Dreams Onyx Full Trip Review

We visited Dreams Onyx in Punta Cana in October of 2023 as a family of four.  We were there for a wedding and thrilled to spend a few days with family and relax for a bit.  This was not our usual trip where we wanted to see the sites, we wanted to relax and enjoy the property, beach, and amenities. 

Our Room & Club Level

We stayed in a Preferred Club Junior Suite with a Pool View.  The room was spacious and well-appointed.  We enjoyed the room and felt it was worth the upgrade.  Our kids are 8 and 13 and the room felt comfortable for our family of four.  The upgraded room gave us access to better food which I did not know when I upgraded.  The room had a nice terrace that overlooked the family pool.  they also provided us with a beach bag.  The room had plenty of shampoos, conditioners, shower gel, and moisturizers that were refilled daily.  I was impressed with the cleanliness of the room and how tidy it was when we returned to the room each day.  The cleaning staff was fabulous.  
The reason I initially upgraded the room was because I read that the standard rooms were pretty loud; I wanted a calming experience when we were in our room.  It was a great location as far as it being quiet and having easy access to the pool and beach. When we arrived at the Dreams Onyx, we learned that you had to have club level to have table service for Breakfast and Lunch.  If you did not have club level, those meals were strictly buffet and eaten outdoors under a covered patio.  It was a hot and sunny few days in the Dominican Republic. There was no air-conditioned dining room other than Tamarindo (the club level) open during the day, this is where we ate our meals each day.  The food in Tamarindo was good, we enjoyed the sushi a lot which was also not an option for the buffet as well as cooked-to-order meals.  

One of the couples in our group stayed in a club-level room with a private pool.  That was also a worthwhile upgrade because the pools closed at 7 pm which made it tough to entertain our kids since there were not many kid friendly activities on the property.  That room with the private pool was adult-only and had access to the adult-only pools.  The room was 

The Beach and Pools

The beach was pretty as are all beaches with palm trees, seating, and some hammocks.  The water was fairly clear and the sand was a little coarser than other places in the Caribbean.  There were a lot of pools including several adult-only pools with a swim-up bar.  There was also a swim-up bar in the family-friendly pool that made decent drinks.  They had activities during the day at the pools and a DJ playing some of today's hit music. 

The only downside to the pool was that it closed at 7 pm and there were very few activities going on.  The property felt like there was no one there after 8 pm. 

The Dinners

Perhaps the most disappointing part of the trip was the dinners.  One night we decided to do the hibachi since it was mentioned as excellent in many reviews.  This was the worst dinner.  The salad was tiny and there was not have a choice of dressing.  Everyone received the same meal, there was no choice of steak or seafood or type of rice like I am used to at local Japanese restaurants.  The steak came out cut into tiny pieces that were full of fat, the chicken was also tiny and the rice was plain.  They made us clap at the end.  After dinner, everone was starving the buffets were closed.  It was not the best experience.

The buffets were the same every day and we were simply bored of the dinner buffets.

Other things that were a little odd, the specialty restaurants were not open every day.  There were different ones open and it was hard to get a table.  We were only able to get a table for hibachi on one of the nights but we tried to do the french restaurant (Mercure), the Italian restaurant and the steakhouse.