 15 adults. We flew direct flight from Cincinnati on USA 3000. The flight left 15 minutes early and arrived about 20 minutes early. It was a very good flight. When we arrived in the Dominican Republic we were sent straight to the line to buy our tourist cards ($10 per person) The line was very fast moving and there was music playing to enjoy. Once we got to the baggage claim we started pulling our bags off and 2 guys came with carts and started stacking our luggage up. This was a big help but we did have to make sure that they didn't leave with our bags until all 42 bags were accounted for. They kept wanting to take them to the bus but we were able to hold them off until we got all the bags and golf bags. We followed them straight to our bus and got on and were greeted by an Apple Rep. Our bus was full of people going to Ocean Blue so we didn't have to make any stops on the way there and it took about 30 minutes.
At the resort we were directed to make sure all our bags were there and then go to the check in. We did not upgrade to the elite but our check in was very very fast. We were greeted with drinks from servers that were very yummy. It was the ocean blue drink. Then we went to the lobby bar. After that we went straight to our rooms and waited about 20 minutes for our luggage to get there. The room was great. Yes it did smell a little musty but in that climate what do you expect. I never did see a bug in our room all week. The only one that I saw the whole week was on our last night on the floor in the casino. I don't know what the difference is between the rooms for the elite and the junior suite but I thought that ours was just fine. There is a little wear and tear but nothing that you can't live with.
We were very concerned about having the time share guys bug us but I can honestly say they never did. On the first day they invited us to their talk for the next day and we told them we would let them know and we never went. That was all we heard from them. The beach vendors all had the same stuff. We did buy some stuff from them but they were very pushy with the younger girls.
The grounds were beautiful!!!! There were always people working on them. While we were there we saw 3 weddings. The last wedding we saw they were taking pictures right outside our balcony and the grounds keepers really groomed the flower and trees right before the pictures but they didn't really need it. They were trimming the palm trees every day. It was a good walk from the beach to the lobby but if you didn't want to walk it the tram ran all day long. The kids liked riding it around and at first the driver was getting annoyed at them for riding but we gave him a few dollars tip and he was fine. He never did say anything to them about riding but you could tell he was a little annoyed at first.
The food was good. We enjoyed the Mexican the most. The best way for all of us to eat together was to go as soon as they opened at 6:30. We never had a problem eating together and there were always at least 20 of us eating together. THe kids liked the buffet the best. Breakfast was really good. The omlets and the french toast were our favorites. We didn't eat at either of the resturants that cost extra. We were down at the beach a couple of nights right by the lobster one and the only time we saw anyone eat from there was on one of the wedding nights. We never saw anyone eating on the beach. We really didn't like the Route 66.
For our whole group Mike's Coffeehouse was hit at least 2 times daily by everyone. It was really good. THe kids had enough frozen coffees to last them a life time. The kids loved the bowling alley. THey only bowled one time but they were there a lot to play pool. That was there time to get out of the sun and their evening activity. While they were at Strike the adults were the lobby bar. We were there every night before and after dinner. It was a great place to hang out.
The two pools were huge and clean. We were always in the yellow pool. We each took turns getting up at 6:00 a.m. to get chairs since there were so many of us. We saved about 20 chairs a day and we would just go down and put towles of shoes on them and nobody bothered them. We loved Victor the bartender at the yellow pool poolbar. He was great and would make whatever you like. He was gone on our last two days and it was not the same without him. There were always activites somewhere around the pool.
We went on the Bavaro Zipline Adventure . It was awesome. They were very safe and nice. Our guide that rode the bus with us to the Zip line place was named Stevenson. He gave lots of information and helped reassure the little ones that were going on the zip line that it was very safe.
Be sure to take lots of $1 bills. We had great service at the whole resort. I don't know if it is because we tipped so good at the beginning but it that it why it is totally worth it. Bartenders will remember you and the maids took really good care of our room. We left our maid anywhere from $3-$5 a day and she always made sure we had towels and everything. On the first day we left her a note with her tip for 2 more pillows and extra water and when we got back from the pool it was all there. Then on about day 4 our hairdryer stopped working so we left it on the bed with a note saying it was broken and when we got back we had a new one. I would say the 3-5 dollars a day was worth it.
On our last day before we left 6 of the ladies decided to get a massage. If we paid for 5 we could get a 6th one free. We had ours done outside cause it was $15 cheaper than if we did it in the spa. Plus it was nice being in the open air and listening to the ocean. With us all spliting the cost of the 6 massages it cost about $63 each. It was a 55 minute deep tissue massage and it was great.
All in all this was a fabulous trip and we would all go again in a heartbeat. With our group being so large we were a bit concerned but it was great. I would recommend this resort to anyone.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Shelley ~ Wasaga Beach, Ontario |
Four of us (2 adults and 2 teenagers) flew Club Class with Air Transat. Terrific service and lots of elbow/leg room. Also our bags were first off the flight coming and going, so getting through Customs was faster. No lineups at the ticket counters either. Definitely the way to fly!
At the resort we had the Elite Club upgrade. After checking in we were driven right to our villa in a little tram and our bags were carried up to our room. Large room with pool view and since it was an end unit we had two balconies - one with view of pool and the other with view of ocean. We were in Villa 10 on the 2nd floor. Gorgeous. Wonderful maid service. The upgrade came with 24 hour room service (used it twice), half hour massage at the spa (wonderful!!) that my daughter and I used. The other "freebies" included we did not use, so I don't think I would upgrade to Elite again. Only difference between Junior Suite and Junior Deluxe (Elite) rooms is the size, and since we were only in our room at night, I don't think I would pay the extra for the Elite again.
We had heard bad things about time share guys but we only saw 2 the whole time we were there, and they did not bother us at all. Both of them said "hello, how are you, where are you from", and that was about it. No pressure at all. Same thing with the beach vendors. They are funny and polite, and if you say you are only looking, or you have no money, they smile and leave you alone. Lots of fun bartering. Many of them speak good English.
The grounds were beautiful and immaculate. I don't know how they manage to look after this huge property, but somehow it always looks amazing. It's a longish walk from the beach to the restaurants, but there is a trolley that runs constantly and all you have to do is wave at the driver and he will pick you up and drop you off wherever you want. It's fun and efficient.
Food was plentiful and varied. There is definitely something for everyone and lots of it! Our Elite package included dinner at one of the "extra" restaurants and we chose the El Bodegon. Disappointing to say the least. It had been highly recommended, but our meat was not edible. Service was terrific though.
Mike's Coffeehouse lived up to its reputation. The Frappacinos were the best, and the cakes and goodies were as good as anything back home.
The two pools were clean and large. We used mostly the yellow pool because our room looked out directly over it. The blue pool is quieter if that's what you prefer, but the yellow pool has the better swim up bar and is right next to the beach. The yellow pool is also very convenient to the beach restaurant where you can eat in your swim suit, and there are also public washrooms nearby. Lots of poolside chairs, but it's a good idea to stake out your chair with a beach towel by 8:30 or 9:00am. Once you have your towel on the chair, nobody takes it for the rest of the day. Beware of the hot sun by mid day. It's nice to have an umbrella.
Lots of beach activities, but we did not use any. The bungie trampoline looked like fun. Beach was clean and had lots of loungers and sun shades. Always seemed to be a place to sit.
There is a disco every night that starts at 11pm. My daughter went twice and had a blast both times. The lobby has a small jazz combo 2 or 3 evenings a week, and it's a nice spot to sit and relax at the end of the day. Really good bar service also. The staff put on live theatre performances each night in the outdoor theatre starting around 9:30pm. We saw the Lion King, Copacabana, and Chicago. Pretty good entertainment, especially for amateur performers.
There is a Casino and a bowling alley, neither of which we used. There is also a gift shop (not much to see or buy there), photo shop, jewellry store and clothing store all in the lobby area.
We did two excursions. The Bavaro Runners Safari Adventure was absolutely top notch and we would go again in a minute! Our guide was Eddie and he made the day. Excellent English. Very funny, knowledgeable and entertaining. If you only do one excursion, make sure it's the jungle trip. We also did the Marinarium trip which inlcuded snorkelling with sharks and stingrays. Also very fun.
Take lots of US $1 bills for tipping and small purchases. We took $150 in one dollar bills, $50 in five dollar bills and $100 in twenties. Even after tipping the maid $2 daily and other incidental tips for the bellhop, bartenders, excursion guides, etc., and purchasing souveniers, we still came home with about $50. If you go through Air Transat there is NO DEPARTURE TAX. With Air Transat the $20 departure tax is included in the cost of your trip.
In short, this was a wonderful trip and we are already planning to go again next year. I have nothing but good things to say about the Ocean Blue Resort.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Laurie ~ Kingston, ON |
Arrival -
Flight was late leaving London due to a fuel shortage on the returning flight. The pilot told us they only got enough fuel to go to Nassau and had to stop and refuel. As a result, we didn't leave London until after 5:30 pm and arrived in Punta Cana around 11:30 pm. Ride to the resort was interesting to say the least, pitch dark and more pot holes than I've ever seen! Had to stop for the cows on the road. Arrived at the resort after midnight. Check in was very quick. The clerk advised us that the only place to grab something to eat was at the Sportsbar.
Rooms -
We had asked if we could upgrade to the Elite club but nothing was available. Our room was OK, beginning to show signs of wear and tear. The furniture was old and beat up and the bottom drawer in the dresser was broken. The room was very musty smelling but with the humidity there, I wasn't surprised. Towels always felt damp.
We tipped the maid $4 each day (3 women in the room) and she always cleaned it well and left extra towels and water.
Restaurants -
We tried the Italian, Mexican (twice), Dominican, Caribbean Grill and the Buffet. All food was very good. Only bad thing was the Italian white wine - horrible!
The Buffet is huge with salad bar, hot section, dessert. For breakfast, they had an omelet section, french toast section, pancakes and crepes, juice bar. Lunch had hamburgers, cooked meat sliced by the chef (beef, pork, turkey), pasta section. Never left hungry, always went back for seconds!
