I just returned from my fifth trip to D.R. I`ll stay at the Coconut Palm Resort.
It was a horrible experince.
My traveling partner booked the trip whit the manager LISON. Having stayed in other in D.R, we were seriously disappointed.

First of all, the room wasen`t the one we reserved, it was so horrible(DIRTY).
Because of that we started on the rong foot with the manager, we were almost confined to the room because of her atitud, when we went to the pool she was insulting us.
Since she was spending her hold day on beer that explan it.

We were looking for a relaxing vacation, this would not have been one at all.
So much problems with the amenities in the room. Unfortunately almost all of our kitchen appliances didn`t worked well.
Let`s not forget I had to pay a extra fee for TV and that for the entire 21 days we could only get 2 channels.
We called the front desk many times and they didn`t solve the problem. When we turned on the TV in the bedroom, the TV and the cable box began to make a horrible sound and smoke.

The furniture was the most uncomfortable I have seen
I am not very tall, however, my feet hung over the HARD bed and dirty mattress.
Our room overlooked the pool, restaurant and bar o God the NOISE until 3 in the morning when the drunk manager came back.
Because there are no windows, we were forced to listen to whatever activities were happening outside, whether we wanted to or not.
IWe asked for extra blankets, they never came and clean towels didn`t appear.

We had heard about the food, so we cooked our own until we ran out of GAS and our Dear so called MANAGER Lison made us pay extra fee for the gas.

I will stop here because it would nerver and ! Just don`t go there.

I stayed at Hotel with family and had separate room for friends. Overall experience was Fair to good. The Hotel is about 8 miles from Puerta Plata airport. Resort does not have shuttle we had to pay 25 dollars for taxi. Upon arrival the outside of resort is pretty and pool area and restaurant are immaculate. The rooms are disappointing. We stayed in one bedroom room and it was clean, but outdated. Bathroom had broken tile and We had to turn on water heater switch in order to have hot water in shower for 5 minutes. Dominican Republic has substandard septic system, you have to put toilet paper in wastebasket and not toilet after use. There are not too many nice bathrooms in Dominican Rep. Bed is somewhat uncomfortable. My wife got bitten by bugs quite a bit, but no one else did. View outside room is ok but you overlook a house with 18 goat before you see ocean. The beach is very disappointing. There are many stray dogs along beach and I had 3 of them hassle me while I ran on the beach. The beach is used mostly for surfing but waves are beautiful to watch. My sneakers were stolen as I ran barefoot along beach and left them near restaurant on beach.

The restaurant and bar at hotel are terrific. Not much in way of choice for restaurant but everything offered tastes wonderful and the staff at hotel are among the friendliest I have ever met. The nightly specials are great also. It is a small hotel (70 rooms) and all guests interact wonderfully. After a day or two resort takes on a personality all its own. There was a magic noght, a bonfire on beach and folk dancing night. Activities were wonderful. Our friends had to move rooms because their room had spiders.

In order to visit a nice beach there was a shuttle into Cabarete (about 10 minute trip) or you could take a cab to Sosua. I absolutely loved the beaches. We also went on the Catamaran and visted Paradise Island (A 3 hour trip to get there) and they were great trips. Get used to the poverty on the island and all the scooters being used to travel. Anything goes with the driving in this country. Overall it was a great trip, however hotel and condition of country left a lot to be desired. We also lost power quite a bit at the hotel albeit only for a few seconds each time.
Overall fair to midland.

stayed at coconut palms resort (cpr) for 9 days 8 nights at the end of october 2007. this was my first trip to the DR and i went with 2 other friends who had visited numerous times in the past--same hotel!

building/area: loved the atmosphere of cpr--beautiful architecture and color, the landscaping and flower variety made for some beautiful photos. the pool was a decent size and there was always enough chairs, tables and umbrellas. towels are available but somedays they run out quick and you need to wait for a fresh load. staff are out every morning sweeping, sweeping, sweeping!

rooms: my one-bedroom on the 1st floor was very spacious and all the furniture was comfortable and contemporary. many of the fixtures and surface areas were aged but everything worked properly and that is all that mattered. i had 2 ceiling fans and an extra oscillating one though the crazy wind/breeze from the ocean may be all you need. a bar of body soap and a gallon of purified water is provided—the rest you bring from home! my friends stayed in a corner 2 bedroom right next to mine and it was equally nice, great view down the hill at local homes and yards and you can see right down to the water.

staff: what pleasant folks!!! bar staff, dining room staff, front desk staff, housekeeping staff, grounds-keeping staff, security staff---every single person said hello and smiled! genuinely happy to help you out, make you laugh and answer your inane DR questions...believe me, my chica's peppered them with who, what where, when and whys :) kudos to nick, augustina, victor, edward, joel, nicholas, doris, osiris, melvin, manuel, eddie, quito, pablo, carlito and anyone else i missed!!!!! i very much appreciated your patience and your attentiveness.

vendors: go ahead and get an hour-long massage from mariana, it is worth it. teo and his daughters bring his handmade larimar and amber jewelry on sun, mon, wed and fri. his prices are very fair and he is always willing to resize or adjust pieces to your liking.

tourist-y?: being a first-timer my friends did take me out to the cabarete beach/town and shopping area, the fort in puerto plata and the brugal rum factory, other then that we acted like locals and shopped where they shopped and invited folks we met on the street or staff to show us around. we were at a local 'car-wash' every single night dancing our butts off and drinking like fish. sleep at the hotel, but do the rest elsewhere!

tips:
-no toilet paper in toilet! seems gross but you'll get over it and save them a huge sewer bill
-with that said---always have tp or tissues in your pocket, I found many a bathroom sans tp, toilet seat, sink and/or a mirror!!!
-keep a small bottle of h2o in bathroom for brushing your teeth
-umbrella. just in case.
-for tips bring $1 bills or keep small peso bills handy, you will need them daily (rental car guy, cpr staff who carry luggage to your room, bartenders, wait staff, maids at end of week, cab drivers…)
-pack unwanted, unopened toiletries, makeup, perfumes and jewelry to leave along w/ your tip for the maids…very much a luxury here, i brought samples i never used.
-sunscreen and bug spray are a must, the mosquitoes ate me alive
-flatten down plastic floaties and rafts before you leave home and bring them to the pool for the week, then leave them for other guests
-when eating at the hotel bar you will get a drink bill…then a food bill separately, tip like you would at home for drinks and food.
-rent a car, it’s so much cheaper!!!
-visit a local car wash…at night they become outdoor bars w/ great music and dancing
-don’t be afraid to say a firm ‘no, gracias’ to every vendor who approaches you on the street or at the beach, they will eventually move along
-don’t let any porters at airport touch your luggage. you can do it yourself and save yourself in tips! they are sneaky…’no gracias!’
-drink the local drinks and eat the local food. Its worth it.

-louisa from lancaster, pa, usa

RCI timeshare swap. Took entire family. Although we loved Puerto Plata - this resort was in major need of maintenance. Some folks left immediately and went into Sousa and checked into other resorts. Most concerning were the exposed electrical wires in the room and the insects/bugs. Pool was nice if you don't mind cleaning before you go in - don't worry the equipment is left out for you. Wait staff was great and food was good. Housekeeping was very slow - took us two days, numerous calls and visits to the desk to get extra pillows for the kids. Other staff was in avoidance mode - most seemed to like to watch TV in the recreation room and not be disturbed.
Will go back but not to this resort.