Three weeks of paradise went by so quickly at our most recent trip to this resort. We are members and have returned often, each time it is interesting to see the changes from the time before. On this visit we spent one week in a Junior Suite in the Tropical and two weeks in a Villa. We don't often stay in a Villa as it obviously is more expensive than a junior suite, and I really really enjoyed the luxury of it. I spent most of our time there lounging around our private pool drinking wine and reading, while my husband enjoyed travelling about from bar to bar (and there are many!) making friends, and catching up with old ones. It is a very social experience. We had a chance to go for dinner not just the two of us, but on several occasions with friends we made there, which was fun. For dinner we mainly ate at the a la Carte's, but we also ate at the Casablanca buffet. We spent some days at Serenity Beachl, one day at VIP beach, a few days at Harmony Beach, and also travelled over to Golden Sands for a couple of day trips.

Here are the changes we noticed:

- They have cleaned up the ocean area at Serenity (removed lots of the rocks and seaweed), expanded the beach area and put in some gorgeous gardens with walking paths through them, as well as added WIFI service and a second bar. This was the improvement we benefited from the most. The servers there were the best of all the servers at the resort, bringing the service up a notch from any I've experienced at the resort--when I was lounging in the calm water with my champagne glass in hand, and the bartender noticed it was low, he came up to the edge of the water to hand me another one--without my even asking. I was never thirsty, the servers just kept bringing me drinks till I told them to stop. This type of service wasn't a one off, but persisted the whole time we were there. Amazing bar service at this area of the resort. I liked being able to check my email here too, and swam more than usual since the water was so calm in this small sheltered cove, and now didn't have as many rocks, so was easy on my feet.

-They have WIFI at Harmony beach now, too, and apart from that there weren't any changes to note at Harmony. I did find that one of the bartenders there made really good Pina Colada's, so I had one of those each time we went there.

-VIP Beach - I noticed they do not have as many of the premium drinks at that beach area as they used to, notably we were not able to get Champagne there anymore, and it was very full and crowded of young groups of people drinking a lot, I expect if I was younger and single I'd have enjoyed that area--they all certainly seemed to be having a great time-- but I was in a quiet frame of mind, and so didn't spend much time there.

-Weather - we normally travel in February when the weather is a lot nicer. it rained every day for a bit in the morning. It was warm and not a problem, we just went about doing what we normally do, even swiming etc. in the rain, but it was a problem for my iphone, ipad, and macbook, since I didn't have a waterproof bag so got a little stressed out about them getting damp when I'd take them with me to the beach. If I go at this time of year again I will bring more waterproof containers and a waterproof bag and possibly a light rain jacket for the evenings so my dinner dresses don't get wet when we go out all dressed up.

-Insects - we did see more insects in general than usual, lots of flies, crickets and mosquitos especially. I'm guessing this might have to do with it being a rainier time of the year. We had them fumigate our room and then the Villa just to make sure we weren't harbouring little friends to take home with us. They did not complain or fuss when we said we wanted our room fumigated, they just did it, and then we had peace of mind.

-Food at Casablanca Buffet - this is the main buffet, and we ate at least one meal here pretty much every day. they have new containers to hold the food that have lids with hinges on them, so that the food stays warm and is protected from the flies, this was a good change, however they are round and big, so they don't fit as many different "vats" of food on the counters as they used to. This means there is fewer choices, and they did not switch off the other stations as much as they used to. There were a lot of flies swarming around the food that didn't have lids or was otherwise protected, and I avoided those items. Some times there were large lineups for the food, so we tried to go to the buffet at times when it wasn't as crowded since I hate lineups. We always found something to eat, and really enoyed several of the meals at the buffet, however as we were there for three weeks we did find by the end of the three weeks that we were somewhat bored with the food options at Casablanca. We ate lunch at Anja's and at Harmony several days so that we could switch it up a bit. Also, some nights I took my leftovers from dinner back to the villa with me and ate if for lunch the next day, so I didn't have to leave the Villa for lunch. There was a full kitchen in the villa and I had brought some tupperware containers with us.

Food at te a la Cartes - the Mexican is still my favorite, it is fun and fresh and a bit different than all the other restaurants, so really helps give variety. Not all the items on the menu are fabulous though, I recommend the fajitas or the tacos, and don't order an appetizer since there is a salad bar with taco soup, chips and beans and guacamole and an amazing pinneaple salsa and I got so full on that (as usual) that I could barely eat my meal.

We are already planning our return trip. My tip to travellers is to book through a member so you get VIP service and access to the VIP areas, and then to relax and "go with it" and let the service people know what you need, they bend over backwards to try to make everyone happy, which obviously isn't always feasible, but they will always try their best for you.

We had a wonderful time at the Crown Villas. We had a 5 bedroom beautiful house complete with our own private pool,outdoor shower, personal breakfast chef and gardens. Our experience was wonderful. I found the staff to be warm and friendly. We booked our excursions through Manny down on Harmony Beach at a fraction of the cost of what the resort charged. We met lifelong friends and plan to return and bring more friends. I would certainly return. I found the food to be fresh and the cocktails were high quality. I would only recommend renting from a share holder as they seem to have the most access to the resort. We booked through One Love Getaways [--] out of Rhode Island. They took care of all our requests and made sure the details were taken care of.

