Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: Nice resort. nice vacation experience

Casa Marina Reef resort in sosua is well maintained. The staff were great and friendly and does not entertain you based on tips.the pool were nice. activities were fun. however the beach area was so steep theres no shallow area were kids can safely play and swim. the waves were so strong as well. nevertheless, the pool area compensate it. food were great but missing seafoods, hopefully they have crabs, shrimps , shell fish for those without allergies. because im craving for them and expecting [... read more] some seafoods other than fish. internet price so high.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Very happy with Iberostar

My best friend and I recently stayed at Iberostar. We were very happy with the resort. The rooms although slightly dated were very clean and the balcony was very nice. The food was great. Always stuffed and lots of variety. Vegetables and fruit very fresh. The pool was too cold for my liking but was very clean and pool bar was nice. I thought the entertainment was super cheesy but I guess that's just a matter of taste. The beach was our favorite part. Lots of shaded areas with ample chairs. Ther [... read more]e was quite a bit of seaweed but that's not something the resort can control. If you wanted to swim you had to walk to either side but not to far. Overall we had a great time and were super happy with our stay.

Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Great for the price!

Hotel and staff excellente! Room ok. Plain not fancy but clean. Beach great, hassled by local sellers but once u tell them not interested they leave u alone. Fantastic pool! Food is very good! Lots of options. Would definetly return👍🏻😊

Playabachata Hotel: Amazing resort

We found everything from check in to check out was more than we could have expected. The check in personnel were very welcoming....the rooms were large and the cleaners did a fantastic job. The ground crew were always busy cleaning the areas. The buffets and snack bars had a wonderful variety and the waiters and waitresses were very efficient and helpful. The beach was wonderful with lots of chairs and shade if you wanted it...seeing the cruise ships coming and going was an added bonus...the e [... read more]vening shows we attended were well done and enjoyable..will definitely return...

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Good time was had!

Had a good time in DR. Weather was perfect. Resort was good overall...food, drinks, beach. Was a bit expensive though...and you have to pay extra for wifi and the room safe. Had the unfortunate occurrence to need to visit the resort doctor on call. If you need to go I hope you speak Spanish and have a credit card with a lot of available credit before visiting. They wouldn’t send me to the hospital without a guarantee of payment and the insurance company wasn’t quick enough. It was definitely [... read more] not a pleasant experience.

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Fantastic time

The Resort was beautiful our room was very spacious and modern The staff was friendly but yet professional . The food was very good and the pool area was great the overall resort was very clean and tidy the beach was very good

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Not a five star hotel

I would start with a positive note. The grounds, the public area, the territory are amazing. The staff is friendly and ready to help. The rooms need renovation including bathrooms The territory around beach , just some meters further away from the hotel, is littered with plastic, shoes, tyres, etc. Plenty of sea weed on the beach. The dining experience was not quite nice cause one day we had a big cockroach tasting our food on the plate who appeared from under the table. I have pictures an [... read more]d a video. Most vegetables served were quite overcooked.

Casa Marina Reef Resort: Good For The Price

Staff was very friendly and accommodating at the resort. Our room was VERY modest at Casa Marina Reef location. We had an ocean view room on the main level and were pretty happy with it. Do not expect luxury but a clean bed to sleep in and a warm shower to clean up in. No art or pictures on the walls but how often are you in the room, right? Grounds were pretty well taken care of, nice to walk in the evening time, lots of different places to lounge around and the seaside is beautiful! There were [... read more] a few very unpleasant guests with frowns on their vacation. Not sure how you can be miserable in paradise? Basically, you just have to ignore rude guests as there are cultural differences. Also, prepare to be surrounded by many, many smokers. Kind of annoying, cigarette smokers everywhere and they smoke anywhere and anytime they please. Got smoked out of spots at times. No smoking in buffet, thank goodness, and 50% of food is delicious. Other 50% I just stayed away from. Coffee was pretty good, 6 out of 10. Playa Alicia beautiful and clean with respectful locals and no one trying to sell you stuff... Playa Sosua is nice, too, the locals try to please you with good beach services like food to your chairs while you relax. Casa Marina to me was 6 out of 10 but you can’t go wrong for the price. Catch a baseball game across the street or head right into the city for a bottle of cold Presidente.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Will be Beautiful when its finished

