Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Excellent Staff & Resort

From the moment you step off the bus and into the lobby the staff embraces you as part of their own family. The staff goes beyond to help whenever needed. The rooms and resort are a bit dated, but is clean and well maintained. The Resort is not huge so easy to navigate and everything is a 5 min walk. The Buffet for breakfast and lunch had a decent selection. The fresh Juice stand and omelette station was the best part of breakfast. Dinner was always a theme night. Saturday was the Chefs Selectio [... read more]n with Ribs and T-Bone Steaks. All 3 A'la carte restaurants were great Mexican was the favorite, Rodizio was fantastic as well as Gourmet cannot go wrong with either choice. Make sure you check out the Orange Market a 15min walk down the beach. Frank & Raffy designing T-shirts near the pool are a must buy $20.00US. Jorge at the Pool Bar, Melvin at the Disco make the best drinks. The Snack Bar is always great for late night fried chicken. The Disco and Casino are must attend. The one negative is the room decor needs to be updated. The Rooms are spacious, well maintained and clean overall but ownership needs to invest to add the extra wow factor. For the price it is a good pick for a week. We met a lot of repeat visitors to the resort on site. The Lifestyle Vacations people are not pushy and are not about the hard sell. Overall great resort because the Staff cares. Shows are pretty good as well.

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Not at all what we expected and it wasn't good

Resort was not what it was supposed to be. There was a strong sewer smell through out the resort. Rooms were not that good. tv was about 10 years old. staff at front desk were not helpful at all. discrimination regarding who paid more for there rooms. different beaches we were not allowed to go to because we were not VIP. staff around the resort were great. so called stocked bar in the room consisted of 2 bottles of beer, 2 bottles of pop, 2 bottles of water. that was it for the whole week. no m [... read more]ore. frigde didnt work at first, ceiling in bathroom leaked, air conditioner leaked, no help from the desk. they didnt care. the rep Freddy was not much help. I would have been really upset with the resort if i had paid the money and got what i got. I was glad that i had won the trip and didnt pay the big bucks for that type of resort. did enjoy the food and the staff and the sun. our beach was not looked after. the VIP beaches were raked but not ours because we were considered second class. that was the feeling among alot of people who didnt have the VIP wristbands.pools were great.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: sweet getaway

Let me start by saying this was our first trip to the Dominican...and we would go back again! The ride from the airport was a little 'crowded' but otherwise a good experience, about 60-65 min from Puerto Plato. Upon arrival we were checked in and eating at the buffet within the hour. Rooms were ready after lunch and the vacation officially began! There were always plenty of beach loungers and the weather was fantastic, until the last night when it started to rain and was still raining the next m [... read more]orning at check-out time. My husband took advantage of the free scuba lesson in the pool, and this resulted in his first scuba dive with a certified scuba master. He was impressed with their level of professionalism along with the coral reef and the marine life they saw on their dive.The restaurants had a very good variety of food, including the buffet (fresh pasta bar etc) and we enjoyed all 3 "a la carte" choices. Language was not really a barrier as a smile is universal :) We chose the jeep safari as a day trip and were not disappointed: taking in local culture and countryside. Yes there were a few sand fleas, mostly early morn and late afternoon, but the staff was out there fogging the beach every night with bug spray, so they are aware of the situation and do what they can to alleviate the problem without spoiling the atmosphere of the place. Some in our group were not bothered by bugs at all. We had a recently renovated room and were quite happy with our location, close to all amenities, but didn't hear the noise from pool etc.The staff all seemed genuinely happy to be working there and a few went above and beyond their duties to accommodate us at night for a card game marathon! The animation team was great and not too pushy, you could participate if you wanted but no pressure! We would definitely go back in the future, there were lots of activities to participate in on the resort, even if it was more isolated from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Very Good

The grounds were beautiful and very well kept. Public areas were also very clean. I think that our room was reconditioned but was average at best. The dinning areas were very good and the staff took good care of us. Cons. had to pay extra for the use of the security safe. One hour of free internet each day, extra charge for more internet time. Many floor areas were wet and unsafe to walk on during steady rain

