Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Worth Every Penny

The hotel was very clean; Maria our maid went out of the way each day to ensure that the room was spotless and did lovely towel figures on the beds. The staff was so concerned about our enjoyment; Ana the bartender left the bar frequently to ensure that we were in great drinks shape :-) The food was all good, with dinner and lunch by the Ocean restaurant truly deserving of special mention. Presentation every where was great. Not a single complaint for the entire week!

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Very Good Resort

Grounds are beautiful Food and drink are plenty. Rooms comfortable with very nice balconies to view pool, garden or beach Animation team excellent Service very good - they aim to please. Market/store on site very reasonable as compared to buying merchandise at airport Location close to airport - short shuttle ride to resort

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Impressive resort

Just completed a weeks vacation at this resort. Superior room was excellent food was great staff very pleasant and helpful shows were great grounds well kept I would return to this resort and recommend it to others.

Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort: Paradisiac place with horrible beat as a background!

The grounds, rooms, features are awesome. The horrible part is to be subjected to techno-music everywhere, all the time. We cannot listen to Nature but a constant beat called music. Good food, very small beach.

Lifestyle Residence Suites: Excellent vslue

Good value for your money. Beach nice but small in size compared to other resorts. Pools were nice with a good selection ie quiet or entertainment staff. Room was outdated but Ac and beds were very good lots of hot water as well. We stayed at the Residence Suites.

Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort: Great resort

We went to check in and got upgraded to the confresi the rooms were beautiful very modern and clean and very big rooms...just was disappointed that we didn’t get our bottle of rum when checking in I had to ask them twice and then a third time for it....fridge was only stocked once with two beers we left tips in fridge and they took it and didn’t refill the fridge all they do is replenish your water at times and if you wanted it you had to request it. We thought u would get atleast two beers  [... read more]and pop n water daily but you don’t at this resort...the resort is great the food was excellent except the Italian wasn’t a big fan of. The staff and entertainment people were awesome made our trip a lot of fun. But unfortunately at this resort you also get told if you loose your bracelet it’s a$200 U.S charge which two people had bracelets ripping and another lost there bracelets once found it....got a new one and second time around completely lost it. Sad to say we had to pay aside from that everything would of been excellent. I would recommend this resort but highly say to keep an eye on ur bracelets. We paid half the price in early dec compared to what it is after dec 15

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Loved it

The resort grounds and beaches were immaculately kept. The food was great. The staff were very friendly and extremely attentive. The only downside is that in Dominican, the beaches are public....so the locals are constantly soliciting you....it's not the end of the world but it definitely drops the whole experience by one star.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Good resort

The hotel rooms are a little tired and need refreshing. The pool is good, there were lots of sun loungers available, there didn't seem to be an issue with people reserving loungers. Food was good, staff is wonderful. The grounds are well kept. The evening entertainment was sad😐. The beach is great, lots of space and a great mix of sun and shadey spots. Overall a good hotel, not great.

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Fabulous Resort

The quiet atmosphere was relaxing during the early mornings and the engaging activities were well thought out during the day. The animation team goes above and beyond to get their guests involved in fun games, dances, and the especially entertaining foam party on Saturdays. I give a special shout out to Candy, Mini, and Kim for their sincere attitudes towards all guests and the fabulous efforts they put into ensuring all are enjoying their stay at the VHeavens.

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Looks good.....

