Iberostar Waves Dominicana - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10134 reviews

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  6th time at this resort - B+ rating.

  This was our 6th time at this resort. We went in January 2025. Pros: - The food quality and variety has improved allot. -The 2nd room we were in was excellent (Room # 4250) -We had an excellent pool/ocean view in the second room. -The beds were very comfortable. -The air conditioning worked well. -The TV in the second room worked well. -The bathroom in the second room was very good. -Excellent room cleaning staff. -Bar fridge was always full and our request for diet coke was honored daily. -Bar staff was excellent, but understaffed. -The pool are large and very clean. -The depth of the pool is 5'7". -It was easy to get a good spot around the pool if you went down by 7:30 am. Cons: - Sunwing did not inform us this hotel follows a water conservation policy. There is no bottled water in the rooms, rather there are self serve water filling stations by the elevators. -There is no help from Sunwing staff once you are at the hotel. Although the Sunwing app works well. -There is too much pressure by Hotel promotion staff to join the "Prestige" club or book excursions. -Our first room had a very old tv that did not work properly. -Our 1st room smelled like sewer by the 2nd day, it took 4 days to be moved to a better room. -Our 1st room had a poor view, we looked out at the concrete wall over the building entrance, you could see nothing when seated. -The night entertainment is poor, no live music, very dull shows. -The steak house no longer has tables with a solid floor underneath, all tables /chairs are in the sand, not desirable. -There is no longer any poolside bar service to customers, its all go get it yourself now. -Buffet restaurant service was hit and miss, on most days it was very good, on others we were ignored. -The music around the pool is played way too loud. -When there was people in the evenings with tables of goods from the local area to buy, the people selling these things were too persistent on wanting to sell you things. They were always set up on the way into the buffets. This was not a pleasant experience. Summary: Although the food quality and variety has improved, the cons outweigh the pros at this hotel. I was told that the hotel will have a major renovation in 2026. If the promotional staff did not pester the paying people staying at this resort it would be a better place. (IE: Join the prestige club / take excursions)

  Jan 17, 2025
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  All About the staff.

  Amazing staff. The staff really make this hotel. Everyone we met were so happy & friendly. The beach is lovely as are the Swimming Pools. Food is Good in the Buffet Restaurant Idalisa was an Excellent waitress so helpful , kind & happy, We also Enjoyed the French A la Carte restaurant and received excellent service from Arismendy and Wilma who also gave us great service in the buffet restaurant. . The Asian A la carte was also Very Good and once again all the staff were outstanding. We had a Gourmet meal on the beach and our waiter Angel was Superb. The Rooms are perfectly adequate but are all being renovated, so should be amazing when finished. The Fantastic duo Mauricio & Rosiela on the Concierge Desk were so kind & helpful and made our stay so enjoyable. We then Joined the Iberostar Club and from then on it just got even better. The Ladies in the Star prestige lounge were so Helpful led by the Lovely Jiaha. ( Sorry if we spelt Your name but we lost our list.) Every detail was expertly dealt with and the Lovely Mia in the bar made our nights special every Night. Jose Angel took us under his wing and made every day extra special with his kind service and suggestions and tips on the best wines. Felix and Genesis on the star prestige beach area were also truly excellent so kind & helpful. We would also like to give a special thanks to Beethoven the guest service manager for organising an accessible room for my wife. All the managers especially the Food & beverage manager were so hands on and led by example, that is why I believe the hotel staff are so good. We were a bit spoilt after joining the Iberostar club and were truly treated like family. This Hotel is so Amazing because of the wonderful staff and you can't fail to have a wonderful Time. Thank You All from Andy & Elizabeth, See you again soon.

  Dec 03, 2024
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  Solid 4 Stars

  We had a great trip at the Iberostar Dominicana! Overall, it was a good experience. The beach is beautiful and the waves are pretty calm! You can use non-motorized beach equipment for free for an hour a day! The pools are a perfect temperature and were perfect for cooling off. Most of the staff were very very friendly! The only time we had a couple unhappy people were at the pool bars when they were getting through lines of guests. A couple things to note: - The Dominicana is the non-renovated one and we had traditional room keys (the Punta Cana and other Iberostar’s have the key card on a bracelet. The traditional cards got demagnetized two different times which was annoying. - Our room was fine for us… a lot of open space and tall ceilings. Only issue was the shower drain didn’t work well so by the time we finished showering, we were in an ankle deep pool. - The food is fine. I thought the dinners were great (Italian was our favorite). Breakfast and lunch were not great… we stuck to pizza and fries every day. - There were A LOT of kids. Great for families, but if you aren’t looking for that vibe, either upgrade to the Selection or Bavaro or find another hotel. If we stayed here again, we would try to upgrade to the Selection or Coral Level. They got nicer rooms, other dining options, private pools and beach chairs.

