Disappointing resort

The restaurant was very disappointing. Service was pretty much non existent. They did not have enough coffee cups so we went without coffee in the morning. The one day I did get coffee it was served in a dirty cup? There were also not enough plates & utensils. We saw people take spoons from the serving dishes to eat with. An hour and a half into the meal they ran out of certain dishes. We ordered food one day and after waiting an hour asked where the meal was and was advised they forgot  [... read more]to put in the order. Rooms were very clean but shortage of towels and face cloths. There was also a shortage of keys for the safe so we had to wait till people returning home turned them in. Shows were also disappointing and were mostly in Spanish. There were no English shows or interpretation of the shows. Pool activities were in very poor taste.

Fall 2022 trip to Senator

Vacation for the books!! Rooms were very clean, staff extremely friendly. Zero line ups for buffet, or beach chairs, hardly any people so very quiet. Only one al la cart to choice daily as it’s their slow time. Would recommend to a friend.

Well Managed Quality Resort

My wife and I truly enjoyed our week at the Senator. We have travelled many times each year over the last 40 years and given the "price point" we were not expecting much. We were pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of all areas of this Resort. Many of the common areas (Lobby, Restaurants, Sports Bar, Pools and Theater) were recently rebuilt, so were all new. It is a well thought out design, so it is easy to find everything. The rooms have been refurbished although some of them do need some u [... read more]pdating with regards to the bathrooms. Lots of Air Conditioning problems according to other guests. We changed rooms once, hence this comment and also talked to other guests while there. The resort was constantly being cleaned and all of the staff are friendly and helpful. The food was excellent in quality and variety, so there was always something suitable to eat at every meal. With regards to Covid, you would think that it no longer exists. Apart from the excellent cleaning, no one was wearing a mask, anywhere. There were a few hand-sanitizing stations, but most times they were empty. Staff would interact with you very closely with no safe space. The shuttle buses were back to pre-covid times with no precautions. Admittedly, the tables in the restaurants were spaced far apart so this was good. Now for the negatives! The evening shows are very amateurish. The music and show schedules were never followed and there was no explanation given. Also, given the large percentage of English-speaking guests, it would be appreciated if a little English is spoken during announcements. The Drinks are all of very low quality, so a familiar drink is not enjoyable because the alcohol is watered-down. The wines are the worst that I have tasted! The Sunwing representative was absent for the entire week, so guests could not get important information like departure pick-up times. The same problem existed at the Playa bachata because I went there 4 times looking for someone. Other Reps from Air Canada, Air Transat, etc. were readily available, but not Sunwing! There was no information posted like the other tour operators. Improvements needed: better quality Alcohol, an entertaining evening show and some live music daily at cocktail hour, also some music in English as opposed to only Spanish because a large percentage of guests are English speaking. I have heard very similar comments from many other guests while I was on the resort. No resort is perfect but if improvement were made to the liquor quality, appropriate evening shows and music, this would be an excellent resort.

Senator resort and spa

Pros the resort is clean Cons there is no entertainment at all or might life the drinks are watered down. The Buffett has bugs crawling In the food, they let locals stay at the resort on the weekends I was not told this in advance they take over and are rider butting in line and there are long lines Buffet runs a out the good food fast. Empty cups in the pool the staff doesn’t speak English on the weekends just Spanish. I would never stay at this resort again it was one of the worst trip ev [... read more]er

