Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa

What can we say, this is going to be a very honest review, hopefully it will not offend anyone but this is how we found our visit to Dreams Punta Cana. When we arrived at the hotel, check in was smooth, and staff friendly, without seeing our room we immediately decided to upgrade to a swim out room, which was lovely, in a great position in block 4. Our first week saw absolutely no issues, there was a bar across the pool with a lunch station serving hot dogs, burgers and nachos which saved you from leaving the pool area and to be honest the location of our first room was perfect and we were very happy. We arranged 3 trips, 2 with Luis the towel guy across from block 4(seapro) who was very helpful and very pleasant speaking very good English and our last trip was booked through Amstar in the lower lobby, again, very helpful, polite and speaking very good English. Issues started when we returned from the Soana Island trip which was a full 11hr day, when we got back to the hotel security refused to let us back in, even though they had confirmation on paperwork and from our driver, even showing our room key, they refused to let us in only allowing is into the resort after he had made a phone call to reception asking for the room numbers and all guest names of our returning party, a total of 9 guests, the other members of our party were families with small children who also complained about this, when we finally did get back into the resort we decided to grab a quick bite to eat to take back to our room and then just shower and relax after the long day, but when we tried to get into the buffet they just looked us up and down, looking at us like dirt, I can understand more Spanish than I can speak and they were looking us up and down talking about us in a derisory manner to which I just walked away and made my way to reception to complain. Angel from concierge was very apologetic and made sure we got booked into the Japanese restaurant that evening. The next day we spoke with Elizabeth about the issue again we were not happy with how we were treated the previous day, Elizabeth and Angel were again apologetic and due to some construction work being carried out in our block asked us to move, they gave us a suite with "private balcony and garden" which, initially seemed very nice but this is when we had even more issues, not directly from the hotel though, the area outside our room was meant to be private but we had people constantly cutting across where there is no path and it is obvious that it is a private area, as it also had a jacuzzi on the balcony, one day we decided to spend the morning on the beach in the preferred area, when we got back we found towels and drinks on the sunbeds in our garden that people had just decided to use freely for themselves, unfortunately we had been telling the hotel numerous times about this issue since we were moved but nothing was done, when we saw our "private" garden being used this unfortunately was the last straw for us and I got quite upset and angry with Adrian from the concierge who arranged to have 2 signs put up, but unfortunately again this did not stop people from using our garden area. We had been politely asking people to use the path as to keep our area private and when we did we were met with a torrent of verbal abuse, now, during our trip we spoke with 6 different American couples who were very nice but unfortunately, we found the Americans on a whole to be very arrogant, ignorant, loud and abrasive, not just towards us but also towards hotel staff and also towards the tour operators, the Americans has no respect for anyone or anything, signs are clearly marked asking people not to jump or dive into the pool as it is only 3ft deep but they were jumping off the bridges, from trees and from the man made islands in the pool itself. There was also a security issue where we found 2 employees taking a break in our spare room but the hotel were going to deal with that. Any personal belongings make sure that you keep a close eye on them as there seems to be a few opportunists which would take advantage of anything left unattended or even if you are sat close by. To summarise, we loved the hotel, the grounds are beautiful and kept immaculately, the food was fantastic with plenty of choice, bar staff are amazing and we would like to thank Angel, Elizabeth, Adrian, Luis and all the other staff that helped to make our stay enjoyable but the issues we encountered could easily have been avoided and as a result we will not be going back to this resort. As nice as the staff and resort were it is spoiled by a large number of Americans and we will not be returning. Read less

