Please stay away! Unless you like 1970’s accommodations. The Playa Dorada hotel complex includes about 12 more hotels and the Village & Caribe is one in the same. I spend a week in June with my wife and two daughters (13 & 12); we stayed on the 3rd floor, a 2 Br unit (max occ 8) and only found 2 beds plus a sofa bed (very uncomfortable). The bathrooms were not very clean and included a glass window to the main corridor of the hotel. The all inclusive package, was not worth the money, you will need to wear an un-removable band which will identify you. If the band is broken or lost it will cost you around $25. The food quantity was great, but the quality will leave you at the very limited sandwich bar.
All 3 pools are closed at 6pm and the beach is only accessible via a 30 min walk or a long ride on a tractor, which also stops running at 6pm. Positives, the evening show and the animators were great.

It was okay but not the greatest. It is great for kids though. The little bugs will eat you alive. The italian restaurant was nice as well as the Brazilian. The shows were entertaining too.

i`ll try to keep this short and to the point. if you want a quiet romantic holiday this is NOT the place for you. if you are looking for a quiet romantic spot, try looking at "sosua by the sea"(limited amenities but beautiful, and very reasonable prices) if you want a place with alot of activities or if you have kids (my son is 12)it would be just fine. overall we enjoyed our week here. the food was good (be careful what you eat and drink though...this is the dominican)they have two alacarte rest. a brazilian with mostly meats and a fancy italian with very good service and above average food. the room was ok. we had a 1 bdrm. it was a lot smaller than we were used to. great for two people but a bit cramped for three. always had clean towels and lots of hot water. the staff at the front desk were very helpful (we are RCI members but i hope it was the same for all)but the rest of the staff were just average. my girlfriend and son liked the nightly shows. the staff really work hard to put on the best show they can. my hat goes off to them!!! this resort is not on the beach . it is only a short walk away or just jump on the tractor. the beach is very large and very busy. be prepared to be constantly bothered by local sellers. snorkeling is a waste of time here. the food at the beach was excellent. one very important tip..... please do not get sucked into buying all your extra activities at the resort. if you scuba dive, or want to go horsebackriding, atv riding or dune buggy riding, make sure you visit the "plaza" and work out a much better price. the resort staff will try to convince you that buying these excursions anywhere else is suicide. so for all you first timers out there....be careful but don`t be a sucker!! as far as scuba diving goes, we booked with "carribean marine" divers in the plaza. ask for "Raul" if you go with them. he was great. FYI....all the diving is in Sosua. so if you want to be close to the dive sites this is not the place to be.
some quick tips....don`t drink too many mixed drinks with coconut oil (pina colada or banana mama etc), don`t mix too many fruits at meal time, get your hepatitis "A" shot, don`t bother bringing travelers cheques `cause no one takes them, if you`re canadian don`t bring canadian money, they accept it but you get screwed on the exchange (bring u.s. or dom. peso only), whatever price a seller offers you only pay about half.
i guess that`s it. so much for being short.
we had a nice holiday here but not sure if we will go back. too many really nice places to see.
overall this is a 3 or 3 1/2 star hotel. not the best deal out there. we thought it was a bit pricey so shop for the best price you can.
and by the way, if you golf, the course is right next door and looks great but bring your wallet. $87u.s for green fees, $24 for a cart, and if you don`t have a valid handicap card you have to take a caddy for another $15 plus tip of course.
if you have any questions at all please feel free to write me at gooper@shaw.ca.

Visited Village Caraibe Resort at Puerto Polata in the Dominican Republic. January 21 to February 4, 2006.

My wife and I were visiting on an RCI facility, and were very pleased with the accomodations and the "all inclusive" program. While we are retired persons, we observered that this was an enjoyable place for people of all ages (including families with young children) to visit.

The price for the "all inclusive" program was reasonable, the food and drink was tasty, plentiful, and good variety.

The one dissappointment, if you are interested in golf, was the price as compared to the course. It would have been good at half the price.