myself and husband just returned from this hotel this morning , we had a fantastic holiday here,, hotel is gorgeous our room was in building 1 which was lovely as this was one of the rooms that have been renovated. The staff are so friendly and cant do enough for you,, we are defiitely going back next year,we went on the safari truck excursion which was fab,, would highly recomend this hotel . Liz & Andrew Mc Quliter,, Cumbernauld , Scotland

I had been doing research on Casa Del Mar (CDM) for about 2 months prior to my vacation; I found some very mixed reviews, for some very good reasons:

The ride from the Santo Domingo Airport is about an hour and a half to an hour forty-five depending on the time of day you arrive. Check-in was a little crazy (but the staff did an excellent job) as there were both folks checking-in and complaining about various issues. I booked thru Cheap Caribbean and found out that I was going to be put into Bld. 5. I figured that based on past reviews I read on the condition of that building I would just up-grade to a club room.

The club room in Bld. 3 was nicely appointed, clean and had been recently refurbished. If you don’t want any "room-hiccups," spend the additional money and upgrade your room. I did ask for a complementary up-grade a few days before arrival but did not receive one, reason unknown.

Once we un-packed we headed down to the beach which is out-of-this-world beautiful. What the beach lacks in depth, it more than makes up for in length. The water is crystal blue and I found it to be warmer than the pool. The infinity pool, which is located right out-side of building 3 is very nice as well. The water is warm, plenty of room for everyone to swim and the swim-up bar is right there. The grounds are neatly kept and there is always staff working hard to maintain and improve the scenery.

This is the forth all-inclusive that my wife and I have visited and we always make a habit of tipping everyone: the pool guy, waiters, custodians, bartenders and maids. We tip out of the goodness of our hearts but I will tell you this - money talks. We tipped our maid $2 a day and I never had to ask for the mini bar or bottle of rum to be restocked. Clean towels were always in our room, sometimes 3 times a day. I tipped the bartenders and I always received my drinks faster than others - even if the bar was jammed all I had to do was make eye contact and I had my drink. Despite the additional great service due to tipping I encourage you to tip to help these folks out. They do work hard and are very grateful and shocked when they receive the money.

The entertainment staff is great. They do a fine job of trying to keep everyone happy and occupied. Some of the shows at night might not suit everyone but they are there if you want to attend. One of my favorite things about Casa Del Mar is how beautiful it is at night. There is always Latin/salsa music playing and the lighting around the grounds makes for some spectacular visuals. My wife and I would sit out by the Presidents Pool at night, sip drinks and listen to the various languages that the guests spoke. Casa Del Mar is truly an international play-ground.

I will preface this next paragraph with this: I tend to be a bit of a "foodie," meaning I love to taste and try just about anything.

The food at Casa Del Mar is bland and suspect. Again, I have been to other all-inclusive resorts and this was by far the worst in that it's not that the food is spoiled or bad but it just doesn’t taste good. Keep in mind that CDM is in the DR, it is not the USA or Europe - the food is going to be different. As long as you keep that in mind you should be fine. When in doubt, dine at the World Cafe as the variety will satisfy anyone. So make your own call - but I was extremely disappointed.

We did not take any tours as we were only there for 6 days and love to be in the sun. However, there is no lack of varity in the tour deptment. If you want it - I'm sure its there.

I am excited to see what happens in December of '08 as CDM will fully convert over to Dreams La Romana. Dreams is Sunscapes upscale brother. Overall, I would return to CDM. I am a firm believer in that you get what you pay for. My wife and I got this trip for a steal and it was worth every penny. Enjoy!

First of all.... I read someones review complaining about seeing crabs and lizards!! Yeah, its the Caribbean so expect to see some lizards and crabs around!! That should not have shocked anyone!! I personally thought it was neat to see them on the sidewalks. That comment made me laugh so I wanted to clarify about the lizards or crabs. If anyone is super affraid of them, dont worry because they will run out of your way so fast that your lucky to even get a picture of one let alone get close to it.

Also, a few mentioned getting sick!! Our apple representive had told us not to drink the tap water or brush/rinse your teeth with it!! Use the bottle water they give you daily to do this!!! All the water the resort gives you lunch/dinner and throughout the day is fine! Its all bottled water. So dont brush/rinse or drink it from the tap and you'll be fine!!! My husband and I never had any problems all week!!

We stayed in Building 3. It was great!! No problems with noise at night, flooding or rust in tubs as mentioned in others reviews! As of July 2008 they are Currently renovating buildings 2,4,6 so try to stay in 1 or 3 for best room situation!!

