Now Onyx Punta Cana

I will start by saying the actual resort is beautiful. When you first walk in the views are spectacular and they greet you with cold drinks. It’s very nice. It hasn’t been lost on me that our trip was during a pandemic and the resort was trying to figure things out while we were guests there so I do have some grace for them. However there were some things I really didn’t like. The first, customer service. We missed our first night/day at the resort bc our airline cancelled our flight the first day due to weather. We notified the resort immediately and arrived at the same time we originally were supposed to, just a day later. When we checked in they acted like they didn’t have reservations for us and acted confused. I was bewildered as our reservations had been booked for a very long time and we spoke to them yesterday. Even worse, we had to wait HOURS for our room and were placed into the wrong room, even though I was very clear to confirm we had conjoining rooms, we we have children (this is also something we were very clear on during booking). Several more hours later, we got the correct room BUT they tried to tell us we needed to pay more for it!!! I was furious. We already paid for conjoining rooms so I refused to pay more. The food was AWFUL. I’m not kidding. It was as if they hadn’t yet received their food shipments. There was almost no fresh food the first several days. I couldn’t find a fresh vegetable if my life depended on it. And they didn’t have probably 50-60% of the items offered on their menu. It was also the same 2 restaurants open almost every night and day. It got old very quickly. After our experience wasn’t very good and the food was such low quality and there were not the options open (the ones we were told would be open) we asked for a refund for the day we didn’t even stay at the resort. Us not being there was completely out of our control and they certainly didn’t save a room for us, as they didn’t even have one ready for us and we were a day late. They flat out refused to provide a refund for the day we weren’t even guests! I’ve attached a photo of a bagel with cream cheese, tomato and ham I ordered .....