Bars -
The beach bar was very difficult to get served. A lot of people at the bar . The bartenders would ask what you want and then forget due to number of other drinks being asked for.
Favourite bar was the one in the lobby. Bartenders were friendly and made great Ceasers - they call them Bloody Ceasers - I think they were made with tomato juice, not clamato juice, but they still went down pretty good! One person in our group kept drinking the house drink - Ocean Blue. Had Blue Curacao, Triple Sec, Rum (of course) and lime juice.
Beach and Pools -
Two pools, we stayed in Villa 5 so went to the Blue pool. As with other reviews, stake out your spot early. Try to get a spot with an umbrella, you will need it later in the day.
Grounds -
In a word - immaculate. Very clean and tidy. Even the ashtrays are cleaned and have a stamp in the sand of a big O. The lounge chairs are all over the place at the end of the day and during the night, the chair fairies come out and in the morning, they are all lined up again.
Beach was clean, a little garbage at the end of the day but cleaned by the next morning.
Activities -
Didn't do any of the activities. Did go to the spa fpr a coconut treatment - for $105 US we got the following -
10 minutes in a sauna, 10 minutes in a jacuzzi, coconut exfoliation and a 40 minute massage with coconut extracts. Couple of things to note - they wanted us to go out to the jacuzzi with nothing on - when we went outside, there was a maintenance man out there. Good thing we had our bathing suits on!
For the exfoliation and massage, they gave us a thong to put on.
Skin felt amazing afterwards and the exfoliation helps to give an even tan.
Tours -
We went on two tours - Bavaro Runners and Marinarium snorkeling tour.
On the Bavaro Runners Safari Adventuretour, we saw a typical school, sugar cane plantation, coffee and chocoate plantation, typical Dominican home, went horseback riding (just around a trail) and swimming at a nice beach. Beware of the 'bus' ride. The roads are awful - more potholes than I have ever seen. I sat at the back and my butt was sore for 2 days afterwards. Our guide was Pepo and he was a riot. English wasn't bad. They certainly keep the beer and vitamin R (rum) flowing.
The marinarium snorkeling was amazing. I had never snorkeled before but it wasn't difficult - only once did I go a little deep and get a mouthful of salt water. The fish you see out in the open are yellow and purple. Nothing like you see around here. In the cage where the nurse sharks and stingrays are, it isn't that big. Problem was that these are nocturnal and they aren't real active during the day. There was 1 nurse shark that was swimming around, the others were under the coral resting. We also say a couple of huge stingrays (barbs removed) swimming around. After snorkeling, they took us on the ride down the coast to a shallow area where we could get out and wade around and drink! They also like to give out the drinks on this tour.
Each tour was about $85 US.
Conclusion -
If you go on a Transat tour, make sure you go to the morning meeting after you arrive. Stephanie is the Transat rep and gives you an overview of the different things offer, inlcuding inside tips. Coffee and vanilla is cheapest in the Hotel gift shop. She also recommended the two tours we went on. Stephanie also recommended a shop to buy jewerlly where they arranged for a cab to pick you up and bring you back - free of charge.
Bought 2 silver rings, 2 amber necklaces and a larimar pendant for about $150. Stuff on the beach is either fake or very cheap.
I would go back to this resort, but would get the upgraded rooms to Elite Club.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Marion ~ Havre de Grace, MD |
Rooms -
The rooms were nice no complaints except there was a bug in my drawer that kind of freaked me out. Only bug I saw thought. We tipped the maid a dollar or two each day and they really appreciated it.
Restaurants -
Be prepared for some long waits. It pays to be ready for dinner at 6:30 Go and put your name in right at 6:30. We ate at the italian restaurant twice. The chicken breast dinner on the menu was very good. All the food was better than I have had at other all inclusives, especially Can Cun. If we were really hungry we would put our names in, hit the buffet for a small apatizer plate to curb our hunger and then get a drink and go back to wait for our reservation. That seemed to work pretty well. If you like coffee go to Mikes Coffee house it is way better than the buffet coffee, also the almond cookies are addictive, really good, and only at Mikes.
Bars -
Without a doubt go to the swim up bar and ask for the Hoolio(sp?) Special. Hoolio is one of the bar tenders and made the most refreshing frozen drink. I dont think the Absolute vodka is really Absolute, but the Jack Daniel's is real.
Beach and Pools -
Go before 8:30 if you want a chair with a pad and to be under cover if you get hot. Also get to the gym early no later than 8:30 or nine if you like to run on the treadmill. There are only 2 and there is a 30 min maximum on the tredmills. I made sure I got off after my half an hour was up and there was always someone wanting on it. Unfortunatly other guests were very inconsiderate and would ignore the rule of a half an hour hog the treadmill and make you wait. So go early and please be considerate of the other gym goers it is not your personal treadmill and should be shared in a considerate manor.
Tours -
I prefered the snorkel tour we signed up for that was offered at the beach water sport location more than the apple tour desk snorkeling excursion. The apple one was way to many snorkelers in the water. The one we booked from the beach was better. The ride to the reef was kind of anoying we kept getting sprayed with water in the face but once we got there he gave us food to feed the fish and it wasnt crowded.
Conclusion -
The beach was very beautiful and I would go back in a heartbeat.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Mark |
Flight Out
Detroit Metro on USA 3000 with Apple Vacations. Flight was at 6:00 AM, we arrived at Berry Terminal at 3:30 and already there were 75 to 100 people in line. Apple Rep was there and kept everything went smooth and was checked in around 35 minutes. Flight was about 30 minutes late leaving and other than some turbulence everything was fine. Meals will cost $5.00 on the flight.
Punta Cana Airport
Check in was fast and efficient. After leaving terminal and hanging a quick right the Apple Rep is there and directs you to the numbered bus in that will take you too your resort. We waited at least 30 minutes for 2 people we were dropping off at Princess Bavaro. We were the fourth and last stop. 40-minute trip to the resort.
Ocean Blue Room Observation
We had requested poolside, second floor and got neither. My travel agent had requested and I had e-mailed them twice with no response. Check in was fast and the room was ready when we arrived # 5126, All Apple clients are in Villa 5 except the Elite rooms are Villa 6. Now I wish I would have upgraded. The elite rooms are nicer by far. I'd compare the rooms to a Quality Inn in Villa 5 and a Marriott in Villa 6. Our room was showing signs of wear and tear but decided not to press the issue and change rooms. My thought was I saw enough of Americans being rude that I'd keep to the room we were given. Our maid did a nice job and I left her cash each day.
Ocean Blue Staff
Exceptional service except for the people in Check In/Check Out. Everyone seemed happy and pleasant to help you. Time Share guys were very pushy and I finally went to all costs to avoid them. Be aware that after check in they take you to a table and start hounding you right away. I sat through a 10-minute talk and let them think I was going to the Monday morning Breakfast. We blew them off and never went. They will call your room to remind you.
Food
Average and neither of us got sick so all was good. Really liked the La Casa De Mi Abuela, Dominican Restaurant and the I Maracherati,Italian Restaurant. Breakfast was by far the best and Beach Restaurant was very convenient.
Again the food was average but you won’t go hungry .
Pools and Beach
Very nice beach just like 7 Mile Beach on Grand Cayman and the beach at Gulf Shores Alabama. No complaints at all on the beach. The Yellow pool is the party pool and other some Americans getting drunk and acting like fools one day they were fine. When at the pools we staked out a spot at the Blue Pool, Plenty of umbrellas but you way want to take a long nail to keep the umbrella up. Plenty of chairs at both the beach and pool all week.
Day Trip
Did the full day on Bavaro Runners Safari Adventure. Had a great time with a super host and the folks along on the trip were great. If you are at all going on a day trip, please take school supplies to drop off. They love anything you can spare. When we got there the kids were sharing pencils. I took two bags of supplies for them to distribute.
Return flight
My only note of caution is to pay attention to both messages being announced and the boards. It is very loud in the airport and sometimes they don’t post all information so you need to ask at the gate.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Renée and Phil ~ Sudbury, Ontario |
Arrival -
Just returned from a one week stay at this resort on Saturday, Jan 26.
On departure, our flight was delayed from Pearson Airport by 4 hours. Skyservice plane seating was very very cramped but the booze was free, we watched the bourne ultimatum. The "meal" was a turkey sandwich. We arrived in Punta Cana at 1:15am. Lovely air conditioned bus. On the drive to the resort you will see that this is a third world country, there is a lot of garbage lining the streets. A real eye opener, to make you appreciate the luxury of the resort and back home too. Arrived at Resort at 3am. Check in was fine.
Rooms -
We stayed in villa 2, on the ground floor. Room was nice, two beds (comfy), couch, had a hard time locating the fridge (inside cupboards lol)! Bathroom shower stall had a half a glass door so water went everywhere. Marble bathroom, was quite lovely. Had a jacuzzi tub (took an hour and a half to fill!) and a balcony overlooking the grounds. Bring a travel alarm clock because the wake up calls didn't seem to come through. Be sure to keep your money, jewellery, and things of value in the safe - one lady in our group got a necklace stolen from her room. We tipped a dollar per day plus a little gift for the housekeeper. Leave tips/gifts on the pillow for the maid to take it, they won't take gifts that are placed anywhere else.
Restaurants -
The buffet "La Torenga" was awesome - HUGE - lots of selection and very good food. A vegetarian in our group was very pleased as well. They have a "diet" section too. Table service was great. We were with a group of 26 and it was never too much trouble to put the tables together for us. We ate at the Italian a la carte restaurant
and had chicken - there were only about ten things to choose from on the menu. The chicken was awesome. Appetizer bar was great. House wine is included (popular with our group), but you pay for wine from the wine list.
Bars -
Lots of bars to choose from! My favourite was the swim up bar. Try the Sammy Sosa or Miami Vice - mmmm. Sports bar is open til 6am. We tipped about 3 dollars per night and the service was really good. At one fo the bars, we got there and the bartender was "back in 15 minutes" - guests were behind the bar making their own drinks - you wouldn't see that in Canada!
