We just got back from a week at The Grand Paradise Playa Dorada. The rooms were great, the staff was accommodating, the food was good, the beer good and cold, the mixed drinks were watered down and the wine undrinkable.
Knowing this was only a 3 1/2 to 4 star beach hotel our expectations were low. The rooms turned out to be great, well maintained and very clean. The food was very good, but not a huge assortment. The restaurant was nice, open-air and beach front. We didn't mind that the drinks were watery and wine undrinkable - the beer was cold and good. What we did mind was the constant pestering by the time share and beach sales people. It was unbelievable. As you walked down from your room, through the complex, you were attacked by the time share sellers. Then when you went onto the beach, you had to pass a wall of beach sales people. As you sat on the beach, someone came by every 5 minutes - no exaguration. It was very uncomfortable. For this reason, we would not go back to this resort and could not recommend it to others. We travel often, and this was our 6th time to the Dominican Republic. We have never seen a sales force such as this.

First of all I have to say the workers and animators are awesome, especially Manny and Super Joe! Everything was great except our mini fridge didnt work the whole week, and we had only 1 day out of 7 with hot water. We did get some compensation in the end but it would have been nice to have a hot shower and the hot tub working. Other than that, very worth it!

This was my 3rd trip to the Grand Paradise which has been renovated and updated in many areas.

Here are some of the reasons I love this hotel:

- only 15 minutes from the airport so you don't have a long ride to and from the airport
- it is located directly on a lovely sandy beach that was cleaned several times while I was there to get rid of the seaweed and other things that wash up after storms or high tides
- it is in a complex with around 14 other hotels so you have a long beach to walk along
- in the shopping mall in the middle of the complex are a bunch of stores to buy food, pizza, gifts and many other things. I highly recommend that you go see Alberto Rosario at the LARIMAR SHOP as he has lovely jewelry both in silver and gold and he does wonderful custom work if you want something done specially. I have bought several things from him and never been disappointed.
- the buffet restaurant is directly on the beach (the only one like it in the Playa Dorada complex) so every meal you can gaze out at the beautiful ocean instead of spending the time in an enclosed room. To me this is one of their best hotel features.
- the staff try their best to help whenever it is in their power to do so. I had an issue with the balcony door that they tried to resolve and although I was not happy that they didn't get it fixed they did try.
- the rooms are redecorated and the bathrooms were lovely. They even had a small fridge (with bottled water and pop) and flat screen tv and the balcony panels were glass so you could be seated and still see the ocean.
- I stayed in 1431 which was a small room with one double bed and looked over the beach. It was on the 3rd floor which is not a problem if you don't mind the stairs and is near the restaurant and pools. A perfect location in my viewpoint.
- It was quiet after the shows at 11pm so you always had a great sleep
- I found the food acceptable. There was always something that filled me up but if you are looking for fine dining then you may be disappointed. There was more variety on the weekends when the local people came to enjoy the hotel.
- the grounds are beautiful, well groomed and kept clean and tidy
- the staff from the maids, front desk (Demarys), servers and bartenders (Joseph) were polite and cheerful
- you got a free hour of wireless to use the internet which was a bonus. The cost if you wanted more time is $3 USD for 1/2 hour or $5 USD for 1 hour which was reasonable.
- if your flight leaves late in the day but you still need to check out by 1pm they will give you a room to shower in. This way you just leave your large luggage with the front desk and take your carry-on around with your change of clothing, passport etc until it's time to leave.


Some things I think that could be improved upon:

- with the renos they did not include a deadbolt on the entrance door which I feel should be on every hotel door for added security when you're sleeping
- take some snacks with you. I arrived after the restaurant closed on Saturday night and although they generously offered to make a plate up for me I had brought something to tide me over. I must mention too that they offer snacks after midnight by the beach if you wanted to wait until then.
- there was no hot water for 5 of the 7 days which wasn't a huge deal but still would be nicer if it didn't happen. They did give us a $25 voucher to use the next time we go to Grand Paradise.
- the wine was not good but that's not a vacation spoiler for me
- I know that it is rated as a 4 star but I think it should really be a 3 or 3 1/2 star.
- I would love to have a listing of the channels so that you could tell which were English. There were around 7 English ones plus a sports and weather channel. I brought a small DVD player which helped on rainy nights as I didn't find that there was much on the tv channels anyway.
- remember that to rent a safe lock to store your documents, money etc it costs $20 USD for the week

I am including a short list of things I always bring that may be helpful.
- poncho or rain coat, umbrella so that if it does rain you can still get out to look around
- a travel mug for all those yummy slushy drinks that will stay cold on the beach
- sunburn ointment
- Polysporin and bandaids
- extension cord if you need to charge anything you can put it up on the dresser
- your favorite tea (I don't like coffee without cream so I bring tea for a hot drink)
- small gifts to bring the staff although money is more helpful
- a towel since you may need one after you have handed in your towel card when checking out

I have stayed at 4 of the hotels in the complex as well as others in the Dominican and this is the one I keep returning to. I hope you enjoy it too.

I've been to Puerto Plata many times and the best place I've stayed is Grand Paradise. I try to go at least twice a year.The staff and management are alway very pleasent,the rooms are very nice and clean, the food is good always something to eat. Everyone always has a smile and hello for you. There will always be people who no matter what you do aren't going to be happy, you have to remember this is another country very different from ours. So be respectful of their culture, we would expect that if they were vacationing in our country and they would probably not like some of our ways of life either.