They have really made a lot of improvements already. The pools look great. the food was great we especially liked the Steak House. Not all the A la cartes were ready yet. The service in the main restaurant got better as the week went on ( they have a lot of new staff). We had to go next door to watch the shows. The Sports bar is great. Our room was great. Great king size bed and great pillows. Yes there were things lacking but, they are working on it. We would go again, but if it becomes a 5 sta [... read more]r we likely won't be able to afford it.

Casa Marina Reef Resort: The Hotel has completed a lot of renovations and looks great. Huge improvement.

We have been to the hotel a few times and it has always been great. This year we noticed a huge positive improvement service and decor were outstanding. Definitely will be going again. The hotel is definitely a 4 star now.

Puerto Plata Village: Very dated 70's resort

Stayed : January 2019 Pros: 1. Inexpensive. Remember, you get what you pay for (see cons for details) 2. Friendly staff. For example, the air conditioning was not working when we checked in to the room. Staff arrived and fixed the issue within 30 minutes. 3. Great ground maintenance, including their exclusive beach area. Overall cleanliness is very good. 4. No wait time at the restaurant. Who wants to wait for their meals when hungry?! 5. Many cats are on the property, including the dini [... read more]ng room. Good news for cats lovers but is sucked for some who are suffering from cat allergies. This is the MOST crucial information missing on their website. Travel agents should take note and advise their clients about this. It may cause health concerns for some. Cons: 1. Very low water pressure and limited hot water supply during peak hours. Reported the issue twice but zero improvement. 2. Free WiFi is NOT through out the resort. Slow connectivity at the lobby, dining room, poolside and sport bar areas. NO WiFi in the rooms and at the exclusive beach. Roaming with your cellphone provider is the only option to stay connected. 3. No landline in the room. What it means is that you will have to walk all the way to the reception and talk to someone face to face when issues arise. As well, during emergency situations, someone will have to rush to the lobby and ask for help, or using your personal cell phone to call the local emergency services. 4. Limited choice of foods and drinks and quantity is average. C-. 5. Their exclusive beach is about 10 minutes away on foot. Regular shuttle service is available through out the day. Can be inconvenient for some compared to some beach front. Would I recommend Pureto Plata Village? Yes for budget travelers. If you are looking for something more convenient and a taste of luxurious, I would suggest that you look elsewhere. Once again, you get what you pay for. Many pictures of this resort are available on-line if interested.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Iberostar Costa Dorado

