Sunscape Puerto Plata: Nice resort. Good value and service

The resort is located about 20 minutes from the airport. The service from the staff was very good. Minor issues were resolved in a timely fashion. The food was good at the buffet as well as the other restaurants (beach, pool, à-la-carte). The vendors on the beach are numerous and they are constantly going by trying to sell their products. Overall, we enjoyed our stay at this resort and would consider returning in the future.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Great Resort!

Public grounds were very clean and the people who work at this resprt take pride in making sure the resport is always spotless. The room we had (Superior Deluxe) was nice and looked exactly as it did on the website, we had an issue with our safe being broken but it was fixed immediately. The pool was lovely and the views of the mountain were breathtaking. Veronica at the kids club was awesome and the kids had a blast playing with her. Checkin took way too long (about 45 minutes wait and the [... read more]re was only 4 families in line).

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Beautiful resort.

The resort was very well kept. I can say I noticed there was no litter around at anytime. The service was excellent. The pool was clean. The weather could've been better but it was good. Warm, better than snow. Our room was spacious, the maid service was excellent. The food was excellent. I can't say anything bad about the resort. I would go back to that resort.

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Great mid-scale hotel

We were a couple seeking respite from Montreal's cold winter climate. The result was a week at Puerto Plata's Blue Bay Villas Doradas (Feb 6-13, 2017). Our experience there was extremely positive. The food was varied (for a hotel this size) and good. Our room was clean and quiet. So were the grounds and beach front. The guests were 60% 45 or older. The rest were young couples with no children. The hotel has 3 pools: 2 mid-sized, 1 small. There were shows every night after 9:30 pm which  [... read more]were too late for us, so we cannot comment on their quality. Building 2 is next to the show area and should be avoided if quiet is a priority. The quietest part of the hotel are buildings 5-8 which make up a courtyard of their own around the small pool. Buildings 2-4 have a side facing the courtyard (better view) and a side facing the outer fence (quieter, but no view). We stayed in 4 (second floor). Overall second floors are quieter, more private, and offer better views. The hotel also has 3 specialized restaurants, apart from the buffet hall. These restaurants offer variety, but are still unpretentious. At the beach and on the grounds, Blue Bay has made a great effort to decorate the furniture and buildings in its own distinctive style. Our vacation photos reflect this. We also took 2 tours of Puerto Plata, which we enjoyed. The hotel, however, was not responsible for this. Overall then, Blue Bay offers great value for price. We gladly recommend it.

Puerto Plata Village: Great resort if you are on a budget!

We had a great vacation at Puerto Plata Village! I went with a friend (both 25). The resort met all of our needs. Our only complaints would be that we only had one key, and there were not always beach towels available. You had to go get one in the morning, and were not always able to switch an old one for a new one if you were done in the evening. The hotel room was clean enough. There was some water damage on the ceiling, but that was it. The staff were great! Lots of fun, and tried to get peop [... read more]le involved. Our favourites were Gabrielle and Rikki! There was a kids pool, and one other pool with a swim-up bar. It wasn't the cleanest pool, and it could use some maintenance, but it was alright. The food was nothing special. The same type of stuff every day, but there was more than enough of it. We could take a shuttle or walk to the beach. The shuttle came by every 10 minutes or so, so we never had to wait very long, but we also chose to walk a number of times. It is not very far, and it is a nice walk. The bars were pretty basic. We aren't big drinkers, so we didn't mind. We would have liked to have some more options though. Overall, you get what you pay for. Don't go expecting it to be a 5 star resort, because it isn't. It was better than we expected. We had a fantastic vacation, and would definitely go there again!

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Relaxing resort

Overall the hotel was organized clean efficient the food was above acceptable hot and always full The staff was friendly and the beachfront was clean The resort could use one more bar by the pool and it even could be a swimmer

Riu Merengue: Riu Merengue

Its a nice resort to relax at. People are nice. Experiences vary. Overall, it was good sun, food and drinks. The week I spent there was good. I would go back, however, I would give other resorts the same opportunity.

Riu Merengue: Great value for the price

Stayed here January 31st-February 7th, 2017 and it was our first trip to Puerto Plata. Hotel and grounds were very nice. Beach itself was OK, but there was lots of seaweed in the water and water shoes were a must. My only real complaint was "no coffee pot in the room".

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Amazing resort

This was our first trip ever and i highly recommend it. The beach was beautiful. The resort is very clean and beautiful. Service was amazing. Food was excellent. Staff very friendly , kind and funny. Entertainment was very good. The pool area is very nice. Lovely plants. A beautiful bridge perfect for taking pictures.

