Puerto Plata, Playa Dorado

Don't let anyone tell that it is dangerous to leave the resort. Get out and see the country. You'll be glad you did.

Go to Puerto Plata. See the fort, central park, walk on the Malecon, take the cable car to the top of Mount Isabella, see the Amber Museum, buy a little bit of lorimar, haggle for the price. If you want to take a tour, try www.mel-tour.com. They are reputable and reasonably priced.

Have a ball!

I personally really liked the Barcelo hotel. I stayed there once and have been on a couple of day passes as well in the last year. The food is pretty good, especially for a hotel. The pool is nice and big. There's a swim up bar, which is great. The shows were like regular hotel shows... so not always great, but it will be like that anywhere... In the night there's a disco by the beach. I really liked it because they play some dominican music: bachata, merengue, reggaton as well as some "regular" music. So it's a lot of fun and really nice.
The rooms are decent at the hotel. Not anything fancy, but the bathroom is nice and big and the air conditioning works well.
The buffet restaurant is good with a lot of options. A lot better than many of the hotels offer. The a la cartes are nice as well. So the food is decent for a 4 star hotel.

You'll probably have a great time!

Save up your pennies and take a taxi to Cabarete and Sosua about $30-40 each way (or be brave and take a guagua). We stayed in POP the first time we came to DR and if all we'd seen was POP we'd never have returned (sorry folks, but it's not the best representation of how lovely the DR is). Hang out on the beach in Cabarete, watch the kite-surfers and have dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach at sunset. Cabarete beach is a great place to people watch too. Sosua beach is also lovely and it's a super easy little town to navigate. The hotel will have TONS of info on a zillion tours too....We are also from Canada, and the north coast is great spot for your first trip south. Enjoy!

Hey, me and my boyfriend stayed at Barcelo when we went to Puerto Plata a few years ago and it was really nice! Lots to do, nice people. Don't let the reviews bother you, people have such different tastes, I try not to trust reviews online, seems like everyone hates everything. It was nice, clean, good enough for me , have fun!

Hopefully the golf course will be dried up by the time you arrive. Other than that, pretty uneventful storm for the POP area.:classic:

Robynducks said:

:squareeyeHi There
Late September, my mother and myself are going to the Barcelo in Puerto Plata. I was wondering if anyone had any tips, ideas or advice to give us. This is my first trip to the Dominican. Actually my first trip anywhere. I am from Canada and would really like to hear what others think. I am really looking for your thoughts on what to do or see while we are there. We are staying for a week. For those who have stayed at the Barcelo, I was wondering what you thought of the resort. There are mixed reviews on the internet about this place. Thank you in advance to those who leave a reply.

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I've been to DR 5 times in the past 2 years. I've stayed in Playa Dorada and visited Barcelo on my last trip down. I only purchased a day pass so I can't comment on the rooms but the pools were nice. The main pool has a snack bar restaurant and pool bar in the middle of it... they have a beach restaurant and a buffet restaurant. I found the food leaved much to be desired in comparison to what I experienced at Gran Ventana and Victoria. The lunch buffet was pretty small and limited and the smack bar consisted mainly of fries and hotdogs... etc. The drinks were good though and the staff was friendly. The beach is beautiful in Playa Dorada. If you want to do excursions, I'd recommend you purchase your tickets from the kiosks in the plaza and bargain with them over the prices. Don't book anything through the hotels or through the sales people on the beaches who will rip you off majorly. The catamaran trip on the Banana Republic is my favorite. It cost us $55-$55 US for the day and includes a lunch and unlimited drinks. They take you snorkelling in two locations near Sosua. My kids went on the waterfall excursion with my mom on our last trip down and they loved it as well. I paid around $40 US for this day trip which also included transporation and lunch. There's a plaza in Playa Dorada and a flea market on the beach although I'd recommend you visit Puerto Plata to go shopping because the prices are triple in the tourist areas... I'm coming down for a week Sep 10-17th and I'll be staying at Gran Ventana. If you want to go to a club or disco there's Coco Bongo in Playa Dorada if you want to go into Puerto Plata I usually go to Rancho Tipico for live Dominican music and for a disco I go to La Terraza.... Have fun.. and enjoy your trip.