Visited Blue Bay with another couple during the week of April 10-17, 2008. This was their first time in the Caribean and but it was our tenth visit. We have travelled to Cuba 6 times, Mexico once and this was our second time to Dominican Republic. We have been to resorts ranging from 21/2 stars to 5 stars. Each of them stood out for different reasons. The Riu Yucatan resort in Mexico stood out for its food and drinks while all of the Cuban resorts stood out for their beach and entertainment. The Blue Bay was by far one of my favourite resorts that we have visited and give it top marks for its ambience, layout and above all service. The food was also top notch but it is not what makes this resort a real gem.
Let me begin by saying that I took much time researching prior to booking the Blue Bay. I checked tripadvisor and many other sites to find a perfect combination of what we and the other couple were looking for. I read the majority of the reviews on Blue Bay and like many others I was apprehensive that the reviews appeared almost "too good" and thought that maybe certain reviewers were given incentives for their favourable reviews. I can assure you after visiting this resort that this is not the case. Some of the issues brought up in the negative reviews are accurate. For instance the rooms are a little dark and the beds are definately hard. Also, the entertainment team have room for improvement and the beach is not the nicest that I have seen (in regards to esthetics). Yet some of the negative comments are complete hogwash. The food found throughout the resort is absolutely delicious and I have difficulty how anyone could possibly find fault in the service. I could not believe how friendly everyone was and how willing they were to ensure that your stay was enjoyable. The general manager, Oscar, was present throughout the week and he personally made sure that the bed was to my liking. The dining staff (waitors, etc) were always smiling and worked their behinds off to ensure that you never had an empty glass or dirty dish in front of you. The food was always beatifully prepared and I never left a single meal hungry. I especially appreciated the tasty low fat items and was pleasantly suprised to see how hot every meal was. Even the breakfast items were hot at all times. This is no small feet. I also appreciated eating in the open air buffet restaurant. They kept the food well covered and I did not see or hear of anyone being sick over the food while we were there.
Another thing that really puts Blue Bay in a league of their own is the layout of the resort and the ambience. The designers obviously took much time and consideration when designing it. Everything from the beautiful lobby, airy buffet restaurant to the music playing throughout was very zen/spa like. I found even the staff uniforms and the furniture to be very well thought out. You could not help but leave your worries behind and totally immerse yourself in this place of casual elegance. I even took pictures of the public bathrooms because I could not get over how beautiful they were. I had never seen this much care put into such minor details. They obviously have realized that it is these minor details that make a resort like Blue Bay stand out. Congradulations on a job well done. We could not have asked for anything more in a vacation.

We just returned from a 6 night stay at Blue Bay Villas Doradas. The trip was simply amazing. The manager, Mr. Oscar Lora, takes great pride in his resort, and takes pains to ensure that his guests are having the best experience possible. We were spoiled rotten on this trip, with fruit and rum in the room, a surprise bottle of champagne at dinner, and excellent service from the entire staff.

CHECK IN/OUT
Check in was quick and pleasant. We were escorted to seats in the lobby, presented with cool towels (which were heavenly after a long trip) and given our bracelets and a packet with our a la carte reservation cards, a map of the resort, and other important information. Our bags were then taken to the room, and we were on our way to the beach! Check out also went smoothly. We simply returned our keys, paid our phone fee, and had a taxi called for us to return to the airport. Very easy.

ROOM & HOUSEKEEPING
I had emailed ahead and requested a room on an upper lever, with a king size bed, no connecting door, and a balcony. We got all that we had requested. We were in room 1209, located next to the stage area. We were almost always at the shows at night, so the noise from the stage was not bothersome. The room was well appointed with a bed, TV, plenty of hangers and shelves in the closet, mini fridge stocked with water, 2 beers, a sprite and a coke. The initial contents of the fridge are complimentary. After that, you get water restocked daily, and if you want the coke and beer restocked, it costs $10. We didn’t see a need, as there is a bar within 30 seconds of wherever you may be in the resort. There are also water coolers outside of each building that you can refill your bottles at.