Beach and Pools -
There are two pools - yellow and blue - because the resort wasn't too full, the blue pool was the only one open. The pool was very nice. The beach was awesome. Easy to find a shady place to sit. Coming down the beach on the left side, there was about 30 vendors' huts. So shopping is close. The vendors won't bother you when you're relaxing on the beach.
Grounds -
Beautiful, well kept, always staff working at sweeping/scrubbing/cutting vegetation/etc.. Beautiful flamingos. Some of the walkways are uneven, one of the guests in our group stumbled and broke her arm. Watch your step at all times! The concrete is slippery after the rain.
Activities -
Animation staff was excellent! Aerobics, dancing, activities in the pool, drinking competitions, every day. There's a nice broadway show type theatre, we saw "Chicago" and "CopaCobana". Lots of fun. The animation staff did a great job and keeping the guests pumped up and having fun. Especially at the disco. What a great job.
Tours -
Took the " Outback Jungle Safari " tour with "Monchy" as our guide - he was graet - very funny and knowledgeable. If you book with them, ask for Monchy, he won't let you down! We saw a typical Dominican Republic house, a school (where we were able to drop off gifts/school supplies-bring balloons!!), we learned about cocoa, sugarcane, coffee, etc. Was very interesting. On the way there, we saw where they dry out the coffee beans, with the men standing on the beans spreading them out - kind of funny to think they're standing on your coffee!
Went boogie boarding on a secluded beach where the Carribean meets the Atlantic - the colours of the water were spectacular.
We went on the Santo Domingo tour - the Capital of the Dominican Republic - was a four and a half hour drive from the resort. We stopped in La Romana on the way for "toilets" at a gift shop - by toilets I mean holes in the ground. The tour guide was awful, we couldn't seem to understand any of the languages she was trying to speak (English, Spanish and French - we are fluent in English and French). The history and culture of the city was interesting - be prepared to walk though! Eat before you go because there is no breakfast and lunch is at 2pm. Would I recommend this tour? For a history buff, yes. For a 20-something party animal, no.
Conclusion -
In conclusion, I recommend this resort to anybody, real friendly staff, always with an "hola" for you. I would go back in a heartbeat!!
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | S |
Spent Dec 17 to 24 07, here with my friend and her 30 year old daughter. Great experience! Resort is well laid out -- although it is a long way from the beach to the buffet restaurant, the layout of the villas means you can walk in shade almost all the way. And lunch in the beach restaurant had good variety and quantity. Staff exceptionally friendly. Also lots of staff in buffet and other restaurants.
Good food in the main buffet. A la cartes were mixed (Dominican, American, Mexican) but Caribbean was best. Really appreciated the “no reservations needed” policy and had no trouble getting a table when we wanted to eat.
A few bugs.
We were in the Ocean Sand side, facing the bush. A pair of roosters provided special wake-up calls most mornings around 8 a.m.
At least one review suggested that the “morning briefing” was to try to sell time-shares. This was not our experience with Signature Tours – our rep gave a number of tips and described several excursions. However, timeshare reps lurked near the buffet and, as another writer reported, seemed quite aggressive.
Unlike most other resorts I have visted, internet access here meant taking the time when you paid for it, i.e., if you pay for an hour, you have to use it right away, not 15 min today, 10 min tomorrow, etc.
Suggestions:
--if you want to read in your room, bring a light bulb.
--like all resorts, bring an insulated cup or bottle for your drinks – saves on disposables, gives you a bigger drink (fewer trips to the bar), and stays cold and sand-free!
--the almond cookies are amazing. If you have a craving for them, try Mike’s – often had them when the buffet did not. However, these cookies were best when fresh – the humidity made them soggy instead of crisp.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | csaag |
ARRIVAL
Arrived at Punta Cana 12/28/07 for a weeks stay. The
locals are quite eager to grab you luggage and lead
you thru the airport. One of them took out luggage
and walked us literally just 50 feet to the Apple rep, who was around the corner. They pointed us to the Apple Bus and at least he took out luggage to the bus
also. The Apple bus stopped at 4 hotels, with the
Ocean Blue being the last stop. Took about 40
minutes. If you've never been to a 3rd world country
before, the bus ride thru 'town' is an eye opening experience.
Check in at the Ocean Blue was very quick, due to a very early arrival, and being in the Elite Club - which has it's own private check in. The put us on a cart & drove us to our room
ROOMS
Due to being a family of 5 with older kids, we needed
2 rooms. We were in Villa 10 (all Elite club rooms)
which is closest to the beach. The Villas are on opposite sides of the 2 pools. Villa 6 is closest to
the beach on the other side of the pools. One of our
rooms was 2nd closest to the beach end - which made for a 30 second walk to the beach.
Our room was at the back end of the Villa. Rooms on
the front end have their patio facing the pool area.
Rooms on the back end have their patios facing the back of the resort, in our case a 6 foot high chain link fence wrapped in barbed wire.
Our Elite Club room had 2 Queen size beds, a larger TV
than in the non-Elite Club rooms. It came with 2
bathrobes, beach towels. It had a safety deposit box, a large bathroom with a jacuzzi tub & shower. Double
sink, Phone & hair dryer in the bathroom also. Had a
stocked mini fridge and liquor. Room was clean, no
problems with bugs or leaks. Maids did a great job
keeping it clean. Had a fruit dish each day also.
The safety deposit boxes make a distictive tone for each key pressed, so you may want to make sure no one is listening when you open/close it.
Note that as soon as you walk in, you see a card key in a small box on the wall. If the power goes out pulling & reinserting this card is how you reset the breakers. Happened once on our trip.
RESTAURANTS
Overall I rated the food as average with some
disappointments. Worst was New Years Eve dinner
where it really looked like they recycled the Salmon.
Buffets were decent. Main buffet restaurants served breakfast, lunch & dinner. Beach buffet had lunch - plus you could walk in wearing just a bathing suit.
Buffets had standard menu. Plenty of fresh fruits & breads. Breakfast had eggs, pancakes, bacon etc.
Some of the a la cart restaraunts require long pants
for the men (not the kids) Liked the Italian one
the best. Dominican had good soups, OK for the main
course. Didn't care for the Route 66 place at all.
The Elite Club comes with 1 free dinner/person at one of the 2 pay restaraunts. We chose the steak place & it was the best food of the trip - excellent.
Mike's Cafe is praised in every review I've ever read- and rightly so.
Elite Club comes with conceirge service. They made
mistakes in our dinner reservations every time. We
were always able to get it straightend out.
BARS
They have a 'sports' bar, which is really just a regular bar with several TV's, a pool table (the only
level one) and a few sports items. They served food
late at night. Watched the season finale of the
Pats vs Giants there in a packed house.
There is smoking in this place so be ready for that if you go in.
Each pool has a swim up bar. The main lobby has a bar which was a very nice tiem at night. They have 1 or 2 people playing live music.
There's a bar on the beach and another one adjoining
the beach buffet. Most of the beer is el Presidente
on tap. They ran out of bottled beer rather quickly.
BEACH/POOL
2 huge pools. The Blue one is closer to the beach.
There's a jacuzzi pool inbetween the 2 large ones, but it wasn't that much warmer than the regular pools (which are unheated). The pools have a large wade in area (like walking into the ocean) a pool volleyball
area and a swim up bar. Pool needs a few more chairs
in busy season as they all get claimed by 8am. Pools are covered by 1 inch tile squares. There are several spot swhere tiles are missing, but not a big deal.
Pool was kept clean very well.
Beach has fine sand and that gorgeous blue-green water. The swimming area is roped off. The swimming area extends out to about where the water is 6ft deep
or so. Beach is very long. The water activites use
the area just outside the ropes. It gets a little
rocky by the water activities station; this is also where you exchange beach towels. But exchange them early; in busy season they're out of fresh towels by mid-afternoon. There was also a trampoline/bungy jumping station ($7)
They could use a few more trash cans on the beach and have the existing ones emptied more often. A lot of people simply left their trash by their beach loung chairs rather than walk to a trash can.
The beach loung chairs are also snapped up by 8am in busy season. So get up early & drop off a towel/book on whatever chairs you want.
Between the beach & pool is an area set off by palm trees & bushes, covered by sand, where the kids can play beach soccer/football.
GROUNDS
The non beach grounds were kept extremely clean. The resort is very new looking. Along the main walkway they pipe in Caribbean music thru speakers that look like rocks. Most of the restaraunt adjoin one another in the main lobby square which also contains the theatre, the casino, the small disco club, & the Strike bowling complex.
ACTIVITIES
The Strike Bowling complex is a 6 lane bowling alley with sometimes malfunctioning automatic scoring. You can set up bumpers in the alley for the little ones.
It also has 2 air hockey tables, but the puck is in sad shape & the airflow is poor. It has 1 pingpong
table with very poor conditioned paddles. The
upstarirs has 4 unlevel pool tables. They really need to address the equipment in here. The kids enjoyed themselves anyway.
They have plenty of water activities that you can sign up for at the station at the end of the resorts beach.
Kayaks (free), catamarans, banana boats, parasailing, windsurfing. You can sign up for excursions there also.
They have a 'Kids Club' where you drop your kids off and 1 or 2 memebers of the staff keep them engaged all
day long at various venues & activities. When we
were there we ran across them several times, although
we never dropped of our kids there. They had about
20 kids, ranging in ages from 7 to 13 or so. While
they 1 or 2 staff members looked to be doing their best to keep the kids engaged, it certainly looked like any kid could wander off whenever they wanted too. If you use it, make sure your child can handle gettign seperate from the group and knows where to catch up with you.
Didn't try the Casino. Looked in once at the Disco club. Not that big & was rather empty. Mike's cafe is fabulous. The main lobby bar was a great time too.
Great place to meet new people & talk over drinks.
The Theatre had what I would call cheesy dance shows.
They had some good crowds in there when we poked our heads in.
TOURS
Did one snorkling tour only. There's plenty of
excursions if you want to sign up. There's also 2 dozen or so tents just outdie the resort on the beach that are run by local merchants if you want to shop & haggle.
