So very impressed!!!

We fell in love with Occidental from the moment we pulled up to the lobby! We couldn't have asked for a warmer welcome or a smoother check-in. Everyone was so eager to help us have the best stay possible. Our room was beautiful and the A/C was as cool as you wanted it to be. The staff was so respectful and always had a cheerful "hola" whenever we passed. The beach was so amazing! Plenty of chairs for everyone and lots of opportunity for shaded spots. We had no issues with leaving our towels at o [... read more]ur chairs and going for breakfast, they were still where we put them an hour later. The grounds are immaculately kept and the attention to detail is noticeable. The entertainment at night was great! The bars are well stocked and the Presidente ice cold! It puts a smile on my face just to write this review! We will definitely go back, and we will bring friends!!

Lovely Place

My review is I loved being at this resort. However, when we first arrived I had no air conditioning in my room. I had requested it be fixed several times with no luck they didn't seem overly concerned so I spent two of the seven nights without air then I was switched to another room because I insisted they didn't offer. Once we were settled in our new room it was amazing. Great place to take the family, lovely service (except front desk), very clean, safe and fun!

Nice vacation

The resort itself is very beautiful and modern, especially with all of the rénovations being done. There is still a few areas to be updated, but this did not impact our trip. The food is excellent - 10 out of 10 for sure. Most of the staff are nice, but the service we found was very slow at times. We booked through Air Transat and were guaranteed one of the renovated rooms. When we were booked in, we got an older style room which was moldy feeling and damp. All of my clothes the next day felt w [... read more]et. We asked for three days to be moved to a new room, which finally we did after our trip was half over. The new rooms are really nice if you get one. I would recommend going to this resort after all renovations are done, or make sure to sure to speak to your Air Transat rep in advance before asking for a new room as they will get it for you a bit faster. There isn't a whole lot to do on the resort - we found ourselves going to bed pretty early due to lack of entertainment compared to other resorts we have gone to. We had to walk out on some of the shows as they were not great. Overall, the vacation and resort was nice, just a few things that we would have liked done differently. Oh and there is not much shade at the beach and there are no shelters, so we found we always had to move spots to find shade or be on the beach early to get a decent spot, otherwise you are forced to sit in the sun.

