Holiday Village Resort

[monica_s]

The mosquitoes you can't do anything about except wear DEET at night. They seem to either ignore you or LOVE you. My husband and son didn't even wear bug spray and were fine. I got 50+ bites with bug spray. Who knows?
Ants (they are the very tiny ones) are looking for food, so don't eat in your room, and they should stay out. We never saw a rat in 7 days there...hmm we did see a cat walking around once though come to think about it.
Our toilet worked fine. We had hot showers 6 out of 7 days. It seems that showering at 5pm vs. 7pm was a good choice for getting hot water
I think the kids club is for under 10, and he would go to the teen club. Someone with older kids who has gone can confirm this for you.
I would go back to HV again with my family. It had it's bumps, but was still a good vacation.

Monica

 

[family67]

Outdoor Activities

Hi Planner,
First of all I would like to let you know that you are a great moderator for the Thread.
Do you have any weather predictions for the Jan 13 to Jan 20?
Is provided a hotel pick-up for Ocean World? We booked the Dolphin swim, thanks for advise.
On Viator.com | Tours, sightseeing, attractions & things to do we tried to book other activities, but we would like to have your oppinion regarding the price and how safe are for us and our 10 years old son.
The departs are from the beach in front of Riu Bachata, Merengue or Mambo.
We have no idea how far these hotels are from HV Golden Beach.

Puerto Plata Trackers 4 Wheels ATV Tour
Option: 1:00pm - 2 ATVs
Number of Adults: 2
USD $159.53


PADI Discover Scuba Diving Puerto Plata
Number of Adults: 2
USD $178.00

Deep Sea Fishing from Puerto Plata
Option: PM Departure - FISH
Number of Adults: 2
USD $140.00

 

[amalor]

Deep Sea Fishing

Price wise for deep sea fishing, this is what I've found on-line.

Deep Sea Fishing
Every Day, half-day.
Price: Fisher 60 US$, Visitor 40US$
Ask also for Special "Batton" Fishing


Includes: Beer, Coca Cola, Sandwiches and all Baits.

We start from Puerto Plata Harbour and after 10 minutes leaving the port, the crew will prepare for each Fisherman a Hook with the bait.

If there are fish biting, the crew will get the fish in for you​

The web address to find out more from this agent isMel' Tour - Deep Sea Fishing

She'll arrange to come meet you at the hotel, or you can contact her through her website.

I'll be booking with her within the next 3 days (when we get down there)

 

[selmabg]

Happy New Year

Just a note to wish all a Happy New Year

 

[boogiewgirl]

would like to know, if the drinks are 24hrs, food 24hrs, are there snacks in afternoon, or night? do they have coffee bar, for cappucino or expresso,??, waiting for your reply thanks

 

[boogiewgirl]

i have been to resorts before telling us they had drinks 24/7, found out bars only opened up at 10am.. we had been told there was snack bar 24/7, finally closed at 10pm opened at 11am, and closed between 3 and 5. thanks

 

[boogiewgirl]

hi it is me again, does the wavelength club (teen club) really have playstation 2 championship? wow that would be great

 

[resorthound]

From the reports that are posted [on DR1.com; Debbies; and trip advisor] - I am getting the feeling that HVGB caters to the children and 'Adults Only' clients. I am traveling with teens and young adults ages 14 to 19 years old.
If anyone can give me some positive information that can support this age group we will stay with this booking - otherwise were going to cancel and try another resort location.
Can anyone recommend an alternative resort as listed in the 'Signature' resort booking locations at the D.R., that is good for this age group?
Thanks

 

[pattie]

Further to my last log

We returned from H.V. on Xmas day after 2 weeks of problems. The resort is not ready yet and there are so many issues some more serious than others.
Our family changed rooms six times in our first week,packing and unpackng
when we should have been relaxing.Our most serious issue was sewage coming into the bath when my grandson was in the shower! I would advise people not to book this resort until all the work is finished.

We have stayed in India , Sri Lanka, and African Courtries,Kenya, Gambia, Tunisia, Morrocco and many others and not had the problems that we have had at H.V. My Daughter and Grandchildren had fumes coming through their air conditioning unit, it made their eyes water and caused breathing problems,
fortunately it was in the evening and not over night.Maintainance was pouring
fibreglass to fix a problem right by the air conditionig unit,to fix another problem.We had to move them to another room, no porter was available and my husband (who is 60),and I were lifting heavy cases and trying to organise a small room, moving furniture and a refrigerator ect.We were told that porters were available , I am sure they were but not when we needed them.
Every night we laid our own table in the Resturant,no napkins, no water glasses,no cutlery, us Brits do'ny eat early and by 8 pm most food ect was gone.We could never find any management to talk to and were lucky to get a glass of water before we had finished.Also like many Europeans ,I do not eat meat,there was very little for me,several brits requested Vegetarian meals .to no avail.

 

[Ianb4]

Hi all

We arrived here yesterday at HV so unable to give you a full report, however, for what we have seen, we are very happy with the rooms, food and service, so far.

Yes there are teething problems and am sure others have had problems with this resort. Most of the complaints we have found by talking to people are with value for money having to pay a premium price over the xmas new year period.