You will also, especially if you're in the Elite Club, get hounded by the resorts vacation club
representatives (aka timeshares). They pretended to
be Apple reps to get our attention. TO be honest,
while we ended up spending an hour listening to the 'pitch' ; they didn't pressure us when I got up to leave and even ended up giving us a $100 voucher towards an excursion.
They shouldn't push so hard to set up meetings and be waaaay more upfront about it.
CONCLUSION
Overall we had a 3.5 out of 5 star time. Weather was
very good. Mainly minor annoyances that you hope you don't get in a suppossed 5 start resort, but nothing that ruined the vacation.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Sandra ~ Ontario, Canada |
Just got back from Ocean Sand Beach Resort (Punta Cana) Jan 3rd, 2008
I read the reviews and just want to put in my 2 cents worth.
We went with a group of 10 adults and 1 teenager.
We just loved the resort.
Food was fantastic, the beach awesome and resort very clean.
The only negative is we all found the entertainment in the Showtime building very weak, We were not impressed at all.
The time share guys you can just say no and keep walking. No biggie.
I would recommend this resort to anyone. Everything was wonderful and we had a great time.
The resort has very hard working staff and they were exceptional !!!
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Douglass ~ Burlington, Ontario |
Arrival -
November 18th and transfers to hotel and check in were very smooth. We had 44 in our group and some rooms were not ready until 3 but with great lobby bar and dinner at buffett this was not a problem
Rooms -
rooms were great,large,fridge,coffee maker, big bath room with double sink. we all took a light bulb with as we were aware of the dim lighting
Restaurants -
we ate 2 suppers at buffett,1 at Dominican1 at Mexican, 1 at Italian and 2 at Route 66. I loved the garlic shrimp at the Dominican and we liked route 66. My best meal was Buffett on Saturday night as they had huge pans of large juicy shrimp but I enjoyed all the meals. Mikes coffee shop was wonderful
Bars -
There were 11 bars so it was hard to complain. The sports bar and lobby bar had cold bottled coronas but ran out every night. there was Baileys, Canadian Club and what ever. The sports bar was a lot of fun and we met our group every night at the Lobby bar for bingo at 7.30 and a great sax player at 8.pm. Even the bowling alley had a bar where we had a USA versus Canada tournamentBeach and Pools -
best beach by far in the Caribbean. You can walk for miles and either direction and we loved swimming in it every day. Two huge pools with swim up bars, one quiet and the other with music,dance instruction etc
Grounds -
Beautiful with a great lay out. All restaurants,bowling alley.casino around a square which was very convenient as if your table was not ready for 15 to 20 minutes, you could just get a drink and sit in the square. We loved the walking but there were constant trams you could ride from one place to another
Activities -
Lots going on near climbing wall,beach bar and pool. There also was the bingo in lobby,casino and bowling alleys
Tours -
some of our group did jeep safari and horse back riding and enjoyed them
Conclusion -
This was our 10th consectutive tear travelling as a group in late November and most of us said it was the best resort yet. We have been to Rius in Mexican Riviera, decameron in Puerto vallarta, Jamaica,Super Clubs in Puerta plata and punta cana and Riu s in Punta cana. My wife and I were to St Lucia this year and twice to barbados but this resort for half the price was far superior. I keep a chart where i give points for beach,rooms,restaurants,closeness to airport,things to do,friendliness of staff, bars and service and ocean blue/sands is number one at the moment
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Kate |
About Us:
We just returned from Ocean Blue. My husband and I traveled with our two children, 6 & 4, and my in-laws.
Arrival:
The airport experience was easy. We found our bus without any problems and were on our way to the hotel shortly after landing. We arrived at Ocean Blue at 3pm. Our rooms were not ready - we were told it would be about 30 minutes. We went back an hour later only to find out one room was ready, the other was going to be another 30 minutes. At checking they tried to get us to sign up for a breakfast meeting for the timeshare. We said no and were never asked again.
Rooms:
The room was nice.We had requested connecting rooms and were pleased to find out we got them. When we arrived at one of the rooms there was condensation on the walls and it appeared that the toilet was leaking. It took a few phone calls and after a few hours the problem was resolved. As mentioned before the lighting in the room is very low. A few times there was only a little hot water in the showers, but for the most part we had enough hot water.
Restaurants/Bars:
The food was really good at the buffet. Plenty of choices and something to eat for all of us.
We really enjoyed Mike's Coffee. The staff there were excellent!
Service:
No complaints about the service. Everyone was pleasant.
Kid's Club:
My one daughter absolutely loved the kids club. The two women, Bela & Nersy were absolutely fantastic! The kids loved dancing every night at the mini disco.
Grounds:
The grounds were beautiful - and well kept.
Bathrooms:
Just wanted to comment on how clean the bathrooms were. At the beach restaurant there was always someone there to ensure that it was kept clean. It was nice to be able to use a clean bathroom and not have to walk back to the room.
Layout:
I loved the layout of the hotel. There is one central path from the main lobby down to the beach. You cannot get lost here. The pools are centrally located. My only complaint was that the shallow end of the pool is right beside the swim up bar. I didn't like the fact that the kids were swimming so close to adults who were really enjoying the swim up bar.
Beach
Absolutely fabulous! Gorgeous beach. We never had any problem finding any lounge chairs.
Conclusion:
We had a great time and really enjoyed our stay at this resort
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Shawna and Dean ~ Vancouver, BC Canada |
About Us:
A group of 16 of spend on week at the Ocean Blue mid-November. I hadn’t had much experience with resorts of this time except Cuba. This was my fiancé’s first all-inclusive. We were married mid-week at the Ocean Blue.
Arrival:
We arrived at the hotel in the evening after a 6.5 hour flight and a busy airport experience. We were the only two that had signed up for the Elite Package. Sign in was a breeze and we were escorted to our room – villa 10, closest to the beach. We were not subjected to the same routine of the ‘attend a breakfast meeting the next day where we would learn more about the resort’ AKA Time Share.
Rooms:
The room was great. Clean and cool. It was also quiet. We could hear anything above us or next door. The bed was comfortable too. The only problem we had was that once our safe and our key card didn’t work. It was resolved within 30 mins of me calling. The maid service was great and very friendly. We left $2 US for the maid every day. The only strange thing about the room was the lighting, it was not very bright. A few of the other members of our group had complaints about their room being mold and safes not working but they were all resolved by the end of the day. Most of the staff spoke English well enough to communicate the problems to.
Restaurants/Bars:
The food was surprisingly good. I’m very picky and the buffet was appetizing. We mainly ate only breakfast at the main buffet and lunch at the beach buffet. Roughly the same stuff every morning but the pancakes tasted like pancakes and the produce was very fresh.
Route 66 was the only a la carte that I heard complaints about within our groups so we never ate there. We ate at all the al a cartes and enjoyed every one of them. We ate at the Wine Cellar and the Seafood restaurant too and loved it. The Wine Cellar was our best meal.
The Sports bar was where the majority of our evening drinks came from. Strong drinks and friendly staff too. Throughout the resort we never had a problem getting the drink we wanted. There seemed to be a high variety of alcohol stocked.
Mike's Coffee was a well visited place even by people that didn’t drink coffee before the trip. Highly recommended.
Room service was not good. Considering there are so many opportunities to eat, there should be no reason for it.
Service:
The service was great all around. The staff was very friendly and spoke very good English. Restaurants, bars and maid service were all great.
Grounds:
Since we were at villa 10, it was quite a walk to the front of the resort. There is a tram but it seemed like we had bad timing for the first part of the week. The size was perfect for us but I think in comparison, it’s a smaller resort. The beach, pools and grounds were clean and well kept. We arrived shortly after a tropical storm so most of the flowers had fallen from the plants. Every day the grounds crew was busy and they were pleasant.
Excursions
We did two excursions – Saona Island day trip and the Maranarium. Both were worth the money and they were great experiences. It was nice to get out of the resort and see some of the real Dominican.
Wedding:
I first got in contact with our wedding coordinator at the Ocean Blue months before we arrived. She was great it getting me as much information as possible before we arrived. Some details just had to wait until got there. She took care of everything. It was beautiful and relatively stress free.
Conclusion:
Like I said, there were 16 of us and we all had a great time. The food and drink was great. The staff made us feel welcome and lightened our spirits. The Elite Package was worth the extra money. I would recommend this resort to anyone and if we go back to the DR, we will go back to the Ocean Blue. I would give this resort a 5 out of 5.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Jen & Brandon ~ Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
About Us: My husband and I stayed at the Ocean Blue from September 28 through October 5/07. This was our 10th visit to Punta Cana. We have previously stayed at the RIUs (3X), the Catalonia, Bavaro Princess, Punta Cana Princess, and the Majestic Colonial (3X). I had high hopes for this resort and was excited to try something new after staying at the same resort for our last three trips. I don't know if we just visited on a bad week or what, but for the most part my expectations were not met.
Arrival: We arrived at the hotel around 2 p.m. and were pleased to hear that our room was ready. We were given room 4118, which was on the ground floor of villa 4. When I inquired about switching to a room on a higher floor, I was told it was not possible as nothing was available. Odd, since the resort was never more than half full during our stay. After receiving our towel and key cards, we were directed to another desk where a woman gave us more information about the hotel along with a resort map, a sheet detailing the restaurants/bars, a voucher for a free game of bowling, and a list of common Spanish phrases (great idea!) She then proceeded to schedule us to attend a breakfast meeting the next day where we would learn more about the resort. When I questioned her about what more we could possibly have to know about the hotel, she avoided my question and offered us two free massages on the beach or dinner for two at the Caribbean Grill a la carte (normally $40 US per person). That’s when I realized she was booking us for a timeshare presentation. We agreed to go but never did show up...oops. Once we were finished at her desk, we grabbed drinks at the lobby bar and walked to our room. Villa 4 is in a very convenient spot and was only a few minutes walk to both the beach and the lobby. We were met at our room by a bellboy who brought in our luggage and showed us where things were in the room (safe, fridge, a/c controls).
