Five of us went to Breezes Puerto Plata in May 08 with RCI. We all had a great time. The staff was very friendly and the grounds was very nice and clean, beautiful pool and beach. The rooms were nice except the first night we stayed in building 11, Rm 11007 and the room was very musty. The lst night my husband had a asmtha attack ( the first since he was a child) and we moved the next day to building 10 in Rm 10007. There was no musty smell in that condo. The assistant manager Portfolio was extremely nice and helpful.
The entertainment was good and fun to watch. The food could be better. It was not seasoned well but there is diffently a wide variety of food at the Jimmy Buffett buffet. You will be able to find plenty to eat that you well like. Be sure to try the ice cream. It was the best I have ever had. We ate at the other four restaurant and the Italian was are favorite. Then the Mexican. Get the Mango Margaritas at the Mexican. That was the best drink I had at the resort. The steak at the French restaurant was hard to chew. It is the only place that you have to dress up for. And do not bother trying the hamburgers.at the beach bar. They have different hamburger meat in DR and it does not taste like the hamburger in the U.S.
There is plenty to do at the resort and in the near by towns. Take advantage of the free shuttle service to the towns of Sosua and Caberete. We would take the shuttle there and take a taxi back which would be about $8.00 for all 5 of us. Sosua is a beautiful bay with crystal clear water. This is where we also took a day trip on a catamaran to snorkel. There is 300 vendors lined along the beach facing the ocean with palm trees on the other side. There is plenty of souviners to buy, food vendors and bars. But be sure to stop at Checkpoint at the beginnig of it or at the end and order a Ceasar drink (Excellent). It was recommended by the Canadian managers. Be sure to tell them the 5 from W.Va. recommended it. They also called a cab for us and we waited there for it. Caberete is a great busy sea side town with palm trees and stores with loud music playing in the streets. The bay is full of wind and kite surfers. We found a great open air bar right on the beach that had the best Mohitas. It was right next to a kite rental place and behind a well known expensive store that I can not remember the name of.
We did the Dune Buggy trip which was fun. They took us to a nice beach to go swimming too. The guy climbed a coconut tree and got each of us are own coconut to drink from it. Be sure to take something for the kids you might see along the way. I took pens and pencils and some old costume jewrly. They were so excited and loved it.
We also took the city tour to Puerto Plato on are own and saved alot of money. We paid $70.00 plus tip for a taxi mini van from Breezes. The city tour would have cost about $50.00 a peice.
He took us to Isabel de Torres which is a cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain 2,500 ft up. There is a statue of Jesus at the top like the one in Rio. You can walk the botanical garden path on your own. DO NOT use the guide. All they do is point and name the flowers that we already knew. They told us we can tip if we want to and we tipped him $9.00 which I thought was to much for what he did. He demanded that we pay him $18.00 which we did not give him. He also had us sit and listen to a band that expected a tip and then to watch a silly magic act who also expected to get a tip. It was only abt $6.00 to go up to the top. The view was fantastic. It is not to be missed. Then we went to the amber museum and to San Felipe Fort. He was going to take us where they make the rum and the cigars and to shop but we declined. His name was Hector and did not speak English but we all seemed to understand each other. He was great and very nice. He would stop where ever we wanted to. Be sure to ask for Hector to drive you.
The catarman trip was great at $60.00 each for a all day trip. We left abt 9:00 am and back abt. 4:00pm. It was the banana republic catarman trip. They took us to two great snorkeling places. The water was the clearest I have snorkeled at and I have been to alot of places to snorkel or scuba dive. They served a great lunch and the drinks were served even after the boat was docked which is very rare. They were very friendly and alot of fun.
My daughter and her friend used a debit card to pay for the all-inclusive fee when we arrived at Breezes. That was the only place that they used there card and someone from the resort behide the desk must have coped the card numbers. My daughter had a $300.00 charges and her friend had $700.00 charges made on their account. So do not use credit cards. Bring travelors checks.
I enjoyed the trip and Im glad we went except for the credit card episode. But that could happen anywhere. I would go back but there are to many other places I want to visit.

