|
Save on All-Inclusive Caribbean Resorts with Travelocity
Save on All-Inclusive Caribbean Resorts with Travelocity.ca
Have you stayed at these resorts? Share your vacation experiences with others.
Email us a review or
use this Quick Review Form
 Lifestyle Crown Villas - Puerto Plata ( Cofresi) Rating: N/A Location: Beach front - Puerto Plata (Cofresi) - North Coast - 30 mins. from Puerto Plata airport All-inclusive available: - 90 Villas Description from resort website: Facilities are, of course, top-notch including fully air-conditioned suites, exquisite architecture using individually selected materials from throughout the world, deep shady terraces, free-form private swimming pool design, fully equipped game room including satellite TV, DVD and extensive video library and much more. Each villa offers unique features and services such as private pool, superb beachfront location and dedicated personal staff to pamper you - 7 swimming pools with waterfalls and children's sections - 6 restaurants - 5 bars  ~ Reviews posted on this page — 6
|
| Lifestyle Crown Villas | Sandye and Shawn ~ Ontario, Canada |
My husband and I traveled to Puerto Plata April 1-8th, 2008. Just to let you know, we have traveled a fair bit, everything from luxury cruises, 5 star resorts, to mud huts in Africa, and every type of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 star accommodation in between! We rented a 3 bdrm villa from an owner on the internet.
Upon our arrival at the airport, the person who was sent to pick us up had been told there were 12 of us – not just the 2 of us. No amount of persuasion on our part could convince them we were it, so we had to wait until the whole airport cleared out before they would believe us. Finally they got us a taxi and took us to the resort. Nothing fancy here.
Check in was OK, no one seemed in any hurry. There was no great welcome, or drinks offered or anything like that. We paid our $37.50 US pp/day for the all-inclusive fee. No amount of asking would get us a golf cart. Only the owners they said. We were told our villa wasn’t ready so we went off to find something to eat. It took many hours before the villa was finally ready.
This would have been OK except that it was pouring rain, and we really couldn’t find anything to do in the meantime.
When we did get to our villa, number 18B, I was somewhat disappointed in the furnishings etc. Some of the furniture was broken and worn out (arms on chairs, finish coming off the dining table etc). Because of the rain, one of the beds in the upstairs bedroom was soaking wet from a roof leak. It’s a good job that wasn’t where someone had to sleep as there was just the two of us. The floors, which are ceramic tile, were wet in many places making them very slippery both upstairs from the leaking roof and downstairs from the rain coming in under the doors etc. Villa 18A was attached duplex style, but the people beside us were very good.
With regards to the chef who comes to make breakfast, he only showed up the first two days and then stopped coming. No explanation given. No big deal, we just went to the buffet, but if it is part of what we paid for, then we should have had that service.
Speaking of service, it was like grand central station at our villa. There were always people coming in the house and grounds. The pool boy would be by to clean the pool daily, the grounds keepers would appear to rake the leaves, maids were in and out all day long. The guy who fills the fridge would come in. The paperboy would come right in to deliver the newspaper. It didn’t matter if you locked all the doors, there were always people in the house! Once I went into the kitchen and some shuttle driver was helping himself to a soda in our fridge because he was thirsty! And he wasn’t even shuttling for us! And did I mention the continuous flow past our villa of golf carts driven crazily by kids. They would be kids of owners of course, as we mere renters couldn't have a golf cart. I truly believe that there should be a golf cart per villa regardless of who is staying in it. We walked by the "garage" where they kept the carts and there were lots of them not in use.
On top of all these people, we had the timeshare salesmen. Now, as I said, we’re pretty used to them around a resort and are pretty good at spotting them and avoiding them, but when they attack on your own turf, that’s too much. One morning we were sitting there having breakfast and this guy was looking in the patio door at us. He came right in and started his pitch in our own place while we were eating! Two days later my husband and I are in the pool at our villa, and along comes another salesman who would not leave us alone! We feel we are fair game while roaming the resort, or even sitting by a public pool, or coming out of a restaurant, but this was just too much!
One interesting thing we did find out however, was that we had rented a VIP Gold villa, but he told us we were only in a silver and why not go along with him to see what we could get if we bought Platinum. Silver? Silver? No where on their site does it say anything about a silver level. Guess that explains the disrepair/shabbiness of the villa. He also mentioned that we were to be out of the villa as they had 6 new people coming in. this was on Sat and we were booked until Tues. We told him he'd better find somewhere else to put them. Nothing ever came of it however. Now don’t get me wrong, it was impressive to a lot of people. We happened to meet a couple staying at the resort in a hotel room from our hometown. They were blown away by our villa. They took pictures of every room and said they were going to come back and ask to rent the same villa they were so impressed. So, I guess it is based on your previous travel experiences. If you haven’t traveled much, you will probably think it is awesome.
I won’t go into the VIP beach and pool area as many others have written reviews. They were a neat touch. It is nice to have your drinks brought to you. Don’t bother getting them to bring you food though (other than nachos) as it is stone cold by the time it gets there, you might as well wander over to the restaurant yourself. For the last couple of days we actually parked ourselves on the outside of the VIP Beach wall and stayed on the resort side near a little beach bar. If you’re looking to meet the most enthusiastic and entertaining fellow at the resort, stop by there and visit Pedro.
We thought all the restaurants were fine. The gourmet was certainly the best. We caution taking a seat outside at the early sitting as all the workers and their smelly diesel trucks are leaving for the day and driving by continuously while you are eating.
If you have trouble walking, be aware there is a lot of it to be done if you don’t get a golf cart. The sidewalks are all too narrow and made of uneven paving stones and are very poorly lit at night.
My main complaint was that there was no evening entertainment offered other than a “theatre” show that lasted an hour. The disco was supposed to open at 10:30 PM but a few times we looked in, there was no one in there. We were told that it was very loud and hot inside the disco whenever it did get rolling. No where was there a band playing that you could listen to either during the day or in the evening after dinner. Even the lower end resorts we’ve stayed at have all had a house band. It is rather boring after dinner.
I know our teenage kids would have been very bored here either day or night.
For 3 days it rained (obviously not the resort's fault!), and that knocked out the satellite TV so you couldn't even watch TV. There was one day that the power went off around 7:30 am and it didn't come back on for about 12 hours, and it was not one of the rainy days.
All in all, the place was fine; neither of us got sick, it’s clean, renting from an owner off the internet went fine. It was our 4th time to the Dominican. I don’t think we would go back to this resort, but then we’ve never gone back to the same place twice. I’m sure anyone would have a great time there and I wouldn’t hesitate to send anyone, as long as they know what to expect. Like I said there’s nothing horribly wrong with the resort. But it wouldn’t take much to make it a lot better. We started playing a game called "if I owned this place, I would...." and talked about inexpensive changes that would make a huge difference. If you would like more info, feel free to email me at hooktravellers@sympatico.ca
Food - Very Good
Accom - Good
Entertainment - Poor
Liked — The villas are a nice option, better than staying in a hotel room.
Disliked — Too many staff always in the villa and on the grounds, the timeshare salesmen bothering us right in the villa, no house band/live music entertainment. Every villa should get a golf cart.
| Lifestyle Crown Villas | Stephen and Rita ~ Baton Rouge, LA. |
Debbie…
To begin with, the resort wanted to waste our valuable vacation time with a sales pitch that lasted three hours. When we refused to buy, even after a very high-powered approach, the level of our services dropped drastically. The booze was cut off and shuttles were less accessible. We still got beer and soft drinks, but the pool cleaning ended immediately.
At one point the fire alarm went off and there was never any response. I guess if a real fire had occurred we would have been victims of our reluctance to buy one of their villas.
The food was insipid, at best. The best meals were served at the gourmet restaurant. Forget the buffet – the mashed potatoes tasted exactly like the custard pie.
The all-inclusive advertising deals only with facilities on the resort. Anything off the resort is expensive and difficult to arrange with the “Excursion” shop on the resort. By the way – forget golf. The closest golf course is only nine holes carved out of a goat pasture. The Los Mangos greens were small and filled with barren spots that made putting impossible.
Horse-back riding is a joke! The poor horses are so under-nourished that the SPCA would condemn all stables on the Island for cruelty to animals. Anyone weighing more that 100 lbs. would kill the poor beasts with a ride of any distance.
The street vendors are all over the tourists like white on rice! Once off the resort, one cannot shake them. We suggest tourists hire a good private cab driver and tip him handsomely for his service if you want to see anything off the resort. Our guy, Santiago Batista, was the high point of our trip. He took care of us and braved the anarchy of Dominican highways with practice and poise.
All in all, the trip was excessively expensive and disappointing. For the price we paid, the treatment was more like that received at a Motel 6!
| Lifestyle Crown Villas | Dennis and Susan |
We stayed at the Lifestyle Crown Villas from June 10 - 17, 2007. We stayed in villa 65. We had an absolutely wonderful time there and would go back in a heart beat. We are a family of 5 with daughters 9, 12 and 16. It was the girls first trip out of the country and only my second. This was our first stay in an all-inclusive.
