We continue Lusee2U of March 30 2011 its assessment NOT 100% but 300% totally agree!

Staff makes all the trouble in the world to you as comfortable as possible, even if you are sick.
We stayed a long time in this hotel to recuperate because my husband has cancer.
We already have travel 18 years on holiday and have to admit that this is one of the best holiday, price quality.

EXCEPT ONE THING WE NOT AGREE ONE AT !!! We had have no problems with Alberto, he was always very correct and helpful with us, seem like all of the rest !!!

Like all employees of the hotel they are very proffesional, friendly, honest and helpful, even the security of the hotel.
They were very strict and correct what we appreciate, safety first!
The food was very good, enough choice, there is always something you desire.
Usually the food we already bored after 1 week in the same hotel, but here the food was very good for us, there is always something you desire.

In the weekends many Dominican stay at this hotel.
They enjoy life and having fun, rain or no rain!
Many foreigners say that' s noisy and busy, they don't like at, we found it very funy !
You have good and bad people, like everywhere in the world!

We must be honest, if you want "ONLY LUXURY" at your holiday and "all the rest don't care", you sit in the wrong place !!!
Here is the price, great quality the number 1 !!!

Rambo (Frank) and Nadia.

One important thing: If you are planning to go there.. check the weather.. I was there in September 2009 ant it rained for 4 days in Puerto Plata but even while it's raining - friendly and funny animators can make your stay unforgetable!!!

Rooms are a bit dated, but clean and spacious. But you only sleep there so - exceptional value for your money!!!
A la carte Restaurants are amazing,the buffet was excellent, bar staff is great, local drinks very tasty and you must try mamahuana, local rum - aphrodisiac:)

If you like diving or snorkeling - you will not be dissapointed, especially when you choose paradise island or similar excursion. Underwater world in the Caribbean is magic!

I will definitely go back.

We stayed here on an all-inclusive package deal for 2 weeks at the beginning of April, and I think for the price we paid it was really an excellent bargain!! The staff here are fantastic, really friendly, welcoming, fun and helpful. The food was good too- we were a bit nervous about getting burgers and chips every night, but each night had a different theme so we didn't get bored and there was always a lot of choice- including Dominican food too so we had a chance to try something local. The choice of drinks was pretty good too- the beer was tasty and although I don't drink rum there seemed to be a lot of choice of rum cocktails and the bar staff are very adept at keeping your glass full (particularly at the swim-up bar!!). When we were there the hotel was extremely quiet, which suited us fine, but if you were looking for a full-on party holiday, I would recommend somewhere else. (Just a note that at the weekends however it was full of Dominican families and groups of friends, so much much busier but still a nice friendly fun atmosphere).
The rooms were basic but nice & homely and the housekeeping staff were really great too. Our double room had 2 double beds, tv, fridge etc., to be honest it could probably do with a bit of sprucing up but we were quite happy with it for the price.
The beach is just beautiful- a bit windy in the afternoons when we were there but it was great to be able to walk down (or take the little bus when we were lazy- its only about 500m away from the hotel) and get lunch by the sea, which is all-included.
We also took a couple of trips when we were there, with varying success.... You have to be VERY careful about chatting to random people on the streets- inevitably you'll end up on a 'tour' you didn't ask for which ends in being fleeced for $30 or more! There are heaps of places on the Playa Dorada complex where you can book tours and we found this much better than trying to do it ourselves because the price is all upfront.
One sour note to the holiday was the sheer number of people they allow onto the complex whose job it is to get you into the nearby Lifestyle Resort (in order to sell you a kind of timeshare scheme). They are really persistent and will tell you that it only takes 30 minutes and they will receive $20 for it. We ended up going to one as we thought 30 minutes of our time was not a lot to get someone their $20... needless to say it took 3 hours and a lot of hard-selling. Do NOT feel guilty about not doing it, like we did! This was the first package holiday we'd been on since we usually prefer to travel independently, and while it was fantastic overall, this constant hard-selling was annoying.
Overall, definitely recommended though- it is a BEAUTIFUL place with a lot to do... and I think the problems we experienced are ones you would get in any of the hotels in the complex. And the staff alone make this hotel a great place to stay!

