Trying to choose a hotel suggestions.......

When are they planning on travelling? The beach regeneration infront of Iberostar is starting Sept 1st for 3-4 weeks. So if that doesn't interfere with her dates, I would recommend staying there. It is one of the best resorts on the north coast. If she needs more information she could contact the resort at costa.dorada@iberostar.com.do. Ask for Santo, he is the wedding coordinator and I'm sure he would be more than happy to make their honeymoon a perfect one.

I've stayed at the Bahia Principe and the Sun Village... Sun Village would win hands down if I had to choose between those two but neither would be my first choice for POP.

All three are sort of secluded and out of the action of POP. The Bahia Principe is at least an hour from POP and there is NOTHING around it so you are basically stuck at the hotel with nothing to do but hotel stuff. Also, my husband and I did not like the fact that it was SO BIG that you had to get a trolley to your room so it would not take 20 minutes to walk to your room. We had fun at Sun Village but it's built on the side of a hill so LOTS of stairs. There is a ton of pools though at Sun Village which was nice as we tried a different one every day. Can't say what the beach is like at Sun Village since we didn't swim there but I have heard that beaches on that side of POP are polluted.

Of the three hotels you mentioned, any of the RIU hotels would probably be best since I understand that at RIU you pay at one but play at all three (meaning you have access to all three even though you are only staying at one)? I have a friend who stays at RIU (not sure which one) every time she goes and she's been there at least 5 times without complaint. However, the RIU resorts are also on the side of POP where the beaches are considered polluted.

I would recommend staying in the Playa Dorada complex since the Costa Dorada Beach/Iberostar Beach are out of commission at the moment. That way, your friends will enjoy Playa Dorada (the beach - which is miles long) and they can walk in the Playa Dorada complex at night. They will also be much closer to POP and Sosua than any of the other resorts if they want to get off the resort and do some sightseeing.

let me throw you a curve...look up Sosua Bay hotel. the beach (a public beach so there is much more to do) is right out the back door, food, bars, nightlife is a block or so away from the hotel. the food at sosua bay is unmatched in my opinion. of course sosua is a smaller town and mixing with the locals is great.

my 2 cents...