| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
Dawn from Manchester travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2006 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: We booked this hotel for Christmas and New Year. We were not looking forward to this hotel after reading some reviews. We need not have worried. This was one of the cheaper hotels and yes the rooms a little bit dated but they were cleaned every day, even Christmas day and New Years Day which we could not believe. The maid will always come back no matter what time to see if you want your room cleaning or towels etc. The rooms do feel a little damp but this is because you need the airconditioning on all the time due to the humidity.
You are taken to your room by a bell boy, he carries your cases and you dont have to do a thing. All the staff were very very friendly and we were looked after all the time. The All Inclusive is excellent, the food was great, you get your towels for the pool or beach and you can change them as many times in a day as you want.
The food at the Beach Bar is also great. You can walk to the beach or there is a regular beach buggy to take you there.
You should try the excursions they are great, my daughter loved the horse riding and quadbiking.
You can walk out of the hotel to the plaza which is only a 5 minute walk where there are nice restaurants and shops etc, even pizza hut.
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
|
| |
Jenna from Edinburgh travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I have been to this hotel on 3 occasions now and absolutely love it. Everytime we've went we have an upgraded room, yes you do get a few mosquitos in your room but you a a warm country so that is expected.
For the food being o mass I thought it was ok there is never a night that you can't find something you can eat and the mexican restaurant is superb.
The staff in there are so funny.
The entertainment staff are brillant and work really hard all day long yes the shows may be a bit like Butlins but still make you laugh and the chocolate dance is brillant, the entertainment staff even join you in the hotel night club when they are finished work.
I found all the staff at the hotel so friendly, they really try to communicate with you even if they can't speak English to well, especially the barman.
The only thing I would say is when the Dominicans come at the weekend the hotel can't seem to cope to well, but this didint stop us having a fab holiday.
A must do in the Dominican is the trips that are on offer they really are amazing. We really didn't feel safe in the complex and even went out a couple of times at night in Puerto Plata which believe me we felt safer doing this than we do going out at home sometimes.
All in all this hotel is superb for families and young people, if you want to experience the real Dominican Republic then this is the place to go, we've booked up again for next year and can't wait.
|
| |
Jodi Houghton from Rainham, Essex travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We visited this hotel from the 11th June to 25th June 2006 and apart from the bad flight experience we arrived at the hotel. From the first appearance everything seemed nice and we was greeted with a fruit punch drink and immediately told our rooms were upgraded. Sounds good so far until we got to our room.
*ROOMS*
The doors had massive gaps leading out to the balcony where a regular infestation of mosquitoes would fly in and make a meal of you in your sleep and yes we had every mosquito device in there possible. The beds were hard and too small for a couple to have a comfortable nights sleep. And the pillows were lumpy and hard. The television had the worst reception. Channel 5 when it first started was better.
Enter the bathroom and you have a jungle safari with the toilet and walls being covered in small ant like creatures and a rather evil looking spider. Asked for the room to be fumigated on more than one occasion, and finally got it done the day before we were leaving. To get the lights working we had to give them a tap to get them working and the wiring is sub standard.
For one day we had no water at all in the bathroom and for a further two days no hot water full stop. After enough complaining we were given a set of keys to go and shower on the other side of the complex. A fifteen minute walk away.
Don't hold your breath in getting your room made before lunch, on many occasions our room was not cleaned until gone 3pm, and we had to call reception to chase things up to get this done. (This was during the quiet period)
*ATTITUDE*
We had a football field 25mtrs away which during our stay a helicopter decided to land on it. We thought there may have been an emergency as it was not a designated helipad, but it stayed there overnight and in the early hours of the morning it decided to shake our room and wake us up by starting up the rotors for a good 30 minutes. My boyfriend promptly told the pilot to lift off or shut down as he had woken us all up. Complained to reception and unless you are Dominican you are not treated as priority. They even go off and talk to someone else whilst dealing with you. The helicopter and pilot was actually the owner of the hotel complex who should know better.
*FOOD & DRINK*
The food was inadequate and very similar every day, and pineapple looks so nice with ants all over it and the bread looks really good with birds flying in and sitting on top of it.
The food was raw in the middle and the drinks were awful. Everything it seems has to have coconut in it. Even the mash potatoes in the a la carte restaurant.
*LOCALS* *(PART 1)*....
