Grand Ambar By Lifestyle

Be prepared to entertain yourself. [Details]

Good This is a large beautiful resort with lots of pools,loungers, restaurants etc. The staff are very friendly and work extremely hard to please you. The food was varied and plentiful in the two buffet restaurants. There were a number of a la cart restaurants which we were able to access and we were pre-booked into 3 ( ones I suspect were not in high demand) and they were fine. The beach area was very nice and the ocean was great to swim in. ( keep in mind that this is not the same as the beaches in Cuba)
Bad
The elevation of the resort might add some challenge for some who are not mobile. There is a class distinction throughout the resort for those who do not have VIP status. Nightly entertainment was not very good and they did not have well organized daily activities.
Ugly
For the first time I was hit with food poisoning ( and me with a normally cast iron stomach!!) 2 out of 4 in our group were hit. This put a real damper on the last two days of our stay. (I am still recovering 5 days later) We also talked with a couple of fellow travelers who were also hit. Be sure to take a medical kit to cover all issues!!
Also take note that due to the many stairs and elevations -when it rains the surfaces become very slick and dangerous One of our group had a nasty fall which could have been a real disaster.
This is advertised as a 4.5 star and it may be so for VIP members. I would rate it as a 3 star. [Details]

The hotel was great, beautiful, lots of pools. My wife and I would defiantly go back. One of the best points is there is lots of beach chairs and chairs around all the pools we never had a problem finding chairs so that was nice. The restaurants where okay lots of food to choose from. The staff are great they all speak English and are friendly and funny. The hotel puts on one heck of a party on Sunday nights it was great, we have been to other resorts and have never seen anything like it. Overall it was great.
Just remember a 4 1/2 star in the Dominican is like a 3 1/2 star in Mexico [Details]

Very large hotel and resort. Staff were pleasant. [Details]

We were very concerned about going to this resort after reading the reviews and the fact that the resort is now part of the Lifestyles vacation club. We were pleasantly surprised once we arrived! The room was clean, we always had hot water, and the air worked. Not many bugs around, apparently they spray with safe biodegradable pesticide. Plenty of pools to choose from, quiet to rowdy. Many bars and lots of international drinks. Choice of 2 buffets, 2 snack bars and 8 a la cartes. Nolitours prebooked 3 restaurants for us which was good or we would not have got any. The service was great. The only beef I would have was the difference in treatment of VIP people and the rest of us. VIPs have their own beaches and unlimited restaurant choices. Went on the Puerta Plata Runners tour - make sure you bring school supplies and candies for the school you visit. Felt like we had to tip for everything, but 50 or 100 pesos ($2.50 or $5.00) was good. Overall it was one of the best holidays we've been on. Would definately return to the Dominican. Due to the stairs we probably wouldn't return to this resort, althought it was fantastic quality for the money! [Details]

Everything was exactly as advertised. Great value for our money.
Taking the shuttles to the restaurants and casino was really cool. They made us feel like celebrities. [Details]

Check was great.We came back two hours later and our room was ready.The only problem we had with the room was we asked for two queen beds and got a king.They fix the problem right away with a signal bed brought to the room.We had hot water, bathrooms lovely.Jr suite very spacious.(should upgrade)Fantastic atmosphere variety of restaurants booze was plentiful.Staff where very pleasant.Welcome bar-q was empty not many people came, its was hard to hear that all the left over food on the resort would go in the garbage and not to people off the resort who could use it to feed there families. Nightly shows where ok you could always get a seat and there is a bar at the back of the room. Wi-Fi in lobby was great. I had my I phone with me to text with family back at home.VIP Beach also has Wi-Fi. Timeshare people where no problem. Stairs not good for people who have trouble with them, but they do have a shuttle. There is fresh juice made every day at the buffet at the top but not at the beach buffet.The beach buffet was small but you could get a great breakfast, if you want a bigger breakfast up up top.Sewage smell was not that bad you just walk by it for a second and it was gone.Only thing we did not like was on Sunday they closed down all the restaurants and you had no choice if you want to eat to be shuttle over to the Tropical for dinner and a show and fireworks. It rain very hard that night and everyone ran for the food tent so it made it very hard to find food.The tables where set up outside with the fork, knife on them and we could not get to them because of rain. Very bad set up.We could not move in the tent. We where cold because of rain and left hungry. They should at lease keep one restaurant open for people who don't want to go, or have a tent to cover tables so we are not sitting in the rain. Bad move on there part. You could always get a beach chair never a problem and a cold drink. We will be back. My sister and i loved the place. [Details]