Viva Heavens by Wyndham: Tired Resort

Good: Food was outstanding at 4 restaurants and 1 main buffet. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Entertainment team was awesome. Close to golf. Safe gated area. Lockbox in room. The not so good: Bad smells everywhere. Room was damp and musty, cesspool beside walkway to beach had waste water draining into it and evening fogging for insects with no warnings. No screens for fresh air & bugs. Music way too loud and distorted & feedback. Pool needs painting and walkway to beach needs attention. [... read more] Litter on beach from previous days. Lack of hot water and pressure for showers and 1/2 day with no water at all. Power went out and air conditioning was effected. Hard to relax on beach with constant flow of vendors. Very little shade on beach.Massage and spa prices at hotel ridiculously expensive. Poor room security as locks broken on sliding doors and forgot key in room and front desk gave new key with no questions asked.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Average Resort

The hotel is a little run down and could use a good overhaul. The grounds are immaculate. The food is very repetitive even for a one week stay and we were there two weeks. The beach is large and you never feel cramped. Plenty of loungers available although it's time to replace several of them that are damaged. No need to get up at at dawn to reserve a lounger. There are very few places to escape from the smokers and when you find a rare no smoking area there will be someone smoking nearby and st [... read more]aff just ignor it unless you point it out to them. That being said the best part of this whole resort are the staff. The staff from all departments seem to go out of their way to be helpful and friendly. The frozen so called fruitie drinks at the bar are of poor quality compared to what I have come to expect from RIU hotels over the many years I have stayed at RIU hotels.

Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Good, Clean Resort

Everything was Great , Clean, excellent Variety on Buffet. Beautiful Beach. A bit Noisy at Night in Room on 2 nd Floor .Great Idea to have Self Serve Cold Drinking Water. Enjoyed 3 al a Cartes, food good, Service Not, overall Great Resort , Service Sometimes ok , Also too many Vendors on the Beach, all day. !!!

Casa Marina Reef Resort: NOT Recommended unless you like harassment

Casa Marina Reef is a beautiful, big resort on a nice beach with great food. The Mexican a la carte serves a fantastic burrito!! My husband and I stayed there early February and had a very good, relaxing vacation... EXCEPT for the VENDORS. Vendors set up on the resort three times a week. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They are right in the middle so you can't get from one side of the resort to the other without passing through the maze of tables and vendors calling you over constantly.  [... read more]And you can't just walk away, they FOLLOW you!! If you get away from one, the next comes running over... it's very overwhelming. In addition to the vendors, every single day the ladies who want to braid your hair follow you around and harass you, even if you're sitting in a dark corner, tucked away, minding your own business. They expect very high prices for a two second braid job and don't, repeat, DON'T take no for an answer. One woman had my ponytail pulled out and my glasses sitting on my lap and had started braiding before I could even move. Another wanted $25 USD for four tiny, inch-long braids she put in my husband's short, curly hair and got very upset and was standing over him as he tried to stand up and wouldn't let him move until we paid her. We refused, said we told you NO over and OVER, No Gracias, No Thank You, No, please, I don't want this, and they did it anyway. They both started getting really angry so we gave them each $100 pesos just to leave us alone. Then there's the excursion people who walk around daily all over the beach and resort and ask you over and over to go book a diving tour or an excursion. There's also a guy with an iguana and a guy with a squirrel monkey that will wake you up on your lounger and ask if you want to pay them for pictures with their "pets". If you manage to get past all this, and are trying to get to the lobby for any reason, you're then confronted with the extremely pushy timeshare people who block the ONLY walkway to or from the lobby. They also don't take NO for an answer. Out in Sosua, it's no different; people call to you from their souvenir shops, their salons, their restaurants and their cigar stores. Think you're safe standing on a street corner, waiting to cross the road? Nope, there's someone pulling over to you on a scooter asking if you want to rent it. Then his buddy tries to sell you Viagara, marijuana and coke. It was our first time in the DR, and the last. The people are overwhelming and very pushy. We understand they are making their living, and working hard to do so, but it's unnerving and extremely uncomfortable when they won't take no for an answer or won't stop following you, even on the resort! Huge thank you to our Transat rep, Daly, who was on the resort Monday to Friday from 9am-5pm. He was amazing, very helpful, and always available. He even helped out other guests as much as he could when their own reps were either busy or didn't show up that day at all. Also, despite the All Inclusive package stating that non-motorized water sports are included, the resort started charging tax to the company that provides the equipment, so they stopped providing snorkel masks or anything to the guests... unless you pay for it. And their snorkeling tour has different prices for different guests, the man at the counter told us that Europeans have to pay $60 USD, whereas they only charge Canadians $50 USD for the same tour, and they ask you to be quiet about the prices... We loved the resort (mostly), our room was great, no issues, the food was fabulous, the drinks were good, but the staff at the bars and restaurants weren't friendly at all, barely spoke to you, and we stopped tipping after a while because the tip would be whisked quickly off the bar and thrown in a tip jar and only twice were we ever thanked or acknowledged!! It's very unfortunate, but we did not feel safe on and off the resort, and we won't be going back to the Dominican Republic ever again. We'd been warned people can be very pushy before we left, but assumed we'd just politely decline, and move on. We were not expecting the level of harassment we experienced, and we tried to be firm but polite (as we are nice people and didn't want to be disrespectful) and walk away, but until you are actually in this situation, all day, every day, you don't appreciate how uncomfortable it actually is.

VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort: Beautiful

Loved it! Service was amazing. The rooms and grounds were very clean. Food was great with lots of choices. The only downfall for me were the drinks. I think they use syrup for their mixes and tends to be strong at times and hard on the stomach. Overall it was an amazing time.

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Really good time

This hotel has a lot of stairs. They do however, have shuttles that run constantly, to get you anywhere you want to go. The food was very good with a nice selection every day. My favorite restaurant was the Brazilian. The staff were all amazing. They were very friendly and accommodating. Special shout out's to Blacky, Blondie and Mini mo for their fabulous Spanish lessons and pool aquatics. I got sick while I was there and had to go to the resort doctor. Thanks so much to Dra. Sanchez for her gr [... read more]eat care of me. Yehisson (Jason) makes the very best Pina Colada on the entire resort. Search him out, you won't regret it. He can be found at the bar closest to the beach. Our room was 20422 and our housekeeper Carmen was amazing. My biggest and really only complaint about this resort was that there was literally no nightly entertainment. We would have settled for pumped in prerecorded music. There was nothing. The nights ended very early every night because of this. Because of this, I would not go back there. When on vacation, you don't really want to retire to your room early every night, but with nothing to do, the room balcony was a relaxing alternative.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Lots of Fun

Beautiful place, everything was kept very clean and the entertainment was very enjoyable. The food was very good and I was always able to find something different to eat. The room had a bit of a musty smell to it but the beds were very comfortable and the room was clean, had a beautiful view and the fridge was kept full.

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: Blue Bay Villas

The entertainment staff do a great job and try to get everyone involved. The resort staff are very friendly. The beach and pool areas are OK. There is no shade on the beach and not a lot of shade around the pools. They need a lot more umbrellas round the pools as there are very few and most of the pool loungers need replacing. The rooms are basic with very old furniture. There is not a lot of storage and no storage at all in the bathroom. The bed linens are old and should be replaced. The walls  [... read more]are so thin you can hear everyone in the adjoining rooms. The food in the buffet and a la carte restaurants is good and varied. The breakfast buffet is not very well organized - no cups, saucers, glasses on the tables most mornings - and minimum staff serving. I would classify this resort as a 3-star - definitely not up to the standards of a 4-star.

Viva Tangerine by Wyndham: Great resort

Rooms and facilities are clean and up to date. Food is good, beach and pool good, close to town. A la carte restaurants were good. Shows ok. It is a relatively small resort so all amenities are close. I would return to this resort.

Paradise Playa Dorada: Not a 4 star

Not a very good experience checking in, seemed chaotic scramble of staff trying to assign rooms. We were given a suite on 4th floor add on which had one window in each room but you had to stand on your toes to see out! On complaining a few hours later,we were transferred to superior garden view room which we had purchased in our package but it was not in great shape, certainly not 4 star! Fortunately the quality of the food, beach and pool area was excellent which overall gave us a nice vacation [... read more]!

Blue Bay Villas Doradas: BlueBay Villa Doradas

The resort was nice the food was great no issues with having drinking water supplied.Entertainment excellent ,lots of activities to do daily Beach was good . Although I gave good comment the service was not that good for use First day they had us in an undesirable room when I complained that we had upgrade to supreme the came and changed us ,(we selected this resort for the adult factor) The next room was much better, but with all the confusion we did not realize the welcome meeting was the n [... read more]ext morning at 10 a.m.and we missed it . Our room was to cold with the air on so we were told that if we went out to conserve energy by pulling the card up to shut off the air while out of the room so we did. When we returned to the room our keys did not work, walked back to change them, returned to room we had no lights the outside light also was not working ,I went to call the desk and we had no phone . that meant every time I needed something I had to walk a good distances to solve the problem. we never did get a phone The coffee machine could not be plugged in from where it was and i could not move the counter to heavy. I contacted the manager after complaining to the guest service manager , he suggested they do something to make up for it . this was Tues. or Wed. they offered to move us again I said no that we had moved enough being elderly and handicapped we were against the move so they offered us a special bottle of wine or an a la cart dinner , amazing !! I told we already get all that included now why would that be any better. I demanded to see the hotel manager I was told I would have to have an appointment so I said tell me what time and I'll be here, couldn't give me a time so I said thy could find me at the top part of the pool where arobics are done that was approximatly 9 a.m. still by 11:30 a.m. I had no responds to my request so we went down and told the guest services that i want to see the manager When the Manager of the Hotel came she took us into her office and i explained everything .she asked what they could to make up for it ,I told her what had been offered and that we already had all those features available To us, but we thought a fair offer would b a nice bottle rye for my aunt and set of towels with the BLUE BAY logo for me she said that sound o.k. She asked if she could come to the room with me and I said certainly.no one had told us that info she made me feel very stupid she walked through everything and Entertainment was the thing that kept us going entertaining staff excellent NEVER DID GET ANYTHING FOR OUR TROUBLES I I GUESS THEY THOUGHT TWO OLD LADIES WOULD JUST EXCEPT IT AS THERE PROBLEM ' NOT GOING TO BE i am sure spreading the word will give me some satisfaction.