I stayed there May 2010, having never been all inclusive before or the DR for that matter but here is aan honest account of my stay for what it is worth

Arrived on the 1st May and wondered what on earth was happening, it was Labour day and a long weekend holiday for the Dominicans. Not complaining about the Dominicans, far from it because when they left on the Tuesday the place was eerily silent and reality set in, I found them a decent bunch who were out to party and all were very pleasant and cheery towards us.
The resort could not be faulted, very clean and our room 1822 was right on the beautiful beach with a view to die for, it was an apartment style room with seperate bedroom with a comfy queen sized bed and big flat screen tv all newly renovated to a good standard.
All the staff on the resort from the entertainment staff to the gardeners and handymen were all very accomodating and always gave a friendly hola as you walked around the place.
We were about 5 minutes walk to the Plaza which in all honesty isn`t a shoppers paradise but a welcome change of scenery every now and then, we also used the ATM machines and booked a few trips in the plaza also.
Right now down to the nitty gritty, firstly the food, the a la cartes were the better option with the exception of the beach bbq whaich was just awful. The best of the a la cartes was the Italian by far and probably the best meal I had eaten all 2 weeks. As far as the buffet goes I found the food especially in the evening to be usually cold and not very appetizing at all, inedible in some cases. Lunch time was usually a lot better for some reason so I made this my main meal of the day. They did try with different themes each night to vary the food but it made very little difference. The chef station was always my first port of call where the food is always cooked fresh and usually ok. Breakfast was ok in particular the omelette man who was worth a tip now and then. One thing that wasn`t so pleasant were the first two buffet tables containing the fruit and salad, birds were constantly flying in and pecking at the food, they have tables outside with food on for the birds but it doesn`t deter them. Special mention to Susana the head waitress, lovely pleasant friendly girl and vey helpful at all times.
Next up the bars and entertainment, the animacion staff are the heart and soul of this place and never stopped all day, the entertainment was not really my cup of tea but I appreciate what they tried to do. There is a bar on the beach with snacks available up to around 5.30 pm each day. The main Gazebo pool bar was a complete joke from start to finish, Jose and Eddy were great but they can only work with the tools they are given. The coctail list looked good untill you tried them, I think they were all the same but with a different colouring added each time. They had no Brandy for a good few days of our stay, ran out of tia maria every day so no black russians, basically if you like rum or vodka your ok. They even ran out of beer twice and we ended up in bed at 10.30 pm one night which isn`t what we planned on at all. Using the beach bar at night would have been nice with a bit of nice music to enjoy the relaxation of the warm ocean breeze. It seemed as they tried to coral eveyrbody up to the pool bar and force people to watch the entertainment which some people don`t particularly want to do.
All in all we made the most of our 20th Anniversary and didn`t let anything spoil it, had we gone up to the plaza everyday to get the drinks and some decent food that we craved we would have been a lot happier, however as we went all inclusive we planned on sitting on the beach sipping cocktails till 2 in the morning soaking up the Domincan atmosphere, this just didn`t happen and we hadn`t budgeted for drink and nightlife off resort every night.
I know you get what you pay for but the reviews were great and I don`t know if I would have been happier had I spent extra on a bigger hotel, maybe one with a decent bar open till the earlier hours would have been a bonus, I have never been so bored on holiday in all my years

Thanks Feelthevibe,
I'm starting to get a better and more objective view of the place. In all honesty, it sounds a lot like some of the all inclusive holiday facilities I've been on in the past. I think I might invest in some duty free beverage for the late evenings by the beach.

No problem, I must say that it was pretty quiet when we went in May, maybe if it was busier it would have been a little better, also try and see if you could request room 1822 as it was right on the beach overlooking the sea.