Occidental Caribe — Hotel in Higüey

My stay was during early June 2024. I would give this hotel 3 stars overall, with more negatives than positives.

Positives: It’s in a relatively good location near other hotels and a short drive to a local market. The beach is very nice and was not very crowded and many lounge chairs. Some of the staff were very personable and accommodating. The two names of staff that we did get were Janovel Ferran and Dominga De La Cruz. These were two persons that helped to make our stay as enjoyable as it could be .

Negatives: Check in was slow. At 3-4pm in the afternoon, it’s usually peek time for hotel check in. There were only 2-3 persons at the desk and one long line. There is no air flow source throughout the hotel; from the front lobby to the hallways throughout, there was an absence of overhead fans which made for hot and humid air. We were hot from the time we stood in line to check in. In a tropical atmosphere like the DR has, fans are needed. Many of the staff do not speak English which I found surprising. I know it is a Spanish speaking country but there should be multilingual staff who are upfront and interact with guests. I have never seen this even when traveling to other continents. Hence it made for much ineffective communication. We could not even make reservations for dinner for the first night because we did not understand what the person who checked us in explained. We were supposedly upgraded to VIP which really meant nothing. One particular staff member whose name I can’t recall was very argumentative with us. We went to the Perks room where VIP members supposedly go to make dinner reservations. He was of no help. When we returned to him with a supervisor, he said things that were not true and told us that we did not listen but walked away and that he explained to us what we needed to do. Truth is, he did not explain anything to us, simply told us it was too late to make reservations and gave us a piece of paper that had nothing to do with reservations. His name was Ali—— , I don’t recall the last part of it. He essentially said things that were not true to save face infront of the manager. The supervisor at the front desk was not helpful. When we asked to speak with him, he was very nonchalant, spoke in Spanish to the clerk and proceeded to do what he was doing prior to. The iron in our room was not working and leaked heavily as soon as water was added. We reported this to the front desk about three times. On our last day is when the iron was replaced. The walls between rooms are too thin. I heard things from other rooms that I did not want or need to hear at wee hours in the morning. There is not much entertainment at this hotel. The one show we attended started about 20 minutes late and really was not that good. There is no nightly entertainment or schedule to access.Many persons just walked around at night, hung out and chatted. No late night eating places to access if you wanted a late night snack. All closed by 9-9:30. The food was okay, taste not impressive at all. From what I saw, the number of guests that this hotel accommodates is not adequately served by the number of eating facilities. On the night we could not get a reservation, we walked to the buffet assuming that we could get something there. There was literally a line wrapped around the hallway; people waiting to get in- at the buffet ! We looked at other restaurants to see if we could catch a break, all of which needed reservations. Even the day time snack place was turned in to an Italian place at night needing reservations. There is simply not enough eating places to accommodate the number of guests this hotel holds. Fortunately for us , there was a nice host at the Mexican restaurant who accommodated us. At breakfast, I watched birds ( crows I think) swoop down over the buffet area and constantly peck at food . The manager walked around sometimes trying to wave them off but it was simply ineffective. There are also many flies here so you are constantly trying to shield your food. Overall, not the...

We stayed at Occidental Caribe as four friends in our twenties from the UK at the end of August. Overall, we would not stay at Occidental Caribe again due to the lack of cleanliness, friendliness and facilities. That being said, if you are on a tight budget I think this hotel is reasonable and there are members of staff that work incredibly hard.

The first hotel room we were given was dingy and damp and located in the basement. After a long haul flight, we felt Hansel at reception was not accommodating. We switched rooms however both rooms needed serious work. Very dated, unclean bathrooms, issues with leaky ceilings, leaky AC and broken railings. The TV did not work, the balcony door did not sufficiently lock. All of these were raised with reception but not rectified during the stay. We did receive a gift on the second day of our stay as a bottle of bubbles, but after staying at another resort in the area at the end of our stay, we found that Occidental Caribe fails to provide a good quality and level of cleanliness within the rooms.

The entertainment was okay - and the bar service generally was okay across all bars and the staff worked hard and we could see that! However, Francisco at the bar would often make inappropriate comments towards us as women and would encourage other men at the bar to join in in doing so - so we would actively avoid going to the bar if he was there. Jose at the main bar was very nice and a good bartender. The staff at Roka were lovely and had good knowledge of the local area!

The shop staff were amongst some of the rudest I have ever met. Yemelin was lazy, rude and arrogant and the main reason I felt compelled to leave my first negative review. Her general disdain towards us was uncomfortable. She refused to charge items to our room on our final day in disbelief over the name against the room which was incredibly condescending after we waited 10 minutes at the desk solely for her to stop singing to the music and looking in another direction entirely. Every visit to the shop was excruciating and we often wondered how she was employed.

