3 Best Hotels in North Coast, Dominican Republic

This longtime all-inclusive has clean, spacious rooms, with easy access to the beach. Families make up a good share of the market, and this resort is solid as far as the tour operators are concerned. Many couples will prefer the larger rooms overlooking the quiet pool, though they lack the ocean views. All rooms have upscale touches like flat-screen TVs and improved bedding. All four restaurants are good choices. With an upscale, residential ambience, it artistically blends rustic Dominican touches with collagelike photography of Europe; all the extras are worth the upgrade.

This resort will dazzle you with its sprawling lobby, its curvaceous pool with a central Jacuzzi encircled by Roman pillars. Guest rooms have a light, breezy, tropical look; the ocean-view junior suites have desks and flat-screen TVs. Food, including at the Brazilian and Mexican restaurants, is good, and so is the buffet. Top-shelf liquor is available only at the lobby bar. At night you can watch the entertainment from the garden seating surrounding the wrought-iron gazebo. The dive center is one of the best in the area. Close to Puerto Plata, you can have more contact with real Dominican life here than if you stay in Playa Dorada complex itself. Guests from the United Kingdom and Canada rave about the resort more than statesiders.

Rooms on the top floor of Block 5 and 6 have views and are worth the upgrade.

If your idea of perfection is thatch-roof cabanas and a quiet, private beach, then this may be your oceanfront nirvana. The 13 artfully constructed bungalows here are made from indigenous materials such as bamboo and island stone and were designed to meld into the environment without disturbing its natural beauty. They have a lot of rustic charm but offer few creature comforts (no air-conditioning, TV, or phones); the newest and largest sleeps four. All bathrooms have rain showers with round sea-stone floors that feel wonderful underfoot. Lole, the dueña, her daughters, and the rest of her caring, bilingual staff, promote camaraderie. Healthful breakfasts and lunches are served in one of the two waterfront restaurants; dinner in the other is prepared by an international chef, and seafood is handled particularly well there. The artistically designed Attabeyra Spa has services such as chocolate wraps and massages on the beach. The splendid yoga pavilion is an oceanfront palacio with classes in the morning and afternoon; retreats and innovative weddings with the Natura touch are held here, too. The pool gazebo, with its colorful Indian sarongs, is the setting for romantic dinners.