Decided to visit Puerto Plata this time as I had vacationed on the other side before in Punta Cana.

After much research on my own on on the internet we had decided to go to the Occidental Grand Playa Dorado. From what we were told by our travel agent this was one of the original hotels with prime beachfront, totally renovated in 2006 it has gone from a rundown 2.5 star to a 4.5 star hotel.

We were not disapointed by any means.

Beautiful hotel with marble throughout. lots of resturants and bars. Great food. The hotel was impeckable clean and the staff was great and very friendly and will always cater to you. as far as entertainment there's always something going on day or night and they like to get the tourists involved.

Try to venture into town this is where you can get some really good deals everything is cheapy cheapy and go do the cable car ride up to the mountain it is breathtaking you can see the whole island from the top, but, if you get weary of heights be prepared as you will be 2600 ft above sea level.

Sorry, but I have to say we asked for a flight home after 3 days, food was so so, we were put into block 4 and after 2 days our clothes were wet with the damp in the room. We were moved to block 9 (quite nice...the higher the block number the better it gets), but the mattress they put in for my 8 year old...well, suffice to say I wouldn't have fly tipped it at midnight, it stank and was stained to high heaven.

We were put into the Gran Ventana (go here!!!!!!), However, when we were going home they had shut down all the lower blocks for refurb so all may not be lost....if it is bad for you when you go, kick up a fuss and get moved to the Ventana its a different world.

We were originally booked into the Jack Tar Village but were moved here after it was closed for renovations.

This hotel was brilliant, the staff were very friendly especially the boys who did they entertainment during the day by the pool they were brilliant. The location was perfect, next to the playa dorada shopping centre although there were a selection of shops at the hotel where you get practicaly everything. the hotel was quite quiet at night times so for young people looking for a wild time they may be dissapointed although there were nightclubs in the resort if you were willing to pay for your drinks.

The food was excellent there was plenty to choose from even for fussy eaters. The speciality resteraunts were excellent.

We got married while we were there and the location for the ceremony was beautiful on a private terrace above the pool. Many thanks to Paula, our wedding co-ordinator who did a great job.

Our photos and dvd were excellent although it was hard to communicate with the photographer as he spoke little english, the same for the hairdresser but she did an excellent job.

The only bad thing I have to say about this hotel is that the main pool wasnt alaways clean.

we would definatley go back to this hotel

Impressive arrival, porters to take your luggage, beautiful, large airey lobby/reception.

The cleanest hotel Ive ever stayed in. Cleaners take exceptional pride in their work and nothing is too much trouble. staff sweeping pathways constantly. Location superb.

To be any more on the beach you,d need to live underwater.Nothing much to do out of the complex. Shopping plaza just up the road with bank,farmacy numerous "lucky lucky" shops. only went once as they do pester you quite a bit.

Although they arent rude or intimidating it does get tiresome. Hotel staff you come into contact with all speak excellent English, French, German you name it.

Animation guys on the beach are pleasant and friendly and not pushy although I recommend the beachside aerobics! Evening shows are superb but at 10pm a little too late for my seven yr old after jet lag.

There is the islands largest night club on the complex which i believe was an experience in itself. Be warned they will try and charge ridiculous prices for their drinks.

It is situatued on the approach road and didnt get going im told until 1/2 am so we were never bothered by it.

Overall best holiday ever.

Myself and my husband travelled to this hotel for our honeymoon and we were in an all inclusive package.

We found that the hotel was very clean and the staff worked endlessly day and night making sure the hotel was to an exceptionally high standard.

What can I say about the food and 'DRINK'!.
There was always a large variety of food available and it was quite good. There are several a la carte restaurants which you are entitled to one reservation per restaurant per week and the buffet and pizza restaurant were you can visit at your leisure. The booking system for the restaurants is to put it polite ridiculous. Who wants to spend hours standing waiting to make a reservation. There should be a more simple approach to make reservations ?????

The hotel was in a good location. It was on the beach and right opposite the shopping centre.

The hotel staff were top class. In particular we would like to mention the fun club staff they were excellent and kept you occupied morning noon and night. They were brilliant!!!!

The entertainment was brilliant. I would like to say but if your Irish you will never get a mention!

We would visit this hotel again if we could travel by Concorde. It was exhausting travelling.

I was really apprehensive about going to this hotel after reading other sites but was worried needlessly.

We had a great room overlooking the pool which was large with 3 double beds. We found the food to be excellent with something for everyone. However standing in a queue for over 1 hour was a bit much for the speciality resturants. It was a nice change from the buffet and we thought the Brazillian and Mexican were excellent.

The entertainment staff were very good.

You could just sit and watch if you didn't want to join in.

