Ocean Blue - HORRIBLE

[Hannah]

My husband and I recently returned from our vacation at Ocean Blue in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (October 4 – 11). We have traveled out of the US with both Apple and Funjet in the past, so this was not our first experience out of the country; however, it was the worst one.

We had many problems once we arrived at the resort. It seemed as though everyday there was something going wrong. Upon arriving in our room, we noticed there were no ashtrays (we had requested a smoking room). We called and asked for some ashtrays, and waited about a half hour for them to arrive. We were anxious to get to the beach, so we left the room (the ashtrays had still not arrived). Upon returning to our room there was one ashtray. Both my husband and I smoke and one ashtray was not enough so had to bring plastic cups back with us to use as ashtrays.

That night we went to the lobby bar after dinner. My husband drinks whiskey and they had Jack Daniels. He asked for a Jack Daniels and Diet Coke. He received a J & B Scotch and Diet Coke. He told the bartender that his drink was not right and he wanted Jack Daniels. They told him they did not have it. We could see the bottle sitting on the bar. So he pointed it out to them. After a few drinks, they told him they ran out of Jack Daniels. (This would happen at every bar we went to, not just the lobby bar.) If he wanted another drink we would have to go to Overtime (another bar in the resort). We went there and got a drink; however we would rather be in the lobby bar since it was open to the outside and Overtime was enclosed is a building. One night, after the lobby bar ran out of Jack Daniels and we were told to go to Overtime, we were told there they had run out also. My husband ordered a different drink. Shortly after we got our drinks, one of the lobby bartenders walked out of the back of Overtime with a bottle of Jack Daniels. We flagged him down and asked him what was going on that you just told us to come here and now you’re taking the Jack Daniels from here to the lobby. He just laughed at us and walked out. We found out later in the week that each bar is only allowed three 750 ml bottles of each brand of alcohol per day, whether it is wine, champagne, hard liquor, schnapps, etc. and when they run out; you have to go find a bar that still has it.

Upon returning to our room on Wednesday night, our first night, I was looking through the hotel brochure in our room. It said “Room Service: available 24 hours. Call extension 403”. It was about 2:30 a.m., and we decided to try room service. I called extension 403, it was an automated system. I went through the prompts and ended up right back at the beginning. I called the front desk and asked why I could not get anyone in room service to answer the phone. They told me we did not have room service. I read them exactly what their brochure said. They told me that it was not available to us. I asked where we were supposed to get something to eat. They said there is nowhere you can eat right now. My husband and I were very angry, so the Apple brochure said this was a 24 hour resort. We went down to the lobby and talked to Nicholas Ozoria, the lobby clerk. We argued with him and I showed him both the Apple catalog that says “…24-hour food and beverage resort…” and the brochure from our room that said “Room Service: available 24 hours”. He said that was wrong and we should talk to Luis one of the Apple reps in the morning. We asked to talk to a manager and Nicholas told us there was none on duty. He finally did say that Overtime had sandwiches available for us now.

Saturday night, we went up to our room to go to bed. When I inserted the key into the slot to unlock the door, neither key worked. Once again, we went to the lobby and talked to Nicholas. We again asked for a manager, and once again, there was none on duty. Nicholas said we should talk to Luis or Joel Sanchez in the morning. Nicholas told us Joel was the manager. We got our new keys and finally got into our room.

By this time into our vacation, we also had noticed that we had dirty sheets on the bed. Also, one day when we came back from the beach, there was a big puddle of water on the bathroom floor. When we would take showers, no matter what time it was, the water would go from hot to cold. In fact one time, it completed shut off on me. Both my husband and I also had traveler’s diarrhea for the first time ever.

Sunday morning, we talked to Luis and he said Joel Sanchez was not the manager, and we should talk to Sr. Almonte, the resident manager. We were on our way to the beach, so Luis said when we came back he would call Sr. Almonte so he could call us in our room. We checked in at the Apple desk when we came back and Luis was not there, he was at a meeting, but there was another Apple rep there (a woman, I can’t remember her name). She said she would have Sr. Almonte call us. My husband and I both showered and got ready for dinner. When we left our room, we again stopped at the Apple desk and this time she called Sr. Almonte and talked to him. We set up a meeting to see him on Monday night at 7 p.m. in the lobby. When we went to talk to him and tell him our problems, he said he understood and would take care of things for us. He gave a meal at Bucanero’s (a seafood restaurant) and a voucher for a refund for one night from Apple (enclosed). He did take notes about all of our complaints. Sr. Almonte gave us his business card and told us if we had any other problems to have the staff call him in his room and tell him; and that he was available 24 hours a day.

