My daughter and I decided to go on a vacation this summer and spend some time for some much needed R & R. I had spent a wonderful week here several years ago with my husband. We only had a specific 8 days to work with . We booked with Cheap Carribbean since that week was available June 1-June8. The price was very reasonable and I look forward to spending some time with her. We flew with American Airlines -Chicago to Miami then Miami to Santo Domingo. I booked the transfer with CC at the time I booked the trip.

The flight there was a bit stressful. We were delayed on the ground for 1 hr 20 min for an oil leak. We only had a 55 min between flights so already it was worrying that we would miss our plane. We landed and debarked. We had 8 minutes until the next flight. My athletic daughter sprinted to the next terminal to see if the plane had left and I brought up the rear with literally seconds left. With seconds to make a decision we boarded.
Needless to say our luggage wasnt on the flight. In hindsight maybe the better choice would have been to wait but at the time I had no idea if there was another flight that night out of Miami.

We waited to see if luggage arrived but as we anticipated it had not. Filled out the paper work to have it delivered. Because of the distance they told us it would be in the am. The transfer was easy to be found and we headed for the resort. I still can't figure out all the light flickering between vehicles. It was interesting to put it mildly. I never felt I was in danger . The transfer took about 1 hr 45 minutes. There was first a stop at a resort in Santo Domingo. I think the road were much better arriving from Santo Domingo in comparison to the Punta Cana route I had taken a few years ago.

We arrived at the resort . Check-in was quick. The staff efficient but not that friendly. We were told there was no safe locks available and that we could check in the am. We did get the lock the next day. It was included with the upgrade . That was nice. I had called CC and upgraded to a partial ocean to avoid the chance of getting in building 5. We were assigned to building 2. on the second floor. It had a wonderful view overlooking the infinity pool and the ocean. I will say the room was very "tired" looking. Things were just shabby . Definitely not as they were on my previous stay. There was a welcome plate of fruit. The bathtub was all pealing but it was clean . I was just fine with the room but had I paid a premium price I think I would have been a bit disappointed. But as some have stated, "you get what you paid for". We went to the buffet to eat as we had been traveling all day and had no time in Miami to eat .

Our luggage arrived the next day at 1:30 pm. I had been making periodic trips to the lobby to see if it was there. ( When we checked in I had told them about our luggage and was told they would let the staff know about this. ) The staff was confused as to what to do with it and they were starting to take it to a bus loading up people to go to the airport. I tipped them to take it to our room ASAP but it took almost 45 min. It felt we wasted the gorgeous sun sitting out in our clothes but relieved we at least had suits now. I brought two washclothes with us and that solved the whole washcloth mystery. We tipped every day and our room was also clean. We even got a bottle of rum one day. I am not sure why but my daughter took it home. The little mini bar was always stocked with water . The other things were hit and miss. We usually had one coke, one sprite and beer. We never drank the beer but they kept giving us more. A couple times went to the gift shop and got a bottle of coke.

We had an enjoyable week. My daughter met up with some college age adults . It rained the first couple of days for a bit but there was still some quality sun. By Wednesday it was sun , sun and more sun. I was grateful for the frequent clouds. I got a nice tan but never burned.

On Tuesday it was raining in the morning. We decided to get massages at the spa. It was very relaxing. My only problem is that used a credit card to pay for it. 31/2 weeks later some charges were showing on my credit card from a gas station/convenient store in Fort Myer Florida. They were made on friday 6/27. We obviously were not in florida . I saw the charges when checked online on Monday 6/30. I immediately cancelled the card. Several day later more charges showed up on Sunday 6/29 at that same store. I do admit I was pretty upset by all of this. As of last friday it is all cleared off my credit card but the investigation is on. I assumed it came from the spa.
I dont recall that an electronic credit card machine was used but
as someone on the forum said that it is a problem in the DR and my advice to anyone is to not use your card. In fact it made me realize that in the US I will never turn my card over to anyone. If I cant swipe it myself I wont buy there. My credit card caseworker said that the numbers from my card were stolen and used to make another card. So, lesson learned. I just didnt want to part with cash on the start of my vacation but that was not really the way to go.

