No Hacienda at the Hacienda Club

The Hacienda Garden Club was a major disappointment. Why? Read on:

The rooms are billed as "air conditioned", but apparently air conditioning in the D/R = a noisy fan. Plus, there are constant blackouts, so you can't rely on electricity in your room.

The buffet offered the same food items EVERY SINGLE DAY, so you get really tired of the food fast ... and even if you're lucky to land reservations at the a-la-carte restaurants, the food is also bad.

I got sick from eating it and was out of commission for just one day ... turns out I was lucky. Some others were sick much, much longer than that. In fact, 2 people flew home early because they couldn't take it anymore.

The beach is in poor condition. There's no white sand. It's not groomed. There's litter left behind by the locals.

Now ... since the resort itself is guarded from the locals, you may think about going into town. Problem is ... the tour operators will charge you $40 USD for a tour ... that's total robbery.

There's a taxi stand across the street, and you can talk a cab driver into showing you around for $20 USD. Puerto Plata is about 15 minutes away ... but everywhere you go in town, locals try to sell you anything ... even themselves ... and you'll see quickly the town itself is a dump.

On resort, there are these annoying guys in yellow shirts who follow you around and try to chat you up. They are trying to con you into buying time-shares ... even though, apparently, they don't have brochures or a website or an 800 number for more info. Riiiiiight.

As for the nightly "entertainment"? Uh, no. Every night, there's a presentation at the amphitheatre ... but it resembles more of a junior high school presentation where local dominicans dance to cheesy 80's songs you'd rather forget.

Bottom line: Avoid avoid avoid ... but if you are set on this place, I suggest you bring an econo-bottle of Pepto-Bismol, scads of Immodium, lots and lots and lots of books to pass the time.

Gareden club, we call it the flea pit

We have just returned from the Hacienda resort and if you are reading this and have booked the garden club please take note. Call your agent and change to the tropical do it now or your Holiday could be ruined as well.

The rooms are cramped and closing the door in the toilet is a nightmare if your are over 5 foot or clostraphobic. The wardrope actually fell apart and the drawers were damp. When it rained(boy did it rain) we had water through the vents on the roof and onto our bed so we had a night of sitting under towels!!! To cap this we had locals banging on our door at four in the morning...The food was OK but boring and out of 6 of us 5 had sickness and diarrohea for more days than not in our two week stay. After 3 nights and 187 bug bites we went to our rep and asked to be moved as my legs were so painful and swollen and more bites were appearing, he assured us that all would be done to move us but alas nothing could be done but we could change rooms. I said no as all the roofs were built the same and and this would not stop people from banging out door as at ground level. Our friends also were disattisfied and went straight to the Hotel manager and within 10 minutes were moved to the Tropical. When I found this out i went mad. Found the rep and advised that I wanted the same treatment. within 2 minutes porters were at our door packing and moving us to the tropical. This was a nice hotel the beds were damp but a quick call and fresh linen was provided. No problems after this. Orlando the hotel manager is a saint and is more than helpful he was always making sure that we were happy and nothing was too much. The entertainment team were superb and made our Holiday. The food is basic but OK, yes birds everywhere sharing your plate and bird muck in the pool. But the staff are friendly and try thier best for you. The best food is in the Sushi resturant and the French toast was divine :) Would we go back..Fraid not all in all was below standard but the country is beautiful and people helpful. My advise if you do go and have complaints go and see Orlando forget the reps they have little weight in the hotel. The thing that ruined my holiday was the Rep lauging when I explained that someone was trying to get into our room, my partner was very ill in bed and i sat up all night on door watch.

The tropical is fine CHANGE your booking now.

Please don't go there!

Well, the whole place stinks. Dirty and uncomfortable bed (hard as a rock). In the middle of our first night it started to rain in. No electricity for 24 hours, no water, no telephone. Bugs everywhere. Bitemarks all over the body. There was not sunchairs for everyone. The buffet stunk. No variation what so ever. Birds flying all over the place making their business all over the food. After 4 days one of us got so sick (diarrhorea and nausea) that medical treatment was nessessary for more than a week including I.V treatment etc. The guys in the yellow t-shirts followed us all day long harassing us and many many other couples at the resort. WARNING. Don'?t go with them, they are only offering lousy timeshares. All over ignorant staff, shouting and screaming day and night. If you want a peaceful vacation go somewhere else.

Nice and friendly hotel

I just came back from Puerto Plata (Hancienda Garden) and want to give my opinion as well. I've read all critics before going and was very scarry of what to find....which is good because I have been nothing but surprised and pleased.