Tuesday night we ate at Bucanero’s. While we were there two tables down from us a rat came from the umbrella onto the table and crawled away. We finished our dinner and left. After gambling at the casino, we went to go back to our room and go to bed. On the way there, my stomach started to turn again, so began to walk very fast. I got up to the room and, once again, neither room key worked. We had to walk from Villa 5 back to the lobby to use the bathroom and get new keys again. I gave my husband the keys to get new ones while I ran to the bathroom. As I was turning the corner to get to the bathroom, I heard something shatter. I did not make it to the bathroom in time, so I had to clean myself up. When I exited the bathroom and went over by my husband I saw that the glass lobby door was shattered into little pieces and he was standing there with Nicholas and three other workers. I yelled at the workers and told them about what had happened (being locked out of room, not making to the bathroom, etc.) I told them we were very unhappy with this resort and would never come back. We took our new keys and went back to our room. Once we got there, I tried both keys and again neither key worked. As we were getting ready to go back to the lobby, we met another couple on the stairs. They invited us up to their room to use their phone instead of walking all the back to the lobby. We went to their room and I tried to call the front desk. There was no answer. I called about three times, and then tried the operator. I explained the situation to the operator; they said just a moment and transferred me to the front desk. Again, the phone just rang and rang. There was no answer. After about ten minutes, finally Nicholas answered the phone. I told him we needed new keys again. He said someone would be at our room door in five minutes to let us in. Two guys showed up in a golf cart and let unlocked our room door for us. We asked for the key, and they told us no, this is the general hotel key. We asked them to call Sr. Almonte. They told us they did not know he was. I pulled out his business card and said I would call him myself. They finally agreed to go and get us new keys.

As we were going to bed that night, my husband noticed that his foot and ankle were very swollen. I suggest taking his socks off and hopefully that would help.

The next morning, we were sitting in the lobby smoking a cigarette before checking out. The female Apple rep came up to us and said “They tell me that you broke a door last night.” We told her the story about what happened that my husband flung the door open and the handle hit the wall causing the glass to shatter. We repeatedly told her that we was sorry and that is was a mistake. She said that she was told my husband intentionally broke the door by punching it and we had to pay for the door (approximately $3,000USD before we could leave). We told her that price was ridiculous. She said it was a crystal glass door. We laughed and told her it was not. She said well, it’s tempered glass. Again, we said no it’s not. If was tempered, it would not have shattered. Then she said, well it’s imported. I said he did not punch the door and if he did there would be scratches on his hands. He showed her his hands, there were no scratches. She said then you must have kicked it. Again, he showed her his legs, no scratches. She said, well you have to pay for the door or you cannot leave. We asked what would happen if we did not pay, she said we could not get on the bus back to the airport. I asked what happens if we miss the bus. She said we would have to pay for a taxi to the airport. My husband asked what would happen if we just got on the bus. She pointed to the police car sitting in front of the bus and said we would be arrested and thrown in jail. Isn’t her job to stand up for us and protect us? We tried to walk towards the bus and the police started coming for us. We had no choice, but to pay for the door, which turned out to be $3,036.61 USD. When we were being transferred to the airport, we showed the Apple transfer guy the receipt. He said “This is for one door?” We told him yes. He basically said we were getting screwed. He told us “No door in the Dominican is over $350 USD.” (We are contesting this with the credit card company.) Upon getting to the airport and talking to other people, we decided to take pictures of my husband’s hand and legs. No one could believe this happened.

When we arrived at O’Hare Airport and claimed our luggage, we noticed that it was broken. One was crushed in on the sides. (It looks like a door was slammed into it. The metal piping is actually bent to a “V”.) The other one has the handle on it, but the plastic piece around it is broken, causing the handle to not work properly. One piece of luggage was brand new.

