the beach at Iberostar Costa Dorada

Iberostar Costa Dorado

This resort is fantastic. If you think the photos are nice wait till you see the real thing. YOu will defintely enjoy your stay at this resort. The beach at Iberostar has golden sand.

Matt

Iberostar Cost Dorada

I stayed there in March. The resort itself is more beautiful than the pictures could ever make it look. The staff is fantastic, and the food is great. Your tour representative will tell you not to leave the resort and try to sell you ridiculous tours to Puerto Plata for a lot of money. Don't do it! There are cabs just outside the resort that will take you to Puerto Plata and you can get a guide to show you around. Do go, there are a lot of neat things to see and the people are amazingly friendly. You asked about the beach? I will qualify my impression by saying I usually go to Cancun and I love the beach and water there. I did not like the beach at the Iberostar at all, it has dirty grey Atlantic Ocean water, brown sand that is always blowing all over the place, and sea grass all over the place. It looks like the hotel dumps their lawnmower bags in there. I have often been to better beaches in the US. You CAN walk down the beach to the Playa Dorada complex where the other hotels are. I found the beach there to be very nice, with good waves and nice clear, deep blue water. The sand there is still brown, but much cleaner and thicker.

P. S. I meant to thank everyone for answering my question before I went on vacation. Especially Hillbilly for offering to take me to the cigar factory. I didn't want to post a trip report because I thought people would get upset if I complained about the beach. I have been reading this forum often since I have been back and it's a great one. Everybody has such good information and is very helpful.

I'm staying at the Coral Marien on June 7th for a week which I believe is next door to the Iberostar. Is the beach the same there too? Has anyone been to the Coral Marien or have any comments about it? What are the most interesting tours to do in the area? The last time I was there in Playa Dorado, I did the Santiago/Jarabacoa tour, Jungle Safari tour w/ a stop in Cabarete, Santo Domingo tour and Samana/Cayo Levantado tour. I am thinking of the Puerta Plata city tour this time and possibly Punta Rucia (sp?). Any other ideas? Thank you in advance.

If, you don't like the beach, go to Sosua. It's quite lovely. The water is great, there are shade trees. You can "rent" lounge chairs and the guy who rents them to you will go and get drinks for you. Of course you'll have to pay. But that's what we do when we vacation.
Do go to Puerto Plata. There is a lovely "square" and an Amber Museum. And if you get a chance, go to the "cable car" and check out the old fort (what's it called guys?). The "malecon" or "ocean drive" is an interesting walk.
And if you want a great American style breakfast, Sofy's B&B is the place. Sosua and Puerto Plata are not too far from one another.
Have fun.

Sosua

Yes, from the things I've read here, I think I will try Sosua next time. Or maybe Boca Chica.

Iberostar beach

The beach at the Iberostar is pretty crappy, you won't like it. Wallk down the beach to the Playa Naco or the other resorts (you can see them from the Iberostar). The beach is nice, there are bars and restaurants, and you can even do all your souvenir shopping at the little shops on the beach near the Jack Tar. There is nothing to stop you. You could take a cab to the resort complex too, but it's really not a long walk on the beach. I wish I had taken a cab to Sosua or Cabarete for a day, you might want to do that.