We bought a Living Social deal to stay here at a pretty good price. The hotel knew this and seemed to treat us differently than they would someone who booked with the resort. After waiting several minutes to check in, they pulled us aside and told us the resort was full and they would have to send us to a different hotel (Presidential Suites) for 1 night. And when we came back we would have an "upgraded" room and a lobster dinner. We told them no, and that we would like our room for 4 nights like we paid for in the reservation. This process went back and forth for about two hours. The receptionists and manager spoke poor english and were hard to communicate with. Most of the time they would walk right past you and ignore you. They would dissapear for 20 minutes at a time (I think this was just to get away from all the angry customers). Finally, we were so tired and hungry we agreed to go to the other place. After waiting another 30 mins for our bus, we got to the other hotel, which looked like an apartment complex. Although my wife and I were travelling with another couple, who booked their room separate, this new hotel put us in one 2 room apartment. Therefore; this corporation saved themselves a lot of money by sending us to this smaller, cheaper, resort....then only giving us 1 room instead of 2. Anyways...restaraunt at this hotel had about 8 options on the menu and pretty much the same drink choices as the Be Live (food and drink also all-inclusive here). Service was pretty poor and waitresses spoke zero English (I know we're in a Spanish speaking country, but it IS the tourism industry, and this is different from most of the other 19 countries I've visited) You can see how this trip started out so I'll include some other high/lowlights of the Be Live resort///Food wasn't good, never got satisfied, and upset our stomachs everyday///You have to make reservations for every restaraunt but one a day in advance...all the places were "full" so we only got to eat at the American Sport Bar///Beach and pools were really nice///Our Master Jr. Suite was nice///Construction went on about 12 hours each day right beside our building///They only have one beer option "el presidente"...you get sick of it pretty quickly///DO NOT BUY A LIVING SOCIAL OR GROUPON FOR THIS RESORT, you will get treated horribly

I really can't say enough. We were so impressed with the beach, the resort, THE FOOD WAS AMAZING!!!!. It was a great vacation and I recommend this resort for sure! The resort is spread out so there is a fair bit of walking to the main areas but you are so close to the ocean. We had amazing weather so really what more could you want. The service was great as well.

We have been here for 4 days now and can NOT wait to get back to the states...our entire trip has been nothing but a nightmare....first we waited in line at the airport (with NO air conditioning) to get through customs for about 2 hours...the girls dont even pay attention to your passport...then we had to find a taxi to shuttle us to the resort....they were surprised we were going there and said they'd have to find someone who would take us...we show up to a backroad entrance with a cheap plastic sign and ENTIRE lobby full of Russian travelers. There was NO order. People and luggage were everywhere...there was NO air conditioning inside of the lobby and it took us over 2 hours to check in. This resort backs up to a local area (which is pretty dang scary) They have barbed wire around to keep the locals out of the resort. Our FIRST room directly overlooked this ghetto. The room was beautiful but smelled like mildew. This is our honeymoon and they gave us a room with 2 full size beds....We demanded a new room. We were switched to the building across the way...the room, again, was beautiful but this one smelled strongly of cigarettes and mildew. My husband and I have both been pretty sick the entire time because of the food ((whatever you do...do NOT eat the meat)). The food here is absolutely terrible...The resort itself is beautiful...but we are starving....everything we eat makes us sick so we are constantly rushing to the restroom to get sick. People here are hustlers....the food and drinks are "all included" because they are so terrible. Everything tastes watered down. We regret the decision to come to this particular resort and were contacting the airport to leave after only being here for 2 days!!! The staff members are pretty nice...Not too many of them understand english so it's hard to communicate. The excursions are expensive because you pay everything by the person...We have snorkled - which was great - but paid $70usd....then we deep sea fished with was $120usd...to get a water taxi to a nicer beach (because this resort has the worst, dirtiest, seaweed filled beach) is another $30usd - per person!!! All in all, I would not recommend this resort to anyone...and as a matter of fact...would be pretty embarassed if I had. There is constant construction going on so parts of the resort look absolutely terrible. If you do make the mistake of coming here make sure to pack LOTS of snacks and water....DO not drink the softdrinks...they are all flat and syrupy. Maybe I'm a spoiled American....maybe I just know what I like...but I will say this....this has totally made me want to stay in the USA...I don't care to ever travel outside of...ever..

