Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada

“Best budget friendly all inclusive”

I have been using TripAdvisor for years to plan vacations and this is probably my first review. We stayed at the Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada from Dec 8-15 2024. We chose this hotel based on reviews of friends as well as YouTube reviewer of all inclusive resorts (Passports Pages) First I want to s… more

I have been using TripAdvisor for years to plan vacations and this is probably my first review. We stayed at the Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada from Dec 8-15 2024. We chose this hotel based on reviews of friends as well as YouTube reviewer of all inclusive resorts (Passports Pages) First I want to say, by no means is this a high end resort. If you are looking for picture post card pristine beaches, lap of luxury rooms, serene scented hallways, etc then you will be disappointed. What you will find is a well cared for resort that was built in 1999. A little dated, but clean, meticulously cared for grounds, incredible service, friendly and attentive staff. The food is better than most all inclusives. Lots of choice and very fresh. The buffet has themed nights to keep things interesting which we quite appreciated. The rooms- we booked a basic room and requested ground floor near the beach. We received a great spot in block 5 with a stunning quiet view of the gardens. Our room seemed to be updated as we had no issue with outlets working on either side of bed and even a built in USB port. (We also travel with an outlet adapter from Amazon with 4 additional usb ports) Our friends chose to upgrade their room to a pool view and landed in block 3. Room was exact same size as ours but no usb port by bed and only outlet that worked was in their washroom. Bathroom had a tub instead of shower and was very dated. One thing I suggest is bring a magnifying mirror for makeup if you need it, as there was none in the room. Hair dryer seemed new. Very strong and hot. Food- there is always something open, whether it be buffet, snack bars, beach events and late night buffet some nights. A la carts have been impressive so far. You only need to book the Japanese and that can actually be done through their app! No need to stand in line at 7am! The other restaurants are the Mexican- very good and some great authentic dishes. The Italian we have yet to experience (hopefully tonight) You must download the app. It’s fantastic for several reasons. All the restaurants/buffet times are listed, all activities, any spa services and prices and best of all you can check when your room has been cleaned! There is a market on the beach about a 10 min walk to the right of the resort and if you would like to take a taxi into the town of puerto plata or other places there is a list in US dollars. Currency- everything is listed in US dollars but they also take Dominican Pesos everywhere. For us Canadians, while our dollar is not so hot, I tend to get pesos at home and when we arrived at the hotel, the front desk gave us smaller bills for tipping while we checked in. There is also a currency exchange and ATM on site if needed. There is a disco, and drinks are included ( some resorts they charge for drinks) There is no sports bar and if you are looking to watch a hockey game in your room you are out of luck. My husband is an avid leafs fan (eye roll) and we were told if you want a specific game, you can request it at the lobby bar and they will take care of you. Drinks- really good ingredients and tons of options. They even have some menus to give you ideas when you are not sure what to get. Entertainment shows start at 9:30pm. We unfortunately have not made it every night but the diva show was incredible. Probably the most talented singers and dancers I’ve seen so far at an all inclusive. Diva show was up there with the Michael Jackson shows we’ve seen in the past. Resort is very well laid out, easy to find and access to everything. Grounds are very lush and because it’s a few weeks to Christmas we have been treated to some beautiful lights throughout. Doesn’t feel too small nor too big. Anyways, for us this is probably one of the best all inclusives that doesn’t break the bank. We paid $1300 each Cad flying in from Toronto including flight and transfers. (Resort is roughly 20 min from airport) For us this is a great last minute getaway before the craziness of Christmas and we will likely be back to this very resort after this experience and we have never repeated a resort in the past ever!

