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

The resort is ok. Except we were surprised by a few things that the website didn't really explain. Like #1, you can only eat at the a la carte restaurants once a week. The buffet food is ok, but after eating it a few meals in a row it gets old, so we were dissapointed by the fact that we could only eat at the japanese, mexican, italian, and carribean restaurants once. #2 the swim-up bar is only in the royal suites area and you have to pay extra to stay over there. Me and my husband are in our early 20's and the resort is really based around entertaining kids. So because all of the pools and entertainment was for kids, it was a little tough. Plus the weather wasn't that great so sitting on the beach was out of the question. The Dominicans are all so friendly though that they make it worth it. The main pool bar doesn't water down drinks at all and pretty much can make what ever you ask them for, so thats really great. DO NOT GET A TAXI FOM INSIDE THE RESORT!! Walk just outside the Playa Dorado Resort and you can get a local taxi for WAY cheaper, and always barder with them for a better price. Al in all we still had a great time, but I would not stay at this resort again. Its great if you have a family and are going with your kids but if you are younger and single, its a little too cheesy for me.

Well...I will start off by saying that you cannot please everyone...as you may see in some of the previous reviews for this resort. We are a couple in our mid-twenties and we just returned from the Holiday Village Golden Beach Resort in Puerto Plata. We stayed from April 5-12th, 2008. Let me tell you that this was our first vacation away with no friends or family and we had an AMAZING time together. It is actually in a gated complex with 8 other hotels and the name of the area is Playa Dorada. I will start off with the cons first...hahaha as most people do. We only had a few things that weren't horrible, but were enough to mention in this review. First off the mosquitos are TERRIBLE. Although my fiancee didn't get bitten once, I got bitten at least 20 times, although now being back home we aren't sure if they are mosquito bites or sand fleas (which are impossible to see). Next was the woodpeckers that pecked a hole right in the top of our roof. Not through our roof, but nested right about it. Therefore we had a terrible wake up call every morning at 7am. And lastly if you eat in the A La Carte restaurants get ready to bring your ear plugs, because children ARE aloud in..even though it says they are not. So it doesn't really make for a romantic relaxing dinner.

Now on the other hand i will list the pros...get ready because there are a LOT!!!! First the staff...they are absolutely amazing. Very friendly and try their best to help whenever they can. The rooms were wonderful and very spacious for 2 of us. We stayed in a standard room...and it was lovely. It was almost like a small villa, attached with 3 others. The wave pool was a lot of fun, we thought this was a bad desicion afterwards thinking there would be lots of children, but it wasn't bad at all. It was actually a lot of fun.

The food was good...my fiancee is very picky food wise, but breakfast, lunch and dinner there is always more then enough for a selection. :) The beach was nice...clear water, nice sand, the only downfall there is that the current in the water is pretty strong, and causes quite a few waves in the ocean, making it hard to relax in the water. Bar staff was great when you tip them a dollar or 2 US they were your best friend the whole week. When your glass would get half empty they would fill it up right away and by pass all the others who were waiting ahead of you. It was great.

Also I have NO idea why people complain about the enetertainment in the past reviews?? The enetertainment was exactly what it is described as "ENTERTAINMENT". It was actually funny to watch at some points, but for the most part it was GOOD!!!! The get the children's show first and then the show for the adults, so it was good!!! The resort is well suited for everyone of all ages, young, old, families, singles...I would recommend it to ALL!!!!

Also if you walk out to the beach and go to the left for a 5 minute walk you will come across a beach market (about 30 huts) all together and they have everything you can imagine there for suveniors. Our buddy was Gilbert...booth #7 and he is GREAT person to make deals with!! Remeber you can always go LOWER...and he will say ok! :)

All in all iwas FABULOUS, and we will recommend it there and even go back. Also one other thing we failed to mention is that the tours through the hotel are GOOD to book. Everyone says not to, but it is worth it I promise. We took the Outback Safari tour...and it was out of this world. $84.00 per person and 1/2 proce for kids. Its a full 8 hour days and you see sooooo much. Its wonderful. You wouldn't be disappointed. Anyways if you are contimplating going, just do it...it is a great place!!!

This is just a tip for all you who are going to Holiday Village and love your Hair Straightners!. The ones you use at home will NOT WORK but there is good news! You can hire them from the tour desk, all you have to do is call the company and they will be delivered to you. They work great and are a life saver. The hotel is great and there is plenty to do.You will have a great holiday.