Upon returning home, my husband’s ankle did not get any better, in fact, it got worse. We did not know if he had been bitten by something or what was wrong. His right ankle and foot were twice the size of his left one. He had broken blood vessels in his foot and around his ankle. His right calf had even started swelling. On Friday morning, he was delusion from the fever he had. He did not know who I was or where we were. I called Tripmate Insurance and they told me to take him to the ER. When I returned home from work, we went to Waukesha Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room. They determined it to be a skin infection of some sort. He was prescribed antibiotics, pain pills and ibuprofen. Due to this skin infection and the doctor’s orders, he has missed out on two and half days of work.

[Beads]

Holy Hell thats nuts! I hope you paid for EVERYTHING on a credit card. Contest the whole trip. If the company has a US presense sue them on top of it.

Definitely share this information with as many travel websites as possible.

Typically I find you have to check out these AI resorts thoroughly in the DR. they can and WILL screw you!

[HOWMAR]

Originally Posted by Hannah

As we were going to bed that night, my husband noticed that his foot and ankle were very swollen. I suggest taking his socks off and hopefully that would help.

He didn't inadvertently, accidentally, subconsciously kick the glass door by any chance? Any lawyer you retain in the future concerning this probably will wish you were more careful in what you publish.

[laurapasinifan]

The little bits about the guys laughing as he walked away with the jack daniels.... the little bit about the guys cant get new keys, then when push comes to shove,OK they go get new keys, is what i get ticked off about......its the dominican mentailty of workers at resorts.....they have ripped off and offended so many poeple ...it is second nature....when you do something ...ITS THE END OF THE WORLD.... when they do something....its the "way it is done here"


unless you are staying at the very upper end of the hotels available...people will always get into situations like you describe.

bob

[suarezn]

Sorry to hear about your trip. I do hope you give The DR another chance. Just because one hotel is bad does not mean the whole country or industry for that matter is the same. Next time don't try to go to the cheapest one you can find and try a better resort and I'm pretty sure you'll have a much better time with much better service.

[Rick Snyder]

Hannah,

I remember when you asked for advice about Ocean Blue and I supplied you with some links and asked you to post a report in this forum when you got back.

I am so sorry to hear about your bad experiences but wish to thank you for posting them so that other people can see that which you had to endure.

Thousands of people visit our little paradise and enjoy themselves so I hope this one bad experience doesn't preclude you from coming back and having a really enjoyable time because I know it can be done.

If you do decide to come back please make sure you do your research here on our board and depend on those responses from people that have actual experience with the area in question rather then what they may have heard.

Good luck in your attempt to rectify the situation and please keep us informed on the progress.

Rick

[Berzin]

This may be politically incorrect but if you are looking for a vacation spot in the carribean with a US-style infrastructure try Puerto Rico. As much as I love the DR, if I went through what you and your husband did I would never go back.

[samana3]

Originally Posted by Hannah

My husband and I recently returned from our vacation at Ocean Blue in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (October 4 – 11). We have traveled out of the US with both Apple and Funjet in the past, so this was not our first experience out of the country; however, it was the worst one.

We had many problems once we arrived at the resort. It seemed as though everyday there was something going wrong. Upon arriving in our room, we noticed there were no ashtrays (we had requested a smoking room). We called and asked for some ashtrays, and waited about a half hour for them to arrive. We were anxious to get to the beach, so we left the room (the ashtrays had still not arrived). Upon returning to our room there was one ashtray. Both my husband and I smoke and one ashtray was not enough so had to bring plastic cups back with us to use as ashtrays.

