I stayed at this resort from 14th april to 28th April with 17 of my family in which we got married at this resort. Please DO NOT belive everything everyone has written about this hotel which is bad.... I wouldnt want to be spending my holiday with these people if all they do is MOAN!!!

I will write everything as honestly as I possibly can!
Flight/Transfer: Flight was good, Thompson were fantastic, leg room in economy was fine,and enough room to move and not feel too squashed.. Airport at DR was hot hot hot, stuffy and no air con, wasnt a issue as we wernt there long, but perhaps one thing to try and make sure is that your off the plane 1st and through to the security, and have the form for visa already filled in!!! This is where the hold up was.

Resort/Hotel: Upon arriving to this hotel I had my reservations from what people have wrote.My first impression was clean, and tidy,. The floors were shining, and the staff were friendly, and kind. Check in was quick (17 in total in my party). A lovely refreshing fruit juice given in the lobby.

Rooms: I had initally contacted the hotel regarding rooms for my party, but I guess this never got to them. Upon arriving to my room,we found we only had 1 queensize bed and no where for our son,1 quick call to reception,and withing 15mins, a bed arrived for him, again my sister had no cot for her baby, and immediatley this got sorted. The rooms were again so so clean, comfortatble beds (god knows why some people have been moaning about them being rock solid)...TV with a few english channels, and with a mini-bar- with an allowance of 2 beers, 2 sodas a day. For a room which I didnt plan to spend too long in, it was perfect.

Pool Area: The pool area is massive, there is room for everyone. The shady area gets taken quite quickly, but there are plenty of sun beds for everyone. We took the area located by the pool bar, we didnt have the entertainment too near but near enough to see and hear (and for those who moaned about it,....why didnt you just MOVE!!). The pool is clean,and not too deep, the little ones loved it.

Beach: The beach is lovely, and a place to retreat to in the afternoon for some well needed air, as round the pool area its hot hot hot! The sea is warm, and brilliant to swim in. Upon arrival we were greeted by a miserable man who said no watersports here, its been disaster from the start, well I dont know what or where he had been and he must have been talking out of his wotsit because we managed to do all sorts of water sports from banana boats ($10 each), and Jet Ski ($72 for 2 persons for 30mins). Its clean but due to the seaweed being swept onto the beach, hotel workers twice a day sweep and take this away. Again I really cant understand people moaning about seaweed as if this is the hotels fault.

Construction: There is construction going on at the complex, 2 buildings of 3 storeys have been built, and pained,and now in the process of putting all the equipment inside all the apartments, its not an eye sore as people like to make out, and to me and my whole party is wasnt an issue at all. My room in block 4 was right beside the construction, and we only heard small noises if any... people whinge and wine about the smallest of things, and the people who have previously moaned saying it goes on until early hours etc... thy are not at all correct. There is building to the Mango's beach bar, it looks like theyare extending it, again most of the work has been completed.

There are guards patrolling the site the whole time, as for bearing a huge rifle is a littel far fetched, they are protected but then all I can say is I felt safe with them about. They are polite and friendly.

Wedding: I got married here on Mon 21/4 and what a day! It could have not been a better day... The hotel worked wonders on the wedding gazebo and the cake was the best cake I have ever tasted!!! II got my hair done on site at the spa the morning of the wedding, and then my rep came to my room with my bouquet and petals for my flower girl 15 mins before the ceremony. We had the wedding meal booked at the Italian rest and in my eyes this was by far the best Ala Carte rest the complex had.
Anyone want to know anymore details about the wedding just contact me, I could be here all day going on about it. Oh and one last very huge thank you to Carlos our photographer who done an amazing job on the photos...

REst/Bufett: The food in our eyes was good/fantastic. Some days were worse than others but seriously for an all inclusive resort there was always something for everyone. Someone said previously no fresh veg... hello ..there was always veg from Carrotts, Potatoes, Green Beans, Maunge Tout, ... where were they looking, Personally Breakfast was the best,.....fresh eggs, omlettes cooked, pancakes, and fresh smoothies...(banana was the best)...Lunch we mainly dined at Mangos where there was bugers,chips,chicken wings and all sorts like that. Buffett rest on evenings was good with a massive selection for all tastes.
We never tried the creperie... but Santa Fe was of a good standard.

Vacation Club is like time share and although we had them ask questions on a couple of occassions they didnt bug us at all.. we never found them harrassing ..we just said no thank you and Holla and we left alone.

