hi Tony & welcome ! We stayed at the Sreams La Romana last summer. You'll find both my & my sister's review here
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/holiday_truths/hotel_reviews/9554/Dreams%20La%20Romana%20Resort%20&%20Spa/
If there's something specific you'd like to know, ask away.

Hi Tony, I'm Helen's sister. We stayed here last August and had a great holiday. The hotel was really good and in a lovely location right on the beach. As Helen says take a look at our reviews and then if there's anything extra yu'd like to know, just ask.
I'm sure you'll have a lovely time.

I'm sorry I can't help with the jewelery question but there is a nice jewelery shop in the complex.

The only trip we did was a jeep safari, including horse riding which we enjoyed despite it being the only day we had rain. We left the hotel in blazing sunshine in the morning but by lunch we were in the middle of a huge thunderstorm and torrential rain. It was exciting though

Recently spent 2 weeks at Dreams La Romana - I've posted a review - generally- nice hotel, excellent service, good food, short of shade and sun loungers in the high season, and can be a bit noisy at nights. I would deffo consider going back - but at a quieter time.

Live from Dreams La Romana...Arrival...
got into Dominican Punta Cana airport aprox 9. 30 pm on wednesday night local time... aprox 1 hour to go through immigration and customs, and then out to find our coach. the usual hassle from local lads offering to carry cases, but were not really a problem. journey to Dreams at that time of night was not a sightseeing trip.. everything pitch black... and the locals in trucks and two up on small motorbikes were driving without lights, so that our driver has to keep jamming on the brakes and swerving. pulled into Dreams somewhere around 11-00 pm..not too sure as half asleep by then. As we were booked into the upgraded Club section, was somewhat surprised that none of us on our coach received the much talked about welcome drink and transfer to the club reception... we did in my opinion receive what i can only call the...bums rush.. this was all of us. at the main reception desk we showed passports, and were promptly given a form to sign. then given our pack containing various leaflets and room access cards. oh yes..and one booklet with a map inside. the desk clerk was very prompt..( you are here) marked a cross on the rough area of reception. ( your block is here) another cross where the block was. then just goodbye, you bags will be up shortly... we were then left to find our own was to the block and our room. room on second floor, nicely decorated, but balcony which held a small table and two chairs, was just big enough for two people to sit out, any more people would have been difficult. then to bed.. more to follow tomorrow.....end of Arrival...

Live from Dreams La Romana... following on from ..Arrival... I had some doubts about putting my observations on here, as i am sure there are some die hard Dreams fans.. but please keep in mind, this is my observation.... in this session i will deal with what you get Club and Preferred Club. Club are the ground floor rooms overlooking garden, so difficult to see the ocean. Preferred Club are on second and third floors, and if you go out onto balcony and look towards the sea you will see it..some rooms better than others, but it is in the distance, you are not overlooking the sea. perks for the Club section.. a separate small lounge, with a couple of seating areas and a TV. next to this a computer room, three computers with free internet access, in next small room, are the receptionist girls who are your contacts, and in the next small room are several tables and chairs, along with small snacks at various times of day, coffee and some booze, usually dispensed by a young guy. very pleasant. however, 30 yards along the pathway is the resort coffee shop, and you can get the same things there ( except the booze).. and of course you need to pay to use the computers in there, but its a pleasant room, nice and large, plenty of seating areas, and a large range of coffee and hot chocolate options, and snacks. so it is debatable if the extra costs justify this perk. upgraded mini bar... well..from my current experience this is no different from the rest of the resort, in fact, it took me 3 days of requests just to get it refilled. daily newspaper to your room, well yes, i did manage to get one after a bit of difficulty, a miami herald, thats the only one you can have, not much good if you are looking from news from home. okay, you do have access to a near private pool, the preferred club pool, and nice different coloured towels, also a near private small bar next to the pool. this is a very quiet area, and would suit those who do not like to be in the action area. The rooms... nicely decorated, bed covers etc look a little nicer ( had a look at a standard room so i could compare )
but really , you only sleep here. my conclusion after experiencing the so called extras of the Club section, is that everything offerred is available elsewhere in the resort, and considering the cost to upgrade, it is just not worth it, believe me, i personally enjoy being with the main resort crowd, it is much more fun and not so isolated. you may have seen reports that free wifi for club section is available in the rooms. well this is just not so. i had to demonstrate with the consierge that the wifi did not work, and they grudgingly admitted that it was a problem and not working...so if you are a business person thinking you can conduct business from your room by wifi , you will be dissapointed. end of current session, more tomorrow. if you need answers to questions whilst i am here, let me know and will do my best to answer. goodnight all

