Originally Posted by MrsEtienne2b 

Ladies....

 

I thought i would write my review and be as brutally honest as i can. It is REALLY long and goes into a lot of detail about the hotel, staff and entertainment as well as the wedding. So please don’t be off put by the length and detail. It really should help to answer any questions that i definitely had un-answered before we set off to Dreams La Romana..

 

The Journey and Our Group

We travelled as a group of 24 from the UK, Manchester airport to La Romana using Thomas Cook. We had a heavily pregnant guest and 5 children aged from 1 to 9. There were also two teenagers and a varied bunch of guests all with different tastes and likes, singles couples and families.

The total travelling time was around 14-15 hours and I was dreading the thought of guests feeling miserable before they had even arrived at the hotel. But spirits were very high and are group mixed and interacted well. Kids enjoyed the food on the airline and everyone took in the culture, sights and sounds as we passed through the amazing Punta Cana airport. This was the first long haul flight for a few guests and they were amazed at not only the airport building, but the relaxed way of life that hits you as soon as you get off the plane.

 

The visa and $10 dollars fee at the airport went relatively smoothly. One of our guests travelled without her daughters father and they interrogated her a bit but after 10 minutes or so, everyone went well and we quickly gathered all or luggage and headed towards the coach for transfer to dreams. We were surrounded by locals in uniform claiming to be with Thomas cook, but they were just hoping to get a few dollars to transport our bags to the coach. This didn’t bother us but if you aren’t prepared to tip, just politely tell them you can manage your own bags and they leave you alone.

We were dreading the 2 hour travelling time to the hotel, but this actually went down really well with everyone. It is an amazing opportunity to take in the sights of the local towns and really kick starts the excitement for the holiday. Please don’t worry if you are taking this route to Dreams La Romana. Unless you are a really uneasy traveller, you will not even notice the time it takes to get between Punta Cana and the hotel.

Overall the travelling and first impressions of the Dominican were a highly rated 9 out of 10 by all of our group members.

 

The Hotel

We were overwhelmed by the size and beauty of Dreams as we pulled up, as were some of the guests moving on to different hotels. It really is a ‘wow’ or should I say ‘thank god’ as you pull up and are greeted by bell boys, champagne and a bunch of happy friendly hotel staff. Check in went really well, we were all allocated rooms in building 3, and offered the upgrade starting at $50 dollars per night. At the time, no-one upgraded as we just saw it as extra expense. Please note that after your first day or so, this soon drops to $20 dollars a night and the majority of our group did eventually upgrade to block 4 or 5 and were very happy that they did. The hotel itself did look fantastic so we were quite happy to stay in the rooms, which were all located pretty much together. We were transported to our rooms and given a guided tour by our lovely bell boy who even showed us were to get towels etc. The room itself was directly opposite the World Cafe and a 2 minute walk from the lobby, pool and all other amenities.

 

The Room

I was not overly disappointed by the room and thought it was modern, light and airy with plenty of room. However, one of our guests was disappointed as it seemed a little dingy and was not what they were expecting from pictures on the web and in our brochure. The hotel did offer to change them but it honk once the jet lag had passed, they felt happier about staying in block 3. They did upgrade after the wedding and said they wish they had done it sooner. The rooms in block 3 did eventually start to feel damp, and the noise of everyone getting their breakfast can be a bit off putting. The rooms in block 4, 5 and 6 seem to be the ones they use in the brochure with the white and blue bedding and dark wood. Please be aware that they generally do come at a cost, unless you’re travelling as a couple or very small group.

The suite 5003 is where we ended up after speaking to Jenny and arranging our wedding details. I must say, this room will knock your socks off!! It is AMAZING. There is a w/c as you walk in, a huge living/dining room with plasma tv and dvd player, a huge bedroom with king size 4 poster bed, a bathroom with Jacuzzi bath, dressing area and separate toilet with a glass door and there is even a phone there in-case you want to order room service whilst using the loo!!! We were 100% happy that we upgraded and would highly recommend it if you don’t mind paying the extra. We bartered with them and Jenny fought our cause and got it from $185 to £80 dollars per night.

