I just wanted to add my two cents here. I booked this hotel last minute on line, after reading reviews of the various hotels/locations/etc as found on Trip Advisor. Pretty much everything that is written on this website is true. I found the reviews quite useful so a great resource when booking without a travel agent.
Gorgeous property. Well manicured with friendly, polite staff.
Nice, basic, clean rooms. We saw two cockroaches, but as we were on ground floor, I chalk it up to the climate and not cleanliness. You're going to find a bug or two in even the top resorts.
Amazing food. I have been to all-inclusvies in Cuba, DR and Mexico and I have never had food so tasty. The pizza/pasta bar open from 12:30 til late was incredible. The regular buffet was quite nice with great salads and although I am a vegetarian, my boyfriend ate all the meat and said it was for the most part quite good (looked a bit weird to me). Most nights there was a theme (Mexican, Dominican, Italian) and hot grills for meat, fish and omlettes in the morning.
As for it being an all-Italian resort. It is. No question who this resort is catered to. From the Italian-speaking staff (no English a lot of the time), to the Baci ball courts, etc it was geared 100% to the 90% of guests flown in from Italy. As we were there as a couple in our late 20s looking for sun, relaxing and not to party, we could care less (except for the instances of really rude Italian people), but if you were a young single, or a group of young singles who do not speak Italian it would be hard. As well, for young kids, the Miniclub was all in Italian as were most of the children so that might be hard for them.
The animation team was very nice, left those of us with the "non Italian" wristbands alone which is great if you do not want to be constantly bothered to dance, participate in sports, etc.
The beach was gorgeous, lovely swimming and a private, guarded beach. Day trip with Michael (from Quebec) was a wonderful experince to Sanoma Island, snorkling, private lunch, starfish, rays, rum - well worth the $.
To conclude, I would definitely go back, but would probably take along my Spanish and Italian dictionary.

We just came back from the Catalonia Gran Dominicus and both our expectations where exceeded. For the price we paid we where extremely satisfied with this resort. I will go into some further details of the resorts:

Grounds: Very well maintained and properly groomed. Always have someone raking leaves and beach picking up garbage and maintaining the grounds.

Accommodation: Definitely not a 5 star however the rooms are properly maintained and well kept. Your standard amenities are in the room for your convenience however please note that they do not have irons at the resort but they do offer dry cleaning at an additional cost. Mini-bar contains fresh bottles of water each day.

Food: Quality of food is excellent however variety is lacking. The buffet has your standard foods which are similar day in day out however the quality is good and you can not go wrong. The pizza and pasta restaurant is extremely good and the pizza (wood oven) is comparable to those made in Europe. The a la carte restaurants are good especially the steak house.

Beach: Stunning…I have been to many resort in Cancun, Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo, Punta Cana and I can honestly say this was the best beachfront ever. The view is amazing the sunsets are spectacular. The beach is properly maintained and well groomed. Get out early to reserve your spot under the shade though.

Tours: We took the Crazy Wheels tour and it was great. You get to see a side of the Dominican that is not all about beaches. They take you into the sugar cane fields and through small villages where you can see how people actually live. There are many tour offers through the travel representative which will suit the needs and expectations of all.

Animation Group: If you ever said you work long hours think again. I have never seen a group of people work more hours then this bunch. They are up at 9:00 am on the beach till 2:00 am in the disco. Throughout the day there are various activities that they co-ordinate (beach volleyball, water aerobics, water polo, salsa lessons on the beach, darts, bocce tournaments, soccer….) There are nightly shows however they are a little lack lustre to say the least and are geared to non English speaking group. I myself speak both Italian and French and did not find it difficult to communicate however if your sole language is English it will be difficult. Resort is mainly catered to an Italian, Spanish and French speaking crowd. But if you are outgoing and not shy you will always have something to do.

Amenities: This was the first ever resort that was entirely wheel chair accessible. They have reserved spots on the beach and I found that to be amazing. Mini Club caters to children of all ages however again if you do not speak another language other then English it maybe difficult but the staff is extremely responsible and entertaining. They have kayaks, sail boats ($$$) ping pong tables, tennis courts, archery range, and a gym for use.

Overall: From my understanding this resort is owned by a European and it is definitely geared to a European crowd. If you are outgoing and able to communicate well with others you will love this small and family oriented resort. If you like to be with and English speaking crowd and expect to be catered on then do not go here.

Bonjour à tous,

J’arrive de mon séjour formule tout inclus au Catalonia Gran Dominicus et je dois vous avouer que j’ai été séduit par ce complexe ainsi que le personnel qui y travaillait. Le service que nous avons reçu tout au long de notre séjour a été très courtois. Les employés de l’hôtel nous offrent un service personnalisé dans notre propre langue grâce à la couleur de nos bracelets. (violet – espagnol ; vert – italien; beige – français; gris – allemand, etc.) Les serveurs et barmaids sont très chaleureux et avenants. On ne manque jamais de rien avec eux, bien au contraire, on en a toujours à profusion.

Pour ce qui est de l’hôtel en général, je vous dirais que j’ai été charmé par la maturité et la beauté de la végétation. Il y a des palmiers, des arbres exotiques et des fleurs partout, de la réception jusqu’au balcon de votre chambre. Cette végétation crée une ambiance privée entre chacun des bâtiments comprenant les chambres à coucher. De plus, de petits chemins de pavés se font un trajet au travers de la végétation et réunissent tous les bâtiments les uns aux autres. C’est également la première plage que je vois avec des palmiers sur le sable blanc à ce point près de l’eau. On peut s’asseoir près de la mer des Caraïbes tout en ayant un peu d’ombre offert par ces arbres exotiques ou des palapas.