My daughter participated in alot of the activities. I basically watched and was a lounger potatoe. I read and relaxed. No phone calls with people needing things so I was very happy.
The beach is wonderful. The bottom is sandy and really nice. The water temperature was refreshing. Although you cant walk a long distance it was very nice. We did utilize the infinity pool and it is a wonderful addition from the previous visit. There was alot of small children using it. I thought it was not for children so it was pretty noisy. The beach was more serene. I spent most of my time there.

We had packed up a suitcase of goodies for Monica and her charity I had read about on the forum. We had several big bags. I never could catch Kerry so I left it with the staff the several days before we were to leave. It felt good to contribute to what appeared to be such a cause. When we left we had one less suitcase to pack. We had decided to bring an assortment of stuff. I had been picking up little things for a month.

We ate at Del Mario and Oceana. We enjoyed both meals. The other days we just ate at the buffet. I did not go hungry. It was not gourmet but with all inclusives it never is. I dont go for the food. I go for the beach! We did not usually eat lunch and just grabbed pizza from the pool area. We also loved the fruit ship.
It was so good to have the fresh fruit everyday. I wish could have some fresh pineapple now.

The drinks were fine but I am not a big drinker. I did discover the blue Margarita and really enjoyed them during the week. They also have menu which thought was good. They also feature a cocktail of the day and it is fun to try things. The drinks are better in the lobby and the theater bar. They actually had Jack Daniels for a Jake&coke. We did periodically tip but it really didnt seem to make a big difference. The swim up bar was also nice. It did seem that if you walked up to it that it took a while to get service.

We booked a trip through the GriGri divers to Catalina island. We took a boat trip over . We had two great staff members with us. On the trip there we saw a dolphin. We snorkeled off the boat first. The water was a bit cold but you got used to it. One staff stayed out with us and pointed out fish etc.... It was reassuring to have them there. We were the only boat until right before we left. when another arrived.
We then went to a beach on a different part of the island. It was beautiful. The sand was hot and the rum& coke was quite refreshing. The staff socialized with us and it was alot of fun. We were fortunate that such fun and amazing people chose this trip. They were all interesting and fun. It made it so much nicer to have a fun group. The beach was picturesque. The water so beautiful and I just sat and played in the water for most of the time. I could have spent every day there. You could also snorkle in the far section by the cliff. I did not do that but wish I had . My daughter befriended a little local girl and brushed up on her spanish while playing with her in the water. She was adorable. There is a gift shop there and there was someone selling coconuts. A few other boats arrived but there was so few people it was like my own little paradise. On the way back we were taken by Caso del Campo and saw some very nice houses..etc.... It was nice trip. The price was reasonable and were back around 2 pm .

Our return to the airport was uneventful. We got to see the ocean on the way to the airport since it was daytime and not dark like when we arrived. We had almost a 3 hr layover in Miami so planned to eat there . We ended up being delayed at Santo Domingo for several hours. We got in Miami with 40 min to catch our flight to Chicago. That is not much time to get through customs, get your bags, get your bags to the new check -in for bags, and go through security. Luckily my daughter's athleticism came in handy as she navigated me quicikly. It did not help the luggage carriage kept stopping. We made it but no bathroom break or food. I called my husband to come to chicago as the flight time was the same as the drive time from our home to Chicago. We just made the flight but felt comfortable as our bags had been placed 20+ minutes and were told it will be fine but the luggage personnel.

