Second time to the Dominican, first stay really nice (Coral Marien by Hilton) so needless to say was spoilt by the excellence of that hotel last year. On arrival to the Flamenco the room was dirty, bathroom filthy, staff very unhelpful and the Thomas Cook rep completely rubbish. Food was nice, plenty of variety for everyone although it did get a bit repetative. A-la Carte restaurants below average (apart from the Brazilian) don't bother with the oriental, the mexican was average and the italian was ok.

The grounds of the hotel and the pool etc kept really nice although I've never seen as many cockroaches in my life as what we did in our 2 week stay here.

Well after just getting back and being more then gutted its hard to say anything but excellent things abotu the occidental flamenco. Myself, partner friend and her family have just returned from a 2 week stay in the hotel. We were more then pleased, the rooms were clean and adequate, the a/c can get noisy even when off but your only in there to sleep. The pool was amazing and always kept clean, there was plenty of sunbeds every day so no shortage on risking a lay in and not having any.

The beach is so close only a few minutes away and had so much to offer. The trips offered down there are a lot cheaper then those offered to your by your rep, i think the plaza is the best and chepest reliable place to book trips. If you do go a must is the dolphins, sharks, sea lions and sting rays at ocean world we all really enjoyed that so much, was a lovely day out and food included as you are all inclusive members.
Also paraidse island VIP trip, i think that was the highlight of most of us on our holiday, it really was paradise and getting there was all part of the package, the yacht, oysters champagne and diving off into the coral was truly amazing. Aslo Frankie the mad speed boat driver was very good and took my friend snorkelling on paradise island.
The entertainment staff also were the highlight of our holiday, shaggy, fat albert, banana, mosquito, sharky, willys and the rest of them made our stay even better, there shows were fun i entered a couple, their dancing was excellent and also watching them run kids club tasks was excellent.
i think anyone who can put this place down obviously expects so much out of life, it was so laid back food could get repetative but was still so much choice for the money spent.

The only problem with the restaurants was although you get free house wine, when you look at the menu to order and pay for a nice bottle which we did, in small letters at the bottom of the menu it says plus 26% tax, also its priced with a dollar sign and they want the money in pesos. We ended up paying 74$ for 2 bottles of standard pinot grigio, spoilt the night. When we told Rommy our rep, he apparently hadn't heard this complaint before and did nothing about it. He over charges for uner water camera and trips, he did not do anything for anyone. He lets the hotel and holiday pace down him!
also dont book the VIP at the airport through him 20$ rip off apparently you get food, drinks and an air con room, oh yes a room with some crisps, no access to tannoy to hear flight being called and hardly enough time for one drink.
to say the least we did get ripped off a few times which ruined the whole experience, but we no now and would loveto go back and stay there with all our friends in the Occidental Flamenco, it truly is amazing.

I go to the islands once or twice a year so I have stayed at a number of all inclusives. The Occidental Grand Flamenco in Puerta Plata would have to rank as one of the worst I have stayed in. For the first 4 days the food was awful. I mean who ever heard of burnt pasta? As for burgers , MacDonalds taste like filet mignon in comparison to what was served at lunch, and since when were hotdogs a breakfast food?. I will say that for the last 3 days of the vacation they seemed to get the message and the food improved greatly.
I had a "deluxe" room but again I think their deluxe would be equal to a standard room with no view at any other hotel. Definitely would not pay extra for the deluxe. 2 of the hotels pools were put out of commission during the trip as in midweek they decided to renovate them. The beach in nice and the water fine for swimming, although you will be bothered all day long by "authorized vendors" trying to sell you local handicrafts (junk).
The guests were an interesting mix of Russian mafia (complete with body guards, no kidding), Brits, Germans, and a few Canadians and Americans. I definitely will not be returning to holiday here but you can make up your mind for yourself.

Just wanted to give people a quick review of this place during our vacation.The grounds were kept okay not alot of flowering shrubs.The smell of sewer crossing over some stagnet water on the only walkway leading to the beach was horridness. All I could think of,while holding my breath, was all the things growing in the water below me. The beach was full of debris.Now, I realize that this is a part of natue, but the other resorts,down to the left of beach and around some coves, were able to maintain this problem.We walked 30 minutes each way daily to enjoy the beach and decent water. The staff spoke very little English which made communication almost impossible.The speciality restraunts reservation plan some other type of system.It did not open until 3:00 and you had to be in line by 2:00 to make your reservations.Don't believe them if thet tell you they are booked up at some of the restraunts.Usually there are many tables waiting to be filled.Our room was clean and free from bugs.We did have some issues with our refrigerator.I had made several phone call and the evening of our second night,someone was there to fix the problem.Our wall switch for the T.V. was not on.Surprisingly,the T.V. and the refrigerator were the same line! How silly of us !!!!!!!!!!!!
. HOW SAD!!It had rained one day and heard alot of complaints that there were leaks everywhere in the rooms. We did not experience that. We were in building 11 and was pretty much satisfied with it.
I do believe that the Vacation Express rep. could have been more useful in selection of excursions. We booked the "Monster Truck" because it was supposed to be adventurous and did alot of riding in the water and rough terrain We were very dissappointed.The truck did not full advantage of it's capilities and only crossed 3 streams and drove in the water about 50 feet. The rest of the time was spent over seeing the depression of the country. Too many stops were made to show you how bad they have it. I was thankful that we brought candy, pencils,crayons and pens for the children. I did notice that a father was shoving his child, after they sat down to eat some candy,to ask for money from the people. Very depressing of an excursion. Before you book,ask everyone you see first.They will be your decision maker.If you plan to shop,or even go to Sousa don't book a trip.Check on catching a bus. You will save yourself alot of money.
I hope this has helped you and you have an enjoyable vacation.