The bathroom was lovely, the shower clean and with better water pressure than I get at home. Plenty of hot water and no plumbing issues of any sort. My only concern about the bathroom is the height of the sink. We are both tall (5’8” & 5’10”), so it wasn’t a problem, but a shorter person may find the sink a bit high.

Housekeeping comes twice a day. Once before 5 to clean the room, and again in the evening to turn down the bed, and replace bath and beach/pool towels. We were treated with flowers in the bathroom and on the bed, as well as a bird made from a towel on one occasion.

My one and only complaint about our entire stay was that the bed was hard (which is typical for this part of the world), and the pillows left much to be desired. We still slept well, and the sheets were changed daily.

GROUNDS
The hotel is beautifully maintained. There are 3 pools. The main pool with the pool bar, the activity pool, and the quiet pool near the spa. The walkways are kept impeccably clean, mopped and swept constantly. The pool never had so much as a leaf in it from what I could see. The resort is small, which is a bonus as far as I am concerned. We had a room farthest from the beach, and it still only took about 3 minutes to get there. There is a hut just before the bridge to the beach where you can exchange your towels, borrow board games and books, and check out the activities for the day. There is also an activity board near the pool.

FOOD
The food was plentiful and quite good. We were always able to find something to eat at the buffet, no matter what meal it was. We ate at all 3 a la carte restaurants. The El Dorado grill down on the beach was fun. We had the chateaubriand and it was excellent. Jade Garden was good, with a rack of Japanese weapons as you came in that were very cool. I had the peking duck, and it was quite good. El Pescador was by far our favorite. The service was amazing, the food was great (try the Mahi Mahi or the Steak! It was wonderful) and the ambiance could not be beat.

BEACH
The beach is lovely. Golden brown sand and blue water that turns aqua when the sun is high. The beach is constantly being cleared of debris and sea grass. If you want a palapa in the front, you do need to get there early. I made a habit of walking down to the beach early, before breakfast, having lounge chairs brought to a palapa (there is always someone there to bring you a chair) and watching the sun rise over coffee from the beach bar. By the third time I did this, my coffee was already waiting for me at the bar when I arrived. Simply wonderful.

The snack bar is located right on the beach, and there is also a bathroom on the beach that was just as nice as the one in our room, but without a shower. There is an open air shower attached if you need to rinse off. Staff members come around fairly regularly to take drink orders on the beach as well. While the resort could perhaps use a few more palapas, overall the beach is heavenly.

STAFF
The staff is incredible. There is no other way to describe them. They are always smiling, and are willing to get or do just about anything for you. Late to a show and need a chair? Ask someone and they will bring it. Need a refill? Well, you never will need a refill, because at meals your glass is rarely allowed to get below the half way mark. On the one occasion that we were early to breakfast and I went to get coffee, rather than wait for someone (they had JUST opened, and were still setting up), I was laughingly chased back to my chair by one of the staff members bearing coffee.

Also, while it was not expected, the staff all speaks enough English to make communication easy. We did not expect this, as it is a Spanish speaking country, but it was a pleasant surprise. They are more than willing to try to teach you a bit of Spanish as well, if you like.

ANIMATION TEAM, ACTIVITIES & SHOWS
The animation team is AMAZING! They work really hard to make sure that everyone is having a good time. From darts and horseshoes on the beach, to the plethora of activities by the pool there is always something to do. We stayed mainly on the beach, but when we did wander by the pool, there was always something fun going on. We also participated in Sushi Lessons, (they do it on Mon and Fri afternoon) and it was informative and a lot of fun.

The shows were excellent. Some of them are quite cheesy, but still fun. The Magic Show and Circus were especially impressive. Our last night, Saturday, they had a Beach Party, complete with lights and live band. So much fun!!!