Get comfortable because this review is gonna be thorough description of our stay. My wife and used WestJet to get from Canada to the resort for a 5 day stay. The trip was pleasant and as expected. Upon arrival we were greeted with very friendly desk staff. We were given our wrist bands(lowest tier). They explained everything we needed to know for our stay. One of the concierge told us if we needed anything to let him know (He ask that we look for him specifically). Day 1(1/4day)  [... read more] Hotel staff showed us our standard room and explained the tv wasn't working (not a problem as we don't watch television). I was under the impression from the discription on the website that our room would have a balcony or terrace, however this was not the case as our room had neither. We didn't complain because it was around 7:30pm and we weren't overly concerned about it. Our room also had no chairs to sit on, the bathroom had only one towel and the climate control had one setting(freezing). This also didn't bother us because of the 30°c temperature outside and there was no problem getting another towel. We sat on the bed and enjoyed the two beers that were inside the mini fridge. People we met later in our stay said they were unhappy with their original room and when the complained were upgraded/unhappy again and upgraded again. We left our room and went and enjoyed the buffet. The food was well cooked and presentation was good. We found out the hard way there is no bathrooms in the buffet area. (Bathrooms at the front desk, pool area and our room were about the same distance). We walked around the resort and found the guest and staff to be polite and friendly. We returned to our room and attempted to go to sleep. We could hear the music coming from the entertainment area and people enjoying themselves. Day 2 In the morning (9:30) housekeeping arrived knocked once and came right in. We quickly let them know we were still sleeping. We planned to be out of the room after 10 because that's the time the lunch buffet opens otherwise we would have hung the do not disturb sign(didn't expect housekeeping that early). We left our room around 10:30 without hanging the sign. After lunch/breakfast we went to book dinners at the 3 ala carte restaurants. We asked if it was possible to book more than 3 restaurants(Asian, seafood and steak) but we're told other guests had to have a chance to visit them(fair enough). After this we went to the beach. We were almost immediately greeted by a tour salesperson and a woman who insisted on giving my wife and I one braid in our hair for free(This happened every time we went to the beach throughout our stay by the same people, despite repeatedly rejecting their offers). The beach itself was clean, the water was warm and the view was the best I had ever seen in person, in my life. Also worth a visit, is the snack bar(seafood ala carte at night) at the beach. Good food and a bathroom close to the dining area. For dinner we were booked at the Asian restaurant. This was a pleasant experience. Food was delicious, the presentation was delightful and staff was quick and courteous. We returned to our room to and discovered housekeeping had not returned. Afraid they would wake us up at 9 am we placed the do not disturb sign on the door and fell asleep to music from outside. Day 3 I got up early 5:30 to get a photo of the sunrise at 6 over the ocean. The mosquito are very bad before sunrise but during the day are not bad at all. I returned to my room after I got the picture and went back to sleep. At 9am I woke up to the housekeeping staff yelling at eachother about toilet paper. My wife and I woke up at that time and on our way out I asked housekeeping if we could get another towel and gave them the room number. They seemed to understand. We went to the breakfast buffet. We were greeted at the door with a tasty breakfast shot. The breakfast buffet was average but there was no bacon. This was the only day we went to the breakfast buffet so I'm not sure if this was normal or if I just got unlucky. This day we spent most of the time in the pool enjoying the swim up bar. I was drinking the cocktail of the week called an ice tea. This drink looked like a sunset in the photo and when made by the right bartender tasted delicious and looked like the photo. Unfortunately there were some bartenders who for some reason claimed they don't make it or couldn't make it properly. For these bartenders I would just order a beer (Trial and error). Dinner was at the seafood restaurant. Everything I tried was delicious and the presentation was good. Staff here was quick and courtesy also. We decided to check out the entertainment with people we had met in the pool that day. The show was very entertaining. During the show wait staff brought us drinks. I was drinking water and after a few rounds the waiter said no water so I ordered a rum and coke. They returned with a rum and diet cola. We finished our drinks and returned to our room at around 12. We noticed the housekeeping brought us another towel but did not stock the mini fridge (this was not a big deal to us as the resort is all inclusive but still worth mentioning I think). We fell asleep to music from outside. Day 4 6:45am we are awakened by maintenance staff knocking on the room across from ours and started using tools on the door banging and scratching at the door. I asked that he return in a couple hours. At 8:30 he returned again and began working untill around 9. My wifeand i were upset but were determined to have a positive vacation. I attempted to use the tv and found that it was working. We watched TV untill 10 and went to the snack bar at the beach. There was an artist there teaching tourist to paint free of charge. My wife partook and painted a beautiful apple. We donated to the artist and bought some of his work. This was our last day so we decided to leave the resort to do a little shopping. We went to the front desk and one of the concierge (different one than the one who asked us to look for him) greeted us. We asked where the shopping off resort was and he pointed us in the right direction(2 minutes walk from the resort). He also put us know if we needed anything to look for him. Just him. Similar to the first concierge. This concierge requested we meet him after shopping so he could show us around the resort (we didn't feel this was necessary). At the shopping area tour sales people try to get you to buy a tour. They are respectful when you just say no thanks. Some of the shops don't have prices so look around at all the shops to find the value of what your looking for. Return to the shops without price tags and you can get souvenirs for a good price. Some shops may try to sell you drugs so be prepared. One shop keeper called me a cheapskate because I knew exactly what I wanted and bartered him to my price. The shopkeeper was very friendly and smiled while calling me this. I had fun. We returned to the resort. That night we went to the steak restaurant. Again the food was delicious and the presentation was good however the wait staff was busy with other guests and we waited a little longer than the other restaurants. We went back to the room and watched a movie before falling asleep to music from outside. Day 5 7am we are again awakened by a car alarm followed by 10 seconds of solid horn from the parking lot. We return to sleep untill 11 undisturbed. Buffet. Checkout and travel home was as expected. Overall I expect if we would have complained earlier we could have got a better location away from the entertainment area. Food and guest services were very good. We still got more sleep for the 5 days than a normal 5 day work week.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: SECOND TO NONE!

