I was so excited when I booked my holiday to the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic one of the biggest islands in the Caribbean situated next to Cuba. The holiday was a last minute bargain – a two week all inclusive holiday for £650 with Airtours. I stayed at the Playa Dorada complex in Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic) at the Hoteteur Playa Dorada.

Well, what did I think? My complex was only 20 minutes from the airport and because it was a package holiday transfers were included. My first impression during the transfer was wow it’s so green. I usually take my holidays in the Mediterranean and you tend to find that most of the islands are volcanic and the landscape is brown, dry and barren. Which ever way you looked there were fields and trees, amongst these were living areas – I say living areas because the population is quiet poor, in some places you saw just a four walled box, however in the majority of cases families lived in worn down houses. Nothing like the standard we live in.

The Hoteteur Playa Dorada was a large hotel. The room was simple but comfortable and very nice! There were two pools. I wasn’t very impressed with them. One had a bar and was very small and as shallow as the childrens training pool at my local leisure centre. The other pool was slightly deeper and larger with a maximum depth of 5ft. The large pool was used for playing games organised by the staff and there was usually a basketball flying around, so if you wanted to do a couple of lengths you had to squeeze them in an hour before the pool closed. I didn’t notice the state of the pools in the first week, with all the excitement. The pools seemed to be cleaned every morning, however by the second week I began to notice how dirty the pool was regardless of the cleaning. The water was not clear and you could see lots of white particles floating around.

The great thing about the hotel was that it was situated right on the beach. So within 5 minutes (across two small bridges surrounded by a lake and gardens) you were on the beach. The water was always lovely and warm and shallow. The deck chairs were free although if you wanted to sit in the shade you did have to get up early. The beach wasn’t overcrowded and you could walk along it for ages, from hotel complexes to completely deserted areas. If you wanted to do watersports you could find plenty to do. The only downfall about the beach was you got hassled a lot by locals trying to sell you things. I mean every five minutes!

Entertainment at the hotel. The hotel was supposed to be a simple low budget holiday and I’d say perfect for families with kids. It was what I’d call Butlins style! Families would love it because the staff entertain the kids all day, then entertain the adults late into the evening with cheesy shows! However, I must applaud the entertainment staff for the long hours they do from morning to late evening it must be hard work! The Cabarets and shows were not my thing! They were constantly organising team games which is good when you’re bored.