I (and 5 friends) have just returned from a week (March 24th-April 1st) at the Celuisma Tropical Playa Dorada and although it wasn’t a 5 star resort and is rated as a 3 star, I was quite impressed! This was my third time to Puerto Plata and first time staying in a resort that was less than a 4.5 star. I must say that although I was quite skeptical on my way there, I was quite pleased with what was presented. When visiting the Dominican Republic people need to keep in mind that we are traveling to a third world country and standards are very different than the luxuries offered here in North America.

Check-In: We arrived at the resort around 2 a.m. and there were a lot of people checking in at the same time. The front desk had packages with room keys and necessary information all ready to go so this was a breeze. Getting a bellboy to help us to our room however took quite a while…. But what do you expect when there are around 100 people checking in all at the same time.

Resort grounds: The grounds were gorgeous with lots of plants, flowers, trees. The grounds were very well kept and you would always find someone making them look even nicer. The buildings were a little old but the resort was built in 1997 and the years are starting to show. Inside the buildings were nice and simple and always clean!

Beach: The beach was gorgeous! I can’t believe people would say that it was dirty and not well kept. We always saw people cleaning up the beach and getting rid of all the seaweed. Furthermore, the Playa Dorada beach was renovated recently making it wider and adding more sand. The ocean water was dirty however, after 6 days of rain what do you expect?! Rain and thundershowers often cause the ocean to bring up lots of seaweed and sand along with the tide which was the case during my week there.

Rooms: The rooms were simple and didn’t have much to them however were just enough for what we needed… after all how much time do you spend in there?
We found the beds to be very comfortable and always clean. The room was always well kept very clean. Our toilet had a little bit of a leaking problem but we dealt with it! Otherwise, the bathroom was very clean as well. Sketchy bathrooms worry me but I was very content with this bathroom.

Restaurants/Food: I can’t say enough about the food at this resort. I was always very impressed with the buffet and frequently went back for seconds or thirds. There was always something amazing to eat and always a great variety. The a-la-carte restaurants were AMAZING!!!! I enjoyed my food at all three!!! As for cockroaches scurrying across the floor…. Can’t say that I even saw one!!!

Staff/Animation: I can’t say enough about these individuals. Everyone on this resort was always friendly and wanting to help. I always got a friendly “Hola” while walking around the grounds. There were some individuals that worked in the buffet that were questionable but I think it was a communication barrier! The Animation staff was also a lot of fun.
They were always kind and genuine individuals that truly cared about making sure guests have a good time. They have an incredible amount of energy considering these individuals start working at 8 a.m and work right until 11 p.m, and continue the night only to be responsible to take guests out to the disco afterwards! Thanks to them and a big GRACIAS to Junior, Mini, Maria, Alvaro, Emanuelle and the many others that made our trip a memorable one!

we just returned from our 8th trip to the d.r., and always stay at the same resort. it was just taken over by a new company, and we are told that they have big plans. when we arrived we noticed that there were changes already in place. he pool bar is open to 2am,a slight change in staff, the v.i.p. bar is open again for time share owners and the beach has been revamped.the beach area in my opinon has always been the best on this coast in the playa doroda complex, and it has been expanded and is beautiful. when we first arrive as a group of 13, we found beach chairs hard to find. in a matter of days we noticed new chairs coming in and old coverings being replaced. another indication that changes are underway!

we also found some inprovements in the resturants...the yaht club, which is the main dinning area had theme nights as in the past, however there did seem to be a larger assortment of foods to choose from, including a diet station..although this was small it is new and a graet idea. there was an increase in sea food including lobster and sushi.

the a la cartes are still the same and the carribian grill is still my favorite by far, the food is great and the staff are great fun.

entertainment was better this year than the last 2 or 3 years. they have hired some outside groups to perform, and the activity group does their best on thr in between nights. the house band plays early every evening and also at the end of the evening after the entertainment has finished. i enjoy them alot, and alex the lead singer has learned more english and is much improved vocally over last year.

I stayed at Tropical for the Valentine's week of 2007, with wife and mom. Operator was Sunwing, booked through CAA agent. Paid $1,039 Canadian per person for a week, got VIP suite. Buildings #14 through #18 are right on the beach. If you get a room number ending in 1 or 2 in these buildings, you'll have a stunning view of the beach, with palm trees and all.

Being in the Caribbean for the first time, overall we enjoyed it very much and we're looking forward to going back. We travelled with a gentleman who returned after two weeks!!

LIKED:
- The beach is very beautiful, albeit not very large. There's lots of sun, but you can find shade from the palm trees if you're wise enough to avoid the "red lobster effect". Mount Isabela on the background provides a dramatic view, especially at sunset.
- The food is very tasty and hearty, trays promptly replenished and the hours of operation very convenient
- The staff and Dominicans in general are hard working people, very nice and helpful. Most speak or understand English but at the same time they're glad if you make a minimal effort to learn a few basic words in Spanish. If they have downtime they sing, which makes me believe that most are quite content with their lives despite the repeated remarks heard that Dominicans are very poor. Money's not everything in life and I bet that the locals wouldn't change places with the wealthy, sun hungry tourists!
- I found the hotel's architecture quite interesting, especially the main building. This is real "open concept": all the common spaces (with the exception of the rooms themselves) are open to the outdoors, with lots of trees, plants and quality landscaping
- Rooms are large and, in our case, had a view of the beach
- The animation team was very good, tried to involve everybody. Some evening shows were excellent, others just OK. They even have their own professional singer; if you like latino music this must be heaven. They had various activities almost all the time, from morning stretch and/or aerobic, to Spanish lessons, beach volley, all sorts of contests, dance lessons etc.
- Celuisma has rented the Roadway Bar & Club for night entertainment, located off site in the nearby Plaza. Good looking place but people are smoking and the music is mainly rap, sometimes of the Spanish variety.
- We had two room maids, one was OK but the other was excellent - her name is Consuela Delgado. She really went to great lengths to clean and decorate the room for us. We talked to her, praised her work and left a modest tip every day. I think that talking to people and showing them respect did more than just a tip no matter how generous
- Took the Safari tour on the back of the truck, with guide Ruddy. Even though the tour itself was so-so, Ruddy is a great entertainer, very interesting guy
- Couldn't stop admiring the palm trees, the luxuriant plants, the incredible exotic flowers
- Tropical is very well organized and the new management (Spanish company took over in January 07) has ambitious plans to make this a real 5 star hotel in the next year or so
- No bugs in the rooms whatsoever, which is quite amazing. The secret is that they fumigate all the rooms/buildings every week; hopefully they're right in that the chemicals used are harmless
- Ice cool airconditioner, though a bit noisy
- We had hot water all the time, unlike as reported by others
- Power supply is 110V/60Hz so we could use our own hair dryers and battery chargers
- Ocean water is warm, clean and calm
- The Caribbean a la carte restaurant was very good: again, very good food, prompt and polite service, you can't ask for more

