my partner and i have just had the best week ever in hacienda dominicus!

i stayed there in july 2003 and thought it was fabulous then but it was even better this time...the food was out of this world,such a huge variety..... our room was gorgeous....the surroundings really well maintained and the staff were so lovely!

i wish we had gone for 2 weeks instead of just one. if you are thinking of going here do not hesitate, you'll have a ball...and please feed donald the wee white duck for us, we miss him!

We have just got back after two weeks at this wonderful resort.The only problem is we could have done with another week .The hotel its self is very regal ,we loved it .The gardens,the pool ,the beach they are all wonderful. Of course there or a few things which i would have liked but this did not detract from the fact that this hotel is the best i have ever stopped in and if i was someone who returned to places then i wouldnt hesitate to go back to this place.
The Buffet resterant is to hot , i found that when the chefs where cooking ,the heat became uncomfortable and ruined what was always a loverly dish.
There was no Rose wine which i always fined strange .
The disco didnt play enough English Music ,Our personnel taste but latin american how ever nice it might be ,becomes boring after five nights .
Thats it really ,trust me you will not be disappointed at this place.
We had a couple of nights at the casino which was good fun,and went on the saona island trip which was a wash out , this trip was very disappointing ,even if it hadnt chucked it down the entire day i would have still been thinking that i had been on much better trips at other places .My advice would be to stay in the resort ,there is enough to do there .
We met some loverly people like Debbie and Mark From Liverpool and Karen Daz And Emma from Stoke.Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.Any questions dont hesitate to contact me.

My girlfriend and I stayed at the Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus between May 31 and June 7, 2008. Our main objective was to relax. We didn't book any excursions or other side trips. We picked La Romana / Bayahibe, because it's very quiet.

We bought our seats on the plane, so that we can sit next to each other. In our trip to the Mayan Riviera last year, we didn't reserve the seats, so we sat 1 row away.

We landed at the Punta Cana airport around 8:30PM, and went through customs quickly. By 9:30PM we had our luggage and ready to go. Our tour operator, Signature vacations, had a van waiting for us. It looked like we were the only tourists going to La Romana, since there was no one else.

The ride from the airport to the resort was very very exciting. The driver was going on these rural paved roads at 100-120km/h passing drunken guys riding their motorcycles with no lights on. While these were going on, we chatted with the driver. The ride was no more than 1 hour (probably because of the speed).

We arrived at the hotel around 10:30PM, check-in was quick. My girlfriend had emailed the resort for a room closer to the beach, but we were told that the resort was full. They assign us to building 2, which is located right next to the pool. We really liked the location of the room/building, since it was close to the pool, beach, restaurants, etc. The room was very clean, and the washroom could rival any 4 or 5 star hotel in North America.

By the time we cleaned up, it was already midnight, and we were hungry. We went to the buffet, and they had a midnight snack. The food looked fresh, but not as many choices. The cook also grilled some burgers for us.

Every day, we woke up around 7-8am and ate breakfast. I really enjoyed the fresh juice and the fruits. Other than that, the breakfast was good, with regular choices of baked goods, eggs, bread, bacon, etc.

We were always able to get chairs under the palapas, but then we were there at 9am. The star friends were also very active at making sure we were enjoying our stay and joined them for some activities at the beach. My girlfriend and I finished 1st and 2nd on some beach activity (kicking a soccer ball, throwing ping pong balls into cups, etc) hehehe. My girlfriend also enjoyed participating in the water aerobics everyday.

There were a couple of waiters going around the beach taking orders for drinks, but they were so busy. I didn't mind walking to the lighthouse to get my cuba libres.

For dinners, we ate at the Japanese restaurant and the steakhouse. The food was good, acceptable. We really liked the settings. It was quiet at the steakhouse. At the Japanese restaurant, it was interesting seeing the chef playing with the food while cooking. For the other nights, we ate the buffet. My only disappointment was the lack of lobster. I guess there were some restrictions in the area.

After dinner, we went to watch the shows. They were actually quite entertaining and the theatre was always full. We also went to the disco inside the resort, which was crowded after midnight.

We also booked a massage session by the beach in the morning. It was a nice experience, and very inexpensive.

Overall our stay was very enjoyable. The resort is very well maintained. I actually didn't see any bugs in the grounds (but I still got some mosquito bites...). Our rooms were very clean, and the fridge was always full.

The star friends were really amazing. They made sure that people participated and enjoyed the activities. The same star friends also worked on some of the shows at night.

Checking out was smooth. Since check out is at 1PM, but our transfer to the airport is at 4PM, we deposit our luggage at the front desk. There are also some public showers at near the front desk, if you want to go back to the beach. Instead, we just enjoyed the paella at the beach, and relax at the lobby.

We recommend people to stay there, especially if you want a relaxing, quiet vacation. Besides diving or snorkeling, there's almost nothing to do in La Romana. We did go to the Casino, which is right across the street (there's a shuttle bus).

Have Fun!

I have stayed at IHD from 7-14 June. We have been to IHDominicana 6 years ago and found this place even better. The beach is magnificent! We love Dominican Republic, the kindness of its people, the beaches, the climate, the music... This was our fourth stay at an Iberostar resort and we will keep on coming because it's an hotel chain that we love! The animation team is superb.
We landed at the Punta Cana airport and we had a shuttle of 1h30. I had written to the hotel a week before to check our reservation and to ask for a king size room and they sent me the files for me to fulfill and bring with me. As soon as we arrived there, we had already our rooms ascribed. We were given a room at the block 4, at the corner of the building which has a double terrace, with view to the pool and beach! Really good.
There are no words to describe this beach with its calm turquoise waters...
The pool is also very good, but with a beach like that, we didn't use it vey much.
We have been to every specialty restaurant because the hotel wasn't crowded. You can make your reservations with the concierge, in your building. Ours was Fernando, a really nice guy. The Colonial was a big disappointment. We thought we were going to eat good lobsters but we didn't. All we got was a little lobster that almost looked like a big shrimp like those we eat in Portugal... We had an extra reservation for this restaurant and we didn't use it and preferred to eat at the buffet. The steak house wasn't any better as we have better steak in Portugal. The ones we liked best was the Mexican (try the Margaritas) and the Japanese!!!
I also tried the massage by the beach. It is good and not very expensive.
Excursions:
Saona + Catalina: we liked very much this excursion. We already knew Saona from 6 years ago but this place is always worth a visit! There’s a guy selling coconuts. Try it. It’s really good with rum.
Santo Domingo: we visited the aquarium, the caves, the monuments and had luch at "Lo Conuco" a typical restaurant which for me was the best part of this excursion, with a little dancing show. In the afternoon we stopped at a little shop to buy some souvenirs.
Buggy tour: It was an half day excursion but it was the one we liked best. We laughed out right, very funny. Note: your clothes and shoes will be ruined. Bring things for the kids that appear on the road. A lady from our excursion brought a bag full of clothes and we stopped at the school to give it to the kids.
We had also booked an excursion to swim with sharks (baby ones with no teeth) and rays, but they passed by our hotel earlier, so we were given the money back.
On our last day, there was a tropical wave and it rained heavily! The hotel was flooded. It rained in some rooms. it was a little bit scary. Fortunately we didn't sleep there...