Senator Puerto Plata Spa Resort - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

3292 reviews

• 

  Great resort and great vacations

  I could summarize it by saying we had one of the best vacations we ever had, we loved it there and we would come back anytime. I will try to be as objective as possible: The good: - great beach time, crystal clean water, there is a natural breakwater some 50-100 meters from the shore so the waves break before reaching it, good sand, clean, tons of lounges, and no harassing for stuff, except an occasional woman trying to do braids - great pools, very large pool area with bar, also a small shallow pool for kids - The personnel really really want to do their best, the service personnel is kind and respectful, they work in keeping the hotel clean and in good condition, and that will to do their best make the whole difference. There are some personnel supporting the desk with reservations for the restaurant, and they will approach you with a clipboard, asking the room number and email. At first I was a bit suspicious but he resulted to be a very kind and helpful person. If something doesn't work, they listen: the first day I didn't have towels, also the fridge was broken, I reported it like three times without a response from their side; then I went to the reception and I asked for the person in charge, I told her that I had complained about the fridge and it was a common comment (I read reviews before going there), by the time I was back in the room, a new fridge had been installed, re-stuffed with everything, including a bottle of sparkling wine and a tray with fruits - There are tons of lounge chairs in the pool area or the beach area, so no need to rush to reserve The not so good - In one of the restaurants, the waiters were apathetic and demotivated, barely answering our questions. - When cruise ships arrive, the hotel hosts some passengers and reserve a massive amount of lounge chairs in the beach, with yellow tape, which seemed unfair to the guests - In the room there was a defective furniture - There are two jacuzzi by the pool, both with cold water ( I was expecting hot water as usual) In general Hotel condition and maintenance: the hotel is in great condition, there are every day dozens of workers doing gardening, painting, cleaning, re-varnishing, and it shows: the external condition of the buildings and public areas is great. The construction is of concrete, modern, and there was a recent renovation. The rooms are in blocks of buildings, two or three stories high, there is a block of restaurants and buffet, and in the back of it there is like an alleyway or promenade with shopping stores, food and coffee parlours and bathrooms. The recreation area is a big open area like an amphitheatre, which can fit lots of people. The whole area is connected with walkways with pavers, and lights, which looks very nice either by day or by night The hotel has a trail that leads to a pergola from where you can see the cruise ships when entering or leaving, passing almost within reach, or the sunsets. We loved sitting there at the end of the afternoon and see the ships passing by Rooms: the decoration and furniture inside the room is classic of solid massive wood. The dresser in my room had two drawers a bit crooked, one of them would not close well, which was a bit of an annoyance, but not a big deal. The bathroom had a shower with bathtub, not too comfortable for two people taking a shower at the same time, but it was ok. Before going I read lots of comments about not having hot water: during the nine days I was at the resort there was plenty of hot water in the shower, with lots of pressure, so that was not an issue at all. When you look at details of the paint job in the bathroom you see there wasn't look of care, but nothing that bothered me. There is a closet with enough space, a working safe and even an umbrella in the closet in case of rain, which one afternoon did, so very useful The bed is a king, the mattress very comfortable, and there is a fridge with water and soft drinks Also the balcony comes with a rack for drying your stuff at the end of the day, very thoughtful, for me that was a first in a resort The rooms are left very clean daily. We always left a tip (two dollars) and we were happy to come back to a very clean room, clean set of towels and replenished fridge. restaurants: there is a buffet room, with very good food and variety, and an Italian, steak and Japanese restaurants. The food in each one of them was very well done, during your stay you have right to go one time to each one of them. Also there is a pizza, coffee and ice cream parlour in the promenade area. By the pools there is a snack restaurant which we tried the first day and we were surprised to see the quality of the food (chef level) not so much the enthusiasm of the service.

  Nov 17, 2025
• 

  Terrible

  This was a family trip. There were 19 of us, and we booked 10 rooms. Unfortunately, every one of those rooms was in poor condition. One room had a non-working air conditioner. In another, water leaked into the bedroom every time someone used the bathroom. Another room flooded whenever it rained. One had a clogged toilet, another had a bathtub full of grime, and several rooms had broken toilet seats. There also weren’t enough towels provided for any of the rooms. On top of that, the food was not very good, and the hotel only allows one restaurant reservation per stay, which was very inconvenient for a large family group like ours. The only positive aspect was the staff — they were very friendly and always willing to help. Este fue un viaje familiar. Éramos 19 personas y reservamos 10 habitaciones. Lamentablemente, cada una de esas habitaciones estaba en malas condiciones. Una habitación tenía el aire acondicionado dañado. En otra, cada vez que se usaba el baño, el agua se filtraba hacia la habitación. Otra se inundaba cuando llovía. Una tenía el toilet tapado, otra la bañera llena de mugre, y varias tenían las tapas del toilet rotas. Tampoco había suficientes toallas en ninguna de las habitaciones. Además, la comida no era muy buena y el hotel solo permite una reservación por estadía en los restaurantes, lo cual fue muy incómodo para un grupo familiar tan grande como el nuestro. No recomendado para nada

  Nov 17, 2025
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  Worse 5 start resort

  This was a family trip; there were 19 of us, and we rented 10 rooms. One room didn't have hot water. Another had a broken toilet seat, a dirty bathtub, and not enough towels. Another room didn't have working air conditioning. Another room leaked into the room when you showered. Another room flooded when it rained. This resort doesn’t deserve 5 start. Food wasn’t good They don’t allow more than one restaurant reservation per stay!! Staff were very helpful and friendly.

  Nov 17, 2025
• 

  Good resort

  Great resort! Room was great! Very clean and spacious. We had one issue arise and the maintenance staff were there in less than 5 minutes. So we were happy with the urgency of the maintenance team. Food was amazing. Embers Steakhouse was our favourite. Steaks were melt in your mouth!! Monkey Black and Skinny Guy in the Entertainment team was amazing! They truly want to ensure guests have a great time! I cannot say the same for the nighttime staff at Legends. The service in Legends at night is pitiful. My wife and I sat in there for 1 hr. No one even came to check on us. And there were less than 20 ppl in the restaurant during this time. All 8 of the servers/bartenders were too busy partying with the guests. I will return to this resort, but unfortunately not to Legends.

  Nov 16, 2025
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  Disappointing Vacation

  Let me start by saying that I have bern to this resort 4 previous times when it was owned by RIU and have had a wonderful time. This is my first time going after it was purchased by Senator. And it was the worst. They have let everything go. We stayed in building 3 and there was no hot water, maintenance man came and sorry that’s the way it is. We tried to stick it out but after the first week we paid for an upgraded swim out room in building two and guess what there was no hot water and sometimes no water at all. We called maintenance man again and same answer. That’s the way it is. So we took cold showers for two weeks which was next to unbearable. Fixtures were on lopsided, plugs didn’t work, ceiling fan was rusty. All in all the rooms were very shabby. Next, the buffet while it did have some good choices and a different variety, anything that was hot if you didn’t arrive immediately when it opened was not kept warm so you ended up eating cold meat, cold potatoes, cold vegetables, etc.. The Ocean club restaurant which was open during the day where you could order off a menu was terrible. The waitress couldn’t understand what you were trying to order and we never received the food that we had ordered and on top of it it would take an hour or more to get your food. The staff was not friendly and couldn’t have cared less other than Elizabeth at the front desk, who tried to make her stay more pleasant The pool was very dirty and not chlorinated properly and was very foggy and not skimmed with leaves and other debris in the pool. We have stayed at several other resorts in the Dominican Republic that were a five star resort and will definitely never return here.

  Nov 16, 2025