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SuperClubs Breezes Puerto Plata 
Location: Beach front - Puerto Plata - North Coast - 30 mins from Puerto Plata airport
All-inclusive - 466 rooms
Description from resort website: This magnificent resort, with 466 guest rooms, is the second largest resort in the SuperClubs chain and offers something for everyone. The large state of the art meeting facilities makes it an excellent place for business meetings and conferences. Its three clay tennis courts, lit for night play, pleases the active guest and the 9 pitch and putt golf course challenges golfers as well as non-golfers for a game. And don’t worry; we did not forget the little ones. The Miniclub, open daily, offers fun and games for children 4 to 12 and enables you to relax on the beach or by the pool all day long. In addition, for the guest who is looking to explore the local Dominican life, daily shuttle services are provided to Cabarete and Sosua. - 5 restaurants
 ~ Reviews posted on this page — 41
 ~ Map of Resort
 ~ Reader's Vacation Photos ~ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
 ~ Readers SuperClubs Breezes Puerto Plata Wedding Reviews
 ~ Dominican Republic Travel Forum
 Have you stayed at this resort? Share your vacation experiences with others.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Bev ~ Ontario |
November 2009
Arrival: Jan 2008
This was our first trip anywhere. After 23 years of marriage we decided it was time for a honeymoon. We arrived in the late evening. The wait at the airport to clear customs and get our luggage was not long. We were out of the airport in about an hour. The ride from the airport to the resort was less than half an hour, which was nice. After we arrived at the resort, we were checked in and assigned our rooms fairly quickly. The check-in staff were very nice and helpful.
Rooms:
The room was nice, clean and in a fabulous location. We had emailed the resort and made a couple of requests and were happy to find they had were able to provide us with both of these.
Restaurants and Bars:
There was the buffet restaurant, was was delicious. Then there was the 4 specialty restaurants. We used 3 of the 4 and the meals were excellent, and the service superb. If you come home from this resort hungry, then you are too picky of an eater. There was something for everyone. The all-night bar and restaurant was good with great snacks. The food was always hot and plenty of it. The bars were always well stocked and prepared for all drink requests. The waiters and waitresses were always helpful and smiling.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The pool was a little bit disappointing. There was the lazy river going around the pool. The water was always cool to chilly. I would have thought it would be warmer. The beach was disappointing. It was rocky and small. The grounds were impeccable.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went off the resort twice. The first was into Sosua, which was a great day. The flea market on the beach is something to be experienced. We also went into Cabarete. This was unique. The people of Cabarete were not as friendly and helpful as the people of Sosua. It was a bit unsettling to see armed guards standing outside of the occasional bar as we walked along. We also took a "boogy bike" tour. This was an amazing day and when we head back to the Dominican we will definatley do this again. I would suggest checking with the resort to see if they offer this tour before booking it with the travel rep. It was cheaper to go with the resort. The evening entertainment was exceptional. The staff of the resort worked hard to make sure people had a good time.
Other Comments:
I would not hesitate to go back to the Breezes by Super Clubs.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Marie ~ Canada |
May 2009
Arrival: April 2-9
Very excited to see our resort & when I arrived was very disappointed.
Rooms:
Bugs in my room all the time...complained at the front desk but nothing was done.
Restaurants and Bars:
Service at the bar was good & the waitress very friendly. Meal at the french restaurant was really good.The buffet at jimmys restaurant was horrible.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Was not impressed with the beach.
Other Comments:
I visited Dominican republic before & stayed at Ibeorstar...this resort was awesome.I would not recommend Super Clubs Breezes to anyone.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Sheila ~ New Hampshire, USA |
May 2009
Arrival: Feb 26 - March 7
It was quick and easy the bell boy brought us to our room within 15 minutes and it paradise from that moment on.
Rooms:
We had an ocean view room and it was awesome (6109) it was very clean, we always had lots of clean towels. They only change your bedding 2x week not daily. We had a full size bed and the next day they gave us a bed that was soooo big it was like 2 full beds together. We also left trinkets and money daily for our maid Gloria. We lft stuff out and it was never taken from the room
Restaurants and Bars:
The Italian and the Japanese were great, the Paris and the Mexican rest were just ok. The buffet had enough food for everyone from veggies to making your own pasta. The Bars were good, the alcohol was grose it was more than bottom shelf stuff. They need to better the booze because you dont know what you are drinking.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach always had a red flag and was really rough water it was clean with some rocks there is no beach to walk because you get stopped by a guard holding a AK47 so we could not take our morning walk that was a bummer, we stayed pool side with our rafts and floated in there enormous pool to the pool bar which was pretty cool.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went on the Run Runner tour that was really cool and sad because you saw how the real dominican people live in the country and we also went to one of the schools where I gave them SUGARLESS candy and kudos snacks and they were so appreciated of it
Other Comments:
I would not go back to the Puerto Plata area, there is not much to do in this area and there was not much to do at the resort, but it was a very relaxing trip. We are partial to the Punta Cana area and the La Romana area.
orrs4@hotmail.com
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Michelle ~ Canada |
May 2009
Arrival: April 9-24
Front desk staff professional and friendly.
Rooms:
New furniture,king bed, newer countertop sink etc in bathroom. Curtains and
bedspread dated but in good shape. Cleaning staff in building 5 was
excellent. I can't remember her name but she had short bright red hair.
Once she saw that we had a baby she put an extra sheet in my son's playpen,
gave us extra towels and water for his cereal. A very kind lady who I
enjoyed seeing everyday.
Restaurants and Bars:
Jimmy's Buffet had made to order omlettes/eggs and delicious freshly made
juice for breakfast. The banana milkshake was excellent. There are many
tables undercover but we prefered to eat outside. At lunch and dinner
chicken, beef, pork, or fish was freshly grilled and pasta could also be
ordered. There were a few really tasty things such as a spinach casserole
and beans with cilantro in the ready made part of the buffet. It took a
while to figure out what to pick but by the end of the first week we
realized that the food in the buffet was better than the a la cartes. The
Japanese a la carte was very good and the chef put on a great show. He even
made a tiny little plate for my infant. The other a la cartes were not even
close to as good in my opinion. It is difficult to get reservations for the
a la cartes, however, Crystal the lovely woman who makes the reservations
tried hard to accomodate us when she could.
The lobby bartenders seemed to have more experience making drinks. A lot of
the alcohol tasted similar. If you like rum you will be happy with the
drinks! My only complaint is that the juice tasted like chemicals. No
fresh juice. If you don't like organge tang or similarily flavoured drinks
I suggest pop for mix instead.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Great pool with different sections so many people could enjoy the pool at
the same time. Lots of shade except for the kids pool.
The beach was very nice and had lots of shade as well. Plently of chairs
and huts. The water was rough most days. Fine for teenagers and adults but
not suitable for young kids. Aside from the French a la carte. All of the
grounds were accessible by my mom who uses a wheelchair. I could even
easily push her chair onto the beach which was a few feet off the path. I
highly recommend this resort for people who use wheelchairs or have baby's
in strollers.
Other Comments:
I have traveled quite a bit and found the staff at Breezes to be the most
genuinely friendly of anywhere I have been. I don't think I passed by one
employee who didn't give a smile or say hola. Both the men and women were
so
kind to my eight month old and took the time to play games with him even
when they were busy.
The resort is closing next week (I heard different rumours about why). I am
not sure if the same employees will be back next season. If you go to the"new" resort I highly recommend looking for Christian who mostly
worked the
outside section of the buffet. He is a wonderful person who gave us
exceptional service. It was a pleasure seeing him each morning. He even
taught my son to give high fives! Also Jerimiah and De La Cruz at the
buffet during dinner made our evenings special. Their service was so good
that we stopped going to the a la cartes because dining with them was such a
fun and enjoyable experience. They played little jokes on us and other
guests which kept us entertained. These three employees (along with Crysal
at the a la carte reservations) made our trip memorable.
I find that many "four star" all inclusives are similar. Breezes
stands out
for it's wheelchair accessiblity and exceptional staff.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Andrew ~ Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada |
April 2009
Arrival
we flew out of halifax air transat[westjet] left at 6:30am arrived 10:oo am good flight every thing went very smoothly as it usually does we arrived at the resort about 11:00 the was a seperate check in we very quickly we di not recieve our room until2:30 we new this going down we had pack our carry on with what we needed to enjoy the day unil the room was ready
Rooms
our room was 6115 by the pool not one of the renovated rooms it was very nice king size bed flat screen tv every thing was very clean worked properly nice view of the garden [geese vist at supper time ]
Restaurants and Bars
the buffet restaurants main and pool we both very good every night there was something different look on the back wall be the pasta bar this is were they set up to carve turkeys roast beef [very good] breakfast was great the service was very good we didnt do any of the alacarte this time they were good before and i spoke to alot of people this time who really enjoyed them the bars were very good service was great dorretao and henry at the pool bar are hats off and will give excellent service
Beach/Pools/Grounds
as always the beach and pools were spotless the new pool is really geared up for people traveling with kids
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
the dive shack has been moved to the right of the property it was very busy with guest using the activities provided in your package the off resort trip to the marinium were you snorkel a reef with rays and sharks is excellent the activities team at the resort had the people very active good participation
Other Comments
this was our third time here and i was a bit concerned after the negative reviews that have been posted in the last month or two i was glad to see those people dont know what they talking about i dont know how some one could complain about this resort unless you are not willing to be patient and polite if there is any language problems or other issues because that is all it takes to correct things and a little tip for the maids [ who were usually later afternoon but very good] and bartenders i spoke to alot of canadians mostly maritimers and some very nice british families who agreed with me this resort is getting bad write ups it doesnt deserve
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Chris ~ Alliston, Ontario |
April 2009
Arrival: April 6 to April 13
We were greeted at the Airport by a Nolitours agent when we came out of the Aiport and were directed to the Bus that would take us to the resort. It was about 15 minutes to the resort (maybe a little less). At the resort the check-in was quick and painless, everything was ready at the front desk.
Rooms
We were in Building number 4 room 4106, our friends that traveled with us were in room 4112 (both on the second floor with balconies. Our room faced the beach with a real nice view, their room faced the pool. As both rooms were identical I will describe them together. Very clean and bright. King size bed, Water pressure and temperature were great the whole time.
This building is the one I would recommend as it is about 150 feet to the beach and beachbar, or 150 feet to the pool and pool bar
Restaurants and Bars
Jimmy's buffet: was good, no complaints with it. there was always a good selection of food.
Beach bar: was nice and they hosed it down everymoring and very clean, no wait for service.
Pool bar: busy place if you consider a couple of minutes a long wait..... open from 9am until 6pm
Lobby Bar: open from 10am until 6pm, make sure you check out the coctail of the day
French Restuarant: Service excellent and food good, but take a long sleeve shirt as the temperature of the air is cool due to the air conditioning.
Japanese Restuarant: Very nice try and get it so that you sit in front of the chef, otherwise you are looking at a wall, as there is no one accross from you and conversation with anyone past the person beside you is difficult, food was excellent.
Mexican Returant: excellent food and desert. This is at the Beach bar location.
Italian Resturant: This one I would not be in a hurry ot go to, I had the sea bass and was not impressed with it. My wife had the lasogina and was not too impressed. Go for the Pizza as I hear it was good.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Pool: Very clean, and yes a floatie is a deffinate if you want to float in the lazy river or in the pool.
Beach: very nice quite beach but the water was too ruff while we were there all but 1 day for swimming.
Grounds: very well cleaned, they were constantly cleaning lawn, patio etc...
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Did the Dunebuggy tour. It is worth the money, take some candies to hand out to the kids. Got muddy but it was a lot of fun. Make sure that you wear old cloths that you don't mind if you have to throw them out after. it took a bit of washing to get us clean, but that was partly due to the fact that I found the most mud i could and loved it. Cost is $55 us per person for this $35 us for a video of the trip, video nicely put together. $5us for the picture they take of you at the begining.
We did the intro to scuba (refresher for me as I am already certified), then went on a nice introductory dive where my wife fed the fish with bananas. Lots of fish, and a very safe dive with very capable dive master and assistant. My wife was nervous about the diving part of it, and the Dive Master stayed with her the whole time making sure that she enjoyed her experience.
Other Comments
At Jimmy's buffet, make sure you sit outside as you will be taken care of by Edwardo and Cristian, they seem like a tag team operation and take very good care of you, they would see us come and get our table and drinks ready for us. The cost for this service was $1 per couple each time we went to the buffet, now this is what we tipped, I don't know if the service would have changed if we had not tipped but the tpps are shared so we did not mind, and as I said the service was great.
At the Lobby bar Recardo is the Bartender there, he will take care of you.
If you have any questions that I can answer feel free to e-mail me at willybgh@rogers.com
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Patrick |
April 2009
April 2 - 9 , 2009: Super Club Breezes, Puerto Plata (NOT a 4 star. Barely a 3 star)
Arrived on April 2nd. Very excited. First time at an all-inclusive resort. We are the typical "travel to Florida" folks from Canada. So, this was totally new. We booked this with a wedding group. The couple that were getting married were experienced Dominican travelers and we figured this must be ok, even though it's only a four star. We soon found out that this place was a nightmare. Travel from the airport to the resort was problem free. Check in at 10:30 but no rooms available until 3:00 pm. Luckily, my wife and I brought our swimming suits in our carry-on bags and changed in a washroom there. They did manage to get us a room by noon which was pretty good. The pool was great! Lots of twisty little canals to swim around. Had the swim-up bar etc. However, you may ask for a "screwdriver" at any of the bars and get something completely different (language was an issue).
Rooms
When we walked into our room, it was large and well laid out. Nice tile on the floors, little sitting area with a love seat, etc. The door to the room required slamming to close. We could hear other doors in the complex slamming throughout the stay at all hours of the night as this was the only way to get them to shut. Ours was cracked from this repeated slamming and a piece of wood that broke previously was now taped with masking tape. Behind the nightstand was extensive water damage. We were on the ground floor. The air conditioning worked well. Lots of hot water in the shower - never ran out. Curtains, bedding and furniture were dated. Beds were lumpy and not top quality. Pillows were horrible and lumpy (thank goodness for the all inclusive liquor).