This general sentiment of disdain over our lack of language skills was prevalent throughout our stay. Staff would roll their eyes, tut, sigh and scowl when we would explain that we had very little Spanish. We witnessed preferential treatment to those speaking Spanish, including queue skipping. We are well aware of the image English people get abroad but we are nothing like that and felt stereotyped and ignored. The watersports team also tried to make us pay for two people to parasail, despite a lack of reasoning as to why one person couldn’t do it alone, meaning that we left this excursion altogether avoiding the instance of being scammed.

That being said, the hotel did have a few redeeming members of staff. Yolanda in the team at the spa was lovely and we enjoyed our treatments. The team at the Dominican restaurant were very proud of their culture and food which was nice. The a la carte restaurants were average and felt dated and tired but tried to provide variation. A lot of the hotel felt straight out of the early 2000’s. We visited the French restaurant and watched a desert be dropped on the centre of the floor and left for 10 minutes during service. Generally, we were welcomed into the a la carte restaurants with as little words as possible, told to scan QR codes as menus, and watched other Spanish speaking tables be served before us and waitresses point and whisper about us as we were dining. Food was often undercooked, and our crab dumplings at Tokyo were completely raw and inedible.

Coming from the UK, we have a very different tipping culture that tips good service as opposed to tip to receive good service. After staying at another resort for a night on the island, the service at Occidental Caribe does NOT hit the mark and the often unspoken expectation to tip staff is expectant and unreasonable. We booked this a year ago as a once in a lifetime luxury holiday and unfortunately it...

My Honest Review – Occidental Caribe Resort, Punta Cana (7-Day Stay)

I stayed at Occidental Caribe for seven days and wanted to share my honest experience.

Before my trip, I called a week in advance to confirm my room and ask about airport shuttle service. They told me that the free shuttle is only available if you book directly through them. Since I booked through a third party, I had to pay $50 each way for a private shuttle, or $40 for a shared ride with stops at other resorts. I went with the private option. Definitely reserve a shuttle, it's much safer, and you avoid the harassment at the airport from the hustlers.

When we arrived, they gave us a double bedroom, even though I had requested a king-size bed. Thankfully, the bellboy and a helpful cleaning lady quickly contacted the front desk, and they switched us to a king room next door. That was a great start.

After settling in, we went to the lobby bar for a drink—but the drinks there weren’t great. We later discovered that the best drinks were made at the swim-up pool bar (Bar Palmeras), where we were lucky enough to meet Meliza, our favorite bartender. After the first day, she remembered our drink preferences and consistently served us great drinks with a smile. She definitely made our stay more enjoyable.

As for the food, the poolside hut buffet (Marenostrum area) had the best quality and taste. The main hotel buffet, however, was disappointing. Most of the food was cold, lacked flavor, and didn’t offer many authentic Dominican dishes. Being from New York, we expected better in terms of seasoning and cultural options. One night featured a "Spanish" theme, but it fell short—no mofongo, mangu, or traditional dishes you’d expect in the DR.

The buffet was also very meat-heavy, with a strong focus on pork and beef. My wife doesn’t eat red meat, and she found it hard to find suitable options. Even the cassava had bacon bits sprinkled over it—something that should be clearly labeled or avoided, since not everyone eats pork. Non-meat eaters will feel very limited at the buffet.

We tried a few of the on-site restaurants. The Dominican restaurant started off rough with cold appetizers, but once we asked for fresh plates, they were happy to accommodate. The mofongo I had was actually very good—I'd rate that part 4 stars.

The hibachi-style Japanese restaurant was a fun experience, but not great for anyone with food restrictions. They cook all the steak, chicken, and seafood on the same grill, without separating items. If you’re vegetarian or have allergies, be cautious.

The Mexican restaurant was a total miss for us—cold, bland food that didn’t reflect any real Mexican flavor. Honestly, I wish we had skipped it.

On the positive side, the resort’s location is beautiful. The beach was gorgeous, the pools were nice, and the layout was thoughtful. One side has activities for kids—like waterslides, rock climbing, and bungee jumping—while the other side is more adult-friendly with events and the swim-up bar. We attended the all-white party one night, which was fun and well-organized. There’s also a theater, a casino, and a nightclub located below the lobby—just ask the front desk for directions.

Another highlight was the free Butler Service included with our third party booking (which we didn’t even know about ahead of time). We were assigned Cindy, who was incredibly helpful. She arranged all our restaurant reservations, brought us a bottle of champagne every night, and made sure we had whatever we needed throughout our stay.

Final Verdict: The resort is in a beautiful location and has a few standout staff members like Meliza and Cindy who made the experience more enjoyable. However, the food and drink quality overall needs improvement—especially for an all-inclusive. The buffet is not vegetarian-friendly and lacks authentic Dominican flavor. I’d give this resort a 3.5 out of 5. It has great potential, but the dining experience and attention to dietary...