We stayed at the VH Gran Ventana the week of Nov. 21 to 28th. Everything about this hotel was more than we expected. The service was second to none. All the employees were very friendly and their service was fabulous. We requested a room on the main floor due to accessibility issues and got the best room ever!. The food at the buffet and the ala cartes was 5 star. The only thing we would have liked was a coffee pot in the room and the wifi wasn't the best, however, everything else far out [... read more]weighed these issues. We look forward to returning in the spring.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Good place for vacation

Overall, I liked vacation at Iberostar Costa Dorada. To itemize: - food is great, huge variety, in the buffet every evening there is something new, like sushi, Mexican food, etc. - service is good, especially when you give tips; because of a lot of European vacationers who usually don't give tips, servers usually don't expect them; but if you give $1US or 50DOP the service becomes even better, - room was clean; bedsheets were changed every day; - entertainment was good, there were a lot o [... read more]f daily activities, including shooting and archery; - swimming pool was good, I also liked the whirlpool which is in the middle of it between the columns; - beach was decent; the only thing is it was cleaned of weeds every second day; therefore, some days it's not perfect; at the same time, sand was fine and allowed long walking; - the ocean goes deep quickly and always wavy; it may not be suitable for small kids. There is a golf course near of the hotel. It will cost around $110US to play 9 holes + $15 for taxi. Although it's a Spanish country, almost everybody speaks English well; exception is the taxi drivers who usually don't speak English at all. Overall, it's a good place for vacation. The only bad experience I had this trip was not related to the hotel but to the Air Canada as number of their employees' failures were quite annoying. We came to the airport close to 1hr deadline due to traffic delays on 401; we still could be in time on the flight, but Air Canada employee directed as to the wrong and very long line; then, when there was "Last call to Puerto Plata" we were moved to the separate line, but nobody served as for the next 25 minutes. Then, at check-in, obviously we were late for sending luggage, and the only options was given is whole family should fly without luggage. I wonder why they didn't provide the option that part of the family could still go to the plane without luggage, and part of family take care of suitcases? This would save us cost of 2 tickets (~$800) on the next day flight. I understand that this happened because we came close to deadline. However, I even though we would have come half of an hour earlier, we had directed to the same long line, stayed there for 30 minutes, moved to the separate line with no service, and the result would be the same. Perhaps, coming to the airport for Air Canada flight in 2 hours before the flight is not a recommendation, it's a "must". There is no such problem with other carriers; same check-in procedure next day with WestJet took only 10 minutes without any lines. But it's not the end. On the way back from Puerto Plata it was a shower rain and two flights were expected from/to Toronto, namely Air Canada and Air Transat with less than an hour between them. The Air Canada plane "due to bad weather condition" went to other place and came back later causing 2 hours delay; however, few minutes after the delay announcement the Air Transat plane successfully landed to Puerto Plata and went back to Toronto in time. And that was sort of a last drop for me. It's been my 10th vacation in Caribbean for the last 9 years and the first with Air Canada; perhaps, and it's the last one with Air Canada as well. Anyways, other than that, vacation went well, a lot of food, swimming, great photos and fun. I will definitely recommend this hotel to my friends. :)

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Beautiful resort

Great time..maid service was awesome..did not have to ask for anything..beach was good .flea market vendors there..just say no...along as there's not more than one..buffet service again awesome..all in all clean resort with great pool service and freinfly service..would abso recommend.. Thanks kelly

