occidental grand / apple / funjet questions!

[d56nut]

Hi All,

We are going to book the Occidental Grand from April 30th - May 7th. We stayed at fiesta americana 3 times in 2004 and loved it there but wanted to try something else (we WANT all inclusive....we still do a day in town and eat there). Anyhow, a couple of questions maybe some of you can answer:

1. We are booking the hotel and ground transfers through either Funjet or Apple. Both are the same price within a few dollars. Anyone have experience with either/both so that I can decide which one? We got free air through US Air with our dividend miles so we are only doing the hotel.

2. I notice that several of the restuarants say that there is a dress code. How dressy? Gotta be real specific....I'm a total tomboy and someone else's idea of dressy and mine are usually different. I assume my hubby can wear slacks and a collared shirt but I have no idea what form of dressy I need.

3. Is the royal club thing really worth it?

4. Is the mini bar/fridge in the room included? This may sound like a silly question but when we were at the fiesta it wasn't included. We could go down to the bar and order a couple of cans of Coke or a beer and stick it in the fridge and that was fine but if we drank the ones that were already in the fridge (same exact thing but there was a sticker on the can) we would get charged for it.

5. Any other things about the grand that I should know....tricks of the trade?

Thanks so much!

 

[sharky60]

We stayed at the OG in Sept. and were really impressed, the food was very good for an IA, somthing different for each meal every day not the same thing day in and day out, the grounds are beautiful they did a really great job designing the place, and the rooms are roomy and very nice. I'm an architectural designer by trade and was very impressed. there is also a safe in the room for your valuables and travel paperwork. a iron and portable ironing board was in the room, our room had both a roomy shower and a tub. funny thing about the rooms is you have to put your car key in a slot by the door to make the lights and ceiling fan work, i guess it's their way of saving energy.
not much to do at night, there is a disco but it was pretty dead the week we were there, pool table in the disco, there's aslo a nice bar in the lobby area with internet access.
2 pools, one before you get to the beach then you walk over a wooden bridge over a mangrove area to the other pool overlooking the beach, beach volleyball, ping-pong table by the pool, the lunch restaruant is in this area also.
there's a health club with a small but workable weightroom & massage facilities.
the swim area isn't the best for snorkeling, not much to see as it is mostly just a sea grass bed, if you swing along the swim rope it's self you'll find some sea life along the cement blocks that are the tie downs for the rope and there is some small coral heads just outside of the swim area but be careful for the boat traffic.
it's great for getting to the dive sites though, your so far south that the dive boat will pick you up closer to 8:30 and the ride to the sites is very short 10-15 min. or less, compared to the usual 20-30 min from the resorts further north. we used Dive with Martin and they picked us up at the dock and we made some really great dives.
it is quite a ways from town as i've said, almost a $20 one way cab fare if you decide to go in. the car rental place was one of the cheapest i've used on the island, only somthing like $60 a day for a Geo Trekker, i rented one for 2 days and the total with insurance was $130. the people at the car rental were some of the nicest i've delt with also.
now to your questions:
1. we always use FunJet and have never had a problem, the Lomas reps.(local funjet representatives), will meet you at the airport and put you on the shuttle to the airport, always works very smoothly. also a Lomas rep will be at the hotel once or twice a day for any questions you might have.

2. yes there is a dress code at the reservation restaurants, they have 3, a mexican which was very good!! we ate there twice. a mediteranean and an itallian but we didn't make it to either of them. I wore casual dreess slacks a nice aloha shirt, they say no sandles, I wore an open toe dress sandle and didn't get any hassle. as for women a nice sundress, skirt and summer top or even slacks if your more comfortable, really anything that looks nice and aren't shorts will work. just look nice, casual summer dress clothes, not like youv'e just come from the beach and you should be fine. they had me a little worried i'd need a jacket but it's not that formal.

3. don't now anything about the royal club, is that the spa?

4. mini bar/fridge in room is included, they had pepsi, 7-up, club soda, ginger ale, bottled water, modelo beer and i think dos xx beer also and kept it stocked the intire week, if you want somthing spacific such as extra pepsi just leave a note for the maid and a couple of bucks for a tip in the a.m. and she'll take care of you. we always leave a couple of bucks a day for the maid anyway.

right off hand that's all i can think of, any other questions just PM me, and i'll do my best to answer them.
happy diving
marc

 

[Kat]

You can also book any tours you might want to do with the Funjet/Lomas Rep. Like the ATV Jungle Tour, Glass Bottom Boat, horsebackriding, etc...

 

[SueMermaid]

We used Apple Tours for our honeymoon, and they were great. They do pick you up in a shuttlebus at the airport which is sort of a drag, but how else are you gonna get to your hotel? Their staff was profesional and helpful. I give them my recommendation.

 

[ch0ppersrule]

Hi All,

We stayed at the OG last July (and going back this summer). We ate at all 3 restaurants which were excellent. I wore a summer dress and nice sandals. No comments were made. I did see some women will nice tops and capri pants and nothing was said to them. Just don't wear shorts and a t-shirt. We used the dive op there- dive palancar, but we want to try another operator this year. All our DM's were great but we want to try someone else this time. If you leave a couple pesos for the maid she will leave you extra water or drinks that you request. We left a note the second day for extra water bottles and left a tip everyday when we left to go diving and she left extra water from then on. The food there was awesome!! I think I ate 1lb of gucamole everyday. We booked our flight and room reservations through bay adventures. Last year was our first trip to Coz. and we loved it. The best part of diving from the OG is all the dive sites are within 2-8 minutes of the resort. Enjoy your visit. You will be happy you chose OG.

 

[Divedoggie]

We have used Apple 5 times and Suntrips once. Never dissappointed. Very relaxing, because they pick you up, drop you off, arrange everything. If you NEED a vacation..Apple is great.

 

[vols3232]

My wife and I stayed at the Grand last fall. We upgraded to the Royal Club and were glad we did. The benefits are that you have a seperate check in, A concierge group which remembers your names and will make reservations for you at the 3 places you need them. The maid staff is excellent, as has been described, if you leave a few bucks. The royal club rooms are in two villas which are some of closest to the ocean. We made it to each of the restaurants. We enjoyed each. Really enjoyed the sunset dinner. Wear bugspray and it will be wonderful. We used dive plancar and were treated great. We had our choice of boats and DMs. We always had a voice in where we went. Everyone was aware of not going to the same spot more than once. Have a great trip. We can not wait to go back. I also forgot to mention that the Royal Club arm band seemed to get us better service from other staff around the resort.

 

[dnhill]

Vols3232,

Would you share how much the upgrade to the Royal Club is? Was it based on per person or per rooom?

Thanks,

dnhill

 

[vols3232]

The cost for an upgrade to the Royal Club level was a per person charge. I believe you just chose the room level you wanted and as with every AI resort the nicer the room the higher the per person price. Enjoy your trip and let me know if I can be of any more help. I look forward to a report. One additional thing, They do not have big lockers for gear. We carried our gear back and forth from our room. Closer to the ocean, pier, and dive operator was a plus. Balconies were large and we were on the third floor so we had no problem drying our gear. We had two balconies. One to dry gear and one to watch the sunset/sunrise. Not sure if other room categories have 2 balconies.