Very poor resort

The hotel was overbooked, we had to stay at another hotel the first night along with other couples who was supposed to stay as well. The rooms were very poor, dirty, and smelled moldy. The Wi-Fi promised was only in the lobby, as they promised we would have it in our rooms. We had hydro blackouts all week at this resort, and the management wasn't able to fix the problem, no air conditioning all week. The food was very good, and the drinks. I will go back to Puerto Plata, but will stay  [... read more]at the Blue Bay next time.

The worse Resort we have ever been to.

Food was disgusting so we ate off resort most of the time. They kept turning our air conditioning off. Room was not cleaned until as late as after 7pm. Sheets never changed. Bed cover dirty/stained. Furniture broken. Fridge mouldy and bottled water not replaced. There was a fire/generator I believe. No power all night. Public washroom disgusting. No hot water most of the time. Staff saying they had not been paid in over 2 months. Renovating and putting people in rooms with just a bed. B [... read more]eautiful beach but should not be open until they complete reno and open all the facilities listed available.

Great Beach

The hotel needs significant improvement , renovations are underway and poorly executed.Service and meals at speciality restuarants were amateur at best. E.g. kept running out of wine, in fact wine was in short supply in the 2 bars. The staff were very nice but they lacked training. In case you think I am some whining tourist, myself and my husband have travelled extensively and have up until last August volunteered in 4 third world countries for up to a year at a time the most disgusting thin [... read more]g was the blocked, overflowing faecal matter in all ladies toilets in all the general areas.

Excellent entertainment for a single guy.

The resort is nice,clean,safe,family oriented. The staff are all very friendly,security is excellent.Upon arriving,I happened onto an altercation occurring at the bar in the resort.The security handled it best I've seen anywhere with Noone getting upset but the two directly involved. For the single man a 5 min walk to the disco at the beautiful mall or a horse and buggy ride to the nearby "Field of dreams" will be very memorable.It is gated and guarded by a very friendly,hospitable gent [... read more]leman with a 12 gauge in one hand.The resort is small and very beautiful. Trust me,you'll be having happy dreams about it!

Great time

We had a great time here.the room we had was a suite next to the beach and was amazing. The TV downstairs of the room didn't work and the water in shower was lukewarm all week but that wasn't really a big deal.we found the food pretty good but the same most of the week.The Pizza at beach bar amazing!! Staff had my kids up playing and swimming they were great.I liked this resort for the kids and really have no complaints.

Playa Dorada Beach House

Room was not ready when we arrived for about 2 hours after arriving. Was no electricity to the room till late in the evening even after going to front desk shortly after getting the room A/C never shut off the whole trip Leak from the ceiling from room above in the bathroom. Food was cold and not very good at all no variety either Staff barely spoke a word of English did not even understand "bathroom" or "knife" when asked for them. Got many many bug bites from the bed once removed bed spr [... read more]ead was a bit better Laundry was not done in time when rooms cleaned had to wait for towels and ask for htem if you saw the maids or never would have gotten them. Only 1 key and it was a old style key and door did not lock properly could bump door open when locked not very safe. When checked out said would put luggage away while waiting for bus to airport and when time came to leave was still laying out in the lobby and no one was watching it. Found if you did not tip staff right away they just seemed to ignore you.. Once gave tips boy service was great. Ran out of certain things alot throughout the week eg: Diet coke, wine, tea.

Relaxing vacation

The hotel was very nice. Don't forget that it is a 3 star so don't expect a 5 star. The food was tasty and enough of a selection to find something you like. The blender drinks were yummy. The hotel was clean and right on the beach. I felt it was good value for my money.

Good enough resort

Not what I expected or invisioned the resort would be. There were bees in the washroom of my hotel room coming from the hole in the ceiling. Everyday I would dispose of at least 6 bees. The toilet did not flush very well. The food was not great - not much variety - monotonous and plain. The nightly entertainment was ok. The only saving grace of the resort is the excellent staff - friendly and very helpful. Most likely will not return there or recommend it to my family and friends. Overall r [... read more]ating, 4 out 10.

Great Trip

The staff was very friendly which made it even better. Was quiet since off season and I enjoyed that the most. The animation team always made sure that everyone as having fun by joining in on games or inviting the guest to participate.

