I just can't describe how perfect my stay at the Blue Bay Villas Doradas was. the staff is incredible food is great and I had the best time ever.

in my opinion it does deserves a 5 start status the only issue is that they don't offer premium drinks (Black Label), in other hotels I have paid for the VIP status in order to get premium liquors and I thought that by getting the Be+ package will be the same but it wasn't but still I recommend the be+ upgrade as it well worth the money. other than that the rooms the service is excellent. will definitely go back.

as for the time share guys I told them that I was not interested and that was it no more hassle and the service was the same.

I have no complains except I didn't get my Jose Cuervo or my Black Label.

My husband and myself have just returned from the Blue bay Villas and have had a wonderful time. It was our first time to the Dominican Republic most of our holidays having been in Europe and Florida. After reading a lot of the reviews I felt there was a fair amount of people happy with their holiday so were not too worried.

When we arrived at the complex we were were given a cold towel and a drink while we were given information about the hotel and our bracelets. Our room was just a standard room and looked like what i expected and although it was basic (bed, wardrobe sideboard with tv) it was all we needed as we don't go on holiday to stay in a room. The rooms were cleaned for us daily. We got fresh towels morning and night and our bed was turned down a few nights over our week stay. Our beach towels were also replaced in our room.

The buffet was fantastic I am incredibly fussy and I always found something that I enjoyed. There was fresh omelette's made to order, smoothies and lots of choice for breakfast. Also at lunch and dinner there was someone making pasta you could pick what you wanted and they made it for you. The table service was fantastic they came round with water, wine and coffee and my glass was never left empty the service was like I have never seen before. We also tried the oriental restaurant. I do not enjoy oriental food at the best of times but my husband does and he thoroughly enjoyed it. The standard was very high I got a cushion for my feet and we were given sushi which i was too scared to try. I feel there was a good selection of food so we didn't eat the same thing every night.

The complex and beach were lovely and although the beach vendors were going past a lot once you said no thank you they didn't bother you again. We had bar service on our lounger at the beach which made us feel so looked after. The staff at this hotel were exceptional and couldn't do enough to make it a perfect holiday. We only went to a few of the entertainment shows and they were ok the thing is you cant expect a broadway production every night and at least there was entertainment put on and I feel the crew try their hardest to make it enjoyable as possible.

We went on a few excursions two booked through Isairas Tours, the Puerto Plata tour including cable car which was great we were the only two and we found out a lot about the Dominican Republic from the guide, we also went on the Monster Truck Safari which was very good. and we booked the freestyle catamarans through the hut before the bridge but it would have been cheaper from the beach vendor. It was very good but my husband was sea sick as it is very rough and choppy, the snorkelling was great.

In my opinion I feel that the bluebay villas were great the staff treated us so well all the people we met through our excursions were nice and helpful and I would reccommend this holiday to anyone.

I just returned from one week at BB, August 7 – 15th. This is my second time at this resort, but it was the first time travelling solo (female). I was at this resort when it was known as simply Villas Dorados. At the time I travelled with a friend and her 15 year old daughter. It was a true 3 star back then. A great time was had!

Jump forward to 2008 and what a difference. The Spa area is totally new. In fact, this is where the animation stage used to be and you can still see part of the stage floor there.

ARRIVAL – Quick orientation. We got a welcome drink and cold cloth to refresh our travelled faces. Nice! Room assignments, no problem. Quick.

SERVICE - tops. Most staff go out of their way to assist you. I was treated very well.

CLIENTELLE - Back in 03 it was just a regular place. Now it is adults. True, there were mostly couples there, but there were also groups of friends, the bachelor party gang from Toronto, sisters, a family with young adults, and a few other solo travellers. I had no problem getting to know people. I often was invited to join in. I really appreciated that and it made for a great time getting to know other people – even from the same city mind you, and other nationalities. Most people were open and friendly. You just need to make an effort and join in on the many activities offered, mostly by the pool. I also got to put in practise my french skills and picked up on Spanish. Very easy and they also give lessons.

WELCOME COCKTAIL - The welcome cocktail was top-notch. The manager, Oscar has done wonders with this place. All of the managers, (human resources, animation, bar, food, security, front desk, cleaning, spa, guest services, engineer, ....sorry if I missed some) including the front line workers (cleaning ladies, groundskeepers, security, bar.... who happened to have been working their shift, etc) were all acknowledged. You can see that Oscar takes pride and this is reciprocated by many of the workers. I have been to 6 AI and this is the first time that I have seen this.

REPEAT GUESTS - For repeat guests, there is another more intimate cocktail party at the spa area. There was a magic show and fireworks at the end. This was a really nice touch.

FOOD - OUTSTANDING. This is by far the best buffet in all of the AI that I have been to. I never once got sick. I wonder if it is because people drink the tap water. I did read some reviews on this site that people were. Mostly the British, so I wonder if their reps even mention this. I am sure that I put on weight as the food was that good. Never recycled as is done in some resorts – particularly in Cuba.

BEACH - what an improvement to all of the beaches at Playa Dorada complex. Gone are the stones, rocks and shells that you had to tip-toe about. Smooth sand. If you walk up a bit (turn left and walk until you reach the hotel that is being refurbished) as this is where you will get crystal clear water. The ocean water at Blue Bay is very clean. Remember, this is the Atlantic side, not the Caribbean. There is also some good snorkelling to the left of the hotel.

ANIMATION – I am not sure what that couple from Guelph were complaining about. These guys work 200%. They have great comedic timing. The rotating shows, such as Michael Jackson and Dominican Show, I have seen before. They even had a magic show and trapeze performer a la cirque de soleil. The people performing were from Montreal and Dominican!