DISLIKED:
- Hotel sales people, extremely pushy, are hunting for newcomers to sell "right of use", a form of time share. They pick you up at the buffet, usually after breakfast or lunch, and take you to the "member's lounge" supposidely to offer you a "welcome package". Once there, another group of experienced sales guys convince you that they have an offer that it's too good to turn down. As negotiations go on, they slip in a charge for this, a charge for that, so in the end you end up with a deal that's not great, and you pay now for 30, 50 or 75 future vacations! While in normal circumstances I would have never signed up, their hard sale techniques worked with me, but now I look back and I see how stupid I was, so BEWARE.
- The furniture in the room is very, very old and room amaneties are in need of repair: leaky faucets, stained bathroom ceiling etc.
- There were a couple of brief power shortages but mostly during the day
- Diet food for my diabetic mom was very limited, if at all
- Sometimes the sanitary conditions at the buffet were lacking. Specifically there was an instance when a worker dropped a napkin on the floor, picked it up and nicely laid it on a table. In another incident, there was a shortage of clean glasses at the bar, and the bartender barely rinsed a used glass and then filled it up for the next person in line. I will stress that these were isolated incidents and not the norm.
- The ocean becomes deep at less than 10m (30 ft) from the shore and there are no lifeguards ! To make it even more dangerous, there are buoys marking an area far into deep water: while in other parts of the world the buoys mark the safe limits for bathers, here they merely mark entrance points for boats. If you try to walk toward the buoys by mistake, you better be a good swimmer
- Beach lounge chairs were in short supply, some in poor condition, however according to another reviewer the management has brought in new ones right after we left. This means that there will be other changes following, for the better
- Smoking is allowed anywhere. Even if you're basically outdoors at the buffet restaurant, it's still annoying to get all that second hand smoke
- My wife bought sunscreen from a local store and ended up with an ugly rash on her body. It turns out the sunscreen was expired; we're not 100% sure it's from that, but it's likely

NEUTRAL:
- Beach sales people walk by. They obviously want to sell their wares, but if you're not interested they walk away so we didn't find them to be obnoxious. It seems like they're part of a union or professional association, since they all wear identical T-shirts, so I'm guessing that it's in their code of conduct not to bother tourists too much
- Safari tour was OK but not as good as I expected, safe for the guide who was quite a character- Drinks were plentiful but quite diluted and not of high quality. This didn't bother me too much as I'm not a drinker but it may bother others who consider drinks an important part of their vacation.
- The Mexican restaurant. It was OK, but not outstanding - I may be subjective as I'm not crazy for Mexican food
- The Sunwing representative, Chantal, was only available the first day after arrival. Good thing we didn't need her.

TIPS:
- Go there with US cash, a portion of it in smaller bills for tips. This avoids impulse buying and allows budgeting, i.e. you only spend as much as you planned for. While you can withdraw Dominican pesos from the bank in the nearby plaza with your banking or credit card, locals prefer US currency due to inflation. Inflation seems to be very high: another reviewer reported 26 pesos for a US dollar only two months ago, while I was able to get 31 and 32 pesos. This explains why, for the same value, you're making a Dominican happier if you give them the allmighty US dollar rather than the peso that will be worth less tomorrow. I don't recommend using credit cards anywhere except at the bank
- Tips are not required or expected, but are welcomed as most locals make less than $200 a month. However, don't show arrogance when tipping: sometimes a nice word or a praise is better received than just a tip
- Don't drink tap water, however you can safely brush your teeth with it. There's no bottled water in the fridge, but that's not a problem. Each building has a cooler, and there are also coolers at the restaurants.
- You need semi-formal clothes for the a la carte restaurants, if you want to try them. Women need a dress or decent long pants, men need long pants and a dress shirt (short sleeves OK). You risk being turned away if you come in shorts, flip-flops etc. On the other hand the buffet food is so good and there's so much variety that you're not missing much if you don't go to the a la carte restaurants
- Bring SPF45 sunscreen with you, DON'T buy local. Same with Immodium and other pills you anticipate that you may need while there

I took about 300 pictures. If you have a genuine interest in going tho this and knowing how it is, send me an e-mail to plavosin@rogers.com and I'll send you a link where you can see them all.

Photos
Photos #2
My wife and I and four friends all over 40 traveled to Celuisma Tropical Playa Dorada from Feb 10th to Feb 25th. We paid 1399.00 CDN p/p with taxes included. This was my wife and I 5th time to the DR and 3rd time to this resort. The resort has been purchased by a Spanish company Celuisma Hotels and changes are happened as I write this.

Flight
Four of us traveled out of Montreal via Go Travel Direct and Zoom Airlines and took a late flight which put us in Puerto Plata at 3am. Flight was uneventful but as always totally satisfactory, the other 2 traveled out of Ottawa.

Arrival
Wow, basically walked through customs just saying “Hola” and after waiting 5min for luggage and a few minutes for everyone to get to the bus we were on our way. Dropped of some vacationers at one hotel and then were arrived.
Normally when new guests arrive the animation staff and other hotel staff greet the guests with song and cold drinks but due to the hour, 4am no song but cold drinks, that was not a problem, I don’t think singing at that hour was not what we needed, lol.
Check in was a breeze, again probably the hour and due to knowing the resort we declined the provided ride to our room and walked maybe two minutes to our building.