After a 1 hour transfer we arrived at the resort and first impressions were very good.... the grounds looked lovely and the entrance lobby is very impressive. My wife got a glass of champagne and I received a glass of fruit juice for some reason. Anyway, we then proceeded to the reception desk to check in only to be told our room wasn't ready and we would have to wait, then the next sentence was we would be allowed to upgrade to a suite for the sum of 600 GBP. No thanks (I'd already read some reviews on the Preferred Club and the lack of value for money). This seemed to set the tone for the rest of the holiday to be honest, I'll come to that later. After around 40 minutes we were told it was ready but not before being accosted by another member of staff from the Spa trying to get us to visit their gaff, I presume the voucher on offer would have lead to more pleas for money via treatments etc. Again, not for me. The Room: A nice size room with 2 double beds (we were told we had a king size bed by Jonathon at reception), the air conditioning was good and there was a ceiling fan, so far so good. This is as far as the positives go. After the initial relief of arriving in the room we started to see the downside and numerous faults. I have photographs I will try to upload. After sleeping in the bed for the first time, we discovered there was a lovely dip in the middle that allowed you to be close to your other half permanently, the second bed wasn't much better. The room looked like the maintenance team had carried out numerous substandard repairs over the years since the room was last decorated (1990's probably), the quality was shoddy at best, it was as if they'd been repaired at midnight with all the lights off by people wearing sunglasses!! The room was very dated and is in desperate need of a proper upgrade by competent tradesmen. One of our sockets didn't work at all, one of them was loose! The bed linen wasn't changed as regularly as promised, possibly 3 times in the 2 weeks we were there. The minibar had 2 cans of Coors light and various other soft drinks, this level of supply continued throughout our stay. Finally, 4 or 5 times our patio door was left unlocked and not by us, I don't know if this was an oversight or something more sinister?? The Food and Restaurants: The main deciding factor for us booking this resort was the choice of restaurants on offer; 9 restaurants to pick from swayed it for us. If only they had told us that for our second week we would only have the choice of 3 restaurants for the rest of our break I wouldn't have booked it. After the third night of this lack of service I enquired at reception as to why this was happening, I was told "it's just because they are shut"! After enquiring with TUI through their (Not) 24/7 app, they told me it's because it was low season and it is in the small print. By the way, I had to use the app as TUI refuse to send a rep to the place, maybe if they got their heads out of their backsides and showed some courtesy to the paying customers that booked this resort with them they would see first hand some of the issues. Thanks for the heads up TUI!!! This was a major issue for us and if you care to check you will find it isn't low season at all. This lack of information as to the possibility of reduced service is tantamount to false advertising, something which TUI need to address. I made my feelings known to them but they don't care, they've got your money so just suck it up seems to be their attitude. On to the quality of food; to sum it up, not worth the 4 star rating, 3 would be more like it and that is being generous! Most of the supposed warm food was usually cold, like it had been prepared in a morgue. The only guarantee you have for warm/hot food is if it is cooked in front of you. Christi in the World Cafe is a whizz with her omlettes, the rest of the food was not up to scratch, portion sizes were very small and would be better described as prison food. The seafood restaurant was a shambles, no seafood apart from fish, I asked for mussels and they had none at 7.30pm!! I had clam chowder instead, that was cold and all I had was one and a half of the tiniest clams you've ever seen, the rest was vegetables. The wife didn't even get that, there was one small morsel of a clam in hers. Guess what!! It was cold as well!! The mains weren't much better, if you like grouper then you're in heaven as that is all the seem to have, I would have liked the option of getting that warm too! The steakhouse doesn't fair much better either, the first time we went I had the worst starter I've ever had anywhere in my life; chorizo sausage in cheese. It was shocking, rock hard cheese and the sausage tasted nothing like chorizo. And it was cold! Surprise surprise! We both had steaks, again, these were presented to us cold, I got half a small jacket potato with a manky dorito stuck in it and my wife's chips came direct from the morgue where they were cooking the other food! However, to keep things right we did try this place a second time and the food did improve and was actually hot. We must have got someone else's. We tried the pizza place one night, that was much better, can't fail though can they, they are cooked in the pizza oven in front of you. Problem is, I don't want to pay a small fortune to go on holiday to fill up on pizza for a fortnight! But, on the other hand, if you want to eat here during the day if it is their turn to open, all you get is pre-cooked pizza laid out on the bar, nothing cooked freshly to order. Leanardo the waiter in there was top class, looked after us very well, thank you. The Italian restaurant was another shambles. First time we went I ordered the lamb shank. What was given to me looked like remnants from an explosion in a tarmac factory! Didn't taste much better either, funny tasting lambs in the Caribbean!! Second time we forced ourselves to go as the other 2 restaurants were so busy and had a long wait so this was our only option. We had our starters after around 45 minutes waiting, when our plates were removed the waiter told us our mains were on their way, I had ordered the ratatouille with grouper. 25 minutes later they hadn't arrived so I asked the waiter again. "On their way" was the reply. Another 20 minutes later, I asked the same again and got the same reply. By this time I was a bit peed off so I replied "so is flaming Christmas" I wouldn't normally be like this but everyone has their limit don't they?? Then, when our food finally arrived after an hour waiting I got grouper on mashed potato with a creamy sauce!! I asked the waiter where was my ratatouille and he told me "that is it". I couldn't believe they would think I was that stupid! Just a little note; both of us and a couple we met there couldn't keep off the toilet for over a week, can't really say what this was down to but we have a fair idea! Best of all was the Japanese/Chinese restaurant. In the Japanese section they cook in front of you on a big hot plate, the food was by far the best and we ended up visiting here 4 times, it was that nice (or was it because it was the only place to guarantee you hot food?) A big disappointment came with the French restaurant. This wasn't available at all for the 2 weeks. If it's not available, let people know beforehand, not when they arrive! We discovered on our second last day that apparently if you want to order food from a restaurant that is closed you can, they will cook it in their one of their other open restaurants. To me this is not acceptable and not what I paid for. The coffee shop is good, a large selection of cakes etc. for people with a sweet tooth but the sandwiches leave a lot to be desired, they need more filling in them so you can actually taste what they're supposed to be. Hotel shop - Tip; Get a bank loan if you want to buy anything eg. inflatable lilo for over 60 GBP!! Crisps at 7 GBP for a packet. Come on Dreams, at least Dick Turpin wore a mask when he was emptying your pockets! Tip: there is a free twice daily trip to a shopping mall near the airport from the hotel, go there if you want to buy cheap food, cigarettes etc. The hotel or TUI won't actually tell you about this as it means you won't be allowing them to take your eyeballs out in their shop! There is a small board in the lobby advertising this, you'll need the eyesight of The Six Million Dollar Man to see it though!! Hotel Bars; Drinks were hitty/missy. Sometimes you could taste the alcohol sometimes you couldn't. Warning - In the lobby bar there was one particular barman that looked at me like he wanted to pull my head off every time I went to the bar. I had tipped him previously (although this shouldn't have any bearing on how you are served) but he was too engrossed with a group of Americans that were chucking dollar bills in his direction to be civil to other guests. I won't name and shame him but maybe Dreams can send a memo to staff that ALL guests have paid their money and the same level of service should be given to ALL. Poolside service was usually pretty good, thank you to Yolanda for looking after us for the fortnight, she got that used to us that we didn't even have to ask for drinks she would just keep them coming until we said stop. Don't think my liver is too pleased with her though :-). WiFi: Very spotty and very frustrating as someone has already commented. In this day and age a better service should be provided, it's not rocket science and it's not expensive to provide for a franchise such as Dreams! I've worked in places where 4-500 men are contacting their families at home all around the same time and get a better signal. (no, not in prison before you ask). The airport WiFi was better and that was rammed! Needs sorting Dreams. Finally, to the reviewer that mentioned the eye infections his family suffered; our first weekend at the resort saw an influx of dozens of, and I use the term loosely, guests. We witnessed a few of them spitting and snotting in the pool and god knows what else, the noise from them was horrendous and constant until they left on the Monday. Perhaps their hygiene and general bodily secretions contributed to poor sanitation in the pool, I don't know. Just a thought. So in summary: Don't book with TUI, they aren't bothered about any of your concerns Food 90% of the time is sub-standard, definitely 3 star at very best and restaurants not open as described in the brochure You probably won't need laxatives but will need sudocrem and you must put your toilet roll in the fridge Rooms need modernising and making safer WiFi isn't good Unfortunately for us Brits, being American or willing to tip constantly gets you better service and a smile from some employees (not all) If you want to keep your room when you check out it's $10 per hour Hotel grounds are mint Read less

