I spent a week in Puerto Plata with my best friend and stayed at Cofresi Resort. This was a timeshare exchange for a one bedroom. In general and usually in my experience a one bedroom accommodates four people comfortably. There is usually a sofa bed in the living room. What we got was a queen size bed and a futon in the living room. The air conditioner was not working, of course I was not happy. The only thing that was wonderful about that room was the bathroom and the verandah looking over a garden. The resort is quite spread out that there is a shuttle bus to take you around.

The Cofresi Resort is part of the lifestyle vacations group. As a guest, it is all-inclusive. There are several sections for bathing depending on your status such as being a member, owning the Royal Villas etc. There are five different beaches with all having beach chairs, towels, cabanas and beverage service. The VIP beach has single and double deck cabanas with several hot tubs. There is a pastry shop with great choices of pastries but you can only eat in the shop, that seemed strange to me but it is for the all inclusive guests. Pools are located all over the resort close to the different units with bars located nearby. You have a choice of restaurants, Spanish, French, Italian, and Brazilian. My favorites were the Brazilian, Azul and the created evening restaurant on the beach in the evenings. There is also live entertainment in a large arena. Now we strolled into the casino only to find a few machines and was surprised to learn that that was the extent of the casino.

The next day we were invited to breakfast and we were picked up by the person assigned to us in a golf cart. The breakfast was quite good no complaints here. The next thing was the sales pitch with a tour of the compound. I complained to everyone I encountered about the dump we were given that was not suitable for four people and what if there were four of us. I must admit the resort is huge and had some beautiful units. The beach was okay but the cabanas and facilities near the beach were great.

I eventually bought a two bedroom unit in the Royal Suites section which would have us change to that unit right away. Because of my adamant displeasure, we ended up in a two bedroom presidential suite and a golf cart for the entirety of our stay. Golf carts are only for the Royal Villa members.

The next day we went there our cabana was occupied so we had to use another space outside of that confined Beach. Well my friend had a good laugh at me as I kept going to see, by peeping over the fence, if that specific cabana was available. We had a good laugh.

I also accompanied my cousin for five days stay at the adult only RIU Palace Macao resort in Punta Cana. This was in December, not a very good time for bathing in the ocean because it was choppy at times, but great for relaxing on the beach. There are two other RIU hotels as you walk along the paved pathway and you are able to dine at any. There is live entertainment nightly except the night of the RIU party and the productions were excellent. There is a RIU party as part of their weekly entertainment where guests from all three resorts join for enjoyment. On the beach vendors were allowed but unlike other resorts in other countries, they wore uniforms and name tags, it appeared to be a specific company owned.

We decided to take a tour around to see a little of the city.

Our tour included a stop at Playa Macao which seem to be one of their popular public beach with vendors linining the street and pathway to the beach. The waves were rolling in so rough and it was extremely windy we did not venture in the water. Along the beach there were natives walking around with monkeys, iguanas and macaw birds that you could take picture with for a fee.

Both visits certainly allowed me to experience both popular tourist cities. Got some real rest and relaxation in Puerta Plata and though a shorter stay in Punta Cana got rest, sightseeing, excellent dinning and great entertainment.