Room
This hotel provides three types of rooms;
Standard-No balcony/patio and no fridge
Superior- Balcony/patio and fridge
One bedroom- all the above and separate room to sleep, some loft and some same floor.
We received a standard on the second floor building 21, room 2132 as this is what we paid for and requested we were very happy, very large and 2 queen beds sitting area with 4 chairs and table and bathroom with excellent water pressure, unfortunately I heard this was an issue in some rooms. The next time though we will pay the extra and get a balcony as the room seemed damp without having the balcony door to open to create a cross breeze.
The other 2 couples received a superior room.

Hotel/Restaurants/Bars
The hotel gives a feel of a small resort but is quite large as well. There is a nice lobby to grab a seat to get out of the mid day heat. The grounds are beautiful and always being manicured. The resort layout is done well basically only a minute or two walk either to the lobby or the beach from wherever you are.

There are 5 restaurants 1 buffet, 3 a la cartes and a beach restaurant. The buffet does a different theme night every night, Asian, Spanish, International, Dominican, French, BBQ, and Seafood which was done at the beach with an after dinner show. We found the buffet quite good on most nights, we did do Pizza Hut and Hemingway’s on three nights but breakfast was the best meal of the day eggs anyway you want nearly everything you could want on the buffet bacon and sausages every other day ham, pancakes, French toast, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, fresh fruits and juices, cold cheeses, cold cereals basically everything to suit everyone palate, over all buffet was great.

Our group only did the Italian a la carte and we found it ok overall some really liked it others did not, one thing we did agree on the food was bland for Italian, to spice it up though try the chili peppers, that should do the trick, very hot.

The beach restaurant is where we had most lunches buffet does a lunch as well. There were hamburgers hotdogs great fries always a different type of chicken and fish, salad and fruit and desert. Not bad and you did not have to leave the beach area. Remember do not take your plates to the beach as they are glass, the staff had a hard time getting this across to the guests. They also provide Birthday cakes, as one person in our group celebrated her B’day down there, the staff brought in the cake with a candle and sang Happy Birthday; cost is 400 peso and will be served in any restaurant you will be attending. Nice touch.

The bars are located at the beach opened from 10am to5pm, pool bar opened from 10am to 2am and Café Francis 6:30pm to midnight.

Beach
This was the most visible change. There was a beach restoration project done on the whole stretch of beach even into Playa Costa Dorada (next beach to the left) and the other beach to the right, sorry do not remember that name. The beach is huge the depth from tree line to water has been extend to about 75 feet a lot of room for all. The sand for the shell seeker is a treasure trove, my wife found all kinds of shells 4kgs worth and I found a shark tooth and no matter your age who doesn’t like digging in the sand. This beach has it vendors but again a simple no gracias they will go away. If you want to try your bartering skills take a walk left on the beach and go the large orange hut, “Dominican Wal-Mart”.
Beware beach chairs are plentiful but they go quickly so get there very early if you want some lounges for your day at the beach.

Pool
The pool is a good size, a lot of room to sit/lie in the sun or shade nice pool bar but unfortunately the swim up bar is gone but the pool bar has been extended to include a covered area. There is a children’s pool and a separate area for volleyball. Pool never seemed busy as everyone seemed to be at the beach!

Staff
The overall the staff was great, most can speak English or at least some but we all brushed up on our Spanish survivor language skills and had a great time interacting. There was a couple of staff that seemed disinterested at times but who can say we’ve never been disinterested with our own jobs right?

Excursions
We did not do any organized tours via beach vendors or our tour rep. We made our own, we spoke to the hotel staff about traveling by guaga and they gave us the prices the locals would pay to certain places Like Parque Centrale in Puerto Plata 10 pesos p/p each way or 30 pesos p/p each way to Sosua, we decided to visit Puerto Plata on our own. First and foremost your tour rep will say not to travel this way, it is dangerous because of the rules or should I say lack of road rules. Well this is how all those Dominicans travel to and fro everyday and it was great. The driver dropped us of a little north of the actual Parque Centrale and we asked a kid where to go ands he just pointed down the street then he said he would show the group, he then asked if we wanted to see things where to Dominicans go we said sure and he said he would do it for free. As we left the Parque he took us to a cemetery which look very much like a New Orleans cemetery even showed us the Brugal family crypt, this was amazing. Next we went to an authentic Dominican market this was a sight to see, all open huts where anything from spices to meat to vegetables were purchased even a dice game going on. It was nice to see how the locales shop. Next we went to a factory where the raw amber and Laramar was made into jewelry very fascinating process and they showed you how real amber floats in sea water and fake sinks. Then off to a very nice colonial style restaurant for a light lunch and then back to the park. Total cost including the 500.00 peso we gave to the kid 22.30 CDN for 4 people return, the next day we went off to the Fort, the Museum of Angels and touring the Maleacon and stopping for cold drinks and we did not have a “tour guide” this time and total cost for 6 including 8 large Pestidentes was 45.23 CDN, considering we meet people at the fort who took an excursion to the Rum factory the Amber Museum the Parque Centrale and shopping for 25.00 USD p/p. I would say make your our excursion and really get a feel for the Dominicans. Just remember to exercise caution like you would in your home country. Another thing we noticed is since we wear those ID bracelets the hotels give us we seem to be very noticeable to the locales. We seen a few travelers without the bracelets and locales paid no attention to them. Next year we are wearing those rubber wristbands and having the bracelet attached there so when leaving the resort we are not “targeted”.

New Management
The Celuisma Hotel management was in full view most of the time and always checking the services out in regards to bars, wait staff, cleaners, different setups like pool, buffet ect.
Due to being there two weeks the second week things changed amazingly overnight, they replaced all the old tables and chairs, added self service dispensers for coladas and juices both at the pool bar and buffet and removed the old pool tables from upstairs near Café Francis and added a stage for the nightly jazz band and put new table in the pool bar area. Another major change we noticed from the first week to the second was the wait staff at the bars and buffet someone must have light a fire under you know what because their level of attention to the guests and their needs went up dramatically. We noticed that they were at the new seated guests table getting drink orders, serving coffee and milk either as soon as you got in for breakfast or as soon as you were done lunch or dinner and they also came back during your meals not much getting up to replenish your liquids. The bar staff if there was not a lineup at the bar they were cleaning tables asking guest if they needed another drink. Nice change. Also heard that the beach and pool loungers will be replaced and some renovations to the room will take place. Also Guest service director Abel WILL resolve any problems that may arise like our A/C failing within 1 hour fixed and room cooled right down for our return.

