Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: Not as advertised - Paid more than it was worth

Understanding that resort ratings can vary from country to country please understand that my review will be as objective as possible. Also note that my back ground is in facilities management as I currently manage 185 facilities of various sizes or 11 000 000 square feet of occupied space for over 1200 people. Rating scale out of 5, with 5 being the highest. Legitimate Hotel Rating: 3 as compared to the Sandals Brand Transfer to the hotel from the airport: 3 - About a 2 hour trip, no st [... read more]ops, no bathrooms. Road conditions are very good and well policed so I felt safe the entire way there and back. Condition of Hotel: 3 - based on the over all condition of the rooms and the resort. The grounds are well kept, including pools and common areas. The rooms are in varying states of disrepair and the original build quality is not great. Our rooms had mold around the air conditioning supply line, could be corrected with a little insulation, the doors on our closet were broken, or taken off, the bathroom fan did not work, the caulking around the sing was pulled away from the wall the in room safe did not work. Gym: 5 - The gym is excellent, free weights, modern equipment, lots of space, heavy bag. Spa: 4.5 - The spa is excellent, steam sauna etc. I had a massage, it wasn't the best but not going to complain as it was included in my package. Beach & Grounds: 4.5 - excellent, safe, well maintained, no life guards and the pools are cold, there are no non motorized water sports ie. sail boats etc. There is a dive shop, extra cost, and the animation staff are always offering beach front activities, yoga, volleyball, other games, etc. Night Club: 2.5 - small, poor drink quality, not the greatest music Hotel Security: 3 - The hotel is not gated and there is no front line from road security in place. I was a little uncomfortable with this at the beginning but realized later that the hotel is in a safer area of the Dominican (walked the beach freely) and that there were security roaming the various access areas, beach etc. There were vendors on the beach but they were respectful and did not harass, I would simply say No mas and they would go away. Hotel Staff: 4 - Make sure you book as a VIP, this is a time share resort and you will receive preferred treatment as a VIP. Front desk staff do not make customer service a priority regardless of your guest status. VIP rooms are near the beach, our house keeper, Pool/beach waitress Adileni, bartender (Toni night bartender), dinning and kitchen staff went out of their way to make our stay special. Maintenance staff were always working on the grounds, our room deficiencies were never addressed but that's probably more of a management thing. Food: 3.5 - I would have rated this a 3 but the New Years celebration was over the top with amazing food selection and quality. The reservations for dinning were very hard to get, the buffet was the same selection day after day, the food was Ok and as they say, "we could always find something" (at a real 4+star this isn't something you say). breakfast was the best meal of the day. My go too's were the egg station, pasta bar, soup & bread (both amazing). Fresh fruit at breakfast was great too. There were restaurants that you could pay to eat and drink that I did not go to. Beverage quality and options: 2 - The coffee bar was excellent though regular coffee at the buffet was terrible, juices were chemical tasting or may some kind of concentrate, fountain pop was typically flat, not fresh, alcohol was sub standard and I think the draft beer was non alcohol "near bear". Al in all, not even close to 4+ star quality

Be Live Experience Hamaca Garden: Not what i expected

This resort was truly disappointing experience. The service was extremely poor. Some rooms had major issues however when guest complained nothing got done. the constant approaches by men in motorcycles was annoying and sometimes confrontational. On a better note the grounds, pool, and beach was well kept.