Overall the guests were happy to rate the appearance and first impressions of the hotel as 9 out of 10, with the rooms in building 3 at 7 out of 10 but the upgraded block 4 at 9.5 out of 10. We definitely rate the suites as 10 out of 10 and could not find any faults at all with it.

 

Food......

This is always a tricky one as we had vegetarians, halal only guests, children and of course stroppy teenagers lol. There were also guests who always travel to VERY luxurious parts of the world and who generally stay in platinum plus type hotels. So as you can imagine, I was totally nervous about what to expect food wise. We managed to sample every restaurant apart from the Jungle restaurant so I will give you an overall for each one;

World cafe- this went down with everyone in our group. It really does cater for everyone. The breakfast is by far the best time to eat here with omelette and egg stations, various breads and cereal, pancakes, toasts, fruits, yoghurts, fresh juices in abundance, deli style meats and cheeses and the biggest variation in donuts ever!! We had one particular fan of the donuts who ate a plate full every morning (and I believe he misses them already!)

 

The lunches and evening meals here can become a bit mundane if you eat here a lot, but the foods are VERY much varied and we found that the kids and younger adults loved eating her. Iv’e been told to tell you about the amzing ice creams!!(this is from my 9 year old son!)

Overall 8 out of 10 from adults 15 out of 10 kids

The Seaside Grill came up 2^nd choice for the group, we never had breakfast here but the lunches are fantastic. Especially if you’ve had a long hard morning sunbathing by the main pool, or relaxing in the games room lol. They offer a set lunch menu with 3 courses including salad, barbecue chicken skewers, fresh pizzas and pastas and tuna steaks as well as the amazing tropical mousse. You have to try one of these, EVERYONE loved them. The evening meals are just as good and they make the best fillet beef steak in a peppercorn sauce. But beware, the waiting is horrific here, we often waited 90 minutes for a table even if we went just as a small group of 4. The kids did not like to eat evening meals here either.

The BIGGEST negative overall is that this is where the insects seem to wait to pounce!! I did not get bitten until the second to last day of our 14 day stay, and it was during my first evening meal here!

Overall we rate the food as 9 out of 10 but a few people did rate it lower because of the insects. We agreed that if you prepare and spray yourself in repellent, it is definitely the best food at the SSG.

Portifino and Bordeaux. We did not visit either of these restaurants as they are smaller than most and Bordeaux operated an adult only restriction. Some of our couple’s did eat at both and said that they are both great, with plenty to choose from. The French food was rated as a high 10 out of 10 and the onion soup is apparently amazing.

Overall 9 out of 10 again

El patio and Oceana were some of the guests favourites, including my husbands. He loved the Mexican food and my mother in law said the seafood at Oceana was fantastic. I am not a big fish eater so passed on Oceana but I regret not going as even my 9 year old loved the food. They do a great steak and prawn main course which I was begged to get the recipe for! Waiting is less of a chore at these two so try them out and don’t regret it like me!

Overall 8 out of 10

Himitsu. We actually managed to book a table the night before the wedding here to get together and talk through final plans. I have to say, EVERY member of group hated it!! I actually enjoyed my main course but to be fair, everyone elses looked bland and some even came out cold!! But the main problem was not actually the food, but the cleanliness and the mosquito situation again. They have HUGE lights above each table in which creatures of all shapes and sizes are drawn to. They fall off iun your drinks and food and just generally make you feel uncomfortable.

Overall this restaurant got a low 2 out of 10!!

The rest of the eateries such as the barefoot grill and Cocos (the coffee and internet bar), and the poolside snack bar has hot dogs and pizzas that the kids loved and ate at every day! They all get a high 10 out of 10. These are great for snacks and a quick drink and generally remain busy free as people just pass in and out. Coco’s is great for afternoon snacks, or to grab a little sandwich and cake to take to the room for hungry kids.