We had paid extra to go to a quieter hotel instead of the Fun Tropicale, and at the weekend we had over 250 locals enter the grounds and stay there. (So much for a quiet resort)
Staff are helpful but locals are the opposite, rude arrogant, and go for food like vultures. One Dominican actually grabbed food from the tongs I was using. You could not get to the bar and there was drunk and disorderly people all over the site which was really impressive for my partners child.
*ENTERTAINMEMT* ( 0r Lack Of )
The Entertainment was dire and if you ever hear the "Chocolate" song again you will scream. They couldn't dance, mime or sing, or even speak clear English. The ones that could speak clear English did not even use the mic.
The animation team decide to ask ladies to shake their boobies and other sexual gestures and the only prize was brugal rum, which was referred to as Dominican Viagra. Not good in front of a nine year old.
*LOCALS* *(PART 2)*.....
As for the first weekend being overcrowded with locals it didn't get any better the second weekend with over a 1000 locals arriving in a hotel that has 386 rooms. CRAM THEM IN.... Trouble was brewing at the hotel and the First Choice holidaymakers were getting to the point of exploding and our rep was pulling her hair out. The hotel could not cope.
*TRIPS & SHOPS*
When you go on trips all the tour guides seem to mention is the "Carwash" which is their reference to a brothel. All the shops have signs saying we sell Viagra, even can be drunk by women.
*HEALTH*
Be warned if you feel ill as the medical centre stings you for every penny they can muster out of you even if you have got travel insurance.
*ON SITE*
The market stalls inside your complex try to rip you off, they wanted to charge 5,000 pesos for a photo album which works out approximately £85.00 and they tried to charge another couple 27dollars for a small doll. Bartering is ridiculous and you have to be on your guard, and you get hassled left right and centre.
AVOID THIS RESORT AT ALL COSTS!! As I am sure Basil Fawlty must have bought a timeshare here.
FIRST CHOICE.. MORE LIKE LAST CHOICE
|
| |
sarah jones from wrexham north wales travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed in the Puerto Plata village hotel and throughly enjoyed it , I have read some reports on your web site about this hotel and to be fair some coments are true.
Like the coments about the local people arriving at the weekends ,they are very rude and expect the hotel staff to bend over backwards for them and ignore the rest of the clients/holiday makers. However the staff there made our holiday and have kept in touch with them. The entertainment was fantastic, some real effort had gone into preparing the shows. Well done Luis. This guy was absolutly brillant with us all and made our childrens holiday just the best.
We are going back as soon as we have saved the money to go , while we were there we met a couple that have been going to that hotel for the past fifteen years twice a year ,so it cant be that bad, what do people expect for the money you pay after all it is one of the cheapest hotels in the dom.
|
| |
|
|
sarah jones from wrexham north wales travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
first coice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: By the way the staff were great not 1 star 10 stars.
|
| |
slatter from aylesbury travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
eclipse
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having been before I expected the same standard, but was very wrong, the people are fantastic, but the food is terrible and there was virtually no entertainment.
The beach was fine but again the food needs severe up grading it was cold and not very clean with flies, ants and a few cockroaches to boot.
Very upset this year as we spent a lot of money and the best we got was on the flight out and on the return my advice is if you are thinking of this hotel for a holiday well dont bother.
|
| |
newman from london travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
med hotels
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having just come back from this resort I am so disappointed about this resort it is far from any 3star all inclusive we have stayed at.
The resort was clean around the apartments but the pool areas were not. The staff were good always happy and polite.the maids were good. The rooms were clean but dull and in need of updating. The food well to be honest it was dreadful,cold and not much variety for kids. We ate at the mex or the a la carte when we could get a table otherwise we went out for dinner because the buffet restaurant was dreadful.
Evening entertainment was bad even worse if you are a family with kids because there was nothing to do but listen to the same music night after night for about half hour. It was bad for families the good nights were Tuesdays Beachparty night but everyone has to go because the rest of the hotel restuarants are closed.
We did go on a lot of trips while we was there but they was expensive for a family of 4. We had to do the trips because if you didnt you didnt have anything else to do around the hotel.
The beach was clean and safe for the kids. The beach was only a few mins walk or my kids got on the buggy to the beach they loved that. The beach bar was clean and the food was good it was bbq and salads,pizza,hotdogs ect.
Howver, I must say a lot of guests came there to eat because it was better than hotel.