VILLA - The villa was Amazing. We were in awe from the moment we walked in. We had 3 bedrooms all with king sized beds. Each bedroom had its own full bathroom. The pool was definitely the highlight of our trip. It was a great size for our family and very private. There was a little bridge over the pool that the girls and yes even my husband liked to jump off of. We had a full kitchen and a fridge that had pop, beer and water in it. We made a note in Spanish to ask for diet pepsi and had no trouble getting it. Our housekeeper was very nice and made a great breakfast everyday. There were always people around in the mornings gardening, cleaning the villa and pool. There was a guard stationed close by and he always appreciated it when I brought him pop/water and snacks. I was glad we brought snacks from home to eat during the non-meal times. We brought our own pool toys as well. We did not have a golf cart, we were told they were only for owners. RESTAURANTS - The best was by far the VIP Gourmet. We ate there 4 nights in a row. It is for VIP Members and their guests only. It is only open Mon - Fri nights and you need to make reservations the day before. We were very impressed with their steaks. The servings aren't large, but that was okay. It is also the only restaurant with air conditioning. We ate at the main buffet a couple of times for lunch and never had trouble finding something to eat. There was always fruit, bread and a pasta bar. Those three things alone please my family. I found it was fun to try some new things and many of them were very good. We ate at Bellini's a couple of times for lunch. They serve pizza and pasta at lunch. We ate one night at each Bellini's and Indochinese. They were both good and a nice diversion from what we had eaten the rest of the week. Our only main complaint about the restaurants was the lack of air conditioning. Other than VIP Gourmet there was not air conditioning, my husband found it pretty hard to eat lunch when it was so hot. It's not really a complaint; it's just the way it is. We also ordered hamburgers (yuck) and a fish fillet (yummmm) of the bar menu at both the VIP World and VIP Beach. My girls were not impressed with the hamburgers, couldn't even eat them. But I knew this before going due to other reviews so it was no surprise. Plus we were are from Iowa and what do you expect in the Dominican Republic anyways? POOLS/BEACH - We did swim in a couple of the pools but much preferred staying at our villa pool. The tropical resort pool was very busy but extremely nice and beautiful. Everything about the resort was beautiful. The VIP World pool was definitely nice and a lot less crowded. If I wasn't staying in a Villa this is where I would have swum. The beach was fine. We also knew beforehand that this was not on the Caribbean side of the island and to not expect Caribbean water. We enjoyed the ocean very much. My family used the resort kayaks and had fun exploring with them. We probably swam in the ocean 3 times during our stay at the resort; our pool was just so incredible we spent most of our time there. BARS - We loved the VIP World bar it was where we spent our evenings. It is quite beautiful there and the bartender was always willing to make any drink we wanted. The bar and VIP Beach was also very good. There never seemed to be seats available at the swim up bar at the Tropical but the drinks I had there were good as well. I am not a picky drinker; brands don't matter to me much. The mai tais, bloody mary's, sex on the beach ( drink ), bahama mamas, rainbow, green finger, etc. were all good. I feel like I am going through withdrawal. Actually, I didn't drink that much. Our main goal on this vacation was family time. My girls did get a kick out of watching me drink this shot drink called a rainbow. The bartender lit it at the end and I sucked it through a straw. The girls thought that was pretty cool. EXCURSIONS - We had to push ourselves to do anything, we were just having so much fun sitting around the pool and enjoying the resort. We went to Ocean World on Tuesday. We did not do any of the extra add on activities there. Ocean World was okay but I don't think we'll go again in the future. The snorkeling tank was a very short experience but they did let us do it again later in the day. It was a great first snorkeling experience for our kids. The swimming pool is very nice. We spent a lot of time there. The waterfalls and the tiger behind the glass were kind of cool. We also enjoyed the birds. Supposedly, they used to include a BUFFET LUNCH, this is NOT INCLUDED anymore. On Saturday morning we went on a snorkeling excursion with an excursion group there near the tropical. I think it was called aqua ? - something. We left about 8 a.m. and headed to Sosua. We were outfitted with gear and then boarded a boat for a very short ride to a snorkeling spot. We snorkeled there and then went to another location. We felt the snorkeling was very good. Someone on a travel site had recommended bringing water bottles filled with bread and then squirt out the bread to feed the fish. This was amazing. There were fish swarming around us. I've been on several snorkeling trips and this was the most fish I had ever seen. The girls thought it was pretty cool. We were back to the resort around noon. It think it was $35/adults and $25/kids. A real bargain for our family. MISC. - We thought the staff was very helpful and friendly. Many of them did lack English skills but that was to be expected. The Welcome VIP Party on Sunday night was amazing and definitely worth attending. We were pulled into a sales pitch. The man was very slick pulling us into it without us knowing it was happening. Of course I kept telling my husband that this was happening and he didn't believe me. It took a while for our NO to get heard but once they knew we meant it the pitch ended. That was on Monday afternoon and they never bothered us again. If they asked we just said we'd already been on the "tour". We took $100 in ones and $60 in fives to use for tipping as well as some small treats and gifts. We used everything, and felt good doing it. We also took along plenty of sunscreen and bug repellant. I made my family sign a vacation attitude contract before leaving home. It included things like "I will not complain about the food", "I will make the best of every situation", "I will not complain about being bored" etc. It was very effective with everyone including my husband . We brought most of our common meds, but forgot the imodium. This was basically the only meds we could have used, bummer. No one got really sick but a little diarrhea. We brought a couple of cheap umbrellas and they came in very handy. My daughter enjoyed the light sticks I brought along and we shared them with many kids sitting around us. Thank goodness for Dollar Tree. HINT- Book your stay through an owner. We did and felt we got a true bargain. We stayed one week in a 3 bedroom villa for $1100 plus the all inclusive fees of $37.50/adult/day and ½ that for ages 12 and under. Our whole villa plus all inclusives for our family of 5 for one week was $2150. We were had VIP Access across the board. We had the gold bracelets. I've read a couple of comments about the lack or "romance" at the resort especially for honeymooners. My husband and I were celebrating our 20th Anniversary and found the resort to be very romantic especially or 2nd Honeymooners like us especially when you had kids along. Feel free to email me with any questions, muyfamily@msn.com
| Lifestyle Crown Villas | Francois |
What a great place to go for vacation
We landed at the airport (pop) and the van was waiting for us Drove thru town by way of the city beach um very nice and the water looked Great Got to the resort and I had a big smile on my face I had read so much about this Resort that I was not sure I was going to like it But man was I WRONG the van took us to vip check in had a cold beer and some snacks For you man that presidenta beer is good Then the vip van took us to are villa 46-a and when I saw the outside I was like ok this looks nice then they opened the door and it was very very nice all new stuff in it All the villas are being remolded and they are doing a great job on them and they all have a big private pool Pool guy comes every day to clean the pool 7am he shows up Went to vip world BBQ on Sunday that is a must go the food and the shows are a lot of fun Back to the villa and malitta showed up at 8am to cook breakfast oh she did this everyday and she is the house keeper too Make sure you tip them well they work so HARD and man she can cook And Fatimah the villa manager showed up to make sure everything was great with the villa and everything was just great They keep beer soda and bottle water in the fridge at all times for you and a 5 gallon water dispenser on the counter Oh Daniel the MC at the vip world BBQ is one of the best people I have ever met in my life Always happy and will help you with any thing you need He cleaned the beach for 9 years and now is the MC at vip world he makes the night very fun at the party So I feel in love with the resort and the DR that I also bought a villa at the resort and Daniel help me with that made the hole process very nice so every 4 month we will be back at the resort Oh rent a jeep $60 a day and drive thru the small towns see a place to eat get out of the jeep and do it the food rocks You will have a great time at lifestyles crown villas and if you do not Go get a leg up
| Lifestyle Crown Villas | Heather ~ Canada |
Please ignore any reviews posted in 2004 about this hotel- the hotel has made drastic changes since those reviews. Anything before 2004 makes the resort sound like crap- but really its great
Arriving: check in was uneventful and easy, although if staying in the garden, I recommend letting the bell boys carry your luggage- otherwise you will a) never find your room and b) not discover how to use the power. The big keychain that your keys come how you get power.
Rooms:
The rooms aren't really rooms at all, they are more huts, and are very cute.
Walking up to them in evening after dark is very pretty. They are pretty
basic, but have everything you need for a week or two stay. The TV even has
a few channels in english for your viewing pleasure.
Food:
Well, if you are willing to try new things there is an assortment of food
that will keep you going for a couple weeks. I don't think i ate the same
thing twice the whole time we were there. There are 5 al-a-cart resturants.
I would recommend going to the italian resturant at least once. It was
wonderful. There are two buffets on the resort, and the buffet in the
tropical has a wonderful break fast- you cant' beat the omlets there! Being
the student I am any change from Kraft Dinner is welcome.
Drinks: There is no shortage of alcohol thats for sure. I think the girl I went with and I drank the price of our trip in one night there. I would definalty recommend the banana momma's although they come back to bite you in the butt in the morning. The bars are just nicely placed through out the resort so if you are walking around you will run outta a drink in your hand just as you happen to be at another bar. If you are looking for a real good bar tender- find a guy named Carlos- we followed him around all week- very good bar tender and great service.
The beach: Well I didn't expect too much from the beach- and I wouldn't recommend hanging out on the beach after dark- for one the security guys will come kick you off, and you will get a bunch of bites on your legs, that you won't even notice getting. If you are looking for a real adventure- or to go get some shells, go to the very end of the beach- (opposite ocean world) and go over the hill and down the other side. There are a couple horses running loose on the hill, but dont' be worried about them.
Swimming: The pools were nice, generally the tropical was pretty busy, but the garden pool was great there are acctually 5 pools on the resort, one of which I never found, and one we never found till a day before we left, but the other pools didn't have bars in them, so we usually stuck around where ever we were served alcohol.
The weather was pretty good the whole time we were there, and I came back
with a pretty bad burn from the last day we were there.
The whole resort was wonderful- and the locals are very very friendly.
Being as we were two young girls (early 20's) and we were there on spring
break, we were very popular amoung the animation team and the bell boys and
bar tenders. I wouldn't recommend letting your teenage daugters run around
in the evening, or any tiem for that matter un attended, they will be
scooped up very quickly. If you are traveling by signature vacations- go
talk to martine, We adopted her as a second mom while we were there, and she
is very very helpful
If you are looking for a tour- I don't reccomend horse back riding unless
you've acctually ridden before, the horses aren't as well trained as we are
used to in trail rides in canada. I hear the safari was supose to be great,
so i recommend forking out the cash to go on that one.
