Just returned from this hotel a couple hours ago and just wanted to come on here and say all the bad reviews must be for a different hotel as myself and the rest of my party found absolutely nothing to complain about during our two week stay.

We stayed in block 5 on the ground floor which had a perfect location - in the centre of everything, but far enough away from Sneakers disco so we couldn't hear it at night. The rooms themselves could do with a lick of paint here and there but overall they do the job for the amount of time you spend in the room. Maid service everyday, fresh towels everyday, bed linen changed every couple days. We had 4 cockroaches in the room over the course of two weeks which is nothing really. Bathroom is simple and could do with updating, but our shower worked and was nice and hot so no complaints.

The food in the resort was extremely varied and all very high quality.
Windows the main buffet restaurant has a different theme night every night (Spanish, Dominican, Italian, Gala, Beach Party, Mexican and International) and the food within each theme is so varied - how anyone can not find something they like is beyond me. Every night there is a pasta station with various types of pasta and sauces - all delicious and freshly cooked in front of you. Breakfast is again a buffet, containing various breads and cold meats, cereals, hot items such as eggs, bacon, sausage as well as cakes, muffins, doughnuts etc. You can also create your own omlette which is made to your liking - very tasty!
Beach restaurant offered more of a snack based service - rice, salads, cold pasta, chips etc. With a snack bar just outside cooking fresh burgers and hot dogs - just be careful to check your burger is cooked thoroughly before you eat it.
We visited 4 of the 5 a la carte restaurants and enjoyed them all.
Aqua (the main restaurant for the Bavaro Suites) is amazing! I swear that my meal there was the nicest meal I've ever had, not just on the holiday but in my whole life!
D'Mario's Italians was really nice too, good range of pastas and pizzas as well as several types of meat. We visited there twice as we enjoyed it so much. On our second visit we found the service quite slow but not slow enough to make a complaint.
The Tex-Mex American Grill was also an enjoyable night however the service in there was extremely slow, it took us over two hours to eat our 3 courses. The food however was very enjoyable, with a wide variety of choice.
The fish restaurant on the beach side was also enjoyable, they have a great range of fish available but also a non-fish meat for those who don't enjoy seafod. Yes you do have to pay extra for lobster but there is so many other choices to select from that there is no reason to bring this up as an issue.

The bars are scattered right through the resort, you're never too far away from the rum and cocktails. We spent most of our nights either at the beach side bar or the backstage bar, where they have quite an extensive cocktail menu that they can customise for you (change Rum for Vodka etc.). Every night there is a different show in the theatre, we only saw one (The Micheal Jackson show) which was really good and entertaining.

We used two of the resort's pools - the main one and the adult pool. We found the main pool extremely loud and busy so we found the adult pool a fantasic haven - this is not a negative of the main pool it simply wasn't what we were looking for, but it would be great for fun loving families and children. The adult pool was perfect for us, we were able to lounge by the pool on sunbeds which were always readily available as the area was so quiet. There was often some kids who invaded the pool but staff were quick to remove them. The adult pool bar is where we found our favourite staff member Nicholas - he is amazing and deserves a pay rise! He brought us drinks in and around the pool without even having to be asked, we just kept tipping him a few dollars every day and we seemed to become his favourite customers!

As for excursions I highly recommend every trip we went on; Tropical Sunset, Reef Explorer (it's about 30ft away from the hotel, not travel necessary!), Saona Island and the Monster Truck Safari. If you do go on the Monster Trucks take some gifts for the children of the DR and Haiti as they come up to the truck and you visit a school. Many people on our trip simply took the hotel's toiletries and the children loved it - it's a very eye opening trip!

A few times a week some vendors come into the resort and set up stalls throughout the site. It is a little annoying but it's also quite fun and interesting. They sell all DR produce - Rum, Cigars, paintings, jewellery, clothes, ornaments etc. and and definitely flexible on their prices so always haggle! Some give you free gifts just for looking. It's good to compare rock bottom prices with the stall vendors and the shops within the resort as there is often a severe price difference.

