future travel to DR @ Jack Tar Village

Hi to all....my boyfriend and I are planning a trip to the DR and are seriously considering staying at Jack Tar Village. It looks absolutely beautiful in the All-Inclusive Signature travel brochure which we receieved from a local agency. After doing some research on the net I've received mixed reviews - some loved it and said it was the most wonderful resort in the Dominican, others thought it moderate but by no means fantastic. This will be mine and my boyfriends first trip together(I've never even been south of Maine, USA)and we want to find a perfect resort - we're both 23 and want this to be a trip to remember! If anyone who has been there could give me a hand, I'd greatly appreciate it!!!!! Thanks a million!

Jamie, I don't think there's any question that you'd enjoy JTV. The entire playa dorada complex is beautiful, with everything you could ask for in a tourist destination. 13-14 all-inclusive hotels, a wonderful beach, a shopping centre, discos, banks with ATM's, golf course, etc.. It's also close to sosua and puero plata, and offers a wide range of day excursions. JTV is the first hotel on the beach side of the complex, with one of the quieter beach areas. It's one of the older hotels in the complex, but still one of the most popular, possibly because of the jack tar name. Also, it's my impression that JTV is not as geared toward the younger partying types as several other playa dorada hotels. Personally, i don't think it's the best value all-inclusive hotel on the playa dorada strip, and if I were 23 I'd probably chose a less "laid back" property. However....if you have your heart set on JTV, go for it!

Mark

Mark(or anyone else with info), What about Playa Naco or Gran Ventana? We are trying to decide between these two hotels. Things that matter to us are the cleanliness of the property, beach area, fun atmosphere(not too laid back),and of course good food and drinks. Any opinions would be most helpful.

Les,

As for Gran Ventana, I can only say that it looks and sounds like a lovely spot. I've heard good things about it......however, i've also heard that the number of english speaking guests is significantly smaller than many of the other hotels in the area. Apparently it's a very popular german tourist destination. I've recently been to playa naco and, all things considered (price, facilities, food, entertainment, service, etc.), I feel that it's the best value in playa dorada right now. It's very popular among canadian, american, and british tourists, so english is not a problem. It's very centrally located (literally minutes walk from just about everything in the complex), it has absolutely beautiful grounds, a wonderful, spacious pool area with swim-up bar, one of the nicer beach fronts with bar & grill and activity centre, one of the most popular discos (tops disco), 4 bars in total, a buffet plus 3 a la carte restaurants (providing a good variety of quality food), tennis courts, good lively entertainment, and great service. The standard rooms are spacious and clean, but nothing fancy. In fact you might say our room was a little "run down". We thought it was fine, considering the amount of time we actually spent there.....but I would certainly recommend a room upgrade if this is concerning to you. All in all, you can't go wrong with playa naco. If you want more detail feel free to e-mail me.

Mark