We went to the Agua resort end December. The staff was friendly, but not well trained at all. Most of the staff did not speak english (ina 5 Star place). (It would be good if you could talk spanish). The view from our garden suite was nice. Beach and the sand in front of the room was not clean (plastic, straws, rubbish). The water in our plunge pool had a green color and was not clean at all. After al small meal at 4 pm on the terasse the maid did not take the dishes away until I told her the next day noon. the service in the restaurant for dinner was not good at all. The table resevation went wrong. They severd the wine after I asked them many times for it after our main meal. At the bar they mixed the drinks 3 times totaly wrong. The Bartender had a list how to make the drink from the drink card. He was not able to mix it (he did not understand the mixture on his note. Our room was not very clean. We woke up in the middle of the night our bed was full of ants biting us. we had big spiders on the wall, and bugs on the floor. Next morning I called Mr Castro the Manager and he had a look at our room. he promised to clean it and do something against the small animals. Next evening the 31st. we had no water for 2 hrs. In the night the ants spiders and bugs were back. We changed the room and left the hotel the next morning. I got it all on video for our travelagent. The travelagent paid us the 3 nights back. they spoke to Mr. Castro but during their negoiation Mr Castro did not reply to my trvelagency any more. I think they paid part of it out of their own pocket. If you expect nothing (2 Star hotel) you might go to Agua resort. If you expect what they advertise Don't go just don't go! For us it REALLY was a disaster!! Mr. Castro is not a manager to lead this hotesl to a 5 star place. I was very dispointed they way he act with our travelagent. At least we had our money for 3 nights back. It means something if you get money back you already paid. I hope they will take this Hotel out of their catalogue here in Switzerland.

If you want Dominican service at New York prices, then this is the place for you. We experienced all of the pitfalls discussed in other reviews -- bone jarring ride from airport, lackluster food, ridiculous costs, and the feeling that once you get there, you're trapped in a Dominican Bizarro World of rip-offs designed exclusively for foreign tourists. Then add to that the huge man eating spiders in our luxurious ocean front room. (I am traumatized, and to this day am still afraid to open my underwear drawer at home.) As mentioned, many guests have either scalding hot water or ice cold water from the showers. A tropical squall flooded a couple of ocean front rooms with an inch of water, while folks upstairs with the thatched roof experienced little worms and insects falling from the ceiling. (I hope they slept with their mouths closed!) These are the stories of the folks that traveled with us as part of a corporate reward / retreat for my company. Of the seven couples that went, we all had freaky little horror stories. Our stay was a lesson in Dominican dysfunction, which would be cute if it were not supposed to be at a luxury resort. Nor is it cure that you are presented with a water menu whenever you dare to eat there. (Several in our party became ill from the food.) They tell you the water from the tap is undrinkable and then sell you $8 bottles of water with your meal. I found the local rum to be both tastier and cheaper! The front desk staff was ill equipped to handle any of the cavalcade of issues their hotel was presenting its guests. For example, they were unable to offer me change for a $50 bill, and had no stamps for my postcards. although they promised to send them for me, and I paid them to mail them. my little nieces and nephews never received their cards. In addition, the internet connections promised in the rooms were (again predictably) not working. The spa semed to have lots of nice things in it, but the whirlpool was lukewarm and the stream room was not working. The sauna was nice when they remembered to turn it on -- which seemed to be every other day. They invested a lot of money into the spa to not have it functioning properly, and such seemed to typify both the Agua resort and the surrounding area. When we tried to escape from Agua and venture to go out for dinner one night to the nearby Al Navigante, we were again subject to another fiasco. When we were served wine that had turned to vinegar they tried to charge us for the bad wine. They also added two additional dinners to the tab. When I protested the extra charges they tried to negotiate. Indeed -- they exemplified the apparent Dominican business ethic when dealing with tourists: "Take them for all you can!" A day trip to a "Dominican cigar factory" took us to a shop in Bavaro run by a woman from Switzerland who had two guys rolling stogies, and while the guys in our group smoked free samples, the ladies were shown local jewelry for purchase. Indeed, it seemed as if the only place where we were being scammed worse than in the hotel was just anywhere else in the DR! Yes, there were some positives. The wait staff at Agua was entirely friendly and they seemed to genuinely enjoy teaching Spanish to my wife and I. Also, the beach is very nice and the water was inviting. (However, the water was also pretty cloudy when we were there and I am told it is largely unsuitable for snorkeling.) When our week was over, we were all very anxious and quite happy to leave. Again predictably, the driver was late to pick some of our fellow travelers up. They were late to the airport and almost missed their flights. Perhaps luxury resort and the Dominican Republic are mutually exclusive. It sure seemed so at Agua. After all, in the DR even the sidewalks have potholes! Yes, the people we met were for the most part very nice, unless you had to deal with money, and the beach was very nice. However, there are far too many negatives to outweigh the few positives, and Agua charges way too much to expect its guests to overlook those negatives. To Agua I say "Adios and good riddance!"

We went to Agua for our honeymoon. While the ammenties were excellent and the room that we got was about 10 feet from the beach, we did have some issues. We booked a package that included a private plunge pool that was part of our room. When we got there they said that the plunge pool was not working. After we were there a few days we realized that they had overbooked the rooms. The plunge pool was one of the main reason we choose this place. We stayed at the resort for 11 days. The restaurants do not change their menus ever and the basics certainly were not on the menus. For exmaple, for breakfast they have tons of salmon but no bagels; and when asked they look at me like I have two heads. I must admit thought, that the resort itself is awsome! They gave us a moonlight private dinner, which was really romantic. In addition, they do have special dinners on certian nights and the amount of food that is servied is huge! Other than the booking issues, that we are STILL trying to get a credit on, the resort was perfect. If you want activities thought, I would go to Excellence. Agua is meant for realxation, and 11 days of relaxation is a little long. There are no activites (including water activites) so it is pretty much eating laying in the sun, eating more, playing board games, and eating more.

The good: The Agua is a stunning and beautiful resort. The rooms are wonderful. Housekeeping is excellent. The staff is very nice. The beach is great – you can walk for miles and miles. The bad: The main pool had no water and they tried to keep it a secret and so did not inform our travel agency! There was only one restaurant open and the food was not very good. This resort has the potential to be a Four Seasons, but it needs at least one additional restaurant (and more guests). Basically, the management does not seem to be capable of making the Agua the luxury resort it could be.