We went down reading week and thought it would be real busy everywhere on the resort.We where wrong never had to wait on a drink or a sunbed or towel or food. There is so much to see and do that one week is to short.The staff everywhere where get and very helpful.The only bad thing i can say is Sunday every restaurant was closed on the resort and you had no choice but to be shuttle over to the next resort for a party. We did not want to go.So we had know choice but to get into the shuttle and go over. It poured rain very hard we where cold and wet. Had a little bit of a walk in to the place where dinner and the show was.When we got there it was so hard to find food, because of the rain everyone went into the food tent, because there was no other place to go to keep dry.We could not move around in tent to get food. Real bad set up.We ended up leaving and going back with no food. They should give you a choice to go there or stay and have buffet. Maybe they will next time have a tent set up for you to set at your table dry while it is raining. To bad it happen. But the resort is a great place to go will go back. [Details]

I had booked to go to this resort with my wife and a group of 7 other friends. If it weren't for such a great group of people, I would have not had such a good time. Wouldn't rate this as a 4.5 star but more 3.5. Food was ok, however most of the resort came down with either bad food poisoning or a stomach virus (including 4 out of the 9 of our group) which was obvious when suddenly, halfway through the week there was a staff member spraying disinfectant on your hands when you walked into the buffet. There was a sewage smell, it came and went randomly and only in certain areas. We weren't harassed very much by the VIP representatives. We did half the tour then told or guide we couldn't financially commit to it right now and he left us alone for the rest of our trip. The a la carte situation was stupid- you have to get to the front desk for 9 am, if your not VIP you only get to pick from 4 of the restaurants as the others were "not available that evening" (usually Brazilian wasn't available), then you put your name down for your top 2 choices, then between 3-5pm you receive a notice under your room door as to what reservation you got (if any) and what time (we received a reservation for Asian for 9pm one night!). The golf carts and shuttles driving on the resort walkways got really old, and really annoying pretty quick (they honk at you to get off the walkway to make room for there carts or the shuttle). Booze was good and plentiful, pools were clean, staff was pleasant, yes there are stairs- but its not that bad, rooms were large and gorgeous but the bed was lacking in the comfort department. We made the most of our trip, but would not be going back, wouldn't recommend it to anyone either. [Details]

a couple of times there was no hot water
it was difficult to get in contact with the front desk
the people were absolutley wonderful...could not ask for more friendly pleasant sincere people...loved them all
the worst experience was the time share nightmare.... we were lied to and offered a 'tour' of the resort and then endured 3 hours of bullying to buy into their life style time share....when we tried to leave the sales man... name J. Manuel freaked out on us calling us names and chased us out of the building.
We were promised a free gift for giving up our time and recieved nothing....not impressed!!!! [Details]

