This was my first “all inclusive” experience and first time to the Dominican. We went for my sister in-laws wedding. The first night we were there, a staff member stole $300 from the brides room. Probably shouldn’t have left money in her room, but the fact that a staff member went into their room, went through their stuff, and stole money, is AWFUL. Room service was very inconsistent. We went two days with no clean towels, even though we complained to guest services. The air conditioning was on full blast all the time, there was no way to adjust it. So we absolutely froze in our room at night. The air conditioners were also constantly leaking. Many of our friends had tons of bugs in their rooms, luckily my husband and I didn’t experience that in our room. The food was not very good. I liked the pizza place and the taco place was alright....but the buffet and all of the a la carte restaurants were less than mediocre. I experienced bad stomach problems for months after we left the resort. The liquor was awful....no premium, just domestic. The vodka tasted like bad tequila, for example. So the only thing we drank was beer, because the wine was awful too. It isn’t the worst place to stay....but I will never go again. I’ve learned my lesson and will spend the extra $ to stay at a 5 star resort. It isn’t worth it to have bad food and booze the entire trip.

Many times you are promised a cold drink and fast check in when you arrive at a resort. We all know that this is often not the case especially when you arrive at almost 11PM. As soon as we arrived, we had a cold drink in hand and we were checked in without issue within 10 minutes. Five minutes later we were driven to our room. What a wonderful surprise when we saw the beach towels in the room, a full fridge, slippers and a bathrobe(this has happened with other companies I have used in the past). This place delivered what was advertised and Air Transat did not let us down like so many other companies (like Sunwing who had ne carry my own walker up the stairs to the plane, at the airport in Cuba, only to bark at me that it could not stay in the cabin by the flight crew..this, after ground staff made me take it..very poorly run). Our room at the Occidental Grand was always made up by 10am, The bar staff at the beach walked around and took orders, all of the waiters and waitresses at the beach restaurant and at the buffet and a la cartes were second to none. The food was incredible and not repetitive. I can't say enough about the greatness of this resort. I am very picky, and I think they have responded to poor reviews in the past. I could not find a single fault with staff, food, amenities, the room, the festive days they had..ie. Valentines Day or any other aspect of this location. Air Transat Reps were available all day as well. The only thing that I did not like was the nagging of representatives to send you to a 'timeshare meeting'but that is becoming the norm throughout DR and Cuba. Otherwise this has been the best vacation, without a doubt, thanks to the resort, the staff and their management, that I and my family have ever had. Thanks for reading.

We stayed at the Occidental Punta Cana Feb 26th to Mar 4 , 2012. There were 6 of us, ranging in age from 19 to 75. I want to start by saying we are pretty easy to get along with. We always make the best of every trip and don't let small things bother us.

We stayed in building 23, which from reports of others staying at the resort, seems to be the building in most need of repair. The rooms are very spacious, but do have mildrew smells and even burning candles didn't help in our room. The other two rooms we had were better after the first couple days. The rooms were clean and the beds very comfortable but the bathrooms need a major overhaul. We had a premanent water leak around the tub which meant the floors were always wet and slippery. The leak in our daughters room was fixed on the day we arrived, in a very expediant manner. We decided that we didn't come to spend any great length of time in our rooms, so this was only a minor set back for us. We had requested one room with two beds. Upon arrival we found all the rooms equipt with a king size bed. We called to the desk and they immediately sent someone with a WHOLE BED. That's right they brought in a frame box spring and matress, which was set up quickly. A hanging curtain was pulled to give each bed some privacy.

The grounds at the resort a beautiful and well kept. The pools are constantly being cleaned and the beach is amazing. There are not, however enough chairs around to pool areas, so we spent everyday laying beneath the trees on the island in the main pool. No too hard to take! It was closer to the pool bar anyways and Henry the bar tender was great. Always joking and making sure we had enough (or too much) to drink.

The evening shows were average and the animation team was sparce around the pool area. They concentrated their efforts more at the beach. All the staff members were awesome! Everyone we met was friendly and efficient.

Our younger travellers went to the Mangu disco one night and quickly returned complaining about the prostitutes making advances to the boys. They were very put off by this and never returned there again. We all enjoyed the night parties in the lobby with dancing and music.

