I bought the deal for Crown Suites on groupon and while the rooms were average they were so worth the money I paid .. It was an apartment style room with a big terrace and lots of sunshine in the morning.

The staff was super friendly and I was impressed with how large the whole resort is yet everything is in walking distance but they do provide a shuttle in case you don't feel like walking.

The best restaurant was the Blue Lagoon, which was the hardest to get a reservation for and also had the most delicious food but significantly smaller portions.

To make the best of the trip I checked out the daily shows at the Coliseum and participated in different activities.

I mostly had the best time of my life because of the entertainment group and all the activities they had after dinner near by Casablanca. John Cena was the best stretching instructor in the mornings and Lenny was awesome at the bachata dance! This experience definitely made my trip much more fun and I can't wait to return again!!

Oh where do I begin...

From the beginning we were picked up by a large out dated bus that smelt of melting vinyl but other than that we were excited to be going on vacation and wouldnt let transportation get the better of us.

When we get there we were amazed at how beautiful the resort was (the only good thing about this trip was the beauty of the actual Island). The manager who was supposed to greet us and take us (a group of 10+) into our villa, made us wait because she was running late. We were unable to check in for 20 minutes or so, which again is understandable.

We were also promised the large 10 bedroom villa. We knew going into it that it was possible it was not availble. **Side note: how does a resort not pre book and prepare for where each party is staying prior to their stay?? That being said that is how the resort works. They have no systems put in place and when you tell them your displeased they do nothing to redeem themselves.

The resort advertises and sells you on the concept that if you have a gold VIP wristband then you are entitled to an endless amount of alcohol and food. Well, in a house of 6 (3 couples) we only recieved 12 beers and no alcohol. When we called for our replenishment they refused and said only 2 beers per person.

** on a seperate occassion, day 3 lets say, we asked for a replenishment because we never recieved our beer earlier that day. They argued with us and said that we had already called 3x and that was our max. We got 12 beers later, but thats all.

We figured our vacation was not going smoothly so we wanted to go on an excursion to forget about all the mishaps. So, we went into the resorts excursion center and booked a catamaran. Now, some of us had been on a 100 person catamaran before and experienced toilets clogging and a small supply of alcohol and food. So, we asked if we could go on a smaller catamaran, max 25 people. They agreed and we booked it with 3/4 of the boat being our party. Well, we woke up all excited and went all the way there to find a boat with 100 people on it. Lets just say we were not thrilled and ended up coming back to the hotel.

Overall, this vacation was the worst vacation I have ever been on. I will never go back, nor will I ever invest my money into a place that will take your money and not care about their clients/customers. Their customer service is the worst I have ever encountered and its not due to a language barrier.

Oh ya the KING size beds are actually 2 double beds pushed together so your vacation/honeymoon will be you sleeping in a bed alone on the other side of your significant other.

Do not go, I wish I read a review like this before I went. Horrible place to stay.

Groupon offered an awesome deal back in December 2012 to stay at the Lifestyle Crown Residence Suites in which I booked a trip for my birthday from 1/27 - 2/1 which totaled $525 for two. Upon arriving in Puerto Plata, I found out that I was not staying at the Lifestyle Crown Residence Suites but was moved to Lifestyle Tropical instead; needless to say, the bait and switch turned me off... So a few things... As far as the overall resort goes, I must say it's very pretty; staff is very attentive, grounds are well kept, plenty of nice pools to choose from and the beach is "okay". I say this because I did not see one seashell, horseshoe crab, nothing that indicated nature in its true essence. If I did not know any better, I would say the beach is man-made but there were lots of pretty high waves... My room: It was okay; no shower curtain, clock not working, very outdated television but I loved the balcony in building 5... Maid/cleaning service: It lacked all around and needs major improvement... Trying to get clean towels, getting the bathroom trash emptied, and a bed made was almost impossible; therefore, I found myself doing the cleaning which was fine. Like the old adage goes, "anything you want done properly, do it yourself..." So I made my bed and took out the trash... Food and drinks: I'll start with drinks first... No complaints, lots of rum, Coco Loco was the best! Food... Since it's all inclusive, most of the food was buffet-style which meant if you didn't get there on time, food was picked over. The best buffet spot to eat at is "The Pearl"; the food was very good! The restaurants which required reservations were pretty decent... Definitely go to El Pilon, Mexican, and Indochine... Italian was less than desirable; an Italian chef needs to be flown in to pull it off... Tours: Definitely do the city tour with cable car ride for $49; it's worth the money and if you can, try to book it with Blue Tours? Our tourist Manny was amazing and very knowledgeable of the country and Puerto Plata, speaking over four different languages... One thing, while in the city, everyone wants to sell you larimar or amber; so beware.. Last but not least, I did mention I booked through Groupon... So, with that said, a sales pitch was bound take place... The sales representative, David Rocco, was very nice and respected the boundaries set-forth; no pressure to purchase... On the last day, 2/1, check-out was a breeze; no hassle; was still able to get some drinks while waiting for the cab... Of note, if you need a cab ride to and from the airport use Taxi Sosua-Cabarete and ask for German Garcia... He was awesome; very humble and a hardworker... Overall, I had a pretty good time for my birthday and made the best out of it; like the title of my review... "You get what you pay for..." I might consider going back and staying at the Cofresi Palm Resort; I'd rather pay a little extra for better amenities and comfort...

Very friendly . Great device . The resort had awesome entertainment . The staff was awesome . Every restaraunt was really good. All the food was very fresh. The Italian restaraunt was great . I'm from
New York and was very impressed with the pizza. The drinks was very good also. Would definitely go back to this resort . My wife and I are planning going back in December of 2013. Would recommend this resort to my family and friends.