We arrived on Jan3 and stayed untill Jan10.
Tour bus was delayed 45 min, Signatures fault.
The front desk staff was generally unorganized and not helpful. If you tip generously they will be very helpful.
Arrived at the hotel and waited and additional 2 hours before we recieved a room. Once our room was ready, we found it had a horrible view, along with a dark musty/moldy smell. When we addressed the issue @ front desk, we were told no other rooms were available at the time. After 3 long walks to the front desk and a $30 USD tip we ended up with a nice top floor room with view of the pool and ocean in Block 7. The rooms up high have better ventilation, more light, and seem to be much cleaner.
Our refrigerator in the room came completely un-stocked. The main level filtered water dispenser was also empty. We had no water for our first 24 hours upon arrival, which led to a mild case of dehydration (tiredness, dizzyness). The next day when the maid arrived we gave her a $4 USD tip, we got plenty of bottled water and pop. Afterwards we would leave a few dollars everyday, and the room was always kept stocked with bottled water.
The grounds of the hotel were kept immacualte, we could not fault the hotel. There were 2 main swimming pools, and a kiddie pool. A courtyard pond was home to 4-6 pink flamingos and a few white cranes.
2 security guards patrolled either side of the beach.
The buildings were small compared to other resorts, but were kept clean.
You get a lot of attitude from the staff.
The bartender was rude when we initally got there. The second time we saw him, we gave him a $5 USD tip, after which he was very friendly throughout the week, and always mixed our drinks with lot of alchohol.
The front desk wasn't nice, until we tipped him for a second room.
The maids weren't AS helpful, unless you left money in the room.
I asked the young man behind the counter at the 24 hour snack bar for some chicken. He gave me a drumstick and a part of a thigh. Might have filled one third of the plate. I explained it was for 2 people as the wife and I had bad traveller's diarreah, and couldn't get out much that day. When I asked for more he pointed at the drumstick as if I was special because I got that part of the chicken.....! The next time I asked for chicken I tipped him a dollar first, and we got a heaping plateful - breastmeat and all - with no attitude - go figure.
Weather this time of year was cool @ night, and breezy, with a few scattered showers throughout the day. Some days of full sun.
The spa was an excellent experience. I was asked to wear a ridiculous outfit, (see through white thong which felt like a bouce dryer sheet) which I did. The staff was very helpful, and we got an excellent discounted price since we used their facilities on our LAST day at the hotel. We felt the ladies deserved a nice tip so we tipped them $5 USD each at the end of the service.
There was a 24hour snack bar. Pizza was different but still tastes good. The buffet food was fine, a little bland, but not exceptional yet not bad. The a la cart restaurants took reservations @ 7 am and offered dinners at 7pm and 9 pm. Since our hotel was overbooked the restaurants were also always fully booked by the time we made reservations. We ate at the italian, and brazilian, which were similar in terms of quality to the buffet ... so we ended up eating at the buffet most of the nights.
The hotel seemed overbooked, and was very crowded. At times it felt too claustrophobic to really have a good time, so we tried to go on as many excursions as our time allowed.
Saona Islands Catamaran: The boat was large. The islands were beautiful. Weather was perfect. Swimming in the natural pool looking for starfish was a short but a pleasurable experience. Recommended.
Manati Park: Park was small but had interesting animals/ plants/ reptiles. Animal Shows were average but kept you entertained. Swimming with the dolphins was an experience - thumbs up.
4x4 quad excursion: Excellent 4 wheeling machines. Great friendly guides. We visited a banana plantation, and met a nice welcoming family. Rode along the beach and in the forest trails through rock, mud and sand. Lots of excitement. Highly recommended.
Parasailing: If you haven't already done it, don't do it. It was an experience, but nothing spectacular. We did see a sea turtle while we were in the air.
Casinos: We visited a few casinos in various resorts outside Ocean Bavaro. We made the best of it, and lost a few dollars, drank lots of alchohol, and had a great time. By visiting the other resorts we realized the the Ocean Bavaro Spa and Beach was nowhere near a 5 star, as compared to the grounds, and level of service we recieved from other hotels.
Shopping: Fun! But we were constantly being bombarded by people working in the stores.. " Please sir, come and have a look". We figured what price we were willing to pay, usually less than one third the asking price, and if we didn't get a good price we walked away. _ Everything had a sticker with a code, If anyone has figured out vendor pricing codes ie...R00, ... please let us know _
We regret not being able to go deep sea fishing, as this was busy season, and the boats and guides were overbooked.
The best time we had was outside the resort. Next time we would buy our plane tickets separate. Book a suite at a mom and pop's type rather than a big hotel, pay for all our meals & drinks so we could frequent different local restaurants (Real dominican food as opposed to the bland resort food). Perhaps rent a car, and hire a local guide to show us the real Republica Dominicana.
