Stayed for a week at the Holiday Village from April 13th to 20th. Had a great time. Been to Dominican 3 times, but this is the first time we brought our 10 year old daughter along. Glad we did.

Left from Halifax, 6am flight, but that meant we go there early. Room was ready for us when we got there, more than we expected. Stayed in room 5-32, view wasn't the greatest, saw a bit of the golf course, and overlooked the "construction" area of the resort. It was close to the main building though, and the only time we were ever there was in the evening anyway. Wasn't really prepared to pay 'ocean view' price, so all in all didn't really matter. Clean room, left 2 dollars for the maid every day, as well as another dollar in an empty beer bottle in the fridge, and they did a great job, as well as leaving the 4 beer i asked for each day. Couldn't have asked for more.

Buffet was, as most say, average. fairly typical of the other resorts we stayed. The a la cartes were good though, especially the asian. Italian was good as well, and the Caribbean was worth a look as well. Didn't care for the mexican, nor did my fiance or daughter. Could have been turned off when we were there for lunch, and the birds were eating from the Salad bar. Pizza was good for lunch there though. Just stay away from the food that is sitting out!!!

Pools were great, daughter loved the wave pool. Activity pool was good too. Animation team was really good, First resort i've been too where the entertainers were mostly english rather than dominican. Different, but good as well.

Beach was certainly typical as well. Got there around 900, got a hut. only went the one day, so don't know if that was typical or not.

Bar service was awesome during the day, but really slowed at night. Lots of people for only the 1 bar. By then we really didn't need much anyway. A tip for you is to head upstairs to the 'adults only' lounge, and then bring the drinks back down. I brought down my big bubba keg, and they had no qualms about filling it up for me. Have the kids try a Mickey Mouse, or Shirley Temple so they can feel a part of the whole 'nightlife' as well.

We did pop into the 'royal suites' for a drink at the swim up bar. Contrary to the comments posted earlier, you don't have to be staying in the royal suites section to go to the pool/swim up bar. You just can't bring kids. Which brings me to my main point about this hotel.

If you have kids between 8-12, this is without a doubt, the hotel for you. Our daughter is 10, and we barely saw her after the first day. She absolutely loved the kids club. We actually had to tell her that the last day there she was going to stay with us for the day so we could spend some time together on our 'family holiday"!! The kids club was absolutely amazing. They have free stuff, canoeing, archery, building a raft from scratch and racing it, face painting, etc, as well as $$$ things such as a 'Pirate adventure', and 'Movie nights', that are well worth the price tag. We took advantage of one of the evening club events (cost of 5 american $) to enjoy a romantic dinner at the Caribbean restaurant.

To be fair, if you are single, and looking to meet other singles, there are likely other choices better suited to you in the playa dorada complex. The few 13-16 year olds I saw around seemed fairly bored as well, but if you have children who know all the words to Hannah Montana songs, this is certainly the place for you.

Quick shout out to new friends Ken and Karen from Bowmanville, Trevor and Trevor (lol) from Pickering, and George and Tina from Newfoundland. Vacation wouldn't have been as good without you all.

We just returned after 1 wonderful week at the Holiday Inn Golden Beach. We are sad. We just did not want to come back. Our Agen told us it was geared towards family and she was on the dot. Our kids 8yrs and 3 1/2 yrs and for the this was paradise. Our kids loved the room and the buffett especially Maria our wonderful waitress at the Topaz Restaurant. She took care of their needs as if they were her own. Mirele the other staff came to know that my husband wanted Mango and Sugarcane juice and one afternoon when we were at the Topaz he surprised him...the look on my husbands face was to die for. Yes the only thing I would recommend at the Buffet is to change the desserts....and Pancho Villa needs to change their menu food was quite bland and I think it needs some more authentic Mexican Food. The Lotus was fabulous...especially the Decor.
We took the Safari tour..thanks Junior. The Half Day city tour was great..thanks Chuky.
Crowsfeet Island was good for the kids even though did not register at any of the programs they had fun on the stage with Belinda,Stephanie,Adrianna,Jonathan,Ronan....Overall we had an amazing time and are already planning another vacation with our friends.

Hi this is my 1st ever review so here goes!
Booked with 1st chioce prem and flew from Bristol via manchester.(needed a bigger run way with full fuel on board) the flight was the best ever ive been on great staff ,9inch Tv/games console bags of room and well looked after.
Short transfer 15mins to Holiday village from airport.

The hotel is no way 4 star its more like a 2+ but dont be put off,the staff are very friendly and cleaner ect ect all work hard.
The food in the main Buffet restaurant did get a bit boring after staying 2 weeks but the dinner restaurant were a great bonus, italian 9/10,lotus 9/10,Mexican 8/10 (why they never done chilli!)
beach front 9/10.also birds kept coming in and pecking the bread , leaving droppings on the table ect wasnt very healthy say the least

We made friends with a couple of parties the Canadians are friendly we also met and made friends from our town Cwmbran hi Dave Tracy & Kelly.

we went out on an out back safari it was brill, others said the ocean world was good too.

If you have children the kids club is 10/10 we have a 6 and 10 yr old, never seen them for hours at a time they loved going to it,it also gave us a break too.

the beach is clean and the sea was choppy but again great fun.you are given cards which you can trade in for clean towels every day,take the wet towel back and you get your card back.

The rooms were the main let down, very poorly lit and small,only one small wardrobe for a party of 4,the air con keeps you up most of the night, being a poor country i wasnt expecting top notch but you are misled by 1st choice 4 star rating!

I became ill and so did my daughter 2 days at the end of our holiday,
Wave pool was great for the kids and a bonus of 2 slides and a small ship in the pool,it rained for 3 days and it hammers down, take a light weight waterproof rain coat just in case,
Overall great relaxing holiday just dont let the negitive bits get to you and you will enjoy.
will i go again yes but we will try another hotel and area!

Our family of five (three boys & two adults), have recently returned from a fantastic two weeks at the Holiday Village Golden Beach complex at Playa Dorada, Dominican Republic.
The facilities were brilliant as were the friendly staff, from the maid who came in daily, to the restaurant & bar staff. They all greeted you with a smile and did everything they could to make our stay relaxing and enjoyable.
We went on three trips during our stay and they were all very well organised and extremely interesting.
The food was excellent and so much choice. The rum based cocktails went down very well too!!!
I am now saving madly for us to go again next year.

Thank you

Sue, Mick
James, Thomas & David Nicholl