Departure
This is the one area of improvement that all 6 of us can agree one that must be addressed, due to taking a late flight there we also received a late and I mean late flight home 5:05am which meant we had to check out of our rooms at 1pm and really have no “home base” for 13 hours, out pickup time was 2:30am. Due to hotel rules and they are clearly posted check out time is 1pm and with the hotel being full and yes it was full we could not even purchase one room for the day, Abel I must say worked really hard to help but it was not possible. Maybe GTD or any tour company and the hotel can make different arrangements. We did survive this, lol, flight left on time and we arrived safe and on time in Montreal.

Overall
I would go back to this hotel in a heart beat, seeing the improvements which are done already this hotel will truly be a 3.5 to 4 star hotel, We would also choose Go Travel Direct for the 7th consecutive year next year.

After just returning from what should have been a great two week vacation in the Dominican Republic I just had to write a review.

Let me start by saying that I am not a particularly fussy traveler. I like to camp, I am used to bugs, and don't usually find much to complain about when I have a bed and a shower.

However, Playa Naco is the exception. The accomodations were actually rather pleasant, compaired to the previous week in Samana. A/C worked, shower worked, linen was clean, bed was OK. However, the staff, especially the wait staff was rude at best; indifferent and totally ignored us at worst. There were a few who were the exception and unfortunately I can not recall their names. The meal fare was the usual buffet/all inclusive selections. That wasn't even bad until the meals were coming from the kitchen cold when you could get sit-down meals. There were ants crawling over most of the buffet items, and the birds were making pigs of themselves at the open-air buffet on more than one occasion. When my traveling companion spoke with some of the other guests and organized them to speak as a group with the manager of the hotel to inform him of the problems he flat out refused to speak to any of the guests, and made some of the other staff be the ones to take in the anger and disgust of the guests. To make matters worse, there was virtually no entertainment of any sort for the first three or four days that we were there. The children's programs and most of any type of programs had been cancelled as the "resort" was more than half empty and there seemed to be a general feeling that the staff was doing us a favor by just being there rather than making us feel like we were welcome guests at the hotel. The one activities person who was around was Luis. He is a very dedicated man who enjoys his job and makes the most of the very little that he has to work with.

I am 21 years old from NS, Canada. 3 Friends and I went to the Playa Naco Tennis and Golf Resort in Peurta Plata, Dominican Republic at the end of April 2006. It was difficult finding a review of this resort before we left so I thought I would write about our experience.

The resort was amazing, this was my first trip so I don't have anything to compare it to, but we had a great time. The gardens and buildings in the resort were beautiful, and we were lucky enough to be in the building closest to the beach. My boyfriend and I had a suite and our balcony was steps from the beach. I've heard the sand in Peurta Plata isn't as nice as the other side of the island or Cuba, but I didn't mind it at all. It may not have been white but the water was still beautiful. We walked up the beach quite a ways and noticed that alot of the other resorts had a huge seaweed problem, it just wasn't cleaned up. We didn't see alot of people swimming at the resorts nearby. There was a tractor (not that I ever head or seen it) that goes up and down the beach in the eraly morning at playa naco to clean up all the seaweed.

The Pool was also very nice and refreshing. There isn't nearly as much wind by the pool as there was at the beach however, and it got really hot up there really quick. We enjoyed the breaze on the beach, it made suntanning much more comfortable. The weather was great for nearly the entire week. We were afraid about going in the Spring, but it only rained one night, the rest of the trip was sunny and about 30-35 degrees all the time. The nights are so warm, we often layed out on the loungers after supper, even when the sun was gone.

The Food at the resort was pretty repetative, but I am a very fussy eater and I never had a problem finding something I liked. The breakfeast buffet was great, we had pancakes and bacon and sausage every morning, it tasted just like home. Tons of fresh fruit at every meal was also great. at lunch you have two options, the regular buffet, or the beach buffet. We prefered the beach buffet because they served pizza, french fries, hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos and chicken. Same thing everyday, but it was all very good. At supper time the buffet had lots of choices, but as I'm a fussy eater I had spegetti most nights. We at at all three A la Carte restaurants.
(Although the all inclusive is only supposed to include 1 trip to the restaurant we were told we could go 2 or 3 times). The resort has an italian, a tex-mex and a carribean restaurant. I suprisingly enjoyed all three very much, the mexican was my friends and my favorite. The Italian wasn't much different than the stuff you could get in the buffet (just nice to sit and be served, good wine too). The Carribean served steaks, chicken (which I had, it was fabulous), and alot of seafood dishes. The Tex-Mex served burritos, fahitas, quasidillas, all of which were great.

The entertainment was just okay. During the day there was stuff like canoeing and sailing which we all did, but you only have an hour or 30 minutes with most stuff. There was minigolf and basketball which kept the boys busy most of the week. At night the shows were quite repetative. They were great about involving the kids and were very energetic, but after seeing it once or twice, it's really rather boring. One night there was a big beach party (every monday night) where they lined the beach with tables and the buffet was outside, the show that night was great, much different than the other nights. At 11pm most of the discos opened, they play american music, which is nice, and they were really fun. Alot of the staff from the hotel go to the disco as well. the only problem we had was finding somehting to do after supper before going to the disco. The show usually lasted from about 8:30-11pm, there wasn't anything else going on during that time.

Playa Naco is in the Playa Dorada Complex which makes shopping and going to discos/casinos very easy. There is a shopping mall and a disco about a 3-4 minute walk from the resort (there is also a pizza hut in there if you really need some american tasting food). Everything you will want to buy for souveniers will be at the mall, and will also be much cheaper than buying things from the little shops at the resort.

We went on the Catamaran (party boat) day trip. This was definatly the highlight of our week. We got to snorkle in a coral reef and swim in the beautiful sousa bay. There was also a diving platform and a waterslide on the boat which were lots of fun. The guys who ran the tour were great too, and kareoke was alot of fun on the way home.

Our 6 a.m. flight with Go Travel Direct left on time and thanks to a tail wind arrived 20 minutes early. Breakfast on board was an egg omelet, hash brown, fruit salad, juice and roll. Coffee, Tea, soft drinks and a snack were also offered. Return flight arrived back in Halifax early also. We were offered drinks, chicken or pastromi sandwich, cookies and snack. We had no problem at the Puerto Plata airport on arrival or departure.

