My husband and I went for a 3rd visit to Ocean Sands and Blue for 11 nights Nov 2nd- Nov 13th.
Our 1st visit was fairly good for the money although you had to complain to get things done.
Our 2nd visit we took our daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren and found it had changed; food didn't seem quite as good.
This our 3rd visit we couldn't wait to get home, it was complete waste of money.

The advice I can give you is don't waste your money, it has gone badly downhill.

The food is disgusting always cold even in the speciality restaurants.
The Privilege section is a complete joke you will not get any of the things advertised on the website. Service was very unpredictable some were fantastic some were plain lazy.
We paid £758 extra for 11 nights of privilege and we never got anywhere near what we should have had. We had to constantly ring to get the mini bar re stocked. They put small bottles in the fridge not big bottles as shown in their brochure.
Out of our eleven nights we only had seven nights of the turn down service.
There was no welcome fruit or sparkling wine.
No towel for the beach in the room for the first morning
No upgraded toiletries as advertised
In the VIP lounge you had pour your own drinks the staff were very rude and arrogant and never offer to help you, there was hardly ever any ice, popular drinks ran out, and you are told to go to the bar yourself. In fact they very rarely spoke to you, or acknowledge your existence.
We witnessed staff members coming into the lounge and taking food (intended for guests) and give to the local beach traders.
The special beach area was far too small for the amount of VIP guests
We asked for a copy of our bill the night before we departed, it was in local Pesos, we asked to have converted to US Dollars and was thrust a calculator and told to do it ourselves.
FORGET PRIVILEGE IT’S A BIG CON
This is a time share hotel for H10 and the only person who seems to get recognized is an H10 member with their Gold band.
We went to the beach early one morning to watch the sunrise and the guard who was supposed to being watching over the property and guests was fast asleep on a bed (some security).
On the subject of security we had a really bad rain storm one day and had to run for cover under the restaurant, we left our flip-flops on the bed to secure it for when the rain stopped. We went back to the bed and my husband’s reef flip-flops had gone, when we made it obvious that someone had stolen them, the traders who were sitting with the guard ran. My husband went over to find his shoes buried in the sand where the guard was sitting (obviously they were going to be taken by him, for traders).The guards are very corrupt, we watched them steel bottles of water and coke from the ice buckets by the beds and give to the traders.
The beach is eroding quiet badly and the day before we came home they put tape right across the beach so you couldn't walk down in certain areas. Not the most attractive site when you are looking out to sea it’s like being in a crime scene.
I was completely bitten to bites on the sand there was obviously a problem with sand fleas.
The Ice machine at the bottom level of each villa could not cope with volume so half the time you could not get ice and if you were lucky enough to get any it always had black bits in(so one would assume not cleaned out very regularly).
We were in villa 10 and always when you looked out of the lower stairwell there were bags and bags of rubbish just left there.
Many restaurants where closed on different nights making trying to get a reservation quiet difficult.

We did mention our various problems to the Judith the customer relation manager, she did with the help of Francisco try to improve things. We were invited to a private Chef gala meal which was wonderful. But why should they have to put on a show like that for one night. With the money it cost to stay at this resort, every night should be special.

A lot of the general staff run the resort the way they want totally ignoring the instructions of their managers.

Believe me, we have travelled a lot in the Caribbean, there lot better resorts to visit, which are of much better value.

Pros: The beach was great. Pools were awesome. The rooms were clean. Staff was friendly.
Cons: too much walking. Food wasn't that good, very repetitive. H10 people pretty much stalk you and the vendors are the worst. Drinks were weak unless you ask for more alcohol or specifically for top shelf.

Was there for a week for a wedding which was the Best part of the trip.
I've been to the D.R. 4 times now. I wouldn't go back to this place if I travel back.

This is not the resort for you if you expect good food, service or rooms.
Rooms:
We were a party of 6; every one of us changed rooms at least twice, some three times.

There was a musty mold odor in almost all of the rooms (some overwhelming) and we were in the privilege section. Keep in mind that half of the rooms (over 300 of them) look out to the pools/gardens and the other half look out to the service road. Half of the hotel will be disappointed in their view.
My bathroom ceiling leaked every day, everyday maintenance came to fix it and everyday it leaked again. There is a mini frig in every room, this is not a mini bar as we know it in the states. This is not a stocked bar with snack and refreshments. You will receive two beers, two waters, two juices when you arrived. If you want anything restocked you will have to TIP very well before this happens, even then it will be minimal.
We didn’t have a problem with towels but then again this was off season!!
Restaurants:
It’s the same food every day and it is less than desirable. Except for Mike’s coffee don’t expect a dessert that you recognize by site or taste!!! Enjoy the cookies from Mike’s; it’s the only dessert eatable. Now, if you like pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs….they have plenty and they are about the best thing you will eat here. Not exactly what I expected from the Caribbean. OH and don’t expect to have seafood here, they don’t have any with the small exception of some fried pieces of something, I couldn’t tell what kind of fish it was. No shrimp, scallops, grouper, tuna, flounder or anything that swims in the sea. Who would have thought?
Tipping:
I understand the concept of “all inclusive” and that you should still tip when you receive good service. However, you will not receive good or sometimes any service until after you tip. I had to wave a $1 bill over my head to get served coffee one morning and the restaurant was practically empty. Of course after you tip they remember you and things start to get better. But I don’t understand why this has to happen in the first place!!!!

Bottom line, this is an economy line resort. If you can afford better please do!! You are not going to enjoy this resort if you expect good food, service or accommodations.

I stayed with my sister, my daughter, and our niece from Nov 3-7, 2012. What a great time we had! The staff is what we miss the most. These people are happy day and night! They greet you woth a smile and a genuine happiness to see you that makes you feel like you are family. We took signed up for the Santo Domingo tour with Olymous tours and experienced more of the same there. Our tour guide Carlos Villalobos and driver Alejandro were awesome and showed us Santo Domingo as only a local could. We felt like we were on a day trip with family! We plan to return to Ocean Blue again next year and we also hope to see all the people that made our vacation so memorable!