I have been reading the reviews for this hotel, and I fear there are some really spoiled people out there. I think for the price, you could not have had a better vacation. The rooms were big and clean, PLENTY of food, and NOT the same thing every day. (I hardly saw any pasta!) This was a first vacation for both me and my husband to anywhere tropical in our lives, so maybe our standards aren't as high, but WE HAD A BLAST. ONY, the best bartender ever, deserves all the praise you have read about. The pool was great, the beach was clean, plenty to keep you busy. I know we are already considering going back, but this time with our son. If you are looking for luxury, it would probably be best to stay away. Just as well, if you are that stuck up, you wouldn't be any fun anyways!

We arrived late and found that our room was not available until the next day after 3. We had a confrimed booking for a 2 bedroom, 2baths with living room full kitchen on the main floor for 6 people. We ended up with 2 ajoinging rooms on the second floor with a balcony, that some animal used every night as a feeding station, what a mess to wake up to every morning, YUCK!!! The room was very basic with not even a glass, it was large with very dim lighting and a 1960's tv. We had trouble getting towels and faceclothes. Which is not good for four girls. We ate pasta most of the week, the specialty dinning rooms were always booked. At the snack bar the only thing we could stomache was the french fries. We tried to get into the spa but it was never open. The front desk will not cash travelers cheques. Most of the staff is indifferent, but some are outstanding and go way out of the way to help out. This resort is not on the beach but its easy to get to the beach and the beach is lovely but has some areas of sea weed. The bottom of the pool is rough and many people had scratches on the bottom of their feet and toes. This was my second visit to this resort and I was very disappointed in how it has been run down.

Not having been to Playa Dorada before, we were unaware that the resort consists only of hotels and nothing else. The only people you meet in Playa Dorada are people staying in the hotels, and people working in the hotels, so not much fun there. The rooms are pretty basic, clean enough but no frills. The public areas are well-designed and maintained, it's a shame they don't apply the same level of care to the rooms. The food was absolutely fine, there was plenty of variety each day, vegetables were nicely cooked (not mushy!) and there was always fresh salad and fruit. The bar was pretty pathetic, no decent cocktails - pina colada came from a kind of slush puppy machine. We ended up drinking the tiny plastic cups of beer. Bar staff were rude. Entertainment is brain-rottingly awful. You'd be relaxing by the pool listening to the 1 CD that they have, when they'd crank up the music and play the same song 5 times in a row trying to cajole people into the pool for "water aerobics". That was when it was time to leave. Evening entertainment consisted - every single night - of Agadoo and the Birdy Song. Music older than the hotel......
For 9 out of our 14 days stay, we walked up to the main road and got a local bus or taxi to Sosua or Cabarete. Much nicer resorts, with more to see and do, infinitely better beaches than the one at Playa Dorada, lovely bars and restaurants and - shock! - local people. And believe it or not, it turns out they're not all murderers and rapists, despite what your tour rep tells you. We booked a room in a little hotel in Sosua and stayed there for 3 nights.
All inclusive deals from the UK are pretty cheap, so we were happy enough to spend some money outside the resort. In fact, we spent only £500 between the two of us over two weeks, eating and drinking outside the hotel, which I think is a bargain. I would strongly recommend that people spend some time visiting one of the nearby resorts. Spending a week or two only in the Caribbean Village, or even just in Playa Dorada, I think you'd go completely insane!

As a relatively experienced traveller, I have stayed in a variety of places ranging from unrated to 5*+. When I booked this vacation, honestly, I was not expecting anything in the way of extraordinary, considering that the entire package was only costing me $649 Canadian, all inclusive. I read quite a few of the other reviews posted on Tripadvisor, and started to second guess my choice. What did I get myself into? Obviously everybodies expectations are different, as are our degrees of positive and negative. Again, being a seasoned traveller, I decided that I would not dwell on the comments of others (the negative ones in particular), and would draw my own conclusions.
So here we go folks. Just got back from a week at this resort, March 13-20,2008. The entire experience can best be conveyed as FANTASTIC.
The weather: Fantastic
The people: Fantastic
The hotel: Fantastic, clean, beautiful room with balcony, outstanding maid service, almost like being at home.
The food: Fantastic, outstanding quality, variety, and quantity. From bbq beef, chicken, etc., to the night when they served 2 roasted young pigs. The onsite gourmet italian and brazillian restaurants, which were included in the package, serve an outstanding menu, and it cost me nothing extra. (I lied, I left a $5 tip)

All the horror stories I read about the poor quality of the food, greasy fried, everyday the same, are JUST NOT TRUE. Folks the food is amazing. They even bring a complete hot and cold buffet down to the beach each day. What more do you want? Everything is fresh, well prepared and beautifully presented. OUTSTANDING!!!

The beach is just a sort shuttle drive away, or you can leisurely walk there in less than 10 minutes. If you don't want to go to the beach, they have a teriffic pool.

This resort is part of a 14 hotel complex. There are golf courses, a shopping plaza, 3 casinos, fantastic surroundings and amazing, polite, beautiful people, eager to make your vacation the best it can be. This is a no stress, no hard sell environment. If you say no to someone trying to promote other opportunities to you, they just back off with a smile. It is part of the rules of the complex. No one will agressively harrass you. Just say no.

Everything that has been said by others about ONY the bartender is absolutely true. He is an incredible individual who makes being on vacation at this place even more fun. There are a lot of others that strive to do the same. Thank you ONY and all of the other fine staff.

I am sure there is something negative that I could say about this place, but I am not even going to try to think about one. It is too easy to be negative. We got far more on this vacation than we ever expected for the price we paid. In short and in all honesty, this was POSITIVELY one great vacation, at a POSITIVELY wonderful place. Just ignore the negative comments, they are not worth your time or effort. I hope you get the opportunity to experience it, enjoy it and judge it for yourself.

Still smiling :)

H:)