BE AWARE......Men HAVE to wear shirts/tops with some sort of short sleeve and long trousers for most restaurants. It is a nightmare, especially when it is so hot. This really annoyed our group because who comes on holiday to wrap up!!! This is a huge negative about the hotel...

 

Bars

All of the bars are great. We didn’t have enough time to try all of the cocktails but I will run through a few of the favourites within the group; the martinis served at the lobby bar are all amazing. You have to try the strawberry martini and the melon one, they are both fantastic (but very strong so beware). They offer alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails of the day each day, and all were yummy. The winners of the non alcoholic had to be the bananmana and the strawberry which were just fruit and ice and absolutely amazing. These are even better with rum in lol. My husband drank liquor-de-coco breakfast, noon and night as did most of the guests. My advice would be to try the rum tasting that the entertainment team put on, that way you get to try all the local rums and get a bit of background on how they’re made.

The bars get a well deserved 10 out of 10 for variation, including well known international brands, and for service and staff.

 

Entertainment

This is something I could harp on about all day. The staff here are just the best. They go out of their way to please you all day long. The Casino went down a hot with all the guests that visited it. The nightclub was enjoyed by us all, but the music can be a bit dated. We had a dj with us who ended up playing for them several nights and got the club jam packed!!! He played a variation of charty type r and b and some old school classics (his words not mine) and everyone loved it. The resident dj played a bit too much local music which kind of emptied the place at times, but if you request a song, he does his best to play it.

The rest of the entertainment is available all day, every day. From rum tasting to water polo, keep fit on the beach to stretching by the pool. There really is enough to keep all ages entertained.

The games room was a major hit with our group. There are pool and snooker tables, ping pong tables, computers with the ever popular Call of Duty!! And much more.

Overall the entertainment gets a high 10 out of 10 from our group who all like to keep occupied and on the go. If you like to just relax, I cant see this being a problem here either as there are plenty of areas that remained kid and noise free. As a group however, we like to be entertained and loved the fact that there was plenty to do.

 

THE WEDDING

Now for the bit you have all be waiting for.....

We had our first meeting with Jenny 3 days after our arrival which we didn’t mind as it gave us time to take in the hotel and feel familiar with everything. I had a strict plan that I wanted to stick to and Jenny was amazing at listening to us and gathering as much information as possible. We had all intentions of going with the ultimate package at a cost of $2800 dollars and adding extra guest as well as bits such as decorations and the dj. However, we were totally put off by the photos offered by Tropical Pictures!!! This might not be an issue to some people and I have seen some amazing work in the past, but i think once we were there and had a chat with them, we just weren’t happy with what we saw and what they offered. My partner is a bit picky about things like this and we decided to just pay for everything separate and bring in an external photographer. Luckily enough, i had read the reviews and contacting Arnaud at HDC last year so still had his contact details. We emailed him on the Monday and he sent someone for our deposit on the Tuesday and we were lucky enough to have them do our photography!! I will post the log on details further down so you can log on and look at them yourself.

Our wedding was booked for Friday the 1^st of July at 4pm. And we sat back and relaxed after Jenny ran around and sorted everything out for us, included a free hair trial at the spa. We had finalised everything that we had planned for over a year; The gazebo with full decorations, a minister to perform the ceremony, and a cocktail hour on the pier, followed by a private dinner on SSG deck. I gave Jenny plenty of photos to work on for decoration, and my suitcase full of Martha Stewart pompoms, favours which were cigars for men and YSL lip-glosses for ladies, and cream and pink pails for the kids which Jenny filled with little sweets I fell in love with in her office.

