Again, one delays posting a review when the vacation was good. Had there been major problems, I would have posted my review as soon as we got back. Human nature... This resort is rather on the smaller side, which was perfect for us. It's a vintage resort, impeccably maintained. All the green spaces are wonderfully groomed, and they have some very nice nature spaces, such as the orchid garden and the mini mangrove plantation that's part of a conservation effort. Food was excellent, with fresh fruit and vegetables in abundance. Kudos to the management, and no complaints from us. The room was a bit dated, but that was to be expected. However, they're refurbishing lots of rooms (the effort was in progress), and probably they'll overhaul all the rooms in the future. The service was prompt and friendly everywhere. We needed a needle to fix a minor wardrobe malfunction, and a girl at at the Market store gave us a mini sewing kit, and didn't accept any money for it. I wish I remembered her name. The bar is well stocked with everything you'd want to imbibe, including extra-old rum. BTW, they have a flamingo family in a pool next to the bar, and it was quite nice to watch them while sipping rum and puffing tobacco. Not so much watching the yahoos who fed the birds. The beach was OK, with plenty of available beds. But the water wasn't good at all, with an enclosed space full of reefs and other submarine obstacles. Be careful when venturing in. I read in another review that the Star Prestige beach and water access are better, but we didn't go there. We didn't mind the Dominican people, mostly from Santiago, staying at the resort on the weekend. The noise was a bit louder than usual, with music and activities on the beach, but the Dominicans were very well behaved and blended in nicely. And that's a sign that their economy is working well, so that regular people can afford a weekend at the beach in a nice resort. We brought our racquets, but didn't play any tennis. It was super hot and humid... but what else would you expect from a vacation in the Dominican Republic in summer time? The heat and the old rum worked wonders on my old joints. Anyway, the tennis court looked playable, in case you decide to work a profuse sweat :) Just make sure you wear plenty of sunscreen. The entertainment was average, with maybe an evening that was a bit better. I can confirm that the check-in was a lengthy process, as we had to wait almost 30 minutes before anyone paid any attention to the people freshly debarked from the bus. Luckily, we were among the first in line, but there were families with kids that were getting impatient behind us. This is definitely an area that can be improved. First impressions matter. If you're into cigars, as I am on tropical vacations, there's a very knowledgeable girl with a cigar cart every evening in the bar area. But I expected a cigar store, even a small one, with a wider selection. If you make a list of good cigars to get there, you'd need to adjust your expectations. The cigar selection at the airport is slightly better, but don't expect too much. The solution would be to buy an excursion to Puerto Plata, where, they say, some good cigar stores are on the itinerary. So a suggestion for the resort management: make a cigar store, however small. That's it folks. In conclusion, it was an excellent vacation for the price we paid. It would have been much better if Air Canada hadn't screwed up our voyage back home, but that's a totally different story. Adios, amigos!…
I have not one bad thing to say about this resort. For short money, you get a lot. The food, the beach, the pool, and most of all, the service was great. I always appreciate when employees take their jobs seriously and work hard to keep guests happy. I had a small issue with the location of my room. The resort staff when above and beyond to correct the issue and make me happy. I was very pleased with my stay. I plan on returning later in the season. I recommend this resort..