My husband & I are in our 40's and our girls 16 & 18 all loved the Breezes so much we are returning again this Nov. When we arrived at our hotel we noiticed that 2 families from the previous year were there again.....arriving on the same day as us...since we had meet them the year before and enjoyed their company we of course partied with them again...we since then have stayed in touch and we are all meeting at the Breezes again the last week of November...the families are from England and Ireland.....We stayed in the Villas which in our opinion are like having your own cottage....our first year we stayed in the Hotel #4 but by far will be booking in the Villa again....We had no problem with a thing, the rooms where just starting to be made over, with new beds, painting etc....since we were only in our rooms to sleep we found the rooms quite comfortable....no problems with bugs, air conditioning or water had it all.....the shuttle to towns were a great feature we used them alot.....we even came home on the local bus a few times....next to nothing...always found the people to be very kind.....I always pack a suitcase of items to give away and we always leave any clothes or shoes that we don't want.....gives us an excuse to buy more for next trip....I always bring down items for the locals that are too expensive for them to buy and are considered a luxury for them....I like to bring nail polish, panty hose, socks, hats, shirts, candy, beach balls, books, school supplies, anything travel friendly and not too heavy....I take them on our ATV trips and I go into town and give to whom ever I want.....the front desk and the staff in general have always been very accomedating to us...we are very easy going people and we find that in life in general you treat others the way that you want to be treated.....I try to speak alittle Spanish, I take my book of translations with me everywhere and the locals appreciate the effort....in return I teach them English.....
We booked through I Travel 2000 or whatever online deal is the best....we always book in about Sept. or Oct. and have always got great deals.....
Having been a frequent travel years ago and now getting back into travelling again I think I will stick to the Dominican, it is very safe, great vaca for the price and people are generally pleasant....
Book it , you won't be disappointed......

this was my first time to caribbean and i would definately recommend it . I have know since been to mexico and others but i loved dom rep the people are the nicest and will do anything to they can to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. we stayed in a suite as it wasnt much more and it was on 2 floors with a double bedroom upstairs with bathroom and living area and beds downstairs with kitchette and another bathroom. The hotel has the biggest pool in the north and is on 32acres of land the brochures dont do it justice and i would urge anyone to look at the hoyels own first it has typical caribbean decor a bit loud but it gives you the sense of where you are . we did the white water rafting and loved it the guys on the trip are great and entertain you all day and you have the option to buy a dvd of the day at the end of your trip. The food was fantastic in all restaurants we ill definately be going back.

My husband and myself stayed at breezes march 11 - 18, the week before our canadian spring break.a little bit about ourselves... we are parents, self employed, and we wanted a get-a-way from a cold, snowy canadian winter. we are in our late 20s, and have travelled every year in march for 6 years. we normally go to mexico or cuba but we thought we would give POP a try, just to shake things up a little bit. that might have been a costly decision because 2 weeks after we returned to calgary we booked to go back!! we chose breezes on the high recommendations of our travel agent and also for the fact that the beach is private (nothing bothers me more than trying to relax and constantly being harassed to buy trinkets and such from beach vendors). we were also very impressed with the shuttle bus service to both Sosua and Caberete, as imho staying at the resort 24/7 can get a bit routine.***BEACH/WEATHER*** we must have lucked out when we were there, although there were red flags on the beach most afternoons, almost every morning the water was calm and the waves were not of bowl you over strength, resulting in many green flags. the lifeguards really watched the undertow and wave strength and changed the flags when the water seemed more dangerous. although there is a lifeguard on the beach, he seemed to pay more attention to the hotties on the beach (one swimmer was calling for help and 2 vacationers on loungers went in the water to help, the lifeguard paid no attention whatsoever)! the weather was beautiful, we had one evening after supper when it poured, but it only lasted a couple hours. be smart and pack some of those throw away rain ponchos and you wont get wet going to the beach or lobby bar! ***ROOMS***we stayed in a villa, room 2034. it had not been renovated yet, but we werent in the carribean to spend our days in the room. we always had lots of hot water, although the people in the room adjoining us said they had none for 4 days!! (maybe we used it all?) the room was definitely in need of an update but we were told that is happening this summer during their slow season. we did learn very quickly to sleep with the bathroom lights on as the cockroaches that liked to visit were very,very big and liked to hiss at us when my husand tried to kill them. yikes!! there was no dresser, but the walk in closet beside the bathroom had more than enough shelves to accomadate us, and believe me, i am a very heavy packer! our maid was wonderful. we left her $3-$5 every day and she made sure we had lots of water and a fridge full of pop, plus she made our bed sheets into cute little designs.