Dreams Dominicus La Romana

New Years vacation year number 4 We absolutely love this Destination. Beautiful beach area, beautiful pools, and probably some of the most hardest working staff of any resort that I have been to. Entertainment team is is very outgoing and welcoming such as Freddy, Rene "the Rock", Picasso and Yuliana who is the Absolute Sweetest! Also Raul and Olga in the preferred pool bar, Absolutely great bartenders. The only slightly negative thing I can say is that the buffet areas were a little off this year. We'll be back in December

The positives-- some of the staff are wonderful being pleasant and doing their best to communicate happily. Rooms adequate, pools good. Negatives-- where do I start. As soon as you arrive, you are pressurised to join the preferd club which unfortunately I think your holiday is greatly improved by doing so.75 dollars per day but negotiate down to 50. Cabanas 120 dollars per day (and not for much). Rooms service 10 dollars a time but worst of all being a preferd member you can extend your room checkout by 1 hour for free. i needed another 2 hours to make leaving more pleasant. I was told ,on 2 separate occasions by reception 10 dollars an hour. When I came to pay it had mysteriously doubled to 20 per hour. After much arguing they wouldn't budge, so i told them to poke it. Had a complementary room change facility instead. Hotel very money orientated. Some staff,not all, need lessons in smiling and politeness. Some food always warm at best. Would we return, not a hope in hell.I will pay slightly more and go to sandajs where you get none of thus and you get what you pay for in an all inclusive hotel.

La Romana renewed my faith in Secrets. After having to quickly change my booking from the Jamaica property due to a hurricane I grabbed any available resort. Not knowing anything about La Romana and it being a newly acquired Hyatt property, I was nervous. However, it turned out to be one of the best Hyatt vacations I’ve had. The staff is super friendly, the resort is laid out very nicely and super clean, the food was good and there were no waits for dining. We were told the resort was at full capacity so I expected long dinner waits and crowded pools but it never felt crowded at all! At times it felt like we had the place to ourselves. The only times I noticed the crowds was getting a lounger at the preferred club beach but we still always got a spot. The casino is lackluster but fun for a few, and the sports bar is a great place to watch the bartenders craft specialty drinks. Other than that though, there wasn’t a ton of evening entertainment. But the quality of the beach and swimming area and the free water sports during the day more than made up for quiet evenings.

We were very disappointed with our experience at Secrets by Hyatt, particularly regarding the cabana charge and how the situation was handled by management. We upgraded to the Preferred Club, expecting a higher level of service, but unfortunately, that was not our experience. The Preferred Club beach area was poorly managed, with many non-Preferred guests freely walking through and only one staff member servicing the entire area, which felt inadequate and not exclusive at all. The most upsetting issue involved a cabana rental by the pool. My mother, who is 84 years old, was told by the cabana attendant that the price was $20. She even offered to pay immediately, but the attendant insisted it would be billed to the room. There was a strong language barrier with the cabana attendant, which clearly contributed to a serious miscommunication. When we checked out, we were shocked to see a $120 charge for the cabana. This was not only unexpected but completely inconsistent with what we were told. Cabana prices are not listed anywhere, and guests are required to rely solely on verbal communication, which is problematic—especially when language barriers are involved. When we brought this up at the front desk, the manager was dismissive and rude. Rather than listening or trying to understand the situation, he repeatedly emphasized policy and stated, “You signed the slip saying the price.” We tried to explain that had we known the price was $120, we never would have signed, let alone disputed the charge at checkout. His approach felt disrespectful and lacked empathy. We even offered to pay half of the charge or just one cabana fee, but there was no attempt at compromise or resolution. The manager showed no concern for customer satisfaction, which was extremely disappointing for a brand as prestigious as Hyatt. We left feeling frustrated, unheard, and saddened that such a clear case of miscommunication—especially involving an elderly guest—was handled so poorly. Hyatt should ensure clear, written pricing, better staff communication, and managers who are trained to listen and resolve issues rather than dismiss them.

My family of 4 recently stayed on Secrets side. Pros- We enjoyed the creative layout, it's easy to navigate pathways, it's ambiance, the cleanliness and the various activities. The entertainment group was fantastic! The nightly shows were on the family side and were great. The New Years celebration was awesome!!!!The beach is stunning and we found chairs and shade every day. The food was okay. I liked most of my meals. The buffet was delicious and I really enjoyed the Latin Restaurant. Cons- we found staff to be polarized in their service. Either smiling and helpful or flat and apathetic. I understand that the language barrier is significant. However, we had staff explain their limited English and with my limited Spanish we managed just fine. Also, we were immediately pushed towards upgrading to preferred plan and the extra $175/ person New Years Eve dinner/ celebration. We said no to both. After reading reviews, I think most people who rated this resort high were preferred members. They receive extra attention by staff members. Slight false advertising by Secrets, saying that they provide top shelf alcohol. That's only for preferred members and I didn't notice real top shelf even for them. The amount of money we spent for the regular rate should have included better alcohol. You can have house wine which sells for $7. / Bottle off resort or you can spend more money for better wine. Definitely money grabs going on which was annoying. Overall, we had a good family vacation. However, we all agreed we would not return.