Room - I requested before we arrived that we wanted a King size bed and a sofa bed in the room, rather than 2 queens and a sofa bed, but upon check in, this wasn't possible without upgrading to the Preferred Club or changing the location of the room. The receptionist was helpful in advising us that the room we had been allocated was in a good position and was not pushing us to upgrade. We were actually pleased with the location as the sun was on our swim up pool for most of the day so the water was warm, whereas people we met on the other side said their pool was freezing as only got the sun for a limited time in the morning. Upon entering the room, we were hit by the smell of damp. My husband reassured me it was just the air conditioning and I didn't notice the smell after a couple of days, so must have got used to it. However, since returning home, all of our clothes smell damp so I have had to wash everything, even clothes we didn't wear, to get rid of the smell. Other people at the resort told us they complained about the smell of their room and were upgraded to the preferred club on the basis that they didn't write a negative review on Trip Advisor!! The floor of the room was also dirty with sand when we entered. We complained about this to our TUI Rep the following day, and found it was cleaned better after this, but was never properly cleaned, often a dirty mop was used and underneath the beds was disgusting. If we were using our terrace during a clean, the housekeeper never cleaned the outside area, so we had lots of grass cuttings there for a few days. The outdoor whirlpool bath was also never cleaned during our stay so we never used it. As we were not in the preferred club, our room was rarely cleaned until late afternoon, usually after 4pm. Our daughter napped in the afternoon during our 1st week for a couple of hours, so our room was not cleaned for a few days, as our do not disturb sign was on from 4pm when she slept. Childrens pool - the childrens pool usually only had 3 or 4 umbrellas around it, which is ridiculous for kids who need shade. On one day when the men were there selling cigars and jewellery, there was only one umbrella there as they had taken them all to provide them with shade! Someone complained about this and 2 of them were taken back. All the resorts we have been to before have had a canopy or sail over the kids pool, so that it remains in the shade. The pool was also not cleaned every day as we saw a plaster in there for 4 days. Swim Up Pool - During our 2nd week, the groundsmen had cut the grass outside which meant a lot of grass had gone into our swim up pool, so you couldn't really swim in it as debris was floating all in it. I phoned through to reception to request someone to come and clean it but no one did. The next day I phoned again, but still it wasn't cleaned. Then 2 members of the customer service team were by the pool asking me if everything was ok with our room and I said that the swim up pool was dirty and I had already asked for it to be cleaned twice already. It wasn't until the following day that it was cleaned. Myself and my daughter had brought brand new swimsuits for the holiday but they all turned green after a few days, even though I rinsed them out every night. I have had this happen before over a few years of wear from the pool and sunscreen, but never after a few days, I also saw a white unicorn inflatable had green all on the bottom from being in the pool all day, so there must be some chemicals that are being put in the water that are reacting with them. The swimsuits are therefore ruined. Also, my husbands white watch turned green. On the last day my daughter also got conjunctivitis in one of her eyes, which was very uncomfortable for her on the plane journey home as it was weeping and sore for her. She then developed a fever and was sick when we landed. I suspect this was due to the poor cleanliness of the swimming pools. The hotel have denied this, even though I have sent them evidence from our GP, but they insist the pools have a cleaning audit once a day, despite my photos showing dirty water for at least 3 days! Food - The choice in the buffet was great for me, however my husband is a vegetarian so he found there was limited options for him apart from plain vegetables. The other restaurants were not that great either, as the pasta and risotto were undercooked in the Italian (other guests told us their pasta was undercooked also) and the chicken was overcooked in the Steak House. Burger Bars and Ice Cream parlour were great though. Kids Club - Our daughter was so excited to go to the Kids Club and it was the reason why we chose to stay at the hotel as it took children from 3 years old. But when we got there to have a look, there were no kids in there and the lady said adults aren't allowed in but told my daughter she could go in to have a look. As a parent, I don't feel comfortable putting my daughter somewhere where I'm not even allowed to have a look around, and with my daughter being shy with strangers, she didn't want to go in on her own. It would be better to allow parents to have a look around to see where there kids are going when they get there. We met another couple who put there 4 year old in a few times but said there were no toys in there to play with and the staff didn't interact with her so she stopped going after a few days. A couple of times we went to put her in but there were no other kids in there, the staff didn't seem to want her to go in as it meant work for them, and weren't trying to encourage her to go in so we gave up. Most of the times, the itinery was also different to what was printed, as they were usually at the pool when they should have been in the club. We attended the water balloon fight one day, but this was just a member of staff who threw a few water balloons in the pool, then sat on the side and the kids played by themselves. There was never much interaction with the kids, and it felt more like they were there just to watch them, rather than running a club for them. They should have been out trying to entice more kids into the club each day. Evening Entertainment - The entertainment was more or less the same thing every night, apart from the circus night which was good, so became boring after a few nights. It was also on really late so the kids were far too tired by the time it came on. My daughter was looking forward to the mini disco each night, but this was just 2 songs played on the screen from Just Dance for them to dance along too, and they were not appropriate for the age group who were there for it, which was usually 3-6 years old. The songs played were more for teenagers. My daughter was usually the only child who attended it, and there was no interaction with her made by the 2 helpers as they were too busy concentrating on getting the dance moves right! Also, the warm up before the main show was uncomfortable to watch sometimes, and meant few people got there early as they didn't want to be pulled up on stage! Noise from other guests - The noise in the corridors late at night woke us up as the tiles echo everything and having an Adults Only hotel next door, meant all the people without kids went there and then came back late at night making loads of noise! A few days into our stay we were woken to lots of noise outside on our terrace. My husband went out there and found our next door neighbours in the swim up pool at midnight, with a speaker on the side of the pool blaring out music! He asked them to keep it down and their response was 'what are you like 80, we're getting married?!' Another guest on the other side went to reception to complain as it had woken him and his baby up also, but the reception staff didn't seem to want to know and didn't do anything. Eventually, they got out of the pool and went back inside after my husband told them there were lots of kids around trying to sleep. It would have been ok if they were having a quick dip to cool off, but they were practically having a pool party right outside out room! On another night, young guys were running up and down our corridor at 1am throwing ice cubes at each other, so my husband had to go outside to tell them to keep it down. On our last night, I was woken at 3.30am by someone banging on a door really hard. After 10 minutes I went outside and the lady said her friend was in the shower and couldn't hear her to let her in. I told her she was waking everyone up and to either wait for her friend to finish or to go to reception to get another key. She said 'I’m not going to reception to get no key' and then said 'mind your own business!' I told her she'd woken me up and we had a young child asleep and there were other kids asleep along here and she said she didn't care! To avoid this in future, they either need to group families together, or not let people use the adults only hotel after a certain time unless they are staying there, or insist all adults under 40 without kids, stay in Breathless, not Now Onyx! With the amount of weddings that happened during our stay, all guests without kids, should have stayed at the other hotel. Operator - We received a phone call on our 2nd night at 1.15am from reception which woke us up. He said 'The reason for my call is... erm' and then hung up the phone as he had obviously called the wrong room. No one contacted us after this to apologise for waking us up unnecessarily. As a courtesy, we would have expected an apology, but instead have been told they will do more staff training! The hotel have offered us a free room upgrade on our next stay as a gesture of goodwill, but we will not be staying again, as it was not a family friendly hotel as the corridors were more like an 18-30’s holiday in the evenings! Room smelt of damp and floor was dirty when we arrived. Corridors were noisy in the evenings as adults guest spent their evenings at the adults only hotel then stayed at Now Onyx. We were woken up in the middle of the night on at least 3 occasions and it resembled more of an 18-30’s holiday rather than family friendly! Kids pool had a plaster in for days and no shade. Our swim up pool had grass in for days despite me complaining about it each day. Our daughter caught conjunctivitis from the dirty water and the hotel responded by saying the pool was checked daily but it wasn’t as shown by my photos taken over several days. Kids club was awful with no kids in there as they had no toys for them. Evening entertainment was so bad it made everyone feel uncomfortable.