We were impressed with the appearance of the resort, clean, and well maintained. This was our first visit to an Iberostar property and first to Puerta Plata. Our previous 25+ resorts have been usually in Punta Cana, Myan Riviera and Jamaica. Our visit was from Jan 21 to 28, 2019. Our room was 5018 , stated to be a Ocean View room (more on that later) Rooms are set up as mini suite, with a King size bed and a sitting area. We had requested a ground floor room as there are no elevators and my [... read more] old knees can't handle stairs very well. The A/C is controlled by an on/off switch near the bed. There was no screen option to the patio door so outside ventilation was not an option . The bathroom appeared to have been updated, now with a shower only, unlike the advertised tub/shower. Water pressure in the shower was very low, only the rain shower worked, the wall mount shower only dribbled down. The bathroom is small, with room for only one at a time and the toilet is behind the door . There is only one pool centred between the buildings and while there was no shortage of chairs, can be crowded for seating . There are two rings of chairs surrounding the pool, cleverly separated by hedges also in rings almost giving a maze like look to the area. Contrary to signs posted , people were reserving the prime location chairs early in the morning, leaving just the outer ring chairs open for anyone not up at 7 AM . Service and friendliness from all staff was excellent and indeed is a huge plus for the resort. Most staff we encountered were excellent. The entertainment staff worked very hard and provided lots of options for activities, like volley ball, archery, horse shoes aerobics etc. Likewise in the evenings, band, shows etc were very good. Food and service in Sakura was one of the better one of it's type we have seen (out of about 8 similar)Reservations are easy to get and are for 1 1/2 hours , however a large party we shared the table with arrived a half hour late and put a bit of a rush on getting finished before the next group. The Chef and serving staff are to be commended for their patience and skills. Rodizio also provided very good food and service, but some care should be given to controlling the cats which had occasion to jump up on a table. Breakfast in both buffet locations was good with fresh fruit and cooked to order meals done very well.  Evening and lunch meals in the same were adequate, food was plentiful, kept well stocked with enough options, with some minor variation on theme specialties. Lobster cooked on flat grills tend to be quite charred in taste, perhaps open flame grilling would improve the taste /texture.  Note the two buffet restaurants are open sided to the outside and therefor not air conditioned and subject to visitation by birds. More then sufficient bars and product were available and at the pool side buffet even had self serve beer and soft drinks, however some poolside service would be an improvement. Our two major disappointments however, were the lack of VIEW from our beach view room 5018, which offered a view of Star Prestige Beach Club and the multiple vehicles dropping off supplies and guests and the quite noisy exchange between staff at 7:30 in the morning. and the lack of a bathtub in the room  as my wife looks forward to a relaxing tub at the end of day. Overall I would say the staff, service, well maintained grounds and food were pretty good. The Hotel is less modern, then we are accustomed to and reflect an older era. I think management is doing a good job trying to ensure quality, withing the limitations they are given.

Casa Marina Reef Resort: Great resort

Stayed here last week.The renovations are amazing!! Recommend a renovated room.New beds and pillows.So comfy! No complaints about room.Food,grounds and pools were amazing.Service was ok..You could tell who enjoyed their job and who did not...Please go visit Sousa public beach 10 min walk for all souviners and small excursions.The Jolly Roger bar was our favorite place to visit to meet other canadians and have some great food!! Will be returning! Tks to Amanda from T.O for helping us book last mi [... read more]n.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Great resort

Our family has been several times to this resort. The grounds are very well maintained. The nightly entertainment most will find as a delight. The food was tasty 3/5 rating (I can be a picky eater at times to be fair). The rooms are well kept and housekeeping is always available for what you may need. The food at the a la cart restaurant is great. Fantastic service. The buffet had an small issue with keeping up with service sometimes, but they were friendly. I would recommend that the fr [... read more]ont check in services area become a little more friendly and customer service focused.

Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: resort was ok

The resort itself was good, the bed were comfortable, but the food selection could use a bit of variety. It was a bit bland the fruit selection was poor, and the juices were watered down and really sugary. I would still recomend it but not as highly as I did the last time I was there. I think they have new management there and they were trying to increase cost savings. You couldn't use your own internet inside of the buildings.Overall it was still a good location for the cost I currently paid, b [... read more]ut I wouldn't pay more for it in the future.