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Super Relaxing Holiday

This resort was perfect for us as we just wanted to relax and enjoy the sun. The staff was very friendly and the service was very good. The animation team that works the pool and beach area were some of the nicest I have seen at a resort. They made sure to come and say hi every day, they encouraged us to participate in the activities but were not pushy if you said no. I noticed the activities had a lot more participation than I have seen at most other resorts. I am sure this was because of the h [... read more]appy friendly staff. Our room was a little smaller than I am used to but was clean and everything worked properly including the air conditioning. It would have been nice to have a few English channels on the TV but not a big deal. We had asked for a room close to the resort and when we arrived we were at the far end, we asked at the front desk to me moved. The gentleman serving us went to get the manager and she was very helpful. She moved us to a room close to the resort very quickly and was pleasant while helping us. The buffet restaurant had very good food, I recommend you do not go as soon as it opens as the food tends to be cold. I assume it sits in the warming bin for a while during the set up, a half hour after opening the bins are restocked and the food is hot. We only went to one of the restaurants and did not enjoy it at all. The staff was not as friendly as in the rest of the resort and the food was not great. We ate in the Mediterranean restaurant, the soup was watery and the lobster was grilled and over cooked so it was charred. I usually love to go to the restaurants for a change from the buffet but this trip did not book anymore after the first night. The other people we spoke to did not have a good experience at any of the restaurant which was a disappointment since I stayed at the Bahai in Mexico and the restaurants were excellent. It was a great vacation and I would be happy to go back anytime.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Nice Quiet Vacation

The Superiour oceanview suite is very nice - well worth the upgrade. Staff was very friendly, both bar and cleaning staff were excellent and appreciative of tips! Quintin was great! The food was some of the best I've had in Dominican (and I've been to many resorts in Puerto Plata...esspecially the Gourmet a la carte. Our anniversary dinner was delicious! Beach was clean. The only downfall, this resort is quite far removed. If you want night life and shopping this is not the resort for you. If yo [... read more]u're looking for totally relaxation - you can't go wrong!

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Be Live Collection Marien

issues: 1. No telephone in our room for 4 days (we were with friends, but they were in a different building than we were so it made communications with them difficult). We had to contact the SunWing rep to get them to change the phone. I was told to go to the room and someone would meet me there. It took in excess of 4 hours to get a new phone. 2. Water pressure in the shower was poor and was never fixed after we mentioned it. 3. The sand at our beach was nice, but on either side it was weedy an [... read more]d was cluttered with garbage 4. The water was green and weedy. 5 The glasses were dirty at the buffet 6. The buffet dinners were "OK", the meat was always over or under cooked (The roasted pig was under cooked and the beef was always over cooked) 7. Not enough dishes, as we were always looking for them 8. Our dinner in the RODIZIO was a big disappointment. The atmosphere was nice, but the meat was well over cooked...almost leather-like 9. The cost of internet access was atrocious... $4.00 for 15 minutes or $60.00/week. 10. There was no designated "smoking" area. Everywhere you walked there was this smell of tobacco. As a non-smoker, this is not pleasant at all. 11. The female employees rarely looked happy, unless you struck up a conversation with them. 12. Public washroom toilets backed up after a night of rain. 13. The drinks (pina colada's and margareta's) were made with mixes at the pool bar and snack bar. If I wanted "mixes", I would have stayed home. Pros: 1. Felt safe and the resort had a relaxed atmosphere 2. We had an upgraded room. The room was spacious, the bed was comfortable 3 Our housekeeper was pleasant and did a very good job

Paradise Playa Dorada: great vacation place

This place is nothing fancy but it is a small fun resort with excellent food, clean spacious rooms and lots of activities the beach is beautiful i went with a friend and we had no complaints the only thing I can maybe complain about is if uyou didn't get up early you wouldn't get a lounge chair

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Amazing all inclusive Experience!

Great time! The resort is well kept, food is safe, great rooms, happy staff, great drinks and wonderful all day long entertainment!!! Also the beach is very clean making for great swimming! I have no complaints.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Perfect holiday

Everything was great from the buffets to the well maintained grounds. We were in a recently renovated room which was nice. Very friendly and helpful staff. They even have a dive shop on site with an excellent divemaster to run it. The resort is fairly isolated but there is plenty to keep busy with for a week and never have to leave. We did a jeep safari for a day to see the island, which was very worthwhile. Great value all around.

