Iberostar Waves Dominicana: Iberostar Domicana January 2019

We visited the Iberostar Dominicana from January 24 to January 31, 2019. The resort is a 30 minute drive from the Punta Cana airport. There are two sides to the resort - the Dominicana side and the Punta Cana side, which are essentially mirror images of each other. We had a garden view room in the Dominicana side of the resort which means that our room was accessed from the interior garden courtyard. Our room was on the second floor of the 4 storey unit and it was very quiet and clea [... read more]n. It was a short stroll from our room to the pools area and then another short stroll to the beach. The entire grounds of the resort are meticulously groomed. Food at the resort is fresh but quite bland, as is to be expected at an all inclusive. Entertainment is good with two main events every night - the Teatro side features a large cast with a variety of shows with live music, dancers and singers, while the Star Band Stage is a smaller venue focused on largely latin music on stage assisted by the entertainment crew - on the ground - who circulate through the audience ensuring that anyone who wants to dance has a capable partner. The entertainment Crew work their tails off as it is their job to ensure that patrons enjoy the evening entertainment as well as participating in the daily aqua fit, volleyball, or dance lessons through the day. These folk work 12 days on and have 3 days off - so they earn their tips honestly. The weather for our stay was excellent - 7 days of 28 to 30 Celsius and blue skies. We did one excursion - para sailing - but it was a 30 minute van ride in a very sketchy van to a sketchy beach to a sketchy para sailing crew. My advice is pay the extra 20 USD and do the Para sailing at the resort. Our package was with Air Canada vacations, and while the price was good their so-called "Price Drop Guarantee" is totally misleading since it is almost impossible to qualify for it. Another misleading aspect of the AC Vacation is the so-called $500 resort coupons. An example is that there is, let's say, a $20 coupon for a $120 spa massage; however, if you talk to the person at the spa they'll give you the massage for $90 cash (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). This vacation exceeded our expectations and was better than our previous vacations to Antigua (Sugar Ridge) and Cuba (Melia Caya Coco)

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Beautiful resort right on the beach

Iberostar Laguna Azul is a very attractive resort just to be in. The lobby is large and spacious with a beautiful large patio overlooking the pools and on towards the ocean. Sea or pool - your choice since they are steps apart. Okay, rooms could do with some updates and there were minor repairs needed here and there but everything was very clean all the time. Food was - Cuba - so adequate but plentiful. Staff were all extremely friendly and attentive - not a bad word to be said overall, for the [... read more] price the reset was unbeatable.

Iberostar Origin Playa Pilar: Nice Resort

Overall, our stay was a good experience. Only a few annoyances, crying toddler next door, safe not working and very loud music (standard for most resorts I hear). But the staff was great, grounds well cared for and a beautiful location (amazing beach within walking distance). Also, staff didn't pressure for tips which was wonderful and actually made you want to give more.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: amazing resort

we go back in a minute they are so professional special thanks to entertainment crew especially randy it is the best hotel we have ever stayed in and we have gone to alot of places over time i would recommend this resort to anyone had a great stay

Hotel Mojito: Excellent Resort

Iberostar Mojito is an excellent resort in many ways. The beach is second to none,the staff friendly and the tourists who frequent this resort seem to enjoy themselves more than the 35 other resorts we have stayed in. The nightly entertainment in the lobby is varied and really exceptional. We enjoyed many dances to the different musicians who entertained everyone. The staff who ran the evening children show were very impressive and the children and their parents were fun to watch. The grounds [... read more] are well groomed,the rooms dated but clean and the food good. Do not miss the bar-be-cue held once a week at lunch time just pass the pools. The staff work hard to organize that event. If you like to meet good people this is the resort for you. Enjoy.

Iberostar Waves Rose Hall Beach: Most best time ever , other than birth..

Like i say nevrr a better experience and hospitality was even more amazing the beach the poolbar all surrounding experiences in n out of hotel resort . Water n weather was fantastic n thats about all i can say........................

Iberostar Selection Playa Mita: Very Enjoyable

A very nice complex with a great walking beach and very nice grounds. Lots of pool activities with support staff. Specialty restaurants were good but not exceptional ... enjoyed the food at the French the most.sport casual attire is all that is needed at the restaurants. A large Hilton resort currently under construction next door. Would definitely go back some day.

Iberostar Origin Daiquiri: Amazing Resort

The hotel was amazing. My family and I had an amazing time. We had great rooms, the food we ate were great as well. The staff at the resort are friendly. We are already thinking of planning a return visit.

