02/07/2023
Dreams Onyx Resort and Spa review
My family travelled to this resort on January 28th and returned in Feb 5th, 2023. We flew with Air Canada and took direct flights. We used the included transfers. We always enjoy them because the energy of those just about to start vacation is fantastic! So many laughs. Our transfer was supposed to take 45 minutes, but because we were arriving late evening and we were the first stop we arrived in 30!
Check-in was quick and easy. We got a premium room which has its own lobby in the building to check in. However, because we arrived around 10:40 and were the only people to check in, we did so at the main lobby. The bar staff brought drinks to us upon arrival- fruit drinks for the kids, champagne for us. The front desk and concierge are also in the front lobby and very helpful. The lobby had plenty of comfortable seating near the bar and was well air conditioned and was the best smelling lobby I had ever been in.
Room- I requested a higher level room (floor 2 or 3) which we did not get. Requests aren’t guaranteed. Our room, being premium came with queen beds instead of double, and was slightly larger. It was very clean. The lights were all push button and many different zones, but only took a few minutes to figure those out and get the air conditioner running! The shower was large and had a rain shower and clothesline in it. Being a pretty new resort (6yrs) and our premium building only being 2 yrs old everything was well maintained without any wear on the room. We had a whirlpool bath tub on our patio, chair and loungers. Our room was right across from one of the lazy river access points so that turned out to be extremely convenient.
Housekeeping- we left a gift and tip everyday. They came around lunch time every day and they always did fancy little things for us. Our fridge restock person also left us a snack every day even though we weren’t preferred, and we didn’t ask. We simply left a tip on top of the fridge for them every day. We have no complaints with our experience here!
Pools and lazy river - the pools are very large. When you first get in they feel chilly, but once in they are lovely. The lazy river is beautiful and lush. You feel like you are in the jungle. It does have lots of shade and is probably the coolest temperature of all the pools, and yet nice enough to spend hours in! There are 4 slides and you have to be 4ft 6 inches to use any of them. There are “easy” ones progressing to the most difficult one. There are swim up bars at both of the large pools as well as walk up bars at the pools. You will also find 2 unheated whirlpool bath pools and several infinity pools within the one main pool and lazy river pool. There is always something going on at the main pool. The lazy river pool has a big screen where they play videos sometimes, but mostly just plays music. At the main pool(s) thete are waiters doing drink service at the loungers.
Beach- our flags were on yellow all week, so nice to jump waves in or boogie board without being too rough. No seaweed, and the beach was clean. There was always something going on in the beach even if it was just volleyball or soccer, though they did have competitions. Waiters came to take drink orders, or you could order from the bar yourself. To the left were palm trees for shade and loungers. To the right were palapas. There are vendors as most resorts have but a firm yet friendly, “no thank you” was always enough. We never had trouble finding shaded seating.
Towels, tubes, loungers and shade- we never had issues with getting towels. There is a towel hut between the beach and pool, and a second place to get towels by the lazy river. There is no limit and you don’t have to leave any info or towel card to get them. We never had issues with getting shaded loungers at the beach or pools. Tubes, I recommend bringing your own. The resort offers lots and they are in good shape. It’s other travellers who claim them for hours while not using them in between when the use them that can make it hard getting one. You can actually buy floats in two different areas on the resort as well. We never left the lazy river without using a tube or two… just grab them when you see them and offer them to someone when you are done.
Bars- no watered down drinks here! Such a great variety and there are bars in every section of the resort. There were 8 bars I had access to as a non preferred guest. There are no straws as they are trying to reduce waste, and the cups are reusable plastic or glass at all the bars. Straws are good to being as it makes the slushy drinks easier to drink. They have a good selection of kids drinks as well.
Restaurants-there are 6 A late Cartes:Italian, Mediterranean, Asian, French, Mexican and a Steakhouse. We ate A la cartes 5 times (Asian, Italian x2, Steakhouse x2). All of them were good, but the Steakhouse was fantastic! The BUFFET as at every resort can take a few meals to get everything figured out. We had no issues with the food here and always found things to eat. The food stations for breakfast always had omelets and crepes. For lunch, stations had pasta and either burgers or tacos, and a carved meat section. Same for supper. They had an ice roll (ice cream) station on the weekend. There was also a drink of the day as you walked in they would make you. There was an entire section for kids foods as well. Buffet was outside under the roof, but was never hot or uncomfortable. The Barefoot grill was down by the beach and always had hamburgers, hotdogs , fried chicken and a small selection of buffet items. There were picnic tables with umbrellas there.
Snacks- let’s talk ice cream! This ice cream shop was the best one I’ve personally seen at a resort. There was always 8-10 kinds to choose from, a topping station and you could order milkshakes. It was open until midnight and you only ever had to wait a few minutes in line if there was a line at all. The hamburger shop was right next door and was open from 3:00-11:00. These burgers were tasty, and massive. They had a selection of choices, but you had to order them as is, so you just removed what you didn’t want. You could sit in like a restaurant and order drinks as well, and of course the burgers came with fries. The cafe was open late (if not 24 hr) and offered sandwiches, pastries and a large variety of coffee. There was comfortable seating and you could use any of the books on the shelves. Taco truck is a must! You go to the truck and there is a person there you tell how many you want and go sit down. You can only get them as they make them or just meat, so not to order but it’s easy enough to take off what you don’t like. This was so popular and was always busy. You just sit at a table, maybe get a drink from the drink truck and wait for them to bring your tacos!
24 hr Room service- we only used this twice. There is a great selection that changes for breakfast, lunch and Dinner, and late night snacks. You could get sandwiches, ribs, burgers, salad, fish and chips, deserts etc… it states it can take 45 minutes, but both times ours came in less time than that, and they will come pick up your dishes.
Shops- there is a small outdoor shop by the main pool to purchase floats m, hats, snacks, flip flops etc.. Up by the main lobby there are two indoor shops. One is primarily clothes and floats. The bigger shop was all purpose- meds, snacks, rum, clothes and a variety of souvenirs. Prices were as expected with snacks being high priced, but everything was reasonable.
Entertainment- before the shows which started 9-9:30pm, there was music in the courtyard for the kids. The nightly entertainment was not extravagant but enjoyable. After the entertainment there would be either karaoke or dancing again in the courtyard. We usually left after the entertainment because my kids wanted to play the giant chess game by the main pool. There I sat in a lounger and sang along to the music that the wedding area was playing. Lots of weddings here!
Core club- this was the club my kids could use based on age. It had ping pong, bowling (not in the traditional sense), air hockey, small climbing wall, basketball and pods to play Xbox in, but there weren’t any at that time. There was another area by the entertainment theatre with a pool table and foosball table my kids used, as well as in the sports bar.
Public Washrooms- always were clean and stocked around the resort. Toilets, locks etc.., were all working.
Staff- over all, we had a great experience. We lost power one night, but maintenance came right away. Someone stole a chair off our patio, and it was replaced immediately. Most staff were friendly and some were absolutely phenomenal toward our kids. There will be always be a few staff for whatever reason aren’t as friendly, but don’t sweat the small stuff or let it ruin your overall experience. Everyone on this resort worked very hard!
Grounds- this resort is lush and beautiful. I prefer resorts like this, personally. This resort is still pretty new being about 6 years old, but someone was always touching up paint, and gardens were always being tended. You never saw garbage and rarely saw cigarette butts. I even saw staff washing and buffing walk ways in the evenings a few times.
Interesting notes- this resort smells amazing! They actually have scents burning all around the resort. Adults can use Breathless next door for whatever they want! There is preferred club room categories you can book.
More questions? Let me know!