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Can be easily fixed

My wife and I were there for two weeks, to the end of January 2015. The beach had lots of seaweed to be found down the whole length of the beach, but the area just in front of the hotel is better than most areas. There is a sewage outlet area about a kilometer down from the hotel, when the tide is just right the water at the beach gets filled with anything that floats. My wife refuse to go in it after the first couple of days, we started calling it The Ganges after that. The hotel itself was nic [... read more]e… Clean, well maintained… rooms were fine. The Old Tube TV should have been replaced , bad reception, few English channels, but who cares. (F.Y.I.) The food was just down my isle., Sufficient variety, tasty and lots of fish, the table service was fine, for a hotel of this caliber. They did have a few issues with respect to the food preparation though… Overcooking and under-cooking seemed to be a big challenge for some reason. I turned down a slice of whole roast Pig, it was bloody! No one should ever-ever under-cook pork. Fleshy Salmon in one restaurant , Pork and beef cooked to leather like tenderness and juiciness in another. By a meat thermometer why don’t ya! Now my wife and I have been taking two to four week annual vacations in the sun for about 14 years. This is the first hotel where we got diarrhea. Both of us… for days…, and yes we only drank bottled water. Which leads me to the first on the list of complaints about the hotel, which could easily be addressed with little or no cost, (like buying that meat thermometer ;-) and would have greatly improved our stay: 1. Don't be so cheap: Buy some more water glasses. They were always running out, the result was they were never properly cleaned, to be fair, the ones on the table were always clean but the ones by the soda fountain were disgustingly dirty. I’m sure they were not washed but just rinsed and then put back out to meet demand, they were almost always wet when you picked them up. I assume that is where my wife and I picked up the diarrhea thingy, (Or it could have been off the lipstick and mouth marks that are found on every third cup). FIX: buy more cups to give the dish washer the TIME to wash with hot soapy, water, rinse with HOT CLEAN water and let dry. (My mommy taught me this stuff when I was nine.) COST: Minimal. 2. Open the internet, stop being greedy. The BEST deal they offer is 25 hrs for 25$(US) that must be used in 6 days (who stays for six days?), and can only be used on one computer. What is this… 1992? Clothing is more optional than the internet these days. I not asking for a Manicure-Pedicure or a body message here, where some may want it and some may not. Let me spell it out for you, every single customer wants the (bleeping) internet… Figure it out!! FIX: open it up. It’s already there. COST: If you must be so greedy as to demand a separate payment; make it for the entire duration of our stay, and with as many Internet connected appliances as we may drag over the ocean with us. You would not even have to pay the wages of the guy who sits in that silly little internet room. 3. The Music sucks. I never heard a song that was not at least 20 years old during the 14 days I was there. At the “disco” (disco died 20 years ago, remember) you can watch as people who are paid to entertain us dance to male Spanish tenors that all sound the same. We can appreciate Dominican Music, but let’s be real, the sun, the beach, the food and the drinks and to have fun is the reason we spend thousands of dollars to visit you. The bad music is getting in the way of us having fun. FIX: Let’s say 90% of the music played be of a popular variety from THIS millennium. COST: Zero. If you want. just supply the computer interface, the customers can supply the music.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: definatley going back!!

I will give the bad first. The bus ride from the airport was long and crowded, but interesting to see the little towns. Check in was slow, didnt get a king bed like we asked for, but thats ok, at least we had a bed! Toilets didnt flush well, but eventually it cleaned up!! Showers we very low pressure, but we got clean!! Now for the good... We loved this resort so much, that we will go back. The beach was beautiful, faced north so we had to walk quit far down to the end of the beach to see the su [... read more]nset, but not a big deal. Sand was more granular with some gravel in places, but beach was so long you could avoid it. We never had to look hard for beach loungers,and there was lots of room everywhere, however the resort was only half full so this may be different if its maxed out. Sand fleas were not an issue. I wouldnt even bother dragging along repellent again. There were very few locals on the beach, and the few that were there were very respectable.They got a little pushy at the local market at the end of the beach, but we just stayed away from there. The food was top notch!! We never went hungry and there was always something new on the buffet.The meat was always tasty and cooked to perfection.There was always good salad ingredients , but only one salad dressing all week, so I made myown. A la cartes were very good, service and wait staff was great. They love tips!! Our maid did an excellent job, we never had to ask her for anything. We never had sand on the floors or in the bed!! Air conditoner blew overtop of the bed, so we could have used another blanket. There was lots of places to sit under a roof, if it rained. Entertainment was good for the most part. Its always a bit perverted, but thats just normal. Drinks were good, they even had bailys at the one bar!! The staff was great for the most part. There were a few grumpy ones, but there were also a few grumpy tourists too!! We all have bad days!! There was lots of pool activities and free beach activities. This resort was sooo beautiful, that we want to go back there again!! Highly recommended!!

