This trip was looked upon with great anticipation, but was an experience that was appauling to anyone who just paid over $3000.00 USC.

I'm of latin decent, but light in skin tone, I'm fluent in both english and spanish. I decided to taken some family members for their first time to the Dom Rep. I have been to this country numerous times before and always had a great memories to go with it.

My luck was soon to end.

Upon obtaining our rooms the first day, one of my family member, informed me of water leaking from the toilet's water shut-off valve and covering the entire bathroom floor. I immediately call the front desk, who then sent maintenance, who came and replaced the HOSE only, though you can clearly see that problem eminated from the valve. The gentleman left and I observed the problem becoming worse than it was before. I now then decided to go with my family member in person to the desk and request a room change. The male, behind the desk, stated it was fixed. I clearly stated, in english, it was not and requested another room for my family member. This male proceeded to call SOMEONE over the phone and converse in spanish, stating the following: " I will switch the rooms for that I know what type of people THEY are.... the kind that will come back to me over and over with complaints for anything...a bunch of winers... they just want to be on the same floor"

I'm sort of a religious person but I can't tell you how I kept myself from not reaching over the counter and pulling him over my side to share a few words with him in spanish LOLOL
Instead, I kept my cool and ignored his ignorant , stereotypical remarks for the sake of my family members opportunity to change rooms.

He did change the room. Now the new room had a faulty unsecured terrace door that allowed anyone to enter through it night or day. I called the desk again, an individual came to the new room and drilled the door shut....that's right....now the door became a death trap...I kidd you not. But the bathroom was in working condition with no water leaks.

My family member was content so was I at this point.

My room was okay despite having a broken shower head But I just dealt with it and held the detachable head in hand while showering. Further observation are as follows: floors never swept, bed sheets never changed, twice was not provided any towels and my beverages were never replenished. I did Called once for towels and over an hour later received them almost losing out on dinner time. Called once for beverages, an absolute no show for entire week.

The manpower and professionalism at the Piragua buffet was incredible!!!! Service was so poor that it was actually sad to see those who knew something about food service working accordingly while their comrades just doing the bare minium. I personally saw many people just get their own water and drinks over and over. I even saw a family go to one the "restaurants" and wait over 15 minutes before getting up to get their menus and then just altogether leave and go to the buffet. I also saw another family at an restaurant wait so long for any food that they walked to the buffet and gathered some food to eat for their children and re- entered the restaurant. The food itself was okay. Desserts better. Plain and simple, they just dont have enough qualified people working at this hotel. they just dont have enough personnel overall period.

Another downfall of this establishment is that they allow vendors to practically block your entrance to the buffet during dinner to sell every sort of thing imaginable. These guys are relentless... they dont take no or " I have no money" for an answer. Trust me I tried.... thier response is it's okay we will give you credit!!!! LOLOL
They harass you and even physically grab and hold on to you to show you to thier tables... I have a major problem with that... I'm sure you would too. There were other guys during the day that kept wanting to talk to me about something special But My experience told me they were trying to sell timeshares/real estates. This kinda of setup should not exist pre or post meal
times. It's uneeded stress.

Though this hotel is undergoing construction to better itself it will always fall short due to its employees. The beach is very rocky the pool is the way to go. Thankfully my excursion to catalina Island was beautiful and my family members raved about it so that helped me keep my thoughts off the hotel's short comings for at least that day.

I have never wrote in this way before but I truly feel that WE extremely over paid for services not rendered and then treated as like we should have been so lucky to have received such bad treament.

Please believe when I tell you I sincerely would not want anyone of your family members to stay at this location for that I have been to the country many times before I know first hand of other hotels in PUNTA CANA, PUERTO PLATA , SANTO DOMINGO that they would be better off at.