  Oct 27, 2024
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  Avoid!

  What a complete debacle this holiday turned out to be! First off, we shelled out around three grand for a week during the off-season—seemed like a steal, right? But the organization from Love Holidays and the hotel? A total shambles. Let’s kick things off at the airport. We paid extra for a private taxi, only to twiddle our thumbs for over an hour waiting for the driver. The car was a relic from 2001—scraped and battered, more suitable for the scrap heap than a holiday! The woman who ushered us to the vehicle immediately began hawking tours, setting the tone for the week. I received no less than ten texts about these “fantastic deals” during our stay. It felt like a sales pitch from the moment we arrived! The hotel? Well, it was decent—definitely not five-star material, but a solid four. The rooms were clean, but the reception experience? Absolutely horrendous! The staff barely spoke English or German, which is shocking in the tourism biz. After an agonizing check-in with zero hospitality, we finally got our keys and headed to our room, which, to be fair, was alright. Now, the main buffet restaurant was a pleasant surprise, with a decent variety of food. But the themed restaurants? An absolute catastrophe! We ventured into the Italian joint, and if we were Italian, we’d have been mortified. Their version of lasagna looked like it had come from a nightmare, and the starter? I could whip up something more appetizing at a buffet! And the staff? They seemed utterly uninterested. It was clear they were overworked and underpaid; they even told us as much! When we waited ages for our starters, their response was basically, “Who cares? We don’t get paid enough to bother!” Then there was the nightclub experience—oh dear! The DJ was dreadful, turning what should have been a lively party into a snooze fest. Even the free drinks couldn’t lift the mood; most folks were leaving early, visibly unimpressed. Let’s not forget the hotel staff who approached us with travel tips. One charming fellow named Victor convinced us to attend a timeshare presentation for a “free massage.” My husband talked me into it, despite my better judgment. The presentation stretched into a torturous 3.5 hours, culminating in a pitch for a timeshare at a whopping $27,000! What a ludicrous scam! On the bright side, the pools were lovely, always clean, with plenty of sunbeds. The beach was a short stroll away, which was a bonus. But then, the relentless sellers on the beach became a real pain. One chap even woke me from a blissful snooze to peddle sunglasses! The hotel seriously needs to rein these folks in; they were far too aggressive. Finally, when we checked out, the receptionist didn’t even bother to ask how our stay was. Just a quick “bye.” Really? In a five-star place? So, if you’re after a genuinely relaxing holiday, do yourself a favor and head to Mauritius or the Seychelles instead. This place felt more like a tourist trap, where guests are treated like walking wallets based on their nationality. What a farce!

  Oct 24, 2024
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  A mixture of some really good things and some that need improvement

  We booked our package holiday with BA with an all inclusive and premium room for 2 adults and 1 child. We were given room 4170 in the older building and we’ve noticed some strong persistent smell of mould so we requested another room. We were moved to 4174 which eventually proved the same so we asked to meet the manager. We spoke with Alex who listened to us and showed understanding of our concerns. He moved us to 5170 in the other building where they’ve done some renovations. The new room is visibly better - recently painted with newer furniture and bathroom. It’s still quite humid, we can feel it in the bedsheets and pillows, but at the smell is not so strong. I guess this is the best we can get in the circumstances, so we appreciate the willingness of Alex to help and resolve as best as he could. The grounds are really beautiful and well maintained - landscaped with lots of palm trees and flowers. There are two pools and a nice beach so something for everyone. There are enough chairs around the pools but we do go there early as we are still on London time. The beach is nice, there is some seaweed but not too much and it doesn’t affect the beauty of the beach. Obviously it’s quite wavy as it’s the Atlantic but that’s OK. So far we have only tried the buffet and the food is as expected for this type of family resort - good choice for all tastes, even if not the best we’ve had in the Dominican Republic. The one thing I don’t like in the buffet is the lack of A/C - it can feel very hot and the lack of ventilation allows some flies to get in. We haven’t been able to try any of the restaurants yet as they don’t take bookings so whenever we went they were full. I think it’s possible to get a table if you go at 18:00 but that’s a bit early for dinner for us. I can’t say much about the entertainment as we are still jet lagged and can’t stay up that late but this is not that important for us and we don’t mind. The staff is a mixed bag - some are more enthusiastic than others, but the cleaning ladies are definitely diligent. Overall this is an average Caribbean resort, I honestly don’t think it’s 5 stars, I’d say more 3.5, and your stay will depend a lot on what room you get. I hope they will renovate all the rooms so that all guests can enjoy their stay.

  Oct 22, 2024