TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I went to Ocean El Faro in February for my birthday trip, at first my stay was enjoyable and exciting but it truly unfolded for the worst. First, I noticed I was missing money from my bag and a couple sitting next to us had their wallet stolen and the resort said they couldn't do anything. Next, my Prada glasses were missing, and searched everywhere for them!! Then I saw on Instagram one of the entertainment workers Francesa had them on!! She also DM'd me on my last day to give her some of my clothes because she likes how I dress, after I told her no she deleted her messages. I read reviews to be careful with your belongings but it does not matter how cautious you are something will end up missing. The entertainment workers are also very aggressive with participation in their activities. I wish there was more professionalism from the staff and didn't have to go home without one of my favorite pairs of sunglasses. I won't recommend this resort to anyone who enjoys keeping their belongings.

So disappointed in the resort. The air conditioning in our room did not work and the hotel could not fix it. We asked a number of times and the hotel finally agreed at 11:00 pm to change our room, but tried to give us a king size room when there were four of us staying in the room. The hotel will not assist with any compensation to cover the problem and have continually disregarded and ignored our requests. I would not recommend or stay at the Ocean El Faro.

So for reference I'm a prolific all-inclusive traveler...this is probably my 30th all-inclusive resort....THE GOOD: New resort, very clean etc...only 3 restaurants require reservations that are easy to get at 8 am either thru the app (h10) or in person at the Mercado (buffet) restaurant. All al la carte restaurants were good...the buffet has microwaves to reheat your food if it's not hot enough for you, or you can ask the grill people to reheat your food...drinks are good if you tell them the brand and amount you want in your drink.. beach is beautiful and had so many palapas for sun cover...pools had a good number of umbrellas and if you needed one you can ask pool guys...my bed in the room was nice...the room overall was great. There are plenty of activities to keep you occupied if you like that. THE BAD: the bacon is plentiful BUT it is severely undercooked...think RAW...every morning I had to ask grill guys to finish cooking it, then I was able to enjoy it...i honestly don't know how anyone could eat it without finishing cooking it. The room is EXTREMELY humid...do yourself a favor and ask for a dehumidifier when you check in, don't wait...yes you have to empty the water every 8 hours or so, but it made my room so much cooler and drier! Some of the employees seem like you are getting on their nerves when you ask them for something, so management needs to address employee morale. Most days I literally took my own soft drinks from the room to breakfast and lunch because I would be done eating before the server even approached my table. And what's up with the salt there? It was like pulling teeth to get a salt shaker in EVERY VENUE including the al a carte restaurants and when you did get it it was not "salty"??????? oh well. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and will definitely return...it's worth a second visit! Vacations are what you make of them, and I had a blast!

This resort has a lot of pros - the rooms are big, lots of pool space, many activities. There are a few downsides as well - the food is medium at best, the service is the same (and tipping well didn’t make a difference), and the hotel shows signs of wear and tear. It was also much too big for our taste. We visited in April and the beach was not good for swimming, too rough. We choose the rooftop jacuzzi room, which we never used, but the high ceilings were worth it. The bathroom tub is roomy but the jets didn’t stay on. Room amenities are nice (toiletries, safe, hairdryer etc), room service choices are limited and, again, mediocre at best. The 70s/80s show was GREAT! Depending on your needs, this could be the hotel for you.

We had an excellent experience at Ocean El Faro. Joel Mejia was the best! He booked us dinner reservations every night and was always present to answer questions we had about the resort and help us have a more enjoyable experience. We had a blast swimming and eating good food. One of our favorite parts of the resort was the events that were scheduled every night, from bingo to kids disco parties. It was very fun.