JOIA Paraiso by Iberostar: The best

The best vacation ever. Risently we return back from our vacation trip, adjustad with help of Tripcentral. It was above all expectations. Agents help was very professional, highly qualified. I recieved max information and good advices without waist of time, Plus price was very loyal. Hotel and service are exclusively good, above all our expectations.Definitely recommend it for vacation.

Iberostar Waves Rose Hall Beach: Highly recommended

The iberostar is an amazing resort...from your first step off the bus arriving til the time you leave. They strive to make everything beautiful and have success every time. The food is amazing, people sooo friendly. Rooms are spotless and very comfortable. Come to this resort...you won’t be disappointed ❤️💕🌹👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😍👌🏻🥰

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Playa Alameda

Front Desk- Staff should be happier and greet guests with a smile, always looks like your bothering them when you go up for something. They also need to get more organized with cash and change, only one day out of 7 was I able to get change smaller than 5 cuc. People ain’t going to tip with 5 pesos, I like tipping 1-2 pesos almost every time I eat or get a drink,but not 5. Buffett- Pictures on Tripadvisor show lots of seafood and lobster, only seafood I seen the whole week was soggy uncleane [... read more]d shrimp and the same 2 types of fish a few nights. None of their salt shakers work, you can hear people banging them on tables throughout dining room. They use too course of salt for the tiny holes and salt is damp, they need to put rice in salt shakers. A La Carte- only tried Italian and Romantico, Romantico was nothing special, basically same meat as in Buffett but fancy plates. Lasagna was good in Italian as was the Carpaccio. Snack Bar Pool- Good French fries and hamburgers, pizza needed more sauce on it. The food was tasty and fresh but just repeated to much, they need to change it up and have theme nights. People get bored with the same old food every night. Grounds- They do clean up a lot and trim trees. Seen quite a few lamp posts with exposed wiring and held together with tape and not connectors, tape falls off in the kind of heat and could be deadly if touched. Rooms- Are large and spacious but old and tired, seen some bad wiring in room also. My friends room had no lamp shades. All the wall plugs get turned off when switch is closed, found that out when tablet never charged overnight. Our maid was awesome, always kept our room clean and surprised us every day with flowers and towel art. Bars- Were great, usually fast service, only thing they ran out of tonic water all week and no Amaretto Animation Team- Were good but I found they didn’t do enough activities at pool, they were non-existence most of the day. The shows were ok, I have seen better. Charlie is one special character.Foam party was supposed to be at beach on the sand at night which I never seen before,usually it’s in the pool in the daytime. They moved it to the theatre that night because of wind and rain, people dancing around in the foam not being able to see the chairs was not to smart. The resort doesn’t take any safety precautions into anything. Sidewalks around pool end and drop into a sandbox which is there when it was for kids. Why incorporate a sandbox that’s 6-8” lower than what your walking on, how many people fall into this at night. All in all the resort was ok and would return only if it was cheaper in price.

Muthu Colonial Hotel: Amazing beach, depressing resort

The hotel is way outdated with doors and windows that don’t close well, no hot water for two days, no light bulbs on stairs, no Mojito at the bars, poor food selection and full of Russian tourists. It says 4 stars, but in reality it is close to 3 stars.

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.

Iberostar Waves Quetzal: gorgeous resort.

We enjoyed there every minute. Service was excellent. There was variety of food. Lovely location with different cute birds and animals. Everybody was friendly and tried to bring us only good memories about our holidays.

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.

Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach: Great for families!

