I stayed at the Villa Doradas from March 23rd to April 6th, with 2 girlfriends of mine. We had a Blast. We met a lovely family from Red Deer and spend our first week with them partying every night in the clubs.

My suggestion is to try all the disco's to see which you like the best. I enjoyed Mangu the best but you had to pay cover every time and it was the farthest to walk but taxi's were readily avaiable if you are willing to pay 6.00 US for the 1 min drive. Roadway is the closest they play lots of hip hop. Crazy Moon was a good disco, again lots of hip hop make sure you get the flyers that the promotion guys had out during the day and you will get in with no cover and a free drink. Hemmingways I went to once and it was awesome if you are into the Merengue and Bachata like I am. Usually no cover and again look for the flyer guys. For every bar girls beware if you are not single and not looking for a guy because the bars are full of locals looking for "opportunity"

Villas Doradas is a good little resort, our room was not the best room it was very small but we were hardly in it so we didn't mind. We didn't have a tv for the first week but again we didn't mind. As soon as we asked for one or asked for anything we needed it was brought within half an hour of asking for it. As for the other rooms they are very nice and clean and roomy. Also you have to think its a three star hotel don't expect much.

The food was alright they ran a 7 day meal plan for the buffet but it was mostly the same things everynight just different sauces. Lunch Buffet is the best I suggest always eating at lunch because they had the most varaity. The Ala Carte Resturants were pretty good I enjoyed the Chinese one but it didn't agree with my friend too much. And the Grill was great but than later it didn't agree with me much. The seafood one was good according to my friend who went. So if you have a sensitive stomach stick to the buffet!

The bartenders were awesome they mix great drinks and they are always smiling! Look for Gabriel and Wiling(looks like puff daddy) they are the best.

The animation team was very lively but I didn't have much to do with them, I was baking on the beach!

The beach is beautiful, try and get up early to secure a beach chair although it's not much of a fight for those just for the shade. The water is great for swimming and the beach is really good for running either early morning of late afternoon. If you go for a walk down the right of the beach you will come to a river, careful when you cross lots of rocks and cross a little down river about level with the guy selling paintings, not so bad. Make sure you bring a plastic bag or something to hold you're money or camera because if you hit a down poor your stuck, and might get a little wet! The peddlers can get a bit annoying the first couple days but the key is to pretend your sleeping and they shouldn't bother you!!!

I suggest grabbing a bus or van and heading to Sosua or Caberate. The little vans where they cram about 23 people in should cost about 25 pesos to Sosua and 50 pesos to Caberate. And the bus is about 20 pesos but it's easier grabbing a bus ont he way back. The markets in Sosua are great, they love to bargain and don't like to take no for an answer. The beaches in Cab. are the most beautiful and so is the ocean. You will have lots of water sports to try and you can rent a beach chair for the day at a 100pesos/chair. but laying on the sands just as nice, if it's not windy. In Cab the beach is lined with bars and resturants, so stay a bit longer and enjoy a nice lobster meal. Grab a cab back to the Playa Doradas complex for a bout 800 pesos.

If you go on a tour I suggest the Monster Truck Tour and the Paridise Island tour, bring an underwater camera for the Paridise Island tour the fish as amazing.

Well hopefully this has been a bit helpful for people going to the Villa Doradas or just in the Doradas Complex. I really enjoyed my holidays so I hope you will too!

To start off with, our tub was all rusted on the bottom, the closet doors were falling off, the patio planter had everything but plants (plastic cups, cigarette buts, garbage. Cockroahes at night (no sleepy sleepy!. Ran out of TP and it never got replaced. Roof leaked one night, had to use the ice bucket to catch it. When we told front desk about it, all they said was.."oh, okay" The bar smelled of vomit. The people across from us ordered Pizza Hut take out and the put their garbage outside their door, where it stayed for the next 2 days. Not once did we receive clean cups and we always had to wait for towels, hotel room and pool! The drinks were good. My husband and I will never return to this dump.

