Worst experience to date

My husband and I have been travelling with RCI resort to various Gold Crown resorts for the past 8 years. I am not sure what the requirements were to make this a Gold Crown, but, it should be reviewed. This is clearly nowhere near being a Gold Crown.

- This resort lists a Grand opening in Feb 2006, however, it is a grand RE-opening of a renovated hotel.

- The beach was muddy, huge logs of driftwood everywhere and virtually unswimmable

- AC did not work. We slept in the living room for 4 of the 7 days.

- Do not sign up for tours at this resort. they cost $10-$15 more per person than anywhere else

- Could not make any outside calls or international calls from the room

- Safe would not open

- No amenities to speak of (workout room or spa)

- Resort is right off the main road so it is very noisy with all the traffic.

- Pool paint came off on your feet and knees (blue)

- Janet's (local grocer) smelled so badly that we had to hold our noses. Playero was a nicer grocery store down the road a few miles in Sosua

- Resaurant food is no good. Lobster here is very tough and the only way they cook it is grilled. It was extremely salty and fishy tasting.

I have written a review to RCI.com and asked how can I get my week back. You work hard all year long to go to a place that is this disappointing. We were expecting a fantasy vacation to the Caribbean.

Ocean Manor Beach Resort

Mein Mann und ich waren im Dezember 2006 hier. Da fanden neben dem Hotel ein paar Bauarbeiten statt udn die Arbeiter hatten die Tendenz vorbeizukommen und sich die Touristen anzuschauen. Das Essen in dem Hotel war ok, aber nichts besonderes. Die Schlafzimmer hatten keine Klimaanlage und das hat es etwas schwer gemacht nachts zu schlafen. Die Ferienanlage ist in der Mitte vom Nirgendwo. Es gibt sehr kleine Pools und wenn man Spass und Action haben will ist man hier nicht richtig. Die Zimmer sind alle renoviert und waren ok, aber wir hatten ein ZImmer neben der Straße, das sehr laut war. Man sollte definitiv einen Motorroller mieten um die Stadt zu fahren. Leider würde ich hier nicht wieder herfahren. Definitiv kein 5 Sterne Hotel.

Ocean Manor Beach Resort

My husband and I went in December 2006 - the resort had construction going on nextstore which made it very load and the workers had a tendency of coming over to check you out.

The food in the hotel was ok nothing to brag about. The bedrooms do not have any a/c which made sleeping at night a bit uncomfortable. The resort is out in no mans land - nothing around - very small pools and if you are looking for fun and action this is not the place to go to. The rooms have been all renovated which was nice but, we had a room near the street which was very noisy - definately rent a scooter and go to town or walk the beach. Unfortunately I would never go here again.

It's definately not a five star hotel to me.

OK small hotel not a resort

My husband and I just returned from the Ocean Manor and would not recommend the hotel nor the area to those wishing for a true island get away. We exchanged through RCI and found that all the guests at this hotel were "pushed" by RCI to this " gold crown" property after being told there was nothing else available in Punta Cana, Turks and Caicos, Barbados, St. Lucia etc.. The room we were given on the first night was on the ground floor was dark and depressing and after being "welcomed" by a very awkward staff member who really told us nothing about the hotel amenities, little about the meal plan, and discouraging us from walking to town and warning us not to drink the hotel water we were not happy! We called RCI 2x and were told someone would get back to us in 2 hours, NOT!!! We complained to the desk and were told nothing could be done until the following day. We bellied up to the bar and had a couple of drinks (Felippe the bartender is very nice) and sat down to dinner in the restaurant which is close to the road and has a very strange and heavy menu. The restaurant staff is very nice. The next day we were moved to a third floor room a little brighter but the rooms are very dark and they only have 1 AC not adaquate for the size of the suites, lots of street noise in building 1. We found the beach to be rough and dirty. After walking to the town of Cabarete we were not pleased to be accosted by vendors hawking jewelry, hair braiding, dvds, and timeshares, even while you're eating!!! Decided to sign up for the meal plan 7 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners at 159US dollars pp to avoid having to go to town for every meal. As we signed up for several excursions that included lunch and went out to the Castle Club (highly recommend) 55US dollars pp. and the Restaurant at Natura Cabanas (highly recommend) we found the meal plan was not really worth it for us. We ended up meeting a lot of nice people commiserating at the pool but I would caution those looking for turquoise sea, fine sand, and excellent dining and service to look elsewhere.

Not for young people but for old retired couples

Ocean manor is a quiet small resort located in a very small village.

I was under the impression that the supermarket is walkable distance. It is not! There are no sidewalks and the streets are dangerous because of the many motorists.

The facilities are sub-par, the pool table are missing many balls, the air conditioning room is only one unit for the whole suite. The main pool is very small, I can stand in the deep end. It is very quiet with barely anyone around. There is little activity at happy hour.

The food is again sub-par, the food takes a long time to come and is not that good. The all inclusive does not include every meal but only 3 lunches, 3 dinners and 7 breakfasts. Not very many people eat there, as they are newly renovated and trying to figure things out.