Would I go back? Well so far the plan is to do it again for spring break 2006!! So yes I would go back in a heart beat.
| Lifestyle Crown Villas | Gary |
Prior to our vacation in January, 2005, I had a difficult time finding reviews for this resort which made me a bid uneasy. Six of us traveled to the DR late January, early February. Our ages range from 50-70. For those of you with upcoming vacations at the Lifestyle Crown Villas (through RCI), I will attempt to provide more information on this resort. The villas are part of the Hacienda Resorts located about 10 minutes west of Puerto Plata on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. Also part of this resort are the Hacienda Tropical (hotel complex) and the Hacienda Garden (these structures look like small private cabins (with a Caribbean flair of course). I also believe there are suites at this resort but did not see them (frankly, I was not there to investigate the accommodations, I was there to relax and have fun)!. The resort layout is as follows: the beach is at the front of the resort and is two layered. When the tide is out, you can sit directly on the beach on the lower level. There is also an all sand, no water, upper level to the beach. The beach was never crowded and we did not have trouble finding beach chairs. There is an area on the upper level for volleyball. We saw at least one beach bar, and there is also a beach grill where there are hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, french fries, and salad served daily, with undercover tables nearby. I would rate the beach about a 3 star, not the most spectacular beach around, but it was clean and relaxing, and it beats Maine in the dead of winter anytime. There are also a few shops along the beach, and shopping there truly provides you with a Caribbean experience. Make a deal on your purchases - never pay top dollar - negotiating is all part of the experience. Directly behind the beach is the hotel complex, the main pool area, the main buffet, and the oriental and seafood restaurants. All six of us liked the buffet over the oriental and seafood restaurants. There is also an italian restaurant in the building where RCI members check in, and that was definitely the best restarant. Everyone's preferences are different, however, so you should try them all - make sure to make reservations. The food was good, not gourmet, and we never had trouble finding enough to eat. The pasta bar is a must for those who are not big meat eaters or who may be a little reluctant to try the meat cooked Dominican style. I did try the pork and chicken kabobs; however, and they were wonderful, and one night they have half chickens on the grill which were also very tasty. The Hacienda Garden area is in the middle of the resort with the villas higher up on the hillside. Ahh, the villas. We stayed in villa 55, a three bedroom, all with king sized beds and private baths. There was also a half bath downstairs in the living area which was an open concept with a living space with television (great reception and lots of English speaking stations), and a dining room table for eight. The refridgerator was stocked daily with bottled water, soda, wine, and beer. The private pool, although not heated, was refreshing. The maid came in at 7:30 every morning and made coffee, then back at 8:30 (if we wanted breakfast) to cook breakfast for us (meat and cheese platter, fruit platter, pastry platter, juice, and eggs). We at breakfast at the buffet twice just for a change (and it was good), but usually had breakfast at the villa. I can't comment on the other villas at this resort, but the one we had was spectacular. Other than our days at the beach and the one afternoon my husband and I explored the resort, we never left the villa except at mealtime. I cannot comment on the nightly entertainment because we were usually in bed early and up early - the entertainment starts at 9:30 and although we always had good intentions of attending, we never did make it. It rained one day and there was the occasional shower (you will notice that the grounds are very green and lush, so you know it must rain frequently - don't let this spoil your vacation). The only side trip we took was a trip to Puerta Plata one day. We booked a taxi through the resort at the RCI reception area with a driver and a guide at $35 for a three hour tour, plus a tip. It was definitely the way to go as Puerta Plata is a large, very poor city and trying to navigate where to go and the right parts of town to visit I think would be difficult to do on your own. The Dominican people are extremely friendly and accommodating; all you need to do is smile and ask and you will receive. Remember that you are in a different country with a different way of life, and go with the flow. If you are one of those people who always sees the glass as half full, you will have a wonderful time at this resort; if, not, oh well. In short, if you are visiting this resort, I would not worry about all those negative reviews you might be reading.
| Lifestyle Crown Villas | Janie and Michael from Canada |
As there are no new reviews on the villa's I thought I would write. We just returned home this week and had a great vacation. We had a four bedroom villa with ocean view (Villa 7). It was one of the older villa's but beautiful all the same. It was huge with it's own pool. All four bedrooms had king size beds and their own bathroom..some with shower and tub, a huge living room dining room and kitchen all open concept. Everything had a view of the Ocean. There was also a lovely covered porch with comfortable furniture.
We did not go all inclusive and chose to shop in Puerta Plata for our groceries. The resort transported us to and from the grocery store several times at no charge. The groceries were no more expensive than at home here in Canada. We were able to opt out of all inclusive because this is our home resort. I do not think you can do this if coming with RCI.
Maid service was included and she was very efficient. We never had to ask for than once for anything and she was right there with towels, etc. She even did our dishes. Although we could not eat at the restaurants at the Hacienda Tropical or use their bars as we were not all inclusive we did have our own VIP bar which had international drinks at no charge and there is going to be a grand opening of the VIP beach and bar in a week or so which is also included in your stay with the Villas if you are a member.
Confresi Beach is definitely not the best beach we have ever been to. Several days it proved difficult to find a place to sit right on the beach as the water was so high. There is however a level above this with sand where you can sit. They do their best to keep it clean. There is only one other resort on this crescent shaped beach so the beach is not crowded.
We had supper at Chris and Maddy's a few times which is owned by a Canadian which is just a 10 minute walk just down the beach. The food was quite good. We also went to Ocean World which is at the end of the beach (15 minute walk). It was $55.00 per person which included admission and lunch. If you wanted encounters with the dolphins...wales, etc. there was an additional charge. It was quite nice and we were able to put in 4 or 5 hours there.
My husband and I travel at least twice a winter for the last 15 years or so and I have to say that this was our best vacation yet. Having a villa in lieu of a hotel room is great. We took several of our friends and they also had a great time.
Lifestyle Vitalis Garden Club - Puerto Plata ( Cofresi)   Location: short walk to beach - Puerto Plata (Cofresi) - North Coast - 30 mins. from Puerto Plata airport All-inclusive : - 160 guestrooms in 40 cottage-style "casitas Description from resort website: 5 restaurants - 3 bars - 2 swimming pools with waterfalls and children's sections - 1 quiet swimming pool - ~ Reviews posted on this page — 7 |
| Lifestyle Vitalis Garden Club | London, UK |
Just got back from 2 weeks all-inclusive at the LifeStyle Vitalis Garden Club. (4th — 18th July 2007).
Just want to point out a few things before people start booking:
| Lifestyle Vitalis Garden Club | D & M ~ Ottawa, Ontario |
Just got back from the Dominican a few days ago after having stayed at the Lifestyle Vitalis Gardens. We knew reading the reviews before leaving that this resort at best was a three star hotel, but decided to take my chances anyway. I must agree with most of the reviews that I have read, that this is not a place to go if you are looking for a fancy vacations. The villas are very basic and definitely not the cleanest and if you don't mind the lack of hot water, then this will meet all of your basic needs. The grounds are beautiful and fairly well maintained and you can access the beach by manipulating your way through another part of the resort. We arrived with the understanding that could access any of the services, such as the restaurants and bars at any part of the resort, but this was very misleading since I was turned away from some of the bars and restaurants at the resort. You could of course pay extra if you wanted to access the "specialty" restaurants on the newer part of the resort. The beach area is fairly small so we spent most of our time at the pool area, you just have to be up by 7am to claim use of a lounger, since there were not many at the villa pool area. I must say that the most frustrating part of the trip was the lack of service provided by the front desk/reception are. After travelling 12 hours from Ottawa, we arrived at the resort in the wee hours of the morning at the same time as 2 other bus loads of people. It took us approximately an hour to fight our way through this crowd of very tired, frustrated people who were anxious to get some sleep. There were only 2 people working the recption desk which was extremely unorganised (another 15 minutes to get someone's attention), as you can imagine there were alot of angry people by this time. The villa we stayed in was somewhat clean and no signs of insects which other people did encounter. The food was average, same stuff everyday, just a new name given each day and a different sauce. It's what you typically get at a 3 star resort, no surprises there. Fortunately for us the weather was beautiful the entire week we were there, and since my intention of going was to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather the rest of the week seemed uneventful. However the day we had to leave was as much a nightmare as was the morning we arrived. We were requested to vacate our rooms by noon which would not have been a problem if we weren't leaving until after midnight. Only 1 courtesy room was made was provided for two bus loads of people to get cleaned up in before our departure. So as you can imagine this in itself presented a problem, and the manager of the resort refused to open a second room for other people to use. You can be sure that we will not be returning to the Villas for the simple reason of the disrespect the management showed towards travellors on this trip. We have been to several other resorts in the Dominican and Cuba 3,4,and 5 star resorts and this one definitely rates at the bottom. Do yourself a favor and pick somewhere else to go!
| Lifestyle Vitalis Garden Club | Peter & Chris ~ Bridgewater, NS |
A group of friends travelled to his resort on March 31st with Go Travel Direct from Halifax on Zoom Airlines. The resort was very well kept with lush gardens and cute little "huts" in clusters of 4. We had a King sized bed that was very comfortable. The room was adequate but not a clean as in Cuba. We were very late getting checked into our rooms and had problems with the air conditioner all week long even though they tried to repair it. The service was excellent in the restaurants, a la cartes and the bars. There was anything you wanted to drink. The Domincans were very friendly. We took them many gifts and they were very appreciative of everything. We had no problems making dinner reservations and the report of only 10 people being allowed per resort is incorrect. A group of 11 made a reservation without any problem at all. The food was excellent at the buffet. The hamburgers and fries at the beach restaurant were under cooked but after the first trip we asked them to make the fries well done and were the best homemade fries I had ever eaten. They also had homemade nachos, cheese sauce and homemade salsa which were to die for! A few pet peeves that we did have about the resort was there wasn't enough tables and chairs around the pool bar to sit at after dinner, the beach was quite a hike from our resort with lots of stairs which would be a challenge for older guests and the shows were also a good distance away and were rained out 5 out of 7 nights. There is no enclosed show area. The reports of no glass in the huts is being rectified (we had glass) and there was lots of hot water and water pressure in the shower. The huts are all at ground level and there is a bit of a gap between the door and the floor so some people had cock roaches and we had a gigantic centipede attempt to share our bed one night. I'm sure you heard me screaming back in Canada! All in all we had a nice vacation for the price, except for the fact that most of our group had the "Puerta Plata Splatter" at some point during the week. My husband is still sick and found out this morning he had food poisoning. Go Travel is a wonderful company to travel with and Zoom Airlines staff are top notch. They still serve complimentary meals, soft drinks and wine. A good time, but, next year - CUBA all the way! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me via email - Hirtlec@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
| Lifestyle Vitalis Garden Club | Lesley |
we (lesley and vince) just got back from garden club, and strongly suggest you know what you're getting in to before you decide to go there a majority of the review comments here are accurate, howvever can be avoided bugs - we brought raid, saw none cold water, no pressure - room changes are available with no argument rain - it's beside the mountain, what do you expect?