Air Transat: The transfer from the airport to the hotel was very nice. Clean, air conditioned and friendly service. It was a nice touch that the whole wedding group had a private transfer so we knew everyone on the bus and only had to stop at our hotel making the drive seem faster. The Air Transat rep was friendly, funny and good at relaying information about excursions. The one negative I would say is that she recommended the “free” shuttle to Playa Del Carmen. We understood that ther [... read more]e would be a couple stops prior and when we reserved our shuttle we checked with her to make sure that we would return to the hotel in time for the rehearsal dinner with the rest of the wedding group. She informed us that we would be back at the hotel by 5:30 at the very latest. At our second stop (the Tequila and gift shop) we had to wait about 45 minutes for the shuttle to come pick us up to bring us to Playa Del Carmen. We finally get there and upon arrival were informed to meet the shuttle for our return at 5:40... the bus was returning after the time we were told we would be back at our resort. We ended up having a quick lunch where we were dropped off and taking 2 cabs back to the resort. Unfortunately we never got a chance to “see” or walk around Playa Del Carmen and it was a wasted day that we could have spent back at our resort. Most of the other people in our group went to Playa Del Carmen in the following days, we told them to just take a cab and not waste their time with the “free” shuttle. Hotel - Check In was quick and simple. Because we were part of a wedding group they had everyone set up at a table ready to go. The resort itself is beautiful and well taken care of. We loved the open air lobby and the lobby bar as well as all the greenery and wildlife on and around the resort. It’s very spacious so you don’t feel crowded but that also means a lot of walking from your room to the restaurants or the beach. The shuttles did run fairly often enough but we found ourselves just walking most of the time. Pools - The pools we nice and clean and they had few swim up bars to choose from. They made whatever drink you requested from Mojitos to Mudslide or something special for the kids. The pool water was a little cooler than we would have liked but the kids of course still swam. There were a lot of lounger around the pools so we were usually able to find a few for our group without having to get up at 8 am to reserve them. The only negative was that there are no hot tubs. Only jacuzzi’s that are the same temperature as the pool. The only spot that hat any tru hot tubs is the spa. Restaurants - Service at all the restaurants were very good and fast. Nice atmosphere/decor, food was tasty and again plenty of drink options. Even the buffet restaurants were good. Spaces fill up quick for the specialty restaurants so I would recommend reserving them early. Rooms - The buildings are all 3 story walk ups so any one with limited mobility or in a wheel chair needs to be on the bottom floor. They offer bell boy service so that you don’t need to carry your luggage up 3 flights of stairs. No matter what side of the building you are on you get a decent view of either the pool or the grounds. The rooms weren’t too dated, they were clean and the maid service was good. The beds were 2 doubles, we would have preferred 2 queens but there was also a built in couch/futon that our other child slept on. Beds were fairly comfortable but you did feel every time the other person moves. Beach - Sand at the beach was soft, no sea shells or coral so you don’t need water shoes. They cleaned the sea weed every morning and it’s a long stretch of beach that you can walk along. There was lots of loungers and palapas to choose from and the snack bar/drink bar was close. There were a few days that the waves were really bad and the red flag was up. The lifeguards were amazing, we watched them save a couple of people. Kids Club - We went with our kids to the Star Club every day. They LOVED it there. Plenty of activities for all age groups. Very clean, modern and friendly staff. The kitchen had drinks and snacks available. There was a new PlayStation, the wii switch, a big couch, a hammock, rock climbing wall, trampolines with basketball nets, board games, crafts and art easels, jungle gym, a stage, outdoor playground and then a games room with disco for teenagers. Shows & activites - There were lots of activities and entertainment at the loud pool. One day they had a giant inflatable thing in the pool for the kids. That kept them entertained for hours! The kids shows at the theatre were fun and interactive. They were so impressed with the magic show. Overall we had a great family vacation and an enjoyable experience at the resort. We found that there weren’t too many kids there and a good balance of things for the kids and adults to do. Our only recommendation (and I’m not sure if other resorts do this since it was our first time doing an all inclusive with kids) would be that the resort give kids a different coloured glass when serving drinks. It was difficult to tell if their virgin pina coloda or sprite was theirs once they put it down. Any time we lost sight of their cup we would just get them a new drink to be on the safe side.

Iberostar Selection Holguin: Modern resort

This resort will be very nice in a year or so. It's brand new and some things are not ready for turists. For example the beach. One is right next to the buildings 25 and 26 and faces the river with small bay where you can smell diesel fumes from sand excavation boat which floats right in front of the beach. This sand is being supplied to the next beach which is few hundred meters away. Since this beach is only partially done it was extremely crowded. The other thing we were missing was outside g [... read more]rill. But this resort definitely deserves credit for excellent service and pleasant people. Unfortunately this resort is a bit too modern for us since we prefer more Cuban authenticity and greenery. If I would not yet recommend this resort that would be for beach issue only

JOIA Paraiso by Iberostar: WE LOVE THE GRAND- AGAIN AND STILL!

We had been to the Iberostar Grand 4 times previous and also to the Grand in Jamaica and Dominican Republic. This Grand is the best! Staff and management are outstanding, food exceptional and the buildings are gorgeous! We had a room overlooking the tranquility pool and it was lovely. Room service is always on time and still hot! You will not be disappointed here. Lots to see and do. There is a shopping mall, casino and plenty of grounds to wander around. This resort was and still is, our [... read more] favorite in the Mayan.

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: Amazing time

we loved staying here! the drinks where amazing and the food was good! i have celiac and i always had alot to eat! the workers were very nice! you could buy hr internet cards for 1.45 canadian or 1 Paso. alot of people we spoke to who had been coming to cuba for years said this was the best resort they stayed at. They has salt peper and ketchup (alot of resorts in cuba dont) . we cant wait to go back to this resort! was truly an amazing time! beautiful beach, and you can walk anywhere safely!

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.