Review of the Ocean Riviera Paradise

I spent a week at the Ocean Riviera Paradise in January 2019 along with my husband, parents, sister, brother-in-law and three-year-old nephew. We had a fantastic time and here is my review of our week.

Airport to Resort:

We had transfers included from the airport to the hotel on a large coach courtesy of Sunwing. The bus was air-conditioned and the driver/Sunwing rep sold beer for much cheaper than the vendors outside of the airport. I know this because my husband spent way too much money on beer from the vendor. But it was a holiday so we didn’t mind in the end. There were multiple stops before we got to our hotel, we were the second last stop of the day which took approximately 1 hour though our resort was only 30 minutes from the airport.

Check-In:

Upon arrival we were able to walk right up and check-in as they had numerous employees working the front desk. Unfortunately there was a mix-up with our rooms and we were located on the very far end of the resort in the Eden Building. We had two family members with mobility issues so when we booked online we requested a central location. However once we were onsite, it took numerous attempts to move our rooms to the Daisy Building. We were able to move two of our rooms on the first night, and the third room the next afternoon. One thing I really didn’t like about our check-in was we were approached by the concierge (aka someone who works to sell the Ocean Hotels Privilege Club membership) and took at least 30 minutes trying to sign us up for what we were told was a “resort tour”.

Rooms:

Our junior suite rooms in the Eden Building and the Daisy Building were both really nice. We had ground-floor garden view in the Eden building and then a second-floor view of the snack bar in the Daisy building. The rooms both had a pullout couch, large king-sized bed, desk, sitting area, large TV, dresser with minibar, dehumidifier, safe, iron, ironing board, and large closet. The bathroom had a large tub, separate shower, separate toilet room and a big vanity with two sinks. Our balcony had two lounge chairs, a small table and a hanging swing-chair. I had no complaints about the room and found the bed to be very comfortable. For a more detailed look at the junior suite room, check out my room tour video.

Service:

The service at this resort was very good at all of the restaurants, the main buffet and the bars. All of the resort staff were very friendly and helpful. We also liked sitting in the same area in the buffet with the same servers each day because they gave us even better service knowing that we’d be back. Tipping also helped! We had good service to begin with but extra good service when we tipped the resort staff.

Pools:

This resort had many pools to choose from depending on your preferences. There was an adult only pool (in front of the adult building El Beso), there was a kiddie pool and smaller pool (in front of Daisy building), an activity pool (in front of Eden building), a pool at the beach and a privilege club pool. Apparently we heard that non-privilege club members could also use the pool because it wasn’t enforced. So if you don’t mind angry stares from the privilege club members you could give it a try! We spent most of our time at the activity pool, kiddie pool and adult pool and never had a problem finding chairs in the sun or shade. People do reserve their chairs early in the morning though, so if you have a specific preference you better get out by 7:00 to claim your spot!

Beach:

I wasn’t too keen on the beach. I found it to be very rocky and there was lots of seaweed in the water and up on the beach as well. The resort staff did keep it fairly clean and would rake the seaweed, but I’d highly suggest wearing water shoes. As we walked along the beach I found a lot of glass. I’m not talking sea glass here – actual shards of glass in various sizes. I had never seen a beach with so much glass before. I was very careful where I walked and wore my flip flops if I was walking a lot in the sand.

Restaurants:

In all of my years taking all-inclusive vacations, this resort had the biggest selection of a la carte restaurants I have ever seen! We didn’t even get to try them all because we also wanted to eat in the buffet – the food was that good. We did try the steakhouse, Italian restaurant, and Mexican restaurant and all of these had a great selection of “authentic” cuisine. These restaurants had a dress code in effect, but most men wore khaki shorts and a t-shirt and women were wearing an array of styles so it wasn’t enforced. We didn’t have a problem getting seats, however if you arrived later than 6:30 for dinner you would likely have s short wait to be seated. The Japanese restaurant required official reservations, but my family didn’t even try to get a time to eat there.

Buffet & Snack Bars:

The main buffet was excellent. There was a wide variety of food, it was all really good quality and there were healthier options too. The main buffet had a great seating plan as well! They had two sides of the buffet and they would alternate seating guests on each side to manage capacity. We never waited longer than two minutes to be seated in the main buffet.

The snack bar by the kiddie pool was primarily fried foods and burgers, so we didn’t eat here often. At the beach they had a basic lunch buffet, and this was a very popular spot. The pizza at the beach restaurant was awesome! There was also a crepe snack bar by the activity pool (which conveniently was where I spent most of my time) that made crepes to order all day long. I’d highly recommend trying one!

Coffee Shop:

The coffee shop served great coffee from about 7:00 am until late at night. There were long lines in the morning and after dinner, but any other time it only took a few minutes. They had nice seating inside and it was air conditioned which was a bonus. All of the drinks and desserts were included in your stay.

Ice Cream Parlor:

My family visited the ice cream parlor quite regularly! There were lots of options to chose from, and again it was included in your stay. I didn’t notice any specific time where the ice cream parlor was too busy, so I think it just depends on the day.

Entertainment & Activities:

I was really impressed with the amount of activities around the resort for kids and adults to participate in. They had the standard water aerobics in the pool and at the beach. If you were by the lobby there were tennis courts, batting cages a large gym and yoga/aerobics classes. You could find entertainment at the activity and adult pools, live music, and shuffleboard and a big jenga game by the privilege pool. And all of this was in addition to their bowling alley and their sports bar with pool tables. You could have a very active stay if that’s what you are into! The evening shows were quite good and of high quality in the theatre. We were also impressed with the live music and different theme nights throughout the week.

Overall:

If you’ve made it this far, you already know that I had an amazing time at this resort. I would highly recommend it and would love to return on a future vacation.