I would return to this hotel in the future.

The hotel its self was not what I would class as 4 star accomodation, it was very basic, pool wasn't very clean and often wasnt cleaned till 10am.
If the hotel was full then the pool would not be an adequate size to accodate all of the guests, fortunatley half of the hotel was closed when we were there.

The food was an utter disgrace!!! I was admitted to hospital with a very bad case of food poisoning, the hospital was the best part of the holiday, I could actually eat the food.

I would recommended this holiday if you want to loose a few pounds! This holiday is an excellent laxitive. If you like eating dead animals this will be ideal for you, they even leave the teeth in the pigs!

On weekends the locals come around to visit, so watch your belongings!

However overall I did enjoy the holiday, but I think it was more about the company I was keeping rather than where I was!! And I have to say I couldn't fault any of the staff apart from the exception of a few reception staff!

The hotel was very good. It had 2 poolside bars, 1 located by the small pool and reception area and 1 located in the poolside restaurant as well as a swim up bar in the main pool, there was a beach bar and also a bar which opened in the evenings by the entertainment area, and another bar next to the pizza restaurant area upstairs. The beach bar turned into the disco in the evenings (after 11pm) and although it states the drinks here are not included in the all inclusive package, they generally are all inclusive!

The restaurants were very good and had plenty to choose from. The main restaurant was La Giralda which was the buffet restaurant, breakfast had a wide choice from cereals and toast, continental food - croissants, cold meats etc. to eggs fried or hard boiled, freshly prepared omelettes with your own choice of filling, bacon, sausage, french toast and pancakes with maple syrup to broccoli, cauliflower, fried plantain etc! Lunch in the buffet restaurant was varied, pizza, chicken, soup, salads, fish, pasta dishes etc. Dinner was as varied as lunch time.

Alternatively you could eat at the beach bar at lunch time, which served burgers, sausage, steak, paella, vegetables, jacket potatoes, salad, bread rolls etc. or you could eat at the pool side restaurant which served burgers, sausage, salad, french fries, potato wedges (delicious!) nacho's with cheese (very cheesy flavour!) this restaurant became the Mexican a la carte in the evenings. There was also 4 ala carte restaurants to choose from (1 booking per week) Mexican, Italian, Brazilian and oriental.
The Mexican was nice, made a change to have your meal served to you at the table instead of serving yourself! The Brazilian was good (especially if you can eat lots of meat) the food is served at your table and in lots of servings - the waiters/waitresses bring skewers of several types of meat/fish and carve it at the table - be warned the salad, potatoes, rice and vegetables served at the beginning are only the start of your meal! The highlight is the sambuca drink at the end of your meal which they light and pour between glasses before serving it to you!

The Oriental was nice, not quite what we were expecting as we thought it would be Chinese style food. Only downside is this restaurant is very small but very popular and is the only a la carte restaurant that has to be booked the same day as you wish to dine in, resulting in you having to queue for at least 45 minutes before the reservations desk opens!

The cleanliness in and around the hotel is excellent, the maids do a fantastic job keeping the rooms tidy, and there is always staff sweeping up fallen leaves on the paths, tidying the gardens, mopping the floor and tiled areas around the pool and bar.
The hotel location is good, located next to the shopping plaza and after walking to the plaza via the main reception entrance on several occasions later found a quicker route to the plaza through the hotel shopping arcade!

The staffs at the hotel were helpful, reception staff spoke enough English to be understood and if any maintenance was required it was taken care of immediately.
The entertainment 'fun club' staff do a great job, keeping you entertained both day and night; they work extremely hard and never seem to tire!

Most nights during our stay there was a dancing show which was very good, other nights the fun club team involve the guests and do fun & crazy games!

We were put up here as we were delayed 50 hours and I would'nt recommend this hotel.

We arrived at 12.30 am, starving had to use beach bar which had see though chips that were full of grease burgers laying in grease and hard bread rolls.food was'nt better in the day either.

Bath tap fell off in hand, ceiling falling down in bathroom and hairdryer did'nt work in 2 rooms we had.

Staff rude not at all helpful.
Thank god we did'nt book this as a holiday stay.

Hotel was excellent, with everything you could need for a relaxing time. Rooms were large with good air-conditioning, bathroom was a bit tatty but not too bad.

Food was lovely with lots of choice - some a bit strange (mashed yucca!!)Separate restaraunts need booking and you will need to queue to book the chinese one. Brazillian was our favourite.

Hotel got VERY busy at weekends with city folk visiting for weekend and taking over. very pushy, always seem to get served first at the bar. Lots of children running around the pool. We just stayed at the beach. Dont buy anything from the shops in the hotel, no prices and they charge what they want (