Restaurants and Bars
Oh the restaurants !! Bring one suitcase with food !! We are not high class eaters. MacDonalds is great food compared to the crap they served here. When I saw the chef (using the term loosely) cooking steaks (some sort of grey meat, not nice and brown), I became suspicious as to what it was. It certainly was not beef. It was so rubbery. Then mysteriously, a "beef" stir fry the next night with strips of the same chewy crap. I truly believe they just cut these steaks up and re-fried them the next day. Same rubber. I began to notice people leaving half full plates of food. What a waste of food. Then chicken would be served one night and then some chicken stir fry the next day. We can guess where the chicken came from the next day. The omelets in the morning were edible. However, seeing this sweaty, unenthused chef slop a ladle into a big bucket of eggs and pour it onto a big greasy flatiron grill kind a turned my stomach. I thought I was back in the military. Only difference was, military food was better ! This booking for restaurants was a joke. You could never book for the same night. Yet, when you showed up, lots of empty tables? We argued with one of the staff when we tried to sit at an obviously empty table at 6:30, when our reservation was for 8:30. When we came back prior to 8:30, nobody had even sat at the table (stood around and saw several tables that had not been used). The only two places to eat were the Mexican - get the chicken tortilla and nothing else. Then leave. The other place is the Japanese stir fry. Again, these are so mediocre that they are not worth the trouble or anticipation of waiting two days to eat there. At the Jimmy Buffett, get used to cantaloupe and orange juice at most every meal to fill you. There is so much salt on everything. Basically, bring your own bags of potato chips, chocolate bars, granola bars, something to snack on to get you through the day. The hotdogs and hamburgers are sitting in water all day and rubbery. I think the hamburgers are made with the same rubber meat that doesn't get used at the Jimmy Buffett. There are birds flying in and around the food. They just love to sit on the edge of the bread baskets picking away and shitting. The bars are great. The aren't afraid to put liquor in your drink. Although, you might not get what you asked for. If you stick to rum and coke or something simple, no problem. Once you start asking for "Blue Lagoons" or "Sidecars" etc, it's a hit and miss. Lots of staff around. Very friendly. Drove my wife crazy. She said she didn't want to hear the word "O-la" ever again. I felt that this friendliness was for tips. Not sure. We didn't tip any of the waiters as we were SO upset with the food.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach was one of those drop off type where the water smashes into the shore. It was wavy, but, actually made it fun and an alternative to the lazy pool atmosphere. Like going to a wave pool. It was not deep and on calm days, snorkeling was possible and pretty cool. The coral is dead from pollution I suspect. It's all brown. No colorful stuff like Hawaii. There are a few fish to see. Nothing spectacular. They have rinse off showers on the beach to get the sand off your feet. That was good to see. The resort offers free SCUBA lessons (about 15 minutes of instruction) in the pool. Very scary. Not sufficient at all - I was a certified diver and know that it took a month to get proficient and comfortable in a pool before going into the open water. IF you wish to SCUBA that is extra. I didn't check on the price. There is not much to do but lay around at the beach. No jet ski, no parasailing, no boating. Just a couple of kayaks. So, be prepared to lay at the beach or the pool and wait for the hunger pains to be sufficient enough to make you WANT to go eat. The pool is very nice. Clean and unique. Twisty little canals all around. Lots of places to lay in the sun, no shortage of chairs. Don't bother getting a towel (using the supplied card) as you will be charged a fee if someone walks off with your towel while you're in the pool. It was so warm there that you dried off within minutes of coming out of the pool. The grounds were ok. Nothing spectacular. Well kept. Clean. Few flowering bushes and trees. But the resort didn't go all out with anything either.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
There are a bunch of kids they have hired to do the entertaining. I feel so bad for them. They try to get people to play the most basic of games around the pool. Tossing water balloons between guests getting progressively further away, with the last person with an intact balloon wining a prize. Or throwing darts at balloons with prizes listed on a piece of paper inside. It's like being at a little kids birthday party. Pretty bad. The evening entertainment is laughable. These poor kids practice all day to do a "Village People" or "Michael Jackson" routine. Or some other dated act. The costumes are so old. I watched one night of this and then was in bed by 9:30 or 10:00 each night as there was nothing to do there. Don't even go to the casino. I heard the odds are so bad, you might as well just walk in the door, hand them the money you planed to spend and leave. Off the resort, Sosua is a great place to go if you like "Dollar-Store" junk and being followed around by sad looking people looking for money. It's like being on the phone with a telemarketer but you can't hang up until the bus comes back to pick you up four hours later ! There are kids walking around with shotguns. Very comforting. Nothing to see here folks. We also made the mistake of spending $220 to go on a catamaran trip (Tip Top). The trip to the "coral" took two hours. Then, you should have seen the dead, brown clump they took us to. Oh my God ! What a waste of money. It was the same stuff to see at our resort for free. Then for lunch it was a bunch of cold cuts and fruit. Very basic, worth about $5. They were charging a buck for small bags of chips (like you hand out at Halloween). Not free. Then we dropped anchor in Sosua and could snorkel again to cool off. Then back to or departure port. Other parties in our wedding group went on the four wheeling trip. The buggies broke down so often, they pushed them so far, that the staff gave them their money back.
Other Comments
This place is on it's way out. Don't go. It's in the middle of nowhere. Nothing to do but lay around the pool or beach. No food worth eating. It's not even worthy of a 3 star. STAY AWAY. Wait until the new management/owners take over in a year or two. Then check Debbie's Dominican Travel to see if anything has improved. What a nightmare. As this was our first Dominican trip, we have decided it will be our last. I'm sure there are other fine resorts there. However, I'm sticking to the good ol' USA ! I feel safer there. Clean. I like the idea of going to different restaurants each night when I want to go, not when someone tells me. (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Applebees, MacDonalds, Dennies, etc, etc, etc). Also, picking a nice hotel/motel on the beach. Going out in the evenings to some real entertainment. Maybe go to the mall on a rainy day. See a theme park. So, resorts are not for us. Sticking to Florida for our winter get-a-ways. Lesson learned.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Earl ~ Ottawa |
April 2009
Arrival: March 12 - 19
We arrived on a beautifful day around noon. Since we were in Peurto Plata before we knew not to let the porters take our bags for the 10m walk to the shuttle bus.
Rooms
We had 3 rooms as we were a family of six travelling. Rooms were clean butr perhaps a little outdated. We had a room in Biulding 7 .. but more on that later :-)
Restaurants and Bars
There really are only two places to eat during the daytime .. Jimmy's Buffet ( main one) and by the beach. Both were fine and everyone was able to find something to their liking for breakfast and lunch. The "a la carte" restaurants were great except for the Mexican one. The Mexican one had a great desert but nuked food for main course. The French restaurant offered a wonderful atmosphere and food to match. Try the stuff mushrooms ... absolutely tiny but delicious. The kids loved the Japanese soshi restaurant the best.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
As usual, lots of red and black flags most of the week. The pool was fine but with a lot of clouds that week perhpas a little on the cool side. Did not seem to stop many from going in thou.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
No tours this time as we did lots last year in Punta Cana. We did walk down the beach as far as we could, followed by an armed securioty guard. At one point he siad " no mas" and we turned around. He was great and let us take a picture with him and the sawed off shotgun. We also played gold on the par 3, 9 hole. Also my first time playing tennis on clay courts. Very cool. Kids played enough volleyball to last a year. Evening shows were lots of fun as one of our new friends won " best couple" in the show and all had a great time. We also wnet into town and wnet to Sousa beach. That beach is every bit as spectacular as what is found in Punta Cana.
Other Comments
My Father-in-law came with us and age is starting to show. HE could not climb the stairs to the 3rd floor in building 7 ... we asked the folks at the front desk to move him and only option was one of the beach villas. Wow, 65 feet from the water, facing the ocean and nothing but palm trees in between. Unfortunately he forgot where he was at and next day we asked and he was moved again to a new beachfront villa closed to the beach bar. Again, he got lost and now the resort proposed moving us (4/6) into a Junior suite on the main level of Building 7. This comprised of two stories, each with a full bedroom / full bath and tv, fridge and micorwave. I cannot overstate how accomadating the staff were at the resort. They did everything possible to ensure we enjoyed our vacation. With some TLC, the actual physical part of the resort could go back to being a 4+ or 5 star as the beach is private, layout very easy and accessible to all amenities. Lastly, did I mention the staff were FANTASTIC ... we love the Dominican, third visit in three years, all to different resorts.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Greg ~ Maine, USA |
March 2009
Vacation Photos
Vacation Photos #2
Arrival: March 19 - 23
First off - We are first time Dominican Republic vacationers! Arrival at the airport and greeting by the *pre-booked tour company (Isaira Tours)was PERFECT. I did learn later that we could have saved time by pre purchasing our Tourist Card at JFK Airport - thus no waiting in line after getting off the plane in Puerto Plata. Make sure you have $10 CASH for the card (one time fee). No problems at all at airport. Our tour driver took us right to Breezes Resort and gave a ton of verbal information about "Do's and Don'ts". Martin Espinol was great. Our Arrival at Breezes was just fine. The Porter instructed us to go directly to the front desk, check in and then come back and let him know the room number and he would ensure that our bags were brought directly to us. The front desk was very busy and yet we were greeted immediately and with enthusiasm! All questions were answered and we were on our way to a great vacation. Indeed the bell boy brought our bags up within 3-5 minutes after we got into our room. We tipped him $2US, as he answered additional questions and was quite polite
Rooms
There is the need for some maintenance (mainly cosmetic from what I saw) at this resort. But nonetheless - it is beautiful! Our room was clean and had a King size bed (a must for a couple!)... Bathroom was sufficient, closet space was more than adequate with hangers already there for our clothes, room safe was used and appeared to be quite secure. We did not have any "security breaches" or items stolen from our room. Indeed we left our room several times with my wallet out in the open (no money in it though!) but we did not have any problems. Our room (Building 4, room 4101) face the Pool area and was quiet with a great central location to all ammenities. I highly recommend this building, but make certain that you are on the side that faces the pool and not the 24 hour Beach Bar side. This beach bar is the hub of noise after 11pm or so
Restaurants and Bars
We ate at Jimmy's Buffet every night accept the last night. The last night we ate at the French Restaurant. Get your reservation EARLY. The reservation desk (for Italian, Mexican, French) is located at the entrance to Jimmy's Buffet. I believe it is open for making reservations from 7am to 3pm daily (*GET THERE EARLY)! Jimmy's buffet was a great place to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast - Usually with the custom omlet and fruit. Lunch - Tried it all, but liked the Pasta Salads the best. Their hamburgers were known as mystery meat and I did not like the taste at all (and I am not a picky eater by any means!). Dinners- I loved the custom Pasta Dishes, you combine your ingredients (like tomatoes, ham, onions, ect) and hand the bowl to the chef, then you chose from a cream sauce (like alfredo) or a meat sauce like a spaghetti sauce, he cooks it all up and it is awesome! They (at dinner) had a different meat that they were carving for you and serving off the bone.
Great Ham by the way! The French Restaurant was just like being at home at a 5 star Restaurant. Service was just perfect. I recommend that you arrive 30 mminutes prior to your actual reservation time. I do not fully understand their reservations, but we had one for 9pm, and were told to be there 30 minutes early! Well we got there 20 minutes prior to our reservation time and we almost did not get a seat (although there were plenty of seats in the dining room). We did get seated and were treated like royalty!
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The pool and grounds were imaculant! Crews were constantly doing the grounds keeping and the pools were cleaned/vaccumed each night after they closed (at 6pm). The beach (keep in mind that this hotel is on the North Coast and subject to high winds and seas) was great except for the fact that it was too rough to go into the water. We did venture in on our last day and enjoyed it. We spent half a day exploring the beach. I was disapointed in one area (far left just prior to rocky area) that had a tremendous amount of garbage on the woodline. I think the locals use this for partying??? There were plenty of beach chairs at the pool and beach. BUT, if you did not get the two that you needed by 10am, you may be out of luck. But I will say that people were constanyly cycling from the pool area, so you don't have to wait long. When you check in you are giving two plastic cards to be used for beach/pool towels. Get these right away and then first thing the next morning - go out and mark your claim of pool or beach chairs! Make sure that you bring the towels back (they will give you fresh ones each day). On your last day simply return the towels back and get your cards back. If you do not have your cards at check out, they will charge you $20USD for each towel
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We took the free shuttle into Cabarete and spent 3 hours haggling with the "vendors". At the end of the day we discovered a shop (on left side of street across from Irish Pub) that had EVERYTHING in it and then some more. The prices were alot lower than that of the Vendors on the street and beach. We did have some fun haggling with the vendors though! A simple "no thank you" and constant walking by worked. Dont stop and stare or pick up something unless you are READY to talk price! LOL! We also spent one day in Sousa. I liked Cabarete much more than I did Sousa. I learned that on Sundays the locals go to the beach at Sousa and there is not a speck of sand left to be seen! Vendors are much more aggressive here. I can say that we have been to sousa, but I don't desire to go back to there. Perhaps in a "tour" mode it would be better? Tried to go on the fishing trip with "Gone Fishing", but the weather was too rough that day. I would like to do the Horseback Riding next time, along with the fishing trip of course!
Other Comments
I do not recommend going into the Casino at Breezes. It is very small and does not offer very good odds at all. There are also Hustlers in there just ready to offer you great odds and then all of a sudden - you have spent $100 or more and you have no idea how it went that fast. I know how to gamble at casino's and I almost got taken! There was hardly EVER anyone in the Casino while I stayed at this resort. The staff is great at Breezes. I only had one complaint and that was in reference to the inability to call back to the United States. I finally figured out to call the front desk - ask them to connect me with the Operator and then ask the operator how much for 5 minutes call... Ended up costing me only $3USD for 5 minutes and they charged it to my room. I did immediately go down to the front desk after my phone call and verified the charged amount and then paid it in full, getting a receipt.
The tiles and stones that make up the pool patio, walkways, ect... are VERY SLIPPERY. I fell once and I saw numerous people almost fall (I did manage to save my drink, and my girlfriend blamed my fall on the liquor intake!!!). The Rum was great, Mamajuana was the drink that kicked my butt though!, (It is a combination of their rum and honey and some other herb ingredients). Buy your liquor out in town (for those of you that want to bring some home). We did and we saved alot of money in doing so. The Brugal Rum (dark) was incredible!
MONEY - I recommend, based on my experience and watching/listening to others, that you bring a minium of $10 one dollar bills for each day that you are staying. You will be tipping (discreetly, so as to not get them in trouble) the waiter of your chose (not required, but I can't imagine these people get paid very much), I also tipped the bartender a couple of times during the day (just a buck each time), I also put $1 on my pillow each morning for the maid(s). The exchange rate at Breezes Cambio (located in lobby entrance) was the same as it was out in town at a local bank, but Breeze's did charge a percentage fee (low, though I can't remember exactly what it was). We used US dollars every where we went. Most vendors out in the town areas would give an exchange rate of 32 dom pesos to a US dollar (I did get 34 pesos to the US dollar out at a Bank Cambio in Sosua. I found that everything in Sosua and Cabarete were marked in Pesos and you had to rely on the calculator "skills" of the vendor to give you the conversion! Highly recommend that you bring a calculator of sorts to ease your mind. Soon enough you get the general conversion down in your head. Breeze's was a fine resort that commends 4.5 stars from our visit! Job Well Done! Feel free to email me for pointers or just general questions. Greg (Newcastle, Maine, USA)
Oh, yeagh... we are DEFINETLY going back to the Dominican and will most likely go to a resort in Punta Cana (more to say that we had been there and experienced it... not to mention the fact that the water/beaches are supposed to be better)
g_dunican@yahoo.com
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Patty and Wayne ~ Winnipeg, Manitoba |
March 2009
Arrival: Feb 24 to March 10
Our flight was very good out of Canada, arriving in Puerto Plata at three thirty and quickly to the resort . We have been to Breezes before , and it sure looked wonderful to see again. Familiar faces and familiar places.