We arrived to Chicago only to find the airport had been shut down because of weather. They anticipated it would be closed for several hours. We circled for quite some time. We were supposed to arrive at 9:30 pm . One attempt was made to land but the winds were to extreme so we were diverted to Detroit.
We landed at about 3:30 am. Pretty tired and pretty hungry.
To make a long story short; American Airline personnel told us that since it was weather related that they had no responsibility and that we needed to call the "800 number and figure out how to get back to chicago." It was pretty chaotic to put it lightly. This is now monday and my daughter starts summer school classes on Tuesday. With so much uncertainity of getting on any flight she conned me into driving home. She had things she had to get done prior to starting classes. We live 7 hrs from Detroit. and no sleep, no food. and it is now 4 am. We waited for our luggage and guess what? The one bag with the dirty clothes was on our plane but the other two were not. An American airline rep had come out to talk to people. He was verbally agressive with the previous couple and was a little concerned how I would be treated. I just wanted to know where to put in about the luggage as now I am a pro since did this at the Santo Domingo airport on my arrival. He informed me I had to go to the Chicago airport and put in my claim. I had not planned to drive into the city to get at the airport. I asked if could do it by phone or online. I was informed I could not. He did then inform me that another airport that AA utilizes would work to put in the luggage claim so since there is one 30 miles from my house that would work. We got our car and off we went. It is now about 4:30 am. We then hit a deer going around Lake Michigan about 30 miles north of chicago. We did make it home about 10:30. We did make a claim for the lost luggage per phone. ( thanks AA for having such informative reps) but luckily did not make a trip to the airport. We slept a few hours and my daughter left for school later that afternoon and got her books purchased. I was informed my luggage would be brought down from chicago as they waited for space on planes. It took to the next day . Each bag came down on a different airplane. I picked them up Tuesday afternoon as they would not deliver to my home until the next day. My daughter could not do without her phone charger another day !! I was told that if the plane is a bit heavy they just start taking off luggage so even if we had landed in Chicago our luggage would not have been there. My husband replaced the broken grill the deer damaged so no harm with the car. I am lucky to have such a handy guy.

I had been caught up with dealing with the airline issues and then with the credit card stuff. Now that time has passed I asked my daughter so what did you think. She said it was great !! That is all that matters. She had fun and I had the privelege of spending a week with her for some true mother/daughter bonding. . I also got plenty of rest... ( well it did take a while to get over that all nighter; I am not a young one) While everyone else was working I got to enjoy some beautiful nature and some quality time with a special person.

I truly think that when this resort becomes Dreams it will be great. I dont know if I will come back. At first I thought no way but that possibility is there if the circumstances are right.
I am focusing on all the positives and negatives have faded a bit. I learned some valuable lessons. I also realized how lucky I have been in my 40 plus years of life to usually have things go easy and uncomplicated. Just last week I downloaded my pictures and the feeings I have are all good. Things are as you make them and I am choosing to focus on the good.

We stayed at Casa Del Mar from June 25 to July 2. Unlike many of the reviewers from the U.S. here, we booked our trip through Apple Vacation, which apparently CDM has very high regard of (perhaps Apple is one of their biggest customer sources). Katie the Apple rep has her desk right next to the check-in desk in the lobby. She's there everyday for a couple of hours in the morning as well as the afternoon, helping Apple customers with excursions, transports to/from hotel, or any other issues you may have. The day before we left we even had a champagne social right on the pier with Apple and CDM management who asked for feedbacks about our stay and the resort. There's even a dedicated Apple hotline staffed by Apple staffs in the resort's phone system should you have any last minute troubles. We were grateful the hotline exists as we found out the morning we were to leave the resort that ground transportation had not been set up to bring us to La Romana airport, but the phone call took care of that in 5 minutes.

We stayed on the second floor of Building 3. Building 3 is perhaps the best building to stay in, not only because it's been renovated, but its location can't be beat since the World Cafe/Buffet restaurant is on one end and the infinity pool/beach is on the other end. We were originally assigned a room with double beds but when we checked in we asked for a room with a king bed and got one without any problems (our new room is directly underneath our original room). Our room was one of their standard Deluxe rooms, but since it's a corner unit, it has a larger balcony with partial ocean views. The room was clean and bright, with no funny stains or bugs. The furnitures in the room are new as far as we can tell, with comfy bedding and mattress on our king bed. The renovated bathroom had a nice granite counter top with bowl sink. The tub is clean, although it tends to accumulate water during shower due to a slow drain. Towels were changed everyday, although on certain days we found our face towels were replenished with bath towels. The room has a modern electronic combination safe, and it didn't cost us any fees to use it like the keyed ones I've read from other reviews. The mini fridge was stocked with sodas and bottled water when we arrived. We left a message to our maid to keep 4 bottles of water in our fridge everyday, and sure enough the fridge was stocked as requested throughout our stay. All in all we couldn't be happier with our standard room as we liked is location, its condition, and everything worked. The only complaint we had was the double doors that connect between the rooms let in noise from the adjacent room. Soundproofing seemed to have been improved with the renovation as the noises were mainly coming from outside in the hallway and the aforementioned double doors.