Resort from Hell

first of all I have been down to Dominican pretty much every Year for the past 8, I normally stay in the Luxury Amber or their property. My Brother and his wife wanted to go to this Property, (Occidental Punta Cana) due to the fact is was their Anniversary I agreed to try it as long as we upgraded. So I was to go into a Superior room Preference Club, I then upgraded to the option Plus for the flights. when I arrived they wanted to see my document so I showed them from my phone, which they would [... read more] not accept ? I was confused documents where very legible do they think I stole the phone?. They told me to email them it, which I said no problem give me the wifi password which is supposed to be free for 1 hour a day in the Lobby, he said that he cannot give out the password and I must go to Guest services, which I did the woman there told me to enter my email address and password into her Computer through my Hotmail account, because she cannot give out the password, I did that and she said I will send confirmation to my phone??,I explained that unless I get wifi I cannot receive any emails (WTF) she then said I will call you ?? again I explained that my phone cannot receive call as there is no service on it, By this time I am very frustrated an asked if you are into my email on your Computer why can't you just email it to where you want it. she told me NO and go back to front desk, another 40 minute line up, to be told sir you need to go to Guest services and print a copy of the document , Again I explained that I was just there I thought I will just go to the room and deal with this later. hey put me in room 11 318 I refused to stay there 1. this room should be condemned smelt awful, 2. tub was all rusted 3. tiles on floor and wall in both areas was missing or cracked 4. bed was a shambles 4 Balcony looked like was going to fall down at any time. back to front desk I go. I told them under NO Circumstances would I stay in that room, they sent me to Guest Services, this so far is well over 2 hours of trying to check in, when I go over to Guest services I see and wait for the other guy (not the woman from before) as she was Brutal, I explained what has happened, and told I paid for upgrades, and that on their own map hut 11 is not an upgrade, he told me he needs a copy of the document for hotel, I once again explained he asked me for the confirmation number, I give it to him and he says he can print from that (all this time for that) he gives me a copy and again sends me to front desk to wait in line Again for 20-25 minutes,which they take the document and says Thank You and said it is all good now enjoy my stay. I lose and tell to gibe me what I paid for MY SUPERIOR ROOM IN THE PREFERENCE CLUB. She tells me I am in a room where I belong, I tell her that at Trip Central I called and asked the difference of first club and Preference and was told each airline calls it different name but same Package. She told me she had nothing available in which I asked for the Manager, in Which I had asked at least 12 times through this whole ordeal, However like the last 11 times the answer was no. I then said give me the portion of my payment that is used for the hotel as I want to leave, at the she said I cannot, so I told her in a louder voice the get me a pillow and blanket as I am going to sleep in the Lobby as I refuse to spend one minute in a room like that in which may have bed bugs by its looks. Well now she vanishes and comes back with a room in First Club 14-14107 but I cannot have the package that goes along with it (ie) First Club/Preference room or upgraded drinks, No Free Wifi . I tried to pay for Wifi at least 6 times but had to wait for the Manager? they kept telling me he will be back in 20 minutes well at least 4 hours went by I gave up. Day 2 I explain this all to the Air Transat Rep and all he says is looks like they put you where you belong but not the band or the First Club/Preference Club advantages, he says he will fix and see him later. I go for lunch with my Brother and his wife and learn that they also are in a room NOT FIRST CLUB/PREFERENCE we go for lunch and my sister-in-law gets ice cream with a (piece of wood with a screw in it), they quickly want to take, I however took a picture of it. after they took away I asked what is going to happen? he replied that he will deal with it , I asked how ? with no answer, so back to Air Transat rep, he takes us to guest services to get our rooms and Packages, but once they heard about the incident with the ice cream, they don't want to deal with us about anything, We asked to speak to Manager they said come back at 5pm, we have spent our whole time pretty much in the lobby between front desk and Guest Services approx. 27 hours or more. At 5 they wanted us to sign a 7 paragraph document without any explanation in which we were at fault for everything and if we tell anybody we can be facing law suit they would not even let us go 5 feet away to discuss in Private. we refused to sign as WE DID NOTHING WRONG othr that book this Resort from HELL. So in a nutshell paid money for upgrades =received none as I finally got WiFi and paid $50.00 US for it. HUTS 10,11,12,and 13 should not be used to cheat People out of there money if they paid upgrade. In the Middle of all of this they kept asking WHY we would book with Air Transat as if /should never come here with them???? the Bartenders in this Place needs to changed somewhere else because their service is the worst I have seen in the Dominican Tip or not they don't serve Waitresses were very good ( think in some cases I seen them behind the bar getting their own as probably would bet served otherwise the staff in the Buffet were very Good (Maria Guerrero) I should also mention that my Brother and hi wife never received their option plus as the both ways were removed from their assigned seats, we went to the Airport by taxi to get fixed on the way home, as we figured quicker than the bus, they told him that they will put him in a different seat with the longer leg room as he has really bad knees and that is why he upgraded this time. This did not happen I aske the Stewardess before take if 34 was longer legroom she said no and since it was apparent that People were goin to miss the flight can My Brother and wife move up to option plus by me 4 th row she told me she promised them to other People I asked shouldn't the option Plus receive if the are moved out first? She told me to contact Air Transat and they will reimburse, Confused me because 2 People ended up in the middle she gave 3 seats same row to a young couple with a infant that never once sat in between them, so 2 seats realistically were available but were given to 21/2 regular paying instead of having Transat pay money back and customers upset, There was also 2 seats in first class at the back went empty the whole flight. just seems like the Company lost money on that flight due to this Stewardess/and we should be allowed to change the box of snacks we pay in Option Plus for Pringle, always have in the past including going down to Punta Cana but was point blank refused on the way home, I should state their was NO arguing amongst us I just stated I have always changed in the past when I have flew with option Plus on every Transat flight I take usually 2 times or more a year, And am booked June 28 YYZ to Glasgow with the Plus

Overall very nice resort ! Would recommend !!