Great well organized place

The resort is nice, well organized, one bar closer to pool, one on the beach. Clean rooms, and all area. They took towels in the morning and bring clean one afternoon, it was a little bit inconvenience, specially on the beginning. Variety food for each meal, more in the resort. On a beach restaurant, less variety but still were some options. Great entertainment every nights. A lots of activity during the day, like dance lesson in a resort and on the beach, basic Spanish class, activities for chi [... read more]ldren, sports, fun activities on a beach. Well organized trip around the Puerto Plata. Very bad agent from Air Canada, he arranged to meet with us few times , but he did not come. He appeared only to pick us from airport.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS RESORT!

Has been sold to new owner no longer Celuisma. Rooms horrible, moved 3 times. First room was dirty and musty. Second room no lock, no fridge, bathroom taps leaked and no phone. Food worse than Cuba by far. My opinion shared by most guests. Staff made it tolerable. Loved the cleaning staff.

Good for a 3 star

Rooms were very clean and well kept, my only complaint was the lack of hot water ! Wasn't impressed with the food , and the a la carte restaurant was the same meals for Italian, Mexican, and Caribbean, and they never had enough food even though we were the first reservation.. But we made due. Beach was very nice, the locals are very nice, we did one excursion of going out on the dune buggies!, was a blast... Booking with William was great, he is such a friendly helping man and gives you a good d [... read more]eal.

Budget Price - Budget Resort

The grounds and beach here are terrific. I've heard a lot of so-so reviews and in my opinion this place is a 3 star and don't expect more than that! You want a 3.5 star then pay a bit more for it. However, we didn't starve, had a nice room to sleep in, though a lack of hot water, drinks were plentiful (don't drink the white wine) and the people working here were nice. 7 days of great beach and sunshine for $700, can't beat that.

Worst Resort Ever!!

This place should not be open.. I went there in Jan for my birthday; arrived at the reception and witnessed the manager fighting with a customer for asking if he could upgrade his room(first warning sign).. Checked in and had to carry my own luggages to my room which was in building #12 fifth floor with no elevators!! Went to have dinner and omg was I shocked by the lack of variety and very limited option to pick from. I had some fried rice which was under cooked and blend; with chicken which ha [... read more]d bright red blood in it.. Needless to say we changed resorts the next day!! Paid more but omg Gran Vantena was worth the extra $$ we paid.. Word of advise; stay clear of this resort!!!

Playa dorada celuisma not even 2 star

This was my first trip to Dominican Republic. It was not a great first impression. Resort is in need of major repair and service. Rooms were old, no fridge, air conditioner was noisy and didn't work Taps leaked, more water came out of the taps than faucet, toilets did not flush properly, toilet was always plugging. Light fixture did not work consistently. No hot water for showers. Food was terrible and always cold. I have been to a 3 start resort in Cuba and the food was better there. There was  [... read more]a water cooler on each building but unless you ask you do not get water, and even when we asked, it took 24 hours before we had water. Service in the dining area was terrible. Also, only one four slice toaster for the entire resort. Beach was lettered and a lot of seaweed. The bartenders at the beach bar were fantastic, very friendly and would walk out onto the beach to serve you.

Very friendly resort

The hotel is beautiful. I found the staff to be exceptionally friendly. Got plenty of towels for showers. Basically you get what you paid for. The food didnt cause stomach aches so thats a plus!!!!! However the buffet needs more variety.

Don't Waste Your Money

Beach Resort by Farranda was absolutely terrible... The hotel itself was very dated, staff was rude, not helpful at all...You bring your own bags to your room regardless as to what room or block you are in. The food is awful.... If you can guess what is you will be fortunate if it doesn't grow legs and walk away... All the meat sat in blood.... Do yourself a favour... Spend more money and avoid this place, I have no idea how they stay open... After 1 night I was beyond grateful to get out and sw [... read more]itch hotels. The few elderly people I spoke with were also not happy and no guests I spoke to ever have any intention on returning. Terrible bar, very poor entertainment, no pool bar.... The list goes on... So look elsewhere because giving this a one was actually generous-

Awful place

Old, tired building.says recently renovated- which only means they threw on some paint. No fridge in room, had to ask for towels after 5 days and they were very well worn & had holes in. No water pressure in shower or toilet. No hot water. The building sucks!! Beach was good. Food terrible. People were getting sick.

