This trip was meant to be my new husband and my honeymoon and we hated every second of it. First of all the taxi ride from the airport was scary to say the least. When we got to the resort we had to wait and hour and a half to actually get our room. Then they said they would bring us our luggage in 5 minutes. An hour later we were at the front desk trying to figure out where it had gone. Amazingly it was being brought to our room once we got back there (I believe the staff went through it). When we got into our room the stench of mold was overwhelming. I just knew that we were going to get sick. We tried to go the beach and relax but couldn't take the sandfleas. The only offer certain things in the "all inclusive" package. The "stocked" mini bar in our room was broke and empty. The construction around the resort was EVERYWHERE! We were told that all the staff speaks english....they don't!!! We checked in at 1:30 on June 16th and checked out at 10:00 a.m. on June 17th. I was robbed of my honeymoon and will never get that back. This resort sucks...take my warning....DON'T EVEN TRY IT! As "affordable" as it is...you get what you pay for.

When you book a holiday what are the things most important to you?

...For me and my boyfriend our "criteria" was a 4*luxuary all-inclusive hotel in the caribbean so when we found it on thomson for £800 pp (for 2 wks) looking back it was a bargain!

Being a young couple we wanted to relax and enjoy things the dominican has to offer on a budget... which we and the diverse set of other tourists were doing!

So I have compiled a comprehensive review of everything I would want to know before booking this holiday (as no where is perfect)...

The Hotel:
*The hotel itself was great, the pool and beach are a 5 minute walk away from any room and everything is easily accessible with maps everywhere (though I could see myself enjoying it less if the hotel had been busier).
*THERE WAS BUILDING WORK GOING OK- luckily our building block was on the other side of the hotel so we only really saw it when walking to the mini golf/ tennis/ outside entertainment area. HOWEVER A COUPLE MOVED HOTEL BECAUSE OF THE NOISE- sometimes noticeable and at times disruptive- so be warned and perhaps do ask!!
*The beach looks idylic and the non-motorised sports (which are free are fun and worth doing) HOWEVER THE HOTEL IS THE NEAREST ALONG THE COASTLINE TO THE NATIONAL PARK....YOU GET BITTEN TO PIECES BY MOSQUITOES, HORSEFLIES, SANDFLIES- ESPECIALLY all nastey but everyone was getting bitten - you cant escape them and so always bring bug spray on the beach- you'll thank me for that! (Note 2 cans were used and with 8 bites on my leg and 24 on my back I got off lightly in comparison to some).
*the weather was brilliant and some days it was over 40oC I was on factor 30 the whole time and still got a great tan - the sun is extremely deceptive so if your pale BEWARE. Only 1 monsoon day and the ground floors of some blocks were flooded with 2 inches of water-- as a result more building work- adding drains have been put in place!

The Room:
*Clean - nice rooms with air conditioning, TV, free mini bar (though only stocked with about 4 drinks). the only negative was the maids sometimes cleaned our rooms at 10am and other times it would be 5pm...sometimes we wouldnt get all towels replaced with clean ones or any other one- which was weird.

The Staff:
*All friendly and helpful ...the beach staff are lovely though when you dont want to join in the activities sometimes they dont say no for an answer...I had one pull me to the table tennis court by the wrist... if you dont want to join in say "NO" and not maybe later!
*The staff really make an effort to get everyone involved in pool and beach activities (if you want to miss them go to the pool in the morning and beach in the afternoon).
*Salesman on the beach- a bit pushy sometimes though we went on 2 trips with them which were great fun and value for money (better and about half the price as the ones held by the rep- who we also went with).

The Food:
*Well I thought the Italian was LOVELY though so did everyone else- after 8 it gets packed ad you'll be queuing out the door- al-la'cart all the way
*The mexican- I heard the food was lovely though this got so busy we didnt get to eat there, though at lunchtime we ate pizza, burgers or fruit from here
*The dominican buffet- average, the lack of service in this restaurant meant we waiting 30 minutes before ordering and it took so long to get the food that I didnt want it once I had it!
*The main buffet- actually this was great there are sooo many theme nights (italian, english, french, dominican, chineese) and so many different dishes to choose from- including al-la'cart on sundays its a winner every time.
*As a foodie I would say 8.5/10 if I averaged all the eateries together!

The Drinks:
*All-inclusive meant as well as all the food that was free all the drinks were free too...they are huge on rum and their alcohol measues are SOOO big I couldnt trip most the alcoholic drinks there.