things that were not mentioned....there are vendors ON the resort neighbouring. they call to you as you walk to the beach the hamburgers at the snack bar are frequently undercooked, but they will let you in the kitchen to cook it yourself it is a public beach...people will walk right up to you to sell you things food is basic. if you are picky, this is NOT for you. settle, and revel in the fact that you are in the sun and not cooking it yourself for a week
reading these reviews taught me one thing - they are written by people who went somewhere they were not prepared to go this resort is BASIC. if you want more, go elsewhere
the worst for last - in the week that we were there, two huts got robbed. a shovel was taken and smashed in the window. we met both couples that this happened to, and both were told by the resort not to call the cops. the first couple (that we met in the lobby on their way out, hi guys!) was strikingly calm. neither of the two couples had a safe, as there were not enough at the resort for all the rooms.
the best, by far, part of the resort was one of the entertainment staff, alexander. he went way out of his way to take us in to town with him, and make sure every of our needs were met. the only reason i would ever return would be to reunite with him.
| LifeStyle Garden Beach | Dan |
This was our second vacation in the Dominican Republic. The previous trip was in April 1999, when we stayed at the Bahia Principe, San Juan.
After reading the negative reviews, we (Allyson & Dan) agree with most comments, and would not recommend this all inclusive hotel package. The Lifestyle Vitalis G.C. was chosen after some scrutiny of vacation web sites, and cross referencing flights with other travel offers. We also had a Plan B; if there was little to do at the hotel, we would revisit the quaint seaside towns of Sosua and Cabarete.
The direct flight from Toronto was uneventful though completely full and no room to spare, on Skyservice Airlines. They offered a meal and complimentary beverages, alcohol not included. Everything else is $ extra.
** Consider the duty free when arriving in the Dominican, as this hotel offered only draft beer, and a few mixed drinks. Remember this when you are still hungry & thirsty, and visit the confectionary store across the street at the Tropicale Hotel, for some overly priced chips, drinks or cigarettes. Upon arrival from the airport, the Vitalis was actually a disappointment after seeing the other hotels ahead of ours. We asked for a quiet room, and were provided with a cabana near a paved road, on the quieter side of the property. For the noise and light, we had brought and used earplugs and eye patches nightly.
The water pressure was weak, the room a bit cramped, and there were some unexplainable bites, perhaps from bed bugs, or sand fleas. During the seven days, there were several blackouts, and during the rains, the tiled floors were very slippery in the reception, pool, and restaurant areas. ** At night, the paths that wind around the property are poorly lit. This resort is not recommended for high heels, or individuals who have difficulty walking or in need of assistance.
Of the three daily buffets, the breakfast was half decent as you could choose to have an omelet prepared, while lunch and dinner were daring. The ‘a la carte’ meals were slightly better, though the morning line up for reservations ritual was a bit odd.
The restaurant and bar staff was hot and cold. While some were very pleasant, others nonexistent.
The nightlife was limited as well. There was only one ‘disco’ on the property of yet another hotel, with even finer amenities. For the record, this hotel is not on the beach. It is approximately a seven minute walk to the sand, after walking through another, nicer hotel, along the way. Yet another unavoidable comparison, get what you pay for.
The grounds were maintained daily; though there was garbage lying around after the poolside population dwindled by dusk, to prepare for dinner. The excursions our Sunflight representative offered were interesting, though expensive. The locals also offered tours and excursions, though no refunds. Consider this when the day of your horseback ride with the local carrier is delayed due to rain. And your flight home is the next day.
For what it is worth, the Garden Vitalis Hotel represents a typically accurate example of below average accommodation, and rereading the fine print. A valuable learning experience indeed.
| LifeStyle Garden Beach | Jeanette ~ Canada |
My husband & I have just returned from a week at the Hacienda Garden Club where we and 2 other couples vacationed. Although this resort is very beautiful and filled with lush gardens and friendly people...I would definitely not recommend it! We had several problems during our stay, not to mention it rained severely for three straight days. The main issue was the lack of communication and service from the front desk staff, we had several problems with our rooms and it took the first three days to get moved to new ones, we still had problems after that as well that varied from sand fleas (my husband was attacked with over 100 bites!), leaky roofs, no phone service, no television reception, cold showers, no towels/bottled water, rock hard mattresses, no water at all, and repeated attempts at resolving these issues were ignored. They seem to have the staff that speaks the least amount of English on the front desk, the most important area, although the rest of the resort has many english speaking staff that were extremely friendly and helpful. We had to get our Conquest representative to come and translate for us before we finally had our rooms changed and services provided (although they never fully resolved our issues)..I must mention that Conquest was great and made our transfers easy and provided us with a great representative (Alexandra) who was wonderful and provided us with plenty of valuable information, booked tours for us, and was there whenever we needed her (she even gave us a cell number where we could contact her at anytime, which came in handy condsidering our problems). Thanks Alexandra!
Some other bad points about this resort are: even though they advertise you have access to all of the bars and services of the four sister resorts that is not so as we had trouble figuring out which bars we could get drinks at, where to get snacks, etc. It took about 4 days to get our bearings and the correct information (after being asked to leave several areas), they do not provide you with a clear description of the inclusive facilities (you have to figure that out on your own), also booking a la carte dinners is near impossible! We didn't even use one of our a la carte dinners due to the hassle...they have everyone gather in a herd at 8:00am (who wants to get up early on their vacation?) to wait to book reservations for that evening (you can not pre-book) and after waiting in line for an hour the tables were all gone by the time I got to the front (they only accept 10 people per resort as all the four resorts can book for dinners) considering there are hundreds of people...this system was very poorly organized and you could always see that several tables were available each evening but they would not let you get in and were quite rude about the whole situation! The restaurants we did try were okay, the Chinese was good, the Seafood was not (my husband ate the Mahi Mahi and was sick with nausea/diarrhea and spent an entire day in bed!) we did not get in to the Italian which we heard was the best of the three. The buffet was okay but got boring after a while, we ate lunch almost everyday at the Blue Lagoon snack bar by the beach just to have a change but wasn't that great either (one of our travelling companions found an elastic and a piece of tinfoil in her spaghetti!) There is plenty of food but it all tasted the same everyday...note that the desserts look delicious but are very bland! Not to mention that there are several birds flying around your dinner tables, stray dogs looking for scraps everywhere as well as cats that resembled disease-infested horror scenes! Ugh! The beach was beautiful but full of sand fleas and huge waves (not a calm beach at all!), tour vendors and timeshare salespeople were hassling you constantly but local vendors kept to there own huts which was nice. We had our hair braided by some lovely local ladies on the beach and enjoyed that. Note: there is a great Canadian bar/restaurant called "Chris & Mady's" down the beach near Ocean World that was fantastic (pretty bad that we were willing to skip a free meal and pay for one due to the crap at the resort!) If you are looking for a late night snack..go hungry! The "24 hour snack bar" is gross with soggy fries and half-cooked burgers...Yuck! I should also mention that this resort is not ideal for children as there is not much to do and elderly/diasabled persons would find it very difficult to get around the rocky paths...there is a lot of walking!!!!!
On a positive note: There are no more friendly people in the world than Dominicans and they love Canadians! Don't stay on the resort, go discover this wonderful place because there are some wonderful tours and adventures out there. If we wouldn't have left the resort our entire trip would have been wasted! We enjoyed the Banana Republic Catamaran Tour which was a giant floating party with a waterslide, diving board, open bar & lunch, snorkeling as well as karaoke, wonderfully energetic staff and a hysterical "Mr. Banana" contest; we also enjoyed a 4 hour taxi tour of the city with Carlo (don't pay for the guided tour, a taxi will take you for cheap and it will be great!) we got to see a lot of historical sites and do some shopping and get a feel for real Dominican life; also we recommend riding the cable car (but not when it's raining!) and enjoying the botanical gardens at the top; also the Monster Truck Safari was great and took us into the outback on a fabulous tour! In summary...get out and discover this country...it is filled with great people and lovely sights. (Keep in mind that bartering is a way of life with vendors and it can become quite overwhelming!)
Positively speaking on the resort: clean pools, clean grounds, beautiful landscape, bar staff fantastic (try the Banana Mama! Yum!) Air conditioning was good!
