Punta Cana Travel Forum

Anyone been to both these resorts. If so which is best? Both look very good in the brochure, but that can be very misleading!
I understand both resorts share their facilities with sister hotels, and am somewhat concerned as to the actual size of resorts & numbers of people there. I am to travel mid July, and hate having to rise early in order to play the towel game (all nationalities are guilty of this!). Also concerned as to the availability in the a-la-cartes.
Please Help!

Iberostar Dominicana:

Here's the link for more IB Dominicana/Punta Cana Reviews:
http://www.iberostar-board.com/boards/index.php

Beach: The beach was everything we had heard it would be. Lots of room, powdery soft, fairly calm waves, and clean. The only downside at the beach would have to be the lack of chairs (that are shaded). We never rushed down to claim them, but lots of other people did if they wanted any shade! The number of people that appeared to "reserve" the best chairs at the pool AND the beach, leaving the rest of us with nothing. Getting a chair on the beach wasn't a problem if you got there before 9 am. Don't count on finding one under a palapa without saving it before hand.

Pools: The pools are nicely set-up, but not nearly enough chairs. I did notice one thing about the Iberostar that seemed different from other resorts we had visited. Usually, there is at least one bar for the pool, and at least one bar for the beach. There was only one bar that sat between the pool and the beach, and that you shared. This tended to make for a longer wait, although not bad.

Food: The restaurants were good, although not excellent. We never went hungry, and the food was just fine.
The buffets were plentiful. The food is very good and always has some variety, but after a week, trust me, you will be very tired of it. They generally serve a different meat every evening. There is always pizza, fries, spaghetti for the kids. One thing to be aware of; well done means medium rare at this place. Watch to make sure meat is cooked thoroughly. The lunch buffets pool side are also very tasty. The Punta Cana side serves grilled/rotisserie chicken that is really good. The hotdog's and burgers (if they are cooked thoroughly) are also tasty. You are allowed to make three restaurant reservations in one week.

Ocean Sands:

Here's the link with from TripAdvisor with plenty of reviews:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147293-d530406-Reviews-Ocean_Sand_Golf_Beach_Resort-Punta_Cana_Dominican_Republic.html

Hope it helps.

I can't say anything about Ocean Sands, but me and my husband stayed at the Iberostar Dominicana. It is a beautiful hotel with an awesome pool.The food was so-so but not bad. As far as the towel game; yes, if you want to lay on the beach, you will need to get up very early. We usually laid out by the pool and didn't get there until around 10 or 10:30 and there were plenty of spaces left there. As far as the number of people, it was pretty full while we were there, but due to the size of the resort,you don't notice it much. Hope this helped!!
Jennie