BARS/BEVERAGES
There are several bars. One by the pool, one in the pool, one by the Spa, and one down on the beach. The drinks were excellent. We pretty much lived on Mojitos and Caipirinhas. We had drinks made with generic rum, as well as Brugal. If you want the Brugal – just ask!

Our trip to Blue Bay Villas Doradas was unforgettable and relaxing. I highly recommend the resort. If you are looking for a relaxing vacation in a clean, beautiful setting with excellent service, then Blue Bay is the place to go.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Just returned from BlueBay Villas on April 29.All we can say is that we had the most amazing time here at BlueBay.The service that you recieve is top notch and everyone from the groundskeepers to the Manager Oscar were always willing to help you with anything.We met so many new friends and we didnt miss any playoff hockey either.Hemingways bar and grill in the plaza was great they had a big screen for all the games.The food was great ,There were so many choices and every night at the Buffet seemed to be a theme night.The a la cartes were also excellent.All in All I would recommend this resort to anyone.

Hola!!!!!!!!

Buenos Dias!!!

I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet, however the fact is, i could definitely write all day about this resort! Blue Bay Villas Doradas is outstanding, we booked our trip with WestJetVacations, i've never been on a trip where everything was so smooth and on time, so effortless. When arriving at the Puerto Plata airport, everything was quick and easy, no problems, no big line-ups, the bus ride was air conditioned and comfy, not to mention only about a 15 minute drive to the resort. Which is soooo nice after sitting 3 hours in a plane : )

Staff and Entertainment:
Once at the resort, it was like walking into paradise, great music playing, amazingly helpful and cheerful staff at the front desk, greeted with a cold cloth and fresh fruit cocktail. During the day, the animation team was fantastic! At first you may be a little shy to get up and jump right into the fun, but it won't take you long, this crew is very enticing, and let me tell you... once you're up there, you won't be able to sit down! This energetic animation team made my week complete, they never stop working from 8:00am to 4:00am, making sure everyone is having a good time during the day, putting on amazing shows in the evening, then later at night they stay past their working hours to bring people out to the discos. I debated packing Tino into my suitcase, he's just adorable! Lorenzo is a brilliant man, incredibly smart and amazing to talk to. Anna is such a sweetheart, and Rosa.. wow... can she dance! These mentioned and the rest of the Crew, truly deserve much more than they're granted in Dominican, so don't be shy to throw them a tip or two, unlike the bartenders and waiting staff, they're often overlooked for the amount of work they put in.
If you're looking for relaxation, the Zen area of the resort is exactly what you're looking for. Take the time for a nice full body massage at the spa, grab a green tea, then relax in a zen bed by the pool, just take in the soothing music and sunshine. Your body will thank you.

Food and Bevies:
If you can appreciate good seafood and oriental cuisine, this is the place to be! YUM! The food was absolutely outstanding, in addition to the oriental and seafood, the steakhouse was also unreal and the nightly buffet had something to suit everyones taste. The drinks were flowing, lots of great options to choose from, and the bartenders were quick and super friendly! If you want to party past 11:00 (ish), head down to the Beach Bar, it's open 24/7 and a really beautiful and fun place to carry on your partying and grab some food to munch on : ) Also don't be shy to check out Coco Bongo next door, it's an amazing disco, very safe and fun!

The Rooms and Grounds:
I was highly impressed with the modern rooms, they were very clean and well kept. The maids both effectively cleaned and stocked the room in the mornings, and pulled down the sheets at night. I certainly can't complain : )
The resort grounds are IMMACULATE, the maintenance and grounds staff never stop working to keep this resort beautifully trimmed and looking like new. It's absolutely breath taking.

I will be returning to BlueBay as soon as possible, i miss it already. It was also nice to be at a more quaint resort, everything is very close within short walking distance and you really get to know the other guests and staff. I loved it.

(i guess this ended up as more of a LONG and sweet review?) oops. : )