Occidental Punta Cana: Absolutely Beautiful Resort

Our stay at the Occidental Punta Cana was amazing! Wonderful people, beautiful, clean resort! I do not recommend going to Punta Cana with Pesos because all they take is American so we got ripped off huge! The airport was a complete nightmare as they only accept American or credit card! Well when you don't have either and have to exchange Canadian to American, they ROB you! Which happened to us because we were starving because 6 hours of waiting because our plane was delayed we were starving and [... read more] dying of thirst so we had to spend money! Would love compensation from Air Transat as well because they were horrible! Won't be flying with them again! Not too sure if I want to go back to Dominican again unless the American dollar is good and we can exchange it here! I wish we knew better! But again, the resort was great and I would stay there again if we went back!

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Lacking in many areas

If you are looking for a cheaper resort and not picky about food or service, you might be OK. here is the good and the bad... PROS clean rooms beautiful beach and pool areas great outdoor activities and staff excellent massage and spa lots to do CONS 1/ We were told we could not make dinner reservations before we arrived. After checking in, we went straight to the concierge only to find out that we couldn't get in to most of the restaurants, as they were fully booked. Well, unless of  [... read more]course you wanted a 10:45pm reservation!! 2/ We tried to show up at the Italian restaurant one night just to see if there were any tables available or any no shows. The hostess just kept walking by us and didn't acknowledge us at all. There were a few empty tables. 3/ Staff at all the restaurants and buffet were not interested in serving anyone! It took 30 min for us to get coffee one morning at breakfast in the buffet area after asking several times. And this was the case everyday for breakfast and lunch. no napkins or cutlery, waited for water fill ups etc. Many of the staff did not speak English and even though we had someone in our group who spoke Spanish, they ignored us. 4/ Food was mostly cold; not just in the buffet but also the nice restaurants we were able to get into and not just once, but EVERYTIME. The quality of the food was OK, not great! You would think at the specialty restaurants, it would be better but it wasn't. 5/ When you check in, they give you a coupon for 25% off services such as early check out, spa etc. We made massage appointments but then went to have our coupon applied, we were told the 25% was included in the price. Uh NO! there was nothing on the coupon or the spa menu that stated this. False advertising for sure. 6/ The nightly entertainment was bad. I mean really bad. The sound system was awful and you couldn't really hear the singers; maybe a good thing as they were out of tune. The dance numbers were not well choreographed and dancers were out of sync. There was one woman’s dance number that was AMAZING, but that was all. It was not entertaining! Overall, like I mentioned above, if food and service are not important, you will be OK here. This resort is marketed as a 4 star, so that is what we are expecting. (and yes I realize 4 star in Dominican is not like the 4 star we have at home) I would say it is a 3 at best.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Disappointed

Rooms very dated. The sister resort which allowed children was much more updated in terms of the room etc. First time I have Been to a resort and paid for adults only and the people who did not pay for adults only could come over to our see of the resort ? The main thing that stuck out for me s EVERYONE on staff was very unhappy. I have travelled extensively and I have never experienced such an uncaring,unresponsive staff ..... Management issue????

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Great resort!

The resort was very well maintained. Our room was very clean. We were very impressed and enjoyed our stay. Overall, the food was very good and the only change I would recommend is changing out the food choices in the beach grills more frequently.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Barcelo is amazing...We'll Be Back!!!

This was our second trip to Barcelo Maya Palace...We have been spoiled!!! - The rooms were spotless and grounds were meticulously maintained - Resort staff were always friendly and helpful - The beach was amazing as were the pools - The bars were always close by with extensive drink selections - The buffets served amazing meals at breakfast and lunch with wide selection of choices - The a la carte restaurants for dinner were simply the very best Trip Central staff made the booking smoot [... read more]h and efficient AIr Transat and ground transportation were excellent

Occidental Tucancun: Amazing Stay!

