Emotions All Inclusive Juan Dolio, Ascend Hotel Collection



About
See why so many travelers make Emotions by Hodelpa their all-inclusive resort of choice when visiting Juan Dolio. Providing an ideal mix of value, comfort and convenience, it offers a family-friendly setting with an array of amenities designed for travelers like you.
The rooms offer a flat screen TV, a minibar, and a refrigerator, and getting online is possible, as free internet access is available, allowing you to rest and refresh with ease.
Emotions by Hodelpa features a 24 hour front desk, room service, and a concierge. In addition, as a valued Emotions by Hodelpa guest, you can enjoy a pool and free breakfast that are available on-site. Guests arriving by vehicle have access to free parking.
During your visit, be sure to check out one of Juan Dolio's popular shrimp restaurants such as El Meson and Sal Marina Restaurant, all a short distance from Emotions by Hodelpa.
We’re sure you’ll enjoy your stay at Emotions by Hodelpa as you experience all of the things Juan Dolio has to offer.
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There was a group of 300+ people there with Le Québec Rock au Chaud who were amazing and all the people I met there were super nice. The rock group had shows at noon and at night and the nighttime shows were from 8:30pm to 10:30pm. Was it noisy? Not anymore than any other resort and at least the music was good and not this boom boom discotheque kind of music.
Yes people smoked too close to the doors but nothing we can do about it but ask to change that with management. If you don't ask you don't get. It didn't bother me. There was no smoking allowed in the restaurants.
The time share guys and the vendors on the beach were persistent but if you say no with a smile and walk away they won't harass you but they will come back the next day. I was firm with the guy with my no and he got it.
The food was very good even in the buffet.
This resort is extremely clean and all the staff are super nice. Rudh and Catherine and Scarlett in the Essentia check in were amazing! Juan Carlos and Vicente at the Beach bar were wonderful! I recommend the Essentia Caribe as a favourite drink 🍹.
I recommend this resort 100%
The beach is nice and periodically cleared of weeds. Vendors on the beach will solicit you but not to the point of harassment. Its’s a long stretch of beach which can be walked on either side after the resort and at a leisurely pace will take you about 1-1/2 hrs.to walk. Plenty of chairs and “palapas” on the beach.
There is a family section in and around the pool area and beach which can get very noisy. If you’re travelling without children you may want to stay in buildings 5 upwards. We met a couple who stayed in building 10 (backs on to road/hwy) and they thought the rooms were a bit dated compared to building 4 which are fairly well appointed given its price point. Take a wash cloth as they are not provided. The towels are of high quality and very absorbent.
Missing is a lobby area with a bar and place to sit and relax in the evenings. International drinks are not available at beach or pool bar and have to be ordered and payed for at another bar.
The food at the buffet is repetitive and unremarkable. Plenty of desserts and pastries. Breakfast had its eggs and pancakes/crepes stations. Bacon was only available once during g our weeks stay. Coffee was OK with a reconstituted powdered milk. The cappuccinos at the coffee shop near the pool are great along with the other cold/frozen drinks. No ice cream dispenser for kids. Popsicles are USD$6 and $7 a pop.
Of the four restaurants. The Dominican and the Mexican were the best. The staff although very polite, could use some training on better managing your order.
At the bar. In my opinion the Passion fruit frozen cocktail, the Mojito frozen cocktail and the frozen margaritas were the best.
We had two major night shows. The fire show and the Michael Jackson show which was spectacular.



The adult only pool is only steps away from the main pool and activities with a DJ occur from 3-5pm each day. Was expecting the adult pool to be separated from the main areas but the resort occupancy was low and it wasn’t an issue, it certainly could be a noise issue with the resort at high occupancy. The web site says swim up bar but there isn’t one. Looks like the main pool used to have one.
The resort is all inclusive with MANY pay options. Only Local beer is included, no premium liquor, and only two wine options, white and red.
Breakfast and lunch meals are buffet only, small snack bar at beach. Buffet includes a lot of choices but they did not change throughout the week. Dinner option is primarily buffet but the resort does have Mexican, Italian, Asian and Dominican restaurants which require reservations. Each night at 8pm you can go online and try to get reservations for the next day. Restaurants have 3 different seating times and are small so reservations are limited. Reservations for greater than 2 people have to be made at the desk. For 2 you can make them yourself. Not all restaurants were open each day, most days there was only one.
Only complaint about meals was that beverages took a long time to get and it was difficult to get refills.
We’ve never been to an all inclusive with wrist bands that identify your service level. On one occasion we did have poor service at the restaurant as guests next to us were wearing a higher level band and the wait staff gave them a lot of attention
Upon arrival we were told there was a welcome gift for us due to being with the wedding. Unfortunately it wasn’t a gift but a way to get you to the sales presentation. When i told them I wasn’t interested in a sales presentation I was repeatedly told it was not. We did end up sitting through the presentation and the staff left us alone after that.
Food was average, beverages average, accommodations above average. Highly suggest you know some basic Spanish as English was not widely spoken.
Value for what we spent was excellent.

