Ocean El Faro - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9572 reviews

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  *BEWARE OF THIS PLACE* DO NOT RUIN YOUR FAMILY VACATION COMING HERE

  When we first arrived at the hotel, the lobby looked really nice and gave us high expectations. But boy, we got fooled really bad. The service at this location is some of the worst I've ever seen in my life. 99% of staff members we interacted with were rude or just didnt care at all. We had to change rooms twice because of a strong mold smell that made it hard to even step in the room. The second room still smelled bad and also had a leaking sink. We got 'lucky' with the third room which had no smell but still had some visible mold in some places. Food was another MAJOR disappointment. A few people in our group got sick eating food at the buffet. The buffet area smelled gross and the place was dirty like the back of a roadside diner. Every time we had dirty cups or cutlery. Trying to book the 'speciality' restaurants was annoying and stressful. Reservations are only open in their faulty app from 8 to 11 am and if you are not connected right at 8, everything is gone. It felt like a race every day. Drinks were basically frozen slush from machines poured into plastic cups with cheap alcohol added. No quality at all. The lobby bar was the only place that was somewhat ok. The resort itself has great potential and is in a nice location. The broader structure is good but very very badly maintained. There were missing tiles in the pools and my friend cut his foot on one of them. Kids areas (Jelly’s House and the Family Lounge) had lots of broken games and toys missing pieces. Also smelled like mold. The cherry on the top was getting robbed in our room. One of our cell phones was stolen and while I was at guest services reporting it, there were two other people in line complaining about stolen items as well, one of them being a gold bracelet. We tracked the phone to a nearby city, but instead of helping us, the staff kept trying to stop us from going to the police. There's definitely some shady stuff going on there. Overall, this resort looks good at first but is very badly managed. The general manager should be FIRED. I would not NEVER come back and would not recommend it to anyone.

  Dec 27, 2025
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  Highly unrecommended! Can’t stress enough. Honest review.

  Highly not recommended. Most definitely our worst vacation ever. Beach is embarrassing. Food isn’t what I would feed a dog. Alcoholic drinks are a joke. Max two cans of beer anywhere. All inclusive? Terrible hospitality. They love being on their phones as they laugh amongst their coworkers. Rooms are a joke. AC didn’t work. Sinks didn’t drain. Toilet didn’t flush 50% of the time. Lots of tarantulas and scorpions. Pools are ok. Get the idea?

  Dec 26, 2025
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  We’ll be back to El Faro again after a great trip!

  We had another great visit to Ocean El Faro resort. Weather and resort was great. Glad to see that they have people cleaning the beaches each day as seaweed was pretty heavy, but cleared away daily. Food was good. Our butler, Joel was fantastic, he looked after us each day, always checking in to see if we needed anything. He made our stay very easy and enjoyable.

  Dec 26, 2025
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  Possibly 3 star hotel - Not Worth the Price

  We stayed at Ocean El Faro through Air Canada Vacations as three families with toddlers. Despite being advertised as a 5-star resort, the experience was very disappointing. At check-in, our families were placed on opposite sides of the resort, and one room key wasn’t activated. In the rooms, we found cockroaches, mold on pillows, and strong chemical smells. One room also had a toilet that didn’t work and took hours to fix. Guest Services refused to change our rooms even after more cockroaches appeared on the second night. Instead of a proper resolution, we were initially offered a beach dinner only if we signed a waiver agreeing not to raise any further complaints. We refused and were denied access to management. We spent several days of our 7-day stay trying to resolve basic health and safety concerns. After four days into our stay, the resort finally offered a beach dinner without requiring a waiver, but by then much of the vacation experience had already been affected. The beach was also heavily impacted by seaweed, limiting swimming and beach enjoyment. For a resort charging a premium price and marketed as a 5-star property, this level of room quality and service is unacceptable. Positives: Nice lazy river Good entertainment for kids, but limited options for adults Decent restaurants — the Italian restaurant steak is worth trying Overall: The resort has potential, but cleanliness issues, how guest concerns were handled, limited adult entertainment, and beach conditions made this a poor experience. Not recommended for families with young children at this price point.

  Dec 25, 2025
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  GREAT RESORT!! 3RD TIME HERE AND WILL ALWAYS COME BACK!!

  This is our third time staying at Ocean El Faro and this trip was the best. We came for my birthday and I couldn’t think of a better place to do it. The food was amazing. The staff is so kind and helpful. A very special shout out to Alexander!! we accidentally purchased the privilege room and it came with a butler who was Alexander. He went above and beyond to make sure my trip was fun and running smoothly. He made all the reservations, organized carts for us to go around the resort and did a very special room decor celebration for my birthday as well. He is amazing. You can tell that he truly loves making people’s experience there fun and exciting. Also a great shout out to Carlos and Mario!!! go to Carlos If you need help finding an excursion. he is amazing, caring and very helpful. Mario is a great bartender at the main lobby (makes the best Bailey’s espresso martini!!!!) and just an overall fun person

  Dec 24, 2025