Food was good, great variety. You get what you pay for, so some of the other reviews that were complaing, well its not a 6star or 6apple hotel. If you want classy and modern and are a picky eater then spend the money and pick a resort in the $2500/person price range. Its just commen sense that you get what you pay for!! This resort is perfect for the price, its a great vacation away, or honeymoon! Drinks are great!!! They always want to see a drink in your hand which was fine with us!!
Bars, Pools, Beach, spas all very awesome.

Service was outstanding from the hotel staff!! Very impressed! They really do go above and beyond to be friendly and make you feel at home!! The restaurant staff really goes overboard!! I know we werent really suppose to tip cause its including in the price, but we couldnt help not to with some of the waitors!! one dollar to them goes a long way!!

The spa was great!! We got couples massages and were worth the money!!
We also took a excursion to saona island!!! Wonderful and well worth the money!!! Beautiful island, and the boat ride there was alot of fun with drinks, and dancing!

We met alot of other couples! One of them is who told me about this website so I wanted to see what others had to say about the resort and saw the bad comments about bring sick, the hotels, and lizards/crabs and wanted to clarify those things!

Hope this helps!

This is my second time to the dominican republic, but my first stay at Sunscape Casa Del Mar. I assumed as from staying at sunscape the beach in punta cana last year (now named Dreams Punta Cana) that the hotel would be as fantastic. But it wasn't. I usually read reviews and think people are being too fussy, but as 4*plus rated hotel, i was very disappointed. We statyed from june 16th- june 30th 2008

ROOMS: the block we were in, was one of the better blocks, but not the newly renovated blocks. the newly renovated blocks are blocks 1 and 3. we were in block 2. My first room was full of ants, and the bath was soooo disgusting, and soooo badly chipped i wouldnt of stood in it let alone bath in it. My sisters and parents had the same problem apart from the ants, we asked to be moved (we qued up behind many of people complaining about the state of their rooms and asking to be moved) as like anyone had paid alot of money for this trip and felt very ripped off with the state of the rooms. we were told it would be an extra $40 dollors per person per night. for the amount of people we were with, that worked out at over another £1000!!! we decided not to pay this much and stay put. I was however moved out my room with the ants, and put into an ant-free one. Oh and it is $42 for a safe!! and that is not a deposit, you don't get it back.

SERVICE: Reception just not welcoming, you felt awkward to ask anything. Generally not helpful. Waiters, very polite and helpful, however not one night did our food order come out correct. The bar staff, if you gave a tip you were served very quickly, but i don't think it shoudl depend on if you give them your money or not. Entertainments team, well..... after the amazing team last year at sunscape the beach i couldnt believe the lack of effort the team made. I didnt see them until 3pm everyday, when apparently events started from 9am. the only person's name i ever managed to know was Pablo picasso, who was very good, the others.... not so good.

FOOD: the hotel is advertised with many resturants, however these restuarants are never open, apart from the buffet, and there is only so much chicken and rice a person can eat. And when the restuarants were open, they would always be out of certain desserts or meals. which was rather poor, as they were only open once maybe twice a week.

SWIMMING POOLS AND BEACH: awesome! the plus side to this hotel is it's location, to start with its on the south of the island, so its the carribbean side, the water crystal blue and calm the sand perfectly white! The swimming pools, very very clean, large and the pool area was lovely too. The jaccuzzi was great too! although not all that warm, but still great.

TRIPS: dont book through travel agent, because more expensive, book through the hotel, men in grey t-shirts come round, very nice people. we went to Saona Island (the island where the bounty bar advert was made) words cant describe how beautiful it is. if u go to the dominican i definately recommend this trip. My boyfriend, my dad and some friends went deep sea fishing and caught barracudas! so were very happy with themselves. they paid to charter their own boat.

NIGHTLIFE: there isnt any. the disco, is basically one of the resturants that they empty put on a CD and sum disco lights. only went once, and stayed for about 10 minutes.

WEATHER: Amazing, very hot, very sunny, we all come back with lovely tans. It did rain only one day, the rest of the time it rained when were in bed at night.

I dont really know what else to say, except i wont be returning to this hotel, and not because i am a snob, because i am far from that, but because this hotel is over rated and not worth the money you pay to go there. However when this hotel is completely renovated and the service and food has improved, i dont see why this hotel won't be as good as sunscape the beach (now Dreams Punta Cana) If u have any other questions please feel free to email me.