We have just got back from a fantastic 10 night visit to Dreams punta cana all inclusive spa & resort. The hotel is clean & spacious & set in the most beautiful surroundings. As lovers of wildlife we visited the muscovies, flamingos, tortoise & parrot every day. It was lovely to see that they are all well looked after. The food & cocktails at this hotel are amazing & I'm already missing the tasty painkiller cocktail!! We would rate everything at this hotel 5 out of 5, except the staff who I couldn't rate highly enough. I have never stayed anywhere else where every member of staff is genuinely friendly & happy. They made us feel so welcome all of the time & we felt like we were saying goodbye to friends when we left. The entertainment team & the staff working in the world cafe were particularly lovely & we would like to thank them for making our stay so special. All in all a perfect holiday was had by myself, my husband & our 2 best friends. Read less

Mary: such a great dancer and very friendly after the show. Melvin: Very good dancer and know how to teach dancing Pikete. Very good entertaner. Jose: The most great entertainer I have seen. Coco cafe's waiter: Very nice with the customers. Very polite. Cristian: waiter at the Italien restaurant. Very funny. Great service. Cristian: bartender. The best in the resort. Read less

We attended this hotel for my sons wedding their was 40 off us in the the group. 1. Our room was very dated it needs a refurb the air conditioning was so noisy the phone did not work in the room. 2. Cleanliness of the room was poor the cleaners did not do a great job. 3. Many of the group became unwell with very poorly tummy’s I had to go to the doctors in the end as it was ruining my holiday. 4. The grounds of the hotel were immaculate and the beach was lovely. 5. Not enough umbrellas around the pool if you wanted one you had to get up at 6 to get one. 6.Food was good but I think this is where the poorly tummy’s we’re coming from. 7. Overall it was a lovely holiday but will not be returning back to this hotel again. Read less