We were there from April 01-08,2017. We were in building 26. Our room was newly renovated, clean rooms, nice comfy beds, no issues with clean towels. The resort is just the perfect size, walking around is close to every thing. Love the beach, no issues in getting fresh towels. Love the nice lounging chairs, new and comfy. Only thing missing are Palapas however there are many palm trees to provide shade. You just have to chase the shade. Grounds are beautiful and well maintained. We went  [... read more]mostly to Buffet, I find the food was all good, the desserts on the other hand were a bit dull. Would be nice if they had pop/draft fountains so we may serve ourselves. House wine . white is not good. I tried the white a few times but always heurk. My man says red is good. We went to 2 a-la-carte: Steak house, food was very good ,however service was all very badly organized. example: your eating dessert and they serve you bread and butter at the same time. We sat 30 minutes before waiter came to us. I can understand there is a language barrier, but serving people if waiters have assigned tables cannot be that bad. They had like 10 waiters and it was sad to see them go and be so confused. I spoke to one waiter after and he would have loved if I would have spoken to his Manager cause he knows there is chaos but he cannot say anything and get in trouble. If manager tells them its that way its that way. I feel for them. Italian on the other hand, service was good. The nightly entertainment is too late, starts at 9h45. However seen one seen them all. The pool bar, did not go, there is a constant waterfall over the bar and that is the only way you can get to bar to get a drink and in the waterfall that is over the bar there is food in the water like fries (reason being there is a snack bar over the bar, so food falls in the water fall and that dirty water pours on you when you go to the pool bar. I prefer the beach which is beautiful and nice waves. and last thing..music. for full week they played in the buffet restaurant saxophone Kenny G. Lovely music, but xmas music, let it snow, and red nose reindeer..in April is a little depressing. I would love if they played there music which can also be very soothing. I am pretty sure they have nice mellow tunes too. and that is why we go there is too get a bit of Dominican vibe and not just Kenny G. Those are all my comments, my negatives are little things that they can do to improve the resort. I would love to go back. just change the music and have better white wine and I am there!!!

Mould in room

Stayed at Occidental Punta Cana March 29 - April 5th. Took over 90 minutes to check in only to be told to come back in 2 hours to pick up key for room. Had paid for upgraded room and was placed in old building #12 room 105 which had mould on the ceiling and in the closet. Unable to hang clothes in closet due to mould. Room was very dated. Striker plate on door was loose and you were required to hit the door with shoulder or hip to open it. After two days of requesting our originally paid for u [... read more]pgraded room we were moved to new building which was beautiful. Transat rep, Hugo was not helpful at all in assisting us with resolving our room issue. He mad big promises but did not deliver at all.Food is fine at resort. Service is average at best with long waits at all bars for drinks. Beach and pools are beautiful.

Gorgeous beach, excellent service, very nice hotel

We stayed in one of the newly renovated buildings, 23, which was very nice. The service was excellent at all bars and restaurants (we are frequent tippers) and the food was good. The beer is cold and plentiful; tried mamajuana as well as a few other cocktails. Not really a fan of the house red wine but there were plenty of other drink options. Kudos for excellent service to Bibiano (and Franklin) at the lobby bar who are smiley and work well as a team and to the wonderful Nordy at the hibiscus  [... read more]bar near the theatre (not sure of the actual name of this bar but it has carved hibiscus flowers.) Nordy makes a wonderful martini and is very friendly and efficient. The a la carte restaurants were good and there was always something tasty at the buffets. The beach restaurant has really good burgers, much better than the ones at the snack bar. Excellent pizza at the wood oven pizza place, which is open 6 pm to 6 am. The beach is lovely, soft, white sand, lots of chairs, but not much shade. The gym has several machines (most of which work) as well as free weights. Clean and adequate. Overall, a great hotel for those who love the beach. Too many smokers for my liking, but that's totally a personal preference.