We have mixed opinions about the food at CDM. On one hand, breakfast is fantastic with fresh squeezed juices, made to order omelets/eggs, and fresh fruit bar. On the other hand, dinner at the buffet can be repetitive. Despite different food themes being advertised for different nights, we've always found some items being offered (rib eye steak, salmon and white fish fillets at the grill, as well as spaghetti and pizza) every night. Granted there were items fitting the advertised theme being offered, but the ingredients were always the same. If Dominican night is advertised, I would recommend the lamb stew and pork ragout. We tried all the dinner restaurants except for Himitsu (we heard it's not worth the wait) and El Patio (which during our entire stay was not open). Food wise Oceana is the best, make sure you try the Coconut shrimp. Location wise you can't beat Seaside Grille as it's right next to the sea and offers great views during sunset. We also enjoyed Crepes & Co's crepes. Da Mario's seemed to be THE restaurant on the resort as it was the only restaurant that had a waiting line longer than 30 minutes (compared to less than 5 for all others), but its food were only decent and not worth the hype. Food at Jungla were overly salty for our tastes. House red and white were available at every restaurant and they are fine, but you can also buy from a wine list. In every restaurant the wait staffs are nice and helpful, but they become less attentive during busy times, although this is not their fault entirely. Wait time for food was longer than in a regular restaurant, a three course meal would take you close to 2 hours. While tipping is not expected, we always did and they were really grateful for it. We tipped at the end of service so I don't think the quality of service would depend on whether you tip or not.

The property is beautifully landscaped and maintained. Be sure to visit the pink flamingoes and a family of peacocks at the lawn next to El Patio. The beach at CDM is one of nicest beaches we've been to. Blue water, white sand, and plenty of trees, just like your quintessential beach in the Caribbean. Because we went during low season we never had problems finding lounge chairs or even those cute huts they have near the pier. If you like snorkeling, explore the reefs along the rocky shore to the right of the pier and away from the beach, you won't be disappointed by what you'll see. One tip is to bring some bread with you when you snorkel to attract the fishes. There's a school of playful fishes right under the pier that would absolutely swarm you if they see that you have food. I even got nibbled on (it doesn't hurt) by these little guys whenever I swim by, how fun! You can get a kayak from Gri Gri Divers for free at the water sports center. If you do I recommend you to explore the nice little mangrove cove about half a mile to the west of the pier, it’s as close as you can get to your own private piece of paradise. Besides beach and sun, we did the ATV/Buggy excursion with Crazywheels and it was absolute blast visiting the countryside and the Chavon River. We also went to Catalina island, which was beautiful and we got to visit Casa de Campo on our way back.

Like most others have said, don't waste time with vendors that come into the resort every other night to sell their stuff, because they are OVERPRICED! One vendor wanted 52 USD for a small jewelry box and a fridge magnet. We countered at 12 USD (we believe that was a fair price) and he just walked away. We didn't even bother anymore since we saw a similar magnet that sells for 4 USD inside the resort gift shop. If you want souvenirs get them from the resort gift shop or visit Bayahibe, the village just to the east of the resort premise and reachable just by walking down the beach towards where all the boats are. On the weekends, the resort seemed to get an influx of locals staying for the weekend, at least that’s what we’ve seen during our stay.

In summary we enjoyed our first ever stay at an all inclusive resort. While it didn’t blow us away, it definitely met our expectations of a nice Caribbean vacation. Weather was nice and we only had rain one out of the 8 days we were there, despite being in the rain season. We loved the location of the resort, our room, and the staffs were helpful and pleasant to deal with. As far as all inclusive resorts in the DR, we found it perfectly enjoyable for first timers like us.