So we sat back and waited for Friday. I moved into the suite and my husband stayed in our old room in building 3. Beware, you might not get a separate room at busy times and I had to pretty much demand one! The morning of the wedding was beautiful. My sister in law took the kids for breakfast and ordered me room service with a bottle of champagne while I soaked in the Jacuzzi and relaxed. The kids stayed with the men and all the ladies came to my suite for a catch up, glass of bubbly and good catch up. This was honestly perfect. I was so calm and happy and tottled off for my hair at the spa (which I loved by the way). All the girls came to my suit at 3.30 as did our photographer and we took shots of me getting dressed etc. Then Jenny arrived at 4 to take me to my groom. We had a relatively short walk to the gazebo, all of which was under shelter. We were met by other guests who we had be-friended all of whom were crying and taking photos. This was such a nice touch, and up until now I had remained calm and tear free!! As soon as I saw the gazebo, my heart raced. I could see the men and the guests and didn’t catch a look at my groom as they led my maids down the aisle.

I felt a slight spat of rain but honestly didn’t care. Then as jenny led me to the tip of the aisle we were hit by a full pelt Caribbean monsoon!!!!! For ten minutes or so, we stood under shelter but I could see my groomsmen and my husband running for shelter and salvaging all my gorgeous flowers and decorations!! I was gutted. But I still remained positive as Jenny was great and calming. All the ladies got taken to a room and given bottles of champagne (probably to prepare me for what was to come!) the men were all separate to us and getting the same treatment. Jenny was literally running from room to room panicking, with her phone and walky talky going every two seconds. After half an hour and the rain and wind getting ferocious, I kind of knew what was coming. Jenny came into the room and said that my partner wanted to move it to another day. Up until now I had been calm and tear free. But hearing those words really pushed me over the edge. I just wanted to get married and have the day that I had planned for so long! But I knew were not going get the wedding we wanted indoors and had paid so much money to have our ceremony and reception in the beautiful outdoors.

So I reluctantly agreed to move it to the next day. Then we were hot with bomb shell ( I bet you can’t even imagine it got any worse ladies). Jenny said we would have to pay for the cocktail hour and the private menu again!!!!! I was not prepared to fork out all that money again and by now didn’t even care if we got married in the bl***y room we were sat in. My maid said to get in the bathroom, wrap a gown around, poke my head through the door and get my partner in so that we could chat alone face to face. I was really unhappy about seeing him even under cover but knew that all the passing messages to and fro was getting us nowhere! As soon as he saw me I could see he was gutted (and from what Iv’e heard he was actually more upset about it all than me),he looked like he was about to burst into tears. But as soon as I told him we had to pay the majority of the money again, he knew that all that mattered was to just get married and enjoy the day as best as we could. So we decided to move all the wedding stuff to the ballroom. I was by now a bit tipsy and totally relaxed. All my nerves had gone and I was past caring about the gazebo and SSG deck. I honestly just wanted to make this official and see my husband.

We sat around for a good hour waiting and my heart was a bit shattered at the thought of not having my dream wedding. Jenny arrived and said its time to go. The men were all sat in the ‘chapel’ as it was called and we set off for the 2^nd time. I’ve got to say, I was not expecting it to be as beautiful as it was. When we walked in I could see my little cocktail bar set up in a big and beautiful corridor, directly outside the room in which we were to be married. Jenny had moved all the flowers up and decorated big potted plants with pink and cream bows. My maid and sister in law started the precession and as she got to the door she shot me a big-thumbs, up and a teary smile (bearing in mind this is the one who never cries). Each and every maid all did the same, and I didn’t know whether it was total reassurance or genuine delight at what they saw. Then jenny came to me and my father in law (my dad couldn’t make it over due to work and other issues at home) and my heart actually started to go crazy again. I got to door and looked into this totally amazing room that looked just perfect. All my guests were sat but the maids and groomsmen were stood at the front, were the alter and registrar were stood and the atmosphere was absolutely overwhelming. I think the wait and the rain had made everyone soooo emotional that they were all so glad to see us both stood there about to get married. My partner looked so relieved and actually grabbed me and gave a big long kiss. Everyone started laughing at that is pretty much how the service went. People were crying and laughing as we exchanged vows and the registrar even said ‘well i think was definitely worth waiting for everyone’. It was absolutely beautiful. Perfect even....

