First of all, this vacation was enjoyed by two mid-level professional gals looking for a much needed break. The overall experience was fantastic and we highly recommend this resort to anybody looking to get away from reality and relax for a few days...singles, couples, families...all seemed to be welcome.

Highlights:

We booked the "Spa Package" that we saw on the resort's website. Well worth every penny....4 spa treatments per person and full use of the amazing spa facility, a "superior" room complete with nice furniture, comfortable beds, a flat screen tv (although we didn't need it!), and a beautiful view of surrounding flora.

The staff were extremely friendly and very helpful. Several, including the hotel driver, "Pepsi Cola" who picked us up at the airport, Mercedes at the Beach Bar, Ruben the luggage guy, Raul the fruit smoothie guru, Angel at the spa, and David and Jeremiah, the "fun bosses" were especially fantastic. They were always friendly, had a smile on their faces, and greeted us by our first names whenever they saw us.

The food at each of the four restaurants as well as the beach barbeque tiki bar was definintely much better than expected. The Asian fusion restaurant, Lemongrass, had some of the best sushimi we had ever had...anywhere. Citrus, the Italian restaurant, had an excellent antipasta selection, the wait staff at Sonora were fun, the Mexican food was tasty and the surroundings in the open air restaurant were especially nice. The Malibu "buffet" was not a run of the mill buffet....it was a very nice Mediterranean style spread with a varied selection of foods (with a particular theme each night) that was sure to please even the most finicky of the tourist palate. The barbecue down by the beach was perfect for an afternoon snack, with a selection consisting of ribs, chicken, burgers, corn, potatoes, plantain and sweet potatoe chips, etc. A nice surprise one evening was a Dominican dish cooked over coals by the beach that consisted of rice, chorizio, scallops, shrimp, mussels, and lobster. That meal, followed by a small "bonfire" by the beach was very cool.

The view from the beach was gorgeous, and the beach itself was not crowded as only guests of the resort and another resort nearby frequented it. The beach was very clean and made for an excellent venue to run. Sun Village offered boogie boards, snorkel gear, sea kayaking equipment, etc to use at no additional cost.

The pools, as many reviews have stated, were gorgeous. There were several to choose from, all were clean, and although there were many people at the resort, one never felt crowded.

We can't say enough good things about Sun Village Resort and Spa and its staff. However, there are a few "traveler's tips" that may come in handy for people planning on traveling to this fantastic destination.

Travelers Tips:

1. Do not be in a hurry to do ANYTHING. As stated by a Dominican himself, "15 minutes = 2 hours Dominican time"

2. If there is an issue, just be patient yet persistent, and it will work out.

3. Don't be surprised by the twilight zone they call "Customs" at the Puerto Plata airport. Don't feel that you need to exchange currency for Pesos as the U.S. dollar (and Euro and British Pound, in some cases) are accepted throughout the area. Also, ATM machines are available.

4. If you get a "package" such as a Spa Package, confirm that the hotel and the spa are aware that you have purchased the package, and that you have your confirmation for both handy.

5. Unless you feel so compelled, only charge the agreed fees on your credit card vice leaving an "open tab" throughout your stay.

6. Calling before your trip to ensure someone will be at the airport to pick you up is well worth the call.

7. Coordinate your departure from the hotel to the airport one day prior, and again the morning you leave to prevent any transfer confusion. If you can, fly into Puerto Plata vice Santiago...it's worth the few extra bucks.

8. The alcohol was not "top shelf" stuff. A good wine is something you will have to pay extra to enjoy.

We hope this review helps you decide whether or not to spend your vacation at Sun Village in the D.R. Enjoy!

My boyfriend and I just returned from Sun Village. It was a last minute trip, so we had to settle @ this hotel. We knew going into it that it was a 3 star hotel. I will break down everything in this review. Hope it is helpful.

ROOM: From reading other reviews I knew I did not want to stay in a standard room. We were in a spa room. It was nice, but that's about it. I wasn't blown away by it. We passed by the standard rooms and they looked so dingy. Our room had a nice size terrace, a flat screen TV(although the reception was bad) and an iHome in the room which was great b/c you can charge your iPod and listen to your music. We had a king size bed which was very comfortable! One big negative: the walls are made of paper. I was woken up almost every morning by hearing people talking in their rooms. One night a couple on the third floor was fighting, there were kids next door to us so I heard them screaming. So just be careful what u say and do b/c EVERYBODY can hear u!