Paradise Playa Dorada: Very Good Value at Grand Paradise Playa Dorada DR

My wife Vicki and I stayed at the Grand Paradise DR from January 14, 2018 thru January 25th, 2019. I always read and utilize the Trip Advisor reviews and had a couple of minor concerns but I wanted to return to DR North Shore/ Puerto Plata with my wife to celebrate our first visit there 31 years previous. Our first trip together. We upgraded to an Ocean Front Suite which was quite nice. We are frequent travellers with a diverse experience base so I am providing a fair objective review. I t [... read more]hink this resort is a 4 star. Please feeI free to contact me if you have any questions. 1) Food and bars are quite good. Only two a la carte, one snack bar and one primary buffet but the food was very good and way above my expectations. I was particularly pleased with the service we received at all the dining facilities and bars. We dined at the a la cartes for dinner 7 of 11 nights and really enjoyed the food and excellent service we received. Top Notch. The buffet served an extensive offering at lunch and dinner. Always offered some chicken/ beef/ pork/ fish that was amazing, flavourable, suited our taste. Obviously, some dishes we did not enjoy as much but got to try a variety of food we might not otherwise get to sample. Keep in mind different clientelle from around the world have different pallets so they are not only serving food to cater to North American pallets. We had very good service in all of the restaurants. We received excellent service and drinks at all the bars. We visited every bar and restaurant at the resort and we have no complaints. Good service, alcohol, variety of specialty drinks etc... We got to know some of the bar tenders all toooo well but made some friends and shared some laughs. Should add another a la carte or two. A beach BBQ one night a week would be a cool addition. 2) Rooms are nice and grounds are clean, well maintained and beautiful. The beds in our room were excellent, The air conditioner worked very well and quiet. The cleaning service was consistent and very good. 3) All buildings were in good condition and clean. Always staff around cleaning and picking up after the clientele. Front desk staff always helpful super quick and easy check in and check out. Hassle free. The main pool was always tooooo cool. Very few people were using the main pool. Disappointing! 4) Entertainment could use considerable work. The entertainment at the disco and bars was minimal and very low budget and lacking in imagination. They should imitate what many resorts do and present some variety with musical imitators, dance extravaganzas etc.. This could and should be easily fixed. 6) a)Golf course is a great value. Tough enough course and was in very good condition when I played a round. Mostly forgiving and can be played to over 7,000 yds. if you want. Greens were quite good. Rental equipment was moderate but only $20. b) Disco was weak. c) Unfortunately, Casino is closed but we knew that at booking so can not whine. d) Location was good you could quite easily walk in to Puerto Plata or take a 25 pesos "gwaugway", bus or taxi. 7) The people of the Dominican Republic are (bonita) beautiful. Quite friendly and good service.....but please remember you are in their country you have to make an effort as well. We try to speak Spanish as much as we can and the effort is always appreciated. We are not very good at espanol .... but we try.....LOL We went off resort and visited Centro Puerto Plata, local shopping, local market and the forteze San Felipe de Puerto Plata 1577. Unfortunately, everywhere we went the local people were in full press hustle mode. This was quite disappointing and too overly aggresive. Even when you were polite and indicated "NO GRACIOUS" vendors/ hustlers would not relent. 8) The stretch of beach at the Grand Paradise is spectacular. You can snorkel right off the beach in front of the resort. You can view the reef and fish in the ocean and not even over your head. In summary, I think this is a reasonable 4 star resort due to the high quality of the dining/ food and service. I will provide a slightly more detailed review on Trip Advisor. I prefer the south shore of the DR. A mi nuevo Republica Dominicana amigos and amigas..........mucho gracious.......Roberto

Playabachata Hotel: Okay Resort

I was given a good reccomendation from my travel agent, from Sunwing. I had high hopes that thr resort would be amazing. However, I was slightly disappointed. I requested a non-smoking room and was given a room that smelt of smoke and had butts in the ash tray still. My partner and I attempted to change rooms, but staff refused on multiple occassions. The rooms were not updated (as told) and they were dirty and unclean. The buffet lacked variety and the food was not the greatest. Th [... read more]e only redeeming quality of this resort is the beach and the naturistic feel. Although, the beach is public and the locals often roam the beach asking for cash and can rummage through your bag. I will not be returning to the D.R anytime soon.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Great Resort. Grows On You. Would Go back!