We went to Lifestyles for a week on 1/3/12 - 1/10/12. We were a group of 12 staying with owners. (my aunt and uncle have owned there for 3 years) We had Gold VIP bracelets and stayed in two villas next to each other. I have stayed at all-inclusives in Cancun, Riviera Maya, and Puerto Vallarta in the past.

Property- The property itself is very large. We had a golf cart with the villa, which was really necessary to get around the large property. There are also villa shuttles that you can call to bring you places. The property is very pretty and nicely maintained. It is nice to see the lush mountain views and flowers all over the resort.

Villa- Our group had requested one large six-bedroom villa, but we did not get it. We got two three-bedroom villas that were next to each other. The houses were very nice- each bedroom had it's own full bathroom. We had a few glitches with the a/c in some rooms, some plumbing issues, and some wear and tear, but overall the houses are very nice. Every day, the pool is cleaned, and you have a housekeeper come in to cook breakfast for you and clean the house. I would say that the cleaning standards are not that of the U.S. but that is common when you travel. The house was stocked daily with booze that we had ordered the first day we arrived, and soda, beer, and water. We requested diet soda and didn't get that until the end of the week, so there is some miscommunication. (again, when you travel to a different country, that is understandable with the language barrier) Our housekeepers were great- Ellgracia and Maria- kind, hardworking, and did a great job!

Dining- There are many restaurants at the resort and we had no problem getting reservations at the VIP establishments for dinner- those were all above average in menu, service, and quality. Our faves were Jazz and Simply Gourmet. The buffet Casablanca was not good at all. The bars all had lunch menus that were similar to each other- burgers, sandwiches, etc. They were good. The ice cream shop was pretty good. You can't get room service delivery after 5 p.m. which is odd to me. (especially since you have to pay a delivery fee for it, and it is a small menu) The weekly VIP party had great food- but unfortunately it was raining out so hard that put a damper on it as people were huddling under the food tent and were pushing and shoving.

Beaches- Beaches were okay. Serenity beach is by far the nicest. Sand is full of crushed shells, which isn't optimal but it was okay. The water color was nice, but not the gorgeous teal blue of the Caribbean like you get in Cancun. (also- the water was churned up from the weather/storms that we had) There were workers constantly raking the beach for sea weed, so they do try to make it very nice. There are shops at the regular beach, which were kind of cute, and they didn't pester us too badly.
The beds at Serenity were great- they will dust the sand off for you, move them, and give you food/drink service.

Weather- We had bad weather the entire week we were there. It rained every day. We had a few hours of sun here and there and one decent day, but the rain kind of overshadowed everything. It down poured every night which made you not want to go out in the evenings!

Sickness- Most everyone in our group got a belly ache at one point or another. (this is another thing that I think is common with travel to other countries as food is prepared differently, etc.) 4 people in our group got severe diarrhea and stomach cramps while we were there and my 9 year old daughter got so sick with constant vomiting and fever that she had to go to the onsite doctor two days in a row. The first day they gave her stomach cramp meds and nausea meds. 24 hours later she was back in the office as she was even worse. They gave her an iv for dehydration, gastroenteritis, and a bacterial infection from something that she ate there. They kept her at the clinic a few hours, then transported her back to the villa with the iv. The doctor came back to check on her at bedtime and the next morning, when she was starting to feel better, and he removed the iv. The doctor was very nice to our daughter and helpful. He gave us a bill, medical report, and other info to send to our insurance at home. (not sure yet if we will have coverage for this or not) We did have to pay the clinic upfront. I think that we got sick from the food or water at the resort. We were very cautious in what we ordered, but did get sick. Also, one person in our group got a skin rash and another got an eye infection. I think our group supported the financing of that onsite clinic while we were there! (maybe they will name an addition to the clinic in our names ;)

Ocean World- 10 of us went to Ocean World. It is a nice, small park with lots to do. My kids did the Sea Lion encounter- they got to feed, pet, kiss the Sea Lions. Adorable!
Also- one night a group of us went to their casino. It is small, but had a great time.

Zip line tour- 5 in our group did the zip line tour and had a GREAT time! Highly recommended! This was booked right through the resort.

Private bbq party- we had a party at the villa on our last night. This was the BEST meal by far. A chef and waiter came to the house and served and cooked. We had fish, steak, pork chops, chicken, salads, potatoes, veggies. They also brought a cake to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. If you have a chance to have this, you won't be disappointed!

Shops- there are quite a few shops on the property that have everything you could need from souveniers, swim wear, inflatables, candy, magazines, sunscreen, medicine, etc. Prices are decent.

Overall, I don't think that I would return to this resort or to Puerto Plata again. For my preferences, I like the resorts and activities in Mexico more. If you do go, make sure you have the VIP bracelets! Without those, the restaurant/dining choices would be terrible. At all location on the property, the service seems to be hit or miss. Drinks are good, food is okay, service so-so. I am also leery that almost 1/2 of us did get sick. My aunt and uncle who are owners seemed let down- food/service was better in years past. I think possibly this resort has grown too large too fast to keep up with what they promise.

It took two days after returning to get over being violently ill from the food. A refrigerator that didn't cool down past 60 degrees, loss of water and power a few times a day, and food you wouldn't feed a goat are my standout complaints. The Customer Service Reps couldn't be any more rude. Unless you get suckered into a membership, you are treated like unwanted guests. I wouldn't take a vacation there if they paid me to go. Stay as far away as possible and tell your best friends to do the same.