The Room: I had emailed the resort to request a room on the 2nd floor. Upon check-in we were given room 1010, building #10, bottom floor. The room was in the back of the building, had a nasty odor and the view was a brick wall. We mentioned to the bellboy that we were going back to reception to request a different room, he told up to just leave the luggage there. We took our carry on luggage, left the rest and headed back to reception. The front desk clerk checked the computer and asked us to wait a minute. The bellboy came back to reception and told us he had a key for a room that we could go look at. He took us to room 1245, Bldg. 12, 3rd floor. The room had two levels. Lower level had a table with four chairs, mini fridge, couch and two chairs, balcony overlooking a garden, side table and telephone. A spiral staircase led us to the upper level where there was a king size bed, armoire with TV, a bedside table with lamps, armchair, walk-in closet and bathroom. There was a window in the bedroom that overlooked the lower level and the second window overlooked the garden. No smell at all, the A/C worked perfectly but was a little on the noisy side so we turned it off at night.

I've read reviews about this resort where people complained about the food, I have a comment about that, those people must be very hard to please or super picky and should probably either stay home or bring their own food. There were all kinds of food, plenty of variety. The hot food was hot and the cold food was cold.

Food: There were three restaurants, we didn't eat at any we were quite happy with the buffet. The buffet had a different theme each night. There was a microwave in the buffet at the bread station. Breakfast: Hot and cold cereals, jams, yogurt, fresh fruit, sliced meat, cheese, rolls, sweet rolls, banana bread, etc. Coffee, tea, fresh squeezed juice. Boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, pancakes, French toast, syrup, bacon (every other day), sausages, potatoes, etc. Egg grill where you could get fresh cooked eggs or omelets. Breakfast food pretty well covered anything you could want. Lunch: Bread and rolls, Pasta station, fresh grill (different meat daily). Salads, pasta salads, potato salads, cheese, cubed ham, tomatoes, cucumbers, soup, rice, veggies, chicken, fish, beef and pork. Hamburgers, French-fries, sandwich grill. Lots of desserts, ice cram and fruit. Dinner: Monday night all restaurants and buffet are closed and tables are set up by the beach for the Beach Party. The resort does a fantastic job on the beach banquet. Lots of different seafood. Theme nights were Mexican, Italian, French, Dominican, Spanish (can't remember the other one). Same stations as lunch, lots to choose from. Salads, fresh fruit, breads and rolls, soup, cheese and cold meat. Something made with fish, port, chicken and beef. Usually two kinds of rice and two different kinds potatoes and veggies. I've seen stuffed peppers, eggplant, plantain, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, corn, peas, etc. There was always something at the grill. On Friday night they BBQ pig and had whole BBQ chicken. Another day they were carving from a large fish, you might see them grilling fresh fish, chicken, pork, etc. One day at lunch they were carving large hams. There was also quite a selection of desserts, mini puff pastries, cookies, cakes, squares, fresh fruit and ice cream. Some nights there were puddings and fruit in sauce.

The Beach Club served alcohol from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m., food from 12:00 noon to 3 p.m. Beach buffet offered French fries, rice, chicken, veggies, tortilla chips and cheese, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza. Cold salads, tomatoes, fresh fruit and some kind of dessert. Usually the pizza was still available at 5 p.m. As long as there were people eating it, they were making it.

There was one large pool with an adjacent small round pool. We didn't spend a whole lot of time around the pool, there were activities during the day. There was a Jacuzzi on one of the paths to the beach. We counted three bars, beach bar, pool bar and a bar on the top level of the main building by the pool tables. There were also bars in the restaurants and buffet. The resort also had four tennis courts, games room, gym, spa, mini golf, bicycles, shops, an art school. By the beach there was a basketball court, entertainment stage, water sports hut. Water sports, included snorkeling, boogie boards, kayaks and wind surfers. We also had a free horseback ride. This was an introductory ride offered by Lorilar Fine Horses. The beach was nice and long; you cold walk forever in either direction. We were a 15-minute walk to the orange market and about ½ hour to the blue market. Never a problem finding a sun lounger no matter what time you got to the beach. Lots of shade from the trees and a few palapas. There were a few people that felt entitled to keep a spot under a palapa and also take up a chair in the sun. Not much shade at the pool in the afternoon.

We booked a ½ day horse ride and also the Banana Republic Party Catamaran operated by Cats Catamaran. The horse back riding was about three plus hours with a break in the middle. Beautiful scenery, well behaved horses. We had a great time. We also loved the catamaran. The crew is a fun loving bunch of guys with a female bartender to look after you. We were on our way by 9 a.m. and returned around 3:30 p.m. We cruised to Sosua Bay where we snorkeled and had lunch. There is a waterslide and diving platform on the catamaran. When we left Sosua Bay we headed out to sea a little way where they raised the sail for our return to Playa Dorada. On the way back there was Karoke and a sexy man contest (quite funny). We had a great time and would consider doing both of these excursions again.

We went to Playa Naco Resort April 1 to 8, 2006, me and my husband (we are in our late 30s).

RESORT: We really liked it. We took a superior room, with a terrasse. It was a huge room, it felt like an apartment. Even if it's old, it was well maintained and it was well cleaned everyday. We thought about changing to a balcony room, as it would have been the same price, but since everything was working perfectly in ours, we decided we might as well stay there, anyway, you're barely in your room. I would suggest you take the 15$ fees key for the safe, it was well worth it. As I put what was priceless in it and didn't really had to be nervous about something may be taken. If you can, bring a small flashlight, just because soom rooms (ours was like that), the way it is set up, it's very dark in the closet where the safe is, and you couldn't see in it, so you had to grab everything out and then chose whatever you need. We were in bldg 17, room 1704. We were right on the beach, within 1 minute walk! If you don't ask for faceclothes, you may won't get any, so either you'll have to ask each time, or you may chose to bring some along.

FOOD: I'm not a very picky person for food, but I don't like to eat what I don't really know what's in there. So, I stick to whatever I knew I'd like, and the variety was so huge, that anyone can find something they like. If a person doesn't find something he likes there, that person is probably someone who can never be satisfied. My husband though, really likes to try different things in food, he tried a lot of various things, and most of them, he enjoyed. We didn't tried the 'A la carte' restaurants, even if it was included in our packages, as we had so many variety from the buffet and the restaurant at the beach, that we didn't bother to reserve to go there.