Just passing along the truth about my unfortunate experience,

Take care and God bless

arrive back friday from oasis canoa resort, first family holiday to the caribbean, what a great time we all had.
we had a coach tranfer from the airport, the coach was air conditioned and very comfortable our rep was friendly and very nice.
we check in at reception straight away with no problems. The rooms were basic but very clean. The maid came in every day with clear towels and change beds every 3 days. The rooms are being re-modenised and the building work that was going on was not a problem to us. The mexican restaurant burnt down the sunday before we got there, but they moved it to the santa le grill. The food was outstanding a good selection of different foods, my sons are fussy and they enjoyed every meal we had, especially the italian and mexican. The surroundings were beautiful with the birds.
The beaches was lovely, plenty of sunbeds, the sea was calm and we all enjoyed snoakling and seeing the fish.
The pool was big and was cleaned every night.
There was entertainment every day football, water polo, vollyball, and more, the entertainment staff did not stop. the evening entertainment was good and funny and the staff involved everyone.
We went on two trips, crazy wheel and saona island, my sons enjoyed the crazy wheel driving quad bikes and doom buggies through the towns and sugar cane fields, do wear glasses and old clothes it gets very dusty, saona island was great going on paddle steam boat then speed boats, lunch on the beach and on a catermarange back .
Learn some basic spanish not all the staff speak very good english.
Overall we had a fantastic holiday and and would definatly go back.

DONT DO IT... I just got back last night from a hell of a trip.
7 nights of being in a nasty dirty resort.. I would not even call this a resort. More on a level of a Motel 8. Anyone who Sais it’s a nice place to stay must not have very high standards. I have stayed at many resorts for close to the same price and this one is extremely bad.
THE ROOMS
Are so dirty and old.. Our first night we walked into our room and you could tell the sheets had not been changed from the last guest.. We called down the first 10 min of being in the room and asked for clean sheets.. 7 hrs later at 11:30 pm after being at the beach we come back to see nothing had been done yet. We got sheets later that night.. Waking up the next morning with bug bites all over our body.. Bed Bugs. . It was an every night thing.. .. Every day thing as well is not getting clean towels or water.. The towels that you do end up getting are old and stained.. I could go on and on but I just say the rooms are so gross.

FOOD... NASTY!!!! I think my boyfriend and I lost weight ... No Joke,,, The outdoor buffet in 90 degree weather really doesn’t mix well. The food is so bad.... The Italian restaurant was the only one we could eat at but it was closed 3 of the 7 nights we were there... Good service in there as well.....

STAFF....RUDE!!!! They are some of the rudest people I have been around.. No one speaks English.. That part I could handle but no one is out to help you.. We would walk up to the bar and have to ask several times to get some service..

BEACH.... It was nice, Very warm water and minimal rocks. This is the only thing that saved us from going in sane.. The sand fleas will eat you alive after 5 pm.


RIDE from airport. and back. We did the round trip Turtinter... Air conditioned and clean transportation.. No English speaker. So you just hope he knows where he is going.. Wear seatbelt.. It’s a Ride....

NEVER AGAIN.......... HATED IT... It’s too much money to waist. I suggest MEXICO.. EL CID Loved IT!

The Oasis Canoa, La Romana, BAYAHIBE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - July 5th-13th 2008

My Fiance and I booked this trip with Cheapcaribbean.com. I did my homework before I arrived in the Dominican Republic and read many reviews mention on trip advisor and other websites. I was aware of the history of the town of La Romana - own by a corporation , I was aware of the hotel - Oasis Canoa use to be a Hilton chain, later sold to a private business corp. As a result, the premises are not 5 star but acceptable. Also keep in mind, the workers (salaries) were slashed because of the Hotel Sale. Therefore - the workers are not 100% but do their jobs. One helpful hint - tipping works. I kept a few dollars on hand and tip the reception desk, cleaning room attendant, restaurant waiters, and bartenders. From that point on, the rooms got cleaned, fresh towels everyday, extra beverages in the mini fridge, and hotel staff remember my fiance and I - took care of us :)

Okay here comes the bad news, upon arrival - Airport Good, one of our travel escorts found My Fiance and I and put us in the van. Again - tip*$$$ !!! We had a safe travel from airport to Hotel. Only bad side, you see many poverish areas outside Santo Domingo. And red lights are optional, the cab driver will run red lights. Do not rent a car if you are a foreigner. This is a third world country and there are no driving laws. You are succeptable to robbery. It is extremely dangerous if you are other than Dominican. Another hint, speak spanish. Learn a few phrases. You will be surprise - many smilely faces.