We wont return to this complex but we will be returning to Dom Rep but to a better standard of hotel.
|
| |
hall from bournemouth travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
first choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I would never stay at this hotel again.....for an all inclusive the food was dreadful not cooked properly,and not kept at the right tempreture,and kept for hours,if you use the alternatives on site the food was better,ie the Italian or gourmet,but getting a table was almost impossible.
Most days they were booked up (people trying to avoid the buffet)the rooms are old fashioned,but the beds (two doubles in our room)were quite comfortable and very clean.
The staff are without exception the friendliest bunch I have ever met,but the evening entertainment is very poor although the staff do their best, its all very childish stuff,and the dance routines could do with bringing up to date...the best thing i can say is it was very relaxing...nothing much to do in the evenings
|
| |
taylor family from essex travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having just arrived back from this resort I am so upset that this holiday village was not not up to my expetations at all.
We had a good time but many things need dealing with. I did mention a few of my concerns to the staff while I was there. eg: dirty pool and area around pool, no evening entertainment for kids.
The food was the worst I've ever come across in a hotel and the food was cold.
The rooms was not up to much either they were dull and could of done with a makeover.many rooms had ants. Well I can say the staff were happy people always spoke to you.
This resort is not my familys ideal holiday and the same opinion came from many other guests while we was there.
I will not be returning to this village ever again I've wasted a lot of money on it but I will be returning to the Dominican but I will find a better hotel that meets better standards for my family.
|
| |
|
|
dave lynn from stockport travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Well what can I say. Staff were good, rooms were dull and not clean.
The food in the gourmet or mexx was not bad at all,but the rest of the food was the worst variety of foods Ive ever come across and they were just warm not hot - awful.
The grounds were kept nice around the apartments its more than I can say about the pool area: It was dirty. The water was not clean many people had ear infections thought to have got from pool.
|
| |
S Cuthill from Tranent travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Where do I start? The room we had which we upgraded to a superior was an absolute disgrace, it was dark, the floor never looked clean and when we put the air conditioning on, the ceiling lifted about three inches, so we had this gap between the wall and ceiling.
The bathroom was full of rust and the ceiling in there was falling apart, the back of the tap was so uneven it would cut your fingers to bits.
The locals used this hotel at the weekend and were so ignorant - they took over the place, if you do go any trips book it for the weekend.
The food, if you booked any of the restaurants you got a lovely meal however if you were unfortunate and ended up with the buffet it was a disaster. To get extra towels or pillows you had to leave a dollar a day for the maid. However on a good note the staff were exceptionally friendly and very helpful.
The staff in the Mexican restaurant were absolutely fantastic. The entertainment was different music, but with the same dance routines on a nightly basis.
|
| |
Mrs Helen Anrews Rees from Wales travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Where do I begin? My family and I were very excited about this holiday, the pictures and write up in the first choice broucher looked great. When we arrived at the reception I could tell that the hotel was not of a very high standard, however I put this to the back of my mind and thought the rooms would be fine.
The first room we were given was dirty, damp, smelly and dark, my children and husband were shocked to say the least and I sat on the bed and cried. The floors looked like they had never been cleaned and we were unableto see out of the old,tatty,frosted glassed window.
We were moved to a different room which was a little better but still awful.My husband joined a large queue of upset guests who were also complaining about the stae of their rooms.
We went to see our rep and informed him that there was no way we would stay in such a terrible place, and that either we were moved right away or we were to return home. The rep was great and arranged for us to vist a number of hotels for us to move.
Thwe next day my family and I moved to the Occidental Allegro Playa Dorada hotel, this hotel was of a very high standard we had a very enjoyable stay, I would highly recommend this hotel it was lovley.
The Playa Dorada Hotel's pool area was nice, and the staff were brilliant.As we only stayed at this hotal for one night we only sampled the food twice, it was ok.
|
| |
Stockell from Warrington travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2005 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club.
When we got there the room we were put in was very dull, should we say. So we got put in a new room which was full of ants. The pool was brill the food was ok for adults but did not have things for the kids, or not things that kids would like.
The staff were brill, they loved the kids. The maid we had was lovely and friendly and made the bed every day. The BAD thing about this hotel was the locals at the weekends. It is not very nice at weekends, they are very rude and by the time you get there for your evening meal they have eaten it all and that is no joke. They hog all the facilites and pinch your rings and lilos from around the pool area.
We weren't told about the locals that come to the resort so if you still want to come here then you are better off going on the excursions at the weekends, but be careful because if you are a large family (4 or more people) then it can get VERY expensive.
|
| |
Lydia Morrissey from Nottingham travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I loved my holiday at this hotel, and would stongly recomend it to families with children of all ages.