Although my experience at the Grand Ambar was, happily, not as bad as I was expecting the night I arrived, it was not a 4.5 star hotel. The check-in line at arrival had only one clerk at first and we had to wait a long time. We had to wait even longer for a cart to take us and our luggage to the rooms. As we were getting closer to the room I was to have, a nasty sewage-like smell became apparent. When I actually got out of the vehicle I had a positive sense of dread because the smell was as if I were walking by an open sewage pit!
The room was exceptionally dated and there was not even a chest of drawers to put clothing in, just a rail in a closet. Happily I am tall and could reach it but a lot of women would never have been able to hang up anything because the rail had to be about 6'4" off the ground.
I found the room cold at night and would have liked a blanket, but there were no extras of anything and not even a comforter. They did have a strip of fabric the width of the bed and about 18 inches wide, but I have no idea what that was for, except for the maid to make into a design. It sure wasn't any use for extra warmth.
Every morning my shower leaked all over the floor because of the extremely stupid design of the shower curtain rail.
There was supposed to be free Wi-Fi in the lobby but I could only get logged on intermittently. There was Wi-Fi for payment in the room, but I didn't try it.
I had no problem with the food, which seemed to be getting better as my week progressed, as did the bad smell.
The beach was fine, with yellow sand and a fair distance to walk before the rocks started.
The Time Share people were a bit of a nuisance at the beginning of my visit, but a firm reply usually got rid of them.
The main problem an older person would have with this resort is the number of steps and inclines. I had to walk up 79 steps and a couple of steep slopes to get from my room to the hotel lobby. By the end of my visit I was definitely glad to be leaving. The steps were more than I wanted to do several times a day.
The staff worked well. I didn't have a problem with any of them but I'm sure THEY had problems with more than a few visitors! [Details]

We had a very bad experience...we were both sick, my partner was hospitalized for 2 days....could not handle sewer odor by our room.Very Noisy, all night,young peoples parties by our room, could not sleep. Were continually bugged by a Lifestyles VIP salesperson. One good point, room was clean and housekeepers were very good, one even came to visit my partner while being hospitalized. [Details]

Won't recommend this hotel at all. Food o.k. Customer service at the hotel terribly bad.
Standard room under expectation . Room are old and needs major updating.Beach view room has more pool view with no or little beach view .The beech view rooms are good.Be live Amber has been bought by Life style and there lot of transitions going on .People who sell timeshares are everywhere at the resort. We won't be going back to this resort. [Details]

Hi
THis hotel had many stairs and no access to an elevator. If you are a senior and have a hard time walking, don't go to this resort. Also the food was very hard to chew. This resort did not meet my expectations! [Details]

Worst holiday ever- we travelled as a family of 5 with 3 sons aged 12, 15 and 18. I would barely give this resort a one star rating. The junior suites are spacious however our understanding is that the standard rooms are sub standard and tired.
The expedient check in we were to receive was ridiculous and ended up taking close to 3 hours of our time.
The food is horrible with minimal selection on the buffet- the same items are repeated day in and day out. The juice is basically juice crystals- we never had pure juice at any time. The alcoholic drinks are extremely sweet no matter what you order.
We requested adjoining rooms- this was never granted- we asked for rooms close together to be close to our children- this was never granted- the boys were at the opposite end of corridor. Our rooms were never cleaned prior to 5pm and we had to call EVERY day as the maid forgot something. Getting shower towels was extremely difficult. Due to the rain we received our room did flood one day- it took 8 hours to have someone mop it up.
we were on the ground floor and our sons patio door was broken and would not lock- this took a great deal of time to have repaired as well. Our son's jacuzzi tub never worked- no hot water would come out of faucet (although it did in shower)- this was never repaired. Activities were frequently cancelled at the whim of animation team who generally appeared to focus on getting guests to get them free food and drinks. The welcome barbeque was ridiculous and it took hours to get your food as they only had one chef serving the bbq'ed items. We could not get into the ala cartes altho our tour operator had indicated that we should be able to get unlimited. after complaining and standing in line for hours to see guest services we ended up getting 2. At the buffets there is no host to help you get a table- each time my husband and I would have to push two tables together and scramble to get cutlery and napkins for our family of 5- we appeared invisible to the staff. It was also difficult getting seating at the nightly show- you would need to go an hour ahead as there was not enough chairs to accomodate the volume of people. we were consistently told they were over booked. My son lost his bracelet and they wanted to charge us 100- dollars to replace it--- this took hours to remedy as well. They ended up replacing it as an exception after accusing him of selling it??!!
the resort seems to not be able to accomodate with their staff and amenties the volumes of people they are cramming in-- the staff appear to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off with little to no direction or leadership. I have only mentioned some of the key issues with this resort- I could write volumes. The one last comment is that my husband and I visited the ICE night club within the resort one nite. it clearly states that you have to be 18 to enter and there is a security guard at the door. We entered to find numerous 'minors' in the club. We mentioned this to our tour rep and the hotel- their response was that due to the volume of people they don't have the time to ID folks -- when we went their was maybe 25 people in the club with at least 6 of them being minors--- we know they were minors as we met the families before hand and were told the ages of the children-- very disturbing..
SAve your money- go elsewhere..... [Details]

