Booked a last minute trip to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic through Signature Vacations. $2725.50 for 2 people - 2 weeks all-inclusive at the Viva Wyndham Playa Dorada.
It rained like mad the day we got there and didn't rain again until we got into the airport going home. We had two weeks of wonderful weather.
We stayed in the Junior Suites with two queen beds. Would have perferred a king, oh well. There was more than enough room for two people to move around. The bathroom was also very big 8x10. The bed was very comfortable.
The maid always leaves botteled water and pop in the fridge.
Coffee maker but no coffee etc...
This place may have only one bufffet but let me tell you, we never went hungry.
The Thai and Greek Resturants where a nice change.
1 meal at each place once per week.
The food was good,something for everyone. Lots of desserts!
However,three weeks there (as with any all-inclusive) would be abit much after awhile.
We meet up with a few couple that have been to the area 7 - 8 times and had stayed at different hotels up and down the beach. They rated this one as the best for food, beach, games, etc.
I walked up and down the beach and there were two hotels with very calm water where you could snorkle but then you had to deal with rocks is some spots. But, it wasn't a big deal because it is all like one big beach anyways. No problem getting exercise, you could walk for hours!
Now, here is the story on the excursiones.
On day two of your stay, you will be asked to attend a meeting to meet your 'signature rep'. This meeting is only about 1/2 long and well worth the time.
He gave us all kinds of very helpful advice, his cell phone number in case of emergency etc. I would recommend that you go listen.
However, it was recommended that we only take a taxi into Puerto Plata $30.00 for a 10 minute trip but you split the cost with another couple and that includes some site seeing etc.
You can take a bus for about 16 pesos. Go out to the hotel lobby road, turn right and walk for about 10 miuntes. You will come to the highway,wait for the bus. (This is for the adventurous)
We didn't take the bus but would have if we hadn't rented a car.
We rented a car for 1 day with another couple. The total cost with gas was $112.00 split ($56.00) and that took us on a wonderful 11 hour trip across the whole North Coast from Puerto Plata through the mountains to La Terrenas. What an experience!
There are several companies that do excursions and all of them are great. The cost difference from one company to another is not much and the expreience is pretty much the same...
We booked the Jeep Safari & Waterfall through "Dio" for $55.00 per person.
You can find Dio every day on the beach with his blue binder. Don't worry, it's all good. Dio works 6 days a week and I even saw him there on Sunday! He is a very friendly representative that works for Lones Truck Safari. He has 4 children to raise and put through school, so I say "why not book through "Dio."
"Hi Dio"
The 'Singature representative' was also pushing the hotel excursions saying that they were the safest, most reliable, etc.. but they are also the most expensive. Better bus, better food, better rum??? We all ended up at the same place and experienced the same thing!
All of the tour companies come to your hotel to pick you up and drop you off. We had no problems what so ever.
The waterfall experience was great! The rum even better!
I felt bad that we didn't have any money on us to give the guides that helped us up the falls. They were great guys and I think a few dollars would have been nice. They only do 1 trip each per day so I don't think there take home is great. These people are very poor!
We booked the Paradise Island Trip through Marysol Tours @ the Playa Dorada Plaza in the same hut as the money exchange.
"Sorry Dio"
Peter was very helpful with our questions and they offer free internet so we decided to book the Paradise trip with them
$55pp the snorkeling was wonderful! As was the rum! The bus ride was a little long but the experience of seeing how these people live was worth it.
The hotel will do your laundry for you, .20 for each pair of underware etc. .50 for a pair of pants. etc.
I tool along a small box of tide!
Only complaint! THE PLANE RIDE HOME SUCKED!!!
Sky Service Flights are not direct.
Left Puerto Plata at 7:00 pm for Vancouver Canada and stopped in Calgary. Who can sleep on a plane?
Can they pack you in any tighter???
Air Transat flies direct from Vancouver to Puerto Plata and return.
Cuts 2 hours off your flight each way !
Next Time !

I just stayed at the Wyndham for one night and I couldn't have gotten out of there sooner. I would definitely not recommend staying here. (Unless this is the best of the hotels in Puerto Plata - I admit I have nothing in PP to compare it to.) The hotel is very run down; the front desk staff was not friendly at all; the sliding glass door to the balcony was broken and barely closed (someone came to fix it and it was closed at the bottom but there was a huge gap at the top - not very safe feeling); the dinner food was horrible; and the room was not entirely clean - there were little bugs everywhere. Although not the hotel's fault, the disco nearby was playing EXTREMELY loud music until almost 2 a.m. on a Monday night and from my room it was impossible to sleep.

