buckle up. i’m going to try and give you the most detailed review of our 5 day trip here.
we flew directly from newark, nj. once arriving at the airport, you are shuttled from the plane to the luggage area. by the time we got to the luggage area our bags were already off the belt and waiting for us much different then most US airports where you are waiting at least 20-30 min for checked bags to come out. My travel agent had us squared away with Amstar for transportation to the resort. They wear blue tropical shirts so it’s easy to find them. They just confirm your reservation and you get on a shuttle. The shuttle ride was about 20-30 min. There were other people on our shuttle going to different resorts so you might be dropping other people off along the way.
Now, I will start off by saying we were preferred club. Out of all the options my travel agent gave me, they were all preferred. We chose the tropical room just based on reading reviews. Once you get off the shuttle, they tag your luggage. Since we were preferred we were escorted to a desk for check in. Given a warm hand towel. We signed some paperwork for no smoking and the provided COVID tests to return to the US. They brought us over champagne.
*If you are not preferred you will wait in the regular line at the stand up check in desk.
After given our keys, we sat down and had our first drink next to CoCo Cafe. * i will review all restaurants below
We were then greated by our butler, Marcelo, who I can’t say enough about. Talk about welcoming. He provided me his whatsapp number (messaging app) so I can message him anything we needed or for him to offer any suggestions which I thought was great. He proceeded to give us a tour of the resort and escort us to our room.
Now I’ll be honest, when i joined a bunch of these groups I was super confused on how many Dreams resorts there are so I was not understanding all the mixed reviews about the rooms. But specifically at Dreams Royal Beach, our tropical view room was on the 3rd floor over looking the kids pool and the big infinity pool in the middle. The rooms are not outdated in any capacity. Very large, high celings. A deck with a jacuzzi. The bathrooms are gorgeous with wide open glass showers. Fully stocked mini frig. There are soaps, shampoos, and lotions but I brought my own. Do what pleases you. Absolutely no complaints about the rooms. AC worked fine and there’s a Celing fan. The bed wasn’t my favorite but to each our own.
The grounds of the resort are absolutely beautiful and well kept. It’s basically spotless. The pools are the cleanest I’ve been in and you will see staff actively cleaning in the morning.
The only complaint I might have is that the pools close at 7pm so if you enjoy a late night swim, it’s not happening, EVEN IF YOU HAVE A SWIM UP ROOM. (They shock the pools every night)
The pool closest to the beach is the most popular. People have towels saving chairs out by 5-6 am. I have mixed feelings about being able to save chairs but it is what it is. I don’t even think you can get in the pools til 8 am. Pool bars won’t serve you until 10 am.
There is a preferred section of the pool that follows a lazy river type set up that rounds the resort. There is an employee at the desk that will ask you your room number for entrance and towels. *There are nice big round beds in this section.
The preferred section of the beach is not really monitored. Anyone could sit there in my opinion. We weren’t really morning beach people so if we went, we were going around 10-11 am and we always were able to find a nice seat.
Here is my big disclosure about the beach. It is true that there are ”approved vendors” (tan shirts) They will walk by and approach you to buy things. Haggling is an option but honestly I was shocked at the prices they were requesting. I wasn’t one to bring money to the beach either, only ones for tipping.
There are also other “vendors” (white shirts) that you will see can’t cross a certain line on the beach. They will not come up to the chairs but they will absolutely hound you when you get closer to the water telling you to visit their shop down the beach, which I will describe down below. We fell for the guy walking around with the parrots on his shoulders and he of course talked us into pictures without disclosing how much $$ he wanted. After the photos were taken, he pretty much demanded $60. My boyfriend got him down to $30. The pictures are really nice but fair warning. Now this shopping place we were hounded to go to, fair warning, you will be absolutely hounded the whole way walking through of people trying to get you to buy their items. They all basically have the same stuff so it’s dog eat dog. If you want to buy one item they basically talk you into 3 more. It was not a good experience. I would not take small children in there or let any young teens go alone.
Now one thing about this resort that you will not have a problem with is accessibility to alcohol. They have multiple servers always asking if you’re okay or if you need anything. Disclosure for parents with young kids that look older, they will not question once if they are old enough to drink so handle how you please. They definitely offer virgin options to the fun drinks for kids. When we first got here, I definitely thought the drinks were a little weak (which i read in reviews) but just make it clear that you want a double and they will give you just that. Coconut mojitos were my go to.
I want to mention that myself and my boyfriend used this trip to just relax. Pool and beach were our only goals. We did no excursions even though they are offered on the beach and in the lobby. Do as you please, but read all disclosures.
Now… the food. Let me start off by saying in general, if you can’t find anything that you like, that’s your problem.