This hotel is now owned by Lifestyles chain of resorts. It is part of a time share program so members are called VIP and treated as such. Anyone else like myself who paid premium dollar to spend a week here was treated like 2nd class and was not able to even be on the list for the A LaCarte restaurants that are there. The buffet is awful, the rooms are old, mattresses have no box spring and are at least 20 years old, shower head had 10 water trickles, it was not a good experience at all !!!! Would Not Recommend to Anyone!! [Details]

I went with a group of four other 20 year old's and had an absolutely amazing time. The staff and overall atmosphere of the resort was fantastic. The food was good, and it was nice to be able to have access to a variety of restaurants (you can go anywhere on the tropical resort next door as well, they are connected). There was a wide range of age groups there, so I don't think you could really say it is suited for one age range in particular. This resort is great at any age!
The beach wasn't huge, and there was not a ton of space to lay right on the beach, but there is an upper level of beach with plenty of chairs, beach beds (which get snatched up very early) and hammocks.
There are so many pools and bar areas that we never had any problems finding a place to sit (even for 5 people). No matter what time it was we could always find something to eat/drink somewhere, and no matter how late it was, it always felt very safe around the resort. There are a lot of stairs but they really aren't as bad as people make them sound, nothing to be deterred by unless you have really bad mobility issues.
As far as the guys in the white shirts "selling timeshares", we were barely bothered by them, but decided to go with them anyways just because the man told us that's the only way to get paid. It took hardly any time, and we got some free stuff out of it, so it's really not that bad at all.
Overall, fantastic place, I'd recommend it to anyone and would definitely go again! [Details]

The grounds were nice, lots of stairs. Service was terrible! Plates left on a stack on our table, while we were eating...waited ten minutes at any bar for a drink...front desk not accomodating at all.. [Details]

I cannot recommend this hotel as the service and the good was below expectation. This hotel was recently purchased by a large company that seems focused on promoting its timeshare properties versus providing a relaxing, vacation environment for all of its hotel guests. We felt like second-class citizens. The hotel was disorganized and no one seemed to know what was going on. Customer service was horrible and simple things like making a reservation at an a la carte restaurant took several hours. Definitely not a relaxing holiday when you have to fight for services you paid for. Also, beware that there are no oceanview rooms at this resort! [Details]

No service,no connection with managment,no water,food like Cuba 1970 [Details]

Customer service was non-existent.

Don't even consider the food to be that of a 2 star resort and good luck trying to get your 'a-la-carte' dinners....

If you value good food, customer service, functioning equipment, accessibility....look elsewhere. [Details]

