Must read if you are travelling here

I just got back from a 7 day vacation at iberostar costa doroda. first of all i will say that this resort is for everyone no matter what age. They literally have activities for everyone. I travelled with my boyfriend and we are both 22 years old. we did not know what to expect when we went to the resort but we were so pleased with how it turned out. I will start off by saying that the entertainment staff made our entire trip. superman, batman, bon bon, blacky, pepsi cola, and hulu hulu were abso [... read more]lutely amazing. they tried to get everyone involved in any kind of game that they had going on. the shows were even better, we went to the shows every night and they were fabulous. the entertainment staff gets guests to dance and go out of their comfort zone which is great for everyone. They have so many activities not only for kids but for adults too. the pool is where most of the action happens. next, the beach, it wasnt like coral blue water or white sand but it was a good beach. its not the best if you are looking to only go there for the beach but they do have a beach volleyball court and a san soccer complex. they also have 2 days where lunch is served on the beach. it was so good. the only annoying thing at the beach is the vendors at the beach they are so annoying but if you say no thank you they walk away. the food was so good. they had alot of variety and it tasted so good. all of the a la cartes were great the japaese one is the very best. they also had food open all the time so you were never hungry. the room was nice not like amazing but you arent in your room very much anyway. all of the staff that worked there was so helpful. everyone was so great and i would recommend this resort to anyone. it was worth the money and the event staff is so amazing.

Clean, and friendly!

The service level of this resort is truly why I rated it a five instead of a four. Service: From check-in to check-out all of the staff at the Iberostar went above and beyond. On my birthday they put a birthday cake and beautiful flowers in our room. You could tell how much pride the maids have in their jobs, we were sure to tip them a few dollars everyday and in return we were left with beautiful towel art and a spotless room. The wait staff was always in a great mood which rubbed off on all o [... read more]f the guests, and they always remembered your drink order. The animation team were all very friendly and not at all pushy like they are at some resorts, they really made the pool area a little more interesting however, the nightly shows aren't much to rave about. Room: Our room had two double beds and was a perfect size. The safe was digital so you didn't have to worry about losing a key, and the shower was very large and had decent water pressure. The wifi didn't work well in our room, but it did work on the balcony. Food: The food was really good, and the beach BBQ is not to be missed. The food was somewhat repetitive so don't try to eat everything at each meal, you'll have plenty of time to try everything thoughout the week. The Japanese restaurant was good, and a nice change from the buffet. The main buffet has better food at lunch than the pool buffet. Pool/beach: We didn't spend most time at the beach, the waters were rough and had a lot of seaweed. We did walk along the beach though and there were plenty of chairs and shaded areas, definitely a quiet place to relax. The pool is where we spent most of our time, to get a shaded chair you must put your towels out around 7am. Most activities happened around one side of the pool so if you wanted a quieter place to lay out, pick the pool end near the lobby. I did find the pool a little deep, I am 5ft tall and couldn't touch the bottom in the main section of the pool, I can swim but I find on vacation I like to be able to stand around the pool! I would definitely return to this resort, it was small enough that you get to know a lot of the guests and staff, I would also recommend this resort to anyone who enjoys a smaller feel.

Great Dollar. Value

Recently spent 2 weeks at this lovely little hotel. Good food nice beach . rooms need an upgrade but are clean . staff are fabulous .only complaint this time and have been to this resort before is difficulty getting a cababa on the beach as people claimed them early in morning with toweks but never turnef uo till late in the day. Resort needs to work on that.

Great Resort

Food was very good, rooms were nice, good beach, great nightly entertainment. staff were very helpful. We found the daily excursions getting quite expensive. Lobby was very attractive. One day they did a great paella lunch on the beach which was great.

Consistantly good location, excellent vacation,

We have stayed at this resort three times and have never been dissapointed. The staff are courteous and friendly. Activities are fun. Entertainement is excellent. The beach is nice. Food is fine, and speciality restaurants are excellent. Bar services are top tier. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. The rooms are fine, and kept very clean. On the down side is a sketchy internet, and poor currency exchange- they frequently cannot change US or Canadian bills at the front desk. We requested a  [... read more]upper floor room months in advance, but a ground floor room was all we could seem to get when complained (a minor dissapointment), though it did have a king sized bed and ocean view. No problem getting a chair at the beach, (but staff assistance to move them seems to have declined from previous years). Pool side chairs are difficult to obtain, as guests seem to hoard them early (an annoying change from earlier years).