The food in the buffet resturant is well presented and there was always a good chioce. The a la cartes are all great with service second to none, I would challenge anyone to try to get to the bottom of their glass before the staff are at your side filling it up whether it be water or wine this goes for the buffet aswell.
The location of this hotel is in the Playa Dorada complex but not directly on the beach but dont let this put you off. Your children will love the 5 min ride down there on the free golf buggy which comes every 5 mins.
The hotel staff I cant speak of highly enough everybody had a smile and kind word from the cleaners to the waitresses from the barmen to the gardeners, as for the entertainment team brilliant,it was these guys who made our holiday all the more special and assured all the children had a great time day and night. Also a big thankyou to stephenny who our children loved. The entertainment team worked tirelessly and put some great shows on.
The dancers always wore lovely costumes and all of them were stunning. The halloween show was briliant. After the shows you can take to the disco (kids are allowed) to boogie until 2am. Would i go back to this hotel YES I have already booked for October again and we cant wait to get back.
|
| |
Carole from Perth travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having just returned from this complex, we have bad memories of this holiday but nothing to do with the complex, our problem was the weather. Our travel agent negelcted to tell us that September was the rainy season and we encountered 10 days of rain alongside the remnants of 2 hurricanes. The Staff at the Hotel could not have been more helpful and food etc was great. If we had got the weather I think this could have been a truly fabulous holiday.
Message to other travellers - if you are thinking of booking up next year - check out times for the rainy season, as this absolutely wasted our holiday, as my husbnads scuba diving and different excursions were cancelled. Otherwise the complex was Excellent!
|
| |
Laura from Chelmsford travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Puerto Plata Village is situated in Playa Dorada, in sunny Dominican Republic. The complex is beautifically clean and all of the staff from the cleaners to the entertainers and even the porters are always smiling and trying to make you feel welcome. It was unusual walking to breakfast and not being asked how you were by one of the staff. The rooms are basic, but you are only in rooms for sleeping so you don't need anything spectacular. The food was great, i managed to eat well every day even being a fussy eater. The 24 hr all-inclusive bar was even greater! The reception was a nice chill-out area with sofas and a grand piano which would be played during the evenings, so there was always a place to go if you wanted a quiet sit down and a drink. The beach was a 10 minutes walk or a 5 minunte buggie ride, the beach was very clean, the only set back was that there was not a beach restaurant, so it wasn't used during an evening, there was a bar, where you could get drinks from all day long and a beach bbq stop where you could get a variety of food from at lunch time. Over all my holiday to puerto Plata Village was fab, i loved every minute, the food, the weather, and the people were just amazing, and i shall definantly return!
|
| |
Louise from Belfast travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a friends holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was great, the staff welcomed us with iced drinks on arrival and were always very helpful.
The food was good - the buffet is ok, they had a few themed nights, some were v good, others just ok. However there are 3 a la carte restaurants which are excellent, I recommend using those as often as possible!
The entertainment is ok - the staff are so enthusiastic about everything they do that you could just watch them no problem, although some of the songs they danced to were a bit cheesy. There is a disco on site as well but it wasn't great. All in all it was fine as most people are just there to relax and you can sit outside the bar with some drinks and the entertainment is on the background.
The hotel is very clean, rooms are spacious and the air conditioning works very well! Also this hotel has the nicest section of the beach!
|
| |
Fiona and Wesley from Lochgelly travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2004 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel was extremely clean and staff would go out of their way to speak to you.
Although the food was not fantastic there was still a wide variety available.
We had to get on a motorised buggy which left approximately every 15mins to to bus, the journey only took approximately 15 mins.
Entertainment during the day was ok, at night poor but they did try their best with the ammenities they had and were all exremely nice.
|
| |
Darren from Newcastle upon Tyne travelled to Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2003 |
rated the Puerto Plata Village and Beach Club as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was a nice place set in playa dorado the food was great with a great selection if you got sick of the buffet you could eat in the returants on site. the staff were friendly and helpful, your rooms would be cleaned daily, and the pool area was very clean. The location was ok with a bus that runs you to the beach and back every 15 mins, or you could have a nice stroll down yourself which takes about 5-10mins. again the food on the beach was included. even better when it 24hrs all inclusive.
|
| |
Subscribe For FREE Updates
Sunny Says there
are 379 visitors online