# Lhvc At Lifestyle Crown Villas



## gnipgnop (May 19, 2008)

This is a resort in the Dominican Republic that I would love to give as a gift to my daughter and her family.  I do not see any reviews on TUG about this resort and I am concerned that she will travel this far for the first time with three children and the place will not be acceptable.  From the RCI description #6993, it looks very nice, but I never completely trust that.  Has anyone been there? Can you recommend it to a family of five with kids ages 16, 14, 13.  Also can you give me some idea what conditions the units are in and how was the food?  Thanking you in advance for any help you can offer.


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## gnipgnop (May 19, 2008)

Please tell me somebody has been here!  It is a Gold Crown and looks good but you never know until someone tells you differently.  Would really appreciate some input.  Thanks


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## scooooter (May 22, 2008)

Bumping up for you.  We are looking at this resort also, so hoping that someone on here has been there????

Rhonda


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## lprstn (May 22, 2008)

I checked tripadvisor.com and saw some positive reviews...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...n_Villas-Puerto_Plata_Dominican_Republic.html

and igougo.com

http://www.igougo.com/search/default.aspx?phrase=Lifestyle Crown Villas

I hope this helps...


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## kiyotaka (May 22, 2008)

We stayed w/ 2 other couples in 3 br villa. It had a good size private pool. Was ai (I think the cost was $350 a week pp) and a made came in every morning to cook us b/f. They stocked free beers every day. On site restaurants (4 or 5) were fine (Italian was good). Only biggest draw back was lack of screen in windows/doors so we were eaten alive!!


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## gnipgnop (May 22, 2008)

Kiyotaka:  Is there any A/C?  Do you have to open windows?  YUCK!!!
How close is the resort to the beach?  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks


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## kiyotaka (May 22, 2008)

I don't remember about a/c, but I remember it wasn't hot. All the photos showed open doors so maybe no a/c. The resort is on a beach. If you'd like, I can send you a few photos.


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## rjschielke (Jun 12, 2008)

Hello.  I am a member of the club at Lifestyles.  The place is better than it looks on paper.  My wife and I joined in Feb. and are platinium members.  The villas have a/c.


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## JoeMid (Jun 12, 2008)

I've been there in Winter, no noticeable bugs, A/C in Villas and hotel units.  I loved it and will go back next chance I get.  The resort is on the beach although Villas are not. People like rjschielke get their own golf cart!


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## janapur (Jun 12, 2008)

We have considered this resort. However, the AI through RCI was $750 per unit per day! Yikes!


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## Carol C (Jun 22, 2008)

*Down With Spam!*

Stop your "bird droppings" aka spam on TUG. Nobody here is stupid enough to click on your links!


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## Makai Guy (Jul 1, 2008)

Carol C said:


> Stop your "bird droppings" aka spam on TUG. Nobody here is stupid enough to click on your links!



Please don't reply to spam posts.  Just click the 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 icon in the post and report it to the BBS Staff.

I just found and deleted the post you were responding to today -- 9 days after it was posted.  Had it been reported it would have been handled within minutes.


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## brother coony (Jul 1, 2008)

Was at the lifestyle crown villas in aug.2006 had book a 3 br villa Thought the AI was Per. person it was not,had four person in our group,but they say the villa sleeps 6 so we had to pay for 6 people food was ok,not bad our villa leak  in the living room from we check in reported it nothing happen,
the rooms are nice grounds or nice the best thing is there vip lounge, they had some realy good shows there,great drinks, bad food but that was no problem as you had choice of place to eat that was ok
we were offered a big discount if we went back because ot our leaking villa
we decline, Would not go Back


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## schmo (Jul 17, 2008)

I own there and its a safe place , yes they have a/c , we were just there in june , the monster truck safari was a great day trip, if you need any other info just ask


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## shook (Jul 22, 2008)

Hi,

My husband and I stayed at Lifestyle Crown Villas in April 2008. Apparently if you do a change thru RCI, the all inclusive fees are just out of this world - hundreds of $$$ per day! Rent from an owner like we did, and we paid $37.50 pp for all inclusive fees. The only thing we didn't get was the golf cart, but had full access to all other VIP areas etc. 

We felt we were glad we had not brought our kids 17,17 and 14 as we thought they would be bored. Guess it depends on how much travelling your kids have done and what they expect. There is internet for a fee or 2 computers located in the office that are free but you could never get on them. There were no night activities other than a small show each night. If the kids are kept busy with just the pool and beach then it's a great place. If they need more entertainment, better bring your own. I wouldn't have a problem recommending the place to adults, all depends on what you are looking for. Here is a reprint of my review posted on tripadvisor. You can also see pics of the resort there. If I can answer any specific questions, please let me know, glad to help!

“Nothing Wrong With Them, But A Lot of Things Not Right Either”
Lifestyle Crown Villas
My husband and I traveled to Puerto Plata April 1-8th, 2008. Just to let you know, we have traveled a fair bit, everything from luxury cruises, 5 star resorts, to mud huts in Africa, and every type of accommodation in between. We rented a 3 bdrm villa from an owner on the internet.

Upon our arrival at the airport, the person who was sent to pick us up had been told there were 12 of us – not just the 2 of us. No amount of persuasion on our part could convince them we were it, so we had to wait until the whole airport cleared out before they would believe us. Finally they got us a taxi and took us to the resort. Nothing fancy here.