Rooms
We were given rooms in Building 7, renovated rooms, one king bed, with new sheets and towels . very clean, fridge was stocked, main floor and keyless entry. During our two weeks at this resort, we had hot water everyday. sheets changed everyday, swept and polished and a lovely friendly maid . Pillows were on their last leg, just ask for more..
Restaurants and Bars
The buffett had something for everyone , some days better than the rest. and the a la cartes were just super. Great food, perfect ambiance , friendly, happy people to serve and take good care of you. Don't miss this wonderful experience. These people are there to please you and give you a great time. They will never disappoint. Just fabulous. We enjoyed every one of them. Book early.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The pool is one of a kind. lush trees and plants surrounding the blue, blue water...clean and maintained constantly. Lots of chairs , lots of shade. and sun . Enjoy the hot tubs and slides. The grounds of this resort are lush and lovely . Such an enjoyable walk around . Always being raked, and cleaned.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
There's lots to do on this resort, We used the golf pitch and putt a few times. fun to get those clubs going. Didn't use the gym but it looks great. spa too. The Rock climbing was always in use, We rented a taxi from the resort , and went to Puerto Plata , saw the fort and amber and larimar musuem, great shopping , a beautiful church and centre of town. Lots to see. We had him for most of the day , could have gone anywhere. great price. again. Friendly guy. We especially loved the free shuttle to Cabarete and Sosua. Don't miss the beautiful beach at Cabarete, you'll never forget it.
Other Comments
This resort is showing signs of wear and tear. needs some painting , new chairs and some rooms redone etc. but REALLY. we would go back in a heartbeat, Beautiful Breezes and the wonderful Dominican People . Thankyou for a memorable holiday.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Harry Back 3 ~ Halifax |
March 2009
Arrival
Uneventful flight via A/C the inflight TV in each seat helps pass time quickly, check in was quick and our luggage was delivered to our room. we arrived at 2pm apparently night arrival isn't so great.
Rooms
Our biggest fear was security, however each building has a security guard or Junior Army member who questions each visitor until they recongize you. Very safe! Building 10 looks pretty good, we were on the 3rd floor, very quiet, everything worked, however keep in mind no hot water means no water flows from the tap until 7:30 AM. The shower was exceptional. Bring something to keep the ants occupied, they are the mico versioned ones that are everywhere but don't bite or bother you. We put down pennies and they disappeared.
Restaurants and Bars
Well, the Breezes was a 4 or 5 star, it's now a 3 star, needing paint, repairs, general fix up and a buffet chef. The food at the buffet is not great, the food at the 4 ala cartes is very good and you must book these immediately at 7:30 AM to 2 pm the day of arrival, otherwise you will miss 4 good evening meals! The beach bar is very basic and on day 3 they ran out of fries, the staple food of everyone wary of the buffet, and substituted mashed potatoes. The Bars are great and everyone very friendly and helpful. Waiters were happy and eager to serve.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
the pool is great, the hot tub is hot the lazy river is cold and deep. This resort is huge and be prepared to do alot of walking. The beach is private and vendorless, waves are warm and rolling, the sand is cleaned daily and is the soft brown type, vey nice.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The nightly entertainment is two fold, early evening band that plays easy listening dance music in the large common area meanwhile the kids are doing their coconut dance on the big stage. At 9 pm the shows start with good quality entertainment.
Other Comments
If the buffet food was improved this resort would rate 4.5 stars with my experience, I'd go back at a 3 star price or guarantee of 7 nights Ala cart.
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Ann ~ Canada |
February 2009
Arrival: Feb 4 - Feb 11
This is my second time trying to post my review, first review did not post Arrived via Air Canada from Halifax. Flight ok though 5 hours late
Rooms
The furniture and bed sheets in room old and worn looking. Clock radio, tv , toilet, lights not working on arrival. Calls to guest services finally fixed toilet. There were plenty of towels the first day but got less and less every day until we had absolutely none! Many calls to front desk, guest services to obtain towels. No towels last 2 days. Beach towels came in handy. We did not change rooms as we started to hear people changing rooms many times to find conditions worse. Leaking roofs, bugs in room, flooded rooms, no hot water, phone not working to call for assistance. We had brown water to shower in for most of our stay. The maids did the minimal while cleaning rooms. Water usually stocked but not coke or sprite. We tipped the maids well but the service got worse and worse every day. One exception though was the maid who cleaned lobby bathroom, she did a wonderful job and always had a smile. Guest services was always busy with lineups(what does that say?) People were unhappy with services provided at this hotel. Every day we would talk to fellow canadians and hear how unhapy they were with the resort. Then we started hearing about robberies on the resort and our building. People's safes and rooms broken into, money, cellphones, ipods stolen. We did not feel safe at all! Many stories that the resort did not care and denied it. We finally opted to take all money and passports with us when we went out. This gave us some peace of mind.
Restaurants and Bars
Food recycled from evening before and offered nothing of taste. We used the pasta bar alot and omelettes in the morning at Jimmy's buffet. Food low quality. There were a la carte restaurants but good luck getting into them. The servers most times would not let you in even if people didn't show up and empty tables. Service in buffet not good. Difficult to get a coke in the morning or a coffee. Sometimes we got up and served ourselves. Bring lots of snacks with you. There were some friendly servers at the lobby bar but also some just looking for tips. There was not alot of fresh fruit for drinks and sometimes the bar ran out of mix and alcohol. One thing we didn't like was the wasps flying around everywhere landing on the taps for drinks.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The pool is quite large and certainly a focal point of the resort. We never used it as it rained every day during our stay. Too bad. The beach was dirty and littered with plastic cups, cigarette butts etc. Not too much attention to cleaning. It was rough every day but people did swim at their own risk. Also, if you like to take long walks on the beach, this is not the beach for you. It is very short.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The animation team on this resort was not very good. They did not seem organized and did nothing to relieve the boredom of the guests. It rained our whole vacation and no extra activities were planned while everyone sat under big tent. Many days we went back to our room to watch tv or take a nap until evening. The dancers though did a wonderful job in the evening show. We looked forward to their show every night. Thank god for them. We tipped them well for this.
Other Comments
We went to Breezes to enjoy relaxtion and sun. We read the reviews of this resort prior to leaving and thought it can't be that bad, well we were wrong! We are not picky people. This was my first trip south and my siter has been to the Dominican and Cuba many times before. Overall, we were really unhappy at this resort. We think it must be closing it's doors. I can't believe it is part of Superclub Breezes. We actually had thoughts of going home mid vaction but we stuck it out thinking it would get better. My advice, go elsewhere! We still need a vacation from this vacation! Also I would advise all people who stayed here at Breezes and were unhappy write a review! It would be nice for other vacationers to know the truth about this resort so they can book elsewhere. This is not a 4 star more like a 2-2.5 star resort. Good luck on your vacation.
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February 2009
Arrival: January 22
Rooms
Clean. However, in the last week of my stay as I was there for 2 weeks, I found cockroaches in the bathroom. Although it was fumigated twice, I saw these disgusting bugs still running around the bathroom sink.
Restaurants and Bars
The service has deteriotated since my last visit from the previous year. You can get the same food the next day and the menu was basically the same over the 2 weeks I was there. I also found that dusting of the mail bar in the lobby was done prior to the opening which should not be.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Well kept
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
There were no activities for you to take part in especially on the rainy days. I went to my room and looked at TV instead. There should be a co-ordinator to find things for guests to do on when there is inclement weather.
Other Comments
The standard at Breezes has dropped from the previous year I was there. Management has to be fumigated all the rooms in the off season to get rid of the bugs and ensure additional activities are added such as archery, etc. Also the food could be improved and not be recycled.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Gisele |
February 2009
Myself and my wife are frequent travelers to Breezes resorts {Jamicia,Bahamas} so we decided to try the Dominican,well the Peurto Plata Breezes resort is the worst excuse of a Breezes ever.I would say it is a two star resort.Why you ask?Well when we arrived we found our room to have two single beds,great if you like to sleep by youself,so we go to the main desk and they upgrade us to another room,when we get to the next room there is already someone in the room,so we go back to the main desk and tell them the situation,they give us another room,this time the new room is empty.So we move our luggage to the new room {no porter} by ourselves.The new room is a little better,but very noisy,also there was ants and spyders in the room,no stalked fridge like they had told us,the bed was as hard as the ground,there was no face clothes all week and the towels were far and few between.So after we get settled in we go for a walk to the beach,as we were walking along the buildings we see raw sewage coming out of a pipe along the building,very discusing.Then we notice there were no chairs to be found on the beach,{not enough chairs for the amount of people at the beach}The food aso had to be the worst,we had one good meal all the time we were there.I would not recommened this place to anyone.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Wayne ~ Canada |
February 2009
Arrival: January 30,to February 13
We flew Air Transat out of Toronto. Travelling J Class was just what we needed for my son who is disabled using a wheelchair full time. Arriving on time at Puerto Plata the airport staff were great help at getting us off of the plane, through Customs and to the bus taking us to the resort. Check-in at Breezes went quickly and we were off to our room in short order.
Rooms
We requested a Junior Suite on the first floor that was Handicap Accessible for our son. It was a nice room with all the needed accessories in the washroom for him. There were plenty of grab bars around both the bathtub and toilet. The only problem was the washroom door was not wide enough to allow his wheelchair through. The room my wife and I got was another thing. The door was open when we got there, buckets and mops just inside the door and water raining from the ceiling. We returned to the lobby and requested another room and were given one quickly in the next building. The two Junior Suites that we had were very roomy, kept clean, had a king bed and a pull out couch, a fridge stocked with pop and water, a walkin closet and two dressers. The Washroom was large and stocked with soap and shampoo. Over the tub was a clothes line. The water was generally warm and hot late in the afternoon, so we could have a good shower before dinner.
Restaurants and Bars
Jimmys Buffet is a long setup and devided into three serving areas with a good selection every day. Off to one side for lunch and dinner was a pasta bar which we enjoyed. The service of the staff was great and friendly. After the first day we would find a table and go to get our food and when we returned to the table we had drinks from the bar already waiting for us. We only went to two of the ala carte's. The Italian and the Mexican. The French was on the second floor above the Italian and only accessible by a long staircase, so they could not accomodate us with my sons wheelchair. All of the bars were very good with friendly staff who served my son without him having to wait very long. We really enjoyed the swim-up pool bar and the beach bar that was open 24 hours. At the lobby bar there are two wide screen tv's where we watched the Superbowl. The drinks were generally pretty good. The bartenders seemed to become more generous with the alcohal as the day progressed. We took our Bubbas with us and they would sometimes fill them more than halfway with alcohal.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach is quite nice, but we used the pool mostly because of the weather. It was breezy and we had six days of rain. The ocean was very rough most of our stay. My wife and I enjoyed several long walks along the beach. The pool was great. It has two main swimmimg areas and a long lazy river around the whole thing. There are four hot tubs. Well only one is hot and very popular. There is a small kids pool with air jest in it. In the main area there are two waterslides, waterpolo, basketball and volleyball. The pool bar has several seats under an roofed in area and two pool tables where many people would stand anround and party all day. During the rainy days the action crew sat around and did nothing. Didn't even try to have fun with the people who came down to the pool. The grounds were kept in good condition even with all of the rain we had. The pool was cleaned every morning.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
There is lots of things to do everyday. There is a trapeze, rock climbing wall a skating rink that is really a plastic floor that had many ball hockey games. There is a basketball court, two tennis courts, a nine hole chip and putt golfcourse and a soccer field. The evening shows are fun for both kids and adults. We participated in one show during our stay. We had a walk through the Casino one night. It looked pretty good, but I am not really into that kind of entertainment. We used the free shuttle to go into both Sasoua and Caberete to look around and go shopping. We found a Liquidation Store in Caberete that had good prices and you didn't have to barter for deals. Everything had a price tag on it. The stores on the resort were very expensive. We have been to this area of the Dominican, so we didn't go on any tours this time.
Other Comments
We found that the Resort was more than 98 percent filled with Canadians. Had a great time meeting people from all over Canada. The layout of the resort was easily accessible and we would deffinately return.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Diana ~ London Ontario |
February 2009
Arrival: Feb. 5 - 12
Skyservice flight and baggage pickup were very good. Bus trip to the hotel was very good. check-in was at 3:00 as stated.
Rooms
villa room 3003 horrable. Strong mildew plus smell, gloomy and very damp. Went straight to complain and wanted a differnt room. We decided we even wanted a different hotel after having time to walk around because our check-in was after 3p.m. It was late and Angel said to come back after 11a.m. the next day and we could discuss moving. He did find us another room that we felt we could at least stay in. Had difficult time getting our luggage to room. It was around 8p.m. before this was done and we could finally go out to find food. My husband stepped on what he thought was a pebble by the bed tried to rub it of on the top of other foot and instant blood because it was a hunk of glass. He gave himself quite a nasty cut. The water in our room was very brown for three days, we had NO hot water and the door to the outside had to be slamed for it to close. The toilet ran and made other crazy noises which we complained about at the front desk. Nothing was done during our stay
Restaurants and Bars
We were suposed to be able to book 4 ala cart resturaunrs. we were able to book the Mexican and finally for our last evening the Japanese.The girl at the bookings was always telling us they were full, come back tomorrow. We saw at night that they were not full. When on vacation you normally have better things to do than constantly beg for something you are intitaled to. In our case it wasn't too bad it gave us something to do! Bees were at the pool bar big time. They were always out of limes. Drinks were not the best,Beer was good. Buffet was not good. Pulled a piece of net like cloth out of a muffin. Thought it might be a piece of hair net but after eating there a few time decided they wouldn't know what that was. Ate to survive
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Grounds dirty, cups blowing around . others full of bees. Pool looked very nice. No problems here at all. The layout of the pool was a very nice attraction.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Activities limited to the rain. Found there were no back-up programs in place. We needed to hear music and see some smiling faces this might have helped us through all the rain. We have been on all the tours offered but the rain kept us from doing them again. The ocean was so rough every day boating was out of the question.
Other Comments
Due to rain leeking through the roof there were huge puddles on the slate tile causing very slippery conditions and no-one seemed ready to get it mopped up. Putting a sign up was not the right way to look after the saftey of the guests. The luggage was a problem because of lack of porters and in some cases the long distance that was necesary to lug them.We were on the third floor and we are seniors so it was quite a difficult time getting them to the main lobby We have tried to complain to Breezes and our e-mail was fist on delay and then was failed so we can't find a way to tell them directly how we feel. We will not return to a Breezes again.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Bonnie ~ Northern Ontario |
February 2009
Arrival: Jan 29th to Feb. 5th
No problems at all.
