Occidental Allegro , Playa Dorada

Advantages: All inclusive , Beaches and People
Disadvantages: Annoying beach sellers

...As a couple we had been recommended the Dominican Republic as a lively and friendly place to visit for our August 2003 hols. We choose carefully through several travel agents and First Choice won out as being the friendliest and least pushy! The resort of Occidental Allegro is one of many beach side resorts in Playa Dorada along the atlantic sea front ; Don't let this put you off as sea was warm and calm every day ( well it was august) AIRLINE: Travelled on an AIR 2000 plane and this was the only let down of the whole holiday as stewartdesess were very un helpful and seemed to positively un-friendly .Not what you want on an 10 hour flight! The return trip was much better though food was awful ! Anyone for egg and brown sauce rolls? I kid you not! On arrival in the Domincan Republic we were very...

arsb 28.02.2004 · Read review
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Review of Playa Dorada (Dominican Republic)

Playa Dorada

Advantages: Hot, superb location and great too unwind
Disadvantages: Beach sellers, reps and baggage handlers!!!!

...There were four of us that went on an all inclusive holiday in August 2004 in the Iberostar in Playa Dorada. On arrival to the hotel we were all mightily impressed with the surroundings. The bedrooms were well equipped with a mini bar (thats refilled every other day), air conditioning and your usual refinements. The Reps try (as per usual) to sell you excursions to various parts around the island. We booked one and found that another 25% is added to these if you do book through your rep. One tip is too buy from a beach seller or there are copious amounts of people selling these cheaper in the shopping complex. We would definately suggest in doing:- 1) Safari with the waterfalls 2) Swim with Dolphins (but arrange this yourselves much cheaper) 3) White Water Rafting 4) Cataraman ride (not the rep one) The food is superb as...

JJ28 05.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Playa Dorada (Dominican Republic)

Summer sun at the Playa!

Advantages: Staff, cleanliness, rooms, food etc
Disadvantages: n/a

...If there's one thing I looked forward to all year, its a summer holiday. We try out best to make sure we go away every summer, and to date we haven't had very many bad experiences with the hotels we have picked. Last year, our choice of Holiday was to Tenerife. We booked our holiday at the very last minute. We were due to fly on July 6th, and at the beginning of April, we went into the travel agents and booked. Our choice of hotel, was the Iberostar Torviscas Playa, Costa Adeje, Tenerife. ** Travel Agents Recommendation/Booking. We started browsing through brochures and searching online for a summer holiday in around January. We came to the agreement that Tenerife would be our choice of hotel. We studied the prices in the brochures and haggled online, however although the offers online looked very good value for money, we...

SweetTooth93 20.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Iberostar Torviscas Playa, Tenerife

Hotel Villas Doradas!

Advantages: Hot, sunny, beautiful beaches, what more could you want?
Disadvantages: none

...We visited the Dominican Republic in June 2003. We had booked the holiday on teletext and got an all inclusive package for less than £700 for a fortnight, which we thought was very reasonable to say it was high season for going on holiday. We arrived at the airport puerto plata and found that the heat was very intense. We were dying to get on the airconditioned coach because it was so hot and we weren't used to it. We arrived at the Hotel (villas Doradas) which was beautiful. the rooms were basic but comfortable and clean, and let's face it who spends a lot of time in their room on holiday. There were two large pools at the hotel one of which had a bar in it which was great because you could be cool whilst having a drink. (watch out for the underage kids trying to get drinks cos they hide their all inclusive bands under...

groovychick1 09.03.2004 · Read review
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Review of Playa Dorada (Dominican Republic)

Relax and Unwind

Advantages: Hot but quite breezy, All you need in Playa Dorada complex
Disadvantages: You get quite fed up of being hassled

...I stayed in the resort of Playa Dorada in the Dominican Republic for two weeks. What a excellent place to have a relaxing holiday. The complex itself consists of a number of hotels, bars, shops and clubs and is constantly guarded (although don't let this put you off it was actually quite reasuring). The resort is a purpose built complex but not far from towns where you can do a bit of shopping. We didn't venture out of the resort much as you get hassled everywhere you go. The Dominican Republic is a developing country and it's people are very poor and will try every trick to try and make some money from Westerners. You will get offered guides around the town. We took up this offer - only to be completely conned over the price (and they got a bit angry). If you don't want anything you need to say a firm 'no' quite a few times...

moose 15.12.2000 (18.12.2000) · Read review
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Review of Playa Dorada (Dominican Republic)