We just returned from a much needed vacation at the Be Live Grand Punta Cana. Upon arrival we were handed a glass of "juice" in the lobby and our room was not ready. They held our bags but signed us in and gave out our wrist bands so we could have some lunch and get a drink. It took quite a while for the room to be ready. We quickly learned that 30 minutes is an hour and a half dominican time. Many people were in the lobby waiting for their rooms. Most were not happy, but we took it in stride, enjoyed a few beers and eventually got into our room.

Tip! Don't forget to ask for the safe key! $15 extra for the week.

The room was nice, tile floor, white cotton bed covers, nice bathroom. Our sliding glass door did not work but we were not offered another room as some others were in other reviews. We told the staff about it and they came to fix it. It was not fixed correctly, but they quickly came back and replaced the lock, so I can't complain. I would have liked another room. We were in Building 12, and our room faced away from the property, looking at the razor wire and the path which the workers took to get to the beach in the mornings, causing the dogs to bark every morning at around 6am.

The room was nice in that it was bright and clean. The bathroom was nice, although there was some mold and it smelled pretty musty. Luckily our AC worked very well. The maid service was great, but be prepared for 3 or 4 different people to enter your room during each day. The maid, the towel guy, and the refreshment person. We asked for extra water and got it no problem. Drinks from the fridge were replaced as we used them.

There were plenty of other rooms available, but we were never moved -- I'm guessing this is because we were Groupon people.. but I later learned that folks got a better deal and better rooms through hotels.com. It appears to me that they book a lot of discount rooms in the hopes to sell everyone the Lifestyles VIP service. (more on this later)

The resort itself is in a state of construction, but most areas are fine. The pools are nice and vacuumed each morning, with the exception of the main pool which needs to be repainted. Many buildings, including what I believe to be the original lobby are being re-done and we got to hear the jack hammers several of the days we were there.

The food: There are several restaurants on the property but the main one is Windows. It is a nice buffet open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it offers a good variety at most times of day. The staff is wonderful and they are quick to bring you coffee or beer or whatever you'd like. The ala carte restaurants are open for dinner but you need to make a reservation with the girl outside of the windows restaurant between 9am and 3pm. We ate at the Japones, Sport Bar, Italiano and Rodizio.

The Japones and Rodizio were pretty good, but the Sports Bar and Italiano were poor attempts at both styles of food. The Italiano was terrible and the only similarity to italian food was the fact that pasta was involved. The Sport Bar was chicken wings and burgers and such, but again, the sauces are all wrong and the burgers aren't really beef.. not sure what they are.

Late night they open the Japones for "bar food" and if you're going out early for an excursion (before 7am) then your breakfast will be leftover bar food from the night before.

Now the good! Despite the construction the hotel is pretty lovely. The beach is beautiful, the pools are gorgeous, and the staff are amazing. They engage with the guests and make you feel at home. All of the activities people were awesome as well!

With the exception of the front desk staff, most speak several languages very well. It seemed to me that the bag guys had a better handle on English than the folks behind the counter.

I've read reviews about the seaweed on the beach, but it's raked and removed at least once a day along with all the other garbage that washes ashore. We felt the beach was beautiful and they did as best they could keeping up with what came in at high tide.

You can walk all the way down the beach - the shoreline is owned by the national government, so you can walk and walk, which is nice. Lots of vendors walking up and down the beach selling excursions and gifts, hair braiding, clothing, cigars, etc. For most a nice "no" works, but others are more persistent.

Speaking of persistent.. the Lifestyles VIP guys are everywhere! They lurk outside the restaurants to catch you on the way out. We are nice people and it seems that was construed as interest.. No didn't work and we had to try to avoid the guy during our whole stay. If it is uncomfortable for you to have to say no to people all the time..be forwarned. "But they'll give me $50 if you come upstairs.. my family needs the money".. It really turned us off. Even after we explained that we were not interested, we were approached and approached time and again by the same individual. We were also called on the phone by a "groupon guy" who met us the first morning. Sure, he had some tips like don't drink the water in the shower, but he was just someone else trying to sell us excursions that were much more expensive than some others.

Overall we had a great time, the Dominican people are amazing. Special thanks to the dive shop folks -- Paul, Sarah and Nicolas -- they created new divers out of us in a very non-threatening environment (the lessons were free!). Anyone considering learning to scuba should go and see them! We took one day trip to Catalina Island on their recommendation and felt that our guides were the best on the boat.

As for the hotel, I think I'd rather pay more and not be hounded all week to upgrade.