Checking in - difficult and slow process. Our representative was a no show. In fact, I didn't know I was suppose to have a rep. He later called us day later and a half to meet with my Fiance and I. Nothing informative, a few white lies. If you are an American Citizen, please remember this, DO NOT PAY 20 DOLLARS TO LEAVE THE RESORT - IT'S A SCAM! I was informed by my rep. that my fiance and I had to pay 40 dollars to leave the premises. It's not true. Only foreigners staying in the country pass 21 days - pay a fee. Secondly, do not drink the water in your hotel room. The only safe water is Bottled Water. Third, I highly recommend visitors to purchase an excursion. I bought the Catalina Island package for 98.00 USD....had the best time of my life.

Additional information - My Fiance and I were harass by IVC people - International Vacation Club personnel...these people sell TIME SHARE PACKAGES. BEWARE, WARNING - High powered Salesman...(Juan Fortuna) <---stay away from this gentleman...he stalked my fiance on our third day at the resort.
After attending a time share meeting and received a free t-shirt and baseball cap, this gentlemen later three days later stopped my fiance in one of the bars on the resort and explained " can we help him out and pay him 20 dollars for wasting his time"...

My fiance gave him the 20 dollars to keep him away from us and from ruining our vacation.

DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT CARD IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY! DO NOT PURCHASE A VACATIONG PACKAGE IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU ARE SAVING MONEY, SAVING TAXES...YOU ARE STUPID IF YOU GIVE INTO THESE PACKAGES...YOU WILL END UP BEING A VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT!!!

Last but not least, the food - okay, I am an Italian and my fiance is Sicilian..we are spoiled rotten and very use to eating in 5 star NYC restaurants. Keep your expectations low, because the food is bad. There are only four places on the resort to eat at. The Buffet, (very annoying place, too many birds, bugs on the fruit, and no A/C outdoor eating) the Mexican Restaurant ( good place ) again outdoors no A/C...and the Dominican Res. buffet in the buffet building...never ate there heard it was average...and lastly, the Italian Restaurant - very good, indoor, A/C, acceptional service, and kind reminder - tip* Again, remember this, the food is imported - pre-packaged, therefore it's processed food re-heated and garnished for your needs. Take it for what it is, I learned and appreciated the food as I stayed on the resort... I spent 8 nights at this resort, I didn't go hungry!

The very last, I saved the worst for last - Bring allergy medications, cortizone or Benadryl, I only say this, I repeat this again, Bring medications with you! My Fiance was bitten up real badly by the sand fleas (Dominican's call them Hehina's) on the beach. He had an allergic reaction, just like a mosquito bite, and I had to rush him to the resort doctor. Yes! There is a a doctor on the resort! She is so nice!!! One helpful hint, tip* her!

Also, the tropical drinks, delicious, awesome, and very citric! All tropical drinks are made with fresh fruit. I suffered from citric blisters on my hands...my Fiance developed cancor sores in his mouth from drinking too many pina colada's Bahama Mama's and Daquiri's...

Bring SUNBLOCK! Bring water shoes! Beaches are Rocky! And be aware of the vendors on the resort outside of the buffet place!!! They sell cheap jewelry and will rip you off!


Again, the best vacation ever...the beaches were beautiful, the drinks were excellent, the people are so nice, and the souveneir shops are to die for! I willg o back to Dominican Republic but not this resort. :)