Worst customer service at the check-in. This is the main reason why I will never come back to this resort after all the years I’ve been going there. First, the receptionist had a bad attitude and was not trying to help me when my reservation had a mistake with the numbers of my credit card, asked for the manager, but they never came... I had to ask my daughter in the States to call to the Miami customer service to see if they could help me out because the receptionist was ignoring me and did not even care that I had the confirmation number of my reservation and the pdf of my bank statement showing that I paid for my stay in there. Second, she made me wait more than 4 hours to give me my room and started to give bedrooms to people who came after me and had the same room specifications as me (I know this because they are family members). Then after a long argument, she checked me in and made me pay a 100 dollar hold, which is fine; however, she refused to give a receipt or any proof that I paid for that hold. I would never recommend this resort, no one is supposed to pay to have a good time in vacation to then be welcomed to this nightmare of rude people doing the opposite from what is expected to receive in this type of environment. …
I am currently at the iberostar resort. The customer service here can’t be any worse. I have traveled to so many resorts but nothing worse that this one. I received a room with a broken air conditioner. It took them 48 hours to finally send someone to the room to check it. I made over 11 reports within that 48 hours and after each report was told that someone will come to the room within 15min. Obviously, no one will show up. I spoke to numerous representatives and managers Cristy, Rumy, and basically every employee in the lobby. I was told the manager of the rooms name is Mari but of course she never showed her face. The solution to this horrible 48 hours with my infant crying was to finally offer me another room. I wasn’t offered any compensation for loosing out two days out of my vacation and for the horrible customer service I received. Please do yourself a favor and choose any other resort.…
We are loyal repeat guests. We were at the Iberostar in March of 2020 (pre-pandemic) and looked forward to returning since this was the first time we travelled since the pandemic. One of the main reasons we return to this resort is the excellent service we receive. It is a small resort which is useful when travelling with my elderly mother. My mom’s room was on the ground floor and we were on the 3rd floor, building 2 – great location! The rooms were always kept clean and we enjoyed the towel decorations that were left by our cleaning ladies. The cleaning ladies are very friendly – always a “hola – como esta”, etc. They would ask how my mom was doing. The grounds, as usual, are kept immaculate – a lot of flowers and orchids. Meals: We kept to the El Mercado (the main buffet restaurant) for breakfast and dinner as there is a good variety and selection of food. Muchas gracias en particular a Kennedy por el excelente servicio que nos has dado. Lunchtime buffet was at the Restaurante Tropical (near the pool/beach). Muchas gracias en particular a Carlos! El servicio no era el mismo cuando estabas en tus días libres. The beach wasn’t crowded. No seaweed, a few waves. No trouble in finding shade, either at the beach nor by the pool. Due to the COVID situation, hand sanitizers were available around the resort, everything was kept clean – no complaints at all. Felt safe. We were one of the lucky ones, in that our flight home was cancelled and we were able to enjoy an extra day at the hotel and beach. No issues with extending the room. Everything was taken care of smoothly. The staff: what can I say, they are friendly, courteous and efficient. It took one day for them to remember what we liked for beverages - didn’t even have to ask. People: please take the time to speak to the staff. They are really kind and hard working. Don’t forget to tip (even if it says “all inclusive”, tips are not included. What’s a few extra dollars to thank them for their service. It goes a long way. You tip at home.) The service was excellent – my mom was treated like a queen! I have nothing negative to say. We shall definitely return. Iberostar (Natalia, GM): Por favor, tenga en cuenta a los siguientes empleados que se esforzaron y excedieron al máximo para nosotros: Kenndy, Buffet El Marcado - excelente servicio - nos trataron como a la realeza Elisa, Hostess en el Buffet - siempre nos saludó con una sonrisa Nicolas - super tortillero en el buffet Carlos - Restaurante Buffet Tropical - excelente servicio - doble espresso y cappuccinos para terminar nuestros almuerzos Julian - bar del lobby Grileidy - bar del patio - super amable Josue (y Emmanuel) en el bar de la playa - siempre listos para mi café helado Y por último, nuestra Yuberky que trabaja duro, mantiene la zona del buffet y los alrededores súper limpios y siempre con una sonrisa. Nos tratan como si fuéramos de la familia, nos dejan con muchos abrazos y promesas de volver.…
I read a ton of reviews before booking and hoped that the negative reviews were just picky people who complain often. I am a pretty relaxed "go with the flow" kind of person, but this resort just wasn't what we wanted it to be. I came here with my wife and 3 teens for 7 days in July 2022. We upgraded to Star Prestige mostly to avoid the terrible check in process I had read a lot about. When we arrived, we were brought through the most crowded lobby I had ever seen and we were able to check in at the Star Prestige lounge. We have no complaints about the Star Prestige service and the special area on the beach reserved for Star Prestige was worth the money. But when checking in, they explained that any charges to our room would mean that we would have to check OUT in the main lobby. Every day, between noon and 5pm, that lobby is a zoo. Therefore, we avoided using the laundry service or any spa services because we did NOT want to check out in the main lobby. We had a two-bedroom family room. It was clean, but definitely outdated. The safe and phone in our room didn't work. Both rooms had