Check in wasn't until 3pm, but we knew that ahead of time
Rooms
DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING OF VALUE IN YOUR ROOM UNLESS IN THE SAFE!!! I will explain below!
Although we only paid for regular rooms, we were upgraded by guest services (thanks Leslie) to the ocean front villa's, three of them side by side.
Gorgeous view.
Villa's themselves are in very rough shape.
Broken sinks, mouldy tubs... badly in need of repairs.
Lots of tiny spidrs too...
Mine was missing an interior door lock... took 3 days to have one installed.
Thankfully you don't spend much time in the rooms!
Maids did a great job cleaning, and my fridge was always well stocked... although I also tip well and bring gifts as well!
Restaurants and Bars
Jimmy's buffet was good... lots of repetition in the food, but you could always find something to eat.
Service was excellent!
Pasta/Paris/Mexican were all good.. didn't eat at Japanese.
Booked when we arrived the first afternoon... had no trouble getting in at all.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Red flag almost everyday... one yellow.
Beach is kept clean though.
Pool is cleaned continuously.
lots of chairs, never had a problem finding an umbrella either, although they do need some repairs!
THere was a lot of wind when we were down, so the ground crews were kept very busy rakeing up the leaves and such.
Flowers were lovely!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We went to Sosua Beach, and to Cabarete... both were great.
We went scuba diving one day through the hotel, and our teens loved it!
Also did the Free style Cats... and had a great time.
Other Comments
One of our rooms was robbed while the room was occupied. A Blackberry was taken off the charger while the occupant was in the bathroom. Yes the door was locked! When security investagated, they called the phone and had a nice chat with a spanish woman, got a name and everything... nothing ever came of it except the $90 bill for the call when we got home!
My room was entered three times at night while I was in the room... I yelled each time and the door was immediately closed. I did not feel safe here at all.
Although we enjoyed our vacation, (I believe that you can make or break your vacation)I will not return to Breezes, and will NOT recommend it to anyone.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Glenn ~ Prince Albert, Saskatchewan |
February 2009
Arrival
Check in was prompt and our room was ready for us.
Rooms
The rooms are showing some signs of age (some water stains, chipped paint, etc) but nothing seriously wrong. We didn't have to pay a deposit on the safe which was nice. The beds were firm, but quite comfortable. There was no clock in the room so you should bring an alarm clock.
Restaurants and Bars
The buffet was not a five star quality, but we always found good stuff to eat. I found the beef a little tough, so I stuck to the seafood or chicken. The pasta bar was also very good. The a-la-carte restaurants were good but could be hard to reserve.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The pool was great as was the beach. There were staff throughout that were constantly cleaning. The weather was poor throughout our stay and the ocean was red flagged throughout - it was still fun to play in the waves, but no kyaks or boogie boards.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The animation staff seemed a little hit and miss. They were great when they got an activity going, but didn't repeat activities often enough. The rock climbing and trapese were fun, but not promoted enough. We took the shuttle into Cabarete and enjoyed our trip. We had been told that the vendors are not as agressive as at Sasoua. Prices and selection were good as the Liquidation store but many vendors have caught on and call out 'liquidation' trying to get you into their store. We had food and drinks at the irish pub which was very good and you get to watch the beach where there are lots of kite boards and wind surfers.
Other Comments
Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and raining most of our week. Being in a resort where many of the tourists as well as the staff were very outgoing and friendly definitely helped make our stay an enjoyable one. No matter where we went there always seemed to be someone happy to visit with us.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Patricia ~ Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
February 2009
Arrival: Feb 5 - 12
The bus from the airport was fine, the greeters were very nice, rooms were to be ready at 3 but we didn't get them until almost 4. Staff was unfriendly and quite curt.
Rooms
Terrible - dirty. Two small beds on wheels shoved together. The bedding was gross. We couldn't seem to get clean towels on any day. The coffee maker was disgusting but they wouldn't leave coffee anyway. Ask for water or pop and you might get one bottle. The ceiling leaked like a sieve. The bathroom was disgusting and by day three the water in the sink, toilet and shower was a strange brownish colour. I understand that there was a tropical storm but come on. The maids did a terrible job of cleaning even though we tipped and left small gifts (even though there isn't supposed to be tipping it is expected)
Restaurants and Bars
The Buffet was terrible. Reheated food from one day to the next, the bread was so stale you couldn't eat it and whatever they serve for butter/margarine tasted like lard. You would expect lots of fresh fruit and veggies - wrong!! At breakfast you could get freshly made omelets and eggs but everything else was pretty gross. Lunch was more of the same, dinner - no variety to speak of and we are not picky eaters. Each of us got sick from one thing or another. The bars ran out of rum, tequila, vodka and mixes. The a la cartes were very hard to book but we managed the Japanese which was good and the Italian which had some pretty awful food except for the chicken.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The grounds keepers were pretty busy but the area around the pool was swarming with bees - one of our group is deathly allergic but that didn't seem to bother any of the staff.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We were a group of 16 and had planned this trip so we could all be together for some sun and fun. It rained every day but that certainly was not anyone's fault. The staff did nothing to alleviate the boredom. Good thing we had each other. We had trouble getting dry towels for the pool and when we did get them were worned not to take them to the pool because there was too much rain.
The morning and afternoon activities were so lame that even the youngest of the group was bored with them. A couple of the evening shows were pretty good and worth attending. We went on a Jeep Safari Tour - the jeep turned out to be an old truck with some seats bolted on and a very leaky canvas roof - they took us through a shanty town (supposed to be the jungle)on what were the worst roads imaginable (we all had bruised backs thanks to this) and then to a school where they tried to sell us stuff - then to a cigar factory which was really a shed where they tried to sell us the darnest junk - then we went for lunch which was the best food we had while there (if you could overlook the starving dogs wandering in and out and a toilet that defies description). We then went to the beach for horse back riding (which is what we really wanted), we got on some poor old horses with broken saddles, went for 5 minutes down the beach and back - and that was it for the ride. Then we stopped at another beach - all of this in the pouring rain. When we mentioned it to the tour operator on our return she told us they never had complaints - funny, everyone on the tour was very angry about the tour. We also went into Cabarete and found Jose O'Shea's which was pretty neat. The shop keepers are the pushiest people I've every met and this is not our first trip to the DR.
Other Comments
The floors were so slippery we had two mishaps where one of us ended up on crutches and the other had to have her ankle wrapped.
The Club VIP group hounded us during our stay trying to get us to buy into the program - 25, 50 or 100 vacations with Breezes. Believe me none of us will ever set foot in another Breezes hotel. 4 Star my foot!!!! I'll stick to the Bahia Principe San Juan.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Kimmie ~ Sudbury, Ontario |
February 2009
Arrival: Jan 29- Feb 5th
This was our second time at Breezes, we went 4 yrs ago. This time I booked the trip here because of traveling with 9 others (2 other couples, 2 teens, 3 children).
Check in was fine, the staff was great and prompt, I didn't expect our room to be ready when we arrived but they were.
Rooms:
We we're all placed in Villas, the rooms are outdated a bit, but as long as I had running water, a washroom, a place to change and a bed to sleep in WHO CARES!!! You're in Dominican!!!
First time there, we did have 2 single beds pushed together, but this second time, all 4 rooms had actual King sz beds...which we're great!
Minor details like toilet running, power going out, fridge stopped working did happen, but nothing bothered us? It's what you make of your vacation, and it depends on how positive you are!!!
I did have a water problem, but noticed that they were working on plumbing outside the villa next door, I called the front desk and a plumber was at my door in no time. He instructed me to go and check my water and all was fine!
Restaurants and Bars:
I love Jimmy's buffet, breakfast was wonderful, DOMINICAN coffee is the best!!!
Jose DeLa Cruz was the greatest dinner employee ever! He catered to our table and I think he actually watched for us as we arrived for dinner. He always hugged the women, shook hands w/ the men and paid lots of attention to the kids.
Coco's was good as well, although I didn't eat too much meat there, others in our party did! No problems...They have a sandwich press and you can make grilled cheese sandwiches (which was big w/ the kids), but you have to leave it in the press for longer than usual to get it nice and gooey...again nothing to complain about!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
No complaints here what so ever, there is no garbage lying around either!!!
I am a smoker and actually felt bad putting my cigarette on the ground!!!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The animation team was not active this trip at all....I watched on a few different days and when something would be a hit, they would only do it once, ie: water balloon game, if it goes well, then do it again. I noticed several times, girls would hang out around there waiting to do some dancing and not much would go on, sort of dispointing =( We did Karaoke on Sunday night in the piano bar area, it was great, so much fun, people were getting up dancing and it seemed to be a big hit, but then all of a sudden it ended? Again if something is going well....keep it going!
The shows were wonderful and we looked forward to them every night! We actually debated on canceling out Paris reservations to watch the show on our last night there, we know of others that did. Saul gets you really involved and it's a great time laughing at people you know on the stage!!!!
Other Comments:
I would definitely go back to Breezes, I love this resort and your vacation is what you make of it!
I seen others complaining (actually throwing fits) during my stay there and you can't help but shake your head in disappointment....
Enjoy your stay and don't let anything bother your vacation, you will have a much better time this way!
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Kevin and Odessa ~ Nova Scotia |
February 2009
Arrival: Jan 25 - Feb 1
The bus that took us to the resort was very small. We got checked in the first time fairly quickly and the staff was friendly.
Rooms:
The first room they put us in was a Villa (if they tell you that you are in a Villa, decline right away...these are disgusting). We then got put in a room with two single beds pushed together and on wheels, so you couldn't even pretend that it was one bed cause you would end up on the floor between the two. We had to call everyday for towels as the maid never put any in the room. They were never facecloths either, and you can't get any. We left her things everyday but that didn't do anything. The coffeemaker was broken, we called three times and finally someone came to fix it. They tried 4 different makers before they found one that worked. The toilet plugged up at least once a day. The minifridge in the room gets 3 bottles of water, 1 bottle of pepsi, and 1 bottle of sprite. We requested to have more water and unless we caught the maid outside she never gave us any extra. My husband is diabetic so we asked for diet pop in the fridge and they declined this request as well, telling us that they do not offer diet drinks or alcohol in the rooms. We lost power at least 4 times a day as well. It only stayed out a few minutes each time but it was very annoying.
Restaurants and Bars:
Jimmys Buffet - Poor selection compared to other places we have been, the quality was not that good either. They never had diet coke half of the time, but they gave my husband regular coke and passed it off as diet. This really frustrated me. The staff again was very friendly. The Paris a la carte was very nice. Their pizza is very good.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was clean and the workers were there constantly trying to keep up with the leaves and garbage. The pool was very nice. The grounds were clean...too bad they didn't have as much care for the rooms.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We didn't go on any tours. We did take the shuttle into Cabarete twice to go shopping. There is a little store on the same side of the road as ScotiaBank just down a little piece. You will see a set of concrete red stairs and the sign says Liquidation. If you are looking for souveniers, this is the best place to go. Very nice stuff for little money. Also, there is a beautiful beach in Cabarete that you can go to, the are alot of peddlers and they are pushy but it is worth it for the beach.
We went to the shows that they have in the theatre and they are very good. We enjoyed these immensely. There is a performer there named Saul, he is the absolute funniest person ever.
Other Comments:
We will not return to this resort. It is unfortunate that is so rundown because the people there are the friendliest that we have had in the 3 years that we have been going to the Dominican. If they would just put some work into the resort it could be very nice. The rooms are disgusting, the layout is rediculous, and the food needs work.
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Laura ~ Ontario, Canada |
February 2009
Arrival: Jan 23 - 30
The bus that picked us up at the airport was too small, there were not enough seats for the number of passengers. Check in was not until 3:30 but we waited until 4:30 for our room to be ready. I booked 3 rooms on the second floor with king beds but only got 2 rooms on 2nd flr with 2 single beds pushed together and one room on ground flr with a king bed. I was unable to speak with the manager and I am not even sure one existed. There were so many others complaining about their rooms that I accepted what they gave me because at least we were in the newly renovated building.
Rooms:
The layout of the room is nice, our toilet plugged up every evening. Our telephone didn't work. I could dial out but they could not hear me. They changed the phone and the same thing happened. I complained every day and each person at the desk tells you that they have authority to take action but not one person came. In case of emergency I could not call for help. I even redialed the front desk repeatedly to see if they would come after seeing my room number but they just kept hanging up when they couldnt hear me and never sent anyone to investigate.
Restaurants and Bars:
I have stayed in Dominican before so I have something to compare to. The serving staff are always so friendly and helpful. The main buffet was below average in both quality and presentation. When you read of the child who liked the pasta at the main buffet and the fries from the beach bar its because you can at least have the pasta custom made and who can mess up french fries. Thats what I ate too, along with just fried eggs, a croissant and fruit at breakfast. We tried the Mexican and the Paris alacartes, Paris won. The bars were great but understandably ran out of ingredients constantly. "All Inclusive"
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The pool was awesome, the grounds were well kept, the beach was par for the area.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Our trip to Ocean World was great. The horseback riding left us wondering if they used any of the inflated fee to care for what appeared to be malnourished and ungroomed animals. The casino was nice but had alot of machines out of service. I understand it is not owned by the resort. The Disco was not a disco. Their entertainment budget was obviously small judging from the quality of the nightly performances.
Other Comments:
We are "young" middle aged, not picky or hard to get along with, we only want what we paid for. We tip handsomely at every meal and leave things for the housekeepers. Upon checkout I was told that the manager would not be in until 9am. Too bad I was leaving then. No apology about my room, no nothing. I will never go back to this resort and I recommend Bahia Principe San Juan as a "better value for your money 4 star resort".
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Nicolas ~ Montreal |
February 2009
Arrival: January 20 to January 27
great fast within 5 minutes in our room
Rooms:
old need some work, ac not that great also no hot water before 8 am
Restaurants and Bars:
the a la carte restaurant where great for the buffet, jimmys restaurant, things had not great taste . except for pasta and salad, pool bar was great
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
the beach was red flag every day, but the pool is great
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
we went to ocean world with our 8 year old , really expensive to swim with the dolphin but worth the price
Other Comments:
Old destination i recommended this destination and hotel for family, and if you dont want to pay to much, but not in january, we had two full days of rain
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Kim ~ Halifax |
February 2009
Arrival: Jan 18 - 24
We arrived via CanJet from Halifax, our flight out of Halifax left early we arrived at the airport at 11 PM and were at our resort by 12:15ish, we had a very easy check in as there was only about 6 of us checking in. We were taken immediately to our rooms with the help of a bell hop.