RESORT: I have to say the resort was very clean. You always saw someone cleaning something. I felt it was too large. Yes there are a lot of steps which u have probably read by now, but there are also 8 pools. It looked like there was noone there b/c each pool only had a couple of people. I didn't want it to overcrowed but I like to see some people.

COFRESI BEACH: I knew by reading other reviews that the beach was not that nice but noone was specific. So I will tell you the specifics. First of all what I didn't know was that the beach is PUBLIC, so on Sat. and Sun. the locals pretty much take over the beach. I had 30 guys playing football in front of me. I had to move nonetheless b/c it was not relaxing to hear screaming and have sand kick up on you! You don't actually sit on the beach. The resort's beach is one tier up so u are looking over the beach. The water was not that blue. Clean but not blue. We still stayed here for most of the day. Not a lot of people stayed at the beach b/c it was hard to find shade. The trees provided little shade and if they did u had to constantly keep moving. They need some huts on the beach.

RESTAURANTS: Citrus is the Italian rest. It was probably the best one. Lemongrass is Asian..we didn't like it. Sonora is Mexican we liked it as well. Malibu is buffet and open all day. Breakfast and lunch were doable here but dinner was gross. We went to Citrus late one night and they said they weren't excepting anymore people b/c they had so many waiting so that's why we went to Malibu. So make sure u don't go too late.(we went around 9) We also had dinner on the beach one night. Our waiter Jose was so nice. It was set up so beautifully. I would recommend doing this. It is extra.

SPA: We both had spa treatments and we really liked the spa. It was beautiful. It's a spa u would see @ a 4 or 5 star hotel.

STAFF: Everyone was extrememly friendly! Everyone says Hola to you. And their English is pretty good. The entertainment staff made our trip! There were games on the beach and shows at night. They were sooo nice and soooo funny. If it weren't for them I don't think I would have such a positive view of the place. We also met other young couples so we hung out with them also.

Overall the resort is okay. It is what it is..a 3 star. U can't expect anything more. The entertainment staff was awesome. We had a good time. Hey, it beat being at work!

Where: Sun Vilage, Cofresi Beach, Dominican Republic
What: All-Inclusive Resort
When: March 17th through 22nd, 2008
Who: Party of six, four adults, one 13 year old, one 14 year old

Resort Facts...

The resort is a short drive from the Puerta Plata airport and you have to go through a busy part of the town to get to the resort.
The resort is beautiful with lovely landscaping. The lobby is very comfortable and the desk staff was warm and welcoming.
We had superior rooms and they were very spacious and nicely decorated. The bathroom was large and had ample counter space. There was a wide screen TV in the room and there were some American channels available.

There are four restaurants: Buffet, Italian, Mexican and Asian

The buffet always had a wide selection of choices and we were always able to find something that appealed to everyone in our group. The service staff was very friendly and the service was usually quick.
The Mexican restaurant was located near the beach and the beach pool. The food was tasty and the staff was polite and friendly.
The Italian restaurant had a stated policy of no shorts, etc. We found this to be not enforced. This restaurant is a little more formal that the others, so the meal takes a long time. There aren't a lot of choices on the menu but the food was good and the service was attentative.
The Asian restaurant is very nicely decorated. Ladies are given pillows for their feet as they are shown to their tables. The menu seemed to be mostly common Chinese favorites although there were enough other choices to make it interesting.

The resort has five pools:

The main pool is large and had ample chairs and tables with umbrellas and a swim-up bar.
The adult pool has a waterfall and is actualy sort of secluded from the other pools.
The kiddy pool has a mushroom fountain and a small tube slide.
The dolphin pool is near the spa and had a juice bar. This is where the pool tables and the ping pong tables are.
The beach pool is adjacent to the beach and near the beach bar and the snack hut.

The beach is small...not the expanse of white sand that you might expect. There is a beach bar and a snack hut. There are also a couple of shops that have swimwear, sun block, snacks, etc.

