Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Beautiful Spot

We stayed here Jun 6-14. The grounds were beautiful, staff were very efficient, shout out to Joselito who took care of everyone in the pool bar. The food was amazing every day but one, lots of choices! The beach was good until about 2pm, then the winds seemed to pick up a little bit (this was a new experience for me, I usually stay on the beach all day, maybe the time of year?) The pool was clean and there were lots of places to choose to sit. It's also low season so we pretty much had the ru [... read more]n of the place. Our room was on the ground floor, no issues with the room at all. Beds were comfortable and I appreciated having a thicker top blanket because I found the air conditioning a little cold. Our maid always had cute new things in the room and stocked the fridge daily. I had heard people were receiving Budweiser but thankfully our fridge was stocked with Presidente! I'm not usually a resort person, but if I was choosing a resort I would stay here again.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Wonderful first family vacation

Very clean, fantastic food, phenominal customer service. Well maintained areas and clean beach. As this was our first family vacation with our three year old, we weren't sure what to expect. Our child LOVED the kids club and fell in love with the coordinator Dahiana. The only issue we had was the cost for anything additional. They charge $4US per night for a lock for your safe and the excursions we purchased thru Transat vacations nearly made us bankrupt. The transportation was not inlcuded and [... read more] the "free" lunch didn't include any drinks and only 1 plate. Hotel great, people great, staff great... my wallet? Completely empty

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Incredible Food!

First time taking on an all inclusive and it was well worth it! V Heavens exceeded our expectations. The highlight was the food, going into it we were not sure what to expect, but after the first day we knew we were all set. The food was consistently exceeding our expectations. It was not only the taste and smell that blew us away, but the fantastic presentation of the dishes of both a la carte and the buffet! We had the junior suite; spacious with a good view from the balcony.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Beautiful Resort

This was our second Bahia Principe resort experience. Very pleasant and charming place to relax, enjoy great food, great stuff around you will assist for everything you need to make your stay memorable.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Great people, great food, great resort, Queer friendly

The Bahia Principe is a large resort with a variety of pools, entertainment, and dining. We went in June, and we enjoyed friendly, personable staff, great service and excellent pools, food, several kilometers of beach and access to a variety of excursions. Our visit was excellent for the most part. I am going to include everything here that was a concern to us - none of these issues really got in our way or negatively impacted our trip. But I want to post the most inclusive and honest review pos [... read more]sible. If you're curious about the queer-friendly element, the details are near the bottom. Things to watch out for: -They do not automatically give you access to the safe. You have to rent if for around $4.50 US. per night. -They turned off the water one night to perform maintenance without giving any of the guests a heads up. Ever been informed that you won't have access to running water for eight hours by calling the front desk AFTER it's already been shut off throughout the whole resort? It would have been nice to be able to prepare for that. -We were given a room that had stains on the wall and ceiling, and with a broken television. We never felt the need to use the TV, and the stains weren't a detriment, but stains (makeup, wine, mildew etc) made the place feel a little "discount". -The lobby wifi is a pain to connect to and has limitations -They hold a lot of group trips. I understand why, because we stayed for the third week of June and it was dead for the first four days despite amazing weather. We personally enjoyed all of the space to ourselves, but I understand that the hotel needs to make money. The group trips were high school Grad Trips, specifically through the organizer, "S-Trip". Once they came in, we lost a lot of services.You could no longer get mixed drinks in any of the restaurants (only wine and beer... and if you've ever tried Dominican wine... it's not their thing.) Some of the bars or pools would be marked as "S-Trip Exclusive", which was never communicated to us. All of the online information informed us that we would have access to all of the facilities, and we found ourselves being kicked out of pools or having to walk to the lobby bar from the entertainment area because the entertainment area bar was "S-Trip Exclusive". The fact that we would not be able to access some of the facilities was not disclosed to us in advance. Positives of the organized groups? We were invited to events that we would not be able to enjoy otherwise such as beach parties and foam parties. Beautiful beaches, vegetation, dancing and staff who are legitimately good people as well as tasty food made our vacation fantastic regardless. The Mediterranean A la Carte was wonderful. We are Canadian. We took all of the issues with a thank you: so this is not the report of someone who tried to fight injustice and was told off. We may have had a different experience if we had complained, but it's not really in my nature, and our trip was pretty affordable. We didn't feel like we had a lot to complain about - but we're submitting the most honest review possible. The entertainment has a few shows that are dance-centric and fun, and a lot of bits that are audience inclusive and comedy-centric. They have a club and a bar on the part of the resort that is usually reserved for buses to drive up to, and approx. four nights per week they have live music and dancing on a stage on the strip where the club and bar are. I feel like a lot of the animation and staffing is reduced in the spring and summer months unless groups are booked. We could have used some animation events at the beach, for example, but their locations and times were very limited. If you are a queer couple considering this and being thrown off by the "no hand holding" laws in the Dominican - yes, this is a thing, but not on the resort. We even discussed it with some of the (closeted) staff. Living in the Dominican as a queer person is horrible by the sounds of it, however resorts are a relatively safe place for staff who are queer to interact and be themselves, and on the resort, tourists are totally safe and completely welcome. We tried to keep our PDA's to a minimum in the Dominican airport, but felt perfectly comfortable and welcome the entire time on the resort. Ultimately, this was a great trip and we found the perfect balance of having space to ourselves and interacting/adventuring with cool people. The Dominican is an absolutely beautiful destination and I 100% recommend it.