-10 rating

100% misleading advertising on-line about this hotel & some examples are: it states 4 restaurants, there is one buffet place to eat called Yatch Club (not sure if they meant Yacht), 3 days in a row broccoli, carrots, spaghetti. One nite they had a bbq outdoors, the burger I chose was infested with ants .. yes ants - the chef's reply? He shrugged his shoulders as to say oh well. In the Yatch dining room birds took a dinner roll right out of the basket that ppl wud eat out of, took a couple of nib [... read more]bles & went on his way leaving the rest of the roll for ppl like me. His brother or sister bird decided he needed a sugar fix so promptly went to a sugar bowl & took a packet of sugar. As for water in the bar fridge (forget ginger ale or cola) one day I had left a bottle from the day before, when I got to my room I had not one bottle....none. I asked repeatedly to fix the phone as when I wud call to the main desk to have water delivered I could hear them they couldn't hear me..was never fixed even tho they said they made a note of it to fix it. The phone repeatedly made noises all nite so I unplugged it to get a restful nites sleep. I ventured into the Juanto's Mexican Restaurant one evening for a change with some friends from Ontario I had made, we all sat down anxious to have something different only to be told it was the VIP restaurant & if we wanted to est we wud have to pay, thank goodness we hadn't ordered..the place had 2 other parties awaiting to eat, one of which a group of 6 more friends I had made, I told them not to eat there as they would have to pay, they left along with us. As for KOKOMOS GRILL or the Italian Restaurant ... non existent. The jaccuzi was another problem, if the water was 65 degrees that wud be saying a lot. Mini Market stated their hours fro 9 a.m. to 11 pm. if you were lucky you found them open on their own hours as in 1/.2 an hour here or 15 minutes.there 7 definately never anyone around after 5 pm. I became deathly ill Dec 21 (no not from touching their water), I couldn't get a thing fro the store cuz they were closed. Ended up having to get a friend walk to the plaza next door (5 min walk) for me as I was bed ridden with some parasite. GYMNASIUM? no such thing, looked like in the midst of remodelling (just not recently, appeared to be ongoing but ran out of money & it wasn't a priority). Laundry Service..supposedly price lists & bags in the room .. no one I knew had these. The tv's in the room came out of the ark (yes..they dd) old, small with no remote control even. I am into day 10 of still being deathly ill, on meds from the mall I had to walk to in a foreign country (travelling solo) plus meds from my family doc here due to the fact the.so called Mini Mart store was always closed. One couple I met from Ontario actually had a beautiful fruit platter waiting them in their room .. nice jesture but should be for everyone on their arrival. Bar fridge was very old, rusty inside as well. Bed sheets were the same ones for at least 4 days..never changed because I made a mark on one to prove it. Cockroach in room .. another story in itself but those critters are to be expected. As for the peddlars on the beach? Sure they can be annoying but that is how they make their living & in just one word NO or shake your head NO they will not bother you. Furthermore, pretend you are sleeping works as well. Unfathomable to think this is rated a 3.5 star .. I have stayed in 5 star facilities which should be a 10 compared to Playa Dorado Beach Resort, Puerto Plato, DR. Would I ever go back? Definately not, the best part was the ocean & the sun..yes the beach area was okay & considerably clean all things considered. On Thurs Dec 24 I was supposed to attempt a day trip (non refundable) feeling the way I did it was either go & try to make the best of it or throw more money away, I asked for a wake up call @ 7 a.m. never received a call, luckily I had hardly slept all nite in fer this would happen, just as I got to the lobby the bus was pulling away but I yelled loud enough for him to wait. On my departure date I asked for a wake up call for 8:30 a.m. in fact saw the fellow at the counter write it down with my room number, I was calked at 6:30 ....yes SIX THIRTY, as long as the person on the front desk called me back we cud talk on the phone otherwise it didn't work, I told him to call me back at 8:30 as I had originally asked for, what time did he call me back? 9 a.m. This was my 3rd trip to the DR & my last very sadly to say.

Resort dump

nice grounds yes nice grounds, pool and beach, bad stay home and go to sand banks, oh don't look under the bed LOL what can I say nice ground yes very nice ground, now I am having a flash back,so I am off to the park, its that under the bed thing. Enjoy sorry La cuenta