That night we went to the lobby bar after dinner. My husband drinks whiskey and they had Jack Daniels. He asked for a Jack Daniels and Diet Coke. He received a J & B Scotch and Diet Coke. He told the bartender that his drink was not right and he wanted Jack Daniels. They told him they did not have it. We could see the bottle sitting on the bar. So he pointed it out to them. After a few drinks, they told him they ran out of Jack Daniels. (This would happen at every bar we went to, not just the lobby bar.) If he wanted another drink we would have to go to Overtime (another bar in the resort). We went there and got a drink; however we would rather be in the lobby bar since it was open to the outside and Overtime was enclosed is a building. One night, after the lobby bar ran out of Jack Daniels and we were told to go to Overtime, we were told there they had run out also. My husband ordered a different drink. Shortly after we got our drinks, one of the lobby bartenders walked out of the back of Overtime with a bottle of Jack Daniels. We flagged him down and asked him what was going on that you just told us to come here and now you’re taking the Jack Daniels from here to the lobby. He just laughed at us and walked out. We found out later in the week that each bar is only allowed three 750 ml bottles of each brand of alcohol per day, whether it is wine, champagne, hard liquor, schnapps, etc. and when they run out; you have to go find a bar that still has it.

Upon returning to our room on Wednesday night, our first night, I was looking through the hotel brochure in our room. It said “Room Service: available 24 hours. Call extension 403”. It was about 2:30 a.m., and we decided to try room service. I called extension 403, it was an automated system. I went through the prompts and ended up right back at the beginning. I called the front desk and asked why I could not get anyone in room service to answer the phone. They told me we did not have room service. I read them exactly what their brochure said. They told me that it was not available to us. I asked where we were supposed to get something to eat. They said there is nowhere you can eat right now. My husband and I were very angry, so the Apple brochure said this was a 24 hour resort. We went down to the lobby and talked to Nicholas Ozoria, the lobby clerk. We argued with him and I showed him both the Apple catalog that says “…24-hour food and beverage resort…” and the brochure from our room that said “Room Service: available 24 hours”. He said that was wrong and we should talk to Luis one of the Apple reps in the morning. We asked to talk to a manager and Nicholas told us there was none on duty. He finally did say that Overtime had sandwiches available for us now.

Saturday night, we went up to our room to go to bed. When I inserted the key into the slot to unlock the door, neither key worked. Once again, we went to the lobby and talked to Nicholas. We again asked for a manager, and once again, there was none on duty. Nicholas said we should talk to Luis or Joel Sanchez in the morning. Nicholas told us Joel was the manager. We got our new keys and finally got into our room.

By this time into our vacation, we also had noticed that we had dirty sheets on the bed. Also, one day when we came back from the beach, there was a big puddle of water on the bathroom floor. When we would take showers, no matter what time it was, the water would go from hot to cold. In fact one time, it completed shut off on me. Both my husband and I also had traveler’s diarrhea for the first time ever.

Sunday morning, we talked to Luis and he said Joel Sanchez was not the manager, and we should talk to Sr. Almonte, the resident manager. We were on our way to the beach, so Luis said when we came back he would call Sr. Almonte so he could call us in our room. We checked in at the Apple desk when we came back and Luis was not there, he was at a meeting, but there was another Apple rep there (a woman, I can’t remember her name). She said she would have Sr. Almonte call us. My husband and I both showered and got ready for dinner. When we left our room, we again stopped at the Apple desk and this time she called Sr. Almonte and talked to him. We set up a meeting to see him on Monday night at 7 p.m. in the lobby. When we went to talk to him and tell him our problems, he said he understood and would take care of things for us. He gave a meal at Bucanero’s (a seafood restaurant) and a voucher for a refund for one night from Apple (enclosed). He did take notes about all of our complaints. Sr. Almonte gave us his business card and told us if we had any other problems to have the staff call him in his room and tell him; and that he was available 24 hours a day.

Tuesday night we ate at Bucanero’s. While we were there two tables down from us a rat came from the umbrella onto the table and crawled away. We finished our dinner and left. After gambling at the casino, we went to go back to our room and go to bed. On the way there, my stomach started to turn again, so began to walk very fast. I got up to the room and, once again, neither room key worked. We had to walk from Villa 5 back to the lobby to use the bathroom and get new keys again. I gave my husband the keys to get new ones while I ran to the bathroom. As I was turning the corner to get to the bathroom, I heard something shatter. I did not make it to the bathroom in time, so I had to clean myself up. When I exited the bathroom and went over by my husband I saw that the glass lobby door was shattered into little pieces and he was standing there with Nicholas and three other workers. I yelled at the workers and told them about what had happened (being locked out of room, not making to the bathroom, etc.) I told them we were very unhappy with this resort and would never come back. We took our new keys and went back to our room. Once we got there, I tried both keys and again neither key worked. As we were getting ready to go back to the lobby, we met another couple on the stairs. They invited us up to their room to use their phone instead of walking all the back to the lobby. We went to their room and I tried to call the front desk. There was no answer. I called about three times, and then tried the operator. I explained the situation to the operator; they said just a moment and transferred me to the front desk. Again, the phone just rang and rang. There was no answer. After about ten minutes, finally Nicholas answered the phone. I told him we needed new keys again. He said someone would be at our room door in five minutes to let us in. Two guys showed up in a golf cart and let unlocked our room door for us. We asked for the key, and they told us no, this is the general hotel key. We asked them to call Sr. Almonte. They told us they did not know he was. I pulled out his business card and said I would call him myself. They finally agreed to go and get us new keys.