This was our first time staying at the Occidental Tucancun. I travelled with my boyfriend looking to have a relaxing vacation and we had just that! We arrived at the resort around 11pm our first evening. We met the lovely Nelly, the cocktail waitress that evening. I suggest getting the mango margarita! They are unbelievable! The beach is just beautiful, those waves do get pretty big! But the water is so refreshing and crystal clear. We spent everyday on chairs on the beach. One great thing is th [... read more]at you dont have to wake up at 6am to get a spot! And there are always chairs on the beach available. If you do want a shaded spot by the adult pool however you do need to get there early they are almost all shaded and get scooped up quickly! The Mexican restaurant was our favourite by far. But all of the a la cartes were quite good. The food all around is very good. Omlettes in the morning were fantastic. Our rooms were spacious and the beds firm but comfy. If you can get the chance to request an ocean view I would, our room was facing the back of the mall across the street, however if you looked out the window while laying down you still saw beautiful water. Every employee we met greeted us with a smile and were very helpful. The only thing I would have to say that I felt was a negative possibly for some was that wifi was $12USD per day. We opted against it but we were okay going without our phones for the week. I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation in Mexico!

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Always great to return to Barcelona!

Lovely grounds, beautiful pools and stunning beach. It never feels busy, and the service is great. Lots of food options, all good, and they now offer more a la carte reservations. We've been back five times and can't seem to settle for anywhere else. The location is great for trips to Tulum, Akumal and Playa del Carmen. We will be back again.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Amazing!

Loved that I paid for one and had access to all the other resorts except palace unless we wanted to pay a little bit. I loved the variety of the buffet and all staff were very friendly. I didn't want to leave. Will recommend and come back again!

Barcelo Gran Faro Los Cabos: Amazing!!!

The staff were wonderful, very helpful and friendly. The food was great! Our room was clean. The entertainment was entertaining. We enjoyed the different themes each night. We had a great time! Would love to come back!

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Beautiful Beach, Unhappy Staff

Bavaro beach is beautiful in every way. The property is very nice. Not much in the way of entertainment or night life. The biggest downfall was found in the staff. Overall seemed disengaged and not very happy. Rare that they would say holas as they passed by. It's safe to say that 1 in 20 were happy and service minded. Barceló needs to assess the employment engagement level. So if I had lower expectation of the staff my rating for the resort would have been higher.

Occidental Nuevo Vallarta: Great time

It is a great resort, the people were very friendly and the grounds beautiful. We would go there again and highly recommend it. The only complaint is that for a few days there were too many people there, too many kids screaming and people running and screaming in the halls at night.

Occidental Punta Cana: Occidental Punta Cana

The hotel was was ok but we had no TV for 3 days. We had a problem with the door for one day my husband had to stay in the hot heat to wait for the repair man to fix our door handle. No huts on the beach as it showed on picture and my husband and I had no shade and husband has lupus of the skin!! The front desk was not helpful at all. The advisors were more helpful then staff not organized at all just empty promises!!!The rep for Air Trans were not helpful at all!!! No wifi always problems. Food [... read more] was always the same at the buffet.The restaurant were excellent!!!

Barcelo Maya Colonial: What a paradise!!!!

My daughter and myself just spent a week at the Barcelo Maya Colonial resort in Riviera Maya. This being my6th visit to same area of Mexico I would say by far the nicest resort I have experienced. The place was immaculate, the staff were helpful on any issue we came with. Anything we requested came promptly with a smile. The staff were at all times profession and although we were placed on ground level with patio doors, which I was nervous about, never did I feel unsafe there. The restaurants we [... read more]re plentiful, the pools were never ending and spotless. The grounds also immaculate. Our transit representative also extremely helpful and available. There was so much to see and do there we never left the resort. It was also nice to see so many families and children vacationing together in large groups with so much available to keep the young ones busy. It was quiet at night but activities available for those who enjoy the night life. I would recommend this resort to any family and friend of mine.

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Barceil Arenas Blancas, Varedero, Cuba

The resort was clean and comfortable but a bit dated. The food and drinks were great. Pools were nice and the beach was beautiful ( and a 2 minute walk from the hotel) Staff were very friendly. Good value for money.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Beautiful Resort!