Check in was OK, no one seemed in any hurry. There was no great welcome, or drinks offered or anything like that. We paid our $37.50 US pp/day for the all-inclusive fee. No amount of asking would get us a golf cart. Only the owners they said. We were told our villa wasn’t ready so we went off to find something to eat. It took many hours before the villa was finally ready. This would have been OK except that it was pouring rain, and we really couldn’t find anything to do in the meantime. 

When we did get to our villa, number 18B, I was somewhat disappointed in the furnishings etc. Some of the furniture was broken and worn out (arms on chairs, finish coming off the dining table etc). Because of the rain, one of the beds in the upstairs bedroom was soaking wet from a roof leak. It’s a good job that wasn’t where someone had to sleep as there was just the two of us. The floors, which are ceramic tile, were wet in many places making them very slippery both upstairs from the leaking roof and downstairs from the rain coming in under the doors etc. Villa 18A was attached duplex style, but the people beside us were very good.

With regards to the chef who comes to make breakfast, he only showed up the first two days and then stopped coming. No explanation given. No big deal, we just went to the buffet, but if it is part of what we paid for, then we should have had that service.

Speaking of service, it was like grand central station at our villa. There were always people coming in the house and grounds. The pool boy would be by to clean the pool daily, the grounds keepers would appear to rake the leaves, maids were in and out all day long. The guy who fills the fridge would come in. The paperboy would come right in to deliver the newspaper. It didn’t matter if you locked all the doors, there were always people in the house! Once I went into the kitchen and some shuttle driver was helping himself to a soda in our fridge because he was thirsty! And he wasn’t even shuttling for us! And did I mention the continuous flow past our villa of golf carts driven crazily by kids. They would be kids of owners of course, as we mere renters couldn't have a golf cart. I truly believe that there should be a golf cart per villa regardless of who is staying in it. We walked by the "garage" where they kept the carts and there were lots of them not in use.

On top of all these people, we had the timeshare salesmen. Now, as I said, we’re pretty used to them around a resort and are pretty good at spotting them and avoiding them, but when they attack on your own turf, that’s too much. One morning we were sitting there having breakfast and this guy was looking in the patio door at us. He came right in and started his pitch in our own place while we were eating! Two days later my husband and I are in the pool at our villa, and along comes another salesman who would not leave us alone! We feel we are fair game while roaming the resort, or even sitting by a public pool, or coming out of a restaurant, but this was just too much! One interesting thing we did find out however, was that we had rented a VIP Gold villa, but he told us we were only in a silver and why not go along with him to see what we could get if we bought Platinum. Silver? Silver? No where on their site does it say anything about a silver level. Guess that explains the disrepair/shabbiness of the villa. He also mentioned that we were to be out of the villa as they had 6 new people coming in. this was on Sat and we were booked until Tues. We told him he'd better find somewhere else to put them. Nothing ever came of it however. Now don’t get me wrong, it was impressive to a lot of people. We happened to meet a couple staying at the resort in a hotel room from our hometown. They were blown away by our villa. They took pictures of every room and said they were going to come back and ask to rent the same villa they were so impressed. So, I guess it is based on your previous travel experiences. If you haven’t traveled much, you will probably think it is awesome.

I won’t go into the VIP beach and pool area as many others have written reviews. They were a neat touch. It is nice to have your drinks brought to you. Don’t bother getting them to bring you food though (other than nachos) as it is stone cold by the time it gets there, you might as well wander over to the restaurant yourself. For the last couple of days we actually parked ourselves on the outside of the VIP Beach wall and stayed on the resort side near a little beach bar. If you’re looking to meet the most enthusiastic and entertaining fellow at the resort, stop by there and visit Pedro.

We thought all the restaurants were fine. The gourmet was certainly the best. We caution taking a seat outside at the early sitting as all the workers and their smelly diesel trucks are leaving for the day and driving by continuously while you are eating.

If you have trouble walking, be aware there is a lot of it to be done if you don’t get a golf cart. The sidewalks are all too narrow and made of uneven paving stones and are very poorly lit at night.

My main complaint was that there was no evening entertainment offered other than a “theatre” show that lasted an hour. The disco was supposed to open at 10:30 PM but a few times we looked in, there was no one in there. We were told that it was very loud and hot inside the disco whenever it did get rolling. No where was there a band playing that you could listen to either during the day or in the evening after dinner. Even the lower end resorts we’ve stayed at have all had a house band. It is rather boring after dinner. I know our teenage kids would have been very bored here. For 3 days it rained, and that knocked out the satellite TV so you couldn't even watch TV. There was one day that the power went off around 7:30 am and it didn't come back on for about 12 hours, and it was not one of the rainy days.

All in all, the place was fine; neither of us got sick, it’s clean, renting from an owner off the internet went fine. It was our 4th time to the Dominican. I don’t think we would go back to this resort, but then we’ve never gone back to the same place twice. I’m sure anyone would have a great time there and I wouldn’t hesitate to send anyone, as long as they know what to expect. Like I said there’s nothing horribly wrong with the resort. But it wouldn’t take much to make it a lot better. We started playing a game called "if I owned this place, I would...." and talked about inexpensive changes that would make a huge difference. If you would like more info, feel free to email me at hooktravellers@sympatico.ca

Food Very Good
Accom Good
Entertainment Poor


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