Eight of us just returned February 7. 2012 and for the price we paid to go there ($539.00 all inclusive each) it was well worth it. Resort was spotlessly clean, albeit it they are still renovating some blocks as the property is showing its age, but to no inconvenience to their guests at all. Pools were clean and sparkling. Beach was pretty, sandy, quite clean and goes on as far as the eye can see. Rooms were a good size, renovated and very clean. Food was ok. Staff were terrific all across the board! Extremely friendly and helpful.

I would stay with the resort packages for excursions however, I think you get a better bang for your dollar that way. Carribean Grill a la carte was excellent! Italian a la carte was less so, but somewhat palatable nevertheless. The Buffet had a different theme every night so one could always find something to eat.

The nightly shows were somewhat amatuerish... but entertaining nonetheless. The kids tried to do their best...

Overall this 3 1/2 star gets 5 stars from me! Would recommend for sure!

American Airlines put us up here for the night when our flight out of Puerto Plata had mechanical difficulties and was cancelled. The staff was nice, greeted us w/some punch when we arrived; the front desk people were pleasant, and the man that took our bags upstairs was also friendly. We ate dinner at the buffet which was ok (it was late and there was not alot of choice.) The servers very very attentive.

That's when the good part stopped. The room was old, no remote for the TV, mini-fridge wouldn't work, peeling paint, stained bathtub, very little lighting in the room. The shower barely got warm the next morning (one lady on our flight said the shower head in her room fell off.)

We saw an elderly man in the courtyard who needed help getting to the lobby. Said he called the front desk and would we ask them to send a cart for him? When we asked the woman at the front desk about this she said they had no such service. So on our way back I saw another staffer who promply took me back to the lobby to the bellman station and he found a cart driver that I directed to where the man was.

Breakfast was mediocre at best. I was afraid to eat the 'eggs' and stuck with fruit and breads. We toured the grounds and saw how tired and old the buildings were on the outside. Poor paint jobs, stained walls, overgrowth of trees and shrubs.

Coincidentally, next door we found the new Lifestyle Holidays resort called Golden Sands. We are Lifestyle members (and were returning from a week's stay there at the beautiful new section, Cofresi Palm) so we walked over and introduced ourselves. The beach was gorgeous and the customer service rep took us on a tour. Absolutely breathtaking rooms with all the amenities you could want. Had we known this place was next door we wouldn't have stayed at Celuisma. This one night just made us realize what a great deal we have at Lifestyles. Oh, plus Lifestyles was ready to bring us back and had a room ready for us when we called then from the airport. We decided to stay w/the group, but next time we go back to OUR resort.

On arrival was greeted by very nice welcoming staff at Celuisma Playa Dorada. we were taken to our room which was clean and big and with a very comfy bed with a great view of the Ocean. the food was excellent some of the best we have had, there was always a different theme going on and lots to choose from. the beach that the hotel is on is fantastic and we enjoyed a walk along the beach every night but watch out for the crabs at night its full of them. I would deffinatly reccomend this Hotel, was really good holiday and would consider going back there in the future.
Stayed January 2012, traveled with family.

Took our family here for a week in January 2012. This was our second stay at this all-inclusive resort, the first being about 15 years ago. The property is really showing its age except for the beach, of course, which is sunny, sandy and long. Our rooms, on the ground floor of building #13, smelled of must and were not well lit - making it difficult to read in bed at night. Food was ok but lacked variety from day-to-day. We tried the Mexican and Italian "specialty" restaurants. Would not recommend them to others - particularly the Italian, which was dreadful.
Nice pool but chilly. Nightly entertainment was lack-lustre. Included activities were not well promoted. Spent most of our time on the beach relaxing.