What else do you need to know:
* Being confined to the hotel 24/7 (with the exception of trips) can be a tad tedious as the sports bar wasnt brill for entertainment and if there isnt a beach party of something lively goin on nights can end early ... being a couple that wasnt too much of a problem at first though can get a bit boring.
* Always tip $1 for everything.
* Market stall salesman charge you stupid prices for holiday tatt (which after 1 week or so of non-shopping I did resort to buying) everything is $75... start a $1 and you'll walk away with a silver bracelet for $6.

A good all-rounder, great sea, fish, coral, trips and very relaxing...though it is what you make of it and there are always activities to get involved in if you want!

well. where should i start. the check in was pretty slow, even when just two of us tried to get our room at the time. the room was pretty simple in block 5. 2 king size bed, an old fridge (but it was working so hey, chin up). our bathroom wasn't even cleaned proper, but at least we got clean towles (it didn't happen too many times during our holiday), the aircon was constantly leaking, but you get to used to it. we tried to find one of the bars from the mentioned four. we found one, but after almost twenty hour travel, we weren't too fussy. it was the sports bar, the place was fine for us, apart from the constant 10 Celsius temperature (girls, and chilly boys, take a jumper with you). the shocking surprise the bar staff were. i never saw in my life so unpolite miserable company like them. honestly, we are very easy going, we tipped very well, but we needed a couple of days and a lots of dollars to earn the first smile.

the beach was absolutely fabulous. gorgeous. i saw before and after cleaning, and the staff made a great job with it. you shouldn't book sunbeds early, cause a lots of them are there. the water was in the first few days clear and lovely, later because of the rain it was a bit more cloudy, but not disturbing. what bothered me a little it was the seaweed, but here is the solution:swimm. but we spent most of our time in the swimming pool, cause there the temperature was more bearable for my british man))) and easier access to the beer)))). the water was reasonable clean, but girls with long hair be careful, it is so full on with chemicals, that my hair was like a brush by the end of the day. and i found two places with nice staff:here and in the snack bar. they were spot on, unlike the staff in the shop and specially by the reception. THEY WERE HORRIBLE!!!! absolutely disrespectful, rude, and unhelpful (even when i tried to communicate in spanish - if you want to survive here, learn the basic things in spanish before you start, makes your life much easier).

the food. ok it is our fault too, we are a bit fussy eaters, but my better half was living on rice for 10 days. the meat is usually well bloody, what you don't except, when you choose chicken. i tried the fruits, once. never again, i spent a funny day in the bathroom after. TAKE STUFF AGAINST DIARRHOEA!!! really. you will need it. we went to the italian just on the last days, because the guys have to wear long pants. this place is fab!! the food, the service (ok, don't except smile), everything.

rooms. as i told already our bathroom wasn't cleared even when we arrived, and it turned just worse later. we tipped like idiots (i don't advise to do this, cause 3 people will go to your room every day: minibar man, water man, and the chambermaid, and somebody will upset anyway, and you wont get better service at all). usually we left our room at 11 back around 5-6ish. from 13 days our room was cleaned max 8 times, usually when i tracked down the chambermaid, i have had to get our own towels almost every day. the coffee/sugar weren't replaced, the cups were dirty, normaly just turned upside down. minibar empty (we found out the reason why: when you call the reception, the guy will come when you are in your room, and you will tip straight to him). we arrived o the reception. usually they have no scooby-dooh what do you want (poor english, i'm not telling anything, my isn't perfect either, but there it is a real challange to get something sorted on the phone). advice: keep your empty water bottles, cause when you go to he beach you can fill them up in the snack bar with cold water, because they give just small glass of water there.

the shops. the prices change every day (specially for cigarettes, be careful, and don't buy it on the reception, there is almost double price).

i haven't any impression about the entertaining team, we tried to avoid them, cause they are sometimes too excited, and i don't like to grabbed around.

we weren't horse riding, cause our touristrep explained how they keep the horses (terrible, make it in a country, where they respect the animals), the same for the swimming with dolphins.

what i absolutely recommend is Saona. it is breathtaking gorgeous. and the food was quiet ok too. if it is possible, make your trip with your tour agency, and not with the guys, they are located to the beach, as we learned, it is more safe.