Beautiful Beach, Delicious Food, No Smiles at the Front Desk

We stayed at this same resort 16 years ago when it was called Occidental Flamenco. Our daughter had her wedding here. It was absolutely heavenly and we always wanted to come back. I know things change over the years but our travel agent told us that renovations had taken place and Air Transat only books the newly renovated buildings. When we arrived, it look a very long time to check in, other people who were behind us in line seemed to get their rooms before us. Finally we were told we would [... read more] be in Building 12. I knew this was not a renovated building and said we were promised an updated building. After much conversation we were told we could be moved in 2 days. After speaking with other people, we found most of us were put in older buildings even though we were told we were Preference Club. The room we were in had problems with the water. If you flushed the toilet once it would not flush again for another hour. The water from the shower from the next room flowed out into the hallway. There was a TV but no remote and it would not even turn on. I called the desk and reported these things and was told they would be looked after but nothing happened. The next morning we went to the desk to see if we could be moved. I said we paid for the Preference Club Package with beach towels, robes, slippers and updated room. I was told very rudely by a desk clerk, Mercedes, that everyone pays the same to be here and they place you where ever they have room. I was not happy with that comment. She finally she said we could change rooms if we moved out of our current room immediately, bring all our things to the baggage storage area now and come back at 2 o'lock to be placed in a different building. We did this, came back at 2 and were then told to wait another 45 minutes. This took up most of the afternoon. The room was much nicer, but the phone did not work, we still did not have a remote for the TV and didn't get beach towels in our room or robes or slippers. We reported these things several times. Someone came to fix the phone but it still didn't work. The Transat Rep also said he would report our phone problem but nobody came. We did not have a working phone in our room our whole stay, we had a nine day trip. We did not have a cell phone with us, I felt a little uncomfortable knowing we would have no contact with the desk if we had an emergency in the middle of the night. We were given a remote for the TV but never did get the beach towels, robes or slippers. I was really disappointed in the way we were treated by desk staff. We were not treated as guests but as inconveniences. Of all the times we spoke to them, we never saw a smile. The other staff in other areas were friendly and made us feel welcome and always had a smile. The Buffet staff were wonderful and helpful even though sometimes they had a language barrier. You can smile in any language.

Stunning resort

Everything was beautiful! Very helpful staff. We will be back! Plenty of restaurant choices. Great buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The swim up bar was our favorite bar. We loved the snack bar located right above the swim up bar!

Not a bad little resort!

This was a good choice resort for us because it was our first visit to DR. We were looking for one that wasn't too big and this one fits! Our stay was great...building 26 with room facing ocean was excellent, as was the hot tub on the deck! Grounds were well maintained. Room was clean and spacious. Service was hit and miss, especially in the specialty restaurants. We tried the Mexican, Italian, steakhouse, and seafood restaurants. My favourite was the Mexican. The buffet was good too with many c [... read more]hoices. Even though service was hit and miss, we still tipped because the workers at the resort depend on them to supplement their income.We were in the first club section of the resort and had great service at the bar there. Cruz and Pedro provided excellent friendly service! Check in and check out were a breeze. Common areas of the resort were well kept and I always stopped in the main lobby to smell the Lillies. All in all a great little resort!

The resort was beautiful. The grounds were lovely! Ocean was awesome!

Everything was wonderful except for the food. The buffet featured a lot of the same things. The La Carte restaurants were not the greatest. The only one that I would go back to was the steakhouse. After dining at the mexician restaurant I became violently sick at 2am in the morning so that one was certainly off the list. Overall a beautiful spot but needs some work in the food department as far as variety and presentation.

Great resort

Just got back from the Dominican on Tues. March 28, 2017. We stayed at Occidental Punta Cana. Although it rained every afternoon we still enjoyed our trip. We ended up in a non-renovated bldg. #10 which wasnt fancy but the location was the best if you enjoy music. We were facing the pool, lobby, buffet, restaurants and theatre. Therefore we didnt need to leave our patio to hear the nightly entertainment in the lobby and see the nightly shows. The Michael Jackson show was the best i have ev [... read more]er seen and I've seen a lot of them. He was spot on. The beach was beautiful, the food was exceptionally good at the buffets and restaurants. You can get a chair at beach or pool any time of the day, The only complaint was there were no sun huts anywhere. If you want a renovated room request any bldg from 14 up. #12 is the worst. Very clean resort and maids were very pleasant.

The good and the terrible

Start with the good: the beach is absolutely beautiful. There is very little shade though and lots of vendors every day 3 pools. Loved them all... loungers in the pools and shade from cabanas. Pool bar was great too. Food was good. Definitely make sure you go to the all night pizza bar and also grab some late night tacos. The rooms are all right. Ask for a renovated room - I only heard complaints from anyone who was in the older rooms. Service - a la carte services were great besides the Me [... read more]xican restaurant. When we arrived we were told the hotel was overbooked and there was no room left, so we were sent to another resort around 3am. Eventually we could return to Occidental. The front desk were argumentative ... though it also seems most people were there to complain about rooms or problems not being fixed. Also watch your beach towels. Housekeeping took ours one night and we nearly had to pay $20 a towel because the people at the towel exchange didn't believe us. I really liked the resort, but when service was bad it was downright terrible and nearly ruined the entire vacation.

