I recently stayed at the family-friendly, all-inclusive Dreams Flora resort in the Dominican Republic with my family and we had an excellent time!
This property used to be the Natura Park Beach Eco Resort before it was renovated and reopened as Dreams Flora in February 2023.
With a total of 520 rooms, I’d put this resort in the “medium-sized” resort category. The layout is compact enough to make it easy to navigate, but it doesn’t feel cramped or crowded.
NOTE: If you have any wedding guests with mobility issues, they can call to request a golf cart ride.
I absolutely loved the look/feel of this resort – it’s VERY lush and tropical!
There are pond-like water features throughout the property and many of the walkways have wooden bridges. This would be a nature-lovers dream spot with all of the greenery and different types of plants.
Several of the common area buildings are palapa-style with thatched roofs and I’m a big fan of the low-rise room buildings (only three stories high).
I really like that it actually feels like you're in the Caribbean versus at a generic, more commercial-style resort.
Dreams Flora Wedding Resort Highlights
20 minutes from the Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ)
8 dining options with everything from Italian to Asian to French and more
No dinner reservations are required except for the Teppanyaki tables at Himitsu
13 bars and lounges including multiple swim-up bars, a beach bar, and a sports bar
5 pools with a beachfront infinity pool, a relaxing pool, a kids’ pool and two Preferred Club Pools
Waterpark with slides
One hot tub for Preferred Club guests
Theatre for nightly shows
Spa and beauty salon
Fitness center
Kids Club (ages 3-12)
Teen Zone (ages 13-17)
24-hour room service
Complimentary WiFi
No wristbands
We stayed in a Preferred Club Junior Suite Tropical View room in Patio 5 (#2322). You can click here to check out a video I posted on Instagram of our room. We had two double beds (on the firmer side like I prefer) and a sofa bed; this room type is also available with a king bed.
This room type is 582 square feet and felt quite spacious with a separate sitting area for the couch as well as a small counter and two stools by the minibar and entrance to the room.
NOTE: The difference between a Deluxe Room and a Junior Suite Tropical View room is that the Deluxe rooms do not have the extra sofa bed area.
There was a small table and two chairs on the balcony which wrapped around to the right. The bathroom had double sinks, shelving for extra storage (bonus!), and there was a rain shower head and a handheld sprayer in the shower (both had good water pressure - so important for a girl with this much hair!).
The rooms at Dreams Flora have a fresh coat of white paint and modern accents. There is a ceiling fan, and I very much appreciated that the air conditioner worked well so our room stayed consistently cool and didn’t feel humid.
NOTE: Most rooms at Dreams Flora, even those with two double beds and a sofa bed, only sleep a maximum of four guests (three adults), but there is the option to book a “family” room (two connecting rooms) which sleep a maximum of six guests (four adults).
People often ask whether upgrading to Preferred Club level is worth it or not. This is always tough to answer because it’s such a subjective thing and really just comes down to how much you personally value the extra perks.
Besides the added benefits that are standard at most Dreams resorts like: a better room location, concierge service, liquor and snacks in room, a beach bag, access to the Preferred Club lounge, dedicated beach area, a la carte breakfast and lunch options, etc., we very much enjoyed having access to two additional pools and swim up bars at Dreams Flora (one that’s adults-only and one that’s family-friendly).
You can click here to see a video I posted on Instagram of the family-friendly Preferred Club pool and swim up bar.
We tried all of the restaurants except for the French restaurant, Bordeaux (adults-only), and I’d say the food quality was average to slightly above average for an all-inclusive. Some meals were just so so, but some were quite good like the lasagna at the Italian restaurant, Portofino.
Like I always say, a true foodie is not going to be impressed by the food at most all-inclusive resorts, but you can still have an enjoyable experience with the right expectations.
Because it’s usually at least 8:00 p.m. or later by the time we’re all showered and ready to head out for dinner, we’re usually able to get seated right away. The one exception on this trip was when we got to Portofino around 7:30ish p.m. and had to wait about a half hour. It wasn’t a big deal because we just grabbed a drink at the bar next door while we waited, but I’d recommend either going early (e.g. 6/6:30 p.m.) or late (after 8:00 p.m.) for dinner to minimize wait times.
Even though we were at Dreams Flora during Thanksgiving week when occupancy was very high, we never had an issue finding a lounge chair at the beach or pool. The wait service for drinks was solid and it was just a short walk over to the oceanfront Barefoot Grill to grab some lunch.
The resort is on a long stretch of white-sand beach, and it was gorgeous during our stay. The water was a stunning turquoise color and the sand was powdery soft. If you go to the left when you’re looking at the water, the beach is a bit narrower due to some erosion, but it’s quite deep to the right.
The ocean is calm enough for swimming, but most days it had enough waves for the kids to have some fun on their boogie boards.
There are two-story wooden cabanas available for rent on the beach. These are really slick because you get a shaded Bali bed on the sand on the lower level and then loungers in the full sun on the top level.