***FOOD*** i am very picky when it comes to food, so i was quite skeptical as to what the food would be like, although i was reminding myself it could not be any worse than cuba. Jimmys buffet always had loads of bread, pastas, fruits and meats. at breakfast there was a booth where you could custom make a fruit smoothy or milk shake, and at dinner that same booth became your fresh made pasta and sauce spot. the meat all tasted the same to me, and it all was very well done. we did all 4 ala carte restaurants. i liked the italian, while my hubby favored the french. what we ordered would never taste the same here at home, but in no way was it unedible or disgusting. to me, part of being in a different country is to be accepting of the way things are done instead of picking everything apart and finding fault with the way everything is done. the snack bar at the beach seemed to have the same things every day, hamburgers, hot dogs, wings and ham and cheese to make samdwiches. their panini press seemed to have long lines all the time, so it was obviously a hit. even picky eaters will not starve at breezes.***POOL***yes...the pool is amazing. we honestly did not spend alot of time at the pool, we have swimming pools here. we went to the beach instead. hubby found lots of interesting things snorkelling while i basked in the sun. again ,we were not bothered by anyone on the beach as it is private. we are not early risers but we could always find a lounger. it did seem some on the beach liked to play the towel game of which i am not a fan, however i dont like a palapa so i didnt let it other me. ***TOURS/EXCURSIONS*** we went to ocean world and did all the encouters they offered. it was definitely money well spent, but it did end up being a very costly day. the memories are worth what we spent, so no complaints. we also did the breezes dune buggy tour. THIS IS NOT THE FUN BUGGIES TOUR THAT IS ADVERTISED BY THE TRAVEL AGENCIES. this tour does not go through sugar cane fields or on the beach or to a local school. this was a fun tour for us, but we were expecting the fun buggies tour, so we were a bit disappointed. on this tour we went on a back country tour towards caberete. a very nice lady let me into her home to use the bathroom, so i got a glimpse of how the typical dominican family really lives. we then headed to a public beach for a bit of swimming (not driving the buggy on the beach) for whomever wanted. our guide, Nicolas, let us stop for a Grande' Presidente, and spend as much time swimming/drinking as we wanted. it was nice to have a tour guide running on dominican time, not rushing us at all! there were some on our tour who did formally complain with a letter to management about how unsafe the buggies were, but again, no complaints from us. we had a great time, although i missed handing out school supplies and a load of mcdonalds happy meal toys at the school like i had planned. (now i know for next time).***ENTERTAINMENT*** the animation team tried to keep everybody happy. if you got tired of their music they were more than happy to plug in your personal ipod for a change in music. they invited everyone to their water and beach activities, but no pressure if you were not interested. some of the night shows were just okay, some were great. my fave was the micheal jackson show. whether you were impressed or not, i dont think anyone would dispute how hard these kids work to keep us happy. the trapeze, rock climbing wall and trampoline always were lined up before they were even opened, and they seemed to be a hit with anyone brave enough to try them out. the disco did not seem to be very happening when we were there even though the resort was filled to capacity. alot of those there preferred to go clubbing in one of the nearby towns. ***OVERALL IMPRESSION*** we were very impressed with everything breezes had to offer. the gift shop was quite reasonable for those who prefer not to go into town. once a week vendors come in and set up their tables. brush up on your haggling skills. bring any otc meds you may require. i ran out of tylenol and a travel size bottle with 10 pills in it was$16.00! if you have room in your luggage bring some floaties for the lazy river. also the employees do appreciate small gifts. we had all the bartenders asking for our bubba kegs, and in the end did leave them behind. WOULD WE GO BACK AGAIN???WITHOUT A DOUBT. we went with an open mind and no unreal expectations, and we got exactly what we wanted. a week away from the cold and snow and the everyday swing of things. have a good attitude and you will have a fantastic time. we are going back in november, hope to see you there!