My final summary: Go to a different resort for sure! Use Conquest Vacations (ask for Alexandra!), fly with West Jet and get out and experience the tours offered and/or a taxi tour to different attractions. If you have booked this place....hurry up and change it if you can to save your vacation from becoming a giant headache! If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me directly and I will answer you as soon as possible. jeanettejoudrey@hotmail.com
| LifeStyle Garden Beach | Rob ~ Canada |
We were at this place in Jan 2005, I travel alot in Cuba and D.R. This place is nice and we stayed in the villas. I would have to say Our highlight of the trip was the traveling in the outback on some of the excursions. There is also a nice Ocean world to the right when you step on the beach. I would highly recommend it. We went through traveldiscounters .ca out of Halifax Nova Scotia. The weather was the only down fall with a bit of rain, pack a small umbrella. The alacarte restraunts were great and I prefer the BRUGAL rum to any in the world. The rooms are nice, but really if you book this spot and spend time in your room your missing out. Me and the exgirlfriend broke up or I would be back in a heartbeat. I plan to go about 5 times this coming winter, so any single women out of Nova Scotia that want to go, please email me and I can send lots of pics. Rob rmackay@tavel.ca
Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort - Puerto Plata ( Cofresi) Location: Beachfront - Puerto Plata (Cofresi) - North Coast - 30 mins. from Puerto Plata airport All-inclusive : - 282 rooms and junior suites Description from resort website: 6 restaurants - 3 bars - 2 swimming pools with waterfalls and children's sections. One quiet swimming pool, Beach and pool chaise lounges & towels, Supervised Kid's Club with daily activities program for children 4 to 12 years. Open from 09:00am to 05:00pm ~ Reviews posted on this page — 20 |
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Rebecca ~ Bristol, UK |
Arrival -
Greeted on arrival with a cocktail of some description! Very nice though.
Rooms -
Room was great: on first floor with sea and pool view. Our shower did have the downside of flooding the bathroom floor but solved by laying towel down. Bottled water is supplied in the fridge, which the maid will replace daily if you leave the empty bottles out.
Restaurants -
We used the main restaurant most days, although after 2 weeks, it did get very repetitive. The Italian restaurant was in my opinion the best of the alternatives, although Indochine good too.
Bars -
There are a few bars to chose from, and staff usually very friendly
Beach and Pools -
The pool area was fine..if you prefer it quieter, there is a pool away from the main pool that we didn't stumble upon for a few days!
Activities -
Highly recommend Dominican Discovery and the Buggies that we booked through our rep. Ocean World Adventure Park is only short walk along the beach and was fantastic, although expensive.
Conclusion -
Had a great time. Make sure you make the effort to explore outside the resort, as with AI, it is easy to just stay in resort. The activities put on by reps allow you to experience some of the Dominican lifestyle and meet the locals!
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Allan ~ Ottawa |
Arrival -
We booked last minute and unfortunately the Hotel didn't recieve notice of our Arrival. Not a big problem but they put us in the Garden Club for the night. A pit is the best description, This must be lower cost since the rooms we're filthy, the buffet the next morning was scary and the staff at Lifestyles stop you from eating at the main buffet.
Rooms -
Once we settled in to our room we were comfortable though it took two days for them to come fill our fridge after many requests. The maids did a resonable job cleaning the room but a little more sweeping and attention to the towel situation would be nice. We basically had to chase a maid each evening to get towels.
Restaurants -
The food was rough, most buffets get old quickly but it seemed even quicker here. Really lacking in any snack foods, the Blue Lagoon would cause even the hartiest traveller to come down with something. The attention to acceptable food service seems lacking both in service and safe preparation.
Bars -
Bars are small and difficult to find seating with the exception of the Blue lagoon after 11:00 pm. Servers seem to be lacking the outgoing friendly experience I have come expect from the Dominican people.
Beach and Pools -
Beaches, well the water is warm and the waves are exciting but the beaches don't compare to Punta Cana. The beach here is small the water is filled with large rocks that will hurt either your feet or your head if not careful. The locals seem to like to break bottles so if you walk be careful! We love the ocean but after a few days we moved to the pools. The pools could use a little more vacuming on a regular basis, most people complained they were cold but I didn't really notice the issue.Grounds -
Landscape was nice and well kept. Adhere to the warning that people who have trouble getting around should stay away. The grounds are steep and uneven in places.
Activities -
Hotel activities are lacking Conclusion -
This is not a 4+ resort unless you own shares in it. We booked a cheap last minute trip and we made the best of it. We wanted sun, sand and palm trees we got that. The biggest issue is the harrassement you get from the time share sales people. This resort exists to sell time shares. Everything is geared to you becoming a VIP, they control the music that is palyed complete with Lifestyle commercials, you can't walk anywhere without someone offering a free gifts to try and get you in. That really sucked. Beware of buying in, we became acquainted with one Lady who was told prior to buying in that if you sold a vacation week for them you recieve a week free. But after buying in and selling a week to a friend she was told the rules changed. They use the slogan "Tell only your best friends" With the number of people we saw come down with something I'll tell everyone "Buyer Beware"
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Bob |
This was our first time in the Dominican Republic. We felt that we got a good deal through Cheapcarribean.com.We stayed at the Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort and Spa(Hacienda) from March 4TH through March 9th. The weather was great (mid to upper 80's during the day and low to mid 70's at night). The water temperature (surface) was also great (80F).We found the people to be very friendly and trying to please you (did not always work, but they tried).
Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort and Spa is probably a "true" three star resort. The rooms are clean but there is still a problem at times with the water pressure as well as the amount of hot water (either too much or not enough of both).When we first arrived and we went into the room,my wife picked up on a strong "musty" smell. This musty smell became less strong as the days went on. The grading (pitch) to the bathroom shower floor was "anti-gravity". Therefor the water would soak the floor surrounding the toilet and the sink area which was just outside the shower stall. This very well could have been the problem as to the "musty" smell.
The refrigerator in the room was not stocked with the two bottles of spring water as promised,nor was there any bathroom towels.
It took several calls to the front desk,before these situations were rectified. So the key to all this is patience and follow through.
The food in Casablanca (buffet for breakfast,lunch and dinner) was excellent. The other restaurants required you to book in advance the day before between 1:00PM to 3:00PM. Vacationers would get on line as much as one hour before (12:00 noon) in order to make a reservation for dinner for the following day. We (myself and my spouse) were never at the resort this time of the day (due to excursions being taken outside the resort) therefor I can not comment on the other restaurants but I heard that they were good (?).
The snorkeling behind the resort was not very good due to the fact that there is a very shallow reef in this cove and the winds also create poor visibility in the water from particles through out. However I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Isaira Tours. They are great people and try very hard to please you. Their prices are lower than the resort and they deliver a great service. The owner (Martin Espinal) made it a point to meet with me personally and make sure that everthing was going to our satisfaction. I can not say enough good things about Isaira Tours.If you are a diver or a snorkeler,then make sure you go to Paradise Island and book a boat dive at Sosua Bay (Say hello to Jerry,Lee,Marco and Dave for us.....The Baxters from New Jersey). Also check out the Waterfalls (We had a great time......ask for "Trunko"). Check out Ocean World Adventure Park (walking distance from the resort, but there are shuttles going to and from the resort) and the sealion show (it was very good).
Everything taken into consideration (with some minor inconveniences) with had a great time with excellent weather,food and people. Lodging (resort) was good with some minor problems. Plenty of rum drinks and presidente beer (as well as wines and other types of drinks). I would recommend this resort as long as your expectations are not that of a five star resort (it's not.....more like three).
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Jay |
This is a bizarre resort and we have come home with mixed feelings. We traveled through GO Travel Direct from Ottawa. Although very nice and clean there is just something that we (and many many others at the resort) can’t put our finger on. First off, the grounds are very clean and well maintained although it is very sprawling and a lot of stairs. The rooms were average and served their purpose. However I think we have to walk away with more negatives than positives. We have stayed in the Caribbean a few times before and completely understand that you should never go with high expectations but so many things were avoidable here.
CONS:
Bed bugs – My wife is still suffering from the itch now a few days after being home, several others at the resort were complaining about it and 2 women we met took a dangerous reaction and had to go to the hospital for anti-histamine shots.
Diarrhea – I have it, not sure from what food.
Buffet – Gross, the only thing we ate for breakfast for 7 days straight was French toast. The scrambled eggs were swimming in water and the bacon was all fat. They changed the theme daily but the menu didn’t appear any different. Everything here was just half done; there was no pride in the food whatsoever, everything just looked sketchy and risky.
Tex Mex Al La Carte – Don’t eat the deep fried tacos, they were barely edible
Bellini’s Italian Al La Carte – Cudos to the pizza, it was great, I ate about 6 of them over the week, it was about the only safe looking food.
IndoShine Chinese Al La Carte – It was just ok, nothing special, probably the best of the restaurants.
Blue Lagoon Al La Carte / Beach Grill – We were scared to eat dinner there but if you wanted a disgusting dehydrated deep fried hamburger for lunch with sun baked mayonnaise from a packet this was you place.
We came with low expectations of food, but we’ve eaten food in Cuba before which is famous for bland, but Cuba was gourmet compared to this place.
Staff – Mostly rude, and bothered if you asked them for anything. There was the occasional nice once like the woman at the cappuccino bar in the lobby.
Animation Staff – Ok, this has got to be my biggest complaint about the whole vacation. They were absolutely PATHETIC and should not be allowed on site. For 24/7 they felt they had to entertain you. They BLASTED the speakers constantly way past the point of distortion, this seems to be the norm throughout D.R. – all radio stations are just half tuned in and blaring. There was barely escape from this nuisance except the far end of the beach. There were more people covering their ears by the pool than not. They constantly tried to recruit people for “dancing lessons” the pool and play dumb games, and they sang to the song “choc-o-lat-e” 300 times a day to the point I would wake up in the night with it in my head. One night they put on a pathetic musical of the Lion King, I’d never seen anything so bad in my life, not to mention it was so loud that people had to leave.
Time Share Goons – These people didn’t understand the meaning of no, they hung outside the buffet and harassed you every time you walked by, they promised “free gifts” and a “lifetime of happiness” – what they don’t tell you is that it will cost you $35,000. Stay away from these people. There were rumors that people even paid for excursions to find themselves looped into a 3hr timeshare pitch.
