Puerto Plata Village

A sprawling property dotted with Victorian-style cottages, Puerto Plata Village is well past its prime, as can be seen by the dingy pool, tacky rooms, and a buffet restaurant that resembles a summer camp mess hall. Strangely, the lobby includes white staircases that lead to a small elevated living room. There's a grand piano and a note in four languages instructing guests not to touch it. Orange couches and potted plants add splashes of color to the space. Outside, a manicured island of palm trees and flowers flanks the entryway, but the lawn looks faded and patchy. During the winter, the hotel sees mostly European families, while the summer brings Dominican guests, almost exclusively.    

Playa Dorada, one of the oldest gated resort communities in Puerto Plata, is a beachfront complex with 15 hotels, a golf course, and an open-air shopping plaza filled with souvenir shops, bars, and restaurants. It’s a safe, quiet environment, where horse-drawn carriages cart guests up and down the main promenade and guests walk freely throughout the day and night. Although Puerto Plata Village is not located directly on the sand, guests have access to the complex’s main beach. Playa Dorada is about a 15-minute drive from downtown Puerto Plata, and about a 25-minute drive from Gregorio Luperon International Airport.   

Rooms at Puerto Plata Village are quite memorable, but not in a good way. Though most of them have been updated, rooms could still benefit from major improvements. The white, on white, on white decor is stark, and somewhat shocking. It also makes it easy to see lines of ants marching from the bathroom sink to the shower floor. Beds are outfitted with (white) threadbare bedding and satiny, Smurf-blue pillows and bed runners. The electric blue theme is carried out in other room accents, including curtains covering opaque windows. Though rooms are quite bright, it seems odd that their only source of natural light is obscured by beveled glass. As far as in-room amenities are concerned, there are none. Unless you you count TVs (flat-screen and tube-style) and safes. Bathrooms are bare-bones as well, with standard sink, toilet, shower/tub combo arrangements. There are three different room categories at Puerto Plata Village, Standard Rooms, Superior Rooms, and Master Suites. There is really no visible difference between Standard and Superior Rooms, and both are about the same size. However, Superior Rooms are equipped with balconies and have mini-fridges. Master Suites are much larger, and have separate sitting areas with kitchenettes.    

Puerto Plata Village has a huge pool that's surrounded by a deteriorating patio and sad looking lounge chairs. The main pool has a large swim-up bar and there’s a kiddy pool for the little ones. Throughout the day the pool staff hosts different activities for kids including Simon Says, bowling (with empty coke bottle pins and a plastic ball), and board games. There’s also a muddy soccer field and a playground at the kids' club. Nightly entertainment takes place at Ambrosia Disco, but many guests complain of lackluster performances and bad drinks. There are three on-site restaurants and a snack bar. Although the resort is all-inclusive, reservations are required for the two a la carte options (Italian and Mexican), which serve slightly better food than the buffet. Overall food quality is poor. The buffet restaurant, Altamira, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and resembles a summer camp mess hall whose tables and chairs were donated by the local Elks Lodge. The food, at any time of day, is of equal summer camp/Elks Lodge quality. There’s also snack bar that serves drinks and light fare by the pool. Though it’s not located directly on the beach, guests have access to Playa Dorada’s main stretch of sand. The hotel offers free parking and free Wi-Fi, but only in the common areas around the pool and in the lobby.