Very good resort, with some areas for improvement

This was our trip 16 to the Caribbean, 3rd to the Dominican Republic, first time to this resort, staying for 2 weeks. The good: • This resort is a solid 4 stars. The landscaping is impeccable, the gardeners are working non-stop, day in and day out. • Great settings – absolutely stunning views, gorgeous sunsets. We’ve seen 3 weddings while we were there, a picture-perfect set for a Caribbean wedding. • Decent size rooms, relatively clean (though there was some hair left from the [... read more] previous guests in the bathtub). • Good, whisper-quiet air conditioner, best I’ve ever seen in the DR/Cuba/Mexico. • Safe key is free. • Never had an issue with exchanging the beach towels, they were always available. No issues with beach chairs either – plenty of free chairs were always available. • Food variety is good, you won’t be hungry. Lots of fresh fruits, salads, sauces, cheeses. Passion fruit, mangoes, avocados – ripe and juicy. The baking goods in the buffet are excellent, some are really impressive. The coffee in the coffee shop is great as well. • Local beer and mamajuana – the best. • WiFi in the room was workable, 5mb/s. Sometimes it went out, but overall was fine. • Sports bar is awesome, food there turned out to be way better than we expected. The hot dog is not just a hot dog, it’s a real meal. Hamburgers would give any North American chain a run for their money. • Staff was friendly, any questions/concerns were addressed. • The “VIP Breakfast” people were not too pushy, told them that I am not interested and they lost interest in me too. • The gym is excellent, if you’ve seen the pictures – it’s a real deal, one of the best gyms I’ve seen in the Caribbean, except for one massive flaw (see next section). • The ocean is amazing, great for swimming – minimal to no waves, good depth most of the time, and safe for children. The flag on the beach is meaningless, it never changes and is for decoration only, so swim ahead. The bottom is sandy, there are rocks closer to corals, but you will quickly learn to navigate around them. • You will see plenty of small colorful fishes, kids will have a blast. Fish seems to be trained to come in schools when you get closer to the (dead) reef. Don’t need a snorkel, they will literally surround you. We’ve also seen one large (really fat and large, about 1m long, tuna-like) fish, not sure what it was, probably harmless, but it scared the hell out of us. Great experience though. • The steakhouse was good and exceeded our expectations, highly recommend. We visited it twice – the medium-rare tenderloin stake was cooked to perfection both times. • We’ve visited a sister resort next door – night and day. If you are torn between the two because of the two hundred dollars difference – don’t even think about it, choose Senator. • Aside from some staff wearing mask, there was no difference between our vacation experience before COVID and now. The not-so-good: • I hope you like CNN, because there are only 2 English channels available. We did not come here to watch TV, but still. • The shows were amateurish. If you like karaoke or seeing fat tourists twerking, then you will have a blast, otherwise not worth going. Nothing to do after dinner either. Having a live violin or other instrument played in the lobby in the evening would have been fantastic. • Japanese restaurant was a letdown. Any food court in Toronto cooks much tastier and much more “Japanese” food than in this restaurant. The restaurant ambiance is great, and the show the chef puts up is spectacular, but nobody in my group was able to finish large chunks of undercooked chicken. Their version of sushi was as far from real sushi as DR is from Japan, not worth it. • The protein in the main buffet is meh... I tried different meat and fish, but it was rarely prepared well. Some meat is clearly reheated from previous dinners. Often, there were more bones than meat. Same for fish – stale, occasionally half-raw, tried multiple varieties – hit and miss, some of the worst cooked fish I’ve seen in the Caribbean, and we usually travel to cheaper resorts. • We all got stomach problems, some of us – multiple times. 10 days of diarrhea is not fun, I assure you. I suspect that fruits and salads are not washed well, as we ate a lot of them. • The lineups to the protein section during lunch are epic – I’ve never seen 30-meter lineups in the restaurant before. For some inexplicable reason, the cooks cook very little meat before dinner, starting when crowds arrive. Very poor planning and flow control. If you are not in the restaurant the minute it opens and among the first – you might as well forget about the meat (or settle for hamburgers or cold cuts, which are served separately). If you come 30 min later, good luck finding a table. The mayhem at lunch was my biggest point of contention by far. Interestingly, the dinner is totally different story – the restaurant is half-empty. Since the lunch is packed with locals, I suspect there is some kind of dining special going on for locals, thus they come to lunch in hundreds. • Coffee machine (one) in the buffet. Getting a coffee was an adventure. There is almost always a lineup to a single working (sometimes – not working) coffee machine preparing some powder “coffee-like” substance. Why not just buy a bunch of cheap drip coffee makers and keep the good coffee going? Three hundred dollar investment would have gone a long way in ensuring there is always enough fresh coffee. • Things do walk away sometimes, so lock everything, including hats. • If you want to buy rum at the resort – you are up for sticker shock. The prices for Dominican rum at the stores are higher than in Canada. But hold on to your money – on your way out there is a Duty-Free in the airport with much, much better prices. • The gym. While the gym itself is excellent, they have a stupid policy – no teenagers under 16 are allowed in, even with their parents. The gym was one of the reasons we chose this hotel, my son is 13 and has been visiting a gym in Toronto since 10. He takes his routine seriously, and being kicked out of the gym because he is under 16 was a big letdown and disappointment. Overall – we are happy with our stay and might return to Senator, all the letdowns were not that big of a deal and were far outweighed by the beautiful settings and the ocean. However, we probably won’t be back for another 3 years, until my son is old enough to use their gym.

Amazing resort.

Grounds, pool. sports bar, buffet, room, special dinning all amazing. The staff were always very friendly and obliging. Ramon went out of his way to accommodate all our requests. The trip to Puerto Plata was fun.

Not a 5 star

Nice room, beach and pool area. Service however, was non-existent. Of the three dining restaurants, the Italian by far was the worst. We were lucky to befriend two wonderful staff, Christopher and Juan, who made our stay great! The poolside Signature Snack Bar in our opinion had the best food and service.

Great Time

We recently stayed at the Senator (Apr 18-23). Overall we had an amazing time. Weather was great. Resort itself was very clean and well maintained. Best water pressure and hot water of any resort we have stayed in the past. Food was good. Not a large variety buy we made it work. The only complaint is that there was not enough seating at night in the lounge area however you can walk over

Amazing holiday

Just home from a weeks vacation at the Senator Puerto Plata resort in the Dominican Republic. Awesome resort, food, service and beautiful surroundings. Very clean and especially diligent about Covid protocol. Hopefully will return again and highly recommend it. Also recommend Wendy Harrington at Trip Central who helped us book and had an answer for all our questions.