They are building condos at the resort and we were frequently approached to schedule a tour with an eye toward purchasing. We always declined but that didn't stop them from trying.

There is nightly entertainment scheduled: a magician, a comedian, a dance show....

Opinions....

We booked this trip after looking at resorts on-line and talking to an on-line travel agent. As I said, the resort is beautiful but no amount of lovely landscaping, sparkling pools and friendly staff can overcome, I think, the downside of this resort.

The resort is cut into the side of a mountain. I am not kidding. I am posting pictures of some of the stairs that we had to climb to get from one section of this resort to the other. Just to get to the buffet restaurant from our room, we had to climb up 40 steps, walk across the main pool deck and then down another 20 steps to the restaurant. From the pool deck, you have to look over the roof of the building our room was in to see the ocean.
For anyone with diffuculty walking, difficulty breathing or an aversion to marathon stair climbing, this is a resort to steer clear of.

We scheduled this trip for the week before Easter. We did not know and were not informed until after we arrived at the resort that because of the holiday, most activities and services were canceled after Wednesday. The package we booked included a scuba lesson in the pool. We found out, after the dive coordinator had left for the holiday, that we should have scheduled this for the day after we arrived. (In truth, I fault the travel agent for not informing us of this.)

Another situation that impacted our stay is the policy of the resort to admit local residents as day guests on weekends and holidays. As a result, from Wednesday on, the pools were more crowded, the restaurants were more crowded and the evening entertainment seemed to be aimed at the day guests as it was all in Spanish instead of the Spanish/English combination it had been. (Again, this is something the travel agent should have known and informed us about.)

In summary, although this resort was beautiful and we did have a good time, the amount of stair climbing cancels out, I think, the positive aspects.
On the other hand, after a week of pina colladas, I only gained one pound.
Nah, not enough of a reason to go back.

Well we cannot say enough about this resort. We had a fantastic time! A few little things could have been better, but thanks to trip advisor, we went there expecting some of the small problems we encountered.

Our check in process wasn't that great,as some other travellers have said. We arrived @ 11:30 am and expected to not get our room until three, so we packed our swim clothes and sun screen in our carry on bags to enjoy the pools while we waited. We were told our room would be ready @ 3pm which was fine. We were driven to our room @ 3 only to find we were given the wrong room. We waited in the lobby until 5pm before we were finally given our room. Other than that there was no incident. We were prepared ahead of time for the wait, so we weren't too upset by it.

The resort is gorgeous! Very clean,decor was beautiful. We had upgraded to a superior room which was nicer, but all the rooms were clean and upkept very well from what we saw. The pools were spotless at all times, and the people working at the resort were excellent. we never had an issue with our mini bar fridge being empty that's for sure! The food was also excellent. We ate at all three a la carte restaurants and loved them all. No reservations needed but if you go there after 7:30 you might have a wait to be seated. We never had a problem. The buffet was great for breakfast, and lunch. Supper time was okay, but we usually liked to dress up a little and go to the a la carte. Lots of variety for the food, so everyone was happy.

The only thing we didn't like about the night life was the disco was small and they would use a smoke machine. The disco was too small for the smoke so we would have to leave because we found it hard to breathe..and we're smokers!! The entertainment staff do something every night in the theatre lounge and that is over by 10:30. After that the disco opens, but nobody usually went. Everyone is so tired after the whole day..not the fault of the resort. The entertainment staff are very energetic and fun. No they aren't professional actors, but they are so much fun you don't care!

All the alcohol was fine except the wine was hideous!! We finally bought a bottle @ the Citrus restaurant, which was pricey, but that's not something you'd do alot. Beer and Rum was great, all frozen drinks were great..whatever you wanted you could have.

We had a fantastic time on the excursions. we booked through the tour group on the resort and never had a problem. Ruddy is the best tour guide ever!! Did the jungle safari and the catamaran tour and loved both. Ocean World is a 5 minute walk from the resort as well as the Casino. Didn't do either..to expensive for our interests.

The beach was okay. Stay away from the side of the beach where the other resort is because they have reps on the beach who are non stop trying to get you to their resort for a tour. Very annoying, but not the fault of Sun Village.

Overall, the resort was every thing we wanted and expected. Would recommend it in a heart beat!!!