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: Terrible Resort

This is the worst hotel we’ve ever had the misfortune to attend. We are pretty easygoing traveller and expect to run into some concerns when travelling to another country but this was an unimaginable horror story. Staff is rude and ignorant, they will only go out of their way for anyone speaking Spanish. The food is barely passable. The alcohol is sub-par and watered down. They have 3 public pools that are never cleaned. Three days before we left the sides of the pool were green and slimy. Eve [... read more]n when someone told them the pool was disgusting they didn’t clean it. Someone put a hose and a vacuum in the pool, walked away and two hours later came back and removed everything and left. I suppose that was their idea of cleaning the pool. Paid for a Steak and lobster dinner only to be told they had run out of lobster. Paid for an Essentia package with a swim out only to arrive and be told they had given our room to someone else and no others were available. No offers to return our money. Nothing you can do about it because no one there speaks a word of English. There is No main lobby. There’s a covered area with one couch that 300 people all try to congregate around to use the WIFI because that’s the only area it works. There’s a road that runs between the main lobby and the essentia rooms that require a crossing guard because there are trucks, cars, vans and motorcycles constantly running through. The smell of gas and exhaust is nauseating. Do not waste your money. I’m sickened by the amount of money we spent to go to this resort to be let down so miserably. If there are any good reviews of an Emotions resort I would presume it’s not the Emotions located in juan dolio. There are two resorts and unfortunately we got stuck at this crappy place. There are also ants, cock roaches and other bugs in the rooms. I could write another page of complaints but will leave it at this.

Be Live Experience Hamaca Garden: Overall good for the area

This area is good for having a real local experience and comfortable leaving the resort . This is the best overall hotel in the area ; it is close to Santa Domingo and is a good spot as a "home" location for traveling off the resort , close to car rentals, grocery stores .

BelleVue Dominican Bay: Nice resort

Hotel was older but very clean, grounds are very well kept, food was very good and staff were excellent. Downside to this resort it was right in the middle of town, and the beach was further away than was stated. also lots of stairs both in the complex and getting down to the beach, which is not good for some people.

Be Live Experience Hamaca Garden: Disorganized

I would never dream of going back to this hotel again. Two hours drive from airport then check in was kaotic waited 40 mins to check in only to get in a room that was so filthy I could not bear to stay in it. Bad experience overall.

Whala Boca Chica: Rotten Resort

after a long delay at Toronto airport,We left on our holiday. On arrival at Punta Cana we were directed to our transportation. We had been advised the trip to the Hotel would take 20 minutes but it turned out to be a two hour trip, On arrival at the hotel we were lodged on the third floor no elevators, are view from the balcony was looking at a run down hotel. the hotel staff were friendly but the dining room was something else at lot of guests had no control of their children and let  [... read more]them run wild among the tables. The beach was a disaster you could not have a minutes peace without some one trying to sell you some thing.. That was first and last visit from now on I will spend my money in Cuba,,,,,,,, Bob Fulton

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: Beautiful resort, country and all inclusive vacation

The rooms were very clean and updated, the staff was absolutely fantastic. The food was 9/10 and there was lots of variety in the buffets. The grounds were constantly being maintained and there was plenty of beautiful areas to sit and enjoy the scenery. We traveled with our 9month old son and we were accommodated perfectly with a crib in the room and a first floor room. I highly reccomend booking through trip central and staying at emotions. The only negative I can say was that they tried hard t [... read more]o sell us on the time share/VIP section of the resort....and that since we stayed on the Dominican labour day there were lots of locals at the resort and it did get pretty busy over their long weekend. One of my favourite things was the cafe that served specialty coffees and my husband loved the sports bar that played American basketball games! I highly reccomend this resort!

Coral Costa Caribe: great resort not to big just perfect

The place was always super clean the workers there were great the rooms were nice a little problem with plumbing sometimes.the beach was clean pools were also great service excellent a la carte were very good food was good overall a great place to go we would go back.

