We visited in Feb 2012 (mid winter break) & had a fabulous experience then decided to re-visit in Nov (pre-winter break)
Our visit in Feb was awesome which was why we snapped up the opportunity to re-visit in Nov.
Yes, we all see the bad reviews but everyone is entitled to their own opinion based on their experience
PROS - 1st visit we got a bottle of Rum & Champagne - VERY NICE
Check-in was very efficient ALL check in staff were attentive & helpfull especially Lenni at the counter where you get your safe lock / key.
The buffet food was very good with lots of variety, fresh fruit, eggs, omlettes, french toast, pancakes bacon, fruit smoothies etc. Dinner also extremely good; different theme every night but other choices available for the "picky eaters" - Massimo was a *Star* at the carving station for "Chicharones" & also the pasta bar. Never went back to our room hungry!!
We mostly ate lunch by the beach area which was good but the service a little sporadic. There's always the Taco & Pizza places in the upper area by the entertainment stage & large pool area.

Service in the buffet was fabulous - Rosanna & Louis (*SUPERSTARS*) were so friendly & attentive & always had the time to chat with us. Our only "gripe" was that the front eating area was closed & that large parties were waiting to be seated & no-one could see the 2 of us, especially at the opening hour for all service. Maybe the front area could be opened for larger parties of 6 or more.
Franklin at the beach bar was ALWAYS entertaining & courteous (as we remembered!)
We were in building 24 - "Jamalky" (not sure if the spelling is right), I think he was new from our last trip but was absolutely GREAT- Whenever he saw us he would always make a point of asking us if we needed anything or if everything was O.K. if we did have any issues he took care of it right away (face cloths, large bath towels - although hard to come by at times)


CONS - 2nd visit - We mentioned that we were returning guests - Bottle of rum in room, No upgrade etc. Not a big deal but why mention that you are a returning guest?? - Personally we don't expect any extra treatment but having the same experience as a first timer would have been O.K. Everything else same as 1st visit.
We did get invited to a "Returning Guest" party at the beach with entertainment which was nice but we still had to go back to the buffet for dinner. There's still a lack of chairs / loungers around the "quiet pool" & "Transat area" on the beach

We have recommended the Occidental Grand to friends & we hope that they have the same 1st time experience that we had. Haven't see much in the form of replies from the management on this site
P.S. Just found out that 2 friends are visiting this Feb - I hope they have a great experience

i was hesitant to book because of some of the reviews i read...we have timeshare we traded to this property,It may be why our experience was not bad.Our room was a 1 bedroom beautiful clean 2 bathrooms.Hotel is on a warm ,sandy,clean open area.Food was not bad in the buffet.you need reservations for restaurants dont waste your time in the italian one,Great experience in the steak one,We kept going back.We had friendly service and made lots of friends..Manny was helpful with our internet and a bartender Fekix made us delicious domenican flag drinks!!Not a 5 star resort but your not paying for one either.

My husband and I and another couple stayed at the Occidental last year for 2 weeks. Although we loved the resort and all of the staff was amazing, we will not be going back this year. Last year we could only book our holidays at the time that they coinicided with the begining of March Break. Figuring that this was a well respected resort for the price that we paid, we expected to see families there during March break and we were ok with that knowing that it was not an Adults Only resort. Boy were we shocked. There was a group called Breakaway Tours fom Cananda that caters to High School students and apparently this is one of the many resorts that they book every year. Now a bunch of teens don't bother us, but these are teens that are there without proper chaperones, at an allincusive, drinking (many were only 15 and 16 and this was there first trip) and being obnoxious. They played lewd games on the beach...loud music and had no concern for anybody...if you left your lounger (even with your towel there) they would throw your towel on the ground, or event take them and your lounger. There were so many adults that had their vacation ruined by this group many of the people that we talked to were disgusted and said they wouldnot return..I feel sorry for anybody that is booked there this March break....just checked online and they are going to be there again.... Also the hotel was overbooked so we did not get to stay in the location we had paid for.
If they did not cater to this tour group (who by the way from what I have heard, paid less than we did) I would consider going again.

Anyone eager to travel must visit this resort. Here, I was treated with great service, an awesome atmosphere, and an endless array of fun activities. Whether we were drinking by the pool side bar, or meeting fellow travelers, the end result was always fun.