Arrived home this morning, it was the worst 2 weeks of mine and my girlfriends life, we counted the days down to get out of there. On arrival there was drinks waiting and friendly staff which was a relief due to at the airport all they can say is tip tip tip.
When we booked we booked all inclusive which said 6 restaurants to choose from 4 bookable a day in advance, well this was not true, there was 6 but what they didnt say was you get the use of 1 except for snack time, which is appaling for food hygiene due to all being uncovered allowing the ants and birds to get the first share, we also found that the food if not eaten would then appear the next day again being re-heated up to 3 times.
All the people we met there had up set stomachs including us 2.
To book the ala-carte you get a time spot from 3-3.30pm which is after all the other hotels in the complex have booked so generally you got put on the cancellation list but as the food is so bad in the standard restaurant no one does so you done get in even though there could be upto 48 seats available which there was one time we tried and when we questioned that they said upgrade to gold wrists bands which meant buying a timeshare then you can just walk in.
If in the garden you get treated as third rate guests due to wearing green arm bands which basically means if you go to the bar you get disposable cups when wearing one of the other colours you get a proper glass, Also 2 of the restaurants they want to charge you 15USD PP if you can get in which is not on after paying all inclusive. When you check in they give you a sheet telling you whats included and whats not which does not tally up to the brochure and when showing them that they basically laugh at you and say the brochure is not correct, the sheet they gave us says room service 10USD per order but when calling them they stated that this hotel doesnt do room service even though its in black and white. The rooms are very basic with a toilet wardrobe bed and shower which most days the shower is cold water only and some days no water at all and even no electric due to power cuts which happened very frequently. The evening entertainment is a complete waste of time and your lucky if you see any entertainment during the day. The swimming pool is really big and nice but not mantained very well having damaged tiles and cleaned in about 10mins in the morning leaving bird poo floating all day when your sitting in it. The Mytravel rep has his kids in the pool during they day which we had to complain about when one of them stood on the side pulled his shorts down and urinated in the pool and on the side. On complaining to the hotel about these all the said to do was upgrade to the time share or upgrade to the tropical for and extra £125 pp which i think was a joke considering we have paid £1400 already. Also dont remove your wrist band or break it or lose it due to lose of it costs you 15USD or you can not eat it for the rest of the holiday and i happened to have mine break so i was evicted from the restaurant until i walked to the other side of the complex and got a new one even though i had been eating in there for about 5 days already.
I am sure theres more that i have forgotten so fell free to contact me if you want to know anything. Brett & Rachel

We arrived back yesterday after two weeks. We booked the holiday a while ago and when we got back from the travel agents I read the reviews on here and was quite worried.

You arrive at the airport and everything is about tips. A man took our cases off us and spoke to our rep and found our coach which was fine as it was pouring down with rain and we appreciated his help so we tipped him but there was a porter who literally picked our case up off the floor and put it in the coach who also asked for a tip and we refused.
You go through some really rough places on the way to this place. You'll probably drop at some places that look lovely too. About six people got dropped off at our hotel and all had read the reviews on here and we all said at first that we were relieved. The hotel is extremely basic and the receptionist is friendly but not overly helpful. You get given towel cards, info on the hotel and green wrist bands, the info on the hotel contradicts all brochures. The porter escorts you to the room (and asks for a tip) Ours was 1101, Close to the pool, the bar and reception. We got to our room and were just glad of a rest after the journey. The accomodation is very basic again. You have a shower, a wash basin and a toilet. We were lucky it seemed as our AC worked and the fan in the room really is probably the best thing about the room as the heat is ridiculous in the day. We arrived quite late and went and got something to eat. The food was never hot the whole of the stay at the rainforest buffet. Whether you got there as soon as it opened or later it was always cold. The bread table gets attacked by birds as the restaurant is relatively open. Depending on what staff are working depends completely on whether you get offered water and wine. There is always pasta and tomato sauce which is pretty much what we lived on.
Basically the things wrong with this place...