Seaside Grill-
The extra restaurant that’s offered with preferred is the Seaside Grill for breakfast and lunch. Anyone can go for dinner. Talk about an incredible view. The breakfast is super limited but it was fine. Lunch was great. I had gazpacho and a pork burger. My boyfriend loved the beef dish there. I got chicken tenders at some point which were good as well. For dinner the one night, I got a steak which was fine. They had some bbq wings and ribs as well. Also the caesar salad was good.
Portifno -
This is the italian restaurant. We went there night one and I had pasta with the diablo sauce, probably my favorite dish. My boyfriend had a beef dish I believe. It was our first meal at the resort and I was pleased. We went back a 2nd time for dinner and I had the pomodaro sauce (diablo was better but spicy) and my boyfriend had the Bolognese Lasagna, so good. The portions are definitely small, but as you probably read before, you can order whatever you want. The tiramisus was good as well! FYI- this restaurant gets busiest between 8-9. If you have to wait which we did for maybe 10 min (was able to get a drink at the bar) they give you a buzzer.
Fusion -
This is the hibachi place. you need a reservation. they tell you to book it the first day you get here which we did through our butler. It was fine. I’ve definitely had way better hibachi at home but I guess it’s the experience. The sushi was really impressive, I’ll admit that. You get rice, a choice of (chicken, steak, shrimp). We got all 3. No veggies which I thought was odd.
Coco Cafe-
This is the 24 hour cafe in the lobby. They have little tea sandwiches, pastries, coffees, frappes. The little sandwiches are a great bite and we also tried the caramel frappe.
World Cafe-
The buffet is great. We only did breakfast and lunch here. Like I said, if you can’t find something, I’d be shocked.
Breakfast- make your own omlette, my favorite were the fresh juices and flavored waters, so much fruit, eggs, the triangle hash browns are soooo good, pancakes, french toast, breads of all kind, pasteries. A lot of dominican specialties as well.
Lunch- the nacho bar was my favorite. they had an amazing rice and pork combo offered. Salad bar (try the garlic dressing), soups, pastas. I can go on and on.
Oceana -
This is the fancy seafood restaurant. We did not go here just based on the fact we are not huge seafood people.
Poolside Grill-
They just have burgers, hot dogs, chicken and rice. Some fruits were offered too. It was an easy way to get a quick bite without going inside anywhere.
*Make sure you read the dress codes, they will not let you in if you are not dressed appropriately.
Room Service-
We used this towards the end our trip as we were just exhausted. The menu is honestly better than some of the restaurants in my opinion. If you want a great sandwich, order the Royal Beach Club. The timing on room service was scattered. Anywhere from 10-45 min. But if you make it clear to them when you want it, they will do just that. I’d suggest if you wanted breakfast, order it the night before.
Entertainment-
There is a show held every night at 9:30. We attended a few. The Madonna Performance was our favorite. Get there early to get a seat. You can get drinks from the bar or order from a server walking around.
Spa-
Eh. I hate to say it, but not worth it. I’ve had better massages for half the price. We paid $245 for a couples massage. You are allowed to come an hour early to use the sauna, steam room, and spa hydro area. The massage was 50 minutes and just eh. Somewhat of a regrettable purchase. No you cannot use the $200 coupon on any packages. Their pricing is set up to where that $200 coupon does not benefit you in any capacity.
I mentioned above that we didn’t do any excersions but the bus company we used for transport to and from the hotel offered a “shopping trip” - now, I wish I looked it up because all it ended up being was a trip to this compound that they probably have a deal with where they push cigars, rum, chocolate, and coffee. They also have a jewelry store and gift shop. In my opinion, everything is extremely marked up. All prices are listed in US dollars. I ended up walking out with about $100 in souvenirs. (example: a kids tshirt was $27)
Now, I’ll tell you about the things we brought that were helpful.
1. insolated cups, you will get a bigger drink and your drink will stay cold
2. to each your own if you plan on tipping, i brought $100 in ones and $100 in fives. and tipped about 1-2 on drinks, 5 at meals. they were very appreciative.
3. tubes/pool accessories - bring what you think you might enjoy. because if you try and buy anything here expect to pay over $40 for a tube and $40 for goggles.
4. sunscreen/suntan lotion/ aloe - BRING AS MUCH AS YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED. The gift store charges $30-$50 for one bottle of sun screen. I almost fainted. I’m serious, bring your own.
In general, we had a great time. This was our first all inclusive. Would I come back? Yes, but I am also interested in trying other resorts. If you have any specific questions for me, I can try and answer them. I hope this helps you and your family get an idea of what to expect and you are able to enjoy your trip.
xoxo,
Hali
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.