My husband and I attended our sons' wedding at Sun Village. The rooms were beautiful, the food was great and above all the people were very polite and full of positive energy. A young gentlemen named "Jeramiah", who organized lots of activities during the day and then worked at night for the shows was wonderful, positive and got all of us involved. What a great place to get married. Us moms enjoyed a fabulous afternoon at the spa. The ladies there were very professional and did a spectacular job. I hope to go back to Sun Village ....... If Jeramiah reads this review, good luck with school and with your future endevors. Harry & Connie

Six of my girlfriends and I stayed at the Sun Village Resort & Spa from March 30 to April 6. From the minute we got there, we were impressed; we still haven't stopped talking about how nice the entire resort was, not to mention the people.

Since we were a group of 7 girls, we wanted to stay close together on the resort, and the hotel staff went out of their way to keep us in the same bungalow. In fact, we got three rooms all in the same location; and one of our friends was even bumped up to a superior room free of charge.

My sister lost one piece of her luggage on the plane, through no fault of Sun Village, and everyone went out of their way to help her get it back. One person, Jaime, who didn't even work for the travel rep (Sun Village) but worked for Maxim Bungalows, even assisted. She eventually got her suitcase back and was offered some money to replace some of her lost items.

As for the facilities themselves, what they say on the website is all true; what you see really is what you get. Immaculate grounds from top to bottom, inside and out. Every place we went was spotless. It rained for two days while we were there but we made the best of it in the main bar and the staff were absolutely amazing, from the maintenance workers to the hotel management, everyone went out of their way to say hello and make sure our stay was pleasant. On day when it rained, one of the hotel bell boys took us all for a mini-tour of Ocean World and Maxim Bungalows, free of charge. It was great to get to take all the pictures.

The resort itself is nestled in between two small mountains; overlooking the ocean. There are three or four tiers from top to bottom. From the top it starts with the entrance; main lobby, theatre, disco, etc. You can see the ocean from this level. The next level down is the terrace, first main pool (infinity pool with waterfall); and swim up bar and stairs lead down to the main buffet level where there is also the adult pool. The next level is the kiddy pool; and the next level down is the juice bar; yet another huge pool and path to the spa and exercise area. We spent a day at the spa and all I can say is I never in all my life seen anything so beautiful; it was spic-and-span spotless, and I do mean spotless. The service was luxurious, the staff couldn't do enough. The pool and hot tub at the spa was also very nice. Then, the next level down is closer to the beach with another beautiful huge adult pool; mexican restaurant, hot tub, beach bar & food area, and of course, the main beach where you can see the big sign to Ocean World.

All of the bungalows and grounds had beautiful foliage and flowers everywhere, perfectly manicured.

There are a lot of steps; however, but this didn't bother us. There were a few times the girls would get tired walking from the beach to the resort, but they have a 'taxi' service there and it would only take 2-5 minutes and someone would come pick us up and take us right to our room.

All of the restaurants were awesome, the staff was very attentive with refreshments, ashtrays, chairs, etc. We all thought the food was fabulous everywhere we went, including the beach bar. Sometimes we were just so relaxed and lazy on the beach we didn't feel like going to the main buffet for lunch and the beach bar food was great. Plus they would deliver drinks to our chairs on the beach, so we couldn't complain.

They staff were also very entertaining on the beach; we had dancing lessons and spanish lessons; some played volleyball. We claimed our same spot every day and the staff was always very accommodating. We brought our own music (cd player) and were dancing and had a ball. Staff would sometimes join in if we invited them. The evening shows at the hotel were entertaining; it's not like a Vegas show, clearly so do have reasonable expectations, but we enjoyed it every night.

The Maxim Bungalow people were NOT aggressive and hard sell at all. We talked to some really nice people and they didn't even say what they did or what they were selling, all they did was be nice and socialize and offer friendly and helpful tips. It was so delightful and pleasant. One of my favorite people was Jaime who helped my sister with her lost luggage.

The people do try to sell you stuff on the beach but it is not hard sell in-your-face all day kind of approach. Just tell them no and they go off to the next person.

I had trouble trying to get the hot water to work my first day but that was my own stupidity; when I did ask for someone to come over, they were there at the room in les than 5 minutes and showed me how to turn it on properly. Our air conditioning worked wonderful; no problems with the safe; beautiful balcony; the rooms were immaculate and gorgeous. Fresh towels every day and service with a smile. I know I'm not getting all of how absolutely beautiful this place was and how impressed we all were...there was not one single complaint. We cannot say enough about this resort & cannot wait to go back again. The girls are already planning on going next year -- this is by far our favorite trip ever! Book now would be my best advice.

K-Pod

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!