Puerto Plata, Occidental Grand Flamenco

This hotel was very dirty, dead insects in the pool, rooms are infested with ants. Food quality very poor what you get for lunch you can guarantee the same for dinner and maybe even breakfast the next morning.

Staff extremely unhelpful, and rep doesn't want to know about anyones problems.

We suffered stomach cramps and diarrhea for the entire stay. We were served a steak in the Brazilian Steak House that you could not even cut with a sharp knife. The pork was so dry it cracked when you tried to cut it. We did not receive the hotel transfers we had paid for, as well as most of the amenities that are supposed to be included with the grand romance deluxe package we booked. We were booked for 7 days, but had to leave half way through to keep from starving to death, since all the food made us sick. We are trying to get a refund. Not sure how they rate this a 5 star resort.We went to the Occidental Grand for our honeymoon. It was the worst vacation imaginable. No one should have to go through this. Not a good way to begin a marriage.

In April of this year I visited the Puerto Plata Occidental Grand Flamenco resort in the Dominican Republic in the company of my wife, and I can assure you that it was the worst experience of our lives. The staff were terrible, and the food was bad and there was little variety. The room that we stayed in was OK, but there is a part of the hotel where the rooms are terrible. People that say it is a good hotel must have gone to another one.

I stayed at the Puerto Plata Occidental Grand Flamenco in the first two weeks of June and it was the worst holiday I have EVER had! The week days are fine but come the weekends all the locals come to stay and take over, forget about getting served at the bar and forget about eating from Friday morning to Sunday night! Their children were weeing in the pools (I saw this on 2 occasions!) there was a cloud of thick black hair in the pools where it was not tied up and all falling out! It was gross! But this is normal for them and they thought we were over reacting because we didn't want to swim in a pool full of urine.

However like I said the week days are good and it is a lot quieter, the food is nice and you get a big choice, we ate in all the restaurants and we enjoyed them all, Our holiday would have been more bearable if our rep had told us to book the a la carte restaurants for the weekends and also book excursions for the weekends too because that is when you want to get out of the hotel, we realised this on the second week and did book more and it was better, the first weekend we gave up trying to fight our way into the buffet and just went back to the room!

The only excursion we went on was ocean world and it was brilliant - a fantastic day out - much smaller than sea world and more intimate.

The Occidental Grand Flamenco in the Dominican Republic is a brilliant hotel! It is very clean and spacious, with lots to do. The evening entertainment is a bit of a let down, but quite funny. It is a very short drive from the airport, which is welcomed due to the long flight!

The buffet restaurant is fantastic - nothing like typical all-inclusive buffets due to the wide range of food available.

Brilliant value for money.

Me and my partner went to the Dominican Republic for the first time. When we arrived we noticed how hot the weather was which was great. On the coach ride to the Occidental Grand Flamenco hotel we saw the locals homes, which where just shacks and little huts. And how the locals drive around on their motor bikes; it is amazing to watch (3 - 4 people on bikes, or they can be taxis!).

When we arrived at the hotel we were amazed, as it was so beautiful and clean. The staff were all smiles, and we even all got a welcome cocktail after we checked in. The man on the buggy cart who drives you to your rooms is mad! Let's just say, hold on tight. Oh, and he likes tips! When he showed us to our room, which was in block 12 near the beach, we were shocked. We had only paid for a basic room, and what we had was grand. It was clean and quite spacious. The bathroom was sparkly clean. The balcony view wasn't quite what we thought, as we had asked for a sea view, but apparently their wasn't one, as the resort in front has trees, so you can just make out a little.

The main buffet area was really special, and there was plenty of food to choose from, even for the fussy eaters! We stayed in their through our whole holiday as we were quite happy to. Although you can make reservations to eat in the other a la carte restaurants.

The beach was magnificent, although for the first few days you do get the locals trying to sell you things, but if you are polite and say no thanks, they get the message eventually.

Night life at the resort is relaxed, and if you fancy some entertainment or have kids, then the area where the stage is is perfect, but I wouldn't say it was great.

There are a few shops in the hotel as well, although if you go out of the hotel and up the road, there is a big shopping mall full of shops, which is safe to look around.

By the end of the holiday I was sad to leave, and hopefully I shall return again very soon. It is recommended for all people of all ages. The tours are a must, just be aware that you can get ripped off, so check with your tour operator first.

We stayed at The Occidental Grand Flemenco, Bavaro for 2 weeks all inclusive in Sept 01 and got Married there aswell!!

We had planned to get married in the Carribean and decided on the Dominican Republic as it looked beautiful and wasn't over expensive!

We booked through Airtours and got a good deal as there were 2 families coming out with us as well. We flew from Manchester with Monarch and although it was a long flight it wasn't too bad.

We landed in the Dominican at this airport that looked like it was situated out in the desert somewhere and went to collect our luggage. We then had about an hour and a half coach trip through some of the poorest scenery I had ever seen, small shack like houses which were only just standing but had families living in them, dead animals in fields, rubbish just dumped anywhere and everywhere!! As for the actual coach trip, put it this way - scary!

When we neared our destination it was like entering into a different world. No rubbish, clean houses, beautiful plants with vibrant colours - amazing!