We visited from dec 10-17th.
This hotel is about an hour from the airport if you count stops at other hotels. This is a large property...a little disjointed, as several hotels amalgamated to form this one.
Check in was smooth, and we were upgraded to a very nIce jr suite near the beach. Very spacious, nice shower, and nowhere for bugs to hide. The bed was very springy and not supportive, but the rest of the room was perfect.
Food at the nearby buffet was limited in selection and was the same every day. The far buffet was better, but was in an area that was previously another resort, so tricky to get to....either walk down the beach or out to the street. A la cartes were not yet fully operational, and quality of service was poor, particularly at the Brazilian.
The beach was great, with ample loungers, and a few beach beds. Pools everywhere, interesting designs and well-kept. Beware of urchins in the water beyond about waist deep.
Service at the many bars was excellent, particularly from our friend Robin Cruz at Cheers. Unfortunately, juices at the bars and buffets are artificial and too sweet.
Beautiful, lush gardening. Spa prices comparable to home, but quality of treatments not so great... I think the lotion they used in my facial was the same as the one in the hotel room soap basket.
Lots of hills and stairs. Not for people with mobility issues.
Be careful on your way home. Puerto plata airport security helped themselves to select contents of my checked luggage. Mostly costume jewelry, but left a bad taste in my mouth about this country. If you like your stuff, leave it at home! [Details]

The resort was amazing. Very big. Rooms are very nice done in modern style and very clean. There are shuttle buses on the resort that can always drive you anywhere in the resort(at no extra cost) [Details]

I have never been so happy with a vacation before. It was my 5th trip down south with friends but my first time in Puerto Plata and I was unsure what to expect, but this place ended up surpassing all of my expectations. Grand Ambar (now going by the name Confresi Beach) is probably the most beautiful resort I have EVER stayed at (or will ever), and I can't get over the amazingly good deal we got. The rooms are new and modern, and the beach has the most beautiful huts. The main pool by the lobby is surrounded by green hills and the ocean... just breahtaking. As it stands, this is the ONLY resort I would consider revisiting down south!!! [Details]

Absolutely beautiful. Food good, beach fabulous, clean not much to walk however. Pools were gorgeous as were the grounds. Staff were always helpful and extremely nice. It's all about selling the timeshares, however we were not harassed, thank goodness. [Details]

We (2 young males) went during their off season, so not much was happening.
This is deffinitely not a place for singles, as there are mainly couples and families at this resort.
The food was amazing, minus the specialty restaurants. The hotel builds in a work-out routine with all the stair climbing, so you really don't gain too much wt.
Not much to do at night on the resort - the disco closes at 3, and then all the alcohol is cut off until around 8 am; the games room should have been 24 hrs.
This hotel met expectations! The staff were amazing and always went out of their way to converse with you, or even just say "hola!" The cleanliness was 5 stars! But I'd probably rate my over-all experience with 4 stars. [Details]

The Belive Grand Amber was AMAZING. I would definately recommend this resort to anyone looking for a trip to the Dominican. My husband and I had a wonderful time and really enjoyed everything the resort had to offer. We chose this resort because the pictures we saw on the internet were really nice. But when we got to the resort, it was MUCH NICER in reality! This resort was newly renovated so it is clean and modern. The facilities are in great shape. The staff are cleaning and maintaining the resort non-stop. The service staff are so friendly and helpful. The entertainment staff were so much fun and very talented. The management staff were really accommodating and friendly. The pools were amazing (my favourite about the resort), you feel like you are living a millionaire life. The main pool, which is at the top level, has a breath-taking view of the surroundings. When we were travelling from the airport to the resort, the shuttle bus passed by many other resorts in the surrounding area. We took a look at them and were so glad we chose Grand Amber! The other resorts were old and run-down and had poor colour schemes. The moment you walk into Grand Amber, you are glad you chose it. It is truly grand and a guaranteed pleasurable stay! [Details]

This resort was gorgeous! Well maintained, plenty of pools (7 in total) and very friendly staff.
It was only booked to 10% capacity when I was there, which worked out ok for me, but is a shame considering what a great place it was. I don't really have anything negative to say about it, other than how sad I was to leave. Would definitely go back! [Details]

I would be reaching to say a negative comment about this resort. Everything was just as I could have hoped and more. The Resort was beyond gorgeaus, the staff were so very wonderful, the food was outstanding as was the cleanliness and overall experiance. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone!! [Details]

The time share was the most annoying, they kept saying it wasn't a time share but it was. The guests were loud and nasty. The staff were very helpful the restaurants were good. the beach did not have enough chairs [Details]