Dream Honeymoon

Advantages: see op
Disadvantages: see op

...Well last year we jetted off to the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon. We wanted an all inclusive resort and one of my friends recommended Playa Naco which is part of the Playa Dorada complex, he had been there the year before and is going back in October to get married there. I thought that would be a good recommendation, I mean he liked it enough to want to have his wedding there. The brochures showed that a good range of water sports (and other sports) were included and I was keen to try them out. My friends pictures also showed a lovely pool with a built in bar – that tipped my husband! ~~~~ Arrival ~~~~ Following a horrendous 10 hour flight with Britannia Airways (I'm not going into it – I've already written an op on that) we arrived in the Dominican Republic. It was baking hot and the airport arrivals area was...

KathrynE 11.06.2001 · Read review
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Review of Playa Dorada (Dominican Republic)

Playa Dorada - All Inclusive Coast Resort.

Advantages: beautiful, relaxing, friendly people, nice weather.
Disadvantages: Not white sands and turquoise seas.

...Total Holiday Cost £500!!!! This was our first visit to the Caribbean island of Dominican Republic and at we loved it! We got a last minute deal through Airtours for only £325 all-inclusive! We took the 8-hour flight from Gatwick to Puerto Plata, which is in the North East of the island. The price included coach transfers and it was only about 15 minutes drive to the resort. The resort itself was massive consisting of many hotels, some beach side and golf courses. Our hotel was the 3* Hotetur Villas Doradas. Initially we were a bit down when we saw our rooms but mainly because we?ve stayed in much nicer 3* accommodation at other destinations. I think the lack of light was the problem. We had a few teething problems with our room because the room only catered for two whereas we were 3 of us. However the hotel staff...

shaminalinda 28.05.2003 · Read review
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Review of General: Dominican Republic

Single White Female

Advantages: All inclusive
Disadvantages: Sea was rough and choppy, not suitable for swimming really

...I recently returned from a one weeks holiday to the Dominican Republic, staying in the Playa Dorada resort. I travelled alone and really didn't know what to expect. The flight and transfer went smoothly and I was pleasantly suprised when arriving at the resort. All the surroundings are very lush and tropical and there's a superb golf course contained within it - if golf is your thing of course. The resort consists of hotels, various shops and a shopping plaza. The hotels are on an all-inclusive basis. My hotel was one of the smaller ones, a bit basic but nonetheless clean and comfortable. I was worried about how I would cope being a female on my own. Fortunately I soon met plenty of people at my hotel who befriended me so I was able to spend my time with them as opposed to wandering about on my own. I never felt unsafe when I was...

Foneroni 05.12.2003 · Read review
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Review of Playa Dorada (Dominican Republic)

Definately a holiday worth trying!

Advantages: Very beautiful place
Disadvantages: Long journey away - 9hrs

...I went to the Dominican Republic last August when it was lovely and hot, but if you want to go this time of year, you'll have to be careful - that month is in the middle of the hurricane season. When I arrived there, the Dominican had had a hurricane earlier that morning, and so there was still a lot of high wind, so the flight getting there was pretty bumpy. And still on the topic of hurricanes, we had to fly around one on the way back, so just be careful what time of year you decide to go. The weather was always gorgeous. Very hot (if you like that sort of thing) and clear skies. It got a bit windy at times but it was a welcome breeze in the heat. I stayed at the Gran Ventana hotel in Playa Dorada. Very nice hotel, and the staff were really friendly. The Gran Ventana has loads to offer, and the staff are always wanting to...

flutterby13 06.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Playa Dorada (Dominican Republic)

Melia Caribe Tropical

Advantages: Paradise on earth
Disadvantages: long way to go

...the dance routines. There is also several different restaurants to choose from and these included a french, japanese, italian and chinese as well as mixed international buffet style restaurants. The food was absolutely delicious and plenty to choose from. the standards of hygiene and cleanliness were second to none as all the playa dorada hotels have to conform to daily checks by various travel companies reps. All drinks were free and I can heartily recommend the local coffee and local lager Presidente. Even getting about the resort was well catered for by three land trains making regular round trips through the complex. There were a few good excursions that could be taken icluding a trip through some of the local sugar plantations and villages and helicopter tours, these ranged from about £30 - £100. We didn't take any excursions...

clairesolo 31.08.2004 (18.09.2004) · Read review
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Review of Playa Dorada (Dominican Republic)