Dreams Onyx Resort & Spa

Everything was perfect. The food was good, even the buffet. Employee really want to make your vacancy perfect and they really care about you.

Group of 7 family and friends (6 & 9 years old) stayed for 11 nights. Great hotel for families. Didn’t need the preferred club after plenty of research. Money was better spend on a private boat trip and the arcade which was great value for 10 days. (Thank you Sergio!) Joining rooms were a good size in a great location for the splash pool/lazy river. Housekeeping were great and fridge was constantly refilled with what we wanted. Bar staff at the splash pool were great, especially Felix, Jomi and Castillo. Food could have been better overall but really enjoyed the French and grill restaurants. Overall we had a wonderful time and the service at the hotel was very good.

We booked our trip to Dreams Onyx specifically for our destination wedding. Preferred club is THE way to go. Albert was our personal host. Extremely attentive and everywhere!!! We spent 6 days on the resort. Enjoyed the beach, preferred pool, lots of ice cream and plenty of food and all inclusive drinks. Our whole party had a great time. Lisbeth was our wedding coordinator and was the calm in the wedding frenzy. The resort is a very well run machine. Housekeeping was great and they kept our fridge stocked with drinks and snacks. This is your sign to book the trip and ask for Albert as your host.

Honestly, where do I even start? We stayed at Dreams Onyx in Punta Cana for 10 days and I can genuinely say it was one of the worst holiday experiences we’ve had. We’ve travelled to plenty of countries, stayed in lots of different hotels and resorts, and unfortunately Dreams Onyx has managed to set a new standard for disappointment. You go away expecting a relaxing 10-day holiday, especially when you’re paying the money these resorts charge and they’re advertising themselves as 5 star. Unfortunately, the reality was very different. The whole experience was exhausting, frustrating and, at times, genuinely awful. THE FOOD – ABSOLUTELY APPALLING Let’s start with the food, because this was probably one of the biggest disappointments of the entire holiday. The buffet food was practically the same every single day, with very little variation. By the end of the holiday, we were completely fed up with seeing the same things over and over again. The so-called speciality restaurants weren’t much better either. They’re essentially serving you the same food you’d get in the Carnival buffet, just presented slightly better on a plate and given a different name. Don’t expect some amazing dining experience because you certainly won’t get one. Even worse, both myself and my partner became seriously ill during the holiday with what we believe was food poisoning. Since returning home, we’ve both been diagnosed with E. coli and are still suffering with the effects. Obviously, we cannot independently establish exactly where the infection came from, but the timing and our experience with the food during the stay are extremely concerning. When you’re paying for an all-inclusive holiday, you shouldn’t be worrying about whether the food you’re eating is going to make you ill. We ended up eating from On a Roll burger bar quite a bit after becoming fed up with the food elsewhere. Ironically, this was one of the better places to eat at the resort. THE ROOMS AND HOUSEKEEPING To give credit where it’s due, the rooms themselves were nice and generally cleaned to a good standard. However, we noticed a very obvious difference depending on whether we’d left a $5 tip for the cleaner. On the days we left a tip, the room was cleaned properly. On the days we didn’t, the standard noticeably dropped. The same applied to the minibar, which wouldn’t always be replenished unless we’d left a tip. Housekeeping shouldn’t feel like an additional service that you’re having to pay extra for just to receive the standard you’d reasonably expect from a 5-star hotel. Tips should be appreciated for good service, not feel like a requirement for basic service. THE POOL – MORE LIKE A DAYTIME NIGHTCLUB The main pool area was one of the biggest letdowns. Although the hotel itself was generally clean, we found the main pool area quite filthy, with all sorts of things floating around in the water. There was also a complete lack of consideration from some guests. We saw numerous people, mostly American guests, leaving their rubbish and mess behind after using the sunbeds, seemingly expecting the staff to clean up after them. We also overheard several guests speaking quite rudely to the pool staff. The sunbed situation was another joke. People would put towels on beds early in the day, disappear and never return, leaving beds looking occupied when they were actually empty. You’d walk around struggling to find somewhere to sit while perfectly good sunbeds were being reserved by towels rather than people. The atmosphere around the pool wasn’t relaxing either. It was full of adults drinking, shouting and generally being obnoxiously loud. Every single day, we were subjected to the same music played deafeningly loud through a speaker connected to a laptop. Mostly Bruno Mars and Robin Thicke, with the odd Spanish song thrown in for good measure. By the end of the 10 days, we could probably recite the playlist. A word of advice: don’t choose a sunbed near the pool if you’re hoping for some peace and quiet. On two separate occasions, guests were playing American football in the pool and managed to hit our table, sending our drinks all over our sunbeds while we were actually sitting there. Why are people allowed to play ball games in a swimming pool where other guests are trying to relax? It’s inconsiderate, annoying and quite frankly shouldn’t be happening. THE HOTEL LAYOUT AND FACILITIES The overall layout of this hotel just doesn’t make much sense, particularly when you consider it’s advertised as a family-friendly resort. The Preferred pool and beach areas are adults-only, which we found ridiculous for a hotel that’s supposed to cater for families. If adults want an adults-only environment, there’s literally Breathless next door. Why shouldn’t families have the option to use these areas if they’re paying extra for Preferred? The Sundaez ice cream parlour is also in a ridiculous location. When you’re spending the day around the pool and fancy an ice cream, you have to walk all the way back to the main hotel lobby. Surely there would be more sense in having it somewhere closer to the pool? The shops inside the hotel are another story. Completely overpriced, with prices that make you wonder whether they’ve mistaken themselves for an airport duty-free shop. They certainly know how to take advantage of people who are staying on the resort and don’t have many other options. Cosmic Lanes, the arcade, was actually good and a welcome change