Rooms:
We had two rooms one for our kids and one for us, our rooms were further apart then we were comfortable with, so once we dropped our bags we went back to check to see if we could get something closer and the desk clerk asked us to check back in the morning. Which we did and were given new rooms side by side. The rooms were clean, a bit worn down, but we really didnt come for the rooms and spent only enough time to sleep in our room. We had not problems with water, the water was hot every day but one. We actually had to turn off the air conditioner because it was too cool in the room
Restaurants and Bars:
We had great service in every restaurant and bar, can't say a single negative thing about any of it. The food was good , we are all fussy eaters and everyone found something to eat. The kids enjoyed the french fries at the beach bar and the pasta bar at Jimmys Buffet the most. The Omletes in the morning were great
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was excellent, we had red flags up the entire week but it didn't stop us from getting in the waves. Our kids ages 12,14,17 never got out of the water I think if there were not waves we might have had some very bored kids on our hands. We didn't spend much time at the pool because the beach was so fun. But the pool is amazing it rained for three of our days there and one afternoon there was a party in the hot tub, it was so much fun everyone took turns bringing trays of drinks from the bar to the hot tub. A great way to spend a rainy day.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went to Paridise Island- it was awesome a very long bus ride however, but we had a great tour driver who spend the entire two hours talking about the country, in both french and english I was very impressed. Amazing for us and the kids to realize how many people in the dr live.
We also went on the Puerto Plato Runners Safari Adventure, it was a great way to spend a rainy day. Horse back riding in the rain was a bit uncomfortable but still alot of fun
Other Comments:
I would highly recommend this resort and I find it hard to read some of the less then perfect reviews on your site. We found the employees friendly, happy and helpful. The entertainers each night were great and they took time during and after the show to talk to us and others. I felt save at the resort , and even let my kids move around on their own (together of course) we left our bags on our chairs at both the beach and the pool and did not have any issues. The locals when they came were happy, friendly and made the trip even more enjoyable. I will return to Breezes
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Sandra ~ Chicago |
January 2009
Arrival: November 2008
The arrival to the hotel was fine.
Rooms:
Checked in and immediately had to get our room changed - TV was not working.
Rooms were nice. Asked for an upgrade for Beach View. Was given the run-around - Said they were booked but no lights were ever on in some rooms. HARDLY EVER HAD HOT OR WARM WATER. COMPLAINED TO NO AVAIL.
Restaurants and Bars:
The buffet restaurant was a little to be desired. For breakfast it was the same thing everyday until the weekends when they got more people into the resort.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Never could swim in the water off the beach. Always had a caution flag. Had to take the bus to another beach to snorkel.
Other Comments:
Would never go back to this resort.
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Tiffany |
January 2009
Arrival: December 25 2008 - Jan 1 2009
Airtransat was amazing and very fast. Nolitours was amazing to travel with they take great care of their travelers. And are very personable.
Rooms:
Alright, I found sometimes the cleaning ladies would come by very early but they were very nice.
Restaurants and Bars:
the 24 hour snack bar, I arrived at the hotel at 10pm and all that was opened was the 24 hour snack bar… a choice of overdone burgers and fries.. I’m a vegetarian… next I found the people working at the Mexican restaurant to be very rude. We changed our reservation from 2 to 4 people.. and the man freaked out at us when there was no one in the restaurant. He said we could only have a main dish. It was very hard to make reservations for the a la carte restaurants.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
the pools and facilities were great and the very clean
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
breezes dance team were very interactive and made it fun and tried to get everyone involved
Other Comments:
I didn’t like how most of the male workers at the resort would whistle at us and always make rude comments. Also you have to be very careful at night in the resort if you are a single woman walking alone I suggest you be very careful. On the last night I felt there was someone following me back to my room and the next morning I heard of a woman being attacked. There aren’t always guards around.
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Jo ~ Ontario |
January 2009
Arrival: December 25 2008 - Jan 1 2009
Everything went good at the airport a guy asked to carry our luggage we just said no thanks was a little worried that people would be all over you to get your luggage but it was no big deal. Arrived at the Hotel around 12:30 PM thought we might have to wait till after three to get our rooms but no they were ready a man even carried our bags to our room.
Rooms:
The rooms were nothing fancy a little tried looking but okay for what we needed. We were in Villa 10000 which was quite a walked from everything but i didn't mind and everything else in the room worked fine so no sense and asking for a new room. We had two double beds which were quite firm I brought my own pillow. The tv had quite a few english channels. The air conditioning was great we had it set on low and found it every comfortable even a little chilly sometimes. The only problem was the lack of hot water most days it was luke warm 2-3 times including our last day morning there was no hot water at all what a way to end the trip.
Restaurants and Bars:
The food was not great by any means I am a picky eater and realize we are in a differnt country so not that big of a deal. The breakfast was the best getting fresh made omelettes and a t lunch and diner the pasta was pretty good. We missed the christmas diner having got there that day and not knowing we had to book for that night but the New Years Eve diner was very fancy with a lot more selection. We ate at the paris and italien restarants the paris was excellent very fancy. Bars were good lobby bar had the best made drinks I found there slushie drinks not very slushie. They did not have presidente beer I guess times are tight and can't afford it all the other alochol was a classic brand the lobby bar had real international drinks but didn't hand them out too often.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The pool was great the reason I choose this resort, the lazy river was great but 5 feet deep so we ended up buying floaties at the store for $8 US. Beach was great the ocean was rough only the last two days were yellow flag all the rest were red as long as you don't go out really far it is fine to play in the waves.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went to Ocean World which was good but they drop you off in the morning and pick you up at 5:30 which is way too long to be there. It was also about an hour bus ride from the resort
Other Comments:
The resort was okay not the 4 star it claims to be maybe a 3. The young boys in charge of entertainment around the pool were great. We didn't get bothered by timeshares people. There wasn't many locals at the resort either New Years there was a few families came in, I think with it being Christmas holidays the resort was very booked so they didn't have room for locals. All and all it was an good holiday but I would not return to that resort mostly because I would like to travel to different places.
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Wendy & Roberto ~ Ontario, Canada |
January 2009
We flew AirTransat, and wow, have things changed for the better with this airline.
Good food, and more leg room. Thank you AirTransat!
After departing at 6:15am, we were given a Quizno breakfast sandwich, very delicious! We sat in 27A and B. My husband is over 6 feet, and he had lots of extra room for his legs, and the washroom is closeby.
RESORT:
I loved this resort, and would return in a minute, although we try to visit new places every year.
JEWELLERY:
I purchased a pair of blue larimar drop earrings in US cash, 14 k gold, (for cash, they will deal) but be smart about what you buy. One man bought a $70.00 ³Rolex², that fell apart the next day.
A few times a week, they hold a ³craft² fair in the Piano Bar area. Don¹t forget to haggle!
ROOM:
Because we were renewing our vows, we were upgraded by the wonderful Ramone, to ocean view ground floor by the Beach Bar.
Bring some CDs for the CD player. Wakeup calls were made to us, no problem, but bring a battery alarm clock, just in case. If there is a clock in your room, the electricity goes off sometimes, so it¹s unreliable. One time there was no water, so we called the front desk, and they fixed it promptly. Most of the time, the water was warm or hot, rarely cold. We are so spoiled in Canada!
BEACH:
For me, the beach was the best part, rolling waves, and wide open Atlantic Ocean in front of us. The main beach was too crowded, so we relocated to a palapa in front of the Villas by the sea wall. Nice and quiet place for reading, with an amazing view.
The beach staff helps you get your lounge chairs set up on the beach, which is nice.
Last year in El Salvador at the Decameron, our packsack and towels were stolen from our beach chairs; our rep had not told us the Columbians came in for 2 or 3 day visits.
So I was careful not to leave valuables on the beach chairs, but did not hear of any problems at this resort.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE:
There was one little glitch the first weekend we were there, but thanks to Debbies Trip reports, we knew about it, and reserved a la cartes for Saturday and Sunday. The hotel offered 2 for 1 to the Dominicans, and they were there in droves. We heard 500!!!! You could not get near the beach bar for food, and some Canadians had to wait for 2 hours to eat at Jimmy buffet.
The Dominicans can not eat in the a la cartes, so we had wonderful meals, and were not crowded.
This was an isolated incident, and the next weekend was fine, with just a few locals, but the hotel does offers 2 or 3 etc day stays to Dominicans, so the locals are always coming and going.
FOOD:
We found the food and service at all restaurants was wonderful, NO complaints at all. And we did not get sick at all. It was great over Christmas and New Years, as you needed to reserve for Christmas Eve and Day, and New Years Eve, so we had many more wonderful meals served to us.
24 HOUR BAR: The beach bar, right by the ocean, (at night it is the Mexican Restaurant), is open 24/7. The snack bar offers burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken and delicious fries.
SHOWS: We did not make it to many shows, but I heard they were well attended. They work so hard!
WINE:
The wine was fabulous, Italian white and red. Available at all bars, as well as meals. The waiters would go to other bars to get it, if they did not have it at their bar!!
TIPPING:
We tipped the maid one US dollar daily, and the same at the a la cartes. But we did not feel we had to.
We found all the staff warm and helpful.
VOW RENEWAL:
We renewed our vows after 10 years of marriage, and the Wedding Coordinator Yesenia de la Cruz, made it very memorable, complete with a live band, champagne in a bucket, ceremony in location of your choice, special menu at the a la carte of your choice -- we choose the Mexican by the ocean.
The vows they read are beautiful. They set up the table with a huge bouquet and more champagne, and we could stay as long as we wanted. The 3 layer white cake was delicious, and we shared it with many people, especially a warm and friendly group from Scotland, who hugged us and wished us well.
The renewal included breakfast in bed!!
We paid a administration fee of $150 US in cash, and brought a copy of our marriage certificate. It was well worth it!
OCEAN:
The Atlantic ocean is a force to be reckoned with! The red flag really does mean danger. Waves are huge and powerful, and can knock you down, even if you are careful. We watched as one man was caught in the undertow on Christmas Day, and had great difficulty getting back to shore. Two lifeguards motioned him in, and he finally did make it!. We also heard of a woman and her son, one who had already gone under the water, they were rescued by a tourist. We did go in, as we love the ocean, but wouldn¹t go past the first wave!
They will not give you boogie boards, with good reason, when the red flag is up. Some bought their own at the local stores for about $25.00 US.
SIDETRIPS:
We visited Sosua for an afternoon on the free shuttle. Make sure you ask when the driver is coming back, as pickup times can differ from the schedule. You can rent 2 chaise lounges for $3.00 US for the day. It¹s about $20 US for a taxi if you miss the bus.
The shuttle to Cabarete was interesting, it was FULL to overflowing, and the same on the way back. There was lots of windsurfing going on.
Harrison¹s Jewellery is here, a reputable place. You can rent chaise lounges for the same cost as Sosua. You can snorkel to the right by the rocks, but we did not. We found the waves strong when we were there.
We took the Camel, Jeep Safari, in our own Suzuki Sidekicks, about 6 jeeps in total. This trip is not for the faint hearted. You drive for about 20 minutes in Puerto Plata, a very scary ordeal. Dangerous passing is a way of life, blasting horns to tell you to get out of the way!
We did make it back safely. Driving is shared with another couple -- 4 to a Jeep. We saw an amazing double rainbow in the hills, and drove through rivers and mud. That part was fun! And they asked us to NOT give candy to the kids, as it only makes them into beggars, rots their teeth, and they could get hurt chasing the jeeps. Some boys actually jumped onto the lead jeep to hitch a ride!
FYI, They sell GatorAid in the pharmacy, ($5.00 US) which I needed the next morning, as I got very dehydrated (electrolytes low?) sitting in the hot sun, even though I wore a hat, and oversized shirt. There is no alcohol offered. Lunch was at a small restaurant in a little Village off the beaten track. You need your drivers license, but did not need to show it. The company insures you, and they warn you that mopeds or people could try to cause an accident with the jeep to collect insurance. Scary, but it did not happen.
WHO WAS THERE:
We met tourists from Scotland, England, Regina, Quebec, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Vancouver, Calgary, USA and even the Jersey Islands.
DEPARTURE:
Departure was seamless -- we got to the airport on time, no line up, and we got the same great seats as on the way down. Duty free was everywhere, good deals on liquor.
Again, food on AirTransat was delicious.
GENERAL TIPS:
For the hungries at the airport, take your own sandwich or fruit from breakfast (bring ziplock baggies). One small order of fries cost $5.00 US and drinks were $5 US.
There can be sudden downpours, so bring a small umbrella. We also keep a large green bag in our beach bag to keep things dry, just in case. The weather can start out cloudy and rainy and be sunny and bright in an hour.
Ladies, bring a pashmina or wrap for evening. Nights can be chilly, and the a la cartes have the airconditioning quite cold sometimes.
Paris restaurant is the only one that men need to wear long pants. Sandals were fine for men in all restaurants.
A flashlight is helpful for those dark areas going home.
We used only US dollars, as we brought 50 $1.00 bills with us. They don¹t usually have change at the hotel.
There is a supermarket in Sosua where you can buy almost anything, cheaper than at the hotel.
(Supermarket takes US dollars, no problem) The red and white wine the hotel uses, ³De la Casa² is for sale at $3.00 US.
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J & W ~ Milton, Ontario Canada |
December 2008
Arrival: December 6-13, 2008
Arrival went smoothly and quick.
Rooms:
First room they put us in was quite a distance from anything. We asked for an alternate room and was given one closer to the pool. Room was nice but the AC was quite loud. The toilet didn't work either (would not fill) but it was fixed promptly. On the last day, the ceiling in the bathroom leaked; figure there was a leaking pipe upstairs. We reported this and would guess it was also fixed promptly.
Electricity went out a few times but was restored quickly.
Restaurants and Bars:
Very wide selection at the buffet and the specialty restaurants are excellent. Anyone who complains about the food here is nuts; there is something for everyone.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach was excellent. Adequate chairs. Most days there was a yellow flag; just the right amount of waves. There was one red flag day and the undertow was quite strong. Stay out of the water on red flag days unless you're an excellent swimmer.
The pool was also very nice with adequate chairs.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Tours: snorkling $15US/scuba diving $55US with Big Blue; megatruck/horsesback tour $90US; 1/2 day Puerto Plata tour $85US. All were worthwhile and fun. During the Puerto Plata tour, we made a stop at a jewellery store where higher quality jewellery can be purchased at reasonable prices.
Some folks indicated tours can be booked tours cheaper in Sosua or Cabarete - not sure if this is correct.
The daily show was pretty good; same staff performed different acts/shows each night. This seems to be the norm at all the resorts we've visited. Not sure why the entertainment groups don't travel between hotels.
We went before the busy Christmas season so there weren't any kids around. As such the activities staff had a hard time getting participants to partake in daily activities around the pool (dance lessons, water polo, etc), or during the evening shows. Most in attendance just wanted to relax.
Other Comments:
VIP staff approached us several times re time-shares but did not harass us when we said no.
All the staff (bar, waiters, maintenance staff, etc.) were extremely friendly and helpfull.
Merchants in town were very agreessive trying to get us into stores. You need to bargain for everything - if you don't, you'll overpay for items. Best prices were at the 'Liquidation' store in Cabarete. For example, a bracelet selling for $10US in the hotel gift shop is available at local stores for about $5 US and $1 at the Liquidation store.
