My wife and I just returned from a weeks stay at Dreams Punta Cana, we were there August 1-8. We had an absolute blast. This is the first review I've ever written, but felt inclined to offer a differing opinion on the many bad reviews I had read here in the days leading up to our trip. I'll try to do it in some sort of order...

Airport. The Punta Cana airport is small and open air. There was a nice breeze blowing when we came and left though, so it wasn't uncomfortable. At first, things seemed pretty chaotic, but there's obviously a method to their madness. They were actually pretty efficient both coming and going. We had to pay a $10 entry fee per person but paid nothing when we departed. I had read here that others paid $20 to leave as well(?).

Transfer to/from resort. We rode in a packed van that resembled an airport hotel shuttle. It was airconditioned. I guess I can best compare it to an hour long amusement park ride, it was bumpy and there appears to be no traffic laws/rules other than they generally drive on the right side of the road. Note I said generally. For the return transfer we had a very nice motor coach. The driver took a different route and it was actually comfortable. You have to look at this part of the trip as an adventure, a chance to see the Dominican countryside, a couple small towns and how the local people live. It wasn't near as bad as some people here have written. Certainly didn't ruin my day or trip.

Resort. Absolutely gorgeous from the secong you climb the steps into the open lobby area. Check-in was a breeze and included a glass of champagne while our bage were being brought to our room. The grounds are tropical and very well maintained. Peacocks (to include a mother and chick) and Flamingos roam freely. We learned after a day or so that Peacocks like fruit better than bread. They were daily visitors to our porch for a snack.

We got to our room in building #4 to unpack and were extremely pleased. It was fairly small, the bed was pretty firm and the mini fridge kept drinks cool at best, these things are true (a couple beers in the ice bucket did the trick for me). But it was nice and clean (never saw an insect of any sort in there) and more than enough for the two of us. After all, we didn't book the vacation to spend half of it hanging out in the room. Our house keeper was sweet as can be and did a a-one job. our room was spotless and linens were changed daily. Had turn down service every evening and she made little critters out of towels and flowers she clipped from the grounds which my wife liked. We selected a swim-out room which was probably the best decision we made in booking this trip. This obviously guarantees you a first floor room and it was about three paces from the edge of our private patio to the pool edge. We had our own little stretch of water (very little swimmer traffic) that was seperated from the bar/activity area that you can see by the pictures I posted. This was nice because we could be as active with the bar crowd or lazy in the pool outside our room as we chose to be at any given time. It took me about 30 seconds to get from the pool edge outside our room, around the little island and to the bar on the other side. Additionally, our room was nice and cool all day and all night. People we met who stayed on the second or third floors said their rooms were not very cool.

The pool was huge, never seen anything like it. Crystal clear and free formed (long and narrow) from one end of the resort (lobby) to the other (beach). The water was tepid, yes. It's summer in Dom Rep. It's about 3 feet in depth in it's entirety. Perfect for wading and floating around on a raft, but no place for diving. In the middle there is a small wall that actually divides it into two pools. I can only assume that they require two seperate filtration systems because of the size. I always saw plenty of lounge chairs. Rafts are a hot commodity, if you want one at your disposal bring a blow-up. I saw some people take them into their rooms which I thought was pretty greedy.

The ocean was beautiful because it's the ocean, but the water here is not the crystal clear, calm Caribbean sea that tou see on the covers of travel brouchures. The beach was extremely clean and there seemed to be plenty of loung chairs. We are more pool people, so didn't spend much time here.

Excursions. Didn't go on any. Infact, we never left the resort and saw no reason to. People we met who did go on excursions expressed they enjoyed them, but there was a long ride, like an hour plus to get to them.

Food. If you can't find something you like to eat here you're pretty finicky. We ate in all the resteraunts except the asian one and enjoyed them all. I thought the food was extremely good considering it's all inclusive. The dishes were presented very nicely. The resteraunts are cluttered together at either end of the resort and it was obvious the food came from a single kitchen on either end. The fillet in the French resteraunt and Seaside Grill was the same piece of meat with a different sauce on it, but so what. It tasted good. Portions were fairly small, but if I wanted a second steak they brought it to me. We planned all out dinners so we were there at opening time and never waited for a table. Infact, there were always plenty of tables open when we finished too. All I can figure is either the resort wasn't full during our stay, or reviewers who described long waits picked the wrong time of the evening to eat. The Buffet had a huge variety and was especially good for breakfast and lunch. The sandwiches in the ala carte places during lunch didn't impress me. They grilled burgers, dogs and sausage on the beach every day too. Wasn't bad and was easy if you don't feel like getting changed or cleaned up for lunch. The dress codes were confusing. Some places I thought required pants and I was the only one in pants. I ended up wearing shorts everywhere we went except the French resteraunt. The only place I was turned away was the asian place. I also wore thongs everywhere but the French place. I figure they consider flip flops what we might wear in a gym shower room.

Bars. Lots of them. A huge variety of frozen drinks (say with alcohol if that's your preference). El Presidente on tap (good stuff). If I wanted a Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Bacardi or darn near anything else I could imagine, I got it.

The Dreams staff. Absolutely made our trip. Everyone from our house keeper to the guy trimming palm trees always greeted us with a smile and salutation. The Dominicans are wonderful, happy people and went well out of their way to please and accomodate every request. I was never once told no, or that's not my job or I don't know. They remember names and faces and always greeted us excitedly when we returned to their bar, resteraunt, or whatever for a second visit. The entertainment staff was very busy by day directing the planned poolside and beach activities (we were treated to donkey races on the beach when we first got there) and they were the performers in the evening shows. I HIGHLY recommend anyone who stays here (or anywhere else for that matter) not forget to tip the folks who are waiting on you hand and foot. A couple dollars is a lot of money to them, but more importantly, it confirms to them that you appreciate their hard work. We left our maid $5 every day. If I went to the same pool side bar ten times in a day, I'd bring a dollar or two every third or fourth time. I would give our waiter 3 to 5 dollars after dinner. This will not break your bank and means the world to them. I brought 100 in fives and 100 in ones for tipping. Didn't need that much, but it made tipping easier.

