Occidental Caribe reviews
18899 TripAdvisor reviews
Great stay
Sharon S (Minneapolis, Minnesota) on Feb 24, 2026
One of the best part about our stay was the staff! Joanki at the buffet bar, Neilson at the buffet, Carlos at the gym, Juan and Nancy at the pool bat, Cecilia Rae the towel lady, yoleini and Antonio the ladies that cleaned the rooms. They all were great. The views where great from the rooms, the pool and ocean where close and grounds well kept!
Should be rated 3.5
smithaksons (Upper Sackville, Canada) on Feb 19, 2026
Some positives but more negatives, we made the best of it, areas that need improving are language barrier, water pressure, hot water, shouldn’t run out of water, entertainment awareness, music in small pool area
One week vacation
mdis2n on Feb 18, 2026
Overall a poor experience. The showerhead was broken in our bathroom. It was also the first time I experienced rude staff while on vacation in the Dominican. One experience was with front desk when simply asking for change so I could leave tips for the workers. They refused to do it, and when I stated I would no longer be able to leave tips because of this she rolled her eyes and then got me change (and even had a money counter to do so, so she was obviously just too lazy to do it). The second was at the Tokyo restaurant where shrimp was on the menu (I am pescatarian) but the chef only cooked steak and chicken. When inquiring about the shrimp I was told there was no seafood, so disappointingly just ate the rice. After seeing this, the chef pulled out seafood from the fridge right in front of him and started cooking it... Those were the only two inquiries I made throughout my week vacation and both were met with push back for unknown reasons that I can only presume is laziness or being unwilling to help. The food was also quite bland with minimal options.
Great stay for families
Elizabeth G on Feb 18, 2026
Had a great time with the family during our Valentine’s trip (5 days/4 nights)! Beach was gorgeous, Drinks were flowing, restaurants were yummy, buffet food was ok. The girls loved the kids club and the foam party! Our concierge, Isaury de los Santos was AMAZING and worked his magic to get the restaurant reservations that we needed (the goat at the Dominican restaurant was yummy)! Little tip - if it calls for rain, make sure that you leave something other than your towel on the lounge chairs. Cecilia took our towels and other people took the chairs (it was chaotic trying to get lounge chairs after that). Other than that, everything was great!
Amazing Vacation
Salv0017 (Ottawa, Canada) on Feb 18, 2026
Family Trip Review – February 6–13, 2026 We travelled as a group of 11 (3 families: 8 adults, two 10-year-olds, and one 3-year-old). We paid approximately $1700 CAD per adult for flight and hotel during high season, which we felt was very reasonable. Our family upgraded to a premium room for an extra $100, although we’re not entirely sure what additional perks that included. Before booking, we read very mixed reviews — some loved it, some hated it — so we went in with realistic expectations. At this price point during peak season, we felt you get what you pay for. Check-In and Rooms Check-in went smoothly and we were told that we were upgraded to an ocean view room. We stayed in room 3232. Which is in building 3 and is central to the entire resort. Great location! The room was perfect for us. Slightly outdated but the room was very clean, beds were comfortable, the bathroom was fine. No rust or mold (contrary to some reviews). We never ran out of hot water and the toilet always flushed. The minibar didn’t have beer but they quickly stocked it once we asked. They always replenished the water we used. Our room was facing Pool #1 and we had a great ocean view room. We had a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall that we never used. Only mentioning this as our friends that were staying in blocks 6 and 7 (non-premium rooms didn’t have a TV like ours). Mentioning only because I’ve previously read comments about the TVs being old in some of the rooms. Only downside: Our room was directly above the buffet. Therefore, I was woken up bright and early every morning (7 am) to sound of staff setting up the buffet and guest eating. Additional notes: They don’t have face cloths, had I known I would have brought some from home. The shower had shampoo, conditioner and body wash dispensers. Pools, beach and grounds Pool: There are two large pools. Pool #1 has the swim up bar and music. Pool #2 does not have a swim up or a music. And there’s the kids pool with the slides. All of the pools are very well kept, Every morning we saw staff cleaning and maintaining the pools. Pool #1. The pool was very cold, it was hard for me to get in. It's a lot deeper that pool #2. There is only one row of lounge chairs around the pool which makes it very cramped. I hated this, I felt like we were always on top of each other. Pool #2. We only started going to this pool at the end of our stay and wish we would have spent the entire week here. The pool is warmer, not as deep, less cramped with chairs and we brought our own music. Kids