HI gingerdenis, as we holidayed here last summer, I'm interested in reading more of your report. So far, your disappointment seems to be to do with having booked preferred club. When I did my research before booking, from what I'd read I decided it wasn't worth the extra money they were asking so we didn't bother. looks like we were right to go with the standard option. Please continue with your observations when you get a chance.

shirley h, I agree - when we went this March the cost of the upgrade from Thomson was virtually another holiday @ £1380 for 2 - even at the Dreams reception they wanted $100 per night !!(£1000 approx)
And we ended up in a room on the third floor of block 5 which, I'm led to believe, is a Preferred Club room anyway!!

I stayed last July. We were also put in the Preferred section but without the use of the preferred bar etc. Glad we didn't have to pay. Would have found it a complete waste. Why pay £1300 for 2 weeks when the drinks etc are the same in all the other bars etc?

Still, it is a lovely resort and we had a great time.

we are off here next week.
we have arranged to upgrade costing $100 per night.
we are travelling with 2 boys 15 and 12 years and they offered us a 1 bed preferred club suite.
Thought it would be worth it for the extra room.
Thanks for the reports

Live from Dreams La Romana. not been on for a few days... firstly, the internet was down in the preferred club section...only the paid for coffee shop was working...second..workmen were in repairing a section of ceiling above the computers, so we were asked not to use them... however , back on now... after 10 days here, i now feel able to give a positive update to my statement of the preferred club section and the cost involved. no , it is not worth it. you get better service from the coffee shop. the only real advantage is the private preferred pool. this is quite small comparred to the other main pools, and because of size is always rather crowded even with only a few people in it. loungers around pool also limited in number. nowhere near enough for the guests in the preferred section. if you really must have the private pool, go for the lowest upgrade, the garden view preferred club, these are on ground floor in blocks 5 and 7 and have a small pation, leading out onto lawns an d then to the pool and bar. actually more convenient. however, after 10 days i find myself using the alternate facilities in the resort with all the other holiday makers, its much more fun and interactive with others. if i returned here ( which i doubt) i would not upgrade at all. more from Dreams later.

Live from Dreams La Romana..... my personal view of the restaurants.... world cafe..buffet...my first day at breakfast was a disaster, problable because i was very tired after 2 days travelling to get here. i found it more like a school canteen, and food lacking in quality, i tried to sort through a tray labelled ...bacon... tried to find some with meat on... chef was getting annoyed with me for keep picking up stuff and then putting down again, gave up in the end, could not find any bacon apart from rind and fat. then tried the egg station. asked for two fried eggs, easy over, demonstrated with hand movements, however, i think the chef was a trainee, my eggs were broken, white and yolk intermixed, and just a flat cooked ..something.... not quite a success. breakfast is really for the massess, but do not expect anything lavish. lunch and the Beach Grill...quite nice, a menu to choose from, and quite well presented, however, after a few days this became boring, so skipped lunch. evenings...world cafe, tables with tableclothes, nicely laid out, and a better menu, but still just a buffett. ignore the specialitiy nights, where they feature mexican or other, they are all the same nights, with different decorations. the ala cart restaurants...quite nice, and more respectable ... menu again repetitive, but quite nice. more later Gingerdennis

Many thanks gingerdennis for your updates

Was looking forward to your updates Gingerdennis, not so sure now!

We are off here in November for a special birthday (not upgrading), have you anything positive to say? Heres hoping you have and that you are not having an awful time. Still, thanks for taking the time to write.