Disappointing

Dining area was excellent, service was also very good. Rooms are poor, beds caused constant back pain, air conditioning didn't work well and nights were too hot to sleep, the bathrooms are not even close to a 4.5 star hotel. Much too small and both my husband and I suffered injuries to our feet as the bathroom door opens into the toilet. Staff are very pleasant but communication was mostly impossible, I developed diarrhea 3 days of 7 after eating in main dining area. The biggest disappointment t [... read more]o us was the poor snorkeling due to rough and murky water and the locals soliciting on the beach. We were unable to walk the beach in peace as we were harassessed constantly by people trying to sell us something.

Very nice

Overall a very nice hotel. The beach was very windy So we stayed at the pool the majority of the time. Service was very good and the animation team was always trying to keep you emtertained and engaged.

Good Value - Solid 4 Star

This resort is listed as a 4+, it merits a solid 4 star rating. The grounds are very well kept, and the resort was very clean for the most part. We did have some issues with small ants in our room, and killed one big freaking spider in the room as well. They do fumigate the rooms, so this was not a big issue to us, as this can be expected in this climate. We were a little turned off with the fact that smoking was allowed pretty much everywhere, included covered areas for eating/drinking. While I [... read more] respect the rights of people to smoke, this should be outside of covered public spaces. While some of the staff were extremely friendly, most appeared indifferent, which was a little off-putting. The pool bartender was brutal, he ignored patrons and wouldn't prepare a mojito even though it was on his cocktail menu. The food was pretty good for an all-inclusive, but would have liked to see more selection of hot vegetables. We had traveled to a Riu hotel in Costa Rica earlier this year, and we found this resort just didn't compare in quality and service. This resort would be perfect for families, as there are a lot of activities put on by the animation team and they are really top-notch. All in all a good place, not a great place.

Enjoyable property

This hotel is a very nice place as it is a good size and has all the amenities of a larger place. We upgraded to an ocean view and it was well worth it. The room was great and the food was good.The staff is top notch. Close to the airport.

Exceeded Expectations

Travelled Mar 7-14, 2016. Fifth trip to DR, 4th to Puerto Plata, but it has been a few years. Can say that this trip reaffirmed my notion that the Dominican people are the friendliest that I have encountered on my sunn, southern excursions. First time to the Iberostar and I must say that I appreciate the free wifi, accessible from anywhere except the beach. Furniture a little dated, but well kept. Marya our maid always left us a little surprise each day, towel art and flower petals and did an im [... read more]peccable job of keeping our room. Comfortable mattresses and crisp linens made for a wonderful rest. Always lots of hot water and great pressure. Small touches such as balcony rack for drying swimsuits, makeup mirror, awesome toiletries, along with a hair dryer, great coffee, and black out blinds were a welcome surprise. Didn't try any a la cartes, as found the buffets had a huge selection. Awesome variety, especially fish and seafood (lobster, shrimp etc.) Probably the best buffet of any we have been to. Check in was swift and staff rearranged our accommodations quickly, to accommodate another couple travelling with us. The pool was large enough that you could be a participant in the activities, or find a nice quiet spot to sunbath. Lovely beach, great for walking and always clean. We were a little disappointed that the ocean was red-flagged most of the week, due to winds. However, the weather is beyond the control of resort. We knew before we left home that the whole Caribbean was expecting overcast weather with showers on and off for the whole week. We did get a few light showers, but only enough to cool things off. Can't say enough about the staff....Nelson in the buffet, Isador at the pool bar, Angelina in activities and Marya in housekeeping, plus too many more to name. Thank you to all that work behind the scenes, gardeners, laundry, kitchen staff etc. as you all helped to make our vacation a hit. A big thank you to Air Transat for another wonderful holiday.

Great Resort - solid 41/2 star

The hotel was very clean, the grounds were very well kept. Great pool. The food was very good! surprisingly enough the meat was very good. Hotel room was a bit small and aged but clean. It is self serve at the pool, but the staff was very friendly. The entertainment left much to be desired.

Beautiful resort.

The Iberostar was a wonderful place to spend two weeks. The grounds were outstanding, clean and very picturesque. The pool was so huge that it never felt crowded. The variety of food was unending and very good. The entertainment staff added a variety of activities making it fun for everyone.

