My Husband and I spent 7 wonderful days at Ocean Blue! I was a bit nervous as I read negative reports, but I didn't let negativity stop our trip. I'm glad I didn't listen to all the negative reports! We are pretty low maintence- so we didn't need a lot of things. And we had a great time! We were there from Dec 22-29 2012.

Check in/out. Quick, easy and everything was ready for us when we got there. We were on a bus that had picked us up at the airport- we only had carry ons for the week so we were the first in line. We got a ride to our villa, and given a welcome package. Check out was the only negative... WHY? WE HAD TO LEAVE. EVERYONE we met here were smiling. Kind, and always seemed to have a Hola my family! when they saw us. I'll miss that.

The room- We were in Villa 5 I liked the small apartment feel of the villas. We looked out on the 'smaller pool' and loved our location. We were close to the 2 pools and about 200-300 yards from the beach. Yes, it was a 'walk' to get to dining- but NOT a big deal. If you wanted a ride there were always a golf cart driving by to give a ride. We never really needed or wanted the ride- it was a pleasant walk. Martha was our housekeeper. She always had flowers in our room and the room was always neat and clean. I LOVED the soft robe I could wear in the morning or evening. Nice assortment of toiletries. No hair conditioners- so if you need it bring it. I had no problem with the shampoo they provided. I do have short hair so I didn't need my conditioner. Tub was great! a nice BIG whirlpool tub. We loved the location of our room.

Dining. I felt the food was really good. We have travelled a lot. On cruise ships (15 cruises) and have done All inclusives. We felt that Ocean Blue had some of the best food we have had yet. We thought the Buffet was very good. They had a nice set up for Christmas Eve and we felt it was made special by the staff. We liked the breakfast- fresh egg station. I loved the grill for lunch and dinner- I had fresh fish pretty much every day. Well seasoned! Choice- I ALWAYS had a choice of different dishes. We did have lunch a few times by the ocean. It is part of the priveledge/pay restaurant on the beach. We didn't realize that it was the beach buffet until about 3 days in when we kept looking for the snack oferings. Guess H10 could have a clearer sign what the restaurant was for since we thought it wasn't for us..... We finally just walked over and saw yes, it was for everyone for lunch. So we really can't blame anyone but ourselves for not walking over and looking in. Guess that was the only thing I wish I knew ahead of time. BUT it wasn't a problem since we enjoyed the larger buffet. We did the speciality restaurants too. We did the steakhouse- It was good. Hard to get in if you are a larger group- I'd get reservations at guest services. Since it was my husband & I we got o the restaurant at 6:00 made a request, and had about an hour hour & half wait, and got in. So we had a drink at the lobby while we waited. We LOVED the Italian Restaurant! We ate their twice. My husband had 2 main meals- the Steak (YUM!) and Lasagna. I really liked the eggplant for an appetizer. Service was excellent in all the restaurants- but we felt extra special at the Italian restaurant. The Mexican restaurant was good. We didn't do the Route 66 since it was just American food- we wanted something different. Wedidn't do the Dominican restaurant. We felt we had similar choices in the Buffet and liked what we had there. Did Mikes Coffee shop- had smoothies- Liked them! LOTS of people were enjoying the speciality coffees.
The property- Neat. clean. Beautiful beach. We could relax and enjoy the beach some sellers but generally wandered through and left us alone. The sellers that came in twice during the week bothered a bit. We didn't need to buy stuff, but the vendors didn't bother us after we said no thank you. We loved walking the beach. Sand was soft sugar sand, yet solid where the waves washed ashore- we enjoyed walking every day for quite a ways along the shore.
Entertainment/staff. WONDERFUL! the staff always smiled. We lovedthe beach bar- Jose was wonderful- LOVED him. We didn't take part in the pool games, but we heard them and we laughed listening to the Fun Squad- you will have fun and be entrtained IF you want to be! Christmas Eve night they had a wonderful magicain- that was great! Also Christmas Day night they had music and entrtainment on the beach. That was fun.
Will we go back? YES! Not sure when since we (OK Me) miss a cruise at Christmas- BUT I would book Ocean Blue again. Loved the changes that they made from previous posts/complaints. The staff at Ocean Blue really does care what we think, and IF we have a problem they want to know. I felt we had EXCELLENT care and this was a great place to relax! A special thank you to all the staff at Ocean Blue/ H10 we had a great time!

My family (group of 8, ranging in age from 12 to 70) travelled to the Ocean Blue & Sand for Christmas, 2012. We arrived in the early afternoon on December 22, and from the moment we arrived until we left, we found the staff to be nothing short of friendly, always smiling, and ready to help. Check-in went quickly and smoothly.

Staff:
We found the staff to be warm, accomodating, and helpful. Julio and Johnatan were our wait staff in the buffet each morning, always ready with fresh cafe con leche, big smiles, and a warm dose of humour and playfulness. Our group had 4 rooms, and although we did tip our maid at the start of the week, we found that she tended to just do the basics, in terms of making up our room each day; it was a bit of a gamble as to which towels/cloths she would replace - sometimes, we'd get 2 towels, sometimes a bath mat, sometimes facecloths. My parents, however, found that their maid often left some flowers in their towels, or did some sort of towel origami for them. Bartending staff kept up well, and even during peak times, the wait was fairly short for a drink. If I had to make one complaint about the staff, it would be about the daily (sometimes several times) badgering by the vacation club promotions personnel, who were constantly trying to get us to come to their sales pitch, which they swore up and down wasn't a sales pitch (yeah, right.) You don't like to, but sometimes, you end up just having to tell them to leave you alone. You will usually find them waiting outside the main buffet, knowing that everyone will have to pass by them to eat at some point.