V.I.P – This “high class” alternative to the regular resort is pushed in your face to make you feel like a second class citizen. The funny things was the VIP’s were at our pools and restaurants.
Vendors – The resort allowed them to setup outside in the evening around the buffet, this is a big mistake on their part as they are the worst leeches I’ve ever seen, you have to avoid the area all together to avoid the incredible harassment. It’s too bad because we wanted to look at the merchandise but the vendors were too busy scaring the customers away… 99% off! Almost free!
PROS:
Beach – Although a hike, the water was warm and the waves were great! We bought boogie boards and used them constantly
Pools – There were many pools, and they were clean, warm and nice to lounge around
Rooms – Nice and clean, plenty of hot water.. although our shower floor over-flowed the first night, but that didn’t bother us.
Cappuccino – Mmm.. Delicious
Excursions – We did the Outback Jungle Safari which was worth every penny, as well as the ATV tour, which would have been fun if they weren’t always breaking down!
CONCLUSION:
Unbelievably, we actually had a good time and got the sun and sand that we intended. We are used to more low key resorts and this one was just too busy, and the high turn over makes it what it is. Although a nice placve with lots of potential, I would not go back unless I heard it’s under new management to increase the food quality, rid of the vendors and animation teams.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Mag |
I spent a week at this resort with 2 friends.. and I have to say thank goodness we're good friends! We stayed from Feb 17-25th and we had problems pretty much everyday. Check in was at 3 a.m. and the problems began here with not having the right rooms booked. When we got to room 1 there were bugs in the towels and the toilet did not work. We went to check out the other room (on the other side of the resort) and found there to be no towels and no water. so the three of us stayed in room 1 that night.. got three hours sleep and were told to speak to someone at 9 am to get the room issue resolved.
We tried to do that but were told to come back later by 2 different people.
after some raised voices on our part we finally got the manager and the room arrangements sorted out .. sort of.. we found out days later that the staff had lied to us about the accomodations. anyway.. other problems included: Bedbugs, being served raw (and i mean still cold) mean on 2 occasions and then having the dinning staff laugh when we complained, an unexplained alarm going off at 3:30 am, drilling at 7 a.m., staff that could not speak english.. well maybe the manager that we got to know quite well by the end of it, being given different prices at the mini-mart everytime we went in (we're convinced the staff there were pocketing the money), the VIP World reps were bugging us anytime we left our rooms, being charged for phone calls we didn't make from our rooms (weren't even there for most of them!!) and we felt as though we were treated as 3rd class citizens being non-VIP and 3 women traveling alone.
The people that we met (other vacationers) were all great, and pretty much all of them but one couple from NY had problems as well which ranged from; differences in the cost of the safe, paying for a safe then finding that there was nothing but a hole in the wall where there should have been one, being given a standard room when they were supossed to have a 2 bedroom villa (traveling with thier 7 and 4yr old daughters), another family being separated in 2 different buildings, I could go on.
Point being, i'm currently attempting to get some sort of compensation from the travel company as all the holet would say was "talk to your rep". we had one day that was great and did not involve front desk at all. If you do choose to go to this resort, or another one in the area, be sure to check out Teddy's Canadian Bar and Grill. we had the best food of the entire week here and it was only a few minutes up the beach and the cost was more than resonable (just be sure to ask for the lunch menu if you are going there for lunch).
I strongly recomend going to a different resort complex for your vacation (we heard complaints from people staying in the villas and the gardens as well).
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Glen and Lauren ~ Ottawa Ontario |
My 11 year-old daughter and I stayed at this resort from January 27 to February 3 2007. We traveled with GO Travel Direct from Ottawa, and our onsite rep was Melissa. I would concur with the other review that said she was very good–we saw her around the resort quite a bit and she was always willing to answer all our questions.
This is the third time we’ve booked with GO Travel, and have always had a good experience with them. Other than the plane feeling like a cattle car (I am very tall and my knees were buried in the kidneys of the fellow in the seat ahead of me) the flight and transfer to the hotel went well. It was a bit hectic at the hotel when we got there, due to another busload of people having arrived just before us, but we were soon in our room and starting to unwind.
Some observations on the resort (trying not to repeat what was said in other reviews):
It is a big sprawling resort, since there are three other Lifestyle resorts in the complex: the Crown Villas, the Crown Residence Suites, and the Vitalis Garden Club (GO Travel also serves the latter two). This is a good news / bad news situation, since it means there are more a-la-carte restaurants and facilities to share and use, but you have to hike a bit to get to some of them.
I am glad we were at the Tropical Beach Resort, because it was the closest to the beach, and seemed to have the nicest range of pools and facilities. The resort is built on a slope, and there are stairs and terraces everywhere – this is definitely not a great place for people with kids in strollers, or for people in wheelchairs.
There were lots of pools, and they never seemed to be particularly busy, although all the chairs around the pools (especially those with shade) were inevitably “toweled” early in the morning. The swim-up bar was a nice touch – nothing makes you feel more decadent than sitting in a pool in the Caribbean, with a fancy rum drink in your hand.
Our room was on the top floor in building 4 and we had a nice view of the ocean. Buildings 5 and 6 are a bit closer to the beach, although in all buildings some rooms only have garden or pool views. The room was very plainly decorated, but it had everything we needed, including a bar fridge, ironing board, hair dryer etc. and a nice little balcony. The maid did a very good job of keeping the room clean, and she got us extra bottled water when we asked her for this. The only problem was the bathroom had an open style shower which tended to make the floor messy, and for the whole time we were there the water pressure and temperature were not good (no concerns about getting scalded here)!
The food at the buffet was pretty good, for the most part (some chewy meat dishes – they seem to have no idea whatsoever how to do ribs well, for example). I am fussy about the temperature of food, and everything was nice and hot. The variety was good, with a different theme each night. Apart from the buffet, you could also get lunch at the “beach club” restaurant close to the beach (which serves as the seafood restaurant at night). Hamburgers, chicken, fish and salads are available here. I didn’t care for their burgers - even when “well done” they were pink - what do they do, dye the meat to make it look fresh?
We ate at all 4 a-la-carte restaurants (Mexican, Italian, Asian and Seafood) and I personally thought the food at the latter (Blue Lagoon) was best. My daughter preferred the Italian. At the Asian restaurant I had a major lapse of judgment and ordered Sushi as an appetizer – hmmm, raw food in the Dominican Republic… NOT a good idea. I spent that night and most of the next day suffering terrible stomach problems, and tasting that sushi over and over and over... Luckily a few doses of Imodium and Pepto Bismol put me back on track, so that the last few days of my vacation were not ruined!
In terms of excursions, the one place we did go to was Ocean World, which is well worth the visit. We just bought the general admission (we couldn’t rationalize spending several hundred dollars each for the various animal encounters, even for a “once-in-a-lifetime experience”) and enjoyed all the shows, in particular the sea lions. We also really liked the snorkeling tank they have set up, with a simulated reef filled with lots of varieties of fish. Note that there is no longer a buffet meal included in the price at Ocean World.
It was a nice 10 minute walk along the beach or the road to Ocean World from the Tropical Beach Resort, so there’s no need to book this as an excursion. If you go on your own you can get there and leave when you please, and you’ll get to see a few stores along the road between the resort and Ocean World Adventure Park that have WAY better prices than the onsite vendors or beach vendor huts – perhaps because they are a bit out of the way. You can also get cheaper internet time at one or two of these stores than at the hotel.
What we liked least about this resort:
1. the time share shills were constantly harassing us to take a tour. They congregated near the main restaurant and the entrance to the beach, and bugged us every time we walked by (you’d think they’d get the hint, but no…).
2. a prime section of property right in the middle of the beachfront is reserved for the time-share owners (“VIP members”), with fancy four-poster beach beds, two hot tubs (none for the rest of us) and pampered personal service. Seeing this in-your-face VIP section makes you feel like a second class citizen, which is unfortunate when you are paying good money to go to a resort and feel spoiled. The resort should really reconsider how/where they have this set up.
3. the vendors the resort allows to set-up onsite near the buffet restaurant are almost as oppressive and annoying as the time-share sharks. I felt like I was running the gauntlet walking through this area every night, and my daughter was intimidated to the point of taking the long way around, just to avoid them.
4. there was no beach volleyball at all while we were there – the court was covered with a huge mound of sand, due to the fact that the resort was rebuilding the wall in this section of the beach. Believe it or not, this was a major disappointment, since my daughter and I were both looking forward to playing and had even brought our own beach volleyball with us.
5. one night there was a show/party in the amphitheater that was extremely loud, and it lasted until 11:30 p.m. Being “early to bed, early to rise” types, this did not amuse us in the least… I can only imagine how this affected the people staying at the resort with little children.
What we liked most about this resort:
1. the beachfront and waves - Cofresi beach is about a two kilometer long cove, with only a handful of resorts on it. It took us 12 minutes to walk from one end to the other. To the left and right of the Lifestyle Resort there are stretches of undeveloped beach where you can go and sit away from the crowds. While the waters of Cofresi are no good for snorkeling, due to the fairly high waves, it is a great beach for body-surfing, windsurfing and sea kayaking.
2. the friendly Dominican people: everyone seemed to go out of their way to say “hola” and smile. One of the bartenders at the beach bar in particular (unfortunately, I can’t recall his name) was very nice to my daughter – he made her feel special and gave her custom-made drinks served in a pineapple.
3. there’s lots to do at the resort – water toys, tennis, ping-pong, bocce etc. It is a very attractive looking resort, with nice landscaping and it is very clean and well-kept.
The day we were leaving we had to check out well before leaving for the airport, so since the Tropical Beach Resort was full, they let us use one of the rooms at Vitalis Gardens as a courtesy room. I don’t know if all the rooms there are like the one we used or not, but am I ever glad we did not stay there – it is a confusing arrangement of rooms in dingy little huts, with shabby furniture and ill-fitting doors and windows. The funny thing was my shower there was the best one I had all week – a veritable blast of hot water!