only 2 free outlets. Both bathrooms had no shower curtains in the tubs so water ended up everywhere after a rinse. Our room faced the pool and we were woken up around 6am by leaf blowers clearing the path every morning. The food was okay, tons of variety, but we were sick of it by day 4. There are times when the buffet gets super busy and it was hard for us to find a table. Domingo served us most days and he was the best part of our stay. One day, when my son was sick, I tried to bring him a plate from the buffet to the room so he could eat, but they stopped me and told me it wasn't allowed. That was ridiculous. The pool was massive and we were so excited about swimming in it. But by the early afternoon, the pool is crowded, hot, dirty, and loud. Many locals swarm the pool bar and simply do not act like they are at a 5 star resort. We saw tons of vaping, extremely loud yelling, and several couples dancing on the bar stools imitating sex acts. We stopped going to the pool area and spent almost every day at the Star Prestige area of the beach, which was great. It was clean, the beds were nice, and the service was awesome. The water had little to no seaweed every day. The Iberostar app barely worked so we had a hard time finding scheduled activities. My wife went to the gym one morning for a workout class listed on the app, but no one was there. We saw a few people coming around asking us to participate in darts or archery, but that was it. The restaurants were okay. Japanese: there was no communication from the second we sat down. We sat for 10 minutes before anyone came over to take a drink order. Several people from our table got up and went to the lobby bar to get their own drinks. The hibachi chef kept repeating "papi chulo" which we learned means pimp daddy. The food was okay but there was zero customer service. The Italian restaurant was bad. I was served an extremely undercooked pizza and my son's pasta was soggy. The Mexican restaurant had the best food, but DURING dinner, a server came over and tried to get us to sign into the app to leave a review WHILE EATING. It was extremely rude. I stayed at a Club Med in Mexico for 10 days and had wished I booked several more days. At this resort, I had wished I booked less days. We were all ready to go home by day 4. If you love dancing, drinking, and being loud, this is the resort for you. If you want to read by the pool or go for a nice relaxing swim, pick a different place.…
My stay was wonderful relaxing thanks to the wonderful staff. Courteous helpful .give you a feeling you are home .Loved it Can't wait to be back. I like spending my time by the beach with Margarita as companion
I went here for a 6-day family vacation, and not sure how some people gave this place a 5-star review. Pros FOOD - excellent tasting food. The food was well seasoned and had a good variety of authentic Dominican foods. Maid service - They did a decent job cleaning the rooms daily but should try to use some time of Clorox/mildew sprays to clean the bathrooms better that have mildew; otherwise, it's just going to get worse in the long run. Buffet service - Server Heneroso was very kind and welcoming to us. He set a table for us every day we came to the buffet. Always gave us a clean well-set table. Spa - 5 of us received massages and they were amazing. Forgot to get names but everyone loved their service. Cons Cleanliness - Not sure if they are short-staffed, but they really need to do a better job cleaning in all areas. The pool was disgusting. They should invest in a floor vacuum or a better nightly cleaning system because every day the pool had a lot of particles sitting on the floor of the pool. I can understand bugs, but it was just plain dirty. The pool area was also not cleared out as well. People just left dirty swim diapers, cups, and food, around the food area, and no one would come around to pick items up. Buffet tables, lobby area tables. There were times when going to buffet and lobby areas where tables were not cleaned off and set for new patrons. So if you walked in, you would need to ask someone to clean off a table. I would need to carry wet wipes to wipe the tables down myself. The check-in process was horrible. We arrived pretty early (noon), so we expected to wait for a room. Considering we were early, we would get a room by check-in time, 3 pm. NOPE. So expected to wait a long time and did not seem to care. You can't take food out of the buffet area to take back to your room. This is the first time we have experienced this in an all-inclusive resort. You should be able to bring food back to your room, especially when the buffet area isn't cleaned appropriately to even sit and eat. Why not get to enjoy a late-night snack on your room balcony instead of a crowded cafeteria? Drinks - although bar staff were attentive and nice. There isn't a variety of drinks they know how to make or even have the ingredients to make and the drinks weren't very strong. You'd probably never get tipsy unless you were taking shots. The waiting in line etiquette with locals at the buffet is nonexistent. They will just cut right in front of you without blinking an eye. We usually go to Punta Cana but we wanted to try this area of DR since my husband, and his family are Dominican and wanted to experience a more local feel. But this is not the place to go if you are looking for cleanliness and somewhat luxury.…
We were a group of 15 and the resort was pretty full, but we didn’t have issues with lounge chairs at pool or beach. The drinks were fine as was breakfast. I was not a fan of the rest of the food, hibachi, Italian or buffet. It’s not an expensive all inclusive so going offsite to a restaurant a couple times is well worth it. U might also have issues with the AC on the 3rd fl of the beach front rooms. All in all a good choice, but you get what you pay for.
Best service and the property was well kept The entertainment in pool area was great . The people were great and food was delicious People were always willing to help. They also played fun game soft all ages As I was there with my son and family. Kept everyone having a blast
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