If you go on any interior tours, kids you meet along the way appreciate candy handouts - not sure they have dental plans so please bring sugarless items:-)
Not many topless women this time around. Although there was one who seemed extremely proud of her God given assets; she had no qualms about parading around the pool or protecting her goods with coconut oil - no complaints, just an observation:-)
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Rachel ~ London, ON, Canada |
December 2008
Arrival: Nov 29 - Dec 6
My boyfriend and I just returned from a week at Breezes (Nov 29 - Dec 6). When we arrived at the hotel we had a super-fast check-in and our room was available immediately. It was 12:00pm and we were shocked because we had expected to have to wait until 3:00pm to get a key to our room. So we were pleasantly surprised.
Rooms:
The room was nothing fancy but it met our needs for the week. It was very clean. Our air conditioning worked all week (though it started making some noise on the last few days), and we didn't have much of a problem with cold showers. There were two days where the shower started out luke-warm, but it always warmed up by the end of the shower.
The cleaning staff did a job well done.
Restaurants and Bars:
The a-la-carte restaurants were great. We ate at 3 of the four restaurants. The chicken parmesan at the Italian was good, the chicken fajitas at the Mexican were great and both the chicken cordon bleu and chicken with cheese sauce were excellent. Most days the buffet was also good. There was lots of selection for the more adventurous eaters. I'm a bit of a picky eater but always found something to fill me up.
The drinks at the bars were a bit weak, but it seems to be that way at most all inclusive resorts I've been too. The strawberry daiquiri at the lobby bar was my favourite (though it tasted more like pink lemonade!). All of the restaurant and bar staff were always friendly and ready to serve the guests.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The ocean at the beach was rough but that was one of the reasons we chose to go to the north coast. I brought my own body board and we had fun riding the waves, even on the two red flag days. The rest of the week was yellow flag and lots of people were having fun playing in the waves.
The pool was incredible! We had fun lounging around, floating on an inner tube and playing on the water slides.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The activities on and off the resort kept us busy all week. We are very active vacationers so we took advantage of everything that was offered. The trapeze was amazing and exhilerating and the staff were awesome. We had some fun climbing the rock wall as well.
We did 3 excursions while we were there. We did the dune buggy tour that operated right next to the resort. Although the buggies were a bit worn down we still had a great time. It was very, very muddy! We also did a jeep safari with 7 of the 27 waterfalls included at the end. Also very fun. The third tour we did was the white water rafting trip into the mountains. Again, we had a great time. We booked the jeep safari and white water rafting trip through Fun Tours in Cabarete. The prices were half those offered by the reps at the resort and well worth the money! We brought some candy and toys for the local children and they were very excited when we threw it to them as we passed by.
At the end of the trip we enjoyed a couples massage at the spa which was very nice and relaxing.
Other Comments:
If you love to get active and get involved, Breezes is the place to go. We didn't tip at all until the very last day of the trip and we didn't find that the service was lacking at all. The only complaint we had all week was with the VIP area. They hounded us to try to buy very expensive vacation packages and had a hard time taking no for an answer, so try to avoid that area if you aren't interested in that type of thing!
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Blair ~ Ontario, Canada |
November 2008
THE BAD
No Phone in the room all week
Food was awful at the buffet
booze was bottom rate (where was the bottle in my room)
Casino a rip-off
roof leaked from the ac in the room
toilet leaked
Red flag on the beach for 6/7 days
They were always out of something Limes, Beer, Pina Colta mix, ice one night.
The people tiring to sell you stuff (Stay away from the vip thing they suck)can't take no for a answer and if they tell you twenty come back with 5
Locals on the weekend not that bad but you do notice a difference in atmosphere once they leave (for the better)
Hot water was not good
The price I paid for what I got
THE GOOD
the restaurants were not bad Paris was awesome, Pastafari was very good, Mexican was disappointing but good,
the 24hr snack bar was good (French fries and DIY grill cheese was keeping me alive for most of the week)
the pool was awesome
grounds well kept
the one day of yellow flag on the beach
topless women lol
the rum
the off resort trips I highly recommend Paradise Island and Ocean World
The shows at night were fun
Mostly Canadians (not sure if it was good or bad I was looking forward to meeting people from other places but most were from Toronto lol)
I have never been anywhere b4 so I had nothing to compare it to, but what the website says and what you got were two different things HAY BREEZES TELL THE TRUTH. I had a wonderful time but I was expecting something first class and got a grey hound bus.
Hotel 2/10
Food 5/10
Grounds and Pool 8/10
Overall 6/10 Would I go back NO WAY
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November 2008
This resort should be closed until they get there act together. We were there for one week from ll14/08 to ll/2l/08. We had to change our rooms because there was no hot water. However, they forgot to tell us that every room had no hot water. Our phone went out the first day and remained out the entire week. The food was awful. The entertainment was terrible. They should close this place immediately.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Shannon |
November 2008
This hotel was a complete dump...
Hotel Rooms-room 8007 mouldy, small, 1 king bed, no hangers, no CD player as stated in broacher, AIR CONDITIONER didn't work & that means for the whole complex 8. Moved to Complex 11 room #11209 room nicer, air conditioner was better but not up to standards. 2 double beds, small T.V. oh, and the radio didn't work as well as the CD player.
Food-was disgusting, same food served every day but just in a different style.
Service Staff-Not friendly and by no means go out of there way to what is asked of them. The maids stole $700.00 from a safe out of anther room of girls. Breezes didn't fix the safe, sorry I should of got the room number but I didn't. Staff is at a bare minimum at this time of year.
Entertainment at night-PATHETIC
Overall-I would put this hotel at a 3 star, the only thing that they have going for them is the "POOL" and that is it!
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Tara66 ~ Canada |
October 2008
Just returned from the Breezes, it has it good points. But more bad ones.
the good
rooms where fresh and clean, food had flavor, POOL! beach, beach bar food, Hot tubs, shuttle service to town for free. Quick check in, Beautiful front lobby
the bad,
not enough lighting at nite to walk around. OUCH poor toes.
The bar drinks. YUck.. you could tell they where watered down. Not very slushie either.
On the 2nd day in the morning the whole hotel ran out of beer. It was 3 hours before any got deliveried. * cheap bottled beer* blah Brahma
Entertainment could use some help. Only watched one show.
Rooms where clean! but no pop in the fridge. By the 3rd day we hung dont disturb sign and grabbed towels every day off the cart. No fancy towel animals. Pretty blah of a cleaning.
Beach bar food was good. But good luck getting quick service for a drink. The waiters where then happy to talk among themselves then to get you a beer.
NO ASHTRAYS ANYWHERE! I am smoker, spent half the time searching for a place to my butts. grrrrrr .. They were giving us small cups of water as astray while sitting at the bar. Thats classy..
WEEKENDS we have learnt from travelling to the 4 times PP to take side trips or hang at the beach on weekends. The locals took over the resort. You cant get near the pool bar. Personally dont know about the buffet then. We go into town to eat.
It was dead when we where there. Everyone that seen my pixs asked where are the people.. did you have the resort to yourself..Well almost it seemed like it, .Max 300 people there . You think its dead, service would be better.. No way. Only time there was day entertainment
was on the weekend. Other then that. If you want to relax not be bothered and not in a hurry to get a drink. This place is for you in October.
Ps to the men. Yes the pitch and putt is free. Bring your own balls. If you lose one. One dollar a piece for something your dog wouldnt play with anymore.
Will i return, 50/50 only if the Bachatta is full . LOL
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
M ~ Canada |
September 2008
Positive
Nice personnel, the entertainment was the best at any of the other Dominican Resorts I have stayed at.
The pool is very clean, the baby pool gets cleaned and new water every night.
The resort is nice all in all. However the staff, another story.
Negative
The rooms are nice but they need to be redone, especially the bathrooms.
No water pressure.
The food was really crappy. Do not bother to go to the other restaurants other than the buffet.
The waiter at the Italian place was drunk, and I am not sure if what I drank was real Tequila at the Mexican place, I still have heartburn a week later.
The guy at the beach who accommodates your seating, is always asking for people to go and get him food from the beach bar, and drinks. He is nice but I find that tacky! Don't be fooled...the do make wages even though they work long hours. So do I, in North America.
The number ONE turnoff!!!!!
THEY ALLOW LOCALS TO VISIT THE RESORT. They are rude, they hate tourists They throw their garbage all over the place and the attention is on the locals because they speak the same language. I was completely put off by this. Watch your bags and don't bring stuff with you that is expensive in any way shape or form.
I heard one guy had to pay a $1000 bond because he apparently touched a young girls behind, and instead of putting him in jail he paid the bond and left the very next day. He and other's who saw the whole thing, (my friend) believe it was a set up. Be careful of the women at the lobby bar! Scammers are everywhere!, including some guy to tried to sell me Cigars for my 14 year old daughter.
The beach is nice but the Punta Cana side is by far the better area for family fun. Puerto Plata is for surfers and for people who like rough waters.
Will we go there again????
NO!!!!!! WAY!!!!!!
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Len and Linda ~ Barrie, Ont, Canada |
June 2008
Arrival and Flight
We flew down on Skyservice, smooth flight, arriving in 3 1/2 hours. No trouble with transfers to hotel at all, and book in was very easy and quick.
Rooms
previously wrote to hotel and requested lower room close to everything because of my husband's arthritic condition. They were very good in accommodating us. Hey, we got the room! Actually, thats not a complete lie, we are in our late 50's early 60's , so not young chickens either. We were on the ocean side, lower floor with part ocean view from our patio/balcony. Actually, this was probably the very best location we could have had. We were in Bldg 4 room 4003, and the rooms 4006 and 4007 have their balacony/patio looking directly at beach and upgraded to small sofa area as well. Ours was just a standard. Our room was smaller than most we have stayed in, however, very clean and kept up daily. It seems the usual in this resort to is to put to standard size beds together to make a king. However, if you ask, you can have a room with king size. It was actually hilarious when trying to read at night by the dim lights in the room, and have your bed keep sliding down from the head board, because they do not bolt it to the wall. Our room only had one chair, with table, and not comfortable for reading. Yes, hydro/electric is not that great for reading, so you may want to take small clip on reading light with you. No problem with outlets, like ours. NOW.......THE BIGGEST PROBLEM.............NO AIRCONDITIONING FOR NEAR 3 DAYS. And, our room and the rest, I think, NO FANS. It was dreadful. Soooooooooooooooooooooooo HOT, just dripping sweat all the time as soon as you walked into room. They have no windows in bathroom either, and only air would be from door or patio. I was hesitating to open most of the time for fear of allowing friendly mosquitoes in. Caught between rock and hard place. My husband complained all of the time to front desk and they assured us they were working on it and it would be done quickly. YEAH RIGHT! Long and short, the whole complex was in the same boat we found out, and it was around the 3rd day the air came back on, BUT NOT STRONG ENOUGH AT ALL. This problem had apparantly been going on for about a week, according to some other visitors at the resort. Long and short of it, nearing the end of our stay, the air seemed to be finally up to par. So, I suppose, if you are going down shortly, should check on this before hand if you can. Other than that biggy, everything else worked just fine. Coffee maker, great working bar fridge, stocked with pop and water daily, no cervesa though, can't do. ugggh A few steps out of one side of our room and we were at beach, soooooooo close with the snack bar right there as well. A few steps out of the other side of our room, and the giagantic awesome pool area. So, like I said, location is absolutely fabulous. Restaurants, just a short walk away as well. I would stay in Bldg 4 again, nothing fancy, but just fine for us.
Restaurants
Jimmy's buffet, great, lots to choose from, too much to mention. My husband is a dessert freak, so went nuts. They have great fish of all kinds, again husband was happy. Beef, anywhere you go, whichever restaurant is very tough. I wish someone would show them how to marinate the toughest of the tough. Found the pork dishes good, chicken and shrimp as well. Our opinion of reserved restaurants.........Mexican our favorite, loved it. had the shrimp and chicken enchilladas. Get the black bean soup too, sooooooo good. Paris, stick to the tenderloin, although, beef, still kinda tough, but okay. Onion soup not bad if you can find it through all the cheese on top. My husband had seafood in pasty, couldn't chew, sooooooooo tough, made up of all tough octopus type stuff and pastry.........well, forget it. Japanese, was okay, but not great, more like simple stir fry you cook at home. They all try though, and are soooooooo happy to accommodate you. Italian, we missed. Beach bar 24 hours, was okay. Good hot dogs, hamburgers, most times had ribs, chicken, meatballs, that kind of thing. Was fine for a snack. Also great to get coffee any time of day or night as well.
BARS........ Lobby bar the best I think, swim up and beach okay too. They are most accommodating to provide anything you ask for
Beach and Pools
WOW!!!! My husband and I put the younger ones to shame in the ocean. Most days, red flag, some days, yellow, never green. Actually, on one day only, waves were toooooooo treacherous and we couldn't even go in. Can count the numbers of people jumping in waves on two hands daily. Such fun though, love it. Yes, the waves are very very high, definetly not recommended for children at all!! Toooooo dangerous. Certain days have stronger undertow than others as well. Our first day there was a massive part of the tree on the beach, the next day, it was way down the beach, sent there by the action of the waves, then the next day................GONE Yes, sand is very hot, wear your flip flops. Beach is a good size with palm umbrellas as well, no trouble getting one most days. Sun very very hot, be careful. Yes, do take thermal mugs for drinks, you'll be happy you did. Pool, awesome, sooooooooooooo large, lazy river, hot tubs, more cool though, take your floaties, plenty of chairs, no problem finding any. children's own pool, in larger part of main pool, slide, great, swim up bar. really incredible pool.
Grounds
Most times were kept up well, weekends they invite the locals to come, since not enough tourists. Dominican people, beautiful people, until they get to the buffet. LOL. YIKES. 4 deep everywhere, could hardly get food at buffet, and couldn't find seat. This is on Saturday and Sunday, although the locals start coming in on Friday. Lotsa fun though, at night, they love to dance, sing, so it was really a hoot. Monday comes, and we are all back at being less than half full. Needless to say, it was tougher for the grounds keepers to keep up.
Activities and Entertainment
These kids work their hearts to to entertain and they do a damn good job. Shows were very good, stage props. Some shows hilarious, no complaints.
Tours
Only went on one this time around. Climbing 27 water falls. OMG What a blast! Got the tour outta Caberte when we were there one day. Only 35.00 each. Guys name is Josef. Can't remember off hand name of co. Write me and I will find it for you. Long treck thru jungle, walking thru rivers, to falls, then climbing up all these falls, and finally sliding or jumping back down. It was incredible. Got my exercise for the whole week here. Have to wear life jackets and helmuts for this adventure. You'll love it though. Tours cheaper out of your hotel, and we always do this, never a problem, don't pay more than you have too.