Sunwing Issue We were supposed to leave around 3:30 pm EST from Terminal 3. We came to the airport early as we had VIP access once checked in. By 11:15 we saw that our plane was delayed about 5 hours. On a check on the pervious WG410 flight from Toronto one week before we saw a similar delay so not happy. We were given ‘weather’ as an excuse but the plane was coming from Punta Cana so very unlikely since other planes from there were not late to Toronto. It seemed like a poor excuse. We we [... read more]re given $20 each to spend for food so we got at least something. Since we had VIP we missed the 2 gate changes that occurred between when we checked in and when we left so that was at least good for us. The incoming plane came in just before it was supposed to leave so we knew it would be even later. All said and done it was almost 6 hours late. Suffice to say the people that were delayed 5 hours getting to Puerto Plata the week before (Jan 10th) were once again delayed coming back as they had to wait for us to get in before their WG411 flight left Puerto Plata. Not a lot of happy faces. This fiasco made our bus drivers at the airport in Dominican have to wait 6 hours. The hotel staff were not happy with the delay and with Sunwing at all. Sunwing does not have a very good name, at least not at this resort. When we got to the resort it was almost 3pm their time (They are AST). We had no porters and it was dark and hard to find the room. To top it off the doors to the rooms slam shut VERY hard which was not great having 10 – 15 couples come to their rooms at 3am and have they many doors slam hard. I will NEVER do Sunwing again! Rooms There are two main groups of buildings with pool in between. 3 floors each side. You can walk from one building to another in the group while having shelter from rain if need be. You can basically get close to the beach and all the way back to the lobby and restaurants while staying within the sheltered area of the group of buildings. We were in the ‘7’ block of rooms. That made us close to the pool and very close to the snackbar. We had room 7103 (floor 2) We had a chance to look at an Oceanview room (first floor) but it was not as close as we wanted and quite frankly in a busy area so we kept our Gardenview room. Gardenview room was the best for us as it had a great view of trees, flora and gardens and it was very quiet. As stated before, be careful as the door to the room slams shut HARD! They had fairly basic showers in the room we had but we did see other rooms that seemed to have a more updated look. The cleaning of the rooms is great and never had any issues at all with the staff. Fridges are kept well stocked and they can provide more water if need be. Do not drink the tap water, only use it for tooth brushing and nothing else. There was no bottles of alcohol in the rom and did not ask for it so not sure how that works. We did get Presidente beer (their house brand in Dominican), water and sugar and sugar free pop. We got a nice size balcony with two chairs and a table. There was also a white plastic dryer on the balcony wall you could pull to expand to dry clothes on. The lock to the balcony was not working but since we were floor 2 we did not press it. Bed and pillow were comfy and we had a king bed. Safe was good and had no issues with it. They do not have any super deluxe rooms like swim up etc. Took Canadian electronics and had no issues charging and using the plugs but not many. Musty smell in the room but was normal for tropical destinations and we got used to it. Air conditioning and fan were perfect if in fact sometimes even too cold. Food and Drink Coffee is good in the restaurants but the espresso machine in the lobby bar is best for cappuccino etc You can self serve your coffee, tea, water, cappuccino, ice cream etc on the property. Alcohol was good. You get Presidente beer only and not top shelf booze which is normal. We are not too picky so for us was not a big deal. You can pay more for top shelf stuff if you want to. We did get them to make a bloody mary numerous times for us. Not a Caesar but as close as you will get there. Be careful though as some were making it with Ghost Pepper sauce and calling it ‘Tobasco’.. hottttt!!! There are 3 nights you can do a sit down dinner. Booking was quick and painless. We did not do Mediterranean but instead did the Japanese (twice) and Mexican once. There are 3 sit down restaurants. Mexican was great but since my partner is Mexican there was a hint of it not being fully authentic but in some aspects it was close. Japanese was terrific. We want two nights in a row. You get dinner and a show as it is Teppanyaki style. You get soup and appetizer followed by the ‘show’. You can get two items from octopus, chicken, beef and shrimp. It was phenomenal and by far the bets food there. The main buffet I believe was 7 – 10 am then 1 – 3 pm and finally 6 - 10 pm. In between is the snackbar by the beach. Late night the Mexican becomes the 24 hour snack bar and they have a surprising amount of stuff (ie you can get eggs at midnight there). Buffet was great and open on most sides so there is a chance for birds and bugs. Just a heads up. As well at the snack bar you will find there are a few wild cats that roam the property so do not be surprised. Entertainment At night there was a cigar bar right by the lobby bar and theatre area and they had a good range of cigars to choose from. We went to most nights entertainment and it was things like Michael Jackson night (Amazing), latin night, karaoke and Lion King. The animation team is just top notch and you do not want to miss the shows. There are a few columns in the way so get your seats early if you can. The main entertainment starts at 9:30 pm but there are other things going on stage about an hour before that. There is a bar right in the auditorium that is way easier to get booze from compared to the lobby bar right outside. We did visit the disco twice which is just past the lobby bar. It opens at 11. Nice place with a route 66 vibe as well as the front of a truck inside the disco (Don’t be surprised as it honks and flashes its lights). It was quiet when we went but it was just when it opened so I assume it gets busier later at night. There are nights where in the main courtyard by the lobby where there is music and dancing. We did see that if you exit the front of the resort, just to the right is a Casino. We did not go and there were mixed reviews on the casino. There is not a casino on site of this resort. Shopping We did pick a day to go to Puerto Plata’s main square. A Taxi costs $40 US for a 4 hour ‘city tour’. The cabbie stays with you the full 4 hours and you really can go anywhere in town that you want to go. Of course as we expected there were a few times the cabbie introduced us to ‘his brother’ or ‘his friend’ who wanted to sell us something but that was no surprise. Town is a bit run down. We went to the Amber museum (also run down a bit). It cost $2 US each and we spent about 10 minutes there. We also did a shop as Las Sirenas which is a grocery store (a bit like Walmart). Food and rum prices were ok. Shopping at the resort was not much. A few high end stores and there is a store that sells snacks, sunscreen, Dominican souvenirs etc. Property Overall the property is very well kept up… trees and bushes trimmed, clean outside etc. The only knock is that the rooms themselves seem a bit dated and also since there is only one pool it must be hard to ever fix and update it which is likely why it is showing its age. Walking by the gardenview rooms (behind the ‘7’ block of rooms) there is a nice area to view the trees and birds and aloe plants as well as another area where there are Orchids. We found this to be the best way to get to the lobby and food. Only one main single pool and it needs a bit of work. In the middle is a ‘hot’ tub but like most / all in these destinations it was just slightly warmer than the pool. Pool is cold as well as the ocean itself. Even on a very hot day the pool was shocking to get in to. I know that with the ocean they can do nothing but it would help if the pool was warmer. Not sure if time of year had an affect. Beach and pool were quiet and it was never an issue finding a seat or shade for that matter. They had older yellow loungers and newer grey back ones (where you can elevate the head and knees). Go for the new ones if you can. Beach was nice but as you get to the water there is quite a lot of seaweed. They did try on a few days to clean some of it up but there were parts of the beach where if you waded in you had to go through seaweed first. Final Tips - Remember its $20 US to exit the airport so have your money ready and make sure to get a receipt as you will need it when you check in - There are tighter restrictions on what can go in carry on. For example if I had ground coffee I would not have been able to do carry on… even things like soap bard and blocks of candy (like fudge) must be checked in or you lose it!