We booked this vacation through Cheap Caribbean.com. They are a joke and are just out to get your money. When they do, don't even think they will make good when something goes wrong, because they absolutely will not. Their website states that they take customer satisfaction seriously, unbelievable that they can sleep at night.

We stayed at this hotel unfortunately from May 25, 2008 through June 1, 2008. It was the worst experience we have ever had, from the ridiculous 2 hour trip from the airport, to the hotel itself to the food to the cleanliness to the majority of the staff who acted like they did not understand the English language, I would not give this hotel even a 1 star rating. According to the 2008 Caribbean vacation guide, they gave this a 5 golden apple rating and that is the main reason I chose this. Well this guide really needs to be revised, so hopefully no one else makes the same big mistake as I. There were also many other people who we spoke with at this hotel who also were so mislead by Cheap Caribbean and totally disgusted, so read on, as you may still be able to view their reviews also.

I decided to also check this website about 1 week prior to my scheduled vacation and was horrified of all the many many terrible reviews posted for this hotel, that I started making phone calls especially to Cheap Caribbean, (who already had my money so out of luck there). They also said they read the postings and were not happy about it so they finally suggested that maybe I should pay another $400.00 to upgrade my room to a better building that was renovated-so of course I had to; I was devastated by everything I was reading. At this point, I was assured by this Cheap Caribbean that I would have an newly upgraded hotel room and would be totally satisfied and if not, I was to contact them right away. This totally upgraded room in Bldg 2, was dirty, smelly and the beds were the worst- woke up in pain everyday. We had to beg for bottled water everyday cause you can't even brush your teeth with their awful water and we couldn't even get wash cloths to wash your face, even when I begged for them, tipping didn't matter either. This wait staff was the worst- they constantly said "NO ENGLISH"!! Well, I do realize that I was in a Spanish speaking country, however, when I am paying big money to be at your resort, they need to have staff that can talk to me!! The food- yuck, I could not even say mediocre, and the drinks- totally watered down with cheap alcohol.

I also found out from some of the people we met there that when they complained of the conditions there, the hotel staff upgraded them free of charge to the 2 year newly renovated suite rooms (which was an 1800.00 upgrade, per Cheap Caribbean) unlike my lousy little awful room which I did not get free at all but paid another $400.00 for. I was also offered a suite through Cheap Caribbean; however I did not think I should add another 1800.00 to this trip with all of the already bad postings and I could have had it for free, not $400.00 and not $1800.00. I also did attempt to give the benefit of the doubt by sending emails for a whole month back and forth when I returned from this dreaded vacation, to at least be refunded for the unnecessary extra $400.00 charge and was adamantly denied. I was offered $100.00 of sun dollars to use on my next booking - unreal !!

This terrible vacation was a gift to my daughter for her college graduation because she wanted to see the Caribbean and my gift was a disaster. She hated it also. I have been to the Caribbean prior and had the best time of my life on the greatest beach with the most turquoise water and best hotel, and this one even the beach wasn't nice and the water -dirty, definitely unlike my prior experience.

I cannot say it enough, do not use the same website to book your vacation as I did and do not stay at this location.

After reading numerous scathing reviews prior to our trip, I was scared to death to go to the Sunscape Casa del Mar. We booked our trip on Cheap Carribbean, and it was indeed, an extremely reasonable trip. The resort is billed as a 4 star resort, and it is not our definition of 4 star, based on the rooms and food. When we arrived, we got a very dark, dank room with double beds across from a very loud stairwell. The walls were paper thin and we were not happy campers. My husband requested a different room, and the next day the flavor of our vacation changed dramatically. We moved to the 3rd floor from the first, and got a much bigger room with a king bed, also a much quieter room. The food was plentiful and it was easy to find good meals at the breakfast buffet and also for lunch. Our dinner experience was hit or miss, and I love food, so I was disappointed in this particular aspect. The beach was gorgeous, the staff was very gracious and accomodating, and overall, we had a great time. I think if you go into the experience knowing that you got a great deal, and understand that it is not 4 star, you will have a great time because the rooms are clean, but need updating, the food is decent, the beach, pools, and staff are great.