Pros and Cons Occidental Punta Cana

Easy check in. Was put in room 10117, unit 10. This was not a renovated unit. As soon as we entered the room I knew this wasn't what we had paid for. First off, the bureau drawers were broken, couldn't put our clothes in there, I was afraid when we pulled drawers out they would fall on us. I mentioned it to the concierge and he sent someone from housekeeping, who just slammed the drawers shut, didn't solve the problem. Rust in the bath tub and mold on the ceiling, looked like the ceiling w [... read more]as going to fall down. Wood on patio was rotten. Had a meeting with Hugo, the Transat rep, the next morning. He told us Air Transat had a contract with the hotel to put all Air Transat clients in the units that were renovated 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26. We as well as several other people voiced our concerns over the units we were given. Hugo said he was going to speak to the hotel and have our rooms changed and to meet back at the lobby in the afternoon. Needless to say, rooms weren't changed that day, wasted time hanging around the lobby watching Hugo argue with hotel staff. Told to meet again the next day. More wasted time watching Hugo argue, still no room change. What was really upsetting was they were giving the new check ins the renovated rooms. Finally on Monday afternoon, we were told to pack up and bring our bags to the lobby as we were getting a new room. Well wouldn't you know the room wasn't ready, so had to give luggage to bell hop and waste another hour waiting for room. At last room was ready, and have to tell you it was beautiful and exactly what we should have been given in the first place. Poor Hugo had at least 10 or 15 clients that wanted their rooms changed. Lots and lots of complaints. So much negative energy and time wasted on something that was supposed to be rightfully ours. Not a good way to spend our vacations Kudos to Hugo for keeping his cool and managing to get people their new rooms. Hotel is beautiful, grounds are immaculate, staff is friendly, couldn't ask for a better beach. Would I stay here again, Definitely, but would refuse to stay in a unit that wasn't renovated.

Great Resort

Was the nicest resort that we have ever been to....Grounds beach and pool area all excellent ....Food was GREAT...Never any trouble getting a beach chair...Staff was very friendly ...Room was always very clean ...Great Place to go....Thank you for helping us get there....

Bad resort

I was very disappointed with this resort .the maids did a bad job cleaning .the coffee pot was never cleaned . Had to fight to get water coffee beer and facecloths . I tip every day with money gifts and candy and still that didn't work . A la carte restaurants were not good . But the food at the buffet was good .I found a huge cock roach in my room .I will never go back .

Rough start but ended ok.

Our stay started off poorly when the check in staff gave us the wrong color of bracelet. We had purchased the First Club option and the bracelet was for a lessor value vacation. We found this out quite quickly when the staff at the first club desk told us we didnt have first club bracelets and so we had to go back to the check in area and get the proper color. For us the First Club option was very much worth while. A separate bar area at the beach and on the resort made getting a drink very eas [... read more]y with no line ups and better brands of alcohol. As well they served breakfast, lunch, and appetizers at supper time. You needed to eat supper at the ala cart restaurants or main buffets though. Our room was in one of the newly renovated complexes and was very nice and clean. The most annoying part was this resort has been bought by the Barcello company and all of the front line staff will hammer you on going to a timeshare/vacation club meeting. They are very friendly until you turn them down. After a couple of days they leave you alone so you can actually start to enjoy your holiday. The beach is beautiful as advertised and we never had trouble finding chairs. Most staff are friendly with only one surly bar maid and restaurant welcome staff. The resort is kept very clean and the food for the most part was reasonably good. If not for the timeshare pressure I would rate this resort 4 out of 5 but can only give it 3.5 out of 5 because of it.

Average Resort

Rooms very nice (modern, clean with jacuzzi on balcony). Beaches are clean, wide and impressive. Grounds ok as not many flowers (season). What we were NOT impressed is service, very disorganized, confusing, rude, long and not very customer oriented. They do NOT for the extra mile for the customer We've been to Punta Cana 5 or 6 times, worst hotel on service.

Ok Resort

All in all I can say I had a great vacation, staff is slow especially on checkin, at the main lobby bar Leandro was the man, and in the buffet, Franklin Cedano, and Roberto, you guys rock.. but would I come back to this resort.. NO

Not great

The new renovation to most of the rooms were nice and clean. As for the service very poor on the most part and the food and drinks were not great. The pools are great and the beach is beautiful. This was our second visit and since it has changed owners would not recommend.