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Got a lot of fun and delicious food ??!

My spouse and I had a lovely one week vacation at the DREAMS DOMINICUS located in La Romana, Dominican Republic. At the outset, as a Preferred guest we had a butler. Fortunately, our butler was Carlos Virquez and there are not enough words to express how helpful he was. THANK YOU Carlos. As noted, we booked a Preferred room and when we checked in we were assigned room 215 in building 56, which was quite dated and dark. In fact, we recommend that the hotel install wall sconces as in the evening it is quite difficult to see anything. The next day we asked about a new room and were moved to the Preferred building, number 49 and stayed in room 409. Carlos was most helpful in arranging this. It was a much better room. We later learned that the first room was not a Preferred room and we wonder why we were put there in the first place. This was our only glitch in an otherwise wonderful vacation. Other than that minor inconvenience we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The food was delightful and although everyone has their own taste we quite enjoyed the French restaurant, Bordeaux. We took advantage of booking a Romantic Dinner on the pier and would highly recommend that experience. Additionally, we had a couple of wonderful days in the cabana. Our cabana attendants Nelson and Ronelki were absolutely amazing. We would also compliment bellmen Ronnie and Santiago and server Robelto at the Preferred Beach Bar Finally, the staff in the Cocoa Bar were the amongst the most friendly people we’ve ever met.

We just got home from a wonderful vacation in Dreams Domincus La Romano. We were on a girls trip. Stayed in the family suites, preferred club. The room was spacious and clean. Pools and beaches gorgeous. Could use more lounge chairs. The food was ok, drinks were fine. Our biggest issue was the language barrier. Another issue was guests not in our resort were using the facilities. They should issue wrist bands.

Just got back from 10 days and it was a mostly enjoyable stay. So here goes... THE GOOD -The beach, as so many have pointed out, was glorious. Clean. Refreshing. Fairly easy to get into, but if you have mobility issues, there’s a bit of a dip to get in and out. We faired okay but we saw some other oldsters who struggled. -The Preferred Club. Comments here seem split, but we felt if was good value. Eating and drinking at the Preferred Beach Club, on the beach or the patio, was a highlight for us. Great service and less crowded than the buffet. And there were always comfortable covered chaise lounges available. But if you went to the beach late, the best ones closest to the beach were already taken. Also, having the attention of Preferred Club customer service reps made us feel heard and attended to. -Our room. Awesome! It was the Master Suite Swim-up and it was large and clean and bright and had a lovely dipping pool. It did smell a bit musty, but we’ve come to expect that from beach properties. Because we were Preferred Club members, we also got in-room Pringles, M&Ms, a bottle of rum and very nice toiletries. -The restaurants were mostly impressive. No waits, especially because we eat early (Seniors, remember? ;p ) Bordeaux, the French restaurant was our favourite. But remember, it’s the only restaurant with a dress code and men are required to wear pants and closed-toe shoes. The only disappointing restaurant was Portofino. We tried various pasta dishes but they were all extremely heavy and dense (both the sauces and the pasta) as opposed to delicate and fresh tasting. -The coffee shop is really open 24 hours per day. I was usually the first morning customer for the lovely attendant who quickly got to know my order. I was tickled on my last morning when I saw that he was wearing a parka as it was below 20C. I told him how cold it was in Ottawa. We laughed. -The bars. All were well stocked and well served. Each had its own vibe. I was particularly impressed that most of the liquor brands were well-known with some top shelf options for vodka, gin, scotch, tequila and rum. -The Pizzeria and Flying Fish Buffet, both hidden, farrrrrrr from the action in the family section. The Flying Fish is smaller than the main buffet but it was never crowded (not open for dinner, though) and the food was plentiful and seemed fresher. Example; you know how they say not to eat scrambled eggs at a resort or cruise buffet? Well, at the Flying Fish, they sat only for a while before the chef whipped up a new batch made from real eggs. Impressive. The Pizzeria always had four different kinds of slices ready to grab at any time, or the chef would make you your own pizza to order. Really good pizza, too. THE BAD -The nightly entertainment in the centre stage was only from 9:30-10:30 pm (I know, I know, young folk won’t care but it did seem kinda late for us and families with small kids). But the worst part was that our room (Building 65) was right near the stage. It was so loud we seriously wondered if the bands were in the room with us. And the rock show? Screachingly-loud lead singer who sounded like the love child of Axl Rose and Geddy Lee. But not in a good way. -Butlers. We never met ours. We started with a bit of a hiccup in that our room wasn’t ready by the promised time. We kept getting updates from the front desk that turned out not to be true. So we contacted our butler via WhatsApp. She also made up updates that didn’t come to fruition. We got over it and sent her another inquiry the next day. She didn’t answer. And we didn’t hear from her for the rest of our stay. We travelled with my sister who actually got to meet her butler. He was helpful for two days, then he ghosted her as well. We heard from other guests who were also -I will concur with many others here that the constant harassment of salespeople (some aggressive) was a bit of an issue (spa, jewelry, romantic dinners for extra $$$, excursions and TIMESHAREs...allow me to go on an old-person’s rant as I shake my fist at the clouds... While we were grumpily awaiting our late room, hot and dusty from the long travelling trail, two very nice young men started showing us their plastic-laminated card featuring the various logos of Hyatt properties. We immediately said, ’not interested in timeshares.’ They respond, ‘but it’s not a timeshare’ and barged on. My career was marketing and I told them, ‘you gotta read your audience.’ Yet, they continued. We finally extracted ourselves from them and eventually got to our room. The very next morning, another nice blue-shirted fellow seemed to be stalking me. Getting very close to me and smiling. Again, very nice and friendly. And persistent. So much so that we relented, deciding to take their $$$ bribe and go for a tour at another resort the next day. The resort wasn’t as nice as Dreams so the marketing guy in me wondered if that made sense. Our salesperson was nice until she could see that we really weren’t interested. She asked why we were there and I said ‘Well, blue-shirt guy wouldn’t take no for an answer. So we took the money. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.’ Well, she turned stone-cold on us. We were then driven back to Dreams. THE IRRITATING -When we first arrived, we were greeted with ‘Welcome home.’ That seemed nice. The second time was okay. The third, fourth and fifth just became irksome. I have to admit, though, that each person saying it really sold it with sincerity. But it was obviously a corporate edict from head office. And it lost its charm on constant repeat. -Kids. Well, not really irritating as it wasn’t March, Summer or Christmas Break from school. So it was mostly kids under five who were adorable, well-watched and well-behaved as they stayed close to their parents and grandparents. But I don’t think I’d like to be there during the school holidays when older, rambunctious and independent pre-teens and teens are running about. So, a few hiccups, but mostly a pleasant and memorable experience. If we do go back, however, we’re definitely requesting a room that’s not within earshot of the centre stage. Because we oldies need our beauty sleep.