TOUR: I find they are very expensive. One had a very good price though, which was the Half A Day Pueto Plata Tour, at $35 US per person. We left at 9:00 in the morning, and came back at the resort at 4:00 in the afternoon. We went to 2 different little stores one containing history of a Larimar stone/mine with a little tour guide (it was very expensive there though), visited a church, a fort, the Brugal Rum factory, a tour of where the 2% rich people of Puerto Plata leaves, and 2 hours at Sosua beach, where there are about 150 huts to buy souvenirs. And, too, we stopped around noon at a restaurant and had a buffet included. So, that was a really good deal.

VENDORS: They really are annoying, most of them, some are like pest! Gees! But, still, we are in their country, they know we have money to spend, and they are trying to sell their stuff, so, even if it wasn't fun, I knew it'll be like that, and I was patient and kept saying no when I had no intentions to buy, and I was dealing with it ok. My husband chose to stay outside the huts most of the time as he hated too much being assle to buy all the time. So, it's up to you to chose to get in the vendors huts or not. They can go very lower with their prices, you stick with what you want to pay for the item. If that vendor doesn't want to agree, then, you can be sure that in another store or hut, you'll find the exact same thing. There's the Orange Huts on the beach, and past that, if you take a nice long walk (which we did), you'll see other huts. But we didn't bother to go check them, as we had bought what we wanted allready.

MARKET: Within 3-5 minutes walk, you can go to the Playa Dorada Market, it's a mall with a few stores. It's considered big there, it was nice. I had found a site in the Internet for that Market, and it describes the mall and the stores in it.

ENTERTAINMENT: I have to say that it was like a 2 on 10 for us. There wasn't that much going on as far as entertaining. The people doing shows were the ones working there, so they are not professionnal. I watch some a bit, my husband didn't really care for it. Before midnight, everything was about shut down there. But, in the Playa Dorada Market, we've heard there was disco, karaoke, casino. We didn't go, some did and some enjoyed it. There are people working at the resort who go after their shift and they can walk with you so you'll feel more secure. They used to have a disco in the resort, would have been nice to still have it.

WORKERS AT THE RESORT: The big majority is really nice, some are sweeties!

POOL: We didn't tried it as we were always at the beach. I would have like that there would still be a bar inside the pool (heard it was taken off not too long ago).

TIPS: We brought many american dollars for tips. On our first day, everytime we would get a drink or a service, we'd give a dollar, so they were going fast, and when we look around, we realized that everybody there was not giving any (which we wouldn't) or were giving every let's say 3-4 times, so that's what we went with, as you are there for 8 days. Plus, every morning, before leaving the room, we would leave a dollar plus 2-3 things on the pillow for the maid.

LOCATION OF THE RESORT ON THE BEACH: What made us decide to go there was the reviews that said it was the best location on the beach, and for that, we had no regrets. It was by far, the best location on the beach. We walk long walks both sides of the resort, and ours was the best spot on the beach.

HAIR: If you want to have your hair done, negociate and deal a lot, as there are so many of them doing them and you'll be surprised at how much the price varies from one to another. I had just made half my head, the front part, and it was very nice, for $25 US, some were charging more. Turned out that at the Orange Huts, could have had the same thing for $15.

PHONE CALLS: We are from Canada, and having two little girls, we wanted to call home every second night. We thought maybe a phone card would be the cheapest way, but we were told that you simply use the phone in the room to call home and then, this charges at the Resort itself and before leaving, when you check out, you just pay whatever you owe (in pesos or US). It cost us less than $20 that way, and we had made about 4 or 5 calls, and some were kinda long, so it was a really good price. If you chose to go this way, make sure you check to see if it's still the cheapest way. What we did, is we call the first night, that way, just talked about 3-5 minutes and then, went to the reception and asked how much it was, so we knew and had an idea of the price.

REMOTE: We took one, as most of human, we cannot watch TV without it haha! Just make sure you return it when you check out.

CHECK IN AND OUT: Was done very fast, not at all a long wait. And as well, the drive from the airport to the resort was just about 20 minutes. As I'm the kind of person who is very organized and hate to forget things, I kept a little notebook with notes of what to do, what not to forget, and so, I forgot nothing.

We spent 7 wonderful days in playa naco. All in all everything was great. Lots of food, lots of drinks, great company , what else could you ask for? There were 4 of us in our party, two parents and two 16 year olds. Everyone had a great experience with the resort. The food was typical resort food, some good and some just ok.

We really enjoyed the "beach party" when all the buffet was taken down to the beach for dinner that night. There was a lot of preparation and work to get it all going as well as it did.

We travelled to the Playa Naco from Mar 03-10 2006. We booked with Go-Travel as we have several times in the past. We have had no problems with this company, and the Zoom plane in a large roomy plane.

There were 18 in our party, ranging from ages 13-57. Everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed the resort except for two. We found the food very good, there was lots to choose from. They roasted a pig twice during our stay. There was pork, beef, chicken, salmon, fish ,hamburg, hot dogs etc...what is left. The breakfasts were great, with freshly made omelets, smoothies, bacon, sauceges etc.. Each evening along with the normal buffet items they had a different theme adding foods for the theme. ie. chineese, dominican, mexican etc.. There was always lots of salad items, breads,and pastas.

I had been to this resort two years ago and enjoyed it very much then but I was a little afraid after reading some of the reviews, however the hotel was just as good now as then. We were in building 22, with four of our rooms beside each other, one girl with us had a single room and we had requested she be in the same building with us but was put in building 17, we requested a change and got it within an hour. Some of our rooms did smell musty but one of your reviews suggested a glade oil fan, and that did the trick, I would like to suggest you bring two as some of the rooms are quite large. The one and only thing that was not so good was that we only had hot water once a day, sometime that being 10:30 at night, but we got along just fine.

They have removed the swim up bar from the pool, which did not affect us too much as we spent all our time at the beach, as there is a bar and food availabe at the beach, no need to stay at the hot pool. The disco is no longer at the hotel, but they do provide free transportation to a disco with two free drinks.