Rooms:
Athough they were clean and modern, there wasn't anything about our rooms that would stand out. Travertine tile in the bathroom, and a jacuzzi tub, flatscreen TV with a good selection of (mostly Spanish) channels, adequate room for our clothes, and a good sized balcony, but then, we weren't going on vacation to spend time in our room - it was all about the sun and sand! Our room had 2 queen beds, which we found to be comfortable. Usually when travelling, we don't tend to sleep well, but we slept pretty well here. Our air conditioning worked, but others in our group said that theirs did not, despite logging a repair request with guest services. Additionally, the phones didn't seem to work properly, as we weren't able to call the other people in our party. We were in Villa 7, which is just about dead-centre of the resort. We had no noise problems from either the showtime theater, or from the pool/beach animacion activities.

Grounds / Facilities:
The grounds are kept very well. Always clean, with the lawns and gardens maintained beautifully. There was a tasteful amount of Christmas decor, and even included a life-sized Nativity scene, complete with live animals. The pools were spotless, and immense, including a wade-in area, built-in lounge chairs and jacuzzi areas, as well as a swim-up bar. We found poolside shade to be a bit hard to come by, and the natural lie of the land seemed to block much of the breeze that is a constant on the beach from coming into the pool area, even though they are directly beside each other.

Beach:
The sand on the beach is powder-soft. Although this was my first visit to Puna Cana, my parents, who have been several times, mentioned that the beach is noticeably lessened, and sure enough, the locals verified that this was largely due to hurricane Sandy. There's a beachfront market directly beside the Ocean Blue property, and it has had to have a wall of sand bags installed at the front, as the storm damage started to wash out some of the huts. There are pelapas on the beach for shade, but they're not huge, and if you're lucky enough to find an available beach chair under one, you'll find yourself shifting your chair several times in order to stay in the shade. Although the beach is protected by breakers, we did find the water a bit rough for the first few days, but it calmed down significantly by the halfway point of our trip. We didn't generally find beach vendors to be a problem, other than those trying to sell excursions, as there were security guards present to discourage vendors. Another bonus for scuba divers is the wreck of the Astron, a large freighter that sank just off the shore of Punta Cana in the 80s. The dive shop onsite does several dives on the wreck each week the wreck is visible from shore, and is a 5 minute boat ride from the dive shop, in about 40 feet of water (be prepared to dive in some rolling currents!)

Food and drink:
We found the selection of food, and the quality of it to be very good. Both the main and beach buffets had an ample selection of things to eat, and the resort was set up so that, no matter what time of day or night, food was always available somewhere. One thing to always make sure of is that meat is cooked enough. Don't be afraid to ask for your meat to be cooked 'well done' to ensure thorough cooking. Our family thoroughly enjoyed the a la carte restaurants as well. In the Dominican Republic, Christmas Eve is the main celebration, and as such, all of the restaurants were featuring Christmas dinner with your selection of turkey or beef, and it was delicious. As with many sunny destinations, red wine is served chilled by default, so you may want to request an unchilled bottle if that's your preference. The only restaurant we didn't try was 'Route 66,' which is an American-style diner restaurant; we didn't come all the way to the D.R. to have the same food we get at home! Another absolute treat was Mike's Coffee and Tea, which is a specialty coffee shop situated amongst the a la carte restaurants. Delicious coffees, espressos, lattes, cappucinos, iced and dessert coffees, as well as Dominican hot chocolate, and a selection of teas, with a variety of pastries available to enjoy with your beverage of choice.

Overall, we had a fantastic week, with things to do onsite and off for everyone in our group. We were asked whether or not we'd come back, and for us, that's a difficult question to answer - in all our years of travelling, we've never gone to the same resort twice. With so many to choose from, why would we repeat? However, if we were so inclined, this resort definitely would make the short list for a return visit. We had realistic expectations of a 4+ star resort in the Dominican Republic, and they were all met.

Had a great time, recommend to all!

Special thanks to Mr Luis Guerrero and Henery Pineda! Our housekeeper Maria did an awesome job daily! And the Fun Squad guys were the best ( Wili Wonka, Alejandro, Mini me and the Spaghetti guy)!!! And without our bartenders (Reynaldo, Carlos and Rafael) we would not have made it, these guys are absolutely the nicest and friendliest ever!

Can't wait to rebook a new trip!

We just returned from a week at this resort where we spent Christmas. The beach is absolutely gorgeous - white sandy beach, turquoise water, blue skies, etc. The only negative was the number of people vying for their spot on the beach. On our first day there, we went for beach towels three times only to be told to come back in 20 minutes when a fresh supply was due. We finally decided to wait 20 minutes instead of coming back and running the risk of supplies being exhausted again. On subsequent days, we changed our towels in the afternoon in preparation for the next day. We also learned to go to the beach very early to get our sun lounges. Apparently, Christmas week is the busiest time which explains the crowds. The resort is beautifully laid out with a village feel of a main street with restaurants and boulevards. Water features provide interest as did the wild life. Entertainment staff was energetic and worked hard to provide fun for all. The selections in the buffet restaurant were okay but certainly not gourmet. A la carte restaurants were better. House wine was terrible. However, Mike's Coffee & Tea was great for cappuccinos and all types of fancy coffees. On the whole, food was not that great but the ambiance was. Our rooms were spacious but the drawers were could not be used because they were broken. Water in the showers was a mere trickle on several occasions and hot water was not plentiful. Some staff members were friendly but some were surly. We would recommend this resort for its beautiful beach location.