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Calm and Relaxing Getaway!

My bf and I travelled here with another couple. Upon arrival we were greeted by Liliana who was absolutely lovely, we got to check in early at 1pm. We stayed in a superior room close to the beach (definitely recommend a 1st floor room). We headed straight to the buffet and the service was great. Our drinks were constantly refilled and the food was delicious. We tried all the El a Cartes, the grill being our favourite (the beef fillet is must try!). There are two pool areas, the spa pool is grea [... read more]t for R&R while the other pools had awesome music, pool bar and was lively. The crowd was mostly 50+ and the rest in their 20s. The night life wasn't crazy, the beach disco ends at 11pm so if you're looking for exciting night entertainment/ partying - this isn't the place for you. My favourite day activities were by the pool, they did something different every afternoon (flip cup, water olympics, etc). If you're looking to try some excursions, there's a great city tour/ cable car ride. If I had to be nit-picky the showers were never hot, in the morning we got warm water and the evening was cold. Overall we had a fantastic stay and the trip was a great value!

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Amazing Value!

-Staff were excellent. Extremely friendly and provided a great experience. -Beach and Pools were great, not too busy, could always find a chair or bed to lay in by the pool or beach. -Room was large and clean, they provide you with jugs of water which is great too. -A la carte's were excellent, great variety with seafood, chinese, and the grill. Buffet was average but no complaints. -Activities throughout the week were varied and fun. -Overall had a great week and the price provides excelle [... read more]nt value.