My wife and I booked a trip through Skyauction to Occidental Gran. After booking it we did more research and started to get discouraged by all the negative reviews and some of the pictures that'd been posted (like close ups of rust spots, or cracked floors, etc). So that served to lower our expectations, but we determined to make the best of it anyways. Well, when we got there, we got to our room and were very pleasantly surprised. The room and bathroom were both in good condition and it had a nice cozy look to it. I recommend requesting a room on the third floor, then your room will have a beautiful natural wood slanted ceiling.

The pool was beautiful, we had no problem finding a spot generally, and the beach was nice as well. We thoroughly enjoyed the food at this all inclusive resort - there was never a meal we left dissatisfied and the service was out of this world. Highly recommend the pizza parlor which is on the roof of the open auditoreum by the pool and also right outside the entrance to the italian restaurant. They have brick ovens and I had the best calzone I've ever had, though I did pay for it with some heart burn later on.. it was definitely worth it though. The italian restaurant was also very good, if you like A LOT of meat, the brazilian restaurant was good - it's about a 10 course meal of different meats they keep bringing to your table on skewers. The chinese meal was a little hard for my wife and I to find something since we don't like fish, but we enjoyed our meals and the ambiance was very nice. The mexican restaurant was also tasty so in short, we recommend trying to get to each of the cultural restaurants as early as possible, and seeing if you can get to another if there's any you like a lot later in the week. The best way to do this is the first night you get there, go to where you get your meal tickets for the specialty restaurants (reservations requested) and just get them for the first few nights if you can so you don't have to worry about it later. Remember, if you don't like the food from the specialty restaurant, you can always go to the main buffet restaurant that you don't need reservations for and be very satisfied.

Speaking of service, one thing that really became evident quickly, was that men and women in their 40s and 50s were doing jobs there that kids in their teens do here in the U.S. (waitressing, bell boy, etc) Just keep that in mind when you go to visit, that this isn't their 2nd job to earn some extra discretionary income, this is their livelihood, so we'd encourage you to bring a lot of singles and tip generously.. they are very humble and kind people.

You've probably heard about the fun club (some young adults in blue and gold uniforms) - they did a great job with activities - there was always something going on, if you go here and become bored, it's your own fault.

It rained every day we were there in May, generally from 2-3:30ish each time. Don't let that discourage you though, by that time you've likely laid out by the pool for a couple hours and are ready to go get some shade and have a little afternoon nap. The weather always cleared up nicely for the rest of the day. Also, the locals said it was unusual - I don't know if they just say that, or if it really was unusual, but it really didn't put much of a damper on our time there, we just new it was time for a nap when we felt some rain drops.

The only part that was slightly annoying was a lot of locals roam the beaches trying to paun off their little trinkets. Don't make eye contact, or look at what they're offering, even from a distance, they will immediately come over to you and try to sell. A polite no-thanks generally sent them on their way though. Remember though, they are just other adults trying to earn a living for their family - it's a tourist area and that's about it, so be courteous in light of their poor economic situation.

The last thing I'll mention is that if you do any off-resort activities, we highly recommend 4-Wheeling - and don't go through the resort, go to the mall down the road to the travel agency there, you'll get the best deals there. They will try to convince you the dune buggy is better and safer than the 4 wheeler (it's lower to the ground and has role bars) but it's just because it's more expensive. We went with the 4 wheelers, and the people (everyone else) we were with had gotten the dune buggies, but since they were so low to the ground, they got completely covered in mud, and when they went through mud puddles, extremely hot water. We had a blast 4-wheeling though, and you really get to see some of the towns people.. very poor. Recommend bringing a bag of candy to have things to hand out because a lot of little children will come up and ask for money.

Hope you found this review helpful, wish we were going back!

I have just arrived back from a week in at the Occidental Playa Dorada and I was extremely dissapointed in the hotel accomodation, the food, the service and the majority of the staff.
On arrival, I was told that we were given rooms in the newest and nicest part of the hotel!!! When we got to the room, it smelt stale and musky.. the decor was old and run down.. lights were not all working, the bath had black stains/burns, the shower curtain was discoloured. My mother's room has numerous puddles from all the leaking vents... she was able to change rooms straight away. I was told my bath would 'repaired' straight away - not sure how that could have been done without plumbing a new one in!!!.
Overall the hotel and its facilities are very run down and in need of modernisation - we had to go to the front desk and fill out a form in order to get the remote control for the tv! They charge $20USD for a safe key which can fit any room so not sure how secure that is!!
The staff are either overly friendly to the point of annoyance or they are extremely unattentive and at times simply unhelpful. The staff have a tendancy to talk to eachother about you in spanish which can come across quite disrepectful. If you have a problem or need information - they tend to be quite dismissive and have a careless attitude.
The food was only good at breakfast, lunch was hit and miss, dinners were awful. We were saved many nights by ordering pizzas which you cant go too wrong with. The restaurants that required booking are a waste of time apart of the the Grill - we were served cold food in the Italian and so didnt bother going to the Mexican.
The entertainment at night lacked any culture or taste - one night we thought it extremely inapproriate to simulate intercourse when there was kids in the audience.
Be weary of the Casino as I was almost ripped off when I won on the roulette table and the staff were sticking together to cover it up - not until I demanded to see the CCTV footage was I given my winnings.
Overall my stay at the Occidental has left a bad taste in my mouth in relation to the DomRep - there is a lovely hotel next door called Blue Bay which made me realise that not all the hotels there are the same.

I came back from this resort two weeks ago and I enjoy every moment of it... I was in buliding 26 near the beach and I had a good time......The club was great and the food was good too.. This is nice resort.....I wish I wasn't with my woman.. I would have had a blast... but I did anyway.....

I went with my buddy and we loved it. Its mostly couples there but hit
up the roadway club at night and youll meet lots of people. The food was really good and plentyfull.And all the staff are so friendly and helpfull.They make about 100 dolars a month so make sure to tip them generously, they will love you for it and will serve you so much better, dont be scared about leaving things around,no one steals. We where worried about peoples reviews but they arent true. The rooms where very clean and there where no bugs. If its raining go on the ATV
tours in the sugar kane fields,you will get so muddy and dirty!
Overall it was an amazing experience and we loved it. would go back there anytime.