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: this was an amazingly clean hotel.loved it

everything about it was spotless, unfortunately as my husband is in a wheelchair and was not able to go in the ocean. The animation team are a wonderful group of young people especially martin and Goofy.whrn my hubby wanted to go in the pool they were right there and literally picked him up out of his wheelchair and put him in the water and when he was ready to get out they seemed to appear out of nowhere to help him out.it was a great help for me as i am half his size although i do everything f [... read more]or him at home it was nice that someone took it out of my hands and he was very thankful.Myonly suggestion would to be to put a rail where you go into the pool which would have helped to make him more independant. And the bathrooms in the rooms could have grab rails by the toilet and in the shower.the food was not bad you could always find something you liked the staff were very friendly It is a small hotel which we liked we didn;t get lost trying to find things

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Amazing experience

The hotel me and my friends stayed at was the VH gran ventana. This resort is visually appealing and provides all the resources to have a good time. The only negative aspect I can think of was the rocky beach. Besides that great resort, great experience

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Great vacation

The resort was very beautiful and lush. Small but relaxing and quiet. My room was directly in front of the quiet pool area and was relaxing to not hear loud music and noise in the morning or while I slept. The front desk was terrible at accomadating anything you needed. Check in was very disorganized and complicated. They don't provide a hospitality room if you have a late check out. They advised some people I met there to shower at the pool area. I had to argue my way to get a hospitality room. [... read more] The guest services desk was very helpful and knowledable. The Animation team made my trip fun and exciting. I didn't like that they gave away certificates for all the game prizes instead of a bottle of alcohol or a souvenir. I'm not sure what I will do with a beer drinking competition certificate. I didn't like the beach at all. The sand is dark and dirty, the water wasn't clear at all unless you swam very far out and so many vendors selling anything bothering me every 5 minutes Also not alot of shades areas I say in the sun all day sometimes just to enjoy the beach.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Great resort

This resort is well maintained: grounds and pool very good. The rooms are large and no complaints about cleanliness. Fresh towels each day, bar always stocked and beautiful flowers tugged in towels daily. Restaurant had a large variety of good food to choose from and service was one day good and the next a bit slow, but all in all cannot complain. Entertainment, wether day or evening could be better and needs improvement, especially sports.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Nice Resort!

This resort was very comfortable! The grounds were beautiful and the room and dining areas were great! We enjoyed the nightly shows and appreciated the helpful staff. Transportation from and to the airport was excellent.

Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: Don't go here

The front desk staff are rude and arrogant. The rooms are falling apart. Food is mediocre. Activity staff non-existent. Offered drugs on the resort by staff. Prostitution EVERYWHERE. Nice beaches though.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Awesome resort

When you drive up to the resort it doesn't look like much from the street, however once inside it is awesome. Great food, something there for everyone, very friendly and accommodating staff, drinks are great, just the right size resort to relax. Beach has a lot of vendors, but politely say no thanks and they will continue on they're way. I would highly recommend this resort, amazing bang for your buck.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Excellent resort

The VH Gran Ventana beach resort was an amazing experience. The staff was very professional and friendly . The food was great and the entertainment was phenomenal. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone interested in a relaxing experience.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Amazing Resort - I am definitely going back