The facilities were very modern and new. The staff was quite attentive and willing, showing helpful and cordial. We had a room where there was easy access to restaurants and common areas. Although it was almost 40 minutes from downtown Punta Cana, and the road was under construction, the facilities were worth the distance. Our room has a private pool which we enjoyed every day, we love the food fresh!

So this was pre-covid and we are itching to go back. Everything about this place was wonderful! There was a waterpark that had a fun lazy river and bars on the side, so families could enjoy together. It was a great mix of people and just so clean and organized. We opted for the butler service which I would highly recommend, as the perks are worth it. The beach was great, rooms were clean and food was fresh. The private lounge food was good as well but a bit repetitive. The best drinks were at the preferred club lounge near the lobby and the best coffee was the coffee place near the lobby. The coffee in the preferred members lounge near the pool was equally fantastic. Do the upgrade at the resort, it’s much cheaper. Online it seemed to be atleast 700$ cdn per person additional whereas when we got there, it wasnt even $700 cdn for the week for the entire room upgrade. The food is great and the Japanese restaurant by far is the most delicious. If you dont go the preferred member route then bookings have to be done diligently for restaurants instead of butler doing this. The italian place was good too but the steak grill place was horrible. For excellent French food, have arrangements made at the sister property next door. The entertainment is fun and the dj was great. We have been to the DR multiple times and this was the first time we were left alone to enjoy our vacation instead of being hunted down daily for time shares. We really appreciated that and how thoughtful and happy people were, bartenders, housekeeping, waitstaff and all. There was always room on the beach and near the pools nor did we have an issue with towels. The only thing we had complaints about was the food at the preferred member beach snack hut. Same thing everyday and the quality was lacking. However, the experience was wonderful and this place is a must visit! For shopping, walk down left of the beach passed the sister resort and theres cute stores with much more decent pricing vs the hotel shopping.For excursions, we have done the Sanoa Island day trip that involved a speedboat and another type boat, with a stop in a natural shallow pool... it was okay but extremely overcrowded. If you are going to do it then make sure to get a massage on the island by one of the people walking around at your lounge chair, it’s significantly cheaper than going to the huts/covered area. The dune buggie excursion is also alot of fun and a visit to the brugal distillery. Have a great time!!

Although staying at the sister hotel next door, we spent most nights at the Onyx lobby Moment's bar, a great relaxed and friendly atmosphere, great conversation between other holiday makers but most of all wonderful staff, we cant praise high enough Jorge (Excelente) Barz and Maralin Gimenez who run the bar on the resort, they interact with patrons and keep the evenings entertaining playing off each other and supplying outstanding and imaginative cocktails. We cant wait to get back and see everybody, so if you are heading to the Onyx or Breathless get yourself to the Moment's Lobby bar to say hi and have one of Jorge's creations! Jorge and Marlalin if you are reading this, "Thank You", you helped make a good holiday Great!