What to bring. In hindsight, the best advice I read in any review before our trip was to pack what clothes you thought you would need then take half of it back out. We didn't use a third of the clothes we brought with us. Also, bring any meds you think there's any chance you or a family member may need. Think very hard about this and go through your med cabinets for ideas. The pharmacy was limited and very, very expensive. Bring plenty of imodium, Pepto, etc. for the digestive trauma (trust me here) you may experience. There was one day I had stomach pains so bad I was down for a while (don't know exactly what caused it so won't venture to guess. Didn't change my diet and it didn't happen again, so who knows). Other than that, just more common gastro affliction. All food cotains bacteria, we're just used to the types in our homelands. Don't be suprised when there's an effect on you, doesn't mean the food is bad. You're just not accustomed to it. I also heard horror stories about visits to the doctor on site. It's all heresay, so I won't share these stories, but don't go unless you think you're going to die.

Who should NOT go to this resort. For the most part this is just my opinion based on my observations and I put them out there for consideration only...

Disabled or elderly folks. I saw several people with varying degrees of disablities and senior citizens who all seemed to be having fun. However, this is a large and sprawling resort and walking a little ways is very much a part of getting from place to place. Some of the resteraunts, etc. were up flights of stairs. Unless there were alternative access points that weren't obvious to me, it seems like the individuals confined to wheel chairs were limited in what areas of the resort they could use. Again, this was only an observation, but I saw several people in wheel chairs that I never saw in these places.

People who can't or don't want to tolerate children. This is a family oriented resort and there were a lot of kids. Of all ages. This didn't bother me in the least, they were all having a blast and I never witnessed a tantrum or anything. We have four teenagers, so actually enjoyed watching the kids run amok. Brought back memories.

People who are looking for a frat party. It would be easy to pack away enough booze to float a boat before lunch. But again, this is a family resort. My wife and I are in out early 40s and not prudish. We like to have a few drinks and meet new people, laugh and have good times. But this is not the kind of place to get completely hammered, loud and obnoxious. You would certainly make yourself a focal point, as you'd likely be the only one in this condition.

Again, if the focal point of what kind of vacation you're looking for is that brochure cover photo with the turquoise, serene caribbean sea. We thought the beach was fine, but I've seen much nicer. And these are actually Atlantic waters.

Zsa Zsa Gabor. If you simply can't be pleased don't go here. After reading a ton of these reviews, and experiencing our stay, I have to wonder if we're all talking about the same resort. I understand it's possible to have a bad exerience at a good place for whatever reason. But I find it hard to accept that I possibly had such a great experience in a bad place. With that, I can only assume that some, if not many of the bad reviews posted here were written by people that are Zsa Zsa Gabors. Dom Rep is an independant Island nation, not the US or any other country. English is not their primary language, even though they do very well and love to learn more from you. If you have no desire to experience another culture and all it has to offer, why would you leave your homeland? Bottom line, if you spend your time here comparing everything to the way it is at home, and what you dislike instead of what you like, you will be the maker of your own bad time. But if you have an open mind to new tastes and mingling with people who come from a different culture, I can't imagine anyone leaving this place with anything but great memories.

This is the 3rd time in Dominican Republic and possibly one of the best.
The best points of this hotel are the pool it goes on or ever. The entertainment team are fab Best are 50 cent Usher and Stephanie.
The only bad comments I could make for our vacation is the 4th July meal on the beach. The whole hotel had to eat on the beach as they shut down all other restaurants. But there was not enough lighting or adequate seating. The evening entertainments is good the coral for kids and adults is great way to spend an hour after lunch when the sun is at its strongest.
Bar staff are friendly don’t look to be tipped all the time I only tipped good service. Don’t believe in tipping for the sake of tipping.

The beach is excellent we went snorkelling most days on the reef the fish and coral are all here also went sailing all part of the all inclusive

Go to dreams and have a wonderful time

Just came back from Dreams Punta Cana, My son who is 21, daughter who is 14, my husband and I stayed for 9 days. You could really tell that you were in a 3rd world country. You really feel sorry for the people of Punta Cana because on your ride to the resort you see the true scenery. These people are very, very very poor. The roads are not paved they are the worst. So, once you get to the resort you have a back ache. The staff at the resort really tried but it could never compare to Dreams Cancun which gave you 5 star treatment. You could not go outside the grounds unless you were with a tour from the resort. The resort was set in a reclusive area within the bushes of Punta Cana so once you have participated in the activities within the resort you are just stuck there. The food was fair but could have been better. The highlight of the vacation was the tour on the Kontiki boat. This was fun for the whole family. It is a party boat, the whole family is brought into the line dancing and the make believe shows that they perform.

We stayed at the Dreams Resort Punta Cana in June 2008. We had an awesome time. The Resort has a very tropical setting, rooms are clean, pool is great, food is good and the staff is very courteous and friendly. The Best part of the resort was the entertainment team specially Michael Jackson, Melkins and Usher!!! These guys worked their [--] of to keep us entertained. I would definitely recommend this resort to people who are not complicated and don’t’ except a five-star luxury hotel.

By the way, for an additional fee, they also have a photo shop with professional photographers, who take beautiful pictures, so you can cherish your memories. Thank you Jorge for my awesom pictures!!!

SHUT OUT TO MICHAEL JACKSON, MELKINS AND USHER FROM Los Colombianos de NJ (lalo, gladys, viviana y fabian)