Very good overall resort / Better than average food / Mediocre beach area

We've traveled to multiple AI resorts 2-3 times a year for over 20 years. I'm in my mid-40s, and I'm not that difficult. I know what I like and what to expect for the price paid. My fiancé and I traveled with our 10-year-old daughter for this trip. I always do a lot of searching and reading before booking a vacation so that I know what to expect from the chosen resort or hotel. This was my first time at an Ocean brand hotel, as I often travel with Iberostar Selection and Riu Palace brand hot [... read more]els. I’ll make it easy for you: If you like the beach, this is probably not your resort. If you prefer a large pool area and THE AMAZING LAZY RIVER, this resort has a lot to offer. This may be your next destination. CHECK-IN: • Very fast and effective (with that in mind, I found that the front guest staff could be a little cheerful and have a warmer welcome if I compared it to another hotel). GUESS EXPERIENCE: • Awesome service, very attentive, and helped a lot with a few issues I had with booking restaurants. • They also assisted me with my fiancé's birthday that week with a cake from the pastry chef. • I felt that if I asked for something, they would do everything in their power to accommodate. OVERALL STAFF: • Excellent service everywhere. • Did not give more attention to people who tip or do not. (I gave 1$ a drink on average) • The restaurant staff was good and accommodating for different plate requests. • The bartenders were great, especially Ricardo & Domingo at the pool bar. (I’m the Bloody Caesar guy from last week ? ) and Joel and Juan at the sports bar. ROOMS: • Very large junior suite with a nice set-up of chairs on the balcony. • My view was very disappointing to me as I normally upgrade my view at the resort while checking. But the price was Ridiculous and no bargaining on the deal. Upgrade from Garden view to Pool view to Ocean. • Could use a refresh in the bathroom and shower area. (Don’t expect a 5* room here, yes, it has some corners with mold, but everything is functional) • As you will probably read from another review, the room is musty, which indicates moisture problems and poor air circulation. We asked for a dehumidifier that arrived the same night and fixed the problem for us (except that it leaked the last night). • The cleaning lady was prompt and effective but never changed our bed sheets for the 7-night stay. • Ask for more beer and water, and it was not a problem (6 bottles of water / 4 beers every day). *We tip the cleaning lady 5$ USD every day. We also tip the staff the replenish the fridge. RESTAURANTS: • The food was amazing if compared to other AI resorts at that price range. • All à la carte was all good, we preferred the Mexican, which needed no reservation. • A few issues at the Blue Lagoon (adult only) for my Fiancé b-day because they booked us there and have a 10-year-old with us. (but managed to accommodate us after a brief missed communication ) POOLS & LAZY RIVER: • A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. BEACH • Windy and rocky. You don’t go to this place for the beach. PROS : Excellent food. Drinks & Cocktails were good ( I was not privileged, but 200 x 1$ USD gets you a long way. I was drinking Don Julio and Crown Royal by day 3.) Service above average Large rooms (fits a family perfectly) Lazy River CONS: BEACH. Stuff gets stolen around the resort. be careful and don’t leave anything behind. Communication among staff could be better. Don’t bother emailing the resort before, as you won’t get any more perks upon arrival (sorry, Carlos C) All-around entertainment could be better. Would I return? YES, it all depends on the price. We received an outstanding deal for this one compared to what others paid, and we would return without hesitation at the price we paid. Thank you to everyone at the Ocean El Faro for an amazing week. We might see you again ?

April vacation

The hotel was lovely. The staff was friendly and always willing to help if needed. The entertainment was great, never a dull moment. I would go back in a heartbeat. Thank you for a wonderful vacation!

Amazing resort

We were there April 1st to the 8th/25. We had no complaints. Hotel was beautiful, good drinks, good food, good entertainment. I would definitely would return. The weather was perfect. Staff and people were great

Very good resort

Rooms were great and kept well. Resort is massive and lots of walking which we loved. Lazy River and kids pool looked good. We were on the el Beso side for adults and it was quiet. Reservations were easy to get if you woke up and used app at 8am each day which we did. Italian , Steak and Tappenaki were great. Mikes coffee shop was great but lobby bar equally great with lattes and espressos and no line up. Tennis academy was very good for private lessons.

Very good all around resort

Very flat and ease of walking to resort's attractions and emenities. Good mix of restaurants and wonderful food for the most part. Very likeable staff and pleasant to be around. Room was great. We were on the third floor with a nice big covered balcony. Our building had 84 units; with 2 sets of stairs and 2 elevators at opposite ends of the building. A good resort for all ages. A nice main lobby with a big main bar, seating areas and piano bar. The Air Transat rep was present and very helpful [... read more]. We did not seek an adults only section or an upgraded room this time and were pleasantly surprised at our satisfaction. Lots to do for kids and pools and beach areas for everyone. Nice place and would recommend to anyone.

