Occidental Grand Punta Cana All-Inclusive

I have travelled quite a bit and have stayed in many resorts and this was definitely not on the top of my list, but we just had to make the best of it. This was my 3rd time in Punta Cana and this was definitely not the best time. I have stayed at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace before and it was amazing.I feel like who ever is reading reviews to book their trips needs to know everything. Firstly, when this website and others say all-inclusive, a person expects ALL-INCLUSIVE. This hotel isnt all-inclusive. The club on the resort is free to get in but you have to pay for anything you drink. Its a good club ;definitely not for an older crowd;. Not only that but it is open to everyone-even people that live outside of the resort not safe if you ask me;. Also, there is a restaurant that you would have to pay for which is the Lobster house. This resort also has time shares so there are a lot of places and things to do that are off limits and only for VIP; and they are sooo annoying bugging you about showing you and giving you that ;90 min; presentation to buy one. Some of the rooms on the resort were renovated so make sure you get buildings that were renovated. You have to make reservations to eat at the restuarants, but cant eat at a place no more than once. The restaurants arent all that great anyways. The people and service is really good! Entertainment is not so good either. Dont even waste your time with the night shows. You are paying for what you get but my opinion I would pay a little extra to have better quality.

I enjoyed my stay. The hotel was nice and the beach was wonderful. Lots of things to do and see without leaving the resort. There were plenty of food options and great night club.

I have to say this resort was absolutely beautiful. The grounds were beautifully maintained and the beach was breathtaking, although water was cold. The only thing I had a problem with was that our concierge was so pushy about the timeshare tour even after we said no, so was someone else who worked for the hotel. Me and my husband actually would sneak in and out through the side of the building every day just to avoid him. Pretty pathetic. Also, the vendors at the hotel are beyond pushy and some of them were downright rude. We booked everything with Prieto Tours and they were great. Very helpful and gave us good tips regarding money, safety, etc. The flea market right outside the resort is great but they harass you to go in all of their stores. My husband is spanish and spoke spanish to everyone the whole trip. The Buffet was the only real good restaurant, besides the pizza place. I would definitely go back. I must say though, if you don't speak spanish, it is hard to communicate with all of the staff.

Many of the problems listed here were not problems for us at all! The rooms were gorgeous, as was the beach. The lobby bar was great (though a little tipping definitely goes a long way). The Oriental restaurant is truly terrible - but the main dining room is fantastic (considering that Dominican cuisine is not really anywhere close to American - fresh vegetables do not exist in their food!). Their fresh fruit selection is great, the drinks were not top shelf but definitely good. My only compaint was that it was slightly too crowded, but then again we knew they were overbooked. We got a free seven day stay by agreeing to move to their ""sister hotel"", the Tropical Princess, after the first night (do not ever go to the Tropical Princess!!!), and we spent all our daytime hours at Occidental. We will be glad to return!

We liked the looks of the place. The staff is not real proficient at English. We got to our room and noticed water on the bathroom floor, they cleaned it up and said everything was ok, 2 more times a waterfall/flooding of the bathroom, they removed the ceiling to reveal a leak in the shower upstairs. They were booked and couldn't move us, bu vacated the room above. The manage gave us a free lobster dinner. We didn't like all the pushy sales staff to buy a timeshare. We were told it would take half an hour, 3 hours later after much dickering, we refused their offer, we had an invitation that stated we'd receive 2 t shirts, a tote bag, and 2 one hour massages. They had closed up while we were there, they said come back tomorrow to get it. They handed us a certificate for 2 HALF hour massages. They argued and all but called us liars. We held our ground and flashed the managers card...We were given 4 half hour massages and the rest of what was promised. Someone was in trouble for that one. Then there was a letter in our room saying they were overbooked, would we mind moving to another resort. We did, not quite as nice but ok. We got a free 7 night stay at Occidental for our trouble, but the blackout dates suddenly expanded after we got our certificate cutting out almost the 3 most desirable months to go. All in all, I rated I would not go back, mostly because I've been there once now I want to go to a different island/country.