The hotel grounds were pristinly kept and very clean. Beautiful gardens and beach front. The food was mediocre to good but nothing spectacular in my opinion. Staff was very friendly and overall one of the nicest resorts I have been to.

Barcelo Karmina: great resort

I found the food and resort to be above average. Loved the pool as well as the beach The only thing that I found that was lacking was the drink service. Even when I tipped heavy for the first drink I hardly saw the pool waiters. Always a line up at the bar for a drink.

Barcelo Karmina: Great resort

Everything was great. Only complaint was that the pool was too cold to be comfortable to swim in which was unfortunate. Food was good. Since I am a young mom it seemed like the waitstaff at meals didn't care too much about keeping on top of our table, my guess is that they didn't think I would tip or something of that nature.

Barcelo Montelimar: Relaxed because of deficiency’s

I am a female 58 years old with my 79 yr old mom, we both have traveled , understand that a star system is per country and not a universal system. We left from Toronto Ontario on Air Transat, flight uneventful for us BUT YOUR PASSPORT MUST NOT EXPIRE WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF YOUR TRIP TO NICARGUA OR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ON PLANE. There was a young lady who did not get to go on her trip as well as 2 other people on a plane going down when were to be picked up. There has beenn only 10 loads of  [... read more]Canadians this year brought to this resort (this includes Toronto and Montreal guest.) as Air transat just started to offer this resort this year. Going through customs is a two stage process, easy. You are met outside of customs by the air transat rep who will direct you to the bus. On the bus you will be given your hotel room package, towel cards, room cards information about beach , map of resort. Be forewarned the bus ride is 2 hours and if you have motion sickness take a gravel or whatever you need to survive the ride. There is no bypass around the city where you land . The city traffic is congested at any time as population of city is 1.35 million people. It will take just over an hour to get out city to highway which is cobble stone.. another hour to resort . The air transat rep will be on the bus with you and telling you about the area . You will arrive around 5 30 - 6 pm local time. You loose an hour upon landing. It is a long day to get there . The next morning you are invited to the air transat talk, this will be up at the entertainment area (the big tent area that you can see from the beach) When you finally get to resort you will be met with dancers and a drink and you are on your own to find your room (you are given resort map in your package) your luggage will be sent to your room apparently in 20 minutes.. Good luck on that … You can take a shuttle to your room , if you choose to do that you can get shuttle out front of lobby. It will be a white shuttle bus .. Our room was a bungalow , if you thinking of booking an ocean view bungalow - you will see the ocean a) if you can find an open spot in the beautiful vegetation, b) if you jump up and down but only if you are in the right spot. simply don't waste your money.. Just book a bungalow and go with that. If you want a bungalow near the main pool book in the one hundred or two hundreds section. In your room you will find flat screen tv, mini bar,, first day you will find beer pop and water, rest of week you will only be restocked water and pop only. In bathroom you will find facecloths and other towels, with soap , shampoo in a dispenser. There will be a tooth brush and tooth paste bundle, razor package, q tips and make pads package . Closet will have iron and board, umbrella your digital safe is there, extra pillow and blanket. Four pillows on bed . There is an alarm clock, ice bucket. (where you can get ice from one of the 5 lower bars , or hotel that has ice machines on every floor, or use the ice from the pop machines in buffet. There are small water glasses and coffee machine, if you look in the casino pamphlet you should find $10 casino money … outside of room are two chairs, small table and a hammock over looking the beautiful vegetation. If you go down to the furthest part of resort (500 section) you will find a bar close to beach, quad, surf board or horse rental.. The beach in front of resort is over ½ mile long and goes on further past resort… Past resort there are T shirt shack, shack shack own by locals who live behind their shack. If you go to the last shack you will get a better price on t shirt going price is $4. Lower level Section 400 you find bar near beach Main pool in front of hotel has bar and snack bar ping pong table, corn hole game , volley ball and basket ball (pool) store, massage . Beauty salon and photo store. Stair case that will take you to hotel area, lobby has internet cafe, bar and pay phone, just off lobby is pharmacy , doctors office and a bank ... just off main pool you will find an adult only pool and fitness equipment hotel has bar from the grounds you have to go up an elevator to top floor to lobby buffet is by the 100 section ocean front it is open and if you have an issue with birds well you will still have your bird issue there past the 100 section going towards Casino is the kids area with a pool , bar, book lending library (mostly religious books), ping pong table any you get boogie boards there across the road there is a baby pool with a very tiny adult type pool area. Close by is a mini golf area which needs some tender care as it is in very rough shape. Here you will most likely find a herd of white tail deer peacocks and cage parrots .. Note if you are going to play mini golf wear bug spray. The bugs are thick in this area. Upper Level The casino, disco, pool table, bar, al cartes and entertainment area is close by but requires going up lot of stairs, if you walk the road it is very steep. You can get a shuttle up to here. Please note from the bottom of the stairs to the end of section 500 it is ½ mile and it you are walking back to your room in high heels , you are in for a very rough road. Please note there is a shuttle that runs down two roads of the resort and stops at the bus shelters every 20 minutes and does not run past mid night. All the bars in the lower level including lobby are only open from 10 am to 7 pm if you want a drink after that you must go to the (upper level) the bar by the entertainment hours are 7pm to 11 pm and then you can only get a drink in the casino after that The Entertainment needs a huge improvement . It truly was not worth wasting the time to go to it. It was loud and poor. Two nights in a row of karaoke. A trany show and a few others, there was one night worth going to and it was a local band who played . The Disco was another waste of time. No one went in unless it was on week end , the local would use it . There are slot machines, and pool table and very few chairs .. To get to disco go through casino. Casino is on second floor is played with either US$ or local money. All the al cartes are very good , you can not go wrong with any of them, you get to choose two for every week you are there, To enter any of the al cartes you must enter through the Italian and they will take you the Seafood or Japanese. Note: if you are Canadian on the weekends you are offered to have lunch in the italian restaurant as the resort get very busy Wifi works on and off , it cost I believe it is $12 a day $35 for a week , you can get some free stuff, BUT it is Slllllllooooowwww .. If you become a Barcelo member you should be able to get you Wifi for free.. but you get the slowwwww free stuff. You have to bring all your devices to the internet location in lobby to be hooked .. Food in general is good, I can make a meal out of everything. I had nothing to complain about. Al cartes were excellent service very slow … it may be bland but salt and pepper is on every table and other spice can be found on buffet you must remember what is bland to me is not bland to you they are feeding different nations and different tastes. Tipping not required but appreciated if service is remarkable and the dollar store stuff not required . Tip them so they can purchase what ever they need not what you think they need. Health care and education are free Tourism workers and agriculture workers are the highest paid workers beside doctor and lawyers. You can only use so many baseball caps,,, or nail polish. Cash is King… Note the sun set very early 6 - 630 pm and it is dark bring a flashlight as it is dark around the resort . Deficiency Please note there have been only 10 plane loads of travelers brought to this resort as it just started catering to Canadians this year --- Two plane loads a week one Montreal and one from Toronto , Staff lack of english language. I have no idea most the time what they were saying but we managed. Somehow ... If you have a mobility issue this resort is not for you, roads and walk ways are rough, the step to get into shuttle is high . All the bars on lower level close at 7 pm which forces you to go up to the upper level of resort if you want a drink. Open a bar for later use. Not everyone goes to the al carte or buffet early … Swimming in ocean at this time of year is out of the question , the beach when asking the staff has been red flagged for months. The undertow is really strong ,,, and there is also a warning about stingrays hanging around the beach. there is ½ mile of beach and no activities are done on beach,,, lots of empty loungers There is no lobby bar or an area where