Beautiful resort!

The resort was very clean and the staff friendly and efficient. The food at the buffet was diverse and served hot. The dining at the specialty restaurants was very good and the food above average. Only complaint was that there were no benches along the walking paths for older guests to sit and rest. All in all a very nice resort that I would recommend and will return to.

We love this resort@

The Senator is a great resort. The grounds are bright and well kept. The cleaning staff is amazing including the Ladies thst clean the restrooms near the pool and the sports bar! The staff are so friendly and fun. The entertainment staff are extremely fun and give love for free! Lol. Covid was left in the back of our minds, but we were cautious to sanitize and the staff all wore masks. Our masks were optional, some wire them others did not, no issues. The only little issue was when came time for [... read more] our departure antigen test, it was not clear where we were to be to line up and a little wait due ti lots of people needing one done, but up be expected really. I would recommend this resort and have been there 3 times now, excellent for the price point for sure.

Amazing trip

We were a group of 10 and the staff and service was fantastic, the resort was always clean, food was amazing rooms were nice! We will definitely be going back!! Thanks senator!! We love Domingo at the sports bar! Coffee at the sports bar is amazing

Home away from home

This resort is wonderful! The food is amazing. The staff are super friendly and very helpful. Everything you need is close. The only downfall is if you want to watch TV in English, the only English stations are News stations and MTV.

Find A Different Hotel

The grounds and pool are beautiful. The rooms are hit and miss. The safe was not working, ants in the bathroom, grout build-up in the bathroom and flooding every shower because the bathroom floor was nearly a inch higher than the living space. No dressing gowns. Front desk was not really interested in the issues. The food was terrible and lots of time cold. We ended going to the Playa Hotel which is adjacent to eat, and it was much better. The cooks were wearing masks - NOT covering their [... read more] noses and a couple of times not fully placed. My daughter had her wedding at this resort - NO gift basket and no upgrade to their room, which is what we paid for. The front desk was made aware of these issues, and nothing was done to rectify the situation. The food placed at cocktail hour was literally one piece of hor deurve per person. Very, very disappointing I would definitely NOT recommend this hotel for anything

Great!

The hotel was very clean and well maintained. We did have a couple of hiccups with the room and they were rectified. There was no hot water the day we arrived, but they had technicians working on the issue and it was solved by the evening. The staff went above and beyond. They were friendly and helpful.

Great staff amazing resort

This was our second time at this resort and will return again. The staff and entertainment team especially peek a chu we’re amazing. We felt very safe and everyone wearing masks, they sanitize everyone’s hands before you can enter Buffett. They also have hand sanitizers around the resort. The sports bar is great. Nothing but positive vibes from all staff from the moment you arrive. Cheers till we see you again

An awesome resort!

The hotel showed a great service, variety of food and drinks. The suite was clean and comfortable. The animation team during the day is lacking a little bit of interaction with the visitors but that is a personal opinion.

Poor service

Nice hotel, nice and spacious rooms, beach is small, about a km long but very shady and quiet if you prefer that. Pool is loud, crowded, you can never get seats unless you get up at 5:30 am to reserve them and there aren’t enough ombrellas. Food is ok. Unless you’re drinking beer, the rest of the drinks aren’t good. Service is bad or nonexistent. You need to get your own napkins, utensils and glasses. A la carte restaurants are good but to reserve them is stressful. Be firm and ask when an [... read more]d where you want to eat. Don’t let them dictate time and place. Best thing was the coffee shop, ice-cream place and the Sushi restaurant. A trip to the city, including cable car, was enjoyable We will not be returning to this resort, however

Not recommended!

The hotel and rooms were clean and fairly well maintained. We had 4 days of rain which is out of everyone's control however the common areas of the hotel did not have enough seating for guests to socialize or sit to have a drink or play games. The service in the bar was poor mainly because there was not enough staff....a four sided bar with 3 servers! Food quality and selection at the buffet was poor. Many of the lunch choices were the exact same at dinner (potatoe dishes, bean dishes, dess [... read more]erts, chicken dishes). The Japanese and Steak House were outstanding. Staff was very friendly and helpful. This hotel showed a 5 star on Tripcentral.....should be only a 3 star.

Beautiful resort!

Was very impressed at the Senator. Extremely clean, staff are always consistently keeping all inside and outside areas spotless. Was pleasantly surprised with the buffet selections, a la cartes were all very, very good. Transat rep was amazing and very helpful when inquiring and booking excursions. Only issue we had (as with most resorts), not enough loungers at the pool and beach unless you are out at daylight and try to reserve loungers. Otherwise we would go back with no hesitation and defini [... read more]tely recommend this resort!