It was okay, but not the greatest.
Review Submitted: October 24, 2009
Date of Stay: October 2009
First of all, Wendy is amazing to work with! I had sooo many questions for her throughout the booking process and she had quick responses which made her very easy to work with.
We flew into Santiago to try to save on the cost of flying into Puerto Plata. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE!! We ended up paying an additional $115 each way to get to the resort and back to the airport. First thought to rent a car...glad we didn't do that!! The driving is crazy and chaotic...I would NOT recommend it! Pay the extra money to fly into Puerto Plata and take advantage of the FREE airport pickup.
Next, the food....not so good. We tried out all the restaurants...none were horrible, but none were real great. The best food we found was at the VIP pool bar...sandwiches and french fries were great...stay away from the overcooked hamburgers. Breakfast cooked daily in your room is the same thing day after day, so don't get too excited about that...omelets, danish, toast, fruit, pre-made pancakes and french toast on occasion. Bring your Immodium!!! There were 4 of us on this trip...3 got food poisoning! Not me, and I'm the only one who didn't eat the seafood. There were others we met who ate the seafood, though, and they didn't seem to get sick, but be prepared, just in case!
The villa: They first put us in a really small, cramped up villa with not much room to move. We went to the front desk and requested another, which they gave us. We ended up in a much bigger, nicer place...only complaint was the outdated plumbing...and no water pressure!! Also to note, it says there are 3 rooms all with King beds, but one of the rooms in our villa only had a queen. This didn't affect us because that room was unused, but keep in mind if this is a requirement of yours. Just remember that the pictures you see on this website and the Lifestyle Hacienda website are the newer, bigger, nicer villas...not what you get through here.
Beware the timeshare people. They will come to your villa to ask if you want a "tour" of the resort....this is their way of getting you suckered into a 4-hour presentation at the end of which the head honcho guy gets a little perturbed that you are rejecting his offer to buy in. And for this 4 hours all you get is 2 bottles of the start of Mamajuana (their famous drink) that you aren't even allowed to bring home on the plane with you!
All in all, an okay vacation, but will not go back.
P.S. Make sure a golf cart is included!!
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