pool – The pool is well kept, clean and I have nothing bad to say, The kids loved spending their afternoons there. Beach The beach is absolutely gorgeous – no complaints. Con – There are not enough chairs around the pool or on the beach. Unfortunately, you have to wake up early and reserve your chairs. Yes, I understand this causes an uproar in the reviews and comment section, but you either need to join everyone and reserve your chair or be ok with the fact that you will not have one. Because we were woken up early every morning by the buffet I would reserve my chairs by 7:10 am and often found that we were limited to what we could get. People are up very early getting their spots. I saw people pulling their chairs from the beach to the pool or vice versa because there aren’t enough. Grounds: The resort is compact and directly on the beach — no need for trolleys. This was a nice change compared to larger resorts where everything is far apart. The property is very clean inside and out. I did miss seeing birds and turtles like you may see in bigger resorts but we did see tiny lizards ?? Food: The food was not exceptional, but we did not go hungry, and no one got sick. For the size of the resort there should have been more options. I wouldn’t consider myself a picky eater, but the choices were not the best. I did try a lot of the food and at times I was pleasantly surprised. Highlights: - Omelette station every morning - Ice cream was very good! - Pizza is worth the wait - Made our own paninis using the press (no traditional toaster available) A la cartes: - Italian – OK - Mexican – OK - Japanese – Best experience and very entertaining Activities and Entertainment: Daytime entertainment rotates between pools so be sure to look at the activity board by the towel hut. The foam party on Saturday was lots of fun! You definitely do not want to miss that. They had performers do a Cirque Du Soleil style show by the pool one day. That was cool to watch. White party on the beach was Tuesday. Unfortunately it was very high winds that day so the party was inside but there was a fire show by Pool #2. We would have liked to play more volleyball but unfortunately, the ball was never available to sign out. People kept signing it out but not actually using it to play volleyball. So maybe bring your own. The kids loved the trapeze and the rock-climbing wall. Night entertainment was ok. I thought the shows were kind of boring but to each their own. ?? The resort is not lively at night. Once the night show ends at 10:30 pm its kind of a dead zone. Some people will go to the disco or casino, but not a lot of people will stay up late. The theatre is chilly at night, bring a light sweater. We were there for Superbowl Sunday which was really fun. They had a bunch of "American" food, chicken wings, nachos, sliders etc. They decorated the theatre for the theme. It was really fun! Service, Language barrier: I’ve read lots of reviews regarding bad service. I personally didn’t experience this. I am very conscious of their extremely long work hours. If you take the time you will notice that the staff at the buffet are there greeting you at 7:00am and they are serving you at your late-night dinner. They are working over 12 hours a day, every single day. Of course you may catch someone on an off day. We’re all humans after all. We also took the time to understand their living situation. One staff member told us he lives 8 hours away and it takes him 3 buses to get to work. He works 6 days straight, goes home for 3 days and repeats. When he is in Punta Cana he lives somewhere with 16 other staff members. Last year we stayed at another resort, and I asked a bartender how many days he works and he told me he works 3 weeks straight and gets 1 week off. So, I encourage you to take this into consideration. They are working long hours to serve us and I’m sure they would appreciate to be respected. A smile and kindness go a long way. ?? Regarding English: yes, some staff speak limited English — but this is a Spanish-speaking country. We made an effort to speak basic Spanish, and the staff truly appreciated it. Our daughters learned how to order eggs and drinks in Spanish, and the staff loved it. Now I will say there is not enough staff working at the two bars they have inside the resort. The line ups are long and take time. We ended up making a great contact with Anna and she always served us quickly but overall; they should hire more staff. I wish there were more servers in the bar area as well. It would have been nice to sit at our table play cards and have a server come by to take our drink order (we would have generously tipped of course). They only have a couple of servers by the pool and none at the beach. Something I have been used to with previous resorts but that’s just a bonus of course. Overall: We really enjoyed our stay. It’s not a luxury, 5-star gourmet experience — but for $1700 CAD during high season, it delivered good value. Clean resort, beautiful beach, fun daytime activities, and comfortable rooms. If you go in with realistic expectations and a positive attitude, you’ll likely have a great time.