A friend and I just visited Grand Paradise Main Secton on May 1st to May 8th. All I have to say is that I am not sure what people are complaining about. I had a wonderful time. You have to go there without high expectations. A four star resort there compared to a four star resort here have huge differences. I can honestly say that we had no problems at all. Our bathroon had a small leak from the shower but we didn't even notice it until 5 days into the trip. Another thing I should mention is that we had heard that they didn't provide face clothes. They actually did when we got there, but they only provided 4 for the week and didn't replenish them. But we also didn't ask for them to be replenished either.

To start - Sunwing was great - no problems with the plane, travelling, anything like that. Reception desk, friendly nice - no problems.

Our room - we stayed in Building 3 on the second floor room 3210 in the Main section. We thought we were going to have a garden view and we had a pool view, so we were pleased with that. It was just gorgeous. We had an alarm clock, coffee maker, iron, 2 double beds, sitting area, safe ($), mirrors, - no problems at all with the rooms. We had a mini fridge in our room which had water coke and sprite in it and that was all included - no problems at all and she kept filling it back up every day for us.

We went to the entertainement every night - it was great, funny. Good times. The disco was good, great music and dancing. Every day by the pool there was aerobics, activities, spanish lessons etc.... Always something to do if you wanted to do something. Music played by the pools in the afternoons.

The staff at both parts of the resort were extremely friendly and helpful. The maids were great, the bartenders were great and so were the entertainment staff. Abraham at the swim up bar in the club section was hilarious...go and see him - he is totally worth it.

We did notice that the club section catered to the French. The main section spoke in all 3 languages (english, french and spanish) but we went to the club section for the day at the swim up bar and we noticed that their daily activities by the pool were only spoken in french.

The food - we went to 3 a la cartes - in my opinion the Domincan was my favorite compared to the Steak House and Seafood. Mind you I am not big on Seafood and steak is steak. The buffets were great. I am one of the most picky people I know and I never had a problem finding anything to eat.

Pools were always clean, the beach of course - BEAUTIFUL. We were up by 6 every day, but we didn't put towels down on chairs until 7 or 8 and went for breakfast and then came back to our chairs. Even then there were chairs left at the pool and on the beach. There was one day where we didn't have towels down and we tried to get a chair by the pool around 2 in the afternoon and it was pretty hard as it was such a hot day.

We did one excursion - Saona Island - beautiful - whiter sands, calmer waters, warmer waters....just beautiful. I probably wouldn't to the same one again as I already have, but it was nice.

All in all it was a great trip we met so many great people. Everyone was friendly. All around I really can't complain about one thing and I would recommend this place to anyone!

First of all, if you go there with the highest of expectations, DON'T! You have to remember, this is not the U.S. We went not knowing what to expect after reading some of the reviews on here. When we got to Grand Paradise, the check in was smooth, with in 15 minutes. They have someone take the bags to your room, if you want.

The room was average, but better than I expected. We had a pool view in the old section.

The beach was great, but would've been better if there weren't so many uncaring people there. They leave alot of trash on the beach, mostly bar glasses and such. They do the best they can to keep everything clean. People should learn not to be so lazy, and pick up their own trash!

We found the food in the buffets better than the specialty restaurants. At dinner time, we took the trolley to the "club" section, and found their buffet dinners were awesome!

We did take 2 excursions, one was a sunset cruise followed by a lobster dinner(best lobster I've ever eaten), and the trip to Saona island. The island trip gives you more of a perspective as to how these people live, as well as a great look at the countryside. This trip was good also.

The best advise I can give to anyone going to the Dominican Republic, is......... Go with an open mind, take plenty of U.S. dollars(one and five dollar bills mostly because sometimes they have to give you change in pesos). Don't be afraid to tip the workers, they need it, even if it's only $1.00.

And, after you arrive, make sure you make your dinner reservations for the specialty restaurants. They fill up fast, and alot of people complain about it, but you have to keep in mind there are alot of people staying at the resort, and the restaurants have limited space. (The Club buffet was better anyway) And men have to wear long pants and closed toe shoes. Women can wear pretty much what they want.

All in all, it was the best trip I have been on. The people there really try to accomodate you. I have to say, despite the fact of how they live, these are some of the happiest people I have ever met, and they show it by singing while they work! A lot of us could take a lesson from the Dominican people!

The resort overall is nice and it has really nice beach. When we got there we had no idea that service and people working there are so unwelcome and rude. No one told us anything about the resort, how it works and what to use. We have been in different resorts before and so far that was our worst experience ever. The service in the restaurant was terrible, food really was better at the buffet (and service). We aren't kings, but we did expect better treatment from the people working there. When ever we asked a question we felt like they are doing us a favor answering it. If you go there, the reservation dinners aren't worth it, so don't do it!!!!!! Food is the same every day, nothing really special. Shows are ok, so if you go hope you will have better experience than us and enjoy what ever it is, well happy vacations!!!!

I will start by saying: don't listen to the bad reviews!!!!!
I read all the reviews before we left in our vacation (May 1-8) and to be honest I was a little stressed out with all the bad reviews i read. But.....I did not see any of the bad things that people wrote here. So I guess they would have to look for 5,6 stars hotels from now on...in Europe not in Dominican and they will probably sill not be happy.
Anyways.....
1. We booked our vacation with sunquest and we were in the sunquest select section.
2. FLIGHT - absolutely wonderful (both ways)....
3. we were picked up from the airport in a really nice bus and the trip was around 30 min. to the resort
4. ROOMS - we were in the sunquest select section and the rooms are great: new, clean, no bugs or spiders, no leackings, we had hot water every day (we were in building s7 and 8), we had new sheets every day and clean towels.
6. THE RESORT there are 3 parts of the resort
a. the main resort - right on the beach, with pools, restaurants but the rooms are older
b. the select section - the rooms are great, and it has its own pools,jacuzzi, bufet, bar, tenis court, kids club, minigolf and others, The staff here is great and I liked the food here better than in the main resort (more variety) also it was not that crowded as in the main resort.
c. the club section - has the building from 1-6 which also has its own pool. I cannot say more about this section as we did not go there at all.
7. FOOD - there was plenty of food, really good, something for everybody and the fruits were great.
8. BEACH - we had to walk aprox.5 min from the select section to the beach but we really enjoyed it....it was a nice, short walk but if yu didn't feel like walking you could take the troley that would go every 10 min.
The beach is AMAZING - the best I saw so far
I hope this will help people relax when they go there.....f you have any problem at all, the staff was ready to fix it right away. We were 4 families and none of us had anything to complain.
EXCELENT TRIP and i would return here any time.