I suggest going on the dune buggies. They were 25.00 u.s per person ( two per buggie), they were lots of fun, I suggest you go after a rain (only) and bring a pair of shorts and t-shirt you can throw out, as you will not get the clothes clean. This is a great time to bring dolls, pencils, toys etc...as they take you to a village (with kids just waiting for you). This was a three hour ride, and the best time we had. Some also went on the jeep safari with the boogie boarding at the end and they had a great time.

This was the only time I have travelled to the Dominican and brought u.s. money, I would not do that again as I received my change many times is pesos and got ripped off.

The beach was beautiful,much nicer than the one we went to at Sousa,on our tour.the food was fine,the service was good,Go Travel direct was an excellent tour company.

The resort was a good deal for the money--but if we had of paid full price we would have been disappointed.

The resort recently opened after being closed for 2 months so that likely contributed so some of our frustrations.

Check-In--Smooth and quick, got our keys right away and our room was ready (1pm).

Room-- HUGE!!! It consisted of a huge first floor with a living room area and a dinning area and an empty mini fridge. Up the spiral staircase was our bedroom where we had a king-sized bed another TV, a small sitting area and full bathroom. The room also overlooked the beach and was literally a 45 second walk to the water and the beach bar/restaurant. Now, the room was not without its problems--the blankets and sheets were very musty--I asked to get new sheets and blankets and they were either changed with new ones that were equally musty or they were never changed. The room also had old stinky carpet and the chambermaid did not have a vacuum so I can only imagine how dirty it really was. Despite the room's problems we did not want a room change as the location and size were a real bonus.

Food--It was excellent some days and just ok on other days. All the a la cartes were not running as the hotel was at a low capacity--but also due to the low occupancy they were able to have some buffet meals on the beach which was nice. Breakfast was always good with a lot of variety, fresh juice and omelette station. Lunch you could eat at the beach restaurant--this was the same food everyday, hamburgers, pizza and hotdogs OR you could eat at the buffet which had a decent variety. For dinner we ate at the beach buffet twice, the regular buffet twice, Caribbean grill twice and the Italian once. We could not get into the Mexican as the power was out the only night it was open. In our opinion the Caribbean and the Seafood beach buffet were the best, the worst was the Italian and the other dinner meals were just ok.

Bars-- Excellent fast service, always had what we requested and you could get red and white wine at all of them.

Beach--Average.

Staff--We were quite impressed with most staff. For the most part they were fast friendly and very accommodating. We found that the Italian restaurant was a little disorganized so it didn't have the best service and we found that for the first time in all of my Caribbean travels the chambermaid was not great. She never took dirty cups, never swept the tile floors nor cleaned any of the carpet floors.

Weather--Now I know that weather can't be controlled but how weather effects the guests can be. It rained quite a bit at night, one day it rained all night and off and on during the day. The paths and walkways were so covered in water that the water came up over my ankles and I was wearing 2 inch heals. My husband tried walking around the paths and the grass was soaked as well. I am not sure if they could put in some sort of drainage system but it would be a big help.

The Resort
I don’t like knocking places down and I am not that fussy, but this place needs some improvement!! But hey, if you really don’t care about the resort and only care about the beach, then come on down!!

We went with a group of 8 and all of use had a problem with our rooms, either it was no hot water, no pressure or no water at all!! One of our friends had problems with the air conditioner (which you really do need!!) and when we got there they were already out of safes which is told that you get in their resort write up. Some of us had the basic rooms and some of us had suites with a fridge (which are not stocked). Anyway, enough about the rooms.

The staff were really friendly, I only had problems with the bartender near the pool…He wasn’t very nice unless you were a girl and you got what you wanted. But my boyfriend and other guy friend thought he was a jerk (which I saw and he was!!). They could put more people working at the bar, and things would have been a lot better…It was a nice long line to get things. It was only him that gave me the bad vibe, everyone else was really nice and sweet!

We all loved the Mexican restaurant, skip the Italian one if you know what is best!! The beach and main buffet were okay too, but I never expect a lot out of the food.

The pool area is really small but nicely kept, because the area is so small I found that they did not have enough chairs out. The beach was beautiful, and you could always find a spot. Staying on Playa Dorado is the best, because the beach goes on forever. One end you can shop at the orange market and the other just keeps on going. LOVED IT! They kept the beaches very clean and I am pretty sure we had the best beach out of the resorts in Playa Dorado.

Things to do
Oh my goodness, there is so much for you to do here. I think we did something almost everyday! We took a taxi to Sosua (about 30-45mins away) and told the driver when to come get us and he did, this is with any taxi rides that we did…They will come back for you!! Anyway, Sosua was gorgeous it was like we were in Punta Cana with the very blue green water and the sandy white beaches. They had a huge market there that goes down the whole beach (about 100 huts), this is also a GREAT place to go snorkeling! Bring a piece of bananas while you go out and the fish come flocking to you. At first you have no idea where to snorkel, but then you can see heads bopping a little out there, looks far but isn’t that bad of a swim. AMAZING. They also have a glass bottom boat for the people who are not really into snorkeling. The only thing here, it is a local beach and it you want a chair you pay for it. But if you happy with just using your towel all is good.

We also took a taxi to MT. Isabella, just do the taxi here…It cost about $7 to get up and down the mountain. On a nice day you can see everything…It is so beautiful up there. You can walk around and explore the top yourself.

Next, we did some sort of Jungle Safari. They picked us up in a back of a truck where they have benches for us to seat on. Great way to see Puerto Plata (which is not worth going to). They take you everywhere…They took us to a typical Dominican house and though out the country side…Then we went to this place where they showed us how they made coffee and other fun stuff, had lunch and then the best part….We went on this hike and climbed the waterfalls and then slid down them. It was so fun. If this is what your interested in, make sure you are booking the right tour…Some only bring you boogie boarding, so be sure you know what your getting into.

This was our first trip to the Dominican Republic. We stayed in the Playa Naco on a timeshare exchange. On arrival at the airport we had to queue for sometime to pay the $10 USD tax to get into the country. I definitely recommend that this is done before leaving home. We had to get a taxi to the resort and was glad to see that all taxis have a fixed price which is displayed so you cant get ripped off.