The pros of this hotel it is very clean,the rooms are spacious,it is a walkable size,the sea is very calm and the beach is not as crowded as bavarro beach.
They offer a variety of beach activities,yoga aqua fit and games. The staff are very hard working and friendly.
The cons,upon arrival it took five days before they gave me a face cloth,bath mats were in short supply.it is very noisy at night especially when they have disco night the music reverberates as far as building 5. Doors slam thru out the night. The water pressure can be low and a couple of times cut off,the electricity goes out occasionally and the wifi is spasmodic. The buffet food was always tepid even though I arrived as soon as it opened. They do not supply facial tissues or body lotion and the shampoo is the combination shower gel and shampoo. People who had a swim out room said the water was too cold to swim in. If you go take ear plugs,shampoo and lotion. I had breakfast everyday before 7 am the coffee service is very slow,a couple of times people went up to pour their own coffee. They have already code scanner where you are meant to be able to reserve at the speciality restaurant,every time it said the restaurant was full, at 6pm they were nearly empty but no walkins allowed. The room fridge has 2 bottles of soda water (diet pepsi and seven up)and 2 little beers I've stayed at another 4.5 hotel and the fridge was full of a variety of soda
This hotel is overrated at 4.5 it should be at the most 3.5
Appreciation: The beach was beautiful, enough room, the bar was good, great staff and generally good food. The variety of dishes offered at the buffet was also appreciated, as was the kindness and professionalism of the staff.
Cons: Our arrival was marked by disappointing inconveniences. We had booked a Swim Out room in block 5, but it was far from meeting our expectations. The room has a strong unpleasant smell, a poorly fixed TV and an unsatisfactory level of cleanliness disappointed us. The associated Swim Out pool was cold and dirty, and we had no hot water. These problems prompted us to request a change of room the next day, which resulted in us losing a day of vacation. Although the new room in Block 4 was more satisfactory, this change required negotiations to avoid additional costs. The pool reserved for adults was also cold and not well maintained. The hot tub was cold and dirty.
Another major inconvenience was the loss of water which lasted about 15 hours, a notable inconvenience. In addition, the process of booking à la carte restaurants was laborious, as we were not informed of the possibility of booking online, which forced us to queue every day from 8 pm. Finally, the beach experience was disrupted by the constant and insistent demands of the vendors, and we found that some dishes at the buffet were cold.
Despite the positives, the problems encountered have significantly affected our overall experience. We hope that the hotel will make improvements to better satisfy its future visitors. We do not recommend this hotel.
We have currently been at Emotion Juan Dolio for 4 days and are very sincerely disappointed. We could say that here it is the Wish version of the one in Puerto Plata.
The beach, a buffet/restaurant building and snack bar are on the other side of the street and not on the resort. The beach could be really beautiful if it was maintained because the potential is there. Many of the staff only speak Spanish and the know-how is not often there.
With our choice of package we are staying in building 4 adult only rooms with swimming pool area and supposedly private jacuzzi reserved for those staying in this section. Yet we know we have been invaded by people who should not have had access to it. Very ordinary food not worthy of the quality so we generally expect it for the Rep Dom. Buffet without air conditioning and open to the outside, food invaded by flies and does not stay fresh. We have been sick, probably the tourist, since yesterday. The restaurants not so bad but still ordinary. The bartenders do a good job of mixology and are welcoming. Not many tourists on the resort and clearly the locals are starting to take over the place for the weekend. We have just seen tropical storm Franklin pass and no services to accommodate the temporary situation. The management of the emergency situation could and should have been managed much better by customer services. Swimming pool, bar, restaurants, beach and other services have been closed. But we still had to go out in this temperature to get to the buffet, the only convenience available to be able to eat, no room services even for us who had it included in our package. We had to run to the Sunwing representative, who we finally had to call at reception to have him come see us for transportation information back to the airport since we were the only Sunwing customers there. So the only people they have to come back to pick up at the end of the week for our return. Representatives of the Elite club were quite insistent, bordering on unpleasant. No entertainment or activities offered at the resort. Room could use small adjustments but generally good. The service provided by the maids is A+ just positive
They are friendly, caring and so kind.
A 4.5 star oh NO! A 3 top max. Bad value for money for a package at this resort. Much too expensive for what it really is.
We do not recommend it. Instead, go to Emotion in Puerto Plata, you will not be disappointed.




I booked this property spontaneously on the same day of arrival with the intent of having a couple of days of relaxation and hopefully good food. Well, the relaxation was mostly possible, but the food was a major disappointment.
I'll start with the property. It is beautiful, and I can see how it could have achieved a 4 star rating years ago. But much has not been adequately maintained. The pools are sized right for the property, but they are not heated and were very cold. Decking around the pools are uneven and can lead to injuries.
I can only evaluate the room we had, which was the top of the line swim-out in building 1. The furniture was broken, torn, and stained. The water pressure and hot water were nonexistent. The pillows were comfortable as was the bed, but the sheets were thin and cheap. The private swim-out pool was the coldest of all, to the point I couldn't use it. Everything in the room was very worn and dated, and insufficient towels provided.
The food was horrible, even at the specialty restaurants. The buffet assortment was limited, and the food quality was poor. Seating at the buffet was on plastic chairs and metal tables with a very cheap feel. The Mexican specialty restaurant had no idea of what Mexican food looks like, and everything was poor quality. The service staff at the buffet and specialty restaurants certainly are not professional food servers.
Entertainment at the resort was lame and boring. Every evening entertainment started late with no announcements of when it'd start.
The uncharges were everywhere. If you wanted any beer other than Presidente, there was a charge. Ice cream at the coffee shop was $6US each. And, they wanted $150 for a beachside dinner, which could have been worth it, if the food quality anywhere else on the resort had been any good.
On the positive side, the property is beautiful, beach clean, and the staff was very friendly. I have been to Juan Dolio several times and will be back again... but until the things I addressed above are resolved, I definitely won't be staying here.
"Bring a ball or plan to buy one as sports supplies are not offered. We had to buy a ball to play volleyball."Read full review
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