Ocean Blue & Sand

We used thd free hotel transfer as we booked direct, this was a bit confusing as tge company they use doesnt actually advertise and we couldn't find any of there staff, until you look at thd small print on thd transfer docs which says desk 2 which when wd eventually found it just said ocean blue in small writing , but a quick 30 min journey with another couple we were checked in quickly and efficiently. Staying in block 10 grn floor near the beach overlooking the pool. The room was nice and spacious and the air-conditioning efficient. The Butler aways greeted us, but we didn't want anything really apart from one dinner booking and late check out which he sorted. We stayed as privileged which in our opinion was worth it, just for the cabanas every day which look out to sea and had awelcome breeze, with tge addition of the tiki bar and dedicated staff. The a la carte restaurants - the steak house we felt was a bit dissapointing conveyor like, and please get some sharp steak knives!! The italian was very nice with a bit more atmosphere and tasty food. Route 66 was average in our opinion. The rest of the time we at mostly in the buffet which had a good selection but the food always seemed warm , but never hot, unless you got it from one of the cooking stations. But it was always tasty. The staff are top notch - always smiley and helpful, and we are not your typical stateside guests who tip and expect a top service. We only found one member of staff who looked as though she didn't want to he there, but that was the exception. We tipped were we felt it warranted it. All in all we had a great week, and felt we had had good value.

Route 66 bartender Franklin was the most personable fun and outgoing bartender ever ! His drinks were amazing and his service was superb!

Irving was brilliant! Proper good service with a smile and loving life

Diogenes and Wander was the best bartenders I had this whole vacation

The Ocean Sand and Blue in the DR makes for a difficult review to write. If I were to boil it down to one sentence it would be a hotel with a 7 star staff, 5 star facilities and 3 star food. So in that order, the staff was amazing. People went out of their way to deliver a great experience. A shout out to Hugo in the Sports Bar. He was alone during the first USA world cup game serving 50-100 people. He was working hard. Every night I was there, he worked it and always had a smile. Next shout out is to a female attendant over by the Villa Marina restaurant (by the beach). There were a line of women waiting their turn (no one was complaining) and the men’s room was empty. She yelled in to see if anyone was there, then led three waiting women over to use the stalls and stood guard. That is surely not in the training materials and it was just a heads up employee doing what it took to make a better guest experience. Other strong staff members were the Privildge bar attendants during the last week, and Jose who attended our needs in the beach bed section and turned it into our little sanctuary. I also appreciated our butler, Amable, who got our restaurant reservations all squared away despite a couple of changes and took care of a number of other little things. That brings me to the Privilege vs non debate. We did it and thought it was great. The hotel wasn’t fully booked (I asked at check in and they said 84%), but each night at dinner there seemed to be quite a number of people who could not get into the non-buffet restaurants. Between that, the beach beds, premium booze, and rooms right by the beach/pool in buildings 6 and 10, we enjoyed it. I overhead a couple of guests complaining about their non-privilege rooms so there may be some issues with other buildings. That’s a good segway to the facilities. The rooms we had were great. New, great AC, zero issues. Truly 5 star. The pools were great, huge and had multiple swim up bars. They were in excellent repair and spotlessly clean. The beach was tractored free of seaweed each morning. The lobby was large, well appointed and engaging. I liked how they would have music just outside the main lobby which would carry into the lobby. Once you hit the 5 star class of hotel, the range is huge. Some look like museums (and really are with their art collections). There are bigger hotels out there, there are fanciers once, but this one really worked. The Food. This one the area of disappointment for us. We ate in all the restaurants except for the French. We even had the chef’s menu (a privilege perk if you stay more than 3 nights). The first night we arrive too late for a reservation (tip 1, reserve as soon as you get there for 2 days, and then have your butler stay on top of it as you can only reserve two days out), so we ate in the buffet. It was fine. Nothing special. Nothing bad (except the desserts, those need a lot work). The steak in the steak house was tasty, but the presentation was not even close to steak house level (nor the quality, but that was one of the better ones in terms of pure taste). The Japanese restaurant was hibachi. More of a ‘cheap tourist show’ than good food. You get mediocre friend rice in the end. The Italian restaurant was the closest that approach a real restaurant experience. We had a ‘chef’s dinner at the Mexican restaurant, so we can’t speak to that menu, but the dinner we had was forgettable. If I had to pay extra for it, I would have been pissed. Next Tip: The coffee house. Really good coffee drinks and teas. We would stroll over after dinner. Now a word about the booze. It flows freely, no control pour spouts in sight. Everyone was happy with the booze. Privildge got truly top shelf. Don Julio and Patron for tequila. But half the time I think the bartenders would give it to almost anyone who asked. I don’t think most people cared. One great think about the hotel was the crowd. Despite enormous amounts of drinking, I didn’t see a single person who was out of control. My favorite was the Tiki bar in the Privildge beach section. Tip: They make all the colada style drinks in a blender, not from the machines. They are much better. In all the booze was much better than expected, so much so that I wonder whether the management is deliberately skimping on the quality of food ingredients and making up for it with the quality and quantity of alcohol. The crowd was a little surprising. I was expecting mostly americans, and it wasn’t. The majority of people there were from Spanish speaking countries. That was a different vibe but in a pleasant way. Again, no sloppy drunks. Lots of families with little kids and grandparents playing dominos. We had our 15 and 17 year old daughters with us, so we enjoyed a resort that catered to all. In the evenings, we would listen outside to whatever music they had, then go to the piano bar; the whole thing felt like a scene out of Havana in the 1920s. The only thing we missed was the night club as we’re early risers. We did however play some ping ponk (and even chess) in the family lounge. One more tip – if you book through the hotel directly, you get free transportation, but they don’t tell you clearly (it was buried in the terms and conditions of the receipt email. I booked by phone, and they never mentioned it. So I paid the $40 cab and then gave them some grief. To their credit, Maximo, the guest services manager paid for the cab back and gave us a 4pm checkout when we had a 7pm flight home, so I’m good with them. He said, “I’m here to make you happy” and he did. Lastly, I’ll give a shout out to the team at ProDive. They are 10 minutes down the beach (walk). So not a big deal. They have desk at the hotel. That side of DR isn’t the best for diving, but we wanted a low logistics set up and the dives were good enough, so it worked. Their equipment, boats and staff were tops. So what does this all mean. I’m really glad I went to this hotel with my family for the last six days. Even paying for diving, it was a lot cheaper than any other hotels that seemed to be in a similar category. As noted, the only weakness was the food. If your not picky on that, you may love this place beyond all others. If you’re a gourmand, then it may not be the right one for you.