As we were going to bed that night, my husband noticed that his foot and ankle were very swollen. I suggest taking his socks off and hopefully that would help.

The next morning, we were sitting in the lobby smoking a cigarette before checking out. The female Apple rep came up to us and said “They tell me that you broke a door last night.” We told her the story about what happened that my husband flung the door open and the handle hit the wall causing the glass to shatter. We repeatedly told her that we was sorry and that is was a mistake.

She said that she was told my husband intentionally broke the door by punching it and we had to pay for the door (approximately $3,000USD before we could leave).

We told her that price was ridiculous. She said it was a crystal glass door. We laughed and told her it was not. She said well, it’s tempered glass. Again, we said no it’s not. If was tempered, it would not have shattered. Then she said, well it’s imported. I said he did not punch the door and if he did there would be scratches on his hands. He showed her his hands, there were no scratches. She said then you must have kicked it. Again, he showed her his legs, no scratches. She said, well you have to pay for the door or you cannot leave. We asked what would happen if we did not pay, she said we could not get on the bus back to the airport. I asked what happens if we miss the bus. She said we would have to pay for a taxi to the airport. My husband asked what would happen if we just got on the bus. She pointed to the police car sitting in front of the bus and said we would be arrested and thrown in jail. Isn’t her job to stand up for us and protect us? We tried to walk towards the bus and the police started coming for us. We had no choice, but to pay for the door, which turned out to be $3,036.61 USD. When we were being transferred to the airport, we showed the Apple transfer guy the receipt. He said “This is for one door?” We told him yes. He basically said we were getting screwed. He told us “No door in the Dominican is over $350 USD.” (We are contesting this with the credit card company.) Upon getting to the airport and talking to other people, we decided to take pictures of my husband’s hand and legs. No one could believe this happened.

When we arrived at O’Hare Airport and claimed our luggage, we noticed that it was broken. One was crushed in on the sides. (It looks like a door was slammed into it. The metal piping is actually bent to a “V”.) The other one has the handle on it, but the plastic piece around it is broken, causing the handle to not work properly. One piece of luggage was brand new.

Upon returning home, my husband’s ankle did not get any better, in fact, it got worse. We did not know if he had been bitten by something or what was wrong. His right ankle and foot were twice the size of his left one. He had broken blood vessels in his foot and around his ankle. His right calf had even started swelling. On Friday morning, he was delusion from the fever he had. He did not know who I was or where we were. I called Tripmate Insurance and they told me to take him to the ER. When I returned home from work, we went to Waukesha Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room. They determined it to be a skin infection of some sort. He was prescribed antibiotics, pain pills and ibuprofen. Due to this skin infection and the doctor’s orders, he has missed out on two and half days of work.

3,000 USD FOR A DOOR ? . . . . . . . (YEA RIGHT!!) PLEASE I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO TRICK.

[Rick Snyder]

Samana3,

Being the new kid on the block, having only made 4 posts of which 2 were threads you started of which the owner of the board quickly shut you down in one of them and having used up so much space to quote the OP, of which we have already read, you have the audacity to come out on the attack.

I think it would be a good idea to fall back and regroup. Nice idea to engage brain before operating fingers.

Sorry everyone from diverting from the OP but I felt something had to be said.

Rick

[CommTHOR]

Are you sure it wasn't RD$3000 for the door? That I could see them charging.