It's so good to see the word "wonderful" used to describe the resort. My family of 4 will be going July 30. I'm excited but get nervous over some of the negative reviews. I have a few questions... First do you know if the resort cashes travelers checks in US dollars? And did you by any chance go on the Saona Island excursion? If not did you take any other excursions and would you recommend any in particular?

Thanks!

Sonona

I am sorry, but I do not have the answer regarding the travelers checks.

Regarding excursions, we did not do the Sonona Island one, but did do a few others. We did the Caribbean Festival, rented a private catamaran for four hours, and went horseback riding. Since we upgraded to Elite, the horseback riding was included in our package. Everyone had a great time with these excursions and I would recommend them all.

The hotel really is great, but there are a few minor issues. We did not let them put a damper on our trip though. Our group consisted of five families totalling 21 (10 adults, 11 children) and everyone had a great time. Four out of the five families would definitely go back.

We were there for 11 days in October and had a great time. Are they still having water pressure problems?

DISNEY - Did you guys eat as a group at any of the ala cartes at night?? I have my annual group (14-16 couples) going in February 09 and we enjoy having dinner together 2-3 times during our stay. What ala cartes did you like and dislike?? Also did you see any shortage of bottled bud, bud light, Heineken and Corona?? My group can only handle El-Presidenta for about 4 days!! I am glad you had a wonderful trip!

BobH: There weren't any water pressure problems for any of us (5 rooms); however, on our third night around 5:00 p.m. the water was shut off in our building (6) for about 1 hour. When we inquired about it at the Elite desk, we were told they had to turn it off because work was being done. Now, since I had been reading up on this issue for the past year, I did not buy this reason. However, it never happened again.

Backus2006: We did not have any problems at all eating at any of the restaurants. Since we all stayed in the Elite Building, we were able to make reservations. The only restaurant that they had trouble with was the steak house since it is very small and they already had reservations. However, they were able to get us in on our requested night. Are you staying in the Elite buildings? There were other large groups (that did not have reservations)that lined up outside before 6:30 p.m. to get seated right away--usually they did.

Backus2006: We actually liked all of the restaurants. However, we thought the service was extremely slow in the steak house. I think the majority of our group would vote the Mexican as their favorite (not me however). As for the beer, we really are not a beer drinking group so I would not know--sorry.

Hi

Did you use your credit card to book any of the excursions - just seen the post with the link to the American Embassy about the credit card fraud, and if so, has everything been ok?

Tiger8: We used our credit card when we booked the Caribbean Festival. They charged an additional amount of about $6 which the tour operator informed me about during the transaction.

We paid cash when we went on the Patatalu (we rented the whole cataramaran.) The horseback riding was included with our rooms. I know while we were at the Ocean Blue, they were more than happy to take our cash. I know the spa took cash and the gift shop and photo shop only took cash (both american and pesos).

When we checked in, the Elite desk asked each of us for a credit card. I really did not want to leave one since I thought it was unnessary and I had read earlier it was not required. However, we had to so I did. Right now, there is an additional charge on our charge of $32 which I am trying to find out about since we did not charge anything other than the Caribbean Festival.

You mentioned that you did the horseback riding trip that is part of the elite club. Is it close to the resort or a long drive? How did the resort transfer you to the horseback riding area? Was it trail riding or do the horses ride near the ocean? And...my last question - Do you recommend wearing long pants for riding or does it not matter?

Thanks again!

We will be staying at the ocean blue aug 7-14, can't wait. What villa do you think would be the best? I would love an ocean view but here they are few and far between. Did you get hasseled by timeshare people? What about the daily activities? We have a 21 yr old and 13 year old. Is the water and the beach as beautiful as it appears? Sorry for so many questions, just getting anxious. Thanks so much.