Oh man, did the first day of my trip SUCK. Here's a copy/paste of the file I sent to the travel agent, who's going to wrench some compensation out of the hotel.

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Feb. 15, 2004
After landing in Punta Cana, My sister (Jennifer Young), her boyfriend (Robert Chalmers), and myself were told by the Air Transat representative in the airport exit that there was a "change" and instructed to board a bus (a large tour bus with a "3" in the front window). On the bus, we were told by a different representative that our hotel had been changed. We were worried at this point, because our reservation was made specifically so that we could join our parents for their last week of vacation, celebrating my mom's 50th birthday. We were told that they would sort things out when we reached Casa del Campo, being told that Jean Chretien usually visits there. When we eventually did get there, it took a long time after passing the entrance before someone informed us that the facilities of the hotel were far apart, at which point everyone on the bus became more agitated. When we finally stopped in some kind of parking lot, we were told to wait, then get off the bus, and then wait some more. The sun was setting around this time. We were, apparently, to take some other bus somewhere, but when nothing arrived we were told of a restaurant a few minutes walk from the bus. At the time, it was suggested that we leave our luggage at the bus, but no-one agreed to that and everyone took their luggage to the restaurant. The restaurant served a very small buffet which appeared more like left-overs than a buffet. I eat a small variety of food, so I only ate bread and juice. After hours of waiting, I knew the situation was this: the hotel we were at refused to accomodate us, all other hotels in Punta Cana were full, and we were to bus to Santo Domingo. Before leaving, we finally contacted our parents, who were at Ocean Bavaro, with the assistance of an Ocean Bavaro employee. After more waiting and a 3 hour bus ride, we stayed at a hotel in Santo Domingo (a hotel with the big diamond on the sign).

We were told to meet with an Air Transat representative in the lobby at 11:00am (local time). We waited there for another 1 - 2 hours until someone in the group contacted an Air Transat representative, and took some degree of control. A bus arrived at the hotel, but there seemed to be some confusion as to who it was for, and where it was going. My sister, Jen, started asking when and if we were going to meet our parents. I simply waited, since I trusted my sister to figure out the details. We finally determined that the bus was to go back to Punta Cana to send most of the group to a hotel very close to Ocean Bavaro, and a taxi would take us the rest of the way. Apparently, 2 other people were in a similar situation to ours, that is they were supposed to be with other people at Ocean Bavaro. We then eventually arrived at Ocean Bavaro around 6pm, more than 24 hours late, and our parents greeted us at the entrance.

I had paid the full single rate to have a room to myself. We were told that they wanted to put all five of us in a 2 room suite but my parents told them that we had paid for three separate rooms. Jen and Rob took the room that my parents were booked in, and my parents and I took room 9125. The room was fitted with a sofa-bed and a mattress, which I decided was adequate at the time because I was tired and did not wish to withstand any further frustrations. Over the course of my visit at the hotel, I became more aware of the faults present in the room. The thermostat did not efficiently maintain room temperature, and was at any time either too hot or too cold. The hot water was usually only slightly warm. The large tub was missing the hot water dial, and the tub's jets could not be activated. We managed to fix the cold water dial for use on both hot and cold water. The tub's drain plug was also not properly installed, and my parents needed to use a spoon to remove it. The shower in the large bathroom leaked large ammounts of water that did not always reach the emergency drain. The mattress I was in became increasingly uncomfortable, as it sank wherever I laid down and became too hot. The best comment I have for the room is that the Pepsi in the fridge was free and re-stocked every day, except for one day when there was just 7up, which I do not like at all.

That concludes the majority of grievances I have regarding my trip. Other comments on the hotel: there should be a list of activities available in the hotel room. All other hotels I have visited have hotel information available in the guest's room, including restaurant hours, facilities, and the time and place of special events. Most hotels list local attractions as well, so the guest has the option of exploring the area outside the hotel. I had thought that the pizza bar was open 24 hours, so I was surprised when I went to get pizza at 6pm and there was no pizza being served. A lot of teenagers like pizza for supper, and most of the restaurants did not serve anything I found appetizing.
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The hotel looks nice, and the service is nice, but the administration must be retarded or something.