when you’re bored of the same entertainment. However, it’s not cheap for what you get. I genuinely think the hotel should include at least one arcade session with your stay. It’s something different and enjoyable, but the extra costs soon add up. On a positive note, On a Roll burger bar was good, and the Mixology cocktail bar was also enjoyable. THE BEACH – THE ONE REAL POSITIVE The beach was genuinely lovely and, in our opinion, much better than the main pool area. The staff working around the beach were amazing, and we really enjoyed spending time there. Unfortunately, we were absolutely eaten alive by sand mites. Both of our legs were covered in bites, and my partner’s ankle became so swollen and infected that it eventually required medical attention and a hospital visit. More on that absolute nightmare below. THE STAFF – SOME ABSOLUTE GEMS, BUT VERY INCONSISTENT We want to give credit to the staff who genuinely made our stay a little better. Abrahan, who worked around the pool, was absolutely fantastic. Such a lovely, genuine guy who always made an effort and was a pleasure to speak to. He is a real credit to the hotel and someone we will genuinely miss. Eric and Alessandra at the Carnival buffet were also consistently welcoming, polite and friendly. They always made us feel welcome and deserve a mention. Unfortunately, we couldn’t say the same about a lot of the other service we received. Quite often, things were painfully slow unless you were handing out tips. It shouldn’t feel like you’re having to constantly tip just to receive a reasonable level of service at an all-inclusive 5-star resort. THE HOTEL DOCTOR AND HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE – ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING This is probably the most serious part of our experience and something I genuinely think people need to know about before travelling here. Halfway through our holiday, my partner’s insect bites became severely swollen, with her ankle practically ballooning up. Naturally, we were concerned and sought medical advice through the resort doctor. We were advised and arranged to attend a hospital affiliated with the resort doctor. We travelled there with our five-year-old child, expecting to receive some basic medical advice and treatment. What followed was honestly one of the most distressing experiences we’ve ever had while travelling. We were presented with a $608 charge for a doctor’s consultation and an additional $208 room charge that hadn’t been explained to us beforehand. This was before any additional costs for medication, tests or further treatment. Understandably, we weren’t prepared to agree to these charges without having a clear explanation of what we were paying for, particularly when the costs hadn’t been properly communicated to us. At approximately 1am, after declining to proceed with treatment because of these charges, we attempted to leave. This is where things became completely unacceptable. Hospital security actively prevented us from leaving and demanded that we return inside to make payment. We were effectively being stopped from leaving the premises, despite having declined treatment and without my partner having received any medical assessment or treatment. We were there with our five-year-old child in the middle of the night, being confronted by security staff demanding payment. Just imagine how frightening and upsetting that was for a young child. We have travelled to many countries and have used doctors and hospitals abroad before, but we have never experienced anything remotely like this. Eventually, the hospital allowed us to leave after Jerry, who was working that night, spoke with Doctor Lewis from Dreams Onyx. She advised that she would deal with us directly and that we should be allowed to return to the resort. We subsequently obtained antibiotics from an independent pharmacy, which cost us just $10. The contrast between that and the $608 consultation charge, before any additional treatment costs, was staggering. We are not suggesting medical professionals shouldn’t charge for their services. Of course they should. But fees need to be transparent, patients need to understand what they’re agreeing to, and nobody should feel intimidated or prevented from leaving when they decline treatment. We found the entire experience deeply distressing and believe Hyatt seriously needs to investigate the medical arrangements and hospital referrals associated with this resort. If you need medical assistance while staying here, please make sure you understand the charges and seek independent medical advice if you’re uncomfortable with what you’re being offered. Do not assume that being referred by the resort automatically means you’re dealing with a reasonably priced or transparent service. We actually managed to find an independent local pharmacy through Google, contacted them via WhatsApp and had medication delivered to the resort within approximately eight minutes of ordering. It was unbelievably quick. OVERALL – WE WON’T BE RETURNING After 10 days, we came away feeling completely exhausted and disappointed. Between the repetitive and concerning food situation, the pool environment, inconsistent service, sand mite bites, my partner’s infection and the absolutely shocking hospital experience, this holiday was genuinely more stressful than relaxing. There were positives. The beach was lovely, Abrahan was fantastic, Eric and Alessandra were always welcoming, and a couple of the food and drink outlets were enjoyable. But a handful of positives cannot make up for an overall experience this poor. We paid for a 10-day holiday expecting a 5-star family experience. Instead, we spent far too much time dealing with problems, feeling unwell and being disappointed by a resort that clearly didn’t live up to what it advertises. We won’t be returning to Dreams Onyx, and based on this experience, we have absolutely no intention of booking another Hyatt resort either. My advice? Save your money and look elsewhere. There are plenty of other resorts in Punta Cana, and I certainly wouldn’t choose to spend another 10 days here. A holiday should leave you with amazing memories, not a list of complaints, medical bills and an experience you wouldn’t wish on someone else. Dreams Onyx, you really need to do better.

We traveled to Dreams Onyx with our 3 month old to attend a friend's wedding on the property. We paid for the preferred club service which was well worth the extra because we got assigned a concierge (Josue) and he totally made the entire experience unforgettable and much easier to manage with all the baby matters. Property was clean and updated; food was delicious (especially at the specialty restaurants); and all the pools and beaches to explore. It's a family resort so there is something for every one. Highly recommended and we will definitely go back.