I used to love this resort, which makes this experience even more disappointing. This was our third stay, and we returned for a friend’s wedding—but the decline in quality is honestly shocking. Our first room was unacceptable: The toilet was broken. The bedroom light flickered nonstop and wouldn’t turn off. The entire room smelled strongly of mildew. When we went to the Preferred Club desk for help, we were told we would have to pay extra just to be moved from a clearly defective room. The most alarming issue was that about half of the wedding guests became sick with what appeared to be food poisoning. Instead of addressing the situation, the hotel blamed a vague “travel virus” and told guests to pay out-of-pocket at the medical tent if symptoms continued. For a resort that markets itself as upscale and all-inclusive, this response was unacceptable. Dining was another major frustration. Despite traveling as a wedding group, the resort repeatedly failed to accommodate us—even when we offered to split into smaller tables. We were forced to wait excessive amounts of time just to eat, night after night. Another major issue was the constant harassment from vendors throughout the property. Staff and sales representatives repeatedly approached us for: Spa packages Excursions Private dinners Timeshare presentations Even after clearly saying “no,” they continued to push and haggle, sometimes multiple times per day. Instead of feeling like a relaxing resort environment, it felt like a nonstop sales pitch. The Preferred Club is now essentially meaningless: No one checks access at the entrance There’s an open walkway near the outdoor shower that anyone can use The “exclusive” experience no longer exists The only real positive is the beach—but unless you wake up early to reserve chairs, you won’t get one. It’s incredibly disappointing to say this, but what was once a great resort has clearly gone downhill. Between the room conditions, poor service, aggressive sales tactics, lack of organization for large groups, and widespread illness among guests, we would not return and would strongly caution others before booking here. P.S. I had a cockroach in my dish at hibachi as the cherry on top.