vendors: they are right hand side on the beach, we haven't got any problem with them (my partner 2m, with angry face if he wishes, so they left us alone). the worse is when they are around the buffet restaurant. it is very annoying. they grab your arms, and don't let you alone. the prices are horrendous (one of our friend got the price down from 120 dollars to 15 for one necklace)

WARNING: weekends are a nightmare. the locals are all around. you can't get drink, food, or just a place to sit down, cause they are everywhere, and they get all the attention from the stuff. if you want to go to the bar, take your place before 11 o'clock, after no chance to sit down. and the same for the pool and beach, take your towel down, otherwise you have no chance. they are very loud during the night too, absolutely unpolite and rude.

ooh, and we got fire as well, during our stay, we couldn't understand why did it take 3 days to clean the pools (and the children pools weren't cleaned after 4 days either), and the fire brigade arrived just after 2 hours too.

we wanted to get married here, but now, NO CHANCE. we saw one wedding, they were located by the very end of the beach (lovely fence right hand side, snorkeling center 3 m behind it), and the poor lads got they wedding dinner in the middle of the buffet restaurant.

the building work is not disturbing, but learn well where is your room located, cause it happened with me once, i went to get my breakfast, and 20 minutes later the all area was closed down, cause somebody digged a bloody big hall in the middle of the path. fun.

Stayed here during 6/26-6/30. Facilities are ok, workers except for front desk are great. Food was good, my party of 6 picky eaters and 3 boys always found something to eat...Front desk and management the worst ever. Had 4 rooms and called ahead of time because heard they were under construction spoke to general manager directly and he told me "no, hotel is not under construction" . Checked in at nightime and on my way back to the lobby fell into a construction ditch, when I made it to the front desk all dirty and scraped up the front desk just did not care. One room had no electricity and I was told I had to wait to the morning for them to fix this, another room had no remote for the TV for 3 days. I asked everyday yet was told someone would take care of it and no one ever did. After I finally said it was unacceptable and I needed to speak to manangement all of a sudden a remote materialized after I was told there was no way they could get me one. Told me they had no adjoining rooms for my 3 boys however my room had an adjoining door and that room was empty the entire time. I asked about moving the boys room closer to mine and they said the hotel was fully booked but I called oasis directly and asked if they had availability and they told me they had plenty of availability and ready to book me at any time. The shows were adequate however one of the shows were they wanted audience participation was about a man who comes to his house and finds his wife cheating on him with another man and he proceeds to shoot his wife, the lover and then himself in the head. I don't understand how this was funny. The workers and entertainers all work very hard but there's not enough of them to assist all the guests. On sunday 6/29 there was a huge fire by the pool, right by the palapa I was under, one of the restaurants under construction went up on fire and took a few giftshops, the vacation club, kids club, beach club and activity center plus plenty of palm trees. People did not die because they saved themselves. There was no evacuation procedure, I had to run out of the pool with my kids, the pictures you see are not because I stood around taking pictures but because the fire was fast and furious. The entire side of the resort went up in flames in about 5 minutes. The cooks came out with little fire extinguishers like that was going to help any. The fire department came 40 minutes later....thank god for a tropical storm that came or the entire resort would had burn to the ground. The management was no existent. I went to my room only to discover it was full of smoke. Asked the guard hanging out by the building block what we should do he advice to leave since ash with fire specks was falling in the other beach restaurant by my hotel room and that may catch fire too. My three boys were very afraid, you can hear the gas tank explosions from the burning facilities....not a pretty picture...The fire probably started from the construction which management states was not happening but we saw metal workers there and heard them banging away everyday...this was next to the kids club which my kids used everyday we were there. Hotel management never came out to speak to the guest, never put out a statement, I spoke to several workers in the front desk and was given the same answers, "we don't know"....I asked for a first aid kit for a burn I received on my foot, was told they did not have anything, I had to use butter from the kitchen after I asked a server to help me and get me some ice. I was told to go back to my room after the fire, I explained to the front desk that the boys have asthma and the smell of smoke was lingering through out the resort, they told me it was too bad. I had to pay to send the boy horseback riding out of the resort for a couple of hours. I was not able to get into my room to about 7pm and the fire happened about 10.30am. In the night I asked about the manager and was again told he was not there...I checked out on monday and no word or notice regarding the fire from management. A fire can occur anywhere but is how management behaves that makes the difference, Oasis Canoa management just did not care about my family and never made an attempt to discuss my injures or my boys fear after the fire.