Not sure where reviewer sexydominican stayed but should maybe stick to 5* plus?????? We stayed at Viva Wyndham Mar 31-Apr 5 and loved it. Traveled with my husband, my sister, and her husband (age range 39-44). Being rated a 3 ½ star we were surprisingly pleased.
Check In/Rooms:
Check in was quick; we were early so our room wasn't ready until around 2 pm. No problem. Got our bracelets, changed into some swimwear, found the bar, ok maybe not in that order, and started to vacation. Were able to get into rooms around 2pm as told; our room was so spacious and clean, we were very impressed. My husband and I were across from the theatre on the 2nd floor and was noisy when the show was going on, but he sleeps like a log and it didn't really bother me.
Restaurants:
Buffet restaurant food is very good for the most part; some items are not what we are used to here in Canada - if you are adventurous then go ahead and try but if I can't pronounce it I usually don't eat it :) That's just my policy. Stranger food items are normally found on Dominican night but the locals really seem to enjoy!! Waitresses all very pleasant (especially Xiomara & Valenta), certainly not rude.
Beach restaurant - excellent! Pizza very good. Burgers, fries, salads. At night this turns into an a la carte - we went one night and it was delicious - try the deep fried muscles, and the roasted chicken with an orange sauce and mashed potatoes. Mmmm good. The waiters and the chefs were very professional. We loved it. A+ for presentation. The chocolate mousse not so good, I've had better. Too gel like.
There also is a chinese a la carte which we did not try but I heard others say they really liked it.
Bars:
Pool bar drinks very good - they have Presidente Beer. I was glad to see that upon arrival. Beach bar very good as well. I didn’t get heartburn like I did at the Riu Mambo last year after drinking some of the fruity drinks.
Entertainment:
My husband and I are not usually ones to take in the entertainment but we did one night (Viva Las Vegas) and let me tell you, it was incredible. My sister and her husband went every night (her husband won at darts 5 out of 7 days) so they of course would go so he could collect his bottle of rum - they enjoyed all the shows very much.
The Animacion crew was always on the go; there seemed to be always something going on; they are not pushy and certainly not rude.
Beach:
The beach is absolutely beautiful. Was quite a bit of waves but I got in and out with no trouble. The water is aqua and you won’t be disappointed.
The resort itself was very nice, well kept grounds, very clean. It did get pretty crowded on the weekends when the locals come in. I found there were too many kids but having said that it’s not an adult only resort and they have just as much right to be there as we do so this did not damper the vacation.
The resort also has professional photographers on staff. They have a little booth across from the buffet restaurant. You’d think that the photos would be cheesy but oh contraire - quite impressive. Ask for Bolo, he’s quite good and a very nice person.
To sum things up, we really liked this resort. It’s rated a 3 ½ star but after staying twice at the Victoria Resort(4*) in the same complex, we are much more impressed with the Viva Wyndham. We flew with Sky Service which was a first for us. It actually wasn’t too bad. Seemed to be more roomy than Air Transat and much better than Canjet or Can’t Jet as I refer to them. Still no comparison to West Jet though – in the future if we are choosing a vacation which seem similar, the deciding factor might come down to which Airline we’re flying with and West Jet would win hands down. Our vacation was great; we met some really nice fellow Canadians – hello Steve & Sue! We would definitely return to the Viva Wyndham!

Being an addict to Tripadvisor reviews sometimes isn't a good thing, and considering the mixed reviews for this resort that I saw in the weeks and months leading up to our trip, I had some serious worries. It was our first time at an all-inclusive resort, so we had no expectations outside of what we saw on Tripadvisor.

Now, a week after returning home, I can report in glowing terms that the Viva Wyndham Playa Dorada came through in a big way to make this one of the best holidays we've ever had. Our two boys, ages 12 and 10, even say it was better than our trip to Disney World two years ago.

From what I'm told (again, we had nothing to compare it to), this resort is not high end, but not low-end, either. We had no issues with the food selections (others have), nor the service. Rooms were kept extremely clean, checked twice a day with fresh towels never a problem.

I highly recommend you join the Wyndham By Request program before you go; it definitely gets you a higher standard of service, and it's free. Join it on the Wyndham website.

I found the whole facility clean and tidy, and it was never a problem getting beach chairs.

Would we go back? In a minute.