We only went to two a la carte, the steak house was very good, and the mexican was below average. The buffets were good with a large variety of food. We preferred the buffet by the beach for lunch. They seemed to have a better selection. The food at the sports bar over the swim up bar was ok. Nothing to write home about.

We flew Canjet, through AirTransat. If you are travelling with them I hope you have better luck than we did. A 3 hour delay leaving Toronto on the way there and a 12 hour delay on the way back was not fun. Each time we were told that the plane was in for repairs. We were thankful that they fixed the problems before our flight but it was a long trip both ways.

I would recommend to anyone travelling to this location to take insect spray, because we did experience some bits. Nothing major, but the spray helped. Take a scented candle for your room, and remember this isn't a five star resort, but the sun, food and fun are what you make of it.

We wouldn't book this place again, but we did have a good time.

Just got back from a vacation with three other gals from Feb 25th - March 3rd. We all had a great time and didn't want to leave!!

THE STAFF
I have to say that I've been to a quite a few all inclusive resorts and generally everyone is friendly but at the Occidental everyone was amazing! There are a few people that were above and beyond helpful and amazing - Chanel, Ony, Vertudes, Jose Miguel, Jose Antonio, German, Malfi, Raul, Leonardo - all gracious, amazing and helpful!!!

The staff that work for the company for the water activities are a little pushy to buy things that are not included but they got the picture quickly and wouldn't bother you if you weren't interested. They are also a few that are a few that incredibly easy on the eyes ;)

The entertainment was great - the lobby parties were so much fun Pupi (the dj) really puts on a show for everyone. The shows were fun but the Micheal Jackson tribute was OUT OF THIS WORLD! the dancers were phenomenal!

THE BEACH
The beach is the most beautiful beach I have ever been to. The sand is soft - almost flour like and the water is incredibly warm, crystal clear and just beautiful. You can walk past all the resorts and all are beautiful but I noticed that our resort had the largest swimming area (the swimming areas are marked with buoy's).

The people walking by selling items on the beach were strangely non-aggressive which I found great - the people in the shops just outside the resort and on the beach (about a 45 min walk) are aggressive and all just want you to come in and "look" which is not true. good tip NEVER pay full price for anything they offer you - for instance 7 shirts they wanted 145 dollars I was able to talk them down to 40 USD.

THE FOOD
There are 4 a la carte restaurants on the resort, several buffets, and a pizza place where they have a stone oven - the pizza's are incredible and the resort also has a mexican place where you can order burritto's, taco's etc. without a reservation. My favorites were the Italian and steak house which are a la carte restaurants, and the Pizzaria which is open from 6:30pm - 5am (good for those late party nights). The buffet was similar to any other place I've been to - not over the top amazing but still good, the breakfasts were the best. Make sure to try the freshly made churros - they are delicious!

THE ACCOMMODATIONS
Our rooms were nice and extremely clean, my room in particular had extremely high ceilings and was pretty nice for the most part. The maid stocked the fridge daily and left us treatswhich was one of the nicest things to come "home" to. The bathroom was a bit dated, and was missing the handle on the inside part of the bathroom door and our air conditioner didn't work for the first few days - it took them 5 days and 4 phone calls to get them to fix the AC. Other then that A++. If you're looking for a super swanky place, this probably isn't for you. It's a gorgeous resort, the pools are clean, the beach is great and the rooms good for sleeping and getting ready - no severe complaints!

GENERAL TIPS
1) Bring smaller bills for tipping - they do not have a lot of change at the resort.
2) Stay away from the "home run snack bar" which is above the swim up bar - it's not the best but it's ok if you've missed a meal and need something
3) Never pay full price at the shops that are not on the resort - you can get them down to 25% of their asking price if you say you're not interested and just walk away.
4) IMPORTANT!! If you are a female and are goign to the club be prepared to be danced with by locals; the club is called Mangu. It is a public bar/club so anyone from other resorts and locals are allowed in. The drinks are not included and were 6.50/drink. We went 3 out of 7 nights and it was great fun for a younger crowd (18-30). There was one night in particular that there was a large number of prostitutes at the club so just be aware and don't sit on the toilets. Nobody was overly aggressive and all just there to have a good time.

We all had a great time and we all would definitely go back again!