you can go beside the upper level to socialize with other guest (the lobby bar closes also at 7 pm ) I would bring a small band down to lobby and open the bar up until midnight . A place to socialize, some place you can hear your self speak … and enjoy the company of other guest. The Buffet opens at 7 o clock for dinner , that is very late if you have young children, they want to eat and just go to bed, The buffet hours of opening need to be changed. One pool needs to stay open past 7 , it is still warm . The lounge chairs are filthy dirt and lots of bird poop on them .. and pool deck area need a very good cleaning. Power washing them would work …. Activity staff need to get things going. Water activities .. water aerobics, water volley ball . They have this great pool and the staff don't really use for any activities. If someone had any chance of doing a business, there is this great runway to land small planes on right beside resort. If someone had a small plane that could land at this runway from the main airport instead of taking the bus at a reasonable cost. When I asked about this possibility I was told $2500 US to do this , there would be a booming business as the two hour bus ride to to travel 75 kilometers is very hard on some people. But it would have to be a reasonable cost. It would be a 15 minute ride at most. Allow any private guide up to the lobby area to pick up their clients. Ask the client to tell front desk so these arrangements can be made so the driver can get past security. The security gate is far walk for the elderly, it is why a private guide has been hired not to be herded like cattle of big bus. The resort pamphlet needs to be typed reset so it is reasonable to be read resort map key is as followed 1 reception 2 stores 3 main pool 4 jacuzzi (adult pool) and fitness area 5 Tennis court there is a bar in this area also (rentals are in this area quads, horses, surf boards) 6 bar area around 400 section 7 buffet 8 kids club 9 mini golf area 10 al cartes casino, disco and entertainment here is the following of excursions from resort. Please note all excursions are 1 ½ to 2 hours from resort . Masaya volcano on a saturday 8 am to 5 pm cost $79 each Granada Day trip on a Sunday 8 am to 5 pm cost $89 please note anyone that went on this tour all commented they did not see much in Granada as most the city was shut down for sundays (religon reason as 95% of country is roman catholic) No over night trip offered anymore just a day trip Mombacho Volcano and canopy “Zip lining” on a Wed cost $100 each Sand boarding Cerro Negro Volcano on a Tuesday 7 am to 5 pm cost $89 and $10 equipment rental Ometepe Island two day leaves at 6 am cost $180 leaving day unknown Coffee Plantation on a Wed. cost $76 Volcanoe's route NOT OFFERED ANYMORE Mantagalpa and La Sombra Tour TBA $150 I used a private company Golocal . I had a driver from 730 am until 5 pm , He was excellent, spoke english very well, informative and catered to my 79 year old mom. I researched this company I was very happy with the service I received. He took us to places that were not on any of the excursion offered from resort …. Would I go to this resort again??? , not until some of the deficiency have been corrected and I would only stay if it was offered as a 10 day trip , 2 weeks is to long , one week is to short.. considering the travel time . The trip home was very long. You have to meet in lobby at 9 30 am and you don't land in Toronto until at least 9 30 – 10 pm through customs and pick luggage up . You are talking about a 13 hour travel day. Worth a one week trip that would be up to you. You will see my handle here on trip advisor is small world traveller.. how small is this world . I live in a village of 6500 (includes chicken sheep ) the next town is 18000 people . there were two couples from the next town and another couple from my village at the resort .. Yes it is a very small world … the two couples know each other and we all booked with different companies ….. PS electricity is the same as here in Canada no need for an adapter kit and if there is a need for hair dryer it is provided

Occidental Punta Cana: Beautiful resort

This Hotel had everything you needed the restaurants were great! loved the live shows and entertainment they had every night beautiful pools the service was great really enjoyed our stay would definitely go back

Occidental Caribe: Fun times at the occidental

The beach is stunning, rooms a little dated and could use a little more entertainment but overall we had a great time. The food is a 7/10 but lots of variety and plenty of fresh fruit and veggies. The foam party and beach party were a nice touch. Overall the staff could be a little more helpful but they do go out of their way for you. Overall it was a nice resort but the beach is stunning and clean.