Great Resort!

The resort was very clean, with beautiful pools and amenities. Lots of food options at the buffet and nice restaurants for dinner. The beach party was especially fun! We brought snorkel gear and saw lots of fish, sea urchins, and a stingray.

Ocean el faro overview

The lobby is absolutely gorgeous. The bar tenders there are knowledgeable. The rooms were spacious, clean, up to date. Absolutely loved the swinging hammock, though not all rooms came with them. Buffet had lots of good variety and mixed it up every night. Baked goods were awesome. No shortage of bacon. Though sometimes finding a clean table and cutlery was difficult if you didn't arrive within the first hour. The a la cartes were awesome. The beach front was rough but to the left is a calm natur [... read more]al lagoon. We stayed mostly at the lazy river. We brought our own tube and pump system. The bar tenders there were friendly and conversational. A drink menu would have been cool to have. Some annoying sellers who stayed close to the lobby were on us daily. Over all we would go back!

Great time Great resort

the hotel is very nice, it was our 3rd time at this resort. The 1st 2 times we had swim up rooms but we booked late and they did not have any available this time. we had a 1st floor pool view room that was okay but should have requested an upper floor with a balcony, but that is personal preference only. They do a good job at up keeping the place, always have workers in the grounds & cleaning the place.. In the lazy river we found that this time there was not enough tubes to float around, not [... read more] sure if it was the time of year or that other people were just keeping them when not in the lazy river. Just a reminder to bring your own. Over all had a great time and would go back

Wonderful Resort!

The resort exceeded all expectations especially for small children. Our grandkids loved the water park and lazy river. The adults were very impressed with the cuisine and drink selection in the lobby bar. The staff were friendly and attentive. We would definitely recommend the resort!

Amazing resort and great people

Another great vacation at Ocean El Faro/El Beso. This was our second trip here and it was just as good if not better. The food was great and the drinks were equally as good. There is a great variety of restaurants, bars and pools to visit on the resort.I would definatley consider this resort if you are visiting the DR!

Beautiful plao

The hotel is almost clean, the attitude of the staff is very good, the hospitality is very good, the food is very repetitive and the variety of food is low, the drinks and cocktails are excellent, the water in the pool is not clean and the water is dark most of the days and there is a lot of hair inside, good Wi-Fi. The goods in the store inside the hotel were expensive, the restaurants inside the hotel were extremely poor, and the hotel programs were very poor. The handling of bowling reservati [... read more]on was very bad

Beautiful plao

The hotel is almost clean, the staff's attitude is very good, the hospitality is very good, the food was very repetitive, the drinks and cocktails are excellent, the pool water is not very clean, good Wi-Fi, the store items inside the hotel are expensive, the restaurants inside the hotel are extremely poor.

Not More Than a 3*

- Property is large so will not be good for travelers with limited mobility. - Beach is full of seaweed, and rocks in certain areas in the ocean. You won't know they're there until it's too late. - Food is acceptable, same thing everyday, no theme nights. Reservation for À la Carte restaurants is a challenge and can only be done the day of within a restricted time. No advance reservation can be done in one shot for the duration of your stay. Reserving through the app is a great idea, but why s [... read more]et time and other restrictions? Travelers are on vacation and shouldn't have to be stressed by these unnecessary limitations. - Service is extremely slow, borderline disrespectful with no smiles in sight. Calls for housekeeping or repairs to your room take the whole day after multiple calls to the front desk. The maid thinks the "Please Make Up Room" means "Please Do Not Disturb". If you're Asian, you're ignored. Remember, tips are earned and not owed. - The thermostat in our room didn't work, and the TV turned on by itself at high volume. We had to unplug the TV, and wait for hours to get someone to come and fix these. - Floaties can be pumped at the lazy river at no cost, but an Asian man was told there's a charge to pump a few of his children's floaties. NOT COOL!!

Resort was ok

I personally would not go back or recommend this resort to my family or friends .The lack in customer service, miserable and unhelpful staff made the experience not so pleasant but regardless we still made the best of it. Beach was not nice ,noticed lots of garbage around but then again that’s the tourist leaving mess and the staff could only do so much. Beach chairs were all in very bad condition and dirty .Pool entertainment was very lively but the water was very mucky looking and is probab [... read more]ly why I’ve read complaints of people coming home with hand, foot and mouth disease from this particular resort. Food was ok both a la cartes and buffet . Again it’s the service , so many servers walking but nothing happening and we had to constantly wave someone down to even get a glass of water and tipping does not change that. Rooms were ok but I wouldn’t recommend upgrading , they charge a lot and the rooms don’t look any different anyway. Their lobby was beautiful

Stay Away - Would NOT recommend!!!