this was our best vacation for the price .first i must tell you we are in our early fifties,but are active and young for our age.i have travelled since i was 20 and my husband started 10 years ago.i ve been to florida east and west coast, barbados, margarita,nicaragua,punta cana ,caberete and puerto plata 3 other times.last year we went to punta cana at the iberostar, i can t say it was a bad vacation but for the price and freedom we much prefer puerto plata,and to be totally honest playa dorada and puerto plata village hotel and spa.this might not seem fair to the iberostar punta cana but i must be honest.first we paid 10,500 us $ for a 3 week vacation standard room this year we paid 5,600 us$ for 4 weeks in a master suite, to be fair the bathroom was a little less fancy but who vacations in there bathroom.the master suite was huge with 2 double beds living room and if you wanted dining area mini frig changing room and closet,a large terrace with table and chairs. there are 2 doors on each side of the master suite that connects to 2 seperate rooms for families that come as a group we noticed several families in these chalets because the parents would have the main suite the kids and grandparents the adjoining rooms so they would all be together yet they had their privacy too.the rooms were clean and the matress was great so much so that when we returned from vacation we had to buy a new matress set for our home because we found our old set lacking in comfort compared to the one we had on vacatoin....now on to the food once again this might not be fair to the iberostar but i must be honest... the food at the iberostar is a bit more fancy meaning they have shrimp and wider selection of cheese and thay have 6 restaurantsbut and heres the but the restaurants book fast so usually you dont get to use your restaurant passes we were there 3 weeks the fist week we had none all booked second 2 and third 1 because you can t book more than 1 week in advance...did i tell you i paid 10500 for iberostar and 5600 for puerto plata village okay so heres the advantage being at the village i went shopping at seranas grocery bought cheese and goodies for about 40$ and had my own cheese platters,went out for supper a few times,there are some good restaurants in puerto plata "parillas" is great for ribs simalar to boston pizza or baton rouge, "hemingways makes a great steak au poivre and ribs too,there is a place on the beach in front of the orange flea market that has great langoust and poutine, and another place on malecon boulevard in front of the public beach in town in name is aqua..something great hambugers.most meals are no more expensive than boston pizza for ex. 1 steak and 1rack of ribs 2 drinks and coffee came to 42 $ including tip we gave 45$.the food at the hotel was good too there was always several choices for breakfast with an egg chef on hand to make your eggs any way you wanted ,lots of fresh fruit breads etc.lunch was either on the beach or in the main dining room we would alternate but both were good more choices in main rest.after lunch you waited patiently for the snack bar to open because one of the best darn pizza i ve ever eaten is available at 2 o clock .the supper hour i think starts at 6 or 7 we always dined at around 7:45 or 8:00,suppers on themed meaning italian , spanish ,dominican etc.some themes are better than others but that people choice some people love mexican night others dont. but one thing for sure everyone loves there paella its one of the best and if you dont show up to late the langoust are great.plenty of choices for dessert.and service is always with a smile.especially from raphael willie and leury.now on to the pool and beach great pool rarely crowdeddidn t have to wake up at 6:00 a.m. to have a spot nor on the beach .the beach is nice and clean wide didn t see one jellyfish all the time i was there,not to many sellers eitherand they were polite.the beach is located across the street from the hotel about a 10 minute walk but there is a mini bus or wawa that takes you there .last year at the iberostar i had to walk farther than that just to go to the main dining room everyday 3 x a day to eat and no wawa. if there is a complaint from us with this hotel i would have to say it is with the animation team.not carlos the dj he is a dear but the rest well have there ups and downs my main complaint is with alberto he doesn t really listen to what the guest would like . keep the speaker out of the main bar put it in the gazebo or activity center. music doesn t have to be played full blast to be good too bad because they have a great selection of music but it get played at the wrong time and volume.but this will not stop me from going back i will just bring along a picket sign for the bar. most of the showsthat the hotel hires are pretty good especially micheal jackson ,water show and african show .and now finally i must talk about the people at this hotel ,there are many guest that are there for 4 weeks ,8weeks 12 weeks etc and repeaters 3 years 7years 10 years and even 20 years when you come for more than 2 weeks or repeat you are treated like family .not only with the hotel staff but with the guest themselves.everyone says hello weither their german french english etc if someone gets sick everyone worries and tries to help everyone gives advice on where to shop or exchange money but no one intrudes if your not interested.we made some great friends and had alot of fun we were never bored and time went by to fast . i know this review is long but i wanted people to know that this is a great place for a vacation for their money .now if you want to go the iberostar punta cana and you don t mind walking amile for a cup of coffee being stuck on your sight for the duration of your vacation and paying twice as much for the same sun fine but we prefer puerto plata village. lucy from montreal