BelleVue Dominican Bay: Very Nice resort

We were very surprised for the price that way paid the resort was clean and the food was very good. The Italian restaurant was amazing. We were not as happy with the beach as the beach area is public. We would go back for sure

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: Small, but it has everything

The resort was small and a town road cut the "beach side" off from the "main side" where the lobby, pool and shops were. However, it was easy to cross and really didn't notice it. There were 10 people in our group - two arrived the day before the rest and were situated in the adult only section - which is what we paid for. However, when the remainder came the next night, we were "upgraded" to the beach building. However, the surprise was - it was a family building, so turned out not to be much o [... read more]f an upgrade other than we have a roped section on the beach and our pool was on the beach. HOWEVER, this also meant that the two people from our group weren't able to sit at the pool with us (had to have a special bracelet or you were kicked out). We had all paid for the exact same package and there was no reasoning with the staff. The food was fine and the a la cartes were fairly easy to get into and accommodating. The maid service was slow - we were trying to get ready for a 6pm dinner reservation and housekeeping came in at 5:30 and wouldn't leave (didn't speak English) - we had said not to worry, clean tomorrow - but she stayed to sweep - was awkward. The one negative was the location of the resort - it was in a little town and it was a bit sketchy. Workers told us not to EVER walk to the left of the resort and only to go down the street to the right during the day. There were prostitutes (husband was propositioned twice) and locals were about. Also, this resort has no money exchange - and we were advised not to go to the back as tourists were told not to walk in that direction (15 minute walk). There wasn't anything uber special or bad about this place. We had a relaxing vacation - which is what we went for.

BelleVue Dominican Bay: Not what we expected!

We were very surprised that the bus ride from the airport was about four hours instead of the 1.5 hrs as advertised. The grounds of the hotel were nice and well maintained. However, we were again surprised with the condition of the bathroom. We could only use the toilet sitting sideways because water was dripping from the ceiling. We also had trouble with lack of water pressures and intermittent warm water. The beach and swimming area were most disappointing because of the amount of garbage a [... read more]ccumulating on the beach and in the water. The beach was also VERY noisy with motorbikes and overly loud and persistent vendors. On the positive side, the food was good and varied. The staff was friendly. Overall, this is not a resort we would visit again.

BelleVue Dominican Bay: 2 Stars at Best

The hotel rooms were not ready for our arrival at 2:30. Check in is 3PM. This made for a very long day already including the lengthy bus trip from the airport. It's not too far an expectation that the restroom area at reception would have been clean. Of the 3 stalls available in the ladies bathroom, only one was clean. The men's bathroom was closed. Our room was in block 7. The kitchen area was dirty, the television didn't work, one of two beds were broken, there was no safe and no towe [... read more]ls. We called reception and told the front desk employee our issues and asked for a new room. We were told we didn't have to use the kitchen. We asked for a new room anyway. He called us back and we proceeded to the reception. The front desk employee asked if we were alright with a ground floor room and we were. We received a room in block 17. The room was much better but it did have its issues; the main one being the middle patio door could be pulled open from the outside even in the locked position. We didn't say anything because this room was much better than the last. The dining room was exceptionally clean however the tables needed to be cleared and re-dressed quicker. It was often difficult to find a clear table with fresh utensils and glassware. Ended up sitting at a dirty table and asked a female server for 2 glasses. She went to the nearest uncleared table and held 2 glasses up to the light to see if they were "clean". She then brought the two "clean" glasses over. We refused them. A male server later brought 2 glasses over. Although water coolers are available, bottled water should be available for purchase 24 hours a day. As we don't drink alcohol, we drink a lot of water and was at the mercy of the retails store's opening and closing hours to quench our thirst. Hotel guests should have been informed prior to confirmation of stay, that local residents would have taken over the pool and snack bar areas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday making it difficult to get drinks, find chairs or get a quick snack. We travel to the Caribbean for the beach. We were disappointed at the beach here. It was dirty with garbage everywhere, no evidence of grooming at all. The local food area on the right side of the hotel - empty their cooking oils and refuse into the sea. The sales people on the beach were relentless - worst we've seen in the Caribbean. We spoke to other Canadian guests who were also disappointed. We all seemed to be having the same experiences with our rooms and vowed that we would all speak up.