This is nice 3 stars hotels, nothing specatular but I did not expect to find a five stars. The rooms in the garden are really comfortable, clean and very clean.

Ok, equipment is a bit obsolete but everything is working and the rooms are very calm. What I really appretiated is the nice look of all this "Disneyland style" bungalows (all these little colourfull houses are sread in a very nice and huge garden). Every room has a fince view and a nice terrass.

The local peple are very nice, friendly, smiling and dancind all the time...

A good deal!

So Bad I Wanna Cry!!!!

This hotel was the worst that we've ever been to. The beach was dirty, and the ocean water was polluted since the sewage systems dumped everything in the beach water. When you walk by the beach, you can smell the digusting sewage. The beach was full of locals. Also, dogs roamed the beach and "did their business" in the sand! Most people swam in the pool. However, the pool was covered in bird droppings.The room that we stayed in, C14, was dark and dingy. The ceiling was leaking, but they could not move us since they were apparently sold out.

Although, the property was dead.. we knew they were just too lazy to move us. We both got infections of some sort.. went to the local doctor who helped us out... thank God we got medical insurance.The food was just okay... The Bamboo Restaurant sucked!! The seafood restaurant was also pretty bad. The only thing good about this resort was the scenery.WE'LL NEVER GO BACK EVEN IF IT WAS FREE!!!!!

Not the Ritz but good value

This place was not bad at all. This was our first time to the Carribian and we were impressed. The staff were very good and worked hard to please you. The rooms are not the 4 star but the resort is only a 2 star so don't expect more that what you pay for. Rooms were more than adiquate for sleeping. The grounds were very well kept as was the pool.

As far as people saying there are bed bugs, I doubt it. As you are warned at the breifing there are sand fleas on the beach, we have them on Canadian beaches too. If you was off properly there is no problem if not you will have problems.As I said the staff was great. They try very hard to be helpful even with the language barrier. The live shows are very good too. Beware however, the guys in the yellow HACIENDA shirts who are very nice to you are in fact time share STALKERS.They are on all three resorts. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.Thr excursions are fantastic.

Again buyer beware. Buy your excursions from the Sunquest rep to be sure you get what you want. His name is Guy. Would I go again? Yes in a heartbeat. I would likely book the Tropical next time, it is a little more upscale maybe a 3 star.

Give this place a try!

We went to the Hacienda Garden Club on the 25th of December and came home on the 1st of January. It was a good trip. The atmosphere was great, the people who work at this resort are very friendly and hard working. There was a fantastic New Years show and fireworks, definately recommend going away for the Christmas/New Years holidays.The rooms were very unique. Yes, there was the occasional insect however this is expected when you are in this type of "cottage" like room. If you are use to seeing the occasional bug in your house, you can handle this place. It's really not a big deal. And, there were no bugs in the bed.... perhaps the others who were complaining about bugs didn't rinse off after being at the beach. There are sand flees at the beach but if you rinse off it's not a problem. The room was cleaned everyday with clean towels and sheets. When you stay at this hotel you have access to the facilities at the Hacienda Tropical so it was nice to have the variety. The drinks were plentiful and potent. It was fun! The food was okay, some meals were better than others but really there was a lot of other positives. While we were there it seemed that they are trying to upgrade and radisson or marriot is putting more money into the hotel complex. The bus ride to the resort took about 30-45 mins from the air port. This bus ride gives you a good idea of life for the citizens of the Domincan. I would recomend this resort, however it's not for everyone. It's not a 4-5 star resort but it's what you make of it.

Friendly people, hard working staff and lots of drinks!! Doesn't sound too bad, huh? If you go there looking for a good time, that is what you'll have.

Dump

the hacienda is to say the least the worst place i've been in my life.There were bed bugs, dirty rooms the food was terrible and alot of people got very sick , so people spent time in the hospital on iv drip from the bacteria .We left there to the hotel only to have our suitcases robbed of valubles after checking them in. to say the least the place was a dump.

Good place to visit

I had a wonderful time. The food was only slightly above average( all buffet style), but the staff and service were excellent. I will definately be returning soon. When you arrive, say hello to Minelys for me.....she's the best.

Loved Hacienda Garden

From February 21 to Feb 28/03 my husband and I vacationed here, and it was wonderful. Rooms were very neat and clean, although had a visitor , a huge HUGE spider, lol, but we put him outside, food was always good, excellent selection, staff very friendly, always involving us in activities if we wanted, and always ready with a smile. Guests were very friendly, since a smaller resort always chatted with everyone, and people would always ask, how was dinner, your night, etc, had a wonderful time, would love to return soon with daughter.