The whole idea of the three hotels in the resort is so they can sell as many time shares as possible. You get treated like rubbish if you have a green band on. There is a VIP world who get gold bands who can do anything they want, eat anywhere and make you feel very uncomfortable about staying there. There are shiny red bands, shiny blue bands and yellow bands and probably a few more colours. Men on a golf buggies hassle you about timeshares and if you go for the trip around they take a card number off you and try to get you to sign a contract, which they wont let you read.
Our brochure said the hotel was not suitable for under 14s and we had children in our pool all the time which eventually after all the english people there had complained enough about everything things did start to get better. The Reps children were even in pool and we complained to our Rep (who was useless too) because his son got out of the pool pulled his shorts down and went to the toilet in the pool. It was disgusting!
Our lock on our door was broken and a safety deposit box was $40 for the two weeks so were hid our passports and by the time we paid for the overpriced trips you probably wont have much money to worry about. The trips are overpriced and we only went to Ocean world as I wanted to swim with dolphins. This was a great day out but cost £145 approx for two to go. The other trips were good from what other people.
The staff in the other hotels called our hotel 'The Pits.' There are insects which you expect but there are really tiny ants that get everywhere. We had fleas in our bed and the bed sheets dont fit the bed properly so they attack you at night. I slept with a towel around my legs once we worked out where I was getting bitten. If you take even water to bed there will be ants everywhere when you wake up. Our room was fumigated but didnt make any difference. The gap between the floor and the bottom of the door is usually quite big so put a towel there to stop the bugs. There are a few other restaurants, Bellinis is an Italian which is a nice change from the food in the buffet but your visits are limited and you have to book the day before between 3.00 and 3.30. The receptionist that comes is always late and the reservations list is kept up at the other hotels all morning so there aren't usually many spaces left. There is a Tex/Mex which is nice but the same booking system is in place.
Out of the six people that came on the same flight and got dropped at our hotel, we were the only couple that didnt upgrade. One couple even though they upgraded spent 10 days being ill but they moved from our hotel due to the ceiling fan falling off, the AC not working and the water in the room not working. I went with low expectations and was still disappointed but you travel a long way and cant let that ruin your holiday. The beach is far from pretty and we know a few people who have been to Playa Dorada and that is much nicer. A couple we met said dont let Puerto Plata put you off the Dominican Republic so I wouldn't even go to this area.



Rachel and Brett here is my email add h_keeley@hotmail.co.uk.

Me and my friend have just come back from the Dominican Republic, we stayed at the Puerto Plata Lifestyle Vitalis Garden Club for 2 weeks all inclusive, I was a bit worried after reading these reviews before we went, but we had such a wicked time that I have just got to put the record straight, the little huts are nothing special, and we had cold water for the first week, the electric went off once and we had thunderstorms, but we absolutely loved it, not even cold water could spoil our holiday, there was quiet a few ants, but this cant be helped, its expected isn't it?? we went Horse Riding at Rancho Montana, Quad Biking, and a day trip on the catamaran, and it was such fun we absolutely loved it, Paradise Island is a must, we really have been to Paradise, and if you are planning a trip here, you must visit Sea World, we swam with Dolphins, and I swam with 5 Sharks and fed the Stingrays, we made loads of friends, and the locals are so friendly, the beach was disappionting but I was told we was on the wrong side of the country (atlantic) but to be honest the hotel pool was so lovely who needs sand in ya pants, all in all this was a fantastic holiday, if you are expecting 5* then this is not the one for you,but the beds were clean and maids came in every day. ok we had to share our room with 2 lizards.. it was fantastic, Oh and I have to say a big thanks to me mate, who I know you can't have on your holiday, for making it so special, RG cant wait for the next adventure mate.. X

JUST BOOK IT!! honestly! First off, we were a little scared as the trip to the this hotel takes you through some rough parts of the city and others got dropped off at some beautiful resorts, but don't be discouraged, it was beautiful. The pool near the gardens is great have a "banana mama" if you go, they are delish! the entertainment was great, although we got a bit of rain a few nights. the disco is good but HOT, and doesnt get really busy until late. The beach is beautiful but a little on the small side. I recomend booking your tours on the beach, I know they warn you not to but we got stood up by our travel agent twice and people from our group that took tours from the beach had a great/safe time! just and idea and they are half the price. The rooms are so cute and tidy, leave something for the maids and they will leave you beautiful towel creatures! we did not have ANY problems with bugs and had beautiful birds of paradise bush and banana trees right out our doors. i would deffinatly recomend this hotel, i would go back right now if i could. the service was great and very accomadating. food was delish... remember with the green bracelet you can still eat lunch at the "other restaurants" not just the buffet, try the pizza at the italian rest. AMAZING, the mexican though SUPER spicy. otherwise enjoy!!! Oh and if you get a chance walk down the beach to the right and up the stair case to the see the beautiful wild horses!