Rooms: Rooms were a good size and well kept. We had a comfortable king sized bed, dresser, an armoire containing the fridge and tv, and a small living area with a couch and coffee table. There were two chairs and a table on the patio, as well as a drying rack attached to the wall. The closet had ample space for our things and also contained an ironing board, iron, umbrella, and programmable safe. There was a large tub with jets, his and hers sinks, and a 1500 watt hairdryer in the bathroom. The air conditioning worked very well and was locked in at 65E, which was actually a little on the chilly side! Our room was made up by 1:00 each day. We left $2 US for the maid every day and usually had our bedspread folded into some kind of design when we came back to the room. I usually left another dollar with a note in the fridge asking for more water and beer; that got us 2 cans of Presidente and at least 4 bottles of water each time. For those of you planning a two week stay at this resort, you’ll have to get your room key reprogrammed at the end of your first week (our friends found that out the hard way one evening!) Also, everything you’ve read about the lighting in the rooms is true. It was unbelievably dim in the room, especially in the evenings. Your eyes did adjust so reading in the room wasn’t impossible, but you had to be sitting right next to a lamp. Bringing your own light bulbs from home sounds silly but would definitely be useful.
Restaurants/Bars: The main buffet was okay but nothing to write home about. Breakfast had the usual made to order omelettes and eggs, fruit, juices, etc. We had lunch here twice and the selection was pretty good - pizzas, made to order pastas, lots of fish, meats, and cooked vegetables. I was shocked to see romaine lettuce at the salad bar one day and gobbled it up - that's first time I've ever seen anything besides iceberg lettuce in Punta Cana. We had two dinners at the buffet, one of which was on their Dominican theme night. They had a roasted pig which my husband liked, while I enjoyed the red beans & rice with fish.
For lunch we usually went to the beach restaurant. I preferred this to the main buffet because we could sit on the deck and enjoy the breeze off the water. They served delicious chicken along with an assortment of meats (burgers, hotdogs, and usually pork or beef), pizza, pasta, cooked vegetables, and a salad bar. They had a small selection of desserts and ice cream as well. This was also a convenient spot to enjoy the continental breakfast (very limited selection compared to the main buffet, but it meant you didn’t have to dodge the timeshare guys) or grab a snack later in the afternoon.
Route 66 was our favourite a la carte. The atmosphere was fun, the food was good, and the service was quite fast given how busy the place usually was. My favourite meal was the chicken wrap; my husband loved the "Mother Road" burger (basically a bacon cheeseburger). For appetizers we enjoyed the mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, and nachos - all delicious. We hear the rib eye steak was also quite tasty. Desserts included apple crisp, cheesecake, and a selection of very rich looking milkshakes.
We also tried the Mexican a la carte. We loved the nacho bar for appetizers and the margaritas they brought to the table once we were seated. I enjoyed the fajitas but my husband was pretty disappointed with the three taco combo he ordered. The air conditioning was down the night we dined here so that didn’t add much to the experience for us. We probably would have enjoyed ourselves more if we’d been a little more comfortable.
Food was also available after 11 p.m. at the Overtime Sports bar. They had fresh hotdogs going in a rotisserie machine and pizza, fries, hamburgers and chicken wings. With the exception of the hotdogs, I think it was all leftover stuff from the main buffet, but when you just wanted a quick bite to eat after a night of drinking and dancing, it got the job done.
Mike's Coffee and Tea Bar was fantastic and provided a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a cup of tea or a specialty coffee and snack. Their banana bread and brownies were absolutely heavenly, as were the Irish coffee and frappacinos. Beware the chocolate royal - it's basically amaretto with a splash of hot chocolate...it'll put you on your bottom if you aren't careful! They even do carry-out so you can take your drinks and treats back to your room or out to one of the patio tables to relax with. You can also find photocopies of many major North American and European newspapers here, as well as a small book exchange shelf toward the back of the shop.
Alcohol was available at bars in the lobby (10 am-12 am), the sports bar (5 pm-6 am), pool bars (10 am-7 pm), the beach restaurant (6:30-11 pm) and the disco (11 pm-3 am). Service was pretty fast at all of them. We really enjoyed the atmosphere in the lobby and lobby bar...unfortunately it was closed for renovations on the third day into our stay and we spent the rest of the week listening to the sweet sounds of the jackhammer. Since the lobby bar was unavailable, the sports bar and Mike’s coffee were opened earlier to provide drinks. Bottled Budweiser and Corona were available at the Sports Bar, and my husband enjoyed Canadian Club and Johnny Walker Red in his drinks at all of the bars throughout the week. For a small tip he even managed to get Johnny Walker Black in his drinks at the Sports Bar. I saw Bailey’s and Malibu Rum at several of the bars as well. I didn’t try the house red wine but the white was surprisingly good.
Service: In general, we received good service from the staff. Everyone was friendly, though in many cases I got the impression that smiles were forced and people weren’t very happy. Of all the resorts we’ve been to, the staff here spoke the best English. The bartenders, wait staff, guest services and desk clerks all spoke impeccable English. I tried practising my incredibly bad Spanish on them and the reply always came back in English. While we have fun trying to communicate in Spanish when we’re in the Dominican, it was wonderful to not have much of a language barrier at this resort.
The management was another story. During our stay the resort had some major problems with their water/plumbing system. We had lukewarm water for the first two days of our stay, then only cold water, and then no water at all for a whole day (which led to the lovely smell of raw sewage coming from the villa courtyards and the area in front of the restaurants). Nobody seemed to be able to provide a solid answer as to what the problem was or when it would be fixed. Fortunately the smell and the lack of water was resolved within 24 hours, but for the rest of the week we still did not have hot water to bathe in. I’m all for a cool shower in the Dominican heat, but this was pushing it. Similarly, when one guest had the safe ripped right off his closet wall during a break-in, the managers seemed rather indifferent toward the situation. After speaking with the victim, we learned that security was adamant about not involving the local police. It didn’t seem like much was really being done by the hotel security and management until his tour rep arrived, a good 12 hours after the robbery had taken place.
The lobby and lobby bar were closed for renovations a few days into our visit, and the theatre was closed before we even got there. We were not notified of these closures before we arrived. The only notice of the lobby being closed was a sign posted on the bar on the last evening that it was open. I spoke with my travel agent when we got home and she told us she had just received notice from a tour operator on October 5th stating that the theatre was closed - no mention of the lobby being down for construction. We weren’t concerned about not being able to use the theatre since we don’t normally watch the shows, but the lobby closure really limited the places to sit outdoors if it was raining. There were some patio tables with umbrellas outside the restaurants but those things only do so much to protect you when it’s really coming down!
Beach & Pools: Both pools were open for use but the blue pool bar was closed, so we hung out at the yellow pool. At it’s deepest point, I’m guessing the yellow pool is just over 5 feet deep. There were some built in sun loungers at the end closest to the beach, and a shallow shelf to sit on with steps leading into the deeper part of the pool. Since the hotel was only half full, getting lounge chairs under an umbrella was never an issue.
The beach was very spacious and clean (and beautiful, of course). There were plenty of shady square things available (their version of palapas are square structures with fabric woven across the top to provide shade), although they all looked like they were in need of new ‘roofs’. The hotel knocked a few of them down by the end of their stay so I’m not sure if they were repairing them or perhaps installing something that actually provides shade for the guests. Regardless, we were there for the sun so we were happy to park our loungers out in the full sun.
The swimming area in the ocean was one of the best we’ve ever seen, with an even, flat bottom and no rocks at all. There was no seaweed growing in the swimming area, and the water was clean and clear.
Grounds: The resort is well laid out, with the rooms around the exterior of the resort and the pools and main walkways running up the middle. Everything was easy to find and within walking distance of everything else. I was surprised to see a tram running in a resort of this size, though I’m sure it was appreciated by those with mobility issues or small children. The resort also appeared to be very wheelchair friendly (and stroller friendly) with ramps at all of the buildings and wheelchair accessible stalls in all of the washrooms.
Activities & Entertainment: There is an activities board by the beach that tells you what is scheduled each day. The animation team didn’t seem to be very animated at all and had a difficult time getting people to take part in things. Water aerobics was a popular activity in the morning but otherwise we didn’t see a lot going on. We took part in a hilarious pool game one afternoon early in our stay but the pool activities seemed to die off as the week progressed.
Evening entertainment seemed to fade out over the course of the week as well. For our first few nights, the shows were held in the lobby since the theatre wasn’t available. When they closed the lobby for construction on the Tuesday, the shows were moved into a small conference room near the disco. We did hear a show going on that night while we sat out having a drink, but the rest of the evenings were pretty quiet after that.
Strike bowling alley was a great place to go during inclement weather (which we had plenty of during our visit). Bowling is $15 US per game. You can also purchase socks there for $2 US if you haven't brought any of your own (no socks = no bowling for you!) The air conditioning was down on our first visit which made for a rather sticky game, but they'd fixed it by the end of the week. You can also play pool, ping pong, foosball and air hockey here for no charge. Drinks are available as well.
We went to the disco twice. They have plenty of seating available including two huge square swings that you can sit inside, and a decent sized dance floor. Music was almost all North American pop and rap; I don't recall hearing any bachata or meringue while we were there. I think it opened at 11 p.m. but didn't really get going until closer to 1 a.m.
Archery and tennis are available near the front entrance of the resort, though we never ventured up there to check it out. You can also rent bicycles at the tennis booth, but I’m not sure if you were allowed to ride them outside of the property.
Not sure if this counts as an activity but they do have an internet centre for those wishing to get online. $4 US bought you 15 minutes of surfing time, which was sufficient to shoot off a quick email home and check up on the weather or news. The internet centre is located near the front of the resort, in the same area as Harrison’s Jewellery and the other shops.