Departure and Check Out
Hmmmmmm, sunquest.............forgot us! Had to take taxi to airport. Thats fine though, they'll hear about it! 30.00 US
Conclusion
On top of everything I said, love the location. Free shuttle daily to sosua, where we went snorkelling just off beach for free, take your gear. 10 minutes away. No snorkelling at breezes for obvious reasons, and no reef anyway. Shuttel also goes to caberete, 15 minutes. Shopped in Supermercado to get coffee, vanilla, the usual stuff. Cheepie, cheepie. My husband and I met up with canadians at checkpoint in sosua. little outside bar where shuttle drops you off. Owned by German/dutch I think, managed by canadians. Anyway, our thoughts were to check out caberete and sosua for long term stay. Decided on sosua, more canadians xpats and nicer area I think. Love the sosua bay area beach too. So, got lead on some great places for stay there and hopefully will be back down for a couple months next season. I would definetly go back to breezes, PLEASE FIX AIRCONDITIONING THOUGH, overall a great place. I would give it at 3 3/4 star rating. Right now, cheap to go there. Its really nice to be able to get out of all inclusive by shuttle and go to sosua caberete. Love that. So location is a 10 for us. If anyone has any questions, please just write to me, and I will be happy to accommodate you.
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June 2008
I stayed with my girlfriend at Breezes the first week of June - it was my first all inclusive experience (not hers) but I have been many times to different hotels and cruises in the caribbean.
Arrival & Check In: We booked through Nolitours and had a great experience... no delays with the flights or the transfers. Check in at the hotel was quick but a little annoying that while the hotel was only 40% full (low season), we STILL had to wait 3 hours for our room. Why wasn't there a clean room available right away??
Rooms: The room was very basic and a little run down, but overall it was clean and served its purpose... we don't spend much time in the room anyway! We had no problems but friends of ours had leaks and problems with the shower, all of which ended up getting fixed but the front desk and maintenance staff did not seem very interested and no one rushed to fix anything.
Pool: AMAZING! I think that this would be the #1 reason to stay at breezes. I am not so much a beach person so this was perfect for me... there is a big activities pool with volleyball net, water polo nets, basketball net etc.... big lazy river, 3 or 4 hot tubs.... a really nice area. The only negative I would say is that a few people (depending on the sunscreen they used) ended up with green on their arms and even sometimes on their clothes. It never happened to me and I suspect that it was a reaction of a specific kind of suntan lotion with the pool chemicals but still a little weird ......
Beach: If you are a beach lover, you will be very disappointed. The beach in puerto plata does not compare to those in punta cana, cuba, bahamas etc... There were a lot of rocks and often dangerously rough waves. Also, the sand was so hot we literally had to sprint from the chairs to the water to avoid burning our feet! For these reasons, we mostly stayed by the pool - which again for me was great but many people feel they can sit by a pool at home!
Activities: We were NEVER bored... they had a great animation and entertainment team - always had games by the pool etc. There is also a trapeze you can try (scary but fun!!!!), trampoline, rock climbing, golf, tennis, scuba diving..... If you're the kind of person who can't sit still then Breezes is a great place to go.
Food: I was very disappointed with the food. It was my first time in the dominican republic so I can't compare to other resorts, but I found it amazing that they could screw up something as simple as a hamburger! The buffet was variable depending on the night but it was never above average. The a la carte restaurants were a bit better but still nothing really memorable. If I were you, I would avoid the mexican restaurant....
Bars: All of the bars were good, with the lobby bar making the best frozen drinks (probably because it's not in the sun!)... Nobody was stingy with the alcohol, and we never had a problem with any of the bartenders or waiters.
Tours: We went to Ocean World .... kind of like sea world dominican style. We had a really great time even though it rained. We did the shark encounter and snorkeling/feeding the sting rays. Feeding a shark sitting in my lap is an experience I won't soon forget! -- I would definitely recommend this excursion. We also spent a few hours in Sosua (the hotel offers free shuttle to Sosua or Cabarete) - There is a line of about 70 shops in a row, all selling the same things. We bargained like crazy and ended up getting some good deals. If you don't like getting harrassed, then stay away!! We just learned to say "no thank you" or to simply ignore them. NEVER say "I'll come back later".... you think they won't remember you, but the harrassment will be 100 times worse on the way back.
OVERALL : If you can find a good selloff price, then I would definitely recommend this resort. Regardless of the mediocre food and beach, we still had an amazing time mostly thanks to the animation team (If you go, say hi to Saul and Manny!). I would give this hotel 3.5 stars out of 5.
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May 2008
I will rate everything on a scale 1-10- 10 being excellent, 1 being horrible!!
Flight: We booked through expedia, and it was through Air Canada vacations. Our flight was great. Halifax to Puerto Plata direct. We had no problems at customs. Filled out all the paper work on the place so we could go right through customs.
Rooms: We arrived at the resort around 10:30 am. We were told our rooms would not be ready until 3. So we packed bathing suits on our carry on and left our other bags at the front of the hotel with employees. I was nervous about this at first but we kept checking and our bags didn't move. We didn't get our rooms until 4, so if you are arriving early be prepared to enjoy the day without your room.
I was very impressed with our room. After reading some reviews on this site about the state of some of the rooms I was very nervous. But the rooms were great, we didn't need a plug adaptor, the air conditioner worked great. Rating: 8
Food: I heard many people complain on our bus ride back to the airport about the food at their resorts. I had not one bad thing to say about the food. Jimmy's(The main restaurant) was great, its buffet style and there is always something different. You can always find something that you like, if not, you have serious food issues!! ha-ha. Anyhow there was always selection and lots of food to go around. Their breakfast was amazing, by far my favourite meal of the day!! Many times we just went to the snack bar down at the beach, they always had hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, ribs, french fries, and different things to make sandwiches. It was really good. We went to the Italian and Mexican restaurants, didn't do the other two. At the Italian I had cesar salad, veggie pizza, and desert, my boyfriend had the lazonna. It was great, very tasty. We both had chicken tacos at the Mexican and they were great too. Rating: 9
Bars/Drinks: I found the beach bar the best bar of all. I like strawberry daquries, the beach bar made them from scratch and they were amazing. The other bars didn't make them, they just used a slushy, and it had a coconut taste, which I hate coconut. Other then that all the bars seemed alright, they were very friendly and always tried to do whatever they could for you. We didn't go to the disco bar, but if you like that kind of thing it looked fun. We usually drank at the beach bar or at the lobby bar. Rating: 7
Beach/Pool: WOW! Amazing. These two spots made our trip, by far. The beach was a perfect size. I thought it would be a lot smaller from the other reviews. It was great, it was yellow flag most of the week but the waves were alright to swim in. The beach was very clean, you could always find a chair and sit wherever you wished. Excellent. I would recommend taking out snorkelers from the beach people, and go in the water directly below them. There was some coral there and some tropical fish. Pretty Neat.
The pool was great. Hugeeeeeeeeee! You could always find a chair and a spot wherever you wished. Also very clean, there was always someone scooping leaves and whatnot.
Rating: 10
Grounds: The grounds were very well kept. There were always workers cutting grass, trees, and plants. No garbage at all, except the odd cup. Beautiful. Rating: 8
Tours: We did a catamaran. AMAZING! If you have the chance to do this, do it!! Our air canada guy did all the booked we just had to meet with him to give him the money. 89 bucks for the day, you get back around 4. Freestyle was the name. Great crew, amazing day!! Open bar, worth every penny. The highlight of our trip! Rating: 10
Checking Out: was easy. Make sure you don't lose your room keys, safe key, or your towels. Airport went fine, no troubles!
Overall: Great experience, amazing trip!! Recommend this resort to anyone! The pool and beach were amazing and the food was great!! I found the prices in the store expensive( 5 bucks for Gatorade, 8 for pringles..) but we paid it. Watch for the people who sell things in the evenings. The first night we were on the resort I didn't know there was a gift shop. There were men selling things so we went up to them. Ending up paying 48 bucks for a anckle bracelet and 10 cigars... and 130 for two paintings. He started at 220 for the paintings and we got him down to 130. I got ripped off with the cigars and bracelet. I seen the same bracelet in the gift shop for 5 dollars. Brutal!! Dont buy from them unless you see something you REALLY like. As far as jewlery goes, check out the gift shop first!
Amazing trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Overall: 9/10
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Cheryl ~ Alberta, Canada |
April 2008
Arrival and Flight -
Long flight, changed from a direct flight from Calgary to via Vancouver to pick up more people. 9 hours travelling time. At the airport, it went very fast, found our bus and were on our way to Breezes.
Rooms -
Check in was fast, we were given 2 ocean front villas, we were travelling with 3 children under 12 and had requested connecting or side by side rooms. We were given 2 separate villas but next to each other, so there was one family in between us. We decided to see how it would go with our rooms like that, turned out the kids really liked having their own space and we were close enough to help and never ever worried about their safety. Being oceanfront was a real plus for us and we loved having our morning coffee and listening to the surf pound. The rooms are dated but very clean, mini bar had coke and sprite and water filled daily. Water was only warm at the end of the day for showering, but personally , I don't want hot water on me after a day in the heat. The villas have 4 open shelves for your clothes, no dressers, I liked that, easy to find stuff and nothing got musty smelling. The maids never touched a thing of ours and it was all left out in plain sight. The safes are really good and secure, in fact, we lost our room key and they had to come and replace the lock on the safe for us. Our room had 2 twin beds made up like a king, not a problem. They brought in a third twin into the kids room. TV had about 100 channels, at least 10 english channels, CNN, CBS, and others.
Restaurants -
Jimmy's Buffet was great, the kids personal favorite, always a huge selection to choose from, honestly, if you can't find something to eat there, somethings wrong. Breakfast was great, omelette station, juice station, and many other choices. Also lots of local food dishes to choose from. Different theme every night at the Buffet, always good. Pasta station every night. We tried all of the a la cartes, French was great, Italian was awesome, (great cheese pizza) Mexican was good, nice location on the beach. Beach bar serves hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwich press for grilled sandwiches, salads, meatballs, ribs, chicken every day , all day until they turn into the Mexican restarant for a few hours at night. Yes, the cheese and milk and meats taste a little different than what we are used to, but it was all good, managed to put on a few pounds there! No one got sick, one of our kids had some stomach issues, but nothing major, probably more from all the sweet drinks than the food, I took Imodium and Pepto and never even opened them.
Bars -
We found the lobby bar the best, they seemed to be the most consistent in what they served and how they made them. Banana daiquiris best here, most times the beach bar and pool bar never even made them, they would always say they ran out of bananas, but I think it was just too much work to make them and they were so busy. Chocolate Monkeys were awesome when you could get them to make them. The local rum is great, and they offer a "cocktail of the day" which was always worth trying. Make sure your kids say "No rum" for their drinks. Must take thermal mugs, the drinks get warm very fast without them.
Beach and Pools -
Wow, what can you say about that pool that hasnt' been said, it is amazing! 2 Waterslides and a huge river. Absolutely must take floaties, but if you have to buy them, go to the supermarket in Sosua, they are way cheaper, tubes around 5$ there. There was always entertainment around the pool, except for a siesta time from around 12 -3. There are always chairs to be found, lots of people put their towels on them around 7-8a.m, never a problem to find chairs, the pool deck is huge and lots of options for sun or shade. There are 4 hot tubs, but only 1 of them is warm. We liked the cool hottubs, refreshing, who wants to sit in hot water in 30C heat? The pool is very clean , they are always cleaning the leaves away, and sweeping the deck and raking leaves. The beach is rough but awesome fun!! We saw someone lose their camera and a few lost their sunglasses. The kids had a blast playing in the waves, and the sand is like brown sugar. There is a man who works on the beach who will find you a chair, he is great. We had 4 yellow
flag days and 10 red flag days while we were there. The red flag days are lots of fun, they just don;'t give you boogie boards on those days. If this resort had a slightly calmer beach, you wouldn't be able to top it, regardless, it won't stop us from coming back to Breezes.
Grounds -
The grounds are beautiful,the gardening staff rake leaves all day. There are lots of Bougainvillea flowers everywhere. The buildings are beautiful, thatched roofs and Caribbean colors. The only garbage you see is from people too lazy to put their cups in the garbage bins.
Activities and Entertainment -
Nightly entertainment was great, different theme every night and lots of very funny audience participation. Daytime activities include rock wall, trapeze, 3 pool tables, table tennis, fooseball, lots to do.
Tours -
We did 2 tours, Ocean World which was great, kids absolutely loved it, the snorkel reef aquarium is awesome, you get to snorkel in a gigantic aquarium with lots of tropical fish, some huge! (no fins allowed, so don't cart yours along like we did) The sea lion, dolphin and shark shows were very entertaining, especially the shark show. We never paid the extra to swim with the animals and still had a great day. Gift shop here has good prices, if you break your digital camera like I did, disposables are only 10$ compared to 27 $ at the resort. Large sunscreen was 15$ here compared to more than 20$ at the resort. 12 or 14 inch pizza here was 9$. I expected prices to be high, nice surprise. We had brought snacks from the hotel(banana bread and cinnamon buns) but ended up ordering pizza because it was so reasonable. Time share guys here too, just say no thanks.
Also did the Jeep Safari, booked it out of Mel Tours, ( right where the bus drops you off in Sosua) Way cheaper than whats offered at the hotel.. Went through some very poor communities, a school, where we got mobbed by the children for our school supplies, My 13 year old son and husband climbed the 7 waterfalls(huge thrill ) , also went to Mama Dora's house where she ground us her freshly roasted coffee, and the stone carving "factory".
Departure and Check Out-
Check out was smooth, had to pay 40$ for losing our key, The front desk staff speak very good English and Guest services is very good when sometihing is wrong in your room. Departure was smooth, had a long flight home due to being routed through Vancouver
Conclusion -
All in all, we had a great time at Breezes. It is an amazing place for children, especially the pool. The Dominican people are wonderful, always happy and smiling and they do their best to make you happy. The location is great, and the shuttle into Sosua and Cabarete are great. Go to the big supermarket in Sosua if you forget anything. We always felt safe at the resort, we always ate well and were never bored. A note about shopping, I found the vendors very hard to bargain with , and after spending 30 minutes trying to work out a deal, found t-shirts and souveniers cheaper at the supermarket with no hassle. Patricks Siversmithy in Sosua has beautiful jewellery that was cheaper than half or more than the vendors are trying for. As a former Punta Cana lover, I have discovered the beauty of the North Coast and will return.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Alice & Danny ~ Church Point, Nova Scotia |
March 2008
Stayed at this resort from march 5-12, 2008.
I honestly don’t have one bad thing to say about this resort..It was clean, neat, food was great & lots to choose from. The service from ALL employees was great. Check in was fast, we only waited 15min. for our room in which we waited at the lobby bar J
The beach was amazing..it was red flagged a lot but the huge waves were a blast to play in. We’re in our 30’s & the ocean entertained us for long periods of time..!! Always easy to find beach loungers..