I went to the Dominican Republic hoping for a nice relaxing holiday, i didnt pay as much as i usually would as i was told that in the caribbean it doesnt really matter, its beautiful all over.

Before i went on the holiday, i had read alot of reviews, the majority where bad reviews, damp in rooms, things going missing etc, i didnt take any notice as i thought well to have this many bad reviews the hotel will have surely sorted many of the problems out now.

To my dismay, this was not the case.

Upon arrial everything was great, great reception, staff were friendly and all looked clean.

When located to our room (at back of hotel) all was ok, fairly simple layout, nice fresh feel to it, well, this was until we entered the bathroom, revolting, mould around the bath and damp on the ceiling. Straight away we asked to move, granted, the staff were lovely and happy to oblige, new room was three doors down from the last and not much better, but still not as bad so we stayed.

Evening entertainment was fantastic if you were out watching it, when trying to get an early night after jetlag it was truly hideous, our room was right behind the stagem constant noise, music till all hours of morning, no good for those with children.

Pool was nice, huge and clean, and lots of entertainment, great for kids, women for 20 upwards beware, constant wolf whistles from the 'Vibe Tribe'.

Food was nice, average, not like the caribbean food i was expecting, alot of chicken on the menu, yet which part of the chicken i really dont know.

It got to the end of the first week and there was HUGE commotion, it seems that one of the other guests had their room broken into whilst they were out and their camera and lots of money had been taken out of their safe, there was no forced entry with the safe, so it begs to differ, was it the staff? This family moved hotels shortly after.

Middle of Second week there was a storm, (beautiful might i add) there were four rooms that got flooded (knee deep) peoples belongings were floating in the rain water, cameras destroyed, the hotel said 'we have not experienced this before' yet i know that a problem such as this had been raised on this web site in 2004.

All im trying to say is be very careful here, keep your belongs on you as much as you can, take travellers cheques, leave no cash in the rooms, specially over the weekend as this is when the locals arrive and this was when most things were going missing.

I feel this could have been made a lot better if we would have had the support from our tour operater My Travel (First Choice), any problem raised they seemed Blasé.

My husband and myself were celebrating our 25 wedding anniversary the first time away from home without the children we were very apprehensive. The Dominican Republic is a fantastic place to visit, the people although have little and nothing there are they most hospitable people on earth nothing was too much trouble for them. The food was excellent (even the goat meat) you must try something new at less once in your lifetime. If you like your booze/liquor this is drinkers paradise on tap from 10am to 11pm. If you are a smoker this is smokers heaven. The hotel staff worked extremely hard 13 hour sifts having one day off per week and only get 17 days holiday per year compared with my 33 days per year. My only grumble was the room, which had a taste of dust in the air especially when the fan was turned on and the bed sheets, which had human fluid stains on it. The dead lizard under the bed and the ants in the bath – other than that it was great. They assure me that the hotel will be refurbished at the end of April beginning of May ready for my next holiday.

The entertainment was fantastic Mosquito, Scooby and Tanya all deserves Oscars.

If you get the opportunity you must visit the jewellers La Canoa as mentioned before because it was anniversary we treated ourselves to diamond rings cheap at half the price ask for Fernando and tell him I sent you!!

Also try the La Ponderosa Del Mar restaurant they do the finest lobster in Puerto Plata.

If you like excursions don’t book them with the tour operators at the hotel you’ll pay through the nose. Go to the plaza which is literally a ten minute walk and book with them – a tip don’t except the first prise they offer you barter (negotiate) and you’ll get the excursions a lot cheaper (yes they do have insurance and licence we checked).

The taxi driver Pablo and Miguel the guide were fantastic – if they rush you too much just tell them to slow down, you are paying them for their service and not the other way round.

BEWARE of the people wearing T-shirts with Viva Vacation Club I smell a timeshare scam!

I agree with the writer from Waterloo, Ontario It is important to remember that you are in a third world country when you travel to the Dominican Republic and adjust your thinking accordingly. It is not London.

In all we had a fantastic, unbelievable, incredible, out of this world, excellent, extraordinary time.

Would I go again most definitely YES.