Excursions and Shopping: This resort is in a great spot for shopping as the beach vendors are immediately to the left of the hotel. We didn’t bother to venture over as we already have a ton of souvenirs from our previous vacations. The resort has a gift shop, cigar/cigarette store, a small clothing store and a Harrison’s Jewellery boutique. Prices in the gift shop actually seemed pretty reasonable given the strength of the Canadian dollar (i.e. Banana Boat sunblock was $12 US - I’ve paid that much at home before). On Saturday nights the resort allows some vendors to set up shop in the main courtyard area. Perhaps it was worse because there weren’t as many guests for them to sell to but they were unbelievably aggressive - far more so than the vendors we’ve previously encountered on shopping nights at resorts.
We did all of our shopping at Don Lucas cigars. We have visited there on our last three trips and it’s a great place to buy quality cigars and stock up on coffee and rum. They also carry a selection of artwork, jewellery and clothing/sarongs, all at reasonable prices. Transportation to and from Don Lucas is free - just ask desk services to contact them to arrange a pick up time.
We met friends at the new Palma Real shopping centre one evening for cigars and drinks. It looked like any other mall you’d find at home, complete with ritzy looking stores selling the same merchandise you can get at home for cheaper. Save your money - your dollars will go farther at the beach vendors or your hotel gift shop.
Conclusion: While we did have a blast at this resort thanks to a lovely couple that we met from the U.K., we would not return. We weren’t impressed with the hotel’s support of the timeshare vultures - their tactics were downright sneaky and very annoying. We go on vacation to relax, not to worry about how we can avoid being hassled while we try to get breakfast (a firm ‘no thank you’ was not enough to deter these guys). I think that when everything is running smoothly, the Ocean Blue is probably a fantastic resort to vacation at. Unfortunately we got to see how things are handled when they aren’t running smoothly, and that was enough to deter us from returning for a second visit.
I’m happy to share my photos and answer questions - you can email me at ginnyfyris@yahoo.ca
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Gabriele |
I'm glad you had such a wonderful time and reading your review I could see how people would want to go there. However we just got back and had the opposite experience. We also stayed in the Junior Suites. The first day we didn't have any water. The next 6 days we only had cold water. We only got 1 wash cloth and 1 hand towel a day and some of them looked like they were used to wash cars. We didn't get our refrigerator stocked on a regular basis. We got 2 beers on the first night and they were never replaced. The hotel lobby was beautiful when we checked in but that only lasted 1 night. They boarded it up and we got to hear jack hammers the next 2 days. Now this maintenance was scheduled so I think we should have been notified in advance so we could have made other arrangements. I can't complain about the food because it was good when the restaurants were open. Everyday we were given a paper telling us what was closed for the day and there were usually a couple of restaurants closed daily. The theater was never open. The only entertainment was 1 night in the conference room and it was really bad. The bowling alley was closed most of the week. The service in the elite room was poor. The bar service was good but we are also big tippers so it was to their advantage to treat us well.
The people upstairs from us were from England and couldn't wait to leave. Unfortunately the morning they were leaving they opened the closet only to find that someone took their safe off the wall. They lost all their money and passports.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Diane ~ Philadelphia, PA |
My friend and I just returned from a week in Punta Cana. This is part of the island of Hispaniola, located between Cuba and Puerto Rico. One quarter of the island is Haiti, the rest is the Dominican Republic. Punta Cana is on the farthest tip of the Dominican Republic, bordered by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. I was a little apprehensive about the trip because we knew absolutely nothing about the resort but had read some terrible reviews along with the good ones and, it is after-all, a third world country. It didn't help that I could not reach the Ocean Blue Resort by telephone, and that the travel agent told me there were no brochures of the resort available. We had requested rooms in Villa 5 or Villa 6 which I had read were the two best ones, and ones that were usually given to Apple guests. We had not reserved through Apple and were told we had little chance of getting in one of those villas. Agnes and I shared the same viewpoint, however, that it will be an adventure. So with this in mind, off we went.
Our connecting flight through Charlotte went well. When we arrived at Ocean Blue they could not find our name or reservation. Fortunately it was off-season and they were able to accommodate us. We like to think that it was because we were so charming that they put us in Villa 5 without us asking. While we were waiting for a little go-cart to take us and our luggage to the villa, we grabbed a drink at the bar and were whisked away, sitting in the rumble seat facing the rear. We must have been a sight. The grounds were so very beautiful, there was a lovely breeze, everyone we passed shouted "hola" (hello). We were waving our drinks at them and grinning from ear to ear, quite delighted with ourselves.
The lobby and resort were beautiful. Our room was spacious and nicely decorated. We had two queen-size beds and a sofa. We had been warned ahead of time that they only have 40 watt bulbs, so if you wanted to read in bed to take 100 watt bulbs - which we did, fortunately. We each took 100 one dollar bills with us because we were also told to always tip everyone a dollar to get the best service. Upon arrival we gave the maid $2 and told her we wanted mucho aqua por favor. We left $2 every day and had so much water we could have floated a barge. Since we were warned not to drink the tap water and to use bottled water even to brush our teeth, we were covered. We were amazed at how beautiful and sparkling clean everything was.They were constantly scrubbing and polishing and improving. The uniforms on everyone, even the people mopping the floors were immaculate.
The Punta Cana beach is one of the most beautiful I have seen in the Caribbean, and I've been to many of them. We spent most of our time there. There were two gorgeous pools the size of football fields, one of them directly outside our villa door. We spent time in the pool every day on our way back from the beach. A buffet served a huge amount and variety of excellent food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had breakfast there, lunch at an equally large and wonderful buffet on the beach, and tried a different ala cart restaurant each evening. There were 9 restaurants in all. The last night we treated ourselves to a special $40 extra lobster dinner on the beach. It was very good, but we had overindulged in food so much by then that we probably didn't appreciate it as much as we might have.
I had one bout of Montezuma's revenge half-way through the trip and spent that dinner time in bed instead of eating, but I was fine the next day. On the last day my friend developed an allergy of some sort that affected her eyes. We both had very slightly queasy stomachs for the second half of the week. I think it was just too much food of a different type than we are used to. Our favorite restaurant was the Dominican restaurant, La Cana. I had looked forward to coffee and cheesecake at Mike's coffee shop because we read such wonderful reviews about it, but we were both bitterly disappointed. We ordered Latte's once and were given what tasted like hot milk and water. Another time we ordered regular coffee but I found it too weak as well as a little bitter. The cheesecake was tasteless. The coffee in the buffet and in all the restaurants, however, was excellent, strong and flavorful.
We signed up to go horseback riding one day, but instead of using the tour compnay recommended by cheapcaribbbean.com (Turinter), we signed up with one on the beach, which was $10 less. When we went out front to board the van that would take us to the horse farm, we were surprised to find that we were the only two people and instead of a van there was an ancient dirty black car driven by a Dominican who didn't speak English. We watched the tour operator give the driver money. I looked at my friend and said, "Do you think we're being kidnapped? Remember Aruba. We have absolutely no identification on us." She looked concerned for only a minute and told me that the driver was wearing the same color tee-shirt as the tour operator and, who in the world is going to kidnap us anyway? We were driven through the very poor and run down town to a small shop where they told us a truck would soon arrive to take us to the horse farm. There were three other people on the truck so all was well. The horses took us over rocky ground to the beach. Once on the beach they stopped and had us un-mount. They said it was for a rest, which of course we didn't need. The real reason was that other Dominicans had a table set up on the beach to sell us jewelry. After 15 minutes we told them we didn't want to rest and let's proceed. We were back within 10 minutes and were sold CD's boasting photos of us on the horses. We were both happy to help their economy.
Another day we took a boat out into the ocean to snorkel. There were two guides and only two other snorkelers. We were given oatmeal balls to feed the fish. Agnes was inexperienced and not completely comfortable about being in the middle of the ocean despite wearing a life vest, but she did very well. One of the guides took her under his wing and stayed with her the entire hour. He reassured her, pointed out various interesting creatures and gave her a delightful experience. After a few minutes in the water, I realized that the mask I was given leaked, so I went back to the boat the exchange it. Naturally the second guide accompanied me and hopped onto the boat to get me a new one. Because we were now separated from the others, he stayed with me and I saw things and went places I probably would not have on my own. Agnes and I were very fortunate to both get this one-on-one care and tipped our boys five dollars each, which is all we had with us at the time. I hope the amount seemed substantial to them because they were certainly worth it.
I understand that in-season, the resort is crowded, crowded, crowded and that you have to pick up a beach towel and claim a lounge at pool or beach before breakfast in order to save a spot and that you have to stand in line for the ala cart restaurants. We had fantastic attention and none of these problems. Even though it was cloudy the last three days, I would never consider going in-season. The people were very smiley and friendly, I got to practice my high school Spanish and we made out very well. I even had drinks in a sports bar two nights which is something I've never done in my life. Evidently there are a couple of Dominican baseball players with the Boston Red Sox, Big Poppy and Many Rameriz. There was a crowd around the TV and my friend was able to join right in discussing the game - which was Greek to me.
When we arrived at the airport for our flight home - direct this time with no connection, it started to pour. It was a big storm with thunder and lighting and planes were delayed. The rain let up a little so we started down the tarmac to our plane which actually took off on time. The planes do not come up to the terminal, you have to walk to them. It started to rain harder so they had the first 20 people, including us, run to the plane and sent the rest of the passengers back inside. We arrived on the plane soaked and shivering. The others were driven to the plane. Fortunately we could remove our jackets and wrap ourselves in blankets. The flight was only 3-1/2 hours and uneventful. Everything went smoothly and we returned home happy after a very nice vacation and "adventure".
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Jodi |
My husband and myself went to his resort for our anniversary at the end of April. I have read some of the negative reviews and can honestly say, the only thing that I did not like about this resort was the timeshare employees through Royal Holidays. My husband would just put his hand up on our way into the breakfast buffet and say ‘no thanks, not interested’, they never pushed it more than that. Each morning, one of them would start to approach us, my husband would put up his hand, and we would walk away. We never had anyone of them chase us like that one couple said in their review. We did question the guest services about the Royal Holidays employees and they said that they have the right to be here pursuant to their agreement with the resort.