La chambre était numéro 1 en général. Très spacieuse avec un beau balcon pour profiter de la vue et écouter le chant des oiseaux tous les matins. Votre chambre comprend une télévision, un téléphone, un petit coffre-fort, un frigidaire avec bouteilles d’eau ainsi qu’un air climatisé pour ceux et celles qui s’ennuient un peu de la température du Canada. Par contre, si vous aimez vous levez tôt pour réserver vos places sur la plage, je vous conseil d’apporter votre réveille-matin car il n’y en a aucun dans la chambre ni d’horloge. Il n’y a pas non plus de cafetière dans la chambre à coucher, mais je vous conseille d’aller au « Merenguero », bar principal du site, ils y font de très bons cafés. Pour ce qui est des lits, ils sont d’une bonne grandeur, confortables et propres.

Les restaurants au Catalonia Gran Dominicus sont supers. La nourriture est très bonne et très diversifiée. Vous y retrouverez du steak house, mexicain, républicain, japonais et plusieurs autres. Vous en avez pour tous les goûts. Toute la nourriture est préparée selon des normes sanitaires très strictes et tout est préparé avec de l’eau potable. Il y a 5 restaurants sur le site dont 2 sans réservation. Le restaurant principal se nomme « El Taino » et il s’agit d’un type buffet ouvert le matin, midi et soir. Le second restaurant ouvert le midi et soir se nomme « El Patio ». Ce dernier est de type italien et on y sert principalement des pâtes et de la pizza à en faire jalouser la concurrence. Pour ce qui est du steak house et du mexicain, ils sont très bons aussi, mais malheureusement sont offerts qu’une fois semaine sous réservation. Le dernier restaurant est de type langoustine et il est payant, environ 35$-40$ par personne, mais il ne nous a pas été recommandé alors je ne pourrais pas vous dire ce qu’il en est.

Pour ceux qui aiment visiter ou tout simplement se dégourdir les jambes, il y a un grand choix d’activités possibles à faire que ce soit des safaris, des excursions en voiture dans les villages ou des excursions en « speed boat » jusqu’à Saona, une île paradisiaque là où le sable est d’un blanc pur et l’eau d’un turquoise inimaginable. Si vous ne voulez pas quitter le site du Gran Dominicus, il y a un groupe d’animateurs sur place avec lesquelles il est impossible de s’ennuyer. Musique, danses, chants, spectacles et amusements sont au rendez-vous, c’est garanti. Ce qui est bien aussi c’est que si vous voulez seulement rester tranquille et profiter du soleil, les animateurs n’insistent pas et respectent vos désirs.

Pour terminer, cet hôtel a été un vrai havre de repos pour moi. Surtout profitez de l’eau turquoise, transparente et chaude de la mer des Caraïbes et en soirée il est très plaisant d’aller faire un petit tour au Casino Dominicus. Une navette passe tous les 15 minutes à l’hôtel et vous conduit à ce casino qui est à 4 minutes de l’hôtel.

Ah oui j’oubliais, pour ce qui est du temps dominicain, ajouter toujours 15 minutes. C’est-à-dire, par exemple si l’ouverture du restaurant est pour 19h30, ils ouvrent les portes à 19h45. Les premiers jours ont restent surpris, mais on s’y habitue rapidement.

Bon voyage à tous!

Just returned and would like add a few quick notes. We were two couples (age 40-60) We booked thru a local travel agent and paid $664 plus $335 taxes for a total of $999 each. This includes the $20.00 Dominican airport exit tax which is not always included.

We flew Montreal direct to La Romana which is only 20 mins from the resort. (Recommended) We met people who had landed in Santo Domingo which is 2 hrs. away and found that it was a long bus ride.

Check-in was uneventful altho we were told to leave our bags by the bus and they would be brought to our room. Assuming they would be left IN the room we headed for supper and the bar only to return 2-3 hours later to find them sitting outside our room. Weren't too happy but everything was there.

Room was fine - good size - king size bed but no clock or coffee maker. Bathroom also good, shower only but that's ok. Nice TV with remote. Frig is stocked with 2 bottles of water daily.

You may have noticed other reviews talking about the Italian clientele and I think probably 75% of guests are Italian the balance French Quebecers and a few English Canadians. This does create a bit of a problem if you are the type to participate in the "animations" as almost all the patter in in Italian. We didn't really mind as we spent most of our time away from the action. English speakers we met (Mark and Helena) who went to all the shows said they were really good.

2 buffet restaurants - main one is typical buffet food but with a nice Italian slant which breaks the monotony a bit. There is also a separate pizza/pasta buffet which is quite good. A la cartes are ok for a change but nothing special altho my steak at the steakhouse was pretty good. (My buddy's was really bad) Beach snack bar was unimpressive.

Bit of a strange setup in that there is only one bar and it's not that close to the beach. (It's not that far but most places have multiple bars including one ON the beach.) You can serve yourself beer and wine at the beach snack bar but that's it.

The beach is great - nice sand - good waves - no rocks - great scenery. Thay have installed "reef balls" to allow for some not bad snorkelling.

Pool is huge and very underused - but NO SWIM-UP BAR - WHAT?

Side trips - We went with a Canadian guy named Mike who runs a small tour company and took us snorkelling and site seeing by boat. We saw starfish and stingrays. Lunch included. $98.00. Highly recommended, highlight of the trip.