Our experience was top notch from the accommodations to the Kids Club to the food to the service. Not quite sure where the earlier negative food reviews came from, since we experienced nothing but great food (unless they changed chefs after the reviews?.)

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS-----------------------This hotel is one to get away and relax. There is spa-type music in most common areas of the hotel, which is very soothing, and they greet you with champagne when you check in which is lovely. They have a lot of great entertainment, but if you are looking for a 24 hour party scene, it probably isn't the place for you. It's definitely a place to relax and decompress. We have stayed at the Ritz Carlton Laguna, the Hotel Del Cornado San Diego, the El San Juan Hotel among other luxury hotels, and this hotel can certainly "run with the big dogs."

THE ACCOMMODATIONS---------------------The rooms are beautifully decorated with brand-new furnishings and bedding. In fact, when we opened our sofa bed it still had the plastic on the mattress. The television was a brand new Samsung with a flat screen, and the DVD player was Sony. All the rooms are spacious, with marble & granite throughout. They also included hair dryers, and the minibar is a good-sized small refrigerator, which was nice to be able to put other foods in there.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF ROOMS----------- Our first room was 420 and it is directly above the open-air lobby bar. Be cautious about any rooms around 416-424 (also 316-324, etc) because even though the lobby bar was usually tame and noise is most likely not an issue, on the night we arrived there were some rowdy Canadians who had just got there around 11:30 pm and it was noisy. They graciously moved us the next morning to room 2229, which is the last room at the very end of the resort on the quieter side. It was VERY private and quiet. The rooms directly below us (around 1114-1118) open up directly to one of the pools and have teak lawn furniture on them to lie on and look at the ocean. Since we have a 2 year old, this was not appealing that she would have access to outdoors. (All balconies on higher floors were high enough and designed so you can't climb them if you're under 3 feet tall).

We started out with a Governor Suite (1 Bedroom plus living room) and it is absolutely enormous! It has a kitchenette plus 2 marble bathrooms with a gigantic separate shower. Another nice thing about this room is that it has a balcony spanning the entire length of both rooms. If you have teenagers and need extra space, this is a huge plus. When we moved to the quieter part of the hotel, the room was the Luxury 1 BR Suite since they didn't have any Governor Suites in this area. It was still extremely spacious, but with one bathroom that wasn't a problem for us. It has one terrace on the living room part of the suite. On January 22nd (the day there was 700 flights cancelled at O'Hare due to snow) our flight was cancelled, and Apple Vacations and the Dreams Hotel graciously found us all rooms within Dreams at no cost to us and we stayed in the Jr. Suite. It was nice sized for a hotel room, but the size difference was so huge that for the extra money, the 1 bedroom is certainly worth it.

THE POOLS-------------------------------The infinity pool is definitely stunning and well kept. January in Cabo is chilly at night and in the early mornings, so this pool was a little chilly even though it is heated. The hot tub within the infinity pool is fabulous though. The pool on the quiet side of the hotel is much warmer, and has a 18" deep area that is perfect for small children. Both pools have swim-up bars that open at 10 or 10:30 am.

THE KIDS CLUB------------------------All I can say is WOW!!! If you have kids, this is SO the place for you. Most hotels only take kids over 4, and even though their schedules say they start at 4 years old, they took my 2 and a half year old in addition to my 6 year old. There were even some kids who were young 2s there in addition to 4-7 or so. Izmin is a lovely, lovely woman that wears an explorer outfit every day to go with the Kids Club Explorer Club theme. They are open from 10am-noon, then again from 1-5. There were days I couldn't get my kids to leave! The really amazing thing is that they have devoted a good deal of land to the Explorers Club. There is a small house with a thatched roof that contains things like fooseball, pinball, leggos, and a TV that they tend to show a kids movie at 2pm each day. Outside within a gated, walled in area is a large blow-up jumping thing you see at fairs, a Power Wheels jeep with a small track with tires in the ground so they don't run into anything, a sandbox, a swingset and a wooden treehouse for climbing. They also have other activities like pinata making, a picnic on the beach and other events. We did the Fiesta Americana Cancun last year, and they had a very tiny room next to the gift shop, so we were very impressed.

THE RESTAURANTS--------------------We honestly had fantastic food at Dreams, and my husband is somewhat of a gourmet cook and I usually have a very hard time pleasing him with any hotels I choose. One really lovely thing about Dreams is the atmosphere. At each restaurant they have lots of torches and open-air fire pits to accompany the live musicians. It's very romantic, and the music kept my children occupied.