Coral Costa Caribe: Coral Costa Caribe

Beautiful place. Nice and clean, it even smelled clean. Good food, beautiful beach, lots of shade and loungers. Superior rooms are a fair distance from the main area, but if your healthy they are worth the walk. Casino is closed down but I think there is a casino $30 dollars by cab away. I enjoyed this resort.

Be Live Experience Hamaca Beach: very bad

are stay at the be live resort was one of the worst stay we have ever had there was mold in are rooms, the rooms were not cleaned every day the drains were not draining in the tub, had to ask for towels daily, front desk were not very interested in helping us with this situation,there was a lot more but we will never go back to this resort and we will never recommend this resort to anyone

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: RESORT DELIVERS

OVERALL THE EMOTIONS RESORT IS A TRADIONAL DOMINICAN RESORT ON A SMALLER SCALE WITH EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE STAFF,AVERAGE BUFFET AND A LA CARTE RESTAURANTS AND A FEELING OF SAFETY WHILE YOUR ARE WALKING AROUND THE SURROUNDING BEACH FRONT PROPERTIES. BEACH HAS SOME ISSUES WITH CLOUDY WATER AND SEAWEED THAT ACCUMULATES ON THE SHORELINE(STAFF CLEAN IT UP AS BEST THEY CAN) BUT THE RESORT HAS PLENTY OF LOUNGE CHAIRS AND A NICE FULL SERVICE SNACK BAR CLOSE TO THE BEACH. ENTERTANMENT AT NIGHT IS AVE [... read more]RAGE ND ENDS AT 11:00 P.M. OVERALL I WOULD RATE THIS RESORT A "B plus"

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: Amazing People beautiful resort

This resort is beautiful. We stayed on the Essentia side which is the highest end they offer. The rooms are nice and the views and free things added in are a really nice add-on. However you must make sure you have the things you are suppose to have. Alot of little things were missing but when we addressed with guest services they were amazingly gracious and understanding. They went above and beyond our expectations on making things right. Every single person you encounter are truly happy and fri [... read more]endly. I could spend hours naming off all the people I have met there that made our vacation special. Honestly the people make the difference and these are the best people. The food in the buffets repeat regularly however this is not a bad thing. everything is better then expected and I'm a picky person. The a la carte's are exceptional in every aspect! Jose Antonio is truly wonderful. The bad is not in anyway shape or form fault of the hotel but the beach area is very rocky beach shoes are a must. The resort is kept sparkling at all hours. They have a very small road (more like an alley way) that is not very busy at all and they have security at the road at all times. (Don't be alarmed it's not needed) we walked up and down the roads and felt very safe. Even the locals are polite. If your looking for a nice quiet place for the family or even by yourselves you can't go wrong. I hope this helps and have a great trip! As far as trip Central.ca goes... They got us everything we wanted cheaper than any other providers. We saved 600$ total on our vacation just by booking here rather than sunwing.

Be Live Experience Hamaca Garden: Overall a good hotel

My week long experience at the Hamaca was satisfactory. I can't rave too much of it as I did not fully use all of what it had to offer..such as the a la carte restaurants, VIP services, etc. I only stayed there because there were no more deals available that week at some other 3 star hotel nearby. My only beef really was a leaky toilet that also took a long time for the water tank to refill. I would also say that my room seemed more like of a 3 star quality, but since it was only a garden ro [... read more]om, maybe that's why...though at least I had a nice view of the pool grounds. I know that this hotel seems to have it's share of very negative reviews, which I had read before booking myself there, but my overall experience that week was not bad at all, from my perspective. So on that note, and for the price I got for it, yes I would return.

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: Winter get away

The beach was very poor--weedy and sharp stones. The pools were good but the hot tub lacked entry and exit rails. I liked the set up of the resort. The rooms were great. The food mediocre. The main street set around the pools was nice. Service was good.

Emotions by Hodelpa Juan Dolio: A most relaxing holiday

The beach, food and service were all very good My excursion was wonderful I just wish some of the staff understood english better The excursion I took was wonderful Really got to see how the local people live