Dreams: Dominican Republic
Ever since last March, Steve knew he was going to be off a week in February. Last fall, he and I decided that we would get away, just the two of us, during that week in February. We were thinking an easy and quick cruise out of Miami. 5 days. We eyed it for a good while, but never pulled the trigger. My mom was supposed to come up and watch the kids.
With her passing away, obviously, our plans changed. No longer were Steve and I getting away, just the two of us. We decided to take the kids with us for an extended weekend trip. With Ben being in 5th grade now, we don't want to pull him from school for too long. We decided on Punta Cana. We planned to leave late on a Thursday, just one leg to a hub, with the international leg the next morning.
The anticipation leading up to vacation is always fun. The kids were super excited. We decided on Dream Dominicus La Romana.
The kids attended school on Thursday, which included their valentine's day parties, and we headed out about 5pm to the airport. After a nice dinner and a couple beers, we were airborne.
With the passing of my mother, I've found myself not to be too weepy. I think of her all the time and talk to her often. I don't shed tears often. But when I do....they come HARD! And on our flight that Thursday night, I let it all out.
I've made it known that I'm an anxious flyer. I do all I can to get comfort, from taking Ativan, to drinking beer, to deafening music in my earbuds. I also pray. I've always prayed to my grandmother, and ask her to protect me/us. Well, this time I prayed to my mom, as well.
It hit me like a ton of bricks all over again. She, too, was in heaven watching over me/us.
Cici was sitting next to me and saw me wiping away my tears. She pulled up from her seat a bit, looked at me with such sincerity, and said, "Mom, what's wrong?!" I told her I was missing Babcia. She knew exactly what that meant.
For the next, oh, 10 minutes, tears just streamed down my face. Thank goodness it was dark and the engines were loud. I was able to cry in peace in a public place. After I stopped crying, Steve made sure I was okay, and we continued on with our flight. We spent the night at some hotel Steve arranged, and got up early the next morning for our flight.
Our flight to Punta Cana was about 3 1/2 hours, and bumpy. Bumpy for about an hour. It wasn't comfortable at all. But, such are some flights.
We finally landed around 1p, got through the airport and made our way to the awaiting van. Finally, after an hour drive, we arrived at Dreams.
Before I get into my review of the resort, know that I'm a bit jaded...when we went to Hyatt Ziva Cancun about a year ago, we had a fantastic time. Like, super duper amazing awesome time. So, the bar has been set high.
OK, so Dreams...all-in-all the resort was nice. We had a good time. We booked a preferred room. Upon check-in, we upgraded to a suite. The suite was nice and large. Steve and I had a separate bedroom, and the kids slept in the other room, on the pull-out couch. Our bed was comfortable, and the kids never complained about their sleeping, so I'm assuming their bed was comfortable as well.
The preferred club building has it's own check-in, restaurant, lounge area, and pool. But, it's also the farthest from the ocean. We found the restaurant to be ok at best. We went there for breakfast once and didn't get coffee until we were about to leave. For dinner one night, it took, honest to goodness, about 20-25 minutes to get our meals. We found the service too slow. They claim to have a pizzeria there, but we only saw a chef there once for about 2 minutes.
There is a preferred club area on the beach, which is nice. They have a small bar, and a small spread of food is always out. I found the benefit of that area.
The best part of the preferred club, at least to us, was their pool area. It was never crowded, and we really relaxed there. The bathrooms were close, and the bar was perfect.
Oh, and what's your take on this formation of tiles at the entrance of the men's bathroom...intentional or coincidence?
The beach was nice overall, but not all that large. Steve stays at a decent amount of resorts in the Caribbean, so he has a lot to compare. A lot of the DR resorts are deep and narrow. Ours was exactly this. The water was pretty rough as well. Not much seaweed, which was nice. Due to the rough waves, Cici and Ben both lost swim goggles, and Steve lost a pair of sunglasses. So be it.
The other comment I have about DR is the sun...be prepared!!! To note, my kids, especially Ben, have skin tones that can take the sun. We're proud that neither kiddo has ever had a severe burn. By the end of the summer the kids are very dark, Ben especially. But, we could not keep up with the sun in DR!! I even had to buy a long-sleeved swim shirt for Cici. My point in all this...be prepared. Hats with brims, rash-guards, and sunscreen every hour.
The restaurants were ok. Be prepared to make reservations for Habichi. Otherwise, there were no reservations at the restaurants, which is something I wanted. We appreciate good food, but don't demand it. Food isn't a priority for us, and we found the food fine. As for the booze, that was all good. My drink of choice was either beer or pineapple/vodka. I mixed in a couple other drinks as well. No complaints in that area, at all.
I found the service to be overall okay, with some sour apples here and there. The grounds were beautiful. The vibe was fun. The activity crew, or however you call them, were great. They lead activities at the pool, ect. They were high energy and fun.
Interestingly enough, we, as American, were the minority at the resort. I heard lots of French and Spanish. There were lots of thong bathing suits, so I'm thinking European and/or Central/South America. I had no issues with this, but I'm just making note.
The best part of the resort was the sunset. We would hit the beach about 30-60 minutes before the sunset. It was quiet, most everyone had left, and the kids got some good sand-digging time.
Will we go back to this resort? Probably not. Not because I didn't like it, it's just that it didn't hit that sweet spot for me. As I stated before, about a year ago we had a fabulous time at Hyatt Ziva Cancun, so the bar was set high. In addition, I recognize that I, emotionally, was not in the best place. I lost my mom two months ago, this vacation was supposed to be just me and Steve, and I was also about to start my period. But, we made great memories and the kids had a great time.