Things will only improve and for those thinking of changing hotels or not coming, ignore the odd bad report as there are more good than bad ones.

 

[darwenlass]

some good news at last

thanks ianb4,
hope you have a great holiday,
please let us all know what you think when you have had time to relax and enjoy (or not) the hotel.
i agree with the price (value for money factor). i have got mine cheap it already gone up by ?700, and if i was paying ?4500 for 2 adults 2 kids over xmas i would be p***ed if there was problems.

 

[acemebaby]

i really think this place is getting its act together
its expected problems would occur only open 1 month as for napkins and cutlery and glasses missing hey as any one been to a restaurant were these items were missing hell ya were leaving on jan 11 and so far nothing i really saw in postings here and anywere else that we have looked as scared us
i guess some people really like to find something to complain about

 

[family67]

Hi Monica_s,
Thanks for DEET advise.
On your previous message you mentioned about putting a towel in front of the main door to get rid of mosquitoes from the room.
You mean that they don't have mosquitoes net at the windows and at the balcony door?

 

[jftoronto]

still here at hv

Hi,

Some things here are good and some are still bad. I still have a toilet that doesn't work most of the time. Not all of the staff members here are nice to deal with. There are some very nice people here though. New Year's party was boring until just before when they handed out a lovely package to everyone with hats etc. We still have problems in our room. The room is very very dark and the lighting is poor. The buffet rest. is getting boring and it is next to impossible to get in the alacarte restaurants. The Caribbean on the beach is not open so only three rest. available. No fitness classes. Spa staff are not trained in massage (they asked my husband for instruction as he is a certified aromatherapist) No wireless internet. Teen club is not open all the time. No life guard for kids pool. A petition is currently being circulated here to send to Signature regarding all the problems. Best advice to anyone coming. Get out of your room early, go eat and go to the beach!!! The beach is great! The pool is too small and it is hard to get in and out of without going to a ladder which is hard if you have any kind of disability. Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. I won't be coming back here again. If you have teens, bring lots of money for the internet seeing it's the only thing they have they really enjoy. They play bingo every night and that is fun!!!! You can't get a drink at the adult pool if you don't have a red wrist band. Drinks are not included in the disco and it is open to the public as well as hotel guests. Not complaining just making sure you know stuff up front. They don't give you shampoo or shower gel even though the rooms have dispensers so make sure you bring your own. If you have only one queen bed in your room and more than 2 people, they throw a single box spring with a mattress on top into an empty corner for the third person and you can see them lying on the ground after they clean out the room. The best times we've had have been away from the resort. The trip has not been a total loss (I got to meet planner!). Please bring stuff for the maids, they work very hard!

 

[selmabg]

Any one have an idea when the caribbean restaurant is going to open? I thought I read somewhere that that one was also going to be one of those adult only things.

 

[IrishColleen]

Still looking forward to it!

Hey I am back sitting at my desk this morning, looking out at a grey dull day, it's been cold, windy, very wet over the christmas and new year period. In 5 weeks and 6 days, we will be arriving to the sunshine, gorgeous beach, etc etc. As a 9 time repeater to Jack Tar, I will be looking forward to seeing our friends again in the hotel, it was always a great place and it can't have changed that much. I know of people who have visited this hotel 40 times or more and other people who stay for 3 months at a time!

So no more moaning for us, the staff are really lovely and lots of them are back working in the hotel, the food has always been great, hope Delecio is back making the eggs for breakfast? (I last saw him in Occidental Playa Dorada during the summer, where he went after JTV closed). The nightclub is fun and close by, there are a couple of decent bars in the Plaza for a diversion (Roadway and Hemmingways), Puerto Plata is a short taxi ride away (are the road works all done???)

We travel with no kids and one of the things that attracted us to this hotel was the fact that it was all 'Adult only' up until late 2005. But hey, the good outweighs the bad! So counting down now and looking forward to the sunshine!

 

[planner]

Colleen: The hotel has changed a great deal. Many of the staff are gone, they could not wait out 8 months of no work while renovations are done. SOme are back so I hope the ones you know are there.

As for the Adults Only perspective - this is clearly a family oriented hotel now. I will look forward to your comments after you have been there.

 

[super_sister]

doing the laundry

Hi All

We're off to the HV in Feb.. and I'm just thinking about how much (or little!) to take... does anyone know
a) is there a laundrette/washing machine/tumble drier onsite?
or
b) how much is the laundry service through the hotel?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Sarah.

 

[erykcaro]

Hi,

I would like to know if there's some food available at the buffet in the afternoon beteween 4:00 & 6:00 PM. We have young kids (under age of 3) and they need to eat at that time. I again read some post and they are telling there's no food between those hour. To anyone that been there are you able to answer this question?

Thank you very much for all the information provided.

 

[munsterman1]

school supplies

Hi Darlene, I'm now in the holiday village but have lost access to your number i used to be just munsterman. I have some school supplies for you. Can you let me know how to contact you.

thanks,
Ger.


Click on Planner's name on any post and a drop down menu will appear - you then have a variety of choices including "send a private message" and "send an e-mail" she will respond to either, or this post, I am sure.

Gregg
Mod.