There is no gym or any other facilites. The resort area is really small.

There is a beach but it is very dirty, alot of garbage and the sand is very rough. There are only 4 huts on the beach you can lie under.

Overall, this place is not for younger people looking for a good time, it is geared more toward older people wanting to just relax.

on a side note, the excursions are around 50-100 dollars per half day trip.

Trip of a lifetime

We returned yesterday from aweek at Ocean Manor,we were treated like royalty.The rooms were comfortable, the views amazing.while we were there in Cabarete we met Richard that was spoken of in earlier review,had a great time with him and did his timeshare tour. we had all the ameneties at Ocean manor these other hotels did not .cable,free international calls ,internet. we had 2 bathrooms in our suite.The pool was small but we were on the ocean,many hotels were not .We had air conditioning.We were close to the market and downtown.lots to see nothing but good feelings from this trip

Ein toller Urlaub

Wir sind gerade gestern von einer Woche im Ocean Manor wiedergekommen und wurden wie Könige behandelt. Die Zimmer waren sehr komfortabel und die Aussicht war toll. Während wir in Cabarete waren haben wir Richard kennengelernt der in einer anderen Kritik erwähnt wird und hatten viel Spass mit ihm. Wir hatten hier alle Annehmlichkeiten, die andere Hotels nicht hatten. Kabelfernsehen, kostenfreie internationale Anrufen, Internet. Wir hatten zwei Badezimmer in unserer Suite. Der Pool war klein,aber wir waren direkt am Meer, was nicht alle Hotels sind. Wir hatten eine Klimaanlage. Wir waren in der Nähe vom Markt und von der Innenstadt. Es gibt viel zu sehen und wir hatten wirklich einen tollen Aufenthalt.

A place to avoid.

A disaster from check in to check out. They overbooked the hotel for our weekend stay and tried to tell us and others checking in at the same time that we had no reservations. We had to argue to get our room. Room was dumpy and dirty with broken fixtures. Mostly unhelpful staff. Wireless internet worked intermittently. Very disappointing.

Pleasantly wonderful

My husband and I just returned from a week's stay at the Ocean Manor and we were very pleasantly surprised how nice it was. The rooms were beautifully appointed, the staff was very accomodating, but not all spoke English. We had a beautiful view of the ocean, the beach was great for walking, the infinity pool was perfect after long walks. The trek down to Janet's for groceries was easy. We found everything we needed there. Cabs take a while to come, so we found ourselves walking the beach home at night. The restaurants were good, not elegant, but very beachy. The seafood was the best. If you go to Ocean Manor, go to the beach and wait for Richard to give you the scoop on restaurants and excursions. He is a riot! We both went nxt store to get a massage from Lisa and she was great! You should go to her first to get relaxed for your vacation. The resort was quiet-only short periods of music at the poolside, but that was perfect for us. We would love to go back again.

Quiet Resort With Growing Pains

This is a newly renovated resort with well kept grounds & rooms. While the service was friendly, it was absurdly slow. Housekeeping was prompt but inconsistent with leaving towels, washcloths, etc. They offer a meal plan that is worth the money in food quality, however, every day, they were out of multiple items listed on the menu (i.e., shrimp, chocolate, lamb chops, limes, lettuce, yogurt, large bottles of water.....bizarre for a vacation resort......especally when this resort was given the highest RCI rating). Website listed 2 restaurants but really only had 1 with dinners taking up to 2 1/2 after being seated. They offered a "party" on Tues night which offered good food and entertainment that was $11 US per person. Fun, but again, slow service. Bar staff inexperienced and very slow. Often had to read the menu multiple times to make the drinks listed. Served blended margaritas that had so little ice, they were watered down and melted. Poor alcohol quality. Beer and drinks cost more here than at local restaurants. The website states on-site babysitting which really meant having a local come into your room to watch your kids. Local area attractions, shopping, restaurants & grocery store 30 minutes walking with no FREE shuttle service. Taxi ride to that area cost $10 US round trip. Pools nice but not heated. Beaches nice but lots of trash littering the area. Waves rough in front of resort with large rocks. Dangerous for even the experienced swimmer. Water brownish green not the turquoise blue that we expected in the Caribbean. Too murky for snorkeling or diving. Poor visibility ranging from 4M to 10M...disappointing since we were hoping to dive!!! Nearest calm, swimmable beach 30 minutes walking distance. Activities list provided upon arrival however, NO EVENT COORDINATOR RESULTING IN NO GUEST INVOLVEMENT. Local city-Sosua offers a beach and shopping but be prepared to be pelted with rocks picked up in the surf...ouch!!! Tough on the ankles and feet. If you are looking for a resort that is quiet, without disturbances, without events that is truly unrushed, this could be the place for you. If you are looking for some activities, close shopping, restaurants and attractions, ....go to the resorts in Puerta Plata. There were many and they looked much bigger and nicer.