I also did not like the market night because it was placed by the Casino and Restaurants. The vendors do try to get you to come look at their items, which are too high and they also make a comment that “Oh Canada, you have lots of money”. We found that if you just walked the opposite side by the bowling alley, you avoided them completely. Even at the beach market, you had to watch your prices but the absolute best deals were at the “John Wayne” tent on the beach. The young man that worked there was so nice, not pushy and we got some really nice items from him and sent others there.
With respect to the ATM machines, if you go to the ATM in the Casino, you receive US funds. It costs you a bit more for the service charge, but if you need the funds, it is worth it. The resort beside this one also has a bank and you are free to go into that bank to get US funds as well.
We arranged a photo shoot with the photo shop and had the pictures taken on our actual anniversary. It took about 2 hours and the pictures are beautiful, well worth the money. We purchased the CD and had the pictures printed at Sam’s Club when we returned to Canada. The photographers that work there for the personal shoots are so friendly and really know what they are doing.
We tried all of the restaurants and my husband LOVED the Mexican restaurant. We would go to dinner right at 6:30 to get a great seat, then after dinner we would go to the lobby bar and really enjoy the two piece jazz band they had in there every night. We would have a few drinks, listen to some great music and then head over to the night show. We would finish the evening off at the Coffee Shop there the nicest employees worked there, Argentina and Christopher.
We had a great time and found all of the staff polite and accommodating. We are actually going back on January 3rd with our three teenage daughters. I would definitely recommend this resort to anyone, kids or no kids. We had a relaxing vacation and met a lot of nice families and couples while we were there.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Dan & Daryl |
We are a family of four from Ottawa, 2 parents with 2 girls aged 10 and 12 and we stayed at Ocean Blue March 11 to 25. Our previous travel includes Martinique and we've stayed at 3 different resorts in Cuba (5+ and 4 1/2 previously).
Before getting to the review, we have to point out that there was no apparent difference between Ocean Blue and Ocean Sand, as each was essentially a collection of virtually identical villas on opposite sides of the same 750 room resort, all sharing the lobby, restaurants, buffet, pools, and beach. It is somewhat misleading to characterize either resort as a 374 room resort, as one would expect a significantly different experience at a smaller resort.
We booked through Air Transat and bought the "Elite Club" package (also 2 rooms; one for the parents and one for the children) so our review may reflect a slightly different experience than others. It was very expensive because it was during 2 peak weeks, it was the VIP upgrade and we had two rooms-- but we don't regret it. Everyone is looking for a particular experience and has different standards/criteria, so we'll just give a few comments that we hope will be helpful to others.
The Elite package features:
- an Elite Club room off the lobby where you can go during business hours/evening (always had a well stocked premium bar, wine and sparkling on ice, coffee, tea and hors d'oeuvres and cookies or pastries)
- 30 minute internet access per room each day in the Club
- special check in and out from the Elite Club
- premium bar, cigars and fruit basket in each room on check in
- the 2 Elite villas are at the beach (between the beach and the pool-- great location)
- a special breakfast for Elite Club (located at the beach restaurant so it's handy if that's what you want)
- 24 hr room service
- one 30 minute massage per guest
- several hours worth of "motorized' water sports
We found the Elite package worthwhile/worth the expense: well-located Villas right at the beach, exclusive use of the beachfront restaurant for breakfast, towel exchange in the lobby, catamaran ride, and other features listed above. Plus, you could reserve at the a-la-carte restaurants for 6:30 and 9:00 sittings. The Elite Club rooms also had Jacuzzis in them but the building never had enough hot water to use them so that seemed a useless feature.
Our arrival: The Elite check-in is terrific, but we experienced the same several-hour delay in getting our bags in our rooms as the other reviewers who bought the regular package so perhaps this is a challenge they face when they're at 100% capacity. We arrived at the height of a really busy period for the resort and it showed. On arrival at around 1:30 pm, we were politely informed that check-in wasn’t until 3:00. That wasn’t a huge problem for us but then 3:00 became almost 5:00 until our room was ready and our bags were brought to our room. Still, the rooms were nice and they were clean but they lacked the advertised “premium bar”, cigars, and fruit basket that were supposed to have been there upon arrival. The resort corrected that a few days later. Incidentally, our premium bar consisted of two ½ bottles of wine plus ½ bottles of Absolut vodka, scotch, and rum. Our room’s fridge was only stocked with beer twice in the two weeks we were there – a minor disappointment, but not fitting for a VIP service level either.
We got over the disappointing arrival quickly though and really enjoyed having access to the Elite Club room in the lobby. We used the Internet time when we needed respite from the sun.
The good: we had a good time, relaxed, had 2 nice adjacent rooms in villa 10, met many nice people, and enjoyed the many amenities of the resort – including the water sports, the bowling alley, the Elite Club, the beach, and the pools. We meant to try the rock-climbing wall but every time we were in the mood, there was nobody around to set me up. No biggie there, though.
By and large the food was very good (it’s the best resort food we’ve had). We ate about ½ the time in the a-la-cartes and liked the Dominican and Mexican restaurants. The Steakhouse was amazing and our steaks were the best we’ve ever had—our dinner was included in the Elite package but it costs $US35/person for others. The less we write about the American and Italian restaurants the better. Mike’s coffee and pastries were amazing and the coffee was excellent throughout the resort.
It was the best lay out we’ve seen in a resort, with its “town” feel, a “main street” of restaurants and stores etc, and a lovely boulevard to the pools and beach. It is easy to navigate and the shuttle carts ran often.
The few negatives:
· One of the pools (the one closest to the beach) developed an algae problem to which many swimmers were oblivious but we instructed the kids to use the other pool. The water was murky (at only 4’ deep, you couldn’t see the bottom) and it was eventually closed for a couple of days while it was cleaned. It was cleaned within a couple of days of our departure.
· The plastic skimmer grates around the perimeter of the pools were collapsing and a few people (including one of our daughters) stepped right through them – this was dangerous enough for the resort to remove a number of them and cordon off access to one of the pools (ironically, the pool with clean water). During our stay, the boxes of replacement grates arrived and the staff replaced them.
· The beach is not big enough to accommodate the 2,000-3,000+ guest capacity of Ocean Blue/Sand and, while there are a few dozen shade structures, they are woefully inadequate in number – all snapped up by “towel reservations” by 8:00 a.m. You snooze, you lose. On the other hand, the pools had a lot of shade umbrellas – so there were good shade alternatives.
· The poolside entertainment was a turn-off for those seeking some peace – the animation team was exclusively male and at times sexist and too suggestive for a family resort. They positioned the “Miss Bikini” contests directly in front of the kids’ wading pool.
· A portion of the beautiful marble floor in the lobby sank in spite of the resort being only 3 yrs old. They cordoned it off/marked it so people wouldn’t trip. We wondered if the resort was going to have more infrastructure problems into the future.
Despite these few negatives, we would recommend the resort. It certainly had a charm and some unique features.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Ed ~ UK |
I just felt the resort only cared about getting as much cash out of you as possible and nothing else. A guy I met there had a nosebleed and the medical centre wanted to ferry him off for x rays and everything just to get extra cash out of him for example. He knew he only needed a tissue!
First off the staff there are fantastic and friendly, well 90% of them anyway, particularly nice in the bars and restaurants. Other positives are the beautiful beach and beautiful water.
The main Buffet is excellent, has a great variety and will have something for everyone.
Negatives:
Guests Services are a complete joke, they will tell you things that are blatantly inaccurate, and they were rude also. They insisted that we could not book the Italian that it was 1st come 1st served basis. However when we got there the maitre d told us it had been booked out for the night! The next day we rang the Room Service number reserved for Elite Club members [which we weren’t] and managed to book through this. When we informed Guest Services they basically called us liars!
Constant harassing by hawkers:
The resort allows far too many sellers to hassle guests, even when politely told no they will come back for more. We were hoodwinked into a Timeshare presentation whereby I heard the morning sales meeting in session. It was not a nice experience to hear the language of the motivational speeches, it certainly made me feel cheap. They have a Dominican Market too on a Friday night where you will be harassed beyond belief by locals trying to sell you rubbish. We decided to buy a cheap T-Shirt for our niece as a memento and the seller wanted 25 USD for something that would cost 1 in my country or ion the US itself. I found their prostituting of cheap goods at exorbitant prices quite distressing. When you consider the lovely Bar Staff earn approx 8usd per day the attempted justification for a T –Shirt being the equivalent of 3 days wages is staggering.
Water Sports:
Big let down. You can only snorkel in the swimming area where there is nothing to see. Being all inclusive and not from the US we would not have USD cash on us. The deposit on the snorkelling equipment was a staggering 30 dollars. The ATM when it works only dispenses Pesos for which the Hotel will trade against USD at a rate of 29 but when you go to pay for something in Peso they multiply by 33 !
To use the Catamaran you must have experience, to prove your experience you must pay 10d and have a guy go out with you. Otherwise you pay 45 dollars and obtain the licence there. They limit your usage to half an hour so you can’t really go far.
They will constantly try to sell you day trips which are a big rip off. The day trip to Sauna is beautiful but the Resort will charge 99 dollars pp. We got it on the Beach for 60 pp and ended up on the same Bus and tour as people who paid 99.
Without doubt however the most annoying thing was the constant de-activating of our Room Key Cards, when you’ve had a long day at the beach and you need that shower the last thing you want is the 10 minute walk up to reception to have your card re-activated, this happened to us on 4 occasions. The last time I refused to go up and made them come down I was so frustrated.
The rooms are a let down too, most definitely not 5 star.
If you are travelling with Kids I’d recommend this place because its vast but if you’re a couple of quiet disposition I’d give it a miss and try somewhere else.
PS- I saw Rats at the Beach Buffet on the decking at night time, they come up through the gaps in the tree trunks.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Mike & Linda ~ Ellicott City, MD |
We traveled the week of 6/20 through 6/27 to the Ocean Blue/Ocean Sand resort in Punta Cana, two adults, two 14 year old girls and two 18 year old girls. There have been plenty of detailed reports posted here, so I will just hit some of the high points and maybe try and debunk some of the myths.