Regards.
Tour bus was delayed 45 min, Signatures fault.
The front desk staff was generally unorganized and not helpful. If you tip generously they will be very helpful.
Arrived at the hotel and waited and additional 2 hours before we recieved a room. Once our room was ready, we found it had a horrible view, along with a dark musty/moldy smell. When we addressed the issue @ front desk, we were told no other rooms were available at the time. After 3 long walks to the front desk and a $30 USD tip we ended up with a nice top floor room with view of the pool and ocean in Block 7. The rooms up high have better ventilation, more light, and seem to be much cleaner.
Our refrigerator in the room came completely un-stocked. The main level filtered water dispenser was also empty. We had no water for our first 24 hours upon arrival, which led to a mild case of dehydration (tiredness, dizzyness). The next day when the maid arrived we gave her a $4 USD tip, we got plenty of bottled water and pop. Afterwards we would leave a few dollars everyday, and the room was always kept stocked with bottled water.
The grounds of the hotel were kept immacualte, we could not fault the hotel. There were 2 main swimming pools, and a kiddie pool. A courtyard pond was home to 4-6 pink flamingos and a few white cranes.
2 security guards patrolled either side of the beach.
The buildings were small compared to other resorts, but were kept clean.
You get a lot of attitude from the staff.
The bartender was rude when we initally got there. The second time we saw him, we gave him a $5 USD tip, after which he was very friendly throughout the week, and always mixed our drinks with lot of alchohol.
The front desk wasn't nice, until we tipped him for a second room.
The maids weren't AS helpful, unless you left money in the room.
I asked the young man behind the counter at the 24 hour snack bar for some chicken. He gave me a drumstick and a part of a thigh. Might have filled one third of the plate. I explained it was for 2 people as the wife and I had bad traveller's diarreah, and couldn't get out much that day. When I asked for more he pointed at the drumstick as if I was special because I got that part of the chicken.....! The next time I asked for chicken I tipped him a dollar first, and we got a heaping plateful - breastmeat and all - with no attitude - go figure.
Weather this time of year was cool @ night, and breezy, with a few scattered showers throughout the day. Some days of full sun.
The spa was an excellent experience. I was asked to wear a ridiculous outfit, (see through white thong which felt like a bouce dryer sheet) which I did. The staff was very helpful, and we got an excellent discounted price since we used their facilities on our LAST day at the hotel. We felt the ladies deserved a nice tip so we tipped them $5 USD each at the end of the service.
There was a 24hour snack bar. Pizza was different but still tastes good. The buffet food was fine, a little bland, but not exceptional yet not bad. The a la cart restaurants took reservations @ 7 am and offered dinners at 7pm and 9 pm. Since our hotel was overbooked the restaurants were also always fully booked by the time we made reservations. We ate at the italian, and brazilian, which were similar in terms of quality to the buffet ... so we ended up eating at the buffet most of the nights.
The hotel seemed overbooked, and was very crowded. At times it felt too claustrophobic to really have a good time, so we tried to go on as many excursions as our time allowed.
Saona Islands Catamaran: The boat was large. The islands were beautiful. Weather was perfect. Swimming in the natural pool looking for starfish was a short but a pleasurable experience. Recommended.
Manati Park: Park was small but had interesting animals/ plants/ reptiles. Animal Shows were average but kept you entertained. Swimming with the dolphins was an experience - thumbs up.
4x4 quad excursion: Excellent 4 wheeling machines. Great friendly guides. We visited a banana plantation, and met a nice welcoming family. Rode along the beach and in the forest trails through rock, mud and sand. Lots of excitement. Highly recommended.
Parasailing: If you haven't already done it, don't do it. It was an experience, but nothing spectacular. We did see a sea turtle while we were in the air.
Casinos: We visited a few casinos in various resorts outside Ocean Bavaro. We made the best of it, and lost a few dollars, drank lots of alchohol, and had a great time. By visiting the other resorts we realized the the Ocean Bavaro Spa and Beach was nowhere near a 5 star, as compared to the grounds, and level of service we recieved from other hotels.
Shopping: Fun! But we were constantly being bombarded by people working in the stores.. " Please sir, come and have a look". We figured what price we were willing to pay, usually less than one third the asking price, and if we didn't get a good price we walked away. _ Everything had a sticker with a code, If anyone has figured out vendor pricing codes ie...R00, ... please let us know _
We regret not being able to go deep sea fishing, as this was busy season, and the boats and guides were overbooked.
The best time we had was outside the resort. Next time we would buy our plane tickets separate. Book a suite at a mom and pop's type rather than a big hotel, pay for all our meals & drinks so we could frequent different local restaurants (Real dominican food as opposed to the bland resort food). Perhaps rent a car, and hire a local guide to show us the real Republica Dominicana.
Regards.