Just a reminder that the Dominican Republic is often affected by sargassum (basically seaweed) in the warmer months e.g. spring through fall. There was minimal seaweed during our stay and what did wash up on the beach was cleaned up each morning/evening, but there’s obviously never a guarantee when it comes to Mother Nature.
NOTE: There is usually a sargassum barrier out in the water, but it wasn’t up while we were there because they were in the process of replacing it.
Dreams Flora has a waterpark with multiple slides. Our kids (ages 11 & 9) weren’t overly impressed with the slides - five of the seven slides are short and just go straight down - so they only ended up spending one afternoon hanging out here, but there were plenty of other kids having a great time every day.
While the waterpark doesn’t have a lazy river, there are sort of like one-way lazy rivers attached to each of the resort pools – the kids LOVED exploring these! These "lazy rivers" are the lagoon-style pools for the swim out rooms, so if you’re staying in one of these rooms, you can walk right out of your room and swim over to the swim-up bar.
NOTE: Some of the Preferred Club swim out rooms that connect to the family-friendly Preferred Club pool have Bali beds (like you see in the photo above); these specific rooms can be requested but the resort will not guarantee room location in advance.
The entertainment staff at the main pool do a great job of keeping guests entertained with activities like water aerobics, dance lessons, pool competitions, etc. This is the most active/lively pool of all of them and there is fun music playing all day. Remember, there are a total of five pools at Dreams Flora, so there's plenty of options when you're looking for a more chill vibe for a while.
There was a foam party one day while we were there and a live band next to the Barracuda beach bar another day. I also really liked that they had a saxophonist playing during the breakfast buffet one morning for some added ambience.
The lobby bar, Rendezvous, was the place to be in the evening. It’s a large open-air, palapa-style structure and there were live musicians every night during our stay. The Desires Sports Bar becomes an adults-only nightclub from 11:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m. for those looking for some late-night dancing.
There is a weekly beach party that’s a lot of fun with a DJ and dance floor. There is also a theatre with nightly shows like: Dominican, Circus, Queen, Rock, Hollywood, Latin Pop, etc. The only show we caught was the Circus show, which I’d give about a 5 or 6 out of 10; the majority of it was pretty basic, but the last act with two strongmen was pretty impressive.
Of course, as fantastic as our stay at Dreams Flora was, there were also a few negatives:
The water is not really calm enough to be good for water sports so this isn't the place for you if you want to do activities like paddleboarding or kayaking - but, it's great for boogie boarding!
There were local vendors frequently walking back and forth along the beach. A simple no thank you is usually all you need to say, but it felt like I needed to say it more often on this trip.
Staff had some misses on service like forgetting/not understanding drink orders on a couple of occasions at dinner, but overall everyone was very friendly and attentive.
They ran out of towels by about 1:00 p.m. several days (it’s possible this was due to it being a holiday week).
Because of the layout of the resort, there are limited ocean view rooms available.
There are timeshare staff lurking around the lobby throughout the day (click here to read my blog post on how to avoid getting sucked into a timeshare trap).
No resort is going to be absolutely perfect, in my opinion, and Dreams Flora is no exception. But, this is a fantastic all-inclusive resort overall and I think it’s a great fit if you’re looking for a family-friendly wedding resort in the Dominican Republic that has: a short transfer from the airport, is located on a beautiful long stretch of beach, has modern rooms with lush/tropical grounds, and a good mix of fun and relaxation for all of your guests.
Dreams Flora Wedding Venues
There is a great variety of wedding venue options available for your celebration at Dreams Flora - gazebo, garden, the beach, ocean front terrace, and more. This resort does not have any ballrooms, so they use their palapa-style venues, the Seaside Grill and Blue Dorado, as backup locations in case of rain.
Garden Gazebo | Ceremony or Reception
NOTE: The Garden Gazebo venue is located to the far right side of the resort; there is a wall of greenery to the right and the Seaside Grill restaurant to the left is closed from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Click here to see a video I posted on Instagram of this venue.
Upper Deck | Ceremony or Reception
NOTE: Sits on top of the swim-up bar for the main pool.
Beach | Ceremony or Reception
NOTE: There are three different beach location options at Dreams Flora; the wedding team will help you choose the best location for your event(s) after arrival based on the size of your group.
Seaside Grill | Reception
NOTE: This location requires a minimum of 85 guests (they close the restaurant for your private event). Bonus that it already has spotlights included, but many couples opt to add some string lights for ambience.
Blue Dorado | Reception
NOTE: I love how this location is like your own private oasis. This venue also already has spotlights included, but, like I mentioned above, many couples opt to add some string lights for ambience.
You can click here to see a video I posted on Instagram of a fun wedding reception event.
Framboyan Garden | Ceremony or Reception
NOTE: This venue has a 9:00 p.m. curfew because of its proximity to rooms.
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