One tip I would give for anyone visiting this hotel would be to take effective insect repellent. I came away from the resort with a very high number of mosquito bites, mostly on my ankles and feet. We were told when we arrived that you can purchase insect repellent patches (similar to a nicotine patch) that I would definitely buy if I returned to the DR.

Overall I highly recommend this hotel to anyone, we had an amazing holiday and I'm sure you would to if you went.

A group of 6 of us went to the Grand Oasis between July 5th and July 12th from London Ontario and we had a great time. The beach and grounds were amazing. The food was actually pretty good even though by the end I was getting sick of it. WINDOWS had a big selection but some of it wasnt to good. I guess it depended on the night.

One problem we found was the swim up bar servers were miserable and it attached to the kids pool. We wished there was a swim up bar for the adult pool even though our server Nicholas was excellent. Also on occasion there were kids in the adult pool which was annoying abnd awkward because thats where the topless girls go.

AQUA and AMERICAN GRILL were both okay but Damario was actually very good. Overall the food didnt make me sick so I was happy

Our maid service was okay but remember to tip because the one time we forgot we got bad service!!!!

All in all we enjoyed ourselves and I would probably return if I got the right price. Like I said the beach was amazing and the grounds were amazing but a few things here and there could have been better.

Alright, alot of mixed reviews which actually flaw this resort alot more than they deserve, i mean you wouldn't complain about the flight because it takes too long. On that note, I flew from the UK with my girlfriend on thomsonfly airline, almost a 9 hour flight to get there. Something to note there is that although the space in the craft is reasonable it is uncomfortable when you fly at 9Am and been up since 5, so trying to get a shut eye is out of the question unless you take a pillow and something to keep you warm (as the air conditioning is set on max).

Next you have the airport- alot of people writing comments complain about the airport tax you pay when you arrive (its $20pp by the way) and if you haven't been told by your airline or travel agent then take it up with them because this is something that has always been around (as with some latin american countries for future reference, always good to research).

Most people like to plan they're trips all in one go with the same person from their departure, all well and good but you will be sacrificing a bit. If you dont mind spending a bit then call the hotel before hand and tell them the date you arrive, they can arrange a taxi to pick you up (anything from $80 to $100 is fine and considering its MUCH more comfortable after a 9hour flight its well worth it and for those family travellers, if you call in advance taxis are also vans which fit up to 8 people and charge you the same, and most people speak english, spanish, french and italian). IMPORTANT note is that this is a country which survives through tourism so they always try and milk foreigners, if the taxi tries to charge you more than that before you get on TURN IT DOWN...trust me $100 to them is plenty so they will not refuse to take you, bluff and haggle but dont let them overcharge you as it can put a negative spin on your trip early on.

In the Hotel, once you have your room dont forget the sun cream, specially you ladies with sensitive skin tans may look and feel good, sun burnt doesnt. Bug repellent is another must, you will not even notice you been stung until you start to itch.

Make the most out of you trip
Be open minded, dont say no if you havent tried it, if you get asked to dance...DANCE, play volley...THEN PLAY. It doesnt matter if you never have done it trust me you will not look silly, you will just look like a person on holiday enjoying themselves. Try things you wont do at home, food wise, drink wise and activity wise.
Plan you week early that way you wont run out of time. Set up excursions because they make your trip well worth it. we tried a few and i would recommend the "isla Catalina VIP" ($98 with lobster) and "Manati park" for taking pictures and if your more adventurous then "Crazy wheels" and "speed boats" (both for $120 for 2people).

