Hacienda Villas, not what we expected from website. Mosquito invasion, flooded out of villa, food not good. Bothered by time-share salesman, to the point we needed to be rude. The biggest problem, we were told a set fee for the week and it turned out it was per night. We would never go back, felt were being scamed the whole time.

We stayed here for our honeymoon in Sept 05. We absolutely loved our experience, it was our first all-inclusive trip. What a wonderful time we had! The food and service was excellent! Rooms were clean and comfortable! We couldn't ask for more! My hubby was born and raised in Puerto Plata so we visited the town and his family. This was his first time back in 20 yrs! He showed me the school he want to and we visited an old friend. We went to the Amber museum. It was very interesting to see what was preserved in the Amber. We also took the cable car to the top of the mt! Very cool! Beautiful view of the area and ocean! Must do! This resort is perfect for kicking back and relaxing!!

We are VIP members for the last 4 years, and were amazed at our recent 1 week vacation (March 10-17, 2007) how much all has progressed in this resort. The new VIP beach area, spa, Gormet restaurant now, with the VIP pool area is wonderful and luxurious! Two familes (4 adults and 2 teens) stayed in Villa 51 and could have just hung out there and been happy. We had 3 large bedrooms all with ensuite baths, and separate entrances to pool area, own pool, daily maid service (who brought fresh fruits, meats/cheese, bread etc. along with offering to make eggs etc. each am; also stocked well DAILY with beach towels, bath towels, water, beer soft drinks etc.; cleaned the villa to a shine DAILY). We ended up keeping the fruit etc. for later and going to the buffet breakfast as we never could organize all of us in the ams! The guys played 3 golf days (total package for 3 days of 18 holes under 200.00 at Playa Dorada), while the gals relaxed, went to spa (1 hour massages under 50.00), or tried
to choose between the VIP Pool, beach or own our villa..Drinks were a plenty all types of premium liquor (comos, Grand Marnier, champagne
etc.), many restaurants to also choose from (Italian, Seafood, Mexican, 3 buffets, included with Gorment). Great show at the beach with full outdoor dinner (including lobster tails), excellent band (danced til we dropped), took us to Casino in Ocean World one evening, met many new faces from all over the world. Walked all over like a little village, with friendly security posted in same areas 24/7. They would be so grateful with bottled water that we gave them every day. Tipping was never expected, and always under the table (NOT obvious). A 5-10 dollars the first day from the group and another the last day, was NOt expected, but certainly appreciated by our smiling bartender. Our maid got $5/ day plus many goodies from Canada, and she was YOURS! Also, notes for them in Spanish gets you along way. I bring my Spanish book and always try to do my best in meeting THEIR language (slowly learning Spanish!).

Overall we are so happy that we bought into this place 4 years ago when there was nothing but a 3-star hotel, and now see that they have improved each year, and gone done beyond what we expected. (Ignore reviews from before 2005/2006). Hot water showers, air conditioning all worked in villa but last day air conditioning leaked on master bedroom floor (they fixed right away). We figured out that some of the taps were installed backwards , so hot was cold and cold was hot (so no biggy).

If you want an economical VIP stay, look up the villas or suites, and you will get a relaxed (not too wild , but fun), vacation that is safe, clean and great food. If you don't want to walk and staying in the villas, you can always ask ahead of time for a golf cart, but walking saved us in the end on the "scale "at our return! What else do you want? Next year we'll stay 10 days-2 weeks, as we are sad to be back in the cold! Call up and ask in customer service for Theresa,
Dorca or Wendy, as they will make sure that all your needs are taken care of from beginning to end! (We will be sending them a thank you package form Canada soon). Their customer service has imporved dramatically over the years, and will itegtrate any feedback into coninuously imporving their resort (it was always with a smile). Hola!

We stayed at Hacienda Resorts in Feb of 2006. What a fabulous experience we had. We booked our vacation thru a Vacation Rental company, renting resorts. When we arrived we were greeted with warm welcome. Our first night there was a small welcome party for guest of the VIP world. Fortunatley we had booked with Resort Rentals, otherwise as non-members we would not have had the privelage of enjoying the added Ammenities of VIP World. Lifestyles offers several different resturants for dinner, they range from Mexican to American Buffett, to a private resturant in the VIP world with white glove service. Excellent food and Excellent Service. Sunday night is a HUGE welcome party with a band and fireworks. This evening is started with a good old fashion American Barbeque., Followed by dancing to great music. I highly recommend this resort to anyone that is looking for a romantic getaway or a family vacation. Another well kept secret is that apparently if you stay at least 5nights and book with Resort Rentals you get a free admission to Ocean World. Very similar to that of SeaWorld in the states.

Kudos to Lifestyles Hacienda Resorts and Kudos to ---