TigH I don't mind answering your questions at all!
The Dominican Republic was recommended to us by a
travel agent. He has been everywhere and this is his favorite place to go...he has been there 8 times!
We stayed at the
Iberostar Bavaro in Punta Cana. It's on the east side of the island. The Iberostar Bavaro is an all suite resort, that's why the rooms are so big! We had a King bed. There are 8 rooms to a bungalow, 4 on the first floor, 4 on the 2nd...we had a 2nd floor room.
The Bavaro is only 1 of 3 Iberostar resorts there. The Punta Cana and Dominicana were right next to the Bavaro. The people who stayed at the Bavaro had privlidges at the other 2 resorts, but not the other way around.
It's an all-inclusive resort. The food was incredible! Breakfast and Lunch were buffets that were out of this world! Fresh bread, croissants, donuts, made to order omlettes, fresh fruit smoothies, you name it, they had it! For Dinner, there was a buffet which was so good, but there are 11 a la carte restaurants that you can make reservations in advance for. We ate at the Mexican, Japanese, and another Specialty restaurant.
Drinks were inlcuded too! The beer there is Presidente, not too bad. They also have Heinken at certain bars and Corona at the Mexican restaurant. They had all kinds of liquor and mixed drinks available.
There is entertainment throughout the day and a show every night. There is a discoteque and a sports bar too.
The beach is so beautiful and there is topless sunbathing.
At the Iberostar, you are entitled to 1 hr per person per day of non-motorized water sports. We snorkeled and took out a kayak. There were sailboats and catamarans also available.
Diving is also available for extra $$. You can get certified for free at the pool.
There are a number of excursions available. We booked our excursion through the
travel agency representative. It seems that every agency endorses certain compaines. Our tour was incredible! $75pp for all day which included all drinks, a trip to the sugar cane field, a cigar museum/shop, a typical Dominican home, a ranch for horseback riding and buffet lunch, and an hour at a 'secret beach'
We had no problems at the beach. There were armed guards at the boundaries of the resort and police patrolled the beach on ATVs. There are many palapas on the beach and they do a great job of keeping out the sun if you want to hide from it!
A short walk from our beach were the 'cheapie cheapie shops'. That's where I got my hair braided and we bargained for a few souviners.
We never once got offered drugs or saw any drugs.
I cannot wait to go back to the Iberostar! We paid 1099pp with out taxes and insurance. That included airfare, transfer, hotel. Some people paid 850pp! Our flight was direct and only took 3 1/2 hrs from Boston.
If you have any other questions, feel free to PM or email me!
Love the braids, very pretty. 