Here are some other random pictures for your viewing pleasure:
With her passing away, obviously, our plans changed. No longer were Steve and I getting away, just the two of us. We decided to take the kids with us for an extended weekend trip. With Ben being in 5th grade now, we don't want to pull him from school for too long. We decided on Punta Cana. We planned to leave late on a Thursday, just one leg to a hub, with the international leg the next morning.
The anticipation leading up to vacation is always fun. The kids were super excited. We decided on Dream Dominicus La Romana.
The kids attended school on Thursday, which included their valentine's day parties, and we headed out about 5pm to the airport. After a nice dinner and a couple beers, we were airborne.
With the passing of my mother, I've found myself not to be too weepy. I think of her all the time and talk to her often. I don't shed tears often. But when I do....they come HARD! And on our flight that Thursday night, I let it all out.
I've made it known that I'm an anxious flyer. I do all I can to get comfort, from taking Ativan, to drinking beer, to deafening music in my earbuds. I also pray. I've always prayed to my grandmother, and ask her to protect me/us. Well, this time I prayed to my mom, as well.
It hit me like a ton of bricks all over again. She, too, was in heaven watching over me/us.
Cici was sitting next to me and saw me wiping away my tears. She pulled up from her seat a bit, looked at me with such sincerity, and said, "Mom, what's wrong?!" I told her I was missing Babcia. She knew exactly what that meant.
For the next, oh, 10 minutes, tears just streamed down my face. Thank goodness it was dark and the engines were loud. I was able to cry in peace in a public place. After I stopped crying, Steve made sure I was okay, and we continued on with our flight. We spent the night at some hotel Steve arranged, and got up early the next morning for our flight.
Our flight to Punta Cana was about 3 1/2 hours, and bumpy. Bumpy for about an hour. It wasn't comfortable at all. But, such are some flights.
We finally landed around 1p, got through the airport and made our way to the awaiting van. Finally, after an hour drive, we arrived at Dreams.
Before I get into my review of the resort, know that I'm a bit jaded...when we went to Hyatt Ziva Cancun about a year ago, we had a fantastic time. Like, super duper amazing awesome time. So, the bar has been set high.
OK, so Dreams...all-in-all the resort was nice. We had a good time. We booked a preferred room. Upon check-in, we upgraded to a suite. The suite was nice and large. Steve and I had a separate bedroom, and the kids slept in the other room, on the pull-out couch. Our bed was comfortable, and the kids never complained about their sleeping, so I'm assuming their bed was comfortable as well.
The preferred club building has it's own check-in, restaurant, lounge area, and pool. But, it's also the farthest from the ocean. We found the restaurant to be ok at best. We went there for breakfast once and didn't get coffee until we were about to leave. For dinner one night, it took, honest to goodness, about 20-25 minutes to get our meals. We found the service too slow. They claim to have a pizzeria there, but we only saw a chef there once for about 2 minutes.
There is a preferred club area on the beach, which is nice. They have a small bar, and a small spread of food is always out. I found the benefit of that area.
The best part of the preferred club, at least to us, was their pool area. It was never crowded, and we really relaxed there. The bathrooms were close, and the bar was perfect.
Oh, and what's your take on this formation of tiles at the entrance of the men's bathroom...intentional or coincidence?
The beach was nice overall, but not all that large. Steve stays at a decent amount of resorts in the Caribbean, so he has a lot to compare. A lot of the DR resorts are deep and narrow. Ours was exactly this. The water was pretty rough as well. Not much seaweed, which was nice. Due to the rough waves, Cici and Ben both lost swim goggles, and Steve lost a pair of sunglasses. So be it.
The other comment I have about DR is the sun...be prepared!!! To note, my kids, especially Ben, have skin tones that can take the sun. We're proud that neither kiddo has ever had a severe burn. By the end of the summer the kids are very dark, Ben especially. But, we could not keep up with the sun in DR!! I even had to buy a long-sleeved swim shirt for Cici. My point in all this...be prepared. Hats with brims, rash-guards, and sunscreen every hour.
The restaurants were ok. Be prepared to make reservations for Habichi. Otherwise, there were no reservations at the restaurants, which is something I wanted. We appreciate good food, but don't demand it. Food isn't a priority for us, and we found the food fine. As for the booze, that was all good. My drink of choice was either beer or pineapple/vodka. I mixed in a couple other drinks as well. No complaints in that area, at all.
I found the service to be overall okay, with some sour apples here and there. The grounds were beautiful. The vibe was fun. The activity crew, or however you call them, were great. They lead activities at the pool, ect. They were high energy and fun.
Interestingly enough, we, as American, were the minority at the resort. I heard lots of French and Spanish. There were lots of thong bathing suits, so I'm thinking European and/or Central/South America. I had no issues with this, but I'm just making note.
The best part of the resort was the sunset. We would hit the beach about 30-60 minutes before the sunset. It was quiet, most everyone had left, and the kids got some good sand-digging time.
Will we go back to this resort? Probably not. Not because I didn't like it, it's just that it didn't hit that sweet spot for me. As I stated before, about a year ago we had a fabulous time at Hyatt Ziva Cancun, so the bar was set high. In addition, I recognize that I, emotionally, was not in the best place. I lost my mom two months ago, this vacation was supposed to be just me and Steve, and I was also about to start my period. But, we made great memories and the kids had a great time.
Here are some other random pictures for your viewing pleasure:
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| a cart drove us to the beach, which was fun for the kids |
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| room service for breakfast! |
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| fish pedicure |
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| we finally gave in, since they've been asking for this for years! |
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