SECURITY - This was always at the back of my mind since I was travelling solo. Do however, hire the safe. This is the first time that I have had to pay for a safe though. Usually, they come with the package. A SUGGESTION for repeat clients would be to waive this fee in lieu of receiving the fruit basket and rum gift. I paid $15 US for the safe.

ROOM SERVICE - I gave gifts/tips to the morning cleaning lady, but not once did I receive a ‘muchas gracias.’ I even wrote in Spanish asking her how many children she had. I work as a teacher, so I did brought school supplies as well. Not one reply. She even saw me a few times, but nothing. I was not impressed. The night turn-over lady was GREAT! I established a rapport with her and she was very, very appreciative of the gifts/tips. SUGGESTION: You need to write a list of gifts on the note that you give because staff is checked. I went to freetransltation.com so I wrote in Spanish. Some other posters on this forum even wrote out lists of suggested gifts if you are looking for ideas.

HOTEL ROOM – I do agree that the rooms are less than 4 star. The furniture needs updating and there needs to be a chair at least. I peaked under the bed that last few nights that I was there and it could have used a cleaning. As a returnee, I should have received a higher quality room, but it was all subject to availability. I was offered a room a few days later, but at that point, I was ok with staying where I was. Besides, I only wanted a comfy bed and pillow, which I got. The channels, well yes, it would have been great to have CNN in English though. They had BBC (lot of repeat shows though and Headline News). I watched ABC news when I took the needed siesta. Besides, you are not there to watch tv.

EXCURSIONS – Save yourself some cash and book at the plaza. I went to Paradise Island and paid much, much less. GO TRAVEL was charging $75. Hotel, $90. I paid $50, yet the advertised price was $63. GO TRAVEL (if they happen to be your rep) said that you are not insured and that these trip organisers are illegal and they may be stopped- nonsense!). Also, there was some confusion over times for the orientation. I opted to go to the english one, Ithe french one was first) since I wanted to spend more time on the beach. I was late and only found one couple there (that turned out how we met which was great) but the GO travel rep was not there. I did see her in reception, so I am not sure if she showed up early and saw no one there, but the couple that I met were there on time.

SPA – I booked the exfoliation and seaweed wrap the last morning there. Paid $90 for about 50 minutes. This would have been $150 in Ottawa at least, so do yourself a favour and check it out. They also drew out names for free massages at the spa at both cocktail parties. One of the couples that befriended me so happened to have won!

I hope that Blue Bay does not become an exclusive couples resort though. I found that the mix of people was great. No children. This is really evident if you walk on the beach and see the other hotels. The Barcelo was overflowing with kids on the weekend. Keep in mind that many hotels sell weekend passes to the Domincans. You can imagine the overcrowding of families. At Blue Bay, this does not occur.

A note to GO TRAVEL and fyi to Blue Bay. Since this resort caters to over 18, why the single supplement? Upwards of $300?? Surely, you can drum up more business if this is waived, considering the clientelle. I will be following this up with GO TRAVEL as well as why there were no direct flights from Ottawa, considering that many of the passengers on the Montreal flight were from Ottawa!!! This latter is not a reflection on the hotel, but I put it in in case other travellers feel the same way and would like to follow up.

I will definitely be returning, but do notice that the price is way, way up for New Years as it will be for March Break as well, with GO, Sunwing, Air transat....yikes. I may just book through the hotel. A bunch of us teachers would definitely want to get away from kids during that time. Perhaps just flying down instead of the package - may be worth the savings!

I was at the Blue Bay from 22nd July - 6th August this year and Ihave nothing but good things to say about the place and the peple. Now I am back home and missing the place and fantastic people so much!

My friend and I visited as 2 single girls and loved the lively and friendly atmosphere and the mix of couples/singles - felt completely at home there would certainly reccommend it for singles and couples alike - we made a lot of friends there.

I can back up Claire (Hi Claire!!!!) in her comments below about the hotel itself, the food, the drinks, the rooms etc - I could not fault the place at all.

My only very tiny gripe (and it was minor) was that in our second week we found the service in the evening buffett very slow - it seemed they were understaffed - but we had to constantly ask for water/wine on a number of occasions. But as I said this is minor - I have only mentioned it as constructive feedback for Oscar, whom I know reads this site.

As for the Blue and Yellow T shirts - well I have to say in 2 weeks they never even approached us once!

My main praise though, goes to the fantastic Animation team at The Blue Bay. They made our holiday, without a shadow of a doubt and are an absolute credit to the hotel. I have visited the South of the Dominican Republic before, and Cancun in Mexico twice, and found the Animation teams there to be quite pushy and sometimes quite irritating - but at Blue Bay they were the lovliest, funniest and friendliest team ever!

Special thanks and big kisses to James Bond, Lorenzo, Tony Montana, Dj Rock, Super Tino - and also to Pineapple, Yessie, Marchello and the others whose names I can t recall! They work so hard and made us laugh constantly for 2 weeks ...and I hope the newbies join in as much as we did (like on EVERY ACTIVITY!!) Oscar these guys are a credit to you and I hope they are all still there when we return.

I will definitely be going back to The Blue Bay next year, as it is without a doubt one of the best holidays Ive ever had - Oscar - is it true that returners get an upgraded room??!!! Please let me know - if thats the case I will book now!! :)

I have some great pictures I will post later... But on a final note, Don t listen to the negative comments on here- the place is amazing and worth every penny!!


Jo xxx