This resort was absolutely beautiful! The food was amazing. I loved "Windows" restaurant. This was the buffet restaurant and the food was impeccable. The service was amazing. Those who waited on us were attentive and joyful. I also enjoyed the Pizza shop and Cafe Coco! The Asian restaurant was on point too. We had the deluxe Pool side room with a private balcony which was stunning and clean. Our maid was the best. She really out did herself with making sure our room was well stocked with towels [... read more], beverages etc. So good. Now the entertainment team was off the chain. I can't think Julio and Rafael and Michael and Elvin who made it a fun and fantastic time at the resort. I have not seen such great talent and fun for a long time. This resort is fun for both family and adults. There is something for everyone here. The beach was beautiful and tranquil and just plain relaxing. I will definitely give this a rating of 4.5. The weather could not have been better. We had about 2 hours of rain and that was it for the week of May 26 to June 2. I can't wait to go back again. I am already planning for my next trip there.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Gran Vantana

Hotel grounds are beautiful, rooms are spacious, large bathroom and clean. No Wifi other than Theatre which was poor. If you want WIFI must pay $35 a week and the safe is $ 16 a week, while not expensive generally included. Food was good a Buffett options changed daily which was great. There is no entertainment after 10 pm. Need to leave resort. The activities at the resort are repetitive the nightly shows were repetitive mostly dancing using in house staff and band. After day 3 it i [... read more]s the same. The DJ has a good mix of music but they keep the volume low . Staff were great.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Was not impressed ;(

Rude staff, terrible customer service! Hotel needs a lot of updating, pillows needs to be thrown out and burned!!!! Bring your own pillow if you want to sleep. Theirs feel like sleeping on rocks!!! Beach was ok, food was excellent!

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: It is a great resort

We enjoyed everything about the resort they where always there to help us with what we needed and we also enjoyed the food the grounds where very clean the people working there are very friendly and helpful

Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: HORRIBLE TRIP

The resort was ok...the staff was good ...rooms were old and musty. Excursions were way over priced. The food was the same all week ..it was ok but no variety. I will not be booking there again. Entertainment was HORRIBLE

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Average resort

Overall, we enjoyed our stay. This was our fifth vacation to the D.R. and our first to Ibserostar. The staff overall were warm and professional, especially in the buffet and reception. This is a relatively small resort, well maintained though rather rundown and dated, overall. Our room was on the top floor with ocean view, which was delightful, but for a five-star resort, the room was pretty basic and the bathroom a big disappointment as it was shabby and old. For most of our stay we we [... read more]nt to the buffet as the food was good and the staff even better. The Japanese restaurant was very good for food and service but the others were very poor and the service was dreadful in the Mexican restaurant. The cocktail lounge was super and our early morning coffee delicious. The beach area was a shock to us, as there was actual garbage floating onto the beach, so there were specific areas we would only walk to, in order to swim. Be aware of traders walking up and down the beach all day, they are very Intrusive and annoying. The evening entertainment was probably the worst we have experienced in the D.R. Totally boring and amateur and so disappointing. We enjoyed our week at the Iberostar but will not be returning, as it in no way compares to other five-star resorts in the D.R. What put us off most of all, though, were the locals who are allowed to use the resort. They took over the pool and pool bar and were noisy, aggressive and messy. The paying resort quests literally just watched on the sidelines, wondering what on earth was happening. Every time I went to the swim-up bar I was totally ignored as some staff (you know who you are, Ana), chatted and served their friends and treated resort quests with distain. This is completely unacceptable, because this was not a cheap holiday, and we expected a four to five-star exclusive resort. Do be aware of this, as we found out this is a weekly occurrence and it honestly is upsetting. It brings the resort down to a two or three star. We only kept to the beach area because of this, through the day. Iberostar, you have a lot of improving to do, to even come close to the quality and service other five-star resorts offer! If you want paying guests to return, you need to rethink your policies, as we heard a lot of negative comments from fellow travellers there for the first time, and they were unhappy about the locals using this resort. What excels is your warm, kind and wonderful staff, especially in the buffet, cocktail lounge and reception. A big thank you to Narcisos, Allen, Ifrain!

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Relaxing Vacation

Be Live Marien turned out to be a good choice for a week long break. The room was comfortable and the staff friendly and accommodating. What I really liked was the fact that the resort was a little more compact than some of our other vacations, not a lot of walking necessary, but all the amenities you get used to with all inclusive resorts. I'd be inclined to check out their hotel in Punta Cana next spring. All in all a good vacation!