The Pool was so beautiful & endless of things to do…slides, hot tubs, lazy rivers, volleyball, swim up bar, shallow part! Bring your own floatie. Empty loungers everywhere.
Rooms were basic but clean! We were only in our rooms to shower & sleep anyways.
A rock climbing wall & trapeze for adults & kids to use…
The entertainment staff gave there 110% to make us laugh & have fun… A MUST go again resort.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Maryka & Ron ~ Ottawa, Canada |
March 2008
First, a bit about us to provide context. We are a married couple in the 50 - 60-year-old range. This is our seventh trip to DR. We've stayed at Occidental Grand Flamenco, Riu Taino (twice) and Barcelo Bavaro Beach in Punta Cana and Sunscape Casa del Mar (twice) in La Romama. This was our first time on the North coast and we chose this resort because the price was excellent. We like to stay at all-inclusives because they allow us to totally relax and veg out.
Arrival: We stayed at Breezes from Feb. 7 (well, Feb. 8 in reality) to Feb. 21, 2008. We booked thorugh Noli Tours and flew Sky Service. Our departure from Ottawa was delayed 13 1/2 hours(!) so instead of arriving at noon we got to the resort around 2:30 a.m. the next day. Disappointing, but since we were staying for two weeks it was not the end of the world. I felt sorry for those who were only there for a week, since we lost a whole day. I want to point out that the delayed flight included customers of Noli Tours, Transat and Sunquest. The Sunquest people got phone calls at 1:30 a.m. the morning we were supposed to depart telling them about the delay. The rest of us got no such calls. We got up at 4 in the morning, checked the SkyService web site, which said the flight was on time. When we got to the airport at 5 a.m. we were told that the flight had been delayed until 6:30 that evening. They gave us 2 taxi vouchers and a form to send in to request a $125 discount on our next SkySeervie flight.
We eventually made it to Puerto Plata. Airport arrival was quick and easy, just a long wait for our bags. Found our bus and made it to Breezes in about 15 minutes, after a stop to drop off people at another resort. It was the middle of the night so there were no other people at the front desk. I was the first in line and we were on our way to our room with the bellboy in 5 minutes – great!
Rooms: We stayed in building 10, which is to the left when you are at the front of the hotel, facing the lobby. It was a little removed from the beach and pool, but that meant that it was very quiet. Our room was on the ground floor at the back, facing the garden. The room had been refurbished and it was good. It was probably the biggest room we've had in any of our trips to DR. Two double beds (with new mattresses), desk, table with 2 chairs, 24-inch TV with (working) remote control, no dresser, 2 plastic chairs on the patio. The closet was quite large, with about a dozen hangers. I always save the wire hangers from the dry cleaner and take them on vacation, then leave them there when we go home. We found the beds very comfortable - firm but not too hard.
Key safe in the closet is provided at no extra charge. Mini fridge is stocked with lots of bottled water and some Coke and Sprite. No beeer, but we didn't try asking for that - it might work. Air conditioning is operated with the key card for the door to the room. The A/C was adequate but not great. The bathroom was standard and everything worked. There was always plenty of hot water and good water pressure.
The maids cleaned the room at a different time every day. Sometimes around 10 in the morning, sometimes after 4 in the afternoon, and everything in between. They were not generous with the towels. The first day we had 2 bath towels and one hand towel, plus a bath mat. Second day we got 3 bath towels, then 2 the next day and so on. Always 1 hand towel, never any face cloths, and twice no bath mat. A call to guest services resulted in the missing items being delivered...eventually. The room was always well cleaned.
Restaurants: For the a-la-carte restaurants you are given "coupons" that you exchange with the lady in Jimmy's buffet for reservations. For a two-week stay we got 2 coupons for Mexican and Italian and 1 coupon for French and Japanese - total of 6 reservations. We thought this was a little restrictive, but we didn't try to get any extra coupons.
Mexican was our favourite. It is in the Beach Bar and has a nice casual feel, great setting, and good food. Great frozen mango marguaritas to start, with corn chips and fresh salsa.
Italian was okay - about what I would expect from a Dominican Italian restaurant. Very ordinary and not worth a second visit.
French - I don't understand why some people rave about this one. It was fine, but once again, we had no desire to visit it twice (not that we could have with the coupon system). The French is by far the most formal of the a-la-cartes in terms of the decor and service. The French onion soup was very good. We were not allowed to order soup and salad - it had to be soup OR salad. I ordered steak, and since beef in DR is almost always tough and over-cooked, I ordered it rare, thinking I might get medium rare. Well, when it arrived it was just barely warm - blue-rare is what it would be called here. I could have sent it back to be cooked more, but it was already tough and more cooking would not have improved that. The meal came with mashed potatoes and vegetables that were good. For dessert, as noted in another review, the creme brule is not brule - it's just custard.
Japanese was probably our second favourite. The food was good - nice and fresh. But you don't get to choose anything except your appetizer and your dessert. For dinner, everyone gets the same thing - rice, veggies, chicken, beef and shrimp. The communal tables are set up around the cooking stations and the entertainment value depends on your chef and your tablemates.
The main buffet was great. Quite a lot of variety, lots of vegetables and salads, good chicken, pork and fish every day for lunch and dinner. On seafood night they had piles of lobster tails that were pretty good. One night they had roast turkey, stuffing and cranberries - very nicely done and a reminder of home. I thought the desserts were very good – great chocolate cake in some form every day. Breakfast is the best - it has been well described by other reviewers.
The buffet is laid out in a long rambling style that we found a little strange, and there are little rooms and nooks that have other food selections in them, that many people never noticed. One of the nicest things about the buffet was the seating. Rather than a huge cafeteria-style dining area, Jimmy's Buffet has lots of smaller rooms scattered around it. Some are designated smoking and some are non-smoking, plus there are tables set up outside. Because of these smaller roonms, this resort felt the least crowded of any resort we have stayed at.
The wait staff at the buffet were fabulous. Since we tended to go shortly after opening for all meals, and since we always sat at the same table, the staff came to recognize us by the third day. In the morning Julia would have coffe for my husband and hot water for my tea waiting for us, at lunch Julia (again) had our agua and vino tinto waiting, and same thing at dinner from Alcedes. We got so spoiled.
The food at the beach bar was good too and some days we stayed there for lunch instead of going to the buffet. The selection was better than most other resorts we've stayed at, where the fare at the beach bar was hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries. Here they had that, plus rice, vegetables, sweet and sour chicken, ribs in barbecue sauce, Italian meatballs, fresh fruit and cake and pastries for dessert. They also have an accessible water cooler at the beach bar, which was convenient.
Before we headed to Breezes I tried to get information on Debbie's forum about how strict they are about the dress code in the restaurants - hubby doesn't like to have to wear long pants while on vacation. I can now report that the French a-la-carte was the only restaurant that insisted on long pants and none insisted on closed-toe shoes. I did see a couple of times where women were turned away from Jimmy's Buffet at lunch for wearing bathing suits with wraps around their waists but no shirts over their bathing suit tops. They were politely asked to put on T-shirts or other cover-ups.
Bars: Bars are plentiful and rarely too busy. We found the bartenders at the lobby bar the nicest and the most efficient (Jonothan was our favourite - he knew what we wanted before we could ask for it). The beach bar was understaffed with only one bartender most of the time - but always pleasant service. The pool bar and swim-up bar also only had one bartender which caused long waits. These bartenders were quite surly and we never saw them smile - perhaps it had to do with the location, since these bars had the, shall we say, "most boisterous" clientele.
Beach and Pool: On vacation we tend to be beach people. We thoroughly enjoyed the beach at Breezes. True, the sand isn't as white and powdery as in Punta Cana and the beach is not terribly long. But it is very wide, and it was NEVER crowded. Can't say that about Punta Cana! This is the first resort we've stayed at that had someone on the beach to get you your loungers and a table and place them wherever you wanted - in the sun or the shade, near the ocean or not. We loved that service. We also enjoyed playing in the rough waves. We got knocked head over heels a few times, but never got hurt. After a few days we bought 2 inflatable tubes from the resort shop and used them in the ocean. Great fun.
Some days the wind would get quite strong and we would get sand-blasted. On those days we sat by the pool. We loved the pool at Breezes. It has a "lazy river" that runs around the outside of the pool and we would get on our tubes and float on the river or paddle up to the swim-up bar. The animation team held activities such as Spanish classes, crazy games, and various contests that were fun to participate in or just sit and watch. Because there was no ocean breeze at the pool it was much hotter than the beach but there were plenty of shady spots. If you get to the pool early enough (before 11) there is someone there to help you get chairs, table and umbrella. I didn't see him there in the afternoon.
One point about the pool - one day I left my beach bag by our chairs while we went for a dip and someone (a guest no doubt) took $10 US from my bag. I blame myself for leaving it unattended in a somewhat secluded area of the pool deck. Having said that, I always left my bag unattended on my chair at the beach and never had anything taken.
Activities: I took advantage of the free scuba lessons in the pool (for the first time) and enjoyed it so much that I signed up for an open-ocean dive that same afternoon. It's amazing, but after a 20-minute lesson in a shallow pool they allow you to go out to a coral reef near Sosua and dive to 12 metres. There were 8 new divers, 2 with previous dive experience (certified) and 2 "instructors" to keep an eye on us. We dove for about 45 minutes and it was wonderful. Cost was $65US.
Tours: Our only excursion this trip was to Ocean World . I signed up to swim with the dolphins and it was incredible. Ocean World is very nicely set up and there are lots of other things to do, but I highly recommend doing the dolphin swim, or at least the encounter if you are not comfortable swimming. We liked the fact that once we arrived at Ocean World we were free to do whatever we wanted while we were there - we didn't have to stay with the group. Just show up for the bus back to the resort on time. As other reviewers have mentioned, it is a very long day - at least an hour longer than we needed to see everything and do the dolphin swim. Cost for entry to Ocean World was $55 US, and an additional $90 to swim with the dolphins. Worth it for the memories I came home with.
Conclusion: I admit that our expectations were not too high, based on the (comparatively) low cost of the package and on some of the negative reviews we read. Breezes exceeded our expectations and in some respects the resort was superior to any others we have stayed at:
- service at the buffet was better than most, and equal to Casa del Mar and Riu Taino;
- smaller dining rooms at the buffet felt less crowded and more roomy than the set up in other resort buffets;
- service on the beach and at the pool (getting chairs, etc. for us) was better than any others we've stayed at;
- level of English spoken by wait staff was much better than any of the other resorts. This isn't a big deal for us since we like to try to learn Spanish from the staff, but would be a big plus if you had no Spanish;
- beach was by far the least crowded of any resort;
- we liked the pool here better than almost all the other resorts, and as much as the pool at Occidental Grand Flamenco;
- there was always peanut butter available at the buffet for breakfast. That was a first for us.
While we were at Breezes at least 80% of the guests were Canadian, and of those I would guess that 75% were from Ontario. This actually was a bit of a disappointment for us, since we enjoy meeting people from other countries and cultures when we vacation.
We thoroughly enjoyed Breezes and would recommend it for anyone who is not terribly fussy and is okay with not being able to float in a nice gentle ocean. Since they have updated the resort it is our opinion that Breezes is deserving of its 4-star rating -- bearing in mind that is DOMINICAN 4-star, not North American 4-star.
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| SuperClubs Breezes |
Laura ~ Toronto |
March 2008
Your Arrival
Four of us spent one week at Breezes during the last week of February, 2008. The arrival was fine, very quick check-in and a 10 minute drive from the airport. The bellboys brought us our luggage just as we walked up to our room.
Rooms
Our rooms were clean and spacious in a villa. We really lucked out because we were facing the ocean/beach and felt pretty secluded. Most rooms are in five story hotel-style buildings on the other end of the resort, and we really enjoyed the villa style. We spent hours sitting on our front porch with a book and enjoying the view.
Restaurants
There is one main buffet restaurant, a 24 hour snack bar and four a-la-cartes. We went to all of them during our one-week stay. The buffet was the best we've had yet for an all-inclusive, with lots of options and lots of seating and quick service. Our only complaint was that the omelets in the morning were terrible, and the smoothies weren't fantastic either.
We ate most of our lunches at the beach-front snack bar which offered pressed sandwiches you made yourself, great fries, several types of meat, rice, veggies, burgers, hot-dogs and dessert.
A-la-cartes:
Mexican - This was our favourite of the four. Great food, filled with flavour. All four of us said it was the best. The fajitas were the highlight!
Japanese - We were slightly reluctant to have sushi in the DR, but it was fine and the entire meal was tasty.
Italian - The food here was quite good, and the atmosphere was romantic. I had a delicious sea bass filet with pesto pasta, and a caesar salad to start that was ok.
French - This is supposedly the most popular of the restaurants, but it's by far the most disappointing. The onion soup to start was good, but the other apps we ordered were tastless. The steak was overcooked and chewy, as is all the beef at the resort. The "crème brulee" didn't even have brulee on it (in other words, it was missing the hard burnt sugar topping, which is the key component!). But the service was fantastic and there was a great fine-dining atmosphere.
The most disappointing thing about the food is that just about all the deserts failed to impress, so bring some chocolate with you if you need a sugar fix sometimes!
Bars
The many bars were great, although the service wasn't as friendly as I've experienced elsewhere, even when tipping.
The only problem is the coconut milk based drinks (pina colada/banana mama) act as a laxative and caused problems for a few of us, so we had to avoid those.
Beach and Pools
The pool is truly fantastic at Breezes. There were usually always chairs available, and the pool itself is huge, deep and refreshing. There was never a feeling of being crowded in the pool.
The beach is decent. The ocean is very deep and often wavy. It's not a calm beach, but we enjoyed playing in the waves. Our boyfriends spent hours playing with water tubes (which you can buy there for $9) in the ocean. In some places though, you have to be careful to avoid the sharp lava rocks on the shore.
Grounds
The grounds were impeccable and very well maintained. They seem to have a lot of staff cleaning and maintaining the landscape. It's very spacious.
Activities
There's plenty to do on the resort, and good entertainment in the evenings. No reason to get bored here!
Tours
We didn't do any tours, but the hotel offers free shuttle buses to the nearby towns of Cabarete and Sosua. Make sure you check out these beaches, as they're both totally different from the beach at Breezes.
Sosua - we spent two days in Sosua on the beach because the water is incredible. It's totally clear and calm (no waves!) and there are coral reefs you can swim to from the shore with snorkeling gear (which they rent out on the beach). There's also a very long "flea market" set up there to buy stuff, but they really try to jack up their prices to even higher than you'd pay in Toronto for some things.
Cabarete - This beach is much wider and longer than Sosua but the water is deeper and wavy. It's more commercial here and there are lots of great bars/restaurants on the beach and more established shopping areas. We were also less bothered by people trying to sell their stuff. This beach is known for their kite boarding and wind-surfing, which is very entertaining to watch from the beach.
Conclusion
We had a great vacation and Breezes offers excellent value for your dollar. We would definitely recommend it.
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