Portifino: EXCELLENT! Our favorite was the Italian restaurant, Portifino. It was so good, we asked if the chef was Italian (he's not, his name is Manuel). My husband makes his own marinara sauce from scratch, and practically drank it, saying that it was something on the Lorenzetti side of his family would be proud of! They had a ravoloi stuffed with shrimp in a white wine cream sauce that was to die for! We always ate early at 6pm and never had a problem getting in and served, but if you ate later around 8 there were definitely more people.

Oceana: EXCELLENT. Since we found out Manuel was also the chef here, it made sense that the food was also fantastic. We did an All Inclusive in Puerto Valliarta a few years ago that the biggest food problem was that every meat dish from hamburgers to steaks were horrendous. All beef at Dreams is really wonderful. I had a steak at Oceana that was to die for, and the hamburgers we had for lunch were all fantastic also.

Seaside Grill: VERY GOOD. We ate here for lunch often, and it has a similar menu to the room service. All food was very good, although they are very generous with the salad dressings so you may want to ask for it on the side.

El Patio: VERY GOOD. The breakfast buffet had some nice options. There were 10 hot items each day ranging from sausage & bacon to potatoes to enchiladas to pancakes to waffles. There were always at least 8 different kinds of fresh fruit in addition to cold meats & 5 kids of cheeses. They had 3 kids of yogurt (plain, fruit flavored & fat free) plus cottage cheese. Each day there were bagels, danishes toast & 5 kinds of cereal. They also have omelets & smoothie stations. Dinner includes a robust buffet where they will also cook you 3 different kinds of fish to your liking. I will say that I have never seen anyone take off running when I asked for a Diet Coke as Rene does at breakfast!

Himitsu: GOOD. We had a nice meal here, and all the sushi was extremely fresh. The service was especially attentive here.

THE SPA--------------------------------------LOVED the spa! Apple Vacations included a $100 per person coupon with our package so we visited often! They have brand new spa chairs for pedicures with a great whirlpool foot tub. I had 2 massages that were equally fantastic. The entire spa is marble & granite and very relaxing.

THE BEACH-----------------------------------BEAUTIFUL! There are at least 8 huts on the beach with hammocks and a few chairs next to each hammock. This was nice because my kids would build sand castles on the beach while my husband and I would either sun ourselves or swing in the hammock. The beach is much larger than other places we have been (Cancun, Puerto Valliarta, Cozumel). It also is more private. They have a rope where the locals cannot cross to sell you anything (unlike Puerto Valliarta where they accost you on your lawn chair). There is a wonderful view of the rocks jutting into the sea, and it is very peaceful. The undertow is VERY strong, but we have encountered the same thing in Cancun and Hawaii so it was nothing new.

ENTERTAINMENT-----------------------------Since we have small children, we didn't do a lot of the late night events, but we heard they were fun. We did do the movies on the beach, which is a fantastic idea! I wish they would do a double feature because we would have sat there under the moon & stars on those comfy chairs all night watching anything! A truly great experience. A suggestion would be to do family movie night at 6 pm with a family show & room service at the beach.

We did love the musicians that seemed to be at every restaurant and bar. My 2 year old loves to dance, and danced in the lobby bar until she passed out!

CABO SAN LUCAS & SAN JOSE DE CABO---------We took the city bus for $1 to San Jose de Cabo. The bus drops you off about a 20 minute walk from the city center, but the bus driver was very kind about telling us which way to go and it was very safe. It was a little tricky with 2 strollers, but doable. We also took the $1 bus Downtown Cabo San Lucas seems more urban, but quite safe. It has a very nice mall with a fantastic movie theater. ---- The VIP theater, where we saw Closer with Julia Roberts & Natalie Portman, has leather Lazy-Boy style seats that we had never seen before. This mall was not quite as plush as the one in Cancun, which also had an aquarium right in the mall, but was still very nice. We took a cab back, but stopped at the Costco so it cost us $27. The bus is a much better option for the money.

ALL IN ALL-----------------------------------------------We had a great experience at Dreams, and the staff is very attentive and every time we requested something it was met very quickly. When we finally got word from the airline that our flight was cancelled, they found us rooms very quickly. I will also say our Apple Vacations representative was also very helpful. We found it a good value, great food, and a fantastic vacation overall. We highly recommend this hotel, from people that travel frequently, and are VERY picky!!!!!!!