Overall, I would say that we had a very nice vacation at the Tropical Beach Resort. The weather, of course, is beyond anyone’s control, but this time we were blessed with 7 perfect days. As at any resort, there are some things that could be improved upon, but this is the fourth time I have been to the Dominican Republic and I’d say this resort compares pretty favorably to the other places I have stayed at (typically 3 ½ or 4 star resorts).
Is this my favourite hotel of the four I have seen? No, I’d say that honour goes to the Coral Marien, which incidentally, we passed on the way to this resort. The bottom line for me is, I wanted to go and relax for a week in a nice place where all my basic needs and creature comforts were met, and this place fit the bill.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Deb |
I would NEVER recommend the Lifestyle Tropical Beach Report in Puerto Plata. The rooms were not clean. They smelled. The shower's always flooded. The front-desk staffing were rude and unprofessional.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Sally & Kevin ~ Ottawa Canada |
Travelled to this resort with go travel&zoom airlines from Ottawa on January 6th to the 20th,great service from both,Melissa (our rep at the resort from go-travel was terriffic) We had paid for an oceanview room and we were not dissapointed we were in building 1 room 1219 the view was breathtaking.We overlooked the pool & the ocean.The room was basic but very clean,Lydia our maid did an outstanding job,we always had a fridge stocked with beer,water&pop.
The food at the buffet was very good lots of variety&very tasty a different theme each night.We tried 2 of the 4 ala carte resturants the blue lagoon(seafood)&Bellinis(italian)both were very good.Another thing about the blue lagoon between 12pm&4pm it serves burgers,ribs hotdogs etc..situated right onthe beach it is a nice alternative to the buffet at lunch.Also between midnight &7am it is a bar and snack joint.
The pools were very clean &Carlos the pool bartender during the day was wonderful.The entertainment crew try very hard to make your stay enjoyable,relax or join in the fun & games. The beach is kept very clean & there are vendors trying to sell you stuff be polite this is a poor country & they are trying to make a living.If you do decide to buy bargain they expect it.
We visited ocean world this was a lot of fun&would recomend it,the resort is only an 8 minute walk back along the beach from oceanworld,so if you decide to come back before the bus walk it is very pleseant. Also took a guided cab to Puerto Plata Geffery was great ask for him, cost 40dollars US plus we tipped him well,got to see rum factory,cigar factory&amber museum also the old fort.the shipport&beach of Puerto Plata.
The 1 negative is there is'nt a town to walk into so you have to cab,but local vendors do come into the resort at night & set up a flea market this was great as i could do some shopping. All in all we had a wonderful vacation & would return to this resort.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Cala and Garry ~ Norwich England |
We have just arrived home from a two weeks at the Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort and Spa, we stayed there for Christmas and New Year and we had a great time. Where do I start, the check in was quick and easy as the bell boys take your luggage to your room they point out where the bars and restaurants are which we found very helpful. The rooms are more than adequate there is either a king size or two queen size beds, coffee maker, hair dryer, iron and ironing board and they were perfectly clean. The bathrooms are fine but you will be lucky to have a hot shower, we had two in two weeks but the rest were luke warm not freezing. There are several bars the beach bar, the pool bar, the lobby bar and the Blue Lagoon which is a bar and restaurant in the day and night and the seafood restaurant in the evening. The food everywhere we ate was excellent, nobody we spoke to was ill from the food at all. The entertainment team try very hard round by the pool in the day and they put a show on in the evenings, they are very friendly and make you feel very welcome. We went into Puerto Plata to the shops we went outside the resort to get a taxi and had a guide called Geoffrey No1 he was brilliant and we would highly recommend him you pay for your taxi then tip him what ever you think. Christmas Eve they laid on a gala buffet round by the pool under canopy, the entertainment team with some children put on a nativity play and they then did a fire show in the pool. New Years Eve was even better another gala dinner live band then followed by a disco (I don’t think the entertainment staff sleeps). It was a fab holiday and we would highly recommend this resort to anyone.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Joan |
I just came back from the Hacienda Tropical resort and had an amazing time. The staff is very friendly, the food and service was excellent. The maids did a great job, and left little flowers on the bed almost every day. The animation team there is amazing!! Altho it took a long time to figure out where the animation coluseum was b/c no one (including the staff) seemed to know where it was. The disco was nice as well, altho the drinks there are not included. Most of the staff that I encountered spoke fairly good english, which was surprising considering the number of complaints that I have read saying that they couldn't at this resort. I didn't go to any of the a la carte restaurants i read so many bad things about the booking i gave up before i even got there, but the other ppl that i talked to didn't have any issues. You had to be there by 1pm to book for the following night, and I heard from other ppl that it was good, but I was happy with the main buffet and the Blue Lagoon restaurant..I never made it to the pizza and pasta place either but it was on the other side of the complex from what i could tell on the map. They are still renovating. There was one bar closed down (still plenty open tho) and the gym was being redone, as well as some of the landscaping. Most of this was being done at the far end of the resort by the pool tables and one of the restaurants. There was some power outages in the afternoon in the hotel rooms, but nothing major. The only problems I encountered was the toilet in the room only flushed when it felt like it, and the phone wouldn't dial out. They sent someone right over to fix both, but at that point the toilet was working, and he fixed the phone, but broke again later. I wasn't that impressed with Skyservice. The stewardesses didn't seem that happy to be there, and the seats were very tiny and uncomforatable, and the food wasn't that good either, so if u fly thru them, bringing something to eat would be highly recommended. I will definatly be coming back to this resort.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Ewelina 32, Michelle 10, & Sarah 30 ~ Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada |
Well when I tried to research this place I had very little expectations of what I was going to find there. Well I must state that for us this place was like a dream come true! It was definitely not what we were expecting after we read a few reviews. It was absolutely beautiful there and I feel that we got more than we paid for.
The only service that I was unimpressed with was the Sky service airline. They could upgrade their service a little. But as for the resort it was clean, sure the decor was a little bland with the all white but honestly how much time do you plan on spending in your room??? I didn't go to the Dominican to sit in my room all week that is for sure!
The food was great with a lot of variety. We did not go to the A la carte's but the buffet was so plentiful with much variety that we felt no need to try the others.
As for the hot water, we never had any problems the only small problem was one morning it shut off for a minute as I was brushing my teeth but thankfully they do provide you with bottled water so no biggy for me. I can adapt. The power went out twice while we were there but once again it sure wasn't enough to ruin my trip. The staff there were just great, and if you couldn't communicate due to language barriers then you would just move on to the next one that speaks English. I know no Spanish and got along just fine. I guess that attitude determines everything!!
We absolutely loved it and hope to go back again one day. And also if you go to the bar inside the lobby. Gina the bartender makes the absolute best pina coladas. (or Ginacoladas as we called them) I would recommend this resort to any of my friends. The deserve more credit than the 3.5 * rating.
Also there is a gentleman who is permitted to come into the resort to promote horse back riding and I must say we had a lot of fun. It was a beautiful ride through the countryside. Also there is a safari trip that brings you to these waterfalls. Wow that was quite a once in a lifetime experience for me. Just make sure there hasn't been a lot of rain before you go or you will never make it up the seven levels they plan to show you. The guides there were the best, (Kelvin & Richard) we had a 10 year old with us and they protected her like their own.
Overall, I am so glad we had the opportunity to see such a nice resort and beautiful Country. As for the mosquitos...try keeping you patio door closed at night. We never got bitten at all and thankfully we forgot the off, we needed the space on the way home for all our souvenirs. At the resort on Mon, Wed, & Fridays there are venders that come into the resort. That is where we did 90% of our shopping!
It was a lovely vacation and a beautiful place!
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort |
My husband and I stayed at the Hacienda Tropical Resort for our 25th Wedding anniversary on April 22-29, 2006. We had a very enjoyable time at the beach and pools. The grounds are immaculate and we found the staff to be more than friendly. We love Jackie, our morning waitress at the buffet, which was also the best meal of the day, with made-to-order omelets and smoothies. I didn't care for the rest of the food, but it was edible and we didn't starve. The snack bar has good hamburgers.
We left generous tips for the staff and also tips and gifts for our maid. We requested a lot of bottled water and she left us 4-5 extra bottles per day. She also cleaned our room very well (Thank you, Eusebia!) We stayed in room 4205 and although the toilet leaked water (we just kept a towel on the floor) we were impressed with our view, both the ocean and the mountain were clearly visible and delightful. The bed consisted of a thin mattress on a plywood frame but after several Banana Mama's, it didn't matter. We loved the Bounty Bar and our servers, Silvio and Jose, made us feel special. Pedro at the pool bar was also fabulous, calling out to us by name when we walked by.
Johnny, the hotel's doorman, arranged for us to take a day trip into the city with Jerry, a personal guide for shopping, history and sightseeing in a van with a personal driver.It was awesome. We visited the Brugal Rum Factory and Larimar Jewlery factory. We also bought cigars and watched them being made. Jerry again, made us feel very special and please ask for him if you want to see the city to shop or sightsee. It was really worth it! The tour guide at the hotel was also helpful and we enjoyed taking the Monster Truck Safari ( I brought a case of toothbrushes and also had pencils to hand out.) We went deep sea fishing and I caught a Wahoo. Once again, our Dominican guides were so genuine and nice that we will never forget them.
The pools were a lot of fun and a great place to meet other guests. We really liked the beach and visited several vendors and bought souvenirs. All in all, we had a really great time and the weather was fantastic! The hotel itself is rated properly, 2-3 stars. There are several areas under construction. The paths, made of uneven stone, are strenuous but provided a good workout for getting around the property. We had very hot water and blasting water pressure in our room but other guests said the opposite. We recommend this resort to relax, have fun and enjoy meeting new people. The timeshare people were very nice, and keeping in mind that they are only trying to earn a living, we offered them a polite no and were not bothered again. It seems like the hotel is doing everything possible to make your stay enjoyable. We had a great time and made many new friends.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Connie ~ Canada |
We traveled with Go travel direct on Zoom airlines during the week of March 31 - April 7. The flight was smooth both ways. The Reps. from Go Travel Direct we awesome.
