3 Best Hotels in Puerto Plata, North Coast

The stunning, contemporary entrance flanked by slender white pillars leads to the attractive lobby at this adults-only resort, which offers both incredible value and many complaints. For decades an all-inclusive, the resort now offers that as an option that is worth accepting. Standard and standard-plus rooms are basic and small (rooms near the stage can be noisy until 11 pm); if possible, upgrade to the spacious, quiet villas with Jacuzzis and more contemporary bedding. Some rooms have been redecorated in recent years. What remains inviting is the international buffet, from raw oysters to a real turkey dinner, depending on the nightly theme. The ambience is more relaxing at the à la carte restaurants, where reservations are needed and the food is not necessarily as good. House wine is swill, beer is better. There aren't many organized activities anymore besides the pool games. Canadians and Brits seem to be the most pleased.

This condominium complex shares the grounds of the Hotel Blue Jack Tar, providing an upscale option to the generally moderately priced Playa Dorada. The rather plain facade does not prepare you for the stunning interior decor behind closed doors, most especially the swoon-worthy penthouse. All of the condos, from two-bedrooms up, have spacious layouts and high-end, contemporary furnishings, even on their terraces. The quality of construction is top-notch. Renters can enjoy this good life for a night, a week, or longer for a value price, all the while enjoying the facilities of the adjoining hotel.

The hand-hewn, thatch-roofed wood structures on this mountaintop a short 20 minutes by road from Puerto Plata look over a vast quilt of sugarcane fields to the ocean beyond, offering an authentic Dominican experience in rustic comfort. Two spacious cottages have private baths; three smaller palapas share bathroom facilities set apart in the gardens; a cute geodesic dome (called The Igloo) provides backpacker dorm rates. Guests gather over family-style suppers in a spacious social area and enjoy guided and unguided hiking, birding, waterfall treks, and visits to a coffee plantation and nearby amber mines.