This was our first vacation outside of the U.S. It was bizarre to be the minority as Americans. Very few people spoke english, making it difficult to communicate. The hotel was older but nice. The rooms were spacious and very clean. The buffet had a variety of foods, some better than others. The beach was nice, but you needed to get out before 7am to get a "good" chair under the grass umbrellas. The sun was wonderful, the water a beautiful aqua. The staff was great, always entertaining!

Imagine my surprise upon checking into the Occidental Allegro Puerto Plata (i.e. Jack Tar) and being told that there were no rooms available. I had purchased trip with air via SkyAuction that had a choice of resorts. We chose this one because it was adult only. The trip was booked, reserved, vouched and paid for, too. We were "re-accommodated" to another resort that was not as nice and not adult only. Nor was it one of the other resorts that we originally had a choice from. We were not the only ones affected. Dozens of others who booked through other sites and their own travel agents were also denied accommodation. We were easily identified by the 2 wrist bands we wore (one for the Jack Tar and re-accommodation resort, the Playa Naco.)

Spent two weeks from 11 January. Hotel is very clean and wide choice of excellent food. AlaCarte' Restaurants good, but we liked The Grill best. Lots of entertainment available for those who like it. Good beach, miles of sand. There is a shopping mall five minutes walk away with a cashpoint and there are cheap cigars.

On the down side, we had 4 days of rain throughout the holiday, and 3 which were mainly cloudy. Think we were just unlucky.

Last year we went to South Goa which was quieter and we did like it better. The Playa Dorada was just a little bit too busy for us, but that is just our personal choice. Also you are guaranteed every day sunshine.

Nevertheless the hotel and staff do all they can to help you enjoy your holiday and cannot be faulted. The bar staff were very entertaining with their antics. Also the American and Canadian guests were very friendly.

We stayed at the hotel in january for one week.The hotel is very nice and the staff is great,but the food is definetly not four star dinning.
The mexican restaurant is just ok.The grill and the italian restaurant are not good at all.The buffet is your best choice.The house wine is very poor quality.

I spent two weeks in this hotel during dec 03, we stayd over christmas and came home just before new yr!! Brilliant holiday! Good food, clean, really really friendly people. lots of daytime activities for all ages around the pool and on the beach,such as pool volleyball, archery (for ova 18's), beach football, spanish lessons, mini golf, water polo, crazy games and much much more!! there is no nightclub/disco....but just up the road at the flemenco is a nice little disco (just a quick stroll up the beach) or in the playa dorada complex there were a couple of nightclubs (and before you say it they were perfectly safe) lol. the rooms were basic, but cozy! and very soundproof. The kid club staff were extremely friendly, by the end o the holiday...or actually by a couple o days in they were calling us by our names and saying hi, how are you whereever we went! so big up to mosquito, scooby-doo, coca-cola, chocolate, eddy and the rest!! c ull ave to go to see what i mean!hehe. great beaches, and loads of free non- motorised sports! i thoroughly recommend it!! I can safely say the best holiday i have ever had!!

This hotel is extraodinary. Everything is great, the people are soooooooooo nice, all the employes, everyone. It was great. I Went on january 8th 2004 for 1 week with 3 of my girl friends and we had the time of our lives. The hotel's theme dance and songs, the food, the shows, how clean it is, it's crazy how nice it is. When you will meet all the staff you will think they are so nice. Tell me about it, scooby-doo, chocolaté, rafael, danny, Frank and the list goes on, they are all very nice. The food is superbe, I couldn't imagine how clean it is. It has very few mistake, the hotel is just great trust me.

My wife and I took a last-minute getaway this past summer and stayed at the Occidental Allegro Playa Dorada by recommendation of our travel agent. We loved it. The hotel was clean clean clean, no bugs, no messes, not a spec of dirt to be found anywhere. Very well maintained.
The hot tub was fantastic, the swim-up bar offered only beer or fruity drinks w/o alcohol, though that's no big deal as there are 2-3 poolside bars ready to make you any drink you can think of! The main pool was large and the water was warm!

The buffet was good, different "theme" nights every day, with lots of mix of both local cuisine and your more standard international fare (ie American food) + even then the American food was well prepared and made with pride and passion by the cooks. The 3 a la carte restaurants were quite nice, we liked all 3 (Steak, Italian, and Mexican). The poolside pizzeria overlooking the beach was delightful!

The hotel staff and animators were all super nice, there were lots of daytime activities and poolside activities.

The nightime shows were ok. What other people said about that German kids' song is quite true, you'll never ever get it out of your head -- it's quite fun. The kids shows at night were very cute. The adult shows @ night were sometimes a little lame, nothing world-class of "just off broadway," and yet still fun. They had 1 night-time show on the beach which was GREAT.

We met lots of other couples our age (20 + 30-something) while we there, from all throughout Europe and Canada. It was great! Well worth going!

We've been on a few holidays, (Cuba, Mexico, Thailand and cruises ) - What a great place! I love the Dominicans. They are so friendly and fun. We've been to the Dominican before and stayed on the other side of Puerto Plata. This Hotel is the best. We stayed here last Feb.'03. We asked to move rooms only because I like to over look the ocean and within 2 days they moved us, just across the hall. How accommodating!
Never once did we tire of the food. Just choose what you like. There is a great variety. Met some great people and had a great time. The beach is very nice. We are going again this Feb.'04, and bringing 2 other couples so you can tell we highly recommend this hotel. We're very excited. The cost of this trip is so reasonable.-$2100. CND. What a deal!

I had a wonderful did I said wonderful vacation with my parents and two kids...I travel often and this is one of my favorite places to go back as soon as possible...food was excellent, drinks 24 hrs, night show for adults/children and the most important... people are divine! I do recommend this place for all ages! Gal

My family (2 adults, 2 children), mother and father-in-law, and sister stayed at Occidental Playa Dorado the week of Christmas, 2003. The food was great - when you get tired of the main cafeteria, go for the pizza buffet by the beach pool. The grilled chicken is out of this world. No real fruit juice (the orange drink was refreshing, though), and the all-inclusive drinks are bar brand only. The hotel was clean and very nice by third world country standards. Learn Spanish or take a dictionary so you can communicate with the housekeepers and other locals. They were nice when I could be understood. Don't look for wash clothes. Just when I got one housekeeper broken in on the four-towel situation, of course there was a new one. My sister hasseled with changing rooms and finally got it accomplished after a couple of days.
Could have been the language barrier or lack of motivation of the hotel's part....The kids' club was good - the best was the late afternoon and evening shows where the kids could dance on the outdoor stage. It rained 2 times during the day for a short while. If you don't know Spanish, be sure to join the kids' club guys each weekday about 2:30 for lessons by the beach pool. Careful with kids - it is International, meaning some go topless. We had to explain to our 5 & 9 year olds it was a "custom" thing. We took a 2 hour horseriding tour which was set up through the travel club (we had a timeshare). It was wonderful. Don't know how the 1 hour hotel-ride was. You can get short cab rides to Punta Canta, Puerto Plata, and Sousua. Sousua was a nice beach with great water for snorkeling, and several beachside vendors.
The cab ride was about $30. All the taxi drivers we encountered were great, with the exception of the one my mother in law left her cell phone in and never got back. In conclusion, it was a good vacation, but I don't need to go there again.