We traveled with Apple Tours, have used them many times with excellent results.
Apple uses USA 3000 airlines out of Baltimore as a charter service. The flight down was convenient - direct, non-stop. Take your own food with you, they ran out of breakfast sandwiches before they got to our row.
Good idea from this forum about light bulbs, we took two 100 watt bulbs - one for the bathroom and one for the bedside lamp - and they were well worth it (the mini flourescents they use are only 45 watts) Packing tip - wrap each one in a folded over athletic sock.
Best restaurant - Italian. Go down a little early and put your name on the list, it is by far the most popular. Grab a drink at the sports bar and sit out front of the restaurant for awhile, they'll come out and get you when your table is ready.
Best dessert - chocolate ice cream. Haagen Dazs quality.
Best tasting Pina Colada - Bar at the La Cana beach restaurant, although you will be hard pressed to find one anywhere that isn't watery, they just can't get them cold enough. Be careful - Pina Coladas, Coco Locos and other similar drinks all contain coconut milk, which is a natural laxative. Much of the intestinal distress that's blamed on the food at these types of resorts is actually due to the ten Pina Coladas by the beach!!
As for some of the other negative comments I've seen:
1. Not once during the entire week was I approached about a timeshare.
2. If it takes you 20 minutes to walk from the beach to the front desk, you must be hopping on one foot! 10 minutes max, and North Americans in general could do with a little more walking and less eating anyway.
3. Not once did anyone working at the resort ask me for any money. I tipped when I felt like it, and those who received it seemed genuinely grateful.
4. Our room in Villa 3 was spotless with no odor, and remained that way all week.
One final tip. If your flight leaves out of terminal 1 at Punta Cana airport, you will find yourself waiting for 1 1/2 to 2 hours in an un-airconditioned space. Walk over past the food court and down the stairs into terminal 2 and wait in air conditioned comfort until it's time to board your flight.
Overall we would rate this resort very highly - the best of the 8 all inclusives we have been to. Quite possibly the best beach overall I have seen.
Feel free to email me with any questions - mfhendricks@esaheatac.com
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Jack ~ Ohio |
We had 8 people in our group from northern Ohio 2 families <2adults 2 children 11yr.boy&13yr.girl> <2adults 2 young adult Boys 18 &21> This was our first all-inclusive trip and first to this area. We booked with apple vacations and we were very pleased with their service. Our plane could not land at Punta Cana airport due to a plane blowing a tire so our plane was sent to LA ROMA airport we were very pleased with apple and how they handled this situation while we were in flight they had buses at the airport with represenitives who rode with us to our resorts kind of got a free tour of the island on the way.
Apple reps at the resort were great to deal with and handled our excursions and any problems at the Hotel [No towels in room after 5p.m. and delay on in room safe repairs]In room safes are great but ours needed fixed 4 times during our stay. We did a snorkel trip and the outback safari{this one was great ask for sammy as a guide } This Island is about relaxing and having a good time keep this in mind and you will have a wonderful time. The hotel is big and we did not notice it to be crowded probably time of year so this was a plus. No waiting for dinner at all but the doors open at the restaurants at 6:30 and we were in line by6:10 to 15 and we were 3rd to 5th in line so there were plenty of tables for people coming a bit later and they do fill up fast so don't wait to long to go to dinner because then you might wait a bit longer. There are 5 restaurants and a buffet and 2 you pay extra for and we did not try them or the route 66 , we liked the Italian best the servers and hostess were very fun here and loved there mamawanna shots with all of us. The Mexican was good also. Buffet were okay at breakfast lunch and dinner. They are buffet, I'm not sure what people expect from them but all of us found something we liked at each one. Mikes Coffee House is as good as everybody says so try it.
The Theater at night for entertainment we tried twice it was not that good and maybe if it wasn’t so loud you could follow it a little better. They try to give you a good time so all is well.
The pools were very big and the staff does a lot of things to entertain you while your there, If you want participate and if not relax and enjoy the sun or drink at the pool bars or head to the beach the water is great. Plenty of chairs to be had.
Lastly our room it was spacious all tile floors and marble bathrooms no musty smell in our room, beds where comfy maid kept it clean just had to keep asking her for coffee for the coffee maker and beer for the fridge she did keep water in there for us. Also we were in villa 5, I think that’s for apple customers because the reps were right there for you. Suggestions for light bulbs is a good idea all low watt conservation bulbs and they are not real bright.
One last thing we did use our credit cards for excursions and for a massage at the pool.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Kim and Barry ~ St. Louis, MO |
Overall, this resort was great. I would disregard the review from May, 2007 that said everything was terrible. That person was obviously very crabby. I think the majority of the negative comments you may read about this resort results from going during the high season when it is very crowded. We had no troubles at all, with the exception of not being able to use our credit card at the hotel (see below).
Check-In; Elite Club - Check in was very easy. If you upgrade to the Deluxe Junior Suites, you are members of the Elite Club and this is DEFINITELY worth the price. Elite Club members have their own reception area and check in was fast and easy. We had four rooms in our group of 13 people and one of them was ready when we got there at noon, so we all put our luggage in there. The rest of the rooms weren't ready until 3:00.
Some of the great things about being in the Elite Club: you have someone there to assist you at all times. They spoke great English and took great care of you. You get extras like unlimited beach towels (others have to turn in a towel card and get one towel in exchange), fresh fruit in the room every day, 24-hour room service (kids took advantage of this nightly), 30 minutes of free internet access daily, 5 bottles of various hard liquor in your room at arrival, robes and slippers, 30-minute massages for each adult, 1 hour watersport per room (we did the banana boat), 30-minute catamaran ride, one free dinner per person at one of the two upscale restaurants where others have to pay (do the lobster dinner on the beach - it's great!), free horseback riding excursion (although the horses looked very underfed)...I'm probably missing something that's included for the Elite Club. Definitely worth it!
I'll try to address the negative comments from a previous review.
| Ocean Sand/Ocean Blue Golf & Beach Resort | Jobe |
We stayed at OB for three days, from May 19-May 22, 2007. We were so disappointed in the lack of professionalism and service and we ran from the resort after experiencing an assault by a timeshare salesman and utterly rude staff. We moved to Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana, and have given some comparisons of the two hotels.
We checked in at OB on May 19, 2007. The entire lobby was destroyed and under construction. A manager greeted us and led us through a maze of debris, where we were finally able to reach the front desk. We were given towel cards, our room assignment and were quickly directed to our room. Our luggage appeared promptly by a bellboy. On the face the hotel was ok, but we are giving this resort 1 star (we’d give it 0 if we could) due to the outrageous behavior we received from staff, management and timeshare people. ROOM: The room was of standard value and acceptable. It was weird how the lights were situated, a little bit dull, but no big deal. The sheets barely covered the mattress which appeared to be quite dirty. The bathroom was fine, nothing special. GROUNDS: We toured the grounds, pool and beach and found them to be satisfactory. STAFF: The staff was so-so, but tended to be rude and unhelpful. While we are both U.S. citizens, we are both fluent in Spanish, and took the opportunity to speak with many of the staff. They voiced an unhappiness as employees of OB and their behavior reflected their discontent. FOOD: The buffets were ok. We expected the bland type of food you get at the all-inclusives. In comparison to Gran Bahia, the food at OB was low level. It was not nearly as fresh as Gran Bahia’s, not nearly as many options, and the people serving you were less than happy. I had one staff member grab the spoon out of my hand and slam it down on the counter. She looked really mad. Weird. RESTAURANTS: What a joke. The big push with Ocean Blue is that you don’t have to make reservations to eat at their ala carte restaurants. Well, you’ll never get a seat at one so that kind of takes away from any pro over other hotels. We tried to vary our times, early, mid-dinner, late, didn’t matter. They actually need reservations there, it was total chaos. We ate at one restaurant – the Mexican one, and it was just awful. I had a dinner made up of chips and salsa. After eating the food there, there was no way we were going to waste money on the pay lobster or steakhouse restaurant. We asked one lady in the Italian restaurant if we could be put on the list, and she yelled that we would not be able to eat there that night.TIMESHARE PEOPLE: This is what made us up and leave, almost immediately. We could have lived with the other stuff, but this was way beyond normal. Timeshare men were stationed directly outside of the main buffet dining room, the only place we could get breakfast. They waited like vultures and attacked guests entering or exiting. They also were not limited to the buffet restaurant, but had FREE REIGN of the entire hotel including the pool area. The hotel staff was oblivious to us and other visibly annoyed guests as they went about their regular duties. We had one specific timeshare salesman bother us all three days we were there. But on the 2nd day, he accosted us at our breakfast table. When we left, he followed us throughout hotel grounds, and his behavior was very aggressive. He blocked our path, at which time we both tried to move around him. He continued to stand in our way and yelled at us, demanding to know why we were not interested. We repeated the same phrase, that we were not interested. The man then man grabbed my arm. I yanked it free, and he flipped my hat off of my head. I saw him do this same move to an elderly man. We realized that the situation was becoming potentially volatile, and we started for our villa. The man pursued, and finally we entered a nearby bar in order to escape and not let the man know which villa we in. We talked to the bartender about the situation, asking for management, to which the bartender replied: “Sorry, no manager.” When we left the bar, we spotted the man waiting for us, from a distance, but close enough to see where we were going. When we got to our villa, the salesman waited outside the entrance; glaring and yelling. The encounter made us very uncomfortable and in fear of our personal safety. We went to the front desk and asked for a manager. We explained the assault. He shrugged and said there was nothing he could do. At that point, we made the decision to leave the resort so that we could salvage what was left of our vacation. PAYPHONES: From our room, we called the front desk and asked about payphones. The front desk person told us that no payphones existed in the hotel, only lobby phones. We asked about pay phones in the nearby shopping area, Plaza Bavaro, and were told that no pay phones existed there either. The front desk person we spoke with in the lobby told us that no matter which phone we used, either in the lobby or the room, we would be charged a fee of $2.71 per minute for connection charges, whether dialing a toll free telephone number or not. We ignored the front desk and hired a cab to