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Excellent Visit

Four of us visited the week of Nov. 12th to the 19th. Airport and resort check in went very smoothly as did the welcome cocktail. We arrived at the perfect time around 3pm and headed right to our rooms. Concierge led the way and explained some details about the resort and our room while our luggage was delivered. First impressions of the layout and grounds were wow, very nice, mountain in the back and ocean in the front. We requested two weeks prior for building #1 top floor with king beds in b [... read more]oth rooms, close together and received exactly that. Rooms 1214 and 1215 were well located with decent ocean views. The room was great. Everything worked well and super comfortable pillow top beds. The resort is very well laid out with only a two-three minute walk through lovely grounds to everything. The beach right in front of our building was perfect, always loungers available and a really nice entry into the sandy bottom ocean. To the right there was some rock but nice entries could easily be found. The guys on the beach trying to take you the market were annoying at first but a no thanks and they left us alone. The water was nice and warm and a little wavy, perfect for cooling off. The pool was also refreshing and clean. They repaired a part of the pool while we were there, took three days to complete. No problem because the other two sections remained opened. Always felt not crowed and again plenty of loungers. The food and drinks were of good quality and very good. Our new favorite was Bombay Gin/sprite and lime, also very refreshing. The buffet was great with a nice variety. Breakfast was amazing every morning with anything you could think of. Themed nights mixed things up nicely like Asian night and Dominican night featuring shrimp and lobster. We tried all three restaurants and enjoyed them all. The Japanese was our least favorite. The main stir fry was good, appetizers and the overall loud show not so good. Service was good everywhere. The shows were okay, but way too loud. The Circle of Life (The Lion King) was very good as well as the show where couples competed in these hilarious various games. The entertainment staff go over and above all day long to entertain the guest especially Justin Beiber who went out of his way to get to know and make us laugh. If you visit you’ll be sure to hear/see him. All in all it was a great week and a very nice/classy resort. The weather was a nice mix of sun/clouds/heat and a tropical storm that went on for hours one evening. Would highly recommend, you won’t be disappointed.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Will return!

Staff, management, food and service are all top notch. Rooms are basic, spacious and kept clean but are in need of some maintenance/renovations. Room safe is not inclusive unless you upgrade to premium or royal which I did not. Most of the public space is open-air therefore not air conditioned. There were ceiling fans but oftentimes they were not running or on low speed. I believe two of the three a-la-cartes are air-conditioned. The Vintage Club lounge is air-conditioned but only accessib [... read more]le to premium and royal guests. Layout of the resort is very convenient with a 24-hour coffee/tea station in centre court. Evening entertainment needs improvement in my opinion. There was only one evening with live music with the exception of a sax player who made a brief appearance on two evenings. For the most part, the resort was occupied by couples and families. Beach is beautiful but be prepared for the vendors as they approach everyone. They are friendly, not overly assertive but they don't give up! No thank you or no gracias works but they always come back. The staff and service are the best I've experienced to date and I would return.

Casa Marina Reef Resort: Good

Its was terrible, I did not slept for 5 days .because of the construction. I went there to release. I got more stress . But the staff was amazing. I don't if will recommend. My friend who want to go next month there.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Amazing Resort in Rio San Juan

One word to describe Grand Bahia Principe San Juan just Excellent. This hotel have been the most beautiful experience personally, the professionalism from the front desk to the girls who makes my room...The food at the Buffet was just delicious.

Puerto Plata Village: Boring

The property is very nice and well kept, quality of housekeeping, its schedule and changing bed sheets, towels should be improved though. Very friendly staff, but lacks interesting activities to do there or having quality night entertainment. Nothing is close by the resort to explore except the beach and an empty expensive mall. Taxis are too expensive to move anywhere. No hot water. The food is decent. The pool is nice looking but a bit dirty from leaves and dead bugs. No internet access in the [... read more] rooms which is very inconvenient.. The best thing about this place is the staff, the worst, that the resort is empty (except on the weekends) and too expensive to take taxis anywhere. I recommend renting a car after checking-in.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Awesome resort!

Everything was fantastic! The workers are amazing and friendly. Can’t say anything bad about this place hope to go back soon!! The pool is big. They have a great duty free, and a gym. The beach was gorgeous. Weather was also incredible!

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Beautiful Resort!

We had such a great vacation here. The staff was extremely friendly, and the service was great. The food was excellent...always lots to choose from. The rooms, and entire resort were kept very clean, and the entertainment at night was wonderful. We'll definitely go back again!