Steph

Steph,whatever Ginnerdenis says, you will still have a good time - as far as we were concerned the positives more than outweighed the negatives; just emphasising that an upgrade isn't worth the money!
A la carte Restaurants,bars,beach,pools,service all good to excellent. Buffet restaurant OK for quick meals like b'fast, just don't expect best back bacon!There is nothing to stop you eating a la carte every night if you prefer a leisurely waiter service.
It can be a little noisy at night (take earplugs if you are an "early to bed" type) as there is frequently entertainment round the pool, and the walls and doors to the rooms are very thin.

steph, don't worry a bit this is a great hotel. There were very few negatives, hardly worth mentioning unless of course you're giving a totally honest review on HT. My review's on here and the positives totally outweighed the negatives. We didn't find the need to complain about anything to our rep. I suppose it depends what you want out of a holiday. For me, it's great location, plenty of sunshine, a big pool, beautiful beach, friendly staff, variety of good food and a few bars - and that's me made. Dreams la Romana certainly ticked all those boxes. relax and look forward to you holiday x

Thanks Brewerdave and Shirley,

I know its a good resort really! I do read between the lines in reviews, it was just that Gingerdennis did not seem to have much good to say about the resort at all! Probably responded like that looking for some positives as not in a great frame of mind when I read it (just had my purse nicked in Manchester!!!!) Things like that just make you want to go on holiday all the more to cheer yourself up. Anyway thanks guys for your kind words

Steph

Live from Dreams La Romana...for Steph24... please dont be put off with my review, these are personal to me as an individual. our holiday started very badly with delays..took us 2 days to get here. then finding the rater expensive upgrade was not all it was cracked up to be, well this probably influanced me in the first few days... resort is ok.. but mix in with the general crowd around main pools or on the beach..and you will be just fine. the ala carte restaurants are the nicest areas to eat..no booking..just turn up.. if its full, they give you a paper and there is a bar right next to restaurants to get a drink and a nice seating area.. you will certainly have a good time. my reviews are a little clouded because i traditionally go to the Riu group and the Iberostar group. these provide a different type of holiday and i am therefore somewhat biased. have not found noisy rooms to be a problem to be honest, but then the resort is probably only half full and thus the rooms not full or noisy. today Saturday..started cloudy..but clearing and now quite hot..bring plenty of sun lotion, it is expensive in shop, and you will definitely need it. best wishes Gingerdennis

Gingerdennis

I had Dreams picked from the start of my holiday search (mainly for the beach and setting) but after seeking advice was going to book an Iberostar. On pricing them up, couldn't afford the Iberostar, got a good deal (I think!) for Dreams so booked that instead (Got to be somewhere hot for my 40th). Anyway we are not early to bed people (even with a 6yr old!) so the rooms being noisy should not bother us. As long as the sun shines, the beach is as lovely as it looks in pictures, resort is clean and none of us gets ill, the food good, anything better than that is bonus (we have been to Cuba and loved that, the year after we went to Mexico, where the food was out of this world!) I am sure we will have a good time.

Thanks again for taking the time to write, I know I wouldn't while on holiday!!

Live from Dreams La Romana...okay..today Sunday is a beutiful day.. lovely sunshine, a few wispy clouds, and a gentle breeze. today is my view of the good things here. for families with children up to age aprox 13/14 then this resort is for you. the facilities here for kids are more extensive than in any other resort i have been to. kids clubs, with special minders, arcade machines, snooker and pool tables, table tennis, mechanical bucking bull machine, hot dogs, burgers, and pizza.. just about everything the kids would be looking for. and there are additional daily activities for them as well. resort is very clean and well maintained considering the size and amount of people using it, ala carte restaurants for evening meals that let you dine in a respectable setting. staff.. very good, and they seem to like kids. pools (2 main) apart from the preferred pool, are clean and large. bars conveniently placed around resort so that you do not have to walk far for a drink. there are also staff wandering around all day offerring to get you a drink, an odd dollar tip gets them back to you time and time again without moving from your lounger. world cafe ( buffett) is okay for breakfast, but only fair for evening dinners, so best to go for the ala cartes. we have found by going to dinner around 7-0pm..we get into ala cartes without problem..otherwise you may have to wait at the bar for a short while waiting for a spare table . for those wondering why i should waste my time , in a beutiful setting like this to come daily to a computer room, is because i do have to monitor my business back in the uk. okay i am one of those sad individuals that cannot leave my business behind whilst away. enough for today, going down to beach to lounge in the sun and consume a few iced drinks, served by the waiters. best wishes Gingerdennis