Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9961 reviews

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  A Stay Worth Your Time

  This resort gets an A+ from me. My first visit to the Dominican Republic and to this hotel/resort could not have been more pleasant. The natural beauty of the Costa Dorada grounds are impressive. The landscape staff were, as all staff members at the hotel, very friendly and eager to teach us about the native plants. The food offered a wide variety of tastes from different cultures to choose from whether from the buffet breakfast and lunch to the dining experiences in the evening. We went in May which is their "low" season but the weather was perfect and we enjoyed meeting people from so many places. The Dominican Republic citizens who staffed the hotel, lived in the city of Puerto Plata and worked at the airport in Puerto Plata were very kind and helpful. I highly recommend this hotel.

  May 09, 2025
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  Don't ever go to this place!

  I stayed 7 days and 6 nights at this hotel and it was the worst vacation I have had in 50 years of life. The room was supposed to be ocean view (yes with binoculars the ocean was visible) but it was a typical room you expect nothing grand for the DR. The food was mediocre at best. We were supposed to eat at the Italian restaurant one night but it was the outdoor lunch spot and they just added a candle and gingham table cloth to turn it into an Italian spot. We tried to purchase upgraded liquor because I had never heard of the cheap house brands they had and they didn't even want to sell it to us because we are not Iberostar members. The pump obviously wasn't working at the pool because the amount of hair, oil, trash and bugs in the pool was beyond disgusting. Which was ok because it was rainy season and were only able to get in the pool 2 days. We had massages one day and quickly learned that they were not trained masseuse. But the place was clean and inviting. There was no daytime entertainment for us. Luckily we bought the ipad and connected to the TV so we could watch TV. The evening shows weren't that great but one night there was a mariachi band that wasn't too bad. I do not recommend this hotel to anyone wanting fun, cleanliness or good food.

  May 08, 2025
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  Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada

  My husband and I travelled in March 2025; we booked the Superior Ocean View. We had a comfortable king size bed and a rain shower. Always hot water. Room was immaculate and clean. Food surpassed to our delight. Theme nights, abundant dishes like rib eye steak and grilled pork chops twice a day, suckling pig, turkey, salmon and other fish daily, lamb, roast beef, duck, pasta cooked at a station, two egg stations for breakfast. Fresh squeezed orange juice, beet, carrot and green juice plus pears, peaches, plums and cut up tropical fruit. Trays of food always full and fresh and included sushi, squid, calamari, octopus. I liked the dispensers filled with ice water and cucumbers or watermelon. The buffet was inviting with the thatched roof and open air concept. The entire resort had a thatched roof. We especially liked the Italian a la carte and our concierge Stephanie took care of booking in our restaurants. Mexican was very nice and Japanese was a lot of fun and a good display of cooking. They cooked on the beach daily, lobster, ribs and steak, rice dishes. The desserts were inviting and delicious prepared by expert chefs. The beach was clean, many lounge chairs and had many, many chairs and tables in the shade for eating the noon meal. Palapas are plenty. The pool was our haven for two weeks, and be prepared to get up early to get a spot you like. Towels are plenty. There are no towel cards and none to hand in at the end of the holiday. My husband had his favorite kitten; we had brought Temptations to feed our cat we named Chip. They will also eat ham in abundance. This was a very relaxed holiday and will go back again. My family said it sounded more wonderful than the vacations that they have been on. The waiters were fast in clearing a table and sanitizing. They always changed the tablecloths at Gala Night. If you want exceptional quality food, the Iberostar Waves is the place to go. Rose and Kelly H.

  Apr 27, 2025
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  Very Average

  Quick and to the point. This is a very dated resort not worthy of a 4.5 star rating. Our first room was in building 3 and very dated. Looked behind the headboard for an outlet and it was just a mound of dust. I requested a move to a renovated room and got one the next day in building 7. Much better renovated bathroom but the rest was still dated. Broken curtain rod, balcony door lock damaged so door wouldn’t close properly. They came and kind of fixed it but still wonky. The power went out 4 times while using the hairdryer. We were told to use it only in the bathroom but it still knocked the power out. Each time they came and reset the power. The grounds are very nice and well maintained. No wait service around the pool but 1 swim up bar and 2 others right there. The pool is large but was constantly dirty. A lot of bugs, leaves and bird poop always floating. Staff were friendly and helpful. Spa service was very good. Concierge guys are on you hard from the get go to go to the Loyalty program presentation. Once you have either done it or said no they aren’t too attentive anymore. Food was average at best. 3 a la carte restaurants. Buffet again was ok. Omelette station for breakfast was good. Pedro was awesome at the omelette station. One tv in the lobby bar and that’s it for the resort so if your a sports fan no sports bar. Many guests complained of getting very sick and then the last night it happened to me. I’m guessing it was food poisoning from 8pm buffet dinner as by 2 am I was vomiting hard! Made for a horrible flight home next day. Beach was nice and had a bar and they also did a big daily lunch on the beach which was decent. You will not go hungry at this resort but you will not be wowed. Price was decent but again this place needs a major Reno. Use caution.

  Apr 20, 2025
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  Good, not so good, but still relaxing!

  5 star is a bit of a stretch to be honest. Here was my experience: Good: The filtered water stations...I mean, that's brilliant! Usually I tend to drink less water when I am on vacation because I am afraid of getting sick from it, but not this time! The Grounds...Very well maintained. Most of the staff...The room cleaning crew...They did such a great job each day making sure everything was clean and fridge fully stocked. The room for the most part...A/C was cold (thermostat was on the headboard which was weird but whatever). Decent selection of tv stations to choose from...But really, you're not there to watch tv. The pool...Lots of space but good luck getting covered seating. Unless you are up early (and I mean really early), you ain't getting them! The entertainment at the pool was good if you were sitting near the pool bar. If you weren't, it was hard to hear what they were doing so we missed out on most of it. Food was okay but as is the case at any resort, can get quite repetitive. I will say, the shrimp and the shrimp ceviche as well as the seafood salad at the buffet were our favs! Bad: Those trying to sell you Iberostar Club. Granted, they are nice at first until you decline a breakfast with them trying to get you to hear their sales pitch. Then it goes from them greeting you by your name when they see you around the resort to them just somewhat acknowledging you after you decline (multiple times) the sales pitch breakfast. Sorry, but I'm on vacation, not on a sales trip. They had a night where they brought in sellers from the market and let me tell you, it was a barrage of the sellers hassling you to buy from them. Next, the outlets in the room. They are limited and half of them didn't even work. I mentioned this and was asked if I wanted to upgrade for a fee...lol, like what? We made do with what outlets did work. One of them was basically hanging out of the wall. Karaoke night...Unless you were a favourite there or sang Spanish songs, you were going to wait a long time to go up or not at all...We saw the same people sing multiple songs while the one I put in never got called. My kids really wanted to see me get up and sing so they were really disappointed. Neither good nor bad was the beach. Lots of chairs, it is windy, there was seaweed but you could definitely still swim in the ocean. Puerto Plata isn't known for the pristine turquoise water white sand beaches so you should know what you're getting when you book this area. We had a ground floor room and at the time we were there, they had lots of gardening crew planting trees (which of course is good), but felt like we didn't have much privacy with them walking by constantly. Overall a relaxing trip. Not quite 5 star, perhaps a 3.5 or 4 at best.

  Apr 18, 2025