FIANL peace of advice....Never EVER buy souveneirs in the hotel, man they over charge, instead just a small walk from the beach theres a couple stalls, it may seem they are pushy but they need to survive, be polite, joke with them and you will get free stuff hahahah, dont be flashy with money because they will see you have a lot to spend and try and take more from you, instead dont draw out any money until you have all you want and a final deal.
Its hard to say what a fair price is and they are not generic so just a few notes...the 2 things that you should take is something with larimar and amber (for ladies) rum and cigars for the fellows. This is how it goes always with them, they tell you to look around and they will give you a good price. then they'll say "this is how much it costs but JUST for you they will knock down....." of course this is a lie and you will say no. They ask how much you willing to pay at this point its all down to your bargaining skills, so lets just run this:
you pick out 2 large wall pictures 2 medium and 2 small (to pretend because thats what i bought).
they grab the calculator give you $300 (maybe even more) you laugh and say no thats way too much, never mind thanks either way. They then say how much you willing to pay...exagerate they wont be offended...say i only wanted to spend like $30. they say no we cant do that they really good quality etc etc etc you stick to it and say whats the lowest you can go they will say something like $120, you laugh again and say from £30 to $120, too much and make them a new offer $40, they say no they go down to $90 you say $60 and thats it.....they say ok and before you pay use the line....ok but what will you give me as a present to remember you and come back....if they say no then insist they will always give in.
Like i mentioned theres no set prices but you know you got a fair price when they seem to hesitate.

The hotel stuff are friendly but if theres something you need, you might need to bug them a bit, to get it done. if they tell you they will do something ask how long, if its not done then go back when the time has passed and ask what happen. In the club you will get the same music but if you get into it it will be fun no matter. the shows are brilliant, the michael jackson and magic show are best. Room, when you get in make sure that you look around before the guy with you bags leave, check the bathroom is clean and you have your towels but most important, check the air conditioning is working. restaurants, well variety is the spice of life so try a bit of everything, if you want to play it safe go to the buffet or italian as the food there will not disappoint. If your in doubt always ask, its always good to ask before hand what you can and cannot use. The Spa...if you want to unwind then you have to book it 24hours in advance, its not included but you can use the jacussi and sauna for free.

but thats it....all you need to note is go with a positive attitude, plan your time, enjoy yourself....keep $20 for seperate as you will need to pay the airport tax when you leave aswel.

We just returned from a 7 night stay at the Grand Oasis Punta Cana. This was our 5th trip to Punta Cana and our 1st to the Grand Oasis Punta Cana. We have always stayed at the Barcelo complex at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace, which is a true 5 STAR resort. I had read the reviews of the Grand Oasis and they were mixed review of people who love it and hated it - so after speaking with our travel agent at MKTravel - she highly recommended it, so we went for it. Our experience just like some of the other reviews I've read, are mixed. First we were put in a room in building 5 on the 3rd floor. We immediately complained as there are no elevators and we were a group of 10 in 3 separate rooms with kids, older people, etc... They moved us to building 4 on the 1st floor, we were happy, but when we went into the room we did not like the smell - to make a long story short, we complained and complained at the lobby, as supposedly, we had requested a room in building 7, but were told that we had to pay extra for that. The next day, we received a call from the manager at the reception area and she told us that she was going to upgrade us to rooms on the 1st floor at the Bavaro Suites. Now, that was A NICE ROOM!!!! We were on building #11, it was absolutely the best!!! The food was great at all of the a la carte restaurants, the buffet Windows was good, but they need more variety. The only thing that really upset us with the food was the fact that there is NO LOBSTER unless you pay $25.00 per pound for it - and this is SUPPOSE TO BE ALL INCLUSIVE. We ate shrimp, but they were not available all the time. Other than that, the food was good. The service could have been better. I think the entire resort in under staffed, so the few employees they do have are over worked and under paid, so they aren't as happy as they should be. As far as bugs and stuff, we did not see any - everything was pretty clean. The hotel is still undergoing some remodeling, but you don't see it unless you go to the actual building that they are remodeling. The entertainment was absolutely great, they do a very nice and fun beach party once a week, great disco, excellent shows at the theater, etc... If you have never been to a 5 star resort and you are taken to this one, you will love it. Now, if you have been to a 5 star resort and then go here, you will see the difference. You get what you pay for. We wanted to save some money and went here, therefore, like the saying says, you get what you pay for. Will we go to the Grand Oasis again - probably not just because we have like other resorts better - but for the price we paid, it was great!
We are from Miami, Florida