Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9850 reviews

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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 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.

  Dec 16, 2024
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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 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.

  Dec 16, 2024
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  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 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!

  Dec 14, 2024
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  Great time at this resort

  We loved this resort. The food was very good in the buffet as well as the specialty restaurants. The beach bar was great. Hamburgs hotdogs chicken burgers, and the trimmings, French fries, nachos, desserts, ice cream cones. So much more than you would expect. The resort itself is perfect. Grounds are so beautiful. Pool has tons of chairs and many palapa. Beach is very large with lots of chairs. Beach is cleaned daily. We had an ocean front room very spacious large comfortable bed and pillows. The staff couldn’t do enough for you and of course with their big smiles. Had a great time every night at lounge bar. Always lots of music and entertainment.

  Nov 30, 2024
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  Good bang for your buck

  We went to Iberostar Costa Dorada in November for a family vacation with two adults and two teenagers. Right after we got checked-in, a concierge took us to the buffet, which was a kind attention after a day of travel and we were all quite hungry and tired. We got a two bedroom family suite, which allowed us for more space. We were on the ground floor of building 8. It was convenient during the day, but noisy in the morning. We often got woken up at around 9 am by staff having loud conversations just outside our doors, which is always unpleasant on vacation. But other than that, the staff was always friendly and helpful. The beach was great, the sea was warm, and there was always enough place to sit. There was a yellow flag at the beach all week, so a lot of waves, which is great fun for older kids and teens but would not have been for little kids. My teens had a blast in the waves. I recommend bringing inflatable rings. There were a lot of Dominicans visiting the resort during the weekend, and it's great that they also get to enjoy the hotels and beaches in their beautiful country. We were worried about the weather before leaving, but it was quite fine. It rained on on arrival day, on our departure day, and only one day in the middle. The food was fine, nothing to write home about, but we always found something we liked and we did not expect a gourmet experience. We took a city tour excursion and it was great to get to explore a bit of this charming city. I highly recommend taking one, it was a highlight of our trip. So if you want to book a luxury resort with brand new everything and gourmet food, this is not the place for you. If not, you can have an enjoyable vacation in the sun here without having to pay hundreds or thousands more.

  Nov 21, 2024