We walked out Mr and Mrs and were greeted by staff and champagne. The cocktail hour was great and even though HDC had left there were plenty of photographs taken. Everyone was in good spirits and we all laughed about the mishap. The canapes are that not amazing guys, especially the cold ones. But the hot ones, especially the beef are great. The cocktail hour is definitely worth investing in, especially if you have a larger group as it helps to keep everyone together and entertained. Jenny by now was totally relieved and came over to tell us that she would take everyone into the ball so that they could be seated for our wedding reception. She told us to wait outside with a drink and she would come and get us to address us to group ad husband and wife. We were then led into the room which absolutely knocked our socks off and taken onto the dance floor to have our first dance. For any of you who are nervous about this as i was, this is a great way to be introduced and get it out of the way lol

The room was set up exactly how we had wanted it at the SSG deck. Our flowers were amazing and smelt wonderful. The only negative really is that the favours were a bit wet and mixed up with the wrong names on, but Jenny came in and sorted all that out discreetly. The champagne flowed, and the food was 100% perfect. We had mushroom soup, stuffed tomato with a chicken type filling, and a HUGE chicken breast filled with cheese and parma ham and wrapped in breadcrumbs. The pudding was a really odd version of apple pie, more like a crème brulle!! Not what we were expecting but by now were all full to the brim.

The set up of the ballroom is perfect for a group or size, and there is even a dance floor and area for the bar.

It was perfect. We all had a good dance after the speeches and everyone was well and truly happy. We were told that the room can be booked until 2am if prior notice is given and Jenny did say we could have stayed on but we just wanted to get back to our room and cuddle after the long day. So we cut the cake at about 11.30 which was loved by all and absolutely delicious, then headed back to our suite. Some people went to the club and casino but we headed back to our suite and just relaxed.

Overall the wedding was NOT what we planned at all. We had a ‘fake’ wedding where we all got dressed up again and Jenny dressed up the gazebo again for us and set up the ssg deck so that HDC could come back and take more photos of us together.

I’m glad we done this even though everyone had to get ready again (sorry guests) but people loved getting done up again lol. The photo turned out perfect and I felt like I had more involvement because I wasn’t rushing around or to a timescale. However, it is this that sealed the agreement that the ssg deck is just not an ideal place for a reception. We were actually relieved that we moved to the ballroom where it is air conditioned, spacious and mosquito free!! I’m not saying i wouldn’t have loved our reception on the ssg deck, or service in the gazebo. If i could go back and choose, i would definitely have the service in the gazebo, the cocktail hour on the pier and the reception indoors at the ballroom, or even Portofino. Outdoors in the heat is just too much for it all so please consider this when selecting your venues.

PLEASE PLEASE have a back-up plan in-case of weather. I felt really sorry for the lady who was getting married after us. As far as I could tell it really affected her plans and she didn’t really have a good word to say to other guests about her time at dreams after this.

I would give the wedding a well deserved 10 out of 10, but must say the canapés are a 5 out of 10 but the cocktail package itself is a 9 out of 10. The food is a 9 out of 10 as some guests didn’t like the pudding, and the dj service is 9 out of 10 as my brother in law had to help him out a bit. The ballroom s a location is 10 out of 10, and I’m afraid the SSG deck gets a low 5 out of 10, unless you can bear the heat and the creatures that seem to live there..

Jenny as a co-ordinator gets a massive 10 out of 10. She is absolutely amazing and without her, it our day would have been destroyed!!

 

I hope this has given you as much info to be prepared as possible. If I have left anything out or you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] and I will be more than happy to help you out or just be an ear to listen to you concerns.