When we booked, we could only get a studio but on arrival we discovered that we had been put into a one bedroom apartment. The room was clean but did look very worn and definitely needed alot of TLC. The towels in the room had been folded into swans with flowers which was a really nice touch, but this only lasted a few days. Their website says that all rooms have a kitchen, but our's only consisted of empty cupboards and a fridge. There was not even a kettle to make a drink with. The air con worked excellent but was very noisy. We had no problem with the room or bedding smelling musky. We had some rain while we were there and in the evening we were infested with bugs coming into the room from under the door so we had to block it off with a towel. We shared the room with a small lizard a couple of days. We did have a few other problems during our stay but these were resolved quickly by the staff. We stayed in building 14, and most of the lighting down the path didnt work which made it dangerous when walking to and from the restaurants at night, although we reported this nothing was done to replace the bulbs. The rooms were cleaned daily and towels seemed to be changed every day. The staff were always friendly and willing to help. We tipped the room maid $2 USD every day.

Although there were several restaurants only the Carribean was open which doubled up as the mexican. The food in the Yacht Club wasnt very good. Although they have theme nights,the food was more or less the same every night. There was a problem with birds pecking at the food at breakfast and lunch times which was abit off putting. My mum found hair in her food a couple of times. After the first 2 days we had to ask for drinking water in the room when we needed it which was provided free.

The beach and pool areas were great and kept very clean. You do get hounded by the beach vendors all the time but if u say no gracias they normally keep on walking. Just dont ask how much unless you really want to buy as you wont get rid of them. Dont forget to barter with them too!!

Unknown to us, June is their low season so it was fairly quiet which we didnt really mind during the day as there was never a problem getting beds at the beach. There wasnt much to do in the evening after dinner though as they didnt put on much entertainment so normally went back to the room after a quick drink at the bar. The locals take over at the weekend who werent very friendly and dont make you free welcome in their country. Funnily enough as soon as they arrived the staff put on some entertainment.

Overall I would say that once we had settled into things we had a great holiday spending most of our time on the beach. We went to Oceanworld and swan with the dolphins. Although it is fairly expensive ($145 USD) it was definitely worth it and I would recommend it to anyone. We did try twice to go on an excursion to Santiago but it was cancelled both times due to lack of interest.

My 13th visit to the DR was a good one even though I wanted to go to Panama instead. The weather in Puerto Plata is always better than most destinations in June and the best on the island in June, Strange but PP gets less rain in June than in Jan -March

It is low season so it can get quiet which is what I like and the sell off for $ 300 CDN plus tax doesn't hurt either. Of course there are cutbacks as only one of three restaurants were open and the pool bar opened one day.

I will go over the good and then the bad for the resort. I can't complain but some did and if you pay full price I can see why.

The Good
FOOD
The food was good for a 3 star resort. Some nights were excellent and others were good, mexican buffet sucked but the chimichangas at the a la carte were great.We booked the al carte 5 out of 7 nights and no line up to book( low season bonus) Tons of fresh fruit and milkshake and juice stand were excellent. The omlettes were excellent) no alceite means no oil as they will drop a ladel of oil on the grill and your eggs on top of that if you don't tell them not to.

Rooms
The rooms can be warn and tattered a bit but our standard room with no balcony was quite large. The 1st room in building 10 faced the buffet and french cafe so the noise was too much, the ac also rattled loudly so we changed rooms. The room we got was in unit 21 and was great and was on the second floor.

Beach
The playa is average but clean and right in front of the water sports area the water is clear and the slope gradual, the bottom is also clean and clear unlike other parts of the playa.

Service
Off season the staff is reduced so service was slow in the buffet or non-existent but if you asked for it they would serve you right away. The service in the a la carte was excellent Front desk was great too.

Staff
All around the staff were friendly and if you talked to them they were the nicest people around. Some are a little stand offish but that is the nature of many Domiincans and compared to the Cubans and Mexicans always hustling you I prefer it/

Bad
The rooms were musty but we all know that air conditioners get rid of that. But the pillows and Comforters smelled musty all the time.

Some things like steps, lounge chairs, etc were broken but for the most part things were good, Some rooms have cracks in the wall, floor but who cares, it is a 3 star.

They fired the dancers so there were no shows but the staff played drinking games with the Brits who seemed to like it.

1 al la carte open only but who can blame them as it was only half full.

You had to ask for water in your fridge or no refill.

Hi. My son and I stayed at Play Naco from May 2 - 9. We had a blast. Thought maybe it would be a little boring just the two of us but the second day there we were takin in by a group of people from the UK. They were wonderful. We laughed, joke, carried on and partied with them everynight.

This was the second time my son and I stayed in the Dorado complex. In January my husband, daughter, son and I stayed at the VIllas Dorados. Nice resort but Playa Naco is much better.

The food was pretty much the same as on all the other resorts we have stayed at in the Dominican. Good but after 4 or 5 days you miss the tastes of home. Thats alright though because there is a Pizza Hut down the road in the Plaza. My son ate there twice near the end of our vacation. Also, he ate more at the Beach Bar then at the buffet. From noon until three they serve hotdogs, hamburgers, salads, and pizza and from 3 - 5 just pizza. Usually he'd eat lunch there and just before 5 have his supper too. The morning omlets are great and made right in front of you with the ingrediants that you choose.

The rooms are clean and the air conditioner works wonderfully. Thank god, because in May it is a lot hotter then in January.

The beach was beautiful and the pool was great. In the afternoon though the best place is the beach. It is much cooler and there is a breeze most days whereas at the pool it is muggier and no breeze. But be careful when walking the beach. My son was offered, by a local teeneager, what looked like his 13 year old sister, then a 14 year old sister and then after saying no to both he was offered both at once for "cheapy, cheapy". Being 15 he grinned but said, "ah, no!"

The staff are wonderful and friendly. When looking to purchase any thing that you may have left behind or if you are craving junk food walk down to the plaza. Everything is cheaper there then in the market on the resort but note that the farther you get into the plaza the cheaper things get. Don't buy at the first store. Look around and you can get things much cheaper. Also, buying nic nacs and souviners are cheaper in the plaza then from the vendors on the beach.

All and all we had a great time and still communicate with the people we met from the UK via MSN Messenger. Good friends and good times. Almost hated coming back to Nova Scotia.