Chocolate Friends- what bad could you say against the entertainment team. They work tirelessley all day everyday to enterttain us.. the shows were of a good standard although not preofessional.. but were great to watch and some ever hilarious. Shaggy/Cheeky Monkey and Coffee were all superb. Please do not diss these people they work for nothing in my eyes..and always have a smile on their faces..

Im so sure people who think this place is great will agree on everything I have written and possibly dont even think of writting a review on here.

If anyone has any questions whatsoever about here dont hesitate to contact me!!

This resort was absolutely amazing!! It's been 6 years and we haven't forgotten it yet. Every year, we go to a different place in the carribeans and we haven't found one that was better. The entertainment was great, the food, the beach, the drinks were yummy. When we went, it was the first year it was open but you'd think they were in business for years!
Please visit, you won't regret it!

We stayed at the Grand Oasis Marien from April 19th-26th, and my husband and I got married there on the 24th. We had a group of 15 adults and 4 children ages 2-5. We absolutely loved this resort and cannot understand all the bad reviews. Yes there was lots of construction going on but it was not noisy or bothersome and we stayed in building 4, which is next door to construction. The food is all excellent and I am a picky eater. The buffet wasn't huge but it was good, especially at breakfast time. The snack bar we loved!!! They always had french fries, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and nachos with cheese. The Italian resaurant was excellent, have the cheesecakeand cappucino! We also really enjoyed the Tex Mex, I recommend the chimmichangas. We didn't try the french a la carte but a few others in our group did and enjoyed it. It rained 3 times during our trip but never for more then 30 minutes, then the sun would come out and it was hot again. It is true that the power goes out occaisonally, but who cares? We weren't spending the day in our rooms so it made no difference to us. If you really need an alarm clock that bad bring a 9 volt battery! Our wedding was absolutely wonderful, and the pictures are gorgeous! The staff are amazing and go out of their way to make the guests happy. The pool is great, especially if you have kids because it starts shallow and doesnt get too deep, and the beach was nice as well. The pool opens at 9 am, and the staff are out cleaning it before that, but they are finished early and you can sit by the pool anytime you want. The rooms are clean and well kept, as are the hotel grounds. We did the Ocean World excursion, I did the seal lion encounter and my husband did the shark encounter, both excellent. There is also a dolphin show and a snorkelling reef there, it is a great excursion. There is the Orange Market about a 15 minute walk down the beach to the right where they sell lots of souveniers, much cheaper then the gift shops. Barter with these people, they expect it! We did so and paid one third of what was initially asked of us. They are a bit pushy though so we didn't stay there long.
I cannot say enough great things about this resort and I hope to get back there in the future, especially once the construction is completed because it will be beautiful. If you are looking for great service and a nice relaxing vacation, this is the place to go!

After reading all the reviews I was wondering if I had stayed at the the same resort as everyone else who had provided glowing reviews. My two girlfriends and my arrival to the resort went fairly smoothly, checked in quickly and were promptly taken to our room with an ocean view. The view also included a view of the enormous construction next door and the guard who patroled the area with a rifle...We jumped in our suits and hit the beach which was beautiful. Next we checked out the pool, which was warm and very clean. What we failed to realize was how pushy the staff was. There is no relaxation at the pool, as the staff is either hustling you to play games (BINGO and shuffleboard) via microphone that is broadcasted through the entire resort, or physically yanking you out of your chair to participate. When the microphone is not blaring, the same three songs day in and out can be enjoyed. The issues with the staff continued throughout our stay. The inability to communicate in english is fairly discomforting as well as the loss of electricity daily. If the resort is conserving electricity, at least tell the guests so we can plan around the outage, instead of being caught in the shower with shampoo in your hair when the lights go out. As a vegetarian, there were zero options. If you are also a vegetarian, fill up on breakfast because lunch and dinner offer one option each, pasta or tomatos and cucumbers. Also, don't bother with the spa, it is currently under construction, along with the entire property. (As a New Yorker, I was looking to get a break from the sound of the pounding hammer). We went looking for a polish change and ended up with our feet on the woman's lap as she slapped polish over my whole toe, instead of just the nail...All in all you get what you pay for. Mediocre service at best with edible food to sustain you so you don't starve. The beach is nice, the rooms are clean and the pool is lovely, you can really find that anywehere...