Over rated

I struggled to rate this place mainly due to how nice the people were. If not for them I would have rated it lower. The food was just OK, the grounds were clean and nicely decorated. The animation people tried as hard as they could as did the waiters and bartenders. We did not see a shortage of loungers at the pool or the beach. We were given room 5211, which surprisingly was a 3rd floor room. We paid extra money for an oceanfront room which turned out to be a total waste of $300. We could only  [... read more]see a sliver of ocean between a forest of palm trees. The room was small, dark and not very nicely decorated. This was our 13th different resort in the carribean and Mexico and for the money I would rate this one in the bottom half. If this is what most Iberostars are like then I would prefer the Riu chain. We have stayed at 5 of them and were never disappointed.

Very happy with my 1st Iberostar experience

Overall I enjoyed our stay. We were there from Feb 12 to 19, 2016. Very impressed with Iberostar as a resort destination. I will definitely pick an Iberostar resort for future bookings. The only complaint is that the Dominican Republic continues to sink lower in my choice of islands to visit. The water is not potable. The resort is very safe but we were warned about venturing off the resort. The resort is extremely clean, but once you are off the resort it is quite depressing to see all the garb [... read more]age. Food, pool, beach, staff were all very good. The nighttime entertainment is not that great unless you really enjoy watching another Michael Jackson impersonation. A piano bar would be a great addition!

Great vacation

Loved the resort! Very clean and well looked after the staff are very friendly and polite with makes the stay more enjoyable. The buffet food and the three restaurant were very good with lots of variety each day. The Japanese restaurant was a fun night interacting with other guest from around the world. We will return next year.

Clean clean clean

I was very surprised at the resorts maintenance and cleanliness. For the price we paid, I was expecting far less. Medium sized resort which made it easy to find people and re-acquaint yourself with people you met the day before. Quiet relatively speaking. No spring breakers, no overly rowdy drunks which in my experience has been a staple at an all inclusive. The food was very good complete with three nights of amazing lobster! Overall a very pleasant surprise and exceeded my expectation. Oh and  [... read more]was there with 3 month old and he did very well there too.

Great holiday and resort!

This was our first time to the Dominican Republic and weren't sure what it would be like. We were really impressed with this resort! We travelled with our baby, and they had a really good crib for us, and the grounds were very accessible for the stroller (ask for a ground-level room as there are no elevators). The hotel had large grounds which were very well maintained and beautiful to walk around. The pool was a good size, and we never had issues finding chairs at the pool or beach (although we [... read more] went early). The food was really good, and they had a few days of cooking paella or bbq on the beach, which were delicious. The a la carte restaurants were also worth the visit. Overall, we were all very impressed with this hotel for the price!

Nice Stay at Iberostar Costa Dorada

We've been to a number of Iberostar resorts in Mexico and had been very happy with them, so we thought we'd try this one in Dominican Republic. Our teen aged kids had an attached room to ours, both were clean and comfortable. The fridges were restocked every day. And the kids loved the free wifi!! We did have an issue with our upstairs neighbour one evening and eventually had to call the Reception desk and ask to have someone go out and speak to her. This was handled within minutes, we were most [... read more] impressed!! The food was good. We enjoyed all three ala carte's. The buffet was good but we found it predictable by the end of our week there. And it seemed that there was never enough tables at the buffet for breakfast, lunch or dinner! (I know, time of year, get over it!) With that said, we always tried to sit in Bonny's section at the buffet. No matter how busy he was or the time of day, he always had a terrific smile for us. The beach was nice, as was the pool... but unless you were out before 7:30, you weren't getting a chair!! We are not early risers, so we found this challenging at best most days. There is some seaweed on the beach, but we didn't think it was a really big deal. We didn't take in much of the entertainment, but what we saw was pretty good. I would recommend this hotel - Just at another time of year. Perhaps the weather would cooperate a little more (we had about 4 days of on and off rain) and it wouldn't be so tricky to find seats at the beach, pool or buffet.

Best of Puerto Plata

Our return visit for two weeks in February was overall much the same as previous years, pool chairs were mostly unavailable due to early morning chair reserving with towels etc. This is a common practice at many hotels and difficult to stop. The rooms were always clean, food always the best and varied that we have ever experienced. The devaluation of the Canadian dollar may have an affect on us returning next year.

Fantastic getaway!

This hotel is smaller than most we have stayed at, but who says bigger is better has never been here. The grounds are lush and entire resort is immaculate. Free roaming peacocks, the flamingos and hidden gem of an orchid garden made the environment entertaining and special. Staff in restaurants, spa and reception area were all welcoming and accommodating. Only thing that could make it better for us if it was an adults only resort, but this will not keep us from returning.