Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus

We stayed at the Ibrostar Hacienda Dominicus 6th oct-20th Oct 2004.
We read all the reports, but anyone who considers going here will not be disappointed. The standard was superb, the very best of the best, very very clean, food wonderful, and the resort/beach a dream.
This holiday was a dream for my son who has a serious illness, we were very worried about taking him that far abroad, but it was fantastic. Tompsons care for special needs is wonderful. We have to carry in the hand luggage 28lb of drugs and equipment on the flight, there was no problem unlike other tour operators who will still only allow 5kg/11lb in hand luggage.
A holiday every one will enjoy!

We stayed at the IHD from 7th October to 21st October. Previously we have stayed at the Iberostar Costa Dorada in the north of the Dominican Republic and the Iberostar Paraiso in Mexico.
The IHD is beautiful but from a purely personal point of view both my husband and myself thought that the food at the other Iberostars were far superior. The main buffet restaurant was closed at lunchtime throughout our stay. The reason given was that the hotel was under occupied. Judging by the lack of staff including the star friends, we think that that was the main reason. Obviously. because of this, the lunchtime menu was limited as the only choice was the pool restaurant or the beach BBQ. We only tried the beach BBQ once when the menu was kebabs, but as our chicken was not cooked we gave this a miss and stuck to the pool buffet.
We tried all the al la Carte restaurants and found them all to be Ok. The steakhouse restaurant was ruined for us as unruly children were running around the buffet and on the tables without being checked by either their parents or the staff. The only time the staff intervened in the restaurants was at the Gourmet restaurant. As tastes varies, try them all and see which ones you prefer.
I cannot comment on the pool as we only went to the beach as last time at the Costa Dorada my husband got an ear infection from the pool. We did not find a problem getting sunbeds but the ones nearest to the sea were all reserved by 7.30 am. The beach is beautiful. Clean white sand and crystal clear water.
If you are visiting the Hacienda Dominicus, then here is some useful tips:
Do not exchange money in the hotel. All goods are priced in pesos but the exchange rate is only 28 to the dollar. In the shops outside the hotel you can get 35 to the dollar. So if the peso price looks cheaper in the hotel, ask what the dollar price is. The hotel has an ATM. Even with the fees charged by the card company, it can still work out cheaper than exchanging money at the hotel.
The reps try to sell you tickets to the VIP lounge at Punta Cana Airport at 23 dollars per person saying that it is air conditioned so you will not have to put up with the heat. If you go directly to the gate for your flight, you will find yourself in an air conditioned area free of charge.
Leave the maid a couple of dollar tips per day and she will always fill up the minibar and leave you beautiful towel sculptures. One day she even made the floor mats into a pattern. We also tipped the waiters serving drinks both in the bars and on the beach. It didn’t make any difference to the service we received but as they don’t earn much. it was appreciated.
The sea area set aside for bathing is deep enough for swimming. The hotel has put features in to attract the fish so it is great for snorkelling. It is surprising the amount of fish you will see in the shallow if you stand there with some bread in your hand.
Join Raul at the beach bar for the closing ceremony about an hour before sunset and stay until the sunsets. We all agreed that this was the highlight of the holiday. If you go there you will see what we mean.
We didn’t enjoy the evening entertainment but, I think that is because it is the same throughout all the Iberostars in the Caribbean. So if you have seen it once you don’t particularly want to see it again. We liken it to holiday camps in the sixties.
Having said that, we sat outside on the open air terrace most evenings and met a variety of people from different countries including France and USA.
Would we go back again. No most probably not as there are many more places in the world to visit. If we could design our own Iberostar resort in the Dominican Republic it would have the buildings, beach and grounds of the Hacienda Dominicus and the variety of food and staff from the Costa Dorada.

Overall a brilliant holiday.
1. The flight with First Choice -we had upgraded (just hubby and I, no kids !!!) rating 1/10. At checkin we were told that although we’d booked premium seats we were not able to sit together - different rows !!)
When in departure I telephone both First Choice and The holiday place, but nothing could be done.
Flight okay, meals-I’ve had much better. NOT WORTH PAYING THE EXTRA TO UPGRADE.
On arrival in Punta Cana - none to meet us, no transport, Once we contacted our rep(the holiday place used Go Dominican) they said that our rep had broken his leg and the other members of the team had forgotten about us.
The Hotel - Brilliant - can’t fault it. good food, great staff, great everything!!