We arrived at the resort and wre checked in at the front desk by 2:30pm.(only a 10min. or so wait due to the college students that arrived shortly before us.)
The resort is going through some up grades. We happen to stay in the 6000`s, which was not done over yet. When arriving in the room it was a musty smell. But as soon as I opened up the glade air fresener, and turned on the air conditioner, after about 5mins. no musty smell.(our only complaint) The service was amasing. Alot of english speaking workers.
I am more of a fussy eater than my husband, but there was always a great and mostly different selection of foods. The bars and the tenders were the greatest.(Happy -Happy Louis, and last but not least Mariando(Armando- our friend for life)
We did the Out Back Tour (junior was our guide ) On our bus there were 19 Canadians. We had a blast. We learned alot about the people of Dominica.(Hi to the bunch from ONT. and Sask.)
If buying souveniers walk down the beach just before Ocean World on the left, there are some shops there and the prices are better than else where. The weather was beautiful. Yes it rained 5 nights out of 7 BUT only for about an hour or so, and it was not a heavy rain.Plus it kept the huminity down by day.
We met a lot of great people that I will keep in touch with.
The high light of our trip was when we went into Puerto Plata and met a family.We had a great time meeting the mother,father,sisters nephews and friends. You could not ask for nicer people. All in All it was an amasing holiday.
The resort was more than I expected(reading some of the different reviews) Next year we will be headind back to the Lifestyles Tropical with out hesitation
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Jamie ~ N.B |
I had a difficult time finding a positive review of this resort before leaving for my trip. Perhaps this lead to lowered expectations or perhaps it was simply my belief in the old adage " You get what you pay for" that lead me to be quite pleasantly surprised.
Firstly, it is obvious that this resort is undergoing major renovations. You must understand that it is a work in progress. After witnessing photos of what it looked like before this reno, I have to say, they have made a lot of progress. The exterior of all the buildings have been painted and upgraded. I'm assuming all the rooms have also been renovated since I heard no complaints about rooms at the Tropical. Is it posh and luxurious? NO. Is it a 3 and a half star as it's rated? YES.
We had hot water everyday in our room and ,aside from one 10 second blip, had no problem with power outages. The staff were extremely friendly and always smiling and helpful. Perhaps, that's a case of you get what you give. Helps to hand out a few dollars in tips. They are serving you the same as bartenders and waiters at home.
If you are looking for a wild nightlife, this is not the place for you. For such a big resort and so many people I have no idea where they all went after 10 pm. There is a disco. However you must pay for your own drinks. 3 bucks a drink. Not outrageous just an added expense you must account for if you plan on attending.
As far as the food goes, everyone's tastes are different. There was plenty of variety at the buffet. I didn't try any of the a la carte restaurants but from what I heard I didn't miss anything. My advice on this would be; If you are going south for the food, all inclusive is probably not your best option. Personally, I'm not much of a beach person. The beach here at Cofresi was pretty nice. Not overlycrowded with lots of chairs. The pools were great, lots of room and the swim up bar is a nice touch. They had a seperate area for kids as well.
The only other advice I would have about this resort is when dealing with the time share people. Yes they are around all the time in certain areas. If you have no interest in timeshares than be forceful, yet polite. Not interested thanks and walk away. Do not engage them in conversation. You are on vaction, it is your time and you are paying a good dollar to do it. No need to be rude just say no gracias and walk away. They cannot solve any of your problems or concerns with the hotel. They are only there to get you to go and meet with the salespeople.
All in all, my experience at this resort was extremely positive and I would not hesitate to return. In fact, I probably will just to see what the finished product will be.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | RB ~ Ontario Canada |
We stayed at the Lifestyle Tropical Resort during the March break holiday and were VERY disappointed! I left with an open mind and came back with a less than pleasant experience!
Check in was uneventful and painless. We arrived very early in the A.M. and settled into our room quickly. We were unimpressed by our room! It contained a bed, dresser, and TV. The walls were white, the bedspread was white, and there was nothing on the walls. Very boring! There was no decor.
The following morning, I woke up with MANY mosquitto bites. They apparently attacked me in the night! (BRING YOUR MOSQUITTO REPELLANT - "OFF" is apparently not strong enough. We also woke up with sand flea bites on our legs. Obviously the bed contained them because we had not been to the beach yet. Gross!
We requested a new bedroom and we were in the 4000s. A much nicer room with an ocean view. However, hot water was "hit or miss".
Service- Service was atroshous! We would often have to wait till we were done 3/4 of our meal before getting a beverage served. I have been to many Dominican resorts and most of the staff have some English speaking skills. At this resort, the staff speak very little english and communication was very difficult. The front desk staff spoke English quite well though.
Entertainment- Very disapointing! There is a wonderful schedule that is packed full of events occuring during the day, however, nothing actually was offered. There were yoga and water fitness classes and that was it! The night life was NIL. There was a nightly show offered at 9:45, however, they were unimpressive and people often left during them.
VIP- This hotel is two-tier. When I search this hotel on the web, it looks beautiful and wonderful and very impressive, however, these pictures are often of the VIP section. This section has live bands and has beautiful, BEAUTIFUL lounge/bar areas. We were not allowed to enter these areas because we were not VIP members. Again, very disapointing. Actually, there were many people upset during our week because management decided to close it for 4 days and paint! Talk about upsetting for those people who purchased VIP.
Beach- The beach was lovely and very clean. It is a small bay area that two resorts share (Lifestyle and Sun Village). Be careful of the sand fleas. I advice you to shower after you leave the beach. Avoid swimming near the rocks towards the end of the beach. Two people that I ran into were stung by sea urchins. They had to visit the hospital.
Restaurants - There was only one buffet restaurant and only 2 (sometimes 1) a la carte restaurant functioning. Getting a reservation was next to impossible. You have to wait in line and are not able to reserve days in advance.
Hospitality Suite- Our check out time was noon and our flight left at midnight so we were offered a hospitality suite so that we could shower. When we got to the room, and turned the shower on, the shower was leaking from the ceiling and celing light! The leak was huge! With no apologies, we were given another room. This one was a USED, DIRTY room that the house keeper had not used. Apparently, this room was okay for us to shower in! No thanks!
Please note: Things NOT functioing --> VIP, Internet, the gym, 2 bars, swim up bar, 2 a la carte restaurants, apparentlty the animation team too!
So, the bottom line is I would NOT recommend this resort! There were many people at the resort who shared my views. They were definitely talking openly about thier experiences too.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Southern Ontario, Canada |
Jan 22-29-06
First off I want to let people out there that the Hacienda is a group of five resorts on this complex there's the Garden's,the Villa the Lifestyle Tropical and two others .Ten of us arrived in Puerto Plata on the 22nd of Jan.06 got to the Hacienda around 11:00 the staff at the front gave us a hard time about the rooms all being in the same area but we finally got it all straightened out .The rooms where asked at booking time to be in the same area ,we had to wait around in the lobby area until 3:00 they said that is when the rooms would be ready .If you like cold water showers then this is the resort for you, out of a seven day stay five days where cold water days ,and with a morning temperature of med 60's I like to have a hot shower.There was lot's of not so good food you won'tgo hunger it's 90% plane jane ,the staff on the whole are very rude they do not like outsiders .The only one that was caring about your needs was Hector on the front deck he's a good man ,if you like to drink Coco loco's you better take your own coconuts or pay one of the workers to get one down from the tree.If you do go there and want a good cab driver go out to the front of the complex and ask for Daniel-(pa pa) we found him very helpful and a good tour for the money $5.00 each for fours maybe it was because there where ten of us.I strongly recommend the dune buggy ride it's a real riot but ware not so good clothing your going to get muddy .There are lot's of little kids on the trail so take lots of candy,as for the resort rooms they where clean do not expect little flowers and nice swans made from towels and face cloths because you won't get them like I said they keep the rooms clean and we tipped verywell ever day.As for the beach it's so so ,small in a bay tan colour some rocks hidden under the water line at the shore,the north shore is almost always rough .If you go you have to look out for the guys in the blue tee shirts they are from Lifestyle Holidays one guy that go's by the name Pablo he will bug you to no end he will lie to you just to do what ever it takes to get you to the 45 minute meeting for his $10.00us by the way the 45 minute meeting is three hours!! I know I'm jumping all over the place here but I'm trying to remember every thing to pass on.The a-la-carte restaurants only one we found to be good that was the Mexican ,the Italian restaurant was closed for renovations the Chinese was really bad like I said at the beginning the food is plane-jane .If you do go there and you go through Signature vacations don't expect any help from there rep. with any problems you might have and believe me you'll have them he won't do anything but get you to pill out a complainant form .By the way if you do go DO NOT GET A ROOM ON THE SOUTH EAST SIDE we had 4218 and did not notice the incinerator about 30 ft.from the rooms on the east side.They burn there garbage in this and the first night the breeze was out of the south and we where sick with the smell of burning garbage all night long .For the ten of us Canadians we will not go back to this should be 2starr resort and we strongly recommend against it and we have been to Dominican Republic four times now Punta Cana now there's a nice place.If you are looking for a cheap budget type resort then this is the one for you for the ten of us no more TWO AND A HALF STARR resorts.
| LifeStyle Tropical Beach Resort | Mike and Steph ~ Regina, Canada |
We just got back from our two-week trip from the Dominican Republic. We had a great time, and we're pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our resort. This is the second time we've been to the DR and weren't expecting half of what we arrived to.
The first couple of days were a challenge because we only had either cold or hot water, but hey, anything's better than being in the snow and cold, right? My husband and I both knew that there are little quirks when you are a