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Simple Amazing resort

I can't give this resort enough stars. From the staff to the entertainment to the breathtaking view of the ocean from our suite. Simple put I'll be back again and again. Thank you for a wonderful time

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: Really nice trip !

This is a really big complex that offer a lot of services, restaurant choices and lot more. The beach a little small but the water is clean and sand confortable. Meal are well prepared, taste so good and present a lot of variety. For the "à la carte" restaurant all was perfect, never eat so well in south on those restaurants. the staff was kind and always ready and happy to help. Wa have a wonderful trip. Thanks to tripcentral for their service, very satisfied.

Bahia Principe Grand San Juan: Treated like Kings & Queens!

Absoluetly loved this resort, friendly staff always with a smile on their faces. Food amazing beach amazing drinks amazing!. Watch out for the beach vendors!! I had the best birthday ever will def go back!!! I wish i was there now :(

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Disappointing

The maid was great, everything else is disappointing. Buffet is brutal, a la carte poor, beach was a mess, hotel is outdated and never had routine maintenance, constantly hassled by timeshare salesppl

Casa Marina Sosua Trademark by Wyndham All Inclusive: Good value

You get what you pay for. Beach was beautiful. View 5/5. Lots of seniors. Close to the airport but not annoying. Safe cost $20 (never heard of that). They don't provide blankets - only sheets. Don't lose your remote for the tv or two towels they provide you. Food is not good, but restaurants nearby are great. Booze was awesome. Long lineups at bars. I wouldn't tip much - service doesn't improve. The entertainers and service staff weren't that great. Male staff are nice to women, and rude to men. [... read more] They try to be demeaning to be funny. The boats rides offered on the beach are cheaper and offer the same as your tour advisor. Bring Dominican pesos. American money is widely accepted but pesos are better. The local vendors are annoying. Don't engage at all or you'll be sorry. Tell them where to go! Overal if you pay $600-700 per person and don't lose your towels it should be a good trip. Police are corrupt, if you get in trouble make sure you have $20-40 on you to get them to go away - they will.

Cofresi Palm Beach and Spa Resort: AMAZING RESORT

WE EXPERIENCE GREAT SERVICE AND FRIENDLY STAFF,VERY GOOD FOOD WITH HEALTHY SELECTION ,EXELLENT ENTERTEIMENT.AMAZING VIP PARTY AND VIP BBQ!!!VERY CLEAN THE GROUNDS OF THE RESORT FULLY ENJOING 2 WEEKS OF STAY IN THIS PLACE.THANK YOU

Marien Puerto Plata Hotel: Nice resort.

Nice resort but dated. The rooms, pool and grounds were clean. The buffet food was good and kept at proper temperatures. The staff were all friendly. A la cartes were very good as well. Overall a great vacation.

Senator Puerto Plata Hotel: Average

First, they did as requested and gave us room in section 900 on first floor and with king size bed. Also, they waited for us for transport so no problem about that. Good things: Beach is big and you can find place even at 9AM. There is sun and shade, as you wish. They clean room ok. Not so good things: Swiming is not nice as sand become sharp rocks as you enter water and there was a lot of dirt in the water. Swiming pool was very, very cold. Food was not good at all. No taste at all. A la carte  [... read more]restoraunts were joke as they serve same food as in regular restorant. Other stupid thing is that you have to come morning at 7 to book restorant for that same evening and you can not do it for next day. Internet was also veru stupid as you can log in once a day and use it for 90 minutes. Once you log out you are done for that day. So we paid US$35 per week to have internet all the time. Our water in the sink was spraying all around and remote for TV did not work. Also, we did not have any blankets in the room. After several requests, we got blanket next day, remote was fixed after 5 days and water was never fixed. All together, Gran Vantana from last year was chipper and better and would recommend it over this one any time. Real rating for this hotel is 3+*. But still, we had good time as it's more important with who you are then where you are :) One more thing, there are sand bags so everybodys lower part of legs were bitten a lot. There were some mosquitos but not so bad. We had only two days of rain so we were lucky.