Front desk does not share information, we arrived for check in at 3pm and asked when the buffet closes, we were pushed a QR code & told us to look up everything on the app. Buffet closed at 3:30pm. If they had told us we could have had an opportunity to eat after a long flight. My husband contacted guest service twice for a bday celebration (day of & next day), got nothing, no follow up & no apology. Bellboys had no clue which buses/vans came to pick up guests. On departure we called bellboys to [... read more] pick up our luggage an hour before time to meet. When we showed up at requested time/spot to meet for pickup, we stated which airline/flight time we were with & were told to sit down and wait & that the bus was coming for us. 20 minutes later, we approached AirTransat representative to follow up as bellboys weren’t giving us any info. AirTransat staff told us the bus had left 10 minutes ago. The bellboys have a clipboard & checklist for aesthetic but it’s completely useless because how were they that unaware of their surroundings esp after we approached them multiple times in the 20 minute wait and they kept telling us to go sit down and wait. The bellboys eventually told us they’d call us a taxi for $70USD. Not sure if this was a scam or inside job where they’d call one of their friends for an overpriced taxi for the cut of the money but the way they were so dismissive of their mistake & unapologetic shows how little they value their guests. The AirTransat representative was able to call a van which came in about 15 minutes and we did not have to pay extra for it. We had no idea of the theatre showtimes or what performances were being played, again because it wasnt communicated & the onus to navigate the QR code, ask for information that isn’t delivered & try to figure things on our own falls on the guests. We felt harassed by staff who kept running after us asking if we’re interested in a “welcome gift” even after denying it, they did not stop pressuring us or following us as we walked in the resort. Overall the hotel is clean, compact and nicely kept. Buffet staff/room cleaning service staff were very nice however our experience with front desk, guest service, bell boys & the “welcome gift” pushers made this an unfavourable experience. I would recommend AGAINST this hotel.

Amazing resort

Pretty much loved everything about this resort, all the restaurants were very good. We didn't enjoy the buffett but that was us. Plenty of pools to choose from. Staff all very friendly. If you're a beach walker this wasn't for you, it was all full of rocks you couldn't really get to the ocean if you manged to no where to walk full of rocks. If you're taking kids on this resort it's awesome for them Plenty for them to do.

Great girls week away at the Ocean El Faro!!

This hotel was beautiful. The workers above reproach. Service was impeccable. The pools, especially the lazy river, were great. Although the hotel beach was very rocky and, in my opinion, not somewhere safe to swim, the public lagoon attached/beside the resort beach more than made up for it. Stayed on the El Beso side....food was great. never made it to Sakura (the Japanese restaurant), and was not impressed with the Italian restaurant, but Blue Moon, El Peso, El Marchado..the burger place  [... read more]beside the lazy river and Mike coffee house....all amazing. My overall for my stay is 8 out of 10 (and only because we lost AC halfway through the week and the room was hot)

Amazing resort

We visited march 27 -April 3rd and this was amazing holiday the resort is well kept the food is amazing entertainment is great so much to do only down side is the beach is not the greatest very rocky and not suitable for my 9 year old I will for sure be back to this resort ❤️

Good hotel, poor staff

The layout of the hotel is great, beach is rocky, rooms are decent, food decent, not great, 1-2h wait to get food at a la carte restaurants. Food is not a la carte quality. Serious staff shortage, line ups for everything at the buffet due to this, staff unhappy about tips, constantly waiting for more....

Enjoyed

Modern, very well designed resort. Grandiose lobby, followed by promenade, surrounded with restaurants, shops and entertainment area. Spacious rooms well equipped with all necessary furniture. Surrounding gardens very well maintained.. Beach was not up to our expectations, rocky, it was windy at time we were there, Atlantic ocean can be wavy and not cozy for swimming. There is a small Laguna nearby where swimming is safe and easy, however this is not in the sight of hotel, therefore not main [... read more]tained. Side of Dominican that faces Caribbean see likely has better beaches and calmer see for swimming. We visited Saona island, it took about 8 hrs. driving and boating back and forth to spend about 4 hrs. on island (not the best organization of the trip), however it was worth, the island is beautiful. Service at excellent level and very friendly in all areas (restaurants, rooms, etc,), Entertainment group puts a lot of effort to keep us well entertained. Their English is much better than our Spanish. It took about 7 hours flight from my country, and about 1hr. drive from airport to this hotel.