We finally reached the hotel and checked in. The room we were given was on the top floor and overlooked the main pool area. It was nicely furnished and very clean. The actual hotel I cannot fault. It was kept to a very high standard and everyone was very friendly. The furnishings are very comfy and luxurious and there are plenty of seating areas around the main bar. There are a huge number of restaurants catering for all palletts from a la carte, pizza, mexican, buffet, burger grill the list goes on and on..

Breakfast is served in the main buffet restaurant and has a good choice of hot and cold foods. There are plenty of cereals, fruit, toast or whatever you want even down to the good old fashioned cooked brekkie.

Lunch is served at a choice of venues, either the main buffet restaurant, the burger bar over looking the pool or another smaller buffet restaurant down by the beach. There is always a good selection to choose from, fish, chicken, rice, salads etc.

The evening meal can be taken anywhere. You have to book in advance to eat at one of the speciality restaurants which you can do the night before or at the main buffet restaurant which has a different theme each night.

There is live entertainment every night which is excellent or you can just chill out at one of the bars.

The hotel complex itself is massive and has its own shops, hairdressers and beauty salon, tennis courts and much much more.

The hotels own private stretch of beach is gorgeous, but you need to reserve your seats early. The sea is like stepping into a bath, lovely, clear and warm and the cleaners must get up at the crack of dawn each morning to sweep the endless miles of white powdery sand. There are plenty of activities available, all included in the package, catamarran, wind surfing, snorkelling, volleyball, etc., etc.

There are also plenty of excursions to choose from and these are very reasonably priced. We only went on the one to Manati Park which is highly recommended!

Our actual wedding took place within the hotel grounds on a balcony with these two gorgeous, white, grand stairs leading upto it. It is nicely decorated and took place at 4'0 clock in the afternoon which was nice because it had cooled down slightly by then. The actual service was over in a matter of minutes which was also nice as both my husband and myself didn't want the whole church wedding, just a relaxing simple occasion with a select few. We had all our wedding photos taken on the beach which are out of this world!! That evening we ate in the a la carte restaurant, which was included in our package. It was a really enjoyable meal and we ate there many times after. We also got upgraded to a junior suite which had a living area, a larger bathroom and was more elegantly furnished, all at no extra cost!

Our experience at the Occidental Grand Flemenco was truely breathtaking. We had never stayed at such a clean, well-kept hotel and to have had our wedding out there just made it that little bit more special. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone whether you are a couple or a family as there is plenty to see and do and you are looked after so very well.

Should anyone want any info or photos regarding getting married at this hotel or somewhere else in the Dominican please don't hesitate to ask and I would be happy to help.

The Puerto Plata Occidental Grand Flamenco exceeded all our expectations.

The grounds are spotless with staff constantly cleaning, tidying and maintaining the complex. The staff are impeccably turned out, they are polite and friendly and they work tirelessly.

Our check-in went smoothly and quickly and we were taken to our room on a buggy with our luggage which was taken in for us. The size of the room was great - room for two queen-sized beds and storage and a large bathroom with bath and shower. We were allocated in block 10 on the ground floor (if travelling with My Travel, they will not put you higher as the balconies do not meet their safety standards). A little disappointing as we had requested a balcony and a sea-view. There are trees between the beach and hotel so no views unfortunately. However, block 10 is central for everything which was great.

The buffet restaurant (breakfast, lunch & dinner) was the next surprise - it is large with lots to choose from. I can't believe anyone could go away hungry from here! The waiting staff attend to you immediately with cold water and to get your drinks. They are very polite and helpful. The restaurant above the pool (11am-5pm) serves burgers, sausages, bread, salad, chips, wedges and ice-cream is perfectly adequate for a snack and there is also a bar in here and views over the pool. At night this is transformed into the Mexican which was also very nice, with big portions! The beach-bar serves similar but with paella and grilled meats and desserts (12.30-3pm) so you don't have to go far from the beach to get fed. This bar closes at 6pm and re-opens at 11 with the disco and more food - burgers etc.

The three other speciality restaurants were also very good - The Grill serves a selection of different meats at your table from long swords. Be warned - don't pick at your starter platter too much as there is a lot of meat coming! We were stuffed afterwards but it was very good. The Italian was better the second time we used it and we had pasta dishes, more traditional and tastier. At the top of the sweeping staircase is the pizzeria, (7-11pm) this made a change and you can watch the stage entertainment from here. Not our favourite though, that has to be the Oriental. This is superb. Very laid-back and the food and service is excellent.

The speciality restaurants have two sittings (7+9pm) and they have to be booked in advance. The queues start early but it's worth it to have the extra choice and buffets can get mundane after a while.

The choice was good and we didn't get bored with the food at all.

The entertainment was enjoyable with something different each night. Mostly it was dancing shows, but there was also karaoke and audience participation games which were funny. The staff are good and always have lots of energy but aren't too pushy.

There are so many activities to do here; aerobics (beach and water), water polo, games in the pool, volleyball on the beach, snorkelling, swimming, jet-skis, para-sailing, water-skiing, banana boats, pitch and putt, table-tennis, basketball, board games to borrow and horse riding - to name but a few! You can be as active or as lazy as you want. The beach is pleasant enough, the vendors aren't pushy, and they go away if you say no thank you. The sea is nice and warm, but not much marine life to see though.

The trips were good value for money and great entertainment! You see beautiful countryside, real Dominican people and have lots to drink all day! We recommend the Outback Jungle Safari and the Catamaran trips and Ocean world too.

We felt this resort offered exceptional value for money and we would definitely go again.