Puerto Plata, Luperon Beach Resort

We arrived from Gatwick on Sunday the transfer was certainly an eye opener! This country seems to have no rules whatsoever! There are no road rules and even drink driving is legal and it is not uncommon to see 5 people stacked up on a motorbike with no helmets!!! If you have a bigger vehicle then you have right of way! The driver was constantly using his horn to get car and bikes to get out the way. Do not sit at the front of the coach as you will be scared for life!

Arrived after 1 1/2 hour transfer to a warm reception. This is where things started to go down hill. We were allocated the wrong apartment as we paid for a suite and requested a ground floor due to a disabled person being with us. We had to wait over an hour for another apartment. When we finally got to the apartment we were horrified at the conditions, the separate living area was like a dungeon with cheap wicker furniture and a noisy fridge. The TV was in bedroom and not the living room like you would expect. The bathroom was dirty, the ceiling was rusty and had a terrible sewage odour. The bedroom was very tired and the light fittings were hanging on by a tread. The patio doors did not shut so we were really concerned as we were on the ground floor.

We were then moved to block 8 which did have a nicer room but we did not have any hot water and the air con did not work, the other problem was that this block is directly behind the activity pool and the amphitheatre which is extremely noisy throughout the day and night. We were eventually moved to block 14 which was fine.

The food - was OK to begin with, but it was rarely hot. Often the same things on the menu. The omelettes were the best thing as they are freshly made and the chef is lovely!! When the locals arrived we were pushed to the al a carte restaurant which was dark and small and the choice of food was very limited and often very cold. You had to request drinks rather than help yourselves like the main restaurant so this also limited by what you got. A buffet restaurant was opened next door to the al a carte as an overflow for the locals which meant they have both the main open aired restaurants. You are allowed to use these at your peril but we were told by the locals to use our own restaurant!!

THEN THE LOCALS ARRIVED!!! - These people are the most arrogant, rude, dirty, unhygienic, greediest people we have ever had the misfortune to meet. The first weekend we arrived there was 1300 of them and it was a complete nightmare, they took over the pools, restaurants, bars and the complete complex. They have no regards for anyone else but them selves. The particularly did not like the British and we felt that we were being racially victimised by them, they have no regards for disabled peopled and we were constantly being stared at, which made us feel very intimidated and uncomfortable. There was a 4 hour queue for the bbq, food was often taken by several platefuls piled high, and they will push in everywhere and climb over you to get to what they want. Unfortunately there was a bank holiday while we were there and the weekend only locals turned into the complete week.

The pool - at first seemed nice, HOWEVER once the locals came in and took them all over, the pools quickly became a heath hazard. We went to the waterfall pool and discovered it full of urine, faeces and sick. When we spoke to the pool maintenance guy he told us that the pools had not been cleaned for 4 days as they could not afford the chlorine. I got the manager to inspect the pool and he closed it straight away.

The Rep - was helpful when we had a personal emergency back home but told the same story to everyone that complained making out that no one else had problems, mostly all British holiday maker at the resort had made a complaint. Please do not believe the rep if she tells you that there are no complaint forms as this is what she ended up telling people and it is simply not true. YOU MUST COMPLAIN AT THE REPORT OTHERWISE YOU CAN NOT COMPLAIM WHEN YOU RETURN TO THE UK.

Despite requesting to move reports we were told we were not able to, however on our last day there was a heath and safety officer from Thomas cook arrived and moved the majority of the British people to another report.

All in all this report is not suitable for British holiday makers and Thomas Cook should not be recommending this report. We will be taking our complaint further. Sorry to put a rubbish review for those of you that have already book but you need to know what you are letting yourselves in for.

Good points, animation team, gardens clean and tidy, bar staff good and friendly, weather fantastic. Food sometimes inedible. Overall thoroughly enjoyed it. Staff friendly and cannot do enough for you. We are planning on returning to the Luperon Beach Resort in near future. 1st time we've ever returned to a resort.

I just came back from Puerto Plata and I had a great time there. I was with a group of friends and did the catamaran Banana Republic. It was an amazing day, sunny and with and excellent staff and lunch service, I can highly recommend it. Visit there sites www.catssailingadventures.com or www.catssailing.com where you can buy your trip on line.

Luperon Beach Resort is super if you like being away from the big resort feel of things. Some people complained of being bored but we were really happy!! If you can make your own entertainment this is the place for you! Sun, Sea, Sand and Sports. We had a great time, ate well, rode on horses, did lots of water sports, went scuba diving, played tennis, did archery and went on some fantastic trips.

The only bad points were Petra by the pool and Aguara Catamaran trips. We were glad to come back alive!

All in all, we had a top class holiday staying at the Luperon Beach Resort in the Dominican Republic!! It was really amazing! The staff were all friendly and they catered to our every need.

Luperon is the hotel equivalent of Costco. It is big but stuck in the middle of nowhere. I booked a two week holiday from 27 Dec to 11 Jan. With hindsight I should have only stayed for 7 days as I was bored after the first week. I will not be returning to this hotel or the DR.

The hotel has great natural views of the bay and the Climate in December was great.

Be warned the complex is in the middle of nowhere and you will be charged a fortune to go anywhere by taxi. I was quoted $200 US dollars for a return trip to the capital. Unless you are prepared to pay you will be stuck in the complex.

This is a huge complex with large dinining areas and they have to cater for Canadians, Americans, British, French, Spanish and Germans. This is very difficult to do.

There was one main dining area and the food was boring. The first few days were great but we were served with exactly the same food each day at different mealtimes and the choice was limited. By the time I reached day 13 I had stopped eating the food because it was boring and has usually been sitting there for hours. On two seperate occasions I and other diners saw rats in the dining area. Complaints were ignored by staff. To make matters worse there are huge queues for the food at whatever time you go. The Hotel guests' restaurant serves as the staff restaurant as well so you end up with half the seating being taken by staff/ friends/ relatives and paying Hotel guests having to stand.

In the two weeks we were there we never saw the First Choices rep. He never even arranged a welcome meeting.

The place was filthy. Often our room remained uncleaned for a couple of days. When the cleaners did come round it was usually at 6pm. I think they have too few cleaners for the size of the complex.

The staff are terrible whether it is because of a lack of training or their general attitude the result is that they do not provide good customer service. They were more keen for me to visit the timeshare man because they got a commission from him. The staff were usually demanding tips as well for anything that they did.

In the coach on our return to the airport everone agreed that this complex was terrible.

There are better places to stay in the DR