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“Nice Day Visit”

We visited this property after purchasing a day room/pass from Resort Pass. When we arrived, there was a short registration process and we were given a key to a room near the pool. The room was fine.....clean and comfortable. I'm sure it was a low level room for the resort so I would want someth… more

We visited this property after purchasing a day room/pass from Resort Pass. When we arrived, there was a short registration process and we were given a key to a room near the pool. The room was fine.....clean and comfortable. I'm sure it was a low level room for the resort so I would want something a little larger if we were staying. The grounds of the resort are very nice. There's a large pool with lots of lounge chairs. There are quite a few more chairs/palapas between the pool and the beach. The beach is nice but the water is not the typical "Caribbean blue." We chose to stay at the pool. There were several bars so getting drinks was easy. There wasn't any pool service. There was a small buffet/snack bar near the pool that had a good variety of items. The larger buffet is closer to the lobby. It didn't open for lunch until 1 pm, which seemed a little late. There was larger variety at this venue. The food was good, not great. It was plenty for our short visit. There are some sit down restaurants available for dinner. All of the staff were very helpful. We would visit again.

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“Definitely not a 5-star hotel”

This is not a 5-star hotel as claimed. Here are a list of issues we encountered. Electricity breaker disconnected power to our room anytime fan is turned on. The first time it happened on the day of arrival, we reported it immediately while sitting in the dark. After 2 hours, we checked on the sta… more

This is not a 5-star hotel as claimed. Here are a list of issues we encountered. Electricity breaker disconnected power to our room anytime fan is turned on. The first time it happened on the day of arrival, we reported it immediately while sitting in the dark. After 2 hours, we checked on the status and the front desk didn’t have any record of our complaint. Finally after 4 hours, someone came and reset the breaker. It was not repaired during our stay. We just avoided using the fan. No one at the hotel seemed to know what "vegan" means. Menu had incorrect information about ingredients. For example, dairy ingredients when none were listed. Our vegan family member was disappointed with the choices and taste. For example, the Japanese restaurant had no vegan protein option. Some employees are not friendly at all. Talked condescendingly when we couldn't understand their accent. Some did not make eye contact. Saw employees arguing with each other on 4 occasions. Saw employee sweeping debris including gum wrappers into the grass outside a guest room. 5 out of 9 of us got food poisoning. Several of the food stations at the buffet don’t have sneeze guards. Food safety training needed for staff. For example, don't place drink cups upside down after simply wiping off debris left by previous diner. Saw restaurant staff feed pizza crust to peacocks which is unlikely to be a healthy diet for them. Saw employee discarding left over colored liquid from abandoned cup on floor near pool and another throw liquid from leftover cup onto grass outside the buffet restaurant. Saw staff burning plastic containers in the firepit Rooms have only minimal sound insulation. Music and crowd noises from pools can be heard. Nighttime performances are not great. Much better at other Iberostar resorts we have stayed at. Unsure if employees like working at this resort. Overall, there are better choices. If not in the DR, elsewhere.

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“Not meeting star ratings given on line.”

We spent the second week of December,2024 at the Iberostar waves Costa Dorada. This was our third vacation at this resort. It was great pre-Covid, needed improvement post-Covid and currently still needs to improve on many features that did not meet expectations. We waited over two hours to get a re… more

We spent the second week of December,2024 at the Iberostar waves Costa Dorada. This was our third vacation at this resort. It was great pre-Covid, needed improvement post-Covid and currently still needs to improve on many features that did not meet expectations. We waited over two hours to get a recently remodelled suite. It was disappointing to say the least. The first day the shower drain in one room plugged and repeated it the second day after being repaired. As we were in a two bedroom family suite we required both showers. The refrigerator in the main suite leaked each day despite also”being repaired.” The safe would not open on the second day and required security to come open it and reset it. The rooms both looked tired other than the bathrooms which were somewhat updated with new tile, fixtures and paint over old trim. Day two required a repair on the patio door which emitted the most excruciating squeal when opening that it was not being used. It was repaired that day. Food was great and even a hit with our three grandchildren. Despite an obvious lack of wait staff, we did get through the week with plenty of good food. Beach palapa were being renewed throughout the week which should be great for the future. Beach loungers are still a critical issue in my view. Many are reserved with a towel all day and some never used, yes, never used throughout the day. Monitoring of this issue is a problem at every DR resort. This was not an issue in One resort we visited in Cozumel as security simply removed the towels after a period of time. Weekends and locals is still one issue we have in the Dominican Republic. Although the resort does its best, behaviour and attitude makes for unpleasant meals and relaxation on the beach and around the pool. Hopefully, management will read this review and respond to my comments specifically and not in their usual “canned” comments.

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